ruby's body ━━ steve harrington

022. 𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐝

Steve smiles. "We could get a camper-van in the summer and drive it out west. You know, do a road trip, stay on a beach somewhere in California..." He's always had this image in his head: of him and his pack of children, taking them in a big RV every summer around the country. Maybe they'd go down to Mexico, or up to Canada too. He's always pictured this, and for years, he couldn't figure out the mom, and accepted that one day, the right girl would fall into place — and that's what happened, two years ago. Everything made sense, the idea of Ruby being her. He can't picture her any older than she is now, but he knows she'd be a hot mom, and as reckless as she is, he knows that she'd be so caring. She's just... mindful of who she chooses to care about right now, but he guesses that makes sense, given everything that happened to her.

... He hasn't told her any of this, thinking kids would freak her out (not to mention the amount he wants) so he changes the thought ever so slightly, to cancel them out for now.

"I'd love that," she tells him. "We could always do that now."

His eyes widen. "Now?"

"Well, not like, right now, but this summer," she says, shrugging her shoulders. "I'm sure someone in Hawkins would let us borrow their van for a week."

He was meant to say something like "I love you," but instead, he gets ahead of himself, and gives her the biggest kiss, their lips colliding with force. His eyes are squeezed shut but hers are wide open, surprised by the quickness of it all. But quickly, she softens into the kiss, her eyes fluttering shut as she kisses him back. His hands move to her ass, pulling her closer to him. Her arms are draped over his shoulders, but she manages to reach up, to play with his hair, knowing how much he likes that. Ruby always liked playing with boys' hair, so the fact that Steve was into it made it so much better.

They pull apart for a second, their noses brushing against each other, they're still so close.

"Imagine this," she says, and she moves his hands, so they're just underneath the hem of her pyjama shorts. "But in a New York City apartment..." Steve smiles softly, making Ruby beam, wanting to continue. "Like this, but on the kitchen counter... Or the sofa... Because no one's gonna walk in, right?"

"You... You do something to me, Rubes," he says, under his breath.

She smiles. "I know."

It's at this point that Steve picks her up, her legs wrapped around his hips, and places her down on the bed. Ruby lets out a squeal as she falls back onto her mattress, Steve laughing at her girlishness. She could save the world, and yet, she responds in these situations like any other teenage girl. He climbs on top of her, her legs wrapping around his waist. His lips kiss her mouth, moving down to her neck. She murmurs his name as her hands grab his t-shirt, one hand slowly moving further and further down...

... And that's the end to the most perfect day.

🖤

ENTER ROSEMARY HOPPER. WELL — not exactly Rosemary Hopper, but the image of her. The Mind Flayer is a cunning beast, something Ruby's yet to realise. It wants Ruby in its grasp. It wants the girl that can stop it, under its control. What can the others do then, kill Ruby Brenner? They would never dare. Instead, they'll try to save her — but that's where it'll all go wrong. The Mind Flayer will use this to kill them all, the other special girl in particular. And then, who can stop him?

So he grants Ruby a gift.

🖤

"RUBY, RUBY!" A STRANGELY FAMILIAR VOICE calls her out to her the next morning. Ruby jumps awake, worried about the teenage boy next to her being discovered. She can't quite figure out who the voice belongs to, but it sounds enough like Carrie's for Ruby, in her half-asleep state, to panic. She jumps out of bed — before she can get to the door, though, it swings open. Ruby flinches, waiting for her aunt to kill her—

But it's not her aunt.

It's her mom.

Ruby isn't even in her own house.

Ruby steps backwards, realising that Steve isn't even here. Her mom can't see her, and instead walks towards the children's bed on the opposite wall, underneath the window. A little girl with dark brown hair sits up in her bed, rubbing her eyes. Rosemary smiles at her.

"How's my little jewel?" her mom says.

The little girl's Ruby, she realises. Ruby watches as her younger self gets out of bed, her mom encouraging her to start getting ready. She doesn't know her age here, but she's young enough that her mom's still alive. Ruby watches her mom pick out Younger Ruby's outfit, a lilac dress. Ruby's seen the pictures of herself in this; she's about three in this memory. This must be just before her mom got pregnant again. Ruby doesn't remember any of this, she was too young. She barely remembers her mom...

"I wanna see Steve!" her younger self exclaims.

"How about we meet him at the park later?" her mom suggests, brushing Little Ruby's hair.

Ruby feels her heart sink. She watches her mom delicately braid Little Ruby's hair, carefully wrapping lilac ribbons around the ends, making small bows. Ruby wishes she could remember this. Little Ruby grabs a Barbie, and starts playing with it, and Rosemary starts telling her about what Hopper's up to today. "Now, you and Daddy are gonna go to the movies later, yeah? To see your first ever movie?"

"I wanna see him now, Mommy!"

"He's working, honey," Rosemary tells her. "I can't be a hot housewife if he doesn't work."

Ah. So Ruby got the dry arrogance from her mom... Checks out.

But that's the thing! Ruby would never know that, if she wasn't watching this now. She feels a sinking feeling in her stomach, at the thought of all of these moments she was present for, that she can't even remember now. She had a whole life with her mom around, and her entire memory has slipped away, too young for anything to stick. Desperately, she wishes she could remember more, see the mother she doesn't remember.

"I can show you," the deep voice tells her.

"How?" says Ruby.

"I live inside of your mind, I can take you to the most inaccessible of memories..." She keeps on racking her brain to figure out where she recognises this voice from, but the voice already knows this. "Don't try and remember me. All you need to know is that I'm your friend... You just need to let me in."

"Let you in?" she says.

"Let me in," he says.

"Why?" she says.

But just as she asks this, she looks across at her mother, who's fingers make a light movement, and the dresser drawer open by themselves. Did her mom have powers, too?

"No transaction in life is free, Ruby, Ruby," he tells her, murmuring her name, echoing the old song her mom used to play. "Let me in."

"Did my mom have powers?" says Ruby.

"I want to help you, Ruby. But you need to help me."

Ruby doesn't know what to say. She looks across at her mother, as she picks up Little Ruby and takes her out of the bedroom. The bedroom door closes by itself, and Ruby has countless recollections of doing that herself, with her mind. She never even considered that Rosemary had powers, too. Maybe that's why Ruby's are so strong, were so natural? Because her mom had them before her...

"Ruby. Let. Me. In."

The alarm clock rings, and Ruby shoots upright.

What was that?

idk if i'll ever write smut smut but i hope you enjoyed!!! let me know what you thought xx