thinking about nonbinary steve harrington again , based on the s3 cherry lipgloss + highlights agenda, so here’s a little hc dump:
- he’s been quietly experimenting since high school, but only alone in his room. stealing his mom’s cherry chapstick, trying on a silky scarf, painting one nail and taking it off before school. every time it feels weirdly right and then he panics about it.
- one day at the mall he sees a flower print sweater in a store window and cannot stop thinking about it. he finally buys it with a whole “it’s for my cousin’s birthday” lie ready, even though the cashier doesn’t care. at home he puts it on, looks in the mirror, and has that dizzy “oh. that’s me” moment… immediately followed by shame because he has no words for why he likes it and is sure people would clown him.
- the sweater lives folded at the back of his closet under three “normal” hoodies. whenever his parents are out of town he does a whole ritual: lock the door, close the blinds, put on the sweater, maybe the chapstick, soften his hair instead of the big king steve thing. it’s the only time he lets himself look how he wants.
- post‑graduation scoops steve is when he starts testing the waters in public. the lipgloss and highlights are “for the customers, for tips, for the ~charm~,” but really it’s him seeing how feminine he can go without the world ending.
- he turns into a lowkey skincare girly. nice-smelling body wash, lotion, way more products in the bathroom than any of the boys he knows. he claims it’s because “girls like guys who take care of their skin,” but the truth is he just likes feeling soft and put‑together.
- jewelry becomes his safe playground: thin gold chain, maybe an anklet, a couple of little bracelets. he borrows robin’s rings and hair ties and just… doesn’t give them back, because wearing her stuff feels safer than buying his own.
- robin is the first person who sees the flower sweater. she’s digging for a sweatshirt in his room, pulls it out like “uh, this rules actually?” he starts word‑vomiting excuses and she just cuts in with “it looks really good on you, dingus.” no weirdness, no joke, just approval. after that, she’s the one who tells him “burn the polo shirts, keep this.”
- he doesn’t have language for being nonbinary, he just knows he likes messing around with “girl” stuff sometimes.
- the turning point is robin and eddie both being completely normal about it. late at night, he and robin trade half‑confessions: “do you ever feel like you’re not the kind of girl you’re supposed to be?” / “yeah, and i don’t feel like the kind of guy i’m supposed to be either.” they don’t define it, they just know they’re in the same weird little boat.
- with eddie, it’s all about language. eddie starts calling him “pretty boy” and “princess” in that teasing-but-sincere way, and steve notices that instead of flinching, he feels… good. one day he shows up to movie night in the flower sweater, all nervous, and eddie just lights up and goes, “hey, you look really pretty today.” no joke, no punchline. that’s it. steve’s brain rewires a little on the spot.
- over time, with people he trusts, he stops dodging and starts leaning in. if robin or eddie or the kids are like “that’s kind of girly, isn’t it?” he just shrugs and goes, “yeah, sometimes i am,” and refuses to elaborate. no label, no big coming‑out speech, just quiet permission to be himself.
