Steve Harrington X Reader Fluff - Tumblr Posts

rainy day

summary: you are terribly unprepared for the weather, luckily your neighbor is dressed for a flood.

warnings: fluff, swearing

steve harrington x reader ✿ 976 words

There was nothing more soothing to you than the gentle patter of rain, splashing onto your bedroom window, a stream of light filling your room with the sunrise. So, when you woke up to a mist of rain spraying through your opened bedroom window, you knew it was a good day.

You got ready in a hurry, quickly throwing on clothes suitable for the weather, brushing through your hair, and practically running to the front door to slip on your shoes and grab an umbrella. It wasn’t until you tried to open your only umbrella on the front porch that you realized maybe today wasn’t going to be a good day.

“Well, fuck,” you muttered, the umbrella springs weakly flopping back down after you attempted to shove it open. You love observing the rain, being around it, not being drenched with it. From the looks of the outdoors, you were going to get drenched without an umbrella.

Looking from under the roof of your porch revealed an absolute downpour of rain. The rain came down torrentially, sliding off your roof visually similar to a waterfall rather than singular droplets. Given that your raincoat from last season didn’t fit anymore, and your umbrella decided to shrivel back up on itself, you were screwed.

Bracing yourself, you stepped out from the protection of the roof, immediately being hit by heavy water droplets. Living only half a mile from Hawkins High School was usually great until it meant you lived too close to be a part of the bus system. Today, you despised your proximity to the school.

Walking as quickly as you could manage, you marched through puddles of water that were practically ponds due to the uneven road, quickly feeling the weight of water as it soaked through your normally warm sweater.

You only managed to make it one block before hearing the voice of your only other classmate who had to walk to Hawkins too: Steve Harrington. He jogged up to you in an outfit that sent deep waves of jealousy through your soul. He looked uncharacteristically nerdy as he was readily equipped with rain boots, a rain jacket, and an umbrella. I wonder if he’s even found waterproof hairspray for the weather, you accidentally let out a small snort at that last thought.

Steve was nice, nicer than you expected him to be given his popularity and seemingly exclusive friend group. Despite the fact that you two never talked outside of school, you’d developed a relationship as friendly acquaintances due to your close living proximity and shared understanding of just how shitty walking to school every morning was.

When he meets you, Steve gapes. His eyebrows raise so incredulously that they almost meet his scalp. “Y/N! Did you forget your umbrella?” His breath fills the air with small, quick puffs of clouds, coming out in quick pants after running to catch up with you.

Continuing your pace, not wishing to be out in the rain for any longer than necessary, you and Steve fall step in step making your way toward school. Recalling the events of your morning, you gain a new twinge of frustration in your heart but nod nonetheless. A small frown sets in on your face, “something similar to that. It just wouldn’t open this morning no matter how hard I pushed upwards.”

“Gosh, I hate it when that happens,” he huffs out. “You know the last time we had rain like this, the same thing happened to me,” he gestures to his outfit, with his hand on his hip, “hence why I’m wearing this.”

You let out a small laugh, tossing your head back a little, after observing the ridiculousness of his outfit for the second time this morning. His rain boots look extra silly as you walk on the evenly paved main road, barely even submerging into any water as it readily went down the storm drains. “You know, I was wondering why you had so much rain gear on,” you laugh.

He looks up at you, and a look of embarrassment spreads across his face, a slight pink dusting his cheeks. He has to fight the urge to facepalm himself when he notices your rain-soaked hair. Here he was in every item of rain gear he could ever need while the rain pelted your clothes, gradually lengthening your sweater as the weight of the rain pushed it down your torso.

Without a word, he moved his umbrella to cover both of your bodies and the immediate coverage from the rain was relieving. However, you couldn’t tell if the warmth came from the end of the torrential rain pelting your clothes, Steve’s warm shoulder brushing up against yours, or the heat that crept up your face because of his thoughtful actions.

“Thank you,” you spoke quietly, slightly embarrassed accepting a thoughtful gesture. You’d always struggled with that.

“I figured I should put you out of your misery,” Steve laughed, his brown eyes and cheeks crinkling as a smile overtook his face. You two walked shoulder to shoulder as Steve made an effort to stay close enough to cover the two of you, although his raincoat would probably have him covered.

Walking shoulder to shoulder, you two gradually made it to Hawkins High School, mostly in comfortable silence as you enjoyed the sound of the rain, the tweets of morning birds, and the rustling leaves on overhanging green trees.

When you reached the school, you were filled with a comfortable warmth that you weren’t sure was from the relief of the umbrella or your thoughtful savior who was comically overdressed for a rain storm.

“See you around neighbor,” Steve waved in his oversized raincoat, a few droplets shaking off from the action, with a newfound twinkle in his eye you hadn’t noticed early this morning.

“Have a good one, Steve.”

hii i love ur writing for steve and was wondering if u could write something about him changing bedsheets for an autistic reader ? maybe they're trying to cuddle and watch a movie or something but the reader can't focus/stop squirming ? certain textures/fabrics are very much sensory hell for me and i've had this problem a couple times and didn't want to be rude so i barely got any sleep lol

no pressure to write it ofc !! ty for reading :]

thank you for requesting; you’re my first request ever and I couldn’t wait to write this! I’m not on the spectrum but I do have adhd and am very familiar with sensory issues, so I tried to focus on those since I know them well. I hope that’s okay lovely!

warnings: fluff

steve harrington x reader ✿ 1393 words

You and Steve had been dating for three months and had the quintessential, imperative, and possibly relationship-changing date planned tonight: the sleepover. To put it plainly, you were terrified. You liked Steve, a lot. He was kind, thoughtful, and so handsome it made you wonder how you were dating him in the first place.

When you got to his house, you had packed the essentials: pajamas, a blanket, personal care items, and popcorn for your movie, of course. Despite being well-prepared, you couldn’t shake the nervousness from the first sleepover with a new significant other, or the butterflies in your stomach that you could only blame on your infatuation with your honey-eyed boyfriend.

Steve’s parents were out of town for the weekend, which thankfully allowed you to avoid the whole meet-the-parents situation, along with sharing the house. You packed your trunk and drove over to Steve’s house with some anxiety bubbling in your throat. When you pulled into his driveway, you prayed things went smoothly.

When you reached his front door, you only had to knock your fist on the door once before Steve opened it quickly. It appeared that he had been waiting for you, and he opened the door with a smile gracing his lips. He stood with one hand on his hip, and the other posed in a wave when he saw your face.

“Hi, honey,” he spoke, one hand reaching out to grab your backpack, and the other to grab yours. Your cheeks warmed at the thoughtfulness of his actions, not used to having someone so readily help you with heavy bags, or grab onto your hand so quickly.

“Hi, Stevie, how are you?” You asked genuinely, leaning up to peck him on the cheek. He smiled in return, leading you inside by your hand.

“I’m doing good; I’m just excited to spend some time with you,” He answered, tugging your hand after placing a gentle, delicate kiss on the back of it, and leading you to his bedroom. He hadn’t dropped your fingers since you walked in the door, his thumb now gently rubbing over your knuckles.

Steve quickly led you into his cozy bedroom. You had both agreed that watching a movie there would be more comfortable so you could fall asleep directly afterward. Upon entering, it was clear you didn’t need to bring any blankets, as Steve’s bed was piled with everything you could need for sleep.

He was already dressed in comfortable clothes wearing blue plaid pajama pants and a white wife beater that accentuated his strong biceps and revealed a peek of his brown, sparse chest hair and skin dotted with moles. He added your blanket to the mountain-high pile on the bed and plopped your backpack down on his floor. “Do you wanna go get changed?” He asked after taking in the sight of your day clothes, which probably weren’t very comfortable to watch a movie in.

You huffed, a bit disappointed by your lack of planning, wanting to immediately crawl into his arms and get comfortable. “I guess I should; give me a few minutes,” you said, a displeased sigh added to your words. Steve laughed in response to your obvious disdain and after digging through your backpack, threw your pajamas into your hands while putting the bag of popcorn you bought on the bed.

Walking into the bathroom, you got changed into your pajamas hurriedly, excited to watch a movie and cuddle with Steve. You had brought the most comfortable clothes you owned–though maybe not the cutest–a T-shirt that went down to your middle thigh and shorts that wouldn’t shift during the night. You hated when you woke up with your shorts in disarray, not arranged on your torso or hips correctly anymore.

After changing, you ran into Steve’s room, plopped down next to him, and got situated for the movie. You both sat next to each other on his bed, in relaxed positions. His arm was slung around your shoulder, lightly rubbing your scalp, and your head plopped onto his shoulder, breathing in his scent of vanilla, citrus, and woodsy musk. One of your legs was tucked under his, allowing his warmth to keep your frequently cold toes–wearing socks in bed was a cardinal sin–comfortably warm.

You guys decided to turn on The Princess Bride after deciding a horror or thriller movie was too intense, and after approximately one hour, you both had carefully shifted down the bed into a sleeping position. One of Steve’s hands was now thrown over your waist, the other under your midsection, and one of his legs was tucked in between yours as you tucked yourself into his chest, keeping you both warm.

Sleep had evidently taken over Steve; his breath hit your shoulder in warm, slow, even cycles. You could even feel his chest moving up and down behind you, and his hand on your waist had gradually gone from a grip to an effortless touch. The issue? You could not get comfortable. His sheets were so soft and grippy that they resembled a microfiber towel, seemingly sticking to every hair follicle on your leg, more similar to Velcro than bedding.

You tried to carefully shift to get more comfortable, tired, frustrated, and eyes heavy with sleep. When you shifted your midsection though, you accidentally put more weight than intended down and pressed hard on Steve’s hand.

Stirring, he lifted his head and chest a bit in response to your motion. Voice heavy, muffled with sleep, and eyes squinted, he yawned briefly and then asked, “You okay, sweetheart?” Reaching up to rub his groggy eyes with one hand and gently grabbing your pointer finger with the other.

You hesitated. You were so tired, but you also didn’t want him to get upset with you. Although you were comfortable with Steve, and he had given you no reason to not trust him, three months isn’t a long time to be with someone. Ultimately, after taking a moment to think, you decided to tell him the truth. After all, Steve had always been so receptive to listening to your complaints in the past concerning clothes, loud sounds, and overstimulating social scenes.

“I’m okay, I just can’t seem to get entirely comfortable. The sheets keep sticking to my legs,” you spoke quietly, slightly embarrassed at your confession.

Steve almost immediately sat up at the confession, pressing a kiss to the back of your head. “You should’ve told me sooner! I’ll be right back.” He hurriedly got out of his bed. In the distance, you heard a closet open and close, as well as his footsteps, heading back to the room. When he came back, he had his arms full of new sheets which he put down on top of the duvet.

Reaching his hand out, he grabbed onto your fingers and pulled you up, wrapping an arm around your waist and pressing a chaste kiss to your forehead. “I promise I’ll be quick,” he spoke earnestly, proceeding to wrap your shoulders with a stray blanket to keep you warm while you stood.

Stripping the bed, he quickly pulled down the blankets and ripped off the old sheets. “I stole my parents' expensive sheets; they should be a lot more comfortable,” he spoke, offering you a toothy grin while you stood next to the bed, slightly embarrassed by his actions.

It took him only a few minutes to replace the sheets and throw the duvet cover back on. When he finished, he promptly hopped back into his previous spot, making himself comfortable. For a second, you were worried he was a little bit upset, but when he pulled the blanket up for you, an invitation to nestle back into his chest and get some rest, you felt a strong sense of relief.

You hopped back in bed next to him, returning to your previous positions. He tucked his arm back under your torso, nestled his head into the crook of your neck, wrapped his remaining arm around your front, and stuck one of his legs comfortably and loosely between yours.

“Try to get some rest now,” he spoke, pressing a kiss to your shoulder, loosely interlocking his hand under your torso with your own. You fell asleep to the feeling of his chest rising and falling, comfortably warm, and confident you had the best boyfriend in the world.

hi ellaaaa !!! :] im here requesting another steve harrington (or fred weasley if u want variety !!) drabble type thing again lol ! i was wondering if u could write smth abt the reader going to visit him at work and they're in an arm sling and he's just generally shocked ? u don't have to of course, i was just curious cause i fractured my elbow yesterday after trying to skateboard and i fell really hard on the concrete 😭 i got an arm sling today and i don't need help but people keep offering it (i appreciate it but i can do things fairly normally !!)

tysm !! -☄️

thank you for requesting; I hope your arm feels better now! <3

warnings: fluff, hurt/comfort, swearing

steve harrington x reader ✿ 1025 words

You had tried not to fall; you really had. After seeing Max skateboard across town on a beat-up skateboard that never left her side, you decided it would be of utmost convenience to be able to glide in between houses and stores on a similar board. It was only a bonus that you might look cool doing it. 

Thus, you find yourself practicing riding a skateboard on a hill entirely too large for your skill level. You had meant to stop at the stop sign, which usually signaled the end of your block, but you found yourself rapidly gaining speed, flying past the stop sign, and then flying down a hill that resembled a mountain–or a children's slide if you were being realistic. 

Given your speed, you rapidly hurtled down the hill, and any efforts to stop were futile. You crashed into a storm drain and were quickly thrown backward. Your elbow, unfortunately, took the brunt of the impact. After a tearful phone call to your best friend and a doctor's visit, you found yourself in an arm sling that was entirely too embarrassing to mention to your boyfriend.

Steve was cool, aside from his seeming default dad-like poses, and you couldn't bring yourself to tell him about your accident or show him, for that matter. You were committed to doing everything yourself and not having to recount your fall. 

With your busy college schedule & Steve's job at Family Video, this was easy for a while. You resorted to texting him during the week, praying that your injury would be healed before the weekend came, and you both would undoubtedly want to spend lazy afternoons together to make up for the lost time. 

During the week, you buried your head in books, took acetaminophen to reduce the pain, and faithfully elevated your arm to reduce the swelling–which previously made it resemble a turkey leg, the flesh around your elbow ballooning to uncomfortable levels. 

It was Thursday when you got a text from Steve that read: You better come into Family Video. The movie we rented on Friday is due for return! At that moment, you knew that your antics had ended. Plus, given your student budget, you couldn't afford late fees. 

When you read the message, you sent a silent glare to the VHS that sat woefully unaware, tucked underneath the TV in your college house. If you just had a few more days to heal, you could've been out of the arm sling before Saturday. But no, the VHS return you procrastinated upon injuring yourself the day after your movie night had come to bite you in the ass. 

Even worse, morning classes had made it impossible to avoid Steve at Family Video–though deep down, you knew the news would've spread to him through the source of his chatty coworkers. Begrudgingly, you walked to Family Video, mirroring the form of a wounded animal, the VHS tucked into a spare tote bag that sat loosely on your undamaged arm, head hung slightly in defeat. 

By the time you reach the store, the only thing keeping you calm is the gentle tweets of birds that flutter in and out of your hearing. You also feel increasingly guilty for keeping this from Steve. It probably wouldn't have done much damage to your reputation in his eyes. However, the thought of his doting getting more excessive made heat creep up your neck and into your ears–which may constitute one reason for your antics. 

Walking inside the store, you fight the urge to curse as the bell above your head dings, immediately alerting the workers to your presence. Usually, this was helpful for quick service. But now? You want to crawl into a hole and stay there. 

Looking upwards as you walk towards the counter, you meet Steve's face with a sheepish grin. Taking in your form like he usually does before seeing you makes you think all is well until his eyes fall on your arm. Upon seeing your sling, his eyebrows lift incredulously to his forehead, and he develops wrinkles that better suit a man twice his age. 

His mouth opens and closes a few times before he manages to sputter out, "What happened to you?" It's a tone laced with shock, not anger, but perhaps a twinge of amusement. Although he doesn't find your misfortune funny, he thinks it's characteristic that you have managed to hurt yourself since the last time you saw him. 

You laugh at his tone before rubbing your face with your good hand. "Okay, I'll tell you, but you can't laugh because it's really embarrassing." You decide that making a bargain is your best bet and scan his eyes for trust before continuing. 

He offers his pinky as if to say: I promise I won't. But, he truthfully doesn't know. 

You breathe in before unleashing your story. "So, last weekend–"

He cuts you off, "Last weekend?! You've had your arm in a sling since last weekend?" 

You give him a pointed look, a warning to stop interrupting you before telling the rest of your story, including your ambitions to look as cool as Max riding her skateboard–which probably could have been excluded. 

Surprisingly, Steve keeps his word and doesn't laugh once as you recall the events. Although a glint of amusement shines in his honeyed eyes, he feels more sad than anything he didn't know sooner. When you've finished, he walks around the counter to pull you into his chest. 

"I wish you would've told me sooner; I would've come to your place to care for you." He emphasizes his point by pressing a kiss on your hair and a frown on his lips. 

"It was just so embarrassing to have to say out loud," you mutter into his shirt, the cotton material pressing against your cheek. 

He pulls away to grab around your shoulders, offering you a stern but kind look. "I would never judge you, even if you didn't successfully learn how to skateboard." 

He's so sincere it almost makes you laugh. You smile, pressing a kiss to his cheek. "I know," you respond, and you're telling the truth.

eddie x platonic ! experiment ! reader

this takes place from the pov of reader , directly after she left the trailer and into the events of season 1

also this is kind of a steve x newly adopted sister! reader as well when i think about it being that she doesn’t reunite with eddie yet.

part 1 🤍

the in-between the three years :

season 1 - after you left the munson trailer

- a few hours after you’d left , you were back in the forest, you found a small house that said “castle byers” and decided to stay in there for the night hoping the owner wouldn’t come back.

- thankfully it was late so nobody else seemed to be around

- as you sat there thinking about the day, you couldn’t get the image of eddie’s frightened expression out of your head

- the moment just replaying like a loop in your head

- over and over and over and over again

- the first person you meet outside the lab, who was good to you, and you scared him !

- you were so used to raised hands, “shocky sticks” , and yelling that you had only acted on instinct

- you didn’t want that man to hurt eddie. you just wanted to protect him!

- he did so much for you and that was how you repayed him! by hurting his “uncle?” (that’s what he called him. what is that anyway?)

-as you layed on your side to get some rest, something hard was poking into your hipbone

- you still had eddie’s walkman attached to your outfit, which was also his !

- you remembered what eddie taught you about how to control it to play the song , and followed those instructions.

- after the third loop of “children of the grave” you’d finally fallen asleep.

- you couldn’t tell how much time had passed since you’d fallen asleep

- but when you woke up and it was significantly colder than it was before, you knew something wasn’t right

- you slowly began to sit up , before nearly jumping out of your skin at the sight of a liitle boy (who looked your age) sitting next to you looking scared out of his mind

-“…he-hello? are..you..okay” he didn’t seem to notice you as he continued to rock forward and back, mumbling something under his breath.

- as you were about to reach over and touch his hand, you quickly realized that there was a slimy, dark tentacle-like thing surrounding the inside of the small “castle”

- you knew exactly where you were. and exactly who this boy was

- on one of the mornings that eddie’s uncle hadn’t been there you would watch cartoons with eddie, but a few times when he was doing something else around the trailer, you boredly flipthrough the stations with a flick of your head before landing on a channel , with loud, interesting, music that caught your attention

“we interrupt this program with breaking news! 12 year old, will byers is still missing! it has been 3 days now , and his mother is worried sick! if you have seen this boy please contact hawkins police station at this number! that number is 3-“

- his voice trailed off as you stared at the boy in the picture for about 30 seconds

- before having the channel quickly change back to-

“he-man, and the masters of the universe!” eddie said with a weird voice, while he shook your shoulders manically from behind, before jumping over the couch, and stood in front of you, as you looked at him like he was crazy.

“news is a drag, van, someone goes missing like everyday” he said plopping down next to you on the couch, as he was quickly immersed back into the adventures of the man with the yellow hair

-and you were too but not before closing your eyes with this “will byers’” face in mind. you could find him

- you could find anyone , it was your purpose after all

- but this time you wanted to find this person

- and you were going to

- but you’d have to do it when you were alone, so you opened your eyes, slightly looked at eddie from the corner of it, making sure he didn’t notice and discreetly wiped your nose of the blood coming out and was quickly immersed back into the television as well.

-back to now

- “seven! seven where are you! el you said she passed here? are you sure? seven!!!

- you jumped up at the sound of voices, ready to fight if necessary.

-“will.” you whispered to him knowing you wouldn’t be hear much longer.

“will byers. my name is seven.” you whispered holding his hand and interlocking your fingers.

- now the thing is, will saw you but he thought he was hallucinating, and either way he had to keep singing, it felt like the only thing keeping him alive at this point

“i can help you… but. we need to go somewhere else.” you said trying to help him get up.

“..no…it’s too late.” he finally looked at you, “..he’s coming..” he whispered eerily before continuing his past ministrations.

- you recognized the words he was mumbling

- another song eddie had you listen to

“now’s not usually my taste, but my uncle likes it and it’s catchy so-“ he whispered, rolling his eyes before putting the headphones on your ears as you sat cris-crossed facing each other on his bed.

“should i stay or should i go?” you whispered to him.

will looked at you again, actually feeling like he sees you this time.

“ ‘s my favorite song” he whispered

“maybe she’s in it ?” another one of those voices from before said.

“will,” you held his cheek with your hand. “i will come back for you”

- as you started to come back into the real world, will’s body vanishing. you knew that you had to find him. you knew that you could find him.

- and you would.

-as you became aware of your current surroundings again, the footsteps got closer and louder you prepared yourself for the worst

- until the flap opened and you were now face to face with a boy who looked like he could be your age with curly hair and a hat, who looked at you with wide eyes before smiling and screaming

“guys!!! i found her”

before you could react another face popped into the tent but this time it was your sister !

“sister! i thought..” you were cut off by the both of you pouncing each other into a hug, while you teared up at not bring alone anymore

“i found you” 011 said squeezing you tight.

soo short timeskip because weee need to get to season 2

- long story short , you go through the rest of the events if season 1, but you were surprisingly with jonathan and nancy when the demogorgon came to the byers house, being that you spoke to his brother about meeting him before.

- and since you were there then of course

- you met our beloved steve (back when he was in his king steve era of course 😾)

- now of course seeing jonathan and nancy alone in a house together with a bunch of weapons was jarring enough

- but he was even more confused when he saw a little girl with a buzzcut and a very bloody nose, looking like she was preparing for battle as well

- when the demogorgon popped through the ceiling, and nancy tried shooting it before jonathan pulled her away and down the hallway, steve was about to run that way as wel, until he noticed that you were still standing there with your hands raised in the air and little sparks of flames began to appear on the monster .

- he didn’t really have time to think before he literally picked you up and ran, not thinking “why and how the hell was she doing that.”

- now when the thing left and nancy told him to leave and that, that thing was going to come back, he did! (i don’t blame him! ) and just as he was getting into his car, he looked at the house and saw the flickering lights, before getting a newfound confidence and running back in, grabbing that bat, and swinging on the thing.

another time skip (😾) to after all of these events

- you went into the upside down with joyce and hopper to save will, while eleven was with mike, lucas, and dustin.

- after successfully saving him you all went back to the school where everyone reunited with everyone, but for some reason you felt a bad feeling in your chest, like how you felt when you left eddie but worse.

- that bad feeling was correct after you realized that your sister was gone.

- now you’ve lost two people in your life and you didn’t know what to do.

another mini time skip to the end of season one : christmas time (i’m so sorry 😭)

you were staying with the byers for the time being, while hopper tried to find somewhere for you to stay and you and the boys had actually gotten pretty close !

- + you were closer with nancy, jonathan , and even steve as well.

- actually at the end of the boy’s campaign, instead of watching them, you were in the kitchen of the wheeler house watching and helping mrs. wheeler do her baking , while nancy, mr. wheeler, and steve watched a movie, waiting for jonathan to pick you and will up.

- after nancy went to go get jonathan’s present and mrs. wheeler had excused you from the kitchen being that she was finished. you had went to get your coat from the living room, while jonathan went to get will and you saw steve.

- now see, steve was well aware of what was going on with you, being that when he spoke to hopper about you and asked what would happen to you, hopper inquired that you couldn’t exactly stay with the byers family forever, and he said he’d try to find someone to adopt her.

- steve without even thinking said-

“well, i mean she can stay with me.” he shrugged nonchalantly, as if it was the most obvious answer.

- as if he wasn’t talking about adopting a literal child while he was still in high school.

“stay.. with you?” hopper asked incredulously

“well- well not stay with me like, i adopt her but like, my parents could do it. they said they’ve been thinking about it, which i mean i’m not sure why being that they’re never really here to begin with-“ he cut himself off with a laugh before getting back on track.

“but if i can convince them that there’s already a little girl just ready and waiting to have a family, i’m sure they’ll eat it up and do it in a heartbeat” he pshhed as hopper still looked at him as if he’d grown a second head.

“think about it, they’re never here, they won’t even have to know about her littleee,” he put his hands up and wiggled his fingers like he was doing magic.

“and the most questions they’ll ask is what’s up with her hair, and we can cover the tattoo, they’d be none the wiser i promise, plus they only really stick around for like the really important holidays so we’ll never even see ‘em!” he said enthusiastically, as if that wasn’t cps-calling worthy information but hopper thought about it.

“so if they’re never around… who exactly’s supposed to take care of her?”

now it was steve’s turn to look at hopper incredulously.

“…me! chief! duh! me! i mean it can’t be that hard it’s not like she’s a baby, we can enroll her at hawkins middle, she’ll be with jonathan’s brother and them, it’ll be great!

“i’ll look into it harrington.” hopper patted him on the shoulder before walking away.

- low and behold, steve’s parents got into contact with hopper asking if it was true about the little girl who’s parents “died in a tragic house fire” and when he confirmed, they jumped at the chance to adopt you!

- something about charity work being good karma or something.

- so congratulations! you’re officially a harrington! 🎆

- except you didn’t know that yet

- see steve, wanted to wait to tell you, so little did you know this was the last night you’d be staying with the byers.

- as you were nearing the end of your rounds of hugging the people of the house goodbye, even though you’d be seeing them the next day (a habit you picked up. i wonder why 🤔)

- you were walking up to steve, to tell him later but he had stopped you.

“hey kiddo, you doing good? ” he asked awkwardly putting his thumb up while saying good, not really knowing how to say what he wanted to say, even though he begged hopper to let him tell you himself.

“yes..good ” you said copying his 👍🏾 gesture.

“that’s great! so can i uh ask you something real quick?”

- you simply nodded still not really used to speaking that much

“so.. you know how..” he trailed off looking for a way to explain to you what would happen. i mean, did you even like him enough to want to live with him, let alone have him basically be your brother?!

- man he was stressed out now. he did not think this through

“so, you know how mike is nancy’s brother?”

“yes” you nodded, not seeing where this was going

“… and.. will! is jonathan’s brother!” he exclaimed

“…yes” you knew all of this already, was this a test of your knowledge of your friends?

“well.. how would it make you feel… if.. i…was your…brother?” he finally got out

“my…brother?” you asked not really understanding

yeah! like you know how my last name is harrington? yours would be to! we’d be brother and sister!” he said waving his hands at his sides

“like…family?” you asked him in awe

- you would love to be family with steve! he reminded you of eddie in some ways, and was cool in his own.. steve-ish way!

“yeah sev, like family. ” he repeated with a wry smile , showing you the papers with your name, your birth name, of which hopper and dr. (a nice doctor) owens presented to you a few weeks ago. the only difference is that the last name on the paper said “y/n harrington”

“now it’s not finalized yet so-“

“finalized?” you asked him staring at the paper

“yeah.. that means like, things on the paper can be changed, nothing’s official yet.”

- now he didn’t expect you to burst into tears. and he especially didn’t expect you to tackle him into a hug

“i want you to be my family” you whispered to him happily.

“i.. want you to he my family too.” he whispered, hugging you back.

- not noticing mrs. wheeler snap a picture of the two of you, awing at the beautiful moment

- truth be told after losing your sister and eddie, you were planning on leaving soon, not wanting to feel like a burden to the byers or to anyone else, but hopper was constantly checking up, as if he knew what you were planning, so you pushed the thought away all together.

- so having steve sit in front of you, asking if you wanted to be his sister was great! you couldn’t wait to start your new life!

- that night you’d packed your things up (which wasn’t really much at all) and thanked the byers for everything, before getting in the car with steve and going to your new house

- on the way there, you held the paper in your hands with all of your information, you didn’t really understand what any of the rest of the words meant

- but the words DOB: stood out to you being that all it had was a year and no month or day written on it , saying

“N/A, N/A, 1971”

“steve?” you asked, quietly over him humming whatever song was playing softly in the car.

“yeah? what’s up?”

“what is “D O B”

“it means date of birth. your birthday” he said remembering that when he was looking over the documents , he noticed that, and realized they probably couldn’t find it for some reason.

- when owens and hopper told him that they were going to put the standard “january 1, 1971” he asked them not to, and to let you decide what day felt right for you

“so you know what that means?” he asked looking over at you before looking back at the road

“no, what..does it mean?”

“means you can choose when you’re birthday is! that’s sick! whatever month, and whatever day you want, you get to decide!”

“there’s christmas! halloween, fourth of-“ his voice trailed to the back of your mind as he continued naming holidays for yiu to choose.

- but you could only think of one thing at that moment

on the fifth day of you staying with eddie , you walked around the trailer, looking at all of his things.

- you had gotten bored and eddie fell asleep playing his guitar, so you decided to explore .

- as you approached the fridge, because eddie says the best thing to do when you’re bored is eat, watch tv, listen to music or play the guitar, and two of those options were null and void when you new the second you changed the channel from thundercats, he’d wake up and tell you he was still watching it

- so you had the walkman on and listening to, that same song you’d been obsessed with by black sabbath

-before you could open the fridge door you noticed a multi-colored paper book, stuck to it.

- you took if off of the fridge and sat at the table with it looking at all the days and months

- as you flipped through, and got to a month , you looked at the days and saw the words

eddie’s birthday - written in blue letters in one of the boxes

- when he’d woken up not too long after , you asked him about it.

“yup! my b-day’s E/B/D” (whenever eddie’s birthday is because i don’t knowww = E/B/D😭)

“when’s yours?” he asked, sitting down across from you with a bowl of cereal

- you shrugged , eating yours

“don’t know”

“well that’s just absolutely unacceptable!” he said dramatically throwing himself off the chair

- you had started to get used to eddie’s theatrical ways, it never failed to put a smile on your face

“i just got the best idea in the world!” he exclaimed jumping off the floor with both arms stretched out towards you pointing at you

- uh oh. last time he said that , he had you look out for mrs. nolan, while he spray painted the back of her mobile home. the only one in the park (😼)

“quick! ozzy , eddie , or gene?!” he demanded

“ozzy!” you answered without thinking

“yes! i have taught you well young one!” he said shaking your head back and forth

“you! now share a birthday with the prince of darkness! ozzy osbourne!” he exclaimed

“yay ☺️” you loved ozzy! over the past few days eddie had made it his life mission to make you the biggest music connoisseur he knew. even better than him!

- your mind came back to the present and steve was still going!

“easter ! new years, valentines day! there’s so many to choose from i mean, the list goes on!”

“december 3” you told him

(cute fun fact about her is that her birthday is actually december 2nd! of course she doesn’t remember that and nobody else knows but her parents)

“huh?”

“december 3 is my birthday now” you responded looking over at him

“hmm, well that just passed so we can wait till next year to celebrate.” he was quiet for a second , as you two arrived at his house, and getting out the car

“so why that day?” he asked , as you two walked up the driveway with your things in hand

“it’s ozzy’s birthday” you looked at him like he should know, that it was common knowledge, that it was the biggest day of the year

“who’s ozzy?” he chuckled

“ozzy..osbourne” you said , looking at him like he grew a second head

“nope! doesn’t ring any bells, sorry sev!” he chuckled as he unlocked the front door and gestured for you to walk in.

- you just ….. 🧍🏾‍♀️

- you couldn’t believe your ears, how did he not know! was he living in a hole!

- a few weeks later after being officially established in the harrington home, steve took you to the music store to get more tapes for your walkman

- funny story is that when you finally reunited with el and met mike, lucas, and dustin, el noticed that you had new clothes and a weird machine on your hip, and wanted to ask where you got them from, realizing that you were staying with someone but never got the chance to.

- and everyone else figured you got it from the other

- nancy figured you got it from jonathan, jonathan figured you got it from steve, steve thought you got it from jonathan.

- and so forth

- so when he took you to stock up, while also getting some for his own collection

- he noticed you eyeing something on the back wall

- it was a black electric guitar with dark red patterns on it, that became prominent and shined whenever it moved in the light.

- you were completely in love with it! it reminded you of all the times you had with eddie that one week.

- as steve watched your interaction with the instrument he asked the employee,

“how much is that anyway?”.

- so one night a few days later when you got home from hanging out with the boys. you walked into your bedroom , and saw somthing large gift wrapped on your bed.

- as you cautiously walked over to it a tag that read ;

“from steve, happy late birthday :)”

- you ripped the wrapping open and low and behold!

- the guitar plaguing your dreams since the moment you laid eyes on it was right in front of you!

- you ran out of your room and into steve’s

- he was on the phone with who you’re assuming is nancy but you tackle him into a hug anyway.

“thank you stevie, thank you, thank you, i love you so much!”

- before he could even respond, you ran back out the room and gasped, hooking it up to the amp you hadn’t even noticed was also in the corner of your room

- he chuckled and tuned back into what nancy was saying

“what was that about?” she laughed , being happy to hear you so happy and opening up to people

“ahh she was just eyeing this guitar at the store the other day, so i decided to get it for her.”

“aww steve, that’s so sweet! you’re turning out to be a great big brother.” she said genuinely

“ahh it’s nothing, my parents are actually gonna start looking into finding an instructor to teach her how to play so-“

- he was cut off by the sound of what he thought was the beginning of one of your (many, being that you now had this widening collection) rock band vinyls booming and exhoing loudly across the hallway.

- he sighs

- “she’s playing that song again, huh” she giggled at the two already having sibling-like antics

- “yup you know the one, hold on a second” he grimaces, putting the phone down and walking to your room, thinking he’s going to have to remind you about the “music can’t be too loud rule”

- even though it wasn’t his ideal choice of music, he didn’t mind it, not at all!

- he just didn’t want to deal with that old prune mr. poll sending the house another noise complaint

- how the old man can hear that, but not when someone’s talking right to his face is completely beyond steve but, hey what can you do

- so imagine steve’s surprise when he stood in your doorway watching your fingers expertly dance across the chords, and hearing the exact same sounds he’s heard about a thousand times since you got a stereo and were able to play children of the grave from literal dusk to dawn

- he was so confused, how did you learn how to do that

- last time he checked , you :

lived in a lab , pretty much your whole life

escaped with el

stayed with eddie “the freak” munson for a week

got lost

el found you

and then all the bullshit with the demogorgon and will

- so when did you have the time to learn how to do.. that!

- he was so in shock , that when you stopped and looked at him expectantly he realized you’d said something to him

“sorry huh?”

“was that fucking metal or what man 🤟🏾? you asked him enthusiastically , not realizing you say “the bad word ™”

“yes! absolutely! “ he said putting both thumbs up, having no idea what that meant or where you could have learned that word from , and being too in shock to really check you on it

- before he could even say anything else you were right back at it , and steve just decided to go back to his room in shock

“steve! you there? what happened?” nancy asked

“huh? oh it’s just that, that wasn’t her stereo, that was her….playing…expertly.” he trailed off, realizing that you had to have been with someone else before staying at the byers household

“what? she chuckled.

“that was her playing the guitar you just got her, that she just opened 5 minutes ago?” nancy asked incredulously

“uhuh” is all steve could say

“…nice, guess she doesn’t need those lessons after all” was all she could say

“and she said and quote “was that fucking metal or what?” “

“see now i don’t believe you!” she giggled not even being able to imagine her saying that.

the next week as they were back in school after the break, neither steve nor nancy really payed any mind to an eccentric eddie munson as they passed him while he went on one of his infamous loud-ass tangents in the lunchroom

but nancy and steve did share a funny look when they heard him say “it was so fucking metal man you would’ve loved it!” as steve watched him do the exact thing you did with your hand when you said that

- but of course , steve being steve, didn’t think much of it at all and went back to talking to nancy about a party coming up ☺️

the in between part 2 for season 2 will be up soon ! 😻😻😻

eddie x platonic! experiment! reader

can be seen as a slight! steve harrington x platonic! experiment! reader as well due to their cute little sibling antics so i’ll tag it as that as well. 😭

also ! i want to start writing little things about, seven! reader’s adventures with the hawkins crew , so you can send requests or asks about it if you want !

the in between series : van and eddie meet again 😼🫣

Part 4!

part 1 , part 2 , part 3

season 3, part 1: the summer of freedom

- you were about to murder your brother

“son of a bitch! steve i can’t believe this! i can’t believe your manager!”

“hey! language! and i already said i’m sorry, i didn’t think we’d have to be working that night.”

“yes you did! honestly sometimes it seems like you and robin are the only two employees there!”

- see, you had bought two tickets to see the movie “weird science” an entire month earlier than the rest of the world

- being that each actor in the movie’s hometown would get a chance to see it before the release date:

- so being that one of the actors was from fort wayne, they were supposed to be able to see it BUT

- something bad happened over there so it got moved to hawkins instead!

- poor them but yay you right?

- anyways robin (steve’s really cool coworker) was supposed to go see it with you, but then you found out that they couldn’t take off early for the night of the movie.

“what am i supposed to do with the extra ticket now?” you asked walking back into your room, with steve trailing behind you.

“why don’t you just give it to max?” he asked gesturing to the girl sitting at your vanity.

“because i’m going to see “day of the dead” with the boys” she said.

“what about your sister?” he asked

“hopper doesn’t like when she’s in places with too many people.” you explained.

“i’ll just return it i guess.” you sighed.

“if you really want to see it with someone, why don’t you just wait until next month, when it’s actually coming out?” steve asked.

- as if he didn’t just say the worst thing you could’ve heard.

“ooh, bad move steve.” max winced

“steven. you see this woman right here.” you asked seriously, pointing at a poster hung next to your bed, also next to your guitar.

- it was one of kelly lebrock’s vogue covers.

“if i get any chance to see this woman, especially early? i’m going to take it.” you explained.

“you and this weird obsession with kelly lebrock i swear.” he rolled his eyes, walking out of the room.

“see, he doesn’t appreciate her, which is why i invited robin, and not him!” you said to max, but yelled loud enough for him to hear, as he closed his door.

“whatever!” you heard a muffled yell through his door.

“you two are funny” max laughed at the two of your antics.

“i guess.” you crawled into your bed, laughing as well.

- a few minutes later, the sound of an engine revving, with loud rock music, stopped in front of your house.

“well, there goes billy. i’ll see you tomorrow though okay?” max said beginning to gather her things.

“yeah see ya.” you hugged her, before she walked out of the room.

- time skip to the next night, you, will , lucas, and max are waiting outside of the mall, for mike to show up.

“i swear, if he doesn’t show up in the next 30 seconds i’m going in.” you said, pacing back and forth

“just wait, he’ll show up soon.” will said

“i don’t even know why i have to wait anyways, it’s not like we’re seeing the same movie.” you rolled your eyes.

“so i don’t have to third wheel to these two,, and because you’re a good friend” will whispered, pointing at lucas and max, who were having a discussion.

“fine.” you relented

“you’re late.” you heard lucas say to mike, who finally decided to show up.

“sorry!”

“we’re gonna miss the opening.” will complained

“yeah, if you guys keep whining about it! let’s go!” mike said speed walking into the mall.

- lucas mocked him as you all quickly walked into the mall behind him.

“let me guess, you were so busy making out with el, and lost track of time right?” you said sarcastically., smiling at the glare he gave you.

“oh you’re so funny.” mike rolled his eyes.

“i’m just saying, you’re taking up all of my sister’s time, i mean one time i was hanging out with her, mike showed up, and then they just started making out right in front of me!” you said, before turning to max and will, telling them about that moment a few weeks ago.

- the rest of them went back and forth, before the group passed erica and her friends, leading lucas and erica to start arguing before max dragged him after you guys and into scoops ahoy.

- mike kept ringing the bell on the counter, in front of robin, waiting for steve to come to the front.

“hey dingus, your children are here.” robin called, not looking away from the group.

“again, seriously?” steve asked, looking at the group from the back window

- as they ran into the back after steve, you stayed at the counter and started talking to robin.

“quick! while he’s distracted make a break for it and come see the movie with me!” you joked, except you weren’t really joking.

“trust me if i could i would, sorry kiddo.” robin laughed.

“yeah, i know, well i’ll let you know how it went okay?” you exclaimed, going into the back, where steve was waiting with the back door open.

“wow, i’m shocked! i half expected you to show up in a suit and tie, ready to propose to kelly lebrock or anthony michael hall if they were here.” steve said sarcastically.

“hey, if they can’t appreciate van halen, then maybe they aren’t the ones for me.” you joked, gesturing towards your van halen shirt (that you aquired from a certain someone ;) )

“yeah, yeah, whatever, i’ll see you after okay? have a good time.” steve said ruffling your hair, as you walked past him and down towards the theater.

- time skip to you getting to the theater, just as the previews were almost finished and finding a seat in the back.

- there surprisingly were two seats left directly in the middle of the back row, being that a lot of people came to see the movie, so you sat in one and started pulling the snacks that you bought earlier out.

- not noticing that someone took the seat right next to you.

- and even if you did, you wouldn’t have payed them much attention anyway.

- as the movie was finally beginning, the opening scene of gary and wyatt, standing in the gym doorways playing, the movie screen, suddenly started to glitch, before shutting off completely, causing the crowd to start booing and throwing things at the screen.

“oh come on! you’ve got to be kidding me!” you exclaimed, i mean does the universe, just not want you to see your celebrity crushes or something?

- you thoughts were interrupted by the person sat next to you yelling:

“jesus h. christ, is this a joke?!” he yelled throwing, a bunch of popcorn towards the screen like the rest of the crowd , but instead it landed in a girl two rows down’s really poofy hair.

-she turned around, accidentally making direct eye contact with you two, as you both smiled and waved awkwardly at her, trying to stifle your laughter, before waving back and turning back around.

- you and the unknown guy next to you, looked at each other silently, before bursting out laughing, at the coincidence

“oh my gosh, i can’t believe that just happened. she’s gonna be pissed when she sees that!” he whispered to you, still laughing.

“hey, don’t pull me into this, that’s all you buddy.” you whispered back, still laughing as well.

“nope, you’re my accomplice kid, we’re going down together.” he laughed.

- before you could respond, the screen turned back on resuming from the exact same part, as the crowd cheered.

- throughout the movie, you and the unknown guy kept making quiet comments and jokes about what was happening in it.

- and before long, the movie was finished and everyone started to leave, you walking with the unknown guy talking about the ending.

“jeez, if she was my p.e. teacher i wouldn’t know what to do!” he exclaimed, holding his heart.

“right? i mean it has to be illegal to have someone that attractive, teaching a bunch of high school boys.” you replied, looking over at him.

- and now that he was no longer illuminated by the movie screen, you were able to see him much better.

- he had long curly hair, wearing a black metallica shirt, with black ripped jeans, and a black bandana hanging out of his back pocket.

- now i know that you guys know who this is, but right here right now, our precious sev, has no idea who this guy is

- being that the last time you saw him, his hair was curly, yes, but much much shorter, and he himself was shorter last time you saw him too.

- and don’t even get me started with him, as he got a good look at you as well, with your, much longer, curly hair, an assortment of bracelets covering your left wrist, therefore covering your tattoo, and mid-thigh shorts, the only thing he was able to recognize was your shirt

“oh, sick shirt! you a van halen fan, huh? i used to have the exact same shirt!” he asked pointing to your shirt that said “van halen 1978, world tour”

“oh! yeah, big fan! i didn’t actually go to this tour though, i was like 7 when it happened.” you responded.

“yeah i figured that, you seem kind of young.” he inquired, before saying,

“yeah my umm, brother! gave it to me, he went to go see them.” you smiled, your mind drifting back to eddie, recalling the story he told you about it.

“yeah van, that concert was so sick, you would’ve loved it!” eddie exclaimed, after you asked about the shirt he gave you. “but for now we can have a concert right here!” he jumped up putting on one of their songs.

- your memory and conversation, was cut off by a sharp yell

“hey! you two, assholes!” you two looked over to see what the drama was, and to your surprise (and horror) the girl from the theater with the poofy hair, was marching right towards you with an angry look on her face, and a few pieces of popcorn in her hand.

“shit!” you both said before speed walking through the crowd and away from the woman, hiding behind a pillar until she passed.

“i can’t believe you got me dragged into your mess!” you exclaimed, laughing.

“hey, i told you, you were my accomplice now! besides, you waved at her too when she looked at us in the theater.” he defended.

“well whatever, my name’s y/n.” you said, smiling and holding your hand out to shake his.

“well it’s good to know the name of the kid that i pulled into my life of crime! my name’s eddie!” he smiled shaking your hand

- your smile slowly faded, as your mind caught up.

“hey.. about earlier, you said that you used to have a shirt like this? what happened to it?” you asked nonchalantly, really hoping this wasn’t what you thought this was.

“oh! well uh..” he trailed off trying to think of what to say.

- i mean he couldn’t exactly tell you, that he met a girl with superpowers almost three years ago, who was on the run from what he was guessing was evil government people, and that he gave it to her to wear, and then she ran away, with said shirt still on her, and he hadn’t seen it, nor her since then.

“i gave it to myyy little sister! yeah, my little sister has it now! she thought it was cool so… yeah that’s what happened!” he exclaimed before continuing to ramble on.

“she’s in middle school too actually! not that i know that you’re in middle school, but like, you said you were 7, when the world tour was going on and she was too, so i just kinda did the math and y-yeah.“ he rambled rocking back and forth.

- the second he said the word seven, it was like your soul had left your body, with no intention of coming back.

- he said his name was eddie, he said that he used to have the exact same shirt that you’re currently wearing, and he said that he gave it to his sister!

- but before you completely jumped to conclusions you had to really make sure

“and.. what’s your sister’s name?” you asked, before seeing him look at you with his eyebrows raised, and a confused look on his face.

“i mean, because you said she was in middle school!” you exclaimed before he got suspicious.

“and i’m in middle school, too! i go to hawkins middle, so i was just asking because i might know her!” you quickly cleared it up.

“oh! okay, yeah. right. duh! her name is uhh.” he chuckled, realizing that he couldn’t tell you her name was seven.

“her name was van!” he said proudly, because that’s not a weird name or anything.

“…was?” you asked, trying not to tear up, because this is eddie, the same eddie that took you in all that time ago, and the same guy who kind of shaped you into who you are today.

“i mean is! is. her name is van.” he chuckled trying to clear it up.

- gosh you hadn’t heard that name in ages!

- now you were left with a dilemma, do you tell him that you know her really well, do you ask him more questions about her, or do you run away because by telling him that you’re who you are, could get you and him killed.

- because the eddie you left behind knew you had powers, and so did his uncle!

- and you don’t know if they ever called the authorities about it, but assuming thay you’re able to walk around freely, as long as you don’t expose your powers to everyone, you figured they didn’t.

- before you could say anything else though, a familiar voice, stopped you in your tracks.

“hey! what are you doing with her?” you heard steve’s defensive voice from behind you.

“oh! harrington, i didn’t expect to see you here! especially in.. that.” he smiled sarcastically at him, examining his outfit.

- wait, how did they know each other?

“yeah, whatever freak, i said what are you doing, talking to my sister.” he asked unnerved.

“steve, stop it. he’s not a freak.” you defended him, although it didn’t seem to bother eddie.

“your sister? no offense but you two look nothing alike.” he laughed, before thinking.

“wait, so this is the brother who went to see van halen on tour?” he asked you , as he laughed incredulously. “didn’t think “king steve” had taste!” he teased.

“munson, what are you even talking about, i don’t listen to that shit?” steve started to get annoyed.

“well, why don’t you ask your sister?” eddie started to get annoyed too.

“no, how about you, leave my sister alone, huh? what are you trying to peddle drugs on her or something!?” steve asked getting in his face.

-eddie laughed in steve’s face, getting closer as well, ready to insult him.

“steve, stop. we were just talking, okay! we were at the same movie.” you said sternly, as you tried to stop him before, it turned physical.

- steve didn’t exactly have a good track record when it came to figting people

“sev! stay out of this okay, if he was bothering you, i’ll handle it!” steve exclaimed holding his hand out for you to stay back.

“hah! please harrington, as if you and your little posse, haven’t bought from me before.” eddie teased, his nose almost touching steve’s, causing steve to move back.

- eddie was beginning to make another joke at steve, before his brain caught up to what steve called you.

“you know what whatever. just stay away from my sister alright, i’m serious. come on sev, we’re going back to scoops ahoy!” steve said.

“wait, hold on, hold on, what did he just say?” eddie asked, now facing you instead of steve.

“munson, are you deaf? quit bothering her, i’m serious.” steve warned, but, eddie ignored him.

“you said your name was y/n?” eddie asked you.

“i-“ you tried to explain, but steve cut you off.

“sev, you don’t have to answer that, let’s go.” he tried to pull you away from whatever was going on here but you halted.

“steve, wait!” you raised your voice at him.

“i really, seriously, need to talk to him, just for a second.” you pleaded at your brother.

“for what?” steve asked with his hands on his hips. what could his 14 year old sister, and now 3rd time senior, eddie munson, have to talk about?

“just, please steve. i promise i’ll explain everything, but i really need to talk to him.” you begged, on the verge of tears.

“gosh, fine!” steve relented,

“but i’ll be watching, and i swear if anything seems off we’re leaving!” he walked to a nearby table, where robin sat, waiting for him, as she asked him to catch her up on the drama.

- you turned back to eddie, taking a seat across from him, at one of the nearby tables, who was just honestly so confused, at everything that just happened.

“so… i’m assuming, that that’s not the brother, who gave you that shirt huh?” he laughed sarcastically, trying to lighten the mood.

“nope, no it’s not, i’m pretty sure he doesn’t even know who eddie van halen is, honestly.” you joked, wiping your eyes, as you two started laughing again.

“so…what does sev, mean?” he asked, really hoping that the universe wasn’t playing tricks on him.

- you didn’t answer, only pushing your arm out to him, lifting your bracelets, showcasing your, “007” tattoo to him.

- just like the night you two met in 1983.

“soooo my name’s eddie. what’s your name?” he asked

- when you just blankly stared at him while eating he figured this wasn’t going to be a very productive conversation until you set the slice down, held out your arm and pointed at the inside of your wrist.

-he saw what looked like ink on the inside part of your wrist.

“007?” what’s that mean?

when you pointed to yourself and softly said “me” he almost missed it.

“yeah, that’s what i thought!” he whispered to himself, staring at the tattoo”

“you kept the shirt after all this time.” he stated.

“yeah, i guess i did.” you said wistfully.

“so… brother huh?” he smirked, remembering what you called him.

“hey, you called me your sister!” you laughed.

“no, i called van, my sister. you’re “y/n harrington”” he put quotes around your actual name.

“nah, y/n’s just what i tell people i don’t know. everyone calls me sev, except you.” you said.

“good to know, and i’m happy to see that you made it passed the “bad men” era of your life.” he joked again.

“gosh you look so different! but i mean i must’ve been impactful that week, if you’re dressing like that, almost 3 years later.” he said smugly as he gestured to your outfit and hair.

“eddie, i’ve missed you. and i’m so sorry for hurting your uncle” you got straight to the point, standing up and hugging him tightly.

- he was pretty caught off guard but stood up and hugged you back nonetheless.

“i’ve missed you too kid, happy that you’re alive and all that.” he smiled.

“and you didn’t hurt him, just surprised him a whole lot” he said, letting go.

“jesus christ! they’re hugging robin, do you see that?! why was she hugging him, why was he hugging her?” steve exclaimed shaking robin’s shoulder in panic.

“i don’t know?! steve! i’m sitting right here, seeing the same thing that you are! okay i don’t know!” robin exclaimed, irritated.

“oh my gosh, i just can’t believe steve “the hair” harrington, is your brother.” eddie laughed.

“that he is, but he’s a good one. i actually think you too would get along.” you smiled, looking at steve, who was going back and forth with robin still.

“well kid, it was nice seeing you but alas, this is goodbye.” eddie said suddenly.

“wait, huh? what do you mean?” you asked confused.

“i mean, not forever. now that we recognize each other, we’ll see each other around, but you’ve got a life now kid, go live it” he smiled.

“besides if my calculations from before were correct, you’ll be attending hawkins high next school year, right?” he asked, beginning to walk away.

“yeah? why?” you asked confused.

“you’ll see, it was nice seeing you again, van! have a great rest of your summer.” he bowed dramatically, before turning around and leaving the mall.

“…what the hell kind of reunion was that?!” you spoke outloud, throwing your hands up in exasperation, before walking over to steve and robin.

- timeskip to you and steve in the car on your way home.

“so you’re telling me… that eddie “the freak” munson, was the first person you met after you and el escaped hawkins lab, and he took you in?” steve asked, shocked but calmly.

“yes, steve, and i stayed with him for almost a week, before i found you guys.” you explained.

“that… actually makes a lot of sense.” he said decidedly, before pulling the car into the driveway.

“wait what? how does it make sense, exactly?” you asked, as you two got out of the car and went into the house.

“well, you’re obsessed with that music you always listen to, and you were so infatuated with that guitar, before i got it for you, and you were creepily an expert at said guitar, from the moment you touched it, even though you had just escaped from a lab, you said things like “fucking metal” and kept doing those weird hand gestures, and you chose for your birthday to be the same day as some rockstar’s so. yeah! it makes sense!” he listed off nonchalantly, before dropping himself on the couch.

“i guess my only question is what made you leave him?” he asked.

“i accidentally threw his uncle into a wall with my powers.” you winced, putting your head in your hands, also dropping yourself next to him on the couch.

“yeesh! so he knows then?” steve asked.

“yeah, but he didn’t really say anything about it, when we were talking? maybe he forgot!” you said hopefully.

“either way just please don’t tell hop!” you exclaimed. “eddie’s not involved with any of the upside down stuff and i really don’t want him to be!”

“trust me van, i’m not, i don’t want him to either, today was the most i’ve ever spoken to him and i’m hoping it’ll stay that way!” steve said turning on the t.v, flipping through the channels.

“so you aren’t mad?” you asked

“nope! actually now that i know, i’m kind of relieved, i guess! since now i know that you weren’t staying with some serial killer.” he said, before finally stopping at a rerun of jem and the holograms.

“okay, then.” you said, and started watching it with him.

- you still couldn’t get the last thing that eddie said to you out of your head, why did he say that he’d see you the next school year? didn’t he graduate already, being that he’s older than steve? oh well, you’d figure it out sooner or later.

a/n : that was ass 😾 and i decided that i was just gonna split up the actual events of season 3 and the reunion between sev and eddie into two parts, because i’m impatient and wanted them to see each other again 😭.

also ! i want to start writing little things about, seven! reader’s adventures with the hawkins crew ! so you can send requests or asks about it if you want !

@tuffluuhv @ohthatsalittlegay @sadbitchfangirl @reasontobebeautiful @uselessbutinteresting @creativedogs @howlerwolfmax @kik51199 @spookyscarydinosaur @kenzi-woycehoski

how things are in my eddie x platonic! experiment! reader universe

takes place between seasons 1-3 !

sev/van/y/n

- sev! reader’s powers consist of

telekinesis

pyrokinesis

extasensory perception

technopathy

electromagnetic disturbance

illusion manipulation

etc.

- so in this story reader is bi!

- if you can’t tell by her scary cute obsession with kelly lebrock

- speaking of ! here’s some of sev’s celebrity crushes !

kelly lebrock

anthony michael hall

tom hanks

michael jackson

elizabeth montgomery

- when she got to hawkins high, her being a harrington got around pretty quickly

- like i’m talking between students and teachers

- sev became quite popular

- much to the dismay of mike , dustin , max , and eddie

- but especially rob

- oh yeah ! rob hasn’t been introduced yet but i’ll talk about him anyways

- so remember at the end of season 2’s chapter when someone tapped on sev’s shoulder while she was stuffing her face at the dance?

- that was rob, one of her and the kids classmates

- he was part of the a.v. club with mike, will, lucas , and dustin.

- one day she came in after school, being that her chess club was canceled and just sat and watched them

- rob’s been infatuated since

- he’s harbored this really big crush on her ever since

- unfortunately sev hasn’t noticed

- see, even though sev is pretty well-versed when it comes to the knowledge of things like:

music

movies

sports

etc.

- she’s a bit clueless when it comes to love

- like, guys will give her flowers and bring her chocolates, and some girls will leave notes in her locker and invite her to sleepovers and parties

- but she just thought that meant they really liked her and wanted to be her friend!

- like one day she was walking to her locker with rob and once she opened it, 6 letters fell out. 4 from girls and two from guys

“oh rob look, someone said they think i like cute today 😊 !”

rob : “that’s great 😐”

- but you’ll learn more about rob in my next season 3 chapter

- moving on !

- from the time steve bought her that guitar, to 1986 she’s learned how to do a lot of songs on it

- her love of music continued on as she also picked up other instruments

the saxophone

the cello

the drums

- steve gets no sleep pretty much

- well actually he does because, he got so used to the noise, that it doesn’t affect him anymore

- speaking of steve

steve :

- steve is tired

- so very tired

- calls constantly coming to the house

- like one night while sev, max , el , dustin , lucas , will , and mike were having a sleepover in your room,

- steve was just getting home from dropping robin off after work

- so he just gets home and he’s ready to just fall asleep on the couch

- until the phone started ringing

“sev! go get that please!”

- no answer

“sev! can you- jesus christ, nevermind i got it!”

steve: “hello?”

random kid: “hi, is y/n home?”

steve: “who’s asking?”

random kid: (insert name of a kid he knew when he was in school)

steve: “wait, aren’t you a senior now??”

random kid: “well, yeah but-“

- steve just hung up

the only seniors your allowed near are nancy, robin, and eddie

- speaking of nancyyyyyy

nancy :

- she’s like a big sister to you honestly

- hence why she was so protective over her during that pool situation

- nancy taught her how to use guns

- (steve doesn’t know 😐)

- so when her and steve broke up it was kind of awkward

- especially when she got with jonathan

- but once steve graduated he was over it and so sev was too

and then came robin !

buttt that’ll be in the next part because this is getting too long 😊

tagged list ;

@tuffluuhv @ohthatsalittlegay @sadbitchfangirl

@reasontobebeautiful @uselessbutinteresting

@creativedogs @howlerwolfmax @kik51199

@spookyscarydinosaur @kenzi-woycehoski

So cute 😔🥺💕

Head Over Heels

pairing: Steve Harrington x SingleMom!Reader

summary: As Y/N watches Steve with her baby, she realizes she may be head over heels for him, and she can't help wondering if he feels the same way.

word count: 5017

warnings: so much fluff i got a toothache writing this

previous part series masterlist

main masterlist

Y/N woke up slowly, feeling the sun shine down on her. She doesn't remember the last time she was able to sleep in this late; it was probably the early days of her pregnancy. 

Why was she still sleeping?

She shoots up in bed and looks to her right, but there's no crib. In fact there's none of her things here. Because this isn't her room. It all comes flooding back, and she remembers handing James off to Steve and falling asleep. So where is James?

In her haste to get up, she trips over something - someone - Eddie. He groans as she falls to the ground, letting out an 'oof' as the wind gets knocked out of her. He tuns and goes straight back to sleep - did he even wake up? - and she scrambles to get up and open the door, going through the short hallway to see Steve on the couch. She's about to shake him to wake him up, ask him where the fuck her child is, when she sees how he's laying. 

He's sprawled on the couch, one arm above his head. His mouth is open, and he is lightly snoring. One leg is off the couch and the other is laying off the end. And on his chest is James, one hand clutching Steve's shirt and the other stuffed in his mouth. Steve has one hand on James' back, and both boys look like they could stay asleep for 12 years. 

Y/N sees a camera on the counter and she grabs it, not willing to let this moment go. She lifts it and takes a picture, smiling as it pops out of the top. She watches as it develops, longing bursting through her even though the exact moment is still playing out in front of her. 

James stirs on Steve's chest, but before she can grab him Steve's eyes shoot open and his other hand goes to James. She quickly sets the camera to the side and pockets the photo, watching as Steve blinks slowly and smacks his lips together as he wakes up. James puts his hands on Steve's chest to sit up, looking at his mom and letting out a cry. 

"Oh," Y/N laughs, going to pick her baby up as Steve stretches, neck popping. "Thank you for taking him. I haven't had that much sleep in awhile." She watches as Steve smiles at her tiredly. James lets out another cry and Y/N sighs.

"I had to break into your trailer in the middle of the night to grab a bottle and diapers." He tells her. 

"Shoot, I didn't even think about that. I usually don't sleep for that long, I thought I would wake up before he needed anything." She feels embarrassed that Steve went into her messy living space and had to change her baby. She'd had a couple close friends babysit for an hour or two, but she'd never have someone take care of her baby like that. 

It felt nice. 

"Don't worry about it. We had a fun time. He only cried once, and it was at your place." Steve leans over and grabs Clover, the small tan bear that James could hardly bear to be separated from that justice fallen from his grasp while he slept. 

"Thats why I didn't wake up." She looks at James, who is babbling as if he's gonna tell her all about his and Steve's night. "I'm sure you had fun with Stevie." Y/N tells him, blinking when he screams. 

"I take that as a yes." Steve hopes the blush rushing to his cheeks isn't that obvious. 

"Thank you so much, Steve. You're a life saver." She reaches in for a hug, letting James squeal in between them. 

"Anytime."

~

"Hey, where does Steve live?" Y/N had called Eddie, which was strange because she lived a literal 3 second walk to his trailer. 

"Uh," Eddie blinks, not sure what to answer. "Is there a reason you want to stalk my friend?" 

"I'm not stalking!" She laughs, but Eddie is still confused. "I made him a cake." She says it quietly, and his eyes widen. 

"Y/N," He starts, trying to think of what to say. "Why did you bake Steve Harrington a cake?" How is Steve Harrington pulling Eddie's hot neighbor? 

"He took care of James all night last week. I need to do something nice to thank him." She says it as if its so obvious, and Eddie just nods. 

"Uh, I can give you his street. You know what his car looks like, and he doesn't have work today so he's probably there with the kids or something." At his words Y/N's heart races a little bit, because Steve is just so good at taking care of children and she finds it so, so hot. 

"Okay, that's fine." Y/N tells him. She almost drops the phone when he answers.

Steve lives on the rich side of town. He lives on the opposite side of her.

"You there?" Eddie asks when she goes silent. 

"Yeah, sorry. When is he coming to yours, Ed?" She asks. She doesn't want to know just how rich Steve is.

She's weird about money. She works at the diner, where James plays in the playpen that she spent way to much money on and the owners graciously let her keep James there. She barely makes enough to live at the trailer park and pay for James' things. What was she thinking, making Steve a cake? 

"Tonight." Eddie smirks. He'd like to give himself the credit for getting Y/N and Steve together. He knew they would be perfect together, because Y/N's hot and nice and has a child, which is basically Steve's type, and Steve is nice and great with kids, which is basically all Y/N's ever wanted.

So yeah, he's gonna take the credit for this one. 

"You should come over." Eddie smirks. "And before you say anything you can bring James." He knows her main excuse is James, and that for some reason she's backing away from him. 

"He's just going to be loud and probably ruin everyone's time." She tells Eddie, and sighs when James yells. 

"Well Steve clearly doesn't care." Eddie knows he's pushing it. 

"I'll think about it." She whispers before hanging up. 

People should just call him the matchmaker.

~

"Where the hell is Steve?" Eddie asks after Robin shows up and Steve isn't immediately following. Robin furrows her brows as Nancy walks through the door, holding a bag of snacks and booze. Jonathan follows, a small bag of weed in hand.

"He called and told me he was already here." Robin says, confused because when she looks into the small trailer Steve is nowhere to be found. 

"He hasn't showed up." Eddie turns to let Robin in, who goes to check the bathroom and Eddie's room as if he was lying. 

"What the hell," Robin mutters. Eddie looks around, concerned. He hadn't heard from Steve, and he didn't know why he told Robin that he would be here when he hadn't even talked to Eddie about that. He was starting to worry when he looked out the window and spotted Y/N's trailer, and right behind it a beamer stuck out. 

"I know where he is." Eddie announced, smirk on his face as he turned to the rest of the group. They all stared at him expectantly as he paused for dramatic effect. "Isn't it obvious? He's at Y/N's." 

~

Y/N was covered in everything from flour from the cake to spit-up from James when she opened the door and saw Steve, standing there in his probably expensive clothing and even more expensive cologne. 

It was all she could think about. She knew it was wrong, and she tried to think about how Steve had taken care of James all night, how he had even thought to grab Clover. She thought of the polaroid on her end table next to her couch. 

"Steve," She sounded breathy and Steve was already head over heels for her. 

"Hey," Oh God, he forget how to flirt. The most gorgeous woman he'd ever seen and he was going to blow it. "I was on my way to Eddie's and I thought I'd stop by." He told her with a small smile. 

"So you're not exhausted from the other night?" She turned to open the door wider. He looked tired, and she knew that he was probably still trying to catch up after sleeping on the couch and waking up in the middle of the night for James. 

"I just don't sleep well." He said as he walked into the trailer. "I came by to see if you needed any help before tonight. Eddie told me you were coming." Of course he did. 

"I actually really need to take a shower? James is sleeping, so it shouldn't be too bad. Thank you so much." She practically rushes to the bathroom, so excited to be able to take a long shower. Well, not long, but long,  but much longer than the two minute showers she'd had to take while James played on the bathroom floor. 

Once she felt like a new woman, she walked out to see Steve sitting on the couch, staring at the picture she had taken at Eddie's. 

"This is adorable." Steve told her, smirking. She felt herself flush at the fact that Steve found the picture. 

"I thought so too." She said, sitting on the couch next to him. She yawned, which caused Steve to yawn in turn. They smiled at each other. 

"Maybe we could watch some TV before going to Eddie's." Steve suggested, knowing that all he wanted was sleep. This would do though. At least they would be resting. 

"Good idea." She reached for the remote. "We just have to be quiet, because I might kill you if James wakes up." She's only half joking, so Steve smiles. 

"Fine by me." He says, shrugging. 

Five minutes later, they're both passed out on each other. 

And that's how Eddie and Robin find them when they walk in after their knocks go unanswered. Steve looks uncomfortable, his back against the couch and his legs still in sitting position, but his mouth is open and he's snoring. He's got an arm around Y/N and the other under his head. Y/N is laying practically on top of him, legs curled up with a peaceful smile resting on her face. 

"You've gotta be joking." Robin says softly, blinking at them. Of course they were taking a nap. 

"Are we surprised?" Eddie asks, and the two simply shake their heads and leave Y/N and Steve to their nap.

~

"Why didn't you tell me his birthday was tomorrow?" Steve looks hurt as he follows Y/N across the lawn to Eddie's, holding James so Y/N can hold the bottles of margaritas and the diaper bag. James squeals as if he agrees, which makes Y/N roll her eyes.

"I'm telling you now, aren't I?" She had only told Steve because he saw the presents hiding in the shower, small boxes nicely wrapped. When he asked, Y/N nonchalantly told him that James' party was tomorrow because that's when his birthday was and Steve was welcome to come, she was making a cake-

"You should have told me sooner!" He argues as they walk up the steps.

"I thought Eddie would've told you." She shrugs, kicking the door so someone will open it.

"Well, don't you look like the perfect family." Robin is already intoxicated as she leans against the door, smirking at Steve.

"Did you know James' birthday is tomorrow?" Steve asks as he follows Y/N into the house. Robin snorted.

"Yes, Eddie told us last week." Nancy raises her eyebrows, because they all remember why Steve hadn't heard about it - the two had fallen asleep in Y/N's trailer instead of going to Eddie's. They had woken up sore, Steve moving Y/N to the bed before driving home, smiling like an idiot the whole time.

"Well no one told me!" Steve slaps his free hand against his thigh, causing James to slap his hand against Steve's chest.

"Oh my God, it is not that big of a deal!" Y/N has already poured herself a marg and put the diaper bag down in the corner. "If you have to work it's fine! It's his first birthday, he is not going to remember it." She takes a large gulp of her margarita - more like multiple gulps - and Steve puts a hand to the middle of his eyebrows.

He looks like such a dad.

"How am I supposed to get him presents?" Steve asks finally. Everyone stares for a second until Eddie louts out a loud laugh. It startles James, who lets out a cry and reaches for his mom. She frowns and lets out a small sigh, taking her baby and shushing him as he cries against her chest. 

"Steve, he's one!" Eddie yells, making James let out another cry. 

"Maybe don't yell." Y/N takes another big drink of her margarita while bouncing her baby. 

"What does he want? What do you need?" Steve ignores everyone and looks straight at Y/N, who lets out a sigh. 

"You can bring a fruit salad." She tells him with an eye roll, putting James down on the ground as he starts to wiggle. 

"I need to bring something else." Steve kneels down and grabs Clover out of the diaper bag, making a face at James as he gave the baby the stuffie. 

"You don't. I'm telling you right now that you can just bring yourself and that is fine." Steve shakes his head at Y/N's words, grabbing the beer that Eddie handed him.

"You think I'm gonna come to a party and not bring a gift?" Steve stands and crosses an arm while taking a sip of the beer. 

"Oh my God." Y/N's margarita must be done because she refills it. "Steve, if you don't come here tomorrow I will go to your house and force you to come here. And James is not going to give a shit if you have a present, as long as you're here." 

"Shit!" When James screams it, everyone turns to him. Y/N takes a deep breath. 

"This is your fault."  She looks at Steve, who is covering his mouth to hid his smile. 

"How is it my fault!" He asks, eyes wide.  

"Stop asking stupid questions." She is drinking her margarita like it's water while everyone else is still on their first drink.

"Maybe you should smoke some?" Jonathan suggests, earning the dirtiest look from Y/N. 

"Around the baby?" Nancy smacks Jonathan's arm and rolls her eyes, taking a drink out of her red solo. 

"Oh my God," Eddie rolls his eyes and downs his whole beer. 

"Can I bring alcohol to James' party?" Robin asks. Steve scoffs. 

"Robin, Jesus," He rolls his eyes and leans against the counter, next to Y/N. She leans against him, and his hand goes to her waist. Robin and Eddie shared a look, but neither of them were drunk enough to comment. 

"It's a valid question!" Robin defends. 

"Yes, it is alcohol friendly." Y/N tells them with a smile. She leans further into Steve as she takes another drink. James gets tired of playing with Clover and tries to make a break for it to Eddie's room, Steve shifts his weight to put a foot out, stopping James from going any further. He sits back and looks up at Steve, wide eyes looking betrayed. 

"What do you want for your birthday, hm?" Steve leans down and picks James up again, who screams and puts his hand in his mouth, chewing. "Maybe some teething toys." He pulls James' hand out of his mouth and lifts his eyebrows as James scrunches his face and lets out a cry, legs kicking. Steve struggles to keep his beer from toppling where it's pressed against the baby.

"That was so mean." Y/N frowns dramatically, grabbing a piece of ice from Eddie's fridge. She placed it on James' gums, and the baby immediately began sucking on it. 

"I cannot right now," Robin took Eddie's beer and chugged it, leaving Eddie to stare frozen.

"I need another margarita." Y/N turns and lets Steve hold the ice for James as she pours another large cup. 

"Oh, it's gonna be a fun night." Eddie grabs another beer and pops it on the counter. James grabs the ice from Steve in a swift move and lets out a scream as he throws it on the floor. Steve just stares before switching his beer to his free hand and downing it. He accepts fresh one from Jonathan, who had gotten up to refill his own drink, as James cries. 

"I think he's just tired." Y/N sighs, putting her drink down and grabbing James from Eddie's arms. "We shouldn't have brought him here." The way she says we makes Steve go a little dumb for a second. All he can thinking about is the fact that she thinks of him and her and James together - like a family. He would never say it out loud, because he's sure she doesn't mean it like that, but he's already run with the idea. All he's wanted since he realized his parents were never getting any better was to have a family of his own, his people that he could take care of. 

"Just put him to bed in my room." Eddie flicks his hand toward the back of the trailer, and Y/N blinks. 

"Your sheets would give my child twenty-seven different diseases." Y/N talks over James' cries, which are just empty cries from his tiredness. Jonathan starts coughing when a spurt of beer goes up his nose from laughing. Eddie rolls his eyes. 

"I just washed them!" Even James became quiet at that. No one believed these lies. "Okay, I know how it sounds, but I promise I did! Go check!" Y/N shares a look with Steve, and they both walk to the back room to see what they're dealing with. 

"I was not expecting this." Y/N says when she finds Eddie's bed unmade but clean. 

"He's probably having someone over soon." Steve chuckles as she lays James down. She sighs as she begins moving the pillows to create a barrier so James doesn't roll off the bed. 

"I didn't bring a bottle." She whispers, soothing the space between her baby's eyes. James goes from being wide awake to being slightly sleepy, but it doesn't work as quickly as Steve has seen his bottle work. 

"I packed one before I left. I think Eddie has some milk." Steve gets up and leaves quickly, and Y/N isn't sure if it's the alcohol or Steve that makes her heart warm. 

"Do you wanna know a secret, James?" She whispers, leaning in close. James kicks his legs and babbles some gibberish, smiling at his mother. "I think I like Steve Harrington." She smiles as he giggles. 

"Eef!" He repeats, and it doesn't sound anything like Steve but she laughs anyway. 

"What're we laughing at?" Steve comes back in with a bottle, and as Y/N sits up James gets excited, kicking his legs and waving his arms, excited for the bottle Steve was holding. Steve shakes it a little bit as he sits on the bed, handing the bottle to James. The baby drinks it quickly, his eyes closing. Y/N and Steve stay quiet as they wait for James to fall asleep. 

"You can go out there. I'll wait for him to fall asleep." Y/N whispers as she cards her fingers through James' short hair. 

"We're in this together." Steve puts a hand on her knee, and she melts into the touch. She looks up at him, and in that moment she wants to push Steve on the bed and kiss him senseless. Before she can do anything, James lets out a hiccup and they both look at him. He's asleep, the bottle laying discarded on the side. 

"Thank you." She says when they both exit the room, carefully shutting the door. She thanks God they don't have the money to buy one of those fancy ass noise machines, so James will likely fall asleep fine with the party going on. He's fallen asleep to worse in the trailer park.

"Anytime. I meant it." He tells her, and she knows her cheeks are heating. They were already warm from the alcohol, but this is worse. She needs another drink. 

"At least now we can hang out without a kid interrupting everything." She grabs his hand in a bold moment, and she watches his face blush as he squeezes it and smirks at her. 

"For the record," Steve says as he picks up her red solo cup to give to her, his beer in his other hand. "I'm okay with your kid interrupting us." There's music playing as he takes her free hand to pull her into him, ignoring the laughs and jokes from the others who are sprawled in the small living room. 

"You don't mind it?" She asks as she lets him place her hand on his chest, his own going to her waist, just a little bit lower than modest. 

"Not one bit." He shrugs as he says the next part. "But I am glad to have you all to myself at last." She leans closer and tucks her head into his chest, because otherwise he would see the stupid look on her face. 

Oh yeah, she's head over heels for him. 

~

When Steve shows up, Y/N's heart races, and not just because of the tight ass jeans Steve is wearing. He's carrying about five presents, ranging from huge to a small gift bag, and a bowl of fruit salad. 

"Steve Harrington," She starts, James on one hip and a probably alcoholic drink in a pineapple cup in the other. Her trailer is decorated in beach themes, a table with drinks and food and different color pineapple cups on the table. James has a small pineapple cup that's blue, matching his white shirt and blue overalls, the outfit being topped off by a blue hat with blue sunglasses. 

He looks adorable. 

The only thing better than James' outfit its Y/N's. She's matching him, blue sunglasses and all, her own blue hat a baseball cap with a Hawaiian flower on it. Her pineapple cup matches the colors of a normal pineapple, the only one to have done so. 

"Robin and Nancy got me all the decorations." Y/N smiles, distracting Steve from the sunglasses and hat Robin puts on him. Nancy throws a lei over his shoulders before he even knows what's going on. 

"Why didn't we just throw this at my pool?" Steve asks, setting his gifts down on the apparent gift table and puts the fruit salad on the food table. 

"Seef!" James calls. Y/N lets out a laugh as he reaches his short arms over to Steve. 

"That's better than 'eef.'" She tells Steve, his face all smiles as he takes James. Steve tickles the infants stomach, who giggles and squeals. 

"I didn't know you had a pool." Y/N goes to make Steve a drink, picking the large blue pineapple. This is not technically a lie, as she didn't know for sure. She had a pretty good idea, however. 

"You never asked." He smirked as he took the drink from Y/N's hand. He took a sip and almost coughed. "A bit strong, don't ya think?" 

"Well, you're three drinks behind!" Eddie yells from his trailer, carrying two six packs of beers and a present. "And the kids are coming soon." 

"What kids?" Steve asks, taking a larger gulp. 

"I invited your kids." The way she says it makes Steve's heart light, his kids. 

"I made Jon take them so I could start on the drinks." Nancy raises her pink pineapple, and Robin clinks her purple one against it. 

"We told them the start time was half an hour later so we can make a dent in the alcohol!" By Robin's laugh, it seems they have made a dent in the alcohol pretty well. Steve drinks more of his drink. 

"Steve could you come help me get the pack-n-play from inside? That way James can sit in it and we can play some games." She smiles as Steve hands James off to Robin, who is making grabby hands with the one not clutching the drink. The two walk up the steps and into the trailer, their sunglasses pushed to their forehead.

"What're you doin'?" Steve asks as Y/N rifles around her kitchen drawers. 

"What you think I invited you in just for that stupid old thing? I tug that shit with me to work and back everyday." She smiles as she pulls out the cigarette and a lighter. Steve smirks. 

"They're gonna realize even if we only smoke one each." He says, but he's moving toward her. 

"That's why we're sharing one." She smiles as she pops it in her mouth and lights it, taking a drag before handing it to Steve. He takes a hit, thinking shortly about shotgunning with her, however Y/N turns toward the open window and sticks her head out, blowing the smoke. Steve smiles as he presses up against her to let the smoke out. They take a few more hits, almost reaching the end of the cigarette before someone catches them. 

"You idiots." Eddie pokes his head around the trailer, and Steve has to lean uncomfortably to turn around. 

"Go back and babysit for five more minutes!" Y/N giggles, and Steve turns toward her and smiles. 

"I hate you guys." Eddie leaves, which means he doesn't see the moment Y/N's eyes venture to Steve's lips, the moment they both lean in slightly, foreheads bumping. 

"Steve!" Of course Dustin interrupts, and Steve hits his shoulder against the windowsill as Y/N accidentally hits her forehead against him. 

"Fuck," She mutters as her sunglasses fall to her nose.

"That little shit." Steve slides back into the trailer as Y/N follows, him going to grab the pack-n-play and her putting the cigarette out while pushing her sunglasses back up. 

Oh God, she almost kissed Steve Harrington.

She takes a deep breath, fanning at her face with Steve's back turned, before she grabs both of their drinks and follows him out. 

"He is so tiny." Y/N sees El smiling at James, who is blinking at her with wide eyes. He's never been around this many people, and Y/N knows that soon he's gonna scream. She makes herself and Steve another drink - spiked punch, her favorite - and hands it to him before grabbing James from Max's arms. She nods her head hard to make the sunglasses fall and deposits James into his pack-n-play, smiling as Steve comes out of the trailer with Clover and a couple other toys. 

"Hey, what're you drinking?" Dustin asks Steve as he looks over the drinks on the table. 

"If I catch you with even a drop of this, your ass is grass." Steve grabs a coke from the ice chest and shoes it at the kid. "That goes for all of you little," Steve trails off as he hears James squeal, remembering last night when James repeated the one word he shouldn't. 

"You're no fun." Max frowns as she grabs a coke. 

"We're not kids anymore." Mike crosses his arms like a child, crossing his point. 

"You're always gonna be kids." Jonathan smirks, finishing off his beer. 

"Henderson, you're going to be a kid until you're married and have kids, alright." Steve cuts him off, rolling his eyes but still catching Y/N's quick flinch. "Poor choice of wording, I'm sorry." Steve tries, taking a long swig of his drink from the straw. 

"It's alright, I get it." She smiled. She did get it. Times may have changed slightly, however they hadn't changed enough for her to be accepted by everyone. 

"I didn't mean it like that." Steve tries again, but Y/N just shakes her head. 

"It's fine." She knows he didn't mean it. She knows it's just the way Steve views the life cycle. 

God, she was a fool. Steve probably wanted to start fresh, wanted to have his own kids after being married. 

"It's not," Steve moves closer to make it a more private conversation. Everyone begins to start talking in groups, and Eddie begins trying to set up a way to play music outside and not blast it from his trailer. "I swear I didn't mean it like that." He feels like shit for chosing his words so poorly. Before Y/N can respond, James is screaming and she's rushing to him. It seems he's just hungry, so she decides it's time for presents so they can get right on to cake. 

"Can you grab a chair from around back?" She asks Steve, who nods and grabs one. He sets it down next to the presents, and everyone gathers around. 

"Thank you guys for coming." Y/N smiles at her friends, heart beating with love. "I'm so lucky that I live next to someone with such great friends." She jokes, looking at Eddie. He raises his bottle to her as everyone laughs and insists they're all friends. 

James isn't helpful with opening the presents, trying to chew the wrapping paper at every chance he gets. Steve is luckily quick enough to get it out of his mouth, but this makes James angry. Everyone got the cutest gifts, like the clothes Nancy and Jonathan brought to the baby guitar Eddie proudly gave. The kids got cute figurines and bath toys, and she'd opened a couple of Steve's gifts - teething toys. She almost cried when she opened them, asking Steve to put them in the freezer right away. When he got out, she was opening the largest present - a cute little kitchen that she can put in her living room so James can pretend to cook. Y/N was glad the sunglasses hid her teary eyes. 

"You didn't have to do this." She tells Steve as everyone begins helping with the cleanup. 

"Of course I did." He turns to James and smiles, tickling his stomach. "Anything for my family."

Oh yeah. She's head over heels alright.

//

tags: @avada-kedavra-bitch-1877 @roxaya @sadbitchfangirl @gloryekaterinaa @oblivion-void @alexshaff2002 @m-rae23 @mcueveryday @mads-weasley @alicetweven @damon-loves-pie @gaysludge @l0v3e1i 

Jade you've done it again now i just wanna be curled up next to Steve watching the breakfast club and i don't even particularly care for that movie 💕💕💕😭😭😭

𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫? | 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐨𝐧 𝐱 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

summary steve finds out that falling in love can be really, really easy. you find out what it’s like when somebody wants to take care of you [10.5k]

warnings fem!reader, fluff, mutual pining, getting together, girl next door trope? dustins neighbour! reader, steve being a softie and also hot, the gang goes rollerblading, movie date, sun stroke, sick fic, hurt/comfort, reader is implied to weigh more/ be bigger than than nancy wheeler but nothing exact, steve learns you’re upset one time and goes overboard, borrowed walkmans, small s4 spoilers no major plot details, post s3 pre s4, feat. the lunch club, small bit of karaoke, summary is bad that’s not my fault that’s divine intervention

A vast green jungle, so damp the forest floor bathes your ankles in rainwater runoff. The air is thick with humidity and smells green. Earthy, the sweet scent of petrichor tickles your nose, and- 

A shadow distends over the yellow pages of your paperback, dark, eating up the image of the amazon and replacing it with reality – a normal summer's day in Hawkins. 

Steve Harrington stands in front of you, his body blocking the sun and its warm glow. The light throws a halo around his head and turns the ends of his brown hair golden. 

"Watcha reading?" he asks in lieu of ‘hello’.

"Ever read Journey to the Center of the Earth?" you ask him, leaning towards him invitingly. 

You love to mess with him like this, watch his cheeks slowly pink as you bend towards your knees with a demure smile playing on your lips. 

"Yeah, I did. In middle school," he says, trying his best to play it cool, hands pushing deep into the pockets of his pants. 

"Well, it's nothing like that." 

The grin he gets when he realises you're messing with him is adorable. He chuckles warmly and pulls a hand through his hair, looking down at the ground and then up at you again with a bashful pinch to his thick eyebrows.

"You're looking for Dustin?" you ask. You haven't seen your young neighbour since this morning. "He ran off earlier with his huge radio thing." 

Steve rolls his eyes. "Typical. I paid him fifteen dollars," he says, his frustration clear, "fifteen dollars, Y/N, to fix my Walkman like three weeks ago. Every time I come by he's out. Little shit probably hasn't even looked at it." 

You like Steve. He's a great looking guy who's more than nice when he sees you even though you're always pushing his buttons, and his poorly hidden fondness for Dustin is something you find heart-squeezingly attractive. You don't think twice about your next move. 

You stand up from your lounger and have to shield your eyes from the sun, tucking your book under your naked arm. "If you want… I have a cassette player I'm not using. I got a Walkman for my birthday." You don't give him an opportunity to say no as you start for the front door. 

"Are you sure?" Steve asks. You hold the door open for him, standing at the threshold with a grin. 

"Positive. It's collecting dust, at this point." 

"I mean, sure, if that's cool. Just until Dustin gets his act together," he says, pushing past you. His hand brushes your hip. 

"That's cool," you confirm, walking behind him through your open kitchen and living room. "It's on the left." 

Steve pushes into your bedroom. The window's open, breezing around the smell of fresh linens and the hydrangeas in the planter on your sill, shifting the gauzy white curtains. 

The suncatcher hanging from the window sprays rainbow kisses over your walls and posters, your laundry basket full of summer dresses and discarded night shirts. The carpet is freshly vacuumed and plush underfoot as you beeline for your desk. Steve hovers by the door before leaning his weight against your bookshelf, eyes taking it in curiously. 

"Cyndi Lauper," Steve says, eyes on a big poster of said singer with her iconic orange hair and hat. You raise your eyebrows at him, pleased, and he shrugs. "She's famous." 

"You like her?" 

"Nah," he says. "But I'll listen to anything. Except Depeche Mode; sharing a player with Robin all summer has sailed that boat." 

"Yeah?" you ask, kneeling down in front of your desk to dig through the cabinet underneath. You frown, up to your elbow in bric a brac and forgotten trinkets. "It's in here somewhere." 

"Yeah. I mean, maybe not anything. I don't think I have the palate for some of those rock and roll bands. Dustin made me listen to Black Scabbard in the car last week and…"

"Black Sabbath," you correct lightly, pulling out of your cupboard with a relieved huff. 

"Right," he says. 

You look over your shoulder to find him perusing your bookshelf, his hand running lightly over the shiny glass paper weight you use as a book end. He teases the spine of a hardback book curiously but must feel your gaze, turning to you with a sheepish smile. 

"Do you like to read?" you ask. 

Steve wrings his hands held at his hip. "Sure, I don't mind it. Bigger fan of movies." 

"Right, Family Video must get pretty distracting," you say, walking towards him on light footing to offer the dinged-up cassette player. "She's well loved but she works, I swear." 

He takes it from you, fingers brushing the backs of yours. "Thank you." 

You shift from one foot to the other — because oh my god there's a boy in my room — before smiling with teeth. You stop. "You're welcome. Want a drink?" 

"Uh…" 

"I've got pink lemonade." 

"Oh, then definitely." 

You lead him into the kitchen and install him at the kitchen table with two empty glasses. The carafe of lemonade is beautifully cold from the refrigerator with slices of lemon and strawberry bouncing around the top as you pour it. The condensation wets your fingers. 

Steve looks handsome and maybe slightly silly behind your homely oak table, all clean cut and well dressed. You feel bare beside him in your tank top and flowy midi skirt, too much skin. 

"Are you hungry? I make a mean BLT," you say, bringing your feet up onto the chair, knees digging into the table. 

"I'm good, thanks," he says. 

"Are you having a good time of it at FV? They denied my application, but that's 'cos Keith has a vendetta against me for wiping out his score on the Palace's Tempest." 

"You're a Tempest girl?" 

"Everybody plays Tempest," you say. 

Steve gives you a look. "Nerds play Tempest." 

"Fine, every nerd plays Tempest," you allow, rolling your eyes. "Lemme guess, you're a Centipede guy. No, worse! You play Pac-Man. I can tell."

His silence is enough to make you giggle in triumph, elated to have sussed him out so quickly.  

"How did you know that?" he asks finally. 

"You called Black Sabbath 'Black Scabbard'. You're not a nerd." 

"I could be." 

"But you're not." 

You share a steady look over the table. His eyes are bright with mirth, a sleek brown like fresh brewed coffee. You love the shape of them, deepest with the round under eye blanketed in straight black lashes. A red polo stretches across his chest. You find your eyes drawn down the length of his arm to his hand where he's drawing circles around the rim of his glass. He takes it into his hand and you watch his wrist bend, his arm flex as he brings the cup to his lips and a drop of condensation drips onto the table mat. 

"I don't look the type?" he asks after a rough swallow. He sounds almost incensed. 

"No, of course you don't. King Steve," you croon. 

He crosses his arms across his chest and leans back, looking you up and down showfully. "Neither do you." 

He's all charming smiles as he raises his chin and shakes his head, lips stretched up in an open-mouthed smile. 

"Tempest," he mutters in bemusement.

You burst into laughter, quick to defend yourself when there's a pounding knock at the door. You're still laughing as you stand, calling to Steve as you walk to the door, "Tempest isn't even that nerdy! It's the Dragon's Lair dorks you need to watch out for. Oh, hi baby. What's wrong?" 

"You haven't seen Steve, have you? His cars outside," Dustin announces, standing under the porch with his wild curls stuffed under a hat, his pulley cart ditched halfway between your yard and his.

"He's in the kitchen. You want some lemonade? You look frazzled," you offer, brushing your hand over his sunburned shoulder lightly as he scoots right past you.

"Thanks, Y/N." Dustin strides into the kitchen with purpose, glaring at Steve pretty heavily as he takes your seat at the table. "Why are you here?" 

"Fucking charming. I came to see you, Henderson, but you're never home. Too busy finding secluded knolls to radio your girlfriend and play karaoke." 

"Dick," Dustin says, though he defrosts as you fill a glass for him. 

"What do you want?" Steve asks him. 

"Why do you assume I want something?" 

"Don’t be coy, you're not Madonna. It's tacky." 

"Dick," Dustin says again, glaring. 

"Dustin, do you want something to eat? You shouldn't go out in the sun all day by yourself, you know? What if you get heat stroke?" you ask. 

Steve gives you a strange look like he's puzzled with you. You smile back at him, hand coming down on the back of Dustin's chair easily. 

"Steve, I need a ride to Mike's," Dustin says, completely ignoring you.

Steve kicks him under the table. "Manners." 

"Can I please have a ride-" 

"To her, dipshit. Jeez, what's wrong with you? She asked if you're hungry." 

Dustin beams at you innocently, soft cheeks rounding. "No thank you Y/N you're a godsend and I appreciate you very much," he says all in a rush, turning back to Steve, the act entirely dropped. "Now can we go?" 

"Christ, fine. I'm gonna get you one of those rewards cards for being a shithead. This incident would be a double stamp, by the way." 

"Uh-huh," Dustin says. 

The younger teen chugs his glass of lemonade and spins off, calling a thank you over his shoulder. Steve gets up to follow him, your old cassette player held carefully in his hands. 

"I'm sorry about him." 

"Don't be. I've known him his entire life. He's in a phase," you inform him with a small grin, shrugging as if to say, what you gonna do? 

"Long phase. Thank you. For the player and the lemonade." 

"You're welcome," you say warmly, walking him to the door. 

Dustin's already in the passenger seat, having taken his pulley cart back inside. He makes a hurry up motion from behind his window and Steve mutters expletives to himself, giving you one last smile before he trudges off. 

The two boys wave at you through the windshield. You wave back.

When Steve's car has winked from view you take your lemonade and paperback outside again to lie under what's left of the sun. You try your best to fall back into the jungle and conjure its sights and sounds, only you keep finding your thoughts wrapped up around a certain boy's laugh and the face he makes as he does, that startled grin, a fist half raised to his mouth. 

-

"Y/N!" A familiar teen voice accompanied by battering knocking at your front door. 

You pull it open, still in your pajamas, hair a mess. His knocking had woken you up. You'd had about ten seconds to check you hadn't drooled too violently in your sleep before he was calling your name, and so you hadn't bothered getting dressed. 

You wish you had. Dustin stood at the door with Steve Harrington behind him, a happy smile on both their faces. 

You try not to flinch as you throw an arm across your chest subconsciously. "Hi?" you ask. "Is everything okay?" 

Dustin's dressed for the beautiful weather in shorts and a shirt with sleeves so short it may as well be a tank top, a hat perched familiarly over his cute curls. Steve is dressed in a tormenting pair of jeans paired with a denim jacket. Double denim. He looks hot, physically and figuratively. 

"Do you wanna come skating?" Dustin asks urgently. 

You blink at him, pulling the edges of your strappy vest down to cover your navel, plaid bottoms low on your hips – you're a mess.  

"Skating? I don't have one." 

"A skateboard?" Dustin asks, shrugging. "Bring your rollerblades." 

You err at the door, leaning your weight against it as you think. "When?" 

"Now!" he says.

"I don't want to hold you up," you say, aimed more towards Steve than Dustin. 

Steve smiles, hooking cheeks pink with the heat, and is about to talk when Dustin says, "He made me come ask you, he's fine to wait." 

You bite back a smirk at Steve's deer-in-the-headlights expression and nod happily. "Alright. Twenty minutes and I'll be ready. If that's okay?" 

"Totally," Steve says. 

You close the door most of the way and catch a look over his shoulder, finding his pretty friend Robin in one seat and a gaggle of Dustin's friends in the back.

You hear a sharp thwarping sound as you spin away followed by a "What the fuck, dude?" from Dustin and hope that he hasn't tripped over one of your flower pots. You get ready and spend at least ten minutes worrying after your appearance in the mirror before grabbing the skates and jetting into the kitchen. You gather as many impromptu snacks you can find and shove them into a grocery bag, struggling to lock the door behind you in want of a free hand. 

Steve jumps out of the driver's side to open the side door for you. You smile gratefully and dump the snacks and your skates in the footwell before climbing in, an empty seat between you and Dustin’s redheaded friend.

You're saved from the awkwardness of seeing people you've met but don't quite know by their ongoing debate, something about which Bruce Springsteen song is best. 

“It’s obviously Dancing in the Dark. I don’t really know why we’re still talking about this,” Robin says from the passenger seat.

“You’re just saying that because it’s his most popular,” the girl next to you says.

“Things are popular for a reason.” Robin shrugs. 

“Yeah, Max. Plus, popular or not, it’s his best.”

Max scrunches up her entire face. “Better than I’m on Fire?”

There’s a long pause where each child deliberates. Dustin and Mike dissolve into fierce looks. 

“Nobodies talking about Born in the USA,” Steve says into the quiet, eyes on the road but head tilted back.

“Shut up, Steve,” Mike says, looking as exhausted as he usually does when you’ve seen him coming in and out of Dustin’s. Though it's been a while, he hasn't changed. Perpetually done with people's shit. 

“Disrespectful,” Steve murmurs. His eyes flash to the rear view, catching you red-handed as you stare at him. “What do you think?” 

“About what?”

“About Springsteen."

You consider him, his smile, his gaggle of cruel children. “I like Born in the USA,” you say nonchalantly.

“That’s two points,” Steve says triumphantly.

The skatepark is pretty busy because of the good weather. You and Steve end up unpacking your snacks onto a blanket Robin lays out whilst the boys go look for their friend Lucas, who's supposedly already here. 

Max doesn't seem pleased with this revelation, sitting down heavily by Steve's picnic basket. Steve offers her a PB&J from the basket and a cold caprisun and she perks up, but not a lot. You want to spend time with Steve, you're not disillusioned into thinking you're anything but a flower under his attention, blooming and wanting, but Max's sad eyes get the better of you. 

Too late for introductions, you dive straight in. “What’s in the Walkman?” you ask, nodding at the player sticking out of her jacket pocket, the foam padded headphones around her neck. 

“Wild Things Run Fast, Joni Mitchell.” It sounds like a question. 

You’ve struck gold immediately. “I love Joni Mitchell! Have you heard her new stuff?”

Max seems alarmed and happy at once, red messy braids swaying as she lifts her chin. “I mean, only what they’ve played on the radio.”

“Her album came out this October, Dog Eat Dog? I have the cassette if you wanna borrow it. It’s amazing.”

“Really?” she asks. She’s peeling the crusts off of her sandwich, one side at a time, dropping them into the small pile of discarded Saran Wrap. 

“For sure. You’ve heard Shiny Toys?” Max nods. “It’s all as good as that one. Seriously.”

“Awesome,” she says, taking a huge bite of her sandwhich. 

You realise you might’ve come on a little strong and try to backtrack into cool territory again, hand brushing Steve’s ankles as you lean away from the poor girl, smiling sheepishly. 

“My mom loves Joni Mitchell,” Robin says.

“Robin," Steve chides lightly.

“What?” 

You and Steve share a look that’s so familiar it gives you pins and needles in your hands, something small between the two of you clicking into place. Or at least that’s how you feel.

Max has almost finished her sandwich by the time Mike returns. “Are you ready?” he asks her.

She clambers onto her feet and grabs her skateboard from behind Steve. The two walk away, a distance from Dustin and Lucas, who both seem to have acquired a pair of skates each. Dustin in knee pads and a helmet, Lucas without. 

“Why would you say Max listens to mom music?” Steve asks incredulously once they’re out of hearing distance. 

Robin shakes her head, similarly incensed. “I didn’t say that.”

“There were so many other things you could’ve said, Robs.” He sounds less mad and more pitying. 

"I didn't say that! I said my mom listens to her. She does!" 

"Don't take offense. Robin got dropped as a baby," Steve says to you offhandedly. 

You know the best course of action here and you take it – in what world would you make an enemy of a boy you might like's best friend who is a girl? Not this one. Plus, Robin seems super nice. 

"I'm not offended. My mom loves Joni too," you say cheerily, smiling at Robin, unabashed.

You're slightly disappointed when she looks away towards her lap, until she says, "Projections a bad look on you, Harrington. He has, like, a flat head," she tells you.

Steve starts yammering loudly. "Shut up! My head's perfect, you're being ridiculous. Perfectly round and ordinary, thank you." 

"Yeah, I'd definitely say your head's perfectly round," you agree through giggles, reaching for your skates.

You have a funny feeling that a silent conversation is happening as you slide off your shoes and into the skates, lacing up tight, but when you look up Robin's sifting through the accumulated snack pile and Steve's looking the opposite way, towards the kids. 

You clear your throat. "Are you guys gonna skate too?"

"Steve is." 

"I didn't bring-" 

"He's borrowing mine. It's too hot, I can't skate. And I don't have the coordination, anyway."

Steve looks at Robin, at you, Robin again. "I'm not good," he says. You take it for yes. 

Steve gets on his skates and straps out of his denim jacket, exposing the distracting lengths of his arms. He's better than he gives himself credit for, steady on his feet. He knows how to stop and start, and you smile to yourself when the two of you skate off towards Dustin and Lucas, following their journey around the skate park, careful to stay clear of the bowls and rails. 

"You're good! You said you weren't good!" you say to him. 

"I'm not good." 

"You're doing great!" 

He smiles gratefully, the expression at home over his warm features. He's not really a very smiley guy, you've realised, his lips often pulled up into a grimace or a cruel approximation of a smile, sarcastic. It suits him. You go to say as much, eyes eating up every little detail of him. 

"Hey Steve? You should-" and your foot pops over a rock. 

You shriek and throw your arm out towards him. Steve catches you with impressive strength and speed as your leg buckles. You've quickly righted yourself and he brings you to a slow but not quite stop. Stopping on skates is easier said than done, especially old skates with the front guards already worn down. 

"Are you okay?" he asks. 

You've taken his hand without thinking, the two of you widening apart and then coming together like the eclipse of a blinking eye. 

You pull your hand away apologetically, the warmth of his palm lingering. 

"I'm sorry!" you say. 

"Don’t be. Last thing I wanna do is have you crack your head open on my watch. I’m glad you didn’t wipe out." 

"Thanks to you." 

You slow and stop. Steve does the same, the two of you clumsy for different reasons. He watches as you calm your racing heart. 

"Shit, I really thought I was gonna fall. You're a lifesaver." You stare straight into his eyes, their sunlight honey brown, smiling with complete genuineness. He's more than pretty. "Thank you." 

Steve swallows and his smile is warmer, somehow, impossibly warmer. Maybe it's the beautiful weather, maybe it's the beautiful boy. You suddenly feel very, very hot. 

"I think I might need to sit down." 

"Oh, shit," he says, reaching for your arm. You're about to correct his touching – you're not dizzy, just a little nauseous. Only, his hand. His fingers clasped around your elbow, his face fiercely protective. 

You let him guide you back to the picnic blanket. One hand around your elbow, the other behind your sun-warmed back, and somehow his hand is the hottest spot. 

"Are you okay?" Robin asks, shielding her eyes from the sun. The book in her lap slips shut as she straightens. 

"She's okay," Steve says. “Too hot. Budge up." 

Robin moves over on the blanket and throws the basket open. Steve reaches in for a capri sun and passes it to you. It's lukewarm, though the day is so hot it's a relief to drink it. 

"Steve's really good," you tell her after a noisy suck, the orange plastic straw stabbing your lip. You frown down at it.

"I saw you guys whizzing around. Public menaces, both of you," Robin says, though she smiles as she does. You know she's joking. You don't want to think it in case it's not true, but you feel like maybe she wants to be friends. 

"We prefer speed demons," Steve says easily, still kneeling at your side. 

"They should lock you up." 

You snort and almost squirt juice from your nose, spluttering and coughing as you bend at the waist. Steve pats your back less than gently and then more so as you move your hand towards him. 

"I'm okay," you cough, embarrassed at how you must look hacking your lungs out. 

Steve's hand, again on your back, rubs a stern line. "Chill out, Y/N. You can't die before dinner." 

"We're getting McDonald's," Robin supplies. 

"Don't tell the kids," he says, smirking. 

He's still rubbing your back. You suspect you might agree to anything while he's this close. 

"You sound like such a dad when you say shit like that." 

Steve scowls at Robin's words and pulls his hands away, crossing them over his chest. "Don't say that. Babysitter is more than enough, don't you think? Y/N?" 

"An older brother?" you suggest to Robin's extreme delight. 

She laughs. Steve scrubs at his face with both hands until his eyes are red. 

-

Robin's sick and Steve's going crazy by himself, manning the desk at FV with almost no energy and even less enthusiasm. A week since he'd held your hand and he can't seem to stop thinking about it. 

He catches himself staring at his own empty palm and clenches his fist, bringing his eyes back to the door in case someone walks in and he has to pull off the headphones of your borrowed cassette player. 

Steve had discovered a forgotten cassette inside, listening to it out of curiosity the night you'd given him the player and then every night since then. He felt guilty about keeping it without saying anything but he was only borrowing it, he reasoned. He'd give it back when Dustin fixed his skipping Walkman.  

The tape was Van Halen II. And Steve's not stupid, he knows who Van Halen are, but he's never sat and listened through any of their full albums. Now he can't stop, constantly rewinding back to the same song, over and over. 

He does so now, fingers clumsy and too big over small buttons until the first line kicks in, powerful and high energy like a burst of fresh air. 

Have you seen her?

So fine and pretty.

He grins as it plays, thinking of you instantly. Your smile and your legs, the wind whipping at your skirt and exposing stretches of skin he can't stop remembering. You on your rollerblades, the second time after an emergency PB&J, skating in front of him without looking behind you. 

"Don't let me crash into someone, okay?" you'd asked, swaying from one side to the other as you shifted your weight. 

"It'll be too late to stop you if I see someone! Turn around!" he'd demanded, though his fondness had peeked through. 

You'd thrown your hands out. "You'll have to steer me!" 

And so he'd grabbed your hands and you'd laughed like a fool as you skated together, squealing through close calls and bumpy ground. 

He thinks of your hands in his, their weight and size, the magnetic pulse he'd felt between them, how happy you'd seemed to be with him. 

He was harbouring a crush on you. Too old to deny what it feels like to want a pretty girl, Steve wonders if this is entirely a good idea – letting himself like you when the possibility of rejection feels high. You are, as Dustin had promised him, out of Steve's league. "Don't try your luck, dude." 

Steve thought for a second that his thinking about you had summoned your image, your easy walk and the elegant way about your hands and how you held them, in a blue dress with matching strappy mary-jane's, white socks with the ruffle tops. He blinks. No way he could think up anything as pretty. 

You push open the door and grin from across the room, a large tupperware of some type in your hands. His eyes move up from your fingers where they clutch plastic, your wrist, your arms. The puff sleeves of your dress are short and cuffed, similar to the matching ruched neckline that shows enough to make him swallow. A necklace lays in the valley of your chest, a silver chain with a blue flower at the end, small but thick. Five round petals, a cutout missing that shows a circle of your chest beneath. 

"Steve," you say, like you'd been in mid conversation. "Please tell me you have a sweet tooth."

He pulls the headphones from his head and leaves them around his neck, fixing his hair as casually as he can when he says, "Sure, I like candy." 

You set your container down on the counter and crack it open, the rich, buttery smells of its contents quickly filling the room.

"I made penuche for Dustin's mom's birthday, but I made so-" you drag the word out, lips a gloss-sticky 'o', "much of it. I can't eat it all. And she said I wasn't allowed to give it to Dustin 'cos he keeps using the f-word." 

His laugh is startled but genuine. "Not the f-word." 

The fudge is a light brown, almost pink in the neon tinted lighting. It smells divine, and he's saved from an internal debate about what's cool when you push the tub towards him. "Do you like fudge?" you ask him.

He takes one and you take one, and he tries not to look at you as you eat, or when you scratch gloss and a crumb from the corner of your mouth. 

"You’re a modern Martha Stewart," Steve says happily.

"Only on special occasions. Where's Robin?" you ask, elbows braced on the counter and leaning in. 

"Sick. Apparently." 

"Apparently," you repeat, grinning. "What, she didn't look sick?" 

"She talked to me on the phone. She sounded sick," he concedes. "Good things it's Thursday." 

You look around the completely empty store. "This is what it usually looks like on a Thursday?" 

"It's Hawkins. Half the people here get their VHS from the library, the others drive out to Blockbuster. We get about as much foot traffic as an ice cream stand in September." 

"It's 'cos you take too long to get the new ones,'' you say. "No offense." 

"The tone of someone personally victimised by a Family Video wait list." 

"You got me. I've been trying to get the Breakfast Club for two months!" you complain, scratching your chest lazily. 

Steve crosses his arms over his chest until his hands are hidden, rolling his eyes. "Oh, so this is bribery penuche." 

You blink at him and then your lips part in horror, pretty eyes widening. "No!" 

"It totally is. You're trying to butter me up," he says, suave tone disrupted by the need to giggle at his own pun. "Y/N, how could you? Here I thought we were starting to be friends and you're using me for my video store?" 

His mock horror puts you eat ease when you realise he's joking. "I really wanna see that movie," you say dejectedly. You reach for another piece of fudge and bite it in half, your chewing morose. "It feels like everybody saw it at the movies but me." 

"Of course they did. Why didn't you?" 

You glare at him. "I was busy!" 

"For the month it was in theatres?" 

"Yes!" you defend yourself from his teasing. "I have things to do!" 

"Like what?" 

"Like school!" 

"Everybody has school." 

"You're picking on me after I brought you candy. This is so cruel." You don't sound like you've suffered any cruelty. Steve might say you're really enjoying yourself. 

"Sorry, sweetheart."

You glare at his insincere pet name. "Whatever. Oh, hey, how's she treating you?" you ask, eyes on the cassette player. "Steve, you have my Van Halen tape! Thank god, I thought I lost it."

"Right. Sorry, I meant to give it back," he lies. 

You shrug your shoulders. "Keep it however long you want to. It's good, right? Which one's your favourite?"

He pulls the headphones out and rewinds back before setting the player in front of you. You raise your eyebrows at him but click play, and the audio starts abruptly, loud and mid quality. 

Yes, it's love in the third degree. 

You grin, head bobbing, eyes flitting to his with approval written all over your face. You don't seem to hesitate before you sing along under your breath, high pitched but quiet.

"Ooh, baby baby. Won't-cha turn your head my way?" 

He feels a little enchanted by you, that same magnetism he'd felt between his hands, can't believe how pretty you are and how sweetly you move. You laugh at yourself as you sing the next line, an intense, almost theatrical look upon your face. Like you're swooning.

"Ooh, baby baby. Ah come on! Take a chance, you're old enough to-" You flare your eyes at him and nod, mouth open encouragingly. 

He won't join in, no matter how electric he finds you. You roll your eyes and your shoulders roll in a half-dance as you hum along to the chorus. 

Dance the night away. 

"You're no fun, Steve," you complain, giggling. 

"You're enough for the two of us." 

You peer over the counter, still moving with the music as you ask, "What were you doing? Before I came in?" 

"Looking through the computer at what's late being returned. Riveting, extremely hard work." 

"Do you get, like, secret intel on what new movies are coming in?" 

"Sure we do. Wanna see?" he asks. 

You creep around the counter and stand by his side. He scrolls through the system and translates acronyms for you. "This is the coming in," he says, drawing a line down a list of movie names. "These are what's being moved back to the headquarters."

"Headquarters," you repeat, leaning in to see the screen more clearly. You browse the new titles idly, slipping closer and closer to the computer. 

"You'll burn your retinas." 

"Invaders from Mars, Youngblood, Black Moon Rising," you list thoughtfully. You turn on your heel. "I don't know any of those. You got a chic-flicks section?" 

You're really close. Steve looks at you, this close, this pretty, his hands itching to touch you. He leans in and your arms fall to your sides, the space between you growing ever smaller. 

"We do," he says slowly, eye to eye, almost daring you to look at his mouth instead. He wants you to. He wants to look at yours. 

You're steadfast, not impassive but certainly unreadable as you say, "Show me?" 

Steve reaches for the mouse behind you like he was always intending to, hiding any smugness he feels when you exhale noticeably. You turn back around, his arm brushing over yours as he sorts through the tag system to show you "ROM-COM INCO". 

"These are all the ones we have coming in. You know any of those?" 

"Hannah and Her Sisters. I saw that one." 

"Finally had some free time?" he asks wryly. 

"Shut up, Steve." 

"You know… I can keep the Breakfast Club for you. Next time it comes in." 

The smile you give him is blinding. "Thanks, Steve." 

"Yeah, no problem." He hopes the sudden increase in temperature is mutual. 

-

Your backyard is a field of flowers. Maybe dramatic, but Steve's never seen so many, a heavy green spotted in chartreuse, vermillion, bright oranges and pink-white. You lay on a towel in the grass surrounded by them, the sun lighting you up, your skin glowing and perfect. 

You're in black, spandex type shorts and a bikini top. Steve feels like a perv for looking, so he clears his throat. You don't budge. 

He creeps closer. You're in headphones listening to your Walkman. He can hear the music from where he stands at your backdoor, so it must be loud. He stands over you and hopes his shadow will wake you up. When it still doesn't he gets concerned, kneeling down carefully with his knees digging into your towel. 

"Y/N. Hey," he says. 

Still nothing. 

He pulls your headphones off gently, looking over your face in worry. You must be sleeping. 

"Y/N, you shouldn't sleep out here. You'll get sun stroke," he says. He strokes your arm though he shouldn't. He can't help himself, his fingers pressing into the crook of your elbow.

You blink awake and then slam your eyes closed. Steve adjusts himself to block the sun from your face and you manage to pry your eyes open, confused.

"Hello." 

"Hey," he says. He can't help the fondness that plays over his smile.

"Shit." Your eyes go wide and you cover your chest with your arm. "I'm naked." 

"You're not naked," he says. 

"I'm naked. Stop looking at me." 

Steve turns away obligingly. 

"Stop laughing at me, Harrington." 

"Is there anything I'm allowed to do?" he asks, though he does stop laughing.

"I'm so embarrassed. I was sunbathing and I must've fallen asleep." 

Steve lets his eyes stray to your naked thigh. He stares at your skin, follows a stretch mark upwards and then swiftly peels his gaze away. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be a total perv. I can go wait in my car." 

"You're not a perv. I'm being a priss. Sorry. I know I'm not, like, a model and I wasn't expecting to have this much skin on show. I don't look like Nancy Wheeler."

You sound more nervous than Steve has ever heard you. Worse, you sound dejected, though you've tried for nonchalance. Steve stares at you until you raise your chin, your fingers pinching meanly at your thighs. 

"You're messing with me," he says.

"What?" you ask, incredulous. "I'm not messing with you." 

"You gotta know you're beautiful. That's, like, a stone cold fact. A hard truth. You're beautiful. Who cares if you don't look like Nance?" 

You sigh, though it's not very believable when you're smiling so much. "She's really pretty." 

"So are you." 

"You know what I mean, Steve. She's… small." 

"She's a small woman," he agrees. "That doesn't make her prettier than you." 

"You're sure?" you ask quietly. 

Steve means it a hundred percent when he says, "I'm sure." 

The two of you sit there for a few seconds. He can hear your breathing and he's wondering if you can hear his. 

"What are you doing here?" you ask. 

Your hand is still held across your stomach but you're thankfully looking more relaxed. Steve meant what he said, you're beautiful, he couldn't care less that you're taller or that you weigh more than his ex. You're fucking pretty, and seeing you all laid out and sun kissed has made him kind of crazy. 

"Steve?" you ask. 

"Oh. I brought you The Breakfast Club. Just got it back in this morning," he rushes to say, grabbing the VHS tape from where he'd left it on the ground. The Family Video spine is glaringly ugly compared to you and your flowers. 

"Woah, thank you!" 

"You're welcome. It's under my name though, so don't keep it late. Can't disprespect the FV name. I'm going for employee of the month." 

You giggle. "You are? Are you the top contender?" 

"Nope." 

You laugh some more, the sound delicate and sweet as spun sugar, in Steve's humble opinion. 

"Not that my fellow employees try any harder, but Keith just picks himself every month for the free credits." 

You rub your fingers across the front of the box. "I won't be late. I mean, I'll watch it today, I've been so excited to see it." 

Steve stands up. "Sorry to disturb your idyllic sunbathing." 

"Idyllic," you murmur, smiling. "You're good, Steve. Thank you for the movie." 

"You're welcome. I'll see you later?" he asks, shoving his hands deep into the pockets of his jeans, slowly backing away. 

"No," you say. He raises his eyebrows and you look sheepish but not shy when you continue, "Do you wanna stay? Watch the movie with me? I have stovetop popcorn and soda and everything." 

"What about the great weather? You don't wanna waste it." 

You force your hands between your thighs and hunch forward slightly. "I do wanna waste it. I mean, I've had enough for today, don't you think? I'm a half hour from heat stroke." 

"You're looking pretty warm," he says. Anything to take you up on your offer without sounding too interested. 

-

You're trying not to give Steve the side eye. Trying, but he's very attractive and very close, and he keeps making funny jokes. It's annoying how hot he is. 

Steve has slouched back and his jeans have slowly edged down, exposing the flesh of his hip. Not that you've noticed, or anything. 

You cram a big handful of popcorn into your mouth and flick your eyes back to the screen. You'd really wanted to see this movie but Steve keeps capturing your attention, again and again, over and over. You can't believe you'd asked him to stay and he had, can't believe he brought the VHS for you in the first place. 

That's a dedicated employee right there. 

You shuffle closer to him under the guise of sharing your popcorn. Your shoulders touch. 

"Thanks," he says. His thigh hits your thigh as he takes a handful. 

"Steve," you say softly. 

"What?" 

"I don't feel well. I think the sun killed me." 

He throws his arm around the back of the couch and twists, careful not to upend the popcorn bowl as he looks over you searchingly. You've seen Steve play caretaker before, but being under his watch is different. He's almost a different person as he checks you over. 

"You feel sick?" he asks. He holds his hand out between you, his knuckles at your eye level. "Can I?" 

You tilt your head back and close your eyes. Steve presses the back of his hand to your forehead and pets down softly, feeling for your temperature. 

"You're still really warm. Let's get you cooled down." 

Steve springs up and knocks the bowl. You blink, slightly disoriented as he disappears into the kitchen, picking up spilled popcorn off of the couch and eating it with slow chews. Now you think of it, your arms hurt, too.

Steve returns and sits on the edge of the sofa, a bag of peas in his hand. "I raided your freezer. Lean your head back." 

"I'm fine," you say, but tilt your head back anyways, gasping when the cold hits you.  

"You might actually get heatstroke. Do you know how dangerous heat stroke is? You need to cool down. Where's the A/C?" 

"It's on." 

Steve feels along your cheek gingerly. "I can't believe you fell asleep outside. What's that about?" He pauses. "Are you sleeping okay?" 

"I'm sleeping fine." 

"Are you sure?" 

His wrist turns and you feel the pad of his fingers rather than the back, the palm of his hand as he cups your face. 

You peek through your lashes at him. His eyebrows are pinched and his bottom lip juts out in a concerned pout. 

"You can tell me." 

The way he says it – well, you imagine you could tell him anything. He sounds warm and worried. This close you can smell his cologne, something heavy with sage, a little bit of lilac hidden under unmistakable bergamot. It's all so comforting and the sun has loosened your tongue. 

"Maybe not so much. It's… it's hot. You know? And…" 

"What?" he murmurs. Your heart skips as his thumb rubs over your cheek. 

You close your eyes like your confession might take form. "I'm kind of lonely, lately," it sounds like a question, "and it's- it keeps me up sometimes. I don't know, it sounds stupid when I say it out loud." 

"It doesn't sound stupid." 

"No?" 

"No, I get it." He pulls away but doesn't move too far, his hand still holding the freezing peas to your forehead, the other brushing against your arm as he drops it in his lap. "These days Dustin doesn't leave me alone. I don't want him to, either. The same with Robs." 

You let your head loll to the side. Steve doesn't look shy or scared to tell you, talking almost matter of fact. "But my parents were never home when I was in high school. They still aren't. I felt it more back then." 

"Yeah. I don't know. I never see anybody. Besides Dustin," you say. "We have him in common." 

"You see me." 

"When I'm annoying you at work." 

"You don't annoy me." He's stern though he abruptly turns into a conspirator whispering secrets. "Robin's fuse gets shorter with me everyday." 

"How come?" you ask, co-conspirator. 

"I can't stop watching the door." 

You lift your head. Steve takes back his bag of peas and feels along your forehead, now cold enough to ache. 

"Here, hold these to your chest. I'd do it for you, but…" 

You take the peas and hide a terrible smile, heart racing between your ears. Your nausea has flipped  completely into butterflies and they're rabid, knocking at your abdomen insistently. 

You're trying to think of a way to make him say nice things again when there's a knock at the door. 

"Dustin," you both say. 

"Jinx, buy me a soda," Steve says. 

You glare at him and he laughs all the way to the door. 

"Why are you always here? Where's Y/N?" 

"She's got heat stroke." 

"I don't!" you call hoarsely. 

"You sound like you do," Dustin says. "Can one of you give me a ride?" 

"She has heat stroke." 

You climb onto the back of the sofa to look down the hallway. Dustin stands at the front door with a huge piece of engineering in his arms that you don't understand, wires and ciricuits and things. 

"Remeber when you used to bike everywhere? What happened to that?" Steve asks, sounding majorly pissed. You can't work out why he's so frustrated but it makes you laugh again. 

The two boys turn to you with twin looks of confusion. 

"I can't bike there, genius. This won't fit in the basket." 

You laugh again, twice as loud. 

"What's wrong with her?" Dustin asks, shaking his head. 

"What don't you understand about heat stroke?

"Potential heat stroke," you interject.  

"She fell asleep in the sun. I don't know how long she was out there her brain might be totally jellified, dude." 

"You should take her to the hospital."

You clamber onto aching limbs and walk until your behind Steve, reaching for his elbow automatically. "I'm fine, babe. What's your doohickey?" 

Dustin smirks and pulls the weight closer to his chest. "Prototype." 

"For what?" 

"Top secret." 

You giggle some more, wobbling with the force of it. Steve sighs and wraps his arm around your back, his hand under your arm to grip you at the ribs. 

Dustin gets wide eyes like a looney tunes character. "What's going on here?" 

"Nothing," Steve hisses. "Look, let me set Y/N up with the works and I'll drive you where you want to go, you brat." 

Dustin drops his suspicion, having got what he wants. "I'll wait in the car. Feel better!" 

"That's three stamps on the shithead card, shithead!" Steve calls after him. The two of you watch his retreating figure and then Steve is manhandling you (not too roughly) down the hallway and back onto the sofa. 

"I'm not dying, Steve." 

Steve puts your popcorn bowl in your lap and the frozen peas back on your chest. He fills your glass either the warming carafe on the coffee table and then bends down to talk to you, entirely too intense. 

"Are you good?" he asks. 

"Perfect. I don't even feel hot anymore." 

He rolls his eyes. "Yeah, okay. Listen, I'm gonna go drop Dustin off, and then I'm gonna call you to make sure you're not dead." 

"You don't have to do that, Steve," you say, moving down into the couch, a cushion falling over as you do. He straightens it out, cups your face in his hand so fast you think you've imagined it and then squints at you. 

"Don't die of heat stroke." 

He starts to walk away and you're startled. Unfairly, you don't want him to go, and you call, "Steve?" 

"Yeah?" 

"What about The Breakfast Club?" 

He grins at you, a lazy, King Steve kind of smile. "I was always gonna leave that here. So you can come 'annoy' me at work when you return it." He pulls a hand through his hair and gives you a once over and then spins on his heel. "Make sure you answer when I call!" 

You lose sight of him as he leaves, the couch backing too tall. He shuts the door kindly and you can just about hear the crunch of gravel as his car pulls away. 

"He was definitely flirting with me," you say to yourself, pouring a sweet handful of popcorn into your mouth. You're smiling so wide it's hard to chew. 

-

Dustin bursts into Family Video with his small entourage, Mike and Lucas, and an urgent look on his face. Steve quickly stops his facade of being busy when he clocks them.

"What? Need to borrow ten dollars?" he asks, rolling his eyes. 

"Actually, it's about Y/N," Dustin says. 

Steve stretches across the desk on his elbows. 

"What about her?" he asks, suspecting a waste of time.

"She was crying her eyes out in her backyard last night." 

Steve blinks, feeling a pit open up in his chest. "What? Why?" 

"Well…" Dustin says. "I didn't ask." 

Steve pictures your pretty face crinkled with tears, sitting on the paving stones outside your house. He wonders what would make you cry, sob, whatever it was. You'd confessed to being lonely though he sort of hopes that the feeling has ebbed now that he's calling you every day. At first, under the guise of checking up on you, but, I don't think I'm at risk of heat stroke anymore Steve. It's been a week and a half. 

Better safe than sorry. 

"Nancy said she saw her outside outside Bradley's Big Buy last night looking miserable," Mike adds, in one of his worst outfits, a mismatch of colours and long socks, a visor that Steve once tried to bribe Dustin to destroy on a hot day with his magnifying glass. The small burned spot perseveres at the caps edge. 

Steve feels weirdly proud at their concern and better, their detective skills. The three of them look like they could solve crimes, a mystery gang. Lucas is the only one dressed well in Steve's opinion, though that might be because he's in similar fashion, a nice polo and blue jeans. 

"You don't know what's wrong with her?" Lucas asks.

His pride wanes. "Oh, you guys are here for gossip?" he asks scathingly. 

"No!" 

"You're her boyfriend, right?" 

"Not-" Steve swallows, "exactly." 

Robin, who had been listening from her stool a few feet back, strides over and falls into place by his side, braced by her elbows. 

"If Steve were her boyfriend, we'd know why she was crying," she says, earning a round of boyish chuckles. 

Steve nods and then understands her meaning, feeling stupid for assuming Robin would say something that wasn't mean while at work. "Fuck off, I'm a good boyfriend." 

Four sets of eyebrows raise. 

"I am! I'm romantic." 

"You smashed our trellis and dislodged a drain pipe," Mike says. 

Steve pins the dark haired boy with a smarted look. 

"Sorry, is that not romantic? Sneaking out to see a girl?" 

"Sneaking in to a young woman's bedroom," Robin says dryly. 

"Pervert style," Dustin agrees sagely.

"Jesus Christ." Steve turns away from his band of adopted heathens and takes the phone into his hand. "I'm gonna call her." 

"And what? Tell her we were spying?" Dustin says. 

Steve holds the cold plastic to his neck. "Were you?" 

"Girls lie about their feelings, anyway. You're never gonna get a straight answer," Lucas says morosely. "Trust me." 

He slams the phone down. "What am I supposed to do?" 

They stand in a heavy silence. Steve can feel a headache clipping his heels, approaching fast, stress and a sharp worry for you. He really doesn't see why he can't call you and check in. 

"Something nice?" Robin suggests, picking at her nails. 

"Like what?" he asks. Though, as soon as he says it, he already has the beginnings of an idea. Whether its a good one or not is anyones guess. 

-

Somebody knocks the door and all you can think is, oh god why me? 

You're in a bad approximation of pajamas - your comfiest and yet your sloppiest, old and worn and unattractive. Fresh out of a stress-cry shower, you've only just managed to catch your breath. 

It's like you told Steve, everything lately feels so lonely. You'd gone grocery shopping by yourself and had known without a doubt that you were moving unseen through the world. Something about deciding between TV dinners. Nobody knew where you were, what you were doing, or where you were going. The only people seeing you were the storegoers of Bradley's Big Buy and your disgruntled cashier. You doubt you'd made a good impression. 

It was maybe a silly thing to feel overwhelmed by, but you felt it anyways. Sick with loneliness and then panic. A thousand what ifs had filled your head; you couldn't stop thinking, what if it's like this forever? 

What if I feel this lonely forever? 

You'd finished grocery shopping with a peculiar numbness weighing you down and then you'd gone home to cry in the garden, comforted and horrified by your flowers. They were pretty and you'd planted them and it didn't matter, you were still alone. A ladybug had crawled over the nearest planter and you'd watched it until you calmed down, knees crossed and elbows digging into your thighs, pins and needles in your hands. 

Another insistent knock. You consider ignoring it and curling up into a ball. Something hooks you out of it. What if it's Steve? 

If it's Steve, you're gonna feel very embarrassed about your appearance. You check your reflection in the sheen of a photo frame and sigh, rubbing your face with one hand as you open the door. 

Steve stands a few feet away, leaning against the side of his car with a pair of shades slipping down his nose. He takes them off.

You're so happy to see him you forget your rumpled outfit. 

"Hi," you say, half-shouting to cover the distance. 

"Hey beautiful!" Steve shouts, properly, loud and unabashed.

The door digs into your tummy. You don't know what to say. His compliment flusters you from the get go. 

"Hi," you say again, laughing under your breath. 

"Hey." 

"What are you doing here?" 

"Somebody told me you weren't feeling well!" 

You frown, thoughts racing, and suddenly summon the image of your nosey young neighbour. You take a step back instinctively and Steve must see it because his face goes stony. 

"I'm sorry, I know you probably didn't want me to know. But- when I found out you were upset, I couldn't ignore that. You'll have to forgive me." 

You try pushing the smile off your face with your hand and stand there scratching your top lip. "No. No, it's okay." 

He raises his eyebrows and takes a few big steps towards your house. You step out onto the porch and he closes the space between you, holding his hands out. You take them and he envelopes you, warm hands pulling you along and up the path. 

He walks backwards. "Don't let me crash into someone, okay?" 

A memory. The two of you hand in hand, ground flashing under your skates. 

"Okay," you say weakly. 

He squeezes your hands and drops them, a foot from the car. "Stay," and he doesn't finish, turning away from you. He opens the passenger door, the door behind and then the trunk. 

The smell is beautiful. A floral wave. 

The sight is something else. A carpet of bunches, bell-shaped freesias and carnations, roses in darkest red, chrysanthemums, dahlias, tiny orchids and irises; gorgeous purple irises with white centred petals buffeted by frilly sweetpeas. 

"They didn't want to give me the buckets but I told them I had a really pretty girl waiting for me, and if they suffocated in the heat then I was gonna drive right back and complain loudly." He stands by your side and nudges you. "Break out in tears." 

"That's a lot of flowers," you mumble. 

"Half the store. The other half's on standby." 

"Standby?" 

"I worried you might not have the space." 

"I won't." 

Your gaze flits over soft petals and light green stems, thorns and leaves and greenery, baby breath tucked in by plastic wrapping. 

"Why did you do this?" 

"You…" he laughs at himself. "Okay, so. The day you had heat stroke-" 

"I didn't have heat stroke. I had heat exhaustion." 

"Semantics. You were lying in the backyard. Just… sleeping. I was waiting for you to look up and see me, and I couldn't- I still can't get the image out of my head. You looked unreal." 

You feel hot all over as he searches for words. He's smiling wide as he talks, like he can't believe how happy he is. It's infectious. 

He shakes his head. "Anyway, I know you like flowers. Obviously. So." 

"So you got me a florists?"

"Half." 

You hug your torso. The idea that somebody would do this for you, that Steve would do this for you, is so alien you can't comprehend it. 

"They're for me?" you whisper. 

"For you. All of them." 

You look at him, the flowers, him again, and start to laugh. You throw your hands up to your cheeks and giggle like a little kid. 

"Why are you laughing?" he asks, an undeniable affection in his curiosity. 

"Why would you do this for me?" you ask in a similar tone. 

He purses his lips and shrugs. "You could've called me. I want you to know that." 

You scrub your hot cheeks and shift from foot to foot. "I was being silly." 

"It's not silly. It's not stupid. And even if it was, I still want you to call me. These are 'call me' flowers. Call me first." 

You wrap your hand around the top of the door and lean in for a look at the sea of flowers. Pollen sticks sweet in your nose. 

"Do you like them?" 

The smallest hint of insecurity. You can't stop laughing, joy warping every word. "Yeah, I love them," you say over your shoulder, feeling as though you've become nothing but a vestibule of breathless wonder. 

"I didn't know which one was your favourite." 

All of them, you think. Not sure you could pick one, your eyes bump from bouquet to bouquet. 

You try to blink them away but tears form quickly, lashes heavy with them as you stand up straight and wipe under your eyes with the back of your index finger. 

"Thank you, Steve." 

"You're welcome." Steve comes up behind you and takes your shoulder into his hand, thumb rubbing roughly over your shirt. "C'mon, don't cry. I got you all those flowers because I don't want you to cry, not to make it worse." 

"They're really pretty," you say, strained, pushing the bottoms of your palms into your eyes to stop from sobbing. That would be dramatic, you argue with yourself, so dramatic, but this is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for you. 

"Shit," he mutters. 

You tense up as his hand moves across your back to grip your other shoulder and he hugs you to his chest, left hand stroking the length of your upper arm, encouraging your hands from your face. 

"You're okay, baby," he says. 

You sniffle as his right hand climbs your shoulder to cup your neck. He pulls your face to his mouth and presses a kiss into your temple, warm and tingling, firecrackers under the skin. You turn your face to look at him and he pulls back, his chin jutting down. 

The shape of his lips lingers on your forehead, a burn. White hot.

Steve wipes the tear tracks from your face with the side of his hand.

"I know what'll cheer you up," he says. 

You miss his touch as soon as he's gone. He leans over the passenger seat, the chair and its footwell both bursting with flowers, and turns on the radio. You watch him click to the cassette player. He turns the volume up high and then pulls out. 

Slowly, the song builds into a zinging guitar. 

"Oh my god." 

"Have you seen her? So fine and so pretty," Steve sings with no hesitation. You're startled by his confidence.

"Fooled me with her style and ease," he continues, holding out his hand. 

You take it, listening to him fight his way to the right pitch, his voice cracking.

"And I feel her from across the room-" He takes your second hand, gaze electric. "Yes, it's love in the third degree." 

He tugs at your hand, nodding until you join in.

"Ooh, baby, baby," you sing weakly, searching for footing. 

"Won't-cha turn your head my way?" he begs. 

"Ooh, baby, baby," you both sing, Steve with more passion, pulling your arm one way and another in an awkward dance. 

"Come on, take a chance, you're old enough to," and here's where you both go weak and high and enthused all at once, glad the stereo's up so high you can't really hear it when you both shout, "dance the night away!" 

It's not quite night yet. You've a lot of dancing to do if you're gonna listen to Van Halen's instructions, the sun a half-disk of gold on the horizon, the sky raspberry pink bleeding up into darkening indigo. 

Steve grins at your growing enthusiasm and twirls you around. You only allow him this, too afraid to step on his toes as you come to a stop. 

He hums along and you clutch his hand. You covet the other where it's held to his chest, pushing your fingers through his. They fit together perfectly. 

"Am I ever gonna get that tape back?" you ask. 

"No," he says, laughing loudly. "No way. I love this song." 

"I love this song too. That's why I bought the album." 

"You said however long I wanted!" 

"I didn't think you'd stick around this long," you confess. 

"I did," he says. He leans down, stops. "Can I kiss you?"

You nod and beat him to it, hand at his collar as you step on your toes and press your mouth to his. You're both smiling, your eyes closed tight and your lips tight together until he pulls back, pulling his hand from your brushing grip to stroke the side of your face, rough in his rush. 

When you come back together it's slower, your lips parted mid-giggle as he moves in. You sigh, a high-pitched and embarrassing sound from the back of your throat that's quickly swallowed by his ardency. 

"Stop laughing at me," he admonishes playfully. 

"I'm not! I'm not, I'm really happy," you defend yourself, setting back on your heels. 

You've forgotten all about your pajamas and the icky feeling in your chest. With Steve's palms to your cheeks like this – like you're something worth being cradled in careful hands – you can't feel anything but happy. 

"I don't have enough vases for your flowers," you apologise as he chases you down, dropping kisses over the corner of your mouth and the apple of your cheek. 

"Good thing I begged for all those buckets," he says, brown eyes squinting with the force of his cherubic smile. His pert nose flares with a silent laugh. 

"Good thing," you agree. 

He holds you by the shoulders. "Good thing," he says again. 

You descend into another round of laughter that leaves you panting for air, your head dropping into his chest. "A really good thing." 

"I didn't go overboard, did I?" he asks, petting the nape of your neck.

"You did." 

"Sorry, I-" 

You wrap your arms around his waist and squeeze him as hard as you can. He groans lightly as he encircles your shoulders, the tip of his nose a butterfly's wing against your forehead, impossibly light and skipping, back and forth and back again. 

"I'm gonna make you flower shortbread," you say eventually, soaking in his warmth, his closeness. 

"Yeah?" 

"I swear. And more penuche. What's your favourite? I'll make you whatever you want. What do you have a sweet tooth for?" 

"Could I get another kiss?" he asks quietly.

You tilt your head back and wait. Steve isn't quite smiling though his eyes boast an emotion you're afraid to name, unbearably fond. 

"Are you gonna kiss me again?" you ask into the gap. 

"In a sec, just… let me look at you," he says, hand cupping your cheek. 

You blink back a stinging wave of tears and smile, tracing over his features greedily.

"You're beautiful," he says. 

It’s funny. You were thinking the same thing about him.

DISCLAIMER: I do NOT give permission for my work to be translated, copied, or redistributed in anyway. All of my works will always be HERE, even if i decide to leave the app.

Requests- Closed <3

Request Guidelines <3

Request prompts :)

Note: titles like this mean the stories are in progress.

age n stuff

10th Doctor-

Seven Year Ache

Rush hour

11th Doctor-

Wrench

Glasses

Inverted PB&J

Harry Styles-

Car Keys

13th Doctor-

Fights and starlights

Incorrect Quotes-

Doctor who- 11th doctor

Part one

Part two

Part three

Part four

Steve Harrington-

(none yet)

Bucky Barnes-

with eyes like the sea after a storm

Thanks for stopping by, feel free to message me with any questions or requests.

-A

Hey gang,

Soooo….

I’ve been MIA, aside from lurking in comment sections and master lists.

But, the air is changing.

So I’m gonna start writing again.

To the people who have submitted requests, your on the top of my list.

Before I start writing, I’m going to give my page a complete refresh and make it easier to navigate.

See u all soon <3

-A.

Request rules! ੈ✩‧₊˚

Below are my rules for requesting ☆

-I will not write any of the following.

-Pedophilia, racism, homophobia, sexism, ablism, or any politically related topics.

If you ask me to write about a real life person, I will not write any sexual or possibly sexualizing content. These are real people, not puppets.

I'm a college student and I work part time, so I can't guarantee when your request will be done. But I can say I will eventually get to it.

Feel free to reblog or share my posts, but PLEASE do not repost to other websites/media outlets.

I mostly write with feminine pronouns/references. This is because that's who I am, and I find it difficult to write other ways. (Plus this blog is basically just feeding my delusions)

WHO I WRITE FOR- (will update as I find new fixations)

-The doctor (10, 11, 13)

-Steve Harrington

-Harry Styles

- "Mike" Schmidt (From the FNAF movie)

-The FNAF animatronics-PLATONIC!

-Wanda Maximoff

-Bucky barnes/winter soldier

-JJK men/women

I hope you enjoy your time on my page, and if not, please don't be negative. This is a safe space for everybody to come together and giggle at fanfics of our favorite characters.

Much love-A. <3

trying to find fics and scrolling thru the tag only to see like 15 spam posts of bootyholes wtf

Request Prompts <3

REQUESTS-Closed. :)

Please read my request rules here before requesting.

Obviously these aren't required for requests, but I think it's fun to use them.

I've gathered these throughtout the internet, so if you see one you've written, let me know and I'll tag you!

Feel free to mix and match, change wording, or anything of the like!

Please make sure to be as specific as possible if you have a certain storyline you'd like me to follow.

Angst prompts:

"Leave. Leave right now."

"Can you just fuck off already?"

"I can't do this anymore. Not with you."

"Pack your shit and go. Get the hell out of my sight"

"You ruined everything."

"I'm going to leave now, before I say something I regret later."

"This wouldn't even be a problem if you didn't make one out of it"

"You were supposed to be my safe place. But all you've brought me is pain. How great is that?"

"If you hate me so much, kill me. Kill me already. It's not like I've got much to live for anyways."

"They told me not to trust you, but I didn't listen."

"You...why did it have to be you?!"

"You lied to me! Over and over again!"

"Hey...Hey...stay with me."

"Oh my...what did they do to you?"

"It's okay, its just me."

"I didn't know where else to go."

Fluff prompts:

"Flea markets don't carry fleas you know?"

"Are you serious? Your getting blood all over my carpet!"

"I am not wearing a dress/tie!"

"It's a Texas thing"

"Not everyone is out to get you. Stop thinking that shit. It's getting annoying."

"What are we?" "A mess."

“I just woke up can you give me a minute before you start being weird.”

“It’s literally two am, shut up.”

"Let me be a mom for a second and tuck you in."

"If you can't sleep...we could have sex?"

"If you don't shut up, I'm going to punch you."

"Please put your penis away."

"Why are you on the table?" - "Better view of my life." - "Where's the spider?" - "By the door."

"Shut up and get in the closet."

"Listen, I don't mind cuddling. But if you wake me up again I'll whoop your ass."

"I'm an insomniac, this is normal."

"Listen...I didn't know it was illegal."

"Stop messing with your IV."

"I'm pretty sure this place in haunted."

"Hold my hand you asshole"

"Did...Did you just bark at that guy?"

"Awww yay what a nice reunion! Now come fucking help me"

"We are not picking up the free chair" - "Why not!!?" - "Because that shit is 100% haunted."

"Why are you so mean to me?" - "You cannot take the child home."

"I love you so much I'm gonna bite you."

Song prompts:

If you want me to write a story based on a song, send me the link in the request. Please keep in mind, like with anything, I'm not going to force myself to write something if I'm not feeling it.

All the love-A.

i just realized my last ask was so like straight to the point and rude 😭 but happy 3 million 🤭 but like saturn | maybe like baseball!steve seeing his girl at his practice and they get shakes after idk 😭🤭

lmao no you’re good soph 🤍 baseball steve makes me dizzy

gn!reader 0.6k words

You honestly didn’t think Steve Harrington could get any hotter. That is until you saw him swinging a baseball bat around like it was a fucking sword. You practically melted on the spot.

You’re sitting in the stands with Lucas as Steve’s practice comes to a close. You’d never admit it to anyone, not even Steve himself, but you’ve practically been drooling over him the entire time. Lucas has been graciously ignoring your obvious infatuation until now.

“Y/N.” He gives your shoulder a shake. “You’re staring.”

You blink. You’d been watching Steve pack up the gear with his team, his hair all sweaty and floppy and his arms practically bursting out of his jersey sleeves. The fabric on his jersey straining as he bends to scoop up a pile of equipment.

“Wasn’t staring,” you lie through your teeth. “Just observing.”

Lucas huffs like he doesn’t believe you, but it’s all in good nature. He knows you could bring up all the times you’ve caught him staring at Max, if you wanted to.

“Whatever you say.” Lucas rolls his eyes and stands up. “M’gonna go see where Max went. See you around, lovebird.”

He shoves your shoulder and you wrinkle your nose at the nickname. He’s only been gone about ten seconds when you hear your name from the pitch.

“Y/N!”

You eyes zero in on Steve, who’s gazing up at you with a hand over his eyes to block the sun. The pitch is mostly empty. You beam and wave, clambering down the rows of seats til you reach the bottom one. Steve jogs to meet you there and scoops you up into his arms when you do, spinning you around in the air til you’re breathless and giggling.

“Steve!” You squeal, hands braced on his firm shoulders.

He laughs from his chest, a lovely, hearty sound, and sets you down on the grass. You’re both smiley as you catch your breath.

“How’d I do today, angel?” He asks, setting his hands on his hips. One of his teammates calls his name from the edge of the pitch. Steve turns and they exchange a wave and then he’s right back in your personal space.

You wrinkle your nose teasingly. He smells like sweat and grass. “I don’t know anything about baseball, Stevie,” you deadpan. “You did look quite handsome, though.”

Steve’s laugh is surprised and fond and makes your chest burn. He shrugs and his grin is staggering. “That’s good enough for me.”

You grin and push yourself up on your toes to kiss him. He meets you halfway with all the eagerness in the world, hands on your biceps and mouth greedy. He kisses you so sweetly you could cry, but with enough fervour that your stomach explodes with butterflies.

When he pulls away you’re gasping for breath. You look up at Steve and find him looking about frazzled as you feel.

“You need to take a shower,” you say, pulling a face. Anything to stop him looking at you like that.

Steve fakes hurt and rolls his eyes. “You’re such a priss,” he says with less heat than a box of ice.

You scoff and shove him in the chest. He doesn’t move an inch.

“Seriously,” you say. “You’re gross and sweaty.”

He is sweaty, but he’s far from gross. He’s hot, with his damp hair and his burly arms, grass stains on his knees and a stripe of sweat on his forehead. It’s driving you mad.

Steve huffs. “Can we at least get milkshakes first? I promised Lucas and Max I’d drive them to the diner after.”

You sigh. There he goes again, using the kids as an excuse to get what he wants. The worst part is, it works on you.

“Fine,” you say begrudgingly. Or not so much. Honestly, you wouldn’t mind if Steve stayed like this forever.