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berenwrites · 17 hours ago

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Having more Disney Princess Steve Thoughts:

When Robin found out that she'd being coworkers with Steve Harrington, she kind of wanted to throw herself into the Ocean (except not really, because she's seen pictures of deep sea creatures, okay? Those things are the textbook definition of monsters. Not to mention how big ocean creatures got. Nothing living was ever meant to be that big, and it was all horrifying. So, no, she wouldn't actually throw herself into the ocean but for the sake of brevity in explaining how horrified she was, she would say she wanted to throw herself into the ocean).

The reality of actually working with Steve was better and worse than what she imagined.

Worse because he flirted with every single one of the female customers. Every single one. He was truly terrible at it, too. On top of that, every single one of them seemed so charmed by it, like the garbage he was spewing was the sweetest, most romantic shit that'd ever come out of a human mouth. He never got any dates, but the tips were insane.

It was better because not once did he ever try to flirt with her. He was perfectly respectful, but he never crossed the line of professionalism. In fact, when the store was empty and it was just the two of them he was so perfectly bitchy it hurt. She had to stop herself from smiling sometimes because it was like his sense of humor was made for her or something. He also did his job, and didn't expect her to pick up his slack, which she was so sure he would do.

She wanted to hate him. She did hate him, but was also so easy to kind of really like him. Then they got captured by Russians. Then she had to listen to Steve get tortured. Then they got drugged. Then they sat on the floor of the Starcourt Bathroom, vomit fresh on their breath and Steve cracked his chest open and confessed to her.

It was terrifying, listening to him turn the charm towards her. She listened to him go on about how smart she was, how funny, how amazing she was, and she kind of got it, in a way. She got how he got those girls giggling and tipping 50%.

In a moment of nauseating bravery, Robin told Steve the truth. She told him about Tammy Thompson. She waited for her honesty to bite her in the ass and to lose who she was pretty sure was her favorite person in the world before he was really hers. She waited for him to look at her with disgust and to turn on her.

"Tammy Thompson is a total dud."

He didn't.

It was days later, when they were sitting in his backyard at two o'clock in the morning that she learned about his Thing.

She had noticed the differences from the beginning, of course. It have been weird if she didn't. She noticed when he was mopping the store front and he whistled and she just wanted to stop everything to listen, or how when she went out back to tell him his smoke breaks were over and birds were flocked nearby staring at Steve like he held the answers, or how things just seemed to go his way. It all stuck out to her, but she didn't do anything because it was too crazy to look at all at once.

And then a bat flew up to Steve like it was normal. He greeted her (because he just new the bat was a girl) and he talked to her like he wasn't at all weirded out or concerned.

"You're new, aren't you?" he said, fondness coloring his tone. "You're beautiful."

The bat preened under the praised. Like the bat understood what he was saying. He ignored her warnings of rabies and how bats were the number one carriers of it, and instead gently presented the bat to her.

"Does she look like she has rabies?"

"Steve, it's impossible to tell if a bat has rabies based on a appearance alone, you're not supposed to handle them at all," she tried again. "Steve, by the time rabies symptoms set in it's already too late. We need to get you to the hospital immediately. You know to be safe."

"I'll be fine," he waved off. "She would never give me rabies. She's too sweet for that."

The bat bonked her head into his cheek like a cat

"Steve, that's not how that works."

Even at Steve's insistence, Robin didn't touch the bat. (She did help him come up with the name Ripley, but that was besides the point). He settled back down with the bat curled up between his neck and his shoulder and she finally questioned him about his thing with animals.

"Animals just like me," was an deeply insufficient answer, but it's the one she got. He did tell her about the repeat visitors, such as Tommy the Loud Ass Bird, Luke Skywalker the Chipmunk, and Marvin the Rat.

He explained how for years his only friends were the animals in the woods and how sometimes when he couldn't sleep, he'd open the back door and his window and just let them lay on his bed with him like a giant nest.

Everything weird sort of clicked into place and it all makes sense. "Oh my god, you're a Disney princess!"

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berenwrites · 17 hours ago

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Hmmm here’s a drawing of Steve watching Eddie play guitar. Pretty proud of it tbh!

(Closeups and one without shading under cut)

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berenwrites · 17 hours ago

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don't talk to strangers or you might fall in love

Oh look, another Ethel Cain-inspired oneshot. Title from Strangers.

Also on AO3.

Pairing: Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson

Rating/WC: Teen, 2.5k

Tags: No Upside Down, Injured Steve, Steve has bad parents, Corroded Coffin, First Meeting, pre-relationship Steddie, Runaway Steve, Eddie takes care of Steve, Implied/Referenced homophobia

Summary: Corroded Coffin is heading to their next venue when they come across an injured boy on the side of the highway. Naturally, Eddie takes him under his wing.

___

They’re in the middle of nowhere, somewhere well outside of Bloomington when they come across the man on the side of the highway.

He’s got a bag slung across his back, and he’s walking with a pained hitch in his gait.

“Hey, slow down.” Eddie slaps at Jeff’s arm, pointing out the window.

“We’re not stopping man, he could be some psycho,” Gareth grumbles from the backseat. “It’s the middle of the night, no one normal would be all the way out here.”

“He looks like he’s gonna fall over, someone’ll hit him,” Eddie says, peering out the window. “Dude, stop the van.”

Sighing, Jeff slows, steering the van into the grass in front of the man.

Eddie opens the door.

“Don’t blame me if he fucking murders you!” Gareth calls after him.

Eddie flips him the bird and steps outside.

Maybe Gareth’s right, maybe this guy’s dangerous, maybe Eddie will regret doing this, but…

He’s run away from home before, too. Years ago, before Wayne, back when his dad used to leave him for days on end with no food and no supervision.

And something about the way the man’s got a hand clutched to his ribs, his limp, the way he lowered his head and looked away when they drove past…

Something’s wrong.

And Eddie had always had a habit of collecting lost sheep.

“Hey man, you ok?” Eddie calls out, keeping some distance.

The man’s step falters. He looks up, messy bangs falling across his face. “M’fine,” he answers.

“What’re you doing out here?” Eddie persists. “Long way from anywhere.”

“Just walking.”

“Where to?”

The man shrugs. Blinks slow, sluggish. His face is in shadow.

Eddie frowns.

Something’s seriously wrong.

“Where do you live?” Eddie asks, taking a step towards him.

The man laughs. It’s a hacking, damaged sort of noise. “I dunno anymore, man.”

Cogs turn in Eddie’s head. “You ran away?”

“S’not really running if they don’t want me there, right?”

Eddie’s close enough now to the man to see the state of his face in the red glow of the van’s taillights.

It’s a mess.

There’s blood below his nose, dried on his lips and chin, one eye blackened and nearly swollen shut.

He’s not as old as Eddie first thought, either – there’s no way he’s over eighteen.

“Holy shit, you need a hospital,” Eddie blurts out, which is apparently the wrong thing to say because the boy freezes.

“No, no hospitals,” he says immediately, shaking his head, then wincing at the pain it must cause.

“Ok, ok, well…at least let me give you a ride somewhere?”

The boy glances between the van and Eddie. Jeff waves tentatively from the driver’s window.

Sensing hesitation, Eddie continues to talk, rambling away. “I’m Eddie. That’s Jeff driving, and Gareth and Freak are in the back, we’re a band, Corroded Coffin, maybe you’ve heard of us…well, probably not, actually, most people haven’t, but we’re just heading to our next venue in Chicago so we can take you in that direction?”

“I don’t have anywhere to go,” the boy mumbles.

Eddie’s heart clenches. “Come with us, then? Until we figure it out?”

The boy looks ahead to the dark highway, stretching on and on into the distance. Shoulders slumping, he sighs, appearing to have made his choice.

He nods.

With every step, he winces, his hand still pressed to his ribs. Eddie tugs the back door to the van open and jerks his head at Gareth, who needs no further invitation to climb into the front seat away from the strange, beat-up boy Eddie’s found on the side of the road.

“Your chariot awaits,” Eddie says, forcing a smile as he gestures to the open door of the van.

The boy glances inside warily before stepping in, taking a seat and clutching his bag in his lap.

“What’s your name?” Eddie asks as Jeff pulls back out onto the road.

“Steve.”

Eddie nods. “How old are you, Steve?”

“Twenty-one,” he replies quickly. Too quickly.

Eddie looks closely at him for a moment, takes in big brown eyes, soft lips caked in dried blood, hands nervously gripping the strap of his bag. “How old are you really?” he asks again.

The boy sighs. “Seventeen. I’m almost eighteen, though.”

“Something happen at home, Steve?” Eddie doesn’t miss the way the boy blinks back tears.

Steve looks away, eyes running over the equipment piled up everywhere – guitar cases wedged between seats, amps stacked up in the back, Gareth’s drums squashed in wherever they could fit.

“You’re really a band?” Steve asks, voice sluggish, words stringing together.

Eddie allows the change of conversation, for now. “Yeah. What, you think I was just trying to lure you into my van?”

“Maybe.”

“Well, I wasn’t. Yeah, we’re a band. So you’re getting a real behind the scenes look, lucky you. Lotta people would kill for this chance.”

“Seriously?”

“No, Steve. We’re not exactly famous, not yet anyway.”

“Oh.”

“So uh…where are we taking you?” Jeff asks from the driver’s seat.

Steve’s tongue darts out over his bottom lip, and he looks to Eddie.

“Just keep driving, man,” Eddie tells him.

Jeff raises his eyebrows, but says nothing.

Gareth lacks his tact. “What the hell happened to you?” He stares at Steve from the passenger seat.

“Nothing,” Steve mumbles.

“Yeah, sure looks it.”

“Shut up,” Eddie snaps at him, then turns back to Steve, softening. “Are you, like…dizzy or anything?”

Steve shrugs. “Kinda.”

“What about…oh shit, you’re shivering, here, lemme just get you something…” Eddie clambers towards the back of the van, leaning over Freak who’s doing his best to nap despite the stranger they’d picked up, and rifles through his bag for a hoody. After a cursory sniff, he holds it out for Steve.

“Sit down Eddie, if we crash you’ll be fucking dead,” Jeff tells him.

“Well don’t crash then,” Eddie snarks back at him, then returns his attention to Steve. “Here, careful, watch your face.” He pulls the collar of the hoody out wide, helping Steve ease it over his battered face. “Better?”

Steve nods, tucked away in Eddie’s baggy black hoody.

“Jeff, pull into the next gas station we see, ok? I’ll get Steve cleaned up in the restroom.”

“We’re gonna be late to -” Gareth starts to whine, but Eddie rolls his eyes and cuts him off.

“We won’t be late, we’ve got all fucking night and half of tomorrow to get there.”

“I don’t wanna make you guys late, you can just leave me at the gas station,” Steve croaks. The cut on his lip reopens as he talks, blood dribbling down his chin.

“Gareth’s talking shit, as usual, just ignore him sweetheart,” Eddie soothes, letting the pet name slip without really even thinking about it.

Steve’s cheeks flush, and he turns his attention out the window.

The cogs continue to turn in Eddie’s head.

“Where are you from?” Eddie tries again, wording his earlier question slightly differently.

“Hawkins,” Steve replies, glum.

The name means nothing to Eddie, but he files the information away anyway. “And…did you walk from there?”

“Uh huh.”

“But you didn’t know where you were going?”

“No. Just…away.”

“From…your parents, or…?” Eddie asks gingerly, carefully, watches the boy’s eyes mist up again.

“Yeah,” he chokes out.

“They do this to you?” Eddie’s words are soft. He inches closer to Steve, knees almost brushing.

“Yeah,” Steve whispers. “Well…my dad. Mom just let him.”

Eddie closes his eyes for a moment, then reaches across, slow, and rests his hand on Steve’s arm. The boy flinches minutely, but doesn’t pull away.

“I’m sorry, Steve.”

Steve shrugs. “Doesn’t matter. S’not the first time, just…I think it might be the last.”

“What happened?”

“They, ah…they caught me with someone. Someone I shouldn’t have been with. My friend. And…dad, well. He did this.” Steve gestures to his face. “And then told me I had ten minutes to pack my shit and get out, he took the keys to my car from me, they paid for it so I guess it’s not really mine.”

“Your friend…” Eddie trails off, leaves the question in the air between them, thumb rubbing circles on Steve’s wrist.

It’s safe here, Steve. In this van, with us.

“Tommy,” Steve whispers, eyes downcast, freezing under Eddie’s hand, waiting.

Eddie nods. “You’re safe here, ok?”

Steve’s eyes flick to Gareth, where the man’s been giving him dubious looks from the front seat.

“Yes, even he’s safe,” Eddie says with a small smile. “He’s just grumpy as hell.”

Gareth’s expression softens. “S’all good, man,” he tells Steve.

Jeff guides the van into the parking lot of a gas station, and Eddie notices the way Steve sucks in a breath and grunts as he’s jostled by the lurching motion of the van.

“Come on, let’s get you cleaned up,” Eddie says, hands hovering close as Steve stands, itching to loop an arm around his waist and help him step down from the van but he doesn’t.

At the door, he hesitates, still holding his bag.

“You can leave that there,” Eddie tells him.

Steve side-eyes Freak in the backseat. “Don’t touch my shit,” he says, with more vitriol than Eddie’s heard from him so far.

Freak raises an eyebrow, then shakes his head.

“He’ll guard it with his life, won’t you Freak?” Eddie gestures to him.

“Sure thing, man,” Freak replies.

“No one will touch your stuff, I promise,” Eddie assures Steve, and slowly the boy lowers his bag onto the seat and half-stumbles out of the van.

Eddie catches him.

A pained noise escapes Steve as Eddie keeps him upright, hand coming up to clutch his ribs again.

“Lemme go, let go,” Steve pants, and Eddie does.

But he follows close behind as they make their way slowly across the forecourt and into the restroom. The bored-looking man behind the counter barely bats an eye at them – Eddie figures he’s seen some serious shit on his night shifts before.

Eddie closes the door, locks it behind them.

Steve slumps heavily against the wall, head tipping back to rest against it.

In the harsh yellow light he looks even worse, one side of his face mottled blue and black, blood vessels burst in his left eye.

Eddie wets a wad of paper towels with warm water. “Here, just let me clean you up? Or…would you rather do it yourself?”

Steve shakes his head, and Eddie’s not entirely sure which question he’s responding to but he goes with the latter and starts to gently dab at Steve’s broken face. Steve closes his eyes and hisses.

“Sorry, sweetheart,” Eddie murmurs, and there he goes again with the damn pet names but he can’t help it. Something had stirred in him the second he’d first stepped out of the van and locked eyes on this boy, something that needed to look after and protect.

They go through half the paper towel dispenser before Eddie’s satisfied he’s cleaned up his face as best he can. There’s nothing he can do about the bruising, but maybe the next town they pass through will have a drugstore or something.

Steve sways a little on his feet.

“Hey, easy, I’ve gotcha.” Eddie steadies him, hands on Steve’s shoulders. “How many fingers am I holding up?” He sticks two up in front of Steve’s face, because that’s what you’re supposed to ask in this situation, right?

“Two,” Steve mumbles, but he’s blinking blearily again. “I think.”

“Ok, good, that’s so good,” Eddie tells him, and Steve’s cheeks flush again. “Can I see your ribs?”

“Why?”

“Because they’re hurting, aren’t they?”

“Mmmm.”

“Show me?”

Eddie doesn’t even know what he’s gonna do about it, but at least he can look and see if anything’s really obviously wrong, right?

Steve’s fingers grasp at the hem of his tee below Eddie’s hoody, and he lifts it up, groan escaping his lips.

His side is painted purple and blue.

Eddie’s lips part. “Jesus H Christ,” he whispers.

“Bad?” Steve pants.

“It’s not good, Stevie.”

“I don’t think they’re broken,” Steve adds, looking down. “Just bruised.”

Eddie’s concerned as to just how Steve knows that, but he doesn’t mention it, only nods. “You’re sure you don’t want to go the hospital?”

Steve pales even further. “No, I hate them, and they’ll want to get police involved, they’ll ask too many questions and it’ll get back to my dad and I just…I just want to get away.”

“Ok. If you’re sure. But we’ll get you some ice packs or something, and some painkillers in the next town. Do you want any food? I can get you something from here.”

Steve shakes his head.

“Ok, well you at least need to drink, so I’ll grab you some water.”

“I barely have any money.”

“I’ll pay.”

“M’guessing you don’t have much money either, if your band’s shit,” Steve retorts, and there’s a hint of a smile there.

Eddie clings to that image. Wants to see more of Steve’s smiles, wants them to come easily, wants them not hidden behind split lips and bloodied teeth.

“Oh, we’re not shit, sweetheart,” Eddie replies, tongue between his teeth. “We’re just…getting started.”

“Uh huh.”

“You’re kinda bitchy, you know that?”

“I’ve been told.”

“Come on, then, let’s grab you that water.”

“Eddie?” Steve grabs his sleeve, face serious again.

“Yeah?”

“I really don’t have anywhere to go, you know? So…I don’t want to bother you guys, hold you up or anything, but as soon as we get to Chicago I can, like, find a cheap hotel or something.”

“Good luck doing that when you’re only seventeen and beat to hell, Steve,” Eddie points out. Sure, some places will let him book a room. Somewhere seedy, somewhere dangerous, somewhere Eddie never wants to imagine this boy being.

Steve deflates, eyeing his blood-stained Nikes and the filthy restroom floor.

“You can stay with us, ok? As long as you need. I mean, the places we stay aren’t exactly the Ritz, and half the time we sleep in the van but…it’s safe. And my friends are good guys, even if Gareth didn’t give you the warmest welcome, he’ll thaw out quick.”

“Really?” Steve asks, looking up through long lashes.

Eddie’s heart thumps. “Yeah. You could be…” He snaps his fingers. “Our roadie!”

“What’s that?”

“You help carry our equipment around, set everything up, and take everything off stage after we perform.”

Steve’s face lights up. “Yeah, I could do that.”

“Then welcome to Corroded Coffin, Steve.” Eddie does a sweeping gesture, which makes Steve laugh weakly. Eddie’s heart sings. “We’re kind of a motley crew, so I think you’ll fit right in.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. I know it.”

“Thanks, Eddie.”

“My pleasure, Steve.”

___

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berenwrites · 18 hours ago

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wc: 1.2K+ | rated: M | tags: Gareth POV, pre-steddie, Gareth and Jeff don't get paid enough to be Eddie's besties, talk about awkward sexual experiences a/n: no one asked but here's part two from Gareth's POV of the silly ficlet I posted yesterday. You can read part 1 here but this can be read by itself if you want.

“Was that…” Jeff does a double-take, watching as Steve’s usually perfectly combed hair flops around as he races for his Beamer parked across the street.

“God damn Eddie,” Gareth snorts, continuing on his path to their front door. “Five bucks says Eddie did something embarrassing.”

“I’m not betting against that,” Jeff scoffs.

Gareth expects to find his best friend curled up on the sofa, throwing a one-man pity party, given how fast Steve was fleeing their apartment. What he finds, instead, is Eddie hunched over the kitchen sink, groaning like he’s been kicked in the balls.

Gareth looks at Jeff; he’s no Eddie way longer than Gareth has. Maybe this is some weird Eddie ritual he’s never witnessed. The confused look on Jeff’s face says otherwise. Gareth shakes his head and approaches Eddie with caution.

“Eddie, man, uh, what are you doing?”

Eddie startles, his head whipping back so hard and so fast, Gareth’s pretty sure he’s going to give himself whiplash along. “What are you guys doing here?”

Gareth doesn’t bother answering Eddie’s stupid question, jumping straight to the point instead. “Dude, what the fuck did you do to your eye?” It’s squinted and red. Puffy in a way that resembles a black eye, but Eddie knows that ice is the best medicine for those, not flushing it out under the sink.

Eddie shakes his head, cheeks turning a pale pink color as he turns away from them. He shoves his head back under the faucet, letting the cool water run through his eyes for a moment before finally shutting the faucet off. Jeff passes Eddie a paper towel and guides him to the janky barstool they got off the side of the road years ago. Gareth probably should help, but he’s too busy trying to figure out what the fuck he’s walked into.

Steve fleeing…

Eddie’s red eye…

It’s all connected, he knows it. He just doesn’t know how.

“What happened?” Jeff tries, much less hostile than Gareth’s attempt.

Eddie groans, letting his head thunk against the kitchen counter. “If I say you have to promise not to tell anyone. Not even Freak. This is blood oath levels of serious.” Jeff nods, always giving in to Eddie’s nonsense. Gareth, on the other hand, looks at him skeptically. “I’m fucking serious, Gareth. This doesn’t leave this room, or else you’ll be on the next plane back to fucking Hawkins, Indiana, and out of my will.”

Gareth snorts, “You don’t have a will. You don’t even have a fucking death napkin.”

“Gareth Emerson!” Eddie snaps.

Gareth shoots his hands up in surrender. If Eddie’s full naming him, he means business. Gareth knows better than to challenge him on this — he learned that lesson years ago.

“Okay,” Eddie says, rubbing a hand down the side of his face that isn’t hidden behind the damp paper towel. “So, Steve was here—“

“Yeah, we saw him running for the hills before we came in.”

Eddie glares at Gareth. Right, this is probably the time he should shut up.

“Steve was here,” Eddie starts again. “And we were, well, I’m going to be totally straight with you guys, we were heavily making out. There was a vibe, you know, so I slunk down on my knees and started undoing that stupid belt he always wears and—“

“Eddie, man, spare us the details, please,” Gareth gags.

Eddie rolls his eyes. “Steve finished… in my eye.”

“Why the fuck was your eye near his dick?” Jeff asks, voice almost too calm for the absurd question he’s proposed.

“Yeah, man, I mean, I’ve never given a dude a blowjob before, but I’m pretty sure that’s poor technique on your part.”

“You guys are assholes, you know that,” Eddie rages, shoving himself and the chair away from the counter. He gets to his feet and flips both of them off.

“We’re just trying to understand,” Jeff says, trying his best to placate Eddie.

“It wasn’t my fault! I didn’t even get my mouth on him,” Eddie whines, then stops. His rosy face turns ashen in an instant, eyes bugging back out. “Shit, fuck, pretend you didn’t hear that.”

“Huh, I didn’t peg Harrington for a two pump chump.”

“Gareth, I swear I will make sure every girl you so much as glance at hears that you have a terrible case of genital warts if you repeat this story to anyone.”

“Well, then I’ll—“

“Wait,” Jeff says, interrupting Gareth’s half-baked threat. “If Steve’s the one who…finished… then why was he running away like you scared him off?”

“I told you that guy was a fucking douchebag, but no one ever listens to Gareth.”

“Maybe it’s because you refer to yourself in the third person,” Eddie deadpans. He ignores Gareth’s outburst, focusing on Jeff instead. “His fleeing might have, uh, been my fault.”

“Did you ask him to cum in your eye?”

“No, of course not, I’m a freak but not like that!”

“Well, then, how was it your fault?” Gareth asks.

“After it happened, I yelled, ‘Oh my god, get out,’ and I think Steve took that literally,” Eddie says, rubbing his hand down his face again. “But that’s not what I meant. I meant like “oh my god,” I can’t believe I made Steve “the Hair” Harrington” cum without even touching him, not get out of my house, you know?”

Gareth is not high or drunk enough for this conversation. In fact, he’s stone-fucking-cold sober. He needs to recitfit that ASAP if he’s going to make it to the end of this conversation, so he heads straight for the fridge and grabs a bear. He doesn’t even bother with the bottle opener, opening it on the edge of the counter instead before taking a long swig.

“He’s never going to want to see me ever again,” Eddie groans, burying his face in his hands as he throws himself back down on the barstool. Jeff has to steady it to keep it from toppling over.

Gareth can’t believe he’s about to defend fucking Harrington. Jesus Christ, what is the world coming to? “Come on, man, put yourself in his shoes. He’s got this legendary reputation, right, and then he blows it—“ His choice of words gets a laugh out of Eddie, and Gareth considers that a win. “— in the span of two seconds in front of the former freak of Hawkins High? That’s pretty fucking embarrassing.”

“I thought it was hot,” Eddie admits, not even pretending to be embarrassed.

“We’re not the ones who need to hear that!” Gareth shouts, covering his ears with his hands like a petulant child.

Jeff shoots him a look. “What Gareth means is, you need to tell Steve that.”

“You think he’ll listen?”

“If he’s as good a dude as you claim he is now, then yeah,” Gareth adds.

“Alright, fine. You two have convinced me. I’ll go over there, but if this blows up in my face, you owe me beer and weed for two weeks.”

“But if it doesn’t, you can’t fuck Steve in our kitchen again.”

“Oh, we weren’t in the kitchen,” Eddie says, collecting his keys from the cookie tin they use as a catch-all bowl. “We were doing it on the couch.”

“Eddie!”

“Man, what the fuck is that’s so much worse!”

Eddie’s manic laughter carries him out the door. Gareth slinks against the kitchen counter when the door slams shut. He turns to Jeff, “We’re going to regret this, you know.”

“Five bucks says I walk in on them going at it in a week,” Jeff says.

“A week? Try three days.”

“You’re on.”

If he’s going to play fucking wingman for Steve fucking Harrington, he should at least get some money out of it.

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berenwrites · 18 hours ago

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🤠

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berenwrites · 18 hours ago

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It’s “posting my art on a different platform because all the others are slowly killing me as an artist” time!!!

First up is our beloved Eddie

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berenwrites · 18 hours ago

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eddie: so when they finally make it out of the darkling woods they all have three points of exhaustion, and of course henderson says they should take a long rest before trying to get inside the mountain stronghold, but wheeler starts arguing-

steve: :) (has his hearing aids turned off and is just listening to the soft, muffled droning of eddie's voice)

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berenwrites · 18 hours ago

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Personality hire

Working Cats

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berenwrites · 18 hours ago

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Real To Me

@steddiemicrofic prompt: experiment | wc 398 | Gen

Steve's never heard his heart break so loud.

"It's mutual, right?" Eddie said with a half smile. "We were just messing around. I'm moving to Chicago. Jeff and Freak are already there. I'm moving up and there's a whole city —"

A whole city of people to fuck, is what Steve heard. A whole city of people who are better than you. Steve wanted to throw up.

"— And I don't want to be someone's experiment," Eddie said nonchalantly. "I want to be loved."

Loved by someone who's not you, rang too familiar in Steve's ears.

"But we're okay, right?" Eddie asked hopefully. "Still friends?"

Steve didn't want to talk. He didn't want to open his mouth, afraid what was going to come out. He wrapped his arms around his chest, leaning hard against the counter. "Yeah," he squeaked out.

"Great," Eddie breathed. "Great! For a second, I thought I fucked all of this up and ruined everything I had with you."

Steve nodded, feeling small.

God.

Steve was so stupid.

"I'm gonna head out," Eddie said, gesturing towards the front door. "I'm leaving Saturday. I'll call you when I get there?"

Steve nodded.

"Okay," Eddie nodded. "Bye, Steve —“

"It wasn't an experiment," Steve blurted out. "Not for me."

Eddie turned around, looking at Steve with wide eyes. "What?"

"It was real to me," Steve admitted quietly. "You and me. I thought —" he swallowed the lump in his throat. "— we were together."

The silence was loud. Steve closed his eyes, waiting for Eddie to retreat, to slam the door and leave.

Except, he doesn't.

He lunged forward, hands cupping Steve's face. "Oh my god, sweetheart, I'm sorry —"

"Don't do this to me," Steve said, feeling the tears fall from his cheeks. He pushed Eddie's arms away. "I can't —"

"I'm so sorry," Eddie said. "Stevie, I thought — I love you. Please. I fucked up — Let me love you."

Steve collapsed in Eddie's arms, sobbing as Eddie continued to apologize. He thought an amicable split would be better than his own heartbreak, not even aware he broke Steve's heart in the process. That Eddie was so in love with Steve, that he was scared. That he would do everything he can to prove to Steve that he does love him.

That Steve is loved.

That he was never letting go of Steve again.

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berenwrites · 20 hours ago

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Seven: Lies and Manipulations (Steve Harrington Big Bang 2025)

Art Post

Since my lovely artist AzuleTuna does not use Tumblr, I am doing a sneak peek kind of art post here. All the art is embedded in the story (CH1, CH2, CH8), but I wanted to make sure it gets some love, since it wasn't there when the chapters first went up.

Above are some snapshots of parts of the art, but they can be seen fully on Instagram or Pinterest where you can leave likes and comments etc. Please pop across and leave some love.

#stranger things #steddie #steve harrington #post season 4 #platonic stobin #robin buckley #steve harrington big bang #fanart

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berenwrites · 20 hours ago

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Seven: Lies & Manipulations (Stranger Things) CH 15/15

Steve Harrington Big Bang 2025 Author BerenWrites | Artist AzuleTuna | Beta Thwax

Title: Seven: Lies & Manipulations (AO3 | Tumblr Master List)

Summary: When a madman with superpowers makes a mistake, it’s always catastrophic. Henry Creel’s first was underestimating Eleven. His second is targeting Steve Harrington when the Party enter the Upside Down to make a final stand. Under Vecna’s assault, a wall in Steve’s mind cracks, exposing a secret he never knew he carried; one that could turn the tide against Creel and his monsters. Now Steve must gather the shards of himself and do what needs to be done. If he succeeds, it may be the edge Eleven needs to end this once and for all. If he fails, the fallout won’t stop with him.

FYI - there are 4 chapters being posted today, this is 4 of 4 so go back to the master list if you missed any.

Chapter 15. Epilogue

Rating: Teen (same as the show)

Warning: no archive warning apply

Pairings: Steven Harrington/Eddie Munson, Steven Harrington & Robin Buckley, Steve Harrington & Dustin Henderson, Steve Harrington & Eleven

Characters: Steve Harrington, Robin Buckley, Eddie Munson, Dustin Henderson, Wayne Munson, Eleven | Jane Hopper + the usual crew

Other Tags: Steve Harrington Has Powers, steddie, Steve Harrington Has Bad Parents, Platonic Stobin, Eddie Munson Lives, Post-Stranger Things 4 Vol. 2, Canon Compliant, Eleven is badass, Memory Regression, Kid Steve Harrington in Mind not body

Chapter 15. Epilogue

One person Steve was definitely not expecting to see when he opened the door was Sam Owens. He hadn’t seen the man face to face since visiting El in the wing of the hospital the government had commandeered. There was talk of refurbishing the lab buildings to help with rebuilding the town, but he hadn’t been sure Owens was still around because Hopper had mentioned him being called away.

“Mr Harrington,” Owens greeted.

“I thought we agreed, it’s Steve?” he replied.

“Steve,” the man said with a smile that even reached his eyes. “Is now a bad time? I can come back if so, but I was wondering if I could talk to you.”

“Is it the pizza, Dingus?” came from behind him.

“No,” he called back, “we literally only just ordered it.”

Robin could be very impatient when she was hungry.

“Come in,” he invited, “it’ll be a little while before dinner is here. Eddie’s running a DnD campaign for the kids and his friends and they’re not quite done.”

He couldn’t help noticing Owens was carrying a folder in one hand.

“Thank you,” Owens said, “this shouldn’t take long. Is there somewhere we can talk privately?”

That set alarm bells ringing in his head, but he was kind of committed now.

“My Dad’s office is empty,” he said and indicated the way.

Several pairs of eyes looked at him across the room from the dining table at the end as everyone spotted who had just arrived. He simply shook his head at them to get them to keep on playing. Robin was more persistent from where she was standing in the kitchen doorway, staring at him. He shrugged, he didn’t have anything to tell her.

It felt strangely ominous as he closed the door to the room his dad hadn’t actually used in years.

“This is for you,” Owens said and handed him the folder.

“What is it?” he asked even as he flipped it open.

“The title deed for this house,” Owens replied.

Steve looked up sharply.

“How did you get this? My parents…”

“Never owned this house,” Owens interrupted him, "and now it's yours."

He froze.

“I don’t know what you…”

“Steve, you don’t have to pretend, I know who you are,” Owens said in a perfectly calm manner. “I mean you no harm.”

“How do you know?” he asked, ignoring the last part for now. “You didn’t know.”

He had been sure Owens had been as clueless as the rest of the government lackies when he had been to see El.

“Before Dr Brenner died, he gave me a safety deposit key and instructions of where the box could be found,” Owens told him. “He said it was his backup plan and to use it if there was no other alternative. With the urgency of everything that was going on and Colonel Sullivan breathing down my neck, I did not have a chance to use it until after Eleven was recovered. In it was that deed, certain financial information and your records. I burned everything that identified you.”

With every word Owens said, Steve had been getting tenser and tenser. The last sentence was like a release valve. He felt lightheaded.

“Why?” he managed to ask.

“I think you should sit down,” Owens said, gently guiding him to a chair. “I apologise, I did not come here today to terrify you, rather to put an end to your fear of discovery. You and all those in Hawkins have paid a heavy price for our mistakes. I am of the firm belief it is time for that to end.”

He looked Owens directly in the face then. He couldn’t see a lie.

“Even El?” he checked.

“Especially her,” Owens replied, not breaking his gaze.

Steve looked at the package in his hand, taking a few steadying breaths.

“Did you read it all before you burned it?” he finally asked.

“I did,” Owens said. “I noted key information in case you wished to know it but kept nothing that could identify you as Seven.”

The folder was shaking in his hand. He really hadn’t needed this kind of shock.

“Did the …” he started and stopped again as too many thoughts fell over in his head. “Did it mention my real parents?”

“I’m sorry, Steve,” Owens said, “but it only listed your mother and only by her first name. She was called Julie, and she died just before Brenner took you to the lab. The notes indicated he had not expected to ‘collect’ you, his word not mine, for at least another year, but her passing necessitated taking you earlier than expected. It was just before your fourth birthday. You remained at the lab for eight months before being given to the Harringtons. They kept your birthday the same.”

“There’s that I guess,” he said as he processed the information.

“I was sat there as he discussed the deal he made with Mom and Dad, y’know,” he said, trying not to dwell on the mother he could not recall. “He knew he was going to wipe my memory, so he didn’t care that I heard all the details. He wanted them to see what an obedient child they were getting.”

“He was a man twisted by his goals and blinded by his own genius,” Owens said in a surprisingly hard tone.

“A genuine mad scientist,” Steve commented.

“He could have done so much good and yet, here we are,” Owens agreed and sounded kind of tired.

The lab, the Upside Down, it had wrecked all their lives. Always before, Steve had hoped it was over, now he could kind of sense it was. El said the air felt lighter and he had to agree. He just hoped it stayed that way.

"And finally, there is this," Owens said, knocking him out of his thoughts

The man took a small book in a plastic wallet from his jacket pocket. Steve accepted it as Owen held it out, peering at it suspiciously.

"This looks like a bank book," he said, turning it over.

He had one upstairs for his savings account that looked pretty similar. Only this one didn't have a bank's name on the outside.

"It is," Owens replied. "This is the account Brenner had set up to fund his black op of hiding you, even from the government. It was how he paid your adoptive parents."

"Why give it to me?" he asked. "I assume the money is back where it should be."

"That would unfortunately raise far too many questions," Owens said to his surprise. "The account is as Dr Brenner left it before he chose to go completely off grid. While I will make it my mission to ensure the government funds the rebuilding of Hawkins, it is not within my power to compensate properly those who have had to deal with this negligent situation since 1983. However, the funds in this account could go some way to rectifying the situation. I've had the paperwork created so it looks like a trust fund you inherited from your late grandfather. I will leave it in your hands how you wish to distribute it further."

Steve opened the booklet and flicked to the latest entry.

"Holy shit," was the best he could do. "What the hell was he planning to spend this on?" he asked as he took in the number of zeroes on the total.

"It seems Dr Brenner may have been as cavalier with government funds as he was with his scientific ethics," Owens said with a small smile.

"You can say that again," Steve agreed. "Wow, okay, yeah, I'll make sure everyone gets their share."

"I was sure you would," the other man replied. "You are a remarkable young man, Steve," Owens added, "never let anyone tell you differently. Now I must be going. My apologies for taking you away from your friends."

"It's fine," he said, still mostly in shock. "Let me walk you to the door."

He put the booklet in his back pocket and tucked the folder with the deed under his arm. Frankly he was in a bit of a daze as he escorted Owens out and said goodbye. Robin was hovering when he stepped back into the house.

"What did he want?" she asked in a whisper.

"Later," he said, "when it's just the Party left."

He wanted to tell her right then, but he knew Robin, and she would be loud when she found out what he now knew. That Eddie’s band mates and friends had been invited to the special game as well meant they had an audience. She frowned at him for that, but he gave her a look he hoped conveyed that he was only doing it this way because he had to.

"Everything's okay though?" she checked quietly.

"Yeah," he promised. "But we need a meeting of everybody soon. We can start with who's here though."

"This better be good," she told him in a petulant tone.

"You have no idea," he admitted.

~*~

Pizza came and went as the message was carefully passed round that everyone in the know should stay once food had been consumed. Steve even managed to convince Eddie to ask Wayne to stay rather than going in to work. Will, the consummate storyteller that he was had come up with a whole story how his mom would kill him if he didn't wait for Jonathan to come pick him up when Jeff offered the kids a ride home. And everyone else had agreed. Since everyone in town was very clear on Joyce Byers reputation as someone who scared even hardened military types, there were no arguments.

"Okay, what gives?" Eddie asked the moment he closed the door on his friends.

"Yeah, what did Dr Owens want?" Mike added.

"He gave me the deed to this house and access to a bank account with more zeroes than I have ever seen and asked me to make sure everyone got their share," Steve said without any preamble.

"Come again?" Dustin asked.

Rather than explaining again, he simply handed the kid the bank book.

"Jesus Christ," was Dustin's almost immediate reaction on opening it.

Looking rather stunned Dustin handed it over to Mike, who whistled and so on and so forth round everyone in the group except Wayne who was standing in the kitchen doorway.

"Is this government hush money?" Erica asked.

"Nope," Steve replied, "it's compensation, courtesy of Brenner being even shadier than even we thought he was."

"You're going to have to explain that," Eddie said, handing him back the bank book.

"This is the account Brenner set up to pay my dutiful parents," he said, doing his best to hide at least some of the bitterness, "only clearly he had bigger plans than that."

"Owens knows?" Robin asked, eyes going round.

Steve nodded.

"Brenner gave him a safety deposit key before he died for real," he explained, "and when he finally had a chance to go to it, he found this," he held up the booklet, "this," then the deed, "and all the records about me. He said he burned the records."

"Do we trust him?" Lucas asked.

"Yes."

Surprisingly, or maybe not, it was El who spoke up.

"Sam is good," she said simply, and no one chose to argue.

"The account is set up so it looks like I inherited a trust fund from my grandfather," Steve went on. "I was thinking we make a list of names of who's been up close and personal with the Upside Down and give everyone an equal share."

"Some people have been doing this way longer than others," Eddie apparently felt the need to point out.

"But we all nearly died," Steve countered immediately. "We're not playing games with who has more trauma, we all do. If you look at it by degrees, El has us all beat. Money can't take that away, but it can sure as hell help with college funds and repair bills and some plain old retail therapy."

"I agree with Steve," Will said in a resolute tone.

"So do I," El agreed, and that just about sealed the deal.

"I'll get a pen and a note pad," Dustin said, heading over to where they had all been playing DnD.

As Dustin started writing down names, Eddie came over and sat down next to Steve on the opposite side to where Robin had already taken up residence.

"You're something else, you know that?" Eddie said quietly, leaning against him.

"Why d'you say that?" he asked, not sure what Eddie was on about.

“Stevie, Owens gave you the house and the money,” his boyfriend said.

“Yeah, and?”

“And it never even occurred to you, you could have kept both and nobody would have been any the wiser,” Eddie pointed out.

“Why would I do that?” he asked.

“See,” Eddie said with a grin. “That’s what I mean.”

He just shook his head, sometimes Eddie talked in circles.

~*~

Steve’s house had emptied out leaving just him and Eddie. Robin had finally had to move home properly, even though she was still over a lot. She’d confessed to her parents the truth that she hadn’t been on a trip at all and had been staying with Steve using the whole cover story as an excuse. They had been surprisingly cool about the whole thing once they were sure she was safe. It did mean they’d only had one bathroom-talk though, and neither of them had been ready for anything very deep.

When she wasn’t there, Steve missed her like an amputated limb. Not that he would ever dump that on her. At least his relationship with Eddie had got her talking about Vickie again.

Wayne was out with Hopper, something to do with Owens and job opportunities that did not involve manual labour. So, he and Eddie were alone.

Eddie had been quiet since everyone had left and Steve was giving him space. Since the whole press conference and reconnecting with his closest friends, Eddie got contemplative every time after seeing them. Unfortunately, that gave Steve far too much time to think.

Owens’ visit had brought to the surface all the things he had been pushing to the side to make sure Eddie was doing okay, Robin as doing okay, El was doing okay, Dustin was doing okay etc etc. After the talk he had had with Eddie out by the pool, he hadn’t really let himself dwell on his part in the bigger picture. He’d fallen back into Steve-is-the-babysitter mode.

The kids had worked out their list and done the numbers on the bank account. There were plans to get everyone together to talk about it. And for some reason it made the whole thing real, or maybe that was Owens knowing the truth. Someone in the government knew. El trusted the man, which said a lot, but Steve was not quite there yet.

The Party had helped clear up for a change, so there hadn’t been much for him to do, after which he ended up sitting on his bathroom floor. The tremors from when Owens had been in his dad’s office were back as everything churned over in his mind. Right on top of the mess of thoughts were his pseudo parents.

“Steve,” he heard from somewhere in the house. “Hey, Stevie,” from closer. “Are you in here?”

He didn’t seem to be able to reply. His throat was too tight, his head too full.

“Steve?”

That was from even closer.

“Oh, Stevie.”

A warm body settled next to him against the bath.

“I am such an idiot,” Eddie muttered. “I should never have left you alone, not after Owens.”

“N…ot…” Steve wasn’t even sure what he was trying to say.

Eddie’s arms snaked around him.

“Just breathe, Sweetheart,” Eddie told him gently. “Just breathe.”

He didn’t want to cry. He hadn’t since he had been little him. It wasn’t what he did. Yet, as Eddie held him, he finally let out some of the loss and terror he had been pushing away.

“Oh no,” Eddie said, pulling him even tighter, “here I go. Did I mention I’m a sympathetic crier?”

The little part of Steve’s brain that wasn’t churning thought it was ridiculous that two grown men were sitting on a bathroom floor crying on each other, but most of him didn’t care.

It could have been a couple of minutes, it could have been an hour, Steve lost track of time. All he knew was his throat felt raw, his nose was blocked, and his chest was hollow by the time the tears were finally done.

“Hey Stevie,” Eddie said quietly, apparently more together as Steve came back to himself, “want me to call Robin?”

He shook his head.

“Want to talk about it?” was the next question.

He almost shook his head again but stilled before he did. Part of him did, part of him didn’t. And it was hard to know what to talk about.

“Do you think they knew the whole truth?” he finally spoke.

“Your parents?” Eddie checked.

“My pseudo-parents,” he replied.

“What do you remember Brenner telling them?” Eddie asked.

Steve let the memory surface. It was unsettling how clear it was. Childhood memories were supposed to be fuzzy on the edges. It was another thing he had been refusing to think about.

“When I was there, he told them I was part of a government program for gifted children, but I’d had a breakdown. He needed to hide me somewhere safe, and he knew they were having trouble conceiving. That’s when he offered them the money and the house,” he revealed. “I don’t think he ever told the truth about what I am.”

“What you can do,” Eddie corrected gently. “So, they don’t know the truth about what’s been going on in Hawkins then.”

“But what if they come back?” Steve asked. “What if they tell everyone I’m not their son? What if government people who aren’t Owens put the pieces together?”

His chest was starting to feel tight.

“Steve,” Eddie said, squeezing him lightly, “they haven’t even called.”

“But they might hear about the money,” he said.

He was catastrophising, he knew he was, but he didn’t seem to be able to stop the thoughts now they had started.

“If they turn up and try to make trouble we call Owens,” Eddie said before he could spiral any more. “We’ve all seen the piles of NDAs, we’ve all signed them. I’m betting they value their freedom more than any money.”

That helped slow the cascading fear at least, but the hollow feeling came back.

“They haven’t even called,” he said, parroting back Eddie’s words. “We were on the national news and they haven’t even called.”

His voice was small even in his own ears.

“I know, Sweetheart,” Eddie said, rubbing his arm, “but they don’t deserve you, they never deserved you. I’ve met five-year-old you now, and you were the sweetest, loveliest little boy and they wasted that.”

“I think Mom tried,” he said quietly. “At least for a while, but if it was Dad or me, Dad always came first.”

“Maybe that’s why they could never have kids of their own,” Eddie said in a somewhat cutthroat tone, “whatever divine being is looking down at us took one look at them and went ‘nope’.”

“Pretty sure that’s not how it works,” he countered, but he couldn’t help the momentary satisfaction at Eddie’s harshness.

“Well, if it was my world, it would,” Eddie told him. “Damn, I never would have let my worthless father near kids.”

“Team Deadbeat-Dad,” Steve mumbled, but his voice faded out.

They sat there quiet for a while longer before Eddie finally moved.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to call Robin?” he asked, pulling away a little, but not completely.

Steve bit his lip.

“Maybe,” he admitted.

“Come on, Love,” Eddie said at that, “we are going downstairs. We are getting the comfiest blankets. I am calling Robin, and then we can talk, or watch dumb movies, or just get blind drunk, your choice.”

“Okay,” he agreed and let Eddie help him up off the floor.

“What is it with you and Robin and bathroom floors?” Eddie asked as Steve went to wash his face.

“Starcourt,” he replied.

“Details, Stevie, I need details,” Eddie said.

That was one trauma that it was easier to talk about, so Steve launched into the story. They all had so much crap to deal with that it would probably take them years to come to terms with it, if they ever could. Pandoras box was open for him now and there was no way to close it again. The darker thoughts were still churning over in the back of his mind, but they were under control for now. He had Eddie, he had Robin, he had the kids. It was more than he had ever had before the Upside Down, even when he had just thought his dad was an asshole and his mom was distant.

Vecna was dead. The Upside Down was closed off, hopefully for good. They had a future now. He just hoped he would figure out how best to live in it.

The End

(AO3 | Tumblr Master List)

#stranger things #steddie #eddie munson #steve harrington #fanfic #steve x eddie #eddie lives #post season 4 #platonic stobin #robin buckley #dustin henderson #eleven hopper #fanfiction #steve harrington big bang

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berenwrites · 20 hours ago

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Seven: Lies & Manipulations (Stranger Things) CH 14

Steve Harrington Big Bang 2025 Author BerenWrites | Artist AzuleTuna | Beta Thwax

Title: Seven: Lies & Manipulations (AO3 | Tumblr Master List)

FYI - there are 4 chapters being posted today, this is 3 of 4 so go back to the master list if you missed any.

Chapter 14. A Bigger Cover Up

Rating: Teen (same as the show)

Warning: no archive warning apply

Pairings: Steven Harrington/Eddie Munson, Steven Harrington & Robin Buckley, Steve Harrington & Dustin Henderson, Steve Harrington & Eleven

Characters: Steve Harrington, Robin Buckley, Eddie Munson, Dustin Henderson, Wayne Munson, Eleven | Jane Hopper + the usual crew

Chapter 14. A Bigger Cover Up

"Harrington residence, Steve speaking," Steve answered the phone in the kitchen after wiping his hands on a dish towel.

He was in the middle of throwing something together for lunch. Something larger than for just the four of them because people kept popping into his house randomly. Feeding them gave him something to do that didn't involve thinking too hard or answering their questions. Everyone in the party knew his secret, it hadn’t seemed fair to leave anyone out, and they had all accepted it surprisingly easily.

"Hello, Steve," Owens' familiar voice greeted from the other end of the line, "I'm sorry to bother you. I was wondering if I could speak to Eddie, please?"

"Sure," Steve replied, "I'll get him now."

Of course he had loads of questions, but it wasn't his business, so he kept them to himself. He put the handset on the counter and walked towards the kitchen door.

"Eddie, phone for you," he called into the rest of the house, sticking his head into the hallway.

"Upstairs," Eddie called back, "be down in a minute."

"There's a phone in my parent's room," Steve yelled back. "Door after the stairs going from my room."

"Okay, thanks, got it," Eddie replied.

Steve went back into the kitchen, picked up the handset again and listened. The moment he heard Eddie's voice on the line, he replaced the receiver on the base. As he went back to what he had been doing, he couldn't help wondering what it was Owens wanted. The man was being incredibly helpful, but Steve couldn't quite bring himself to trust him completely.

He'd just put the casserole in the oven in two large cooking trays when he heard the kitchen door open. Turning, he found Eddie standing there looking vaguely shellshocked.

"Is everything okay?" he asked, immediately going towards his boyfriend.

"Yeah," Eddie said, nodding his head just a tad too quickly, "just processing."

"Nothing bad then?" Steve checked because he needed to be sure.

"Nothing bad," Eddie assured him. "Owens wanted to talk about a press conference. They've finalised the cover story and are ready to tell the masses."

There had already been several smaller reports given to the press to exonerate Eddie, but they hadn't had any details while the government types worked on covering their bases. Chrissy, Fred and Patrick's families had been informed and given access to their kids, but the news they were alive had not yet been made public knowledge. Eddie had spoken to Chrissy once when he’d gone in for more tests, and Nancy had visited Fred, but the three were being kept in the hospital.

That the higher ups were finally done was big news.

"Is it a good one?" was what Steve asked because he didn't want to be too intrusive if Eddie wasn't ready to talk about it.

"Oh boy, is it," Eddie replied. "Not sure I could have done better for a DnD campaign."

"Now that I don't believe," Steve countered. "I might not understand it all, but the number of times Dustin has regaled me with your DnD stories, I know you'd make an amazing storyteller for the FBI."

That got a smile out of Eddie, which Steve counted as a win.

"But sci-fi isn't my forte," Eddie said.

Steve bit his lip. He so wanted to know what the cover story was, but he didn't want to just demand answers.

"You can ask, y'know," Eddie told him with a small mischievous grin.

"I was patiently waiting for you to tell me," he countered in his best exasperated tone.

If Eddie wanted to play it that way, Steve was more than willing to join in.

"You need a better poker face, Big Boy," Eddie replied.

In response Steve just put his hands on his hips and gave Eddie a look. His boyfriend's expression changed immediately.

"Keep looking at me like that, Sweetheart and I might just forget all about the phone call and drop to my knees," Eddie said, raking his eyes up and down Steve's body.

Steve added an eyebrow raise to the mix.

"Okay, okay," Eddie said with his usual drama, "I am a weak man. They are painting Creel as a serial killer, one who always planned to come back to Hawkins, but didn't start killing here."

"That kinda makes sense," Steve said, "but it doesn't really explain three known dead people rising from the grave."

"I was getting to that," Eddie said. "The story is Creel didn't kill the residents of the town he was in, he kidnapped his victims from there and kept them to abuse for longer, then used them as the victims in the next town, making them look like those he kidnapped for his next killing spree. That's why he disfigured the bodies so much. He also picked someone from each town to frame for the murders and eventually kidnapped them as well. Hence me."

"What about Jason?" Steve asked, working through the ideas in his head.

"That's what I asked," Eddie agreed. "They're going with Creel used hallucinogenic drugs to take his victims and effect those close to them at the time. They even had some unsolved crimes in other towns they are linking to Creel to sell the whole thing. I thought they were taking too long, but Owens is thorough, I'll give him that."

"Are you going to have to talk about where he supposedly kept you and what he did to you?" Steve asked, holding out his hand to Eddie and drawing him closer as soon as Eddie took it.

He didn't like thinking about the cover story any more than he liked thinking about what had actually happened to Eddie and the others.

"We're going as close to reality as possible," Eddie said, leaning into his space; "it was all like a drug filled nightmare. The others don't have any scars, it was like the Upside Down melted out of them once that bastard was dead, so Creel's focus was on me first according to the story. Makes me out to be the tragic hero."

Eddie’s scars were faint, but they were there. Whatever Creel had done to him had sealed over the wounds from the bats almost invisibly, but not quite.

“Distinguished tragic hero,” Steve added, reaching out to brush his fingers down the side of Eddie’s face. “If you’re not careful, you’re going to be a complete babe magnet.”

“Satanist to saint,” Eddie replied putting his hands together and batting his eyes at the ceiling. “Might need you to fight them off for me with a broom.”

“Always ready,” he replied, reaching out and pulling Eddie towards him.

It was never hard to get Eddie into a kiss, and his boyfriend melted against him. He sounded the word in his brain again ‘boyfriend’, he really liked that.

“Oh god, not again,” came from the doorway. “Call me when you’re done.”

“Wait, Robin,” he called, pulling out of the kiss but not letting Eddie go, “the feds have finished the cover story. We were just celebrating, come back.”

“They have?” Robin asked and reappeared in the doorway.

“Indeed, Birdy,” Eddie said, turning in Steve’s embrace. “And you all get to be heroes as well.”

“We do?” Steve asked, surprised.

“Yep,” Eddie replied. “I think Owens was fed up of all of you being unsung heroes after everything you’ve done. You are all part of the friends who stopped Creel before he left town. The feds are making him a serial killer.”

“How does that work when no one stayed dead?” Robin asked.

“Well,” Eddie said winding up to tell the story again.

Steve was just going to enjoy having his boyfriend so close for a while.

~*~

They had decided they all wanted to be in the same place to see the press conference. There had been the option of them all being at it in person, but as a group they had declined. None of them were interested in the glare of the cameras. Hence, they were all at Steve’s house because he had the biggest place and the largest TV.

They had food and drinks and there had been an almost party atmosphere. Even Max had made it, in a wheelchair until her casts came off, with very thick glasses that were apparently going to be refined very soon into something much more elegant. Lucas was seeing to her every need, so everything was fine from that direction.

Everything had sobered a bit once the press conference began, however. It wasn’t what Owens was saying that had everybody suddenly sombre, however. They had all been prewarned about that. It was the screen behind Owens that came on once the man had finished talking. It was video footage of what Steve guessed was the field hospital Owens had set up. It was footage of them all after they had come out of the Upside Down.

Dirty, ragged, covered in mysterious substances, there they all were, completely unaware they were being filmed. Steve even caught a glimpse of himself being carried to a bed. There were even clips of Chrissy, Eddie, Fred and Patrick along with much more of the Party. Seeing how they all looked, worn and tired and worried, was far different from living it. They looked like they had just survived a war. With a jolt he realised they had.

“As you can see,” Owens said as the film ended, “the aftermath of Henry Creel’s reign of terror was like the end of a battle. The man and those he had brainwashed to his side were entrenched in Hawkins. Only the bravery of your fellow citizens prevented the death toll from being much higher. Thank you for coming, I will take questions now.”

Joyce had control of the remote and turned it down at that point.

“I never saw anyone with a camera,” Dustin said almost immediately.

“Me either,” Mike agreed.

“The army document everything,” Hopper said. “They must have used bits of their surveillance footage.”

“I don’t like it,” Nancy said from where she was sitting with Jonathan.

“Neither do I,” Robin agreed.

“Well it’s done now,” Lucas said.

“Of course it is,” Murray chimed in with a lot of sarcasm in his tone.

Before it could devolve into a full fledge debate, the phone rang.

“I’ll get it,” Dustin said and took off before Steve could stop him. “Hello, you’ve reached Steve’s house.”

Steve rolled his eyes.

“Oh, hi Jeff,” Dustin said, apparently oblivious to everyone watching, “yeah, I’ll get him. Eddie, it’s for you.”

Eddie looked like a deer in headlights at that.

“I might have given Jeff Steve’s number and told him he’d need it this afternoon,” Mike confessed from close to Eddie. “Was I wrong?”

That snapped Eddie out of it.

“No, no, I was just shocked,” Eddie managed to say.

There had been talk of Eddie reconnecting with his other friends, but not how or when. It looked like the timetable had just been moved up. Everyone tried to look interested in other things as Eddie made his way to the front hall where the phone was. Of course no one was talking above a low level, and Steve didn’t even bother to pretend he wasn’t watching.

“Hey, Jeffy,” Eddie said with complete false bravado as he took the handset from Dustin.

There was a pause as Jeff must have been saying something.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine, well getting there,” Eddie replied and paused again. “Yes, that Steve. He’s been letting me and Wayne stay.”

The way Eddie glanced at him and started blushed during the next break in conversation told Steve all he needed to know about what Eddie’s friends knew about his crush.

“Okay, who wants another drink?” Steve asked loudly to grab everyone’s attention.

He’d talk to Eddie about what he wanted to tell his friends and how later. If he was looking after people he didn’t have to think and that’s the way he liked it.

End of Chapter 14

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Seven: Lies & Manipulations (Stranger Things) CH 13

Steve Harrington Big Bang 2025 Author BerenWrites | Artist AzuleTuna | Beta Thwax

Title: Seven: Lies & Manipulations (AO3 | Tumblr Master List)

FYI - there are 4 chapters being posted today, this is 2 of 4 so go back to the master list if you missed any.

Chapter 13. Looking Ahead

Rating: Teen (same as the show)

Warning: no archive warning apply

Pairings: Steven Harrington/Eddie Munson, Steven Harrington & Robin Buckley, Steve Harrington & Dustin Henderson, Steve Harrington & Eleven

Characters: Steve Harrington, Robin Buckley, Eddie Munson, Dustin Henderson, Wayne Munson, Eleven | Jane Hopper + the usual crew

Chapter 13. Looking Ahead

Steve was sitting on one of the loungers beside the pool staring off into the distance when he heard someone come up behind him. It wasn't Robin, he knew the sounds she made almost as well as he knew himself, which just left Eddie and Wayne. Nothing against Wayne, but the footsteps sounded young.

"Hey, Eddie," he said without turning.

"Eyes in the back of your head now?" Eddie asked.

Now Steve did turn and gave his friend a small smile, even though he was pretty sure it would look far too tired. He’d been out here since Joyce had dropped them off. He’d needed space to think, to process what he hadn’t had a chance to do after lurching from emergency to emergency.

"Process of elimination," he said and patted the lounger beside him.

Sitting on them sideways there was plenty of room for two. Eddie came and sat next to him without saying anything else. They sat in silence for a while, just watching the day go by. Eddie was a warm presence close to his side and Steve appreciated it.

"Robin wanted to come out and check on you," Eddie finally spoke, "but she thought she might be too loud."

"So, she sent you?" Steve asked, turning slightly and not even remotely trying to hide the incredulity in his voice.

"Yeah, that's what I tried to point out," Eddie said, "but I think it's more if I annoy you, you can just throw me in the pool without breaking the sacred bond of platonic soulmates."

"She actually said that, didn't she," Steve concluded.

"She did," Eddie admitted.

That did make him smile, for real this time.

"Do you ever think we might all be insane?" he asked after a few seconds' silence.

"All the time," Eddie responded without hesitation, "and that was before all this Upside Down crap."

They lapsed into silence again, but this time only for about a minute. Steve was pretty sure Eddie had reached his limit of not talking with their previous lack of conversation.

"So, how are you doing?" Eddie asked.

The standard 'I'm fine' jumped into Steve's head but, for once, he didn't say it. He let his eyes run along the edge of the yard for a while as he thought about his answer.

"I don't know," he finally said. "It's so …"

"Big," Eddie suggested when he wasn't quite sure how to go on.

"Yeah," he agreed, "big. Finding out monsters and superpowers are real was huge, but I … I guess I compartmentalised it. This though, this is me. I'm not who I thought I was."

"Now let me stop you right there," Eddie said, looking at him with very serious eyes. "Whoever you were, however you started, you are still you. Steve Harrington is a good guy who protects kids and looks after his found family even when that means running towards danger, so they don't have to. That hasn't changed. This time you just got to do it with powers. Which, for the record, I would like to personally thank you for using on me. I may not remember everything clearly, but what is still in my brain makes me very, very grateful you were there."

Steve blinked. He wasn’t sure how to respond to that.

“Okay,” he said when nothing better came to mind.

“Stevie,” Eddie said, much more gently this time and the pet-name made him feel warm inside, “I can only imagine how shitty it is to find out you’ve been lied to for your entire life, but it doesn’t change the person you are.”

“But I’m not even me,” he replied. “I’m not Steve Harrington. Steve Harrington is made up.”

“So’s everyone else,” Eddie said. “Steve Harrington is a name not a person. You can change it to Forty Nine if you really want to, but you’ll still be you.“

“Forty Nine?” he had to ask.

“Seven times seven,” Eddie replied as if it was obvious. “You found something out about yourself that helped you save this whole damn town, but that’s what you can do, not who you are. You were in that lab for what, a year?”

“Less I think,” he replied.

“You’ve been you for so much longer,” Eddie told him. “No one is a whole person at just under five. We were all trying to find who we were back then too. You had your memory taken by a psycho doctor, and now you have it back, but you’re the sum of who you were then and who you are now and the Steve from now has seniority.”

“I’m a freak,” he said. “A dangerous one.”

Eddie gave him a look for that.

“Would you call El a freak?”

“Of course not!”

“Then don’t shit on yourself,” Eddie said. “I’ve been called a freak by assholes too many times, I am not letting you call yourself one. If you want to embrace it like me and the boys, we’ll welcome you in, but you don’t get to dump on yourself with it. Okay?”

He nodded slowly.

“And we’re all capable of being dangerous,” Eddie went on. “If I ever have to pick up one of Nancy’s guns you will find out first hand, so let’s not do that.”

“If the government…” he started to say.

“That makes them dangerous, not you,” Eddie said stubbornly, clearly knowing what he was going to say, “so we just make sure they never get the chance to know about you.”

“But what about El?” he asked. “Maybe it would be better if I just leave and never come back.”

Eddie was silent at that.

“Do you want to leave?” he asked eventually.

Steve stared out at the trees again.

“No,” he finally admitted with a small shake of his head.

The idea alone filled his chest with icicles.

“Stevie, Stevie, Stevie,” Eddie said, “what you don’t seem to realise is you’re as loved here as El is. Those kids would do anything for you, even Mike in his shittiest of moods. You didn’t see them when we were getting out of the Upside Down. They were as worried about you as they were about El. Dustin insisted on helping carry you out, even though Robin and Hopper’s Russian friend had it handled. None of them wanted to let you be put in that truck after the field medic said you needed to be looked at. Joyce had to step in and get assurances you would be looked after. They only agreed after Wayne said he and I would be there too, along with Robin.”

“Probably worried about losing their ride,” he said, looking down at his hands, but his lips twitched into a little smile. “They’re good kids,” he added, “most of the time.”

“They’re far too bright for their own good,” Eddie countered, “but I wouldn’t have them any other way,” he added after a pause.

“Maybe quieter,” he offered.

“Oh yeah, that would be good,” Eddie agreed, giving him a small smile.

Steve lifted his eyes to the treeline again. So much had changed. Bits of Hawkins would never be the same. None of them would ever be the same. But at least now it felt like they had a future. For a while there, it had been very bleak. He just had to figure out how he fitted in now.

“I’m sure El will love having another older brother with powers,” Eddie added.

“Yeah, but I can’t do any of the cool stuff,” he pointed out, because it was easier than dealing with the feelings that brought up.

“Why?”

He gave Eddie a questioning look.

“Why can’t you do any of the cool stuff?” Eddie elaborated. “I was talking to Dustin after you all left earlier, and we were discussing what El told him about the other kids with powers. As far as I could gather, they all had specialities, but came from the same root. So, what if you can do some of the cool stuff, you just never learned because that Brenner guy hid you away before you were old enough to get the hang of it?”

Steve wasn’t sure if the idea intrigued or horrified him.

“Let’s not go there,” he said, “at least not yet.”

“One step at a time, yeah?” Eddie said.

“Yep,” he agreed.

He really didn’t need more to think about. Watching the birds moving in the trees, he let himself consider the future for a little while, rather than dwelling on the past. Of course, there was one more truth he had been thinking about while sitting outside. Maybe it was time to do something about that instead.

Taking a deep breath, he turned to face Eddie properly.

"Tell me if I'm reading this wrong," he said, "but can I kiss you?"

Eddie kind of froze for a second, eyes open wide. Eventually he blinked.

"You're not reading this wrong," Eddie replied slowly, "but Stevie, I gotta ask, why now?"

"Because everything is different now," he said as plainly as he knew how, "and I refuse to be afraid anymore."

"And what would this kiss mean," Eddie asked, just as carefully, "because I have to warn you, my heart's real delicate right now."

Steve did Eddie the courtesy of thinking about that properly before he replied.

"I think I'm falling in love with you," he said eventually. "I think it started in the Upside Down the first time, but I was too dense to realise what it was. Then you died and I didn't let myself think about it anymore and we were so busy getting ready to take down Vecna I didn't even tell Robin. Now all the reasons I was afraid to think about it seem kind of small."

"Holy crap," was Eddie's eloquent response to that.

For a little while Eddie stared off into the distance like they had been before. Steve let him have time to think, it seemed only fair.

"I'm not doubting you," Eddie said after what felt like a long time, swinging around those very expressive eyes to meet Steve's gaze, "I'm just trying to make myself believe this isn't a figment of my imagination."

"All real," Steve said, knocking his foot into Eddie's to make his point.

"Be still my bisexual little heart," Eddie muttered, looking down to where they were touching. "For the record, not saying no, still processing."

Given that he'd dumped this on Eddie with no warning, Steve totally understood that, but he bumped their feet together again because he needed to do something.

"I feel like I'm dreaming," Eddie said after another much shorter this time pause. "Do you have any idea how long I've been crushing on you?"

"Well now I've had time to think about it, I figured you were flirting with me in the Upside Down and then panicked because you thought I might have caught on, so you pushed me towards Nancy," Steve said, because he really had been thinking about a lot of things. "For the record, I do love Nancy, I always will, but I'm not in love with her anymore. That's something else I figured out."

"Good to know," Eddie said, voice a little higher than usual.

"You don't have to decide now," he said as he realised, he might be overloading Eddie with information.

"For the record from my side," Eddie interrupted him before he could say more, "it's since your sophomore year, and boy did I hate myself for it for a while. And the answer to your question is, hell yes please."

They both moved at the same time, like magnets brought just close enough together. Steve could feel Eddie all but vibrating as their lips touched for the first time. He brought his hand up to cup the side of Eddie's face, bringing them closer together. It wasn’t a long kiss or a deep kiss, just their lips moving against each other as they breathed each other in. Little sparks of electricity ran up and down Steve’s nerves as the light, but gentle touch. He couldn’t help being reminded of the heady days of first getting together with Nancy. He hadn’t felt anything like it since.

As if of one mind they slowly pulled apart, but remained with their foreheads touching, riding the end of the moment.

"Munson, I sent you out here to make sure he was okay, not seduce him!"

Robin's voice carried across the deck to where they were sitting. She wasn't loud, but her tone was pointed. Eddie jumped back like he'd been electrocuted. Steve grabbed the other man's arm to stop him falling off the lounger, gently pulling Eddie back towards him.

"He asked me!" Eddie squeaked at exactly the same time as Steve said; "My fault."

He couldn't help smiling though, because something bright was burning in his chest and it wouldn't let him do anything else.

"Oh," Robin said as he looked at her, like she could read everything in his face.

She probably could, it wasn't like he was trying to hide it.

"Munson, your intentions better be honourable," was what Robin went with next.

That made Steve smile even more. Of course she was in his corner. The way she was still looking at him, he knew they were going to have a long conversation about this at some point, but Robin always had his back.

"Intentions?" Eddie replied. "Not sure I have enough brain power for intentions. Still not sure I'm not dreaming."

"Definitely not dreaming," Steve said, leaning in and giving Eddie a peck on the nose.

The way Eddie's cheeks went even pinker than they already were and he pulled his hair across his face was absolutely adorable.

“Oh my god,” Robin said throwing her hands in the air, “you two are going to be insufferable.”

Steve grinned and ducked his head, it wasn’t like he could deny it. He suddenly had plans, lots of plans.

“I can’t believe you kissed a boy before I had a chance to kiss a girl,” Robin complained.

“All you have to do is ask her,” Steve countered, because he had no doubt Vickie would say yes. “Boobies, there is no way she doesn’t like boobies.”

Robin made a face at him and a laugh bubbled out of his throat. He hadn’t felt like laughing, really laughing in so long.

“That makes so much sense,” Eddie said, and Steve watched him look between them both. “How did I miss this?”

“I don’t know Edward,” Robin said, “perhaps you’ve been so gaga over my platonic soulmate your gaydar is broken.”

“It’s not like it gets much use in small town Indiana,” Eddie griped back. “By the way, how is it you’re so sure the mysterious subject of Birdie’s affections likes boobies?”

“Oh god, not you too,” Robin squawked.

“Fast Times,” Steve revealed cheerfully, “paused at exactly the right point.”

“You used to check where tapes were left?” Eddie asked, looking momentarily panicked.

“Don’t worry, Munson,” Robin said, “your secrets are safe with us … as long as you don’t damage so much as a hair on Steve’s head.”

“I would protect him with my life,” Eddie said, dramatically putting his hand over his heart.

Clearly Eddie’s mouth had been in front of his brain as he kind of froze.

“Not again,” Steve said, pulling him in by the front of his shirt and kissing him again, “never again.”

On that point he was very sure.

“Way to go putting your foot in your mouth, Buckley,” he heard Robin mutter, so he reached out with his other hand and pulled her in too, so they were in an awkward three-way hug.

As he just held on for a while, something inside his mind settled. He still had so much to deal with, but this was where he was supposed to be, everything in him told him so.

End of Chapter 13

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Seven: Lies & Manipulations (Stranger Things) CH 12

Steve Harrington Big Bang 2025 Author BerenWrites | Artist AzuleTuna | Beta Thwax

Title: Seven: Lies & Manipulations (AO3 | Tumblr Master List)

FYI - there are 4 chapters being posted today, this is 1 of 4.

Chapter 12. Cover Up

Rating: Teen (same as the show)

Warning: no archive warning apply

Pairings: Steven Harrington/Eddie Munson, Steven Harrington & Robin Buckley, Steve Harrington & Dustin Henderson, Steve Harrington & Eleven

Characters: Steve Harrington, Robin Buckley, Eddie Munson, Dustin Henderson, Wayne Munson, Eleven | Jane Hopper + the usual crew

Chapter 12. Cover Up

Steve was still sitting in the chair, but he had a glass of water in one hand, a bunch of Kleenex in the other to catch any remaining blood from his nose and he’d just swallowed two painkillers. He hoped they kicked in soon, because his head was pounding. Robin was still hovering by his side as Hopper continued to comfort El. She’d stopped crying but clearly needed time to put herself back together.

The same nurse that had given Steve the pain pills had checked her over. Then Owens had ushered the woman out as quickly as he had summoned her. The nurse had looked rather askance at the state of the room, but clearly, she was at least partially in the know because she never asked any questions.

“How are you feeling, Honey?” Joyce asked when El finally pulled back from her dad.

“Better, thank you,” El replied, only sniffing a little.

She glanced over at Steve, eyes quickly flicking to Owens and back again. He shook his head a tiny amount, getting her question without needing words. They had never been close, not like him and Dustin, but now he felt a kinship with her he would never be able to shake. As they had prepared to go after Vecna the last time, he had gotten to know her much better. Yet now she felt like his little sister.

“I am sorry I hurt you,” El said and managed to surprise him anyway.

“Not your fault,” he assured her, doing his best not to squint through the pounding in his head.

The last thing he wanted was her to feel guilty for his pain. If anything, it should be the other way around. He had left her fighting alone for far too long.

“Are you up to explaining what just happened?” Owens stepped in, using the same understanding tone he had used with Steve earlier.

El nodded. She wiped her nose and took a deep breath.

“It was the Upside Down,” she began, clearly still trying to decide what to say, “what we would have called the Mind Flayer before, but without One it was not the same anymore. It was powerful, but there was no thought like we have, only instinct. It wanted me to be what One was, to give it thought again.” She paused, eyes distant. “I did not want that, but I could not break free or push it away. When Steve took my hand, I felt him, and I was able to reach into his mind because of before. He acted as a shield for long enough to give me a way to break free and fight. Without its connection to me, the last fissure will close, and the Upside Down will be gone again.”

Steve hadn’t realised any of the fissures were still open, but the way Owens nodded, the man clearly knew what El was talking about.

“We were wondering what was keeping it open,” Owens admitted.

“I am sorry I could not fight it sooner,” El said.

She sounded guilty, which was ridiculous. If anyone needed to feel guilty it was Steve. He’d left her all alone when she needed him and regressed himself to just under five.

“Also, not your fault,” Hopper said, making sure El was looking at him as he spoke. “You did your best kid, and you took down that bastard. Not your fault we didn’t know the Upside Down would want a substitute. You fought and both times you won, that’s all that counts.”

El gave a little sniff, looking like the teenager she was for a change. Steve was never going to stop being amazed by her.

“Quite correct,” Owens agreed. “And, Steve, do you have anything to add?”

That took him by surprise too. He was beginning to think maybe his brain was running on slow as it recovered from the onslaught.

“Not really,” he replied after a moment. “I felt El connect to me like in the Upside Down before we went after Vecna. I think it took a couple of tries because there wasn’t something else in my brain making it work the right way. Then there was lots of pain, but I couldn’t tell you why.”

“The Upside Down was attacking you because you were between it and me,” El explained as if he was really as clueless as he was pretending.

“That would do it,” he commented.

If he never had to mention the Upside Down again, it would be too soon. He really hoped it was over for good this time.

~*~

“How are you really feeling?” Robin asked when they climbed into Hopper’s car with Joyce.

Hopper was staying with El while Owens and his people made sure she was as okay as she claimed to be. It was Joyce who had decided she would take Steve and Robin home, for which Steve was very grateful because he didn’t want to deal with any of Owens’ people at the moment.

“The painkillers are kicking in,” he replied.

“And?” Robin pushed.

“You do look very pale, Steve,” Joyce said, turning in the front seat.

“I’ll be fine,” he promised.

“Is that a real fine, or a we-have-to-deal-with-Upside-Down-shit fine?” Robin prodded.

“A real fine,” he told her and put a hand on his heart.

“What did happen in there?” Joyce asked as she started the vehicle.

“Mostly like we told Dr Owens,” Steve replied, belting himself in when Robin glared at him because he’d forgotten. “El pulled me in, but I wasn’t just a human shield, I threw up a bubble.”

“That’s what you can do?” Joyce checked. “Jim gave me a note when he came into El’s room, but it didn’t have many details.”

That at least explained how Hopper had got Joyce on board without giving anything away to unwanted ears.

“Yeah,” he said, feeling weird talking about it, but it was also kind of freeing too. “I can cut the energy connections people like El use to do what she does. I think of it as a bubble. I guess that was the easiest way for a kid to visualise it. This time I cut the Upside Down off from attacking her. Not that I realised that’s what I was doing then. I thought I was shielding her from overloading by putting the bubble around the room. The Upside Down did not like being cut off and it fought back until El sent it back where it belongs.”

“Is that why all the furniture moved as far as the walls?” Joyce asked.

“I don’t think so. I guess that was just physics,” he replied. “I didn’t want to cut El off from everything, that would have been not good, so I put the bubble as wide as I dared. She smashed through it when she fought the Upside Down though. Luckily, she didn’t need my help after that. It’s hard to believe how powerful she is, I mean I’ve seen what she can do before, and I felt it with Vecna, but this was up close and personal.”

“She is a remarkable girl,” Joyce agreed, smiling at him in the rearview as she pulled away.

“Oh boy, yeah,” Robin agreed. “I would have paid to see her give that stuck up colonel a close encounter too.”

“What happened to him?” Steve asked. “I expected to see him trying to throw his weight around at the hospital.”

“He did,” Joyce said, “the first day. Sam had the joint chiefs on the phone to send the man off with his tail between his legs. Seems Sam got his report in first and explained exactly how El just saved the world. It was beautiful to see. Of course, that was when we thought El would just wake up at any time.”

“I’m sorry it took me so long to help,” Steve blurted out as the guilt finally got the better of him. “If I’d known…”

Robin slapped him on the arm.

“Dingus, you were five and you were only five because you were trying to protect El,” she told him in a no-nonsense tone. “Now repeat after me, I did my best and I did good.”

When he said nothing, she glared at him.

“Steven,” she said, eyes narrowing.

“I did my best and I did good,” he blurted out, because there weren’t many things he was more afraid of than Robin when she had that look.

Joyce laughed quietly in the front seat. Steve was a little bit mortified, but the way Robin reached over and took his hand with a pleased little smile almost made it worth it.

“You should have seen the room when El screamed her battle cry,” Robin started to talk so Steve sat back and decided to listen.

It was easier than trying to be coherent. The painkillers really were kicking in, but it was going to take a while for them to really do their job, he could tell. Listening to Robin ramble was soothing these days.

“It was like Poltergeist,” Robin continued, waving her free hand around to demonstrate. “You had your eyes squeezed shut so you missed the show, but wow, it was spectacular.”

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Joyce agreed.

“Everything moved at exactly the same time,” Robin said. “And it felt like a wave of air passed over me and through me, which was weird. Was it like that for you Mrs Byers?”

“It was,” Joyce said, turning onto the main road. “And it’s still Joyce. We’ve been to hell and back together, I think you’ve earned the right to use my first name.”

“I will remember eventually, Joyce,” Robin said with a little giggle.

Steve could tell the stress of the events at the hospital had clearly got to her, but she seemed to be handling it. There were going to be so many bathroom-talks in their future, he could tell. He’d have to make sure there were cushions to sit on in case she still had bruises. For now, he squeezed her hand. He had gotten used to being more openly affectionate with her when he had been little on the inside. Robin didn’t seem to want to give it up, and neither did he.

“How is everyone in your house, Joyce?” he asked. “Dustin has been keeping us up to date, but sometimes he misses things.”

“All good, thank you, Steve,” Joyce replied. “A little bruised, but otherwise well. Will’s been very worried about El, but otherwise seems lighter than I’ve seen him since this began. Jonathan is planning a road trip with Argyle and I think Nancy has decided to go with them.”

“That’ll be good for them,” he said, and for the first time there was no twinge of jealousy in his chest. “Will should come over to my house sometime. Eddie would love to talk Dungeons and Dragons with him.”

“I’m sure he’d love that,” Joyce said. “Now that El is out of the woods, I’ll suggest it to him.”

“I could always come and pick him up,” he added.

“Not today,” Robin got in there quickly.

“Well, no, not today,” he agreed, “but I wasn’t suggesting today. I don’t think I should be behind a wheel with these painkillers anyway.”

“Okay, where are the four horsemen, they’ve got to be somewhere,” Robin said, looking out the window in a dramatic fashion. “You being sensible about driving that car. It’s the next end of the world.”

“I’m not that bad,” he complained.

“You drove an RV and didn’t tell anyone you were still bleeding,” she pointed out.

He decided he should stop arguing at that point.

End of Chapter 12

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Seven: Lies & Manipulations (Stranger Things) CH 10

Steve Harrington Big Bang 2025 Author BerenWrites | Artist AzuleTuna | Beta Thwax

Title: Seven: Lies & Manipulations (AO3 | Tumblr Master List)

FYI - there are 3 chapters being posted today, this is 2 of 3 so go back to the master list if you missed any.

Chapter 10. Subterfuge

Rating: Teen (same as the show)

Warning: no archive warning apply

Pairings: Steven Harrington/Eddie Munson, Steven Harrington & Robin Buckley, Steve Harrington & Dustin Henderson, Steve Harrington & Eleven

Characters: Steve Harrington, Robin Buckley, Eddie Munson, Dustin Henderson, Wayne Munson, Eleven | Jane Hopper + the usual crew

Chapter 10. Subterfuge

"Let me make sure I've got this right," Hopper said from where he was sitting on Steve's couch. "All that stuff in the Upside Down, that wasn't some other power, that was you, and you come from the lab just like El?"

Steve nodded. It had taken them a couple of hours to get a message through to the ex-police chief, but the man had arrived shortly after they had. They had explained the situation as best they could, only the way Hopper was all but glaring at him made Steve uncomfortable.

"How did Creel not recognise you?" Hopper asked.

"Brenner told everyone I was dead," he replied, "and I was really small at the time. I was nearly five, but I didn't hit a growth spurt until I was ten. Everyone always says I look like my mom, even though she isn't my mom, so maybe I do because I made myself as close to her as possible."

"And he wouldn't have had any hair in the lab either," Dustin piped up, "and that's his signature."

"Why didn't you tell us down there?" was Hopper's next question.

"I didn't know who was listening," he said, unable to completely stop the guilt that was creeping through his chest. "I told El."

"Did you really regress to five, or were you just protecting yourself?" Hopper asked, and that question cut deep.

"Of course, he really regressed," Robin jumped in before he could say anything. "Do you think Steve would put any of us through the worry if he had a choice?"

The way she was all but leaning over Hopper and apparently intimidating him would have been hilarious in any other circumstance.

"No, you're right, sorry Steve, that was uncalled for," Hopper finally said after several long, awkward seconds of silence. “It’s been a long week.”

"I did do it to myself though," he felt the need to admit. "I didn't want to be a danger to El. I tried to make myself forget like Two had made me forget, but somehow I regressed instead."

"It was us talking about El that brought him out of it," Eddie said, apparently on the same page as Robin, only Eddie's tone was cold and hard where Robin's had been scorching.

For a moment Hopper appeared appropriately cowed.

"You really think you can help her?" the man finally asked, looking tired and defeated, but just a little hopeful.

Steve nodded again.

"The psychic backlash when One died blew her mind open," he replied. "He tried to take her with him. I felt part of it before I passed out, but I can't do what she can, so it didn't affect me in the same way. She can't wake up normally because she's overloaded, connected to everything. I can shield her from that, give her a chance to put her mind back how it should be."

"What we have to do is figure out how to get Steve to El without letting the government know what he can do," Dustin said.

“You still want to keep your powers a secret?” Hopper checked.

“I have to,” he replied without hesitation. “I was so valuable to Brenner he faked my death and hid me within close reach; what do you think the government would do if they realised what I can do? No kid with powers would be safe again. They’d put me on a leash and use me to control any others.”

Hopper’s eyes opened in shock at the vehemence of his tone.

“Okay, I get it,” Hopper said. “Is there anyway El might come out of this on her own if exposing you is that dangerous?”

“I’ve only seen it once,” Steve explained. “Three disappeared and was replaced. Brenner told me she died and tried to use her death to guilt me into doing what he told me to.”

“Jesus, Kid, do you ever catch a break?” Hopper asked with a sigh.

“I guess not,” he replied, totally feeling Hooper’s resignation.

“Right, then how are you at lying when looking someone in the eye?” Hopper asked.

“You’ve met my dad, and you have to ask that?” Steve shot back.

“Just checking,” Hopper countered. “Then I’m taking you to Owens. You can explain how this fictitious entity took you over and you don’t understand any of it. Then as we’re about to leave, you can give me those puppy eyes of yours and ask to see El. I will, of course, resist, but you will persist. Then I will say yes. Is there anything to see when you do your thing?”

Steve shook his head.

“Except the nosebleeds,” Dustin pointed out.

“Dammit, I forgot those,” Steve said.

“Do something when you're with Owens’ and have one while you’re talking to him,” Eddie suggested. “Be overly apologetic, get blood on his carpet and explain they’ve been happening randomly since you got out of the Upside Down.”

“Won’t that make him want to examine me more closely?” Steve asked.

“Not if you tell him it’s normal ever since Starcourt, Dingus,” Robin added, patting him on the back. “Just tell him if your nose gets injured it takes longer to heal properly now.”

“God I’m glad we’re all on the same side,” Hopper said with a shake of his head. “For the record I am never playing poker with any of you.”

“What about Dungeons and Dragons?” Eddie asked with a grin.

Steve didn’t really feel like smiling at the moment, but it was good to see the mischief back in Eddie’s eyes again. Hopper simply ignored Eddie’s quip.

“I’m not supposed to be going back for another four hours,” the man said, standing up, “but I guess this counts as extenuating circumstances. Let’s go.”

“I’ll get my coat,” Steve said.

“I’m coming too,” Robin declared.

“But…” Hopper started to speak but wisely closed his mouth when Robin glared at him.

That did make Steve smile just a little. Protective Robin was a very scary person and had one up on Upside Down veterans who had been tortured by Russians apparently.

~*~

It seemed everyone had learned not to argue with Hopper when he appeared at the hospital, because none of the soldiers guarding the rooms the government had co-opted tried to stop them as they entered. In fact, they simply nodded at Hopper in a cordial, respectful way. As they walked past several closed rooms, Steve realised with guilt that he hadn't even asked about anyone else.

"How's Max?" he whispered to Robin as they walked.

"Awake and bitching about her casts," Robin replied just as quietly. "She's going to need glasses too, but her eyes are recovering well."

"I forgot," he felt the need to confess, "how could I forget?"

"Stop right there," Robin hissed back. "You've been dealing with so much shit, so drop the guilt and give yourself a break. Lucas is making sure Max is getting everything she needs, and you can too once we have all this sorted out, okay?"

He still hated the fact that Max had been hurt while on his watch. Logically he knew there was nothing he could have done to save her because he, Robin, and Nancy had been facing off against Vecna, but it didn't stop the irrational guilt. At some point, all the kids had become his responsibility, and that was just how it was.

"Okay," he agreed, even if he wasn't quite feeling it.

At least with El to focus on he could push everything else away a little. He had a job to do, and he was going to do it.

Hopper walked to the end of the corridor, to yet another faceless door and knocked on it.

"Come in," came from inside.

Steve followed as Hopper opened the door and stepped in. The room was clearly a converted hospital room that had been co-opted into an office. Even so it looked surprisingly cosy, Dr Owens had apparently put his touch on his working space.

"Jim, I wasn't expecting you back so soon," the man in question said from where he appeared to be doing paperwork at a desk.

"Yes, well," Hopper replied, "we've had a development."

"Hi, Dr Owens," Steve greeted and gave an awkward little wave.

Owens looked up at him and smiled.

"Steve, am I to gather you are back with us?" the man asked.

Steve nodded.

"I'm so sorry for causing so much trouble," he apologised, "I don't know what happened."

"Steve," Owens said, rising from his seat and coming around the desk, "please, there is nothing to apologise for. The human brain is a wonderful and mysterious thing, and we cannot always control how ours react. How are you feeling?"

"Confused," he replied, and it wasn't a complete lie, his brain was still a bit of a mess.

"Very understandable," Owens told him, and the sincerity almost made him feel guilty about all the lies he was about to tell … almost. "Do you remember what happened in the Upside Down?"

"Mostly," he revealed, "but it's kind of like I'm watching it like a movie, not living it."

"Are you comfortable to talk about it now," Owens asked, "or do you need more time to process what happened?"

"Hop said whatever I could tell you might help, El," he replied, "so I'm happy to try, but I'm not sure how much there is to tell."

"Jim is correct," Owens replied. "All information may be helpful. Please come and sit down. I am guessing you would prefer that Miss Buckley remain as well?"

Steve nodded again.

"I'll just go and check Joyce doesn't need anything," Hopper said before Owens could ask about him as well. "Come get me when you're ready to go home."

"Thanks, Hop," Steve replied, sharing a look with the other man.

With Hopper gone and Steve and Robin sitting one side of Owens' desk as the man himself sat the other, Steve began to feel a little nervous. It seemed lying to his dad and lying to a government official who specialised in black ops were, in fact, two different levels of stress.

"Now, Steve," Owens said once they were settled, "if you wouldn’t mind, please can you tell me what happened to you in the Upside Down?"

Steve took a deep breath as Robin took his hand and squeezed it.

"We were going to the hospital to blow it up when we were stopped by Eddie, Chrissy, Patrick, and Fred," was where he decided to start. "Vecna made them attack us and they brought with them a couple of demodogs and those god-awful bats. We were fighting them off and I didn't even realise anything else was happening until Robin started laughing at me and Eddie kind of melted into Vecna. That's when I knew he was in my head."

He had to stop for a second as the remembered fear came back to him. He'd been so focused on being able to help El, it hadn't occurred to him what effect talking about what had happened might have on him.

"That must have been terrifying," Owens said and genuinely seemed to be sympathising.

"Yeah," he agreed. "I almost froze, but when he stepped towards me, I remembered what we'd told Max, so I ran, and I tried to hide in good memories. Only it didn't work, he kept finding me."

"May I ask, was one of those memories of a time when you were almost five?" Owens asked as he paused again.

He gave a short nod and Owens wrote something down.

"Finally, I couldn't run anymore," he went on. "He had me trapped and there was nowhere to go. I remember him reaching out to me. He put his hand round my neck and went to squeeze, but something happened. It felt like something cracked, something opened, and there was something else there, something that pushed him out."

"This something…" Owens started to say, but Steve decided it was time to start acting properly.

There was a small cactus sitting on the edge of the desk, so he used it as his focus point and threw an energy bubble around it. There wasn't actually anything specific to cut off, not when it came to the energy connections his powers worked on, but he made sure to throw everything he had into it anyway. He felt his nose go immediately.

"Steve," Robin said as he pretended not to notice.

"What … oh … dammit."

He put his hand to his nose to try and stop the stream.

"Oh dear," Owens said, standing up quickly and pulling some Kleenex from the box on his desk.

Apparently, the man was prepared for everything as he handed them over to Steve.

"Sorry," Steve apologised again as he leant forward and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Are you alright?" Owens asked him even as Robin hovered over him.

"'m fine," he promised.

"This happens sometimes," Robin provided the explanation for him, just like they had decided on the journey over, "since Starcourt. If his nose gets damaged it takes ages to heal fully, and it was streaming at the end there in the Upside Down."

"It'll stop in a second," Steve promised. "Could I have some more tissue please?"

Owens helpfully provided the required items and Steve milked what was going on for a little while, before finally sitting back.

"Sorry," he said yet again once the blood finally stopped.

"Not a problem," Owens assured him. "Are you feeling better?"

"Yes, thank you," he replied. "I hate nosebleeds, but I've kind of gotten used to them. Makes it much easier to sympathise with El when she uses her powers. Sorry, you were asking me something."

"Ah, yes," Owens said with a nod, "if you are sure you are recovered."

He gave the man a nod.

"Very well," Owens went on, "this something that entered your mind, can you describe it?"

"Not really," he said and did his best to seem very apologetic, "it's hard to put into words. I don't know what it was, I just got a sense that it hated Vecna and wanted to help, and I don't understand how I knew that either. It was like it asked to use me, I said yes, but it was much more … um …"

"Ephemeral?" Robin suggested.

"If that means what I think that means, then, yeah, what Robin said," Steve agreed. "It wasn't like we were talking, I just knew stuff, as if it was an instinct, like when you know where the ball is going to be in a game, even though you aren't thinking about all the steps, y'know?"

Owens didn't look as if he did know, but the man inclined his head anyway.

"You don't know what it was?" Owens checked.

Steve shook his head.

"I don't even know where it came from," he replied, "it was suddenly just there and it was on our side, so I let it use my body to get to where it needed to be."

"Do you know why it required you to attack Henry Creel?" was Owens' next question.

"No, sorry," Steve said. "I'm not being much help, am I?"

Owens gave him another smile, only this one was slightly more pained. That guilt Steve had been doing a good job of ignoring pinged at the back of his mind again, but he pushed it away. He wished he could trust the man, he really did, but he was not taking any chances.

There were lots more questions and Steve gave lots more half answers until it was very clear all information, useful or not, had been extracted from the conversation.

"I'm really sorry I couldn't be more help," Steve said as Owens finally seemed to give up.

“Not at all, you have given me a great deal of data I did not have,” Owens replied. “We cannot always have the clarity of looking through a microscope. Thank you for being so candid, and I would ask that if you remember anything further you give me a call and let me know.”

The man stood up and handed Steve a card.

“This is my direct line here,” Owens went on, “or you may contact me through Hopper if it is easier.”

“Okay,” Steve agreed, standing up and shaking the other man’s hand.

“And thank you for your relaxing presence, Miss Buckley,” Owens added and held his hand out to Robin too.

She bounced out of her chair looking surprised but gave a handshake as well.

“No problem,” she said.

“Now, let’s get you back home so you can continue your recuperation,” Owens said with a smile.

Steve kind of wished that part was going to be true, even though he would never abandon El. The idea of using his powers right in a government stronghold was a scary prospect.

End of Chapter 10

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