summary: what happens when the mom and dad of the group become, well, mom and dad?
request: yes/no
warnings: swearing, hints to smut if you squint, pregnancy.
word count: 2.63k
authors note: this was actually a lot of fun to write because the idea was like all mapped out in my head before I wrote it tbh after our last piece John Logan I figured we needed to give him something more cutesy so here it is.
The joke started the same way they always did with the group.
Casually, then completely unavoidable.
It was Dean who said this one first.
You were reorganising the boys fridge one night after he turned the takeout containers into a game of tetris “relax mom.” It made Logan laugh as he didn’t look up from his phone while he sat at the kitchen counter.
He claimed he was there as moral support, but it was really because he just wanted to be near you “don’t encourage her.” He warned “she gets worse when shes stressed.”
His words were met with a gasp “excuse me?” You scowled letting your mouth fall open when you turned to glare at him.
Tucker grinned as he stole the chicken wings from your hands “careful dad, mom might get ya.” And somehow it just stuck.
Mom and Dad. You and Logan.
It wasn’t even meant to be the case at first but somewhere along the way, the two of you became the glue that kept everyone together.
Logan kept track of the practice schedule and ensured that everyone ate the food that Tucker cooked.
You kept a list of everyone’s birthdays, deadlines, arguments, and who wasn’t talking to whom.
Logan calmed the chaos, and you seemed to organise it. And somehow the two of you worked perfectly together.
So of course, the jokes kept on coming.
“Ask mom if I can go out.” Dean would say as he peered into the living room where you read a book, “Logan said no.” You knew all about the house arrest Logan had Dean on because he needed to study for a major midterm.
Your brother huffed as he sprawled out on the couch, resting his feet on your lap “hey!” You scoffed, watching him grab a carrot stick from your plate, “your boyfriend is being dramatic again.” His words came as he stuck his tongue out at you.
The sound of Logan complaining about the blocked shower drain travelled down the stairs. And Garrett was surprisingly calm about it, which was saying something as he’d once sworn that Logan wouldn’t live long enough to graduate if he dated you.
Now he just complained like Logan was already a part of the family.
Which in a way, now that your dad didn’t totally hate the idea, he was.
Except lately, you couldn’t laugh at it the same way.
Because something had shifted and only you knew why.
It all happened three weeks ago.
You were standing in your bathroom, staring at the sink as if it had personally betrayed you.
Two pink lines and those words you hated so much to see.
You were pregnant.
And the world did not stop. That was the most terrifying part. It just kept on going.
Outside of that room, Hannah was laughing at something on her laptop while Allie was humming as she got ready for class. Someone could even be heard yelling in the hallway about how they needed coffee.
Normal life kept on going on, while yours had just split into two.
You pressed your hand to your stomach instinctively; it was still flat and still normal.
Nothing looked different about you, yet everything was.
You were meant to see the boys later that day for lunch and you had no clue how to tell them.
Garrett took so long to accept that Logan was your boyfriend, but this was a different ballpark.
And Logan loved you like you were something delicate that he had to protect.
You were terrified that this would break that.
Logan on the other hand, was feeling like an idiot.
He was ready to marry you, as if you asked him to go to Vegas tomorrow to do it he would.
But it felt like you were ready to break up with him.
So rather than talking about it, he picked up whatever he could. Odd jobs to fill the time that he wasn’t spending with you.
And for the most part, that really did work. He was able to make himself so busy that there wasn’t time during the day to think about what you might have been doing that didn’t involve him.
But at night?”
That was a whole different story.
He’d park his truck outside your building and send you a text begging to let him come up. He knew he could ask Allie or Hannah to let him in, but he wasn’t going to go against your boundaries like that. If you didn’t want to talk to him, well, he was convincing himself that he was okay with that.
So instead, he would hide away in his room, scrolling through the album on his phone of the two of you that you organised one day while he studied.
It had everything from the time the two of you used to sneak around before anyone knew you were seeing each other. All the way to when Dean and Tucker would crash your couple pictures, swearing that ‘your kids’ have to be in them too.
It made him laugh, honestly remembering how you’d shoo the boys away so that Allie could get a decent picture. Then Logan got to the one that Hannah took.
It was from a party after a big win when the couples were playing each other in beer pong, despite the fact that Garrett swore he should be the one to play with his sister.
Logan’s arm was wrapped around your waist as you had your tongue out, trying to focus on the throw. All the boy was focused on, both now and then, was you.
Hannah couldn’t help it when her eyes stayed glued to the sight “I know Wellsy, he loves her more than he loves hockey.” Garrett’s voice was louder than he intended it to be as he spoke.
The words made your cheeks redden as Logan tightened his grip on you “no I don’t.” He shook his head, convincing nobody, as his eyes were still on you.
Garrett let out a dry laugh “I’m pretty sure she could ask you to drop hockey and move to Vermont to become tree farmers, and you’d do it.” Logan couldn’t argue with that because it was actually true.
That boy was ready to move to the end of the world for you if you asked him to.
You furrowed your eyebrows “that's not true.” You mumbled, finally turning your attention back to your boyfriend. Your eyes settle onto his lips “we’d totally farm goats.” Your words made everyone laugh as you kissed Logan.
It earned a groan from Garrett with a complaint for you to just throw the ball. And all you did was flip him off in response.
The day when you knew you could no longer hide it from Logan came; it was gameday and also your one-year anniversary.
After the game, the two of you had plans to go out, but with the way you had been acting. Logan honestly wondered if you were even going to be at the game.
That was how Garrett ended up at your door.
Well more like in your room.
Because that’s where you found your brother sat, comfortably on your bed when you came back from getting a smoothie with Allie “oh please make yourself at home.” You grumbled letting your bag drop to the floor.
Your brother couldn’t help it when he let out a soft laugh “look are you okay?” The question made your eyes widen.
Because you were so clearly not okay “I’m perfect Gar.” You forced the lie out as you sat on your chair.
“No you’re not.”
You rolled your eyes “why’d you ask me if you already knew the answer?” You sucked at your teeth crossing your arms in the process “you’ve been avoiding your boyfriend.” The point made you feel nauseous all over again.
Garrett saw your reaction. It was like his little twinstinct to know exactly when your slight movement meant something so much worse “if he did something-” he was already getting up ready to march back to the house.
You were quick to press your hand into his chest, stopping him from leaving your room “he didn’t do anything I swear.” As much as you loved your brother, you knew that if he could. You’d be wrapped in bubble wrap and hidden away from the world. And even then he’d still worry himself sick over protecting you.
Garrett leaned against your table “then what is going on with you?” He knew that your dad had been blowing up both of your phones to meet his fiance but Garrett knew you ignored him in the best of times, so why would this affect you now.
Staring at the ground, you frowned, “I need to tell Logan first.” If you could have it your way you’d never tell your brother, and just say you fund your child on the street.
You couldn’t help it when you sighed, pulling your brother into a hug that usually made you feel better “I just need to find the right time.” You knew your answer didn’t make sense but when you were going with it.
Garrett nodded, not because he wanted to believe you but because he knew he had no choice in the matter “but please tell him before he eats himself up over something that isn’t his fault.” You wanted to point out that your boyfriend was in fact the exact reason why you were in this position.
But you couldn’t so instead you nodded “I promise I’ll tell him after the game tonight.” You nodded, forcing a smile onto your lips when your brother kissed your head.
The game should have been an easy win. A game where they could have put up a B team and still won by 3 goals. But instead, it was an utter shitshow.
Logan spotted you in the crowd immediately; he always did the moment he stepped onto the ice. But tonight it seemed that once he knew you were there, he actually didn’t want to see you. He got into a fight, was thrown against the boards and spent more time in the penalty box than actual time on the ice as the coach pulled him off, seeing that his head wasn’t in the right place.
Garrett actually pitied his teammate; he never thought there’d be a day when he thought you were in the wrong and that whatever issues you two were having would be your doing.
So when you saw the look your brother gave you at the end of the game, you knew you were to stand by Logan’s truck waiting for him as the game ended. Or else Garrett would get involved, and quite frankly, nothing ever went well when he did.
And that was exactly where Logan found you after the game “I’ll see you guys later.” He announced, no longer looking at Dean or Tucker; instead, his eyes had settled on you.
You sent him a soft smile as the boys waved at you “hey.” Your voice was quiet as your boyfriend threw his bag into the back of his truck.
He remained silent, “look we need to talk.” Your announcement almost made him laugh.
Because how was it that you got to decide that tonight was when you’d finally talk “nice to know that my girlfriend still knows how to do that.” The comment came off harsher than it was intended to.
The boy sucked at his teeth when you reached for him “look I know I have been an ass-“ Logan had to admit he was glad you had more emotional awareness than your brother “it’s our one-year anniversary and I didn’t even know if I still had a girlfriend!”
You wanted to respond, you really did. But you felt your stomach churn, and suddenly you were bent over in the direction of the nearest bushes.
Instinctively, he reached for your hair, pulling it out of your face as he rubbed your back “you eat something bad today?” Logan cocked his head, knowing that it wasn’t like you to throw up.
You spat out a glob of spit as you shook your head “it’s what I wanted to tell you about.” You groaned, feeling your stomach churn again.
To his credit, Logan didn’t push until you were standing upright again “I wanted to have some speech, but that clearly isn’t gonna happen.” you brought your sleeve up to wipe your mouth, not caring that you’d regret it later.
“I’m pregnant.”
Your words made him freeze as his eyes went wide “we’ve been careful.” He spoke as if his word was gospel.
Your cheeks reddened at the memory, “not always.” Your eyes trailed back to the truck. It was a night where both your place and his were busy and the two of you just couldn’t keep your hands off of each other. So you figured that his car was the best place for the two of you to be.
Logan frowned as he furrowed his eyebrows “this is what you’ve been avoiding me for?” He realised as he shoved his hands into his pockets, “did you think I’d leave you?”
He wasn’t angry.
He was hurt.
Hurt that you would think that he’d leave you, and especially hurt that you thought he’d make you deal with this alone.
But you shook your head as tears welled in your eyes, “i thought you’d hate me.” Your voice broke as it broke something in him.
He hated seeing you sad “hate you?” His voice broke as his hands cupped your cheeks “are you actually insane?” He would have laughed if you weren’t upset.
That was the thing that broke you. Finally, tears streamed down your cheeks and Logan didn’t think twice about pulling you into his embrace “I’m scared.” Your confession made his heart break as he could only think about how long you had been dealing with that emotion alone.
His fingers ran through your hair, immediately soothing you “we will figure this out together, okay.” His words made you nod as you looked up at him.
His eyes didn’t hesitate to meet yours.
He was still him.
He was still yours.
And just like that Logan let out a breath he didn’t realise he was holding “I thought you were leaving me.” It made your heart hurt that he could have thought that it was the issue.
You shook your head “I thought I was ruining your life.” You whispered back.
Just like that, his expression changed. It changed into something solid, yet protective in a way that made your knees weak “you are not ruining my life.” He said firmly, “you’re my life.” His words were easy to roll off his tongue as if he hadn’t said the one thing that finally made the last few weeks feel like they were nothing.
So the two of you stood there in silence as his hand rubbed slow circles on your back before his tired laugh finally broke it “I’m gonna be a dad.” You nodded, matching his tone “we’re gonna be parents.” He grabbed your hand, giving it a solid squeeze.
Before his face dropped, “your brother is actually going to kill me.” His words made you really laugh now, that was something you realised a while ago.
Logan guided you into the passenger seat of his car before he made his way to his own “you know,” you trailed off when he put the key into the ignition.
You leaned over to kiss his lips “we could always just become goat farmers in Vermont.”
He looked as if he was genuinely considering it “yeah but then our kid is gonna relate to Noah Kahan, and do we really want that?”
SYNOPSIS‧₊˚ When you enter the Love Island villa as a bombshell, you spark an instant, high-stakes connection with the intense and complicated Rafe Cameron. As you navigate each others web of secrets, messy betrayals, and jealous rivals, you must decide if your undeniable chemistry is a genuine match or just a casualty of the game...
WARNING(S)‧₊˚ swearing, smut, mentions of past relationships, suggestive content, mentions of addiction, circumstantial cheating/infidelity, general LI drama, arguments, mentions of mental health, drinking, more detailed warnings for each individual chapter
SERIES TAG NAV‧₊˚ #fic analysis☀️ | #sotb | #mailbox:sotb
Summary: Two months ago you started dating your best friend of five years. It's weird sometimes. But you kind of love it.
CW: 18+ MDNI, established relationship, friends to lovers, fluff, piv smut, oral (r receiving), first time, cursing, pet names, smut portion is NOT proofread because i hate reading my own smut :)
@saradika-graphics for the divider!
inspired, of course, by ftsg - emma andersen :)
For five years, you and Steve were just friends. Strictly platonic.
And not even in a 'wink wink' type of way– you really were just best friends. Mutual harbored feelings aside, you acted like friends. Just good pals.
A semi-drunken kiss, months ago, changed all of that. You're still not sure about Steve; but you weren't really as inebriated as you had claimed to be that night.
Six months of intensely and unnecessarily dramatic pining later and you're staying the night at Steve's place more often than not. He's kissing you and touching you in ways previously off-limits. He's bringing you flowers and cooking you dinner and it's all so weird.
Because you still do all the same things you did when you weren't dating. He still drives you to and from work because you're too scared to get your license. He still makes you drench his popcorn in parmesan cheese before he'll eat it and he still tackles you to the floor when you play spoons with the rest of your friends.
But now you go home together afterward. You get ready for bed in the same bathroom and share each other's bodywash so you can always smell like the other when they're not around. You eat meals together and and climb under the same covers at night.
It's perfect.
It's everything you've spent the last five years doing and more.
And you think you might love him.
Tonight is another one of those perfectly strange moments. You're standing in nothing but his shirt and your underwear, rummaging around the clothes that live in his spare dresser drawer.
Steve's been in the bathroom for ten minutes. He insists on shaving at night before bed– instead of in the morning before leaving the house.
"It gives me the perfect amount of stubble when I wake up in the morning if I do it the night before!" He once explained to you when you'd questioned him about it.
"Baby, have you seen my aftershave?" He now yells from the sink of his ensuite.
Your heart kind of stops. He's never called you that before.
He's literally only ever called you your name. Or nickname adjacent variations of your name. Even after you started dating.
He says it now, in fact, after you don't answer him for a few moments.
"Hey, everything okay?" He asks when he sees your face.
"What did you just call me?" You ask, seemingly struggling to maintain eye contact. You're not totally sure why.
"...baby? Is that...not...?"
"Ew!" Admittedly not exactly the best exclamation to describe how Steve calling you that actually makes you feel, but you're coming up short for anything else.
"'Ew'? Seriously? What's 'ew' about me calling you 'baby'?" Steve questions, his voice rising in volume and pitch in that incredulous way.
"I didn't mean it like ew, I just meant it like. Ew."
"I don't– understand–?"
"It's just. I'm standing here in your room, in your clothes. And its all so domestic and kind of weird and I feel like I can't even talk straight and I think I'm probably in love with you–"
Except for the sound of you clapping your hand over mouth, the room falls completely silent. Steve stands, mouth slightly agape, and doesn't speak.
"You love me?" He asks simply.
"Well– I mean– I've always loved you." You clarify. "I just feel like I love you now... in a different way."
Steve nods slowly.
"We've been friends for years, but now you call me 'baby', apparently, and– and you hold my and kiss me and tell me that I'm pretty. It's all so new. And I love it, but it's odd sometimes. You know?"
"Yeah," he nods more confidently now, "Yeah, I get it."
"So, yes. Ew. But... a good ew," you grin stupidly, your eyes crinkling in the corner.
"Would you think it was 'ew' if I kissed you right now?" Steve asks, stepping closer with an equally dumb smirk on his lips.
"No..." you squirm.
"Good." He says, gently gripping your waist as he pulls you flush against him. Steve kisses you softly, his lips a ghost across your own.
He pulls back to look at you, then moves to your cheek. "Baby," he says against your plush skin before moving to the other cheek, "Baby,"
You laugh fondly, rolling your eyes as his smooching grows more frantic. A steady stream of 'baby's' leaving his mouth between every one he plants on your skin.
"Fuck," you tease, pushing him away, "that's so gross,"
"You love me," he reminds you, leaning into your space again to place open-mouthed kisses on your neck; beneath your ear.
Steve's hands begin to roam. From your shoulders to the small of your back, before brushing over your bottom. His palms find purchase in the apex where your thighs meet your ass.
His mouth finds yours once more, but this kiss is more urgent. With his hands supporting you, he lifts you up, urging your legs to wrap around his waist before carrying you to his modest full-size bed that's hardly big enough for both of you some nights.
You land with an oof and it makes Steve giggle where he planks above you, careful not to crush you with his weight.
The lightness of the moment is replaced by a hunger that overtakes Steve's honeyed eyes before he's ducking down to capture your mouth again. He makes soft noises against your lips that you swallow before they ever reach the air.
One of his knees nudges yours, separating your legs far enough for him to rest between them. "Is this okay?" He asks breathily.
'Yeah. Yeah, it's good,"
Steve settles his weight against your spread thighs, your pelvis' touching. It's a not necessarily a new sensation, but it's new in this context. He's half-hard on top of you. It sends your stomach churning with nervous desire.
He kisses you breathless for a while longer and it's familiar; what's not-so-familiar is the experimental thrust of his hips. You can feel that he's fully erect now, the pressure on your core is surprising and pleasurable all at once.
You gasp and Steve halts. His eyes are wide when he looks at you, "Sorry– was that okay?"
"Okay," he breathes– and does it again. Steve revels in your gasp; the way your back arches just slightly off of the bed and into him.
It all feels a little off-beat. You're still learning each other in this new way. You want to know what makes Steve tick. Steve wants to know what might make you do that pretty gasp again.
"Can I take these off?" He asks, hushed, as his fingers brush the skin under the waistband of your underwear.
You swallow thickly but nod.
"It's okay. If you don't want to." He brushes a lock of hair behind your ear and you know he means it.
"I do," you assure him, "I'm just... nervous,"
"You don't have to be," he smiles down at you, but it wavers. You can tell he's trying to put on a brave face– his 'macho Steve' persona, as you've affectionately branded it.
"Its okay, Steve," you giggle, "you can admit that you're nervous, too,"
"Me?" He scoffs, "Hawkins' Resident Womanizer Steve Harrington? Nervous to have sex with his– stupidly beautiful girlfriend? I doubt it."
You smack his chest and he laughs heartily, snatching your hand and bringing it to his lips.
"Maybe I'm a little nervous," he all but whispers into your knuckles.
"Awfully presumptuous of you to assume I'm having sex with you tonight," you tease.
"Oh, no?" His right hand snakes down your stomach, dipping below your underwear and cupping your heat.
"Oh–"
His voice dips, his mouth hovering just over your ear, "Does your pussy know that, baby? 'Cause you're already soaked."
Hearing Steve talk like this feels visceral. Its like wires being crossed inside your brain. Steve's always been a hit with the girls, but you've never been on the receiving end of the romancing. This Steve feels different than the one you grew up with; than the one you've spent so much time with– doing anything and everything together.
You thought when the time came that it might feel awkward, but now you're beginning to wonder why you haven't done this sooner.
Steve's fingers dip into the arousal pooling in the bottom of your underwear before traveling back to your clit with tantalizing circles.
"That feel good?" He asks. His voice sounds husky but you can tell that he's asking genuinely; still learning what you do and don't like.
"That's– yeah," you sigh, "that's perfect,"
His movements gain more confidence after that. He studies your face as he goes, cataloguing every miniscule reaction and adjusting where he needs to.
And it's so much, but still not enough. "Steve," you exhale, halting his rhythm with your hand on his wrist, "will you... would you go– down on me?" Your voice comes out small, like you're not sure how to ask for it.
Steve seems to take great pleasure in the request, his eyes taking on a mischievous glint, "Yeah? You want my mouth, honey?"
The new pet name makes you shiver, "Please."
"So polite," Steve praises, words muffled from where his mouth is pressed against the skin of your stomach as he trails his mouth lower lower lower– until he's exactly where you need him.
His tongue is hot and hesitant against you. He starts with barely there kitten licks before flattening his tongue entirely– moving with broad strokes from your entrance to your clit and making sure you're comfortable before incorporating his fingers again.
Your hand flies to his hair when he slides the first one inside of you, all the way to his last knuckle, "Fuck, Steve!"
The encouragement and the pull of your fingers threading through his hair elicits a ragged moan from his throat. You've never even imagined Steve making a sound like that. Another wave of arousal washes over you.
He works you over for what feels like hours and you're admittedly shocked to feel your pleasure cresting to a peak. You've never finished from a having sex with a partner before; you feel yourself beginning to tense.
"Steve– I'm close–" you whimper, head thrown back against his expensive down pillows that you know you're dampening with sweat.
"I know, baby, I can tell," he pauses, "it's okay– I've got you,"
His eyes never leave you as you come. He watches ever twitch of your abdomen– every squeeze of your hands twisted in the bedsheet. You can hear him murmuring praises the entire time– good girl, so good, baby, fuck–that's so hot– but it all sounds muffled. Like you're underwater.
You waste no time grabbing him by the jaw as we crawls his way back over your body and pulling him into a searing kiss. He tastes like a heady mix of your cunt and the spearmint toothpaste he was brushing his teeth with an hour ago.
Steve's tenting his boxers when you glance down between your bodies; just past him the sheets discolored with wet patches where he'd been rutting into the mattress.
Your legs hook behind his back and you pull him into you with a force that knocks the wind out of both of you. You're still sensitive from your orgasm.
"Do you want me to use a condom?" He groans as his clothed cock ruts against your bare folds. He can barely speak; feeling the warmth of you seep through the fabric.
"I'm on the pill," you tell him, "you could pull out just in case, but it's up to you,"
He ducks down to kiss you before responding. Steve kisses you like its as essential to him as air or water– a lifeforce that he needs or he'll simply cease to exist.
You take the opportunity to push his boxers off his hips and down his thighs as he licks into your mouth; his tongue tangling with yours.
Steve's cock is heavy and velvety soft in your hand as you pump him slowly. Your mouths part with a click as you bring your palm to his mouth. "Spit."
His previously heavy-lidded eyes grow wider, but he obliges. You bring your hand back down to stroke him again; this time with better lubrication.
"Holy shit–fuck, baby," he whines into your temple. His arms shake where he's still trying to hold himself up.
You feel yourself gaining confidence with every passing minute that the two of you are intimate, and it feels even better to take the reins back a little. You can't help but wonder what he would sound like– what he would look like– completely at your mercy. You decide to table the thought for another time.
"I need you," you whimper into his sweat-damp hair.
"I know, pretty girl," the thick head of his cock nudges your entrance, prompting you to take a deep breath in in preparation for his size.
"Hey– you'll tell me if you're uncomfortable or you want to stop, okay?" He waits for your nod, "Even if you just want to slow down, that's okay, too. I want you to make you feel good."
"I know," you smile up at him through your daze, softly petting the side of his face, "you do make me feel good,"
He kisses the side of your mouth– the gentlest his been with you all evening– as he pushes the rest of the way inside you. By the time he's at the hilt, you feel so full that it's hard to breathe. You can feel him everywhere.
Tears begin to prick the corners of you eyes once he starts to move; a slow rocking of your bodies into the mattress. You aren't sure the cause. Maybe it's how close you feel to him– maybe it's how he's perpetually grinding into your g-spot with every thrust.
"Fuck– I love you," he groans into the crook of your neck where it meets your shoulder. His teeth scrape the sensitive skin there like he might bite you, but he doesn't.
"I love you, baby–"
The shape of the endearment in your mouth awakens something nearly primal in Steve as he begins to fuck you that much faster. The headboard creaks where it repeatedly hits the wall behind you.
Strong biceps wrap around you, lifting you beneath the armpits as Steve hugs you in this horizontal position. You squeeze him back just as fiercly.
You feel your second climax approaching significantly quicker than the first had, but you need more. Pressing your fingers to Steve's mouth, he doesn't question your motive. He opens and closes around them obediently, slicking them for you.
He watches as you snake your hand in between your glistening bodies, "Yeah, there you go," his voice breathy and punctuated by his relentless thrusts, "touch yourself f'me, baby– good girl,"
It's almost too much. It's perfect. "Steve– I'm close–"
"Ah– me, too," he pants, forehead pressed firmly to yours, "come with me–"
Your entire body contracts as you finish and you're certain you've never came so hard in your life. Steve holds off until he's sure you're satisfied before pulling out just in time to spill all across your stomach with a long, low moan.
The last of his strength leaves him shortly thereafter; his trembling body collapsing against you.
Your combined skin is tacky and cool with sweat, but neither of you can bring yourselves to move.
The air in the room is thick with the scent of sex and the only sound comes from the crickets chirping through the open window and your shaking breaths. It feels like hours before Steve breaks the silence.
"You okay? Was that good for you?"
"'Good' would be the understatement of the century,"
"I can't believe we didn't do that sooner,"
"I was just thinking that earlier,"
The hushed conversation somehow feels just as intimate as the sex did.
"We can't fall asleep like this," you remind Steve, who very well may already be sleeping. You're getting Deja Vu from a conversation you once had with Nancy Wheeler.
"Why not?" He slurs. Okay, not sleeping then.
"Because I need to pee or else I'll get a UTI," you pause, thinking, "and your... jizz is all over my stomach."
"Don't call it 'jizz'," Steve admonishes.
It takes longer than you'd ever admit to get you both cleaned up, despite your constant reminders to Steve that– the faster you take care of the mess, the faster you can crawl back into bed.
Steve tells you he loves you approximately seven more times before he finally falls asleep.
summary: soft launching your relationship with joe on instagram throughout the seasons.
smau & masterlist
SEASON ONE:
liked by nattyiceofficial, djotime and others
yourusername our new show stranger things is out now and u should definitely give it a watch (joe looks like this the whole season btw)
view comments?
djotime No I don't ignore her
⤿ djotime But watch the show still
user loooovee this show will there be a season 2?
user why's joe responding to his own comment😭😭
⤿ yourusername he's a strange one isn't he?
⤿ djotime ?
nattyiceofficial my favorite scene partner❤️
⤿ yourusername my walk 'em down wheeler💕💕
user who else was lowkey rooting for steve and her character to get together more than stancy lol
⤿ user ME OMG I'M NOT THE ONLY ONE
⤿ user djotime and yourusername's chemistry was INSANEEEE
⤿ user duffer brothers what do we think about a slow burn / yearning / enemies to lovers / rain kiss...
⤿ user you need to write the damn script at this point😭😭
charlie.r.heaton Core Four!
⤿ yourusername CORE FOURRRR
SEASON TWO:
liked by sadiesink_, finnwolfhardoffical and others
yourusername we're so back. season two of stranger things is out now and everyone be nice to snoopy, he's new on set🤍
view comments?
noahschnapp SNOOPYYYY
⤿ milliebobbybrown i loved seeing him in the corner of my eye during every scene
⤿ yourusername snoopy said he loves this season and that everyone should watch it (100% true i promise)
user the cast having a mascot is so cute🥺🥺
user who are the parents of snoopy?
⤿ finnwolfhardofficial djotime is mom and yourusername is dad
djotime Maybe next season you'll post a nice picture of me
⤿ yourusername unless u die next season idk
sadiesink_ i'm in a yourusername photo dump i've made it😭
user season 2 out of ? with joe being featured
nattyiceofficial why is joe in time out
⤿ yourusername because he made my character cry this season
⤿ djotime That was literally in the script what else was I supposed to say
⤿ nattyiceofficial oh sit back in timeout.
⤿ yourusername stay there until next season joe.
⤿ calebmclaughlin Looks like Snoopy's staying with dad tonight...
SEASON THREE:
liked by maya_hawke, gatenmatarazzo and others
yourusername i was stuck in the fuckass scoops ahoy outfit all season so i might as well make a post about it... oh, well. if u wanna watch joe get beat up for a third season in a row, u know the drill😉
view comments?
user i can't tell if the writers are trying to get their characters together or that's just djotime and yourusername breaking character😭
⤿ user LITERALLY they have such chemistry i'll feel robbed if they don't kiss by next season
gatenmatarazzo Scoops Troop gather around!
⤿ yourusername yes sir!
⤿ djotime ✋
⤿ maya_hawke Here! (For yourusername)
⤿ djotime ...
⤿ priahferguson yessssss💜
user i'm SO obsessed with them
user "fuckass outfit" as if she didn't manage to pull it off for 8 episodes
user i demand we have this group together again next season (...with more steve and her character scenes... i'm not asking for much...)
djotime I've been promoted to 2 pictures in the dump this year
⤿ user and the photos are nicer, yourusername we're losing credibility...
⤿ yourusername i'm sorry it's hard to catch that pretty face off guard💔
yourusername deleted this comment!
⤿ yourusername i'm sorry, i'll take my job more seriously next season💔
⤿ user HELLO?
user so we're acting as if me and 3 other people didn't see her comment before she deleted it
SEASON FOUR:
liked by calebmclaughlin, josephquinn and others
yourusername what a whirlwind of a season! couldn't have done it without all my beautiful castmates, i love u all endlessly. one last ride together🤍
view comments?
user oh so she wants to make me cry on a random friday night
user wdym we have one season left... come back...
sadiesink_ the cutest
⤿ yourusername u get ittttt
user WHO IS THAT ON THE SECOND SLIDE
⤿ user her character literally wears that in the show so it HAS to be someone on set
⤿ user ...ever heard of people visiting their partners while they're filming
⤿ user god forbid a girl pretends yourusername and joe keery are dating
djotime Cool
⤿ yourusername cool
⤿ user OMG KISS
⤿ user ur so funny for this😭😭😭
finnwolfhardofficial yourusername Why are you taking pictures of Joe shirtless?
⤿ yourusername omg i'll literally block u
maya_hawke My favorite couple
⤿ maya_hawke Of friends
⤿ maya_hawke On set
⤿ yourusername maya my love i think it's best if we delete comments instead of trying to save face by adding more fuel to the fire😭😭
maya_hawke deleted this comment!
yourusername deleted this comment!
user maya tell us what we don't know!!!
SEASON FIVE:
liked by charlie.r.heaton, milliebobbybrown and others
yourusername and it's all over just like that. i can't thank u enough for the support u have given us over the decade and it breaks my heart that this is the final photo dump. oh, my beloved stranger things, u are so special to me.
so long, hawkins, u were terrifying don't get me wrong (!!!) but u were home.🤍🤍🤍
view comments?
milliebobbybrown just when i thought i was done crying
maya_hawke ❤️❤️❤️
user who else screamed when steve and her character kissed this seaosn
⤿ user i felt like i was intruding
⤿ user it was so ...intimate?
noahschnapp Love you :(((((
nellfisher_ thank you for making this experience the best year of my life❤️
⤿ yourusername oh nell ur so talented endlessly proud of u🥺🥺🥺
user DROP THE HARD LAUNCH
user get you a man who brings you flowers
nattyiceofficial memories to last a lifetime
⤿ yourusername i miss u already natty
djotime A beautiful performance from the most beautiful person❤️
⤿ yourusername oh, my joe🤍
⤿ user MY ?????
⤿ user WHY'S NO ONE TALKING ABOUT THIS
user not her hiding her boyfriend in the final stranger things post so we all forget to talk about it
yourusername steve harrington i miss u, u were so sexy
⤿ yourusername fuck wrong account
yourusername deleted this comment!
calebmclaughlin How did you get away with that comment yourusername?😭😭
⤿ yourusername i've never deleted something so quick in my life
⤿ user another day another yourusername comment we missed💔
POST-SEASON FIVE:
liked by djotime, noahschnapp and others
yourusername i take method acting very seriously
view comments?
user YOU'RE DJOKING.
user FUCK OFF
user HARD LAUNCH OF THE CENTURY
sadiesink_ the nonchalant post as if you didn't break millions of people's hearts
⤿ yourusername the first post of many i love my boyfriend
⤿ user HER. BOYFRIEND.
user am i dreaming or is that you harrington?
carabuono Such a beautiful couple. So lucky to watch you two fall in love.🤍
finnwolfhardofficial When can I come over
⤿ gatenmatarazzo Let them finish their hard launch and ask them later
⤿ gatenmatarazzo And ask them if I can join
⤿ calebmclaughlin Same
⤿ yourusername ??????
nattyiceofficial i've never seen you happier❤️
user i haven't recovered from their characters ending up together in the epilogue LET ALONE them dating irl😭😭😭
djotime I love you
⤿ yourusername i love u too
⤿ user KMS
⤿ user I USED TO PRAY FOR TIMES LIKE THIS
gatenmatarazzo When can I tell people that you two improvised the kiss this season
⤿ djotime I think you just did
⤿ yourusername hell yeah tell them i have no shame
⤿ user "improvised" as if it hasn't been named the best tv kiss on tiktok
liked by yourusername, carabuono and others
djotime I fell in love on set 10 years ago. Figured it was time to tell you all about her.
view comments?
user AND NOW HE POSTS ABOUT HER
user fell to my knees at the caption i'll settle for no less
user get married
maya_hawke You two keep getting cuter!!!
nattyiceofficial why's snoopy being squished
⤿ user FUCK OFF THEY DID NOT NAME THEIR CAT SNOOPY
⤿ user from naming their teddy snoopy to their shared cat i feel sick
⤿ user omg they're perfect😩😩😩
finnwolfhardofficial When can I come over
⤿ yourusername i know u didn't comment the same question u asked me on joe's account
⤿ finnwolfhardofficial Now that I know you're online can you answer me
⤿ yourusername idk tomorrow if u want
⤿ calebmclaughlin I'll be there then
⤿ yourusername U DIDN'T EVEN ASK THE QUESTION ????
⤿ gatenmatarazzo Ok I'll see you guys there
⤿ yourusername ur djoking
user reminder that we watched them fall in love with each season
milliebobbybrown this is the most adorable thing ever
yourusername joe i'm so in love with u
⤿ djotime I'm so so in love with you too
⤿ charlie.r.heaton But Stonathan is better
⤿ djotime Yeah definitely
⤿ yourusername oh
let me know if u liked this sort of post and i can do more bc it is so much funnnnn
also who wants a mike wheeler fic based of sabrina's 'my man on willpower' ?????
Always The Babysitter - Chapter Forty-One: The Bridge
Author: @harringtonstilinski
Characters: Steve Harrington x Olivia Henderson(OC)
Word Count: 7,104
Warnings: lil' fluff, lil' angst, canon shit, steve being all smart and hot and shit 🥵, major cliffhanger, liv being all freaking emotional, ALL SECRETS BEING REVEALED
Smut: no | yes; 18+ MINORS DNI:
A/N: Hi, friends! So... all secrets being revealed means that in this chapter to everyone in the room. If you like this chapter, please do not hesitate to reblog and give some feedback, whether it be in the reblogs, comments, or my inbox. As always, read at your own risk and enjoy 😊
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After our little heartfelt moment, the three of us went searching for something to smash into doors with on the top floor. Don’t ask how we got up here. It was by some miracle we even did.
Steve found a fire extinguisher, and started kicking doors to find the one that wouldn’t open. When he found it, he started smashing the end of the fire extinguisher into what looked like solid stone or concrete. It took him a few tries, but he eventually made his way through, putting his head in the hole he made to say, “Sorry we’re late.”
I moved to put my head next to his, pushing him out of the way a little. “We had a couple little heart to hearts.”
Nancy and Jonathan looked very much relieved to be seeing us, which I wouldn’t blame them. I’d be happy to see Steve, too. The oldest Wheeler moved first, grabbing Steve’s hand to help her out of that room before Jonathan made his way out with Steve’s help as well.
I hugged her and asked, “You okay?”
“Yeah, we’re okay,” she replied. She pulled back and I could see sadness but also understanding in her eyes. I hugged her again, feeling sad for her.
I was pulled away by my little brother, who hugged Nancy next. She seemed stunned, so I chuckled a little.
Dustin pulled back, keeping her at arms length, his hand still on her shoulder. “Was that weird? I’m sorry. That was weird.”
I was pulled into someone’s side; that someone being Steve.
“I didn’t… We just… The three of us though…” Dustin stammered.
“We were goners,” Nancy said, Dustin agreeing. “We did, too.”
“Turns out that shield generator of yours,” Jonathan said.
“Isn’t really a shield generator,” Steve finished for him. “Yeah, we know.”
I was so emotional right now, I could help but wrap my arms around Jonthan’s neck, my chin landing on his shoulder. He hesitated, but hugged me back anyway, squeezing me the way Will does when he hugs me.
“Okay, Byers,” Steve said. “Get off my girl.” He pulled me back, putting me right back against his side where I comfortably fit.
“Anyway,” Nancy said. “You’d think that’d be good information to share.”
Steve pulled the walkie from his pocket, bringing it up and saying, “Well, we tried,” showing a taped-on antenna.
“Antenna snapped,” Dustin said.
“Yeah, because you dropped it when you two started fighting,” I sassed.
“His fault,” Dustin and Steve said.
“Nope, it’s both. I was there.”
“Okay,” Nancy said, holding her hand up. “What the hell did I shoot?”
“Exotic matter,” Dustin and I said.
“And we’re supposed to know what that means?” Jonathan asked.
Steve took Dustin’s flashlight from him as Dustin grabbed Brenner’s book from his backpack. “It’s all in here. Look. Check this out.” He opened it, saying, “Dr. Brenner’s notebook from ‘83. This thing is a gold mine. All his research into the gate, how he created it, what it really is.” He flipped a page. “I’m still deciphering it, but…”
“Yeah, this shit’ll fry your brain,” Steve muttered.
“Not for people who didn’t fall asleep during science and physics,” I said, looking up at him with a smirk on my face, letting him know I was joking. Looking back at Dustin, I said, “Dusty, Cliff notes?”
“Holly isn’t on the other side of the wall.” Steve and Nancy looked up at Dustin real quick, like Steve didn’t already know this information, while Jonathan and I just stayed looking at my brother.
“Then where is she?” Nancy wondered.
“I don’t know… exactly,” Dusitn said.
“Wherever she is,” I said, sighing. “It’s not the Upside Down.”
~~~
We made our way back to the lobby of the lab, where my energy had lowered. I stopped and took a deep breath, Dustin and Steve noticing.
“Hey, you okay?” Steve asked.
I watched Nancy and Jonathan stop and come back to us as I said, “Yeah. I just got really tired all of a sudden. I need food and Gatorade.”
Steve turned around and squatted some, saying, “Get on my back,” before counting me down. I jumped on his back and he adjusted me as I put my arms around his neck, careful not to choke him. We went back outside of the Lab, hearing a familiar voice.
“Mike?” Dustin said. “Mike!” He started running towards one of his best friends, the two of them hugging. “Jesus, it’s good to see you guys.”
I looked at Mike, a melancholy look on my face and I’m sure as well as Steve, Nancy Jonathan. Mike walked up to his sister, asking, “Nancy? Where is she? Where’s Holly?”
Tears sprung to my eyes, and I tried to hold them back, but failed as one of them slipped onto my cheek. Nancy explained what happened because just a few minutes ago we were in the lab, looking at Brenner’s book when Nancy and I heard a scream come from outside.
“What was that?” Nancy asked.
“What was what?” Steve retorted.
I listened again, hearing the screams before I said, “Holly.”
Dustin picked up his book after Nance, Jonathan, Steve and I ran off towards the roof of the building.
“Nancy! Nancy!” Holly screamed.
We turned to our left, seeing her floating in mid-air.
“Holly! Holly!” Nancy yelled.
“Nancy, help me! Help me down, please!”
“Holly!”
Even from here, I could see the absolute terror in Holly’s eyes, tears springing to my own.
“Nancy! Nancy, please!”
“Holly!”
“Nancy!” Holly was sucked back up into the sky, her screams echoing and quieting at the same the further up she went.
“It was like something had a hold of her, but you couldn’t see anything,” Nancy said. “It was him. Vecna. It had to be.”
I looked back at Mike, trying to see what emotions were coming through, but I couldn’t pick one. All I saw was… disassociation, maybe?
Lucas’ voice came through on his walkie, saying, “Is Holly okay, Mike? Mike, do you copy? I repeat, is Holly okay?”
Mike looked up at the sky, what looked like determination written on his face.
Hopper walked up to Steve and I, putting his hand on my shoulder. “How ya feeling, kid?”
“Tired,” I said, smiling a little. “I’m hungry, my feet hurt and… I’m sad.”
He brushed my hair a little, saying, “Yeah, I know, kid. We all are. But, there’s a surprise waiting for you when we get back.”
I looked at him, confused, to which he lightly chuckled at. Looking forward, I saw El and smiled. “Hey, El.”
“Hi, Liv,” she said, smiling a little.
When I looked past her, seeing a smaller girl, I was utterly confused. Putting my eyes back on Hopper, I said, “Who’s the fucking punk?”
“I’ll explain later, even though I don’t want to,” he replied.
~~~
I guess I had fallen asleep because I wasn’t sure how we all made it back through the Gate and back to the Squawk. Feeling myself being lifted, I groaned, “If I don’t get to my stash very soon, I’ll either be sick or angry or both.”
“You’re gonna get your stash, don’t worry,” Steve said in my ear.
I opened my eyes, seeing those hazel eyes that I love so much already looking at me. Without hesitating, I cupped his cheek and pressed my lips on his, feeling him kiss me back. “I seriously thought you were a goner,” I whispered. Looking at him, I said, “You don’t know how much you mean to him, Steve. He was so happy that night we got together, I could tell. And I can tell he’s ecstatic about us getting married and having a baby. So, don’t pull that shit again, okay?”
With the most seriousness I’ve ever seen him give, he nodded his head and kissed me again.
Feeling a hand on my back, I broke the kiss, seeing Will standing in front of me. “Steve, put me down.” Not a second after he put me on my feet, I wrapped my arms around his neck, hugging him tightly before I pulled back and lightly punched him in the arm. “Why was Mike the one who told me you’re an actual fucking wizard now? Will the literal fucking Wise is standing right in front of me.”
“I’m not really a sorcerer,” he chuckled.
“I never said sorcerer,” I said, smiling. “Holy shit.” I hugged him again, but not before seeing a certain red head. “Max?” Tears instantly clung to my waterline as I walked over to her. “Max, what–”
“Hey, Liv,” she said, a smile on her face. “Got some things to tell me?”
I looked around at our family that we’ve built over the years before looking back at her. “Too many ears. I’ll tell you later.”
“I can already see one,” she said, looking at my finger.
“Oh, yeah. You’re gonna be a bridesmaid. That is, if you can stand wearing a dress for a few hours.” At her look, I laughed, those tears starting to fall.
“Hey,” Lucas said, wrapping his arm around my shoulders. “You up for a tour.”
“Ooohh, great idea, Sinclair. You give her a tour while I pee and get me some snacks.” I turned and walked off with everyone else to the station, walking inside and making my way to the bathroom. After doing my business and washing my hands, I made my way to the booth, not finding my stash anywhere. “Steve! Where’s my stash?”
Looking up, I watched as everyone walked past the booth, Lucas saying, “Robin and Liv are our DJs.”
“Rockin’ Robin,” she said.
“Hottie Henderson,” I added.
“Rockin’ Robin, Hottie Henderson, my bad,” Lucas said.
“Hey, Robs, do you know where my stash is? I can’t find it.”
“Steve’s their sound man– ooh, check this out.” I watched him come into the booth, pressing a button on the sound machine, a belch sounding.
“Ew, Sinclair. Where the hell is my stash?!”
“Liv,” Lucas whispered.
“What?” I snapped, looking at Max. “Sorry, Lucas.” I walked over to Max, squatting in front of her. “What’s–”
“We’re gonna get Holly back.”
“She’s all alone in there, Lucas. All alone with that… monster.”
“Liv.”
Turning around, I looked at Dustin, seeing him holding a bag of chips and a Gatorade. “Wrong chips, dipshit.”
“Well, how was I supposed to know,” he said.
“Ruffles Cheddar and Sour Cream. Always Ruffles Cheddar and Sour Cream. Not Barbeque.” Taking the drink from him, I smiled softly. “Thanks. You tried. That’s all I could ever ask for.”
A bag of Ruffles Cheddar and Sour Cream was put in front of my face. Looking back at who the amazing person was, I smiled a little more when I saw it was Hopper. “Where’d you find it?”
“Storage room to the basement.”
“Life saver.”
Dustin grabbed my arm and walked me back over to Lucas and Max just as she said, “I don’t even know where Vecna’s keeping Holly.”
“Well, it’s a good thing I do,” Dustin said, as I opened my Gatorade and took a drink. “I know where she is, but the real challenge is getting there. We gotta show you guys something.”
Dustin led me to the other side of the booth, where I sat on the couch, Steve sitting on top of it, his legs on either side of me as Murray parked his ass next to me and Steve.
El, Hopper, Mike, Erica, Mr. freaking Clarke, Will, Nancy, Robin, Vickie, Kali (who Hopper, and quite frankly myself, don’t like), Joyce, Lucas and Max sitting in front of the windows, facing the booth.
I was munching on my chips as Dustin stood in front of the booth’s window, Expo marker in hand, as he drew an oval on it before putting a line through it with an H under the oval, and an X on the top line of the oval, saying, “Okay. So, this is Hawkins, and this is the Upside Down. Now, we’ve always assumed the Upside Down was another dimension opened by Brenner, but it turns out it’s actually a bridge.”
He drew another oval a few inches above the bottom one before drawing two curved lines, connecting the two ovals. “More specifically, an interdimensional bridge that rips through space-time. It is wildly unstable but held together by exotic matter, which we found dead center above the lab.” He drew a circle above the X. In theoretical physics, they call this type of bridge a–”
“Wormhole,” Mr. Clarke, Erica and myself said in unison. He looked at me with a smile on his face. I smiled back, happy to see my old science teacher.
“And this wormhole,” Dustin said. “Connects Hawkins to here, another world that I’ve coined the Abyss.” He wrote an A above the whole structure he drew.
“Any particular reason?” Robin asked.
“A realm of pure chaos and evil,” Mr. Clarke said.
“I’m sorry?”
“D&D,” Erica, Mr. Clarke, Mike, Will and I said in unison.
“Jesus Christ,” Hopper said, which made me laugh out loud.
“Wow,” Murray deadpanned.
“I believe this Abyss is the true home of the Demogorgons,” Dustin said. “The vines, the Mind Flayer, all the nasty shit we found in the Upside Down. It’s where all those years ago-” He turned and looked at El. “-you banished Henry. He was lost for years, and he would’ve stayed lost if it wasn’t for Brenner.”
“He had me find Henry,” El said.
“And when you made remote contact with the Abyss, the bridge formed. And ever since, Henry and his army of monsters have been using it to cross right back into Hawkins. We kicked Vecna’s ass last year, but I think he just fled across this bridge back to the Abyss to lick his wounds.”
“Would explain why he just up and vanished after we flambeed him, and Nancy shot his ass out of the attic window,” I voice, shoving another chip into my mouth.
“What a pussy,” Erica said, causing me to almost choke on my snack.
“Erica,” I said, chuckling.
“Just the facts.”
“So, all this time, Vecna’s been hiding in the sky?” Joyce asked.
“Explains why every Crawl led to a dead end,” Nancy said.
“And why I can’t find him in the bath,” El added.
“And why Holly fell from the damn sky,” Jonathan added.
“Yeah, but why is he taking kids up there?” Hopper asked.
“For the same reason he took me,” Will voiced. “The minds of children are weaker, right? More easily molded and controlled. So he channeled his thoughts and powers through me to amplify his abilities, and he’s gonna do the same with those kids.”
Hopper walked forward as he asked, “Amplify his abilities? To do what?”
“Move worlds,” Max said. I looked over at her as she explained, “Holly, she said Henry told the kids that they would help him draw the worlds together, and I didn’t understand what that meant at the time, but… I-”
“He wants to move the Abyss,” Mike said. “Crash it into Hawkins.”
“No, not crash,” Will said. “Merge.” He moved to the window, taking the marker from Dustin. “Henry wasn’t licking his wounds in the Abyss, he was making rifts,” he said, drawing long S’s from the top oval down into the bridge. “Weakening the Abyss, just like he weakened Hawkins. So when the Abyss and Hawkins collide–”
“They become one,” Dustin said, having sat down.
“He’s remaking the world,” El said.
Dangling his hands in front of my face, Steve asked, “How long do we think this takes? To move worlds? Are we talking like–” He clapped his hands in front of my face, causing me to jump before he added, “Or is this gonna take some time?” Putting hands back in front of me, he muttered, “Sorry.”
“We better hope we have some time,” MIke said. “Because if this is all correct, we have to get 2,000 feet in the air, find our way into the Abyss, free Holly and the kids, and kill Vecna all before our worlds merge.”
“And if my theory’s right,” Lucas said. “He’s gonna move worlds tonight.”
“Have I mentioned how much I hate your theory?” Robin said.
“Me, too,” Erica said.
“Me, three,” Steve agreed.
“Wait, what theory?” I asked.
“He’s gonna end it the day this all started,” Lucas said. “November 6. The day Will went missing.”
I looked at him for a moment before saying, “Me, four.”
“I hate all of this,” Hopper said. He walked forward a little saying, “But at least now we know what we’re up against and what we need to do.” Turning to face everyone, he added, “We just need a plan.”
“Alright then, big guy,” I said, popping a chip into my mouth. “What’s your big, bright plan?”
Grabbing the marker from Will, he drew a very bad helicopter on the window, saying, “At the base, in the Upside Down, there’s a chopper ready for the taking.” He drew an arrow pointing up, saying, “We fly up to the Abyss, kill the freak, rescue the kids–” He drew an arrow pointing down. “-fly back down.”
“Okay,” I said, sitting forward a little. “Few questions; who do you expect to fly the chopper?”
“It’s a helicopter, they’ve got pilots.”
“Right,” Murray said.
“We force one to fly.”
“And yet another kidnapping plot,” I said, leaning back against Steve. “Love it.”
“How is this pilot gonna fly a chopper into the rift?” Mike asked.
“What do you mean?” Hopper asked. “We just fly through it.”
“What?”
“Idiot,” Murray muttered.
“Just fly through it?” Lucas sassily asked.
“These rotors are like 40 feet wide,” Dustin said. “It’s too big. It’s not gonna fit.”
“Steve hears that all the time and he goes in anyway, don’t ya?” Robin said.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” Steve said.
“She’s not wrong,” I said, looking up at him.
“It’s funny,” Murray said, causing Steve to hit him.
“That’s how you got in the position you’re in,” Hopper said, pointing at me with the marker. “What, with the baby and all.”
My eyes widened as the room fell silent. “Hop,” I said, shocked. Looking around the room, I saw everyone’s eyes on me. I looked back at Steve, who looked like he wanted to kill Hop. “Might as well say it now,” I said.
Steve looked at me and sighed before he nodded.
Looking back at the group, I said, “Well, there’s two secrets we’ve been keeping. One-” I raised my left hand. “Steve and I are engaged. Two;-” I took a deep breath. “I’m pregnant with Nugget #1.”
Shocked faces from everyone, aside from Murray, Joyce and Hopper, as well as my brother, Nancy and Jonathan. Questions were being hauled at us, but I raised my hands, stopping their words. “We’re not focusing on me or Steve or the baby. We’re focusing on how the hell we get to the Abyss and save Holly and the kids. So, if anyone else here has some magical fucking bean that Hop doesn’t know about, please say it.”
“If not,” Hop said, putting the marker down. “It’s a risk that we gotta take. We fly, or we die.”
“Fly or die,” Murray said.
I looked at him with narrowed eyes, asking, “You got a hard-on for Hop or something ‘cause you’ve been agreeing with everything he’s been saying.”
“Well, then I guess we die,” Dustin said.
“Be optimistic, little brother.”
“We’re not gonna die if we commit to a plan,” Hopper said.
“And what, your plan is the one we go with?” I asked. “No offense, Hopper, but your plans almost always involve you almost getting killed. Need I remind you about the Russian lab under Starcourt and how you were taken to freaking Russia?!”
Everyone started talking over each other about plans, and whatnot before I heard Steve mutter, “Magic bean.”
I looked back at him, saying, “Babe?”
“Watch out,” he said, causing me to move so he could get off the couch. He stopped after taking a few steps. “Uhh, we don’t need a magic bean to climb.” I started smiling because I knew that big beautiful brain of his would come up with something. “We don’t need a magic bean!”
Looking around the room, I said, “Shut the hell up and listen.” Looking back at Steve, I said, “Continue, handsome.”
“Sorry, just…” he said. “We don’t… we don’t need it. A magic bean. We got a beanstalk right here.”
I smiled big because a memory came through just then from the first time Steve and I talked in the library at school.
I was looking for my favorite book, Bridge to Terabithia, when I saw a boy around my age that I recognized from a few of my classes standing at a shelf, staring at the books. “Hi,” I said, softly.
He looked at me and I swear all the air inside my little 12 year old lungs was sucked out. “Hi. I’m-I’m Steve. Steve Harrington.”
“I’m Olivia Henderson.”
He smirked at me, and I swear my knees buckled.
“Uhm, do you need help?” I asked. “You’ve been staring at these books for a little while.”
“Kind of,” he said. “I’m trying to find a book my mom used to read to me when I was little.”
“What book?”
“Jack and the Beanstalk. It was my favorite. I have a book report in Mrs. Jones class.”
Looking at my book, I said, “Me, too. That’s why I picked this one. It’s my favorite.”
“Isn’t it sad?” He had a brow raised like I was insane for liking this one.
“Yeah. But it has a happy ending,” I said, trying to justify it. Feeling insecure, I whispered, “It’s not for everyone.”
“Hey,” he said, putting his hand on my upper arm. “That’s cool, though. If it’s what you like, then to hell with others and what they think.”
I smiled a little. “Thanks, Steve. Now, Jack and the Beanstalk is probably in the fantasy section. You’re in the realistic fiction section.”
He chuckled and walked out of the aisle as I followed him to the section he needed, finding his book before we both went to the counter to check our books out. We spent the next few days at lunch working on our book reports. He ended up getting a C on his, and I ended up getting a B- on mine because I was distracted by a certain hazel eyed boy.
At Steve running off, he was able to bring me back to the present, my eyes following his movements as he went into the booth and grabbed a slinky off the window ledge. He looked at me, saying, “Babe, let’s go,” before I stood up and grabbed his outreached hand, going with him and everyone else to the break room.
He grabbed a flashlight on our way, not letting go of my hand. We stopped at the end of a table, where he let go of my hand, looking at me with eyes that asked me not to leave his side. Putting the flashlight on the table, he took a breath before beginning his explanation.
“Okay, this flashlight is the Squawk’s radio tower, and this slinky is the bridge.” He put the slinky over the flashlight, stretching the toy a few inches above the top of the flashlight. “We’ll never reach the Abyss from the tower, right? But Max said Vecna is drawing our worlds together. So…” He looked at me.
“We let him,” I said, smiling with each of his next words.
“And we wait and wait as he draws it closer and closer and closer-” he said, bringing the toy back down. “-and when it’s close enough and the radio tower’s poking through one of the rifts,-” He snapped, saying, “Bam!” before pointing at El, continuing, “El makes her move, she does her meditation thingy, enters Vecna’s sick mind and ambushes him. In your face, dickhead. And then, stopping the spell, halting the worlds from moving.”
He released the slinky, letting it fall with the noise it makes. “Wham, voila. We’ve got a beanstalk. It’s perfect. All we gotta do is climb up it into the Abyss.”
I looked at Dustin, seeing nothing joy on his face. Looking back at Steve, he wrapped an arm around my back, pulling my front to his side.
“I like it,” Erica said.
“It’s not totally insane,” Mike said.
“Thank you,” Steve said.
“But there’s a problem, a-a big one.”
“Don’t ruin it, middle Wheeler,” I warned.
“I can’t reach inside Vecna’s mind,” El said. “He’s too far away.”
“Damn,” I muttered, wrapping my arms around Steve’s middle. “I didn’t think about that.”
“Can’t you just try?” Steve asked. “I don’t know, load up on some of yours and Liv’s junk food or something?”
“Or better,” Nancy said. She looked at El and added, “We get you close. The Upside Down Lab is under his lair, and it’s still frozen in time, which means that everything should be there from Brenner’s experiments, including–”
“The bath,” El said.
“If you do make it into his mind,” Max said. “I can walk you through it. Guide you. I know his sick mind inside and out.”
“I should be there, too,” Kali said. “This plan hinges on stopping Henry, and right now, Jane is fighting him alone.”
Hopper and I looked at each other, both of us rolling our eyes not trusting this girl as far as we could throw her.
“It doesn’t need to be that way. I can follow her into his mind. We can end our brother, together.”
“I’m sorry, but… who are you?” I asked.
“One word,” Hopper said, gaining my attention. “Bitchin’.”
Looking back at Kali, I said, “That’s the girl? She seems way different right now.”
“Okay, yeah, I dig it,” Steve said, squeezing my side a little. “Sisters kill their brother, we rescue the kiddos, come home heroes.”
“And if eldest Sinclair is right,” I said. “We don’t have a lot of time, so we have to move as fast as possible.”
“One final thing,” Dustin said.
I looked at him, seeing a timer in his hand. “Dustin, what–”
“Listen, sister,” he said, walking over to Steve and I, putting me in the middle. “Cherry on top. On the way out, we drop a bomb near the exotic matter.” He turned the dial on the timer. “Set a timer, escape the Upside Down.” He turned the dial back to zero, the bell ringing as he said, “The bridge collapses, and with it–” He set the timer down in front of me. “-the Abyss, the Demos, the Mind Flayer, all of it, gone. Game. Set. Match.”
~~~
“No,” I said. “I won’t be a sitting duck.”
“Yes, you will because it’ll keep you and the baby safe.”
Following him, I retorted, “I’ll be safe, Hop. I was safe in the Upside Down, and I’ll be safe with this mission.”
“You got lucky, Olivia.”
“Maybe I’ll get lucky again, James!” I stretched my arms out before dropping them. “You don’t know how much protection I have between you, Steve, and the rest of the party!” Punching him, I said tearfully, “You can’t fucking force me to be a sitting damn duck!” I hit him again, a tear sliding down my cheek. “I can’t feel useless again!”
He wrapped me in a hug, letting me cry into his chest. “You’re not useless, Liv. You never have been. If you were, you wouldn’t have gone against orders to stay home to look for Will. You wouldn’t have protected those kids with Steve in that bus, or against Billy.”
Pulling back, he looked at me and said, “You’ve been those boys' protectors since Dustin became friends with them, and you started babysitting them.” As he just looked at me, he sighed. “You know, I’ve always had this… protective feeling over you. Even when I first arrested you.”
I chuckled, tears still streaming down my cheeks.
“I’ve always felt the need to protect you, Liv. As if you were my own daughter.”
“Well, you will be Papa Hop to the baby.”
Furrowing his brows, he asked, “Not your dad?”
“I haven’t talked to him since he left right after we moved here. You’ve been more of a dad to me than my own father. Hop, I’m asking–”
“Yes. I accept.” I hugged him, feeling him hug me back.
Hearing footsteps, I pulled back from him, smiling when I saw Joyce. I walked over to her, giving her a hug. She hesitated for a split second before she hugged me back. She looked at me, a smile on her face. “I’m so happy the news is finally out.”
“Don’t think you’re not getting a title either,” I said. “Honorary JoyJoy. Hey, wait. HopHop and JoyJoy. Yes! Perfect.” I walked back to the station, muttering to myself the whole time, not registering I was in the basement until I felt my leather jacket being slid up my arms.
Looking back, I locked eyes with Steve, turning around and wrapping my arms around his neck. “Have I told you how freaking amazingly smart you are, and how much I love you?”
“Right now,” he smiled.
Tears sprung to my eyes once again. Looking down, I wiped at them, saying, “Damn hormones,” which made Steve chuckle. Locking eyes with him again, I said, “You are. And I do.”
“Can’t wait to hear those two words,” he said, leaning down. Our lips met in a kiss, but I broke away laughing as Robin said, “-to the dulcet tone of the Butthole Surfers.”
He turned around and went back to the cabinet we were standing in front of, grabbing a gun and pulled back the slide of the gun, hitting a button for the slide to… well, slide back into place.
“Hey,” Nancy said. “Hey!” She put her hand on the gun, looking at me. “Has he handled one of these before?” Looking at Steve, she asked, “Have you handled one of these before?”
“Not exactly, but ya’know, BB guns, air rifles–” Steve cleared his throat. “Duck Hunt.”
“Duck Hunt.”
“He is remarkably good at it,” Dustin said.
“Like, really good,” I added.
“But I have a better idea.”
Steve and I followed him into a little corner, where he took a blanket off the spears he and Eddie made last spring. He picked one up, adjusting it in his hand before he said, “These babies are deadlier than they look.”
I watched as Dustin held out to Steve, who looked at it before looking at my brother, who nodded at it, silently telling Steve it was okay to take it with a smile on his face.
“You sure?” Steve asked. I knew why he was asking; he wanted to make sure it was okay with Dustin if Steve took something that was Eddie’s.
Steve grabbed it from Dustin, who hummed in agreement before going to grab the other one.
“Hey, Dustin?” Steve said.
“Yeah?”
“Hey, about, uh, some of the stuff I said earlier. I just–”
“It’s fine, it’s okay.”
“No, just–”
“Dustin,” I said. “Just listen, okay?”
“It’s not okay,” Steve said. “Eddie… he saved your life.” He looked at me and said, “Our lives.” He was talking to Dustin again as he said, “And I know what he meant to you. I can’t even imagine how hard it’s been. But instead of… just being there for you, I just… I got angry about it. I guess…” He looked at me again, tears forming in my eyes as I nodded, encouraging him to keep going. “I got angry because…” He looked at Dustin and added, “-things were different. Because… I really missed you.” He put a hand on his shoulder as a tear slid down my cheek. “I missed my best friend.”
I looked at Dustin and saw the tear tracks on his own cheek, a smile forming as he said, “Yeah, I missed my best friend, too.”
Steve pulled Dustin into his chest, giving him a hug I knew they both desperately needed.
Dustin just had to ruin this heartfelt moment by saying, “For the record, a Rubix cube isn’t even a good measure of intelligence.”
They pulled away, laughing, which had me choking back sobs.
“Why the hell are you sobbing?” Dustin asked.
“Fucking hormones,” I said, another rounds laughs sounding from the three of us.
“And your beanstalk plan,” Dustin said, talking to Steve. “Seriously, only a genius could’ve come up with that.”
“Yeah, well…” Steve said. He looked over at me, a smile on his face. “I learned from the best.”
“You’re still talking about me, right?”
“Shut up, Dusty,” I said, chuckling.
He looked at his spear, saying, “Silver lining; if it fails, the three of us go down.”
“You die, I die,” Steve said.
Dustin looked at me, beating me to the punch by agreeing, “You die, I die.”
“You two die,” I said, gaining both of their attention. “We die.” I put my hands over my lower stomach, chuckling. “I can’t let that happen.”
Dustin walked away, Steve standing there for a moment before putting spear in his other hand to wrap his arm around my middle, dipping his head down to kiss me as deep as he could without us sneaking off to fuck like rabbits.
“Can we finish that after we save the world as a celebratory thing?” I asked, breathlessly.
“Fuck yes,” he said, kissing me one last time.
We followed everyone back outside to Murray’s truck, where he and Steve lifted the door before climbing in. I looked up at him, waiting for him to turn around and help me in, which he did.
Since I didn’t wanna feel useless, I just shoved everything out of the way as they were putting everything in the truck.
Mike went back inside once we were finished to get Will and Joyce, but came back out to tell us that Will had something he needed to share.
We all sat or stood in our respective spots, watching Will as he fidgeted with the sleeves of his jacket.
“I…” Will started. “I-I haven’t told any of you this because… because I… I don’t want to s-s-see me differently.”
I wanted to go hug him so badly, but I knew I couldn’t. Whatever he needed to tell us, he needed to get it out.
With tears in his eyes, he said, “But the-the truth is… the-the truth is I am. I am different. I just… I just pretended like I wasn’t because… because I didn’t want to be. I wanted to be like everyone else. I wanted to be like my friends and… and I am like you. I’m like you… in almost every way.
“We-we like playing D&D late into the night. And-and we like that old person smell in Mike’s basement. And we-we like biking to Melvald’s for malted milkshakes. And we like getting lost in the woods, and-and getting lost in Family Video, and-and arguing about what to rent and settling on Holy Grail for the millionth time.”
I looked down at Dustin, rolling my eyes with a smile on my face.
“And-and we like Milk Duds in our popcorn with extra butter. And we like drinking Coke with Pop Rocks. And we like bike races and trading comics and NASA and Steve Martin and Lucky Charms and… literally all the same things. I just… I just… I… I just… I… I… I… I don’t like girls.”
I put my hand over my mouth, not being able to contain the sob I let out. Will looked at me, and I removed my hand, showing him the biggest smile on my face. “Happy tears,” I mouthed.
“I mean… I mean I do. Just not like you guys do. And I, uhh, I had this… this crush on someone, even though I know… I know they’re not like me. But… but then I realized he’s just my Tammy. And by Tammy, I mean it was never about him. It was-it was about me. And I thought I was finally okay with myself, but-but then today… today Vecna showed me what would happen if I did this, if I told you guys the truth.
“He showed me a future, and in this future, some of you are just-are just worried for me. Worried that things will be harder for me. And it just makes me feel like something’s wrong with me. So I-so I push you away. And for the rest of us, we just drift apart more and more and more and more and more until I’m all alone.
“And I know none of that has happened, and Vecna can’t see into the future, but he can see into our minds and he knows things. And it just felt so real. It felt so real.”
“Will,” Joyce said. “You gotta listen to me. That will never ever happen. You’ll never lose me. Ever.”
Will sobbed as he said, “Okay. Okay.”
“And you’ll never lose me,” Jonathan said, standing to hug his brother.
Walking towards them, I sobbed, “Or me,” before standing beside the Byers’ brothers, hugging them both.
“Or me,” Lucas said, hugging Jonathan’s free side.
“Or me,” Dustin said, coming to hug me and Will on my free side.
“Or me,” Mike said, hugging Lucas.
“Or me,” El said, coming to stand to my right, adding her own hug in.
“Or me,” Robin said, tearfully.
When the hug broke apart, I watched Jonathan give him a kiss on the cheek before I very tearfully said, “Okay, eldest, my turn.” Will laughed a little as he turned to face me, wrapping his arms around me, sobbing once more for a moment. “I’m so fucking proud of you,” I whispered. He pulled back and looked at me, tears streaming down his cheeks. Still whispering, I said, “Let’s call it like it is; you’re gay. And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. None of us will see you differently. If anything, I still see you as a little 10 year old kid who I started babysitting.”
He and I chuckled, his grip on me tightening.
“I know I’ve never said it before, and this is utterly bad timing, but… you’re like a little brother to me and… I love you, youngest Byers.”
“I love you, too, Liv,” he said, hugging me once more.
“Guess you didn’t need truth serum, huh?” Robin said.
Looking at all the other boys as Will broke the hug, more tears streamed down my cheeks. “Damn hormones.” They chuckled before I said, “And you, eldest Sinclair. And you, middle Wheeler.” Looking at my brother, I walked over to him, “But out of all the boys, I love you the most, Dusty.”
He hugged me, saying, “I love you, too, Livvie.”
I rested my head on his shoulder, looking at Robin. “I can’t forget about my best girl friend.” She looked at me, tears still in her eyes. “I love you, Robs.”
“I love you, too,” she said, holding her arm below where Steve’s hand sat on her shoulder.
“Sorry to break up the I love you moments, but… this sucks, so you’re gonna have to come hug me,” Max said.
I lifted my head from Dustin’s shoulder, turning to face Max with a laugh before I walked back over to Steve, wrapping my hand around his arm, careful to not remove his hand from Robin as I leaned my head on his shoulder, watching Will hug Max.
“Just imagine I’m hugging you really tight like Liv,” she said.
He stood up and sighed, facing El, saying her name. “I know you’re strong enough to defeat Vecna, but he can retreat to the physical world, and we need to be ready to fight him there, too. We have bullets and fire, but none of that helped those soldiers. I need to be there. And I’m ready. I’m ready to show him I’m not afraid anymore.
~~~
We all piled up into the back of Murray’s truck, holding on for dear life as he drove through town and a couple of gates that Mr. Clarke opened up. I had a death grip on the shelf next to me, Steve’s arm around me as we all went flying backwards, Murray slamming on the brakes.
Nancy poked through the top of the truck where a Demo had taken the kids Murray and Robin were trying to take to safety. She fired off a few rounds from her gun so that Hopper could run from the Radio Shack, Steve letting go of me as Jonathan opened the door, the two of them helping Hop in the back.
Jonathan pounded on the wall, screaming, “Go! Go! Drive!”
We held on for dear life as Murray made a turn before we all stood straight up, looking out the back of the truck, seeing a woman standing there with short grey hair holding a gun at us for a moment before Steve and Jonathan closed the door as we made our way through the rift.
Steve came back over to me, asking, “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.” I looked at him, seeing his backwards cap and smiling seductively. “Damn it, Steve. You look fine as fuck right now.”
“Liv, baby, focus.” Our backs were pressed against the wall of the truck, Steve muttering, “Jesus Christ,” as we made another turn. “You good?” he asked again, wrapping an arm around my waist.
“I’m fine. Just need a Gatorade, that’s all,” I reassured.
“Everybody alright? Everybody okay?” Hop asked. “Liv, you good?”
“If anyone asks me that again, I will scream. I am fine. The baby is fine. We’re fine.”
“Hey,” Hopper said, turning to look at Nancy. “Nice shooting back there.”
She smiled and said, “You, too.”
“I kind of thought that that was supposed to be the easy part,” Robin said.
“It was,” Lucas said.
I looked to my left, seeing El standing next to me and Mike standing in front of her. “You ready?” he asked her, putting a hand on her arm.
She placed her hand on top of his, saying, “Ready,” before they leaned against the wall, her eyes going forward. I tracked them, seeing that she was looking at Kali. I rolled my eyes, looking back at El as she nodded her head.
I narrowed my eyes, wondering what that was all about.
A/N 2: hi, friends! pls be kind and reblog! it really helps us content creators out <3 i also always forget that lucas knows about liv, lol.
Additional Note: i just wanted to say a quick thank you to my readers on this series for being incredibly patient with me these last few months without my posting anything. i've been under a lot of stress; hubby's having some medical issues, we are in the trenches with potty training our 4 year old, etc etc. but, i just wanted to say thank you for sticking around. it means more to me than you truly realize.
Steve Harrington Taglist: @madaboutjoe @ethanthequeefqueen
If you’re tagged and didn’t want to be, please let me know.
~~~
*Please don’t post my writing anywhere else without my consent. The author of this work will always and forever be @harringtonstilinski.
All characters, story lines, and plot aside from y/n and her storyline & plot, are all of the work of The Duffer Brothers.
*These works contain material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited.
No part of these works may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the author / publisher.
I know you just did a a long one shot of reader in coma x Steve but i was wondering if you would do one where it’s kinda more like Maxs yk with the hospital and the anticipation from the demo dogs i totes understand if you don’t (this is my first time doing a request can you tell lol)
Please and thank you lovely writer 🫰
MasterList
Stranger Things and Cast Masterlist
Joe Keery Masterlist
Steve's POV-
I learned how to exist in a hospital room long before I learned how to stop hoping.
The machines became background noise after a while the steady beep of her heart monitor, the low hum of the ventilator, the faint hiss of oxygen. At first, every sound had felt like a countdown, every change in rhythm a warning. Now they were just… there. Constant. Like breathing.
Like waiting.
She’d been in the coma for a year.
Three hundred and sixty-five days of sitting beside her bed, holding her hand, talking to her even when the doctors said she couldn’t hear me. A year of pretending I wasn’t terrified that one day I’d come in and she’d be gone without ever waking up.
I brushed my thumb over her knuckles, careful not to disturb the wires taped to her skin.
“Hey, sweetheart,” I murmured, like I did every day. “It’s me.”
Her face was peaceful in a way that hurt to look at. Too still. Too quiet. Like the world had paused her mid-sentence and forgotten to press play again.
“I, uh… Robin says I should stop telling you about my hair,” I said softly, forcing a smile that no one could see. “Apparently it’s not riveting conversation.”
I leaned closer, forehead resting lightly against the edge of the mattress.
“But I’m still here,” I whispered. “Okay? I’m not going anywhere.”
The lights flickered.
I froze.
At first, I told myself it was nothing Hawkins General had the world’s shoddiest electrical system. But then the air changed. Heavy. Cold. That familiar, wrong pressure that crawled up your spine and settled there.
My heart slammed against my ribs.
“No,” I breathed. “No, no, no.”
The machines stuttered. The lights flickered again, dimming, brightening.
And then I heard it.
A wet, clicking growl echoing down the corridor.
Demodogs.
My blood went cold.
I moved fast, faster than I’d moved in a year. I was already unplugging things, shoving wires aside, adrenaline ripping through me like fire.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered to her as I carefully disconnected the monitor leads. “but we gotta go.”
Her bed was heavy, awkward, not built for stealth or speed. I abandoned it immediately, scooping her up into my arms instead.
She felt lighter than she should have.
That thought punched the air out of my lungs, but I didn’t have time to dwell on it.
I cradled her against my chest, one arm under her knees, the other braced firmly behind her shoulders. Her head fell against my collarbone, breath warm through the oxygen tube still taped beneath her nose.
“Steve Harrington,” I muttered under my breath. “Don’t screw this up.”
The hallway lights went out completely.
A scream echoed somewhere down the corridor distant, cut short.
I ducked into the nearest room, shutting the door just as claws scraped against the tiled floor outside.
I backed up slowly until I hit the wall, sliding down with her still clutched against me. I adjusted my grip, pulling her closer, shielding her body with mine like it was instinct instead of terror driving me.
Her face was pressed against my chest now. I could feel her breath. Steady. Alive.
“I’ve got you,” I whispered silently. “I’ve got you. I promise.”
The demodog sniffed at the door.
My heart was so loud I was convinced it could hear it.
I held my breath, muscles burning, arms screaming as I tightened around her not enough to hurt her, just enough to make sure she didn’t slip, didn’t make a sound.
Another growl. Closer.
The handle rattled.
I pressed my lips to her hair, eyes squeezed shut.
Please, I prayed. Please don’t take her. I can take it. Just not her.
The door burst open.
I didn’t move.
The demodog crept inside, claws clicking softly against the floor, head tilting as it sniffed the air. Its breath was wet, foul, close enough that I could hear it.
It took one step.
Then another.
I felt its presence like a shadow stretching over us.
My arms tightened involuntarily.
She shifted slightly in my hold.
I nearly sobbed.
“Shh,” I breathed, barely sound at all. “It’s okay. I’ve got you.”
The demodog lunged and exploded in a shower of ash and gore.
I gasped as light flooded the room.
Eleven stood in the doorway, blood trickling from her nose, eyes locked on the remains of the creature. Will was behind her, baseball bat raised, breathing hard.
“Steve!” Will shouted. “We got them all!”
I sagged against the wall, relief crashing through me so hard my vision blurred.
“Yeah,” I croaked. “Yeah, I noticed.”
And then y/n moved.
Not just a twitch. Not a reflex.
Her fingers curled into my jacket, gripping tight.
I froze.
My heart stopped.
Her head shifted against my chest, breath hitching, eyelashes fluttering.
“No,” I whispered, terrified to believe it. “No way…”
Her eyes opened.
Confused. Glassy. But awake.
“Steve?” she murmured, voice hoarse, barely there.
I broke.
“Oh my God,” I choked. “Oh my God, you’re awake.”
Tears spilled down my face as I laughed and cried at the same time, pulling back just enough to look at her properly.
Her gaze focused slowly, then softened.
“You’re… here,” she said weakly.
“I’m always here,” I said fiercely. “I told you I wasn’t going anywhere.”
Her hand lifted, trembling, cupping my cheek.
“I could feel you,” she whispered. “Every day. I knew you were waiting.”
I pressed my forehead to hers, hands shaking.
“I protected you,” I said. “I tried to, anyway. I hope that’s okay.”
She smiled faintly.
“You always do.”
I kissed her then gentle, careful, reverent. Like she was something holy. She was something precious I’d almost lost.
When I pulled back, she was crying too.
“Thank you,” she whispered. “For staying. For not giving up on me.”
I held her closer, resting my cheek against hers.
“Never,” I said. “Not in a million years.”
Around us, the world was still broken. The Upside Down still loomed. Danger still waited.
But in that moment, with her awake in my arms, I felt hope.
A/N- This will take place during season 2, 3, 4 & 5
Summary: Arriving back at your old boring home town was not in your plans; but your mothers death changed that, making you reconnect and live with a estranged father. Arriving with your father though comes with an issue, a girl he’s taking care of, a girl that’s strange and makes you see that the town has secrets you hadn’t seen before. It makes you have strange and dangerous adventures and relationships. Will this strange town make you gain new and unexpected relationships? Will you reconnect with your father? Will you connect with the strange girl living with your father? Or will you have to leave everything behind?
Steve Harrington x Hopper!fem-reader aesthetic
Outfit moodboard, Sunmer/spring wardrobe
Season 2
Chapter 1 Stranger
Chapter 2 Billy
Chapter 3 Monster hunting?
Chapter 4 Daddy’s girl
Chapter 5 Welcome to the human race!
Takes place after season 2 & before season 3
Chapter 6 Smile with my heart
Season 3
Chapter 7 American heroes?
Chapter 8 Fooled around and fell in love
Chapter 9 I have a bad feeling about this
Chapter 10 Scoops Troop
Chapter 11 Dream sweet
Season 4
Chapter 12 California Dreamin’
Chapter 13 Let’s be heroes. Again.
Chapter 14 The other woman
Chapter 15 A Fire in my blood
Chapter 16 We belong together
Chapter 17 As long as I know how to love
Chapter 18 Comin’ home baby
Season 5
Chapter 19 That’s life
Chapter 20 The Journalist and Valkyrie
Chapter 21 Stone Cold Crazy
Chapter 22 Déjà Vu
Chapter 23 The calm before
Chapter 24 the storm
Chapter 25 The Winner Takes it All
Epilogue For Good
Additional scenes
The prom (takes place after ch.5 & before ch.6)
The confession after the high (takes place during chapter 10)
yet another beautiful masterpiece by @damn-stark !! truly remarkable work! all of her books will always be at the top of my list for fic recommendations, and this one is no different. i can’t believe this book is fully done i’m sobbing🥹
OH MY GOODNESS THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH!! Thank you for supporting me! Thank for all your sweet words and thank you for recommending me!! Thank you!!! ❤️❤️😭
i yearn for caretaker boyfriend!finn, can we see him taking care of Y/N while she’s drunk or something similar 🥹?
omg i yearn for caretaker boyfriend!finn so yes
maybe she gets a little too drunk at a dinner party and so finn takes her home and just kind of takes care of her instinctively
off the record au masterlist
finn navigated his way through the apartment in search of you after you went off with one of your friends because they needed to show you something. that was an hour ago and finn hadn't seen you again since, so he went off to look for you to make sure you were still doing okay.
his eyes scanned each of the rooms before finally finding you in one of the smaller sitting rooms. you were nursing your glass of wine, which he was pretty sure was your 4th or something. you were by yourself, so finn swiftly went over to you. when you saw your boyfriend coming your way, a large smile spread across your lips.
"hi, baby. i've been looking for you," finn smiled seeing you too. you looked up at him with lovey eyes, "hiiii. me too," he immediately knew you were drunk and a soft laugh left his lips.
"you doing okay?" he sat down beside you and you immediately curled into his side. he wrapped his arm around your torso, chuckling as you breathed him in and his comforting scent that smelled of your apartment. "oh, i'm so great. are you great?" whenever you got drunk, you got a little giggly.
finn smiled again, "i'm great too. how much wine have you had?"
"uhh..maybe four? five?" you shrugged.
"oh, wow. do you think you want some water?" finn always stepped into boyfriend/protector mode whenever you got drunk because he didn't want anything happening to you when you were clearly intoxicated. "yeah, i think water would be so lovely," you agreed.
"okay, i'm gonna get you some. stay here for me?" he cupped your cheek and you nodded. "i'll be right here! don't worry," you grinned when he kissed your cheek before getting up.
finn went back through the crowd to the kitchen where he found you a clean cup and made sure the water was cold before filling it up. it was getting late anyway, so he'd probably take you home when you sobered up a little bit more. when he returned to you, you smiled brightly like it was your first time seeing him again. "you're back!" you exclaimed while the boy chuckled.
"here, have some water," he gently eased the cup into your hand and took the wine from you. you sipped the cool water down pretty fast, finn watching in amusement. "it's getting kind of late. how do you feel about going home?" he wondered.
"ugh, home. i wanna be in bed so badly," you said in relief like you'd been waiting for him to say that. your boyfriend chuckled. "okay, i'll call an uber," he smiled and dug his phone out.
you set the cup onto the side table and slowly slumped yourself into your boyfriend who still stood above you ordering an uber. you hugged his legs, smiling to yourself for his comforting presence. when you got drunk you also got way more touchy than usual but finn never complained. "okay, seven minutes away. do you have everything you came with?" finn hummed, brushing a soft hand through your hair.
"uh..i think so?"
you grabbed your purse that was beside you and checked the insides to make sure you didn't lose anything. "keys, wallet, phone, lip balm, advil, camera, sunglasses, condom?" you listed off the things you saw. finn's expression flushed at the last item. "condom, huh?" he gently nudged you.
"what? you never know. it's good to be prepared," you shrugged. that made your boyfriend chuckle. "i get it. i'm glad you have everything. we can probably head outside now," he helped you to your feet.
you swayed for a second before finding your footing. finn held your arm though as you waved to the others. the warm vancouver air felt nice on your skin as you entered the dark city. "god, i love this city. i love you," you looked at the dark-haired boy. he flushed, throwing his arm around your waist as you waited on the sidewalk. "i love you too."
"thanks for coming with me. i hope you had fun," your words slurred together at the end while you leaned closer into finn's space. he pressed a soft kiss to your cheek, "i had a lot of fun. did you have fun?"
"soooo much fun. i love dinner parties," you hummed and excitedly tugged on his arm when you saw the uber approaching. "wait. oh my god. this uber has a dog! i've seen this on tiktok before!" you exclaimed when you saw the furry animal riding the front seat next to the driver. they rolled the window down.
"for finn?" the guy askeed and your boyfriend nodded. "you have a dog! so cute!" you reached forward to pet the golden retriver. the driver smiled. "that's sadie."
"sadie?! that's our friend's name!" you exclaimed again.
finn helped you into the backseat before sliding in next to you. once the driver knew you guys were in, he got back onto the road towards your apartment. you leaned forward to excitedly pet the dog again. "i always try to bring her with me whenever i do night rides because i know how much it brightens people's nights. i have treats behind the seat if you wanna give her one."
you searched for the treats and finn found them for you. he smiled, giving you one to feed sadie. "here you go, baby," she gently took it from your fingers.
"how old is she?" you wondered.
"she's 5," the driver smiled.
"oh my god, you're so precious. this definitely made my night, so thank you," you looked at your boyfriend who kept smiling seeing you so happy and in love with the dog.
"we need a dog," you told him.
"yeah, we should get a dog," the boy agreed.
"how long have you guys been together?" the driver wondered, taking the clues that you and finn were together. "6 years," you grinned.
"oh, wow. congratulations. that's a long time."
"yeah, we started dating when we were 16," you also tended to overshare a little bit when you were drunk.
"that's so impressive. that really makes me happy because i love hearing how couples get together. are you guys..planning on getting married?"
you and finn both blushed. you looked at your boyfriend, "maybe," you smiled. you tightened your hold on his arm while you leaned your head on his shoulder.
the rest of the ride was uneventful. finn thanked the driver and helped you out and into your apartment lobby. the doorman nodded to the two of you while finn helped you to the elevator and pressed your floor. "i'm so tired," you mumbled as the sleep hit you and the alcohol slowly wore off.
"i know, we're almost there," finn squeezed your hand.
the elevator doors slid open and you leaned against the wall as it took you guys up to the 6th floor. finn pressed another gentle kiss to the side of your head. "i really want a dog now," you murmured which made him laugh.
"we'll think about it."
the elevator doors slid open again and you followed finn down the hallway. he dug his keys out and pushed the door open once he got it unlocked. you breathed out a sigh of relief at the familiarity of your quiet apartment. your shoes were immediately off and you dropped your bag onto the kitchen island. finn hummed softly as he shut the door and locked it again. "i love going out, but i also love being home," you huffed.
"hey, i know you're tired, but let me help you take your makeup off before you crash," finn knew how much you hated the feeling of having makeup on still from the night before and how much you hated taking it off after a night off.
"do we have to?" you looked at him.
"you're gonna regret it in the morning if you don't now," he mused and you playfully rolled your eyes knowing he was right.
you shuffled into the bathroom. finn did all of the work though as he dug out your makeup wipes and your face wash that you liked to use. it was so natural for him to know exactly what you liked and the order you did it in because he's done it so many times already. he started by just rubbing it all off with a makeup wipe knowing to be gentle around your eyes.
"when did you get good at this?" you mumbled, eyes closed and basically half asleep. finn chuckled, "when i became your boyfriend 6 years ago."
"the thing the driver asked us...do you wanna marry me someday?" you were just rambling now. this was the part of the night where you just started saying whatever was on your mind without much filter.
your boyfriend blushed to the tips of his ears. little did you know. "i dream of marrying you all the time."
you smiled. "me too. being your wife..i really like that idea," you reopened your eyes and caught finn's gaze.
if he could've, he'd get down on one knee right now. he didn't, obviously, but he really wanted to. that ring was just sitting in his sock drawer. "i really like the idea too. i'd get to brag about you all the time."
"like you don't do that already," you teased a bit.
when finn finished wiping your makeup off he let you rinse your face off before doing your face wash. when that was finished, he offered to brush your teeth for you too. you loved when finn did things like this and you could just shut your brain off.
"spit," he said and you leaned over the sink again to spit the toothpaste out and rinse your mouth.
"feel okay?" he wondered and you nodded. "yeah, thank you," you caressed his cheek.
finn helped you up the stairs where you completely collapsed into the bed. he made it a point to tuck you in like a burrito which had you giggling. "i'm gonna get you some water and wash up and then i'll be back up," he said.
"okay, hurry. i get cold without you," you mumbled while your boyfriend disappeared back downstairs.
your brain was hazy, but in a good way. you forgot how drunk you got from 5 glasses of wine. you just thought about how lucky you were to have a boyfriend that cared so much to take care of you when you got drunk after having a good time.
finn came back about twenty minutes later and you were basically asleep when you felt the bed finally dip under his weight. you instinctively rolled towards him though and he gladly welcomed you into his warm embrace. a soft breath escaped your lips against his skin. "thank you. i love you," you hummed.
"i love you. sleep well," you felt him kiss your hairline before tugging you closer and tangling your legs together.
You were part of the Byers clan, the middle child, the precious younger sister of Jonathan. You were also, Steve's girl and Jonathon hated it. Requested here!
smut, fingering, oral f receiving, whiny steve, p in v. langauage*not proof read
Your alarm clock blared- far too loud. It was loud anyway but that morning it could've been quieter. You weren't hungover or anything, god Jonathon would have a fit if you were. You just... had a late night.
The reason for said late night shuffled and groaned into your pillow. "Turn it off," he grumbled.
You hit the clock until it stopped its ringing, looking down at the shirtless Steve Harrington in your bed. "C'mon, we gotta get up."
Steve grumbled. "Five more minutes." His arm snuck out to you, wrapping around your waist and bringing you back into the warmth of his chest and your covers.
"No, Steve-" you tried to protest before he started to convince you. A move of his bare hips against yours, his teeth nipping at your neck, hands roaming your chest. "Steve, mom's making breakfast."
He hummed as if he was listening but he pulled you further into him, holding you tight. "Five more minutes."
"I'm serious," you laughed.
"So am I."
You rolled your eyes and turned in his grasp to look at him. Through the sleep in his eyes and the mess of his hair, Steve pushed himself to lean up on his elbow, your covers slipping down his bare torso as he looked down at you. "Your hair," you chuckled, ruffling the mess of it.
He hummed, kissing you sweetly. "Hmm, and who's faults that?"
"Yours."
You remembered last night, Steve picking you up from school to go catch a film, bringing you back late in fits of laughter and roaming hands. You'd taken him to your room, turned on the music and spent all night in complete love with him.
When under the disguise of night you could have Steve to yourself. Without anyone bothering you, moms smothering you or brothers to question motives.
After all, it was no secret Jonathon Byers disliked Steve Harrington.
Steve had spent most of the night down on the bed, your head nestled between his thighs or on top, riding him slow and steady, taking all the time in the world until you were both a withering mess.
You shook your head against his lips. "Yours."
Steve broke away, looking down at you. For a moment, it looked like he was going to argue but his eyes softened. "You're so beautiful."
If Jonathon could see how Steve looked at you he'd never have any reason to doubt the kind of relationship the two of you had.
Steve flattened himself against you until you could feel the half-hardness of his stock stirring against your hot core. He moved atop you, caging you into the bed with no way of escape. Your hands crawled up his shoulders, pulling him in.
His hand slithered under you to your backside, squeezing the skin until you gasped and he could swipe his tongue into the warmth of your mouth. "I- I need you," he panted.
"But breakfast-"
"Screw breakfast, I need you." Steve kissed you like you were the only thing he'd be eating-
The door creaked open.
"Dude, what?!" you pushed Steve off you quickly, the both of you scrambling to cover yourself up.
Your little brother stood in the door way, taking up most of the space with his height the closer he got to seventeen. A hand covered over his eyes. "Mom's been calling you for food for five minutes."
"Jesus, Will, do you knock?" you complained. "You can open your eyes by the way."
He did so but kept his eyes up to your eyes. "Breakfast is getting cold," he said, quickly leaving.
"Door!" you called.
But it wasn't Will that tracked by to close your door, Jonathon was making his way by and paused in front of your door. He offered you a small morning smile, peeking into the mess that usually was his room. The curl of his lips dropped when he noticed the Steve shaped lump in your bed.
Steve stretched out. "Morning, Byers."
Your older brothers eyes were less than warm when they looked back at you and closed the door gently.
"Great."
Steve pushed the covers off him, walking around to gather his clothes thrown about the place and dress. "Breakfast will be fun."
You both dressed quick, throwing boxers and panties to each other, pulling down shirts while you pulled Steve's hoodie over you before walking out.
Ah- a full house. There was a space between your brothers for you and Steve to slip into, across from Hopper and El who were already making their way through their Ego's.
It wasn't new, having Hopper and El around and it wasn't like they didn't know about your boyfriend, Steve 'the hair' Harrington. But there was still silence as you sat down.
"Morning everyone," you greeted with a smile.
Hopper looked from you to Steve like he was playing disapproving dad. "Morning."
"Juice, honey?" offered Joyce, ready to get the carton from the fridge.
Steve stopped her, jumping up at once. "I've got it."
Joyce settled down. "Oh, thank you, Steve."
"It's no problem."
Steve was always on his best behaviour with your mom, doing everything to get her acceptance when he already had it. He'd proven he was great with Will and his friends and had proven more than once that he was willing to lie down his life for you and your brother(s). She didn't like that him and Jonathon had got into a fight years ago, but she liked that it was Steve that came out in cuts and bruises.
He set the juice down, pouring you a glass and topping up El's before filling his own.
There was silence again.
"Did you sleep well?" your mom asked.
"Oh yeah, great nights sleep," said Steve as he set his arm on the back of your chair.
Will chuckled to himself, on account of his room being un-fortunately next to yours, Jonathon's along the way.
Jonathon and you passed a look to Will who quietened down.
Steve chuckled away his blush but his hand moved from the back of your chair to under the table, gripping your thigh tight. Whether he was nervous or still getting hard under his jeans, you couldn't quite tell.
Jonathan tried to get the conversation back onto track. "I can give you guys a lift to school on my way into work."
"Don't sweat it, man, I've got it," shrugged Steve, taking a bite of the eggs Joyce made him. "Hm, oh, great eggs Mrs Byers."
"Oh, thank you Steve. And I've said, you can call me Joyce," she smiled.
"Yeah, she's said it a hundred times, Steve, call her Joyce," Jonathon all but snapped.
You looked at him, kicking him in the shin.
He kicked right back at you.
"Hey, what's going on?" snapped your mom.
You and Jonathon looked at her. "Nothing." you both dove back into your food, just like you were children again, getting caught arguing over tapes of The Clash.
Steve straightened, his fingers digging into your jeans. "I was just saying, Jonathon, I don't have work for another hour. Plenty of time to drop them off."
"But it's not on your way, it's on mine," said your brother.
"Yeah but your shift starts before mine, I have plenty of time to drop them off."
"I can drop off my own sister."
"I'm just offering to drop off my girlfriend, it's no big deal," said Steve, smiling over at you.
You knew Steve meant well, and Jonathon probably did to. He just was better at showing how badly he wanted to get back at Steve rather than take you to school with Will and El. "Jonathon, Steve's right, he's not working till eleven. Your shift starts in half an hour."
Jonathon took a deep breath but relented. "Fine, go with Steve. I'll take Will and El."
"Or we could all just go with Steve?" Said Will, as it made more sense but there wasn't much that needed to make sense to Jonathon at that point.
"No, you'll come in my car," said Jonathon. "Let's go."
He was already up and out of his chair, ditching his plate in the sink on the way out.
Joyce sighed. "Jonathon!"
Silence invaded the table again but your appetite left the room with your brother. Steve's hand soothed you, his thumb stroking up and down with care.
"You have bruises," said El, speaking up. She gestured to your neck where blue and purple marks were blooming. "There."
Steve chocked o his eggs.
Sometimes you wished El wouldn't talk as much as she did.
"Well I think I wanna go school now, Steve?" you pushed out of your chair, getting your boyfriend to follow you quickly before Joyce or Hopper could look to closely.
Will was too busy smirking down at his plate in amusement.
"Er- ow, um, thank you for the breakfast Mrs Byer- Joyce- Joyce! It was very nice, thank you!" Steve stuttered as you grabbed both of your bags and rushed out from the house.
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It was funny, looking back at it in the car with Steve. Your makeup bag was perched in your lap as you did your best to cover up the marks that Steve had left on you. They ran down your neck all the way to your chest. You were just thankful you didn't have gym.
"My god, I'm never gonna be able to show my face again," said Steve, holding his head in his hand.
"It's your fault!" you argued.
"Mine!?"
"Yes! If you weren't so needy you might not have gone so crazy, painting me like you're god damn Bob Ross!"
Steve scoffed. "What? Like you weren't enjoying it."
"Well I'm paying for it now," you said, patting down more powder on the marks. "God, I hope Jonathan didn't see, he'll kill you."
"Please-"
"Do I have to remind you when he beat your ass-"
"That was years ago and that was different you know it," said Steve, turning down a bend. "If we were to ... you know... get down to it now I would-" he glanced your way and caught the narrowing of your brows and the glare- "not hurt him because he's your brother."
You nodded, soothing your gaze. "Thank you."
"But do I not get some slack?" asked Steve, rubbing the stress away from his forehead. "Yes I was a dick back then but I think I'm better now."
You had to admit it, you'd never have considered dating the guy that beat up your brother and smashed his camera. You were dating that Steve that realised his wrongs and ditched all his ways, the Steve that always got your mom and Will Christmas presents, and always got Jonathon more camera equipment around that time of year. You dated the Steve that learnt to do your hair because your arms ached when you did it, the one that held you every night because you were terrified you'd wake with Will missing again or monsters crawling through your walls.
You were dating the Steve you loved.
You smiled. "A lot better."
Steve glanced your way and took your hand, kissing the back of it before dropping it in his lap.
The drive the rest of the way was silent but content.
Steve pulled up front of the school, students already piling in. He cut the engine and tugged your hand till you looked his way. "Hey, why don't you come round mine tonight? My parents are gone till Monday, it'll just be us."
"Just us?" you asked, teasing him with the raise of your brows.
"Yeah. You know, we can... study," he lifted his shoulders.
"Study?"
Steve glanced down to your lips. "Yeah study. Whole place to ourselves," he leant in, the hot breath of his mouth ghosting over your ear as he whispered. "Study in the living room... the kitchen... the pool."
"The pool?" you teased as his teeth nipped at your skin. "Won't I get wet?"
"Hm, that's what I'm hoping for."
You moved your head back, smashing your lips to his so hard that you could feel the indent of his teeth. But neither of you cared as Steve released your seatbelt along with his, the both of you scrambling over the console to get a hold of each other. His hands were firm around your neck, yours tangling in his hair at once and tugging till he whined.
"Baby," he mumbled against your lips. "Baby we gotta stop or-"
You kissed him, never relenting. "Or what?" You whispered, voice dropped low.
Steve smirked against you. "Or you’re not getting to class on time."
"Bummer."
Steve surged for you, drawing you close, so close you were seconds away from climbing over the console when there was a honk from a car parking right up next to you.
"What the-"
"Geez-"
You both turned, looking out your window and finding Jonathon, red in the cheeks, fumbling with his seatbelt.
Steve deflated in his seat, shaking his head. "Oh, come on."
You winded the window down as Jonathon got out the car, almost throwing his car door into Steve’s. It would’ve been a big thing. There was only one thing Steve loved more than you. His car. "Jonathon, what?"
El and Will got out, sneaking their way into school, glancing over their shoulder in case they missed anything that was about to happen.
"Nothing," he said. "Just making sure you get to class."
"I’ve got it, Byers," said Steve.
"Really? Cause that’s not what it looked like to me."
"Jesus, what I can’t kiss my girlfriend bye before school?"
Jonathon spluttered. "Not the way you were doing it, no!"
"Alright-" you got out of Steve's car with no announcement. You stood across from your older brother, folding your arms over your chest. "This has got to stop, Jonathon."
"He's-"
"He's with me," you said. "I get it, okay, I do, you don't like Steve for past grievances and cause he dated your girlfriend. You think I like that, I don't-"
Steve stepped out the car, loitering with his door open.
"But that's the past and I love him," you said.
Jonathon gulped, the muscles in his jaw moving as he clenched. His eyes looked past you to Steve. There was almost something sheepishly sorry in his gaze then.
"I love him so much," you tell him, knowing Steve was behind, listening, perhaps feeling guilty with how you had to defend your love because of the douche-bag he was before. You took your brothers hand. "And I love you so much. I respect that you don't always like Steve but for my sake please can you at least act happy for me."
"I am happy for you, I just... I..." he trailed off because there was nothing else he could say to defend himself and his feelings. "I don't want you to get your heartbroken. I couldn't bare it."
Your brothers heart was big, bigger than most would understand. The both of you had looked after each other, especially with your mom's keen eyes always on Will, it was important Jonathon looked after you and you him.
It was just now, you also had Steve to look out for you.
Jonathon wasn't used to that.
You squeezed your big brothers hand once more before letting it go. "I've got to go to class now, okay? I'll see you at home tonight, we can watch a film or something?"
Jonathon took a deep breath and nodded, backing to his car. "Alright. Sure. Just... get to class, and stop making out in the parking lot. Kids go here."
Steve walked around his car, glum in expression with your bag in hand. He mocked a salute. "Will do, Byers."
Jonathon reversed out the space slow, giving Steve one more careful glance. He drove off and Steve fell back against his car.
"You're not coming around tonight?" he pouted.
You rolled your eyes and leant next to him. "I wouldn't miss alone time with you for the world."
Steve's brows furrowed. "But you said you were catching a movie."
"Watching a movie doesn't take all night, Steve," you said, reaching over to sooth the crease between his brows. "Pick me up at nine?"
Realisation dawned on him and slowly, he broke out into a grin. "I love you."
"I know," you said. You figured spending time with your brother would ease tensions. No Steve, just you and the family. That way, you could spend a weekend un-interrupted with him.
Steve slung your bag over your shoulder, kissing you sweetly before he left you to the rest of the day.
And for the rest of the day he was left dreaming about all the things he'd do to you when he had you alone.
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Jonathon had picked a horror film, which was no surprise to you.
Even if you jumped at every pounce of the music and flinched every time there was a jump scare, Jonathon loved these films. He loved to see you scared and then laugh, breaking down what was actually happening, the melted bubble-gum or smoke machine they used for the effects. It seemed he knew every camera trick.
Will and El sat on the floor, a bowl of popcorn and plate of Ego's shared between them.
The movie ended by eight, when the sun was setting and you were left with jitters in your skin.
But your torture had the desired effect as Jonathon was laughing, smiling, forgetting you were dating the 'worst guy on earth' in his opinion. You went to bed, exhausted from school and Jonathon was happy to let you go.
By nine, Steve was dragging you through the door of his house, pushing you up against it and slamming it shut in the progress. His lips were quick on yours, prying them apart until your teeth nipped at his bottom lip, drawing it out in a moan.
"Oh, baby, I've missed you," he groaned, hands cupping your neck as he slid his tongue in your mouth, fighting to own it.
Your lips curled into a grin as you tilted your head back. "You saw me this morning."
Steve pulled away and smiled at you, peeling off his jacket. "Tell me about it."
Your hands were clumsy as they pushed Steve's jacket from his shoulders, wrapping you arms around him to draw him in.
Steve kissed your neck, hands in your hips as he dragged you away from the door and through his house. Neither of you were letting up, stumbling your way in as Steve kept one hand on you, the other searching around the wall for a light switch. "I can't-"
"What?" you mumbled, hands, fiddling with his belt.
"The light."
Steve looked aside to find the light switch, turning them on but you'd already dragged your lips down his neck, biting playfully at his flesh. His large hand held the back of your head, keeping you there a moment longer until your hand ran over the clothed harness of his cock. He fisted your hair and pulled enough to get your lips again.
His hands pulled at your top, yanking it over your head and throwing it aside. You both found your way up against another wall, gasping at the cold press of it.
Your dragged your hands under Steve's shirt, feeling the hardness of his back and the hairs on his chest.
Steve's tongue ran over yours, making a mess of your mouth while his fingers pulled at your jean buttons, getting them lose enough to slide his hand in and feel how wet you were. "Oh baby," he cooed.
Your mouth was stuck agape as he wasted no time, sliding two fingers into you. Your breath came out shaky, taken by Steve who was so close his nose nudged yours. His fingers pumped close, coaxing out your want.
"St-Steve."
"Tell me you love me," he said, his fingers steady, his thumb ghosting your clit. There, without putting any pressure there.
"I-I love you."
He kissed you quick as you moved your pussy into his hand, grinding, stealing his breath as much as he was yours. "I love you," his words were lost in lips and tongue.
His thumb pressed into your clit, circling it.
You humped his hand quick, aching for the feel of it all. Everything he could give you.
You panted, the feeling of your orgasm dawning too soon. "Steve!"
He withdrew his hand and lost no time. He dropped to his knees with a thud, pulling your jeans and panties down in one immediately and shoving his face between your thighs.
"Ah-"
Steve grabbed your hand that sort for anything to hold onto and pushed it into his hair. He did it all without a break in his devotion to making you come with his tongue and lips. He moaned into you, his tongue diving between your folds, sucking.
"Jesus, Steve." You bit down on the back of your hand.
Steve flicked your clit once, pulling away and pressing a kiss to your thigh. "We're alone," he reminded you, kissing over your folds. His ran his thumb between it. "We're alone, you can moan."
You dropped your hand, eyes squeezing shut as you leant your head back. You'd always been so quiet, Steve sneaking into your room or the supply room at family video. The idea of making as much noise you liked was too good a dream.
Steve grabbed your calf, helping it out the last of your jeans and throwing it over his shoulder. He sucked, slurped, anything he could and the noises around the entry to his home were damn right pornographic. He moaned into you, feeling the vibrations.
He held your thigh, fingers digging in until the skin around your leg was bleaching white. Steve whined into you. "Please moan."
What Steve Harrington wanted, Steve got...
You moaned, lips pursed but when he sucked on your clit, diving his fingers into you and curling you were left breathless against the wall of his family home. "Bab-baby-"
He nodded. "That's it baby, come on, come on my face please," he practically whined. "Please, I love you so much, please-"
Your hands combed back his hair as you un-knowingly pushed his head into your pussy as you came down. If it wasn't for the grip he had on your thighs you'd have slumped right there.
Steve took his time, slower in cleaning up the mess you made, letting you catch your breath. When your chest stopped heaving he slowly took away his fingers and knelt back.
If your brother knew it wasn't just love Steve had for you, it was damn right devotion, he'd never have questioned his intents.
Steve pulled off his shirt as he got to his feet, pulling off his belt and shoving down his trousers.
You, on the other hand, went down to the floor, shaking off the last of your clothes and un-clasping your bra, throwing it over to the front door.
You crawled the last of the way to Steve, sinful.
"Baby, no, no," said Steve panicked as you set back on your heels, right in front of his hard cock. "I want to- be inside you."
It wasn't that Steve didn't like head, he loved it. Your tongue, him hot and heavy but he preferred it when it was on a bed or on his carpeted floor, not the hard wood down stairs.
You didn't object. You didn't try to unleash him. You just laid your head against his cock, rubbing it like it was pillow. Your greatest comfort.
Steve's mouth was agape but he didn't know what to say. He combed his hair back, head throwing back in the air. "God- fu-fuck baby. You're so good, so, so good. My favourite girl... only girl," he mused as you rubbed your face against him, licking up and around without even taking him out. There was a bead of pre-cum leaking at his head and you collected it through his boxers.
As your fingers dipper past the elastic Steve grabbed your arms and forced you up. He kissed along the bruises he left the night before, holding you steady as your body curved into his.
"Where do we begin?" you asked, breathless as your eyes closed in bliss. You felt him grin against your neck.
He guided you by the hips, leading you to the living room and guiding you onto the edge of the sofa. He sat you on the edge and kissed you again, slower, feeling the edges of your mouth and sharing each others taste between them.
You helped him out of his boxers.
The both of you were bare, bathed in only the light from the hallway.
Steve looked all around you, hair falling in front of his eyes. "Tell me you love me."
You never got tired of saying it, he always needed to ask. "I love you. You're so good to me."
"Always gonna be good for you," he said. He wrapped his hand around his cock, edging it close to your pussy. He ran it up and down, using your orgasm to lubricate him up. The both of you shuddered at the ghost of the feeling that could be. "Want to be a better man for you. Gonna make you so proud."
"I am, Steve. I am. Please just," you arched your back, close to falling off.
"Please what?" he asked, smiling down at you.
Your eyelids were hooded, eyes dark as you looked up at him. Your hands ran down the smooth of his back, taking his ass and helping him inside of you.
It was always a stretch with him. The delicious burn before the pleasure took over. It was always slow then it wasn't but it was always, always, love.
Steve eased into you and eased out before the thrusts began. Before he held a hand on the small of your back and another under thigh to rock into you, hips snapping into yours as you stretched around him.
He said be as loud as you could but the both of you were gasping in pleasure, maybe moaning here and there before your lips met and it began again.
Steve rested his forehead against yours, rocking into you. He had your ass in the palm of his hands (literally), urging you up and down his length.
"St-Steve-" you held onto his shoulders.
His face was screwed up in concentration, to at least try and last a little longer. He'd been waiting... well, since this morning to have you. "I know, I'm gonna," fuck, with your warmth enveloping him, he didn't stand a chance. "I'm gonna-"
Boom! Boom! Boom!
There was a sudden quick pounding on his front door that rattled the house and both of you.
Steve stilled.
The pleasure wasn't lost in its entirety, after all you were still wrapped around him but the moment was lost.
"What the hell?" you mumbled.
"It's probably nothing," he said but settled you down on the edge.
The both of you had been through enough to know that the good things came fleeting and never lasted. A pounding like that at the door was never a good thing.
Steve could feel your anxiety. Had someone gone missing? Were the monsters from your nightmares since you were sixteen back? He eased out of you. "Hey, hey, it's probably nothing."
The pounding was still there though.
You set yourself down quick on your feet, stumbling only slightly as you grabbed the first shirt you got.
It took Steve a moment longer to collect himself. "Wait- baby, hold on-" he grabbed his boxers, throwing them on and tumbling after you.
But you were already at the door and swinging it open in only Steve's shirt.
Steve was behind you a second later and-
Jonathon.
The three of you were all left in silence. You, half dressed in Steve's shirt that was luckily like a dress to you. But Steve on the other hand was sweaty and hard in only his boxers.
"Sh-shit." Quickly he stepped behind you, using your body as a shield. "What the hell are you doing here Byers?"
It took a second for him to explode.
"You were missing and I find you here!"
There was a call of static.
Walkie Talkie.
"Jonathon do you have eyes on your sister?" Dustin's voice called through.
Your brows shot up. "You called a search party?"
"We didn't know where you were!"
"Take a guess!" you snapped. "Maybe try calling before getting half of Hawkins on the case!"
"I did call!" he yelled. "Five times!"
You and Steve were silent, stuttering.
"We were, um..." Steve brushed back his hair. "Busy."
Jonathon swung back, stressed, a hand to his head like their mom when she was lost in the moment. "Why didn't you just say you were going?"
"Well you haven't exactly been keen for me to be with Steve!"
"No, I haven't and I'm still not!" he argued. But there was only so much of an argument he could have with you when you both stood there hardly dressed. His chest rose and fell with his breaths. "But I'd rather know you're safe then..."
Guilt ate at passion inside of you. Rather then thinking you were missing.
You gripped the door to keep yourself steady. You always wanted to know your brothers plans- both, so you could pin point where they'd be and when so nothing would ever happen to either of them ever again.
You hadn't even considered it when you took Steve's hand and snuck out your window. "I'm sorry, I should've told you."
Jonathon didn't look anywhere else but your eyes. Slowly, he nodded. "Me too," he said. "Sorry you felt like... you couldn't tell me."
The three of you stood there, something like bonding happening while Steve was still in boxers you'd been licking at moments ago. And the thought had him stirring in them again.
The walkie crackled again. "Jonathon! Do you copy?"
"My god, will you shut that up!" said Steve. "The last thing I want to hear right now is Henderson's voice."
Jonathon did so, simply saying he found you safe, with Steve. It was a mercy he didn't mention the lack of clothing. He backed away from the door, stuck in his un-sure ways of leaving you or taking you back. "Just... just get it over with and come home in the morning."
Steve grabbed the door above your head. "Yep, can do, thank you, Byers!" he called, waving.
Jonathon paused but not with anger. There was a blush at his cheeks and he reached into his jacket, his wallet coming out next. He threw something back at you.
You caught it before you realised what it was. "Oh, Jonathon!"
A condom. Seriously?!
"Just- if you're gonna do it, be safe."
The three of you parted ways, you and Steve safe inside and making sure he was in the car and driving away before you gave up.
Steve plucked the protection from you. "Ha, who knew he had it in him."
"Steve," you complained, throwing the door shut.
"Did he think I don't have enough?"
The talk about the condom your brother gave your boyfriend was almost enough to put you out the mood. Almost...
Steve drew you back into him, still hard. He tugged the collar of his shirt down to kiss along the base of your neck. "Where were we?"
Thank you so much for the request, it was so fun and I can't wait for more :)
Warnings- Swearing, fluff, SPOILERS, angst, talks of pregnancy, violence, long chapter.
Pairing- Steve Harrington x Hopper!Fem-reader
Episode- (part of) 5x08
(Let me know if you want to be tagged)
————
*A COUPLE MONTHS AGO*
“Hello?” You announce yourself which is pointless since she should’ve heard you walk in the house already, but in her sick haze she might’ve not heard the front door or your soft footsteps, so it’s just one precaution before you take another by knocking on her door.
“Come in,” Eleven answers the moment you lift your knuckles off the wooden door, letting you unravel your fist to push the door open and find the poor sight of your sister curled up on the bed with the glow of the TV illuminating her sickly features.
“What are you doing here?” She immediately greets you with an interrogation. “Why are you not at the crawl?”
You walk into what used to be your shared room and set down the things you had picked up at the store in your quick pit stop before you walk to her bedside. “Dad said you were sick, so I came. I thought it was just a cold on my way here, but you look terrible,” you lightly tease her before you press the back of your hand on her forehead and feel how hot she is.
“It’s not so bad,” she tries to downplay her symptoms even though her red, teary droopy eyes, and her warm forehead tell a different story.
“You know one has to wonder how someone who never goes out gets sick?” You keep poking fun at her, making her smile weakly.
“Hop said it’s because I went out with my hair wet,” she says and you can’t help but laugh since it’s something you've been told hundreds of times but was never proven right until now.
“Yeah, that does it,” you quip before you walk away, causing her to sit up and instantly question you.
“Where are you going? Are you going back?”
You walk to the dresser to grab the movie you had brought with you and show it off to her to answer her question before you also respond verbally. “No, I was just grabbing this, ‘Hello, Dolly’. You like it so I thought we could watch it. Unless you want me to bring Mike? He said he’d be here after the crawl but to contact him if you need anything.”
Eleven lies her head back on the pillow as she’s quietly comforted by the fact that you aren’t intending to leave anytime soon.
She’s never been one to get sick all the time. Or at least not that she can remember. The last time she was sick she just had the sniffles, so it wasn’t as serious as it is now. Right now, even if she doesn’t tell you, she feels like she’s dying.
“No,” she says. “It’s okay. I don’t want to get him sick.”
“Oh, but it’s okay to get me sick?”
“No. Please go,” she says halfheartedly, hoping you’ll do anything but leave, and luckily for her you don’t have the intention to do so. With your role as a volunteer in the military, it’s better if you don’t risk going with Steve and Dustin to keep track of your dad, so you don’t really have much to do while they’re doing the crawls. Thus, you’re here with nothing but time. Besides, where else would you be while she’s sick?
She hardly gets sick and the last time she was she swore something was wrong with her, so you want to keep her company and help her for as long as you can. Or at least until your dad gets back home.
“I was just teasing you,” you reassure her before you walk to the tv to pop in the movie, letting silence accompany the two of you until you get the movie to start playing. “Dad said you ate some soup Joyce made, so let me get a wet towel to put on your forehead so I can lie down with you and watch the movie!” You let her know and try to make your way out, but she stops you.
“No, it’s okay. You came to check on me. That’s enough,” she says more seriously now, but it’s not something that’s up for debate so you just glance at her over your shoulder before you go grab that wet towel and return to lie beside her, caring not one bit that you could possibly get sick too. All that matters is her so you spoon her as you press the towel against her forehead.
However, she turns away from the TV, letting it talk to itself to face you and make you switch hands.
“Will you be coming back home soon?” She asks innocently and as much as her hopeful look tears at your heart, your intention to return to live with your dad is not something up for debate either.
“No, I’m sorry, babygirl,” you say apologetically. “I think if I want to keep having a relationship with dad it’s best if I stay with Steve.”
Eleven's gaze flickers down and she frowns with disappointment, so you grab her chin with your knuckle and try to comfort her the best you can.
“But I’ll come visit often. We can have dinner together here and more movie nights. It’ll be like I never left.”
“Okay,” she mutters softly before she swallows thickly whilst she takes a heavy blink, making you stroke her cheek and whisper hoping this will lift her sick spirits.
“Steve and I have been talking and after this quarantine is over. After we’ve killed Vecna, we want you to come with this on our roadtrip.”
You smile sweetly and see her strain to offer you a reflection of that smile.
“Neither one of us has seen all fifty states so I think it’ll be fun seeing that for the first time together, don’t you think?” You try to paint a picture of a far-out trip to get her excited. However, you had sold your plan the moment you pitched it.
“There’s many fun landmarks we can see and we can get a shirt of every state and make a quilt out of them,” you keep trying to sell your plan.
“A quilt?” She asks with amusement and confusion.
“Yeah!” You giggle. “I hear some people do that so why don’t we? It’ll be fun and something that’ll remind us of our trip forever.”
Eleven offers you another strained smile and offers you her approval. “Okay. Let’s do it.”
You hum and stroke her cheek again as you realize how hard she’s trying to stay awake to keep talking to you. “For now why don’t we sleep, hm? So you can feel better in the morning.”
“Will you stay with me for the night?” She asks without thinking and out of a moment of vulnerability.
And without thinking, you reassure her. “Of course.”
Eleven offers you one more weak smile before she turns around, letting you spoon her against you and lay your head behind hers without having the intention of falling asleep, but as you watch the movie playing on the TV, and the darkness of the room blankets you, you can’t help but slowly be lulled to sleep with Eleven in your arms.
That’s the sight your dad walks into when he returns with Steve from the crawl, and even though he was sent to fetch you to return home, who would he be to disturb such a peaceful slumber?
Yet, he doesn’t walk out of the room right away. He walks in to turn off the tv and then lingers by the door to admire his two girls sleeping together because there's nothing more precious, and there’s nothing he wanted more when he was in that cold Russian prison than to see the both of you even if you were sleeping, so he stays under the doorframe to capture the moment and store it in his memory so he can never, ever forget such a simple yet peaceful sight.
——
*NOW*
A thick lump of concern slowly drags down your throat as you steal one more glance at a glum and pensive Eleven, because that’s all you can do, swallow your concern because her answer to every concerned-filled question is, “I’m fine.”.
She’s honestly sounding like a record with how many times she’s used that single phrase, but if she doesn’t want to say what she’s obviously hiding you can’t force her. Thus, you watch her for a second longer hoping to uncover something, but all you get is one last wave before she turns away and starts heading towards the lab with your dad, her sister, and Murray, and before you climb onto the passenger seat of the truck to keep Steve company as he drives you all to the Squawk tower.
Perhaps you should’ve stayed in the back to talk to Mike though, he would’ve been good to talk to about Eleven. Perhaps he's also noticed her strange behavior—no, he definitely has, so you could’ve discussed that with him and tried to come up with some comforting answer, but you’re with Steve and have no intention of stopping him just so you can switch spots, thus, you start a conversation with him in hopes he’ll offer some insight. Something you’ve missed.
“Something feels wrong,” you break the silence and perhaps it was the wrong way to start because he looks at you wide-eyed and concerned.
“What? What do you mean? Is it—”
“Oh!” You exclaim as you pick up on what he’s assuming. “No, no, it’s not the baby. It’s…Eleven,” you assure him, making him touch his chest and let out a relieved breath before he probes.
“What do you mean?”
You bite your cheek and look out the window, seeing nothing but that white crap running past the window. “She’s been…I don’t know. She’s been acting weird all day,” you share your thoughts out loud. “But ever since she returned from helping Murray with the truck, she’s been even more weird and quiet, and every time I ask she just brushes me off with ‘I’m fine’, but it sounds rehearsed. And I obviously don’t want to pester her but I just…I know something's wrong,” you finish with a deep breath and then turn your gaze away from the window to look at Steve to see what he thinks.
“Well,” he exhales deeply and purses his lips together as he thinks about what you told him before he shrugs a few moments later and briefly meets your gaze. “Maybe she’s just worried about this, you know? Killing her psychotic brother.”
It’s something you’ve considered, but with so much running through your mind you never let that set as a certain possibility. It still doesn’t set, but you consider it and feel less troubled by your concern.
“I have noticed her being distant from Mike today though,” Steve points out, making your face light up as you realize that he’s also picked up on her behavior and he’s not just trying to comfort you.
“She was going to leave the truck without saying goodbye until he made her turn back.”
“Yeah,” you breathe out pensively before he continues but ventures off topic.
“And have you noticed Jonathan and Nancy? They’re kind of weird since we saved them from that room.”
“I haven’t noticed,” you admit considering there’s been other stuff in your mind.
“And then there’s Vickie and Robin, but I guess that there’s nothing wrong with them. I should be happy because Vickie knows the truth, you know, but I can’t help but be a little jealous.”
That catches all your attention, so you slowly turn your head to look at Steve with your eyebrow quirked. “You’re jealous of a lesbian couple?”
“No!” He blurts and throws out his hand. “I mean jealous of Robin. I mean, she just saved her girlfriend from a pack of Demo-dogs. That’s a big hero moment! What have I done?”
You start to smile in amusement, forgetting all your worries for that moment. “You’ve saved me,” you assure him, but he quickly rebuts.
“No, the first time it was a group effort and the Demo-dogs ended up running past us at the end. In the summer you saved me and Robin. And then the following year you ended up completely saving me! Twice! Again!”
You chuckle and then shrug all smugly. “What can I say? But for your sake, I could uhm, let you have one last hero moment when we’re up there in that other dimension. I can pretend to fall and you can swoop me up bridal style.”
Steve meets your gaze with a pout and then groans, so you reach over and squeeze his arm. “Oh don’t pout. I like being a kickass team. I don’t like being the damsel in distress. It blows.” You squeeze his arm again and flash him a smile. “So don’t be jealous. I think they should be jealous of us. We work so well together. They, well, they kind of don’t. Don’t tell them that though.”
“Well, I guess that’s right,” he mumbles with some satisfaction. “But still…it was kind of cool.”
You smile brighter at your friends' heroics and nod. “I agree.”
The rest of the ride to the radio tower is made with small chatter here and there, but mostly you ride in a pensive silence as your thoughts find their way back to Eleven and how there’s something you can’t uncover. Something that bothers you so much it makes you sit uneasily.
You hope you’re wrong and Steve is right, but you can’t know. Not now, so when you arrive at the radio tower you try your best to put all your focus on the task at hand.
“Hey, uh, Robin, yeah, uh can you please tell me that that was you guys and not more of those, like, mutant Cujos?” You hear Vickie panic through the walkie as you help your friends down from the back of the truck.
“It’s us, and it’s too early to be stressed, Vic. Save it for later,” Robin puts it how it is in a gentle manner.
“Yeah, no, copy that, yeah. No. Bottling…bottling emotions,” Vickie ends the conversation and goes radio silent, making you and Robin share an amused laugh before she passes by so you can help the others.
Once everyone is on the ground, you all gather around each other and can’t help but gawk at the radio tower that looks impossibly taller in the Upside Down. Or does it feel that way because you know you have to climb it? Either way, it looks almost intimidating.
“No sign of an evil moving planet,” Lucas comments as he looks through his binoculars.
“Well, that’s good,” Jonathan inputs. “‘Cause this is gonna take time. All right, we should split up. Use both ladders.” Jonathan points at the ladders at either side of the intimidating tower. “Don’t rush. Okay? Pace yourselves. There are platforms along the way, so use them to rest. All right. Let’s do this.”
With a deep sigh you set off after Steve and end up climbing behind him because he demands to lead the way up just in case you come across danger.
Luckily, it’s quiet all the way to the top. Which is…more ominous than good, but you don’t wait for danger to come. Nor do you wish for it as scary as the silence is.
You don’t take a break either as tired as you grow. It’s too much of a hassle and the air is not fresh and crisp to breathe, so you keep climbing and climbing until finally you reach the top and find a second of relief until you realize how high off the ground you are.
“It’s pretty damn spectacular,” Dustin finds a way to muse about the view.
“Until we’re falling to our deaths,” you add morbidly and turn away from the ground that would turn you into nothing more than a splatter of blood and a pile of bones if you fell from this high.
“It’s almost too bad we have to blow it all up,” Lucas adds to Dustin’s comment seconds before there’s a loud crack in the sky that doesn’t come from the thunder you know that much, so you look up and there peeking out of the clouds are pieces of land slowly descending upon you.
“Mother of God,” Dustin muses without fascination in his voice. Instead, there’s disbelief.
“It’s starting,” you mumble and shift closer to Steve as if that would help from the impending doom that’s slowly coming towards you threatening to squish you as if you’re nothing but bugs under a rock.
“This plan of yours better work, Harrington,” Robin quips as she moves back towards the railing.
“It’s working so far isn’t it?” You defend your boyfriend, but you start to feel panic pumping through your blood as your body starts to wonder why in the world you’re not running for your life as the other world is coming down on you. It almost takes everything in you not to go with your instincts, but you somehow manage to preserve and stay at the top with the others, hoping that the other world doesn’t stop getting closer before you’re able to reach it to go to the other side.
“No, no, no, guys, guys,” Lucas calls for everyone’s attention. “It’s not lining up.”
You immediately swing your head back to look up and see the flashing red light at the top of the rod pointing at the rock instead of the rift.
“What do you mean it’s not lining up?” Steve asks as he walks over to Lucas to look up.
“Look, look,” Lucas points out. “The tower needle, it’s not lining up with the rift.”
“Shit.”
“If the Abyss hits the needle—”
“Then this tower is going down too,” you finish for Will.
“Well, that’s great,” Steve mutters. “That’s just great.”
“Dustin the walkie,” you demand, and put your hand out so he can hand you what you asked for with the antenna sticking out all the way so you’re able to reach your dad.
“Hey, Dad,” you say through the walkie with a sense of panic so he knows it’s urgent. “We’re going to need El to stop this planet. Like, really soon. Please.”
“How soon?” Your dad asks.
You look over at Dustin and he gives you an estimate. “30 seconds?”
“30 seconds,” you repeat back to your dad.
“All right I’m going to give her the signal,” he lets you know, leaving you to watch the planet getting incredibly closer. To the point, Dustin snatches the walkie from your hand to yell at your dad.
“Chief, talk to me. What’s going on in there?!”
“I don’t know. I can’t talk to her,” your dad exclaims in return. “I gave her the signal.”
“Well, nothing's happening over here and we’re about to be squashed by a moving planet. So give it again!”
You swallow thickly and feel Robin’s sweaty hand wrap around yours, so you glance at her and tighten your hold as you reflect the same look of terror on your faces. When the planet gets closer to hitting the needle, you and Robin let your hands go to instead hold onto each other as tightly as you can.
“Shit!” Dustin cries before you hear a chilling crash as the descending planet destroys the needle and keeps crushing it, causing the tower to shake violently, and making you and Robin cling to the tower's railing for some stability. However, the planet keeps coming down and destroying more of that needle in its path, so it makes the tower unstable.
Even so, you keep clinging to the railing.
“Look out! Look out! Look out!” You hear Steve warn, so you look over and see a part of the tower's needle split in half and come falling towards the tower where Steve is, so you start to hope that it would miss hitting the platform, but as it comes rushing down, it slams against the railing, tearing apart some of it and making the tower lean towards the side.
Thankfully though, you all are able to cling onto the remainder of the tower and avoid falling over, or so that’s what you thought, because in your quick scan to make sure everyone is still on the tower, you catch Steve falling over the platform left without a railing thanks to the needle falling over.
“Steve!” You cry with desperation and agony before you start pulling away from the railing.
Yet just as the cold air hits your palm, a sweaty hand immediately grabs ahold of you, stopping you from going after Steve as he falls over the edge.
“NO!” You bellow. “Steve! Robin, let go! Steve!”
You snap around to try and free yourself from her tight grasp, but she finds the strength to keep clinging onto you. “No, Robin,” you grimace and keep fighting her until she lets go of the railing herself to grab onto you and turn you around, making you think that she's playing some cruel joke by making you watch the love of your life fall to his death, but when your eyes fall where he was, you see that Jonathan has a hold of him.
It’s such a miraculous and beautiful sight, but nothing brings you more relief than seeing Steve on the platform on his own two feet.
“Oh my god,” you cry and gently shake Robin before you free yourself from her to run to Steve alongside Dustin.
“Oh god, baby,” you say through frightened pants.
“I’m okay,” he assures you and Dustin.
“Yeah,” you chuckle breathlessly before you hug him tighter and let your frightened heart calm down.
“Shit!” Dustin exclaims as he pulls back to face Steve. “I thought you were toast.” He chuckles with relief and Steve laughs along with him, letting you take this moment to let Steve go and rush over to hug Jonathan.
“Thank you!” You breathe out with tears in your eyes. “Thank you.”
Jonathan awkwardly pats your back. “Uh, yeah. No problem.”
“Hug me back, idiot,” you snap, making him chuckle before he returns the embrace.
“Thank you,” you say one more time before you let go of him to offer him a thankful smile before you return to Steve’s side.
“She did it,” Steve points out as he wraps his arm around your shoulders, letting you wrap your arm around his waist. “El, stopped him.”
You look up and only now realize that the planet is no longer threatening to crush you and a rift is just in reach. Which works perfectly because you can go through now, but there’s one big question that has to be asked; who’s going through first?
“So we move on to our next phase,” you remind the group. “Who wants to go first?”
You all look at each other and Steve grips onto your shoulder, telling you without a need for words that you won’t be the one risking your life. And as much as you want to argue, you’ve made a compromise so you keep your mouth shut and let Nancy volunteer herself this time.
“I will,” she says before she proceeds to fix all the straps around her to make sure that they’re secure around her body before she climbs on the steady railing and grabs ahold of the piece of rock above your heads without protest from anyone. If you were to protest you’d make no progress so no matter how much you see Jonathan wanting to stop her, he holds his tongue and just helps her pull herself up all the way to the rift where she breaks through like a chick breaking through the membrane of their egg.
This however is much grosser progress because goo rains down from the rift, making you all step back and groan in disgust while Nancy manages to go to the other side without any problems.
Only seconds of silence follow where you all hold your breaths as you’re all left in the dark hoping that she hasn’t been killed.
You almost part your lips to call out for the girl in the other dimension, but you’re all then relieved when you hear the echo of her voice coming from above. “All clear!”
You smile softly and then return your gaze to the group huddled below the rift, catching Dustin volunteering to be the second person to climb through before the others follow with the same difficulty he and Nancy had because all that stands between you and your deaths is nothing. Nothing will catch you if you tip over the railing, so one by one you all carefully scale to the other side.
When it's eventually your turn to climb to the other side you never attempt to look down at the impending doom hiding through the clouds. You just focus on climbing up and thank whatever higher power that exists that you don’t fall to your death. You thankfully manage to arrive at the dry canyon-like terrain that is the other dimension and that is nothing like the Upside Down.
This new dimension is not covered in darkness. The sky is a mix of yellow and orange as if the sky is on fire under the thick and dark cover of clouds, forbidding the world from being any brighter and giving off a foreboding atmosphere that is quite the same as the Upside Down. It actually looks like there’s a sun somewhere beyond, but even if there is, it’s still as cold as the Upside Down is which your mind finds conflicting given the bright ferocious sky.
“I should’ve brought a camera,” you muse as you can’t take your eyes off the grand horizon offering more and more dry terrain that all looks quite the same.
“One small step for man. A giant leap for humanity,” Steve muses to himself, making you giggle before Robin corrects him.
“A giant leap for mankind dingus.”
You flash him your smile before you offer him a sympathetic pat and then follow Robin towards the others standing on a cliff that overlooks the fiery horizon.
“Where to now?” Lucas asks the important question. “This place is not like the Upside Down. We could go forward and get lost forever.”
“We move forward as if it were the Upside Down,” Will shares, making all eyes fall on him.
“Are you sure?” Robin is the one who expresses the group's doubt.
“No, but I just know,” he offers little comfort, but what other choice do you have but to listen to him? You don’t have a map to follow to where Hawkins Lab would be in the Upside Down, so with no other choice, you start trudging forward, hoping that nothing scary is around any corner ready to attack.
“Are you okay?” Dustin finally gets the chance to ask you, making you grab onto your speargun's shoulder strap and nod with an assuring smile.
“Yeah, all good. Just trying to make sure I remember this place. It’s kind of…beautiful up here.”
“Cold,” he points out. “Eerie, but yeah it’s beautiful too. Scientists would go nuts for this. Makes me wish I could uncover it to the world and become some renowned space traveler or something.”
You chuckle. “Well, since we can’t, why not be secretly smug that we’re doing what most people can only wish to do?” You try to offer him an alternative, which is lame you know that, everyone knows that, but unless you want to risk going to jail or being killed by the government then there’s nothing else to do but silently gloat.
“It’s not the same.” He sighs, making you nod lightly.
“Yeah, I know, but it’s better than being killed.”
Dustin nods in agreement with disappointment before Robin walks over and pushes herself between him and you to grab ahold of your shoulders.
“So is anyone going to tell me why we’re coddling you?” She directs at you as she shakes your shoulder. “All I’ve heard all day is everyone asking if you’re fine. Are you hurt? Is something,” she pauses and her eyes go wide with panic. “Is there something wrong that I’ve missed? I-I’ve tried to be you know, uh, attentive to everyone, but with Vickie, I’ve just had so much on my plate!”
You and Dustin share an amused look at your friends rambling before Dustin parts his lips.
Yet in a flip of a switch, you glare at him and shake your head stiffly to forbid him from saying anything that might uncover your secret.
And so, without needing to be told anything else, Dustin shuts his mouth, licks his lips, and just comes up with something else. “Well, considering Vecna is after her, I was just concerned. And you know how Steve is.”
Robin lets your shoulders go and then skips forward before she spins around and walks backwards to be able to face you and Dustin. “Yeah, I forgot about that,” she says, so without giving anything away with your look, you offer her a smile before you skip forward to fall at her side and turn her around so she’s walking straight and doesn’t risk tripping like the klutz she is.
Everyone else, as per usual, walks at their own pace without straying far from each other; Steve and Jonathan walk behind the train of people while you, Robin, and Nancy take the lead. Or Nancy does, you and Robin just stick by her while everyone else stays in the middle, making conversation while being wary enough to not get surprised by anything.
Albeit much like the Upside Down, it’s eerily quiet. There’s not even thunder rumbling or lightning brightening the sky. The clouds don’t move, the natural light doesn’t dim or brighten and nothing lurks near or beyond what your eyes can see. It stays as it was when you crossed dimensions. It’s eerie.
“Once this is all over and that stupid quarantine is over we should do something,” you offer Nancy and Robin while also trying to distract yourself from the chills crawling down your spine. “Just us girls.”
“Oh, I like the sound of that,” Robin supports your idea with a big smile. “But what?”
You shrug. “Anything. Lunch. Getting our hair done. Our nails. Getting new clothes after falling behind the fashion trends for a year! Anything, let’s just get out,” you groan with desperation for some fun that doesn’t involve being stuck in the perimeters of the small town.
Without the mall, there aren’t many places to go to waste your time. And without much merchandise from the outside world, it’s like you’re stuck in 1986.
“As fun as that sounds, let's focus on trying to get out of here first,” Nancy doesn’t try to get her hopes up, but that's the opposite of why you offered your idea for future plans in the first place.
Robin gets you though.
“No, I think it’s awesome that we start looking forward to something that has nothing to do with anything regarding Vecna or the Upside Down, so I say we plan now! So that means no one can die!”
“I second that!” You back her up gleefully. “I say we drive out to the city and start with lunch, then we go get something done that makes us feel nice, and then we finish our day by buying something up to date! No boyfriends or girlfriends either. Just us ladies.”
Robin grins at you. “That sounds like a great plan. Nancy?”
Said girl sighs deeply and looks ahead with uncertainty before she can’t help but let herself smile faintly and give in to the idea. “Well, my wardrobe is in desperate need of some new clothes and it would be nice to…finally get out of here without having to fear something.”
“See? A nice plan for the future makes all the difference,” Robin teases, making you all laugh and smile for a moment that takes you out of hell for a second. It’s not long, but it’s enough until like a punch to the gut, your smiles and laughs come to an abrupt end when you come across something straight out of a nightmare.
It still is some ways away, but it stands out against the dry and brown terrain with its large black form that’s shaped like a dead spider with its legs pointed to the sky.
“I,” Robin gapes. “I’ll get the others that are falling behind.”
You wave her off unable to say a word as you’re captivated by the horror that is the giant…well…whatever it is. Rock formation? Corpse? Lair?
“Hey, lovebirds!” You hear Robin shout as she doesn’t go far. “You’re gonna wanna check this out.”
She then runs back and not so much later, Steve and Jonathan catch up and gawk like the rest of the astonished group.
“That’s it,” Will says. “That’s what I saw in my vision. The kids are in there.”
You swallow thickly as you realize that there’s nowhere else to go but forward, towards the giant nightmare incarnate.
“Then what are we waiting for?” Nancy quips ruthlessly and starts to lead the group again, this time with an actual destination in mind. You’re not just walking and hoping you’re going the right way. The giant spider-shaped mystery is your destination and you can’t help but feel queasy while another wave of chills that is much stronger than the others hits you, causing every hair on your body to stand up, making your body go frigid as you walk, and making your heart start to pound wildly.
A part of you also expects something to jump out at you, or descend from the sky, but there’s nothing but the same eerie tranquility and that’s what keeps everyone walking in silence. That eeriness. You most of all because even in between all that, halfway through your walk you start to feel like something is watching you. Not just from one spot either, you feel eyes everywhere.
It’s like you’re being stalked.
By what though? You can’t figure it out. Maybe it’s just your discomfort and fear since you’re walking towards a nightmare incarnate.
“Hey!” Lucas suddenly exclaims before you hear him running up to you to drop his hand on your shoulder as he falls between you and Steve.
“Lucas,” you greet suspiciously.
He puts on his best helpless look and shares why he suddenly chose to come up to you. “I was just wondering. Hoping really if I could use your shotgun pistol. I just, well, have a slingshot and with that,” he points ahead. “Looking down at us, hiding god knows what danger, I’d feel much safer if I had something deadlier with me.”
You and Steve share a puzzled look considering Lucas is trying to use some kind of charm on you which doesn’t work. All he had to do was ask normally. He just sounds like he’s trying to prove something.
“Oh, uh, sure,” you give in and unbuckle your holster to hand him the gun and bullets. “Just be careful and remember to load often. It doesn't hold as many bullets as regular guns.”
Lucas pats your shoulder and grins. “Thank you. Have I ever told you that you’re my favorite?”
“Hey?!” Steve remarks. “What am I? Chopped liver? Who taught you all your best moves?”
Lucas looks over at your boyfriend and winks before he slips away and falls back with Mike, making you and Steve look back and see him show off the gun.
“See? This is a real gun,” Lucas gloats.
“Are you planning to blind something to death with those flares, Wheeler?” Steve taunts, making you and Lucas snicker.
“Nancy, what the hell?” Mike then exclaims at his sister as he sees the unfairness of the matter. “You think this is a joke? What the hell am I gonna do with a flare gun? Gimme a real gun like she,” he points at you. “Gave Lucas one.”
“You see, Mike,” you chime in. “Lucas is actually a good shot.”
Mike gasps with disbelief whilst Lucas turns smug. You’re going to add something else, but the sight of Will standing far behind the group with his eyes rolled back steals your attention.
“Will?! Joyce, something's wrong with Will!” You point out, making the entire group turn around and run towards Will.
“Hey, Will!” Mike calls out, and as if that’s all he needed, Will snaps out of his stupor and watches you all run up to him.
“Will!”
“Will!” Joyce calls out while Mike is the first one to reach his friend.
“Hey!” You hear Mike say. “What is it? What’s wrong?”
You all then proceed to huddle around the boy and hear him share what held him back.
“It’s Henry. He’s alive,” he reveals before he suddenly bends over.
“He’s alive and he’s found them,” he adds between pants. “He’s found Holly and the kids.”
“Okay, what about El?” Mike asks before you could since you know that Henry still being alive means that she hasn’t been able to kill him yet.
“Do you see El?” Mike keeps probing. “Or Kali? Or Max?”
“They’re alone. They’re all alone,” Will says what he knows and you feel your heart skip a beat as you think about what that could mean.
“Could you stop him?” Robin wonders. “With your powers?”
“I can try,” Will strains to say. “Just keep going.”
“Go! Go!” Joyce urges everyone, making you all set off. Well, everyone except for Jonathan.
Steve has to pull him away to get him to move with the group that now travels at a sprint and with no breaks in between. Everyone is so pumped with adrenaline that no one knows exhaustion. Your minds are solely focused on reaching whatever that giant terrifying spider-like formation is because that’s where the kids will be, that’s where Vecna has been hiding, and that's the source of the sudden gut-wrenching feeling that suddenly slams into you before you hear her; El.
It's not like before where you’re completely relieved at the sound of her voice. This time her voice is strained as if she’s in pain, but it only sounds once…
Or so you thought because then you hear her again, but this time she cries out your name as if she’s being tortured and it’s the worst sound in the world. It completely paralyzes you, and makes you come to a sudden halt to spin around frantically to try and locate where she is because she sounds close. She’s here.
“El?!” You cry out in panic and fear for her life. “Eleven?!”
She continues to cry out again, but louder this time and with more pain laced in her cry, making you desperate to find where her voice is coming from.
Yet, you can’t. It’s…everywhere.
“Eleven?!” You cry out, and in response, you hear Steve calling out to you, but it’s confusion that fills his voice rather than fear and pain. Moreover, it’s coming from behind you, so you snap around, but…there’s no one there. In the distance, there’s only the sight of that monstrous spider-like formation. You should see Steve and your group of friends, but the horizon is just that…monster.
“Steve?” You call out before you hear another voice, deeper and in just as much pain as Eleven sounded.
This time though, it’s your dad that you hear behind you, at your left, right, above, and in front of you. Yet everywhere you look he’s not there. You just hear him crying out for you before Eleven joins him along with your aunt, your friends from Oregon, and everyone that you care for and love.
They’re calling you from everywhere and everyone is in distress, pulling at your heartstrings because you can’t help, and overwhelming you because you don’t know what’s going on. Every part of you is yelling at you to act, to save them from whatever is torturing them, but you're completely crippled and helpless.
And it doesn’t end there. Their voices grow sharper and the pain in their voices intensifies making it unbearable to stand so you slap your hands over your ears in hopes that would help, but they only get louder and it almost feels like the intensity of what’s happening is weighing you down, so you fall on your knees and press your palms harder against your ears.
Nevertheless, it proves to be a pointless endeavor because a different voice then overpowers all the others.
“I got you,” it taunts without fear or pain laced in its voice. It’s deep and gravely, threatening, and terrifying to the point that goosebumps run down every perimeter of your flesh and your heart stops. The other voices that were once tormenting you also go suddenly quiet as if terrified by the sudden interruption, leaving a deafening silence that’s perhaps more tormenting than all the voices were combined.
Moreover, this voice is easy to locate. It comes from behind you, so you slowly crane your head back and finally see Steve and the others coming at you, but behind them is it, the spider-like formation. That’s where the voice came from and that’s where an invisible force is suddenly pulling you towards.
It doesn’t make sense, Vecna is not within sight and it’s not his voice that you heard in your mind just now. Plus, nobody who’s coming towards you is able to lift you off the ground and throw you back towards the spider-like formation, so who’s making you fly through barriers of space? Who makes you fly past Steve and your friends?
Who's pulling you towards the monster if not the monster itself.
“Steve!” You plead as loud as you can as you see him get further away, but also start to chase after you in an attempt to take you from the invisible force pulling you away while everyone else is stunned. You can see it in their faces, but as they see Steve pushing past them, they continue to run. However, this time besides trying to reach the monster, they’re trying to catch up to you too, which is the last thing you wanted, but you can’t stop them and a part of you doesn’t want them to stop.
Thus, you keep calling out helplessly and desperately. “Steve! Jonathan!”
Tears you didn’t know you had find themselves to your eyes and break out, but are immediately run off your face as the wind snatches them away.
“Please!” Your voice also gets lost in the air, but the fear and desperation aren’t lost. It’s what pushes Steve to run faster than he thought possible.
“Steve!” You plead again and reach out for him as if that alone would somehow bring him closer. It doesn’t, but you try desperately and never let down until suddenly something wraps around your chest and then makes you feel completely incapacitated as you’re feeling the air in your lungs escape you as you slam into the ground. Just as it wanted.
It wants to leave you gasping and struggling for the most important necessity your body needs, so the vine that's wrapped around you and yanking you towards the monster can slither up to your neck to push itself up and open its head like a flower and hurl itself at your mouth.
It’s a desperate move. You’re not within the monster where the kids are, so it feels like it was done out of necessity to be able to gain the upper hand on something that you don’t know.
Nevertheless, in between your struggle, you muster the strength to throw your hands up and capture the vine before it hits your mouth.
It’s slippery, thick, and it feels like raw flesh. It’s also strong so it’s another struggle piled on you, but you manage to keep it away as you're slowly starting to capture your breath again.
Albeit, it feels you fighting back and it starts to squeeze you harder, making your hold weaken, and making that control on your breath slowly start to falter as you’re forced to start gasping for air again. Yet it doesn't make you stop trying to keep holding it back. You keep straining every muscle in your arms even as it squeezes harder and you start to slowly lose yourself to unconsciousness.
That is until an additional force takes the vine from your grasp and pulls it away, but doesn't offer salvation. Not yet. You continue to slip away until you hear faint screeches and then are saved from unconsciousness as the vine loosens around you and lets you gasp for sweet, sweet air.
It's such an amazing resource that you hardly ever think about, and only think about for a second until you're completely captivated by the glorious sight of Steve getting dragged with you as he grips onto the vine with its blood dripping out of his mouth and running down his chin.
Albeit, unlike you, he has more control of his body. You can see his heels deep in the ground so he doesn’t trip over by the speed the vine is traveling at as he’s getting pulled. And when you look back at his face you watch him open his mouth and sink his teeth deep into the vine, making it screech again, and letting you find the strength to slither your hand down into one of your many pant pockets. to find your handy pocketknife.
Once you feel the cold body of your handy pocketknife in your grasp, you pull your hand back and push it towards Steve.
When he sees what you’re offering him from the corner of his eyes, he spits the vine out of his mouth and takes the pocketknife from your grasp to quickly flip out the blade and then stab the vine over, over, and over again until it writhes in pain and falls limply to the ground, causing the hold around your chest to drop upon its demise, and finally setting you free from its grasp.
“Holy fuck,” Steve gasps as he falls on his knees beside you. “Fuck.”
Between pants and the sound of your pounding heart in your ears, you slip the remnants of the vine off your body and then with Steve’s help, you sit up and hold his gaze as you both try to catch your breath.
“You,” you struggle to stay between pants. “You saved me.”
He scoffs and looks offended by the statement. “Duh.”
“No.” You shake your head. “You had your hero moment. You…saved me.”
A glimmer of realization shines in his eyes as he remembers your conversation from earlier today. Yet instead of saying anything in return, he slowly starts to smile, making you mirror his gesture before you both start to laugh.
It’s a short moment that you steal before he cups the back of your head and pulls you towards him so he can press his forehead against yours.
“Thank you,” you whisper as you lift your hands to cradle his face.
“Don’t,” he rebuts. “I was not going to let it take you.”
The corner of your lips twitch to a tender smile and the look in your eyes reflects awe while Steve looks at you with nothing but relief and adoration.
“Guys!” You hear Dustin yell in the distance, making you both look over and see him and the others getting closer.
They’re just not with you yet. They’re near, but then every single one of them stops in their tracks as loud cracking sounds start to echo from behind you, causing you and Steve to look back and see the spider-like formation start to break apart, forcing you to realize that it is in fact a monster. It is a giant fucking spider and not just some rock formation in shape of a spider. It’s a real fucking spider and it's waking up and dropping its legs.
In your shock, neither one of you moved so you and Steve are still on the ground watching one of the legs falling towards you at a quick speed. When you realize that the leg is descending on you though, you immediately grab onto Steve and pull him with you out of the way, causing the two of you to roll on the ground until you come to a stop with you on top of him the moment the leg comes crashing down on the ground, throwing dust and debris over you.
“Have I told you that I loved you? Because I do. I love you.” Steve says with fascination as you’re straddling him.
“I love you too,” you return with a cheeky smile before you press a small peck on his lips and then throw yourself off of him to help him off the ground and start to sprint towards the gawking group.
“Run!” You and Steve both command at the same time as they just stand there. “Go!”
Even so, they stay frozen there watching the monster behind you, so you peek back to see what has them so captivated and see that the monster is on all its legs with its body off the group and its head pointed to the sky, looking absolutely unbelievable and threatening.
“Run!” You and Steve bellow at the group again, but it’s not until the monster behind you lets out a mighty roar that they listen and run. By that point, you’re already caught up to them so you run as a group and try not to fall behind, or be thrown off your feet by the monster piercing its legs in the ground every time it takes a step.
However, it’s a difficult task because as its legs pierce the ground it causes the ground to tremble and dust to blow out which is another force that threatens to throw you off balance.
“Dustin!” You hear a piercing yell that makes you snap your head back and see said boy on the ground with one of the monster's legs falling directly towards him.
“Dustin!” You cry out and prepare to shift your feet to run towards him along with Steve, but thankfully, Lucas manages to save him by quickly pulling him away before he’s crushed, making both boys thankfully hit the ground away from their impending doom.
“Come on! Come on!” You hear Nancy urge before you see her and the others going to Dustin and Lucas.
When both boys are on their feet and running again you all turn back around and continue to sprint away. Albeit, you don’t make it far because then one leg falls in front of the group before another follows, caging you in and forcing you to a stop.
The monster then proceeds to lift its head and open its mouth, showing off razor-sharp teeth that all come towards you as it leans its head forward, making you grab onto Steve as you look up at the monster in horror.
That is until out of nowhere a rock slams into its face, knocking it to the side just as it was going to eat all of you.
As to who your savior is, you don’t have the time to identify them, but one person comes to mind. You can’t see her just yet because Jonathan doesn’t hesitate to usher everyone away.
“Come on, go! Go, go, go!” He yells and you all follow until you make it to a clearing and stop to see your savior in the distance; your sister.
As to when she got here? You don’t know that’s something you’ll ask her later. As for now you can’t help but grin with awe that only heightens when you see her not back down even if the monster is going towards her. She instead runs to it and when she’s knocked off her feet she doesn’t fret, she quickly gets back up and continues to get closer until she's close enough to its head to use her powers and throw herself off the ground.
When she’s in mid-air you see her rip an opening on the monster's body that lets her push herself through it to land where Vecna is hiding with the kids.
“Way to go, El!” You can’t help but praise your sister even though she’s not here.
And as if in response the monster suddenly staggers back and roars in pain, meaning only one thing; she hurt him. She hurt Vecna.
“She’s hurting it,” Lucas proclaims what you now come to realize.
“How?” Jonathan asks, making Mike offer him a response.
“She’s fighting Vecna.”
“Hive mind,” Robin points out, making you nod in agreement before you shout at the group.
“We have to do something to help her!”
“Exactly,” Mike backs you up, but then Nancy follows with a question.
“How?”
“Okay, the hive mind works in both ways. If we hurt the Mind Flayer, then we hurt Vecna,” Mike shares his plan before you can.
“What, hurt Godzilla over there?” Robin expresses her doubt.
“The only way to damage anything of that scale, we spread out,” Dustin shares. “Flank it on all sides. Just chip away at its hit points.”
“Hit points?!” Steve retorts. “What are you talking about hit points?”
“There!” Lucas points and walks past everyone, making you follow his finger and see a canyon.
“One of us draws it to that canyon,” Lucas shares what he came up with. “The rest take positions on those cliffs. Ambush it from above,” he finishes sharing before he turns to face everyone.
“Okay, that’s good,” you praise him before you speak on the one thing he left out. “I’ll be the bait then,” you don’t hesitate to volunteer yourself at the same time Nancy does.
“I admire your bravery,” you share your thoughts out loud to Nancy. “But it’s a guarantee that it’ll come after me if I offer myself up as bait, so it should be me.”
Nancy huffs and steps up. “That’s all great, but I’m still coming with you. Two is better than one and we’ll be able to guarantee that it keeps its attention on us if we both go, so take it or leave it.”
She offers a tough bargain, but it’s one you don’t have to debate.
“Alright then,” you give in without taking time to think about it. “Let's go.”
Nancy offers you a small smirk before she starts moving towards the monster, making you turn on your heels to follow after her without waiting to hear any protests because it has to be done. You just follow her and offer Steve an assuring look.
When you and Nancy put some distance between you and the group that should be heading towards the canyon, you come to a stop so Nancy can lift her gun and start shooting at it.
Once you successfully have its attention, you look back at the group still lingering behind you. “Go!” You demand as Nancy keeps shooting. “Go!”
As soon as the group starts moving and you steal one last lingering look with Steve, you look back at the monster and see it almost seem to zero in on you before it takes Nancy into account and lets out a roar as she keeps shooting at it.
“Now it’s our turn!” You tell her as the monster starts moving towards you. “Let’s go! Let’s go!”
Without protest, Nancy starts to run with you as the monster successfully chases after you without getting distracted.
“Come on!” You bellow at the monster. “Come on! Come get me!”
As if in response the monster lets out an enraged roar before it throws one leg on the ground right behind you.
Thankfully though, neither you nor Nancy manage to fall over. You keep running away with all your might without having the intention of stopping even when you run into a crevice in the canyon. You just keep running and the monster keeps chasing you with a passion that makes it throw its head forward and crush the environment around you, causing a thick cloud of dust to fall over you and almost blind you.
Almost though, because then you enter through a smaller crevice that offers clean air, but no more way to run. You come across a fucking dead end.
Even so, neither you nor Nancy back down. She reloads her and you pull out your speargun, so while the monster tries to fit its head through the small crevice, Nancy shoots her gun, and you shoot a spear at its flesh before you land a second one in its mouth.
Now, you do have explosives, but you’re entrapped in a small space so you don’t risk throwing one. Instead, you keep falling back as it manages to start ramming its way through until it destroys every piece of rock that kept it away from you and it, bringing its mouth incredibly close to you and Nancy, and making you ask yourself what good are spears with it being so close? And what good is a gun with no bullets?
Thus, with no other option but to hope salvation is near, you and Nancy hold hands and press yourselves against the rock wall.
When the monster roars and flashes its mouth, you both turn your heads away and shield your faces from the spit and smell, but also the horror of its teeth-filled mouth.
It almost feels like salvation wouldn’t come, so you and Nancy embrace each other and wait for death or salvation.
“Please,” you plead as you close your eyes and wait.
It's not a long one, but you think that you'll be greeted by death. It's a moment of weakness until it’s salvation that greets you just in the nick of time in the form of fire. When you feel the heat and hear the monster cry in pain, you open your eyes and see the fire hitting it across the face, and make it abandon all thought to consume you, leaving you and Nancy the space to escape the dead end you were trapped against and continue with your mission to keep hurting it.
Thus while it’s distracted by its attackers, Nancy changes from her rifle to her shotgun, and you reload your speargun to continue shooting the weakest part of its body that you can see. All while it's overwhelmed with more pain that comes from the fire and its other attackers.
It tries to find a way out, but through the pain, it can only stagger, letting you and Nancy keep inching forward as you keep shooting at it without missing once or regaining its attention.
Eventually, as you knew you would, you run out of spears so you swing the gun over your shoulder and pull out your explosives to light them on fire and throw them in its mouth since it keeps crying out in pain and leaving itself open.
Of course, the explosives don’t kill it or make it far since you’re quite far and since it’s so big, but the explosives go off against its cheek and send off a scalding pain that makes it screech before it drops pools of blood from its mouth.
Unfortunately, you didn’t bring more than two explosives since you didn’t want to weigh yourself down, so you run out fairly quickly. Luckily, Nancy was overpacked and hands you a fully loaded revolver.
“I want that back,” she warns you as you take the gun.
“Wasn’t planning on losing it,” you assure her with a smug smirk before you point and shoot.
Now, the gun is not as powerful as spears, but the bullets hurt it nonetheless, so you just go off guns ablazing until it lets out a booming cry of pain to the sky as it stumbles back and doesn't stop there. It then crashes its legs into rocks as it begins to lose its strength and starts falling to the ground with continuous cries of pain.
It only goes quiet and still once its burning head hits the ground.
Even so, you and Nancy don’t move. You watch it in disbelief for a moment as you take your deep and exhausted breaths.
“Is it—?” Nancy asks after a couple of minutes of silence.
“Yeah,” you answer before she can finish as the monster no longer moves or threatens any one of you. “It’s dead.”
Nancy chuckles, making you look over at her and laugh in relief and disbelief. Neither one of you wanted to die or wished for death. You hoped and assumed it would die, but still seeing it unmoving and dead before your eyes is still something unbelievable and incredible.
“Shall we go get our sisters?” She suggests once your laughs die down.
“Yeah,” you don’t hesitate to agree. “Let’s go.”
Without regrouping with the others and trusting that everyone is alive and well by all the firepower that was hitting the monster moments ago, you and Nancy make a beeline towards the monster and manage to find the opening Eleven had torn apart in its chest to enter it.
Once inside there’s only one path to follow so it’s impossible to get lost. However, you do start to fear that it’ll somehow rise from the dead with every step you take.
Thankfully, it doesn’t rise and you find El in the middle of a weird and disgusting room infested with spikes sticking out of every inch of the room.
“El!” You exclaim as you push aside your disgust, making said girl suddenly snap around to look at you with her face quickly softening at the sight of you.
“Oh, El!” You breathe out the moment you run into each other's arms. “Are you okay? Are you hurt?” You immediately ask about her well-being, making her pull away to grab your shoulders and glance at Nancy approaching the two of you.
“I’m fine. Are you? Is everyone else okay?” She follows up with questions of her own after she quickly assures you.
“Yeah, everyone’s okay,” Nancy answers for you, so you’re given the chance to pull your sleeve over the heel of your palm and wipe the blood off El’s nose.
Once there’s not even a stain left on her skin you step away to let Nancy and El share a short hug before Nancy pulls away to look around until she finds what she was looking for.
“Holly!” Nancy exclaims with relief before she runs over to her sister who’s trapped in a cocoon made of the monster's flesh and unconscious because of the vine over her mouth.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” You ask El one more time as Nancy pulls her sister out of the cocoon.
“Yes, I am positive.”
You smile softly with relief before you wrap your arm around her shoulder and pull her against your side, making her wrap her arm around your waist to keep you close as you watch Nancy drag Holly to the ground to try and wake her.
“Holly?” She calls desperately. “Can you hear me?” She shakes her. “Holly? Holly? Holly, come on. Come on.”
Said girl then begins to cough awake, offering the three of you relief for only a second because then you're concerned all over again when black smoke shoots out of her mouth.
However, thankfully it doesn't gather anywhere like you thought it would. It dissolves in the air, letting you exhale and unstiffen before you look back at the sisters across the room and smile as you hear Holly’s hoarse voice.
“Nancy?”
“Yeah,” said girl nods with a grin. “Yeah, it’s me. I’m here.”
They proceed to hug so you and Eleven hold on tighter to each other before, from the corner of your eyes your friends all walk into the room. Battered and tired, but they all come.
“Steve!” You cry and meet Steve halfway in an embrace as Eleven greets Mike before he finds his sisters.
“Holly?!” You hear Mike call before he runs off as you hold onto Steve’s who stinks so bad that it stings your nose.
You don’t care enough yet. You just hold onto each other as you’re relieved by the fact that you’re both here and not hurt.
You want to say it’s over. It’ll offer a wave of relief and comfort, but it’s not over until you’re safely at home with the Upside Down and this dimension just a memory. So, you just hold him and kiss his cheek before he holds your face and kisses your forehead before you let go of each other so you can greet the others with the same joy.
After you’ve made your rounds and returned to Steve and Eleven, you catch a glimpse of the eleven other kids and snap the group out of their stupor so you can all help break the other kids out of their cocoons.
So, while the others are busy helping other kids, you break the flesh barrier that's trapping a small girl with glasses and dark hair, and then yank out the vine that’s keeping her unconscious before you drag her down to the ground.
However, just like Holly she doesn’t wake up right away, so you sit her up and pat her back as if you’re helping her get water out of her lungs and don’t stop until the black smoke runs out of her body and disperses in the air.
“It’s okay,” you speak gently as you shift around to be able to face her with your best kind and reassuring look. “You’re okay. I got you. You’re going to be okay now.”
The little girl clings onto your arm that’s wrapped her shoulders and then speaks with a quivering voice. “Can I go home now? I want to go home. I'm scared.”
“Yeah,” you soothe her as you crouch further down to be at her eye level. “We’re going home now, but it’s okay, you don’t have to be scared. I won’t let anything hurt you, okay?”
She nods as her bottom lip trembles, but instead of crying, she surprises you by throwing her arms around you and embracing you.
“You’re okay,” you coo. “It’s all going to be okay.”
Your words however leave a bitter taste in your mouth when you hear someone start to cough and choke because when you follow the sound, you see that it was Vecna.
In your urgency to reach Eleven and assure that she was okay, you hadn’t even noticed him impaled on a spike in the middle of the room. Not until now as his choking sounds catch your attention.
“It’s okay,” you tell the little girl as you help her to her feet and pull her behind you to shield her from whatever may happen or…whatever Vecna may say since he can’t even pull his body off the spike. He just stays there coughing out blood and making all your friends gather a safe space away from him to watch with disbelief.
You want to join them, but the little girl doesn’t seem to want to let you go, so you have no choice but to bring her with you where the group gathers to watch in silence as Vecna continues to choke.
Joyce and Will then walk into the room unscathed and equally as stunned by the glorious sight of such a dangerous foe taking his final breaths. Yet it only takes Joyce a moment to let the shock settle before she takes out her axe.
“You fucked with the wrong family,” Joyce sneers before she approaches Vecna and swings the axe back.
Before she can hit him though, Vecna roars and tries to push himself up, but it’s too late and he’s too close to the brink of death that he can't stop the axe that slams into his throat over and over again.
Even once his chest is no longer moving and his arms flay limply at his sides, Joyce keeps swinging, but it never feels like it's too much. Each swing is gratifying after all he’s done to so many people. To El, Will, Holly, and the kids. Max, and you.
Then again once nothing is holding his head to his neck and it falls on the ground, splattering out blood, you can’t help but shed a couple of tears. Not because you feel bad, but because you’re relieved and happy that he’s gone and can no longer torment and hurt anyone else you love, or…hurt and torment you and the baby it so badly wanted to take to turn it like him.
Finally, he’s gone. The evil he brought. The death. The horror. It’s all gone once and for all.
——
*LATER*
“Dad? Hello? Dad, are you there?”
“Yeah, yeah,” said man doesn’t let a silence settle, which is actually good because it sounds so good hearing his voice. “I copy. What’s going on?”
You sigh with relief and make sure he hears it from the other side of the walkie you’re talking through. “Well…Vecna or Henry, whatever you want to call him, is dead. We’re back in the Upside Down with the kids.” You smile as you turn around to watch Jonathan help Steve load the kids in the back of the truck.
“H-how is everybody? Is everybody okay? Are you?” Your dad proceeds to ask, making you scoff softly.
“Yeah, I’m okay. We all took a hell of a beating, but we’re all okay.”
“What about El?” He hesitates to ask and so as not to keep his heart overworking with worry, you assure him as you look over at her with Mike helping the last kid off the radio tower.
“Everyone is okay,” you say with an obvious bliss in your voice as you watch your sister. “So what do we say you guys turn on the music to once and for all destroy this hellscape?” You chuckle breathlessly. “Let's go home.”
“Yeah,” he finally responds with an ease in his voice. “Copy that. I’ll see you on the other side.”
“I’ll see you on the other side,” you bid him goodbye, and then put your walkie away to run over to the truck and help Steve and Jonathan load the rest of the kids into the truck.
Once every kid is accounted for and you’ve double-checked that they’re all there, you climb onto the back too, catching Steve by surprise.
“Whoa, whoa, you’re not riding with me up front?”
You glance at Eleven waiting to get on to make sure you're not seeing things, and then look back at Steve and respond quietly. “No, I’m going to ride back here and uh…make sure this is all real. It’s just been a hell of a day. I need to make sure.”
Steve scoffs softly and nods in comprehension. You proceed to gently hit his shoulder before you grasp it and tease him because you feel so light at the moment. Everyone you love is well and accounted for. No one got seriously hurt. Everyone is going home and Vecna is dead, so it feels right to smile and make jokes.
Everything feels possible.
“Drive carefully. It’d suck to survive all this only for you to get in a car accident and die,” you poke at Steve, making him roll his eyes before he lolls his head back towards you to mirror your tender smile before he strokes your chin with his thumb and pointer finger.
“It’s all real by the way,” he makes sure to assure you, making you smile at him with admiration before you steal a quick peck from his lips that makes him grin before he hops off the back of the truck and makes you watch him round the corner to go to the driver's side.
When there’s nothing but air and weird particles where he once was you turn away and catch Eleven climbing on just in time, so you help her up even if Mike was also doing that, and then take her away from him when she’s standing on her own two feet in the back of the truck.
“Are you ready to go home?” You ask as you rub her back.
El turns her head to meet your gaze with a faint but happy smile which is expected and well-received considering that she lost her sister, Kali earlier today when they were in the lab.
And yes, perhaps you didn’t know her well so you can’t say her death affects you, but she died trying to get rid of Vecna, and Eleven cared about her so you’ll always appreciate her.
“Yeah,” Eleven says quietly. “I’m ready. Are you?”
You hold her gaze and smile brighter. “Yeah, I am, so let’s go home.”
She hums and rests her head on your shoulder so you proceed to rub her back and walk down the truck to find seats on the floor as Jonathan and Mike close the door.
However, since there are more people now than when you came with, there's limited space to sit at, so you end up finding a seat across from Eleven to let Mike sit next to her.
He makes her happy so you let him take her side, besides, there’s nothing better to reassure yourself that she’s real than by watching her, so you sit contently across from her and watch her with nothing but a smile. A smile that brightens even more when you see her smile so sweetly at Mike, and he smiles at her just the same.
After all that’s happened over the past couple of days. After all the fears that have riddled you it’s such a beautiful sight that makes you feel nothing but hope.
Seeing everyone alive and well. Happy and laughing, is such a beautiful sight that fills you with overwhelming bliss that eradicates the tension you’ve been holding onto for the past couple of days.
The sun is shining in this dark and frigid place and you bask in its glory.
“Hey, miss,” a small little voice breaks you from your train of thought and makes you loll your head down to see the same little girl from before. The one you helped.
“Yes?” You ask.
She swallows thickly and gets her hand closer to yours before she reveals the reason for her interjection. “Can I hold your hand? I’m still scared.”
You blink in disbelief but when you notice that fear she just spoke of, you smile at her and nod. “Of course you can.”
The little girl smiles with relief and happily wraps her little hand around yours, feeling your comfort vanquish the fear that had clung to her. Which comes as quite a surprise to you even if you’ve done the same for your sisters, but it’s a temporary feeling. And when that surprise passes, you can’t help but feel more warmth in your heart. There’s also some excitement that flutters in your stomach as the baby comes to mind at the feeling of the little girl's hand on yours
Yet, right now, nothing makes you happier than seeing Eleven coming home with you after fearing she wouldn’t. Her presence warms this abyss and you like the sun, and you can’t help but admire her radiance.
When she eventually catches you looking, she locks eyes with you and offers you a tender smile that makes you smile at her in return with your whole heart.
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