Story [Stranger Things] Something Happening Somewhere - drabbles/ficlets

@WarmNyota_SweetAyesha Working with the public is never boring, that's for sure! And having a Robin to cry-laugh about the crazy with definitely helps. Thank you so much for reading!

@earlybird-obi-wan Absolutely! Having good coworkers to laugh with is the best. Thanks so much for reading!

*****

Title: Letter To You
Characters: Max, Billy
Notes: This ficlet is inspired by, and the title is taken from, Bruce Springsteen's new songs Ghosts and Letter To You. Please give them both a listen because they are AMAZING and I just love them and him and the band SO MUCH.

I heard "Letter To You" a couple weeks ago and I liked it, and then I heard "Ghosts" yesterday and it was just...so powerful. I felt "the blood shiver in my bones".

The idea for this popped into my head on the second listen, I think. I finally got it written down and wanted to get it posted before I talked myself out of it.

I hope it leaves your "spirit filled with light" or at least makes you smile a bit. Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoy!

*****

Letter To You

Sometimes the smallest things hit her the hardest.

A joke that no one else gets. A memory that no one else shares. A whiff of cologne, hairspray, cigarettes.

Today it was a song.

They'd never been big on hugs, always found it easier to share insults than I love you's.

But hearing that familiar riff and the lyrics she learned simply from hearing them so many times left her yearning to hug him and tell him how glad she is that he's her brother.

She can't do that when he's not there.

Instead she takes a worn notebook from its hiding spot and turns to the first blank page.

She picks up her pen and starts telling him about her day.

*****

The letter's waiting on the kitchen table.

It's two pages of random gossip and sarcasm in Max's messy handwriting. He can almost hear her chattering away as he reads.

She closes by saying she misses him.

He misses her, too. They usually talk on the phone once a week, but sometimes it's hard to speak the words they want to say. And it's not the same as being face to face, when it's easy to express affection through teasing and sharing whatever random thoughts come into their heads.

He can't wait to see her again. To hug her so hard he lifts her feet off the ground. To let her know how glad he is that she's his sister.

For now he gets a pen and paper and begins to write.

 

@amidalachick I have no words to express how deep into my heart and soul this reaches!!! Thank you for sharing this lovely so real slice of life.

 

love the songs and your words are fabulous

 

@WarmNyota_SweetAyesha That honestly made me tear up. This ficlet came from a very personal place, and I can't tell you how much it means to know it touched you so deeply. Thank you always for reading and for your support.

@earlybird-obi-wan Thank you so much for your sweet comment! And I'm so glad you like the songs too!

@Mira_Jade Thank you so, so much! This was a very personal piece, and it makes me so happy to know it made you smile. And I'm even happier that you like the songs (the whole album is awesome, but Ghosts is just a whole other level. I just love it SO MUCH). Thank you again for reading and your lovely comments!

Again, thank you all so much for reading and for your comments. I can't even tell you what it means to me. Thank you.

 

Title: Never Break The Chain
Genre: All the fluffiest fluff
Characters: Max, Billy, El; minor Steve, Robin, Will, Jonathan, Hopper/Joyce
Notes: The idea for this popped into my head the other day and I got a draft down, but I didn't have the time or energy to finish it properly. It's still mostly unedited and a bit of a mess, and I wasn't sure about posting it at all, and as usual I'm still not entirely happy with it, but I'm trying to just have fun writing again and not let the perfectionism-anxiety-depression win. So I'm compromising by putting it here instead of in its own thread. Plus it's been a really long day and I just wanted something happy. If you choose to read this bit of cliched, OOC, ridiculously soft, sweet, sappy, self-indulgent post-S3 AU Thanksgiving fluff, I hope maybe it will make you happy in some small way too.

Title is taken from The Chain by Fleetwood Mac, because I was thinking a bit about Guardians of the Galaxy while I was writing.

Thank you so much for reading, and I hope you enjoy!

*****

Never Break The Chain

*****

Max set out plates, glasses, and cutlery and mentally reviewed her line of attack.

She waited until Billy had put the pot of spaghetti in the middle of the table and taken his seat across from her before saying casually, "Mrs. Byers is having Thanksgiving."

Billy scooped up some spaghetti. "Good for her."

"She invited us." Max plucked a noodle from the pot and popped it in her mouth. "All of us."

"I know," Billy said. "Steve told me."

Max smiled. "So you'll go?"

"Nope."

Max reached for the spoon and dumped a pile of spaghetti on her own plate. "Why not?"

"She doesn't want me there," Billy said. "She just feels sorry for me."

Max rolled her eyes. "You feel sorry for you. Steve and Robin will be there, and what about El? You know she wants to see you."

"She sees me plenty," Billy muttered, eyes fixed on his plate.

Max stabbed at her spaghetti, thinking as she chewed. Once Billy had left the hospital and moved into his own place, she'd started coming over a couple times a week to have dinner and hang out. Usually El, Steve, and Robin joined them. It was nice, not that she would ever say that.

She'd been wondering what to do for Thanksgiving, though. Lucas was going to Chicago with his family to visit relatives, and she didn't want her stepbrother to be alone on the holiday anyway.

So when El told her that Mike would be away with his family, too, and that Hopper and Joyce were extending an invitation to everyone who'd been involved with the Upside Down, Max thought it sounded perfect.

She just needed to convince Billy.

"Okay," she said. "It's no big deal. I'll come here. El can come too, and Steve and Robin. Maybe even Will. We'll order pizza."

Billy scowled. "You've got it all planned out, huh, Maxine?"

"Yep." Max set down her fork. "I'm not letting you sit and mope. Either you come with me, or I'm bringing Thanksgiving here."

Billy threw a stray noodle at her. "Bitch."

Max threw the noodle back. "Jerk."

Billy huffed out a long-suffering sigh. "What time am I picking you up?"

*****

Neil tried to insist on a 'family' Thanksgiving, and Max knew better than to argue. Instead she stated matter-of-factly that she was going with Billy to the Byers' for dinner. She didn't need to remind them that was where Chief Hopper lived now, and that the chief was not only her best friend's dad but had also been involved in the same 'mall fire' as Billy. Neither Neil or her mom were thrilled about her plans, but they didn't try to stop her.

She was sitting on the steps when Billy pulled up.

"You didn't have to wait outside." He frowned. "Is everything okay?"

"It's fine." Max shrugged. "I just wanted some air. What's this?" She picked up the pie sitting on the seat so she could get in, and once she was settled, she looked more closely at the box. "Apple?"

"Everyone likes apple pie," Billy said flatly.

Apple was her favorite. She looked out the window so Billy wouldn't see her smiling.

They were quiet until they reached the Byers' house. Max marched up the driveway with the pie in her arms, but when she realized her stepbrother wasn't following she went back.

"Billy?" she said.

"I shouldn't have come," he said.

"Everyone's cool with you being here," Max said. "I swear."

Billy didn't look convinced.

Max hugged the pie closer against her chest. "If it's really too much you can leave. Just...try? Please?"

Billy exhaled heavily and gave her a tiny nod. "Okay."

This time he was behind her as she walked up to the door. El answered Max's knock, a googly-eyed turkey headband perched on her thick brown curls and a big smile lighting up her face.

"Hi," she said.

Max grinned. "Hi!"

"Hi," Billy said softly.

Will, Jonathan, Steve, and Robin were sitting on the living room floor around a Monopoly board. They all called out hellos. Joyce popped out of the kitchen to add her own greeting. She welcomed them both warmly and took the pie from Max with a delighted smile.

El pointed at the game board. "Wanna help me bank rob everyone?"

A small smile crossed Billy's face. "I would love to help you bank rob everyone."

Jonathan offered to let Max take over his spot, although he remained the banker.

By the time Joyce announced dinner was ready Steve was stuck in jail, Will had put up a hotel on Vermont Ave, Robin and Max each owned almost half the board, and El and Billy were gloating over the pile of cash they got from landing on Free Parking.

"What luck," Robin said dryly.

El wiped a bit of blood from under her nose and grinned.

Laughing and teasing, they all filed into the dining room, where Joyce and Hopper had set up another small table and extra chairs. Max sat down between El and Billy.

When everyone was seated, Joyce looked around the table.

"I know we're all hungry, and I'm not going to get too mushy. But I do want to say how thankful I am that we're all able to be here today."

Smiling, she reached for Hopper's hand. Hopper took Jonathan's and El took Max's. Max held out her other hand and glanced at Billy.

Billy glanced back at her and gave her a little smile as he took her hand.

The first Thanksgiving after her mom married Neil, she'd thought it would be nice if they all held hands around the table and shared what they were grateful for. Neither Max nor Billy were happy about the idea, but Max was the one who made a fuss and refused to hold hands with her gross stepbrother. Billy was the one who got slapped and sent to his room with a warning about being nicer to his sister.

A lot had changed since then.

El squeezed Max's hand and looked from her to Billy and back, her dark eyes sparkling.

"Happy."

Max looked around, taking in her stepbrother's bright eyes and soft smile; Steve's equally soft smile and sideways glance aimed in his direction; Robin's joyful expression; Jonathan's quiet happiness; Will trying not to look at his mom and Hopper but unable to hide his grin; and Hopper and Joyce gazing at each other.

"Yeah." Max grinned at El, feeling the warmth of El's and Billy's palms against hers. "Happy."

 

I can always count on you to provide some great family/friends feels! Max is so gently persistent; Joyce, Hopper, and the rest so genuinely welcoming.

Everyone feels accepted and enfolded in this warm family sharing.

 

Nice one, amidalachick! I like that Billy has not not all of his edge, but I also like how you made Max have to work a little harder to get him to agree to going to the Byers'. I call this group The Family, with a capital F. I absolutely love these characters and would love to see new Billy interact with some of the other kids.

 

WarmNyota_SweetAyesha and brodiew: A very belated thank you to both of you for reading.

*****

Characters: Max, Billy, others mentioned
Genre: Angsty (mentions of character death)
Notes: Just an old thing originally written for a challenge prompt, Hug. I wanted to post something because anxiety has taken over far too much of my life yet again and I need to do something to fight it, and I picked this because my feelings about it are more 'indifference' than 'ugh, why did you ever bother wasting time on any of this garbage'.

*****

Max says she understands if he doesn't come, that she doesn't expect him to.

At first he's not going to.

Susan wasn't his mother.

He's still unsure even when he and Steve book the first flight they can get from L.A. to Indianapolis. Even when Lucas picks them up at the airport for the drive back to Hawkins and says glad you could make it.

He skips the visitation.

Susan wasn't his mother and he was never her son.

He doesn't need false sympathy. Doesn't want to make things awkward for Max.

Half of the people in the church are strangers to him. The other half are there for Max.

Lucas and their girls. El, Mike, Dustin, and Will. Mr. and Mrs. Sinclair. Hopper and Joyce.

He hates funerals. That's why he grips Steve's hand tightly through the prayers and hymns and the minister's platitudes.

An older lady speaks about how dedicated Susan was, how eager to step in if someone needed help. How she did so much for the church and how much the congregation would miss her. She stops several times to dab at her eyes and collect herself.

Then Max gets up. She stands behind the pulpit in her black slacks and plain gray blouse, hair pulled back in its usual ponytail, composed and dry-eyed.

She focuses on good memories. Her voice is calm and even as she shares how her mom had been so happy to have grandchildren, how she didn't see Olivia and Katie very often but doted on them from half a country away.

It's partially true.

He stands away from the others at the cemetery. Doesn't want to get too close to the hole in the ground.

But when the casket is lowered, and the final rose and handful of dirt are tossed onto it, Max comes to him.

She throws her arms around him with a choked sound and then she's crying.

He hugs back, his tears mixing with hers as they grieve together.

Her gasping, heaving sobs slowly taper to sniffles and a hoarse, whispered thanks.

And he knows he did the right thing.

Because Susan wasn't his mother.

But Max is his sister.

 

Sweet as Billy freely admits he doesn't like false sympathy, ick! But is there for Max. Definitely coming was the right thing to do. Sharing the grief lessens it a bit IMO.

 

Love that he is there for Max. A great piece showing emotions

 

Title: Alright To Keep It Light Now
Notes: Sticking these here because I don't want to make a whole new thread.

These are one-sentence stories written as a non-competitive entry for OTP Challenge #25: Challenge of Challenges!

There's no order to the prompts I picked, they are just the ones I had ideas for. I started working on these a couple of weeks ago and originally I wanted to do one sentence for each prompt. That was too much, so I tried for ten. And I still didn't quite get there, but I did make it to 8 one-sentence stories. Some are super-short, one is split into two parts and stretches the definition of 'sentence', one is drabble-length, and they're all rather convoluted but they're written.

Title is taken from Lovin' You Is Fun by Easton Corbin. The book mentioned in #3: Fairy Tale...IN SPACE! is The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch (link is for an audio version on Youtube) and the song in #7: Our Song is Slow Hand by Conway Twitty. There are no spoilers and no angst or drama, these are all 100% AU fluff.

Finally, I want to say a few thank yous.

Thank you to Captain Rakkaus (aka the wonderful and talented Findswoman) for coming up with and administering all of these fun and inspirational challenges.

Thank you to the friends, online and off, who support and encourage and believe in me even when I don't believe in myself. I know that sounds so cliche but it's true. They are the reason I've scraped up enough confidence to post these at all.

And to anyone who chooses to read this, thank you. I hope these bring some smiles.

*

Alright To Keep It Light Now

*

1. Challenge #1—The Unfixable Issues (Steve/Billy)

I don't know how you eat that, Steve says, it's lumpy and gross; how would you know, Billy says as he dips his finger in the jar and licks the glob of chunky peanut butter off with a smirk, you've never even tried it.

2. Challenge #2—Romcom...IN SPACE!!! (Steve/Billy, animal OCs)

Bathing two slippery squirming dogs who don't want to be bathed is an adventure and by the time Steve and Billy get the bathroom and themselves cleaned up too they're ready to relax but Lemmy and Cookie are comfortable on the couch, too comfortable to disturb - we need a bigger couch, Billy says and Steve agrees - so they spend the rest of the afternoon lazily cuddled in their bed.

3. Challenge #6—Fairy Tale...IN SPACE! (Nancy & Holly)

Nancy settled Holly on her lap and showed her the soft cover of the book, where a girl faced a dragon, before beginning to read: "Elizabeth was a beautiful princess..."

4. Challenge #10—Date Nite Gon Rong (Steve/Billy)

Although three years wasn't a major anniversary he'd still wanted it to be special and spending half the day in the bathroom was not what he'd had in mind - but later, laying under the throw blanket Joyce gave them when they moved with his head in Steve's lap while Steve stroked through his curls and they watched some forgettable action movie and feasted on flat Sprite and dry crackers, it felt pretty damn special after all.

5. Challenge #14—Love Letter Exchange (Max & Billy)

Together with their families, Maxine Mayfield and Lucas Sinclair invite you to join them for their wedding, Saturday August sixth nineteen ninety four, Hawkins Indiana

(note attached separately) Yes I already know you're coming but one of you morons remember to send the RSVP back anyway - we want to make sure there's enough booze for everyone HAHA - can't wait to see you

*

RSVP: Billy Hargrove and Steve Harrington ✓ accept with pleasure

(note attached separately) I'm only coming for the open bar, don't think I'm gonna dance with you or whatever - see you soon, ****bird

6. Challenge #16—Milestones (Joyce)

"Oh, come here, come here sweetie," Joyce coos as she takes the baby from Max's arms; the little girl isn't her grandchild but she is the first member of the next generation of Joyce's extended family.

7. Challenge #17—Our Song (Steve/Billy)

Where do you even find this crap Harrington, Billy says and Steve replies that it's his mom's record, but as they sway back and forth to Conway Twitty in the Harringtons' living room, the house and the night all to themselves, Steve sings along softly to the music; later, when they're falling asleep, Billy still hears the words in his head - you've got a man with a slow hand, you've got a lover with an easy touch - and snuggles closer to Steve, his pretty boy with slow hands and an easy touch, terrible taste in music, and a huge heart.

8. Challenge #24—Vacation Time! (Hopper/Joyce, Jonathan)

When the formal photos are done the wedding party scatters and Joyce relaxes into her beach chair with a contented sigh; it's not long before Jonathan heads over, holds up his camera, and instructs her and Hop to smile - but she puts her finger to her lips and Jonathan captures her grinning while Hop naps in the chair next to hers, straw sun hat pulled low over his face.

 

love the sweet and funny moments between the characters

 

Sweet with Joyce and Hopper