Everybody At The Party Seems To Know Somebody (who’s Not Me)

I will never be able to think otherwise!

every time totk mentions “sky islands,” i can only think of skypiea

cw: substance abuse, addiction, stobin drugging-related PTSD I'm home sick and found this fully written in my drafts? from march?? apparently?

Steve and Robin, who make jokes about that time we did LSD like it's a funny anecdote to the point where no one knows the actual context of the situation.

(Dustin and Erica would know, if Steve and Robin weren't still self aware enough to decidedly not make jokes about it where those two can hear)

(But still.)

Steve and Robin, who only trust a drink if it comes from the other, who trade off sober duties even if someone else is already designated driver because it's not the same as making sure one of them always has their wits about them.

Steve and Robin who, in the very immediate aftermath of Starcourt, develop two drastically different relationships with substances-- Robin who is detrimentally afraid of the glass of wine her parents sometimes offer her on special occasions versus Steve who can and will try everything available to him just to prove again and again that it was never going to kill him even if he felt like he was dying at the time.

They self destruct in equal but opposite ways for the rest of that first summer before the looking out for each other starts, before the coping via humor starts, before the decision to just call it LSD Steve because if I have to try and process that it was something that I can't read and learn about on top of everything else--

It's not like it ever leaves them though, this way that this specific trauma has fucked them up.

(It's not like Dustin and Erica don't notice, no matter how hard their friends try to hide it.)

It's not like there's anything they can do about it when Steve relapses and goes on a bender that has him losing a whole day of time and waking up to Robin checking his heart rate or when Robin thinks she's in a good enough headspace to do shots with their friends and ends up on the floor of another dirty bathroom with Steve holding her hair back, less from the booze and more from all the hyperventilating, the tears that won't stop until long after she's sober.

(It's not like people don't notice when Robin's jokes about their little LSD trip get pointed on nights Steve's had a bit too much, or how Steve cuts her off from making those jokes at all on nights her hands can't steady around a plastic cup; it's not like they could hide anything from people like this, who hunt monsters and solve mysteries and swallow horrors like the smoothest of whiskeys.)

(It's not like Dustin hasn't gone to Eddie when he gets worried, even if he never spills the whole story. It's not like Erica hasn't asked Nancy unsubtle questions about how to help people with dependency issues. It's not like Eddie and Nancy haven't spoken their own concerns into the quiet dark of night over crackling phone lines where no one else can hear.)

There are nights like this and they happen like clockwork, nights in the little house in Indy for which only two of them are technically on the lease but four and then six and sometimes a whole gaggle of high schoolers still pass through like transients every weekend.

There are nights like this, when the youngest of their ranks aren't around and the booze flows freely and they're out on the porch watching the sun set late with the lift and pull of summertime, when a conversation goes sour with a comment that betrays something that has yet to be spoken aloud.

Steve and Robin.

Steve and Robin who have clearly been through something the rest of them aren't privy to; Steve and Robin who mention it offhandedly without any proper details; Steve and Robin who are hurting right there in front of them and how are they supposed to help how are any of them supposed to--

"Okay, that's it--"

"Nance..."

It's Eddie's warning tone but it's also Jonathan giving her that look from where he's perched on the porch rail and it's also the sudden tension in Robin's brow and confusion in Argyle's and something painfully close to resignation in Steve's.

But this is Nancy Wheeler. It's a miracle she's let them go on like this for as long as she already has.

"No, I'm over the secrets," she shakes her head once, definitive, and levels her gaze on those twin hearts curled together on the porch swing. "You two are going to tell us what happened to you-- who hurt you-- and we're going to fucking fix it."

Steve and Robin, who lean impossibly closer into each other's space.

Steve and Robin, looking ready to bolt.

Steve and Robin, who don't look hopeful for any sort of fixing.

But it's not like it was going to stay unspoken forever.

Actor Steve and normal guy Eddie modern AU inspired by this post @kingdomvel

Part 3 || Part 4

▪️▪️▪️

For the first time in years Steve found himself free on a Friday night. Between working, going on press tours, doing stupid interviews, making appearances at bougie Hollywood parties and, on occasion, attempting to go on dates, his time was always occupied by something. Filming had yet to really pick up since there were some permit issues getting a hold of time and space for shooting at Wrigley Field. Another plus to getting his role, with the rewards yet to be reaped. Playing baseball on Wrigley Field. So his morning was merely scheduled training with the other cast members, training as a baseball team to better act as one made sense. That also meant he got home to his way too big and too empty house in Malibu just before roomie dinner should the stars align to have one. Robin, despite her being his extremely talented PR manager, was also his roommate and best friend. She had her night filled with organizing press tours and interviews for the new movie, but he had an inkling it was more to do with Robin wanting to spend more time with LA Times Journalist, Nancy Wheeler.

“It’s just a business dinner! Don’t you want someone who will actually ask good questions for once and not shit like ‘what hair products do you use’ or ‘what diet are you on?’” Robin exclaimed as she fumbled putting on her boots.

“Yes, but at this business dinner,” Steve air-quoted, “you should really ask her on a normal date. Take her to a museum or something.”

“It’s not that easy,” Robin retorted.

“It is. The worst she can say is no, and even then I don’t think she will.”

“Ugh, I’m leaving now. Call me if you need anything but wait til after dinner.” She said as she walked out the front door.

“Have fun! Don’t work too hard!” Steve shouted as she closed it making sure to quickly stick her tongue out at him before she did.

And that was that. He was on his own for the first time in years and he had no idea what to do with himself. All the events, all the work, were distractions from his lonely life. He didn’t mind leaving Hawkins, getting the hell out of dodge when the opportunity came. His parents signed him onto a few commercials as a kid and didn’t think anything of it until some random talent scout called the house when his parents happened to be home, for once. They agreed to whatever was discussed and practically shipped him away. Now that he thought about it, he couldn’t recall the last time either of them called that didn’t involve asking him for money or a favor. At least he was finally 22, so getting a random case of red wine delivered was no issue, not that getting any type of alcohol or drugs was hard to do for a rich young celebrity in LA.

He settled in his living room the best he could, the Tuscan style house provided some form of coziness, but the tiled floor made sure that regardless of the warm orange terracotta an underlining coldness was never out of reach. Steve never really knew how to live in his house, he bought it for the ocean view and Robin loved the hot tub in the backyard. He had the money, so it was bought. The flatscreen hung above a luxurious fireplace that was never used, because why the fuck would he need a fireplace in California but it was still pretty. Thankfully the remote was on the wooden coffee table and he doom-scrolled through all of the streaming services, cringing anytime he caught a glimpse of a shitty B-movie he appeared in. Part of him missed babysitting more and more, the other part did enjoy having money that was his own, but money couldn’t buy genuine company. He refilled his glass for… shit how many was that? Three? No four. Wait, three. Three glasses of wine.

He gulped down much too large of a sip, ready to let the wine take him entirely when his phone buzzed. Steve fumbled to get it out of his pocket, forgetting entirely that he was still in jeans. A single Instagram notification appeared so he opened it, happy to see a recent message from Batking.

Batking: so I watched Paladin…

Steve.hrrgtn: and?!

Batking: woah, was not expecting a response that fast. Arent celebrities supposed to be busy on friday nights?

Steve.hrrgtn: u caught me on a rare occasion.

Steve.hrrgtn: so utilize it, you have my full attention. Whatd you think?

Batking: …

Batking: it was amazing

Steve.hrrgtn: thats it? Tell me more!

Batking: what do u want to know?

Steve.hrrgtn: everything! You clearly play d&d or at least know a lot about it. Was it accurate? Idk, what did you enjoy?

Steve was overcome with a giddiness he hadn’t felt since his first kiss. Sure it was for a tv show he was in for a few episodes but exciting nonetheless. He waited as Batking typed their response.

Batking: It was the most accurate movie portrayal of D&D ive ever seen. Im thoroughly impressed, and I’m a hard man to impress.

Steve.hrrgtn: is that so?

Batking: you’re damn right it is.

Batking: you really did crush it. To see the paladin go from being in his element on the battlefield to getting completely stripped of everything with nothing left but his values to keep him going… wow. It kept me on my toes, wondering if he’ll getting beaten down enough to break his oath. But NO! The conviction you display, the way you would get up after every failure, every obstacle, im mesmerized. You were mesmerizing

Steve became extremely aware of his cheeks after that message. He couldn’t tell if he was actually blushing or if all the wine raised his body temperature. Either way he was flattered. He watched as three bouncing dots danced next to Batking’s profile picture, a doodled vampire bat with an itty bitty crown inbetween its ears on a lined piece of paper. He clicked on the picture, leading him to Batking’s profile where he carefully read each element of the guy’s bio.

🦇Welcome to Hell 🔥 you have entered my domain… you have been warned

There were a few links below: Spotify, Youtube and one for DMGuild. Steve didn’t know what the last one was but he was planning on checking it out later anyways. As he scrolled down most of the dude’s pictures were of friends, guitars and other musical equipment, stray cats, random craft/construction projects, D&D battlemaps and poorly designed posters by local bars for open mic nights he would be playing at. Not much of the guy himself from what he could tell until he came across one of a slender guy in a white and black baseball tee with a red skull and yellow horns that ready Hellfire Club. The guy was sticking his entire tongue out and held up both hands in the rock and roll fist. It was from several years ago and the caption read: Welcome to Hellfire! Each new member gets to make their own original t-shirt. Meet me in the art room after school this friday @3:30pm.

Steve smiled, but sadness crept in. He wondered if Dustin ever got to meet this guy, they’d get along so well he could feel it. Steve was about to scroll through his contacts to see if he could find Mrs.Henderson’s number but a banner notification from Batking distracted him.

Batking: i dont think i blinked the entire time. Maybe i just forgot to? I cant tell. Im higher than i expected tbh

Steve.hrrgtn: can i trade u? I have wine

Batking: red or white?

Steve.hrrgtn: red

Batking: pass. It all tastes the same to me

Steve.hrrgtn: does it matter? Itll get u drunk either way

Batking: if you want weed so bad why don’t you get some? Dont u live in California? Am i to sit here and read your messages as you squander your well deserved paladin money on wine instead of weed. Tsk tsk tsk

Steve laughed, a true LOL. What he wouldn’t give to just meet this person. No one made him laugh besides Robin.

Steve.hrrgtn: how are you this funny?

Batking: what can i say? I’m but a humble court jester put on this earth do one thing only.

Steve.hrrgtn: what would that be, sir jester?

Batking: to entertain royalty. Royalty such as yourself.

Steve.hrrgtn: i thought that was my job? What is acting if not being paid to entertain

Batking: fair point

Batking: wait if im not a jester what does that make me?

Batking: dont tell me that the Steve Harrington is about to trigger an identity crisis. At least send me cali kush first 😭😭

Steve.hrrgtn: sorry, best i can do is 11 bottles of Cabernet sauvignon

Batking: great. now you have a sense of humor!? You need to come with a warning: rich, attractive, decent personality AND funny.

Steve being too infatuated and tipsy to stop himself replied:

Steve.hrrgtn: 😊

Steve.hrrgtn: wait! Decent?

Batking: I’m giving you the benefit of the doubt. Forgive me for being just a tad skeptical. This thing we got going is still a little unfathomable.

Ok fair. Steve nodded to himself, Batking had a point. He was getting a little carried away with just how comfortable he was acting toward this guy who he still didn’t know the real name of. Speaking of which…

Steve.hrrgtn: what’s your name

Batking: not so subtle change of topic

Steve.hrrgtn: sorry

Batking: it’s ok. Wine?

Steve.hrrgtn: your name is wine?

Batking: hahahahhaha no

Batking: …why do u want to know

Steve.hrrgtn: u know mine

Batking: true. Ok I’ll tell you, but under one condition

Steve.hrrgtn: ok????

Batking: if u remember a Dustin Henderson at all, it would mean the world to him if you gave him a call. Even just messaged him. He sings praises of u. I couldn’t believe him, not until this. And look i have no filter rn and im probably being way more vulnerable with u than im comfortable but i’ll tell you my name if you promise me you’ll try to reconnect with him. Just please for my sake, don’t let him know i didn’t watch paladin until you told me to.

Curse the wine, he shouldn’t have finished a bottle by himself without dinner before this. Tears of joy streamed down his face, a burst of feeling that filled his empty husk. Feeling what? Everything? Anything? Maybe it was knowing his silly babysitting gig is actually the most important job he’s ever had, that it’s the job that has fundamentally made him, him. Maybe it’s knowing from this near complete strangers that yea he does know Dustin, that the kid was left in good hands. Maybe that Dustin remembers him and still thinks about him, that the door there is open. Maybe it’s the kindness and courage of Batking to be vulnerable with him not born of manipulation but out of authentic compassion.

Steve.hrrgtn: i promise

Batking: pinky swear

Steve.hrrgtn: what?

Batking: u heard me! Pinky swear!

Steve.hrrgtn: geez! Ok! I pinky swear

Batking: good. Im holding u to it.

Steve.hrrgtn: thank you

Batking: for?

Steve.hrrgtn: idk. For treating me like a person

Batking: you are one, aren’t you?

Good wasn’t that the truth. He is one, but Robin seemed to be the only person that acted that way towards him. That is until… wait this fucker still hasn’t told me his name.

Steve.hrrgtn: i am a person. One that still wants to know your name.

Batking: damn, was hoping i could distract u

Steve.hrrgtn: 🤨🫴name pls

Batking: its Eddie

~~~

This one’s for you queen @beckkthewreck

Would yall want an extended fic on ao3 ? Im considering if i want to keep posting parts here or if i should do both. Would that be good for yall?

Is there a fic out there when after season 4 Steve doesn't trust/react well to Joyce and Hopper? I just think that him being the oldest and real adult left in Hawkins to deal with and protect the kids would mess him up a bit.

Like, I understand Joyce left because she wanted to protect her blood children and El, but none of the other parents are read in on the situation. She left the rest of the kids after another super traumatic experience where multiple people they knew and cared about died and only Steve, Nancy, and Robin could support them. Not to knock Nancy and Robin, but the show doesn't show them supporting the kids the way Steve does, so it all ended up on his shoulders.

Add in the fact Joyce up and abandons her kids when she learns about Hopper being alive, and then even more terrible things happen, and I feel like Steve would not trust the adults anymore and truly resist ans get upset when they try to parent him or take care of *his* kids.

So I'd anyone has fic recs or wants to write one... let me know...

Yea it is a lot scarier, however maybe this is something I should try to have in my toolbox

I thought it would be an hour of listening to screaming and looking at pictures of draculas, but it was so much for frightening than fathomed

steve having periods where he just zones out, and thinking that zoning out is an acceptable alternative to sleep because he can't sleep, what if something happens, what if someone needs him, and the nightmares—

This is probably not what the first Idea really was about, however this is what i thought about direktly after reading the post.

"Eddie, maybe we should stop." Cautiously, Gareth turned to his friend.

"We can always move on at another time." Jeff put his hand on Eddie's back and handed him a glass of water, which he tried to drink in one gulp.

He shook his head vehemently. With one hand he held the glass tightly and with the other he wiped the coming tears from his eyes.

"Eddie..." "No!" he interrupted Dustin directly. "N“ His voice broke off.

"Edward Theodor Munson!" Wayne's voice filled the living room. Eddie wiped his eyes again with the back of his hand and stared at the glass. He could hear Wayne come to a stop beside him.

"We've talked about this! Your throat is still hurt." Wayne's voice was stern and he let out a deep sigh before kneeling beside his nephew. He just put a hand on the head full of brown curls and let the boy cry.

Eddie didn't even try to suppress his tears anymore and the looks from the Hellfire troop were no longer important.

"Boy, I know how important this is to you, but please think about your health. We're glad you're still here, that you're alive!" Eddie didn't dare look his uncle in the eye. "We want you to be well, and that includes you healing."

Eddie and Wayne had had this conversation a thousand times in the last two weeks. Eddie wanted to get back to normal and enjoy D&D with his friends. To have the game to himself again and not leave it to the near apocalypse. But Eddie's vocal chords were still damaged from the damage the demobats had done to his throat.

Wayne stroked Eddie's head gently.

"Kids, why don't you get me a chair from the kitchen, I'm too stiff to kneel or sit on the floor. And you boy show me what I have to narrate for you."

somebody write a fic where Eddie has to do something and Wayne needs to sub as dm last minute and knocks it outta the park because where did you think Eddie got his storytelling skills from?

How Steve Harrington Gets a Family

The first time it happened, Steve didn’t remember. He had no idea why Hopper was acting so weird until Joyce took him aside, sighing softly.

“Oh, honey,” she murmurs. “You don’t remember, do you?”

He frowns at her. “Remember what?”

“You called him dad, Steve.”

“I-” he gapes. “What?”

It goes like this.

He’d been hospitalized, after the Russians; he doesn’t know all the details, won’t for years, but Hopper had escaped from the reactor, thrown his weight—and title—around until someone had put Steve in a room, in a bed, gotten an IV into him, run whatever tests doctors run.

He was delirious with the truth serum still in his system and the adrenaline wearing off, groaning in pain and mumbling nonsense.

Hopper had put a hand on his head, said, “I’ve got you, Steve. You’re safe. It’s okay.”

“Dad,” Steve had mumbled, shifting into Hopper’s hand, and promptly passed out.

“Oh,” Steve whispers after Joyce tells him. He runs a hand through his hair. “Well, no shit he’s been acting weird, I mean why would he want me as a kid- shit, I need to apologize-” 

“Whoa,” Joyce says seriously, hands on his shoulders. “Slow down, Steve. You know Hopper loves you, right?”

Steve bites his lip on the snark that wants to come out, instead choosing to just blink at her.

“Christ,” Joyce laments, “I’m going back to school, everyone need so much damn therapy.” She takes a breath and looks Steve in the eye. “Hopper loves you, Steve. He’s considered you his kid for a long time now.”

Steve gapes at her. “No he hasn’t!”

Joyce raises a brow. “Uh-huh. And how many parties has he busted, exactly? And how many marks do you have on your record?”

Steve snaps his mouth shut. “Oh, shit,” he whispers, looking up at Joyce. “He- he does? Really?”

“Really,” Joyce confirms, pulling him into a hug.

“Oh,” he mumbles, before letting himself enjoy the hug.

Later, when he’s about to head home, he stops in front of Hopper, glancing nervously over to Joyce, who nods encouragingly. “Can I, uh. Talk to you? For a second?”

Hopper narrows his eyes. “What’s wrong?”

Steve’s eyes widen. “No, nothing! Just-” he sighs, runs a hand through his hair, gestures Hopper out the door and around the side of the house. “So, Joyce and I were talking, right? And I was wondering why you’d been acting weird around me, and I didn’t even remember what I said in the hospital, so Joyce told me, and- and I don’t expect anything from you! At all! And it- how I feel doesn’t have to change anything-”

“Christ,” Hopper says, but he’s smiling. “I think you’re worse at emotions than I am.”

“Well I’ve never had to tell anyone I think of them as more of a father figure than my own father before!” Steve blurts out, then freezes.

Hopper bursts out laughing. “Jesus, kid, do you think before you talk?”

Steve’s not hurt. Really. “Sorry,” he mumbles, looking anywhere but at Hopper. “I’ll leave.”

A hand on his wrist stops him. “C’mere, kid,” Hopper says, pulling him into a hug.

Steve stiffens. “What?”

“Boy, you’ve been my kid since the third time I didn’t write you up for one of those damn parties,” he grouses.

Steve relaxes into the hug. “So. If I, uh. Were to, maybe, call you dad again…”

“Just see what I’ll do if you don’t,” Hopper says gruffly, and it’s really not that funny but Steve’s just so relieved that he cracks up anyways.

They pull apart after a minute, and Steve has a giddy grin on his face as he backs up. “Bye, Dad,” he says, before turning and running to his car. Hopper’s laughter follows him.

He’s been close to Dustin for a while now, but still refuses to call his mom Claudia. The most he’ll do is Mrs. H, even though every time she sees him, she tries to get him to call her by her first name.

He can’t do it. He can’t make himself. Maybe it’s the manners instilled in him, maybe he’s just awkward as fuck, who knows. But he chickens out every time.

That’s why, when she answers the door, he smiles. “Hey, Mrs. H.”

“Steve,” she greets him warmly. “Come in, come in. Call me Claudia. Oh, what is this? I told you you don’t have to bring anything!”

“Just some cookies,” he promises her, putting them down where she directs and falling into the hug she gives him.

“Dear,” she asks him later, when they’re sitting at the table with Dustin, “call me Claudia, please?”

Steve can’t look at her; passes the butter Dustin’s silently asking for. “Sorry, Mrs. H.”

“Jesus,” Dustin groans, buttering his roll. “If you can’t even say her name then at least call her mom.”

Steve’s cheeks are on fire. “That’s not exactly up to me, Dust,” he grits out.

“Oh, dear,” Claudia sighs. “I would love for you to call me mom.”

“Then we’d be brothers,” Dustin adds, “which we basically are anyways.”

Steve snorts. “I don’t think that’s exactly how it works,” he tells Dustin, but takes a breath and smiles at Claudia. “Thanks, Mom,” he says quietly. Claudia beams back at him.

“I don’t give a damn!” Claudia yells at the hospital receptionist, who really just looks exceedingly bored.

Steve knows the look of someone who’s grabbing their pepper spray. “Mom?” He calls, wet and wobbly, and Claudia spins around, running to his side.

“Oh, Stevie,” she murmurs, gently cupping his hands. “Oh, goodness, your face- have you gotten looked at? Has someone come to see you? Where’s Dustin?”

Steve opens his mouth to answer and promptly bursts into tears. “He’s f-fine,” he manages. “Ankle. Getting- getting helped. But- Mom-”

She hushes him, pulling him down into a seat next to her. “Let it out, Steve, there you go. Mom’s here, I’ve got you.”

He finally composes himself enough to pull back and look at her. “It’s not good, Mom,” he whispers. “I tried, I really did, and I know CPR but he was losing so much blood-”

“Steve,” she stops him, “I thought you said Dustin was fine?”

“He is, it’s just his ankle, but Eddie, Mom… he’s back there, they’re doing surgery, but he- I felt-” he grabs at his own chest, and somehow Claudia knows what he means. “Oh, dear,” she murmurs, pulling him into another hug. “I’m so proud of you,” she whispers into his ear. “You did what you could, you kept him stable until the doctors could do their job, and now it’s their turn, okay? Let them take care of it. They’re gonna do everything they can.”

His eyes well up again. “He didn’t kill anyone, Mom.”

“Oh, I know that, sweetie. It’s okay. I never thought he did.”

“But they do!” He sniffs, wipes at his face. “And what- what if-”

She pulls his attention back to her with a hand on his face. “Did I tell you about the time a known serial killer came in?” She whispers. He shakes his head. “He’d been in an… altercation, with the police. Shots had been fired. We all knew who he was, but when he flatlined on the table, we got his heart beating again.” She grips his hand tightly. “Doctors take an oath, Steve. They’re going to do everything they can. Okay?”

“Okay,” he mumbles, letting her pull him into another hug.

“Y’wanna tell me about Eddie?”

“You know Eddie.”

“Mhm, from Dusty. I’ve never heard about him from your perspective before.”

“I didn’t really know him before today,” he admits. “I knew of him, in high school, a little bit, but then I graduated and he didn’t and then Dustin started raving about him and… I got jealous.”

“Oh, Steve.” She cards a hand through his hair. “You know Dustin will always love you. You’re brothers.”

Steve sighs. “I know, but… we’re also not. I love you more than I love the woman who birthed me, and I love Dust as much as I’d love any biological sibling I could ever have, but-”

“I know,” Claudia says. “It’s okay, dear. Keep going. Tell me about Eddie.”

“Right. So I got jealous, and then I really didn’t wanna meet him, ‘cause he actually sounded kinda cool and I’m just… me. And I know what you’re gonna say, but you’re biased as my mom.” Claudia just chuckles. “But then I met him, and… he’s really nice, Mom. He really loves the twerps. And he’s, like… kind? And I know nice and kind are synonyms but it’s different. Like he’s just… an inherently good person. That’s kind. Nice you can fake. But you can’t fake kind. Y’know?”

“I know what you mean,” she agrees.

“Okay, good. Well he’s kind. He-” Steve sniffs. “He called me a good dude.”

“Well,” Claudia says, smiling, “you are.”

Steve chuckles wetly. “I am now, maybe, but I wasn’t when we knew each other in high school, and I didn’t really expect him to say anything. And he’s so passionate, Mom, and he’s talented, and he’s selfless, but that backfired because it landed him here-”

Claudia hums, strokes a hand through his hair. “How long have you liked him?” He stiffens. “Oh, please, like I haven’t known this entire time. Honestly, Steve, I’m not an idiot. And I’m not some backwards idiot especially who thinks two boys who love each other are the greatest sin.”

“No, it- Mom, you love Robin, of course you’re fine with it, I just- I didn’t… I didn’t realize.”

“Oh, Stevie,” she sighs, running her hand through his hair again. “When he gets out, are you gonna do something about it?”

“I don’t know,” he says quietly. “Maybe. If- if he even wants to be friends-”

“Okay, now I know you’re talking crazy,” she teases him, grinning.

Just then Hopper walks in, looking around with wide eyes, stopping when he sees Steve. “Dad!” Steve yelps, standing and walking quickly towards him, stopping about three steps in. “Oh, fuck,” he mutters, because he knows the way the room is spinning and his vision is going out.

He’s out before he hits the ground.

He wakes up later to find he didn’t hit the ground, actually; Hopper had leapt forward and caught him the second he’d stopped walking and started swaying.

He blinks bleary eyes open and finds himself looking at a ceiling tile. “What-”

“Don’t move,” comes Hopper’s voice from beside him.

He turns his head to frown at him. “Dad? What happened?”

“You passed out. Jumped outta Claudia’s arms like she’d burned you when you saw me. Much as I love you, kid, the parent’s gotta go first this time, ‘kay? No more self-sacrificing bullshit and not getting medical attention when you need it.”

“M’kay,” Steve says. “Sorry, Dad.”

Hopper puts a hand on his head. It’s comforting. “Go to sleep, kid.”

When he wakes up again, he’s more lucid. He looks around, sees Claudia asleep in the chair next to him. Looks on his other side, and his breath catches when he sees Eddie. His eyes are closed, he’s still asleep, but he’s alive.

“Mom,” he whispers, tearing his eyes away from Eddie to look at her. He feels bad, a little, waking her, but only a little because he knows she’d tear him a new one if he didn’t. “Mom.”

She starts awake and tears up when she sees him. “Stevie,” she murmurs, cradling his face with her hand.

“Mom,” he says again. “He’s here.”

Claudia chuckles. “You can thank your father and I for that one. We raised hell.”

“I bet you did,” he says appreciatively.

“And you, young man,” she says, too full of love to really be mean, “next time you tell me when you’ve been half eaten, okay? Or have you forgotten I’m a nurse?”

“Didn’t forget,” he murmurs, nudging her hand with his face. “Just wanted to stay with you.”

“Oh, Steve,” she murmurs. “You beautiful boy.”

He falls asleep again.

He wakes up again later and looks over to see Eddie also awake, and also looking at him. “Eddie,” he breathes.

It’s hard to tell from where he is, but it looks like Eddie’s blushing. “Looks like I’ve got you to thank for saving my life.”

Now Steve’s blushing. “Ah,” he eloquently says. “No, I mean, just- what anyone else would do?”

“Are you asking me?”

Oh, god, is he teasing? Steve barely survived the flirting before, but now there’s nothing else to keep his attention off Eddie, nothing else he can blame the blush on. “…I just didn’t do much,” he belatedly says.

“Bullshit.” He shifts and hisses in pain. “Fuck, those bastards got me good. But that- that’s proof, y’know?”

Steve blinks. He doesn’t know. “What?”

Eddie grins at him. The stitches in his cheek pull, but don’t tear. “That you saved me.”

Abruptly, Steve tears up. He looks away, up at the ceiling, wills the tears to stay inside. “Steve?”

“Yeah?”

“Are you-”

“No,” he answers quickly. Too quickly. There’s an awkward silence now. “Fuck,” he mutters. “I- I felt your heart stop, okay?” He looks over again, knows the tears are there, knowing they’re leaking into his hairline and across the bridge of his nose. “I wasn’t sure the doctors were even gonna try that hard to save you. And now you’re joking with me, and-” he takes a quick breath, holds it. Releases it slowly. “‘M just glad you’re okay,” he finally says.

“Oh,” Eddie says quietly. “I, uh. Didn’t think you really… cared. About me.”

“I think I care more than I should.”

Eddie takes a breath. “I’m about to say something way too brave, and I’m only saying it ‘cause we’re both in hospital beds and I’m assuming you can’t just, like, walk over and punch me.”

“Even if I could, I wouldn’t.”

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep. But, uh. Anyways. I don’t… people don’t care about me. My uncle Wayne does, sure, and the kids, but that’s different, and- well. I’ll take whatever care you wanna give me. It won’t be too much.”

“Okay,” Steve says, “well I definitely don’t want to punch you for that, what the hell, but I hope you know you’re gonna get hugged for that as soon as I figure out how to undo all this shit.” He gestures to the tubes in his arms, and Eddie starts to laugh, then stops just as quickly with a hiss.

“Okay, abs got eaten, no laughing,” he mutters, mostly to himself. “Shit, dude, stay in bed, you had like five people in here earlier who all told me specifically to not let you out of bed, though how I’m supposed to do that I dunno.”

Steve blinks over at him. “Five?”

“Well- four, now that I count. Dustin was here with his mom, he’s getting released later but was allowed out of bed for a minute and came to see us. Robin, and she looked angry, are you two, like, okay?”

Steve snorts. “Yeah, she’s just worried.”

“And then Chief Hopper, which- do you wanna explain why the actual Chief of Police was in here?”

“Ah,” Steve says, and blushes again. “He kinda, like… adopted me? Not officially, obviously, but he’s… well, I call him dad, so-”

“And Claudia?”

Steve hums. “‘S my mom. Dust’s my brother.”

Eddie snorts. “Jesus, Harrington, d’you just go around collecting people to call your parents? How many d’you have now, four?”

“Nah, just two. My parents fucked off pretty permanently by the time I was nine. And before that I had nannies when they were gone.”

Eddie blinks at him. “You- wait. Back up. You’ve been alone for the entirety of high school?”

Steve thinks. “I mean, I had Hopper, kinda, but that was before he became Dad, so… I guess?”

“Goddamn,” Eddie whispers wonderingly. “And you’re still sane?”

Steve snorts. “Jury’s out on that one, I mean I do willingly hang out with the twerps, so-”

“Fuck, don’t make me laugh, man.” He sighs. “I get it, though,” he says quietly. “Mom was an angel, but… Dad got to her, y’know? Tore her wings off, rubbed her halo in the dirt. Poured alcohol down her throat until she was dependent on it. And him. And when she-” he shakes his head. “Then it was just Dad, and he got sent away ‘cause apparently his new car wasn’t his, y’know? And I went to live with Wayne at twelve.”

“But now you’ve got Wayne.”

“Mhm.” He smiles a little. “Call ’im pops sometimes, ‘cause he’s my real dad now. Sometimes Wayne, sometimes Uncle Wayne. He doe’n’t care much.”

“What’s it like? Living with him?”

“It’s been a dream, honestly. He’s the nicest person I’ve ever met, and he’s got patience to rival a saint. Doesn’t care when I play my music loud, or forget to eat, or bring boy—uh, girls—over.”

Steve hums. “There’s still the house in Loch Nora, but I stay with the Hendersons most days. I tend to bring people I meet to Loch Nora, just ‘cause it’s empty, y’know? I mean, Dust’s a little shit, and he’d tease me regardless of who I brought home. Mom wouldn’t care. Hell, she’d probably give me a condom and lube,” he laughs. “And she’s teaching Dustin to be the same way. He’ll get there one day.”

“He’s a twerp,” Eddie agrees. “I didn’t know you, uh-”

“Mhm,” Steve answers. “Robin says I’m like Bowie.”

“Like Bowie- you’re bisexual?”

“That’s the one!” Steve says happily. “I can never remember the name.”

Eddie looks at him wonderingly. “Who are you, Steve Harrington?”

Eventually they get out of the hospital, and eventually they stop circling around each other. Eventually they kiss, and fall asleep on the couch, and make each other breakfast, and do certain things behind closed doors that Steve still can’t think about without blushing.

Eventually they’re outside the Munson’s trailer, working in the garden that Eddie, surprisingly, loved.

“Imma go in,” Steve says eventually. “Get a drink.”

“Alright,” Eddie says, not looking up from where he’s pulling weeds near his tomatoes. “I’ll be here.”

Steve has a bit of a headache already, and he knows drastic temperature changes don’t help. He didn’t think the trailer was that big of a difference, but it’s cool enough he’s got goosebumps breaking out along his arms almost immediately. Then he’s hit with a blast of freezing air when he opens the fridge, and his head begins to throb. “Fuck,” he mutters, shutting the door and grabbing for a glass, hoping the sink water isn’t too cold.

It’s cooler than he’d like, but it’s all he’s got right now, and he knows if he doesn’t hydrate it’s going to end up worse. He chugs two glasses, sets the cup down, and goes to sit at the table, rubbing his eyes.

It gets worse almost without him realizing: one second his relatively fine, the next he’s groaning in pain, trying to block out all the light by laying his head on his forearm.

A hand on his back startles him. “Dee?”

“Wayne,” comes the gruff voice. “Not Eddie. Y’got a migraine?”

“Mhm.”

“Y’take anything for it?”

Steve waves a hand. “Had water.”

Wayne leaves for a minute, comes back and presses two pills into Steve’s hand. A glass of water is placed in front of him.

He takes the pills, squinting, and lays his head back down.

“Nuh-uh,” Wayne says, “up you get, c’mon, you’re sleepin’ this off.” Hands at his shoulders guide him out of his seat, shuffle him slowly down the hall to Eddie’s cool, dark room. Lay him down and pull the blankets over him.

Steve sighs and relaxes into the bed, cracking an eye open to look at Wayne. “Thanks, Pops,” he murmurs, then winces when Wayne freezes. “S’rry. Wayne.”

Wayne pets a hand through Steve’s hair. “Pops works just fine,” he says. “I’ll tell Ed you’re in here.”

“M’kay,” Steve breathes, and lets himself fall asleep.

They’re at Hopper’s cabin, an annual We Saved the World semi-party that usually ends in at least one disagreement.

Eddie’s got most of the kids corralled away in the living room, with promises of an epic one-shot. The adults, Steve, Max, and El are in the kitchen.

He doesn’t know who started it, but someone teases him, and Hopper ruffles his hair with another jab. “Dad,” he complains good-naturedly, laughing.

“Steve?” El asks.

“Yeah?” He looks at her.

“Hopper is your dad.”

Steve glances at Hopper, who’s listening, but making no move to answer. “I mean… not, like, biologically, but yeah.”

“Me too,” El says. “Are you my brother, then?”

Steve flounders. “I- I guess if you want me to be?”

“You’re a good brother to Dustin,” she answers. “I haven’t had any good brothers besides Will, and we are the same age. I would like a good older brother.”

He smiles, tugs her into a hug. “I guess I’m your brother, then.”

She goes willingly. “Does that mean Joyce is your mom too?” She looks up at him, big eyes serious. “She is a good mom.”

“Uh,” Steve says, “that’s kinda up to Joyce.”

“Oh, honey,” Joyce says, because of course everyone had stopped talking the moment El had started. “Why don’t you call me Mama J?”

Steve smiles bashfully, accepting her hug. “Sounds good to me.”

When he tells Eddie later, his boyfriend laughs. “You really do collect parents!”

“I don’t want to be a burden” you’re more like a relief, a gift, a blessing actually