(re)uniting, you and me
AO3 Link | Tangled Together series
Rating: T | 1.9k
Tags: Pre-Relationship Steddie, Platonic Stobin, Bodysharing, Angst, Crack Treated Seriously, WSQK | The Squawk, Pre-Stranger Things 5, Canon Divergence
Summary: During a late night show at the Squawk, Steve hears a voice he hasn’t in over a year…
Notes: Watching Season 5, I realized how seamlessly my Steddie bodysharing ‘verse would slot into that context. That plus my investment in the complexities of Steve’s emotional state this season was perfect fodder for creative inspiration, and thus this prequel was born! The first of several more chapters to come, I’m pretty sure. Spoilers for general settings and some of the ideas about the hivemind, etc., presented in Season 5, as well as the mental and emotional state of the characters. This is set in Spring of 1987, so about six months before Episode 1 “The Crawl.”
Credit to Metallica’s “Master of Puppets” for the song lyrics contained within the fic below.
It’s Saturday night. Date night, or at least what used to be.
Unlike Robin, who had finally plucked up the courage to ask out Vickie after their stint together volunteering at the hospital in the aftermath of Hawkins’ so-called earthquake, Steve hasn’t been on a proper date in ages. Between the Squawk and the crawls and trying to keep Dustin’s increasingly self-destructive ass out of trouble, there hasn’t exactly been time to continue his pursuit of trying to find ‘the one.’
Besides, it just hadn’t felt…right. Not with everything going on, and not after everything that had happened last Spring Break.
Red light flashing in the sky. The swarm of bats, like some kind of hellish tornado, finally dissipating. The sound of Dustin’s sobs.
Eddie, on his back in the dirt, blood-stained and ripped apart.
Still thinking about @HawkinsBNBG’s post. Particularly about what kind of scenario would have to happen to get a de-aged Steve. I’ve come up with a half-baked angsty idea and this one that is probably funny to just me.
(Spoilers to season five btw)
Nancy shoots the exotic matter and instead of melting through the floor, everyone is a different age now. Steve is five. Dustin is thirty-six.
Dustin is thirty-six, not as tall as he was hoping, and the de facto leader of this ragtag group now since Jonathan is the world’s scrawniest twelve year old and Nancy is senior citizen.
And Steve is five.
And afraid of thunderstorms.
And Dustin apparently can’t hold the squirming five year old in an oversized sweater right so Jonathan is giving him a piggyback ride out of the Upside Down.
He’s pretty sure they’re conspiring against him even though he has stated, “For the record, I didn’t kidnap anyone. I am quite literally taking you home.”
“My house is that way.”
“This isn’t Hawkins,” Dustin tells the five year old. Again. “Do you not listen? This is the Upside Down. Its-“
“That’s what a kidnapper would say.”
“Why would-“
“My dad said that he won’t pay a random do you better let me go.“
“I - Jesus,” He swears and then twists around to where Nancy was fucking around thirty paces away. “Any help, Nance?”
“What?” She calls back because she can’t hear for shit in her old age.
Dustin swears one more time, takes a breath, and resigns himself to the fact that he owes Hopper an apology. How did he put up with this for so long?
He opens his mouth to say one more thing and then flinches when a round of shots fire off from behind them.
“Got ‘em,” Nancy says as she lowers her gun and grins. She apparently can’t see for shit either because-
“Nancy, that is a tree.”
Envisioning Joyce taking Jonathan and Steve to the store to get clothes that fit since they don’t know how long they’re going to be like this. Robin goes too because that’s her Steve.
“We’re supposed to be looking at shoes, kiddo,” She says as Steve pulls her by the hand towards the toy section. “Can I get a toy for Mr Dustin?”
She smiles, “Sure.”
“He’s a real grumpy goose, you know,” Steve says as they come upon the toy aisle. “You go down this one and I’ll go down the next aisle. You can yell if find something cool. They don’t care.”
“Oh,” She says. “Okay. That’s good to know.”
Robin goes down the aisle, finds a slinky that she thinks Adult Steve would like. Once she gets down to the other side, she peaks into Steve’s aisle and - “Steve?”
“Steve,” She says more insistent. She feels her heart drop as she darts into the next aisle and finds it empty too. “Oh my god. Oh. My. God. Steve? Steve!”
She darts in between aisle, tells Joyce that she lost him, and runs outside where - “St - don’t run from me! Are you serious?”
The kid is fast but he has little legs. Robin’s tall and has spent the nearly three years of her life running from monsters. She snatched him before he could dart into the road.
“Let me go!” He tried to shove her off. “Let me go! I was gonna come back. I promise, I-“
“Where were you going then?”
Steve stops. She tells he’s deciding if he is going to lie or not. The truth prevails, “I want to go to Tommy’s house. I don’t want to be kidnapped anymore.”
“You’re not kidnapped,” She tells him. “Believe it or not, me and you are friends. Best friends.”
“My best friend is Tommy,” Steve says. “You’re lying. You’re trying to - to - Stuck-home me.”
“What?”
“My dad told me about it,” Steve tells her very matter-of-fact. “Sometimes people get kidnapped for too long and they think the place they’re stuck at is their real home and that their kidnappers are their real family, and then you never go home, and I - I just want to go to Tommy’s.”
“You don’t,” She starts and stops. “You don’t want to go to your house?”
“I want to go to Tommy’s house,” Steve repeats. “I want to see Miss Maria and Mr David.”
God. She as much as she wants her Steve back, she loves this tragic little boy.
“How long does it take to get Stuck-Homed?”
“What?” Steve asks and the shrugs. “Four.”
“Days?” She ask and he nods. “Well, that’s good. It’s only been three hours. We got plenty of time before that happens.“
She claps her hands, “Let’s get some jammies in the meantime. How about that?”
“…Okay,” Steve agrees. “Can you pick me up. My feet are-“
“What’s going on here?” Callahan ask as he approaches. “I go in to buy some socks and next thing I see is a lady runnin’ out like she stole something.”
“Well, I didn’t so-“
“You should eat your socks,” Steve spat back. “And you should mind your own bee’s wax ‘cause dumb cops can’t listen to us talk without a warrant.”
Callahan looks dumbfounded at the kid, like seeing a ghost from the past which - yeah. Robin needs that not to happen so she picks Steve up. Callahan stutters, “Har- Harrington-“
“He’s his kid,” Robin panics and then rushes past him. Callahan watches her go confused.
Steve flips him off.
Found old art from 2022
Methinks it’s time for a redraw
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA wip
Steve has been the Party's first call for anything and everything since the demodogs at the junkyard.
So when Eddie accidentally handcuffs himself to that throne of his during a game, Steve Harrington gets called.
Which on its own is terrible, but the constant dad jokes while shoving his stupid man tits in Eddies face because he "needs another angle" to better cut it off is just torturous.
The elder members of Hellfire, who are VERY aware of Eddie's crush on Steve, have done nothing but make this entire situation worse.
Gareth in particular is having a great time.
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Eddie filming a tiktok before one of the soccer meets (maybe like day long blitz tournament) in a cheerleader outfit. Phone set up before he came downstairs, catching Steve scrolling on his phone, filling his water, checking the time and reminding Eddie they had to leave. And Eddie’s like, pretending it’s normal while Steve is just blinking at him.
He threatened to do it, and they all assumed he had forgotten but no, Eddie’s middle names are ‘committed to the bit’ (family name)
I think it’s infinitely funnier if Steve doesn’t notice that he’s wearing a cheerleading uniform for like, a while.
Eddie sets the camera up in the kitchen since Steve spends the majority of his time before a game in there pacing, and then he just stands there in the middle of the room. And waits. And Steve does not notice. It’s like:
Eddie: *standing in the middle of the kitchen in a red and gold cheerleading uniform*
Steve: *walks pass to double check the schedule on the fridge to make sure he has the time right*
Steve: *walks pass while putting on his jersey*
Steve: *walks pass to fill their cooler with drinks and sandwiches*
Steve: *walks pass to refill his water bottle*
Steve: *walks pass to triple check the schedule*
Steve: *walks pass looking at his phone*
Steve: *walks pass while texting Robin*
Steve: *walks pass to look at the schedule again*
Steve: *walks pass while reminding Eddie that they need to leave in fifteen minutes*
Steve: *stops right next to Eddie to read an article about Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner*
Eddie: Babe, do these shoes match my outfit?
Steve, looking away from his phone and directly at Eddie’s shoes: If you’re going to have your legs out then you need to put sunscreen on them because you… *finally notices*
Steve:
Steve:
Steve:
Eddie: 2,4,6,8 who do you appreciate?
Steve: …This outfit
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