+1 Babysitter

[farrahfawcetts]

WHO: Steve Harrington
WHERE: Wandering in town and at the diner
WHAT: A Babysitter named Steve enters the chat
WHEN: Post sports day. He'll be devastated he missed it
WARNINGS: S4 Stranger Things spoilers but nothing else.

[Welcome to Even Stranger Things]

Steve still wasn't entirely sure what had happened to him. One second he was asleep in the hellscape that was now Hawkins, and then he was in some sort of alien city? The floating orb thing had explained it to him, kind of, but he didn't know if he could trust that information. After all, why would a group of aliens looking to hurt them just outright say that? It would be stupid. So who fucking knew what this whole thing was about.

Not to mentioned they were all kidnapped. That didn't seem like great behavior, all considered. Definitely not a super first impression.

But it didn't seem like he had a lot of say on it. He was here now and it was up to him to make the best of it. At least he had his bat. Steve rested it against his shoulder as he walked around the area, just getting the layout. Not that he was absorbing all that much, of course. He kept stopping short, seeing some sort of weird animal or strange looking building. Finally though, after his wandering, he saw something that looked more familiar. Someone to talk to, maybe. Another hostage?

"Hey!  Wait up!" Steve runs to catch up. "Hey, I'm new here. Are you...uh. Kidnapped too?"


[Boy's Gotta Eat]

It's been a long few days of trying to get his bearings and settling in. Steve finally stopped bringing his nailbat with him but that didn't mean his guard is down. He'd had enough moments of thinking things were fine only to have a monster pop out of nowhere to ever be truly relaxed. Besides, he is still a hostage, nevermind that the aliens are pink and sort of adorable in an oblivious, Eleven sort of way. Have to stay on his toes.

And that means he really needs to get some food.

Steve saw the diner on the map and ventures out early in the morning. He isn't sure how he is going to pay or what sort of food will be in there, but he's finished the protein bars he'd gotten from the replicator and is starving. Beggars can't be choosers.

"Hello?" He walks inside and looks around. "Uh. Here for the food? As long as it's not like, alien worms or something like that?" Although he's hungry enough that it maybe wouldn't matter.

Comments

[farrahfawcetts]

"Bad place to be a vegetarian I guess..."

With the animals away he looks less like he's about to be sick and more just vaguely uncomfortable. "How many animals have you all eaten here?"

[ziedrich_bearer]

"Vegetarian is easy here," Gladio counters quite easily. Most of the food here didn't have meat.

"Not enough to disrupt the ecosystem. I'm not that stupid with my hunting."

[farrahfawcetts]

Steve nods even though he's not entirely understanding what Gladio is saying or why that would be the case. He is also maybe confusing vegan with vegetarian but whatever.

"Is that what you did at home? Hunting?"

[ziedrich_bearer]

"Body guard actually," Gladio answered with a shrug. "But hunting was some secondary work."

[farrahfawcetts]

Steve looks Gladio over from head to toe and, yeah. That checks out. Super checks out.

"Damn. Whoever you were guarding was definitely secure. You should open up a gym or something here."

[ziedrich_bearer]

Yeah, he knows it checks out. He's been building toward it his whole life.

"Not as secure as he should have been," Gladio grumbles. How do you protect your prince from the gods?

"We don't need a gym like we need food I think."

[farrahfawcetts]

"We could have both, right?" Steve perches his hip on a counter and rested against it. "You can't be hunting all the time, right? Need to have something else for all your time?"

[ziedrich_bearer]

Gladio's little self-satisfied smile might tell other people (particularly Richie and Tony) just what he was up to in his free time.

"Oh, I have something else."

[farrahfawcetts]

Steve gets it too. He's had his share of 'something else'. "Ah. Boyfriend. Almost forgot about that." That must be nice. Better than hunting and skinning things at least.

"I guess still the honeymoon period, eh?" Nineteen and an expert in the matters of love. He should open a clinic.

[ziedrich_bearer]

Yeah, the boyfriend. Gladio grins at that conclusion. He had Noctis and that was a good part of his time.

"I don't know that I'll ever leave it."

[farrahfawcetts]

Steve frowns, lets out a small scoff. "You don't think so, but trust me, it ends eventually. And then before you know it he's in a bathroom saying you killed someone and are bullshit. Honeymoon period is hard to keep up when they do that. Or when they fuck someone else."

He's maybe a bit jaded.

[ziedrich_bearer]

Seriously? Gladio rolls his eyes. "That doesn't make any sense, and you know it."

[farrahfawcetts]

Steve snorts. "Maybe that is a unique situation but, trust me. Honeymoon periods end. At least if you two love each other you'll probably get through it. Maybe."

[ziedrich_bearer]

Noctis was probably dead back in his world, so Gladio doesn't see himself falling out of this. This is the one shot he gets.

"You sound pretty aged."

[farrahfawcetts]

He shrugs a shoulder.

"I've just seen how the whole thing fucks up in the end. Breaks your heart for someone else and then the person you thought you'd be happy with still doesn't make you happy. Just...goes on and on and on until you're married and traveling around with your husband so you can make sure his clothes don't get other women's lipstick on them."

[ziedrich_bearer]

What?

"Dude, you're definitely a bit crazy."

And he can't help you with that.

[farrahfawcetts]

He considers that and then just shrugs. "Yeah, probably. Sorry."

[ziedrich_bearer]

Gladio sighs and shakes his head.

"I'm sorry that things are a bit fucked up when you are. But people can be happy together."

[farrahfawcetts]

Steve shrugs again. "There's a lot more going on back home that's more important than a love life. Maybe once our town isn't collapsing into 1983 hell, I can work on the soulmate thing."

[ziedrich_bearer]

Well, there it is, it's fair.

"Sometimes when things are going to shit, it's hard to see the happiness that comes later."

[farrahfawcetts]

He nods even though he doesn't entirely think that's gonna happen for him. "If I can just get my friends through this all alive and in one piece, I think that will be enough for me."

[ziedrich_bearer]

"That's a lot of what I always thought too," Gladio said with a nod.

That was just how it goes.

[farrahfawcetts]

Steve pauses a moment, looking at Gladio critically. "And...now? One boyfriend and everything is just different?"

[ziedrich_bearer]

"No," Gladio says with a shake of his head. "But it's... It's easier. Happier to have him at the end of the day at my side."

[farrahfawcetts]

He nods, accepting that because what would he really know to disagree. "That's good for you guys. Definitely. I...uh. Sorry to be such a downer about it. That's really great."