My latest hyperfixations, rewritten.

“I’m not buying it,” he says, low and rough with waking, with healing that’s coming too hard and too slow.

Steve lets out a long breath.

One of those days.

It’s what he tells Dustin on the walkie, trusting that he’ll pass the message along. How the party deal with it is always left up to them, but he figures it’s fairer to prepare them, let them decide. It’s even odds whether Dustin will avoid Steve’s place, or whether he’ll spend hours trying to convince Eddie, pulling out every trick in the book and then a hundred more besides.

“I’m not buying it,” Eddie says, stabbing vengefully at his pancakes, and Steve is just grateful for the lack of neighbours when he tips his head back and bellows, “you hear that, Henry, you piece of shit?”

Steve had started out like Dustin, optimistic, but now when it’s one of those days he just keeps his head down and bullies through.

“We’ve got to change your bandages,” he says, at his very blandest, and Eddie grins his most cynical grin, a hectic fevered flush brightening his cheeks.

“It’s a nice touch,” he says. “The veracity is impressive, attention to detail, y’know. One DM to another, you’re doing some fine work.”

Steve grits his teeth and levers Eddie to his feet.

Unsurprisingly, Eddie won’t take his drugs when they’re done. He’s lost all the colour in his face, and there’s sweat rolling down his forehead, and he smacks Steve’s hand away hard enough to leave a mark.

“Really looking forward to you being a bitch about this all day,” Steve finally snaps, and Eddie barks out a laugh that’s swallowed up by a groan.

“You know,” he says thoughtfully, after a moment, “I’d take it as a personal kindness if you’d choose someone else’s face, Henry old chap.” He pats Steve’s cheek, and his fingers are almost as cold as the metal of his rings, and when they rest against Steve’s skin he can feel them trembling. “My dad would be a stretch, sure, but I promise to buy into it if you pretend to be Wayne.”

He’s a little rambler than usual, eyes not quite tracking, and it’s killing Steve that this is the best they can do for him for now.

“It’s just,” Eddie says, leaning closer, confiding, “you do a pretty good impression of him, see, and it’s kinda ruining the narrative to have King Steve Harrington being so sweet.”

Steve swallows an inexplicable lump in his throat.

“You don’t think I can be sweet?” he asks.

“I think,” Eddie says, “I might very well fall in love with you, imaginary Steve Harrington, and I don’t think that’s the torture vibes we’re going for here.”

Good morning ☀️

Steve does what he's best at these days--making a dumb jokes so Will smiles throughout his choked out confession, opens his arms so Will has somewhere to hide all his tears, let's it be known, loud and clear, that no matter what happens, no matter who says what, Will has family here. People who care.

People who will always care.

And in the buildup to Will coming out to the group at large, so convinced Vecna will use this against him if he doesn't, Steve will take this oppertunity to rile Jonathan and Dustin both by loudly declaring Will his newfound male best friend and favorite.

("I'm so sorry." Will is saying, guilty hovering as he and Robin try and patch up Steve from his latest Jonathan inflicted injuries.

"Don't apologize, he's doing it on purepose." Robin hisses back as she dabs a wet towel on Steve's face. "Because hes stupid."

"Its not stupid if its what I wanted." Steve playfully responds, letting Robin maneuver his beaten face this way and that.

"You wanted a black eye?" Will's own face says he thinks this is a macho coverup he's calling Steve out on, and that simply won't do.

With a smile towards him, Steve leans forward and conspirituality says; "Did you ever see that black hanky Eddie had?"

This is both now Will learns about flagging and Robin gets confirmation that Steve's a fucking a masochist.

When he gets to the front porch, he hears a noise, looks across and it's Steve hanging half way out of Jonathan's window. They stare at each other for a long moment then Steve does that silly little wave of his.

Hopper sighs and says, "The three of you have two minutes to get off my property or you're never setting foot in this house again."