[CALIBRATIONS] Holding hands as the walls come tumbling down...

[farrahfawcetts]

WHO: Steve Harrington
WHERE: Steve's Room
WHAT: Calibrations!
WHEN: 6/10-7/10
WARNINGS: Child abandonment, violence, and drugging


When you awaken, the first thing you notice is that the 'room' you are in is pretty small. Really fucking small. Because it's not a room as you might imagine it, but instead a car. You sit beside Steve as he drives, eyes on the road and expression grim. Outside the road is long and abandoned and dark. No lights except for the distant stars and the distant crack of lightning. He isn't driving toward that. He doesn't seem to be driving toward anything. His hands tighten against the wheel as he looks over and notices you there.

"Where to?"

And just like that the glovebox opens and out comes an old map of Hawkins. There are four circled areas: Starcourt Mall, Nancy's House, Will's House, and Home. He reaches for the radio and turns it up a little. The song is Tears for Fears, Everybody Wants to Rule the World. He hums as he drives along silently, waiting for your call.

Comments

[doubled_speed]

If Tommy's ears could perk up they would right now. Another relationship he can vicariously enjoy? Bless you.

"You and Eddie? Oh man, that's adorable. Tell me about that when we're conscious. Not theoretical dude you clearly had mad sports rivalry with."

[farrahfawcetts]

Steve, even as a representation of himself in his head, can apparently blush.

"Yeah, yeah. I will tell you all about our fumbling relationship. It's really riveting stuff." To be fair, it was, but Steve is probably gonna need to be coaxed into the full story. Not just 'He's hot and we kiss now'.

"And that 'sports rival' there almost killed me. I can show you that too. It's on the map." He grips the wheel tighter. "Not a nice memory though, I'll warn you. Don't recommend."

[doubled_speed]

Dude, he barely even has had relationships. For him it is riveting. Especially since there is clearly more to two guys from the 80s making out than there is with Tony and Jon.

"I'm made up of not nice memories, rich boy."

Still, he doesn't think he needs to see that.

"Show me your place."

[farrahfawcetts]

Steve looks at Tommy for a second before nodding and turning the car toward that direction. Within a second there is light filling the cabin. When it clears, Tommy is standing in what passes for an expensive dining room in the early 80's.

The scene is a family at dinner, ostensibly, formal and silent except for the sound of utensils moving. At the door are suitcases either just brought in or packed to leave. Steve, around eight years old, sits in an ironed polo, hair carefully combed back. He's between a thin, tired looking woman nursing a glass of wine from a mostly empty bottle and a man in a full suit reading a magazine as he eats his steak. Steve looks between them, clearly waiting for something. His mother notices.

"If you want to be excused you need to eat your greens," she says, missing that his plate is empty. Steve blinks and opens his mouth, likely to say that, but the phone ringing interrupts him. His father grunts in annoyance.

"Get that, Mary?"

"We let Mary go, Richard. She's been gone for months."

"Then who is watching Ste- Oh, forget it." He puts his magazine down and goes to get the phone himself. Steve watches him go before looking at his mother. She is looking at the wine bottle as she drains the last of it into her glass.

"Mom," he asks. "Are we gonna have cake for dessert?"

"Hm?" She looks at him, confused. "Steven, didn't I tell you to keep an eye on the sugar you eat? And don't slouch."

"Bu-" He straightens up and is about to say more when his father sweeps back in.

"Change of plans," he announces. "I need to be out on a red-eye. They're sending a car for me. You can come on the other flight and meet me there in a wee-"

"Oh, you would like that, wouldn't you?" Claire laughs derisively. "Give you a whole week to spend time with that hussy you hired as a secretary?"

"Claire, for the love of God..."

"No. I am coming with you. I'll have someone come around and grab whatever I didn't get to pack yet."

"And what about your son?" Richard gestures expansively even though Steve hasn't moved or spoken since he came back into the room. "You say we fired Mary. Do you have another nanny ready to watch him?"

"He's ten already. He's got the phone number for the maid, the cook, and my brother in Indianapolis. It's just a week before the new nanny arrives. Don't you dare use that as the reason to go and have your holiday with that tramp."

"You're paranoid, Claire. Completely paranoid."

"And you did this on purpose. Figured I would just let you go off because it was so last minute and what else could we do?"

Richard gets up from the table and walks away, still complaining and yelling as Claire follows behind. Steve, alone, watches as the cook comes in to clear away the dishes. She smiles at him and drops a small strawberry cupcake in front of him. It has a candle in it, lit and dripping.

"They'll be back in a second. Wait for them to blow it out," she says. "It'll be nice to have at least that with them before they go."

The cook leaves and Steve looks at the cupcake before pushing it away, letting the candle melt down into the icing. The cook was new. It wasn't her fault that she didn't know about his strawberry allergy. He looks out toward where his parents are still yelling and then pushes off from the table to go off on his own out, into the backyard. He jumps into the pool, clothes and all.

The water is nice. Swimming is nice. And best of all, it hides tears.

[doubled_speed]

Well fuck. All these years and Tommy has thought he might appreciate just a bit more attention from his own mother. But this was a whole other shade of neglect.

Actually, it felt a bit like how Wanda and Vision treated him. And Tommy was shaking with rage while the memory played out.

[farrahfawcetts]

The memory fades as the sound of a car honks in the front of the house. The door opens and closes twice, once for the cook and then again for his parents leaving. No one has found Steve in the pool as he's left once again on his own.

Back in the car he sighs and forces a smile. "Coulda been worse. I've seen worse in here..."

[doubled_speed]

No, Tommy's... shaking. He's shaking and he's angry. It's not like he could swim. And even if he could, he'd still be distressed over people leaving a CHILD alone, unwatched.

"I officially hate your parents."

[farrahfawcetts]

Steve is...confused. He looks at Tommy and his obvious anger and it's just. Strange? No one has been angry about this before. Pitied him? Sure. Eddie sure seemed to hate them as well but this reaction was new to him. He didn't know what to even do with it.

"They...uh. Yeah. They suck. I'd say they got better over time but I'd be lying. If anything they got worse. Longest they were home was after I got rejected from colleges and they needed extra time to yell at me."

[doubled_speed]

Fuckers. Tommy wants to blow up their stupid house. They don't deserve it.

"You deserved better than that. Barely know you and I know you deserve better than that. And not everyone is fucking made for college and all that shit."

[farrahfawcetts]

Steve is even more confused than before. "I'm surrounded by teenage geniuses every day so I guess it is hard to believe that. Maybe I could have been college material if my head didn't get banged around so much. Not by my parents," he's quick to point out. "I just had a lot of concussions."

He drums his fingers on the wheel and looks back at the road.

"Thanks, though. Really. It's nice to hear now and again."

[doubled_speed]

"If concussions kept you out of college then football would never be played at that level," Tommy argues with a laugh. "But seriously, man. World's more than just books. Some people are just smart at leading, or good at people."

[farrahfawcetts]

Okay. This guy is good. Steve likes him way better than the other Tommy in his life. "I seriously didn't hear that a lot at home," he admits. "I don't know that there's anything I'm super smart at other than killing monsters maybe, but...thanks. Seriously means a lot."

[doubled_speed]

Of course he's good. He's just amazing.

"I never heard it at home. But fuck home. And trust me, killing monsters is useful. That makes you a super hero."

[farrahfawcetts]

Steve blinks. A super hero. Like one of those assholes from the comics the kids read all the time. Him? It is quite possibly the best compliment he's received from someone he wasn't currently kissing. He doesn't even know what to do with it.

"Thanks, man," he says, voice thick. "I guess I could trust you to know something about super heroes."

[doubled_speed]

Dude, don't call him an asshole.

"You really can. The ones without powers, sometimes they're the best ones."

[farrahfawcetts]

Steve, honestly, has to blink his eyes to not tear up a little at that.

"We should hang out more. Outside of my brain," he says with a thick voice (which he immediately tries to hide by clearing his throat). "Ever played basketball at all?"

[doubled_speed]

"What, you mean in a fashion where you're not in and out of the diner like you owe me something?" he teases.

Yeah, he noticed. He always notices.

"Yeah, we can do that. And yeah, not much. Not seriously. My brother's boyfriend played that at football. And Eli did as well. So when the girls weren't twisting our arms about baseball we would do a little pick up."

He wasn't good, but did you have to be when you were as fast as him.

[farrahfawcetts]

Steve snorts. Yeah, okay. Fair enough.

Also, brother's boyfriend? Yeah, the Agro or whatever the aliens were called just wanted gay guys. That was the selection criteria. Except for...Max. Or whatever. Theory in progress.

"You and I can play a little one on one. Or you can play against my world's Billy and humble him a little." He grins at the idea. "That would be really fun."

[doubled_speed]

The theory is a bit less useful when in the old days there were more women around. As for playing with the other Billy, well, Tommy wouldn't think that likely after he ended up pissing the guy off so effectively.

"I think I'll probably stick to learning the rules for real first."

[farrahfawcetts]

"I can do that," Steve says with a smile. "I coached before. I can definitely help you out. And it'll be nice to get some sports going again."

He looks back toward the road and there is a click as the door unlocks beside Tommy. Steve slows down to a stop and parks. "I guess that means you're free to go, if you want. I don't blame you for taking it."

[doubled_speed]

"You should ask Muscles too. Guy is clearly made for sports."

With the car stopping Tommy doesn't even intend to linger. He HATES cars.

"It's not you, man. It's me."

And then he's gone.