Just wanted to let you know that I have not been able to stop thinking about your Steve/Barb au it's so good!! and so interesting to think about how that would change things!! Idk rare pairs are so fun to think about!
Forgive me if this is not where you were going with this but I'm thinking about Barb surviving the demogorgons attack because she's not in the pool with a cut hand. Barb doesn't know where she is or what happened to her, but she's scared and she knows that /something/ is hunting her. Everything smells like rot and decay and all she's focused on is survival. Her glasses are broken and gone, and she's sprained an ankle, but she's alive. Steve's sweatshirt is warm and still smells like him. It's a comfort, she thinks, as she runs and hides in the woods behind Steve's house.
Topside Steve is getting sucked into the Upside down stuff way earlier because his sort of (they haven't made it official yet) girlfriend is missing after leaving his house and she wouldn't just dissapear like that. And he's scared but he has to do /something/.
After some time in the Upside Down, God knows how long, Barb hears something. And it doesn't sound like the monster that's hunting her. So she stays silent, grabs hold of a stick or something to make herself feel safer, and peeks. And it's a boy. Alive. Human. Trapped just like her. And then for a while it's her and Will Byers, growing weaker and trying so hard to stay alive and let people know they're there.
Eventually, they get out. And she's sick and barely holding on and traumatized but she's alive and in the hospital recovering. As soon as Steve's allowed to see her he's there. He's bought flowers and a fluffy teddy bear. He calls her Barbie because he knows she'll roll her eyes fondly at him. He kisses her forehead and holds her hand.
Sorry this isn't more coherent I'm just !!!!!! Thoughts!!!!!
Are you in my brain?? Because exactly. (I have been holding on to "steve is the only one allowed to call her barbie" for way too long. not even romantically just in "barb lives au" they deserve to be annoying friends to each other haha) In the show Barb almost got away, and possibly would have it weren't for the fact she was in the pool, so I don't think it's too far of a stretch for us to say she survives in this au (there is a version where she dies and it's just. Angst. But that's not this one!)
I think the potential for Nancy to suspect Steve of doing something (even when it was Jonathan who is officially the last person to see her) would lead her to Jonathan. Similar to the show, she sort of just...brushes off the creepy pictures (it's both easier and hard for her here because it's not her in the pictures so who cares...but it's Barb [and Steve] so she cares very much, actually) and they go monster hunting without Steve and see the deer and Nancy gets pulled in through the tree etc.
Steve, who's definitely freaking out that is (basically) girlfriend is missing and her best friend is mad at him and won't talk to him, uses his ninja skills to check on her to see if she's okay, and sees her with Jonathan. Nancy isn't his girlfriend so the only thing he's mad about is her hanging out with the perv who took pictures of him and Barb and specifically a picture of her almost in her car which they know she never got into. So he knocks on the window and they jump but let him in. And that's how Steve gets into monster hunting. (idk if Tommy and Carol also join...maybe Steve waves them off through the window, maybe he gestures for them to come to...idk. much to think about. Maybe they don't join the upside down gang but they remain friends with Steve and know Something Happened, but he can't tell them what)
blah blah blah it all basically goes the same except because no cheating allegations there's no graffiti or fight, Steve 100% gives a backhanded apology for breaking Jon's camera "Hey, man. I shouldn't have broken your camera like that even if you deserved it..." or something. The trio fight the demogrogon, even if Steve is a bit, ah, weary of leaving a bunch of twelve-year-olds who have proven that they don't listen to grown ups when they say to leave well enough alone even for their own safety...but leave them he does. Fight an interdimensional monster with a nailbat he does. Dies, he doesn't.
Meanwhile, now that our girl Barb has survived he initial confrontation with the monster with no face, she's wandering, hiding, around the woods behind Steve's house except...it's not actually Steve's house. It's some twisted up version, and it's dark and creepy and oh so scary. Her glasses are cracked through one lens but it's better than not being able to see at all or not feel the comforting weight on her nose, and Steve's sweatshirt is big, comfy, and smells like him. She holds onto these tiny bits of home as she tries to figure out how to get out of...wherever she is.
At some point, she hears shuffling in the woods, but not from the monster. It's definitely smaller, and...there's a voice. Singing. She walks over quietly, and says "hi". the little boy jumps and stares, wide-eyed. They stick together, she holds him close.
When all is said and done, she and Will end up sharing a hospital room, due to Upside Down convenience. She;s older and wasn't in it for as long, but she's still weak. Her parents are besides themselves, having been told it was a gas leak that led her to be disoriented and lost in the woods, only by grace of god did she find and help Will.
Steve is behind them, with scratches on his face and a haunted look in his eye, but he smiles a little, and wiggles his fingers at her. She wiggles hers back. Her parents shuffle around, and leave the room to talk to the doctor. He sits beside her and reaches out to gently fiddle with her fingers.
"Hey," she says.
His voice is soft, when he responds, "hey," and doesn't take his eyes off her face.
She squeezes his fingers a bit. "heard you fought an interdimensional monster with, like, a lot of teeth for me."
He shrugs, squeezes back. "also to get Will Byers back."
"He's a good kid." she flicks her eyes to where little Will is being smothered by his gaggle of friends who nearly died trying to get him back.
Steve blinks rapidly, and tucks his chin to his chest. "I was so worried, Barbie." the nickname usually annoys Barb, too baby-ish, too connected to the doll, too...a lot of things. But Steve says it like it's precious, like she's precious, and she thinks letting her boyfriend (because that's what he is, isn't he? What's a boy you kiss and who would fight monsters to find you?) can call her Barbie.
"I'm back. I'm okay now."
"Yeah. But. Christ, things could have gone so much worse." He pinches the bridge of his nose, squeezes his eyes shut.
"Hey." she rubs the back of his hand with her thumb. "Hey. It didn't though. The government goons will be on us, sure. But Will is safe. I'm safe. All those kids and Nancy and Jonathan are safe. You're safe. Okay? And, when I get out of here, you're taking me out for burgers and milkshakes."
He smiles, actually smiles all squinty-eyed and toothy, "Yeah. okay. It's a date."
"Yeah, it is. I've got high expectations, Harrington. Killing a monster for a girl really sets the bar high, you know."
He laughs, and presses a kiss to her cheek, smiling.
(later, he tells her everything that happened on the rightside up, and she tells Jonathan to burn the negatives and that her boyfriend has a nailbat he's pretty good with, so he better not try to trick her...)
and idk. i think they're cute. They bicker, and Steve chooses topics just to rile her up so she'll roll her eyes at him but then explain why exactly he's wrong in step-by-step detail, and he also scoops her up and twirls her around and kisses her in the halls. they're gross and in love. In s2, i think Nancy still wants to expose the lab (other people did die, those hunters? what happened to them?) and both steve and barb are like "they will kill us" (pragmatic duo) so that's why they both go to nancy's to try to talk to her about it, which is how dustin kidnaps them, etc.
s3 we get scoops troop except robin is just tallying how many times Steve sighs dreamily until his gf comes by and he turns into a golden retriever and robin is like. ew. straight people (they are not, actually. I have a coming out scene between starb (seriously i need to figure out a ship name for them haha) that involves barb telling steve she once had a crush on nancy and steve's like yes obviously everybody has crushes on their best friend of the same gender you just don't do anything about it...like buddy...do i have news for you...bi4bi starbara) anyways the five of them get stuck in the elevator, stobin still hold the door, get tortured, etc, but this time dustin and erica have Angry Protective GF on their side. They get out, steve and robin have bathroom confessionals, which involves robin asking if steve's ever been in love and then immediately realizing he's going to wax poetic about Barb and steve also being like "i wanna be your best friend sooo bad barb said i maybe have a crush on you but i don't i wanna be like, the best man at your wedding, y'know? you're so fun and make me laugh and I want you and Barb to get along because I love Barbie and omg you could be my kids' auntieeee..." and robin tells him that he doesn't know her, and if he did he wouldn't want her around any of his hypothetical future children, tells him about tammy, and they sing total eclipse of the heart when dustin erica and barb bust in, and steve is like "barbie, honey pie, robin is gonna be our kids' godmother." as though that makes any sense. everyone else is like ????
idk i just like monster fighting power couple barb/steve a lot i think theyre neat.
