STRANGER THINGS: STEVE HARRINGTON

CW: mention of death

steve harrington / stranger things / all other characters mentioned here belong to netflix and not me, etc. 

PROMPT ft. ROBIN BUCKLEY:  talking before the events of the season 4 finale

❝ well, pretend i’m not here. what would you say if nobody could hear it? ❞  steve asks, pointedly. robin rolls her eyes.

❝ you are here. ❞ she points out, perhaps a little unnecessarily. ❝ … and you already know all my deep dark secrets.  ❞  and doesn’t he? isn’t that the point, the very driving force behind their continued friendship? wasn't it always this way?  flying into the face of danger together, and then spilling their guts as it all goes to total shit.  

robin takes a deep breath, and fixes him with a look of apprehension; ❝ we could die, steve, like, you get that, right? we go out, we do this shit, we save the world and that’s…so so cool, but we could literally die. and worse, we could see someone else die. someone we know, steve. someone we care about. y’know?  ❞  

they’ve seen death, he thinks. they’ve seen the outcome.  

 ❝ … i’m not exactly hero material., if you couldn't tell. ❞

steve scoffs. yeah, no. so what — did they have to be? steve falls back against the doorframe with a huff. 

❝ okay, but who cracked the secret russian code?  ❞ a pause, and he snaps his fingers, brows punching up for effect;  ❝ oh yeah, it’s coming back to me now. ❞ 

then, he turns his gaze past his shoulder; in the other room, dustin, lucas, and max are gathered around the kitchen island in a conspiratory huddle — discussing, or bickering.

❝ … look, whenever i start feeling like i might, uh,  ❞  steve gestures vaguely,  ❝ you know, totally fucking lose it, ❞  he continues, nods toward the kids;  ❝ … i remember those dipshits are gonna try to save the world no matter what the hell i do. ❞ 

and nance, he thinks — god knows the hero bit always looked better on her. god knows nancy was going to do the right thing, no matter what. and robin — despite her doom-and-gloom — she was still here, too, after everything. and he’s not sure what he’d do if she wasn’t.

he folds his arms, pretending to suddenly be very interested in something on the ceiling. ❝ i mean, sure, whatever — we’ll probably all die. we’re all completely insane.  ❞ 

❝ total wackjobs!  ❞  robin chimes pleasantly, and steve huffs a laugh, can't help but follow up;

❝ total lunatic behaviour, ❞  he agrees sagely. and then there’s a beat, where he hesitates, and then shrugs.  the quiet is a little less uncomfortable, now.

❝  …. but, i mean, hey. all the people i give a shit about are pretty much right here. ❞  he taps fingers where he’s hugging his arms, gives a little shrug.  ❝ so... getting dragged into this shit is, like, probably better than waiting for this vector guy to take us out, right? ❞

PROMPT ft. NANCY WHEELER:  " i'm sure i can handle whatever it is. ❜ 

❝ hey, whoa — can we just. talk for a minute? ❞  steve catches her at the sleeve before she can evade him — not forcefully, just enough to get her attention again.  ❝ i’m serious, nance, take it easy. you’re not handling shit like this and you know it.  ❞ she looks exhausted, which was not a total shocker to him — they were all running on fumes.  running against the clock. 

before they all got their bones smashed into pretzels, presumably.

❝ — hey, look, i don’t doubt that, but. you’re like… the ‘a’ team, you know? if we lose you right now, what’s the ‘b’ team supposed to do? we’re toast. ❞ he’s trying to cheer her up, and he’s not sure if it’s working. he makes a gesture at himself as if to indicate — me, i’m the ‘b’-team. you’re lookin’ at him, baby. 

❝ — i mean, and dustin. you know that kid can't get a hustle on for shit —  ❞

steve lets go of her sleeve, then. 

❝ i get that you have this whole cool exterior thing going on — and maybe i don’t have any idea what it’s like — but. you don’t have to do everything on your own. ❞ 

a beat, where he’s succinctly aware he’s been talking too much. come on harrington, not your best work.  

❝ all i'm saying is. it's not gonna be pretty when we go back down there, and get all up in vecna's backyard. so.  do me a favour and take a breather. please. ❞