#nancy is a complicated character and i love her and she and steve are not good for each other

[formosusiniquis]

When Mike Wheeler, red faced and still faintly tear stained, asks him how he knew he liked both Steve doesn’t know how to tell him it was his sister.

Before Nancy Wheeler it had only been boys. Before Nancy Wheeler Steve had been sure he was gay and knew well enough to keep it to himself; dating around enough to earn himself a protective reputation. Before Nancy Wheeler there’d been Marcus Summers, from the baseball team, during freshman year. Steve had gone to every game, and had been forced to make up excuses about schoolwork and his other commitments when asked why he hadn’t tried out for himself. Before Nancy Wheeler there’d been Tommy Hagan. The summer between seventh and eighth grade had been very kind to Tommy, he was sunkissed and boy next door sweet, Steve had wanted to hold his hand and count the freckles across the bridge of his nose. 

Before Nancy Wheeler there’d been his first love, a boy who only visited one summer, the year Steve turned ten. His name had changed every time they hung out but he’d favored E’s. Eli, Emmett, Elliott, Eric, Excalibur, Excelsior, and once for about an hour Wayne. His hair brushed his chin in pretty brown curls and his big brown eyes were always bright with excitement. He always got storm off mad when any of the other boys they’d played with that summer said he was acting like a girl, E would run off to the woods and Steve would always follow. E always came up with the best games anyway, he didn’t like playing soccer or HORSE or anything else with rules that couldn’t be bent; he preferred imagination games where they were knights or wizards. He didn’t laugh when Steve said he always liked playing house, but never wanted to be the dad because why would he want to be someone who never wanted to spend any time with his kids. E who, while insisting on being called Samwise all day, was his first kiss.

Cause he knows what Mike wants to hear. He’s seen the way Mike and Will have danced around each other since the last portal closed. He’s heard the things Mike has said to and about Will. He’s heard all about the week that Will was in the Upside Down. He’s heard all about the summer of ‘85. He’s heard all about the final off again that seems to officially mark the end of Mike and El romantically. He knows that Mike wants him to say that he’d never even thought about boys before he met Eddie. That there’s just something special about Eddie that makes him want to give up his lady killing ways. That Eddie was different. That it was okay that he was having these scary new thoughts, maybe Will was just an exception.

And Steve doesn’t know how to have that conversation. When he realized he liked both it was a relief, that maybe he could have something normal and wouldn't have to spend his life lying or hiding. 

But Eddie was different. Eddie was special. Eddie was probably it for Steve which is scary in a different way that he’s not ready to touch yet -- not when it’s only been three months.

There’s never been another girl since Nancy Wheeler, not really

There will never be another boy after Eddie Munson.

So he tries to help, as best he can. It’s easier with Eddie there, not quite dozing against his shoulder -- the kid’s emergencies always seem to come so late at night these days. “When I was ten, there was a boy whose name kept changing who decided prince charming should get to kiss his faithful knight. And when I was sixteen, your sister-”

Mike’s goodwill diminishes quickly as his sister gets introduced to the conversation.

“Stevie,” Eddie says. It’s not an admonishment for bringing up Nancy. It’s awestruck and watery. “You remember that?”

“Of course I remember the first boy I ever loved," that word catches up with him a second later. Remember. 

Cause there's Eddie with his riot of brown curls and his Bambi eyes. Eddie, who has explained why soft feminine words chafe against his skin leaving him itchy and anxious. Eddie, who has an Uncle in Hawkins. Eddie who moved to town the summer before he entered high school with a buzzed head and his mother's last name. Eddie who finally settled into an E he liked best.

"Wheeler, here's a tip from me to you," Eddie says, his advice is always better received than Steve's anyway, "if you have to ask you probably already know."

"Straight people don't really spend much time wondering if they aren't really straight," Steve agrees.

They don't rush Mike out the door, a crisis is a crisis and even in the wake of new discoveries Mike deserves to be heard out. Deserves a chance to cry and rage and feel those emotions someplace safe from his Reaganite father -- just as much as Will deserves to have someone who knows what they want come to him, deserves better than experimentation.

They cross the bridge from late into early by the time Mike sets off. The sun is creeping up over the horizon and Mike looks solid, certain; the dawn hints at the man he is growing up to be. Though every instinct of Steve's begs him to drive the kid home, Eddie's soft hand lingering at his hip holds him fast. They wave instead, encouraging Mike to go home and to bed before he does anything; knowing his front bike tire is already pointed toward the Byers-Hopper place.

"The first boy you ever loved, huh, Stevie?" Eddie teases before the door has even managed to click shut.

"And the last, I'm hoping, if I play my cards right."

"You were always pretty good at that. You were the only person that summer who called me by my name, except Wayne."

"It was your name." He knows that's too simple. Knows how hard Eddie has had it, continues to have it. But that summer it had been that simple, Eddie trying on names like shirts each one fitting until they didn't. "For what it's worth, I like Eddie a lot more than Excalibur."

"Oh fuck off, I was going through a fantasy knight phase. Which I know you remember."

"Right a phase, and how much longer is this fantasy 'phase' going to last?"

They're the kind of tired that makes you feel drunk, when Eddie tackles Steve and sends them both to the floor and to giggles. Eddie might not have been his bi awakening, but Steve is pretty fine with him being his everything else.

#steddie #steve harrington #eddie munson #trans eddie munson #implied byler #steddie fic #my fic #i do worry that sometimes i come across as a nancy hater #which i cant emphasize enough is not the case #nancy is a complicated character and i love her and she and steve are not good for each other #also eddie trying on wayne because wayne was the first adult he told that he wasnt a girl and who handled it well #wayne at the breakfast table like okay then what is your name if its not [redacted] and eddie does not have an answer yet #so wayne says well just tell me when you get up what youre going by #so he decides while playing that day that its wayne #and that lasts exactly as long as it takes for steve to call him that before hes like nope thats weird #eddie is short for edmund but also short for eddie the head #eddie contains multitudes

[afewproblems]

Season Two Halloween AU Part Ten (Final Part)

Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five, Part Six Part Seven Part Eight Part Nine

Synopsis: What if Eddie had been at Tina's Halloween Party in Season Two? Featuring Steve!Whump, Stancy Breakup, and Eddie just trying to keep up with all these new revelations about who King-Steve actually is...

Thank you to Jess @strangersteddierthings for your encouragement and kind words, and to all of you that have been following along with this story. Thank you for your patience, I hope you enjoy the final installment!

***

It doesn't take much to get Dustin on board, especially given the little shits ego.

Nancy and Eddie manage to catch him outside during lunch period the following day, next to the bike racks. With Hawkins Middle just a block away from the highschool, it's easy to make their way over.

"Called it, I totally called it," Dustin preens with a wide grin, Eddie holds back the urge to roll his eyes.

Nancy levels Dustin with an unimpressed glare as she crosses her arms.

"It's not too late, we could make this work without him," Nancy says dryly, and Eddie has to bite his cheek to keep from laughing at the way Dustin's mouth drops open as he looks between Nancy and Eddie with a stricken expression.

"No, wait!" Dustin says, his voice pitched high with panic, "I want to help!" 

"Steve is a good guy, he helped my mom with the groceries last week because she had to work late," the kid continues, his voice softer now.

"I can tell he's sad, when he thinks you aren't looking at him, mom had the same thing after my dad left". 

Dustin looks up at Eddie now, a wary suspicion in his eyes, "he's been like that since the last time I covered for you," he throws long exaggerated finger quotes around the word, 'covered' as he openly glares at Eddie.

"What did you say to him before the tunnels?" Dustin demands fiercely, and even Nancy turns to look at Eddie with a questioning tilt to her head.

Frustration courses through his chest now, hot and bubbling, he has to take a deep breath to keep from yelling. 

As if Eddie hasn't been asking himself that very question, as if he hasn't been turning that moment over and over in his mind, trying to find the moment, the words, responsible for Steve's distance.

"Dustin," Nancy says sharply, "this is not the time--"

"What are you talking about," Dustin turns to Nancy, gesturing at Eddie who bristles, "we're making a plan and that should include what not to say this time."

"This was a stupid idea," Eddie bites out, turning on his heel, his ears are warm under his hair and he can feel the angry flush slowly make its way down his neck, he takes three steps before a hand catches his elbow, halting his path.

"Okay Dustin knock it off," Nancy says quietly, her head on a swivel, watching for any lunchtime stragglers lingering around them or teachers on supervision. 

Satisfied that no one seems to be watching their conversation, she turns back to Eddie and squeezes his elbow one last time before letting her hand drop away, "and you, calm down, we're all here because we want the same thing".

"Well, some of us more than others," Dustin pipes up, wiggling his eyebrows at Eddie who wants to sink into the concrete. 

"Dustin," Nancy bites out between her teeth, "Mike said the Snowball is in two days, think you could get Steve to take you?"

Dustin scrunches his nose as he looks at Nancy, "are you kidding," he scoffs, "all I have to do is tell my mom Steve offered to take me and she'll call him to thank him, he'll have no choice but to agree like it was his idea". 

Nancy blinks once at Dustin and Eddie can't help but stare at the little monster's face as he grins up at the two of them. It's honestly a good plan given what Eddie knows of Steve, and even Nancy begins to nod slowly.

"Okay, then your job," Nancy turns to Eddie now, "is to surprise him here when he arrives at the dance, Dustin's right".

Nancy doesn't look at the little twerp as she says it but nearly rolls her eyes at the triumphant laugh that bursts forth from the kid.

"An ambush is probably the best way to catch him, and Eddie," Nancy turns to fully face him and reaches out to squeeze his arm with small hands, "just…be gentle with Steve, as much as you can".

"Are we all clear on the plan then?" She asks, taking a step back towards the sidewalk path leading back to the school. 

"Yes mom," Eddie huffs, shooting Dustin a matching grin as Nancy sighs loudly.

"Just be here for seven," she says tightly before turning in her heel and stalking off towards the highschool.

"She's pretty intense hey?" Eddie says, turning back to the kid, he trails off at the scowl Dustin gives him in response.

"Nance is cool and has a gun, I wouldn't mess with her and I wouldn't mess with Steve if I were you," Dustin scoffs, taking a step closer.

Eddie swallows roughly at the sudden proximity, looking around the school yard for any stragglers making their way back to class. 

"Keep your voice down you little shit," he hisses, reaching out to pull Dustin farther away from the bike rack and the double front doors. He tries not to let the news of Nancy's weapon cache fluster him but Dustin must see something in Eddie's expression if the sudden smug grin is anything to go by.

"I'm just saying, you're new to the party and we protect each other, so if you're just looking to mess with him--"

"Jesus Christ," Eddie hisses, bringing his hands up to his eyes. He presses his fingers in until his vision explodes in a kaleidoscope of stars and counts to five, breathing deeply through his nose.

"I'm only going to say this one more time, so tell your little party because I ain't doing another shovel talk from someone whose voice hasn't even dropped".

Eddie ignores the squawk Dustin makes as he lowers his hands, "I just want to talk to Steve and see where this goes, I am not getting my hopes up that this is all gonna be 'Happily Ever After' or some shit, and you shouldn't either".

Eddie watches as Dustin frowns skeptically and has to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from rolling his eyes.

"But I swear, I'm not messing with him, okay?" 

Dustin stares at Eddie for what feels like an age, saying nothing. His gaze is anything but warm, it feels like he's being analyzed and he wishes that Nancy were still here to absorb some of the strange attention the kid has focused on him.

Eddie is about to tell him to forget it, to storm off back to the highschool when Dustin finally utters a simple, "okay". 

It throws Eddie off for a moment, he stands in the patchy November worn grass, shivering in the harsh wind, mouth opening and closing in surprise.

"That's it?" He asks faintly, watching as Dustin swings his backpack off his shoulder and unzips it. He reaches in and pulls out a bright yellow walkie talkie and holds it out to Eddie expectantly.

"The party frequency is 467.5625," Dustin says as Eddie takes the device. 

He looks from the walkie in his hands to Dustin and scoffs, "you expect me to remem--"

"Channel eight then, Jesus," the kid huffs out, "don't make me take it back, this is a big deal Munson, you're one of us now". 

Eddie holds back a smile but it's a near thing. 

It feels strange, the warmth in his chest at the words. It shouldn’t feel as big as it does, but the heavy walkie in his hands feels like acceptance, something Eddie has always insisted that he never needed. He had Wayne, he had Hellfire, and Corroded Coffin, what did it matter if the other teens gave him a wide berth in the halls, or if teachers assumed the worst of him without evidence. 

But as Eddie taps the walkie onto the palm of his left hand, that feeling of warmth grows until it travels up his throat into a sudden lump that chokes his words. 

Fuck. 

Eddie blinks away the burning sting in his eyes once, twice, before lowering himself into a bow to hide the moisture he knows is just a split second from becoming a very evident problem. 

Dustin steps back in surprise as Eddie coughs to hide the waver in his voice.

"I uh, humbly accept your invitation and will endeavor to assist with all future quests, even upon pain of death or dismemberment oh noble bard".

Eddie lets a small laugh loose as he stands back up to his full height, grinning at the delighted giggle Dustin makes, even as the kid loudly insists that he's actually an Artificer, duh.

"Could've fooled me with that inspired speech dude," Eddie shakes his head and begins making his way back towards the highschool, letting gravity take him down the small hill towards the trees with heavy steps. He feels lighter now than he has in a while.

Absolutely nothing could go wrong.

"Wait!"

The sound of quick steps and crunching dead leaves announces Dustin before Eddie can even turn to face Hawkins Middle.

He skids to a stop at the bottom of the hill, breathing heavily with a wild grin on his small face.

"I know we have a plan already, but I think I have an even better idea," he breathes out, nearly vibrating in excitement.

"Better than Wheelers?" Eddie says, raising his eyebrow and slowly crossing his arms over his chest, careful not to drop the walkie in the grass.

"It's genius," Dustin insists, "trust me".

***

It was not genius.

It is in fact the stupidest thing that Eddie has ever done.

Including the time he skipped school to climb the tallest tree in Mirkwood on a dare and ended up breaking his collarbone after falling ten feet.

But, Eddie supposes, this is exactly what happens when one listens to a thirteen year old.

Maybe this was how all urban legends started, as unsolicited advice from snarky little pre-teens with more confidence than common sense.

All of a sudden, you end up stowed away in the back of a car trying your damnedest to keep quiet so as not to tip off the driver.

Who you happen to be eavesdropping on. Again.

Fourth time's the charm after all.

Eddie tries to stay as still as he can, crouched down in the back of Steve's Beemer. How the hell did those Urban Legend serial killers make this seem so easy, Eddie thinks as they manage to hit yet another pothole, jostling his position behind Dustin's seat. Eddie's heart beat feels incredibly loud in his ears as he holds his breath between his teeth.

He wonders belatedly just what Hopper would do if he drove past them now and tries to swallow the sudden anxiety that clings to his throat.

"Remember," Steve interrupts Eddie's thoughts with his insistent tone, "you don't care, you're as cool as a cucumber, you let everything roll off your back," Steve says as the sound of the turn signal begins, the rhythmic tick tock keeping pace with his words.

"Like a duck?" Dustin asks from the passenger seat and Eddie has to fight to keep the snort that threatens to break free from his nose.

"Uh, I guess, just, look," Steve sighs as they slow down for a light if the red glow is any indication, "you don't want to come on too strong, what happens when you come on too strong?"

"It blows up in your face," Dustin says quietly as Steve speaks in unison with him, slapping the steering wheel once with the flat of his palm, making Eddie flinch in the back. 

God. Is that what Steve thinks he did?

"Exactly, Henderson, you got it! So what are you?"

"Cool as a cucumber," Dustin repeats, this time with more conviction in his voice and Eddie hopes the kid is a better actor than he thought because that is not the lesson he wants him taking away from this evening.

"Because you don't care," Steve says again, tapping the steering wheel with each word for emphasis and Eddie can hear the grin in his voice as he shifts in the driver's seat. 

"I don't care," Dustin repeats again, though in a much colder voice than before, and suddenly Eddie knows if Dustin could see him now, he'd be staring daggers at him.

Eddie rolls his eyes, he's not going to take the blame for every single word and feeling coming out of Steve's mouth and it isn't fair of Dustin to heap all of it on Eddie.

"You look like a million bucks, go get em tiger," Steve says gently as the car comes to a gentle halt. There's a fondness in his voice that Eddie hasn't heard before. 

He's never had a sibling either, but Eddie imagines that this is exactly how it would feel, witnessing their firsts, cheering them on as they head into the unknown. Being their protector from the things that go bump in the night, even if that thing was as small as a first heartbreak. 

God. King Steve just had to be a secret sweetheart didn't he?

Not that it was really much of a secret, Eddie thinks as Dustin opens the passenger door and hops out of the car--

Oh shit. 

Oh shit.

He had been so engrossed in the conversation he'd been eavesdropping on, yet again, that Eddie had forgotten to sneak out.

He had even kept the back passenger door open, ever so slightly, to avoid the sound of it alerting Steve when he made his escape at the same time as Dustin. Then all they had to do was line up their doors closing at the exact same time and Steve would be none the wiser.

Oh God, he really did it, Eddie really listened to a thirteen year old and expected the plan to work.

And what's worse, he's the one that had fucked it up and now, he's trapped.

Eddie takes a deep breath through his nose and releases it as slowly as he can through his mouth. It feels as though an elephant is seated on his chest and his lungs can't quite keep up with the weight as his ribcage slowly begins to cave in. 

He has to get out, he has to run, he has to get out, he can't be caught in here, he can't ruin this again.

He starts at a sudden tapping on the window and holds his breath as Steve leans over from the driver's side towards his passenger door.

"Dustin?" Steve huffs as he moves back into place, his arm stops to rest on the passenger door just above Eddie's legs hidden in the darkness of the back seat.

"Steve! I, uh, forgot something, in the back," Dustin's voice is slightly strangled as he stumbles through the explanation for his sudden reappearance, "uh, my backpack!"s in days with their plan in place.

"Okay," Steve says slowly, drawing out the second syllable as he drops his hand from the passenger seat, "let me look--"

"No!" Dustin barks out, leaning further into the vehicle, from the new angle Eddie can see the panic on his young face. 

"Dustin? What--" Steve huffs as the kid climbs back into the front seat, grabbing Steve's arms and forcing him to continue facing forward.

And perhaps it's the absolute ridiculousness of the situation that makes Eddie laugh, the look on Dustin's face, or the confusion in Steve's voice, but he can't help but contain the loud snort that bursts forth from the back seat. 

Shit.

Eddie's heart drops into the floor of the vehicle beneath him as Steve and Dustin both freeze. 

It's like time stands still for an eternity, though snow begins to slowly fall outside the Beemer and the far off buzzing of music and laughter continues to emanate from the school gymnasium. 

Eddie moves first, lifting his hands to cover his face as he slowly sits up. He presses his fingers harshly into his eyes until a kaleidoscope of stars and fireworks appear in the darkness, before lifting them slightly to move into his hair and pulling at the roots. Eddie keeps his eyes closed as he hears a sharp intake of breath and movement from the driver's seat. 

"Eds? Dustin, what is going on, what are you doing here?" Steve says, his voice growing louder with each word until Eddie opens his eyes. 

Steve is staring at him, his large hazel eyes are wide and his brows have pinched in the middle, cutting creases across his forehead. He looks at Dustin before turning back to Eddie again, the frown on his face slowly morphing into a sneer. 

"Figures," Steve breathes out before turning to Dustin once more, "you two planned this?"

Dustin has the decency to at least wince at the accusation, "it's not like that--"

"Just," Steve cuts the kid off, the word harsh, almost a snarl before Steve deflates, sinking back into the driver's seat and letting his head drop back onto the headrest. 

He breathes out long and slow through his nose before continuing in a much softer, tired voice, "go to the dance Henderson". 

Dustin opens his mouth to rail against the dismissal, to stop whatever train of thought has run through Steve's mind, but Eddie beats him to it.

"Dustin," Eddie sighs, dropping his hands away from his hair to his lap, "let me take my lumps man, go".

Dustin makes a noise that seems to be a cross between a curse and a growl, his expression venomous, before he steps back and closes the passenger door with a loud metalic bang.

Eddie vaguely remembers Dustin and Nancy's threat and the guns she supposedly owns and suppresses a shudder. 

One problem at a time.

Eddie hauls himself into the back seat and groans at the rush of pins and needles dotting along his arms as he moves into a normal position once more. He rubs his hands along his arms and legs, wincing at how loud he is in the absolute silence of the car.

Steve isn't looking at him, his face pressed in between his hands at 11 and 1 on the steering wheel. 

"So," Steve mutters after a beat, startling Eddie as he sits back up from the wheel, "you were listening to me. Spying. Again." 

"Steve," Eddie starts, only for the other man to continue on as though he hasn't heard him.

"The only thing I can't figure out is why?"

Steve turns in his seat to look at Eddie, his face carefully blank now but for the slight downward pull at the left corner of his mouth. The bruises from Billy's recent beatings have faded to a sallow yellow and even the collection of cuts from the shattered ashtray have begun to scab over. 

The sight makes Eddie ache.

"Did Tommy put you up to this?" Steve interrupts Eddie's thoughts, his stare unwavering.

"What?" Eddie whispers, horrified, "what are you talking about?"

"You, you keep," Steve's voice rises slightly, a hysterical edge begins to creep in as his breathing quickens, "inserting yourself into my shit, you--I told you that I," Steve swallows heavily and blinks, his hazel eyes shine in the glow of the streetlight.

"Tommy is the only one who knows about me, so--so whatever he's got you doing," Steve sucks in another short breath, it's wet at the edges and Eddie feels his chest tighten as Steve's voice wavers.

"Steve--"

"You know what," Steve hisses as he reaches down to tug the keys out of the ignition, his breathing still slightly erratic, "just don't".

Eddie watches, frozen, as Steve wrenches the driver's door open and throws himself out of the vehicle, slamming the door shut behind him.

Eddie sits in silent shock for a moment, as though his limbs have filled up with sand, holding him in place, before he manages to scramble towards his own door.

"Steve!" He shouts, wincing as he slams the car door behind him, prompting several kids and parents walking into the middle school behind them to look in curiosity.

He catches a glimpse of a maroon sweater darting into the trees. 

Gotcha. 

Eddie hurries after him, cursing Dustin's insistence that, 'with this plan you won't need a coat, there's no waiting outside at all!'

He tamps down the hot feeling of irritation creeping up his chest and into his throat. It's a ridiculous night, first spent crouched into the back of a car and now traipsing through the woods to what? 

Chase after someone who clearly wants nothing to do with him? Who has been purposefully avoiding him since that night in the tunnels. 

Nancy and Dustin had it wrong, this was stupid. 

What was he thinking going along with their batshit plan --not that Nancy deserved credit for the car thing, that was all Henderson. 

Eddie pushes a branch out of his path and steps over a snow covered log, cursing the fact that he can feel the chill creeping into his toes through the thin canvas of his converse sneakers. The shoes also have little traction in the fresh snow that seems to be coming down even harder now as the night goes on.

As if to prove a point Eddie slips on a wet patch of leaves and swears at the sudden pain in his back as he struggles to keep upright.

He's breathing hard, puffs of frozen breath billow out and away from him in the cool night air

'Be gentle with him,' Nancy had said, as if she knew this would happen. As if she knew Steve would run the first chance he could and Eddie would follow.

He shakes his head and takes a deep breath, letting it in and out, allowing the frustration and anger from the last few days flow out with each breath.

"Steve," Eddie shouts as he finally catches a glimpse of maroon and tawny hair through the thicket, "just stop, man!"

Steve halts, halfway over a fallen log, but doesn't turn around.

Eddie ducks under another branch and into the small break in the trees that Steve is in. He can see the way the other man's shoulders rise and fall rapidly in the meager moonlight but whether from panic or exertion, Eddie can't tell.

"Steve," Eddie says as he takes another wary step forward, as though approaching a wild animal.

"You promised we'd talk," Eddie tries to swallow around the sudden lump in his throat, "was that a lie?" 

Steve says nothing still, though he turns his face just enough that Eddie can make out his profile in the low light.

Eddie sighs heavily, sliding a shaking hand through his hair, "what would Tommy want with the town freak anyway, he'd be more likely to put sugar in my gas tank than talk to me about anything, Steve".

"So," Eddie breathes out slowly, feeling his heart rate begin to climb as he prepares to take the leap, "rewind a bit, and catch me up on just what is going on in that head of yours sweetheart".

He sees the moment the words register in the way Steve stiffens, the way he slowly turns towards Eddie, his face pale and his eyes wide.

"You…you've called me that before, in the car," Steve says slowly, in fits and starts, "I thought it was a dream". 

Eddie takes another step closer, watches as Steve traces his movement with wary eyes.

"I think that was the most scared I have ever been in my life Steve, I thought you were dead, and it made me realize something," he swallows heavily, it feels like glass all the way down. 

"I was an idiot," Eddie whispers, his breath floats away in the cold November air as he shivers, "and didn't understand what you were trying to tell me at the Byers".

Steve winces slightly and nods, he opens his mouth to say something but Eddie beats him to it.

"IthinkyourNonnawasontosomethingSteve," the words tumble out in a long nearly unintelligible string, "I want to be in your life, whatever that means, however you'll have me," his lungs stutter slightly as Eddie takes a deep steadying breath.

Steve's head tilts slightly to the left as he regards Eddie with a infuriating black expression, his eyes searching Eddie's own.

"As friends?" Steve says slowly. There's a leading note to his voice that Eddie tries not to wince at.

He can't quite help the way his shoulders drop at the words though. Of course, of course he'd been right the first time. Steve was straight and, despite his better judgment, Eddie had gone ahead and gotten his hopes up for nothing.

"If that's what you want," Eddie agrees, forcing a wane smile that doesn't meet his eyes.

Steve's expression betrays nothing still as he moves through the thicket in two steps, his gaze never wavering from Eddie's own as he crosses his arms over his chest, still guarded despite how close they are.

"And if I wanted something else?" Steve speaks softly now, the words travel in between them through gentle puffs of frozen breath.

They're nearly the same height, Eddie might be a half inch taller or so, but from this close it doesn't matter. 

Eddie can see the flecks of green in his eyes, the collection of freckles and moles across his nose and cheeks; if Steve is an Autumnal King in a sunset, he's absolutely otherworldly in the moonlight. The pale snow falling around them almost makes it seem like he's glowing.

"Glowing huh?" 

Fuck.

Steve's face splits into a soft smile, his eyes crinkle at the corners, pulling at the yellow bruised skin. He breathes out something resembling a laugh through his nose as he says, "well, you're not so bad yourself Munson".

Eddie takes another step closer, his heart racing at a mile a minute, "s'that right?" he asks, lifting his hands to grip at Steve's arms.

He lets his ungloved hands run up and down, reveling at how soft and warm the sweater Steve's wearing is before settling at his elbow.

Steve's eyes slowly trace over Eddie's face, before his expression morphs into the determined one that Eddie recognizes from that horrible night in the tunnels.

"I'm sorry," Steve swallows roughly before clearing his throat. He takes a deep breath and shakes his head as Eddie opens his mouth to speak, "please, just let me explain first, and then you can," he bites at the inside of his cheek as his hazel eyes move beyond Eddie's gaze into the trees. 

"You can, make your decision or whatever".

Eddie hesitates for just a moment, squeezing Steve's arms once more before he lets go. 

Steve gives Eddie a tight smile, before closing his eyes, "I've known Tommy since we were like six, sandbox kids right?"

"Our dads were friends, they worked together, so it just made sense, and we were close, we did everything together," Steve opens his eyes but doesn’t look at Eddie, "Tommy knows a lot about me, stuff I've never told anyone, not even Nance".

Steve sighs, kicking roughly at a cluster of leaves and snow on the ground, "not that she hasn't figured a bunch of it out, she's smart like that". 

"I remember talking about girls for the first time when we were Dustin's age, Tommy had a crush on Linda Holloway, he liked her red hair," Steve smiles faintly, but it quickly disappears as he finally meets Eddie's eyes once more, "and I didn't think anything of it at the time, I just thought we were sharing who we thought was cute so I--"

He stops speaking, his breath stutters for a moment as he shakes his head once and curls his arms even more tightly around himself.

"Steve--" Eddie tries, reaching out once again with one hand before he curls his fingers away as though afraid to touch him. 

Eddie wants to tell Steve that he doesn't need to continue, that he understands, but Steve has regained his voice, soft and unwavering.

"I told him about Mary McKinney, she let me borrow her pencil whenever I needed it and always wore her hair in braids," Steve licks his lips, his eyes flitting between Eddie now and the ground, "and, about Brian Donovan, he was on our little league team and he had the best dimples I'd ever seen".

Steve's lips twist into a shy smile this time as he looks at Eddie, "maybe second best now".

Heat rises in Eddie's cheeks, his heart thrums in his chest and he can't stop the pleased grin from taking over his face at the words. 

God, he's so fucked.

Steve continues on, if he notices Eddie's blush in the low twilight he doesn't mention it.

"Tommy said that was weird to think of boys like that, the same way I thought about Mary, and not to talk about it again. That didn't stop him from bringing it up after that," Steve sighs heavily now, "I couldn't so much as make eye contact with another guy at school without Tommy telling me off". 

Anger ignites in Eddie's chest, spreading up his throat and curling around his hands which suddenly long to meet Tommy Hagans stupid face. 

He'd never cared for the guy. Too far up his own ass over the years with a mean streak a mile wide. Add to that a penchant for making other kids' lives absolutely miserable and you have a recipe for a douchebag that Eddie based nearly half of the Munson Doctrine on. 

The other half, well, that had also been influenced by Steve, but if Eddie was being honest, he had no clue who the real Steve Harrington was. 

No one did. 

Hopefully, in time, Eddie could change that. 

"I'm sorry for not trusting you," Steve whispers, his face tipped down to the ground, "I think I've had his voice in my head for so long that I couldn't stop myself from listening to it".

"You want to know the worst part?" Steve asks quietly, he scoffs, not bothering to wait for Eddie to reply, "he acted like he was doing me a fucking favour, like he was protecting me". 

He shakes his head, lifting a hand to pinch the bridge of his nose as his voice wavers suddenly, "maybe he was, in his own way--"

"Nope," Eddie barks out, startling them both with the sudden volume filling the trees, "that rat was trying to save his own skin by trying to control you, you owe Tommy nothing". 

Steve looks at Eddie with wide shocked eyes. He's standing so still that Eddie wonders if he's stopped breathing.

"Maybe he thought he was doing you a favour," Eddie laughs, it's a cold bitter thing that hangs low amongst the tree roots and plant litter, "and in public sure, I get it, but honestly if he could only be friends with this version of you, then he wasn't really ever your friend, Steve". 

"If someone doesn't like you just as you are, then they aren't worth it".

Steve is still staring, he hasn't blinked the entire time that Eddie has been speaking…it's a little unnerving.

"So," Steve asks, hesitantly, halting Eddie's train of thought, "what about you?" 

He's even closer now and, when the hell did that happen.

"Me?" Eddie says faintly, his eyes drop once to Steve's lips, they're slightly chapped but have never looked so God Damn kissable.

Eddie takes a deep breath, and smiles softly as he lifts his hands to grip Steve's elbows once again, squeezing gently before sliding them down to take his hands. 

They're large and warm in his own, callused along the palms from where the nail bat had sat in his hands. Eddie lets his thumbs run along his knuckles, lingering on the healing scabs from his fight with Billy.

"You weren't what I was expecting," Eddie says, watching as Steve's head tilts again at the nonsequiteur, "especially after the party when I tried to give you back your sunglasses".

"You care, about the kids --even when they are being self destructive little shits, about Nancy even though she broke your heart," he traces his thumbs over the tops of Steves hands when his fingers twitch, "and you care about me, enough to put yourself out there even though you had no idea if I felt the same". 

"You are brave, crazy brave to the point where I'm a little worried about why you're so quick to just throw yourself in front of danger, but," Eddie shakes his head as Steve bristles this time, ducking his face away from Eddie's watchful eyes, "we'll unpack that another day". 

He takes a deep breath and slowly lets go of one of Steve's hands, shaking as he reaches up to cup Steve's jaw, tipping his face up until his eyes are level with Eddie's once more.

Steve's hazel eyes trace over Eddie's face, wide and glassy in the moonlight. They are close enough that Eddie can feel the shallow puffs of air against his lips as Steve's breathing quickens.

"Did the doctor say anything about your face," Eddie asks, gesturing at his own with his one free hand, "recovery time?"

Steve shakes his head with a confused frown.

"Good," Eddie takes a deep breath, allowing a wide lecherous grin to bloom, "because I like you, Steve Harrington, exactly as you are, and I'm going to kiss you," he lifts his other hand now to cup the other side of Steve's face, "but I only make it hurt if you want me to, big boy".

Eddie freezes as the words he just said register. 

Oh Fuck.

Who pulls out Big Boy like five seconds after confessing their feelings? 

Eddie groans lowly and shuts his eyes for a beat, only opening them at the tentative sound of Steve's voice.

"Eds," Steve laughs, his face flushed a deep scarlet, giving Eddie a sly smile of his own, "that was really bad, like really bad".

Eddie sighs, embarrassment beginning to curl, hot and heavy, in his chest as he removes his hands from Steve's face, "I know…"

He startles at the feeling of warm fingers wrapping around his own, drawing his hands back to where they had been on Steve's face, "it's a good thing I like you, so you can get more practice".

"Yeah?" Eddie whispers, his voice hoarse as though he can scarcely breathe. He watches as Steve smiles, counting the crinkles at the edges of his eyes and the way his scarlet flush has faded to a soft pink.

He wants to freeze this moment, burn it into his memory so he'll never forget the soft happiness in Steve's eyes.

"Yeah, Eds," Steve breathes against his lips as their noses brush, "exactly as you are".

Eddie's not sure which of them moves first, it's only the faint brush of chapped lips against his own that sets off an unhinged chorus of, 'Kisskissingkisswhatthefuckyou'rekissingSteveHarrington'.

Eddie's fingers tighten against Steve's face before his hands begin to move on their own, one along his jaw until it has wrapped around the back of his head, burying his fingers in thick soft hair. His other hand shifts slightly lower, his thumb presses into Steve's jaw until his head tips back. 

The noise Steve makes against his lips as Eddie moves him sends a thrill down his spine. He feels two hands slide up his chest, over his shoulders, and around his neck as Steve presses himself even closer. Eddie's fingers tighten in Steve's hair, almost involuntarily, as the pulse under his thumb climbs even higher. Eddie hums contentedly and smiles into the kiss.

It's…God.

Kissing Steve is everything he's ever wanted. He tastes like peppermint, like the candy canes Dustin had brought Steve as a thank you for the ride to the dance, and Eddie can't help but wonder if the little shit had done so with this in mind? 

No, nope. Definitely not thinking about that right now.

He tugs his mind away from the thought and opens his lips more to brush against Steve's with purpose, pulling a sweet moan from the other as he nips at his bottom lip.

He pulls back begrudgingly after another moment, relishing the heat, the softness of Steve pressed against him. They're still standing in the middle of the ravine just a few steps from the middle school and it would probably be best to continue this sort of thing in private. 

Eddie shifts away just enough to run the tip of his nose down Steve's own, his heart fit to burst at the soft sigh Steve releases at the touch. His eyes are closed, but from the new blush that has spread from Steve's cheeks, to his ears and all the way down his neck, as well as the soft grin that pulls at his lips, Eddie can tell the feeling is mutual.

Eddie wonders just how many different shades of pink he could make Steve turn? 

A thought for another day, Eddie thinks with a mischievous smirk, brushing his thumb along the crest of Steve's cheek. 

"We should probably get back sweetheart," Eddie murmurs as he reluctantly removes his hands from Steve's face, "I can think of somewhere warmer we can go to talk". 

Steve nods with a snort, knocking his shoulder into Eddie, "talk huh?" 

"Is that not what the kids call it these days?"

Eddie drapes his arm around Steve's neck, tugging the other man closer. He comes all too willingly with a pleased grin stretched across his face.

"Besides," Eddie hums as they begin to make their way back the way they came, "my Uncle Wayne's been asking about when he can meet you --well after he weaseled it out of me, what was making me mope so much these last few weeks, he's already making Thanksgiving plans--"

They jerk to a halt, half slipping in the leaves and snow, he turns to Steve to meet his wide fearful eyes.

"You--your uncle knows, about me, about you?" Steve asks, the words stopping and starting as he speaks. 

Eddie reaches out only for Steve to take a step back into the trees, "why would you tell him--"

"He doesn't know about you specifically, Steve, I would never do that," Eddie insists, he keeps his voice level now with how close they are to the school again, he can hear the sounds of teens yelling and laughing in the short distance.

"Okay, but he, he doesn't care about…"

Steve trails off, his teeth closing down on his bottom lip and though chewing on what he wants to ask.

Your uncle doesn't care about you being gay, being different?

Eddie sighs, resisting the urge to lift his hands and press his fingers into his eyes, "Uncle Wayne took me in a few years ago when my parents kicked me out for that so, no, it's pretty safe to say he doesn't".

"Oh," Steve says faintly. His arms come up around his chest as he begins to hunch in on himself yet again.

Well shit. 

Now, Eddie isn't a hundred percent certain, but based on things that Steve has said, the warning that Nancy gave him, and what happened at the hospital, he knows that the Harrington house hasn't been the happy home he had assumed it to be.

And now, given the stricken look on Steve's face and the pinch in his gut, the doubts are fading even further away. 

Eddie takes a deep breath, stepping onto the tightrope between them, he'll have to be careful about how he plays this, or Steve could bolt again. He's seen Steve run track at school, he knows the other man could easily outrun him.

Best not to give him a reason to.

"You know, not all parents, um, deserve to be parents sweetheart," Eddie says slowly, carefully, watching Steve's face as he speaks, "especially if they're never around".

He feels the rope between them wobble as he takes a step closer, holding out his hand.

"Especially if they don't love us for who we are Stevie," Eddie whispers, watching as Steve looks away sharply, his shoulders tense.

Eddie takes another deep breath before taking the leap, hoping that his feet will meet the ground beneath them.

"Wayne isn't like that, he's safe, and he wants to meet the person I've been mooning over for weeks now, if you're up for it". 

Steve swallows once, twice, his jaw moves as though grinding what he wants to say between his teeth, his nose begins to redden as his eyes grow damp at the edges.

"Yeah," he manages to choke out, his voice cracks down the center as he draws one hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose, "maybe not, right, right now but --fuck, I'm sorry, I don't know why this keeps happening".

Eddie takes the last step and pulls Steve into his arms again; he stiffens at first before finally relaxing, almost boneless, against Eddie's chest. He feels Steve release a long hitching breath and squeezes him gently, rubbing his cheek against the slight stubble on Steve's own.

"Probably because it's been a really hard couple of weeks sweetheart," Eddie pulls back enough to look into Steve's eyes, they're red rimmed now and his lashes have begun to clump together, but even like this Steve still looks beautiful.

"Yeah," Steve says, he sniffs, wincing at the sound of his stuffy nose, "I think I could use a proper…talk, and a rest, if you're still up for it?"

Eddie feels a smile pulling at his lips as incandescent happiness glows in his chest. He pulls Steve closer once more, relishing the feeling of being able to hold Steve again, without the scent of blood and terror in the air. 

"Lead the way then sweetheart," Eddie says softly, knowing he'll follow Steve wherever he goes. There's a lot more for them to talk about, but for now, he'll be there for Steve as his person, for as long as he can. 

Forever if he can swing it. 

Tag List:

@eriquin @luvinthefreaks @cinnamon-mushroomabomination @goodolefashionedloverboi @ellietheasexylibrarian @bambibiest @sadboislovebeans @howincrediblysapphicofyou @coleys-a-nerd @whycantiuseunderscore @airconditioning123 @xxfiction-is-my-realityxx @corrodedbisexual @starman-jpg @ilovecupcakesandtea @yoriposts @clumsiluni @pelinelin @phantomcat94 @lololol-1234 @anaibis @steveshairspray @hellfireone @eddielives1986 @sunswathe  @tentativeghost @robin-not-batman @estrellami-1 @manda-panda-monium @tinyplanet95 @perseus-notjackson @queenie-ofthe-void @rainbowsaw @sp0o0kylights @littlebluejane @hi-im-eff  @phantypurple @just-ladyme @thoroughlycollected @justrandomfandomstm @swimmingbirdrunningrock @finntheehumaneater @dynamic-powerm@nightmareglitter @genderless-spoon @zaddipax @thebiblesays @pyrohonk @emly03 @geekymagicalpotato @sidebarre @lemon-astra @cipounette @discreetapple @starlitlakes @saphhicwitchbitch @marvel-ous-m @lingeringmirth @honorarybrit81 @bookbinderbitch @finntheehumaneater  @lololol-1234 @eddie-munsons-missing-nipple @monsterloverforhire @gaydrieeen @starlight-archer @homosexual-having-tea @devondespresso @rennnnon @my-hyperfixations-hell-blog @carlprocastinator1000 @0o-queendean-o0 @emly03 @paintsplatteredandimperfect @louismeds @fruitmix

@lizzicleromance @fairy-princette @eddiethehunted

And a few people I think may be intersted!

@steddierthings @steddie-there @stevesbipanic @henderdads @bramble-berries @flowercrowngods

#season two halloween au #stranger things #stranger things season 2 au #steve harrington #eddie munson #the party #steve and nancy breakup #eddie is having all sorts of complicated feelings about steve here #i will never get tired of halloween party aus #you can pry them from my cold dead fingers #afewproblems writes #pining Eddie #nancy and eddie need to hang out more #I tried to give nancy some nuance here because I do love her character and I almost never write her #she was a fun challenge #nance scheming with eddie to get her ex a boyfriend #its messy but in the best way #Nancy Dustin and Eddie are their own group now the Scheme Squad #Steve needs a hug and gets one at last #this have everything #its got whump and pining and love confessions and kisses #happy endings at last

[dwobbitfromtheshire]

So, after season one, Nancy and Steve don't get back together for like a month, right? Okay, what if they reconciled by Steve approaching her and telling her that he wanted to give her space, that he didn't want to push her, but he wanted to make sure she was alright after Barb. He told her how he wished he had gotten to know her, and if she was up for it, then maybe she could tell him about Barb. I have a hard time believing that no one acknowledged Nancy and her grief for Barb. (I mean, did Hopper even think to check on her?) To me, I think that this would explain why she was holding on to Steve for so long even though she had feelings for someone else. In her darkest moment, Steve was so sweet to her. Jonathan was busy with his own family, and that's understandable, but you're telling me that he couldn't pick up the phone? I think it's also why Steve went to the dinners because he did feel guilty, and he did feel guilty about not getting to know Barb. I think if she and Jonathan hadn't gotten together in that moment, then she would have found her way to actually talk to Steve about Barb to get closure. It's one of the things that annoys me about Jancy. That and the photographs. I wish they had written Jonathan better. Anyway, I just wonder how they reconciled after that month, and I think this is it.

#stranger things #stranger things s1 #steve harrington #nancy wheeler #steve x nancy #steve harrington x nancy wheeler #stancy #does anyone else waffle back and forth between romantic stancy and platonic stancy #or is that just me #platonic stancy #they would make great friends #but they were also really cute in the beginning of s1 #i love nancy #she's such a complicated character #on one hand i also love steve and i am mad at her for the bathroom scene #but i also understood that she felt guilty for barb #on the other hand it doesn't make sense for her to see the giant open gate and risking all of hawkins #she could have waited to talk to Hop had Hop been there for her #honestly they butchered nancy's character in s2 as much as they butchered jonathan #i prefer nancy in s4 she's matured a little and that would have been the perfect time to talk with steve but noooo #man i think i need closure just as much as the characters do #😂

[candied-cae]

And Who Are We At The End Of The World? -Family Video's Booming Business

Chapter 19/? - - - Read it on AO3

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20]

Word Count: 9,603

Summary: The doors of Family Video start seeing quite a few newly familiar faces. Eddie Munson, Vickie Nelson, Nancy Wheeler... They all show up looking for different things though.

More ST Fics

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The weirdest things happened over the next few days.

Well, it wasn't necessarily weird on the scale they'd all somewhat become used to. Just weird on the scale of their regular lives and what they'd come to expect from those.

Eddie had gone back to crashing with his uncle after the first sleepover he'd shared with Steve, but then he started to come by Family Video. Often. And he was really good at being there right when Robin wasn't. When it was just him and Steve and not even a single other customer in the building to focus on.

The first time it happened was on Sunday. Robin wasn't in for opening - her parents were still pushing hard on the early-morning-Mass-thing - so it was just Steve. Thumbing through the newspaper and wondering if the folks at the corporate office would fund an ad for hiring since the sign out front wasn't doing much legwork to fill the hours.

And then, without any real warning, Eddie was there.

He pushed open the door, and the bell rang through the shop. Steve was on his way to snap into customer service mode and tuck away the paper when he looked up and realized who it was. The infamous metal-loving, drug-dealing, half-dead outcast…

“Oh. Hey, Munson.”

“Well, that was a bit of a bitter welcoming from an employee,” Eddie noted.

And that's how it started.

Eddie made a game of it on that very first day. Who knows if he really classified the game as “Annoy Steve Harrington” or if that just happened to be the result of all the pestering, but that was essentially how it worked. Eddie would walk into the store, see he was the only one, and then start slowly bumbling around. Wandering in circles through the isles with no real intention. Like it was all just to waste time. Maybe it was.

And then he'd start asking Steve questions. And not questions about Steve, or the certain secret situation they were both a part of. No, they were questions about the movies. But not the kinds of questions anyone really asks. Not the kind Steve ever really had an answer to.

He'd pelt Steve with an inquiry about almost every movie on the shelves. Despite how many times Steve would tell him that he hadn't seen most of them. Eddie would just pick up the most obscure-looking tape and ask something like…

“Do you find the prominent themes in this film in line with the state of American politics today? Literal or metaphorical, I'm not picky about the presentation of the ideology.”

Since it was about the fifth question like it he'd asked, Steve rolled his eyes,“ So, the joke here is that you’re trying to sound like a pretentious asshole. Right?”

“Steve!” Eddie threw a hand over his heart. Shock painting his features as his voice rose an octave higher,” I can’t believe you would say such a thing to a PAYING CUSTOMER OF THIS ESTABLISHMENT! I am simply asking a relevant question in relation to this business you run so I may improve my overall customer experience.”

And then it happened again on Monday too. Turned out that Eddie decided to skip the first two days back since he had that concert Tuesday anyway and could get away with it. He was still resting up, as far as the front office was concerned. And somewhere around his stroll through the horror section, Eddie called to him from the display.

He held up a copy of Halloween, pointing to it while he asked,“ Would you call this one a classic for any old family of five to watch together, or would you recommend a more private viewing for mom and dad without their little one’s peering eyes?”

Steve only shrugged and flipped the page of his magazine,“ I don’t know, haven’t seen it.”

And maybe in a more practical conversation, Eddie would've been focused on the fact that Steve Harrington hadn't seen Halloween yet. Would've more honestly insisted that he needed to as soon as possible. Would've made a fit about “How can we really be friends if you don't know about Michael Myers?” But Eddie was playing a game. And his character was more like a suburban mom than the alternative guy he actually was.

So, instead, he set the movie back down and demanded,“ Well, you must know! You are an employee of this company. If I can’t come to you to make sure I don’t let my little Timmy, dear sweet Sally, and… my… my little guy…” he struggled for a third name,” Reginald?” It'd have to do. “If I can’t trust you to advise me so I don’t expose them to something untoward, then who can I trust in this world?”

“The only babies you have are named Dustin, Mike, and Lucas.” Steve counted them off on three fingers,” And they’ve seen way worse stuff than any of these flicks might have.”

“Excuse me! I also have a claim to Erica and am going through the legal procedures to gain custody of Max, Will, and El to make them my own too.” Eddie was starting to lose focus on the game, but he didn't mind that much.

“Yeah, yeah, good luck with that.” Steve hummed with a stretch of his tense shoulders.

Eddie drifted over to the counter. “I’ll win ‘em over,” he declared, leaning on an elbow and narrowing his eyes at Steve,” Won you over, and that was supposed to be the impossible part.”

Steve finally straightened up from his magazine,“ Oh? You think you’ve won me over?”

“You think I haven't?”

Eddie was even there on Tuesday. He'd mentioned the show was that night, and he had a whole drive up to Indy to make, but the rest of the band had to get let out of school before they'd head out. So, of course, he pulled that '71 Chevrolet into the parking lot right outside the store windows and set about killing time with the game that never seemed to get old.

He threw open the door, Steve greeted him with a familiar “Again?” and then he nosedived for the inspiration to kick off the day's questions. It all went how it usually did. Eddie would ask something, talking way too fast in convoluted phrases that Steve didn't even have any hope of figuring out. They were practically setting a routine.

And it might've bothered him more if it was someone else doing it, or someone doing it in a different way. If the game felt like it was about making Steve seem stupid. But it was obvious he wasn't supposed to get it. The joke wasn't “Steve Harrington is unintelligent.” The joke was that Eddie was being obnoxious and Steve was unable to walk away since he was the only one running the register.

He was “trapped in the clutches of capitalism” and “the bearer of lonesome responsibility” Eddie had said once when Steve asked how he was getting his kicks out of it.

It made the time pass by, at least. Eddie had already been running around and playing his game for over half an hour when he'd migrated back to the scary movie section. He hung around that part of the store most often, to no one's surprise.

That time he'd grabbed The Shining off the shelf and deemed it his latest victim (aside from Steve himself).

“How would you rate the special effects? Is the fake blood too runny or too bright or does it look pretty accurate? What about the madness- or even the violence itself? Does it look real enough to make someone like you squirm in your seat?”

“Don't know, don't care,” Steve said, pretty much automatically. Then his face scrunched up as he thought,” And I've seen real violence, I don't think I'd be squirming over something playing on a tv screen.”

Eddie's arms fell down and he rubbed his nose bridge. “Okay, come on. That one was a total bait pick. You're seriously telling me you haven't sat down to see the rivers of blood drown out the hotel's hallway?”

“Well, it sounds like to me you just spoiled the whole thing, so I guess I'll never need to.” Steve reasoned.

“Steve! That is not a movie-ruining giveaway and you need to watch some of these!”

“I watch some of 'em…”

Steve was getting grumbly when, just as Eddie was gearing up to demand a horror-movie-marathon or something in that vein, a customer walked in.

A high schooler. Even though there was still some time before classes let out. But it was Ashley Brahms and she was sort of known for finding ways to skip out at the end of the school day. She strode in under the bell, her purple sweater puffing around her hands where they pushed open on the handle of the door. She quickly noticed both Steve and Eddie being at the same place at the same time. Something to be considered an oddity in the days of Old Hawkins before its latest tussle with monsters.

Course, the common people didn't know how much had really changed.

So she just looked at the two of them. A slight wideness to her eyes as she took in the strange sight. “Huh, first time to see the twin victims together,” she commented. Quietly, almost under her breath. Something she was saying mostly to just herself as the glass door came to close behind her.

There was also that.

They became the “twin victims” to explain the scars. Everyone had figured it’d only be a matter of time before Steve got with a girl and she’d notice the massive expanse of newly traumatized tissue he'd collected over the last few weeks, so they started a story to excuse it. Said he was camped out in the woods with everyone during the whole Eddie-on-the-run thing, and they ran into a bear. A black bear, Dustin had insisted. Course, he “fought it off,” but not before it did some damage. They added that Eddie fought it with him too, seeing as he had the same scars, and it could only help his image to have nearly died protecting sweet girls like Nancy Wheeler and Robin Buckley.

Well, that was one rumor circulating around town. There was a second that started just after saying that they’d just gotten so drunk that they passed out and something more like a badger tore into them before they woke up, and the bear was just a coverup to make them seem cooler. Which was fair, seeing as they don’t really get bears anywhere in Indiana or most of the states around it. Plus, the point of the bear story was specifically for people to discredit it with a more truthful idea to make smaller rodents like what they'd told the hospital seem that much more likely.

But, surprisingly, there were a few faithful girls who would whisper about how even a bear migrated across some great distance for a taste of Steve Harrington. Which was a compliment. And probably should’ve boosted his ego a lot more than it actually did. It didn’t do much except remind him how uninterested he was in meaningless sex those days.

But that whole train of thought was way beside the point.

The point was, Steve and Eddie had sort of been tied together that way. In the eyes of public opinion, they were paired together as the reckless boys who went into the woods and got themselves fucked up before the earthquake. It was a fine cover story. But it did feel a little awkward just having some person say it like that.

Eddie pushed off of the counter and said he should probably head off. It was almost time to pick up his crew. Steve just gave him a wave as he went out the door, empty-handed. He never really rented anything, no matter how much time he spent asking fake questions.

Whatever. Eddie Munson's business was Eddie Munson's business. At least it made a couple of shifts go by faster when Steve was without Robin.

It was never about movies. There was never any intent from Eddie's side of things to check one out. It was about not being alone.

Eddie didn't want to go back to school yet, but he also didn't want to be alone. Sitting on his ass, waiting for something to happen to give him a reason again. He might've been going a little crazy, but there were a few times he was laying in that hotel bed, empty room because Wayne was still pulling overtime shifts, and he sort of missed the way he felt when everything was falling apart.

Not the bleeding out. That part didn't feel good. But everything leading up to it...

He was scared out of his mind. Thundering heartbeat and sweaty palms. Terror was at the forefront of every thought. But… there was purpose. He had something to do, something important. Something that mattered. People counting on him.

And in those minutes before the bats circled up, he'd have been lying if he said he didn't sort of want to laugh through some tears. It was a confusing blend of adrenaline that pumped through his bloodstream. But there was that tiny little part of it that felt good.

But it probably wasn't a good idea to linger on too much. Becoming an adrenaline junkie wasn't really a good life plan. As if that was even the only part of it that Eddie remembered fondly.

When the bell rang through the building, echoing into the tiny teacher's parking lot out the back, there was something else to think about. The sound just barely leaked beyond the school's walls, but it wasn't very long until the double doors were thrown open. His merry band of freaks poured out with backpacks slung over their shoulders and radiant smiles spread across their faces. Only took about five seconds of freedom for Bruce to shake Jeff by his shoulders and let out some kind of battle cry as they made their way over to Eddie.

The Corroded Coffin team was trailed by the young members of the wider Hellfire Club. They all circled up on the van and beat open hands against the outside until he climbed out. They were all hyped up and bursting with energy and excitement. Eddie almost felt bad for the teachers that had to deal with them towards the end of the day.

“Duuuuuude!” Gareth yelled, grabbing Eddie by the arm and yanking him the rest of the way out onto the asphalt.

“Duuuuuude!” Eddie responded with the same inflection.

“It's happening!” Gareth continued, wide-eyed like a kid on Christmas morning.

“I know it is!”

“Ahhhhhhhh!” he screamed with the biggest grin while Josie slung an arm over Gareth's shoulder and started yelling with him.

It was going to be one hell of a road trip on the way up to the concert, that was for sure. Eddie was close to accusing them of robbing a candy store and riding a sugar high the whole way. Well, the five members with tickets were smiley and sweet. Some others were a little more sour.

“It's so not fair,” Dustin said from the side. Grumbling. Standing between Mike, Lucas, and Will watching the older kids start to celebrate their plans for the night. The plans they didn't get to join in on.

To be fair, the freshmen weren't on the guest list for the evening. They hadn't really been invited, so sure, they had a little right to be grumbly. But, come on, it was more of a field trip for the band. It just so happened that every member of the band was also in Hellfire Club.

So they'd only been, like, halfway excluded.

“Hate to break it to you like this, but none of you kids even showed up to auditions. Much less make the band and scored an invite.”

Plus Eddie was considering this a little bit of a send-off before he buckled down and finished off the year to break for the graduation stage. And with Jeff, Gareth, Josie, and Bruce, he'd known them more than a couple of months.

He liked his little sheepies, yes. Didn't mean they got to come to a show on a school night with him. He didn't want to play babysitter with all his free time.

“Well, do you have concert money?” Jeff countered the kid's bad mood,” And not just the amount we paid in advance, you kids would be paying door prices if they even still have any left.”

“And it'd be rude not to pitch in for gas and road trip snacks,” Gareth added.

“And you'd need to get last-minute permission from all your parents. Cause I am not getting hit with a kidnapping charge after all the shit I just got off my record.” Eddie leveled the last of any complaints they might've had.

In the back of his mind, he wondered if there might be an opportunity for something with The Party. A closer show with a lot more notice. He'd keep his ear to the ground. But that night was not about palling around with the kids who almost watched him die. It was about getting away from all the shit for just a few hours.

“Grow up a little in time for the next one, and then we'll talk.” Gareth teased.

Mike only huffed when Jos told him that going green with envy wasn't a good color on him.

Will didn't have much dog in the fight. He was still new. Finding his footing. And Lucas didn't seem to be getting as much of a kick out of Dustin's play protests. He was probably more focused on getting back to Max's bedside than earnestly going to a rock show.

“I just said it wasn't fair.” Dustin bristled.

“Dusty, Dusty, you'll survive.” Eddie chastised him, his hand finding the boy's head of curls,” It's not even really your scene, lil' man. Study up until you stop wanting to change what I play in the van and maybe-”

“Who cares!” he was getting defensive. “Well, we're all going to hang out, and you should really be jealous of our plans!

Bruce was the only one that didn't really bite back his laugh. Eddie just nodded for them and started trying to turn them around. Point 'them back to the school so they could go, find their bikes, and head off for home. Behind him, the bandmates started climbing into his van.

“Send tonight's babysitter my condolences. And ask your folks to spring for a raise for the poor fucker, yeah?”

“Lucas, Will, you're our shining roses between the thorns! Don't forget that and get crabby like the other two!” Josie yelled, hanging out from the back door while Eddie ran to hop into the driver's seat.

“They are plenty crabby!” Mike argued. “They just act nice for you!”

“And we thank them for that.” Bruce agreed with the slam of Eddie's door,” See ya!”

Eddie only turned around long enough to promise “We'll tell you all about it and show off our merch tomorrow! Make sure you're all tucked in by bedtime!” before peeling off from the school.

The boys were still yelling after all of them. And they erupted in laughter in the van as Eddie made for the highway. Josie was fanning her face, saying she didn't want to laugh so hard she cried and ruined her eyeliner so early in the night. Jeff was Eddie's co-captain in the passenger seat, twisted around to look at the other three in the back and picking which tape they were going to begin the drive up on. Bruce mused about poor Mr. Hank bartending at the hideout. Having to make it through the night without his usual Tuesday entertainment. They all laughed and agreed he was probably going to make some comment the next week about not really missing his usual headache while they were out of town.

“It was weird, Rob. We were just having our usual banter-”

“Still getting used to the idea that you and Eddie have “usual banter” when I'm not around.” the girl commented from her perch on the counter.

“Whatever.” Steve moved on,” It was just any other day, he showed up to annoy me - had been doing so for a little while - and then Ashley walked in. Like twenty minutes before school let out.”

“Brahms?” Robin quirked her head to the side.

“Yeah, obviously Brahms. And she just paused, looked at us, and whispered under her breath 'Oh, look at that. First time seeing the twin victims in the same place. That's new.' Or whatever. And then Eddie turned tail and left me alone to fend for myself. I swear she was just silently staring at me the entire time she pretended to browse.” Steve feigned a shiver,” And she only got out of here right before I needed to close shop for a few to run and pick you up.”

Robin put on a big pout,“ Did scary Ashley give you the heebie-jeebies?”

“Ugh. You could at least have a little sympathy for me. Turns out I'm a 'twin victim' now. A victim. They made me sound like some weak pushover.”

She could only shrug,“ We knew our story would run wild through the rumor mill and probably change a little. Word of mouth is hardly a sure thing to bet on.”

“Fine. I'm still mad about it.”

“What were you hoping for? Something more like Steve 'The Bear Slayer' Harrington?”

“No. But being twin victims with Eddie Munson was not my idea of a happy ending.”

“The unforeseen consequences of postponing the end of the world.” Robin hummed to herself. “You were looking for a change of pace with how people usually regarded you anyway. I think this is an opportunity-”

But Robin's thought was quickly swept away when the bell above the door rang. Immediately, she started to slip off of the counter and welcome the customer, but then she saw that it was Vickie. Her Vickie - well, not exactly her's - but Vickie Nelson. And the girl walked in like a vision, backlit by the sun streaming in through the windows. Her short red hair sticking out from her face in its cute little curled-up-at-the-ends sort of way.

Steve was still just beside her, but she almost forgot. Because Vickie was there. Smiling. Cheeks dusted in a red-tinted flush. Her teeth just barely peeked out as she tried to control her grinning lips. Big doe eyes looking up at her with a pretty shade of blue.

“Hey, Robin,” she said as she came closer. Stepping up to the counter that separated the two of them.

Okay, Robin. Don't ramble. Try to focus and keep it together.

“Hey. Hey, Vickie. So you found where I make a living.”

That was a dumb, dumb thing to say. Why couldn't she think of anything cool to say? Why was she so woefully understocked on witty one-liners? Was it too last-minute to ask God to throw a couple down for her?

“Well, yeah.” Vickie nodded slowly,” You did mention it on Saturday.”

“Right. Of course, I did. Sounds like me. Always talking about my job with my bestest buddy.” She elbowed Steve with more force than she was trying to, speaking over his low grunt,“ Welcome to the video store. The Family Video store, to be specific.”

It just kept getting worse.

Vickie looked a little put-off. Maybe not exactly displeased by the welcome, but more like it wasn't what she was expecting. Maybe it wasn't what she was looking for after showing up.

She tried to cover up her expression of slight confusion. “Thanks? I'll, uh, I guess I'll take a look around…?”

Vickie had just gotten around the corner of their rom-com display when Steve grabbed Robin's arm and yanked her a few more feet away. “You're crashing and burning, Buckley,” he whispered behind his hand.

“Don't say that to me right now!” her hushed tones came over fast and panicked, just dampened enough to not be overheard. “She surprised me! I haven't planned for her ambushing me here! What do I do? What if she wants to check out a tape and I have to cash her out and then I accidentally touch her hand in a way that's too much or not enough and she figures it out-”

“Chill out.” Steve's hands squeezed tight on Robin's shoulders.

She didn't have a game plan, and she was already spinning out of control. She wanted a strategy and to have it all figured out before she did anything, but Steve was starting to think she was only getting in her own way. He took a quick glance at Vickie before making his own decision.

Something about momma birds having to push their babies out of the nest to make them fly.

Steve shoved her away so they weren't so crowded into each other's faces. “Uh, hey, Robin?” he said, loud enough to reach across the store.

“Yeah?”

“Don't you think it's time for your fifteen?”

“What? I just got here-” She didn't get the hint until Steve's eyes widened to a worrisome degree, and she realized he wasn't blinking. “Oh. Oh, yeah. Yeah, I could take it now.” She finally got on the right track and started to walk back toward the counter.

But then she turned back around to him,“ You good here?”

He could've almost rolled his eyes. “We're still a downtown deadzone. I'll be fine.” Steve told her, unwilling to let her talk her way out of it.

“Okay. Okay.”

Vickie was back beside the register by the time Robin turned away from her co-worker and started shrugging off her work vest,“ So, you're getting off for a few?”

“Yeah. Fifteen-minute break. Gotta take one every shift. Sometimes two if it's a long one.” Shut up, Robin. She got that part.

She smiled wider and Vickie let her eyes wander a little to the side,“ Well, since you're free, if you don't already have plans for-”

“I don't.” Robin sounded a little too eager. “No plans. I'm free for anything. Anything that takes fifteen minutes or less. Obviously.”

Short statements and strict posture. All her effort trying not to ramble through run-on sentences before she really planned where they were going was making Robin sound snippy. And she didn't want to sound snippy. But it felt like the only two modes she had were the hyperaware quips or the mindless rambles.

If she and Steve could just fuse together and even out their personalities already, she have let the Steve half take control for that part. But that science fiction dream wasn't a reality yet. She didn't have the option to step back and let someone else carry the responsibility of her love life.

She just had to try on her own. Win or lose, it was going to come down to her. And that was scary. Really, really scary. But at least Vickie sort of seemed to be helping out. Making the first move.

“Okay. We could go on a stroll down the boardwalk then? In-In case you need to stretch out your legs?”

Vickie reached her hand up and tucked a stray curl behind her ear. Robin had the passing thought that she wished she could've been the one to do it. But, more importantly, she needed to accept the offer.

“Yeah. Totally. If you're cool- I mean, if you wanted to get a movie first then we could do that and then-”

“Not really. I more so just came for the company.”

Was that…?

“Cool. Uh- yeah. We can go on a walk then.” Robin had to get out of there. “I'll be back, Steve!” she called over her shoulder, following behind Vickie as she pulled back the door.

“Yeah, I know you will. Now get out if you aren't going to stock shelves.”

And that comment felt as close to a proper send-off as she was going to get. Robin waved behind her without looking. Trying to focus on the girl in front of her, and just trusting that her best friend would watch her back while she stepped up to the high dive.

What? So, she picked up a couple of competitive swim references? Big deal.

The two girls stepped out onto the sidewalk together. Letting the door close behind them with the quiet jingle of the bell. Most of the businesses on the strip were still pretty empty. The Downtown Deadzone, Steve hadn't been wrong. It was a pretty apt name for the time being.

They walked alongside the street. Robin on the outside, between Vickie and the road. Passing by the arcade and its vacant parking lot. The laundromat across the way. The newspaper office was back behind them by the sandwich shop and general store. Further down sat a pizza parlor on the corner and a local butcher. A UPS store. A hair salon.

They were all these little points of contention for the small town. Spots that used to be lively and bustling, but faded from view when the mall opened up. And then that went out in a blaze, so their downtown came back to life. Like a little shock from the defibrillator. And then it all died down again. Because the world ended for like forty-seven seconds, haven't you heard? Most of the city got scared back into their homes.

So it was quiet. Almost felt private, despite being on a city street. Cars used to pass by these buildings all the time. But at that moment, none of them were.

“Thanks for stealing me away from work for a bit.” Robin eventually said. They'd both gone a little quiet after they left the store. Maybe Vickie hadn't planned it all out beyond getting Robin all to herself.

“Well, you were going to get the break anyway,” she excused,” With or without me.”

Robin curled the hand in her pocket into a tight fist. She told herself she'd only get so many chances. She had to be a little bit brave with some of them.

“I definitely prefer it this way, though.“ she said.

Was the water steady enough? Was her taped-together boat going to capsize or survive the current? Was she going to be ripped to pieces by the rapids? Lose, to the rushing river, all the parts of herself she'd barely scraped together enough to hope with?

“I do too.” Vickie returned.

Maybe she wasn't. Maybe there weren't any rapids at all. And it was more like a smooth summer lake. Like Lover's Lake, when it was being used as an actual date spot and not as a hub between planes of existence.

“Well-” Vickie started to backtrack,” I stole you away from your job, so you aren't doing the same thing for me - I didn't really have anything better to do right now in comparison. Not to say that I just see this as something to do over having nothing to do and that's all - and if I did have a job, I'd be more than happy to let you convince me to take an early break!”

When Vickie looked back at Robin, she was blushing. Furiously.

“Sorry. My point is, I prefer spending my time this way too. With you, over not with you.” She paused, rucking in a gulp of air before she dare asked,” You know?”

“Yeah. I know.” Vickie's face softened in response,” I agree. I agree to your agreeing with me. Because I've started liking spending my time with you too. A lot.”

“Good. I feel bad, I'm taking up all your time bumbling on about technicalities-”

“Don't. I'm trying really hard not to become a runaway train of words too.” Robin assured her,” But it's really cute when you do it. I feel like I sound like a skipping record when I really get going. Buzzing around and jumping between my sentences before I've really finished any of them. I can really become a mess that's hard to nail down or keep up with.” Robin laughed through her words at herself,” I was just talking to Steve about it the other day. We were saying it'd be good for the both of us to split the difference between the two of us. I could take some of his cool, suave, impressive traits- and he'd get my dashing good looks. Obviously.”

Robin was anticipating a laugh. Or a chuckle, or a giggle, or some kind of sound to tell her that her comedic timing wasn't off. It was only when she didn't get any that she turned her gaze back to Vickie. To see the girl watching her. Seriously. Eyes full and attentive.

“I don't think you need to split any difference with Steve Harrington.”

Wow. How was Robin going to survive Vickie saying something like that?

She felt her chest swell up. Warmth settled into her lungs and she wondered if she was breathing right. If her face was about to go blue because of the short circuit making her switch to manual efforts. Every step, every breath, every blink, every move, every beat of her heart was pulling her attention.

Did she need to pinch herself and make sure she wasn't dreaming?

“He's just better at the whole 'talking to pretty girls without digging yourself into a deep hole' thing than I am. Sometimes I want to steal that skill of his.”

Okay, she might've been focusing a little too much on the blinking part, because that was more than she meant to say. It was more direct than she intended. More outwardly sapphic than she planned.

But it was out there. And it was up to Vickie how it landed.

“Pretty girls?” she asked,“ I'm a pretty girl you need to worry about impressing?”

Somewhere in the back of her mind, a more scared Robin was warning her it was a trap. That it could all go wrong. But louder than that little version of herself, there was a newer version pushing her to go for it. A Robin she didn't know she could be until recent months.

So Robin slowed her stride and she said to the sweet little redhead next to her,“ Would it be bad if I said you were?”

“No.” Vickie spun around on her heels to look back. And there was this look that Robin had never seen before. Never been the recipient of. It was hard to define, but it was so, so special.

She stepped a little closer, daring herself to get to that big question she'd been advised to ask.

“Vickie, where is this-“

But before she could get the rest of it out, before she could ask where that thing between them was going, her lips were stilled by Vickie's. She had suddenly rushed in on Robin to steal a kiss. Edging onto her toes, eyes closed, hands on Robin's arms. It wasn't much more than a peck, but for Robin, it stopped time.

It was her first kiss.

Her whole world turned over in an instant.

And, when that instant passed, Vickie stepped back onto her heels. She opened back up her eyes and seemed to take a second to realize what she just did. She let go of Robin's arms while the girl was still love-struck and dazed. Mind slowly working over the incredible news that being kissed by Vickie carried. And then Vickie started panicking.

“Oh my god-” her eyes were wide and her mouth fell open, her jaw shaking just the slightest,” I-I am so sorry, that was-“

But then Robin kissed her.

Deeper. Sweeter. Longer.

To stop her from regretting or retracting what she just did.

Robin cradled Vickie's face in her hands. Feeling her burning cheeks on her fingertips. Reaching back to just barely touch the little wisps of her hair where it came untucked. Their noses pressed beside one another's. Vickie leaned her head over, and they both heard the little plastic clack of her earrings.

Robin swept the girl up in the moment as they turned further around the corner of the building at the end of the strip. And Vickie pushed harder back against her lips. Soon onto her toes again, despite Robin ducking her head down to make them the same height. Vickie's arms wrapped around her shoulders, wrists crossing behind her neck as the two of them came closer and closer together.

Robin's second kiss was pretty great too.

It was amazing. It tasted like strawberry chapstick. It smelled like powdery floral perfume. It felt like the sun on her skin and Vickie in her hands.

And Robin had never been so thankful that an earthquake cleared half the city to make it all possible.

Nancy Wheeler could feel each of her limbs hanging heavily off her body. Every inch of her was exhausted. Her eyelids kept trying to fall, her eye bags had to weigh almost ten pounds, and soon enough her eyeballs were going to burn so bad she'd entertain stupid, senseless, insensitive thoughts like “I'm almost jealous of all the Vecna victims” because at least none of their eyes had the ability to hurt anymore.

Yeah, she was sort of reaching her limit.

Sleep still wasn't coming easy. If she managed to fall asleep at all, it was restless, and she was back up, covered in sweat, after just a few hours. It was wearing her thin.

A person needs sleep. Especially when that person likes to usually have a good attitude about things. Or, at least, when that person likes to seem like the kind of person who has a good attitude about things.

In any news, Nancy was in a bad mood and feeling the full brunt of so many sleepless nights layered on top of the stress of responsibility hanging over her head.

She was starting to run out of hope. But, the one thing she knew was that she was tense. She was freaked out, and on edge every time she started to doze off. Even more so every time she snapped back up. So, her tactic - since the hot baths and counting sheep, weren't working at all - was to try something that might not have been relaxing, but shouldn't let her stay all tensed up.

Maybe something funny would help?

That was the latest theory, at least.

So she decided to swing by Family Video before she went home. To find a comedy she could push into the tiny tv in her bedroom and watch on low volume until her eyes finally closed again. Honestly, maybe she was going to be so delirious by the time it happened that it'd be funnier than anything she'd ever seen.

She pulled her car into the lot between two others. One was Steve's and the other looked a lot like the car she saw Vickie drive just a few days before. She really needed to get her faculties straightened out if she thought she was seeing the same car all over town all of a sudden. What was that called? Synchronicity?

Nancy climbed out of the station wagon with a huff, brushing back her bangs from her face and setting her mind to its task: find a funny movie, say 'Hi' to Steve and Robin, get home, make it through the next few hours, and crash.

She really, really wanted to crash already.

“Oh. Hey, Nance.” Steve greeted her. A friendly face, if not a little surprised, as she walked in the entrance.

“Hey, Steve,” she responded politely,“ Got anything good around here?”

“Well, that depends. What're you looking for?”

“A comedy. Something funny. Light-hearted.” And something in the back of her mind said she needed a reason. An excuse. Something to blame her need on. “The Wheelers are setting a new family tradition. Movie night.”

“Ah. After all the running around, your folks decided they wanted to keep an eye on you and Mike on a… Tuesday night?” Steve's voice peaked at the end. Like he just thought about how Tuesdays were a bit of an odd day to start something like that. Fridays or Saturdays would've been the most obvious pick. Obviously, Nancy.

She resisted the urge to rub away at her tired eyes and just shrugged,” My dad said he got the idea from a guy at work yesterday and told me to pick something up this evening.”

“Fair.” he nodded and eyed different parts of the store while he thought,” Okay, moving on, so we're also looking for something age appropriate for Holly…”

“Maybe,” Nancy grumbled, thinking that a flick more Holly-themed might just be a drag to put herself through.

Steve smiled and laughed a little,“ Well, I'm assuming she's invited to the family movie night?”

“Of course. Duh. She gets to come. She just- uh- she falls asleep like five minutes into anything on the tv after seven. So if it's a little less kiddish, that's fine. Don't need cartoons to cater to her or anything. Just… something funny. For a change.”

“Okay. Sounds like we'll be checking out this section of tapes then. You guys want something new or one that's been out for a while?”

“It's fine if it's been on the shelves. Maybe something with some nostalgia would strike the right note.”

“Alright…”

Steve sorted through some of the tapes for a few minutes. Picking one up and weighing it against another, offering Nancy a couple that seemed to fit the bill. Eventually, they settled on Freaky Friday. Steve walked them over to get her checked out. Punching in keys on the computer and opening the register. He was handing Nancy back her change when she realized something.

“So, where's Robin? Thought you two said you were pretty much always on the clock together.”

“Oh, we are-”

“Is she not working today?”

“No, she is-”

And then the bell behind her rang. With a glance over her shoulder, Nancy found Robin. Right next to Vickie. So that was Vickie's car out front.

Good to know she wasn't losing it.

And Nancy couldn't tell why she felt more annoyed than she did five minutes before. But she did.

The two of them strolled in together. Looking at each other and giggling with bright red cheeks. Maybe she was just in that kind of bad mood where people in good moods seem that much more irritating. Maybe she just didn't have the bandwidth to have a good attitude or pleasant disposition anymore. Maybe she just needed to get some goddamn sleep so she could be a good person again.

When Robin tore her eyes away from the girl at her side, she finally saw Nancy standing there at the counter.

“Hi, Nancy!” she greeted.

“There she is. Just getting back from her break.” Steve finished his thought.

“Ah. Makes sense.” Nancy responded. Trying for as much energy as she could muster at the moment. “Hi, Robin.”

“Picking out a flick for the night?” she wondered,“ Hosting a get-together?"

“The Wheelers are going under house arrest for at least… “ Steve checked the back of the tape case before handing it over with Nancy's receipt,” Ninety-Five minutes tonight.”

Robin nodded wisely,“ Ah. A family movie night. Supplied by the Family Video store. Adds up.”

“Yup. We're a pretty sensible bunch.”

Vickie didn't wait very long to chime in,“ Anyway, I better be off.”

Steve was just starting to ask,“ Are you sure you don't want something?" when she insisted otherwise.

“I'm good. Have a good shift guys.”

“Thanks! See you tomorrow?” Robin wondered, a sort of soft lilt to her voice as she did.

And Vickie glowed as she agreed,“ Sounds good.” Sparing just a second to extend the goodbye to the other girl in the store,” Bye, Nancy.”

“Bye, Vickie.”

Nancy returned the sentiment. It would've been bitchy not to. She wasn't entirely sure why she felt the need to remind herself of that before she did. Maybe she really, really was at her limits with her no-sleep thing.

But she was still attentive enough to catch the way Robin and Steve eyed each other. Like they were speaking without words. She sort of felt excluded. But immediately after, Robin shook out her shoulders and looked back at her.

“So, what's on the night's docket, Nance?”

She held up her purchase without further delay.

“Ooh! Freaky Friday, I haven't rewatched that one in forever.” Her mind ran for a moment before she continued,“ You know, as unrealistic as the whole prospect is, we see insane stuff so often enough that I feel the need to worry. About being in that spot myself. All the money in the world wouldn't be enough to make me okay with switching bodies with my mom.”

She leaned against the counter beside Nancy. Probably envisioning the chaos Miss Theresa would wreck spending a day in her shoes. Steve wasn't far behind in entertaining her hypothetical. Equally displeased by the idea.

“Agreed.”

“Obviously it'd be even weirder for you, mister.” she reached forward to shove his arm. “Mrs. Harrington in your teenage boy jeans? That's gross. But, more similarly, what about body swapping with your dad?”

That was all it took for Steve's whole face to twist up in a cringe,“ Ugh, please don't ever put that idea in my head ever, ever again.”

“What? It's a fair question! Keeps the stakes the same, anatomically, I mean. Don't you think so, Nance?” Robin looked to her for backup.

“It's reasonable enough.”

“See! And what about you?”

“Me?”

“Yeah, you. Getting cursed with the big switcharoo with your mom. Sound like the worst day ever or just kind of an inconvenience?”

Nancy let out a weak, pitiful, awkward sort of huff,“ I think I'd rather fight the demobats again than watch my dad lean in for a kiss with his morning coffee.”

“Oh my god, I wasn't even thinking about that part.” Robin practically squealed. Diving her face into her hands to try and block out the idea. The sight made Nancy laugh something a little bit more real.

“You know,” Steve posed,” Now that we're all unpacking this, maybe that movie belongs in the horror section. Nance, want to find something that actually counts as a comedy?”

“I think I'll just take my chances with this one. Thanks.” Nancy smiled,“ So what movie did Vickie get?”

“None. She just kept me company on my break for a little bit.”

“Oh. Sounds nice.”

Then, from behind her, Nancy heard the doorbell ring again. Steve smiled past her and welcomed the customer that just came in. It was some adult she didn't recognize. Whatever. She got what she'd come for anyway.

“You know, I should probably head out too. Have a good one.”

“You too. Hope the movie's good!” Robin called after her as she backed up to the door.

“I hope so too. Bye.”

Nancy waved and pushed herself outside. Turning around and tossing her tape into the passenger seat when she got into the car.

She was having a bit of a time putting a word to it. How she was feeling. Whether it was better or worse after coming to the store. Maybe it was more like a rollercoaster with a couple of lifts and dips to her mood. Maybe she was just stuck feeling all muddled in her emotions until she got some rest. Maybe this was her new normal.

She threw that thought away and turned the keys in the ignition.

Her current state lasting much longer? That sounded like the real nightmare.

It took a little while for the store to clear back out. But, once Steve knew they were alone, he couldn't very well help the fact that he had to know what happened when Robin and Vickie went on their little walk down the street. He say the way she absolutely glowed when they walked back in together. Steve had never been good at waiting for what he wanted, and what he wanted was an update on what was possibly the first lesbian love story blooming in their small town.

“Spill.” That was all he needed to say. Demanding tone laced with so much pure excitement it couldn't come across even a little bit mean. There was so much hope and optimism.

And in the most surprising turn of events, Robin had the ability to live up to that optimism.

But, she still liked to tease.

“A girl doesn't just kiss and tell.”

Steve almost got mad. He had just enough time to start gearing up to push and insist otherwise when it clicked for him.

“No way.”

His best friend looked back up at him, a smile sitting brightly on her lips, cheeks bunched up at the apples, looking just about as happy as she could possibly get. And she started to spill. Going over every detail and the way it lit her up. The way it sent a buzz through her whole body. Made things start to slip into place. Some things at least.

Robin, by some miracle, wasn't going to die unkissed anymore.

And they laughed, and he cheered her on. She told him that about five minutes after that first and second kiss, where she was gushing to Vickie and asking if it was okay to tell him it happened. She couldn't keep such a big thing from her most favorite person in the world. And Vickie giggled in her sweet little Vickie way. Then she gave her permission to talk about them with Steve Harrington, as long as they kept a lid on things. Which Robin absolutely understood and agreed with.

But it meant so much to not only have that perfect moment between them, but to know she'd have just one other person she could talk about it with. Telling Steve that she got to kiss Vickie Nelson made it real. It happened. Just down the road, around the corner of an empty building. Recklessly out in broad daylight, but luckily out of view of anyone else.

Just secret enough and just real enough.

She did mention it was a little stupid to have let it happen right there in the open. She wasn't going to get away with that sort of play again. Probably, at least. But Steve said he was happy she got to experience a little bit of some classic teenager, hormonal, loss-of-thought, stupid-in-love, impulsivity. She deserved some.

Just one taste of getting caught up in the moment and letting a dream take you right to the edge.

He kept saying stupid romantic stuff like that. Maybe under different circumstances, Robin would have walked that back and brought it around Steve's love life. But for that day, the moment was hers. Her love life was the topic of conversation. And not in just the length of a few wistful sentences. Not of only wishes and small limits of hope.

There was substance. There was something to say. There was a future to think about, and events to be excited about, and so much to discover for herself. So much to experience and feel and finally know for herself.

Robin's love life was something to talk about. Fully. And that was so much to have for the first time.

Steve was the first person Robin got to even have honest conversations about crushes with. And on April 8th, 1986, she got to tell him about her first kiss. And the one that came after. And all the others she was looking forward to having.

At least, she got to tell him all about it until the next customer stopped by. Then it was time to get back to the work that paid them.

The van hauling Corroded Coffin up north spent about three hours on the highway before they hit Indy. They didn't even have an hour to spare before the show was set to start. So they all sped and clambered around for food in the city right before they ran over to the Market Square Arena. Proudly displaying their tickets at the entrance and getting let inside for the big event they'd been looking forward to for weeks.

And before Ozzy was set to take to the stage, there was Metallica as a special guest. The opening act. Eddie couldn't really explain why he screamed as loud as he did when the end of “Battery” turned into the beginning of “Master of Puppets”. The guys didn't know it was a song he'd sort of bet his life on twelve days before. But it was a fan favorite, so at least the crowd ramping up around them helped distract from the fact that he might've gotten just a little emotional during the instrumental.

And through the rest of their set and into Ozzy running out, they yelled and sang along, and jumped and jostled against each other. Bumping arms into sides and knocking shoulders into their neighbors. Sticking out tongues and banging their heads. Howling into each other's ears, and still unable to drown out the amps and speakers buzzing on full blast.

Each person fanning the flames of everyone else's burning energy and excitement.

It was a rock show of epic proportions. It was adrenaline and sweat and life mixing together in a cauldron and being thrown all over the place in visceral ecstasy. It was a dizzying frenzy of pure uncensored existence.

Or, halfway uncensored, at least.

There was this moment. It was during “Killer of Giants”. Eddie stopped swinging his hair forward and whipping it back. He slowed down long enough to look back at the people next to him. Jeff, Gareth, Bruce, and Josie. They looked younger than he remembered.

Younger than he thought they looked before he faced everything he faced.

It was almost like an out-of-body experience. He just stopped moving and watched them have fun. There was so much joy just coming off of them in waves. Like that show, that moment, was the only thing on their minds. And Eddie thought he felt like that before. Even just minutes before when he let himself get swept up in the event. But… there was also this other part to him now.

The part that's seen death, seen people narrowly evade it, seen the world around him when he thought he was done. Seen the look in Dustin Henderson's eyes when the boy thought it was over for him.

And that stuff changes a person.

Eddie Munson could still have fun. Could still put in the effort to pretend like the world was as simple as he thought it was before Spring Break. But there was also this gnawing at the back of his mind that reminded him otherwise. That it wasn't still so simple. And he had to push it down.

Censoring himself.

Which was weird in some ways. Because Eddie Munson hasn't censored much of himself since he was a middle schooler. Since he decided he would take the title of “town freak” and wear it with pride. Since he decided anyone who cared about his bad reputation wasn't worth having around.

Eddie said pretty much whatever he wanted to say. But he couldn't say some things.

Supernatural trauma joined the short list of “things we don't talk about” that he held quietly behind his ribs. Secrets cradled gently in the space next to his heart. 'Course, he got to talk about it with The Party.

He was keeping a few other secrets too. Ones that only really had one or two other keepers. So the Upside Down wasn't the smallest whisper he had to his name.

Jeff was cheering when he turned and saw Eddie processing. He must've been thinking on all of it for a while. His eyebrows creased together. And Jeff asked him, quiet under all the rumble of “Iron Man” being covered on stage and the audience's ecstatic reaction,” Hey. You okay, man?”

His hand found Eddie's shoulder. Clamping down with enough pressure to remind Eddie where he was.

“Yeah, man. Just got thinking about stuff for a minute.”

“Do you need to get some air?” Jeff pointed his thumb over his shoulder towards the exit.

“Nah… nah. I just- things were crazy you know.” Eddie decided that was a good enough way of putting it. “Just appreciating that we all made it here after everything.”

Jeff dropped his head like the idea was ridiculous,” Even if you croaked in that hospital bed we woulda made Wayne come up with us on your ticket and bring your ashes with or something. We wouldn'ta let you miss this.”

Eddie reached over and shoved Jeff back by the chest.

“Shut up. And thanks.”

“Of course.”

The song faded out from the band. And then Ozzy brought the mic up to his lips. Throwing his head back as he bellowed out through the stadium “ALL ABOARD!” followed by his wicked, throaty cackle.

Jeff's eyes lit up. “Oh my god! Fuck yes!” His mouth fell open as he wrapped an arm across Eddie's shoulders and turned his attention back on the performance. “Come on, dude!”

And Eddie was pulled along with the joy. With the excitement. With the electricity.

“Crazy! But that's how it goes!” he sang along with the crowd.

Deciding to try and get lost back into the haze of the regular people again.

#ROBBIE'S GOT A GIRLFRIEND!!! CAN WE GET SOME APPLAUSE??? #Yes. This is going to be a Ronance fic. I promise. #This is just a little bit of first love fun right now #But as cute as this getting together scene was - I promise the Robin and Nancy one is going to be at least 5x better #And there's going to be come major BIG bonding and conflicts next chap #Big big stuff brewing in the studio I say #Now - I need you all to hold my hand and look me in the eyes - we are not going to Villianize Nancy. You hear? #She is a complex character. A teenager. She is allowed to be complicated and have feelings and make choices. #And they deserve to be understood. #I'm going to need y'all to remember that because if I see any Nancy Wheeler Slander I will have to fight on her behalf #And the setlists for Metallica and Ozzy Osbourne were referenced from Setlist.fm btw! #Steve Harrington #Eddie Munson #Steddie #Steveddie #Steve x Eddie #Nancy Wheeler #Robin Buckney #Ronance #Robin x Nancy #The Fruity Four #Stranger Things #Stranger Things 4 #Stranger Things 4 spoilers #Stranger Things 4 volume 2 spoilers

[apuckishwit]

Making Room

Steve never gets into DnD.

Not even after Eddie convinces him to join a one-shot over one Christmas when the kids are all back from college and jobs and far-flung adventures. He's not a jerk about it or anything. He sits and makes a character with his boyfriend and he does his best with the role-playing and he only asks Dustin for help with the dice seven or eight times (and everyone had promised to give him an even dozen before they gave him shit about it, so it was fine). It's fine. He's not mad that he spent the time doing it with Eddie and the kids (some of them taller than him now, in spitting distance of college degrees and first apartments and jobs and spouses and lives, but they'll always be kids to him).

But afterwards he kisses Eddie and says it really and truly isn't for him, sorry babe.

And that's okay.

When he and Robin are scavenging through yet another thrift store for furniture and dishes and lamps for the apartment she and Nancy are getting in Indianapolis (he's so sad that her room in the little house he shares with Eddie is going back to being a guest room, but he's so damn happy that she and Nance have stopped dancing around each other...and they're only moving about half an hour away, he'll still see her all the time), and he spots an impractically long desk/table, onviously custom-built, with an absurd number of drawers and compartments built into it, he buys it immediately. He wrestles it into Eddie's van that they borrowed for the day, and smiles apologetically when Robin has to hold like three boxes on her lap. He gets it into their dining room while Eddie's at work, graciously gifting their own table to Robin and Nancy, and it's worth all the hassle (and the fact that one end of the table pokes about a foot into the living room space) when Eddie comes home to something big enough for even his most complicated campaign maps and with plenty of storage for all his dice and miniatures and source books.

And sturdy enough for Eddie's most...enthusiastic...thanks, they find out that night.

Steve never gets into DnD.

But every time Hellfire (whatever incarnation of Hellfire it is, be it the Hawkins crew or some of the guys from the little record shop Eddie works at in town, or some combination) meets up for a game, they get used to Eddie yelling, "Stevie! Evens or odds?" everytime a situation calls for a luck die. They learn that complimenting the snacks Steve sets out will sometimes get them advantage on a roll. They watch Eddie snag Steve's wrist as he passes in or out of the dining room and get him to roll a D20 for various and random reasons. Steve always obliges, before drifting back to the couch with a beer or a slice of pizza and whatever basketball or baseball game is on.

Steve never gets into DnD.

But sometimes Eddie spreads newspapers over the Campaign Table (TM) and sets pots of paint and rows of miniatures out, and he and Steve sit together for a few hours, Steve slapping on the basecoats with a single pot of white, gray, or black and Eddie going to town on the details while they chat about their day, playing footsie under the table or stealing kisses while they wait for something to dry.

"Babe! I need a name for the friendly barkeep who knows more than he seems!"

"Carl."

"He's a half-orc!"

"Those are the big green guys, right?"

"Yeah!"

"Hmmm. Big Carl."

"Perfect!"

Steve never gets into DnD. But he loves Eddie, and he loves how into DnD Eddie is. So he makes room in his life for this thing that Eddie loves.

***

Eddie never gets into sports.

Like, objectively he understands that some people enjoy running around getting all sweaty, trying to keep some kind of ball away from other people and make it go into some kind of receptacle. And he certainly appreciates the view of some of those people in tight little shorts.

Particularly Steve.

Like honestly? If it wouldn't get him labeled a total creep (and they weren't so careful about giving anyone a reason to question the assumption that they're just two young friends living together to save money until they find respectable women to marry)...he'd park his van out by the little middle school where Steve teaches gym and coaches basketball and baseball every day during his lunch break, just to watch his boyfriend run the mile with his students in those shorts that hug the muscles of his thighs just right.

But he doesn't like sports apart from the strictly prurient interest he has in watching Steve wear sports-appropriate clothes.

He tries. He wants to know just what it is that keeps Steve glued to the TV when his favorite teams are playing, wants to understand why Steve yells and groans and jumps up with wild cheers, spilling popcorn all over the living room floor. He just...doesn't get it. Steve tries to explain March Madness to him one year and it makes no more sense than when Wayne tried to when Eddie was a kid. Eventually he just shrugs, kisses Steve's nose, and goes back to petting through his boyfriend's hair with a, sorry, baby, it's not for me.

And that's okay.

He gets up early the week Steve is overseeing baseball tryouts, to make sure his boyfriend has a travel mug of coffee fixed just the way he likes it, and a good breakfast waiting for him when he gets out of the shower. Steve is unquestionably the cook in their relationship, but Young Eddie ate a lot of breakfast for dinner over the years and Adult Eddie makes damn good pancakes, omelettes, and French toast.

Eddie never gets into sports.

But he gets Lucas to break down exactly what kind of notes and stats Steve will be keeping track of and draws up a template "character sheet" for baseball players, spending an hour at the local library laboriously making copies with their cantankerous mimeograph machine.

He sure as shit never gets up at the crack of dawn to go running around the neighborhood the way Steve does...but on days when it starts raining or snowing halfway through Steve's run, he'll drag himself out of bed and throw some towels in the dryer, so they're nice and warm when Steve comes back inside.

Eddie never gets into sports.

But he takes every overtime shift he can for a month, so he can take Steve to Chicago for his twenty-fifth birthday to see the Bulls play. The seats aren't great or anything, and it's noisy as fuck, crowded as fuck, and he has no idea why his boyfriend is losing his mind every time that Jordan guy so much as touches the ball...but Steve's eyes are sparkling, the color is high in his cheeks, and when they get back to their hotel that night, they've barely closed the door before Steve is shoving him against it, devouring his mouth.

"Hey Eds, Ohio State or Georgia Tech?"

"For what?"

"I'm doing my brackets for the pool I've got with Hopper and Lucas!"

"Um, whoever's in red!"

"Ohio State it is, thanks babe!"

Eddie never gets into sports. But that's okay. He loves Steve, and he loves how happy Steve is when he's playing, or coaching, or running (God help him, he fell in love with someone who gets up at six am to run. Without anything chasing him.) So he makes room in his life for this thing that Steve loves.

Because certainly, love grows in shared passions and matching interests. But it also flourishes in the carefully tended space you make just for the things that make your person happy...even if it's just not for you.

#steddie #stranger things #stranger things fic #steve harrington #eddie munson #my wriitng #I dunno i was just feeling soft

[omartinyosef]

ST5 POTENTIAL SPOILERS!!!

GUYS I FOUND THIS ON REDDIT AND ACTUALLY IT'S QUITE INTERESTING

ST5 Leaks/Fleaks

Gen Plot

Season picks up briefly where we left off in 1986 before jumping into either late 1987 or early 1988. The season is contained entirely in apocalyptic Hawkins. Things with the government are shaky. Owens doesn't appear in the beginning of the season and it's unclear if he's returning, but Ellen Stinson is the new Owens. Hawkins is like a combination of the UD and Kamchatka.

Labyrinths/Mazes being important to both the supernatural plot and the interpersonal relationships. They're inherently linked.

Two songs to be featured are 'Listen to Your Heart' and 'Alone,' both of which were apparently foreshadowed in a previous conversation between Hopper and Joyce, similar to how Hopper's "I'm the puppet, you're the master" to Joyce in S3 basically foreshadowed Eddie's 'Master of Puppets' in S4.

S1 and 2 scenes being referenced are "Nancy and Mike's conversation in the bathtub" and "Hopper + Lando Calrissian"

Lots of importance in COLOR CODING and blocking from the final shot of S4, and a good chunk is told in the costuming—like passing the torch from one character to another as their arcs overlap. For example, Hopper and Will share the "am I the curse and therefore putting my loved ones at risk by being near them?" sentiment for S5, therefore their wardrobe in the final shot of S4 is similar. Joyce/Jonathan and Nancy/Mike's costuming also similar for the same reason, whereas Eleven stands out because she's the first one coming into her own this season. The white for her represents shedding of false skins.

Character duos this season will be primarily dressed in colors of blue/green and yellow/red.

There's lots of symbolism and foreshadowing for every character in S5 from the moment Will touches his neck in the last sequence of S4.

S4 focused on themes of lies and miscommunication, and everyone is going to have to work through these lies before they can defeat Vecna.

Murray and Argyle are both back. Dimitri and Yuri don't seem to be in the beginning of the season.

One thing left unresolved with the Russian plot. Something important will happen involving the machine and the green liquid from the Starcourt bunker. Reference of Dustin vowing to die with Steve when they initially discovered it.

Hopper, Joyce, Mike, Will, and El had to be away from Hawkins, otherwise Vecna wouldn't have won.

An important death that they're nervous about given the reception to Eddie (not Joyce or Jonathan—see details below).

Eleven

We'll see her unlike we've seen her before. A badass who doesn't take shit from anyone. Not a Monster, not a Hero, Jane. Think: adult El could be headed for a Charles Xavier type role.

Erica, Lucas, and El will share scenes together.

El has significant blocking and development with many characters this season.

Max, Eleven & Max

The "kaleidoscope of colors" from a script the writers posted makes a feature in both the scene where young El remembers her mother's love in order to defeat Henry in the lab, as well as the scene where El revives Max. This is significant because it's the first time we see El using her powers on someone in a non-violent way.

El was able to revive Max because of she, herself, being revived in the bunker by Brenner and Co. It's a show, don't tell moment from the writers.

Max getting Vecna'd was foreshadowed in the beginning of 2x01.

Will, Henry/Vecna, The UD

Filming was supposed to commence mid-June, but Noah and Jamie were set to begin in May due to more complicated costuming. Will is going to require heavy prosthetics at some point.

Will's character design is blocked in three stages. The more the UD bleeds into Hawkins, the more connected to it he feels. The gates being open will physically influence him, especially when he's not as mentally strong.

He's kind of like "the card up Vecna's sleeve."

It appears they want to confuse the audience about Will.

Will wrestling with his own morality

Henry/Will mirrors. Will will sympathize with Henry because, unlike El, he knows how and what Henry thinks, and he can feel him.

Vecna and Will are very similar, but the difference is Will is made stronger by love not hate. They will play into that duality.

Vecna was nerfed in S4 compared to how we see him in S5. He'll be much stronger.

At the beginning, he'll be taking a hiatus while he plans how to divide and conquer now that everyone's back together in Hawkins.

Soteria will be the key to saving Will. If they want Will to be untraceable to Henry, they'll have to insert it into his neck and it'll be painful. Vecna not having access to Will fucks up his ability to leave the UD.

Byler/Mileven Triangle

Apparently, it's complicated and up in the air as of now.

Mike dealing with guilt this season. He feels guilty/responsibility for El. He feels stuck in a loop that keeps him from a truth he's scared to face.

Will and Mike to spend a good chunk of the season together based on character designs and blocking.

Will telling El that Mike won't like being lied to comes back with the painting. During a pre-time jump scene in 5x01, while everyone's together plotting how to defeat Vecna and brainstorming how to save Max, Mike brings up the painting El commissioned for a D&D analogy. Will has to pull Mike aside and confess he lied about El commissioning the painting. Mike gets angry, because he doesn't know about Will's feelings and feels embarrassed that Will thought he was that pathetic he needed to be given a pep talk. Their own version of a "fight you can't come back from." Immediately after their fight, we get the time skip.

Mike's character motivations are unclear and seem to be kept under wraps. After the time jump, he and El won't be talking as much because he's keeping the details about Will's painting from her. She's gonna ask what's wrong between him and Will, and he lies/is very vague.

Joyce, Hopper, Jopper

Joyce feels immense guilt/responsible over Bob's death since she's the one that asked him to help in S2, which is why she pushed Hopper away at first.

Hopper has a secret from S1 that was never addressed, and it comes back to haunt him.

Joyce sustains an injury in S5 that is reminiscent of the way someone was injured in S3, but it isn't critical and she'll be okay.

Jopper are the most established couple after the time jump. Lots of bickering still, but Hopper trusts Joyce more than he ever has.

Jonathan, Nancy, Jancy

So far, does not seem like a breakup is happening.

Jonathan's still lying about the college letter and distant because of it, and Nancy thinks he's not as into the relationship and that there might be someone else. She confronts him, which leads to a talk. She's touched by the lengths he would go to try and protect her and any of their future children even from himself.

A moment where we're led to believe Jonathan dies but doesn't, like Hopper in S3.

Hopper-Byers Family

These five characters slowly unraveling their arcs together and have always been closely linked. Their perfect endings are together.

We see the family combining, especially in relation to El.

Joyce gets to witness Hopper being paternal and tender towards the boys.

Scenes with Joyce, Jonathan, and Will

Hopper being back lifts a weight off Jonathan's shoulders.

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

So, now time to shine.

''(...) sentiment for S5, therefore their wardrobe in the final shot of S4 is similar. Joyce/Jonathan and Nancy/Mike's costuming also similar for the same reason, (...)''

Okay. How did we see Nancy in S4? Confused. Confused with the love triangle between Jonathan, her and Steve. Jonathan is her actual boyfriend. And Steve is her posible love interest again.

So, putting this in byler language: Nancy = Mike Jonathan = Eleven Will = Steve

If Mike's and Nancy's character's clothing is important at this point of the time line and that means they feel similar feelings, this could mean that byler has a chance. BUT then we read this: ''(...) He (Mike) feels stuck in a loop that keeps him from a truth he's scared to face.'' And

''Mike's character motivations are unclear and seem to be kept under wraps.''

THIS LITERALLY MEANS BYLER. FOR REAL. Like byler could be endgame. Also, remember Eleven's injury in S3? Do you remember the leak of a shoe covered in blood?

It's Joyce. ALSO YOU CAN READ THAT WE'LL HAVE SCENES BEFORE THE TIME JUMP. And here it comes. Look at this freaking hair:

Does this look more like this

or this?

The season 4 bowl cut right? So maybe this is right in some part? I dont know. But that could make sense why Will is wearing Mike's pants, because his clothes were in California by that moment. But i really do think that the pic that was leaked a few days ago is before the time jump.

Im so late with this info haha :) but i kinda think some things here make sense. Even if this is too well explained to be a leak.

#stranger things s5 #st5 spoilers #stranger things 5 #st5 #stranger things #st5 speculation #st5 leaks #st5 production #will byers #stranger things season 5 #will byers is gay #byler tumblr #william byers #byler is endgame #byler endgame #byler nation #byler #mike wheeler is gay

[findafight]

Genuinely think some folks need to remove how we, the audience, see characters and relationships from an outside perspective from how those characters actually interact. Like y'all ask for nuance and I'm telling you that just because Nancy has gone through trauma and absolutely deserves to be as messy and complicated and hurt as she wants, doesn't mean Robin wouldn't think twice about dating her?

It's not about whose fault it is or centering a male character, it's about how Robin, the character, would interpret and internalize the facts she knows. She has no idea what exactly Nancy has been through, like we have. She encouraged Steve and Nancy in S4 to get back together, she comforted him when Nancy went straight back to Jonathan. Robin's place as Steve's best friend, someone she trusts implicitly, the person she wants to combine with, puts Steve as an important aspect of her life!

It's not that she hates Nancy! It's that even though they broke up a year and a half ago, there's some unresolved or redeveloping feelings there for Steve. It's not that I think Steve could/would/should be hurt or angry about his best friend dating his ex. It's that, in my opinion, Robin, from what we see of her, doesn't seem inclined to date a friend's ex. It's about Robin, and her personality, and that means her friendship and love of Steve.

#anti ronance #finda's rambles #stranger things #idk its about robin for me. she would put her friendship with steve above a romantic relationship with anyone #struggling to put this into words but its frustrating when people claim we're making it about steve when i dont feel that way #to me im prioritizing Robin. and stobin i guess #it also seems like people hate being reminded that robin wants to live in steves brain. and that WOULD factor into her choices #that may affect him. yknow. like dating his ex. #its got nothing to do with how i feel about the stancy breakup (messy but if they TALKED could be worked through) #i also don't think they're compatible and have multiple reasons i simply don't vibe with the ship #but those aren't misinterpreted just ignored i guess

[shopcat]

HI. this is the steve harrington autism post. source: i have the steve harrington style autism that makes me autistic about him

to preface this i would like to say i am working off of personal like interpretation and thru the lens of my own experience :0... also this is long lol <3 so, tl;dr, here are the autistic traits or things that are caused by autism i believe steve showcases, (except.. do read if you like <3):

sensory issues -> wearing only ever the same style of clothes, adjusting/touching his hair, (potentially) eating certain foods

stimming -> walking in place to think, fiddling with small objects, spinning/flipping/throwing objects to keep himself focussed or entertained, listening to music

scripting -> repeating phrases/words aloud and practicing what he's going to say, repeating the "plan" aloud

routine -> strict hair routine with specific steps, was in routine sports with strict rules/timing and enjoys them otherwise, driving robin to school every day without even knowing she couldn't bc it was routine, working jobs that require mindless but engaging tasks including organisation

poor grasp of social cues, especially with girls, and saying the "wrong" thing at the wrong time (including the 6 little nuggets speech, "he ate dustin's cat", confessing to robin, etc)

other people feeling like they have to tell him things he's "missed" socially (dustin telling him he likes robin, eddie telling him he likes nancy)

likes to set/follow rules and is upset when people deviate from them (i.e. max wanting to leave in s4)

out of-the-box/atypical/lateral thinking

delayed processing of thoughts/concepts/complicated subjects especially in high-intensity scenarios

picking up on small details (like background sounds in large areas or recognising something) that other people don't pick up on

fixating on certain things (hair, clothes/shoes, sports, etc)

high pain tolerance/sensory dysregulation (shaking off concussions/consistent, continued ability to function while severely injured)

inability to conceptualise his OWN mortality/safety and engaging in at risk situations with little thought other than instinct + making impulsive choices

developmental differences/delays (literally crawling backwards)

poor grades in school/not getting into college

trouble regulating emotion

poor self esteem due to feeling worthless :(

i also have adhd so i also keep this in mind a little and obv at the end of the day this is just my own interpretation + autism is a spectrum :) NOW. i will go into detail >:)

SOOO i'm not sure if steve was deliberately coded as autistic but i DO think they intentionally in one way or another coded him with a developmental disability of some kind!! which i will talk about first!!

this is shown particularly in season 2 in a couple different instances and continues into season 3 at undercurrent ..

we've discussed this a little before but i also think this is why when people like to just describe him as genuinely "dumb" it like hurts people's feelings 😭 my feelings... and that's not intentional ofc but while it is a personal insecurity of the character himself that is being ironically picked at, positively or not, by those who love him in fandom, it's also evident of something happening under the surface that people may be unaware of imo

i think he display a out of-the-box, atypical or lateral way of thinking combined with delayed processing in a way that is very typical to neurodivergent behaviour!! and more...

in season 2 we get a really nice little look into his psychology about it when nancy is reading his college admission essay (that he presumably asked her to do) and he's sitting there SO nervous and full of doubt and worked up about it he's like. basically twitching 😭

he says "it's crap i know" and nancy's like no it's not! and he's like "ugh it's not good..." sooo stressed out.. and nancy says it just needs some reorganising, which is INTERESTING!!! someone who is insecure in his own skills and inability to get his thoughts across in a succinct way + has good, complex ideas that translate poorly when he tries to explain it out loud or in text + a host of insecurities pre-rooted and explicitly about his own intellectual "failings" all = a very neurodivergent read of Steve Vs School i think

also, maybe a tangent, but: in that essay itself nancy says he starts by using one of his basketball games as a metaphor for his life, then he confuses the metaphor by comparing it to the war his grandfather was in. nancy says she doesn't see how they're connected and he's like "um. it connects because we both won" (i actually think she's being very sweet in this scene!! idg when ppl say she's mean here)

ik this wasn't the show's intention and just extrapolation but i find it really cool + interesting that there IS a war of some kind that steve could talk about that HE fought in, there is a description of high stakes combat where it's him VS them and he is the only one who now has to make this high stakes, risky choice, instead of playing it safe like he always does that relates directly to his life as a metaphor and he DOES feel connected to his grandfather in this sense...

but he can't actually talk about that. so it's basketball. and it's a slightly clunky metaphor that makes it seem like, trite, like oh silly steve, basketball isn't WAR. the essay itself is actually really well-written and evocative!! but to me signifies this inability to directly translate what he's thinking, hence it needs a little "rearranging", or maybe it's a little "all over the place" even

(also, that he crumpled up the entire essay and dismissed it entirely and fell back on nihilistic thinking and "i'll just work for my dad i guess". he already had cast disbelief upon his own ability to thrive because he feels he's not good enough :( )

his failing grades, which ended in not getting into college, tech or otherwise, is a big part of his post-highschool arc i think. to me it also shows sympathy to a problem many young neurodivergent (in every which way, btw) people face, including myself, and is potentially a really almost kind portrayal of the capability of a person not being wrapped up in their intellectual or i guess SCHOLASTIC endeavours and "achievements", and that you can be successful and "useful" to others in different ways :0

to call him dumb and really mean it (both in and out of show -_-) after all this is a certain kind of disservice i guess? like okay i think a little jokey joke is fine and also absolutely RELATING is fine (and another extension of another one of my points which is basically just "he's just like me fr" can actually = "he's JUST like me... like For Real". he's dumb in the way i'm dumb and we're both not actually dumb) but let's all be cool okayyyy

beyond school, i think he displays SOO many behaviours both characteristically and even like in his physicality that build to this beautiful conclusion... i think steve is this guy who was served up to be an initially one dimensional being who proved himself again and again to have a multitude of complexities beneath the surface :). i think his literal entire character arc is adjacent to the autistic experience LOL... perhaps...

he showcases a certain need and comfort in routine in a variety of ways, like:

being interested in sports both watching recreationally (which have timed matches and he HAS to be there on time, too) and as the hobby itself. sports are a high-routine activity with strict rules and rituals, before, after and during, as well as the extra work you have to put in otherwise!!

ESPECIALLY something like swimming, which is all about certain timing (and an individual-based sport as opposed to the team-based basketball) which he took for years!! (and actually got his cpr verification for, which you absolutely don't need to just like. be on the swim team. but it would be the "right" way to do it LOL) (also idk how it worked in 1980s fictional indiana but you need your verification a year in advance to actually do anything with it where i live!! which means he did it FROM freshman year)

driving robin to school every day, and then presumably picking her up for work sometimes too, despite not even knowing she COULDN'T drive herself because he was so dedicated to this routine (and friendship :D <3)

his hair routine!! it's SO specific (four puffs EXACTLY!!! no more no less... and when it's DAMP not WET) and i am honestly of the mind it's actually far more complex of a routine he even makes it out to be .. and i am willing to bet the multi step experience of it all is sooo long and has to be just as specific too. also extra points for it being something he does that aids in his own self-image and would make him feel like he's putting himself together.? so to speak

i think, in a way, that he owns about 9 pairs of shoes and most of them are white sports shoes with a colour accent + he's been shown to wear the colour accent that matches his outfit more often than not. which i spose is a certain kind of. ritual or routine or something.

he also shows a whole host of sensory issues/complexities/...things!!

he wears the same style of clothes like CONSTANTLY. almost everything he owns is either a soft sweater or a polo shirt, plus the same style of jacket he cycles through, all of which are well-worn (despite him being like, rich) :) the exception is that colourblock denim vest (which i think is the exception for him too because he just wanted to look like marty mcfly. which is so autistic)

i.e. wearing something that you know is comfortable over and over that doesn't give you a poor sensory experience, and continuing to buy the same style of clothing because you know it's safe to do so because he FEELS comfortable. super autistic trait. beloved prep trait as well i also just think he doesn't actually care what he wears but whatever

he also sometimes favours tight clothes and sometimes looser/baggier ones (think one day the s4 blue/white polo and jeans, the next a sweater and loose chinos) which indicates to me possible different sensory needs in the day by day...

he also wears a lot of undershirts, including with the scoops ahoy uniform (which could've been to avoid a POOR sensory experience)

he adjusts/runs his fingers through his hair and makes sure it's in a nice state at an almost compulsive level but it's also like an afterthought kind of. it could also just be a sensory thing to want to retouch his hair and play with it and follow through with the prior routine of it Looking Good + a grounding technique for sure

along with that he stims a LOT, including the thing where he has to twirl or throw ANYTHING in his hands up to and including -> a lighter, the baseball bat MIDFIGHT, a torch, a phone MIDFIGHT, his ice cream scooper, keys, his sailor hat, a banana, a random ball he found... he's also very fiddly and tends to sort of be happy sitting quietly and doing something over and over like that (this is also a trait with adhd :) )

the jobs he worked are relatively low intensity despite customer interaction and had him working with his hands plus at FV there's a lot of sorting/organisation. also "not my TAPES man" because he already sorted them and now it's ruined 😭

you tend to see him taking a little moment for himself in the background of scenes a lot, sometimes with robin as well!! he kind of just wanders off and does his own thing but in the wake of the high emotion, high adrenaline various combats in-show it makes sense, even more so if he just needs a little moment to himself to unwind

he walks/paces to think!!!

the reason he and robin only even threw up in season 3 is a) the stimulating lights he noticed that then b) over-stimulated them

this one's a little less obvious but he listens to the same kind of music and listens to it LOUDLY when he's stressed 😭 he also doesn't turn it off even if he like, technically should like on the way to fight monsters. i think he just likes music a lot tbh but also very autistic to me (and also a reason why he and eddie would be friends and/or kiss on the mouth)

one of the biggest things that sounds off to me is his social interactions :0 he is hailed as this like, ladies man but almost near constantly plummets to the earth in insane social blunder which personally i love actually (and it extends beyond these situations too!!). all the hottest boys are autistic...

i know that this is to show him just like, losing his charm...? and that he peaked in highschool or something and i do love his patheticness but it's also sooo autism. one of the reasons i actually think he's gay (lol) is his compulsive need to try and "land" a social interaction with a woman, then fail, while also not "feeling the spark" with the women he DID land and failing to see why (like his date at the basketball game). he's constantly seeking companionship but it feels like it's just out of his reach and he doesn't get it... sigh... and that it's definitely in part bc he feel he can't relate to them because HE'S so different i think. for whatever reason. multiple.

in season 3 the ENTIRE you rule/you suck board is like a beautiful shrine to this... he's honestly so funny . but like constantly awkwardly flirting and somehow saying the wrong thing every time whilst also not getting that they're Not responding to him until they like, leave, which is like. a statistical unlikelihood to me of times this can happen without something else going on in his little brain. i also like that he "invented" a makeout point bc that opens up the ability to just go um. let's go to skull rock. and the person would be like oh okay yes i am going to makeout with steve harrington.

beyond just girls or failed flirting or whatever a lot of his interactions with the kids or his other friends ping to me as having trouble with social cues and some accidental bluntness!! a FAVOURITE being -> "dart ate a cat?" "no. what? no." "what are you talking about? he ate mews" "who's mews?" "it's dustin's cat" "STEVE..." 😭😭 i love him. also him suggesting he could work his charm on the dean of the school and nancy being like... not that kind of charm.

oh another good moment for this is in the epilogue to season 3 actually like he's trying so hard to show he's seen Some movies (but only remembers the significant/stand out details) and then when robin's like can you give us a moment he's just like. Why. and does this funny little head shake movement. and robin does the steve -_- and he backs away kubrick staring... beautiful scene

he also falls victim i think to saying the wrong thing at the wrong time which is a lot of the time not necessarily his like FAULT ofc but suggests further little issues or . unalignmentd with social interaction. the entire 6 little nuggets speech to nancy to me is one of these situations (and maybe the convo in the woods with her?? idk) where he's kind of just talking and digging a hole and the other person is sort of just sitting there. it's also shown with like "like the germans?"

ALSO, a lot of the time people end up coming to him specifically and sort of like... telling him what to do/how HE feels?? and i think he just sort of goes along with it. in season 3 dustin tells him he has a crush on robin until he kind of talks himself into it and then he accidentally crash-fails for a second time by confessing to her at a sort of insane time as well (not that i think he actually had any feelings for her!!). and in season 4 eddie does the SAME with nancy which is almost spectacular.

alsoo while i think he struggles with certain social cues i also think he's very emotionally intelligent and he picks up on people's feelings easily which i guess someone could say it seems to counter? other autistic traits (silly) but to me i think. autistic people are aware of PLENTY of social cues sometimes the cue is just stupid -_- and i can read other people's emotions for sure in fact i'm almost like hyper attuned to it i just don't know how to RESPOND to it a lot of the time. whereas steve picks up on dustin's nerves at the snow ball and reassures him accordingly (and so cutely..), then picks up on robin's emotions after his confession and near-immediately course corrects after her confession in order to make her laugh!!! he was also really good with picking up on nancy's feelings and knowing exactly what to do about it/using forethought about it (like idk holding her hand when they were having sex or something to ease her nerves but also noticing she was upset at the library) when they were together at least 🤔

there are also a number of other various things very dear to me that i have no where else to include. LIKE:

his high pain tolerance!!! he's able to shake off torture, multiple concussions, various beatings with little to almost NO actual repercussions. in s4 it was actually really interesting how he was feeling bad enough to almost faint after the bats but once he was patched up he was "fine", and acted like he was fine for... the rest of the entire show. he did a backflip. high pain tolerance is an offshoot of a sensory dysregulation!!

specifically a lack of filter and moments where he goes "too far" especially when he's struggling with an emotional dysregulation of sorts, like with dustin in s4 or even with jonathan s1, but also like. the dumb faces he was making behind his date's back.

"when i was a baby, i crawled backwards"!!! autistic children can have different development i.e. their early CHILDHOOD development that can present itself in a variety of ways!! atypical to the norm crawling/walking is one of them (also matches up with robin taking 6 months longer to walk than other babies which she Also said to nancy and i think this is significant of something and i don't know what. maybe it's just funny. also stobin soulmates ofc).

to me, being the guy who mid plan debrief is the one saying "so let me get this straight" AND that he's the one asking the necessary questions to get everyone's minds (and in the 4th wall sense the literal plot) moving suggests that he both feels the need to want clarification of like, plans/instructions and what the situation is so everyone is caught up and he didn't get it wrong, and that just speaking it aloud helps cement it in his mind (which is also scripting as well i believe). also his ability to ask the RIGHT "wrong" questions suggests out of-the-box thinking as well (i would say both of these are also an adhd trait!)

his friendship with robin is honestly a point for me LOL. robin is an example of a character i do believe IS intentionally absolutely autistic coded, especially in season 4 but also 3, and his bond with her seems to be a personal one based in trust in each other and their own similarities... in season 4 when they're lamenting their love lives and say they should "just combine" is so important to me.. ugh

he's very particular and possessive about his belongings in an almost pedantic way (c'mon man not my SCOOPER! and wipe your feet before you get in my CAR and honestly even that he refuses to let max drive it fullstop, a little bit)

he also ate. SO many bananas at scoops i think for a time being it ended up being a safe food which literally happened to me as well. a very small thing but i like it

he scripts!! ie he repeats words and phrases aloud as a form of stimulation and getting himself to think or practices what he's going to say before things so he's "scripting" it (his "i'm sorry wtf am i sorry for" speech before he runs into dustin in s2)

he gets along better people who, by majority, aren't in his peer group i.e. the kids!!! and even robin and nancy were a little younger! he is very genuinely friends with the kids and it is Very Genuinely so sweet, but particularly with dustin too i found it sooo... <3

he also shows like these moments of high-intensity like silly child-like qualities of (autistic) joy LIKE when he sees dustin in scoops and they have their little lightsaber fight (which they. had practiced and made beforehand) that is just so sweet to me...

he picks up on things that other people don't!!! as the Normal Guy in a group of people he typically ends up settling in that role BUT he's multiple times picked up on small details that other people don't or DIDN'T notice, which is a neurodivergent trait!! he recognised the song in the russian recording, recalled where it came from like. right after + was the only one who heard dustin in the upside down + other things like noticing when someone's missing from a room

i also think he may be prone to like. i guess sensory overload/emotional dysregulation when he reacts what i think is appropriately to these HUGE scary scenarios but everyone else is like chill out and therefore it's inappropriate to them that he's losing his mind about it. but as time passes and he gets used to it all it lessens for sure (most evident in season 1) but there are moments where he struggles to reign in his truest reactions to things i think LOL. he is also just very dramatic tbf ☝️

his other vague neuroticisms but specifically commenting when things aren't Correct or Right or Safe including complaining about the sterility of the needle he was being injected with mid TORTURE

when he defaults to sports metaphors bc that's the easiest thing he can relate to in s2. god

100% of autistic people i talk to about this all go OH YEAH he's so autistic. tbh i think autistic people relating to a character can be enough of a diagnosis to me. peer diagnosis...

i just think so :)

in conclusion...

#steve harrington #🍦 #WARNING . this is like 3k #sts

[kennahjune]

HI OMG HELLO

Just a little obsessed with the whole “projecting my interests onto Steve” train I have going so here ya go—

Steve who has an interest in mythology of just about any kind but specifically Greek Mythology because “holy shit everyone’s gay.”

Steve’s hosting the usual Saturday hangout at his house because it’s the one time everyone’s schedules line up. He’s sitting on the floor in front of the coffee table, Robin on the floor to his right and Dustin to his left. Everyone else is spread among the couches and armchair, squeezing together in a way that seems more uncomfortable and over heated than the Devil’s asscrack.

Dustin was going on a ramble about something science-y. Robin and Mike would cut in occasionally with their own arguments and begin a whole new debate. Steve wasn’t paying much attention though.

His focus was on Eddie, who was staring intently at the living room window. Specifically the one that held his mothers flower vases.

When there was a break in the argument where everyone caught their breaths and gathered their thoughts, Eddie struck.

“What kind of flowers are those?” He pointed at the light yellow vase with a complicated floral pattern.

Steve paused and debated answering. He knew it was a trap. The flowers in that vase held a long story— one that everyone in the room would be subjected to hearing if Steve couldn’t help himself.

But Eddie was looking at his expectantly, Dustin tilting his head in curiosity, and even Mike eyeing him with a genuine wonderment.

So, Steve naturally conceded. “They’re hyacinths.”

Argyle whistled lowly. “Pretty name.”

Steve grinned. “Yeah well— they get their name from one of the prettiest people in history. In my opinion anyway.”

That seemed to pique everyone’s interest. Bad move on Steve’s part. At this rate, he’s gonna crack and go on a rant. Nobody wants to listen to his rants.

“Who do they get their name from?” Will asked, pulling his feet up to sit crisscross on the armchair. Mike was sat right next to him on the seat, squished into the arm but making no complaints. Mike nodded at Will’s question, as if agreeing that he also wanted to know.

Steve shifted and pulled one leg to his chest, resting his arm on it and fiddling with his hands. He avoided eye contact with just about anyone, before cracking a little more and looking at Robin.

With the nod she gave him, Steve felt himself break.

“They get their name from the Roman Prince Hyacinthus.”

Nancy hummed and took a sip from her Coke. She waved her hand as if urging him on. Steve continued.

“Um— well Hyacinthus was a Roman Prince beloved by all, including the God Apollo—“

“But isn’t Apollo a guy?” Mike interrupted. Looking over, Steve saw the pure curiosity and something that looked like hesitation on his face. Next to Mike, Will looked equally if-not-more hesitant but also very happy (?).

Steve allowed himself a small grin and nodded. “He is indeed. Hyacinthus is actually the first openly gay Greek character that we know of.” Steve’s smile brightened at the grin that made itself present on Will’s face and look of pure endearment on Mike’s.

“Anyways— Apollo fell in love with Hyacinthus but so did Zephyros, the God of the West Winds. Hyacinthus chose Apollo over Zephyros, however. And one day while Apollo and Hyacinthus were being all couple-y or whatever in the fields and playing discus, Zephyros took advantage of the winds and sent a discus spiraling straight at Hyacinthus and it ended up killing him on impact.”

He paused to take a breath, the story taking hold of him. Steve could feel the rush of excitement at finally talking about it— this story was his favorite and the next part always got him.

Among his break, he looked up and started at Eddie’s eyes on him. Of course, everyone’s eyes were on him, but Eddie’s shone with such a fondness that Steve felt himself having to do a minor breathing exercise to calm his heart down.

He cleared his throat with a cough and picked up where he left off, tilting his eyes down and keeping them on his fidgeting hands.

“Well— um, it was typical ‘if I can’t have you no one can’ fashion but the death shook Apollo to his very core and after trying everything in his power to get Hyacinthus back he finally gave in and grew the hyacinth flowers from the grass wherever Hyacinthus’ blood touched ‘to keep him in the sun where he belonged’.”

And with that, Steve looked around at everyone in the room. El’s eyes were filled with wonderment. Sitting next to her, Max looked shocked— though, at the story or Steve, he was unsure.

Jonathan had a small smile playing at his lips as well as Nancy. Argyle gave him a thumbs up and a “cool”.

Mike and Will were both seemingly buzzing with excitement and joy, Steve could see it in their eyes and on the matching grins they wore.

Dustin and Lucas— the latter sitting behind Steve on the couch— we’re both grinning at Steve and talking over each other, trying to tell him several different things at once.

But over the chaos surrounding him, Steve’s eyes were drawn to Eddie’s. Doe eyes filled with fondness and endearment. Steve’s grin turned to a bashful smile and he was quick to turn away.

He instead focused on Dustin and Lucas, pretending to not notice when Will followed Mike to the kitchen. From the knowing glint in Jonathan’s eyes, he also knew what was happening. They shared a snort and cheersed their Coke cans.

When the night was over and Steve was fresh out of mythology tales to tell the Party, everyone began leaving.

Mike, Will, and El left with Jonathan and Argyle. Nancy drove Robin, Dustin, Lucas and Erica as well as Max— who was spending the night at the Sinclair’s.

It was when Steve went to clean the living room that he noticed he never saw Eddie leave.

Instead, the metal head was standing by the window in the living room. The same window with the hyacinths. Steve furrowed his brow in confusion and walked over.

The moment Steve was within reaching distance, Eddie pulled him into his side. Steve let out an ‘oof’ sound, and caught himself on Eddie’s chest. Rather than pulling away from the other, Steve made himself comfortable and settled into Eddie’s side with his head on his shoulder.

“I love hearing you ramble,” was the last thing Steve heard before Eddie kissed him soundly.

#stranger things #steve harrington #dustin henderson #mike wheeler #robin buckley #eddie munson #will byers #el hopper #found family #max mayfield #lucas sinclair #erica sinclair #argyle #nancy wheeler #jonathan byers #steddie #steve x eddie #stevexeddie

[starry-eyed-steve]

Some of you are really pissing me off, especially on twitter.

Maya never said Robin shouldn't get a gf, she voiced her concerns that Robin getting a gf would be the center of her character, and she's right to be worried.

Stranger Things branded itself as a show where friendships are the most important thing. However, over the years in the show and fandom, romantic relationships are mostly at the focus.

Jonathan, as soon as he started to date Nancy never saw an independent character arc until s4 where he wasn't with her. His character is simply a sidekick to Nancy. He doesn't grow, and his arc is mostly about Jancy. Like his struggles of being financially not well off or taking care of Will and his mom are swept under the rug. The major conflict in s3 was more about Nancy and how unsupportive Jonathan was as a boyfriend, instead of commenting on his social status and problems.

Steve, as soon as he was around Nancy again, ditched everything else. His relationships, which he created throughout the seasons, were tossed out the window. Even his scenes with Robin were suddenly all about love or Stancy. It's so tiresome because his character thrives the most when he's with Robin and the kids. There is no real balance for his character, which is upsetting. So I get some complaints about Robin being a cheerleader for a straight relationship (which was so ooc s3 Robin would never) instead of focusing on her character outside of romance in s4. The Duffers have simply no idea how to write relationships, platonic or romantic, at this point. Which again is exactly what Maya is concerned about, that Robin's platonic relationship with Steve will suffer even more because either of Robin prioritizing her romantic relationship, or Steve prioritizes his relationship over friendship. (Or both and they simply forget about each other)

Nancy, despite what the fandom says, is the least affected by those relationships, at least in the show. She has the most agency and always gets her plot outside of romance, and she is not as defined by her relationships as her romantic partners are (in the show). She's known as the investigator who is super smart and badass. However, she is still not allowed to have friends, besides the two that were mentioned in s2. Her romantic partners will become the most important people in her life. I kinda liked her friendship with Robin, but the fandom took it and made it into a romance, proving again that romantic relationships are the center of characters or are seen as more valuable and meaningful.

In s3, Mike's character was focused around El. He barely had time with his friends. El only gained another friend after temporarily breaking up with Mike. And again, in the beginning of s4, it's all about her romance, not so much how she misses her friends. Did she even write letters to Max and the party?

With Will, it's complicated. He's a gay kid discovering his sexuality and trying to live with that, so it's understandable that his arc is about romance/love. However, he also got majorly sidelined after s2, like does he have anything else going on besides that? What about discussing his trauma or focusing on other relationships besides Mike. Like I would have loved seeing him actively bond with El or hang out with Dustin (we never get to see them together)

Dustin has an independent story arc each season because his girlfriend isn't there with him, which allows him to have outside relationships and interests.

Lumax is the only couple that has some balance, like they are together, but the relationship doesn't define them like other characters. Both Lucas and Max make time for their friends and talk about other stuff. I would still argue that Lucas definitely deserves more character development and a more independent arc from Lumax. His struggles as a black kid often get sidelined in favor of the romantic plot.

So yes, Maya's fear that the show would make Robin ditch everything for romance is valid because it's happening all the time, especially to the teens! For example, even if the show develops the friendship between Nancy and Robin, the fandom would make it romantic. Like people cry as to why Maya can't promote the friendship between Nancy and Robin, when the majority of the fandom doesn't view it as platonic, and Maya knows that as well. Sidenote: It's also super annoying that as soon as a lesbian character hangs out with another girl, she automatically has to like her romantically, especially if she shows romantic interest in another character. (I have so many problems with Ronance, but that's not the point rn).

I don't want to see any Vickie slander either. The argument that this relationship is rushed or bad rep because it's more in the background is stupid. On the one hand people complain all the time that the cast is too big but when characters only get a few minutes of screentime to act as a love interest for a minor main character like Robin, it's also wrong. Plus, I literally don't want to hear that Vickie isn't much developed when people had no problems shipping Will with Gareth, who had just as much screentime if not less, and they never even met. You never gave Vickie a chance because she's a bisexual girl who shows interest in a sapphic relationship. Why are the standards so impossible high for lesbian/sapphic relationships? A dude literally has to look at one of the guys or be remotely cute and bam, the fandom comes up with thousands of headcanons.

Lastly, I don't want to see any Stobin or Steve slander. Steve is the first person to celebrate when Robin gets with Vickie, so Stobin is not the problem when it comes to Rovickie. A lot of people complain that Robin's character is all about Steve, and I sincerely think those people probably never had a best friend. Like my bff and I were super inseparable during our teen years, people legitimately thought we were either siblings or dating lmao, like my grandma asked if I was a lesbian because all I did was hang out with girls, esp my bff. If Steve isn't allowed to be happy for Robin's romantic relationships or isn't allowed to give her any advice in that department (and vice versa), are they really bffs? If you're not at least a little bit invested in your friendships with others, how can you even call yourself their friend? Robin caring about Steve, hanging out with Steve, literally wanting to combine with him, is just her having found a person that understands her. It's not making a lesbian character all about a guy (that's particularly the take when it comes to the ronance ship as Steve has history with both characters). I saw some takes that Steve is the only one benefiting from Stobin, as if Robin never gains anything from that relationship. Like Steve makes her comfortable, to a point she told him her biggest secret. He can handle her rants, he drives her around, and he listens to every problem because Robin can be fully herself around him. They are both gossiping and having fun, and most importantly, they understand each other because they share the trauma of being tortured in a Russian bunker like I need you all to get a grip quickly. Robin would hate a lot of you for shitting on Steve because that's her bestie if you like it or not. I'm also all for aro-ace lesbian representation. If you think a character is less gay because they focus on friendships or don't have a desire to date, that's a you problem.

But again, Maya never said Robin shouldn't date. The show simply shouldn't lose sight of the platonic relationships as well.

I also want to add that Stranger Things as a show in general would not suffer so much in both the romantic relationship and the platonic relationship department if they would give us more episodes. The main characters don't have a chance to branch out and meet others because of limited time. So when one of them gets a love interest, it's perceived as rushed because we are on a time crunch (especially if it's for Robin bc people wouldn't throw such a fit if Steve gets a gf last episode). And as I mentioned earlier, people already don't like the huge cast, so it's hard to add new characters with depth. So we are forced to have all the characters cross date/befriend, which also removes conflict in general because we don't have options and the fandom is mostly all about everyone gets along and everything is fine and dandy. Because be for real most of the teen characters in the main cast wouldn't be friends given their drama and history with each other. If we had 20 episodes, everything would be better, I guarantee you.

(In general, I want to say I'm not a fan of most ships in the show or fandom, and I think a lot of them would be better as friends even if I'm skeptical that they would genuinely get along after everything. Especially the teens don't have many strong friendship bonds and could benefit from forming platonic relationships over romantic ones. The only ships I truly respect are Lumax, Byler (if done right), Rovickie, Jancy if they get it together, and Jopper.)

#robin buckley #steve harrington #nancy wheeler #jonathan byers #will byers #vickie stranger things #stobin #platonic stobin #rovickie #rockie #stranger things #maya hawke #sandra says stuff

[afewproblems]

Season Two Halloween AU Part Nine

Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five, Part Six Part Seven Part Eight

Synopsis: What if Eddie had been at Tina's Halloween Party in Season Two? Featuring Steve!Whump, Stancy Breakup, and Eddie just trying to keep up with all these new revelations about who King-Steve actually is...

As always, thank you thank you to the lovely Jess @strangersteddierthings for cheering me on, letting me send spoilers, and Steddie screaming with me!

***

Eddie moves, trying to find a comfortable position in the firm plastic hospital chair, letting his legs stretch out into the bulk of the hallway and sliding down the chair. 

He won't be able to stay like this for much longer either, but it's worth it for the irritated looks he can feel from the nurses station.

Eddie hadn't been allowed in the room with Steve while he was being assessed, forcing him to wait outside in the hallway.

He can hear them talking, not bothering to be quiet at four in the morning.

"There's no answer, who isn't home at this time of night?"

"Did you try the secondary number?"

"Yes, it's for a business though and all I get is the answering machine for a Richard Harrington". 

Eddie frowns, silently agreeing with the first nurse, why the hell aren't they here?

That's when he remembers something Steve had mentioned, so casually, Eddie realizes, feeling a little sick, that his parents wouldn't be home until Thanksgiving this year. 

Which is just shy of a month away still, give or take a week.

Just how long have they been gone, he wonders, feeling an anxious pit begin to form in his stomach, and what would that mean for him now?

He's saved from this train of thought for the moment by Hopper appearing at the end of the hall, his heavy step and squeaky boots announcing themselves well before he steps into view. 

He looks exhausted, and a little worse for wear, and Eddie has never been happier to see a cop.

He walks past Eddie, though he does spare him a single nod, and makes his way to the nurses station. 

"Morning," Hopper says gruffly, his voice crackles as though it's either been used too much or too little recently.

"'M'here about the Harrington kid, we have a few questions for him and his injuries and then I'll be taking him home after his statement".

"Sir, that's not--" one of the Nurses tries, only for Hopper to flash his badge and knock his knuckles once on the top of the desk.

"Which room?" He at least has the decency to ask this time, throwing a thumb over his shoulder. 

Eddie hears a long sigh as the other Nurse mutters, '206'; Hopper doesn't even wait for her to finish the word before he's turning on his heel, his boots making a horrible squeak against the linoleum tiles as moves. 

He slows to a stop in front of Eddie, finally looking at him, it's always been nerve wracking having the chiefs full attention on him, though there's a rather big difference between now and the last time, down at the station.

"They check you out?" He grumbles to Eddie, his fingers tap a nervous rhythm on his leg.

Eddie shakes his head, "Steve took the brunt of everything tonight". 

Hopper nods, his gruff face pinched with something close to worry, but it's gone in an instant.

He looks down the hall at something over Eddie's shoulder and lifts his hand in a muted wave before turning back to Eddie.

"You should head home Munson, I took the liberty of getting you a ride".

Eddie frowns at the words and startles slightly as another person sits down beside him, he hadn't even noticed until Wayne was all of a sudden right there.

Eddie blinks, exhaustion and emotion all encompassing; he feels as though he might sink into the floor or tip forward and fall away from the world right then and there, but Wayne reaches out, clasping his shoulder with his firm warm hand. Like he always does.

"Wayne," Eddie says in a tremulous voice, the weight of the night finally crashes over him, the dogs, Billy, the tunnels, it's too much. The image of Steve crumpling to the floor, shards of ceramic in his hair, plays over and over again.

Eddie's face is wet as Wayne pulls him into his arms, he ignores the way the hospital chair digs into his ribs as he moves.

"S'okay Ed," Wayne whispers, letting his hand rub soothing circles on his back, up and down.

Wayne says something above Eddie's head, most likely to Hopper, but he doesn't care, not now. He focuses on the grounding feeling of being held, the warm comfort of knowing that when he needed it, his uncle was there. 

He tries not to think about the fact that it's Hopper in Steve's room rather than his parents. 

***

They don’t talk after. 

It shouldn’t have been surprising really. After the whirlwind in the tunnels, learning that Dustin really had managed to bond with one of the creatures over a mediocre chocolate bar, and finally, finally, getting Steve to the hospital, it was like everything else was put on the back burner. 

The government gives them all NDAs to sign, including Wayne now --how was he not going to tell his uncle after the hospital? The government officials had given Eddie a bit of trouble about it during the debrief about their cover story, until Wayne and Hopper had argued his defense. 

The worst part though, about everything, is the pretending. 

Pretending that everything is normal, like there aren't monsters from an alternate dimension running around Hawkins, like the government didn't know about the real reason so many people, like Mr.Newby, had died. Pretending that small petty things like his late homework assignments, or who was dating who in the wilds of Hawkins High really mattered. 

With that being said, the news that Nancy Wheeler and Jonathan Byers were officially dating now, surged through the school. 

Pretending that that news doesn't make Eddie feel relieved was also difficult.

Well, maybe relieved isn't the right word, but after Eddie's half-assed confession before the tunnels, and the stay in the hospital, Steve has been avoiding him. 

And if it wasn’t because of Nancy….

Well, Eddie tries not to dwell too much on it.

Two weeks after their trip into the Dismal Caverns, Eddie spots, speak of the devil, Nancy Wheeler leaning on his locker.

The last bell has long past so it's only the stragglers now wandering halls, those waiting for Band Practice to start, those just getting out of detention. 

Three guesses which one he's here for. 

Eddie hasn't seen or spoken to Nancy since their government meeting, not that either had been particularly chatty that night, but she had at least sent a grateful smile Eddie's way as one of the officials went through the whole story of that night.

So to see her now sets his teeth on edge and his stomach plummeting into his shoes.

Is it back, did something happen to Will, did another Demodog surface?

Is Steve okay? 

As if Nancy can see the terrified questions swirling around his head, she raises the hand not holding her books to her chest and says lowly, "everyone's fine". 

Eddie lets out the breath he's holding, trying to lower his heart rate, "haven't seen you around these parts Wheeler, don't tell me you need a pick me up?"

He tries for a swarthy smile but it falls flat as the adrenalin from his earlier panic is still running rampant, he runs a sweaty hand through his hair, trying to hide the slight shake.

Nancy rolls her eyes and pushes herself off the locker by her shoulder, tipping her head towards the far back door to the building. 

She says nothing as she leads him out of the school and towards his usual picnic table in the trees.

Eddie tugs his leather jacket around his torso as a harsh November breeze kicks up dead leaves and dust around the school building in small whirls. He wishes in this moment he had found a zip up closure rather than one with button snaps.

Eddie laughs nervously as they enter the treeline, "uh huh, you sure you didn't want something?"

Nancy turns to sit on top of the table, her face impassive, "Mrs. Click was still there, in her room, I don't need to have any meetings with her and my parents because they think I'm being corrupted," she lifts her hands and makes exaggerated quotations with her fingers before rolling her eyes again. 

"We can talk here," she says primly, setting her books down on the table beside her. 

Eddie grins, "you're probably setting yourself up for a meeting with the counselor tomorrow anyway, walking out of the school with me".

He kicks at a bottle cap in the grass and watches as it tumbles a few feet away. When he looks back up, Nancy is staring at him with a pinched brow.

"I'll bite, what's going on?" 

Nancy nods and it's like a switch flips, her spine straightens slightly and her shoulders square before a determined expression smoothes out her face, it's eerie how similar it is to Steve's.

"What is he to you?" Nancy asks, 

"Who?" Eddie stumbles over the word, already knowing exactly who Nancy is asking about.

She looks around now, prompting Eddie to do the same, just in case.

"I know it isn't," she hesitates for a beat as though searching for the word, "safe to talk about it, but," she blinks once, twice, "that's part of why I'm here, asking". 

"I won't see Steve get hurt, not again". 

"So," Nancy stands now, gracefully rising to her feet and stepping off the table, she takes a step closer towards Eddie, "what is he to you?"

He has a good five or six inches on her at least but the fire in her blue eyes makes him feel so much smaller in this moment. 

Eddie feels a snarl build in his chest, the words tumbling out before he can get a chance to really think about them.

"That's fucking rich coming from you, as though you didn't rip his heart out at that stupid Halloween party". 

Nancy's face pales slightly, but there's blood in the water now.

He never really had the heart to ask Steve this question, and he probably never would have been able to actually answer it. 

But Nancy can. 

"Steve is brave, fucking reckless but he's brave, and selfless, and he cares so much --about everything,"

Eddie forces himself to stay where he is, to not move, but his voice climbs in volume, carrying through the trees. 

"You had that and you threw it away Wheeler, and you come in here asking what he is to me?"

He watches as Nancy looks around them frantically watching for people, but Eddie doesn't care, he keeps going.

"He's more than some bullshit you toss in the trash".

There are twin spots of red on the high points of her cheekbones, matching the flush painting her ears, Nancy pins him with a frosty glare as she breathes out slowly through her nose.

"Well, you certainly care, don't you, that's a question answered at least".

She clears her throat and blinks again, and to Eddie's horror, her eyes shine with tears in the afternoon sun. 

"You don't know what it was like after everything last year, how hard it was".

She wipes roughly at one of the tears that rolls down her cheek, cutting it off.

"I wanted to talk about it, I wanted to tell Barb's parents what happened to their daughter, my--"

Nancy swallows roughly, her nostrils flaring, "my best friend, was dead". 

"And Steve wanted to pretend that everything was fine, that it was normal," she clears her throat and wipes at her eyes again, "and I can't do that, I don't have it in me to let it go yet". 

Eddie nods, he gets it.

He didn't understand how everyone was able to just go on like everything in the last week didn't happen, or if he will ever forget the sounds those things made as they screamed in the darkness, that people had died that night. 

He can't pretend either and it's a relief to know he isn't the only one.

Eddie opens his mouth to apologize but Nancy keeps going, her words softer this time.

"I don't really believe that Steve has been able to let it go either if I'm being honest," Nancy says, her eyes searching Eddie's face as she speaks, "he sleeps with the hall lights on, did he tell you? He can't stand the dark anymore". 

"Yeah," Eddie breathes out, "he's said it before, I didn't know about the hall, but.."

He lets the thought trail off, it makes sense. It's not as though he's been sleeping well since everything ended either. Wayne had woken him up that first night to stop his screaming and calm him down, he ended up crawling in with Wayne for the rest of the night, something he hadn't done since he was eight.

Eddie startles slightly at the sudden small hand touching his arm. Nancy pulls back almost immediately at his flinch, regret painting her face.

"Steve needs something that I can't give him,"   and I need more than he can give me, it wasn't meant to last". 

"I didn't mean to hurt him, but that doesn't mean I'm good with Steve getting hurt again and again, he has enough of that with his parents".

Eddie nods again, "have they always been like that?"

Nancy's face darkens for just a moment before smoothing out again.

"In the year we were together, I met them once," she wraps her arms around herself and shivers as another breeze rips through the clearing, "he always made excuses for why they were gone or when they would be back".

She looks up at Eddie now, her wide blue eyes still red rimmed from earlier, "he told me about you, that night". 

Oh. 

Suddenly the weighted looks Nancy had been giving him make more sense. The small conspiratorial smile.

"Yeah well, he's been avoiding me," Eddie admits softly, lifting his hand to snag a lock of hair, "so I wouldn't hold your breath".

Nancy nods and shivers against a rough gust of wind that shifts the trees and swirls the leaves around the table. She looks into the distance suddenly, her eyes catching something behind Eddie as they widen before darting back to his face.

He turns his head to look behind him, only to see Hawkins Middle through the trees.

"Steve's good at pretending, but he doesn't have the same kind of friends around him that would just accept that version of him now, he's got us --well," Nancy stutters momentarily, "he's got you, and the kids, I'm pretty sure Dustin thinks Steve's an action here now".

Eddie snorts, prompting a smile out of Nancy. He takes a small step forward before offering his elbow. Nancy looks from his arm to Eddie's face once before reaching out to curl her hands around it.

"Alright Wheeler," he says with a grin, "how do we do this? I know you've got a plan rolling around that brain of yours and I'm cold as shit so let's move this to the van".

Nancy smiles again, tilting her head towards the Middle School once more, "How do you feel about Dances?"

Tag List: Please Note the List is Officially Closed

@eriquin @luvinthefreaks @cinnamon-mushroomabomination @goodolefashionedloverboi @ellietheasexylibrarian @bambibiest @sadboislovebeans @howincrediblysapphicofyou @coleys-a-nerd @whycantiuseunderscore @airconditioning123 @xxfiction-is-my-realityxx @corrodedbisexual @starman-jpg @ilovecupcakesandtea @yoriposts @clumsiluni @pelinelin @phantomcat94 @lololol-1234 @anaibis @steveshairspray @hellfireone @eddielives1986 @sunswathe  @tentativeghost @robin-not-batman @estrellami-1 @manda-panda-monium @tinyplanet95 @perseus-notjackson @queenie-ofthe-void @rainbowsaw @sp0o0kylights @littlebluejane @hi-im-eff  @phantypurple @just-ladyme @thoroughlycollected @justrandomfandomstm @swimmingbirdrunningrock @finntheehumaneater @dynamic-powerm@nightmareglitter @genderless-spoon @zaddipax @thebiblesays @pyrohonk @emly03 @geekymagicalpotato @sidebarre @lemon-astra @cipounette @discreetapple @starlitlakes @saphhicwitchbitch @marvel-ous-m @lingeringmirth @honorarybrit81 @bookbinderbitch @finntheehumaneater  @lololol-1234 @eddie-munsons-missing-nipple @monsterloverforhire @gaydrieeen @starlight-archer @homosexual-having-tea @devondespresso @rennnnon @my-hyperfixations-hell-blog @carlprocastinator1000 @0o-queendean-o0 @emly03 @paintsplatteredandimperfect @louismeds @fruitmix

@lizzicleromance @fairy-princette @eddiethehunted

And a few people I think may be intersted!

@steddierthings @steddie-there @stevesbipanic @henderdads @spooky-brakers

Part Ten Now Up (Final Part)

#season two halloween au #stranger things #stranger things season 2 au #steve harrington #eddie munson #the party #steve and nancy breakup #eddie is having all sorts of complicated feelings about steve here #i will never get tired of halloween party aus #you can pry them from my cold dead fingers #afewproblems writes #pining Eddie #uh oh more problems #poor eddie #poor steve #where is robin when you need her #nancy and eddie need to hang out more #I tried to give nancy some nuance here because I do love her character and I almost never write her #she was a fun challenge #nance scheming with eddie to get her ex a boyfriend #its messy but in the best way

[thewrongmoon]

ACTUALLY I'LL SAY IT NOW: many fans (usually more casual ones) treat relationships on the show as either a way for self-insertion or as a way to "reward" characters and its honestly really fucking stupid?

like relationships should be about chemistry and communication and what is best for them as CHARACTERS.

st*ncy for an example:

steve is a fan favorite. steve is funny, attractive, charismatic. steve has been trying and failing to get a gf for 2 seasons.

nancy is a pretty girl who steve is attracted to. because steve is so nice and attractive, people think that means he deserves nancy. not only are you ignoring the characters goals, personalities, and aspirations, you're being incredibly misogynistic in thinking a girl is like a prize for a character you like.

other st*ncy fans, usually the female ones, do also believe this to an extent, but they also want to be the one to date steve. nancy is easy for women to project themselves on to, she's smart, pretty, funny, but has an edgier side to her. so they ship st*ncy as a way of kind of also shipping themselves w/ steve.

but the same is also true for byler/mlvn.

most mlvn fans are like. and i'm saying this because its true, not to demean anyone, usually either teen girls or nerdy guys from reddit.

teen girls are attracted to mike, and they insert themselves in the role of el. el is kind of a blank slate (through no fault of her own, mostly through trauma) so this is pretty easy.

nerdy guys from reddit can project themselves on to mike because mike is nerdy and unathletic. el is objectively a pretty girl, and she has super powers which make her special. these guys think its good representation for them when a guy like mike has a girlfriend like this, because it's also exactly what they want.

now byler, and this is controversial, can also be found guilty of this. specifically i see this from bylers who really hate mike or really love will. because they think will is perfect, he's been through so much pain, he deserves to be with mike, because he is in love with mike. this is once again kind of just using mike as a prize, and not really taking into account what mike actually wants as a character, or how well these characters fit together. now mike and will do actually fit together and have good chemistry/communication, which definitely complicates things. like, you got the right answer but with the wrong equation, you know? but because of this when you "show your work" (yes i'm going with the math analogy) your interpretation doesn't match well with people who solved the problem correctly.

tl;dr-- relationships are made of TWO people (sometimes more) and you have to consider both sides of the equation. you also have to look at how they work together, and how well what the characters want line up. if you ARE just going to rely entirely on self-projection or wanting what a single character wants, then that's actually completely fine too, but just be open about it, yknow?

#byler #anti-stancy #anti-mileven

[shares-a-vest]

Lily. 32. she/they. Aus. Aquarius.

writing wip | talking | answering | fic recs tag

Currently Working On: See my Writing WIP tag above. Plus some super-secret redacted stuff I can't talk about 🤫

Joanie Munson AU: A fluffy ongoing AU focusing on Steve, Eddie, their bio daughter, Joanie, and their many cats. Eddie is trans. Most fics can be read stand-alone. No set schedule or tag list.

Platonic Stobin | Platonic Edancy | Ronance | Clarkson | Stargyle Rockie

Family Video Shenanigans: Shenanigans set at Family Video. Featuring Platonic Stobin, Steddie, and other ST characters.

Sick Fics | Post-s4 Healing Steddie | Steve Has Bad Parents™ | Vampire Eddie

Sportsball Eddie: Wherein Eddie suffers through (or enjoys) having a jock for a boyfriend. Mostly me projecting as I work through my complicated feelings about Australian sportsball.

👕🧥: Writing focused on clothes, hair etc. Typically inspired by the ST actor's other roles. Aka, I treat Steve and Eddie like they are my favourite Barbie Dolls.

STWG Daily Drabbles: Varying degrees of 'drabble' based on daily prompts from the Stranger Things Writer's Guild discord server.

Headcanons: Mostly Steddie. Plus appearances from other ST characters and the relationships listed above.

He's Gonna Save Me, Call Me Baby (wc: 1.1k | Rated: T | cw: Alcohol Consumption, Open-Ended - Happy) | Steve waits for Eddie at The Hideout and thinks over his failed relationship with Nancy. Written for the STWG Hozier Project.

I don't like sand. it's coarse, and rough, and irritating, and it gets everywhere (wc: 2.1k | Rated: T | cw: Alcohol Consumption) | Steve just wants to take Eddie on a romantic date to Lover’s Lake. But they quickly find themselves battling a new enemy: sand. Written for Lex's Spicy Six Fanworks Challenge (Summer 2023).

Eds, I'm Hungry (wc: 3.2k | Rated T) | Steve and Eddie being sickly lovebirds as they talk over a post-coital midnight snack. Written as part of Steddie Week, May 2023.

Joanie's First Word (wc: 1.4k | Rated: G) | Wayne Munson is spending the holidays with the boys and his granddaughter. But he doesn't expect to become an integral part of a key milestone.

you should come live with me and we can be pirates, then you won't have to cry (wc: 5.8k | Rated: G) | Steve and his mother have been packing up the house and in the process, he tells her about the Upside Down and his relationship with Eddie. Written for Lex's Spicy Six Fanworks Challenge (Spring 2023).

(Individual posts contain links to the original event blogs and event creators)

Steddie Microfics (Ongoing) | Flufftober Spring Edition 2024 | Steddie Love Month 2024 | Steddiemas 2023 | Eddie Month | Steddie Week 2023 | Platonic Stobin Month | Fruity Four Advent Calendar

#pinned post #masterlist #steddie

[clovermunson]

here’s a tamer one:

gimme all your unpopular stranger things opinions, pretty please!!

sav, bestie you know i love being controversial (sometimes) and i know that some of these may get me tumblr-cancelled or cause a fandom riot because most of them will be about billy (and by extension, max), but that’s not my problem.

billy and max genuinely cared about each other. i know, some of you are gonna look at that and say “how the fuck is that true??” but trust me. it is. both of them were forced into a shitty situation, and often took things out on each other because they were both misguided and trying to navigate things on their own. neil and susan obviously favored max, often neglecting billy and making him grow up on his own and way too fast. he was handling full-fledged adult responsibilities by the time he was sixteen, and he shouldn’t have been. now while i think susan may have tried to evenly delegate her attention to both kids, neil completely prohibited that under some false pretense such as “billy needs to grow up” or “he doesn’t need a mother anymore”. any time max screwed up, billy was left to deal with it instead of neil and susan handling it themselves, like parents should, not older siblings (though i believe had it not been for neil, susan would’ve taken care of max herself— i have some very complicated opinions on susan, but that’s another story). every time billy acted out in violence, it was a defense and survival mechanism for him; and he probably did it quite often to protect max because he cared for her, and for the fact that if he didn’t, he’d face neil’s wrath for the nth time (i.e.: the fight at byers’ home with steve— which, in billy’s defense, was totally justified from his point of view). anyway, max and billy cared about each other in their own weird little way.

more on the topic of billy, he wasn’t racist and he didn’t target or dislike lucas simply because he was black. that’s just a bullshit reason that 98% of the fandom uses to justify why they hate billy because they couldn’t read context clues and use some critical thinking skills. he disliked lucas because he witnessed lucas and max arguing in the school parking lot, and lucas was upsetting max— and billy knew that it would be his ass if neil found out about it.

i think the whole “girlboss” angle they’re trying to do with nancy kinda sucks and it’s ruining her character. she was definitely a stronger character in season 2 than any other season.

the series started with will, and it should end with will. i said what i said.

max stabbing billy with a needle and syringe with no idea what was in it is not the girlboss moment y’all think it is. what was in that syringe could’ve killed him for all anyone knew.

the sauna scene was genuinely billy begging for max to help him because he didn’t know what was going on, until it wasn’t, and max knew that was billy and not the mindflayer.

speaking of the whole mindflayer thing, y’all can’t tell me that max didn’t genuinely care about billy when she said “i really hope it’s not you” in reference to the party suspecting that billy was the host.

oh and in season two when billy’s “threatening” to run over the boys?? y’all are delusional for thinking he really would lmao he’s an older brother and older brothers mess with their sisters like that. and he’s a seventeen year old with a cool, fast car. there’s no way he was gonna willingly get himself a vehicular homicide charge in a bumfuck town in indiana. y’all are dumb as shit for thinking he would. and did y’all notice when max grabbed the wheel and made the car swerve to avoid hitting them? billy could’ve easily gone against her force and kept the car on course, but he didn’t.

stancy shippers are essentially romanticizing a toxic relationship between two people who very clearly want different things for themselves and could never actually work, from a logical and realistic viewpoint.

on that note, stancy should not happen in season five. or ever again for that matter. fight me about it.

karen wheeler’s actions in season three can’t be justified. i’m not even gonna argue on this one with anyone because y’all know what happened. sure she chose her family in the end, but she was really about to go hook up with a freshly-18 year old man while being in her 40s…absolutely not, ma’am. don’t even get me started on the other pool-lurking moms.

it’s game night, send one of these!

#these are so brave yet so controversial i think #especially that first one #that first one is gonna ruffle some feathers #may even cause some heebies to be jeebied (get it?) #maybe even the second one too #me? causing fandom discourse with my strong opinions? it’s more likely than you’d think. #fandom discourse #morgan’s mailbox📬 #ask games #clovermunson’s game night #savvy🧸

[atmilliways]

Wrong On The Money (35)

part 35 of ?? | 738 words | Teen+

Blackmail fic on Ao3 | on tumblr

Summary:

It’s the first Hellfire session with the Byers family officially back from California, and the older club members are still in town long enough for a big one-shot.

35.

“Alright, I’m checking,” Steve announces, turning the Beemer’s engine off and frowning at the front door of the new Hopper-Byers residence. It should have opened at least five minutes ago. He tries not to let his nerves show as he hops out of the car. . . . Luckily, Dustin and Lucas are too caught up in a debate about their upcoming game to notice how late they’re running.

It’s the first Hellfire session with the Byers family officially back from California, and the older club members are still in town long enough for a big one-shot. Nancy got roped into driving Mike and Max—which is a terrifying combination, Steve might bake her something as a consolation later. They're probably all at the house by now, but for some reason Will and El are running late.

Steve reaches the front door and rings the bell, tapping his foot against the brick walkway. He doesn’t have to wait long before El opens the door with her bag already slung over one shoulder. 

“Will has decided that he’s not coming,” she says solemnly. 

Jonathan comes up behind her, looking harried. “Sorry, I've been trying to talk to him. He was looking forward to it the other day, I thought, but. . . .”

“Want me to try?” Steve offers. He doesn’t actually expect Jonathan to take him up on it, but can’t help but jump at both the chance to be useful and to . . . well, stall. The sooner he gets back to the house, the sooner he has to contend with the fact that only the younger members of the club want him around.

To his surprise, Jonathan nods and even looks a little relieved. “Couldn’t hurt. I’ll keep an eye on the rest.”

A minute later, Steve knocks on Will’s door and says, “Hey man, it’s Steve. You in there?”

There’s a few beats of silence, and then a small, tired “Yeah” from inside. 

He waits another few seconds, then figures that’s as much of an invitation as he’s going to get and opens the door. 

After another ten minutes, Steve hustles Will out of the house towards the car. El is already in, Jonathan standing by her open door saying something across her to Lucas. 

“Will gets shotgun,” Steve calls as they approach. He catches Dustin’s indignant reaction in the front passenger seat, rolls his eyes, and makes a you’re outta there gesture accompanied by blowing a raspberry. “Move it or walk there, Roast Beef, we don’t have all day!”

Jonathan gives his brother a clap on the shoulder as he zips around the Beemer, then shoots Steve an impressed look. “How’d you get him out of his room?”

Sighing, Steve runs a hand through his hair. “He was worried about fitting in with the other players, so I told him he could make me a character and get me as up to speed as possible on how to dungeon some dragons or whatever during the drive over.”

Both of Jonathan’s eyebrows disappear behind his fringe. “Wow. Uh. . . . Godspeed, I guess.”

Steve gives him a tight smile back. “Yeah, I’m about to lose ten hours of my life to some weird and complicated nerd math. But hey, El and Max are new to this too, so it can’t be that bad, right?”

It’s going to be that bad. It’s going to be extremely bad, because the older kids hate his guts and Steve has no illusions about getting any special beginner’s treatment from Eddie. But he’s already agreed to throw himself on that sword so Will can have some fun getting back into this nerdy-ass game that he loves so much.

He thinks back to the look on Will’s face when he offered—and maybe he should stop offering things, but it was worth it to see Will light up at the show of solidarity. After the kid’s mumbled, “The last time I played with Mike and Lucas it wasn’t even. . . . They didn’t even want to play, but then they joined Hellfire as soon as I moved away,” Steve would have done anything to lift that lonely devastation off his shoulders. He knows it all too well himself, and Will’s never done anything to deserve that shit.

Well, mission accomplished. 

(He’s not even touching Will’s tentative questions about him living with Eddie, and if it means anything, right now. Let alone his stumbling, painfully honest answers.)

It’s going to be a very, very long day.

#steddie blackmail fic #steve harrington #eleven hopper #jonathan byers #will byers #bisexual steve harrington #gay will byers #steddie #steddie fic #my fanfic #steve 'it's totally not weird that i'm living with a guy i have a huge painful crush on it's NOT' harrington

[momotonescreaming]

I'm absolutely obsessed with your latest story. This was exactly how I imagine those two would interact.

I don't get the notion why people insist Nancy would be a good teacher and tutor the others. I mean she is smart, but also too literal. She follows things to a tee and if you question anything she says she would blame it on you not getting it. She's not someone who thinks too much out of the box, which is required for being a good teacher. And with Eddie struggling so hard to graduate, she would make things worse lol. Both wouldn't get the other, which would lead to a huge fight.

And I don't mean that to hate on Nancy, in fact I might be heavily projecting here because I'm kinda the same. I was above average in school but I could never teach anyone anything because I had only one way and if people didn't get it I couldn't really help. Tho I wouldn't make passive aggressive comments like Nancy I would apologize all the time for not being more helpful lmao (bc I'm a people pleaser lol)

But yes also if you think Nancy would like Eddie after witnessing his probably daily speeches in the cafeteria that we live in a society? Girl would run out before Eddie set his first foot on the table. (Also again heavily projecting here because I would run out because Eddie would be too much to handle for me. Robin I could handle because she is like my best friend but Eddie? He would drive me insane lmao) Those two are polar opposites and I love reading about the tensions. <333

thank you so much for the ask nonnie! and thank you for reading and liking my lil ficlet 🥺🥺🥺 every time someone says thats exactly how they picture eddie and nancy I get a little bit stronger

I feel like a lot of people automatically assume that smart= good teacher, when you're right, that couldn't be further from the truth. You need to be adaptable, have creative thinking, you need to admit that you can't be right all the time in order to be a teacher. And Nancy does not have that. You're 100% right that Nancy is a steamroller, she is on train tracks. If you don't follow her way (the right way, according to her) then you're wrong. You're not getting it. You're just not trying, because there's no way that she's admitting that she can be wrong.

That's not automatically a bad thing! Thank you for sharing! I totally understand you're not trying to hate on Nancy. Neither am I. You can like a character, can think they're interesting, and point out their flaws at the same time. She's a teenager! She's very particular! She likes things in order! And that's not bad! It's what you do with it, and how you let it affect your life - that's where the issues arise.

And oh my god the cafeteria speeches. She'd hate him. She'd think he's annoying and unhygienic, standing on tables like he does. Putting his shoes where people eat? Ew. She'd sit there silently judging and hoping for him to shut up and sit down. She'd hope he graduates already so he can get out of her hair. (Then of course they get lumped together with the Upside Down).

When Eddie was deep in his high school hierarchy bullshit - he'd think Nancy was a suck up conformist for getting good grades and going after the most popular guy in school. But in S4 he changes! He realises that he's been making assumptions based on nothing! He gets along with Steve! And idk I don't see Nancy changing that much. At least, not with the way canon has her at the moment. Because she doesn't lol. Yeah, she has guns now, but she's still a steamroller of a woman who can't see any other way than hers.

Idk they're very different people! They're complicated! And I think the upside down would make them end up as friendly acquaintances, but that's it

#ask #anonymous #thank you for sharing! about your study habits and such #and thank you for reading and liking my characterisation #im aaaaaaa