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#𝚂𝚃𝙴𝚅𝙴𝙽𝙷𝙰𝚁𝚁𝙸𝙽𝙶𝚃𝙾𝙽.        //        a  primarily  canon  -  compliant  portrayal  of  𝚂𝚃𝙴𝚅𝙴  𝙷𝙰𝚁𝚁𝙸𝙽𝙶𝚃𝙾𝙽  from  netflix's 𝚂𝚃𝚁𝙰𝙽𝙶𝙴𝚁  𝚃𝙷𝙸𝙽𝙶𝚂  with  headcanons  to  fill  in  the  blanks.  mutuals  only.  mature  themes  ahead.  strictly  18+.  babysat  by  frankie.  he / him.  27.  cst.  low  activity.  don’t  be  a  dick !  ✨

CARRD.       /       INTEREST  TRACKER.       /       MEME  TAG.       /       PLAYLIST.

    🎄  @lcvetulips​  was  caught  under  the  mistletoe  with  steve.

 𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐕𝐄'𝐒  𝐀  𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐓𝐋𝐄  𝐃𝐑𝐔𝐍𝐊.  not  yet  to  the  point  of  cognitive  impairment,  but  he  hopes  the  glass  of  rum  -  enhanced  eggnog  he  just  poured  will  remedy  that.  parties  aren’t  meant  to  be  sober  experiences.  as  he  places  the  chilled  concoction  back  in  the  fridge,  he  hears  the  sound  of  multiple  off-key  teenage  boys  bust  out  the  worst  rendition  of  jingle  bells  he’s  ever  heard.  it’s  purposefully  obnoxious,  likely  their  way  of  trying  to  make  pretty  girls  laugh.  hardly  anyone  his  age  indulges  in  festivity  unironically.  those  who  do  are  quickly  marked  as  dweeby  rejects  that  need  to  grow  up.  bearing  that  in  mind,  steve  keeps  his  incontestable  affinity  for  the  most  wonderful  time  of  the  year  to  himself.

 ❝  for  the  last  time,  if  the  neighbors  file  a  noise  complaint,  my  christmas  present  to  you  guys’ll  be  a  trip  to  the  hospital,  ❞  he  calls  out.  the  singing  is  quickly  replaced  by  drunken  laughter.  steve  rolls  his  eyes  and  turns  to  leave  the  kitchen  only  to  abruptly  stop  in  his  tracks  when  he  nearly  collides  with  a  familiar  face.  a  small  splash  of  eggnog  erupts  out  of  his  glass  and  onto  his  hand.

 ❝  jesus,  kailee,  ❞  he  exhales,  transferring  the  drink  to  a  nearby  counter  before  wiping  his  hand  against  the  front  of  his  pants.  ❝  how  do  you  sneak  up  on  people  like  that?  you’re  like  a  ninja  or  something.  ❞  his  gaze  returns  to  kailee  but  something  just  above  their  heads  steals  his  attention  away  from  her  once  more.  mistletoe.  he  forgot  he  put  that  there.  steve  adopts  a  grin  as  he  nods  in  the  plant’s  direction.    

❝  whaddya  say,  wanna  make  it  up  to  me?  ❞  he  asks.  ❝  i  mean,  ‘tis  the  season,  right?  ❞

                             meta  topic :  steve  +  his  mother                             sent  by  @elverted​  (  i  owe  you  my  life!  )

 linda  harrington,  like  most  mothers,  loved  steve  the  moment  he  popped  out   of  her  and   into  the  world.  during  steve’s  formative  years,  she  didn’t  have  a  job,  so  —  with  stan  usually  away  on  business  (  or,  at  times,  “business”  )  her  life  essentially  revolved  around  him  for  a  little  over  a  decade.  admittedly,  she  was  a  little  boozy  (  hey,  it’s  four  o’clock  somewhere  )  but  she  really  did  put  in  an  effort  with  him.  lullabies  (  usually  elton  john  even  though  stan  hated  the  guy  with  a  passion  ),  bedtime  stories  (  usually  either  told  from  memory  or  entirely  off  -  the  -  cuff  ),  and  a  lot  of  time  spent  playing  ‘salon’,  which  mostly  entailed  her  receiving  free  at  -  home  spa  treatments  from  steve  but,  hey,  he  enjoyed  it  too.  it’s  actually  how  he  learned  to  give  himself  highlights.  thank  you,  linda.

 needless  to  say,  they  were  close.  until  kids  at  school  started  teasing  steve  for  being  a  momma’s  boy.  after  that,  he  started  to  pull  away.  to  linda,  the  sudden  distance  didn’t  make  sense,  so  she  tried  to  reel  her  boy  back  in,  but  her  efforts  backfired.  

 ❝  jeez,  do  you  ever  stop  nagging?  ❞  steve  eventually  snapped.  ❝  you  know  that’s  why  dad’s  never  around,  right?  you  do  the  same  thing  to  him.  ❞

 he  was  fourteen  at  the  time  and  he  knew  exactly  how  badly  his  words  would  hurt  her.  following  that  showstopper,  linda  stopped  trying  to  win  her  son  back,  decided  to  pour  herself  into  a  career  instead,  and  quickly  became  one  of  hawkins’  most  successful  real  estate  agents.  

 although  steve  regretted  his  outburst  almost  immediately,  it  took  him  a  few  years  to  work  up  the  courage  to  make  amends.  after  the  battle  of  starcourt,   his  relationship  with  his  dad  was  at  an  all  -  time  low,  which  is  saying  something,  and  the  lack  of  parental  support  was  really  starting  to  get  to  him.  so,  he  went  to  his  mom  and  asked  if  she  would  be  okay  with  being  a  reference  on  future  job  applications.  

 ❝  wouldn’t  you  rather  ask  your  father?  ❞  she  asked,  equal  parts  snark  and  genuine  curiosity.  when  steve  told  her  no  with  nothing  but  sincerity  and  a  hint  of  fearfulness,  she  nearly  teared  up.  her  boy  finally  came  back.

 these  days,  they’re  better  than  they’ve  been  in  a  long  time,  but  it’s  still  a  rocky  road.  linda,  as  loving  as  she  can  be,  is  still  a  woman  of  her  time,  and  (  despite  her  predilection  for  certain  musicians  )  is  much  more  conservative  than  her  son  is  becoming.  overall,  their  future  will  be  a  tightrope  act  but,  for  now,  they’re  okay.  as  far  as  steve’s  concerned,  that’s  good  enough.  it  kinda  has  to  be.

@stevenharrington​:   “  tell me,  your perfect date.  anything you’d like.  nothing out of the question.  i’ll do it. i’ll make it a night you never forget.  ”

          doeish blue eyes blink, a bit grateful her face is already turned pink by the cold. giuliana’s holding her skates in one hand, head tilting to one side. she has never really experienced this – boys flirting with her. anyone flirting with her, really. the brunette doesn’t know how to respond. this is one of the reasons she has mixed feelings about homeschool: sure, it gives her more time to practice & spend most daylight hours at the rink, but then she’s totally blind sided when it comes to people. she’s never been on a date before. wouldn’t know what to expect. her eyebrows pinch together, lips pursing in thought. “i dunno. i don’t really … i mean. i’ve never been on. a date.”

               an embarrassed smile tugs at the corners of her mouth, head ducking down. if any of the other skaters saw her talking to a boy, she’d never hear the end of it. not that they need any reason to separate her more. “that sounds … so dumb; i just mean. i don’t really have the time, y’know, ‘cause i’m always – here. practicing.” a shrug. god, has she always been this awkward? he’s just a person. sure, he’s cute, & he at least seems to be interested in her, but still! just a person. she tucks a stray strand of hair behind her ear, gaze wandering. (really she just ought to take her hair down & start all over. the bun she’d had was all spun out, anyway.) giuliana sets her skates down by her side, hands then working to undo her hair, much longer than it appears as it tumbles down. “so, i guess the answer is i don’t know. what even is there to do?” a genuine question, smile still lingering.

meme. 

 𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐕𝐄  𝐆𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐄𝐒  𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑  𝐇𝐈𝐒  𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐋𝐃𝐄𝐑,  𝐒𝐌𝐈𝐑𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆  𝐀𝐒  𝐇𝐄  𝐃𝐎𝐄𝐒.  a  group  of  boys,  same  age  as  him,  snicker  while  they  watch  him  operate.  talking  to  girls  for  the  first  time  takes  careful  consideration,  which  is  why  he  doesn’t  linger  on  the  distraction.  when  his  attention  shifts  back  to  the  girl  in  question,  his  hands  are  on  his  hips.  giuli’s  cute  (  add  sweet  into  the  bargain  ),  although  her  conversational  finesse  doesn’t  quite  match  -  up  with  her  grace  on  the  ice.  her  timid  smile  and  otherwise  uncertain  body  language  tell  him  everything  he  needs  to  know  before  she  does.  fine  by  steve  —  he’s  working  with  enough  confidence  for  both  of  them.

 ❝  well,  as  luck  would  have  it,  i  know  a  thing  or  two  about  how  time  consuming  practice  can  be.  so,  y’know,  no  judgment.  ❞  to  say  steve  takes  basketball  as  seriously  as  giuli  takes  skating  would  be  an  egregious  overstatement.  he  shows  up  on  the  court,  does  reasonably  well,  and  leaves  without  letting  the  squeak  of  tennis  shoes  or  the  smell  of  adolescent  body  odor  leak  into  his  freetime.  initially,  he  chose  sports  as  a  bid  for  his  father’s  approval,  but  stanley  harrington  hasn’t  shown  his  face  in  the  hawkins  high  gymnasium  since  steve’s  freshman  year.  now,  it’s  —  more  or  less  —  just  something  he  does;  a  hobby,  not  an  aspiration.

 ❝  besides,  i  mean,  have  you  seen  yourself  out  there?  you’ve  totally  earned  a  chance  to,  uh  —  ❞  steve  gestures  to  her  deep  brown  waves  of  recently  undone  tresses  ❝  —  let  your  hair  down.  ❞  the  perpetuation  of  his  grin  says  he’s  proud  of  that  one.  ❝  which,  by  the  way,  looks  even  better  out  of  the  bun.  it’s  got  a  lot  of  volume…  or  whatever.  ❞  he’s  talking  too  much  about  hair.  girls  aren’t  into  guys  who  know  about  that  kind  of  thing.  in  light  of  that,  steve  swallows  the  urge  to  ask  what  conditioner  she  uses  and  circles  back  to  the  main  event.

 ❝  anyway,  uh,  hawkins  is  pretty  pathetic  when  it  comes  to  date  night  entertainment,  but  we’ll  make  it  work,  ❞  he  says  with  a  shrug.  ❝  there’s  the  movies,  enzo’s,  lovers  lake  —  but  you  don’t  really  seem  like  that  kind  of  girl.  ❞  a  given,  considering  this  will  be  her  first  date,  but  steve  figures  it’s  worth  the  effort  to  make  sure  she  knows  his  expectations  don’t  extend  that  far.  it’s  too  early  for  that.  ❝  tell  you  what  —  you,  me,  friday  night,  right  here  at  the  rink.  we’ll  ease  you  into  things  by  tricking  your  brain  into  thinking  it’s  just  another  practice  session.  maybe  you  can  even  show  me  a  few  moves.  ❞  his  brows  raise  expectantly.  ❝  how’s  that  sound?  ❞