#chat: steve

[morimebaby]

❝ this is fucked up , this is so fucked up . ❞ (Steve to Kate)

It was always disorienting after a trial when Kate knew she should be covered in dirt and sweat and blood, not to mention grievous injuries, and instead her clothes and body were as pristine as when she'd started. It was almost like the Entity was trying to gaslight them into thinking nothing had happened, and sometimes it worked. Memory wasn't the most reliable thing in The Fog. But her memories of last night's trial were crystal clear this morning. Unfortunately.

Apparently, she wasn't alone in that. Her hand settled on Steve's shoulder where they sat near the dying embers of the campfire, and she rubbed small, soothing circles over his sweater. "Breathe, darlin'. It's over. You're safe for now." She hadn't been with him. She didn't know what had happened, whether he'd lived or died, or why he was having a minor meltdown, but it didn't matter. They had to take care of each other. They were all they had. "You wanna talk about it?"

[strangeflayed]

"What's next? Rabies shots for the Easter Bunny?" (Steve to Jonathan?)

"Is this a real conversation that's happening?" Jonathan didn't raise his head from where it was tilted back against the wall, but he did slit his eyes open to shoot him a look of mingled disbelief and confusion (and a trace of judgment because, well, Jonathan). He knew it must have something to do with the military operation they were observing--or maybe not. To be fair, he hadn't been listening closely.

It wasn't unusual for Jonathan to feel like he'd missed a step in their conversation. He considered himself a reasonably intelligent person, but he sometimes felt as though he and Steve were speaking different languages. It was as irritating as it was cute, though he was loathe to admit that second part. He lowkey hated that he'd fallen into the stereotype of finding a dumb jock endearing. It was such a stupid romance novel cliche.

[morimebaby]

“ hows my hair? “ (Steve to Ace)

"Man's got his priorities in order." Ace gave a nod of approval. Anyone with the capacity to still be vain while they were trapped in literal purgatory was okay by him. He was the sort of person who vibed immediately or not at all, and he vibed with the easy-going Hawkins ex-resident. Did it mean they were friends? …Well. It meant Ace would give it a second thought before he screwed him over, if it ever came to that. To be fair, nobody was really safe from that, friend or not. He circled him once with a critical eye, but Steve's hair was immaculate as always. Like he'd said: priorities. Rounding to face him again, he shot him some finger guns, complete with accompanying click click sound effect. "Lookin' good, man. Got a hot date?"

[strangeflayed]

@alwaysxinxtrouble

Jonathan had replayed his last meeting with Steve over and over again in his head over the past months until it no longer made him nauseous. He still couldn't believe he'd confessed his feelings to Steve Harrington, of all people, but at the time it had felt right. (Well, no, it felt awful, his anxiety threatening to make him barf at any moment, but at least it was out there.) He'd given him a homemade mixtape too because cheesy as that was, it was a little easier to communicate in music. It had songs on it that reminded him of Steve, songs he thought he'd like, a couple of Jonathan's favorites, and maybe a few that tried to explain his feelings.

At the time, he hadn't believed he'd ever see him or Hawkins again. He hadn't expected anything but dumbfounded silence and maybe a right hook. He certainly hadn't expected Steve to feel the same way, especially not after they'd been in competition for the same girl for so long. That wasn't why he'd done it. He'd wanted to clear the air and leave with his conscience clean and, more weirdly, he'd wanted Steve to know there was nothing standing between him and Nancy anymore, least of all Jonathan. It may have taken sleeping with her to realize he wasn't …built… that way, but he still wanted her to be happy. She was an incredible person. She deserved to be happy.

Jonathan wasn't well-suited to the California lifestyle. He was pale and indoorsy and generally disdainful of pretty people, so that wasn't exactly his crowd. There were things he liked about it though. It was a lot easier to get weed, for one thing. And the people there weren't as tightly knit as the ones in Hawkins, or maybe that was just a byproduct of being free of high school. Everyone wasn't constantly in everyone's business. It was very live and let live. He'd done his best to let go of Steve and move on. He'd done some experimenting, trying to figure out exactly who he was and what he liked. He thought he'd answered that question pretty well for himself, enough to come clean about it to his mom and Will.

Now, he was sitting in a van while they passed the Welcome to Hawkins sign, and trying not to have a panic attack. He didn't even have time to get stoned on this long-ass road trip, so there was nothing keeping his heart rate under control. His knee bobbed nervously up and down out of time to the low music on the radio. He probably wouldn't even see Steve today. There was no reason for him to be waiting at the old Byers home. Was there? Shit, maybe. They were here because it was starting again, after all, and Steve was a part of that. He could swear his heart stopped for a second when the van parked and he saw the small crowd waiting for them, Steve among them.

He exhaled nervously and climbed out of the passenger seat, slightly stiff from sitting for so long. He consoled himself with the idea that Steve probably wouldn't say anything about it. There was no upside to acknowledging it. It would be just as weird for Steve as it was for Jonathan, if not more. So… it was fine. Everything was fine. His worn sneakers hit the dirt, and he closed the car door behind him, hiding his feelings behind that resting bitch face that had gotten him through high school. No reaction rarely got him into trouble.

[strangeflayed]

❝ you need someone. let me be that person. let me be what you need. ❞

@mxrvelouscreations

It was easier to move on when Billy thought it was over, that the Mind Flayer was gone, El had closed the gate, and that was it. Now that things were happening with Max, it was like it was starting all over. Billy hadn't hesitated to join that fight. He wasn't just going to let the Flayer have his fake sister--or anybody else--but that didn't make it easy. Seeing pieces of the Upside Down creeping back into Hawkins had triggered a panic attack, and he'd had to remove himself from the group.

He thought he'd covered it well enough by claiming he needed a smoke broke, but apparently not. Harrington still found him on his knees in the dirt behind the house, gasping for air like a fish out of water. He couldn't come out of it fast enough to explain it or tell him to get the hell away from him. He could only close his eyes and wait for it to pass, until his stuttering breaths came more easily, and then he found he didn't really want Steve to go. As hard as it was to let someone see him be that weak, it was far worse being alone with it. At least Harrington knew the monsters were real.

"Yeah, just… stay for a few minutes," he agreed quietly, not getting up. He wasn't sure his legs would hold him yet.

[gallowsheart]

@alwaysxinxtrouble

Blair was being followed. While she wasn't one hundred percent certain, it was high eighties at least. She hadn't noticed it when she first split away from the small group. At first, she'd managed to convince herself it was the paranoia of being on her own again. She'd spent a lot of time traveling alone since the outbreak, but even those few days among people had been enough to begin to let her guard down again. Besides the pleasure of conversation and another person's company, it felt safer with them, especially with Steve. He had a way of leading that seemed effortless, the kind of steady person who could be relied on in a crisis. Did this qualify as a crisis if it just went on and on, or was it the new normal?

In any case, she missed them already, and she missed them more once she realized someone was tailing her. There was some small safety in numbers, and out here it was just Blair and her nerve to keep her safe. The signs piled up until she was trying not to twitch at every small sound in the trees, and then she decided she'd better act before she turned herself into a nervous wreck-- or worse, when whoever it was happened to catch up with her. If she'd learned anything from her father, it was to make sure she only needed to strike once.

They seemed to hang back during the day, so when she was reasonably sure she'd outdistanced them, she set to work laying her trap. It was simple since she couldn't guarantee a lot of time before they were close enough to see her again, a loose layer of leaf litter over a pulley snare, and Blair's clear tracks leading through it. Then she circled around, climbed into the low branches of a nearby tree, and settled in to wait. She was going to feel very silly if it turned out to be nothing, but if it wasn't… she wasn't just going to wait around for someone to kill her or worse. Morality fell apart quickly after the world ended.

[strangeflayed]

"There are fifteen people in this house, and you're the only one who has to make trouble." (From Steve 👀)

"Go fuck yourself, Harrington. I'm not in the house." The front door of the Byers house slammed behind them as if to emphasize his point, and heavy boots clambered down the porch steps. There was already a cigarette in his mouth, and he leaned against the chipped and peeling side of the house to light it, every movement quick and jerky, telegraphing his annoyance.

They were all on the same side now that the Mind Flayer or Vecna or whatever the hell he called himself was targeting Max, but it was by no means a seamless partnership. Historically, Billy wasn't easy to get along with, and he'd bullied pretty much everyone in that house at one point or another. He wasn't looking for forgiveness, but he admitted (internally, at least) that he couldn't just walk away. Max needed help, and these were the people best suited to saving her. He wasn't going to leave and hang her out to dry. He just needed a few minutes to smoke and leash his temper again.

[strangeflayed]

@alwaysxinxtrouble

Billy was perched on the edge of the pool, feet skimming the water, cigarette forgotten between his fingers as the night hummed quiet around them. Steve surfaced a few feet away, pushing his hair back with a wet hand before gripping the edge and hauling himself up just enough to lean in. Water streamed down his shoulders and arms, cool against Billy’s sun-warm skin as Steve closed the distance and kissed him — slow, confident, like it was the most natural thing in the world. He lingered there, lips still brushing Billy’s, breath close and steady, the pool lapping softly behind him while the rest of the night seemed to hold its breath.

Billy liked nights like this more than he was willing to admit, just the two of them unwinding by the pool. He liked hearing stupid details about Steve's day and watching the way his body cut through the water, smooth and purposeful. He raised an eyebrow when he surfaced near him, a hint of a challenge in it. He didn't even care that Steve was dripping on him, dark water spots forming on his shorts. He'd half-expected him to pull him into the pool anyway, but this was better, Steve's lips cool and sure against his. He was content to linger in the kiss, a hand coming up to rest along the side of his face.