#follower appreciation

“Baby, I told you you don’t need all this shit,” Steve’s voice was soft but insistent when he saw the contents that had spilled from your bag after he threw it a little too hard into your shared tent. 

“You can never be too safe,” you shrugged, trying to play off your anxiety as if it were no big deal. The horrors you had been through had been hard on everyone, but you were one of the few still dealing with the lasting effects so harshly. You had placed both Dustin’s and Steve’s wellbeing on your own shoulders, and when they stopped getting along after Eddie’s death it had torn you in two. The ramifications of the past 2 years alone would take you a decade to work through. 

“That’s what I’m here for,” he stood and pulled you into his arms, cradling your head against his chest in a way that said “I’ve got you” but would look no different from any other embrace to passersby. 

“I know, Stevie,” you smiled, melting into him for just a moment. But that moment of peace was all you would get. 

“Ew, get a tent,” Dustin whined from across the fire pit, still attempting to help Mike put up their own. They had borrowed Steve’s parents’ tent, large enough to sleep all of you with room to spare. You had insisted that you bring your own, knowing full well that your brother and his friends would be up all night goofing around, and you intended to be asleep by 10. 

“Grow up Henderson,” Steve chuckled as he threw his hat at the younger teen, hitting him right on his arm. They both chuckled as you rolled your eyes. You broke away from Steve and headed back to his car to grab the last of your things. 

You had to admit, the night was better than you had expected. Being there with everyone healed something in you. You only wished Robin, Nancy, and Jonathan were able to be there with you. Giggling around the fire, roasting hot dogs and making smores, just felt safe. Felt normal. It was something you had been yearning for for years. Seeing your brother happy again was just the cherry on top. 

“Thanks for forcing me to come,” you whispered to Steve as you both settled into your sleeping bags that night. 

“I did no such thing.” 

“Really? Telling me this was my last chance to spend time with my baby brother before he went off to become a man wasn’t your way of strong arming me?” You giggled. 

“Just speaking the facts,” he laughed. You hit him with your pillow before sliding closer so your bodies could meet. 

“Not so bad out here, huh?” 

“I know it’s safe again, Stevie. Just hard to remind myself sometimes. Especially when Dustin’s in the mix.” 

“Hey, I’m not trying to-” he sighed and wrapped his arms around your sleeping bag, pulling you in like a burrito. You didn’t have the heart to laugh just yet. “No one expects you to just feel fine again. Hell, I know most of us are barely holding on at times. I swear I was just appreciating the scenery. I haven’t been back out here either, and I guess I just missed it more than I knew.” 

“I thought you and Dustin came out here in the fall?” 

“Yeah, that’s what we told you,” he laughed nervously, “But we ended up staying at a hotel. Just didn’t feel right being out here alone.” 

You propped yourself up to look at him, “What? You should have told me that! I was worried sick about you guys all night.” 

“I know,” he pulled you back down, “We just didn’t want you to think we were wusses. I promised him I wouldn’t tell.” He kissed the top of your head as you laid it back down on his chest. 

“You are two of the bravest people I know. I’d never think that.” 

You drifted off, laying just like that. You weren’t sure how long it had been before you were waking up to the sound of whispers and rustling, hidden only by the pitter patter of rain hitting the tent. The first thing you noticed, though, was that Steve was no longer next to you. 

Your hand reached for the bag that you had laid beside you before you went to sleep, searching around for the first sharp object you could find. Just as you were about to raise the blade from the bag, your eyes adjusted to the dark to see Steve crouching at the entrance to the tent. He glanced at you, hoping to see you still asleep, but his demeanor shifted when he saw you wide eyed reaching for a weapon. 

“Hey,” he turned away completely from the open zipper door to scoot towards you, “It’s fine, just the kids.” You let out a sigh of relief and let the hand he had rested on your outstretched arm move you away from your little bag of self defense. 

“Come on man,” you heard Dustin whisper yell from the entrance to the tent. 

“What’s going on,” you asked Steve, still trying to catch up on the situation. 

“They’re freaked out, won’t tell me why,” he sighed, knowing that you wouldn’t find much comfort in their panic. 

“Did they hear something?” 

“I told you, Baby, they won’t blab. They just… wanna sleep in here,” he smiled nervously, which was met with a dry laugh. 

“This tent sleeps four.” 

“Yeah, I know. I tried sending them away.” 

You could tell he was torn. Between living up to his babysitter name, or prioritizing you. This may have been the last time he would see these kids like this, the last time you would get the chance to have a sleepover with your brother and his friends. So you didn’t make the decision any harder for him. 

“Grab our sleeping gear,” you smiled and gave him a kiss on the cheek. He furrowed his brow in question, but he didn’t have a chance to speak before you rushed out of your sleeping bag to meet your brother at the door of the tent. 

“Sorry, did we wake you up?” 

“Yeah, no big deal,” you lied as you stood, slipping on the flip flops you had set by the entrance to the tent. You looked up to see that all 6 of them were out there, hair and clothes all getting soaked from the rain, which was only picking up speed. Nearly every single one of them was looking over their shoulder, except for Jane who seemed just as calm as ever. You appreciated her confidence in the safety of the situation. 

You crouched down to peek inside the tent again, catching Steve’s attention. “My bag too,” you commanded. There was no need to clarify which one. 

You caught Dustin by the back of the head and gave him a big sloppy kiss to the forehead, which made the group laugh. You ruffled his hair before turning to walk back towards their tent, and they all followed, tension slowly leaving their shoulders. 

It was nice to not feel like the crazy one for holding onto the apprehension after what you had all gone through. It was nice to see that they felt it too. 

Steve followed not too far behind the rest of the group, making sure he took mental note of shutting both tents. He laid out your sleeping bag and pillow for you, but he kept your bag of weaponry on his side. He could see your protest before you spoke. “Nothing’s gonna happen,” he crouched down to look you in the eye, “But if it does, I’ll take care of it. Got it?” 

You knew better than to fight him when he had that expression. Dustin had been through enough, you getting hurt would just end him. You knew Steve loved you, and he would do anything for you, but part of that incessant need to protect extended through his love for you brother. 

“Ok,” you said in partial defeat. 

The teens around you settled into their own spots, but they were just as rowdy as you had expected. They whispered and giggled over each other, which only grew worse when Steve tried to shush them like an angry father. 

He rolled his eyes before turning to lay facing you. “Promise you’ll still be here in the morning? Because if I wake up to see that you left me here with these little idiots,” he didn’t finish his sentence, too busy admiring your laugh. 

“I promise,” you smiled and slid closer again, planting a warm kiss against his damp cheek. He didn’t let you pull away before he could give you a real one, right on the lips. 

“Oh come on,” you heard Dustin groan from behind him. Before you could break apart, each teen had begun throwing their pillows at Steve. 

“Hey,” he yelled, but it lacked severity, “You guys can go back to sleeping in here alone. Better yet, I’ll take her to a hotel and leave all you fuckers out here to fend for yourselves.” 

There was no seriousness in the threat, aside from Steve’s desire to rent a hotel room to get you out of the cold.

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Disclaimer: I would tag every mutual if I could, but since Tumblr doesn't allow that, this is my best effort to tag every Mutual who might not want to miss out seeing this post and greeting. If you believe you should have been tagged and weren't, then that was a user-error on my part; it does not mean I don't love and appreciate you too. <3