Steve Was Probably Dustin’s Favorite Person In The Entire World, Not That He Would Ever Admit It Out

free him

I tried to leave Kudos on a fic that was already deleted (i had the tab open) and I was expecting it to just bug out or not work but this is so much more unsettling

pro tip “he freed his erection” is the most useful phrase in any smut writer’s arsenal because it means never having to figure out a dude’s pants situation. how did he do it? were there zippers? buttons? some kind of bizarre lacing situation? maybe he cut off his pants with scissors. maybe it was a wizard. maybe it busted out like the hulk busts out of his shirts. no one knows. no one cares. his dick is out now and that is all that matters. thank you helpful dick wizard.

REBLOG IF YOU HAVE STRETCHMARKS

This way people can see they’re not alone. I have them and this would help me see that.

I only had Steve repeating his senior year because I wanted the kids to know Eddie already, but thinking about it? This messes Steve up so so much more. He obviously met Robin, who asked a few pointed questions that made him go oh. about his life and his identity.

He’s back for another year in high school because of post concussion symptoms. His parents are probably pissed. He’s trying to rebuild his own sense of self without defining it with popularity, but he’s stuck in the place where he was the most popular before. And is now one of those loser super seniors.

Enter Eddie, who had been on Steve’s radar as a vague awareness of maybe-attraction in previous years. And the guy is protecting his kids. Encouraging them. He’s also as close to Out as he can be in Hawkins. He knows who he is. He’s unapologetic and doesn’t let trends define him. He’s who he wants to be. Of course there’s hearteyes.

But Steve isn’t comfortable with himself enough to talk to him directly. Hence the letters.

And maybe at first he wasn’t even sure that Eddie liked getting them. Or was even reading them. Probably wrote about how he was anonymous because he didn’t think Eddie would actually like him if he knew. It’s been a theme from the start, and it was probably the first thing that Eddie talked about when he could finally write back.

Eddie totally said that anyone who wrote letters like that, who was that kind and clever and generous and funny, would always be someone Eddie liked. Loved. That it wouldn’t matter if X was ugly, that it wouldn’t even matter if X was a girl. That Eddie would still want to know them.

And that’s when you have those insults. When Steve was finally finally brave enough to be around Eddie. To come to Hellfire. Because Eddie had promised in the letters to teach X how to play, that he’d be so so patient because X told him that he probably wasn’t smart enough to play.

Eddie has to betray everything he’s said.

And it is specifically because Steve Harrington is anathema to Eddie.

Proof that who Steve wants to be, tries to be, is wanted, but who he is in real life, not on paper, isn’t good enough.

(Yes, Robin had to be hugged into submission to keep her from slashing Eddie’s tires)

But, tag writer whose user name I can’t recall, Steve didn’t write his last letter in the car. He dropped off the boys, went home, and wrote something longer at first. He tried to find a way to explain to Eddie that he’s trying. That he wants to be a better person who Eddie would be happy to discover is X. He writes it, and he doesn’t believe that it will ever happen. That he can ever be better.

Anyway, Steve totally gets Vecna’d in this AU, and Eddie is one of the focal points.

This is enough!

Perfectly filling my mind and soul.

I love it.

Kissing has never done all that much for Steve, if he’s honest.

It's just not really something he's ever given much thought to before - the way someone kisses - despite the fact that he's locked lips with plenty of people. For him, kissing has always been something nice, but not particularly special. It's never been earth-shattering. Never taken his breath away, the way people talk about in movies and books. It's just a way to be closer to someone, and it's nice, but it's never anything more than that.

Then, Steve kisses Eddie for the first time, and suddenly he gets it.

They're high when it happens, laying side by side in Eddie's unmade bed while the weed sinks into their bones. Steve loves the way it seems to slow down the world around them - makes everything syrupy and sweet, so he feels every brush of Eddie's fingers against his own in every inch of his body as they pass the joint back and forth.

The casual contact makes him long for more, and when he's high, Steve just...gives into the longing. He lets himself drift closer until they're pressed together so closely that Eddie can hide his face in Steve's uncharacteristically messy hair when he's trying to cover up a snort of laughter in response to Steve's deranged weed-induced musings.

Tonight, they meander their way through a directionless conversation - as they so often do when they get high together - until the joint is so small it nearly singes their fingertips. When Eddie finally sits up to stamp it out in the ashtray on the bedside table, Steve tries not to miss the feeling of Eddie's body against his own too much, knowing it'll be back soon enough.

"I'm thinking of handing over the DM throne to Will for the next oneshot, after we finish this campaign," Eddie says, speech slow and thoughtful as he puts out the blunt. "Think he'll be good at it."

Steve just hums, eyes heavy-lidded, gaze fixed on the curls he wants so badly to run his fingers through, just to know what it feels like. He's high enough to not care about the consequences when he decides fuck it, and reaches out to feel the soft ringlets beneath his fingertips.

"You're good at it," he muses - a delayed response to Eddie's comment. If Eddie is bothered by the way Steve is carefully petting his hair, he doesn't show it. Instead, he turns back to look down at Steve with a soft smile that makes Steve's insides feel all gooey.

"Yeah?" Eddie asks, a hint of a smirk overtaking the softness. "You ready to admit that you like watching me play my little nerd game, Harrington?"

Steve blames the quiet whine that escapes his throat on the weed, along with the way he honest-to-God pouts in response to Eddie's words. He tugs on a lock of Eddie's hair petulantly. "Don't like it when you call me that."

Eddie's face does something strange then, and Steve can't quite parse out what it means with the weed making his brain all foggy. He looks...surprised? Fond? Maybe both?

"Sorry, Stevie," he replies, teasing but somehow genuine at the same time. Steve smiles dopily, an expression that Eddie returns. "That better?"

Satisfied, Steve nods. Hums in affirmation. "Yeah. I like that one."

And it's true. Steve loves when Eddie calls him Stevie, because Eddie always sounds so fond when he does, and it makes Steve's heart feel too big for his chest.

"Oh, yeah?" Eddie asks, still grinning as he leans down until he's propped up on one elbow, hovering just over Steve on the bed. "What else do you want me to call you, hm? Stevie? Steve? M'lord?"

The last one makes Steve laugh and close his eyes, happy to bask in the sound of Eddie's voice as he floats along with their conversation.

"Sir Steven? Sweetheart?" Eddie continues, and Steve's heart jumps just a bit at the second one. Then, Eddie murmurs, "Baby?" 

And Steve's eyes fly open.

Steve stares at his friend with wide eyes - lips parted as a soft, punched-out oh escapes him - and it's weird, is the thing. Because Steve has been called baby before, lovingly by his grandmother when he was still a little boy causing mischief while his parents weren't watching, meanly by boys on the playground when he cried over something silly like a scraped knee…and when he got older, teasingly by the girls he took on dates.

It's not a new name for him, but it feels groundbreaking nonetheless.

Because the word sounds so much better coming from Eddie's mouth than anyone else's. It's soft, and fond, and knowing, and...

It's longing.

"Yeah,” Steve croaks. "Yeah."

"Which one? Sir Steven?" Eddie asks playfully, cocking his head to the side like a puppy. He grins maniacally when Steve huffs and shakes his head in disappointment. "No? Which one was it, then, that you liked the most?"

"Eddieeee," Steve complains, burying his flushed face into the pillow and avoiding his friend's gaze. "You know which one."

Eddie shakes his head in an almost scolding manner and Steve is convinced he must've moved closer, because Steve can feel Eddie's breath against his skin, and the air in the room feels about a hundred degrees hotter.

"Nuh-uh, Stevie," Eddie says, poking him playfully in the ribs. "You gotta tell me which one."

Steve hesitates, feeling more and more self-conscious by the second. He sort of wants to hide, but he also really wants Eddie to call him that again. It's probably thanks to his intoxicated brain that he allows himself to answer truthfully. "Baby," he murmurs, uncharacteristically shy.

"Yeah?" Eddie says, voice and smile softening in tandem. "You like when I call you baby, Stevie?"

Steve stares up at him with wide eyes, hardly able to believe this is really happening, and nods. "Yeah. That one."

Eddie is so close, now, that Steve can feel the warmth that emanates from his skin; can see the flecks of gold in his eyes amongst the molten chocolate brown. He's got freckles - Steve realizes. Tiny little dots across the bridge of his nose and the apples of his cheeks that form constellations on his skin. Steve thinks, maybe a bit deliriously, that he would be perfectly happy spending hours tracing them, the way astronomers of old once traced the stars.

"Eddie..." he breathes, heart pounding as he begins to feel more and more desperate for...for something. Anything to let him know that he's not the only one succumbing to the gravitational pull between them.

Eddie blinks slowly, and his eyes widen as though he's just realized something important. Steve watches his throat bob nervously before Eddie finally whispers, "Yeah, baby?"

Steve inhales sharply through parted lips - a soft, plaintive gasp that draws Eddie's eyes to his lips, and-

Oh.

That's what Steve wants, isn't it?

"I-" Steve tries, helpless to stop his own gaze from falling on Eddie's lips - pink and parted and just a little bit chapped, and so, so close.

"Baby," Eddie says again, and this time it's different. Unintentional. Like Eddie said it without meaning to. And maybe it's just the weed, but Steve swears he can feel the word burrowing its way into his chest and settling around his heart like a blanket. It makes his whole body feel warm - something only made worse by the hot coal of desire that begins smoldering low in his gut.

He's so lost in it all that he can't even bring himself to feel embarrassed when he whispers, "Please."

Steve waits with bated breath until finally, any remaining nervousness retreats from Eddie's eyes, and Eddie smiles in that way that makes Steve's stomach flutter. It's such a pretty smile. Steve can only watch as it grows closer, going cross-eyed for the briefest moment in his quest to to stare at Eddie's lips until suddenly his eyes are fluttering shut, because...because...

Because Eddie kisses him with lips still curled into a smile, and Steve thinks - utterly nonsensically - that feeling Eddie's lips against his own is so much better than just looking at them. The thought makes him giggle, just a bit, and he finds himself grinning into the kiss, too.

They part for a moment so Steve can let out another quiet giggle, and Eddie seems to pause for a moment, smiling down at Steve with poorly concealed affection. "Baby," he murmurs reverently, and then he's leaning down to capture Steve's lips in another kiss.

This time, Steve is ready for it, but it draws a muffled whimper out of him nonetheless. His nose fills with the scent of weed and cigarettes and cheap cologne - the smell of Eddie - and it's so overwhelmingly good. He lets his lips fall open on a gasp...doesn't close them when Eddie tentatively brushes his tongue against Steve's own. He shuts his eyes, because the press of Eddie's hand to his cheek and Eddie's chest to his own feel like so much more like that.

Eddie breaks the kiss to gasp in a breath, and inexplicably, that's what really sends every last bit of restraint in Steve's brain packing. It's so simple, so ordinary - the soft, quick sip of air Eddie takes in. It's a breathy little sound that Steve has heard from countless others before, but maybe that's why it puts him in this unfamiliar chokehold of wanting.

This isn't just anyone.

This is Eddie.

And Eddie is making those quiet, lovely little sounds because he's kissing Steve, and Steve is very rapidly realizing that he is utterly incapable of being normal about any of this.

He feels his cheeks go hot as he forces his heavy limbs to move so he can tangle his fingers in Eddie's curls, holding him close (because Steve thinks he might die if Eddie stops kissing him, now). And it's bliss. It's addictive. It's ruinously tender, and Steve feels himself unraveling from within. Feels the knots in his heart - left behind by absent parents, cruel friends, and distant girlfriends - turn to dust at the gentlest brush of Eddie's lips.

He whimpers into Eddie's mouth and clings to him even tighter, feeling his throat grow strangely tight as his eyes sting at the corners, and when Eddie pulls away he's got a small furrow in his brow, just under his bangs. 

"Stevie?" Eddie murmurs. His eyes dart to Steve's cheeks, and when he brushes his thumb along the skin just under Steve's eye, it drags a bit of wetness with it. Only then does Steve realize...he's crying.

And Eddie is wiping away his tears.

"I..." Steve croaks, eyes wide and spilling more tears with every blink. He drags his hands down from Eddie's hair to rest on his chest, beginning to curl into himself as the embarrassment sinks in.

Christ, he's crying. And all they've done is kiss.

Eddie's frown deepens, but he doesn't pull away completely. Instead, he lets their noses brush and breathes, "Baby..."

Steve's breath hitches.

"You're shaking, sweetheart," Eddie continues, still brushing Steve's tears away with gentle fingers. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing!" Steve gasps hurriedly, because as far as he understands, it's the truth. "Nothing's wrong, I just..." He closes his eyes. Swallows the lump in his throat and admits with a trembling voice, "I didn't know it could be like this."

He opens his eyes and sees Eddie's expression soften, but the concern remains. "What do you mean?"

"I just..." Steve tries, sniffling and letting out a quiet, distressed laugh. He slams his eyes shut again and rubs them roughly with his palms, trying to force the tears back into his body. "Jesus, this is fucking embarrassing, man."

"Steve..." Eddie murmurs. He sounds sad. Conflicted. Like he's not sure what to do or how to help - if he should stay or go - and that just won't do, because Steve is certain he'll drift away on the breeze without Eddie to ground him. He's got to try to explain, even with his thoughts still feeling syrupy slow from the weed.

He wants to tell Eddie that he's kissed dozens of people before, but kissing them never felt like this. He wants to explain that he's used to taking the lead, and that it's nice having someone else set the pace, for once. He wants to tell Eddie about the way most people he's kissed have done so - frantically...lustfully. Kissing has always been a simple means to an end. And it's never made Steve feel like this.

What he actually manages to say is slightly different, though.

"No one's ever kissed me like they love me, before."

His eyes are still covered by his own hands, so he can't see what is surely a stunned expression on Eddie's face, but he can hear the way Eddie gasps in response to Steve's words.

It’s too much, he thinks. He's said too much, fast-forwarded too far into the movie. It's too early to be talking about love. Steve knows this. It's just...

His stupid, floaty little brain can't envision a world where someone kisses the way Eddie does without being hopelessly, irrevocably in love.

"Shit," Steve breathes after several minutes of silence. Or maybe it's several seconds. He really doesn't know. Time feels funny, when he's high. "I know that's, like, way too much. I'm too much. I don't know why I-"

"Steve," Eddie interrupts, and Steve snaps his mouth shut. He feels Eddie's hands wrap carefully around his wrists to pull them from his eyes. Eddie is being so careful with him...like he can't see that his tenderness is exactly the thing that’s ripping Steve apart at the seams.

Steve wants to scream. He wants to cry. He wants to drag Eddie back down and kiss him until he can't breathe. Until Eddie's sweetness becomes warm and comforting instead of feeling like the scalding heat of jumping into a hot tub after a dip in the cold waters of the pool.

"Baby, look at me," Eddie says softly.

Steve is helpless but to obey.

Eddie's gaze is sad but kind when Steve finally meets it with his own. He's got the barest hint of a smile on his pretty lips - the same ones Steve so desperately wants to feel against his own, again - and Steve feels his stomach swirl with something he can't quite describe.

"It's not too much," Eddie continues, voice steady. "And neither are you, okay? You, Steve Harrington, are never too much. Not to me."

The words settle over Steve like a blanket, and he can't decide whether it's comforting or suffocating. He just wants to stop talking about things so they can move on. He just wants Eddie.

"Eds..." he rasps desperately. "I don't- I just want-" He cuts himself off with the hitching breath of what may be a sob. He's not really sure, at this point.

"What can I do, honey?" Eddie says, and he really needs to stop with the pet names, or Steve might genuinely fracture into pieces. "What do you want?"

Steve is sunk too deep into the syrupy slow feeling of the weed - too desperate to feel Eddie pressed against him again - to do anything but tell the truth.

"Just want you," he says.

Eddie smiles - eyes crinkling at the corners - and Steve breathes the sight in like oxygen. "You have me, baby," Eddie murmurs. He's rubbing small, comforting circle into the sensitive skin of Steve's wrists now, and it's perfect. It's wonderfully, disgustingly perfect.

"I do?" Steve asks dumbly. His brain feels fifteen seconds behind everything, but he thinks that's probably okay. Eddie seems to be just fine waiting for him to catch up.

"Yeah, Stevie," Eddie chuckles quietly. "Had me for a long time, now. Just wasn't sure if you would want me the way I wanted you."

"You want me," Steve says breathlessly, more to himself than to Eddie. "You wanna kiss me."

Eddie's resulting laugh is a bit louder, a bit brighter, this time. "I do," he says. The sadness is fading from his eyes, giving way to something that looks an awful lot like elation. Steve remains still and watches, entranced, as Eddie carefully hauls himself up until he can swing a leg over Steve's to straddle him.

Still smiling broadly, Eddie leans down until their faces are mere inches apart, studying Steve with those big, brown eyes. "You gonna let me?" he asks Steve, a teasing lilt to his voice.

Steve nods, lips parted in surprise he can't quite seem to shake, and Eddie's expression softens.

"Gonna let me kiss you like I love you, Stevie?" Eddie whispers.

Steve's not sure when, exactly, his tears had begun to dry up, but he knows they must have at some point, because they're returning with a vengeance, now. "Please," he breathes.

Eddie shifts, and Steve expects Eddie to go right back to kissing him, but that's not what he does.

Instead, Eddie releases one of Steve's wrists and cups his cheek tenderly. This time, the feeling of his thumb brushing the tears away is a familiar one, and it makes Steve smile dopily.

"You know the reason I kiss you like I love you?" Eddie asks. Steve shakes his head and tracks Eddie's gaze as it drifts towards the place where his fingers are still wrapped around Steve's wrist. His lips quirk into a smile as he uses his grip to pin Steve's hand to the mattress, right beside Steve's head, and laces their fingers together.

Their noses are brushing, now, and Eddie's hips are resting on Steve's, and Eddie's hair has fallen around them like a curtain to keep the rest of the world out, and it's so much. Eddie is everywhere, and he's everything, and Steve is completely, unquestioningly in love with him - probably has been in love with him for ages, now, and just never let himself think too hard about it.

"I kiss you like I love you, Steve Harrington," Eddie breathes, and their lips brush as he speaks. "Because I love you."

And the thing is…Steve has spent his entire life wondering what it would feel like to know, without a shadow of a doubt, that he was loved. It's something that's eluded him for twenty years.

So it's all the more miraculous when Eddie kisses him again, and suddenly, Steve knows. He knows that Eddie Munson loves him. He feels it in the way Eddie kisses him slowly and deliberately, like it would never have crossed Eddie's mind not to. He feels it in their linked hands, in the way Eddie squeezes his hand when Steve makes a desperate, wanton sound into his mouth.

He feels it when Eddie brushes the hair out of his eyes and smiles before kissing Steve's forehead, then his nose, and then his lips again.

Feels it when Eddie's lips begin to wander down his neck.

When Eddie sucks a mark into the thin skin above his collar bone, just because Steve begs him too.

When Eddie pulls Steve's shirt over his head with careful hands, then lets Steve do the same, because Steve needs the intimacy of skin on skin.

He feels it when Eddie stops Steve's wandering hands from venturing too far south with a firm grip and apologetic eyes, because Eddie wants him - of course he does - but not when they've been smoking. Not when there's even the slightest chance that Steve might wake up and regret it in the morning.

And he hears it, too, later that night when they're laying in Eddie's bed exchanging soft, sleepy kisses, unwilling to drift off and let the night end, just yet.

Their legs are woven together - bare, aside from their boxers - and Steve has lost track of how long they've been tangled up in each other like this. He doesn't particularly care, though. He's pretty sure he could happily spend the rest of his life exactly like this.

"Love you, Stevie," Eddie whispers against his lips. They both smile into the next kiss, and Steve's heart is full to bursting, because he believes it. He knows, now, what it feels like to be loved...to be adored.

"I love you," he murmurs in reply, relishing in Eddie's sharp intake of breath. He giggles a bit, for no reason other than the pure joy that's been coursing through his body all night. "God," he laughs. "I fucking love you, Eddie Munson.

Eddie is quiet for a moment before his face splits into a grin that could rival Steve's own, and he's so goddamn beautiful that Steve almost feels like crying again.

He doesn't cry, though. He just watches adoringly as Eddie smiles and nudges Steve's nose with his own. "Yeah, baby?" Eddie teases.

"Yeah, Eds," he answers simply.

And he's pretty sure Eddie knows - is pretty sure Eddie can feel it - because Steve kisses him for the umpteenth time that night, and he pours every ounce of his heart into it. 

Steve kisses Eddie like he loves him, because he does. God, help him, he does.

And Eddie?

Eddie kisses Steve like he loves him back, and Steve gets it now, because it’s more than just a kiss.

It’s perfect.

It’s earth-shattering.

It’s everything.

--

Shout-out to @lyphyshard for the beta!

For more of my Steddie blurbs and one-shots, check out my masterlist!

A google sheet masterlist for all your referencing needs!

After driving myself mildly insane trying to keep all my references together, I have compiled a masterlist of every helpful reference I or other users have found/created.

I will aim to update the masterlist every week, so if anyone has references they know of, please DM me here or on Discord!

Also feel free to let me know if any of the links stop working.

Enjoy!

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Stranger Things Reference Masterlist

Quick shoutout to everyone who has been featured in the masterlist so far!

@deoidesign, @frankenstein-ate-my-left-shoe, @luna-writes-stuff, @storiesbyrhi, @subbaculture

@farahsamboolents, @blaqcats-fics, @devondespresso, @dreamwatch, @aqueerkettleofish

@plistommy, @corrodedbisexual, @nogling, @steviesbicrisis, @eddiemunsons-missingnipple

@eddiemunsonstrojans, @pinkrelish, @shybunnie20, @sweetmariihs2, @eiqhties

@steddielations, @steddierthings, @madmonroe, @eddiessidegirl, @eddiemunsonsmum

@eddiemunsonfuxks, @somnambulic-thing, @likearainbowinthedark, @evilrry, @themunsonator5000

@pluckedstrings, @eddiemunsonsmiddlefingers, @fictioninterieur, @lydiamarsin

@dinah-lance, @steddiesvinyl, @strangersteddiethings

"I would kill for you. I would die for you" would you take a break for me? Would you sit down and rest? For a day, a week, a year? Would you let others take care of your needs for me? Would you let yourself be held for me? By me?

Cursed or Blessed

Summary: Witches come to Hawkins from the power in the area due to everything with the Upside Down. The party gets in their way and Dustin ends up cursed to have a female body. When trying to get the curse removed, the same spell is directed at Steve, who doesn't find it such an issue.

Author's Note:

According to my Works page, this is my 500th Fic posted to AO3. I could do math to argue it cause there's some anonymous in collections and one fic that's actually a collection of others from when I started using the site, but still a brilliant milestone to have reached and I wanted to share that. Also yes, I am muddled over how to tag this fic cause of the curse shenanigans. If you wanna correct me, please do. I just had a day or two where the fics I was reading kept including a sex change curse where the person cursed hated it but was forced to conform to the gender presentations their new body made people expect of them and thought hell No, we've got trans care now, why wouldn't that get used? And then I got distracted entirely by Steve's gender euphoria when I started writing. She's cute.

~

Monsters and unethical experiments, Steve could get. He had even accepted a kid having superpowers and classing everyone from the lab she was tortured in as siblings. Magic however was taking longer to understand and he wasn’t happy about its presence at all.

The fact these so called magic users looked like Macbeth rejects wasn’t helping him believe a word they’d said either. He’d hated being forced to study that in English class.

“What tech do they have and can we steal it? Use it to fight them?” Dustin was questioning beside him, clearly also refusing to accept magic as an explanation.

“It’s magic, Dustin! There’s nothing to steal.” Mike snapped, which, given it was the fifth time the suggestion had been repeated, made sense.

~

The plan to try stealing the tech of the people claiming to be witches failed in its attempt. Dustin had been the one yelling about it, demanding to know where it was, so he was the one magic was directed at when the witches decided they’d had enough and were leaving.

He fell to the floor and half the group ran to him, while Nancy and Jonathan gave chase to the witches and Steve waited to see where he’d be most useful.

“What the hell? No, no, no, this is wrong. It’s not me. I am not comfortable!” Dustin woke up yelling from where he’d fallen during the confrontation.

“Guess we’re going dress shopping.” Mike stated, helping him up while looking him over an uncomfortable amount.

Steve tugged Dustin away from him, seeing the glower forming, “Are you fucking sick? No, he’s not happy about this and we’re not making it worse for him.”

“He can pretend he’s in fancy dress, a female NPC.” Lucas tried suggesting, only to have matching glares levelled at him.

“And you just volunteered to express order a binder and a few sets of men’s clothes in the sizes he’ll now need.”

Dustin blinked at Steve in something like awe at the words, “Genius? Thank you? That! Please, whatever you just spoke about, that. This feels so wrong.”

“But you look-” Nancy had turned back to the room but as she spoke Steve lifted his bat, clearly ready to attack her if the wrong thing was said. “Weapons down please?”

“Objectifying anyone is bad, forcing anyone to dress in a way they’re uncomfortable with is bad, especially towards Dustin who’s just been cursed. I’m taking him to mine and getting the numbers to order the stuff I mentioned.” Steve kept an arm on Dustin’s shoulder as he led them out, clearly ready to protect his brother from anyone, friends or not.

~

Tracking down the witches was relatively easy, and Steve had thought that getting the curse undone would be easy too. That was why only him, Robin and Nancy had come along to confront them now.

Looking at the gathered witches he was starting to doubt the logic in that decision but knew between the three of them, they could fight a lot of things. “Undo your curse on Dustin.”

“No. The little prick deserved it, keeping up from the power.” The central witch scoffed, glaring at him.

“I’m not asking. Remove the curse.” Steve raised his bat, knowing that behind him Nancy would be raising her gun and Robin keeping watch with golf balls in case one tried attacking before he noticed.

“No, in fact, I think you should see what it’s like.” The witch started gesturing, muttering too quiet to be heard but Steve wasn’t trying to hear anyway.

As soon as the gestures began he was attacking, his bat making contact with at least two of the witches there before it dropped and he fell soon after, the magic overtaking him.

Robin had started throwing but as he fell darted to grab the bat to keep fighting, trusting Nancy’s aim wouldn’t stray to her even as gun shots sounded behind her.

Two of the witches managed to escape through doors behind them but neither woman pursued them, hurrying instead to Steve’s side, already expecting for him to look different given the transformation Dustin had been cursed with the day before.

“The hell just-” Steve groaned, pushing himself to sit up, “Okay, that’s new.” He looked down at the breasts he now had before looking hopefully at Robin, “Does this mean we can have sleepovers at yours Rob? Can you braid my hair too?”

“Steve?” Robin asked, sounding a little confused by the reaction but nodded, “Yeah, I guess we can. Do you need clothes that’ll fit you?”

“Clothes shopping?” Steve grinned in excitement, “When I can actually try on all the skirts and dresses? Yes, we’re doing that right now!” He hurried to get up and was heading straight for the door they’d entered by.

Nancy groaned, shaking her head, “Can’t that wait until there’s not someone potentially wanting to kill us?”

Pouting at her, Steve nodded, now looking around the room they were stood in, “So are we trying to get any information on what they’re doing while we’re here then? Or just escaping in case some of them survived?”

“Look around quickly, but we know two escaped the room. I think we saw them all though so hopefully two will cause a lot less trouble now.” Nancy decided.

They didn’t find much, but when they left Steve was carrying an old handwritten book that the witch they’d thought was the leader had been holding. He could only hope it was useful since he couldn’t make out what the words written in it were in the poor lighting.

~

Much to Steve’s frustration, they didn’t let him stop at any of the clothes shops on the way back to the Wheeler’s. Nancy insisted that they should update everyone on what had happened instead, especially since Dustin was still hoping they’d have a reversing for his curse.

Steve did at least manage to convince her to let him get changed into one of her dresses before telling everyone else what had happened.

Nancy went straight to the basement with the book they’d found, saying she’d let Dustin start looking it over while Robin helped Steve.

“What?” Mike exclaimed first when Steve entered the basement.

Everyone turned at that, staring at Steve who smiled and did a twirl for them.

Robin glared from behind him, “What what, Michael? Never seen such a gorgeous woman before?”

“You yelled at me for saying Dustin needed dresses but have turned around and forced them on Steve?” He yelled back, gesturing to her forcefully.

Steve rolled his eyes, “Hey, shithead, I chose this. It’s like the best thing to me. Dustin hates it so he gets binders and help staying who he is, cursed or not. Capiche?”

“You want to be a girl?” Erica goaded, looking her over sceptically.

Steve fluffed her skirt out, smiling a little before raising an eyebrow at her, “What’s with the judgement, Erica?”

“Yeah! My sister is awesome.” Dustin called out, looking up from the book he’d been reading since taking a moment to stare at Steve’s change.

Steve moved over to ruffle his hair, smiling at the support and the way Dustin was still claiming them as siblings, whatever gender they had. “Thanks Dustin, you think you’ll find much in that book?”

“Witch’s handwriting is terrible. I think they failed to become doctors, it’s that bad. There’s probably something, but I’ve only found gruesome spells and power tracers so far.”

“We’ll keep looking. Together we’ll get it sorted, I know.” She reassured him.

~

After they’d all eaten, and confused Karen even more than she already was by the group calling two girls she’d never met Steve and Dustin , Steve started asking about going shopping again.

Robin leant on her shoulder, patting the opposite one comfortingly, “Stevie, we don’t have time for a shopping spree. They’ll all be shut now.”

“Okay, I guess that can be for after the witches are gone, but I need clothes now, soo-” He paused thinking for a moment before grinning, “Robin!”

“Yeah?” She glared from her shoulder since there had been no need to yell when they were cuddled up together.

Steve nudged her playfully, “I have a list of clothes you’ve got to lend me. Fashion show during our sleepover tonight?”

She squinted at her, “You’ve got an agenda for the night, haven’t you?”

“Fashion show, make-up, hair, nails, face masks, and gossip. We’re going it all!” Steve ticked off the activities she wanted to do on her fingers as she spoke.

“What fun.” Robin murmured tiredly, “Can I put on a movie while you do all that?”

Steve pouted, poking at her, “Robinnnnnnnn.”

She snorted, nuzzling him, “Fine, we’ll do it. Any other girls joining us? Also can we just like fetch whatever clothes you want to borrow and do the sleepover at your house?”

“But the fun is about getting to stay at someone else’s house.” Steve didn’t protest much, even if he looked a little disgruntled at the request.

El came to sit with them before the pair could debate which home to use. “If it’s okay.” She said seriously.

“Definitely in.” Max called from where she was currently leaning against Lucas.

“Sounds hilarious. I’m in.” Erica agreed too.

Nancy looked at Steve for a moment before shaking her head, “Never been my thing. I’ll skip it.”

Robin wanted to argue, but Steve pinched her side. He was fairly sure that sleepovers had been something Nancy had done with Barb and never since so didn’t want that subject bringing up when planning a pleasant evening.

“Maybe Dustin should-” Mike started in a goading tone, but Steve clicked at him.

“Thin ice, Wheeler,” She warned.

After taking a deep breath, Mike finished carefully, “Should DM a one shot and the rest of us stay at the Byers tonight to avoid explaining what’s going on to everyone if we’re going to reverse the curse soon enough.”

“Good idea to stay in bigger groups in case the witches come back too.” Steve agreed, glancing around at the group, “Whichever house we have our sleepover in, let’s catch up at my house tomorrow to try and get a plan to take on the witches properly.”

~

Robin hadn’t seen Steve so free with her emotions before, nor so excited to be doing things that seemed pretty normal. It had made the sleepover more fun for her, to see her best friend enjoying being a girl so much, even if it was tiring too.

El, Max and Erica had all drifted off to sleep a while back, and how Steve knew when to get the face masks washed off so it didn’t happen with them on felt like one of life’s great mysteries.

They were a different mystery of Steve that Robin wanted to ask about though, and the quiet of the night seemed like a safe time to ask it. “Hey Stevie?”

“Yeah Robs?” She sounded half asleep already.

“How’d you know how to help Dustin? With binding and all that?”

Steve made a thoughtful slow noise before replying, “Wandered away from my parents the last time I got dragged on one of their trips, asked some questions that got some guys trying to direct me back concerned and learnt a lot of weird stuff. Useful stuff too.”

Robin hummed, “Including how a woman can become a man?”

“Yeah, I’d actually been trying to ask if doing this was possible. They got confused by fourteen year old me.” He remembered after thinking for a while. “Realised pretty quickly my parents would have had horrible reactions if I’d got the actual answers or acted on them.”

“What’ll you do if this is temporary?” She asked after taking in the story for a moment.

Steve stretched. “Find answers to those questions now and take you to a city where I could actually do it.” She decided.

~

The next afternoon found everyone scattered around Steve’s home. Nancy had spent the morning looking for their own sources of information on magic and was currently going through them with Jonathan and a few of the kids.

Steve and Dustin were sat closely together reading from the witches book about transformations and speculating on whether the general transformation reversal spell would work for Dustin or not. The spell used on them hadn’t been found yet but Dustin needed a pause from deciphering the handwriting.

El and Robin were sat with them. They had been taking turns to write down what Dustin managed to read so they had an easier to read copy to keep. Now they were reading through their notes and wondering if magic was similar to El’s powers as well as if they were bothered about finding out.

“Give us our spell book back!” One of the two witches still alive demanding, slamming the doors to Steve’s home open, hands primed as if they’d start cursing any minute.

Steve and Dustin glanced at each other and the girls in front of them before jumping up and over the back of the sofa to face the witches, “You came to us? That’s-” Steve paused as if thinking, “Nice. Isn’t that nice of them, Dustin?”

“Dumb too, cause now they’re reversing the curse on me.” Dustin agreed.

“Why would we do that, little girl?” The second witch sneered.

Steve and Dustin shared a smirk before stepping away from each other, revealing El, already standing with her arm outstretched.

“Because I’ll make you.” She said, flinging the pair into the wall.

The display of power shocked the witches visibly and they were quick to beg forgiveness as well as that they’d reverse the spell as long as El didn’t do anything more to them.

Everyone else came through, having heard the commotion, and Nancy quickly picked up the spell book, levelling a stern glare at the witches. “I don’t think you should have this any more. Try being decent humans for a while.”

For a moment one of the witches glared, ready to argue, but stayed silent when El moved her arm.

Dustin hugged himself as soon as the curse was undone, laughing and hurrying up to one of the spare rooms Steve had kept a change of clothes for him in. “I’m me again! Couldn’t be happier to be in this body!”

Steve stepped back when the witches attention turned on him. “I’m getting the Hawkins lab to take the blame for this and give me new papers. You’re doing nothing except leaving this town!” She stated, pointing to the door of her home.

“It’s not meant to be permanent.” One of them muttered as they headed to the door.

Robin stepped in their way, looking them over carefully. “Not meant to be, but you had to do a reversal. Do you know how long it would last if you hadn’t?”

“Never tested it. Book doesn’t specify.” was the curt response.

“Then we will and since we have the book, we’ll find a way to renew it if it fails at some point.” She opened the door for them satisfied in their ignorance.

one time when i was 17 i watched an episode of doctor who (tennant years) that made me so inconsolable that i went upstairs to my mom and i sobbed like, "please don't make fun of me, i'm so upset about a fake person from a tv show right now i can't stop crying." she let me sit in her lap and tell her all about the episode and i stopped crying and said i felt so stupid and she started laughing and she said, "i once cried this hard in college over a star trek episode. want to hear about it?" i said yes and then while she told me about the episode she got upset all over again 30 years later and she started crying and then i started laughing about it so hard i started crying again