#post s4 fix it

[resident-gay-bitch]

Hellraiser

summary: It’s 1987, the upside down is well and truly gone. All that’s left is severe trauma they’re too scared to talk about, and homosexual relaiseations. And Eddie never thought he’d see the day where Mike Wheeler was gay, something he never would have picked. But, heck, he’d seen stranger things. And doesn’t that unexpected reality leave room for the slight possibility that Steve Harrington might be too? 

warnings: gay, suggestive language, blatant stupidity, sobbing, Eddie with his hair tied back. 

i found the image in my steddie folder and i have no idea who drew it or where it came from, so if you are / know the artist who made this, please comment their @ and the platform they use so i can credit them :) thankies <3

“You’re what?” Eddie pressed the phone closer to his ear, the chewing of his salt and vinegar chip and mustard sandwich coming to a halt. 

“I’m going on a date with Will, and I am freaking out.” Mike whispered into the receiver, checking over his shoulder every so often to ensure his family wouldn’t hear. 

“Okay…” Eddie ran his hand down his face, “You’re into dudes?” 

“Yes.” Mike answered.

“What?” 

Mike rolled his eyes, “Jesus christ, you gonna help me or not?” 

Eddie stiffened, folding his arms over his chest, “Ye- yeah sure.” 

“Okay…” Mike sniffled, “What do you wear on a date with a dude?”

“I don’t know!”

“Your gay! How do you not know?”

“I don’t go on dates, wanker.” 

“You don’t?” Mike scratched his chin, “But your out-”

“To you guys.” Eddie sighed, “Cause you wouldn’t drop stupid questions about me and your sister.” 

“So you’ve never been on a date with a dude?” 

“No.” 

There was a long pause, “Well fuck.” 

“Can we please circle back to you being gay?” 

“No.” Mike pressed, “Later, I’m freaking out.” 

“Okay, okay.” Eddie took another bite of his sandwich, “When is your date?”

“In half an hour-”

“Jesus-” Eddie groaned, “You’re not helping the situation, Wheeler.” 

“Yeah, I know.” Mike sassed, “Also I need a ride.” 

Eddie rolled his eyes, “Can’t your sister take you?”

“No, she’s with Robin.” 

“Right.” Eddie sighed, “Okay, okay. I’ll be over in five.” 

“Thank you.” Mike nodded and hung up the phone. 

“Jesus christ.” Eddie muttered to himself and turned to find Wayne standing in the kitchen with a beer in hand. 

“The Wheeler kids gay?” 

“Apparently.” Eddie shrugged. 

“Both of them?”

“Apparently.” Eddie took a hefty bite of his sandwich. 

“Never the ones you expect, huh?” Wayne smirked, “You know, that-”

Eddie threw his hands in the air. Walking down to his room, “Will you stop with the Steve crap?” 

Wayne followed him, continuing to talk as Eddie changed shirts, “I’m telling ya, he might be into you-”

“He’s not.” Eddie grunted, pushing his foot into one of his sneakers. 

“Well, if that Wheeler boy is-”

“Wheeler - whilst this is impeccably shocking news to me - is a freak. Harrington is the furthest from freaky I’ve ever seen.” 

“He’s always coming over.”

“He hates his parents.” 

“Even when they’re on trips.” 

“Hates his empty house.” 

“Stays the night a lot.” 

Eddie grabbed his keys and tossed them in his hand, “It’s never planned, we just end up talking late.” 

“Yeah, I’ve said the same thing about every girlfriend I’ve ever had.” 

“Steve’s not a girl.” he pushed past Wayne and out to the living room. 

“Borrows your clothes a lot.” 

“Because he doesn’t have anything to sleep in when he does stay over.” 

“You sleep beside each other.” 

“I sleep beside Gareth and that too.” 

“Not for years.” Wayne protested, “And you always went head to toe.” 

“We’re not kids anymore, we can sleep beside each other in an ungay way.” 

“But you are gay.” 

Eddie dead panned him, “You’re really annoying.” 

“I’m telling you, just ask him-”

“I’m not gonna walk up to Steve and say, ‘hey, any chance your a homosexual too, even though your an absolute ladies man and constantly bed them and brag about it to me, wanna be my boyfriend?’.” He grabbed a sweater off the couch and pulled it over his head. 

“The fact that you’re wearing his jumper right now practically says that for you.” 

Eddie gritted his teeth, “He said I can borrow it.” 

“Ah huh.” Wayne nodded, “All I’m saying is, if the Wheeler kid can be gay, why can’t Steve?” 

Eddie sighed and walked over to the front door, “Because, he’s just not.” 

—————————————————————————

Mike threw the door open, half dressed and a freaking mess. 

“Holy shit Wheeler.” Eddie shook his head, stepping inside, “Put some fucking clothes on.” 

“I’m trying.” He groaned leading Eddie up to his room, “I don’t know what to wear. Help.”

“I’m not a chick!” Eddie threw his hands up. 

“Just-” Mike sighed, “Blue or red?” 

Eddie scrunched up his face, “Blue?”

Mike nodded and pulled the shirt on. 

“Where is this date anyway?”

“Movies.” 

“Ah.” Eddie nodded, “Can I ask-”

“No.” Mike groaned.

“You asked me!” Eddie raised his eyebrows, and Mike rolled his eyes, allowing him to continue, “When, how, why?”

He deadpanned Eddie, “Last month, you, Will.” 

Eddie nodded, “Me?” He placed his hands on his hips, feeling a little overly confident. 

“Yeah…” Mike sighed, “Your insesent rambling about your homosexual realisations made me realise I have them too.” 

Eddie shot him a dirty glare, “I feel like that was an insult.”

“It was.”

“Ass.” Eddie scoffed, “So… Byers huh?” 

Mike walked out of his room and down stairs, “Shut up.”

Eddie walked out the door and over to his van, the both of them climbing inside, “So uhm, who asked who?”

“Me.” Mike nodded awkwardly, “Kinda.” 

“Kinda?” 

“Yeah, well… I didn’t ask him out, I just asked if he wanted to see a movie.”

Eddie looked at him, “So it’s not a date?”

“It is.” Mike pressed, “We like… kissed.”

Eddie smirked and started to drive, “You kissed, huh?” 

Mike rubbed his forehead in embarrassment, “Look, I didn’t know who else to go to. Stop being an ass.”

“Alright, alright.” Eddie nodded, “I’m just… surprised.” 

“So was Will.” 

Eddie laughed, “Kids been pining over you for years, dude.” 

“I know.” Mike leant on his elbow, “It’s why it surprised him so much.”

“I bet.” 

“Don’t… tell anyone. Please?” Mike turned his attention to Eddie, anxiety showing in his eyes, “I’m just- I don’t know how to feel about it yet.” 

Eddie sighed, “You’ll get used to it, man.” he licked his lips, “Took me a while to get used to the feeling as well, only I was twelve and didn’t have a boyfriend to show me I wasn’t alone.” 

They let the vulnerability sit in the air for a moment, both of them feeling a little lost. Mike cleared his throat, and Eddie puffed out his chest, both of them attempting to ‘man up’. 

“You gonna need a ride home too?” Eddie opted for a conversation change, neither of them looking at the other.

“Yep.” Mike nodded as Eddie pulled into the cinema parking lot. 

They climbed out of the car and headed in. They jumped right in line to buy tickets. 

“That will be fifteen twenty.” The cashier said, her eyes lazy whilst she chewed her bubble gum, she did not want to be there. 

“Fuck.” Mike muttered, “They’ve gone up since last time.”

“Summer rates.” She replied. 

“It’s March.” Eddie furrowed his eyebrows. 

The girl shrugged. 

“I don’t have enough for mine and Wills tickets, plus snacks.” 

Eddie sighed and pulled out his wallet, “Never doing this for you again, kid.” Eddie slid a twenty on the counter, “You owe me.” 

Mike nodded, and the girl handed Mike the tickets. Mike pulled out ten bucks and gave it to Eddie before running off to the snack bar. Ed stepped up to the counter as she handed him the change. 

“Actually, I’ll get one more ticket to whatever he’s seeing.” He handed her the ten, “Gotta pass the time somehow, right?” 

She chewed her bubble gum and forced a smile. The ticket machine printed his ticket, and she handed him back the change, making sure her fingers brushed against his palm. Eddie drew his eyes up to her, and she was twirling a strand of bright red hair around her finger, batting her eyelids at him. Eddie cleared his throat and stuffed the money into his wallet, grabbing the ticket off the counter. 

“I get off in an hour, you know, if you get bored of the movie.” She smiled. 

Eddie looked around, a little unsure of how to respond, “Uh, huh.” 

“I got a pretty spacious car round back, if you want?” 

“No thanks.” Eddie awkwardly smiled and bounced away. 

“Dude,” Mike walked over to him with a grin, popcorn under his arm, a bag of maltesers on top, and two drinks in hand, “did you just get hit on.” 

“I think so.” Eddie shivered, “I’m gonna go take a piss.” 

Mike nodded, and Eddie wandered into the bathroom. When he came back out, he saw Will and Mike, both red cheeked, making conversation. He smiled to himself, shaking his head and walked over to the candy bar. He ordered a large coke, and a box of popcorn. He looked back over to the kids to see Steve now standing with them. Eddie froze, heart skipping a beat or two. He looked down at himself, cheeks going red as he realised he was in fact wearing Steve’s jumper. He began to walk over to the group, and as he got closer, he noticed that Steve was wearing one of Eddie’s band shirts. He bit his lip. 

“Look who the cat dragged in.” 

Steve looked up, his face immediately blushing pink and he folded his arms over his chest in an attempt to hide the shirt, “Munson. Did not know you’d be here.” 

“Likewise.” They both shared an awkward glance, and Will and Mike smiled at each other knowingly. 

“I take it you’re supervising too?” 

“Yup.” Eddie nodded, “Mum and dad.” 

Steve laughed. 

“We’re gonna go in.” Will spoke up. 

“Yeah, okay.” Steve nodded, “I’m just gonna get a soda.” 

The younger boys bounced off to the cinema, leaving Steve and Eddie to their own, in eachothers clothes. 

“I must say,” Eddie grinned, “You got great taste in music, wouldn’t pin you as a metal man.” 

Steve smirked and shook his head, “Ah huh.” he poked Eddie’s chest, “And you said you hated the colour yellow.” 

He shrugged, “It’s growing on me.” 

They decided to share the box of Eddie’s popcorn, and Steve bought them some chocolate before heading in. They sat a few rows back. Far enough away to give the boys some privacy, but still close enough to throw popcorn or heckle at them if they started making out. The movie started, it was a screening of Hellraiser. Fun fact about Eddie; he hated horror movies, even before the terrors of the upside down. They were just plain scary, he hated scary, he hated how easy he was to scare. And then after the traumer of the upside down, and his near death experience, he hated them even more. Steve didn’t like them either. He used to be a horror buff, they were a one way ticket to pound town with just about any girl. Put on something scary, she cowers into his chest, his big strong arms console her, BAM!, they’re making out. But now, he was simply traumatised. Horror movies did nothing but turn him off or make him shy away. So this was gonna be a long afternoon. 

Steve and Eddie both tried their best to act tough, to ‘be a man’ as per usual. You couldn’t say the same for Will and Mike, they were latching onto each other for dear life. Eddie shoved a handful of popcorn into his mouth, terror in his eyes as he tried his best to watch. Steve gripped onto the arms of the chair for dear life. About midway through the movie, Mike and Will started making out. 

“Hey.” Eddie shouted and tossed a Reeses Piece at Mike’s head, “Keep it PG thirteen.” 

“Ow,” Mike turned back to him, “Asshole.” 

Steve pointed a finger at him, “Don’t talk to your father like that.” 

Mike rolled his eyes and went back to watching the movie. Eddie turned his attention to Steve, 

“You knew this was a date?”

“Yeah.” Steve nodded, lowering his tone so fellow movie goers couldn’t hear, “I’m surprised you’re here.” 

Eddie furrowed his eyebrows, “I’m surprised you’re here.” 

He shrugged, “Will and I have a good relationship, I guess. Came out to me about… three months ago.” 

Eddie smirked, “He came out to me last year.” 

Steve’s jaw dropped, “What the fuck, why?” 

Eddie quirked his eyebrow. 

Steve shook his head, “Didn’t know about Wheeler till yesterday.” 

“Your one up on me there, then.” He smiled, “I found out about an hour ago.” 

Steve laughed. 

“Yeah, he called me asking for advice. Asking me what to wear and crap.”

“Weird.” Steve turned back to the movie. 

Eddie looked at him for a moment, eyebrows furrowed. Did Steve not know? Surely Robin would have told him. 

“I’m relieved that he finally admitted it.” 

Eddie quirked an eyebrow, “What?”

Steve turned his attention back to Eddie, “That he was gay.”

“He’s known for years-”

“No, Wheeler.” 

“Wha-” Eddie shuffled in his chair, “What do you mean?”

“I’ve had my suspicions about Wheeler for months now. Since they were reunited.”

Eddie shook his head, “You’re lying.” 

“Swear I’m not.” Steve smiled, “Since Robin came out to me, I’ve gotten better at noticing. But, I always suspect the ones you wouldn’t.” 

Eddie sunk down in his chair, “So you had both Wheelers figured out, huh?” 

Steve gave him a strange look, “Is there a sixth Wheeler I don’t know about?”

“Nan-” Eddie froze, “Never mind.”

Steve stiffened, “Nancys-”

“Robin didn’t tell you?” 

“Tell me what?” 

“That-” Eddie squinted his eyes, “I probably shouldn’t be the one to tell you. Don’t tell Mike.” 

“Are they… Robin and Nancy?”

Eddie nodded, “You didn’t hear it from me.”

Steve sunk back down in his chair, “Holy shit.” 

Eddie hesitated for a while, debating whether he really wanted to ask what he was thinking. He looked over to Steve, who was seemingly watching the movie, but in truth was trying to calculate the idea of Nancy and Robin being in a relationship. He bit his lip, taking a deep breath, and forced himself to ask, 

“Steve,” He cleared his throat, suddenly feeling a whole lot more anxious when Steve’s eyes found him in the dark, the soft glow of the movie screen illuminating his pretty features, “why are you so shocked that I know this stuff and you don’t?”

“Because…” He shrugged, “I’ve known them all for longer. And I suppose Mike is the exception, since he does not like me all that much and admires the shit out of you-”

“He does?” 

Steve rolled his eyes, “Cool it. He’s just a weirdo like you.”

Eddie flipped him the bird and let Steve continue. 

“I dunno, Robins my best friend, it’s strange that the girls told you but not me.” 

“It’s not-” Eddie took a breath, “It was per Nancy’s request.” 

“I suppose you guys are pretty close now.”

“Yeah… so it’s a cover when we all go out…” Eddie furrowed his eyebrows, “You know, you and Robin look like you’re dating, Nance and me look like we’re dating. It’s a cover for all of us- well, not for you.” 

“Okay, that makes sense… but for you?”

Eddie just nodded. Maybe he really didn’t know.

“And Will, he told you last year?” 

“Yeah…” Eddie swallowed, “I could see myself in the kid, and so I just- I just let him know it was okay.”

Steve furrowed his eyebrows. He wasn’t really sure what to think, he didn’t want to get his hopes up. He looked at Will, then at Eddie, and it clicked - well, something clicked - they’re both shunned, bullied, called a freak and casted to the outskirts of society. Eddie’s the murderer and Wills the zombie boy. They were a safety net for one another, an underlying sense of natural trust, instant familial love. Which was true, of course, but not the reason Eddie was referring too. 

“Right.” Steve smiled and patted Eddie on the shoulder, “That’s sweet.” 

Eddie looked at Steve blankly. How the fuck was he not getting it?

“Yeah, sweet.” 

They went back to watching the movie. A few moments passed, and then there was a jumpscare. It flashed onto the screen in a second, big, loud and terrifying. Steve and Eddie both jumped out of their seats, shrieking and screaming, trying to crawl backwards, their hands subconsciously interlocking. They squeezed at each other’s hands for dear life, their knuckles turning white and the tips of their fingers turning red. They were both quite strong, so naturally, it hurt, Steve even felt his knuckles crack. They both relaxed back down into their seats, all eyes were on them. 

“Yeah, yeah.” Eddie called out, “Watch the movie.” 

Will and Mike looked at them, then down at their interlocked hands, and smirked before turning back around. Eddie and Steve both blushed and instantly let go of one another, coughing and clearing their throats. Both missing the warmth of the other. 

“That was, uhm…” Eddie started. 

“Caught us by surprise.” Steve finished awkwardly. 

“Yeah…” His eyes dipped down to Steve’s hand that sat on his knee, he swallowed thickly, so desperately wanting to grab it again. 

“Do you like horror?” 

“Nope.” Eddie said blatantly, “Never liked it.” 

“Yeah…” Steve nodded, “Kinda creepy, huh?”

“Yeah.” Eddie sighed and they both looked down and Mike and Will who were cuddled up, “At least someones enjoying it.” 

Steve laughed softly. His attention turned to Eddie again, and they just looked at eachother. Eddie tried his best to force back a smile, Steve’s features so soft in this low light. He loved the way Steve’s eyes creased when he smiled, the light array of freckles that danced over his skin, the way his hair always fell in the perfect direction, the little strand that was hanging down over his left eye, the faint stubble on his cheeks after not shaving for a few days, the blush pink tone of his perfectly kissable lips. Eddie was a goner, always had been, head over heels for King Steve since nineteen-eighty-four, but his love only grew over the events of eighty-six. Steve sighed, his lips parted ever so slightly before curling up into a warm smile. Anyone who were to look at them now would think it was the gayest sight they had ever seen, but these longing stares were always shared in private, often in the confinements of Eddie’s bed, or Steve’s car late at night when the windows were all fogged up, Tears For Fears playing in the background. Eddie mindlessly picked at the fabric on the armrest between them, his breath falling deep and heavy under Steve’s intense gaze. Steve licked his lips ever so delicately, mouth suddenly feeling dry, and Eddie felt his insides coil. He wished, more than anything, that he was the one licking Steve’s lips right now. Steve smiled wide, Eddie’s heart raced, his cheeks suddenly felt a whole lot warmer. Thank Ozzy the theatre was always dark. Then, naturally, they were interrupted. There was another loud crash through the speakers, a bright flash shone out over the seats, and everyone jumped. Steve threw his arm out over Eddie’s chest, both of them coiling back in their seats. Eddie brought his knees up to his chest and cowered behind them, leaning in Steve’s direction. Steve’s other arm flew out in front of him in defence, one of his legs ready to kick. Both of them froze there for a moment, taking some time to compose themselves and catch their breaths. Eddie peered up at Steve, and then down at the arm pressed hard against his chest. He smiled to himself, feeling giddy over Steve’s natural instinct to protect him. Steve quickly pulled his arm away, 

“Sorry.” 

“I thought the husband was supposed to protect the wife.” Eddie joked, slowly lowering his legs back to the ground, “Or maybe you’re taking this ‘king’ thing too seriously.” 

Steve chuckled nervously, “Yeah.” He smiled down at Eddie, who was still slumped in his chair, “Or maybe I just know you’re a scared little bitch.”

Eddie deadpanned him, sitting up properly now, “I heard you scream. You can’t say shit, Sir Steve.” 

Steve rolled his eyes, “For your benefit… how about we wait for them outside?”

“For my benefit,” Eddie mocked him, “Yeah… keep telling yourself that, Stevie.” 

They quickly collected their things and ducked out of the cinema. They sat on the velvet bench across from the doors so the boys would be able to find them easily. Eddie sat crossleggerd facing Steve, and Steve straddled the bench, their drinks and popcorn sitting between them. Eddie grabbed a piece and tossed it up into the air, and caught it in his mouth, a little fist pump to celebrate. Steve squinted his eyes, he liked to challenge Eddie. He grabbed a piece himself, and tossed it up, catching it in his mouth as well. He mimicked Eddie’s little fist pump. Eddie grinned, wordlessly accepting Steve’s challenge, grabbing another piece, tossing it a little higher, and catching it. Steve did the same. Eddie threw two pieces, Steve threw three. Two landed in his mouth, the other hit his nose and bounced onto the floor. Eddie laughed and grabbed three pieces himself, but he managed to catch them all. 

“What the fuck.” Steve scoffed, “How’d you do that?” 

“I’m good with my mouth, Stevie.” He winked and threw a piece really high, catching it with a smirk. 

Steve blushed. 

“Watch my drink? I’m gonna go take a piss.” 

“If you’re not quick, I might drink it.” 

“Go ahead,” Eddie grinned, standing up, “as long as you use my straw. It’s the closest I’m gonna get to kissin ya.” 

Steve slowly drew his straw out of his cup and shoved it into Eddies, taking a long sip and raising his eyebrows. Eddie faked heartbreak before skipping off to the toilet. He thought to himself for a moment, standing there over the urinal, the post piss clarity sinking in. Eddie always flirted with Steve, a little too much sometimes, that was a fact. He just loved the way Steve would get all flustered and pink in the cheeks, he also loved when Steve teased back. He never flirted back though. That was a fact Eddie knew, hence why he was so dead set on Steve being straight. Eddie thought Steve would have figured out by now about his feelings. He stopped trying to hide them late last year. He’d probably never openly admit it of course, but if it meant he got to flirt with the boy he loved, then why the fuck not. Steve never asked him to stop. And yeah, it was pretty obvious that most of the things they did together were not the activities of a straight man, but Eddie honestly thought that was purely his influence. And he knew that Steve just craved affection, and attention, and love, so he musnt have minded the blatent homosexual themes throughout thier friendship. Eddie also was sure Steve knew he was gay. The rest of the group did. He told Will first, shortly after meeting him, and they connected a lot. After he caught Robin drooling over Nancy one day, he asked if she was a lesbian. And after a long conversation that primarily consisted of Robin rambling about how she definenly wasn’t, Eddie just smiled and told her he was super gay for Steve. He figured out Nancy’s feelings for Robin too. Whenever the four of them hung out, Nancy would attach herself to Eddie in an attempt to hide her feelings for Robin - who she believed had romantic feelings for Steve - which inevitably led to Eddie trying to let her down carefully. Which led to a tear filled confession from Nancy, to which he simply said ‘Steve is the furthest from Robin’s type… maybe you should let her know you like her too’. So yeah, that’s how Nancy and Eddie became so close, and acted sort of coupley when out in public - to hide away the reality of the situation. But that naturally led to Mike and Dustin berating him and Nancy with questions. Nancy was on the brink of tears, both her and Robin were most definitely not ready to come out - and neither was Eddie for that matter, he was only out to those two girls and Wayne - but he, being the selfless person he was, told the boys they were only fake dating to cover up the fact that he was gay. And then word got around and eventually the whole group, plus some of their siblings/parents knew. So he found the thought of Steve not knowing incredibly ridiculous. 

He zipped up his jeans and walked back out to find Steve tossing handfuls of popcorn in the air and trying to catch as many as he could. 

“The key is volume.” He smiled when Eddie sat back down. 

“I can see that.” He laughed, “I’m also blaming you if we get kicked out for making a mess.” 

“I’ll blame you, gotta keep the golden boy rep.” He grinned. 

“Jerk.” He laughed and took a sip of his drink.

“Ed?” Steve swallowed. 

“Stevie.” Eddie raised his eyebrows. 

“So, if Rob and Nance are together…” He rubbed the back of his neck and thought for a moment, “I thought you and Nancy were into each other.” 

Eddie snorted, “I can promise you, we’re not.” 

“Yeah, but you’re always… holding hands and stuff.” 

Eddie grinned, “Only in public, to keep the cover. Plus,” he scoffed, “you hold hands with Robin all the time.” 

“Yeah but she’s only into girls.” 

“Same sorta thing with me and Nance.” He took a breath, “The very gay, and the not so gay holding hands - best friends helpin eachother out.” 

“She’s into both, though-”

Eddie nodded, “Yeah…” Come on Steve, figure it out. 

Steve squinted his eyes, “I just can’t believe they are dating and didn’t tell me.” 

Eddie sighed, “You’re oblivious.”  

Steve shrugged and went back to tossin popcorn into his mouth. Eddie just watched with a smile, taking sips of his drink as they waited for the movie to end. About twenty minutes later, the doors busted open and a small swarm of people walked out. Will and Mike walked incredibly close to one another, but refused to hold hands in the daylight, in public, understandably so. The group walked around the corner to an old diner, a popular date location for teenagers. Mike and Will sat themselves down in a little booth on one side of the diner, and Eddie and Steve sat in one on the other side, still wanting to keep an eye on them, and also give them some privacy (and maybe to get some privacy themselves). Steve ordered a cheeseburger, and Eddie ordered some chicken nuggets - being the big child he is - and they opted to share a chocolate shake. 

“Yeah, those sodas were huge, I don’t need a whole shake to myself either.”

Their food was bought out in a flash, and they talked, and joked, and childishly fought over their different opinions of things, all whilst sharing a shake with two straws. Every time Steve leant in to take a sip, Eddie would quickly swallow his food down and lean in two, just so they could stare at each other for a couple of seconds, their faces incredibly close, their noses accidentally touching a few times. Eddie thought he was gonna die, and he scolded himself for getting hard under the table. 

“Nope.” Steve shook his head, shoving a fry into his mouth, “I’m telling you man, Back To The Future is way better.” 

“Give me one reason why.” 

“It just is.” Steve pressed.

“See, you don’t have a good reason.” Eddie smirked, “Terminator is the best time travel movie, hands down.” 

“Terminator has Arnold Schwarzenegger in it.” Steve deadpanned him. 

“One of the top reasons why I like it,” Eddie grabbed one of Steve’s fries - even though he has his own - and bit it in half, “I like my men brawny.” He winked. 

“Ha ha.” Steve wiggled his head, sarcasm seeping through his tone. 

God, he was oblivious. Eddie was over it now, sick to the core of this endless game of cat and mouse he was basically playing with himself. So he forced his nerves down, gritted his teeth, took a deep breath, and looked down the barrel of the gun. 

“Honest to god.” He put his hands up in defence, “Hunky boys are my thing.” 

Steve glared at him. 

Eddie forced himself to smile, “Hunky pretty boys.” He leant on his elbow, eyes fixed on Steve, “They make me all giddy when they take their shirts off.” 

“You sound like a girl.” Steve shook his head with a smile. 

Eddie sighed, “Is that such a bad thing?”

“Not generally, but when it comes to Arnold Schwarzenegger.” 

Eddie slumped down on the table, a groan finding its way through his lips. 

“What?” Steve chuckled. 

“Arnold Schwarzenegger is not a hunky pretty boy. He is just hunky.” He slowly looked back up at Steve. 

“I’m lost.” 

Eddie sighed, “Hunky pretty boys- anyone come to mind?” 

Steve thought for a moment, himself maybe?, he clicked his fingers and pointed at Eddie, “That guy from metallica you try to be like.” 

Eddie’s eyes fell half lidded and he just stared at Steve for a moment, “Sure.” 

“You’re a weirdo.” Steve shook his head with a smile, “For a moment I thought you were talking about me.” 

Eddie’s jaw hung slack, “Would you like it if I was talking about you, Stevie?” 

“Oh yes.” He deadpanned, his voice flat and emotionless, “I would love for you to drool over me shirtless.” Not a lie. 

“Carefull, Harrington,” Eddie huffed, “you sound kinda gay.” 

Steve raised his eyebrows, “And you don’t?” 

Okay, brutal honesty, here it comes, “Well, the fact that I actually-” 

“Oh shit.” Steve’s eyes were fixed behind Eddie, “It’s almost six, gotta get Will home.” 

Eddie bit his lip and slowly nodded, “Yeah, okay.” Jesus Christ, it was like the universe never wanted Steve to know. 

They left some money on the table, took one last sip of the shake (together) and grabbed Mike and Will. The younger boys walked ahead on the way back to their cars, Steve and Eddie walking slowly behind. 

“Okay, but in all honesty, Terminator wasn’t that bad.” Steve hummed. 

“Thankyou.” Eddie waived his arms out, turning slightly to face Steve as they walked. 

“But Schwarzenegger is not my type.” 

“No shit.” Eddie laughed, “I bet you like the pretty boys, huh. The ones you can protect?” 

Steve deadpanned him, spot on. 

Eddie pulled his arms up to flex his muscles, “Wanna show off, spread your manhood.” 

“My manhood?” Steve laughed. 

“Yeah.” Eddie grinned, “Big tough Stevie and his weak little boyfriend to be? Is that how you like it?”

You’re not weak, but small, “Har Har.” 

“Got ya right on the money.” Eddie waved his hands out in declaration, “Steve Harrington likes pathetic, pretty men.” 

He nudged Eddie’s side with his elbow, “You callin yourself pathetic, Munson?”

Eddie froze, that’s new, he swallowed down the aching lump in his throat, “You calling me pretty, Stevie?” 

“In your dreams, Edward.” 

Correct. Every night, “How dare you, Edward. Would you like me to call you Steven?”

“You wouldn’t dare.” He grinned. 

They stopped out the front of their cars, Mike was leant up against Eddie’s van already with his hand on Will’s waist, listening intently as he gushed on about something all pink in the cheeks. Eddie tossed Mike his keys, signalling for him to get in the van, 

“You’re twelve, stop with the ogling.”

“Sixteen.” He groaned. 

Steve handed Will his keys too and told him to pick out some tunes for the ride home. 

“I must say, you’re a great person to share a milkshake with, Steve.” Eddie grinned, his hand brushing against Steve’s hip as he turned to face him, “You don’t hog it.” 

“What can I say,” Steve folded his arms over his chest, “I’m a giver, not a taker.” 

Eddie giggled, and he felt like a twelve year old girl, “I’d like my shirt back sometime, Harrington.”

“And I’d like my jumper. I’d offer to trade, but…” He pretended to think, tapping a finger on his chin, “now I know you like it when I take my shirt off I think I’ll make you wait.” 

Holy fuck, Eddie needed to get out of there before Steve noticed the raging erection he had. Why was he flirting? His own actions coming back to bite him in the ass of course. 

“Damn…” Eddie pouted his lips and flashed him the puppy dog eyes, “Was really looking forward to that.”

“So you admit you were talking about me?” Steve leant up against the front of Eddie’s van. 

Fuck it, “Who else would I be talking about?” he leant in a little teasingly. 

Steve stiffened, he swallowed, hard, “Yourself maybe.” 

“Nah, I’m not Hunky pretty, remember?” He smirked, “Just pathetic and pretty.” 

Steve rolled his eyes playfully, “I gotta get this kid home or his mums gonna kill me.” 

Eddie sighed, “Right… right, yeah.” 

Steve licked his lips, the slight pout on Eddie’s made him look so kissable, “So, I’ll see ya round?”

“Yeah.” Eddie nodded, watching as Steve walked over to his car. 

Steve shot him that adorable fucking smile he loved so much and he thought, what the fuck, I’ve got nothing to lose. So he took a deep breath, 

“Steve?” 

“Yeah?” He turned and looked back at Eddie, his hands on his hips.

Eddie loved when he did that. 

“How about next time I take you on a date, for real?” 

Steve’s heart skipped a beat, he froze, saying nothing, no fucking way was this happening, Eddie is not-

Eddie cleared his throat. 

Steve snapped out of his daze and forced himself to laugh, “Good one, Munson. I’ll knock on your door with a bouquet of flowers.” 

Fuck, his heart sank, this was hopeless, “Yeah,” He forced a smile, “I like daisies.” 

Steve smiled and turned to get back in his car. Eddie stood there for a while, watching Steve turn the key, say something to will, send him a quick little wave and smile, and drive away. He stood there even longer, his heart aching in his chest. 

BEEEEEEEP

Mike wailed his arms out from inside the van, “What are you doing?” 

Eddie shook all thoughts from his head - no matter how painful - and climbed into the car, “Sorry man.” 

“Dude,” Mike scoffed, “Harrington is not gay.” 

“That’s what I said about you.” He grunted. 

“Yeah,” Mike laughed, “but Harrington is definitely not.”

He sighed, “Yeah, I know.” 

——————————————————————————

Steve pulled up to Robin’s place and ran up to the door. Nancy’s car was parked in the driveway. He shook his head in disbelief. He knocked, rather aggressively, actually, and Robin answered the door with a smile, dressed in one of Nancys shirts. Her smile faltered when she saw the dead glare on Steve’s face. 

“You really didn’t tell me you finally got Nancy?” 

She awkwardly smiled, “Sorry?” 

He sighed and pushed past her, into the house, to find Nancy sitting curled up on the couch, a worried look on her face, “Explanation, please.”

“Uh- about four month-”

“You have been hiding this from me for four months?” Steve exclaimed. 

“Sorry?” She offered again. 

“You know, I want to be mad, but you did an exceptional job at it.” He turned to Nancy, “I really thought you and Munson were in love or something.”

Both Robin and Nancy shared a confused look before turning their attention back to Steve, Robin sat back down on the couch, “Yeah, and you’ve done an exceptional job at hiding your thing with Eddie, not.” 

Steve gave her a confused look now, “Sorry?”

“You and Eddie, you’re terrible at hid-” She squinted her eyes, looking intently at the shocked look on Steve’s face, “You’re with Eddie, right?” 

“No.” Steve pressed. 

“You’re not?” Nancy added. 

“No.” He shook his head. 

“What?” Robins jaw dropped, “I thought we had an unspoken understanding that I was with Nance and you were with Eddie because every time we go out you guys stop acting so gay and cling to us, and vise versa.”

“We don’t act gay!” Steve shouted, he didn’t know why, he knew they acted very gay. 

“Yeah right.” Robin shouted back, “You literally make googly eyes at each other all day.” 

“Well, we’re not together!”

“But you like him!” 

“You’re into men?” Nancy asked. 

“You’re into women?” He replied. 

She shrugged, “Fair enough.” 

“Okay, but…” Robin crossed her arms, “why aren’t you together?” 

Nancy whispered to Robin, “Ed thinks Steve is straight. Says there’s no point in actually asking so he just flirts instead, takes what he can get. I’m not supposed to be telling you, or Steve this, so shush.” 

Robin nodded, “Right.” She turned back to Steve, “Why haven’t you asked him out? It’s been a year.” 

“What makes you think he wants me to ask him out?” Steve shouted, wailing his arms around. 

Robin jumped up in a huff, marching over to the kitchen for a glass of water, “What makes you think he doesn’t?” 

Steve froze, he suddenly got a whole lot quieter, “He’s- he likes girls-” Robin just looked at him and shook her head, Steve’s eyes widened, “He likes guys?” 

“Whoopty doo!” Robin quipped, “You figured it out.” 

“But- today he-”

“You saw him today?” 

“Yeah, just then actually.” he thought for a moment, “But, he pulled his hand away when I grabbed it. And he was- he kept…” 

Robin and Nancy just kept looking at each other and then at Steve, on the brink of laughter as they waited for him to figure it out.

“No-” Steve shook his head, refusing to believe it. 

“At any point today did he share his food with you?” Robin sighed and walked back to the couch. 

“Yeah…” Steve rubbed the back of his neck, “We shared popcorn, and I had some of his soda, and we shared a milkshake.” 

“Ah huh.” Robin nodded, “Eddie doesn’t share his food.”

“What are you talking about? We share all the time-”

“Yeah, he shares it with you.” She smiled, “He will not let anyone else go near it.”

“Hmmm, that doesn’t prove anything.” 

She sighed, “Okay… Did he find an excuse to call you his saviour again? Or call you tough, strong, a knight, a protector?”

“Maybe…” Yes, all the fucking time. 

She nodded, “Did he tease you for wearing his clothes?” 

Steve looked down at the shirt, “Yeah… he was wearing mine.”

Nancy dead panned him, “Did you guys do that thing where you stare longingly at each other for like, five minuets?” 

“Wha-” Steve cleared his throat, “How did you know-”

“So gay.” Robin shook her head, “Did he joke about kissing you?” 

Steve tensed, “Maybe.” 

“Did he find a way to call you gay, or make a joke about the both of you being gay?” 

Steve folded his arms over his chest, “I- yeah.” 

“Steve.” Robin pinched the bridge of her nose, “Those are not things a heterosexual man would do.” 

“Tommy used to do those things with me-” the realisation hit, “Oh.” 

“Oh.” Robin mocked him. 

“Oh my god.” His arms dropped to his sides. 

“Steve.” Nancy shook her head, “It’s like, common knowledge that he’s into dudes. I’m surprised Dustin hasn’t blabbed to you about it.” 

“Eddie’s into dudes…” He thought for a moment, “Fuck, I think he tried to tell me today.” 

“Probab-”

“Oh my fucking god.” Steve ran for the door. 

“What?” Robin called out. 

“He asked me out!” 

“What?” Nancy laughed, “He asked you out and you still didn’t pick up on it?” 

“I thought he was joking.” Steve pulled at his hair, “Oh my god, I need to go.” 

“Get the fuck out of here.” Robin yelled out, “Your stupidity baffles me, dingus.” 

——————————————————————————

Eddie strolled into his trailer and sat down on the springy couch. He leant on his knees and rubbed his eyes. 

“You alright, son?” Wayne asked as he grabbed a couple beers out from the fridge. 

Eddie looked up at him with bloodshot eyes, “Steve is definitely not gay.” 

Wayne walked over and handed Eddie a beer, “Come on, have a little-”

“I had a little optimism, Wayne.” He grunted, cracking the can open and taking a long sip, “I asked him out, and he thought it was a joke and laughed.” 

Wayne sighed. 

“I actually asked him out, Wayne.” He rubbed his forehead, biting back tears, “I gave it everything I had, and nothing. That ship of hope has sailed and sunk to the deepest trench of the fucking ocean.” 

Wayne sat down beside him and patted his back, “Sorry, son.” he sighed, “I really thought he liked ya.” 

——————————————————————————

It had been about an hour now, and Eddie was midway through Rocky Horror. He’d curled himself up in a pair of Steve’s sweats he had left behind, his yellow jumper, and nothing else. He nursed a can of beer in his hand, his hair tied back in a low bun, his knees were pulled up to his chest, he had the jumper covering half his face so he could smell steve - probably for the last time -, his cheeks were tear stained, but he wasn’t crying anymore, and he was quietly humming along to the musical. He really felt pathetic. Shame it’s not actually Steve’s type. 

“I can make you a ma-ha-ha-hannnnn.” He took a sip, his voice quiet and squeaky much like a mouse, “He’ll do press-ups, and chin-ups.” 

There was a soft knock at the door, and he wiped his nose with the sleeve of his - Steves - sweater, “I’ll get it.” 

He put the can down on the little coffee table in front of him, shoved the blanket he was under to the side, and stalked over to the door. His heart skipped a beat when he saw Steve standing there with his perfect fucking hair, and his perfect fucking eyes, his perfect fucking lips, his perfect fucking face, and his perfect fucking everything. 

“Hi.” He put on a face, pretending he hadn’t been pathetically sobbing for the past hour and a half. 

“Hi.” And fuck, did Steve almost die when he saw Eddie’s hair tied back. 

“Missed me, Stevie?” Carry on with the flirtatious act so he thinks it’s still all a joke. 

“Can’t help it,” He shrugged, “I’m a sucker for pathetic pretty boys.” 

Eddie forced himself to laugh. 

“Sorry.” 

“What?” Eddie furrowed his eyebrows. 

“I realised you weren’t joking…” Steve bit his lip. 

Eddie’s nostrils flared as a new wave of horror washed over him, play it cool, “Joking about what? About thinking Terminator is better than Back To The Future?” 

Steve laughed, “No… you know. About practically everything else we talked about today… and everyday for that matter-”

“I have no idea-” 

“I just hope you weren’t lying about these,” Steve pulled a bouquet of daisies out from behind his back, “that would be embarrassing.” 

Eddie looked at the flowers and then up at Steve, “I’m not really a flower man.” 

Steve laughed with a shrug, “Didn’t think so.” 

“Right…” Eddie hesitantly took the flowers. 

“Look, I’ve come to the realisation that I’m just really stupid sometimes.” He sighed, “You were trying to tell me over and over again today and I just- I didn’t get it… apparently it’s common knowledge, which makes it worse.” 

“Yeah…” Eddie swallowed, he was terrified, preparing himself for rejection. 

“For your information, you were right on the money when you were guessing my type in men- though, I wouldn’t call you pathetic. Just… in need of someone to look out for you.” 

“Har har.” Eddie laughed, this had to be a joke, right? 

“I wanna look out for you.” And all sense of humour was lost. 

“I’m right here,” Eddie tried to joke, “need your glasses maybe, Steve?”

This was going to be harder than he thought, but naturally Eddie would keep his walls up, so he just kept trying, “I do look out for you, all the time. You already got me… in one way or another.”

Eddie nodded, he was a freaking mess inside, but outside he seemed calm, cool and collected. 

Steve sighed, “You know… now that I think back, I realise Will opened up to you because you guys are the same, you both- you could just tell, you could see yourself in him.” 

“Okay…”  Oh god, here it comes. 

“I think I’m the same with Mike. I could see myself in him. We had that built up shitty feeling inside for years that we could never quite figure out, and it took some dorky nerd who was in need of saving to figure out what it was.” 

Eddie froze a bit, his heart raced and holy shit, was this what he’d been praying for? 

“I know all these stupid things I do with you are not things a straight man would ever do, but for some reason I refused to let myself believe that you might be gay too.” 

He said it, he fucking said it.

“Your- your gay?” Was all Eddie could spit out. 

“Yeah, whatever the Wheelers got, I got it too.” He smiled that perfect fucking smile. 

“Wow.” He thought for a moment and looked down at the flowers, “Wait a second… are you saying I made you gay, Stevie?” 

He sighed and tipped his head back, “Jesus, I was hoping you wouldn’t let that fo to your head.” 

He laughed, “Oh my, I totally did. I made Steve Harrington gay.” 

“Shut up.” He rolled his eyes, but he couldn’t peel the grin off his face. 

Eddie folded his arms over his chest, “You laughed when I asked you out.”

“So that was definitely real?” 

“Yes.” 

Steve awkwardly smiled, “I was hoping it was.” he wiggled a little, “Sorry?” 

Eddie sighed, “Yeah, yeah. You kinda broke my heart, you know.” 

“Har har.” Steve grinned, but they both knew it wasn’t really a joke. 

“So, are you gonna ask me out or what?” Eddie pumped his eyebrows, “I’ve already had my turn.” 

Steve rolled his eyes playfully and leant on the doorframe, “You wanna go out some time, big boy?” 

Eddie bit his lip, his heart pounded so hard in his chest he thought it would jump out, “Yeah, yeah, good one, Harrington. You’re real funny.” 

Steve deadpanned him. 

“Yeah I’ll go out with ya,” He raised his eyebrows, “but you’re payin.” 

Steve rested a hand on each side of the doorframe, leaning forward on them to bring himself closer to Eddie, “Yeah, yeah. But you gotta promise to actually kiss me, this sharing a straw thing really sucks.” 

Eddie laughed and hit Steve in the chest with the bouquet of daisies, “You’re a dork.” 

“Nerd.” Steve quipped back. 

Eddie leaned in really close, “You sure you wanna kiss me, Stevie? Seems kinda gay to me.” 

“And you say I’m the dork.” He smirked. 

Eddie’s eyes fluttered shut, and he pulled himself a little closer to Steve - and then there was a thwack on his back and he jolted forward, bumping heads with him instead. 

“Tolda he was gay.” Wayne shook his head and pushed past Steve, “I’m always right.” He climbed into his car and headed off to work. 

Eddie scrunched up his face, embarrassment flooding his body. Steve chuckled, 

“You told your uncle about me?” He smiled smugly, “Hmm, you really were right about my type being pathetic pretty guys.” 

“Shut up.” Eddie groaned. 

Steve smirked, “Make me.” 

Eddie quirked an eyebrow, a smirk crept its way onto his lips. He grabbed Steve by the collar and pulled him through the door, slamming the door shut behind him. He pushed Steve up against the door, their bodies pressed tightly together, both of them already as hard as wood. Eddie hovered his lips right over Steves as he puckered them out, 

“I think you’re gonna be the pathetic one one after I’m done with you, Stevie.” 

#jay writes #hellraiser #steddie #steve harrington #eddie munson #side byler #it's surrounded by byler #mike wheeler #will byers #bi steve #bi mike #queer eddie #will byers is gay gay gay #first date trope #accidental date trope #eddie and steve are babysitting because they have to protect the little gay babies from small town homphobia #they don't like horror movies #post s4 fix it #stranger things #stranger things 4 #one shot #eddie & mike #steve & will

[thehollylujah]

Munson?

Summary: Steve is rebuilding slowly after everything that has happened, trying desperately to ignore the looming threat of Vecna. He finally began to accept that Eddie’s gone, no matter what he realized his heart felt. Unless he’s not.

Even though this isn’t technically NSFW, I still don’t want people under 16 interacting.

Warnings: panic attacks, coming to terms with sexuality, death, brief mention of blood.

This is really just the buildup to Steddie content. I’m not good with writing slow burn, but that kinda feels like where this is going. Sorry to anyone who just wants smut. Me too.

He jerked awake, eyes snapping open, his hands reaching out to grab for anything to give some indication he wasn't wrapped in Vecna's vines. He felt his palm come in contact with a figure wrapped in a quilt, and remembered with a jolt where he was.

Robin jerked as his hand hit her hip and quickly sat up, reaching to turn the lamp on on the bedside table. 

Steve felt a wave of relief wash over him as his room at his house was illuminated, the singular lightbulb casting shadows all throughout the room.

"Nightmare?" Robin stretched, yawning softly as she waited for his reply.

Steve nodded, the adrenaline from the dream still pumping through his body.

"You wanna talk about it?" Steve turned to her, blood still rushing in his ears. Her hair was half up, half down, coming out of he ponytail and sticking in every direction. He shrugged, shifting back to rest against his headboard, head thumping against his wall, willing her to stop looking at him with the concern and empathy always etched into her features after nights like this.

"The vines one. I always feel like I can't breathe when that one happens."

Robin sighed, joining him, pressing her side to his. "I think that's what a professional would call a panic attack."

Steve huffed, the phantom feeling of the vines tightening around his throat returning for a millisecond. They sat in silence, Steve willing his heart to slow, listening to Robin's slow and languid breathing as she dozed, head resting on his shoulder.

"I need to get up and walk, I'll be back." He nudged her head up with his shoulder, throwing the covers off of him. Robin huffed, sitting up straighter before resting her head against the wall. Steve felt a rush of cold air against his legs, forcing another wave of consciousness to roll through his body.

"Won't go to sleep until you're back, but you know that." Steve nodded, blinking the remaining sleep from his eyes as he exited his room.

He found his feet leading him downstairs, mind racing back to the past two week.

He and Robin had been staying together, both for comfort during bad nights and to carpool together to the school gym to help with the community effort to rebuild. His house had remained miraculously untouched by the tears in Hawkins, so it became a place for not only Robin to stay, but any of the kiddos who needed to get away.

Dustin had taken the offer immediately, comedically crawling out of his window most nights at midnight to join Robin, Steve, and whatever kiddos were left to watch movies on the DVR and eat as much shitty food as they could to ignore the looming upside down and Vecna around them. 

Steve was rocketed back to the night the world split open, finding Dustin sitting right beside the tear in the ground, right where Eddie's trailer had stood. He had curled into a ball as he sobbed and screamed for Eddie, clutching his guitar pick necklace so hard it had begun to draw blood. Steve had had to pick Dustin up and carry him back to his house, fighting his own tears at the idea that Eddie was dead, his body still left to rot in the upside down.

It had taken them days to get everyone back where they needed to be. Nancy and Mike had to leave their house, and Lucas rarely left Max's side at the hospital, much to his parents displeasure. It had taken a day for Dustin to finally calm down enough to return to his parents, still refusing to let go of Eddie's pick necklace. But once Steve was able to finally relax for even a moment, he sat down with Robin.

He remembers the emotions roiling in his gut as he told her everything through tears, guilt and fury burning in his chest. He had broken down, the understanding that Eddie was gone finally settling on him like a thousand pounds.

He told her about his first feelings for a guy, the shame of somehow being attracted to both Johnathan and Nancy. The return of that same feeling with the 'Freak of Hawkins'. How he had tried to tamp it down, ignore it in favor of shoving himself back into dating any girl that would give him the time of day.

She had listened patiently, her normal quick banter and jabs at him disappearing like fog in the sun.

When he had finished, frozen in fear of her response, she had simply stood and hugged him, letting him breathe out a wet sob before crying into her shoulder. 

He still sometimes couldn't rationalize that Eddie was gone, body left on the ground, torn apart by Demobats. His brain could not rationalize that he was here one moment and gone the next.

He was snapped out of his morbid train of thought when he heard a soft patter of footsteps in his kitchen. He stiffened, throat tightening up.

"Dustin? That you?"

No response. A cold crept up his spine as he inched forward, hand reaching for whatever he could find to fend off whatever was in his kitchen. 

His hands wrapped around his bat, propped up at the end of his stairs, and he hefted it up as he inched forward into the kitchen. He turned the corner, ready to swing.

And came face to face with Eddie Munson.

 Steve's guard dropped for a moment, brows furrowing as he took in Eddie. Blood was smeared on his face and his hair was wild, his eyes bloodshot and a feral look etched into his features.

"Munson?"

He didn't have time to react before hands were around his chest, wrapping around his torso as Eddie lunged towards him, hitting him so hard he had to rock back to keep himself from falling over.

His voice sounded ragged and soft. "Steve?"

#stranger things #steve harrington #steddie kinda? #Steddie #robin buckley #babysitter steve Harrington #kas!eddie #dustin henderson #post s4 fix it #I’m gonna fix it. mark my words

[mrsjellymunson]

KNOCK AT THE CABIN | Part One

READ THE PROLOGUE

Pairing: Eddie Munson x fem!reader

Written for @bettyfrommars , @allthingsjoeq and @somnambulic-thing ’s excellent Stranger Prompts event.

Series Summary: After the events of the previous months, everyone is shocked by the unexpected return of an old friend. But is it really him?

Chapter summary: It’s all hands on deck to try and help your unexpected visitor. You come up with an effective, if unexpectedly intimate, solution.

WC: ~4.41k

C/W: 🔞 18+, MDNI, NSFW, series CW for eventual Eddie Munson x fem!reader smut. Post-S4, Upside Down exists, dark/supernatural themes, descriptions of minor injuries, allusions to hypothermia.

A/N: This series contains a lot of themes and scenarios that I haven’t written for before, so I’d love to know what you think! Please comment and reblog, it means the world to writers, and reblogs mean work gets seen. This series has a taglist so if you’d like to be on either it, or my general list, just comment, ask or message, I’d love to have you on board 🙏💗 Also, I proofed this as much as I could but my brain isn’t braining very well at the moment so if you spot any errors please let me know 💙

My masterlist

PART ONE

There, hunched, shivering, soaked and covered in mud, is your friend. The one who’d died saving the town. The one they’d buried only a few days ago, after he’d been lying on a slab in a lab somewhere for weeks.

Eddie.

The increasingly noisy wind blows leaves and the now-driving rain horizontally across the stoop. Inside the hallway, there’s silence.

You all stand at the door, mouths agape. Initially, none of you move.

You take in your visitor’s appearance. His hair is lank, wet with mud and rain and full of twigs and leaves. He stands, shoulders sagging, in filthy, soaked clothes, the wet material seeming to drag his frame down even further.

You glance down and notice he’s barefoot, his feet the same mid-brown mud colour as most of his clothing, other than where thin rivulets of scarlet run down his skin.

His cheeks are gaunt, his lips grey, not the plush, rosy pink that they always were. He looks thinner than you remember, and his skin was always pale, but it seems even lighter now, almost translucent.

His face is downcast, and he doesn’t make eye contact with any of you.

Dustin shoulders his way between you and Steve and takes his first good look at the strange visitor. At first he’s confused, incredulous, but this rapidly gives way to pure astonishment, as he yells over the sound of the rain, “Eddie? EDDIE!”

He starts to rush forwards, but Steve puts an arm out to stop him, protecting Eddie’s obviously frail and vulnerable state.

There’s murmuring and chattering and quiet squeals as everyone processes the sight before them.

None of you consider what events or twists of fate have brought him here, all of you only caring in this moment that he’s here. He's here! He’s here!

Eddie finally lifts his eyes to you all. They’re sunken, red-rimmed, and have lost their usual sparkle. They don’t seem to focus on anything in particular, and before any of you can work to bring him inside, he mumbles something that sounds a little like your name, sways a little and collapses, his knees connecting with the wood of the front stoop with a hollow thump.

Steve reacts first, stopping Eddie from falling sideways as he rushes forward, yelling, “Get him inside. Now!”

You hurry outside to help Steve whilst Robin opens the door fully and shoos the teens out of the way. Steve instructs you to grab under Eddie’s arm, and you both drag him inside.

You don’t have Steve’s lifeguarding or athletic skills and you’re not used to manhandling people, and you stumble over the threshold and flop backwards into the hallway. You end up sitting on your ass with Eddie half over your lap.

There’s a cacophony of confusion and the kids want to help, but they end up crowding you both. They want to touch Eddie, see if it’s really him, see what’s wrong.

The only ones who hang back are Will and Jane, you assume because although they’ve heard so much about him they don’t really know him. No one notices their somewhat tense demeanour, or the way they subtly keep glancing at one another.

Robin closes the door to keep out the weather, and out of the corner of your eye you see her covering her mouth with both hands.

You run a hand over Eddie’s form, checking for any obvious injuries. You spot his arms and hands are in a similar state to his feet, utterly filthy, with cracked and split nails and torn, bloody skin.

He’s bedraggled and shivering, has curled in on himself and is practically convulsing.

You speak above the clamour.

“Steve, he’s freezing! What do we do??”

Steve panics a little, pacing the hallway with one hand on his hip and raking the other through his hair. He makes a few incomprehensible noises before he remembers something, stopping suddenly and turning to face you. Clicking his fingers and pointing, he reminds you,

“Wait, didn’t you go on some outdoor survival course once, or something? At a summer camp? You told me about it when you got back. Something about how to help people who’ve fallen out of canoes into icy rivers? I remember because you were really sarcastic about it and said, ‘It was sooooo useful. I mean, I go kayaking all the time, right?’”

“Shit, you’re right. Fuck, fuck!”

Slowly, some of the information comes back to you.

“Okay, we have to warm him up, but it has to be gradual, though. There was something about too much heat too fast maybe causing shock?”

You start to panic, screwing up your face and trying to remember all the things they taught you. ”Oh fuck, think, think!”

Robin puts an arm around your shoulders as Steve says your name, softly, reassuring you that you’re doing great and that anything you can remember will be better than the absolutely nothing that any of the rest of them know. Give him a swimmer in difficulty or someone choking on a gumball at the video store and he’s in his element, but any of this outdoorsy stuff is way out of his comfort zone.

Suddenly and from nowhere your brain kicks into high gear. You remember some of the training, and start barking orders.

“Will, get blankets, lots of blankets. I remember something about hot, sweet drinks…” Eyes wide and flicking between the stunned people standing around you, you ask, “Which of you makes the best hot chocolate??”

Mike and Lucas state in unison, “Dustin!”

“Okay. Dustin, Jane, you go make hot chocolate. Make a lot of it, and make it really sweet”, figuring you could all use some, and that there’s likely to be more than one person suffering from shock this evening.

Turning to her, you say, “Robin, help me take his jacket off and hang it in the kitchen by the stove. Mike, help Will with the blankets. Steve, Lucas, help me get him into the living room, in front of the fire. And anybody and everybody, go get more wood!”

Robin crouches next to you, helping you to ease Eddie’s jacket from his trembling shoulders, glancing at you as she does so. You’re guessing your concerned expression is mirroring hers, but you don’t want the kids to see so you keep it between you.

She gets up and moves to the small kitchen, placing his sodden jacket over the back of a dining chair and setting it in front of the old but functional wood-fired oven (one place in the house that’s almost always warm).

Steve and Lucas help you move Eddie into the living room, where the open fire gets stacked high with fresh wood.

Robin brings a bowl of warm water and some washcloths, and you sit eddie between you, both cleaning mud from his face and gently bathing his damaged hands and feet.

Jane sits on the floor behind you. Initially reticent and hanging back, she’s now sitting nearer to Eddie, carefully removing some of the twigs from his hair with characteristic diligence and gentleness.

You make Eddie take sips of Dustin’s (frankly, excellent) hot chocolate, and make sure all the kids have got some before asking Dustin to bring mugs for you, Steve and Robin.

Once he’s a bit cleaner and has had almost a full cup of Dustin’s healing brew, you all gather cushions and lay Eddie down on his side, facing the fire. You try to get as much heat on his front as you can, but it doesn’t seem to be helping. He’s still trembling and his skin is blue and icy to the touch, and he seems to be getting drowsy. You can’t remember much more of your basic emergency training, but it’s enough to worry you. Something about sleeping or going unconscious being a Very Bad Thing…

He’s wrapped in the blankets Will and Mike brought, but you fear the wet clothes he’s still wearing may well be hampering your efforts.

You have another idea, not sure whether it’s the done thing or if you’ll be able to convince any of the others to help you but willing to try anything at this point. You say, to no one in particular, “This isn’t working. Can we get him into the bathtub?”

Your eyes look up and scan the room, flicking mainly between Robin and Steve, and to your immense relief you see everyone nodding, trying to figure out how to make this work.

Dustin’s the first to stand, and you hear his voice crack a little as he tries to say with confidence,

“Tell us what you need us to do.”

You nod at him, once, before beginning,

“Dustin, Will, can you run a bath? Make it warm, but definitely not hot. Mike, Lucas, get towels. Hurry!”

After a few minutes, Dustin and Will return, letting you know they’ve filled the tub with warm, but not hot, water. Steve and Lucas reprise their roles as patient transport, and start to move Eddie towards the small bathroom.

As you follow them and traverse the narrow hallway you glance at the weather hammering outside the window of the back door. Something seems off, and it’s only after a few moments of consideration that you realise the leaves and rain are travelling in the opposite direction to those at the front door. This doesn’t make sense - surely the storm should be pushing them all the same way? It’s almost like you’re currently somehow in the centre of a swirling storm…

You don’t have time to dwell on this as Steve calls to you, asking what they should do now. You hurry to the bathroom and see that Steve has balanced Eddie’s butt on the side of the tub.

You reply,

“We need to get him out of these wet things.”

Grunting as he shifts position, Steve nods once and barks to Lucas, “Hold him up.”

Lucas does his best to stabilise your almost-unconscious friend. Kneeling in front of him, Steve fusses with Eddie’s waistband, grunting, “Sorry, buddy, it’s for the best”, as he unceremoniously yanks off Eddie’s jeans. New-looking, unripped, black 501 jeans.

Relieved to see he’s wearing boxers, they both balance Eddie as they work to remove his shirt. His Hellfire shirt. He only had two. Okay, this is officially getting weird…

As Steve and Lucas work you start to strip off your clothes, ending up in just your underwear and bra. You don’t even care that they’re in the room, reasoning that not only have they all seen you in your bathing suit before, but also that this was definitely not the time for bashfulness or self-consciousness.

Steve asks you what you’re doing, and you explain that you’re getting in the bath with Eddie, like it’s the most normal thing in the world.

“Steve, he’s practically unconscious. You want him to slip under the surface and drown? Come on, let’s get him in here.”

Without waiting for any replies, you step into the water, relieved that the younger boys heeded your instructions and it is indeed warm, but not too hot. You wave your hands in vertical circles, as if it would bring Eddie closer faster.

The old bath is short, but wide, and you’re pretty sure you’ll both fit.

As the boys manhandle him you’re momentarily stunned as you see the outlines of Eddie’s ribs and shoulder blades brought into stark relief by the harsh lights of the room. But you’re jolted back to reality as you hear Steve grunting a little as he starts to manoeuvre Eddie’s legs into the water.

You help Steve and Lucas to get Eddie in, slowly lowering him in case even this is too much of a shock. You slide down behind him and sit with him between your legs, supporting him with his back against your chest. You rub his arms gently, and murmur, “Oh fuck, oh fuck. Please warm up, Eddie. Please.”

Gesturing to your now-muddy garb and Eddie’s discarded garments, you ask, to nobody in particular, “Can someone get these clothes in the washer?”

Lucas bundles them up in his arms and heads towards the door, calling for Robin’s assistance. Steve thanks him as he leaves and closes the door, staying in with you and Eddie.

The water comes up around your mid torso. You use your hand to slosh the warm water around Eddie’s upper chest, but eventually decide that’s not enough.

You use a small jug that you and Robin use for hair washing to run warm water over Eddie’s skin, gently trying to warm him, but also carefully working to remove what mud and detritus that you can. He still feels cold to the touch, but after quite a few nerve wracking minutes he appears to be shivering less.

You and Steve share concerned glances, and Steve comforts you as you comfort Eddie, crouching down and reaching over the side of the tub to stroke your shoulder, reassuring you, telling you that you’re doing good, that this is helping.

Eddie sighs a little as you run water through his hair and down his torso, picking out the leaves left from Jane’s efforts and throwing them onto the floor.

Though it’s still cool, and preternaturally pale, Eddie’s skin seems to have warmed a little.

Hearing chattering and commotions outside, Steve stands, and you can tell he wants to check on what chaos might be transpiring in the rest of the house.

“I’m gonna go check on the others. Will you be okay here for a few minutes?”

“Of course. I’ll call if I need anything.”

“Okay, good. Just make sure you do. I’ll be back soon.”

Steve gives you a small smile as he exits, leaving you two alone in the tub.

After the door closes you allow yourself a moment of pure self-indulgence and close your eyes, enjoying the feeling of Eddie’s body pressed against your own. His back nestles against your chest, his spine between your breasts. His pelvis is slotted between your thighs, and you can feel the jut of his hips and his coolness on the delicate skin there. There’s a subtle pressure on your centre, but you try your best to ignore it.

You tilt your head forward a little, just enough to rest your nose amongst Eddie’s wet tresses, and run your hands gently down the outside of his arms. Not necessarily to clean or warm them this time, but just to feel them. To feel him.

The circumstances are so far from ideal, but part of you can’t help but revel in this proximity, this intimacy. You always wanted to be like this with Eddie, to have this closeness, but you didn’t think he’d ever want the same with you. You indulge yourself further and start to daydream, imagining it’s just you and him, that it’s a lazy weekend, and you’re enjoying a bath together just for the fun of it. Maybe you’re in your own shared apartment, the sun is bright outside and the scent of summer flowers is drifting in through your open window. No worries, no dramas, just you and Eddie, and the only thing on your minds is the promise of a romantic evening together.

A noise outside the room, possibly something clattering in the kitchen, breaks your trance. Taking a deep breath and looking up again, you shake yourself out of your reverie. Wanting to take full advantage of the warm water whilst you still can, you take a chance and lean back against the sloped end of the bathtub, taking Eddie with you, submerging you both a little more. You continue to use one hand to scoop warm water over Eddie’s shoulders and collarbones, occasionally running your fingers over his chest and throat.

You use your other hand to run your fingers through his wet hair, and as you stroke him he turns his head to one side and nuzzles ever so slightly under your chin. His breathing is regulating, and he’s even humming a little. The physical pressure of his body resting between your legs is increased, but you manage to keep your focus on the matter at hand.

After a few more minutes Eddie’s hands seem to warm and regain a little function. He stills the movements of your hand on his chest and clumsily interlaces his fingers with yours, gripping as tightly as he’s able as a couple of fat tears run down his cheeks. He’s still not able to talk, but just by his actions he’s telling you so much.

You hum into the top of his head,

“It’s okay, Eddie. I’m here. You’re with us now. You’re safe.”

You feel him relax a tiny bit more.

You sit in stillness for a few more long minutes, and, using the opportunity to observe him further, you notice more changes.

He was always wiry, but his muscles had a soft bulk beneath his ivory skin. Now, they’re solid and taut, and you can almost see striations running their length. The skin stretched over them is thinner, and the healthy layer of subcutaneous fat is completely gone.

As well as his altered skin tone and skinnier, but somehow also more muscled, physique, you notice the angry silver and red marks in his skin. Sharp, starburst patterns that look like chunks of his flesh have been ripped out of him.

Of course, they were.

You shudder at the memory of the altercation with the demobats, watching Eddie bleed out, dragging him through the gate but none of you able to do anything to save him.

You so want to know what happened to him after you were all whisked away in ambulances and trucks and black SUVs. You’re sure you saw him bundled into a black body bag, lifted into one of the Hawkins National Laboratory vans, but where he went after that you had no idea.

Wanting to be closer to him, and inveterately curious, carefully, so carefully, you run a fingertip over one of the scars on his neck.

He tenses, and flinches slightly.

Okay, we’re not doing that just yet.

You both sit in the stillness for another little while, and the bath water begins to cool. Before you could call him for help, Steve comes back in to check on you both.

When he’s satisfied that neither of you have drowned, you check in and ask how everyone else is doing. Usually, when they stay over, the kids sleep on the floor in the living room in their sleeping bags. Steve lets you know that for tonight, Robin’s decided to sleep on the sofa in there with them. She says it’s for company, or reassurance, or whatever, definitely not because she’s at all freaked out and not wanting to sleep alone. He tells you the kids have enthusiastically agreed, that Robin’s calming them, placating their rampant questions and desires to see Eddie, and is managing to get them to at least lie down, even if they don’t sleep. You and Steve are supremely grateful.

As confident as you both can be that the immediate emergency is tackled, and with the bath water continuing to cool around you, you’re aware that you and Steve need to think about practicalities, and discuss quite what you’re going to do next.

Steve’s the first to broach the subject, drumming his fingers lightly on the side of the bath as he checks Eddie over once more and says,

“So, uh, what’re we gonna do with him now?”

Remembering more of your rudimentary training, you decide to make another unusual request.

“Well, uh… This is probably gonna sound kinda weird, but…”

“What? What is it?”

“Well, I remember something from the training that said body heat is the best thing for warming someone up. Like, consistent, reliable body heat.”

You pause to assess Steve’s response. His brow is slightly furrowed and he’s looking a little pensive, but he nods for you to continue.

“And there was something about how skin to skin contact is even better. So, I mean I totally get it if you don’t wanna do this, but I thought I’d we could maybe get him into a bed and then sleep either side of him. Like maybe even spoon him or something… I dunno, I guess this sounds pretty crazy…”

You shake your head and look down into the tub, noticing that your fingers are still laced with Eddie’s, and he’s gripping your hand like he doesn’t want to let go.

“No, uh…” Steve clears his throat. “Y’know, I can totally see how that would work. Uh, okay, uh yeah, I guess we could do that.”

He gives you a half smile, his other hand running down his cheek, as he processes what he’s just agreed to.

The one-storey cabin has three bedrooms. A single, one with a double bed and one with a king. Steve, the tallest out of the three of you and, apparently, the most likely to starfish, got the king, whilst Robin opted for the coziness of the single (the one with the good view), leaving you with the double. The only sources of heating in the cabin, other than the open fire and the stove, are two clunky old electric heaters, which you try not to use too often, and if you're honest are a little scared of. Steve runs hot so he insisted you and Robin had one each in your rooms.

After a few more moments of deliberation Steve seems to have made a plan in his head. Nodding to himself, he stands, and says,

“Well, my bed’s the biggest, so I guess we’ll go in there. I’ll get the boys to move the electric heater from your room for extra warmth. And don’t even think about telling me no. I’m fine to overheat for one night if it helps Eddie, okay?”

He gives you a kind smile as he goes to leave the room, and you give him a relieved one in return. That was actually far less awkward than you thought it was going to be, and you’re thankful that you and Steve now have a plan.

You dislodge the plug with your foot and start to drain the bath, sluicing as much of the mud and detritus down the plug hole as you can, and Steve returns to help Eddie to stand and get out. You both dry him off, wet boxers notwithstanding, and do what you can to blot some of the dampness from his hair. While Steve holds Eddie up, you give a cursory wipe to your shoulders and feet and wrap a large towel around your middle, figuring the most pressing matter now is getting Eddie into bed.

Eddie shuffles from the bathroom to Steve’s room, supported between the two of you. He’s still not speaking, and can only manage a few moans and whimpers as you manoeuvre him. You see the kids peering intently at you all from the living room, and they seem comforted by the fact that Eddie’s at least upright and making noises.

You sit him on the edge of Steve’s bed, and as Steve bustles around the room getting the heater set up you examine Eddie’s injuries again. The scrapes and cuts on his hands and feet look raw and painful, but not deep, and they’ve stopped bleeding. And you’re relieved to see that he doesn’t seem to have any other injuries. Not fresh ones, at least…

You ask Steve if he can loan Eddie some dry clothes for the morning, and he chooses a few things from the drawers across the room.

You help Eddie to lie down in the middle of the mattress, whilst Steve lifts his legs onto the bed and pulls a sheet over him. Brandishing the clean boxers he’s retrieved, Steve says, in his best Team Captain voice, “Okay, we need to change these. Sorry again, buddy, but it’s for the best.”

Steve manages to change Eddie’s underwear under the covers, explaining it’s for his modesty, as Eddie grumbles but doesn’t resist.

Steve turns around whilst you dry off and change into the fresh underwear Robin delivered for you, and you slide under the covers and sit at the headboard as Steve does the same on the other side.

Eddie’s breathing is more regular, and he’s no longer shivering, so you feel safer now letting him drift into sleep. You move some strands of drying hair from his cheeks, and gently stroke the side of his face. Steve gives you a moment before pulling the comforter up and placing extra blankets on top of you all.

In the quiet, you notice that the wind and rain have died down, leaving only the hum of the heater and the delicate, rhythmic patter of drizzle on the window as the soundtrack to your evening. It’s oddly comforting.

You move down under the covers, and as the two of you organise the blankets and start to settle around Eddie, you say in a low voice,

“Thanks, Steve. You’re a true friend.”

He responds, kindly,

“Hey, I’m not the one who just got into a muddy bath with him and pulled half a tree out of that jungle he calls his hair. I think that title most definitely belongs to you.”

You snort quietly at Steve’s observation as you snuggle into the bed. You both encourage Eddie to turn so his front is against your back, feeling his cool skin down the length of you, as Steve slots himself around his back, pulling up the covers and turning off the bedside lamp as he goes.

In the darkness you reach behind you and pull one of Eddie’s arms across your torso. You clutch his hand to your chest, wrapping both of yours around it, telling yourself it’s to warm him up, but knowing deep down it’s because you desperately want to feel him around you, and imagine he’s holding you.

You feel his breathing regulate, puffing rhythmic exhales against your neck. As exhausted as you are, a million questions still run through your mind. So many unknowns, whats, whys and hows.

What happened? Where’s he been? Why is he dressed in the clothes you guys picked out to bury him in? Does Owens know about this? What the fuck is going on?

All you know for sure is two things:

One, you’d do anything to keep Eddie safe.

And two, tomorrow is going to be a very, very interesting day…

Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed this part.

Comments and reblogs keep writers writing, I’d love to hear from you.

My masterlist

I now have taglists for ‘everything’ and for each of my ongoing series, let me know if you’d like to be included!

Taglist (open): @joejoequinnquinn @jamdoughnutmagician @ali-r3n @eddiemunsonshandcuffs @jasminelafleur @corrodedcoffincumslut @kthomps914 @iletmytittiestitty-russ @findmeincorneliastreet @tlclick73 @sapphire4082 @razzeith @cupid-club @storiesbyrhi @eris-rose-86 @micheledawn1975 @bl0ssomanddie @veemoon @sunshinepeachx @writinginthetwilight @curlyjoequinn @madaboutmunson @airen256

Extra tags: I’ve rather presumptuously tagged everyone who enjoyed or reblogged previous parts, just let me know if you’d rather I didn’t! @nicolothy @mmunsonsstuff @songforeddiemunson @kookygranger @lovingonthemoon @elegantkoalapaper @fanfics-i-find-here @the-unforgivenn

#knock at the cabin #eddie munson #strangerprompts #eddie munson x reader #supernatural Eddie Munson fic #dark fic #eddie munson x you #eddie munson x female reader #eddie munson smut #eddie munson x f!reader #eddie munson x fem!reader #S4 fix it #dark fanfic #Eddie lives #steve harrington #dustin henderson #robin buckley #lucas sinclair #jane hopper #stranger things fanfic #stranger things fic #stranger things #KATC #post S4 #post s4 fic #Mike wheeler #the party #stranger things S4 #stranger things S4 fanfic #hypothermia

[xofeno]

Jesse Lee Soffer as Jay Halstead CHICAGO P.D. | 4.13 "I Remember Her Now"

#chicago pd #jay halstead #jesse lee soffer #cpdedit #tvedit #chicagopdedit #jayhalsteadedit #jesseleesofferedit #edit #cpd #cpd 4x13 #chicago pd 4.13 #S4 #red plaid #mine #queue the post to begin #this scene was so tricky to colour asldkfjsk #it's like they filmed it from behind a pair of dark amber tinted sunglasses #did my best to fix it but if the colouring looks odd that's why

[cookinguptales]

okay one more meta post at four am and then I’m done for the night

I canNOT stop thinking about Nandor’s “fatal flaw”, so to speak, and how the Djinn is punishing him for it. It’s so simple and so complex and so frustrating, and the Djinn is clearly 1000% done with it.

Simply put, Nandor is never satisfied. He’s absolutely one of those guys that’s always thinking the grass is going to be greener somewhere else, but he never bothers to water his own goddamn lawn. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, but Nandor romanticizes things. He romanticizes people. He romanticizes ideas. And that allows him to avoid emotionally engaging with reality -- because he’s always focused on a fantasy instead.

The first time you see what a problem it’s going to be is in the citizenship episode in s1, I think. That’s when we see Guillermo really, genuinely lose his temper with him for the first time. As Guillermo says, who cares if he’s not an American citizen? He’s a vampire and he should be happy and proud and grateful.

But he’s not. Nandor can’t be satisfied with anything. Part of it is perfectionism, part of it is an inability to understand the emptiness that he feels inside him at all times, but part of it is greed. That’s what the Djinn has zeroed in on, I think. At a certain point, the inability to be satisfied with what one already has is greed. The Djinn even specifically said he punished greed.

And Nandor is greedy.

He has a good home. He has a chosen family. But those weren’t enough for him. He had power. That wasn’t enough for him. He has a person who loves him, desperately. That wasn’t enough, either.

He has this chronic emptiness and ennui and it’s partially because he cannot appreciate all the good that he has in his life. He keeps thinking that there must be something better out there, something that can fix him, but there isn’t, is there? When Nandor finally feels better, that will have to come from inside him, not from any outside force. Nandor’s problem isn’t that he needs more. It’s that he needs to stand still for five goddamn minutes and notice what he already has.

There’s a sort of frenetic desperation to Nandor’s quest for meaning, and I sympathize with that. But I also sympathize with the Djinn’s irritation. Nandor hurts those around him when he doesn’t appreciate them for what they are. He can’t form real relationships because he won’t give people a chance and engage with them emotionally on more than a surface level. This is most clearly seen with Guillermo, but Nandor treated his wives abominably, too. He found such trifling faults with them despite claiming to have loved 35 of them, and he threw them away like yesterday’s trash instead of trying to form a real relationship with them. He keeps altering Marwa instead of getting to know her. 

He keeps looking for a wife when the person who loves him more than anyone on earth is right next to him.

And the Djinn has really had a front-row seat to all this. He sees how picky Nandor is, how quickly he discards things that aren’t “perfect”. He sees how Nandor is never satisfied. Not with his life, not with Guillermo, not with his wives, not with Marwa, not with himself. Which is the real root of the problem, I think...

The Djinn’s been run ragged trying to follow all of Nandor’s fickle changes, and he knows better than anyone (save maybe Guillermo) what Nandor’s real problem is. Nandor wants an easy fix for a difficult problem, and when potential solutions don’t immediately fulfill his needs, he abandons them. 

(And yes, this is absolutely why he joined a cult.)

I think this was exactly what the Djinn was getting at when he told Nandor that he’d only had a small increase in dick size and he was surprised that he’d wasted a wish on it. (Just like the Djinn keeps telling him that he’s wasting wishes on other shallow things, too.) He was telling him that he was wasting his life trying to fix what’s not broken. And in trying to fix his dick, which was already huge, Nandor ended up losing his ability to have sex with Marwa altogether.

So that’s why the Djinn chose the punishment he did, I think. He’s not just forcing Nandor to think about Guillermo every time he uses his dick. He’s forcing him to think about all Guillermo does for him. He’s forcing Nandor to confront the good things he’s been ignoring in his life, and he’s forcing him to realize how precious Guillermo is... after Guillermo has finally gotten a boyfriend. He wants Nandor to pine for something he used to have.

That’s the ultimate punishment for throwing away good things because you’re greedy for a fantasy that doesn’t exist. It’s realizing just how fucking good those things were once they’re no longer yours.

And I do think that Guillermo isn’t going to be off-limits forever, but he is right now and I think the Djinn senses that. That’s why he looked so fucking smug when Guillermo ran off. He knows that this is going to be a punishment for both of them, and he’s ready to watch the sparks fly.

...ah, Nandor... The Guide’s not the only one here who needs therapy! Use one of your wishes on that, if you haven’t already squandered them all LIKE YOU DO EVERYTHING. ;;

#I mean if he has any wishes left he can fix it but that's a big if at this point lmao #wwdits #wwdits meta #wwdits s4 spoilers #nandor the relentless #long post #nandermo

[inevitably-johnlocked]

Hey Stephhh,

Im looking for some good post s4 fix-its, friends to lovers. Preferably smutty obvs, and under 50k (if its reeeeeeaallyy good but long ill read it but its gotta be like an 11/10)

I believe in you 🙏 thank you in advance lol

Hi Lovely!!

I've a lot of Post-S4 fics, and if I can say so, I think all of the fics on my lists are fantastic and MORE than 11/10's, but subjective, hahah.

I'm also needing a list for the weekend, so I'm using your ask as the one I'm posting the next part for, so I HOPE some of these appeal to you, as well as the fics on the additional lists!! I put word counts next to all my fics which should help you out!

And if y'all have S4 fics to suggest, please do, as usual! I've another part I'm compiling of MFL fics, so I will add them to that as well! Enjoy!

POST-S4 / S4 Fix Its Pt. 5

See also:

TFP Is Canon

Post S4 / S4 Fix Its

Post S4 / S4 Fix Its Pt. 2

Post S4 / S4 Fix Its Pt. 3

Post S4 / S4 Fix Its Pt. 4

S4 Rewrites

S3 / TAB / S4 [FIX IT] Fics (March 2019)

Post S4 and Mental Health

Evermore by SosoHolmesWatson (G, 2,068 w., 1 Ch. || Post-S4,  5-Year-Old Rosie, Love Confessions, Song Fic, Parentlock, Oblivious John, Pining Sherlock, First Kiss, Love Confessions, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Disney Songs, Beauty and the Beast) – For the past years, John and Sherlock have lived at Baker Street again, raising Rosie together--as friends and nothing more. Ever since the little girl has watched her first Disney movie, she is obsessed with princesses. When John comes home one day, he finds his friend and his daughter in the middle of a reenactment of her current favourite. Part 1 of Made of Music

fulfilling for other people by missselene (E, 3,957 w., 1 Ch. || Post S4, Oblivious John, Pining Sherlock, Unhappy Fic, Unrequited Love Confession, Virgin Sherlock) – When Sherlock decides to act on John’s advice regarding romantic entanglements, the results are far from what John expected. Part 1 of fulfilling for other people

holding steady by darcylindbergh (E, 12,724 w., 4 Ch. || Post S4, Love Confessions, First Kiss, Growing Old, Gone Fishing, Mood without Plot, Soft Sherlock, Caring Sherlock, POV John Third Person, Anxious Sherlock, First Kiss / Time, Touching, Feeling Old, Sherlock Worship, Crying Sherlock, Cuddles, Comforting, Introspection, Retirement, Hand Holding, Forehead Kisses, Caring John, Bed Sharing, Emotional Love Making) – Sitting on a thick wool blanket at the end of a rickety dock side-by-side, legs dangling over the edge, a styrofoam container of wet, dark dirt between them, they’re fishing. John knows what this is about. This is about finally figuring it out.

A Quiet Life by DiscordantWords (M, 25,176 w., 6 Ch. || Post S4, Retirement, POV Sherlock, Awkwardness, Established Relationship, Family Dynamics, Minor Character Death, Questionable Parenting Choices, Non-Linear Narrative, 20 Year Old Rosie, Meddling Mycroft, Pining Sherlock, First Kiss, Love Confessions, Angst, Sherlock Whump) – There had been three days of silence and a funeral. Sherlock had the terrible feeling that whatever happened next would depend, entirely, on him.

How To Unfold a Heart by elwinglyre (E, 25,477 w., 7 Ch. || Post S4 Fix It, BAMF John, Mentioned Eurus, POV First Person Sherlock, Case Fic, Fluff, Slow Burn, Topping from the Bottom, 3 Yr Old Rosie, Introspection, Sexual Fantasies, John Worship, Ogling, Hand Holding, Kidnapping, Domesticity, Sherlock Whump, First Kiss/Time, Doctor John, Caring John, Soft Sherlock, Sensuality, Touching, Crying, Love Confessions, Anxious Sherlock, Rimming, Toplock, Fingering, Bossy Bottom John) – To Sherlock’s dismay, John’s return to Baker Street with Rosie is only temporary. Sherlock’s daily visits to Regent Park with John and Rosie illuminate his lost childhood memories and missed opportunities. But with each trip to the park, Sherlock also feels a growing sense of hope. That is until the past horrors return unexpectedly in a cryptic note folded in the shape of a heart. To decipher the message, Sherlock must uncover the nature of the hearts around him, including his own.

Winter’s Storm by LoloLolly (M, 51,812 w., 11 Ch. || Canon Compliant Through TFP/S4 Is Canon, Alternating POV,  Established / New Relationship, Parentlock with Rosie, Explicit Torture, Mentions of Sherlock’s PTSD, Mentions of Human Trafficking, References to Child Abuse, Violence, Kidnapping, Captivity, Angst with Happy Ending, Fluff, Case Fic, BAMF / Soldier John, Sherlock Whump, Mycroft and John Work Together, Marriage Proposal, Autistic Sherlock, Lestrade Finds Out, Polyglot Sherlock, Aftermath of Serbia) – Sherlock had buried the past. Shut Serbia away in the attic of his mind palace. Muddy footprints at a heinous crime scene, however, have led him right back to old enemies. And right back to captivity. For God’s sake, Mycroft. Part 2 of the Earthly Pomp (Is But a Dream) series

Isosceles by SilentAuror (E, 56,609 w., 7 Ch. || Post-S4, POV John, Original Male Character / Sherlock Dates Another Man, Love Triangle, Jealous John, Virgin Sherlock, Sexual Coaching, Angst, Romance, Domesticity, Unrequited Feelings, Miscommunication, First Kiss/Time, For a Case, Friends With Benefits, Bottomlock, Love Confessions, Spooning) – After solving a case for a major celebrity, Sherlock gets himself asked out. When John asks, he discovers that Sherlock has no intention of going, at least not until John agrees to coach him through whatever he might need to know for his date...

Repairing the Broken Things by BakerTumblings (M, 75,252 w., 15 Ch. || S4 Compliant, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Medical Trauma, Hospitals, Big Brother Mycroft, Misunderstandings, Realizations, Severe Accident, John Whump, Pneumonia, Medical Procedures, Bed Sharing, First Time, Healing, Happy Ending) – "I'm calling today to notify you that there's been an accident."

Swallow the Night by ArwaMachine (E, 87,873 w., 15 Ch. || TSo3/Stag Night Fix It, TAB/S4 Divergence, Toplock, Mutual Pining, PWP, Drunk / Public Sex, Anal Fingering/Sex, Alcohol-Induced Amnesia, Everyone Knows Except Them, Emotional Love Confession, Demisexual Sherlock, Internalized Homophobia [John], Parentlock with Rosie, First Kiss, Drug Relapse, Infidelity, Texting, Masturbation, Oblivious John, Emotional Love Making, Angst with Happy Ending, Dreams and Nightmares) – “Do you know how long,” John panted, his cheek scraping against the wall, looking back at Sherlock through half-closed eyes, “I’ve wanted this?” Sherlock pressed himself against John’s back, biting at John’s ear. “Not nearly as long as I have,” he whispered.

Kintsukuroi by sussexbound (E, 91,823 w., 20 Ch. || S4 Compliant / Post-TLD, Grief / Mourning, PTSD, Internalized Homophobia, Therapy, Past Abuse, Alcohol Abuse, Nightmares, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Depression, Anxiety, Bed Sharing, Love Confessions, Cuddling, Suicidal Ideation, Masturbation, Minor Character Death, Sexting, Frottage, Inexperienced Sherlock, Rimming / Anal / BJ’s, Emotional Turmoil, Finding Each Other) – “I love you.” Sherlock sees the words hit John with almost physical force. He reels back a little, jaw twitching and eyes filling. “I love you,” he repeats, a little softer, a little more gentle, as earnest as he possibly can. Because they’ve been teetering on the brink of this thing for years, and it had become painfully obvious over the last few months that they were at a tipping point. This had to happen. Now it has. Now they can see where they end up. The tears in John’s eyes spill over, and he wipes at them angrily. “Do you even know what that means?”  

Drawn to Stars by Silvergirl (E, 109,272 w., 60 Ch. || S4 Compliant to TLD / TFP Doesn’t Exist, Sherlock’s Italian Adventure, Sherlock/OC and Johnlock, Jealous John, Mutual Pining, Misunderstandings, First Kiss/Time, Idiots in Love, 3 Part Story, Slow Burn, Inexperienced Sherlock, Bottom Sherlock, Introspection, Multiple Alternating First and Third Person POV, Separation and Reconciliation, Emotional Love Making, Love Confessions via Letters, Angst with Happy Ending) – After the Culverton Smith case Sherlock is clean, working, and looking for a romantic partner—since John has told him that’s what he needs. Shame John didn’t mention he was interested in that role himself, before Sherlock went off to Rome with a gorgeous Italian copper to try to fall in love and become a complete human being.  Part 1 of the Drawn to Stars series

The Lost Special: Family Matters (As Do Relationships) by ShirleyCarlton (M, 144,688 w., 40 Ch. || S4 Fix It Fic / Meta Fic, Unreliable Narrator, John’s Mind Bungalow, Friends to Lovers, Happy Ending, Demisexual Sherlock, Holmes Family, John Whump, Gay Mycroft, Misunderstandings, Drug Addiction, Parenting, TFP is a Nightmare, Virgin Sherlock, Slow Burn, Minor Character Death, Switchlock, John’s Past, Sherlock’s Past, Eurus, Love Confessions) –Sherrinford is not really the name of some high security prison. That was just a figment of John’s frantic coma dream. And Eurus is not actually Sherlock’s sister. That’s just something random she said to John before shooting him. Sherlock and John were never actually estranged. That was just their act to cover up what really happened to Mary – or Rosamund Moran, as her real name has turned out to be. Sherlock does have a secret sibling, though, and his name is Sherrinford. After finally eliminating Moran – though in a rather dramatically different way than they had envisioned – and exposing the truth about Eurus, John encourages Sherlock to delve into his past and to find out whether the reasons to keep Sherrinford away from Sherlock were the right ones, and to discover what really happened in 1981. Along the way, Sherlock and John gradually, finally, stop keeping each other at a distance, and eventually become a proper family of their own.

#steph replies #johnlock fic recs #my fic recs #post s4 fics #s4 fix it fics

[cringelock]

i think talking about “cope” within a tjlc context is hilarious at this point. i’m not on copium baby i’m on something worse! we moved beyond notions of cope approximately 4 years ago. blog theory and EMP have burned out like great stars and all that’s left is the hardest stringiest life forms. what anyone still riding this train has going on is much more complicated and personal than cope. i invented cope. after what i’ve seen there’s nothing cope could do for me. i stare into the eye of the storm with breathtaking awareness. i welcome entropy. “what else could they possibly mean by this?” is our equivalent of “what is the sound of one hand clapping?” almost a meditation on the nature of our state. there is no answer to this question, in fact the very lack of an answer is the point. cope is for those who still can shield their eyes, but we have been burdened with sight! i took an edible approximately three hours ago

#caveats: #im still pro blog theory i just mean that the fever pitch of theory making to ~fix~ s4 is past us #also you should read this like i’m a campus preacher screaming at you about fornication #it’s not a serious post #but in a way it’s also deeply serious #i do feel ‘beyond’ what we typically understand to be like fandom delusion and cope in the aftermath of shit not going how they wanted #like clearly we’ve surpassed that now this isn’t renewasacrew this is the psych ward #im levitating off the ground like henry sugar from my years of diligent study of johnlock esoterica #there are like 10 ppl on this app who are even able to get what i’m talking about sometimes #god i’m high

[cupidford]

The Man With the Cartier Frames by JRow

Sherlock's case will surely be solved quickly...in between trips to Putney to help with Rosie, collecting her from school, and preparing for her sleepover at 221B

Johnlock Love Letters #2313

#jl3 #johnlockloveletters #johnlock #love letters #The Man With the Cartier Frames #JRow #parentlock #post s4 #s4 fix it #friends to lovers #happy ending #case fic #pining Sherlock #POV Sherlock #Rosie Watson #<50k #johnlock fic recs

[jalapenyochips]

idk man if you thought either of them were straight i dont think we watched the same show

#my art #big time rush #lucy stone #james diamond #i refuse to be embarassed about this okay im just very invested in fixing what s4 did to them lmao #i have many thoughts abt this which has spiralled into a post-finale au i guess #now that im several thousand words into writing something that is not strictly abt this but has to do w this #i am not immune to pretty boy AND pretty girl that i had a crush on when i was like 12 #super cool (clearly gay) asian girl dating my favorite character they did that just for me thanks nick #and she was also a violinist... (oh my god she was a violinist...) #drawing lucy is so fun drawing james is hell on earth #posting for a target audience of 1 (me)

[simstoyourdismay]

i feel like i'm late but here's my take on this challenge by @aliengirl ^_^

I. dark and warm skin II. birthmarks and tattoos III. small eyes IV. brown eyes V. bald or buzzcut VI. light brown hair color VII. fairycore style VIII. piercings

(their name is alvetta and i have no idea if they're actually fairycore.. if anyone wants them to be put up for download just let me know!!)

#i know i said i'd fix my theme before posting again but i just couldn't resist #i swear i'll make a proper introduction to this app one day.. i'm working on it trust #also i know their eyes look bigger than they're supposed to but i promise it's the eyeshadow and eyeliner i'm sorry </3 #choice sim challenge #thesims4 #sims 4 #sims4 #s4 #ts4 #the sims 4 #ts4 cas #sims 4 cas #sims cas #show us your sims #my other sims

[beevean]

having the Brainworms for something you hate and being assaulted by the urge to rant at best and rewrite at worst is horrible. being a ranty bitch is fun and sometimes i even get lucky to attract discussion but i am fully aware i could channel that energy towards something i actually enjoy :( <- was scarred for life about being too negative on main

#yeah i'm once again in that “lene//ctor was awfully written and all the arguments in favor of it post-s4 make me want to throw up” #“but i have Ideas on how i'd write it while keeping the appeal of their allegedly complex relationship” #it's not worth it! it's not worth it brain! cut that out! #i thought i had found a good fix-it fic but i was left disappointed. everyone misses the point. i hate it #i want to rant. i also want to do something productive. ugggggggggggggggggggh #i 100% understand my bestie who falls prey to the brainworms for the game of all time

[thebramblewood]

When I saw the newest hair from @okruee, I knew it would be the perfect excuse to spend some time in CAS with future Helena. Other hairs by @sunivaa, @softerhaze, @candysims4, @thekunstwollen and EA in that order!

#ts4 #sims 4 #the sims 4 #s4 #ts4 cas #ts4 create a sim #cas creations #the zhaoverse #i'm feeling antsy so i have to find ways to get my fix #at the rate my game is going i will get to play this version of her in about five years lol #this is also for anyone who was disappointed not to see her turned yet in the last post #helena zhao

[inevitably-johnlocked]

ive been searching for this fic for sooo long, but i have had like. no progress and i dont know if it was deleted so im coming to you for help.

it was set after s4 and it was a slow burn, john and sherl taking care of rosie as they try to sort of their feelings during christmas and stuff.

sherlock has ptsd in this fic from serbia and being raped there, and john finds out from his scars i think and then they get kind of awkward and it was never finished. if i remember correctly theres a scene where john sherlock and rosie are all eating some cafe and go sledding after ?

Hey Nonny!

Ahhhh, sadly I don't recall which fic this one is, though it does sound vaguely familiar.

Anyone able to help us out with this one?

#steph replies #johnlock fic reqs #help steph find fics #post s4 fics #s4 fix it fics

[cupidford]

Indefinite Lines by ArwaMachine

Sherlock and John find themselves faced with a series of seemingly disparate cases, one involving murdered children and one involving ghosties that Rosie tries to help solve. Except the cases are growing increasingly connected, increasingly personal.

This is an amazing, amazing work - I had a whole page of quotes to rec for this. This love letter doesn't do this fic justice. Just such a great and memorable read!

Johnlock Love Letters #2308

#jl3 #johnlockloveletters #<300k #Indefinite Lines #ArwaMachine #parentlock #switchlock #post s4 #s4 fix it #case fic #friends to lovers #miscommunication #misunderstandings #pining #mutual pining #angst #eventual established relationship #rosie watson #bamf!rosie #detective rosie #violence #torture #johnlock fic recs

[kaiowut99]

GX Finalized-Subs!89 Preview - Cries from the Dark

#GX #yugioh #yugioh gx #ygo #ygo gx #yu-gi-oh gx #Principal Samejima #Fubuki Tenjoin #little preview since it's been a bit :) #89 and 90 are done and should be posted this weekend! #just want to look over one animation fix in 89 later to see if i can improve it a bit more #[moving split-screens are def a first] #89's really good tho #i do like this set-up as their thinking Ryou's been tainted by the Cyberdarks #only to find out later that no he's just like this #and just has winning on the mind lol #[although... *looks at S4* i guess Samejima wasn't too wrong] #and the quiet ending scene when Shou's mad at him and Judai has that concerned look for him 👌🏽

[hellcheerficdatabase]

shook me all night long

Author: @theredhoodie

Rating/Warning: Explicit

Chapter Count: 1/1

Description: Eddie takes Chrissy to her first ever metal concert.

Tags: Alternate Universe- canon divergence, alternate universe- everyone lives/nobody dies, fix-it fic, post s4, established relationship, concerts, fluff, smut, alternating POV, one-shot, status: completed

#Alternate Universe- canon divergence #alternate universe- everyone lives/nobody dies #fix-it fic #post s4 #established relationship #concerts #fluff #smut #alternating POV #one-shot #status: completed #eddsy #eddie munson #eddissy #eddie and chrissy #eddie x chrissy #chreddie #chrissy deserved better #hellcheer #chrissy cunningham #hellcheer fanfic #munningham #stranger things