‘87 was my year,baby! To be born, not graduate, I’m not THAT old. AuDHD. Very Tired™️ millennial and full of brain squirrels I’m not your mom. 🔞 MINORS DNI 🔞 seriously. I’m on the internet to get away from my kids.
Lets get the nitty gritty details out of the way, ok?
AAA threat (Ace, Autistic, ADHD). I am a salty salty bitch. Pretty sure it’s the ‘tism, but I will hold a grudge forever. I am a millennial. Yeah, I’m worried about me too.
I have, for some reason made the decision to start writing fanfiction. Results TBD.
writing tag: #cici writes
Stranger Things / Steddie
A Door, Closed - Complete, G
They'd done it. All of them had survived Vecna and closed the door on the terrible Spring Break of '86.
Yet, not all of them had made it through unscathed, and you know what they say about life closing doors...
P1 / P2 / P3 / P4 / P5 / P6 / P7-End / A03
Of Monsters & Men - WIP, T (currently)
There have always been monsters; some have just been more suited to handling them than others.
Steve was a Witcher. He'd suffered and bled for a world that spat upon him. Walking the Path he'd chosen, he soon finds himself with new company and challenges never before seen.
Ch1 / Ch2 / Ch3 / Ch4 / Ch5 / Ch6 / Ch7 / Ch8 /Ch9 / Ch10 / Ch11 / Ao3
In the Morning - Complete, T
Steve “serves” Kas!Eddie in lieu of being eaten/killed upon capture.
based off the Westly/Dread Pirate Roberts story in Princess Bride.
Prologue / P1 / P2 / P3 / P4 / P5 / P6 / P7 / P8 / P9/ P10 / P11 / Epilogue / Ao3
Life After You - Complete, T
Songfic. Or inspired by a songfic?
Eddie needs to get home and tell the man he left behind that there would never be anything better; fame would never match the joy he experienced at his side. He learned the hard way that there was no life without Steve.
P1 / P2 / P3 / P4 / Ao3
The Nanny AU
Successful. Handsome. Widowed. Steve Harrington has it all, except a nanny who lasts more than three days.
Enter Eddie Munson: recently dumped, extremely unemployed, and definitely not here for a childcare interview.
Look, he's got questionable style, a strange flair, and he's there.
That's how he becomes..
"Pilot Episode" - G, Complete P1 / P2 / AO3
"Episode Two" - G, Complete Here / AO3
"Episode Three" - G, Complete Here / AO3
The Bloom Cycle
Growth is never clean.
Before the greenhouse, there were matches. Before the roots, there was fire.
A collection of interwoven stories tracing the fractured paths of Eddie Munson, Steve Harrington, Robin Buckley, and how they came to intersect.
Some things survived, and others grew anyway.
This series includes:
Bloom & Break - Complete, T
Hard to believe that when Eddie set a couch on fire (allegedly) and got dumped on the doorstep of the hottest antisocial plant man he's ever seen, it would grow into something he'd rather die without.
Steve never wanted a roommate (one that breathed, anyway), especially one who insists on giving him increasingly annoying nicknames and leaves a trail of glitter everywhere, like a snail at a rave.
He excelled with all kinds of things that grew, but love turned out to be a new kind of invasive species.
P1 / P2 / P3 / P3.5 / P4/ P5 / P6 / P7 / P8 / P9/ P10 / P11 / P12 / P13 / Epilogue / Ao3
The Couch Knew What It Did, T, Complete Here / AO3
Eddie wasn't trying to get evicted, he swears.
After The Fire, During The Burn - T, Complete --P1 / P2 / AO3
Steve didn’t ask her to stay.
Robin didn’t wait for permission.
In the aftermath of fire and silence, something began to grow.
There Goes the Neighborhood- G, Complete Here / A03
The greenhouse has rules. Boundaries. Bite reflexes.
Then the boy arrived, loud, chaotic, snack-laden, and completely unaware that every living thing in the greenhouse wanted him gone.
So naturally, he stayed.
And now the plants are having a crisis about it.
The Charmer and the Fool, T, Complete Here / AO3
Before the greenhouse. Before Steve. Before any of it.
Eddie meets Honey when he’s young, half-wild, and already burning too hot. What starts as praise curdles into control, and he's not the only one who likes to start fires.
Root Rot, T, Complete Here / AO3
Before the greenhouse, before the wild boy with too many opinions and nowhere else to be, there was a lab. A name. A man who said he was hollow and tried to fill him.
This is the part of the story no one talks about—the root system beneath the bloom.
The rot he had to burn through to survive it.
Background Noise, G, Complete Here / AO3
Before the vines and the headlines, there’s Robin: little-genius ears, a hardware-store oracle, a bench that gossips in silence, and a microwave that taps out. She doesn’t chase rumors—she hunts weird sounds
Brainworms
De-aged Party, Tunnels, Injured Steve
The Nanny AU- P1 /P2 / P3 No style, no class, a certain flair. How the heck did Eddie become the nanny?!
Poison Ivy / Harley Quinn Steddie - It just works too well,y’know?
headers, dividers, all by the amazing @saradika-graphics
tumblr header by /@eddywoww, isn’t it just soooo pretty?
Phew! I almost forgot to schedule this! It's been a hell of a week! But welcome back! This story is also complete so here we go!
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 |
~
Steve sat in the courtroom just behind Max. They had gotten lucky that they had gotten a different judge, one that might listen to her about what she wanted.
And the judge had sneakily postponed the hearing until after Max’s twelfth birthday, as well. to make sure she had the best outcome for the hearing.
Steve had already liked the guy, but after this he hoped that everyone of his charges got Judge Bob Newby going forward.
“Let me understand, Miss Fraser,” Judge Newby said dryly, “your client wants her violent and abusive ex to take custody of her twelve year old daughter, is that correct?”
“That is an over-exaggeration, your honor!” Miss Fraser huffed. She was Sue Hargrove’s lawyer. She was public defender, but she was good at what she did.
“This man has a rap sheet that is longer than my arm,” Judge Newby barked back. “His own son was removed from his custody three times for abuse. It’s an accurate depiction, counselor.”
“The law is for reunification,” she pointed out primly.
“At my discretion,” he said firmly. “And frankly sending Max Mayfield back to her former stepfather’s care is a death sentence I refuse to give a twelve year old.”
“Your honor!” Miss Fraser protested.
“I am awarding temporary custody to the state of Indiana,” Judge Newby said, ignoring her protests. “And I am requesting that Mrs. Hargrove take a good hard look at the future she wants to give her daughter and give up parental right all together. This in and out of prison is not good for the welfare of the child and as I understand it your client won’t be able for even parole until the child is eighteen, is that correct?”
“Yes, your honor.” Miss Fraser sat down hard. She knew she had lost.
Sue looked back at Max in the gallery and then back at the judge. “I’ll sign away my rights right now if you have a pen and paper.”
There was some quiet muttering from the gallery.
“Are you certain, Susan?” Miss Fraser asked. “You don’t have to do this. We can continue to push of reunification.”
Sue shook her head. “No. I need to do this. The judge is right. Max deserves every chance to excel and she can’t do that with me as her mother.”
Miss Fraser nodded and took out the appropriate document. She handed it to Sue, who promptly signed at the bottom after a quick scan to make sure it was the right one. She handed it to the bailiff who then brought it to Judge Newby.
“The court thanks you, Mrs. Hargrove for your sacrifice,” he said solemnly. “The custody of Maxine Mayfield will be released into the hands of the Hawkins Hope House until further notice. The next hearing will be in two months to decide where she is to be placed. Court dismissed.”
Steve and Robin leapt to their feet cheering while Max just sat there in stunned silence. She couldn’t believe it. She wasn’t going to Neil’s. She was going to stay with Steve for at least two months.
As her mom was being lead away to be taken back to prison, Max ran to her and hugged her tight. “Thank you!”
Sue kissed the top of her head. “Come see me once in a while, yeah?”
“I’ll try,” Max murmured and then allowed Steve to pull her away.
“Take care of my baby,” Sue told Steve.
Steve nodded and then led Max away, back to where Robin was waiting for them.
“Let’s get some ice cream to celebrate!” Robin said, tussling her hair. “I’ll call the Hope House and see if Chrissy could bring Dustin for a little cheering up too.”
“Do we have to bring him?” Max whined. “He’s either super mopey about his dad dying or he’s talking about D&D, there is no in between.”
“Be nice,” Steve admonished. “He’s just trying to get you interested in what he likes.”
“It’s boring,” Max said bluntly, crossing her arms in front of her chest. “The only good thing about that stupid game is that it means Lucas comes over all the time.”
Robin and Steve shared a surprised glance over her head. That was certainly a new development.
“How about a compromise?” Steve suggested. “We go out for ice cream and bring Dustin, Chrissy and Eddie some after we’ve had ours?”
Max tapped her lips for a moment, cocking her head to the side. “That is acceptable. We get the treat first and they don’t get mad at us.”
“Great!” Robin said, clapping her hands. “I’ll give the House a call and find out what they want and I’ll meet you guys at the car!”
“Sounds great!” Steve said and steered Max toward the car, both of them happily chatting about the outcome of the hearing.
They didn’t have long to wait before Robin came bursting out of the courthouse. She ran over to Steve’s car and yanked open the passenger seat, sliding in.
“Move it, dingus!” she huffed. “Max’s mom’s lawyer is on a war path and she gunning for you and me.”
Steve let out a pained sigh and shifted into gear, pulling out of the parking lot. “What did she want?”
“She tried to say that the cessation of parental rights was invalid because it was obviously done under duress and she was going to sue us and Judge Newby,” Robin explained.
Max scoffed in the backseat. “That’s just bullshit! It was the right thing to do! She just wants to try to squeeze more money from Mom and Neil.”
Robin whipped around to look her in the eye. “Wait I thought Regina Fraser was a public defender.”
Max shook her head. “Maybe she started out that way, but nope! Neil’s been paying her for awhile now.”
“Well that explains why she was pushing so hard to have Neil take custody of you!” Steve crowed. “That bitch!”
Robin mumbled her agreement. “She can’t win of course, especially since Sue wouldn’t pursue it. Neil might but it would be tied up for months even years and hopefully by then you would have been placed with a family all your own.”
“I wish Steve could adopt me...” Max muttered under breath.
Robin and Steve looked at each and shook their heads. They wished that too. But they doubted that the state would allow her to stay at Hope House not with all the coming and goings of people of every stripe.
“Me too, Maxie,” he murmured back. “Me too.”
~
They arrived back at the Hawkins Hope house just before dinner, bringing ice cream for the people at the House and burgers for all.
“I’m not sure I can eat burgers from elsewhere,” Eddie said as Steve handed him his, “it might be a conflict of interest or some shit.”
Robin snorted. “As if we would get shakes and burgers from anywhere but Benny’s? That would be a sacrilege.”
Eddie opened up his burger and then nodded. “Rightly so.”
Steve handed out everyone’s burgers, handing Max hers last. “Here you go, Miss Californian Girl. One Cali burger just for you.”
Dustin peered over Max’s shoulder to see what the fuss was about.
“I just like it this way,” she huffed, taking a bite and smiling happily.
Dustin looked at her burger and then over at Eddie. “So what’s in it?”
“It’s one patty with Colby Jack cheese, sliced avocado and Chipotle ranch,” Eddie said with a shrug. “It’s pretty popular, so Benny keeps it around.”
“But that doesn’t sound like a burger at all,” Dustin protested. “Where’s the ketchup and the American cheese? The tomato and mustard? You can’t go wrong with a classic!”
Steve looked over at Robin and lifted his eyebrow at her. “You want to tell him your burger order, Missy.”
Robin stuck out her tongue at him. “It’s just cheese, ketchup, and mayo. No veggies at all.”
“That’s horrible!” Dustin complained. “At least Max has a vegetable. What is wrong with you people?”
“I like mine with caramelized onions, lettuce, pepperjack cheese, and ranch,” Chrissy said with a shrug. “I think everyone has different preferences and that’s okay.”
But Dustin didn’t want to let it go. “What about you and Eddie?” he asked rounding on Steve. “What are you burgers like?”
“Oh, mine’s an everything burger,” Eddie said with a grin. “Lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, three different cheeses, two patties, and drenched in all the sauces, ketchup, mayo, mustard, relish. Oh and for an extra punch I throw on three slices of bacon just to get that extra crunch.”
“That is the most unhinged thing I’ve every heard,” Max said with her eyes wide. “That’s wicked!”
“I have ketchup, mayo, mustard, cheddar cheese, and bacon,” Steve said with a shrug. “I don’t like warm veggies that should be cold.”
Dustin threw his hands up in the air. “I give up with you lot. None of you are normal!”
“Sounds great to me,” Eddie said around a bit of burger. “I never wanted to be like anyone else. Like sure, finding people who like the same things I do is good, because everyone needs a tribe, but pass me on that conformity bullshit.”
Dustin blinked up at him for a moment. “So you’re saying it’s good everyone likes something different?”
“Right in one, kid!” Eddie said ruffling his hair.
Dustin turned a bright pink and it took every ounce of will power Steve had not to giggle.
~
Steve was running out of time for Max. He needed find someone who would be willing to foster her so that he could start the process of being made her official guardian. And he only had two weeks to do it.
But the people he trusted to not traumatize her further couldn’t take her in at this time and he just couldn’t leave her to the system.
Far too many foster parents were only in it for the pay check they got for taking the kid in and that meant abuses that would make the Geneva Convention gasp in shock and horror.
The one good thing that had come out of the whole mess so far was that no judge would hear Regina Fraser’s lawsuit against the Hawkins Hope House for manipulating Sue Hargrove into giving up her rights to Max.
“And you’re sure Joyce can’t take her?” Chrissy asked for the billionth time.
Steve shook his head. “For the same reason I can’t. Conflict of interest. And if I don’t find someone willing to take her before school starts, Judge Newby will have no choice but to put her in the system.”
“That’s just bullshit,” Robin cursed. “You should be able to keep her here! This is where all her friends are! Which is amazing, she’s making any to begin with!”
He let out a pained sigh. He knew all this. He had been letting it rotate in his head like a washer stuck in the spin cycle. But he didn’t have anymore answers today then he did almost five months ago since Max had been brought to the House.
Just then the door opened, the bell above heralding the man’s arrival.
He was in his mid to late forties with weathered appearance of a man who had worked hard his whole life and loved every minute of it.
“Hi!” Steve greeted cheerfully. “I’m Steve and welcome to Hawkins Hope House. How can I help you today?”
The man chuckled. “Oh good, I have the right place. Hi Steve, I’m here to see my nephew.”
Steve frowned, he didn’t remember Dustin having an uncle. Because then he would have been placed in the man’s care instead of here.
“That’s sweet,” he said instead. “Can I get your name please?”
The man burst out laughing. “He said you lot were tight lipped, but I guess I never really put much stock in it.”
Steve’s frown deepened. He was even less sure about this whole thing with each passing moment.
“I’m afraid we have to be,” he explained. “We get some battered spouses and abused kids we don’t want to give any information to the wrong person and get them hurt or worse.”
The man cocked his head to the side. “That is very wise. And no doubt a lesson learned the hard way.”
“Sad but true,” he acknowledged solemnly.
Just then Eddie came tearing down the stairs. “I thought that was your truck!” he cried, running straight into the arms of the old man.
It was slowly dawning on Steve who this was.
“What are you doing here, you old rascal?!” Eddie said pulling back from the hug to look the man in the eyes.
“I’m here to see your scaly white ass,” the man huffed.
“Uncle Wayne!” Eddie crowed, confirming it for him. “There are civilized people present!”
We are back! And this story is complete and will be 17 chapters.
In this we have a batch of award shows, but not the Oscars yet. And we met the incredible Joyce Byers.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 |
~
“Take the glasses off!” “Take the glasses off!” “Take the glasses off!”
The press was relentless as Steve walked down the red carpet at the SAG Awards. He was in a simple black tux with an off-white vest and priest collar shirt.
He was still sporting his cut from ‘Black, No Sugar (Unless it’s You)’. It was a faux-hawk with frosted tips and he could tell from the reactions that people were not liking it.
He just smiled and waved at the fans who had shown up to see him, glasses firmly on his face. It was only once he got past the media and to the fan line up did the glasses come off.
A fan ducked her head and blushingly said, “I like your glasses.”
Steve grinned at her and tapped her pink tortoiseshell glasses. “Me too.” He signed her photograph and moved on to the next fan.
He finally got into the venue feeling a little stretched thin. He looked around and let out a pained sigh. He didn’t see Eddie or Elise anywhere. They were all seated together, but he couldn’t see them in the densely packed crowd.
The crowd parted and Steve let out a little gasp. There was Joyce Byers. She recently done a sequel to a Tim Burton movie and she was nominated tonight. She spotted him and made a beeline straight for him.
Steve frozen where he was. Someone as famous as Joyce Byers knew who he was. This was more terrifying than any audition ever.
“Steve Harrington,” she asked, cocking her head to the side. “Right?”
“Yes, ma’am,” he managed to croak out. “I don’t think there is a person in this room who doesn’t know who you are.”
She blushed and waved her hand at him. “Flatterer!”
Steve raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, that’s not hyperbole or an exaggeration and you know it.”
Joyce’s smile went from shy to sly. “So all the rumors that you’re just a dumb bunny aren’t true, noted.”
“My parents have tried a lot of things to sully my name,” Steve said with a shrug. “That one was the one that stuck.”
Her face and shoulders fell. “I did hear about that, honey. I’m so sorry about how you were treated. I’m glad you were able to overcome all that and still act. I’m not sure I would have had that been me.”
He smiled at her. “All thanks to Robin Buckley and her parents. Owe them so much.”
“Richard was such a charmer back in the day,” Joyce said wistfully. “And Robin definitely gets that from him.”
“And she knows it,” Steve said with a grin.
“I just want to congratulate on that absolutely sublime of a film you did with her,” she said with bright smile, putting her hand on his forearm. “If they have any sense in their head, all three of you will win tonight.”
“Thank you for that,” Steve said, positively beaming. “We all know that there is very little sense in Hollywood. It’s practically embedded in its DNA.”
Joyce laughed. “That certainly true. But there was another reason I came over. Are you familiar with the film critic, Nancy Wheeler?”
He frowned. “A bit. She was the one who broke the story of my being caught in the back of a limo with a producer back in the day. I don’t have very fond feelings toward her for that. Even if she thought she was doing her job.”
She nodded grimly. “She’s friends with my Jonathan and I happened to overhear an argument they were having over her next article for Variety.”
“Uh oh,” Steve said darkly. “That can’t be good.”
“No,” Joyce said with a grimace. “She’s writing a piece about how only people of LBGTQ+ people should play those roles and that in this day and age actors don’t have the ‘problems’ getting non-gay roles these days, therefore they should just come out.”
Steve let out a pained sigh. “Going after Eddie for not being gay and going after me for playing to ‘type’ in the same breath. That is some extra kind of fuckery.”
“Agreed,” she murmured. “I was looking for Eddie to tell him, but I spotted you first. Jon was really upset about it, especially since I’m currently dating Jim.”
“So he was looking out for his mom’s boyfriend,” Steve surmised. “Because that kind of backlash would absolutely blow back on the movie itself.” She nodded. “Thanks for the heads up. I’ll pass it along and let my agent know we’ll need to get out ahead of this.”
“Of course,” Joyce murmured. “I’ve told Jim and if you tell Eddie then we can all avoid this unpleasantness.”
Steve thanked her and then set off for where his seat was supposed to be, and thankfully Robin and Eddie were already there.
He gave each of them a hug as a greeting but when he hugged Eddie, he whispered, “There’s something I need to talk to you about of the ceremony.”
Eddie just nodded and they all sat down for the award show, Steve sitting between the two of them.
The lights dimmed and the comedian hired to host immediately started in on the jokes. Making everyone they could vaguely uncomfortable and being asinine.
Steve grimaced through the butt jokes about a couple of queer movies including their own. He really hated those kind of jokes because there were plenty of people on both sides of the aisle that enjoyed it and making it a joke only served to further stigmatize it from someone who might actually enjoy it from trying it.
First up was Steve for Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture.
“And the winner is...” said the rail thin blonde who looked only vaguely familiar. “Steve Harrington- ‘Dancing in the Dark’!”
Eddie and Robin were pounding on his back and congratulating him. He went up to stage and took the award from her.
“Wow,” he breathed. “There are a lot of awards worth having, but I think the greatest one you can get is when your own peers see the work you do as worthy. So thank you. Also thank you to my best friend and best director an actor could ever dream of, Robin Buckley, my co-star Eddie Munson, you make my work better just being who you are, Richard Buckley for giving me the chance, and to all the cast and crew who all came out of this movie with a hatred of Karo syrup and red dye.” He raised the award and then repeated, “Thank you!”
There was thunderous applause and he was carefully lead away as someone slipped into his empty seat.
He was brought back stage and the award was whisked away and he was given a heavier actual award that he was told to get engraved later. Then he was shoved in front of cameras and interviewers as they shouted questions at him.
“What do you say to rumors that you are dating your co-star, Eddie Munson?” was the first shouted question.
Steve burst out laughing. “God, if you believed every rumor about Eddie’s dating life, he’ll have had seventeen boyfriends and forty-two girlfriends in the last three years alone. Give it up, guys. He’s never going to come out and tell you who he’s dating and frankly, you won’t hear it from me either.”
“That’s not a no,” the interviewer said wagging their eyebrows.
“It’s a ‘none of your business’,” Steve insisted.
“Steve!” another interview called. “What’s next for you?”
Steve looked over and smiled. It was Veronica Stiles. The interviewer who had threatened to eviscerate anyone who asked him the hair question again.
“I’ve got a busy and packed schedule coming up,” he said with a smile. “I just wrapped up ‘Black, No Sugar’ with Jim Hopper and I’m on my way to play video game heartthrob and swashbuckler Billy the Blackheart. Then if all goes well you might be seeing me in tight spandex soon.”
“Oooh...” Veronica cooed. “Any hints on who it might be? Like DC or Marvel?”
Steve just smiled and shook his head. “My lips are sealed.”
There were a few more questions and then he was allowed to finally go back to his seat, award in hand.
Eddie shook his shoulder in excitement and grinned back at him.
There were a few more awards and then it was time for Best Leading Actor in Motion Picture. Steve reached out and took Eddie’s hand. Win or lose, Steve would still be proud of Eddie’s work on the film.
“And the winner goes to...” the presenter said, tugging at the envelope. “Gosh, they sure do seal these things tight.”
Eddie’s knee started jumping up and down from the sheer amount of suspense.
“And the winner goes to, Billy Hargrove- ‘Light of an Alaskan Dawn’!” she screamed.
There was a bunch of clapping and Eddie looked up at the camera as it passed over him, his disappointment evident on his face. Billy’s movie was pure awards bait and everyone knew it. It was an one-man epic about a man struggling with depression during the six months of no light in Alaska and how like the sun, he eventually came back around.
Steve leaned over and whispered something in Eddie’s ear that made him burst out laughing just as Billy passed them.
Billy shot the two of them a dirty look, but wisely said nothing as he got up to give his acceptance speech. He spoke about how meaningful the movie was and how grateful he was for the opportunity.
Steve wanted to gag, it was all too much. And likely too fake, too.
The music began as Billy waffled through his speech, so he raised his award and then was led off stage.
Robin gave them a strange look, but continued the rest of the show ignoring them.
She cornered them both and demanded to know what Steve said to Eddie that made him burst out laughing.
Steve shook his head. “I’ll tell you after I tell you what Joyce Byers told me before the show, because wooboy are we going to need something light to brighten the mood.” And then he explained her warnings.
“Did you hurt Nancy Wheeler in a former life or something?” Eddie asked with a scoff. “Dated her brother? Something, anything.”
Steve actually grimaced. “Not her brother, no. But our parents were friends and they set us up, I think her parents thought that dating a movie star would get her into places she wouldn’t have otherwise. Then when she cheated on me with...” he let out a pained sigh.
“Jonathan Byers,” Robin finished for him. “Though in Jon’s defense, she told him they had broken up when they had sex. They even dated for awhile before Jon found out about the cheating.”
“Holy shit,” Eddie hissed. “I would have dumped her too. My uncle always said never date a cheater because how they got you is how they’ll get the next one.”
Steve nodded. “Yeah, that what he said his mom said, too. Then of course Jon leaving her was my fault so she stalked me for awhile to try prove that it wasn’t her fault she cheated.”
“Oof,” Eddie muttered shaking his head. “So what, is she anti-LQBTQ now?”
Robin snorted. “That would hypocritical of her considering she’s got her own girlfriend, but it’s more that she’s gone down the leftist rabbit hole of only disabled people should play disabled people, trans people should play trans, gay should play gay... etc.”
Eddie’s eyes went wide. “It’s dickheads like her that made that one British actor come out as bi after playing a bi teenager. Like the kid was barely seventeen at the time but he was forced to come out just to stop the harassment.”
“Yeah,” Steve said with a nod, “and I think she’s smelling blood in the water.”
“Fuck!” Eddie said softly. “She’s not after you, she after me.”
Robin pursed her lips. “I’ll lunch with Bob, Chrissy, and Jim and see if we can’t form a unified statement.”
Eddie and Steve nodded.
“So what was it that you told Eddie that made such a scene?” she asked pulling her phone out of her purse.
Eddie and Steve shared a glance and then Steve said, “That he must have slept his way through the SAG-AFTRA voters.”
Robin blinked at them for a moment before nodding solemnly. “That tracks. The media likes to portray Stevie here as a slut, but I don’t think Billy’s gone to an event with the same woman twice.”
Steve grinned, feral. “They only do that because I’m gay and Billy’s straight. Trust me if the shoe was on the other foot, they would absolutely be painting Billy with the same brush.”
“True,” Eddie said. “At least a made a disappointing moment more fun.”
“Don’t worry, darlings,” Robin said, putting her phone away and then draping her arms over each of them. “There is always the Oscars!”
Hello, darlings! I am back and read to rock! I had a great hiatus, maybe not as peaceful as I would have liked due to family drama but productive nonetheless.
The purge went as well as could be expected. Rough. As it always is. If Tumblr would let me have more than 50 tags per post, I would keep you all. But alas.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13
~
Will knew he was the Void. That space between the real world and the Upside Down. Its appearance was based on the person in control of the memory.
And judging from the torn up version of the Upside Down, Vecna was absolutely master here.
‘Hello, William,’ the smooth voice of Vecna echoed all around him. ‘I knew it was only a matter of time before I got you where I wanted you.’
Will whirled around, but he couldn’t see anyone. ‘Show yourself!’
‘Now why would I want to do that?’ the voice purred. ‘You don’t need to see me to know that I am in control.’
‘You won’t win!’
Laughter filled the air. ‘But I already have. Eight is already out of the game and Seven refuses to leave her side. Nine is nearing empty as is your dear Eleven. And now that I have you, my victory is all but assured.’
‘Even if I die,’ Will spat, ‘they will still come for you.’
‘I don’t want you to die!’ the voice crowed. ‘What a horrible waste that would be?! You think you survived seven days down here because you were clever? Don’t make me laugh again! We had a deal, the Beast and I. It would help me take over the world above and he would have a successor in you.’
‘The Beast?’ Will questioned. ‘You mean the Mind Flayer?’
‘Is that what your primitive mind came up with? How droll.’
Will could see the edges of the Void shaking. It was starting to open up. He just had to keep Vecna talking to keep him distracted.
‘It’s from a game,’ he huffed. ‘Something I doubt you would understand. Did you ever have fun that wasn’t torturing your sister or kicking puppies?’
‘You think you’re going to guilt me about my sister?’ the voice said wryly. ‘Think again. She deserved to die. Just like my parents.’
‘Your dad is still alive.’
Suddenly Henry was in front of him, squeezing Will’s throat. ‘You lie!’
‘The music that has been keeping us from you?’ Will strangled out. ‘We learned from your dad, Victor. He’s at Pennhurst. He’s the one who told us that the record player saved his life by not allowing you to get inside his head.’
The veneer of Henry’s illusion was beginning to crack. His skin was nearly translucent and covered in red lightning, his blue eyes were glowing, and Will could feel the claws dig into his skin.
“What is it about music, Henry?’ Will taunted. ‘What is it about music that prevents your powers from working? Does it stop the incessant ticking of the clock? Does it truly soothe the savage beast?’
Henry roared and threw Will to the ground. He clutched his head as the music began to filter through to the Void.
Will scrambled back and pushed away from the now flesh monster that Henry had become. He just needed to find the exit.
Like Max had done twice now.
He looked around frantically. And then spotted it. He used his new found powers to push Henry back to give himself more time.
And then dove for it.
~
Will woke up with a gasp in the back of Hopper’s truck, surrounded by way too many people to be safe.
“Will!” Joyce called. “You’re awake!” She gave him a big hug and kiss on his forehead. “We’re heading to one of the four gates to try and take Vecna out from the Upside Down.”
He sat up and took a proper look of the people who where in here with him. It was two of the Hawkins Lab kids, Jonathan and Hopper in the front seat. Leaning against the glass of the back window of the truck’s cab, was Robin Buckley.
“Don’t you usually go where Steve goes?” he asked her in confusion.
She snorted. “We’ve been having to split up more and more as people figure out we’re kick ass as a pair.”
“Robin,” Joyce asked, pained, “you’ll pardon me for asking this, but why didn’t you go when you had the chance? I know your parents got permission to leave Hawkins, you could have gone with them.”
She shook her head. “I go where Steve goes, and if he stays I stay. Plus I was given permission by Harvard to take a year and not have it affect my scholarship.”
“But you don’t have to,” Joyce insisted. “The Buckleys are transplants to Hawkins. You have no ties to the town. You could have left.”
Robin snorted. “I’m Steve’s family. His parents are such dog shit that mine pretty much adopted him, so if he stays we all stay. We aren’t going to let him fight this alone.”
Joyce blushed and looked away. She knew of Steve’s circumstances, because pretty much everyone in town knew that the Harringtons had left Hawkins when the first evacuation alarm sounded.
Anyone of the adults could have taken him in. Claudia Henderson was the first that sprang to mind. The Sinclairs came next. But all of them assumed that because Steve was an adult he didn’t need their help.
Well all but the Buckleys it seemed.
Kali woke up just then, before Joyce could further discuss Robin’s reluctance to leave Hawkins even for her own safety.
“Guys...” she said a little panicked, “I know I haven’t been in town for literal fucking years, but um... does the sky seem like it’s closer than it’s supposed to be?”
They all looked up.
The sky in front of them absolutely was closer than it was before.
Well, fuck.
“It looks like the Upside Down is colliding with real world,” Nancy muttered darkly. “This isn’t good.”
“This is what Henry wanted the children for, isn’t it?” Joyce hissed. “He needs their energy to merge the two worlds and anyone older would be harder to control.”
“But the only way to get to the Upside Down is through a gate, I thought,” Titus said cocking his head to the side. “We don’t have access to one, and I don’t know how Eleven opened one in the first place.”
Will and Joyce exchanged a glance.
“We don’t know how either,” Will admitted with a wince. “And since One can only do it through using others, kinda suggests he doesn’t know how she’s doing it either.”
“Don’t think I didn’t notice that you were tossing monsters around,” Kali said, sitting up. “So what’s the story with that? Because there absolutely is one.”
“Oh yeah,” Joyce said nodding her head once. “It’s a doozy, but since we have to find away to get into the Upside Down, you might as well hear it.”
~
Steve rushed to El’s side and checked her pulse. She was alive, but her heartbeat was erratic and thready. Mike was there just an instant behind.
“We need to get her out of here!” Dr. Owens growled.
“But what about our children?” one of the braver parents cried.
Ted turned to her and put his hand on her shoulder. “This was a trap to lure this kind girl to be kidnapped like our children. So we’re going to have trust them to get them back.”
The woman looked up at the house and then she nodded. “We’ll just keep looking then. The police were absolutely useless so there is no point in going back to them with what we just saw. They’d only deny it.”
She turned to the other parents, sans the Wheelers, and said, “All right, this turned out to be a bust bu–”
Just then the door slammed open and four children came scrambling out of the house with two demodogs hot on their heels.
Suddenly there were two shot gun blasts that hit the two one right after the other, slowly the monsters down so the kids could escape into the arms of the parents out on the street. Steve managed to flame them before they got to their feet, Ollie making sure they stayed down.
“Where’s my mommy?” Teddy asked, looking around at all the faces in the crowd with a heartbreaking crack to his voice.
Karen ran up to him and put her arms around him. “She works, baby. You know she’s been worried sick about you. She’ll be so happy you’re safe.”
“I can take him to her shop!” Mr. Richards said, holding his own kids tight to his chest, his wife sobbing into their backs. “It would be my honor.”
Karen turned to Teddy. “You want to go with Mr. Richards to see your mommy?”
Teddy nodded and followed them out to their car.
Mrs. Tower held on to Bianca with everything she had as the two of them just sobbed in relief of seeing each other again.
One of the other parents came up and grabbed Bianca’s arm. “Where’s my Rosie?! Why are you here and she’s not?!”
Mrs. Tower was on her feet in an instant. “You leave her alone! She’s been traumatized!”
“Where is my daughter?!” the woman continued to scream. “Where is she?!”
Ted and one of the other dads rushed forward and pulled her off of Bianca as she continued to scream and kick her feet.
“I’m really sorry about this,” Dr. Owens said coolly. “But your screaming will absolutely bring monsters down on our heads if allowed to continue.” Then he slipped a needle into the side of her neck.
The woman collapsed in Ted’s arms and he looked at Dr. Owens in shock. “What did you give her?”
“Just a little something to calm her down,” Dr. Owens huffed. “I wasn’t expecting it to knock her out, if I’m honest.”
Ted and the other dad looked at each other and then woman in Ted’s arms. They both nodded.
“We can put her in the back one of the cars,” Murray huffed. “We really need to get out of here. Preferably before tall, dark, and creepy comes back.”
Dr. Owens walked over to El where she was prone on the ground. He gently turned her over and lifted her into his arms. “We need to get her somewhere safe.”
Mike came up to him. “There is a cabin that she’s been staying at. With the military forces in shambles thanks Kali and her friends–” Murray cleared his throat. “And Murray apparently, they’ll be busy elsewhere. Plus it has the best access to a pseudo deprivation tank in the form of a bathtub.”
Dr. Owens nodded. “You’ll be coming with me. Who else is coming?”
Vickie stepped up. “I’m training to be a nurse. I think I’ll be the most help with you.”
He nodded. “Anyone else coming with?”
“Me!” Max said, raising her hand. “I need to stay with her!”
There was no explanation given, nor did Dr. Owens ask for one. He turned to Lucas.
“What’s with the look?” Lucas asked defensively, crossing his arms over his chest.
“I’m waiting for you to tell everyone that you go wherever she goes,” he said primly, jutting his chin over at Max.
Max and Lucas grinned.
“Yeah okay fair,” Lucas said with a shrug. There was a beat and then, “I go where she goes.”
Steve just shook his head. He finally turned to the kid who had run out from behind the Creel house. “Okay, I think you and I need to have a little talk about running headlong into danger when you don’t have all the information.”
Dustin and Erica looked at each and snorted in derision.
“As if we haven’t been doing same thing since 1983,” Erica said rolling her eyes. “It’s like on brand at this point.”
“And I owe you ice cream for life for that little mistake,” Steve said, snapping his fingers at her. “And you were eleven!” He turned to the kid. “How old are you anyway?”
He muttered something under his breath that sounded vaguely like ten.
“Wait!” Erica huffed, crossing her arms in front of her chest and cocking her head to the side. “I know you, don’t I?”
The kid suddenly turned away and threw his hand up to cover the side of his face. “No!”
“No,” Erica said darkly. “I do know you. You’re that Tina’s little brother, Darren right?”
“It’s Derek!” the kid shouted, turning to face her. She smirked and he knew he’d been tricked into revealing who he was. “Shit.”
“Derek Turnbow,” Ted said cocking his head to the side. “You’re one Holly’s main bullies. I don’t know how many times Karen has had to go the principal because of you.”
Derek looked around him and actually saw the people who had caught him for the first time. What he saw a bunch of frightened parents and some battle hardened kids with a nerdy guy who had that look in his eye that made you cross the street to get away from. Then there was two other adults.
Those two were the real ones. One had a fucking flame thrower on his back and clearly had used one before and the other was a chick who from all indication was controlling fire. Like actual honest to God fire.
But he had also seen other people seriously tossing monsters around like rag dolls. So okay yeah, maybe these people did in fact know more than he did about Mr. Whatsit.
He sat down on the ground and crossed his legs. “So I don’t know how much you know, but I can only tell you what I’ve learned.”
“Well,” Steve said cocking his head to the side. “You best start yapping on the run, because this place will absolutely be teaming with monsters if this Vecna guy figures out how to open a gate.”
The parents piled into their cars and drove off with the unconscious woman, Ted and Karen took a walkie talkie off of Erica and were promised they would be kept in touch.
Ollie looked around and let out a sigh. “Looks like I’m coming along with this dog and pony show whether I like it or not. Lead on, MacDuff!”
They all walked off to get into the remaining vehicles. Steve turned back to see Derek still sitting there.
“Well come on,” he huffed. “Grab your stuff and let’s go.
Derek grabbed the paper he had been holding onto for dear life and hurried after them.
More Fairy Tales! Yeah, yeah, I know I’ve been doing a lot of those but here me out.
Puss in Boots. Now, I’m a little unsure of who should be be Puss, Robin or Dustin. I am leaning more on Dustin as Eddie is the supposed Marquis de Carabas.
Picture this, Eddie is left penniless after his mother dies and is left with a talking cat. A cat that offers him fame and fortune if Eddie provides him with a sack and a pair of boots.
Which Eddie finds weird, but okay, so what? He likes weird. So a sack and nice pair of boots, the two only real inheritance that he actually got, but gives them to the cat anyway.
So first Dustin goes out to Sinclairs and tells them that his owner, the Marquis de Carabas, wishes to trap on the ogre’s land, and is willing to give them one third all they trap if they help Dustin lay the traps.
Erica and Lucas, a brother and sister team who are great hunters agree. Dustin brings home one third to his master to eat and then final third he presents to the king as tribute from the Marquis.
Then he come to the Byers brothers who are great fishermen and tells them that his master the Marquis is a generous man who wishes to fish in these waters and is willing to let them keep one third of their catch if they fish for him.
They agree.
Dustin passes out the other two thirds same as before, the king very pleased with this Marquis de Carabas and talks him up to the Prince Steven about this is what a good noble is like.
Dustin goes to Hopper and asks him to make mead for the Marquis and in return he would get to keep one third of the mead to himself. Hopper agrees.
Again Dustin gives a third to king and a third to his master. His master is now living comfortably and really wants for nothing.
Then Dustin goes to the Wheelers. Nancy, Mike, and Holly are servants to the terrible ogre Vecna and Dustin promises them a third of the orge’s wealth if they tell Dustin all about Vecna.
They agree.
Dustin listens for three nights, tales of the ogre and his powers and then returns to his master every morning with these tales.
Eddie is happy with the food and drink but thinks the cat has delusions of grandeur thinking that Eddie could defeat this ogre and marry the prince but goes along with the plan for the next day anyway.
He goes out to swim as instructed and is happily splashing along when suddenly Dustin cries out, “Help! Help! My master the Marquis is drowning!”
Eddie who could swim well enough is confused until an actual Greek god dives into the river to save him and brings him to shore.
While Eddie is coughing and sputtering (not because he was drowning but because he’s face to chest of a very wet Prince Steven) Dustin explains to the King, Steve, and Steve’s driver, best friend, and advisor, Robin that Eddie or rather the Marquis de Carabas had been swimming in the gorgeous lake outside his castle he got pulled out into the fast flowing river unexpectedly. Only Robin narrows her eyes at this, but the king and prince are eating it up.
More to the point the Marquis’s clothes were back at his castle and he was very much naked and cold.
King orders Robin to dress Eddie in some of the prince’s things and let the Marquis warm in the carriage.
Satisfied that Eddie and Steve were safely ensconced in the carriage, Dustin ran on ahead to the castle. He stops at the Sinclairs and tells them to tell the pasting king that hunting grounds belong to the Marquis and how wonderful a master this man is.
They agree, knowing that if they say so, the arrangement will continue.
He does the same thing to the Byers, Hopper, and the Wheelers. Sing the praises of the Marquis and they will continue in their new found wealth.
And so they do.
Then it was time for the final part of the puzzle. Vecna is a fearsome ogre to be sure and Dustin is absolutely shaking in his boots (pun absolutely intended).
But he goes up to Vecna and butters him talking about his dense forests filled with game perfect for hunting and he wonders if the ogre could turn into a deer. Vecna bursting with pride does so.
“What a grand creature you are!” Dustin enthuses. And then butters up the surrounding farmland and asks if he can turn into a bull.
And Vecna does.
“Impressive!” Dustin assures him. Then he talks about the hives and the mead that flows like honey in his kingdom, and asks if he could turn into a bear.
Vecna does.
Dustin asks about the fish, but no. Vecna cannot turn into something that breathes water. But he does turn into a moose and Dustin nearly yelps in fear. The creature before him is even bigger than the bear.
“All large and magnificent creatures,” Dustin acknowledges. “But can you turn into something small like a vole or mouse?”
Vecna grins and turns into a mouse.
With all the instinct afforded to his noble species, Dustin is on the mouse-like form of Vecna in an instant, killing him from one breath to another.
Dustin tosses the dead mouse out the window and tidies up a bit, just in time for the carriage to arrive.
The King impressed with Eddie’s servants praising him, the large castle and all its glory offers the Prince’s hand in marriage, which Eddie readily accepts.
Steve is told later the truth and absolutely laughs delighted with ruse against his father. Dustin is made a lord and is absolutely pampered by Lady Robin who also moves in with them.
Tags: POV Outsider, POV Multiple, Plant POV, Sentient Plants, Found Family (Implied), Unreliable Narrators (Collective), Quiet love, Mutual Pining (sort of), The Plants Are Watching, Emotional Support Flora, Possessive Greenery
Summary:
The greenhouse has rules. Boundaries. Bite reflexes.
Then the boy arrived loud, chaotic, snack-laden, and completely unaware that every living thing in the greenhouse wanted him gone.
So naturally, he stayed.
And now the plants are having a crisis about it.
This rec is a part of Theme Weekend. The theme this weekend is Outsider POV.
Know a fic that deserves extra love? Submit through our asks!
Hey all! Just a heads up, I'll be going on hiatus starting tomorrow and then this will be back the first Saturday in June.
Until then watch Eddie charm everyone he meets.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 |
~
Steve kept the leftover food warm and simmering on the stove as he tinkered around the kitchen.
Robin came in and leaned on the counter. “You don’t have to wait for him, you know? You could just leave him a note.”
Steve looked up from where he was scrubbing the backsplash above the stove. “Huh?”
“Eddie,” she clarified. “You don’t have to wait for him. He’s a big boy, he can take care of himself.”
He blinked at her for a moment and then to the sponge in his hand. “Oh.”
She raised her eyebrows and cackled as he turned a bright red. “I’m guessing you didn’t even notice you were waiting for him?”
Just then Eddie loped through the door and grinned. “Waiting for who?” He looked between them and then giggled. “Aww, was Steve waiting for little ole me? You shouldn’t have.”
If it were possible Steve would have turned a darker shade of red.
Eddie cackled and wandered over to the stove to see what Steve had saved for him. He lifted the lid and was struck by the delicious scent of pot roast.
“Buckley...” he moaned. “This smells divine!” He got him a plate and dug into the pot for slices of beef and roasted veggies.
“Don’t look at me,” she said holding up her hands. “I do a lot of things well, but pot roast is not one of them. That is all Steve.”
“Marry me!” Eddie crowed clutching his hands to his chest.
Steve choked on his own spit at that. “God, Munson,” he gasped once he got his breath back. “Buy me dinner first!”
Eddie looked scandalized. “Should have known you’d be high maintenance! The wedding is off!”
Steve and Robin were practically doubled over with laughter as Eddie continued his rant in the most ridiculous fashion.
“That’s it!” Eddie cried. “I’m taking this delicious pot roast and leaving! How dare!”
He picked up his plate and carried it to the canteen, nose in the air.
Steve started counting back in his head from ten. Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four...
Eddie shuffled back in. “And if I said I didn’t want to eat alone?”
Steve and Robin cackled and got themselves a plate. Then they walked with Eddie to the canteen, where they all sat down at one of the tables.
“Thanks, guys,” Eddie muttered as he dug into his food. “Just feeling a little lonely after getting off the phone with my uncle.”
“It’s no worries,” Robin said with a gentle smile. “We get it. It’s hard adjusting to life after being scheduled for everything. Bed times, awake times, food times, all mapped out for you and suddenly you have to consciously choose to do those things now.”
“So what’s your story?” Eddie asked her. “I know Steve’s, but why did you decide to become a...” he waved around him, “whatever it is you do here?”
Robin cackled. “I love my parents but they never should have had a child. The only reason I went to formal education instead of being home schooled on the run, was because my grandparents threatened to take me if they didn’t. So I wanted to become social worker to step in like in cases like mine where the parents aren’t fit but well meaning and get them placed in with family members like my grandparents.”
Eddie cocked his head to the side. “Huh. That’s actually pretty cool. Good for you. Sometimes all it takes is that one person who cares to make all the difference.”
“So how’s your uncle?” Steve asked, spearing a potato and shoving it in his mouth whole.
“He’s good,” Eddie said brightening up a little. “Stubborn as a mule and twice as bitey. But he is getting on in age and with no one to help on the farm, it’s taking him longer and longer to get all the chores done and then he has to do it all over it again.”
“I forgot he owned a farm,” Robin said, “I’m sorry he’s having trouble.”
Eddie tilted his head to the side for a moment and made an ‘O’ with his mouth. “It’s in my file, isn’t it?”
“There are a lot of things in that file,” Steve said. “And knowing who your people were was one of the most important. We like having our patrons having strong connections to the community and especially ones outside of the criminal life they had before.”
Eddie scoffed. “You get others in here besides non-violent offenders? Adults I mean. I assumed that Steve’s mom and Hopper were court ordered.”
“Sure do!” Robin said beaming. “A lot of times places like rehab centers and stuff have a long wait list and so they’ll get sent here where we act as buffer for whatever it is they need. We set them up with our psychiatrists, get them into group therapy, and if they need to go through withdrawals, then we have Nurse Sinclair come and help them through it.”
“Oh that’s cool,” Eddie said, around a bite of beef. “That’s because of Steve’s mom, right?”
“Yeah,” Steve said pushing his food around on his plate. “She was the first adult this place had, mainly because they wanted me to help her stay sober. When I wasn’t around she would go right back to the booze. Which is a hell of lot of pressure to put on your teenage son. So I make sure that doesn’t happen here.”
“I thought you liked the Whitfords?” he asked, furrowing his brow.
“Oh I do!” Steve replied hotly. “It’s that they’re also people who make mistakes and having my mom’s sobriety be reliant on me was one of them.”
“I’m not sure I’d be so forgiving...” Eddie hedged.
“Them paying for my college helped soothe the pain a little,” Steve said with a grin, holding up his finger and thumb close together.
Eddie snorted. “Yeah, okay.”
Soon they were done eating and Steve carried the plates back to the kitchen to wash.
“So what happens when you have a full house, chore wise?” Eddie asked as he and Robin walked out to the back to seat on the patio. “I mean I see a shit ton of dishwashers and a kitchen that would make Benny sell his own grandmother to have, but it’s just the three of you?”
Robin sneered when he pulled out a pack of cigarettes but didn’t comment on them. “We hire temp help to come in and take some of the burden off. But they don’t like us being full. A lot of them time they send someone who could use our services off to one of the halfway houses instead because we’re at half or better capacity.”
“That sucks,” he said around the cigarette. He lit the cigarette and made sure to blow it away from her face.
“It does,” she admitted. “We keep telling them that if they let us have more people we could run at full, but they’re also sexist and homophobic, not wanting to send people to them queers.”
“I know you and Chrissy are together,” Eddie said. “But I figured the Boss was straight.”
Robin snorted. “He’s about as straight as Springsteen.”
Eddie wrinkled his nose. “I don’t know what that means.”
“It means,” she said with a twinkle in her eye. “He likes to kiss the boys.”
Eddie’s eyes went wide. He might have heard that rumor about Bruce Springsteen kissing his bandmate but just chalked it to just that, a rumor. But if Stevie liked the boys... He shook his head internally. He couldn’t think like that. Steve was essentially his landlord. That is all.
“I’ve met plenty of straight guys who like to kiss the boys,” he said instead. “They make you their dirty little secret and then go back to their girlfriends when it’s time for the white picket fence.”
“Sounds like you’re speaking from experience,” Robin said cocking her head to the side. “And yeah I get it. I’ve met girls like that, too. But Steve is the genuine article. We’re all queer around here, even if Steve hasn’t put a firm stamp on a specific label yet.”
“You would know more than I would I guess,” he huffed, taking another drag of his cigarette. “Every time I think I have everything settle the universe pulls the rug out from under me and I’m flailing again.”
“This about your uncle?”
He let out of the smoke and then nodded. “Yeah. He’s not a spring chicken anymore and I worry he’s really going to hurt himself.”
“That’s hard,” Robin said. “Especially with him being so far away and you not being able to leave the state.”
“It sucks ass,” Eddie agreed. “And not the fun way.”
She burst out laughing. “Yeah. That.”
Eddie let out a sigh. He knew he had his friends and he knew he count on the three people here to have his back.
Yes, that was an insanely optimistic view considering he had only known them for a little more than a week, but he could feel it in his soul that they were his people too.
He finished the cigarette and ground out the remaining ash so that he could stick the empty butt into his pocket and settled back to just chat with Robin.
She was funny and smart and he could see why Steve and Chrissy loved her. They talked until the sun set and then went inside when the bugs decided to make them their dinner.
~
Eddie got home the next day to see Dustin and Lucas with two kids he didn’t know. They were both dark haired and pale, but in very different ways. The first one had curly hair that brushed the tops of his shoulders and he had a confidence that came from being well off. The other kid had a bowl cut, and rounded shoulders of a kid who had been bullied most of his life, probably starting with one or both of his parents.
Then they said a magic word and Eddie skidded to a stop.
“You can’t use fireball in this small a hallway!” Lucas cried. “Are you trying to kill all our characters before we even get started?”
“I didn’t say I was going to!” the bowl cut hair cut one huffed. “I just was listing off the spells I have!”
“Don’t scare us like that, Will!” the curly haired one sighed.
Eddie couldn’t help it, he sidled up to them and sat down at the table and placed his clasped hands in front of him on the table. “Hello, good gentlemen. I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation about fireballs and hallways.”
The four boys looked at each other than at him suspiciously.
“What’s it to you?” Dustin asked, jutting his chin up.
Eddie rubbed his chin. “Me and my friends used to run a D&D club in high school.”
Lucas eyed his skeptically. “Then what’s you’re favored class?”
“Oh, a bard absolutely,” Eddie said with a smirk. “But that’s mainly because I play guitar. But I really love a good magic user. Wizards are pretty good, and magic user is so fucking generic but I hope they expand to others.”
All four of the boys looked up at him in awe and suddenly they were talking over each other trying to ask Eddie as many questions as they could.
Eddie burst out laughing. “One at a time boys, one at a time.”
They all calmed down, and Dustin grinned at him with that gap-tooth grin of his.
“I know you know who I am,” he said, still grinning. “But this is Lucas, Mike, and Will, we were playing a one-shot to see if we liked each other’s style of play.”
Eddie nodded to each of the boys. “Lucas and I have met. How did tryouts go?”
Lucas lit up. “I got on the team! It’s going to be so great and maybe next season I’ll be on the varsity team!”
“What sport do you play?” Dustin asked, cocking his head to the side. “I play hockey. When my mom lets me anyway.”
“Basketball,” Lucas admitted. “Steve helped me get ready to try out and I was so sure I wouldn’t make it, but Steve said I would and I did!”
“I’m too awkward for sports,” Will admitted. “I prefer to stay in the house and draw.”
Eddie laughed. “I draw all my characters too.”
“I don’t believe you,” Mike said skeptically. “I think you’re just a tryhard.”
“Mike!” Dustin squealed. “What the fuck?!”
Mike shrugged and then lifted his chin in defiance. Like prove him wrong.
“You got the back of character sheet I can borrow?” Eddie asked the other three. Lucas hastened to hand him his.
Eddie flipped over the paper and began sketching away. All the boys leaned over to see what he was drawing. It was too light for them to make out much.
“You got some markers?” he asked without looking up.
“I’ve got some!” Will said, digging into his bag and pulling out a pack of off brand markers.
Eddie pulled them to him and with the help of the markers brought the picture to life. There was a demon in the middle with an ax one side and the a morning star on the other. Above the demon read the word “HELLFiRE” complete with the lower ‘I’ and underneath was the word ‘CLUB’.
He turned the page around so all of them could see. “So what do you think, Michael? Am I artsy enough for you?”
Mike turned a bright pink and ducked his head.
“That is so cool, Eddie!” Dustin cried. “Is–was Hellfire the name of your D&D club?”
“Yep!” Eddie said cheerily. “Ran the club successfully for six years.”
“Six years?” Will asked tilting his head to the side in confusion.
Eddie coughed and flushed a deep red. “I was great at art, D&D, and drug dealing, not so much anything else, so it took me a couple of years to graduation.”
“You dealt drugs?!” Mike asked eyes wide. “My mom would kill me right now if she knew a drug dealer was in the house!”
Eddie shrugged. “I was what you call a low level pusher. Weed, shrooms, and gateway drugs. And I refused to sell anything harder than that. Getting high and happy, fine. Needing an extra boost for energy during finals, okay. Steroids and other hard drugs, fuck off.”
“That’s crazy,” Lucas said. “Is that what you were in jail for?”
“Three strikes and you do hard time,” Eddie admitted ruefully. “Though last time was a dodge. I hadn’t dealt in over a year because I had graduated finally and was working at the local garage fixing cars. Someone got bad blow and a couple of kids died. So they cops went for me because the accuser was a pretty, blond, rich boy with good family values. It was either try to beat the murder charges knowing full well they wouldn’t side with me or cop to a lesser charge of drug dealing and get five years. Only the judge decided to give me eight with the possibility of parole at six. The rat bastard.”
“So you were in jail for six years?” Dustin asked.
“Yup!” Eddie said dryly. “But like I said I don’t do that anymore. Not even weed. So you kids are looking to score, you’re out of luck.”
They burst out laughing.
“Yeah, okay,” Mike said. “You’re pretty cool.”
“Wait until you find out about the metal band I play guitar for,” Eddie said with grin.
Suddenly there was another explosion of questions about his band. He settled back and answered the best that he could.
Hey all! Just wanted to remind everyone I am going on hiatus next week this story won't be back until June. But don't worry, I won't go leaving you on a cliffhanger!
And in this we see filming end...
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 |
~
Award season while filming a movie was a nightmare, because that meant you had to pick and choose what to miss out on and what you had to appear at.
Steve had been nominated for his role as Sean in “Dancing in the Dark” but for the wrong god damn category.
Even thought Evan was more a support role to Sean’s madness, the studio who had bought the distribution rights had submitted to the different award shows as the other way round. Steve for Best Supporting Actor and Eddie as Best Lead Actor.
Robin was apoplectic with rage when she found out.
“Why are studios so fucking stupid?” she hissed for the billionth time.
Steve snorted. “You do realize it’s because I’m gay, right? They don’t want an openly gay actor winning Best Lead Actor.”
She stopped short and turned to him, eyes wide. “What. The. Fuck?”
“Never mind that most horror is queer coded in the first place,” he said with a shrug. “Never mind that you’re gay too. The Academy isn’t ready for a gay actor winning Best Lead Actor.”
“Yeah,” Robin huffed. “And I maintain that Marlon Brando and fucking Kevin Spacey don’t count.”
Steve grimaced. One came out as bisexual much later in life and the other said he was gay to excuse touching little boys.
“Well it doesn’t matter because it won’t be me,” he said dryly. “And even if Eddie wins it would still be a closeted person winning the award.”
It was Robin’s turn to grimace. Because, yeah. Eddie was as gay as Steve was and while he was never shown to have girlfriends every single woman who was attached to him in some way, was labeled as such, even if it was just the once.
That didn’t stop the rumor mill of course suspecting he was gay, but no, he wasn’t out.
She was absolutely fine if Eddie never came out because his business was his business and not anyone else’s. But some part of her wished he would because it would mean the world to a lot of people, especially the dork in front of her, pouting.
“Have you decided which shows you’re going to?” Robin asked, turning to face him head on.
“I think the Golden Globes for sure are out,” Steve huffed. “That’s when we’ll be back to filming after the holidays and Jim would kill me for sure if I took off in the middle of that and with the BAFTAs so close to the SAG awards, I’ll probably be skipping that one too.”
“The BAFTAs are a weird one anyway,” she agreed. “With you getting the nom and Eddie not, it kinda feels weird without him.”
He nodded. “Yeah.” He laid his head back on the sofa and sighed dramatically. “Filming in January with summery weather just feels wrong. I miss good ole Indiana winters when it was actually winter not this pseudo spring weather we get in SoCal.”
Robin snorted. “No you don’t. You hate being cold and wet. You’re only looking at it through rose tinted glasses because you were really young when you left. Trust me. Indiana winters are dog shit.”
He shoved her playfully. “Way to harsh on my vibe!” he said in a mock Valley girl impression.
“I think you’re mixing decades there, champ,” she huffed shaking her head. “The youth of today would be appalled.”
Steve snorted as he tried to hold in his laugh, but Robin’s neutral expression as she calmly batted her eyes at him, just caused him to burst.
He doubled over with laughter.
“Well,” Robin said with a grin, “I’m glad you’re feeling better but it is absolutely ass that Hollywood at large hates gay people.”
“Yeah,” Steve said wiping a tear as he caught his breath. “But one day we’ll take over the world.”
Robin smiled. “Hell yeah we will.”
~
“Cut!” Jim said burying his head in his hands. “Louise! For the last fucking time, the line is ‘I can’t see it,’ not ‘I can’t seen it’. There is no ‘N’ at the end of ‘see’.”
“Sorry,” she muttered, “I’ll get it next time I promise!”
Louise was a co-worker of Rhett who was supposed to be telling him that she doesn’t see Darius as ‘gay’.
“Everyone take fifteen!” Jim growled. “And then we’ll take it from the top. AGAIN!”
Eddie wandered out to the parking lot to have a smoke. Just as he lit up and blew out his first puff of smoke, Steve’s Bimmer pulled up to one the slots marked for talent.
He shook his head. They were supposed to getting ready to film the conclusion of the movie where Rhett finds out that Devin and Darius are two separate people and that Rhett had been in love with Darius the whole time.
Steve jogged up to him and tilted his head to the side. “Hey, what’s going on? I thought we were going to be shoot the climax.”
Eddie snorted. “Supposed to is doing a lot of heavy lifting today as Louise can’t fucking say her line right to save her or anyone else’s life.”
Steve let out a dramatic sigh. “Shit. Again?” Eddie nodded. “God damn it. This is such bullshit. Why do they hire these people if they can’t act?”
“It’s because she’s a pretty comedienne coming right off of a very successful comedy tour,” Eddie said dryly. “The producers didn’t think our names would be a big enough draw for the film.”
Steve rolled his eyes. “Yeah, that tracks. God dammit.” He snatched the cigarette right out of his hand and took a long drag before handing it back. “I can’t believe we have three more weeks of this shit.”
“After we come back from holidays,” Eddie said clicking his tongue. “I get why we get all of December off, but it feels like a nightmare when we’re so close to the end of shooting.”
“At least all the sex scenes are at the end,” Steve said with a sigh. “The only thing better would have been if they’d been at the start, but this is the next best thing.”
“Aw...” Eddie said leaning into Steve’s space, “you don’t want to get all sexy and naked with me...” He batted his eyelashes innocently.
Steve snorted. “Not with two cock slings and a intimacy coordinator present.”
Eddie, who had been inhaling a puff of his cigarette, started to cough. Steve couldn’t have meant that the way it sounded, right?
Steve slapped him on the back. “Careful there, can’t have my blindingly hot co-star up and dying on me before we finish filming this movie.”
Eddie’s eyes were watering. This man was trying to kill him, there was no doubt now. “Man, don’t say those things.”
“Sorry,” Steve said with an unrepentant smirk. “Horny gay man over here who hasn’t gotten properly laid in YEARS!”
“Wait, what?” Eddie said, eyes wide as he stomped out his cigarette butt under the heel of his tennis shoe. “There is no way that there isn’t a line of hot gays and bis trying burst down your door for the chance to date Steve Harrington, heartthrob.”
“Only the ones that want to sell the scoop to the media,” Steve scoffed. “Or for the ‘privilege’ of been in my bed. They don’t want me, they want the illusion of me.”
“How can you tell?” Eddie asked, furrowing his brow.
Steve turned so he was leaning against the wall with his shoulder. “I have a three date, no sex rule. And they have to private dates. No cameras, no phones just the two of us. I have yet to have any one of them agree to the terms.”
Eddie winced. “Two hours with my phone? I don’t know if I could do it.”
“I guess that’s no to the date then,” Steve teased.
Eddie opened his mouth to say something, but he was being called back on set to do the scene and had to leave.
But all day, when his mind wasn’t on the scene or making sure to hit his mark, he was thinking about Steve’s three date rule. And how it must have come from a place of deep hurt. Like if you couldn’t be present on a first date with the guy and actually try and get to know him, then why were you with him? The prestige? The fame? The attention? But not the dorky sweetheart with a heart of gold.
So yeah. If he ever got the chance to date Steve, he would give up his phone for that man. Because he deserved the right sort of attention.
The one that came without fame or money or the media.
Just the two of them.
Yeah, he could do that. He would do that.
~
All right, Steve had to admit that the sex scenes on this movie were way better than with Robin’s film.
There was far less blood for a start. And less slippery meant that Steve could actually concentrate on acting and not accidentally poking Eddie in the eye.
The bed was a definite plus. As was the mostly empty set. There were way more people on the set of “Dancing in Dark” because of the safety concerns.
The intimacy coordinator was a nice woman named Jenny who was there to make sure everyone had a good time and did their jobs.
And once Jenny finished explaining that she wasn’t there do their jobs for them and really worked with both of them about what they were comfortable with showing.
It was getting to point of the movie where Darius and Rhett had been fooling around a little but because Rhett only used petnames, Darius didn’t know that Rhett didn’t actually know his name.
That was until Rhett called out “Devon!” during sex as he climaxed.
The awkward conversations after Darius stormed out with Devon and Darius alike had already been filmed and it was just Steve and Eddie finishing up the last scenes of the film.
“Devon!” Rhett cried and Darius froze.
“Wait, why are you calling out my sister’s name?”
Rhett blinked down at him. “What do you mean your sister’s name? That is the name you put on your coffee order every time you come in.”
“So all this time you thought you were dating Devon and not me?” Darius asked, his voice quivering.
“No...” Rhett said, but it was too late, Darius jumped to his feet and grabbed his clothes, dashing for the door. “Wait!”
He scrambled around for some pants but by the time he was dressed enough to not flash his neighbors, Darius was long gone.
“Cut!” Jim called out. “And that’s scene!”
A cheer went up and Steve stepped back onto the pavement covered in a long heavy coat to cover up all his bits.
“Congrats, boys,” Murray Bauman said clapping his hands. Murray was Jim’s producer and life long friend. “This is going to make waves. No doubt.”
Everyone was clapping and congratulating everyone else for a job well done.
Steve went to his trailer and got dressed, removing the last vestiges of Darius in the mirror. He was Steve Harrington again.
He walked out of the trailer to find Eddie waiting for him. They fell instep together as they walked silently to their cars.
“No one really talks about how much ending a role is like grieving a loved one,” Eddie mused, pulling out a cigarette.
He offered the pack to Steve, who took one. Eddie lit both of their cigarettes and leaned against his car. He took a drag and blew out the smoke.
“It’s horrible,” Steve murmured as he mirrored Eddie’s action. “And what’s worse is that I won’t even have time to sit in Darius for a minute before getting back out there and filming the next one.”
Eddie nodded. “So what’s next for Steve Harrington, heartthrob?”
Steve snorted and shook his head. “I’m finally doing an action film. It’s not a super hero movie or ‘The Mummy 4’ either of which I would have killed for, but it’s going to be fun. We’ll actually be filming on location in some pretty exotic places.”
“So no award shows for the Stevie?” Eddie asked with a pout. “I was really hoping to see you at the Oscars.”
Steve burst out laughing. “No, I’ll be at the Oscars. They’re doing most of the indoor stuff on the old back lot. Then I’ll be flying out at the beginning of April.”
Eddie wiped his brow. “Phew! I don’t think I could have survived it if you weren’t there.”
“I’ll be there,” Steve said softly. “Trust me. I want to see you win Best Actor.”
Eddie shoved his hair in front of his face. “Come on, we all know it’s going to go to Billy Hargrove for that stupid war movie. It’s all people having been talking about for months. Horror movies don’t win at the Oscars.”
Hello! Just so you are aware I am going on hiatus next week, but unlike poor 'Scarlet Lie' readers, you won't be left on a cliffhanger. This story is almost done though. Just one more chapter for me to write, which means when this story comes back on the 2nd of May, it'll be a run up to the finish.
Poor Eddie just blue screens in this.
Chapters: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 |
~
“Whose lame idea was it to make the bad guy’s castle FUCKING MOVE?!” Jeff huffed, slamming his fist on the table when they arrived just as the castle vanished in the morning mist.
Eddie sat back in his chair and eyed his best friend for a moment. He looked around. “Anyone else think that, too?”
There were a few uncomfortable glances and people shuffling in their chairs as none of them wanted to cop to it.
Eddie leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table and propping his head up on his hands. “Well too damn bad. This is to help make sure, one- you are of the right level before taking on the boss, two- draw out the game so it last all year, and three- for dramatic tension. If you want I can make so you reach the castle in time, but Vecna a CR 20.”
The table fell dead silent as they took that in.
Will cleared his throat. “I liked it.” Every head in the room turned to him in shock. “I mean, we are just being forced to play smart instead brute forcing everything, right?”
Eddie smiled at him. “That’s right, Will the Wise. Because while D&D is combat based, the whole focus doesn’t have to be on one battle after another.” He turned back to Jeff. “So what will it be, Flynn of the Emerald Hills? You want to take on Vecna right here, right now while everyone at the table is barely a level ten? Because with ten of you, technically you could do it. Everyone would die and maybe that includes Vecna but probably not.”
Jeff scowled. “No. Of course I don’t want to TPK with three more months to play.”
“Then let’s go,” Eddie said smirk. He settled and his voice changed. “My apologies, gentle folk. We have missed the castle yet again. But have no fear, we are close to determining a pattern!” Then he dropped the voice. “All right roll, Mike.”
Mike picked up his D20 and rolled the die. He peered at it and then his character sheet. “A seventeen plus my bonus of five, that makes twenty-three.”
Eddie scribbled something down on a piece of paper and then tossed it to Mike. Mike read it and then nodded.
“I do nothing right now,” Mike said to the unasked question.
Eddie nodded approvingly. Mike was having his character play the long game. He even had a special stat for Cam’s loyalty to the party verses to his master. And at that moment it was a dead heat.
The game continued without a hitch but definitely more subdued after Jeff’s outburst.
After they were cleaning up, Jeff offered to swap Danny cleaning crew so he leave a little earlier to get ready for his date.
Eddie was wiping down the table when Jeff appeared at his elbow.
“I wanted to apologize for being a dick earlier,” he muttered as he pushed chairs in. “I guess I got all caught up in the moment and got frustrated.”
“Right,” Eddie said with a huff of annoyance. “I think I know where this is coming from. Because you didn’t come straight for me, asked whose idea it was thinking that maybe Steve had come up with the idea?”
Jeff ducked his head. He let out a low, drawn out “Fuck,” as he scrubbed his face. “Yeah, I guess I did.”
“Then I’m going to let you in on a little secret, Jeffy,” Eddie growled, turning around and leaning against the table, arms crossed. “Steve Harrington has almost every scrap of information and lore a single person can have access to and not be fucking Gary Gygax, so yeah I go to Steve for ideas because he’s got the lowdown on everything and anything you want to know about D&D.”
Jeff stared at him for a moment. “Wait, what?”
“It’s true,” Eddie said with a shrug. “I come to him with ideas and he points me in a few different directions where I then chose which path I want to lead the campaign down.”
Jeff’s brain finally caught up. “Holy shit, the list. The one from the start of the year. I knew Steve was the author but I thought the kids had helped him find all that stuff.”
“You want to see?” Steve asked from the doorway to the kitchen. “My dragon’s hoard?”
Jeff looked up to see Steve leaning up against the door frame, arms and ankles crossed. He had a huge smirk on his face. Behind him was Lucas. The freshman had his hands on his hips and a matching smirk on his face.
“I would be a fool if I said no,” he muttered. “And my mamma didn’t raise no fool.”
Steve waved him forward. “Well come on then.”
Then he led the way to the front room, the other three following like ducklings. He went to a locked cabinet on the side next to all the VHS tapes and knelt in front of it. He pulled out his keys and quietly unlocked the cabinet. He opened both doors wide and stepped aside.
Jeff let out a low whistle. He could see both basic and advanced rule books, magazines carefully filed and at least three or four three ring binders.
“What’s in the binders?” he asked, tilting his head to the side.
“All the loose stuff I’ve found over the years,” Steve replied with a shrug. “Photocopies of articles in other magazines, stuff like that.”
Jeff frowned. “Why do you even have all that? You don’t play, and it can’t be just because the kids do. So why hoard it like this?”
Steve and Lucas shared a glance and Steve just shrugged.
“No seriously, Steve,” Jeff pressed. “This must have cost a fortune. Like I know you’re rich or whatever, but not even Gareth has a half of this shit and he does play.”
Steve snorted. “This collection is nothing. Like one of the baseball cards my dad has could pay for this collection two to three times over.”
Jeff let out a small whine, but he knew that if he kept pushing Steve about it, he would absolutely shut down. And maybe that was the crux of the matter. Maybe it had to do with Steve’s trauma, just latching on to something he could control. So he held up his hands in surrender.
“Right,” he huffed. “You don’t want to talk about why you have it, fine. But I guess the easiest question is what don’t you have?”
Steve grinned. “Only a handful of things I’m not sure even exist anymore.”
Jeff rubbed his chin. “What is your prized possession? Not the most expensive or the one that was the hardest to find. Your favorite.”
Steve lit up and immediately turned back to his collection, riffling through it. About two minutes later he stood up with a magazine in his hands. It was in a plastic sheath to protect and Jeff could see it was a really old and tattered copy.
He held it close to his chest for a moment and then gingerly handed it over. “It’s the very first instance of the barbarian class,” he said softly.
Jeff looked down at the magazine in his hands and then back up to Steve. “So tell me about it.”
So Steve did, haltingly at first then with encouragement from Lucas and Eddie, more animated.
“And there is this thing that they can do,” he finished, “that they haven’t codified yet for the main game, but I really hope that they do. It’s like Viking beserkers. Where when they’re super hurt they go into this rage state where they act only on instinct, just mowing down their enemies!”
“Wait, what would be the stats on that?” Lucas asked, cocking his head to the side.
So Steve rattled off all the advantages and disadvantages to this “rage” state to a very, very attentive audience.
Jeff and Lucas both turn to Eddie and turn on their best puppy dog faces.
“What’s with the looks?” Eddie asked, as he backed away slowly.
“You have to allow it in the game,” Lucas pouted. “Come on, it would be so freaking cool!”
“Yeah, Ed,” Jeff agreed. “You have to allow barbarian rage, just think of how bad ass that would be!”
Eddie smacked his lips for a moment. “Well not this game. We are like weeks away from the finale. There is no way to incorporate into the game this late in the campaign–”
Lucas and Jeff started to protest, but he cut them off by holding up his hands.
“That’s not say I won’t allow it ever,” he continued. “And maybe I’ll throw in a minor bad guy that has it so people can see how it works.”
The whole time Steve was just grinning.
“That’s going to be awesome!” he said brightly. “And I didn’t even have to beg.”
“Pity,” Eddie said before his brain caught up to his mouth, “I would have liked to have seen you on your knees.”
He slapped both of his hands over his mouth, eye wide with fear. “Shit! Forget I said that!”
Lucas tilted his head to the side. “I don’t think I’ve heard a guy saying that to another guy before.”
“That’s because if someone like Eddie here were to say something like that outside of people he trusts,” Jeff said with an eye roll, “then he would get the shit beat out of him. And judging with how many of our number swing for the other team, I doubt Stevie here is going to hit Ed for that dumb ass remark.”
“Hit? No,” Lucas said with a snort. “Hit on? Probably. Steve swings for both teams.”
Jeff and Eddie looked over at Steve with wide-eyed shock and amazement.
Eddie lowered his hands slowly as he thought about it. “No, no. Now that I think about it, that tracks.”
Jeff half shrugged. “Yeah, probably.” He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. Then he started counting off on his fingers. “Eddie, me, Steve, Gareth for sure, um... Will is a sure bet he leans that direction... and I think Danny.”
Lucas’s eyes went wide. “You think Will is gay?!”
Jeff looked over at him. “I mean he might not have not noticed yet, he’s only a freshman, but sure. Will blushes a lot when Mike or Eddie talk to him. Hell, he does it around Steve and Gareth, too.”
Lucas frowned for a moment and then smacked his head. “Yeah, I’m slow. In my defense, I got a girlfriend fairly early and have not been paying attention to the love lives of my friends. Though now I’m really starting to think otherwise.”
“This is why I love ladies’ night,” Steve said with a grin. “El, Max, Robin, and Nancy all come over and we paint our nails and absolutely gossip like mother hens. We had this all on lock months ago.”
“Wait, why do you get invited to ladies’ night?” Lucas asked. “You’re not a girl.”
Steve shrugged. “My house, my rules.”
Lucas looked around at Steve’s sweet setup for movies and then shrugged. “Yeah, I’d even let my sister do my hair if it meant I got to watch movies here.”
“Or...” Steve said shaking his head. “We can have a guys night, too. There will be way more guys than girls, but it could be fun. Like after a session we can watch movies and have a sleepover. It’d be a blast.”
“Yes!” Jeff said excitedly. “We absolutely need to do that!”
And they all got to planning, but poor Eddie was stuck in boot up mode. His brain kept going over and over the little news that Steve absolutely would hit on him. Him! Personally. Holy shit.
Jeff hit his arm. “So what do you think, Ed? Hell yeah to movie night?”
Eddie pursed his lips and nodded. He wasn’t about to tell Jeff that he had already had a movie night here, but another one would be good.
Hey guys! I just wanted to let you know that this one might nearing its end soon. I'm not sure if it'll end at 11 or 12 chapters, but regardless it is ending.
I'm not sure what's next after this, but I'll let you know.
In this we have Steve and Eddie bonding.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5
~
Eddie was just trying to eat his breakfast. He was supposed to go in today and get trained on the grill as well as be introduced to the rest of the crew. But it seemed that the kids had chosen violence this morning.
They were screaming about something.
Eddie finally looked up to see that Dustin had taken something from Max and was playing keep away.
Then Dustin threw it to keep her from getting it. It landed in Eddie’s cereal with a splash and both kids stopped their squabbling with an abrupt stop.
“Shit.”
Eddie looked down to see a white sock with Grogu on the side. He let out a pained sigh and opened his mouth to bark at them when Steve came in to see the ruckus was about.
Steve looked at the scene before him and barked out a laugh. “I didn’t know we were having socks for breakfast, I’ll let Robin know to make enough for everyone.”
Dustin snickered. Then Max’s laugh burst out of her and suddenly everyone was laughing.
Steve grabbed Eddie’s bowl and carefully removed the sock from it. “Someone come get this. Preferably the owner, please.”
Max came forward and snatched it out of his hand. She turned on her heel and ran off.
Steve raised an eyebrow at Dustin who went bright red. “We’ll talk later, but if you’ve already had breakfast, go play elsewhere, please.”
Dustin scuttled off the opposite direction that Max had fled to.
“Come on, Eddie,” Steve said with a sigh. “We’ll get you some new cereal.”
Eddie dutifully followed Steve into the kitchen where Robin was cleaning up.
“We don’t usually open another box of cereal until one is completed,” Steve said over his shoulder, “to cut down on waste, but I figure this is a special case.”
He dumped out Eddie’s bowl into the disposal and let it run for a second and then washed out the bowl and dried it. He set on the counter and got a box of cereal out of the cupboard, setting down next to the bowl.
“You pour as much as you want,” Steve said with a grin. “I’ll go get you a banana. You know where the butter knives are.”
Eddie picked up the box with a blush. It was his Grape Nuts. So he dutifully poured himself a bowl and dumped a bunch of sugar on it.
When Steve saw the amount of sugar in the bowl he huffed out a laugh. “That’s certainly one way to make it palpable.”
“Hey!” Eddie huffed. “I like the crunch, okay?”
“Sure thing, rockstar,” Steve teased, holding out the banana. “Here’s your banana.”
Eddie groused but took the banana and cut it up to sprinkle all over his cereal, then handed the knife back to Steve.
“You ever worry about letting delinquent kids and former convicts have access to knives,” he asked, “no matter how dull?”
“We count them every night and if any of them go missing we have people turn out all the stuff,” Steve replied with a shrug. “It’s sucks, but searches are a part of the deal with staying here. Those with parole officers have it even worse because they get to submit to our searches and their PO’s, too.”
Eddie wrinkled his nose. “I guess I should have read the fine print.”
Steve leaned forward and whispered, “We have a warning system for when the cops do it.” He winked and then straightened up. He looked behind him but Robin had already finished cleaning up and had moved on.
“Since they have to do it when you’re home,” he continued, “we’ll flash the phone extension light so you can hide what you need to.”
Eddie reared his head back in shock. “Why would you do that?”
“Because sometimes you get POs that are more like POSs and will ruin your life over a cigarette butt claiming it was weed,” Steve said. “And I absolutely refuse to let them.”
He straightened up and knocked on the counter. “Have a good day!”
Eddie gulped and nodded, then watched as Steve walked away. Eddie had had experiences with halfway houses before. His dear old dad had been in far too many.
They broke down in to two camps. The drug fueled nightmares where not even the threat of cops could make the cockroaches scatter. Or religie types were curse words were forbidden, no alcohol or anything they might deem inappropriate for their sinners.
But this place seemed to be none of those things. And yeah, that could change once he got comfortable, but he had a feeling it wasn’t going to.
He let out a sigh and poured milk into his bowl, taking it back out to the canteen to eat. He sat down and really thought about this place.
He munched on his cereal and by the end of his bowl, he came to the conclusion, Steve’s kindness only made him hotter.
~
The next couple of days was exhausting for Eddie. Benny had him working hard. But Eddie was starting to get a rhythm for it and even the wait staff was starting to be impressed by how well he was integrating into the well-oiled machine that was Benny’s Diner.
He come home just before dinner and wanted to scrub off every inch of his skin to get the smell of hamburger and bacon off. He loved both, but it certainly wasn’t his scent of choice.
He walked into his room and was halfway undressed when the extension light on his phone started flashing.
“Shit!” Eddie hissed, pulling back on his clothes, cussing out Powell for doing his first surprise inspection today.
He managed to pull his pants back on and throw a shirt over his head by the time Officer Powell knocked his door. He smoothed out his hair and then opened the door.
Officer Powell scowled. “I’m here for a room inspection.”
Eddie stepped back out of the way to let the man in. There was nothing to find, because Eddie hadn’t had time to blink let alone buy anything that was uniquely his.
“Sorry it’s a bit of mess,” he explained as Powell tossed through his things, “I just got off work and was about to get a shower.”
“I was able to verify your employment with both the government and Benny,” Powell said gruffly. “Congrats on getting something so quickly.”
Eddie bristled. That statement didn’t sound congratulatory, it sounded incredulous. Like he couldn’t believe trash like Eddie could get job so fast and at such a good place too.
“I’ve been lucky since getting out,” he said, through gritted teeth.
Powell looked up him with a smirk and Eddie knew that the officer had been needling him on purpose. That just raised his hackles further. He couldn’t believe this asshole had a hold over his life for a whole fucking year.
“Looks like you’re lucky again,” Powell huffed. “No drugs. This time. And you better keep it that way. One slip up and it’s back into the clink with you.”
Eddie held his hands up. “I’ve been good and I have no attention of toeing the line.”
“You best believe it,” Powell huffed and turned on his heel, leaving the room without another word.
Eddie sat on the bed hard and just blanked out. He wasn’t sure how long he sat there before there was a gentle knock on his door. He looked up to see Steve standing there.
“It’s always the hardest the first time,” Steve said softly, coming into the room. “It’s not that it gets better, just that you get used to the violation.”
“Fuck, yeah,” Eddie said running his hands through his hair. “I thought I got used it in lockup, but out here it feels worse.”
“It doesn’t help that Powell is one of a very small handful of black POs and feels he has to be hard ass to prove he can hack it,” Steve said with a nod. “Doesn’t make it right, but it’s part of why.”
“The other part being that he’s just a huge asshole?” Eddie huffed with a smirk.
Steve huffed out a laugh. “Yeah, pretty much. But I’m always here if you need me. I’m not just a pretty face. I have a degree in psychology and criminology and I’m here to help.”
“Not just a pretty face, huh?” Eddie teased.
“Dude,” Steve grinned. “I have a mirror, I know how good I look. That was never a doubt in my mind about my attractiveness. But maybe if it’ll get you past it, I’m not just some dumb bunny. I’ve worked hard to get where I am and live up to the legacy that the Whitmans left behind.”
Eddie cocked his head to the side. “Those were the people who ran this place before you did?”
Steve nodded and came to sit down on the bed next to him. “They put their heart and soul into this place, but they got old and they really were worried about being overpowered by an ex-con and so they started training me to take over. Put me through the amount of college that would the state would allow to let me do so.”
“That’s really sweet,” Eddie said. “You said that the kids and adults together thing was your idea?”
“Yeah,” he murmured picking on a loose thread on his jeans. “Back when my parents divorced my dad ran off to Mexico with his mistress and left me with an alcoholic mother. A mother who was trying so hard to get sober but there was a three month wait list for the rehab center so she was sent here until she could be admitted. Somehow, someway a judge let her keep me with her until then. But my being there had more of grounding presence to just my mom.”
“How’s that?”
“There was another man there,” Steve explained. “He was also waiting for rehab. He taught me how to play chess and would buy me Boppers and mystery novels. Always with another adult with us of course. Josh, Mr. Whitman would be the most frequent chaperon, would take turns trouncing us at chess. But anyway. He went and turned his life around. He became Chief of Police.”
Eddie’s brain took a moment or two to catch up. “Wait are we talking about the Chief of Hawkins Police? Jim Hopper?”
“Yep!” Steve said brightly. “I can’t go into details, but he got low after his daughter Sarah died. He just needed something to latch onto and I guess I helped. He’s got an adopted daughter now and she’s his whole world.”
“Well, I’ll be damned,” Eddie breathed. “I guess if Hopper can crawl out of hole to become Chief of Police then anyone could do anything.”
“Yep!”
Eddie let out a shuddering breath and then another. “Thanks, man. I just shut down and couldn’t even think.”
“It’s better than the alternative,” Steve said with a rueful smile.
“What’s the alternative?” Eddie asked, tilting his head to the side.
“Trashing the room,” Steve said dryly. “And believe me when I say it’s not just guys that pull that shit, it’s just makes up most of them.”
Eddie blinked at him for a moment and then looked around the room. Powell had left things askew and he could see the appeal of just trashing it all the way. “I’m sorry.”
Steve waved him off. “It’s fine. I get it, plus most of the time afterwards they are so remorseful that they never do it again.”
Eddie understood that too. “How do you not break yourself? Who keeps you from doing the same when the system fails one of your charges?”
Steve was silent for a moment and then let out a little huff. “Robin and Chrissy help. And I can call the Whitfords anytime I want if I need advice.” He snapped his fingers. “And my mom of course! She’s always willing to listen.”
“Sounds like you’ve got a great support team,” Eddie said wistfully.
Steve bumped their shoulders together. “You do too. You have us and your friend Jeff. And don’t forget you can call your uncle now.”
Eddie straightened and his eyes lit up. “Oh my god, I completely forgot!” He looked at his watch, dinner time was almost over and crumpled. “Shit I should eat first.”
“Nah,” Steve said getting to his feet. “Come down when you’re ready and I whip you up some leftovers. You need your uncle right now more than you need to adhere to some arbitrary timeline.”
Eddie’s lip quivered. “Thanks for being so nice after I was dick to you the first day.”
Steve just smiled. “Because everyone needs a kindness once in awhile.” He patted Eddie on the shoulder and walked away without saying goodbye.
Eddie picked up the phone and dialed a number he knew better than anything. He nearly sobbed when he heard the gruff ‘Hello’.
“Uncle Wayne!” he breathed. The actual sob on the other end of the line caused Eddie to break down and cry too.
Hey all! Welcome back to this fic! It is happily moving right along and I'm happy to share it with you!
In this we have chaotic bestie Robin, and chaos gremlin Eddie deciding to make Steve's life just a little bit more... interesting.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 |
~
There was a pounding on the door to Steve’s hotel room that echoed in his head in the worst ways.
He blinked blearily as he took in the room trying to figure out what was the cause of the pain between his ears.
He saw the littered beer cans and wine bottles, the mess of candy wraps and spilled popcorn. Then he realized the reason he was so warm.
Eddie was wrapped around Steve’s waist like a limpet. A cute limpet, but a limpet nonetheless. He carefully extricated himself from Eddie’s grasp and padded over to the door, where the person was still knocking loudly.
“Room service!” a voice finally called out.
Steve opened the door and looked out at the guy. He opened his mouth to hotly protest that he never ordered room service when the smell of the food hit his nose.
He paused for a moment. “Let me grab you a tip, just a moment.”
The guy smiled broadly and happily took the two twenties off of Steve and left him with a cart covered in all his favorite breakfast foods.
He blinked down at it for a moment and then let out a sigh...
Steve knew that they wouldn’t be able to get breakfast after 10am and nine was that sweet spot of not being to early but also not pissing off the kitchen for being too close to the end of breakfast service.
His phone started singing ‘Bitch’ by Meredith Brooks and he let out another pained sigh. Now he knew the fairy god mother of his breakfast feast.
He picked up his phone and muttered, “Hello, Robin.”
“Good morning!” his best friend chirped happily. “When I came in to check on you last night, it looked like you had a lot of fun!”
The sound of her voice resounded like a church bell inside of his head. “Ow. Not so loud.”
“Aw...” she said, her voice even louder then it was before. “You two looked sooooo cute curled up on the sofa together! I got pictures!”
“What?!” Steve whisper-yelled.
Then the phone disconnected and before Steve could call her back, Eddie stirred on the sofa.
He cleared his throat. “Morning, Eds. Robin sends us breakfast with the kindest of regards.”
Eddie snorted and sat up, rubbing his eyes. “She’s the bitch who sent us food knowing we had been up until the wee hours to the morning.”
“She sent us waffles.”
Eddie was up on his feet and by his side in an instant. “What kind?”
Steve lifted the cloche to reveal three large fluffy white waffles topped with sliced fruit and absolutely smothered in whip cream.
Eddie stole the plate and held it to his chest. “She’s forgiven!” Then he scurried back to the sofa to dig into his prize.
Steve just shook his head as he put on an egg white omelet that had ham and a creamy white cheese on the inside and two slices of turkey bacon on his plate and wandered over to the sofa to join Eddie.
He handed Eddie a fork and giggled when he saw that the other man had began eating it like an Eggo frozen waffle. With his hands.
“Here you go you heathen,” he said with a snort.
Eddie looked over at his plate. “That’s a pretty light breakfast even for you, Stevie.”
“I’m a little queasy from the hangover,” he admitted taking a bite of bacon.
Eddie shook his head and put his plate down on the coffee table. He stood up, licking and wiping his fingers off on the front of his shirt and wandered over to the ensuite coffee machine. He filled it with a nice dark roast and set it running.
“The coffee will help,” Eddie promised.
His phone went off at that exact moment and he frowned down at where it was on the floor. He picked up and turned it over to read the message.
‘THERE IS A BOTTLE OF ADVIL UNDER ONE OF THE CLOCHES. YOU’RE WELCOME!’ And yes the whole thing was in caps. Just looking at the message hurt his head.
He lifted a couple of the cloches before he found the bottle of Ibuprofen. He poured orange juice (with no pulp) for both of them and took his prizes over to Steve.
“Bottoms up, Stevie,” he said handing him the bottle and one of the glasses. “That will help your head.”
Steve did as he was told and downed a couple pills with the orange juice. “How are you not affected by this? You aren’t bright eyed by any stretch of the imagination, but it also doesn’t feel like you’re suffering either.”
Eddie barked out a laugh that ended up hurting both of their heads. “Make no mistake, I am in agony, but I’m what my uncle calls walking hungover. There is just something about hangovers and me that has me able to function regardless of how much pain I’m in.”
“Lucky bastard.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Eddie said downing his own dose of pain killers. “It doesn’t feel that when the bells are ringing let me tell you. But at least it means that I can be nurse to all my poor friends who can’t function.”
“Cheers to that,” Steve grumbled.
They ate in relative silence only pausing to get more food or coffee when it was ready. It was nice. Calm.
The next thing he knew Eddie was nudging him awake.
“Hey there, sweetheart,” he murmured. “Sorry to wake you, but I’ve got a meeting with my agent at two and it’s almost one.”
Steve groggily opened his eyes and stretched. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep on you like that.”
“Nah,” Eddie said brightly. “I fell asleep too. I just have an alarm on my phone two hours before any event to make sure I’m ready on time.”
Steve put on his glasses and peered at Eddie. That was then he could see that Eddie had changed and his hair was wet, indicating that he had least washed his hair.
“I’ll see you tomorrow at work, then,” he muttered.
“That you will, Stevie boy,” Eddie murmured back. He waved and then slipped out of the hotel room, leaving Steve alone.
He let out a long sigh and flopped back on the sofa, arm thrown over his forehead dramatically.
He had really enjoyed himself just hanging out with Eddie. He had other friends. Robin. Dustin. Hell, he’d even been hanging out Martin from “Dancing in the Dark.” The up and coming star was actually a blast.
But hanging out with Eddie was as easy as breathing.
Steve did a sniff test of his armpit and winced. Yeah, it was time for a shower. He got up and gathered all the things he needed for it, setting his phone on the coffee table.
He took his time. Unlike Eddie, he didn’t have any appointments today. Wanting a proper day off for a change. He just reveled in the heat from the water, just letting everything wash away.
He stepped out of the shower with just a towel around his waist as he used another to dry his hair. He was working on getting most of the water out of his hair as he could to put in the leave in conditioner when he saw his phone light up with a notification.
Steve frowned for a moment and then his phone did it again. That was strange.
He picked up his phone and saw several notifications from a lot of his social media accounts and two missed calls from Bob.
“Shit!”
He called right back. “Hey,” he greeted when Bob picked up immediately. “What’s up?”
“Where were you?” Bob asked, panicked. “I’ve been trying to get ahold of you for almost an hour!”
“I was taking a shower,” he replied with a frown. “I just got out. What’s going on?”
“You haven’t seen?” Steve could feel the incredulity just oozing from the manager/agent on the other end of the line.
“Nope,” he said as he put the phone on speaker. “Like I’m not even dressed yet, Bob.” He started to change that very thing, pulling clothes out of drawers.
“Holy shit,” Bob hissed. “A paparazzo snapped Eddie coming out of the hotel with his hair wet and shoes in hand. It looks like a fucking walk of shame after having sex!”
Steve blinked at him for a moment and then burst out laughing. “Please tell me no one is taking this seriously.”
There was silence on the line for a moment before Bob said quietly, “Why aren’t you?”
“Bob,” Steve said gently. “You’re new to me and my life, so you might have not had a chance to experience this yet. But Eddie does it on purpose.”
“On purpose?!” Bob shrieked. “Why on earth would he do that?”
“Because he is a chaos gremlin at heart,” he explained. “And the hilarious part is is that he is not out of the closet the way I am so the tabloids are always running their mouth about me turning him gay. He waits twenty-four hours and releases a statement about how we are only good friends and that we were spending our off hours together, nothing more.”
Bob was so silent that Steve had to make sure that he was still on the line.
“That is diabolical!” Bob finally hissed. “I just looked it up and he does this with everyone he stays overnight with, but not with people he’s actually dating. His poor agent must pay their hair stylist a shit ton in hair dye to cover all the grey hair he must be giving them.”
Steve chuckled. “Normally I’d agree with you, but she’s chaos gremlin instigator and it was entirely her idea the first time he did it.”
Bob was silent again. “All right, I looked into how Keith handled in it the past and he just ignored it. Which while fair, is incredibly boring.”
Steve blinked for a moment or two as his brain processed that statement. “Oh? What did you have in mind?”
~
“Steve Harrington, in a move that has stunned entertainment pundits,” the entertainment reporter was saying, “has come out and said that any and all talk about who he is or isn’t fucking, is none of our damn business.”
Veronica Stiles smirked at the camera. “Harrington, who is under new management, has decided to come out swinging, it seems. When he was cruelly outed almost a decade ago he has kept himself to himself since. But now with a comeback well on its way, Harrington has decided to swing for the fences. And if you ask me, I’d say he knocked it out of the park.”
She turned to her co-host, who was a forty-something man in a dark suit. “Freddie, what do you make of Steve Harrington’s statement?”
“I say good for him,” Freddie huffed. “I’ve been in this business for twenty years and I remember the absolute shitshow that was what he had been put through. It was more than a nine day wonder and while ignoring it is fine too, telling people to fuck off is better.”
“Indeed!” Veronica said with a grin. “He’s got three movies coming out this year and there is talk about him being nominated for his role as Sean in ‘Dancing in the Dark’.”
“God,” Freddie breathed. “I wish he would but horror films don’t make it to the Oscars. You’ll see him at the SAG awards, the Golden Globes, or hell maybe even the BAFTAs but I don’t think the Oscars will bend even for one as amazing as Robin Buckley’s directorial debut.”
“What a pity that would be,” Veronica said shaking her head. “We can only hope they see sense this year.”
Hey all! We are back! And if all goes well, I only have a chapter and half left to write so we are nearing the end of this one.
I've already started my next story, but first out will be the Rockstar AU I've been sharing on WIP Wednesday.
And here we come to my favorite use of PMS of all time.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 |
~
January got the Hellfire group kicked out from the drama as they were starting to practice the school musical.
Steve had to actually go into the Prin. Higgins office and harass the man into letting them have it at his house.
They were going to force the club to close down because it ‘had to be on school property’ and refused all other meeting places.
When Steve pointed out that not only did most of the clubs have events off campus, parents had already signed release forms for the club to do just that.
And since the club had yet to even use one of its approved ‘field trips’ let alone its entire allotment. So Steve was able to get all future sessions at his house until end of April as ‘field trips’.
Even Jeff and Taylor had to admit that made Steve the club’s hero and had lost their last excuse to keep Steve at arm’s length.
It was actually the first session at Steve’s house that Mike figured out who Camazotz was.
“All righty, Mike,” Eddie said rubbing his hands together. “You’re going to need to roll an eighteen or higher on your intelligence check to succeed.”
Mike pressed his lips together and then looked over his sheet. He nodded. He picked up a bright orange sparkly D20, but Will held out a plain red one with gold numbers.
“Here,” he said, “use this one. It’s my lucky D20.”
Mike grinned and took the die. He began rolling it around in his hand and then threw it.
The whole group watched as the die bounced the length of the table to rest right in front of Eddie’s DM screen.
Eddie leaned forward and absolutely cackled in delight. “Natural twenty. Roll again to confirm.”
Mike took the die from Eddie’s hand and rolled it again. This time in landed in front of Taylor and the entire table leapt to their feet in a roar.
“Nicely done,” Eddie said with a grin at the second natural twenty. He began scribbling on a page from his notebook as he spoke. “You remember when you were taking your orders at the convent to be a paladin the legend of one of the order. You also remember that the paladin in question had a scar under his neck in the shape of a dragon.”
He handed Mike the note and he read it. He looked around at all the other players and quietly slipped the note into his pocket.
“So what are you going to do Sir Michaelis?” Eddie asked, lacing his fingers together and resting his chin on them.
Mike rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Nothing for now. I’m going to keep an eye out though.”
Eddie nodded. “You’ll have a plus six to all spot checks regarding this character. I will let you know when to roll.”
Then he turned to the rest of the party. “Does anyone question Sir Michaelis?”
Everyone kinda looked around at each other in confusion. They didn’t know what to do that wasn’t metagame.
“Everyone roll a perception check,” Eddie said silencing their confusion with a simple phrase.
Everyone but Mike rolled their dice. Most of them rolling high enough for Eddie to say. “You notice your traveling companion seems a bit withdrawn and preoccupied.”
“Do we know why?” Jeff asked, leaning forward to examine the board that had all their figures on it.
“No but Sir Camazotz seems uneasy about something too,” Eddie explained.
“Oooh,” Danny said, “Maybe it’s a PMS thing. You know Paladin Moody Syndrome?” The table cackled, even Mike.
“Yeah,” Mike said with a big grin on his face. “Let’s just go with that.”
Eddie looked up at Steve and the two shared a grin. Mike was getting closer to the truth and it was exciting.
As they were cleaning up. “Hey, Mike when did you want to do a mini sesh to discuss what you learned in game?”
Mike shrugged. “I could come early next week?”
“Sounds great!” Eddie enthused. “I’ll see you all next week.”
They all said goodbye and filed out to their respective cars to go home. As always there was a handful left that would help Steve clean up.
This time it was Taylor, Brian, and Dustin, with Eddie being the one constant.
“Hey, thanks for helping me clean up,” Steve said, handing a dirty plate to Taylor to put in the dishwasher.
Dustin snorted. “Eddie makes us do it on rotation. He said it was the hallmark of a good guest.”
Steve looked over at Dustin and then Eddie. “Is that right?”
“Yep!” Eddie said from where he was wiping down the counter. When he was done he turned around. “My uncle always said that when you visit, you leave the house the condition you found it in or better. And that’s carried me through life.”
“So are you threatening to debuff them,” Steve asked with a chuckle, “or offering them bribes in temporary stat boosts.”
Taylor and Brian looked at each other and then said at the same time, “BOTH!”
Steve cackled. “Yeah, I could see that. Gotta make sure it’s not the same rotation of people doing the work for the boosts.”
“I really wish you’d play, man,” Taylor said, loading up the dishwasher. “I know you think it’s too hard or whatever, but I really think you’ll enjoy it.”
He shook his head. “I’m just not built for that, sorry.”
Brian cocked his head to the side. “You a baseball fan?”
“Well, yeah,” Steve said, rearing his head back in confusion. “I was in Little League until high school, why?”
“Okay,” Taylor said jutting his chin up and cracking his knuckles by linking them together and stretching out his arms. “Let’s do this.” He started pulling out stats and things about baseball and Steve absolutely kept up.
Eddie, Dustin, and Brian all looked at Steve as if he had grown an extra head.
“Holy shit,” Dustin huffed. “I didn’t know sports had so many stats.”
“I don’t understand the point you’re trying to make,” Steve said, crossing his arms in front of his chest and shifting his weight to his back foot.
“The point, Stevie,” Eddie said cocking his head to the side, “is that D&D is a hell of a lot simpler than that. Like that is DM levels of keeping track of shit.”
“For real, man,” Brian said shaking his head. “Like the only person’s stats you have to worry about are your own. But you just spouted off the stats of four teams and at least a half a dozen players and I’m willing to bet my mother’s chocolate chip recipe that you could do that for swimming and basketball too.”
“Ooh...” Taylor said seriously. “That’s a pretty dangerous bet and not one Bri would make if he wasn’t one hundred percent sure he was right. His mom’s recipe is the stuff legends.”
Steve frowned. “I’m still not sure what you mean.”
Eddie opened his mouth to answer but Dustin stopped him. “Steve what is a monster that is like a large flowering plant?”
“That would be a shambling mound,” Steve said quickly, snapping his fingers. “Or shambler as it’s more commonly known. It’s basically a vaguely human shaped mound of rotting plants and shit.”
The three other older teens stared at him shock.
“What is the difference between a knight and a paladin?” Dustin pressed.
Steve rattled off the differences off the top of his head and soon Eddie and the other two were doing the same. Just firing off questions about D&D and especially the lore.
It was some time around the fourth or fifth round of questions that Steve finally got it.
“Holy shit,” he muttered. “I’m a nerd!”
Dustin rolled his eyes. “Yes you are. But more importantly, Steve, you’d make an excellent DM.”
“Oh.” Steve wasn’t sure what he thought about that if he was honest.
“But hey, you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to, man,” Taylor said holding up his hands in surrender. “But maybe try it out with a couple of people you trust and see if you like it.”
“I wouldn’t have to start with all the guys in the club?” Steve asked, chewing on his bottom lip.
“Oh hell no,” Eddie said, his eyes wide in horror. “God that would be a nightmare for everyone involved.”
Steve let out a sigh of relief. “Yeah, I could do a couple one on ones with like Dustin or Erica. I think I could handle that.
Dustin nodded sagely but everyone else frowned.
“What is an Erica?” Taylor asked tilting his head to the side.
Dustin and Steve burst out laughing.
“She’s Lucas’s sister,” Steve said at the same time Dustin said, “She’s a nerd.”
Steve snorted. “Don’t let her catch you saying that, she’d kick your ass.”
Eddie snapped his fingers. “No, wait. I do remember you’ve brought her up before. She’s your final nugget, right? Something about the ‘Scoop Troop’?”
Steve and Dustin shared matching evil grins.
“She’s got this really cool half-elf ranger,” Dustin explained, “named Lady Applejack. She completely kicks ass.”
“Just how old is this kid anyway?” Brian asked, wrinkling his nose.
“Eleven,” Dustin and Steve said together and then burst out laughing.
“You know...” Taylor said with a grimace, “you two act more like siblings then I do with own little brother. It’s almost creepy.”
Dustin lit up. “You really think so? That would be so cool, being Steve’s little brother.”
Steve smiled and ruffled his hair. “You’ll just have to share me with Max, and then I’d completely agree with you.”
Dustin cocked his head to the side as he considered it. “Yeah, that’s fair. She could really use an older male figure who wasn’t a complete ass.”
Brian shook his head. “That has got to be the weirdest duo of all time, Max Mayfield and Steve Harrington. If I hadn’t witnessed it myself on several occasions I would have thought Lucas was pulling my leg when he told us how tight you two were.”
Steve just shrugged. “Billy Hargrove was an ass, but I think on some level he did care about her, he just wasn’t taught how to express it and so it came off as hostility.” He shrugged again. “I mean that’s what Dr. Hughes has been saying in my sessions with him, anyway.”
“For your trauma of being in the mall when it burned down right?” Taylor asked.
Steve opened his mouth to correct him, but Dustin nudged him, his jaw closed with a snap.
“Something like that,” he said through clenched teeth.
Eddie could feel the distress rolling off of him in waves, so he got Brian, Taylor, and Dustin all bundled off so he could talk to Steve.
He led him over to the sofa and sat him down. “Hey are you okay?”
Steve ran his fingers through his hair and let out a shuddering breath. “Not really. I mean the therapy is good, great really. But it feels like I’m being dragged over hot coals over and over again and everything just hurts worse than when I started.”
“Yeah...” Eddie said with a grimace. “I forced through court mandated therapy when I first went to go live with Wayne and it absolutely feels that way for awhile.”
“Yeah well,” Steve huffed. “It sucks.”
“Did you ever read the ‘Chronicles of Narnia’ books?” he asked tilting his head to the side. “You know, ‘The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe’ and all that?”
“There was more than one?” Steve asked, rearing his head back.
“There’s technically seven,” Eddie said with a half shrug. “A story set before the first book and one set during the first book when they’re queens and kings and then four sequels.”
“Okay...”
“Right. So,” Eddie said, sliding closer to Steve on the sofa. “So there is this scene from one of the later books where Lucy and Edmond, the two younger ones, are on an adventure with their dipshit cousin Eustace–”
“I think I’d be a dipshit too if my parents named me that,” Steve said, wincing. “Holy fuck.”
Eddie laughed. “I know right. Well anyway. They land on this island and Eustace turns into a dragon because he’s a greedy dipshit...”
“I see...” Steve said, but he really didn’t.
Eddie waved that way. “I’m just setting up the metaphor. Bare with me.”
“Okay,” Steve said with a small smile.
Eddie wanted to melt in its glory, but he had to focus. “Right, so Aslan the lion shows up and tells him if he wants to be a boy again, all he has to do is scratch off his skin.”
“Ew.”
Eddie laughed again. “Ew indeed. Only Useless, I mean Eustace is having trouble getting it all off. He’s scratching but not deep enough, so Aslan helps him by really digging his claws in to shed the scales. Only it ends up really hurting him. Like large amounts of pain, but once all the scales are off, Aslan lets him bath in the lake and the cool water soothes the raw skin and makes him a boy again. ”
“Oh,” Steve said softly. “I see now. I’m Eustace and Dr. Hughes is the Jesus lion. It hurts because he has to get through all the layers I’ve built up over the years.”
“That’s right, sweetheart,” Eddie soothed, taking Steve’s hands. “Just like what we’re doing for the kids, you’ll get through this too.”
How about a nice long chapter with sweet Steddie moments to make up for the THIRD cliffhanger in a row?
No?
Oh well!
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 |
~
As the parents neared the Creel House, shrieks filled the air.
The whole party looked up in horror as the air filled with faceless batlike creatures. All but Robin.
“What the fuck is that?!” Mike screamed.
“Seriously!” Ted growled. “I’ve never seen bats like that before!”
Robin looked up in horror. “I thought we killed all of them,” she whimpered. “They’re supposed to be gone.”
Vickie put her hand on her shoulder. “What are they?” she asked gently.
Robin didn’t have time say as the swarm of monsters swirled round the house once and then descended on the crowd of assembled people.
“Don’t let their teeth latch onto you!” she screamed and took a swing at the first one to come after her.
Everyone around her started doing the same, just hitting them as hard as they could.
Just when all hope seemed lost, an army jeep skidded to the curb, right next to Jonathan’s car and Joyce and Hopper leapt out, with flame throwers strapped to their backs.
“Duck!” Dr. Owens yelled.
~
Dr. Owens bent down to look up at the sky as they neared the Creel house. “Shit.” He pumped the gas even though he knew he was pushing the jeep past its limits.
“There are two flame throwers in the back,” he snapped. “I was hoping to use them against Henry himself, but there are far too many people out there right now!”
Kali jumped into the back and handed the first one to Hopper. Then she looked at the rest of them and then shook her head. She grabbed it and clambered over the kids in the back seat.
“Here,” she said handing it to Joyce. “I have a feeling you know how to use this or at least a better idea then the rest of us.”
Joyce looked back her and then nodded, taking it from her. “I’m guessing you’re like El, you can read minds?”
Kali shook her head. “No, I’m not from the same experiment that El and the others are, I was taken as a child. But I was similar to One that I could make illusions and they wanted to compare my abilities to his.” She cocked her head and smirked. “I’m better.”
“Do you know where your parents are?” Joyce asked, gently.
“No,” Kali said bluntly. “And I wouldn’t want to go back anyway. It’s been two decades and don’t need the pressure of living up to someone else’s ideals.”
Joyce made noncommittal noise, but wisely said nothing. She was not this girl’s mother and just because she would move heaven and earth to find her children, she knew that not every mother would.
Dr. Owens skidded to a stop in front of the Creel Manor, so that Hopper and Joyce could leap from the Jeep.
“Duck!” Dr. Owens barked and El forced everyone to do just that.
Everyone flattened on the ground as Joyce and Hopper lit up the skies with flames. El turned her attention from the assembled group of her friends and the kids parents to making sure none of the falling, flaming demobats landed on anyone.
Kali glared at the house and twisted her hand.
The nice house vanished as did the neighborhood. Standing at the end of the street, looking like a haunted house reject was the actual house.
Mr. Whatsit came out of the house and cocked his head to the side. “Eight. I should have killed you when I had the chance.”
“Which was never, dumbass,” Kali huffed. “Me and the others escaped before Stupid here let you off your leash.”
“Hey!” Mike growled. “She was just a kid!”
Kali just rolled her eyes and ignored him.
Mr. Whatsit just smiled, his eyes glittering in the dark. “You think you can best me? I could take you all out without lifting a single finger.”
Then the flapping of wings, much larger than the demobats, could be heard. Then a large black shape arose from behind the house. It had a long neck that ended in that familiar many-teethed flower shape, but its body was lean like a demogorgon, and its tail ended four deadly looking spikes.
Mr. Whatsit looked up and smiled. Then he looked back at the assembled ragtag group of veterans and newbies in the war for the Right Side Up and his smile grew.
“Now if you’ll excuse me,” he said curtly. “I have to deal with a some naughty children who thought they could escape.”
He turned on his heel and the parents began screaming begging for him to return their children. He looked over his shoulder and said, “No.”
Then he went back into the house and closed the door. Just then the demodragon roared, rattling the windows and suddenly Henry’s control of the illusion reasserted itself and the house and neighborhood returned pristine.
Joyce looked up at the demodragon and muttered, “Well that’s not good.”
Hopper privately agreed. The blow back from its wings flapping would make the flame throwers pretty much pointless.
A couple of the parents began screaming as the monster turned its eyeless face toward them.
El looked up as well. She had to stop this. She just didn’t know how. She wiped the blood from her nose from dealing with the demobats off with the back of her hand.
Then it dove.
~
Eddie was fidgeting all the way to the next fairy tale. He kept looking over his shoulder as if he was expecting Vecna to pop up and yell, ‘BOO!’
Like not for nothing, that first encounter with the twins felt too easy. But that could just the fact that afterwards they were swarmed with demobats, creatures that neither of them wanted to see ever again, only for them to rush through a nearby gate.
Steve bumped their shoulders together.
‘Tell me what’s going on through that head of yours,’ he huffed. ‘There is something you’re not telling me.’
‘What? No!’ Eddie protested. ‘Why would I keep something from you?’
‘Eddie...’ Steve said warningly, ‘you are a puppet for the main bad guy, I’ve played enough video games and seen enough movies to know where this is going...’
‘Rude!’ Eddie huffed, but there was no heat to it. ‘I can’t tell you why I’m so antsy because I don’t know. There is something going on and I can’t place my finger on it.’
Steve hummed thoughtfully. ‘Well, I think he knows what we’re doing and using us for bait for El.’
Eddie blinked at him for a moment and then let out a growl. ‘Why do you trust me, Steve? Honestly! I could be leading you to your death! But you’re just following me like a puppy and I am a monster now!’
The illusion surrounding Eddie vanished and Steve was face to face with a parody of the boy he had gotten to know in that short week last Spring Break.
The fangs that had been present in his ‘wolf’ form reappeared, sharper, more dangerous. His clothes were tarnished and blood-stained as they would have been after the demobats had ripped Eddie to literal shreds. His hands were black and ended in pointed nails, almost like claws. His legs were bent back like the hind legs of cat and just as black as his hands.
But the most defining feature were the giant bat wings coming from the back of the shredded leather jacket.
Steve reached out and touched Eddie’s face. Eddie flinched, but Steve kept his hand steady. ‘Is this what Vecna turned you into?’
‘What?’ Eddie couldn’t understand why Steve wasn’t running and/or screaming.
‘He took a sweet boy,’ Steve murmured, running his thumb over the scars on Eddie’s chin, ‘and mangled him up, hoping he could turn your friends against you. But he can’t. Not with me. Because I’ve seen human monsters. I was tortured by them, you are not that. No matter the visage he gave you.’
‘Am I not terrifying?’ Eddie whispered, closing his eyes and leaning into Steve’s touch. ‘Am I not grotesque?’
‘You’re Eddie,’ Steve whispered back. ‘Just Eddie.’
A tear slipped down Eddie’s cheek and onto Steve’s hand. Then another.
‘I don’t know what killing Vecna will do to you,’ he continued. ‘If you’ll die, too. But having you back even for this moment, is enough. It’s enough for this.’
Then Steve leaned forward and pressed a kiss to Eddie’s lips. It was a gentle peck, but when Eddie opened his eyes, Steve was smiling up at him as if he had hung the moon.
He turned his head to press a kiss against Steve’s hand. ‘Oh,’ Eddie muttered, so softly against the palm of his hand. ‘How long have you been holding on to that one, sweetheart?’
‘For awhile,’ Steve admitted. ‘I still don’t know if you’re really real or trap for me sent by Vecna. But you keep trying to prove that you’re untrustworthy by being honest with me and the two really don’t line up.’
Eddie chuckled. ‘I guess you’re right. I don’t want to hurt you but I’m afraid he’s going to make me.’
Steve pressed another kiss to his lips. ‘Then we’ll come up with a code word. For if he takes over, you say it and I’ll know.’
‘He can read my mind,’ Eddie whined. ‘He’ll see the word in my head and make me say it.’
‘You know what to say,’ Steve assured him. ‘And I’ll understand what it means.’
Eddie frowned for a moment before he got it. ‘Yeah, Stevie. I can do that.’
Steve kissed him again. He didn’t know when or if he would get to do it again so he wanted to do it as many times as he could. ‘Go! I’ll find the rest of the kids.’
Eddie felt the very foundations of the Upside Down shake in his very core and both Steve and he fell to the ground.
Eddie wrapped his arms around Steve and unfurled his wings to protect him.
Once the rumbling stopped, Steve reached up and cupped Eddie’s cheek. ‘See, that’s how I know it’s you in there and not just some puppet.’
Eddie turned bright red and used his wings to get to his feet, then he helped Steve stand.
‘I think Vecna is ready to launch his attack on the world now,’ he murmured. ‘He might not have the full twelve, but he has enough.’
‘Then I’ll have to work fast,’ Steve agreed. ‘Go! Do what you can to slow him down!’
Eddie nodded and took into the air. Steve got to his feet and dusted off his knees, looking around to see where he was.
He was back in a forest but there were far too many fairy tales that had that setting. That was when he heard the singing.
He thought that was strange considering the effect music had on Vecna’s powers, so he followed the sound to what looked like a mine.
Steve was expecting a little girl as Snow White, but what he found was a little boy singing the dwarves’ song from the cartoon.
The boy looked up at Steve and frowned. ‘You aren’t Mr. Whatsit. Who are you?’
‘I’m the woodsman from Little Red Riding Hood,’ Steve explained. ‘I think I got lost, can you help me?’
‘Mr. Whatsit is punishing me because I keep singing,’ the little boy said. ‘I’m not supposed to move from this rock. But maybe I can point you in the right direction!’
‘If you’re not supposed to sing, then why do you keep doing it?’ Steve asked, squatting down in front of him.
‘My mom always said that if I got lost,’ the little boy said, ‘to start singing and she’d find me.’
Steve smiled. ‘You’re mom is smart. But why that one?’
‘Well, I saw some dwarves earlier,’ the little boy said with a blush. ‘So I thought it fit. But they were carrying this really creepy looking coffin and didn’t want to go anywhere near that.’
And suddenly Steve got it. Vecna had actually gotten clever with this one. The little boy was the prince and not Snow White.
‘I’m Steve,’ he said stick out his hand for the kid to shake. ‘What’s your name?’
‘My name is Teddy Prince, I live at 12 Maple St,’ he said proudly reciting off what he had been taught. ‘My phone number is 555-555-1987.’
‘That’s great, Teddy!’ Steve said trying to force his tone to be even instead of frustrated. And Dustin said he had no imagination, sheesh. This Vecna guy was dull as dishwater as his grandmother was fond of saying.
‘Let’s go see if we can find your mom, Teddy,’ he said reaching his hand out to him.
Teddy looked at his hand for a moment and then took it.
‘Why don’t you keep singing to see your mom can hear you?’ Steve suggested as they started walking in a direction that felt right.
‘That’s a great idea Mr. Steve,’ he said brightly. ‘Thanks!’
They started singing together and very quickly the forest opened up to a clearing with the dwarves surrounding a little girl Teddy’s age.
‘Oh!’ Teddy cried. ‘That’s Bianca Towers! She’s a friend from school.’
When Steve got his hands on Henry Creel, screw throwing fire at the bastard, he was going to wrap his hands around his neck and squeeze the life out of him. Bianca=White. She was literally Snow White!
‘I think you’re supposed to give her a kiss to wake her up,’ Steve said with a smile.
Teddy made a face. ‘But girls have cooties!’
Steve burst out laughing. ‘Just a kiss on her cheek or forehead will do, I’m sure. I bet if you kissed your hand and GENTLY touched her cheek, that should work.’
Teddy looked at him skeptically, but went and did as he bid. Steve started singing the song again.
Bianca woke up and looked around. She was in a little Snow White’s dress and her hair was perfectly done.
Suddenly a little portal opened up and Teddy and Bianca could see their bodies sitting around a table having tea.
‘Not this time,’ a voice from behind them said.
Steve and the kids turned around to see Mr. Whatsit standing next to the glass coffin. And now Steve could see the differences between the flesh monster he knew and the kind gentleman that he had shown the kids.
The glasses and neat brown suit, paired with the ‘sweet smile’ was absolute perfection if you wanted to lure children away from their homes. Steve threw up a little in his mouth at the thought.
‘Hey, Henry,’ he said, stepping in front of two kids, placing himself between Vecna and the portal. ‘That’s a pretty neat trick.’ He circled his own face.
‘Hello, Steve,’ Vecna said, cocking his head to the side. ‘You’re all alone. They’ve all abandoned you. You could run, and they wouldn’t even stop to say your name, let alone mourn you.’
‘I know,’ he replied softly. ‘But that’s not why I fight you.’
‘Oh?’
Steve stepped forward. ‘I have no connection to the town and I honestly, take it or leave it, I’d rather leave it. I have no connection to this place or the Upside Down. Robin is the same on that front, so I guess that’s not special. So with all that and the fact that everyone would move on from my death as if I was a passing summer breeze, why would I keep standing in front of you and daring you just do it?’
‘Yes,’ Henry said as parts of his illusions began to slip. His hat vanished, his eyes went blue and his hair went blond.
‘I fight you because I can,’ Steve said taking another step forward. ‘Because even if I am nothing to them, they are everything to me and I won’t let you hurt them. Not on my watch.’
This one is a little on the heavy side talking about Max and Dustin's tragic backstories. Death mention and abuse mention for trigger warning.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 |
~
Steve knew the first week with any of his tenants was the most precarious. It was a difficult tightrope to walk, and while he couldn’t count on a 100% success right, he’s never completely fucked any of them up.
And things were going well this time. He was surprised that Eddie had joined them at dinner. He had been expecting Dustin and maybe Max joining them the next day. But they all joined Steve at his center table.
No, Robin, he did not in fact miss Eddie’s blush when Steve smiled at him. She had come in at that moment and he been pestering him about it all night.
“He’s totally got a crush on you!” Robin crowed as they washed dishes.
“Or maybe he was embarrassed,” Steve pointed out. “He’s not used to not having to play politics just picking out a place to eat. So let’s not embarrass him further by saying he’s got a crush on me.”
“One doesn’t not necessarily preclude the other,” she huffed, bumping into his shoulder.
Chrissy came in and knocked on the kitchen doorway. “Hey, I convinced Max and Dustin to a couple of rounds of UNO, join us when you’re done, yeah?”
Robin turned around and smiled at her. “Sure thing, babe. We’re almost here.”
Chrissy nodded and then turned around to go wrangle the kids.
Steve bumped Robin’s shoulder back. “I know you and Chrissy are happy together and I love that for you, but I am not going to find love with someone who after his probation is over with is absolutely going to book it back to Kentucky to live with his uncle.”
She winced. “Oof, yeah. I forgot about that part. Maybe you should think about getting out more...”
He shook his head. “Not until I know for sure that Max isn’t going to fall into Neil’s hands.”
“Steve...” Robin said, letting out a pained sigh. “And then it’ll be something else. Someone else. You can’t live your life with your head buried into work. Even the Whitfords had each other. Who will you have in twenty years?”
He kissed her cheek. “You and Chrissy. Now stop being a worrywart and let’s get these dishes done before the love of your life obliterates two preteens at UNO.”
She blinked at him for a moment. “Oooh. Right. I forgot how ruthless Chrissy could be at that game.” And she picked up speed to get the chore done as quickly as possible.
They made it out just as Chrissy was dealing out the second hand.
She looked up at them and smiled brightly. “You’re just in time! Dustin won that one!”
Robin and Steve grinned at each other and then sat down at the table.
“Did anyone ask, Eddie if he wanted to join?” Steve asked, pulling his cards to him and picking them up.
“I called up at his room and didn’t get an answer,” Chrissy said, looking at her own cards. “And when I checked, his van was gone.”
Steve shrugged. “His loss. All righty, I’m guessing since Dustin won the last one he goes first. Show us whatcha got, Dusty.”
Dustin had to draw, but as the game went on, Steve could tell that Chrissy wasn’t the only ruthless player at that table, both kids were brutal.
By the end of the night, Chrissy had won once, Dustin three times, Max three times, Robin twice and Steve none. But that’s okay he didn’t mind it.
As they were packing up the game the bell over the front door sounded and when Steve looked over his shoulder, he saw Eddie dragging himself in.
Eddie shuffled past the door to the canteen and then paused, before shuffling back.
“I got a job at Benny’s Diner,” he said tiredly. “I went in for a busing position and accidentally landed myself a line cook position. But hey I made twenty bucks.”
Steve stared at him for a moment in utter shock. No one but Benny was allowed anywhere near the food at the diner.
“How’d that happen?” he asked, trying to hide his disbelief.
Eddie frowned and Steve knew he’d failed.
“It’s just that Benny is notoriously territorial of his kitchen,” Chrissy soothed.
Eddie’s eyes lit up. “Ohhh... yeah. Some dude was harassing one of the waitresses and Benny went out there on a tear and while I was standing there in the kitchen waiting for him to come back, the steak he was cooking needed to be flipped, so I looked at the ticket and saw that it was for medium well. And if I waited until he came that steak would have been a brick, so I tossed in some butter and started basting it to keep it from burning. Then I plated it and set on the window to be collected.”
“Oh my god,” Robin crowed. “That’s fantastic! How did Benny react?”
“He made me do it again,” Eddie said, coming into the room. “Just to prove it wasn’t a fluke. Like I don’t have professional training or anything like that but, my uncle was a damn fine cook and he taught me his Jedi ways.”
“So you now are working as line cook for one of the best, if not the best burger joints in all of Hawkins,” Steve said cocking his head, “congrats, man. You’ll do fantastic.”
“I’ll be making nearly three times the amount I thought I would be so...” Eddie said bashfully, pulling up a strand of his hair to hide face.
“So when your year is up,” Chrissy said brightly, “you’ll be able to afford a place of your own.”
How Steve managed to keep his face neutral, he doesn’t know but he absolutely thanked every deity he could find later for it.
“That’s the hope,” Eddie sighed wistfully. “I’d love to see Wayne again. I miss the old bastard.”
“You could call him,” Robin suggested. “The phone in your room does have long distance. You’d have to pay for the charges of course, but you could if you wanted to.”
Eddie’s eyes went wide. “I can? Holy shit! That would be awesome! I mean I wouldn’t do it now, because it’s so late and he’ll have already gone to bed, but fu–” He stopped mid-sentence when he saw Max and Dustin watching him with great interest.
Steve snorted. “These two have the worst potty mouths of any kids I’ve housed and I’ve had juvenile delinquents here so if you are censoring yourself for them, don’t.”
Eddie looked down at the two kids who were looking up at him with innocent, doe-eyed expressions in skepticism, but Steve had told him to be free with his language, soooo...
“Right,” he said nodding. “Well I’m off to crash for the night, I have my first full shift at Benny’s at 11am, so night all.” And then turned around to do just that.
“Awww...” Dustin said brightly. “I was hoping to surprise him with that later...”
“Absolutely not!” Steve said firmly. “Both of you need to come with a warning. Maybe I’ll have t-shirts made.”
“That’s fair!” Dustin said at the same time Max cried, “Rude!”
Steve snapped his fingers. “That’s exactly the word I’d use for you, Max.”
Her jaw dropped as Robin and Chrissy tried to keep their laughter behind their hands. They’re weren’t entirely successful.
Max folded her arms and then stomped off angrily.
“I’ll check in on her later,” Chrissy said finally letting her hand drop. “After she’s had plenty of time to cool off.”
Dustin turned to Steve. “Hey is okay if Lucas comes over tomorrow? We’re going to be making a couple of characters together.”
“If his mom is okay with it,” Steve said with a shrug. “Then I’m sure it’ll be fine.”
Dustin let out a long, drawn out sigh. “She’s coming over tomorrow to give Max and me our MMR shots for school, so she’ll be here anyway...”
“Then sure,” Steve said, ruffling Dustin’s hair. “Maybe if you’re good I’ll call Joyce and have her bring her Will tomorrow too. Will plays D&D too.”
Dustin cocked his head to side. “The welfare lady has a son who plays D&D?”
“Yep!” Steve said popping the ‘P’. “And his best friend plays too.”
“That’s soo cool!” he cried. “I mean if you can invite them that would be great. But I’ll understand if they can’t because like she’s busy or whatever.”
“We’ll see,” Steve replied. “To bed with you.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah...” he groused and wandered off the direction Max fled in.
Once he was out of sight, Robin let out a pained sigh. “He’s doing so well, but his dad is on life support and the hospital is basically waiting for his mom to wake up to authorize the removal to let him pass.”
“That poor kiddo,” Chrissy murmured. “He’s about to go through a really rough time.”
“I’ll talk to Joyce tomorrow and see what she thinks about Dustin spending time with Will and Mike,” Steve said running his fingers through his hair. “She’ll have more insight on how to handle this.”
“And I’ll make a call to Dr. Kelly,” Robin said. “Let her know he’s going to need grief counseling in the worst ways.”
“Maybe she can also give you ideas on when to broach the subject of Dustin’s parents,” Chrissy agreed. “Until then, we’ll just be there for him.”
They all agreed that was for the best.
~
Steve face planted into his bed with all his clothes and shoes still on. He loved his job. It was was more than just a paycheck. He loved helping people, the kids especially. He loved the looks on their faces when they are placed in a loving home and all the weight that was on their shoulders gets lifted.
He also loved seeing former convicts turning their life around. And it looked like Eddie was going to be another success story.
He rolled over on his back and let out a heavy sigh. What was the hardest was dealing with getting attached to the people who came through his door.
And sure Eddie and he got off to a rough start, but the cantankerous man was starting to warm up to life at the Hawkins Hope House. He just wished that Eddie leaving didn’t feel so damn much like a stab in the heart.
All right so he had to admit that he was falling fast for the guy and despite being known for that sort of thing, the fact of it still galled.
There was a knock on his door and he sighed.
“Come in!”
He was a little surprised to see Chrissy standing there instead of Robin. “Oh hey. What’s up?”
Chrissy came over and sat cross-legged on his bed and Steve sat up to face her.
“You falling for Mr. Three-Time Drug Dealer?” she asked bluntly. “Robin said you’ve been ogling him.”
“I have not!” Steve protested. “If any lingering looks have been cast Eddie’s way, they have been completely respectful!”
Chrissy cackled. “Of course they have. But seriously Steve I don’t get it and I’m bi. He looks like a wet rat and bad tempered even for the freshly freed.”
He burst out laughing. “It’s like you’re talking about an adopted pet, not a fully fledged human being.”
“Good,” she said nodding her head curtly. “Because he looks like a Muppet from Sesame Street teaching kids about the different kinds of music.”
“He does not!” he growled. “He’s hot, Chris! Come on! Those big brown chocolate eyes, his dimples! His dimples has dimples!”
Chrissy smiled at him. “I know! I was only making fun your crush choices to get back at you for making fun of Robin for Tammy.”
Steve stuck his tongue out at her. “At least I never insulted her looks. Just highly doubted her talent in singing.”
She cocked her head to the side. “That’s true. And she wasn’t very good was she?” she replied with a wince.
“See!” he said waving at her. “He’s very good looking and it’s making it very hard to interact with him without making an absolute ass of myself.”
“You’ll survive,” she said rolling her eyes.
“Probably,” Steve huffed. “Is the only reason you’re here is to annoy me about my life choices or was there something else you needed?”
“I got word from Dr. Kelly today,” she said softly. “Max wants her mom to sign away her parents rights.”
“Oh my god,” he breathed. “Is the court even going to let her request that? She’s not twelve yet.”
“It’s going to be Robin and Dr. Kelly are going to recommend at her next hearing,” Chrissy said with a sigh. “Hopefully Judge Murray will see reason this time and not place her with Neil again.”
Steve rolled his eyes. “If he does, I’ll beat him as badly as Neil beat Billy for thinking of moving back to California after graduation.”
“Which is where he totally isn’t right now,” she nodded sagely.
Steve nodded back. “Of course not. There is no way that poor Billy would ever have enough money for a Greyhound bus for the West Coast. Or a place he could stay until he found a job.”
“He still writes Max, you know,” she said softly. “They always come here because he can’t trust his dad not to find them. But despite everything, he still cares.”
He breathed out through his nose, not quite a huff or a sigh but somewhere in between. “I know he does and if he wasn’t so young himself, I’d send Max to join him. But he needs to find his own path without having to worry about a little girl he only has a connection to because their parents are both toxic pieces of shit.”
“I’ll drink to that,” she said sardonically. Then she patted his knee. “We’ll figure something out for our girl. The right opportunity just hasn’t shown itself yet.”
Then she bade him good night, leaving him to his thoughts.
There was a solution to be had, he just needed to find it. But he fell asleep before he could think of a single thing.
We have Eddie giving Steve a pep talk and the boys talk body image (heads up if that's triggering).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 |
~
Eddie arrived on set to find that Steve and Jim were in a corner talking in low voices. Jim had his hand on Steve’s shoulder and as far as Eddie could tell the conversation was a tense one.
He waited until Steve nodded and walked away before loping up to Jim.
“Hey, is everything okay with Steve?”
Jim looked the direction Steve had gone and let out a huge sigh. “He will be. It’s just been awhile since he’s done a movie like this so he’s rusty. But I have full confidence in him. He’s a good actor. He’s just been beat around by this town for so long, he’s forgotten.”
Eddie looked over his shoulder. “Damn. He didn’t have those jitters when we were making “Dancing in the Dark’ though.”
Jim shook his head. “That’s because it was a small budget horror film. Sure a lot was riding on it, but no one was going to blame him if it didn’t do well, they were going to blame Robin as a woman director. But now, he has to carry half this film in a genre that almost ate him alive.”
“Oh shit,” he breathed. Because yeah that tracked. He had done his due diligence after Steve had told him about his troubles and looked into all of it. And holy fucking shit his parents were horrific.
“I’m trying to give him some grace,” Jim continued. “But it’s hard when we don’t have the time for it.”
Eddie nodded. “Let me talk to him and see if I can’t help him out a bit.”
“Go for it.”
Eddie walked over to hair and makeup to see if he could catch Steve there. He had already spent his time in the chair, but hoped that’s where Steve had gone. But he wasn’t there.
He tapped his finger against his lips, putting his other hand on his hip, for a moment as he thought. He figured the next stop would be crafty. If Eddie was feeling down, he’d want food and a cup of coffee. So he wandered that direction and sure enough there was Steve nursing his coffee and what looked to be a bagel.
He was chewing on it mournfully between sips of coffee.
Eddie let out a sigh and then went to go make two cups of coffee and then sat down next to Steve. He gently wrested the styrofoam cup from his grasp replacing it with the new cup.
“Now I know you’re upset when you forgo your frou-frou drinks for black coffee, sweetheart,” he said gently.
Steve took a sip of the cup Eddie gave him and instantly straightened up. It had caramel and whipped cream and enough sugar to kill a horse.
“When did you learn my coffee order?” he asked, taking another sip.
“We practically lived at Mirabel’s for weeks filming ‘Dancing in the Dark’, dude,” he huffed sitting back with his own cup of coffee. “It’d be hard not know you go for the sweetest thing on the menu.”
Steve picked at the rim of his cup. “Robin says I’ll rot my teeth. But I like it.”
“I don’t know how you didn’t gain any weight from all those calories,” Eddie said, shaking his head. “Just looking at that bagel is adding ten pounds to my waistline.”
Steve snorted and took a large bite of the bagel. “I go for runs after I get off. It helps me unwind and return to being myself. Plus, I keep track of what I’m eating to make sure I don’t over eat.”
“God, that sounds exhausting,” Eddie said shaking his head. “Do you know if they’re going to have you dehydrate for the sex scenes?”
“I hope not,” Steve replied. “Like I’m pretty fit, but I hate that waspy six-pack look. It’s grotesque.”
“I feel that. I’m a lean guy but I worry about them wanting me to go leaner,” Eddie said. He took a sip of his coffee and grimaced. The stuff here was good quality but very dark.
“I guess I should have warned about how bitter it was,” Steve said softly. “Sorry.”
“Nothing to be sorry about, darlin’,” Eddied assured him. “So you want to tell me wants going on inside that pretty head of yours? You so tightly wound yesterday that I thought you were gonna pop a spring somewhere.”
Steve let out a shuddering breath. “This is the films that my parents were pushing on me to take more and more of. That’s all they thought I was good for. I mean they didn’t even want me doing period comedies because they thought I lacked the depth in my acting.”
“Well that’s just bullshit,” Eddie said rearing his head back. “Like I might have not had seen anything you’ve been in prior to our little conversation, but I’ve watched a lot since and holy shit, man you were wasted in those roles.”
“You’re just saying that to make me feel better,” Steve scoffed. He took another sip of his coffee and another bite of his bagel.
Eddie leaned forward and rested his forearms on the table. “Absolutely not. Steve I’ve read the reviews about your Broadway days and all of them talk about how funny you are and how deep you make each character. I read that at least three different theatre reviewers revolted when you stepped out of the role of Sir Percy.”
“It was closer to seven,” Steve admitted, trying not to make it sound like a brag.
“See!” Eddie said throwing his arms in the air. “You’ve got great talent, Steve and this isn’t like those cliché Hallmark, Disney Channel low brow romances you did as a kid. You enrich Darius to be more than a character. Because that’s what Jim saw in you. That’s what Carla saw in you. That’s what I see in you.”
Steve let out a shuddering breath and then another. “Yeah okay. It’s just that so much has changed since I was last in the movie industry and I have all these movies coming up that are after this and require real acting chops that I’m not totally convinced I have. Or ever had in the first place.”
Eddie tilted his head to side. “Okay this is recent. Where is this lack of confidence coming from? Because you were killing it at the table read just last week.”
Steve closed his eyes and then pulled out his phone. He opened his eyes to unlock his phone and went searching for something in it. Then he turned the phone to Eddie.
Eddie took the phone gingerly and looked at what was on screen. It was about a dozen messages from an unknown number that were just vile. Nasty homophobic things to dogging on Steve’s performance in “Dancing in the Dark” and The Circle of Magic series. It was all in all horrible stuff.
“Who the fuck sent you this?” he hissed handing the phone back to him.
“My agent Bob is working on it,” Steve muttered darkly. “But my guess is that my old agent Keith gave my personal number to my parents.”
“Ooh...” he growled. “I’m gonna need you to be my alibi because I’m gonna deep six his ass!”
Steve let out a startled huff of laughter. “Yeah okay. We’re pretty sure that even after the firing he broke several confidentiality laws. So Bob is going nuclear on his ass. Bob is also suggesting I change my number.”
“Do it!” Eddie urged. “I know it’s a pain in the ass, especially if you’ve had the number for a long time. But think about your mental health in the long run.”
“Thank you,” Steve murmured. “I don’t know what I would do without you.”
“Perish.”
Steve burst out laughing again. “Sounds about right. Just let me finish this and we’ll get to work,” he said lifting up his cup and bagel.
Eddie lifted his own cup. “Cheers!” And down the rest of the coffee.
Steve followed suit and then the two of them got up and made it back to hair and makeup to get it touched up before heading back on set.
Jim raised an eyebrow at Steve and he responded with a thumbs up.
“All right, places everyone!” Jim yelled and everyone scrambled to get on their marks. “Action!”
~
By the end of the second day, Steve was hot, tired, and ready to just dive into a hot shower to just live there.
Eddie threw his arm around his shoulder. “See? I told you you could get it! That was amazing! I think you made at least four extras swoon.”
Steve flicked at the rogue curl that had slipped out of the ten pounds of hair spray Ellie had put on it. “You too, Eds.”
Eddie turned bright pink. “Aww...shucks!”
“I am so ready to go home, man,” Steve whined. “Like I love my job but some days it is sooo exhausting.”
“I hear that,” Eddie agreed. “I’m going to draw a bath, fill it with lavender scent oil, a nice bottle of wine, and just soak for the next millennia.”
“Ugh,” Steve sighed. “That sounds heavily except the lavender. That shit gives me a headache.”
“Only you would find a way for a natural remedy against headaches to get headaches from them instead,” Eddie said shaking his head ruefully.
“Hey!” Steve protested, pushing at Eddie playfully. “What does that mean?”
Eddie leaned into his space. “It means, big boy, that big brain of yours behind that pretty, pretty face is fucked up.”
“It is not!” Steve cried, mouth open with a hint of an incredulous smile.
“Sorry, Stevie!” Eddie cackled dancing out of Steve’s ranger. “But like attracts like and as a resident freak, I know a brother when I see one!”
Steve flushed bright red. His insides now a jumbled up mess of warring emotions. “How about this instead? You come over for dinner, I pop a nice bottle of Rosé and we binge watch each other’s movies all night.”
Eddie tapped his finger on his lips thoughtfully. “Well, tomorrow is going to be all the scenes that don’t include us at the cafe, so... I suppose we could do that.”
Steve burst out laughing. “I’ve rented this great little suite at the Hilton that has a full kitchen. I’d love to cook for you. What would you prefer Chinese or Italian?”
“Oh Italian for sure,” Eddie said already salivating at the thought.
“Then I’ll text you the address and time,” Steve said with a soft smile.
“I’ll be there, big boy,” Eddie murmured, leaning into his space.
Steve kissed his nose and then ducked out the way. He waved his hand behind him. “See you later, Eds!”
Eddie was too stunned to say anything else. He just stood there rubbing his nose in shock.
~
Eddie arrived with a six pack of beers and a large bag of popped popcorn. Steve laughed when he saw it.
“If we’re going to be binge watching shit,” Eddie cackled gleefully. “We’re gonna need the popcorn.”
“Hell yeah!” Steve agreed, taking it from him and moving to set it on the coffee table.
“It smells amazing!” Eddie cried as entered the hotel suite. “Wha’cha cookin’, pretty boy?”
Steve smiled at him. “I’m making manicotti. I’m trying to eat less meat because of how thin they want me for Darius. But it’s got lots of great cheese in it and the sauce is to die for.”
“Did Jim say why he wanted you so skinny?” Eddie asked, following Steve into the kitchen.
“I think they wanted to have Darius to be like Cassius from ‘Julius Caesar’,” he explained over his shoulder. “You know ‘he hath a lean and hungry look’.”
“Are you going to be bulking up for the after when he gets with Rhett?” he asked, leaning against the counter.
Steve shook his head. “No. It’s going to end with me and the same build. Though I do like your thought. That he becomes healthier through his love of Rhett. Maybe bring up to Jim and see what he thinks. It’d be great not to have to subsist on chicken and broccoli for for four months.”
“I hear that,” Eddie said nodding. “I had to do that for ‘Dancing in the Dark’. The prevailing thought was that if I was thinner, I would look younger.”
“Dude,” Steve said raising an eyebrow. “You have a baby face, you already look ten years younger. That was completely unnecessary. I have a half a mind to call Robin and bitch her and her dad out for that one. That’s just gross.”
He busied himself around the kitchen, making a salad, popping the cork on the wine to let air before pouring it, popping garlic bread into the oven for the butter to melt.
“You weren’t put on a diet for the movie?” Eddie asked, cocking his head to the side.
Steve shook his head. “Not really. I mean I kept track of calories to stay at the same weight I was, but nothing drastic like now.”
“Urgh...” Eddie groaned, rubbing his face with his hands. “It’s such bullshit. It’s not like you need washboard abs for the sex scenes.”
“Not required, no,” Steve agreed. “Just preferred by the studio execs. They think that’s what women want.”
Eddie snorted. “No that’s what guys want. My friend, Jeff Lawrence did two magazine covers at around the same time. The first one was for ‘Men’s Health’ and the other was ‘Better Home and Gardens’. The first had him dehydrate, shirtless, booty shorts flexing on the cover. The second had him in a cozy sweater surrounded by his orchid collection, cheek on his knee. Guess which one sold more copies.”
“The ‘Better Homes and Gardens’ on for sure,” Steve said, handing the salad and the wine to Eddie. “Can you take these out to the table for me?”
Eddie nodded and did as he was told. Steve got out glasses and silverware and set them on the table.
Just a timer went off and Steve went back into the kitchen. He got out both the garlic bread and the manicotti and went about serving them both.
He brought the plates to the table.
“I hope you like it,” Steve said as he sat down.
Eddie took a huge bite and moaned. “This is so good, Stevie. I can’t remember the last time I had a home cooked meal this good.”
Steve blushed as he dug into his meal.
Eddie polished off his food, and then went back for seconds.
After dinner and great conversation, they flopping on Steve’s sofa and started up with Eddie’s first film. The one Joyce Byers directed.
Once in was over, Eddie turned to Steve. “So what did you think about it?”
“She’s a talented woman,” Steve said with absolute sincerity. “She was always an amazing actress, but she’s really turned that into the art of directing. She’s an actor’s director and clearly had a good eye for talent.”
It was Eddie’s turn to blush and he hid his face behind his hair. “You’re not just saying that?”
“No!” Steve protested, bumping their shoulders together. “Now come on. It’s time to watch my movie with Dustin!”
Eddie cackled and settled in.
They went back and forth watching each other’s movies all night.
Robin arrived from a flight from New York to see her mom around 5am and saw the two of them curled up together on the sofa, the Netflix logo bouncing around the screen.
She shook her head and turned off the TV. She found blankets for both of them and covered them up.
They looked so cute together, she didn’t want to wake them. She ordered them breakfast at 9am and slipped back out to her own room.
They would absolutely murder for the early breakfast but than thank her after they ate.
Hey all! Welcome back to this fun little story! I feel like I'm nearing the end, but don't worry, you'll get lots of fun before we get there.
Here we have Steve can't name a movie title to save his life and it's Christmas!!!
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 |
~
Steve knew he was lucky to get job after the hell that was the mall incident. But he wasn’t as passionate about movies as his friends were so he had more than a little trouble with the recommendation part of his job.
Especially considering he couldn’t remember names of the damn things.
Like he knew the cover and could even give a fairly accurate plot rundown, but ask him for the title and he would blank.
Robin stood on his right so he could her hear better. He had gone to the ear doctor like Danny had suggested and they told him that there was some loss but nothing that needed to be corrected yet. But to come back every six months so they could monitor it.
He was just grateful he didn’t come out of the appointment with a hearing aid at nineteen years old.
“So...” she teased, “you had the best sleep of your life cuddled up to the local drug dealer?” She wagged her eyebrows.
“Shut up!” he hissed. “Don’t say that so loud, someone might hear you!”
Robin giggled. “Sorry! But you have to admit it’s pretty hilarious.”
“It is not!” Steve hotly protested. “I tend to sleep better with anyone else in the house.”
She bumped their shoulders together. “Yeah, but not ‘the best sleep of your life’ levels of rest.”
He opened his mouth to argue further when the bell over the door sounded and he was forced to drop it. Then he saw who it was and he had to force himself from his own jaw dropping.
It was Eddie. But an Eddie Steve had never seen before. He was in grey sweat pants and an Iron Maiden t-shirt with the sleeves cut off and the sides hallowed out. He had combat boots on and a leather jacket on.
“Well what have we here!” Eddie cried gleefully. “I was not aware that Steve Harrington toiled in this video shop! Hail, great hero!”
Steve turned the brightest shade of red that a person could possibly turn at the pronouncement. “I’ve been working here as long as Robin has.”
“Then somehow I have missed this great opportunity!” Eddie said, swinging wide his arm. “Tell me my liege, what would you recommend to this humble patron of this establishment?”
Steve buried his head in his hands. “Oh don’t ask me that! I can’t remember the names!” he lamented.
“Ooh!” Eddie said coming up to the counter. “Let’s make a game of it! You give me the plot and I try to figure it out from there. I can get hints as far as genre and when it came out, but I have to find it myself.”
“Oh that does sound like fun,” Robin agreed. “Definitely more fun than our brains leaking out of our ears from boredom.”
“And we can’t have Stevie losing that beautiful mind of his,” Eddie nodded solemnly.
“What about my brain?!” she hissed.
“Meh,” Eddie said with a half shrug. “You’re so super smart that a couple loss brain cells wouldn’t hurt you at all.”
Robin blinked at him for a moment. “I’m not sure if I should be insulted or not.”
He just grinned back at her without saying a damn thing. Then he turned to Steve. “All righty, Stevie boy. Show us what you’ve got!”
Steve rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “So a movie that you would like, eh?”
“Yep!” Eddie said, putting his hands on his hips and rocking back on his heels. “So wha’cha got?”
“Okay, um...,” Steve said thoughtfully, “so it’s got a bunch of big people messing with this guy throughout his whole life and then he gets given a helmet that makes him invisible, a mirror bright shield, and stupid fucking owl to go rescue a princess from a demon.”
Eddie’s eyes went wide. “Holy shit, I think I know this one!” He turned on his heel and went dashing between the aisles. He came back with a movie held aloft over his head.
“Behold! ‘Clash of the Titans’!” He slid the tape over the counter to Steve.
Steve picked up the VHS and looked it over. “Yes, yes, yes!” he cried tapping the back of the case. “I guess I never realized they were supposed to be gods, I guess.”
“Not a fan of Greek myths?” Eddie teased. “I thought every kid went through a Greek myths phase.”
“I did!” Robin said, throwing her arm in the air. “I wanted to be one of Artemis’s hunters! No men? Sign me up!”
Steve snorted. “I was more of an Egyptian myths kinda guy. I really loved that Sesame Street movie about Big Bird being trapped in the museum over night!”
Eddie and Robin stared at Steve for a moment.
“Okay then!” Eddie said, rocking back on his heels. “I believe that one was called ‘Don’t Eat the Pictures’.”
Steve giggled. “They put out another one back in August, again starring Big Bird about them forcing him to go live with dodos.”
“Aren’t those extinct?” Robin asked tilting her head to the side.
“That’s what I said!” Steve cried, snapping his fingers. “But, eh. Holly liked it, and it was fun.”
Eddie tilted his head to the side. “Holly? Who’s Holly?”
“Holly is Mike’s little sister,” Steve said with a shrug. “She always liked me when I dating Nancy and frankly I don’t see I should stop hanging out with her because me and her sister broke up. Besides I like babysitting her, she’s fun.”
“That’s right! Will and El mentioned her that night I spent the night. You never cease to amaze, Steve Harrington,” Eddie said in awe.
Steve ducked his head and blushed under Eddie’s intense stare.
“Well, ring me up, Stevie boy,” Eddie said with a grin. “You recommended this to me, so I’m renting it.”
Steve hurried to do just that, throwing on a Butterfingers on the order.
“Oh, I can’t afford that too,” Eddie mumbled shyly, shoving hair in front of his face.
“I’ll spot you for it,” Steve said with a grin. “Think of it as a prize for correctly guessing my movie.”
Eddie turned an even brighter shade of pink. “Yeah, thanks.” He gathered up the candy bar and movie, having paid for the rental, and nearly ran out of the store.
“So he’s cute,” Robin said, aiming for nonchalant and missing it by a mile.
Steve snorted, digging into his pocket for the price of the candy bar. “He’s a lot of things, Rob, but I’m not sure cute is one of them.”
She cackled. “Deny it all you want, Steve. But you think he’s cute, too.”
“Okay, okay, maybe a little,” he said with a sigh. “But only because his dimples have dimples and no other reason!”
She raised an eyebrow and then sidled up to him. “So it not that he’s good with your kids, or that he takes what you say seriously, or that he loves hanging out with you? You absolutely sure none of that has anything to do with you thinking he’s cute?”
Steve snorted. “Of course not. Those are the reasons I think he’s hot.”
Robin burst out laughing. “Yeah, yeah, yeah. So Steve Harrington has a crush on the local Freak. Whatever are you going to do?”
“Flirt with him until he gets the hint?” he said with a shrug.
“Just promise me you’ll be careful,” she said bumping their shoulders together.
“I promise.”
~
Christmas was coming and Steve absolutely was freaking out. He had presents for everyone, including 99.99999% of Hellfire.
The one hold out?
Eddie.
Like Steve knew who his favorite bands were, what he liked book-wise, movie-wise. Hell he even knew the guy’s favorite color was red.
But none of that seemed to help him getting the man a present. Because everything felt so fucking charged. Afraid that someone might misconstrue the message of the gift to mean something it didn’t.
Not yet anyway.
And then he saw it.
It was the most beautiful dragon statue Steve had ever seen. It was about eighteen inches tall including the base, red and gold with midnight black wings perched on a castle.
He checked the price tag and winced. It was $75. He chewed his lip and debated it for all of three seconds before he bought the damn thing.
Steve had it all wrapped up and carefully packaged so it wouldn’t break and then set to wrapping the rest of the presents.
With his parents going to the French Alps this year for Christmas, he had offered to host the Christmas party, inviting literally everyone.
He pulled Eddie aside the moment the other boy walked into the front room.
“Hey, would it be okay if I gave your present after the party?” Steve asked running his fingers through his hair.
“I certainly don’t see a problem with it,” Eddie replied with a shrug.
“It’s just that it’s very fragile,” he explained. “I just don’t want it accidentally getting broken.”
“Sounds fair to me.” Eddie rubbed chin thoughtfully. “But people are going to say something if every one else gets a gift and I don’t.”
“Oh.”
Steve hadn’t thought about that. That would be really bad.
“Wait!” Eddie said excitedly. “I have an idea! Do you have an envelope?”
“Huh?” Steve asked, tilting his head to side. “I mean I guess my dad would have some in the office.”
“Go get one,” Eddie said, bouncing on the balls of his feet.
Steve did as he was told and came back with the envelope.
Eddie took it from him and then pulled out a small notebook from his pocket. He wrote on it ‘gift to be delivered at a later time’ and then put in the envelope.
“There you go!” he said brightly handing it back to Steve. “Now just write my name on the envelope and presto! No one will worry about it!”
“This is great,” Steve enthused. “Thank you!”
“Any time, Stevie.”
They got down to properly celebrating the holiday. There was egg nog (non alcoholic, of course), hot chocolate, hot apple cider with trays and trays of cookies and cakes and sweets of every kind.
Brian came up to Steve halfway through the party happily munching on a soft, chocolate covered gingerbread cookie and begged, “Dude, you have to tell me where you got these cookies. I need to take three dozen home for my family to demolish!”
Steve burst out laughing. “They’re so good, right? I discovered them when I did Christmas at one of Carol’s friends, Samantha Stone. Her family is German and they had these and the chalky white ones and I just fell in love with them.”
“Hell yeah,” Brian agreed. “Do they have a name? Because I definitely want more of these wherever they’re from.”
“I always slaughter the name,” Steve said with a grimace. “Come with me and I’ll show you.”
Brian happily followed Steve into the kitchen.
“The chocolate ones are lebkuchen and the white ones are...” Steve stared hopelessly at the package. “Robin!” he cried, panicked.
Robin came dashing into the kitchen as if the house was on fire. “What’s the emergency?”
Steve flushed in shame. “Sorry to make you worry, but...” he handed her the empty bag. “I don’t know how to pronounce this.”
Robin cackled when she saw the package ‘Pffeffernüsse’. “Yeah, I can see the worry. It’s feffernoose, the ‘P’ is silent.”
“Can I just take the packages home so I can make sure I’m getting the right ones?” Brian asked, looking slightly panicked himself at the names.
“Sure,” Steve said, handing them to him. “I usually get them at Big Buy, but there is also a great little German deli where Samantha got hers, up in Indy. But that might be too much of a trip.”
“Yeah, man,” Brian breathed. “Thanks, man.”
“Of course.”
Once he had wandered back to the party in the front room, Robin bumped her shoulder against Steve’s.
“That’s another of Eddie’s friends you’ve won over,” she said with a smirk. “They’re just falling like dominoes.”
Steve snorted. “I am never to going to pass the best friend test, though,” he said jutting his chin toward Jeff.
She let out a low whistle. “I thought he had warmed up to you after hearing what you did for Lucas against Hargrove.”
“You’d think,” he said with a sigh. “But that only made him less hostile.”
Robin winced. “Yeah, just keep being your dorky self, he’ll come around eventually.”
Steve sighed. He could only hope so.
They went back to the party and finally it was time to open their presents. Everyone was thrilled with all the presents they got. No one was obliged to give everyone a gift, so some people definitely had more presents then others.
But for the most part everyone was chill about it. After all Nancy wasn’t expecting to get presents from the Hellfire Club and vice versa from Jonathan and her to the Hellfire crew.
When Eddie opened his envelope Dustin peaked over his shoulder. “Oh that makes sense!”
Everyone turned to Eddie and Dustin in curiosity.
“What Steve got him is like super fragile,” Dustin said with a grin. “I can see Steve wanting it to not get accidentally broken or some shit.”
“But I promise to show it off when I can!” Eddie said with a grin.
Steve tried to not feel a little possessive of the dragon, that Eddie would be showing it off to friends and shit.
Finally most of the people had gone home except Dustin, Robin, and Eddie.
“All right pretty boy,” Eddie said rubbing his hands together. “Show me what you’ve got!”
Steve went to a closet just off from the laundry room and got the box. He set it gingerly on the coffee table and tried to remember how to breathe.
Eddie opened the box and peeled away the layers and layers of packing paper. He let out a gasp when he saw it glimmering in the low light of the Christmas lights.
“Steve...” he said breathlessly. “You didn’t.”
Steve blushed. “I wanted to do something special since we dragged you into the Upside Down bullshit. You’ve been so kind to Will and El and everyone, I just wanted–” He ran his fingers through his hair in frustration.
Eddie was on his feet and giving Steve a hug in an instant. “It’s amazing! I love it. I promise to take super care of it.”
“You gonna name it?” Dustin asked. He was sitting on the floor cross-legged, his chin propped up on his hands, elbows on his knees.
Eddie looked back to the box and then to Steve. “I think I’ll name him Smaug.”
