gregre369

[gregre369]

Checkmate

When Queen Consort Stephen married King Edward of Hawkins, he forswore to never take up a weapon of war ever again. To put his life in the hands of the king and his kingdom.

So he devoted all his time to humanitarian projects. Hospitals for the sick and the disabled, schools for the children, and a flourishing economy.

Once a week, Queen Stephen could be seen working with his new subjects side by side, playing with their children and cooing at their babies.

The kingdom of Hawkins grew to heights that the neighboring kingdom of Upside Down grew jealous of.

Then the invasion began and far too quickly the castle was overrun.

Those left in the castle were forced to bow to King Vecna as he gloated over his easy victory.

He had the guards throw a beaten and bloodied King Edward to force him to bow at his feet.

King Edward looked him in the eyes, defiant to the end. "Does the Queen yet live?"

"Yes," Vecna sneered. "The coward escaped with the women and children."

Hopper, the king's loyal head guard whispered out of the side of his mouth, "He took them through the passage you were to take."

"It's no matter where they have gone," Vecna sneered. "I will find them and bring them back here."

Then King Edward began to laugh. Just threw back his head and began to laugh uproariously.

"Your situation is dire, King Edward," Vecna mocked. "And yet you laugh. You have gone mad in your defeat."

King Edward shook his head as he fought the tears that streamed down his face. "You underestimate Queen Stephen at your peril."

Vecna opened his mouth to mock him further when the first explosion rang out.

King Edward looked to Hopper, who grinned back at him. He turned back to Vecna. "Surrender now and he might let you live."

"Fool!" Vecna snarled. "I hold all the cards here!"

The another explosion ripped through the stale air of the throne room. And another.

The fourth explosion knocked Vecna to the floor. He crawled to the throne and was trying to pull himself upright when the double doors to the throne room burst open.

In stormed Queen Stephen, flanked by two of his ladies in waiting Lady Robin and Countess Annika know to the court as Nancy. Lady Robin held a leaking bag of flour and Countess Nancy held a short sword in one hand and a dagger in the other.

In Queen Stephen's hand was an unlit Molotov cocktail. A third lady was behind them with a lit torch.

"So you have come to join us at last," Vecna sneered. But it was weak as he had yet to stand after the last quake.

"Unhand my husband and you may let live," Queen Stephen hissed, "harm one hair on his head and I will tear this place down like an ancient bygone."

Vecna struggled to his feet and stared him down. "And what weapons? Will you break your oath, making the treaty between your kingdom of Loch Nora and Hawkins moot?"

Queen Stephen smiled and shook his head. "No. I do not need weapons of war to bring this place to rubble around your ears."

"You lie," Vecna scoffed. "Like the whore you are."

Stephen indicated to Lady Robin. "What she is carrying is the means to your destruction. For you see, flour burns. All I have to do is signal Duchess Caroline and she will light Lady Robin's trail."

Venca snorted. "It will smoke and do naught else."

"It will burn all the way to the kitchen where we have the flour in kegs," Queen Stephen said brightly. "Do you know what happens to flour under pressure when heated?"

"It makes a mess?" Vecna mocked.

Hopper and King Edward chuckled darkly.

"Oh it does that," Hopper agreed quite seriously. "Just probably not the kind you're thinking of."

"Hello, my darling flower," King Edward said with a smile. "I was waiting for you."

"Are you well?" Queen Stephen asked, chewing on his lip.

"Better now that I've have heard your dulcet tones."

Vecna dashed forward and grabbed the king by the scruff his neck. He hauled him over to the window. "This is the outcome of your faith!"

Below him the town square was filled with enemy combatants.

But behind him the queen was unfazed. "Yes, King Venca, watch!"

Then one by one flaming arrows hit the kegs behind the soldiers and at first nothing happened.

"Ha!" Vecna cried, but his victory was cut short by the kegs shooting forth columns of flame into the air and the fire spread. The cheers of the conquering army turned quickly into screams of pain and terror.

Vecna whirled back to face Queen Stephen. "Where did you get black powder?!" he screamed in outrage.

"Not black powder," the queen assured him. "That would be breaking my oath. It's common milled flour. And burns like the fires of Hell."

King Edward lurched in Vecna's grasp, first toward him and then away.

Suddenly the foreign king was staring down the blade of his own sword.

"Long live the king!" King Edward snarled and kicked Vecna through the window to the fires below.

Both the king and queen rushed to the window, but in the haze of smoke and fires, they could not see were lay.

"Dramatic much, dearest?" Queen Stephen chuckled.

"To match thee only, my darling flower," King Edward said grinning back at him.

"Fair enough."

Then they kissed to the roaring crowd of the people of Hawkins.

~ Fin

This came from here. With help from @bookworm0690 on some of the details on my discord server.

ETA: Tag List:

1- @itsall-taken @estrellami-1 @zerokrox-blog @sadisticaltarts @dolphincliffs

2- @gregre369 ​@a-little-unsteddie @irregular-child @cryptid-system @kultiras

3- @maya-custodios-dionach @goodolefashionedloverboi @val-from-lawrence @carlyv @wonderland-girl143-blog

4- @bookbinderbitch @bookworm0690 @forgottenkanji @dreamercec @blondie1006

5- @yikes-a-bee @awkwardgravity1 @genderless-spoon @fearieshadow @thesecondfate

6- @dragonmama76 @ellietheasexylibrarian @thedragonsaunt @useless-nb-bisexual @disrespectedgoatman

7- @counting-dollars-counting-stars @tinyplanet95 @ravenfrog @swimmingbirdrunningrock @lingeringmirth

8- @gutterflower77 @a-lovely-craziness @just-a-tiny-void @w1ll0wtr33 @beelze-the-bubkiss

[gregre369]

The defeated and bloodied king was chained to kneel in front of his enemy and he says weakly: "Is my wife still alive?" His enemy nodded. "You fools," he said smirking, and the king starts laughing as the sounds of explosions getting closer shake the room.

[gregre369]

You're a Dream to Me Part 3

Whoohoo! And we're back with this lovely story! This will be its forever home until it's completed. So every Sunday you will a new chapter of this wonderfully fun soulmate fic!

In this one we have Chrissy making it up to the band and Steve getting his first hint of who his soulmate is (denial is a river in Egypt Steve!)

Part 1 Part 2

~

Steve was on top of an old van, a blanket laid out under them, watching the sun set. He was sitting with his back pressed to his soulmate’s chest as he ran his fingers through the riot of curls. The man’s hair was soft and silky, like he knew how to take care of it.

“You can’t resist my hair, can you, baby?” his soulmate rumbled. His arms wrapped tighter around Steve’s waist.

Steve sighed happily. “I can’t resist you.”

His soulmate nuzzled his neck and then his hands started to wander. Steve’s body arched into the touch. He looked down at the hands and saw rings on almost every finger. All except the ring finger on the left hand. Steve laced their fingers together and then pulled the man down for a kiss. It was searing and sensual, leaving Steve feeling warm all over.

His soulmate’s hands began to drift toward his belt and lower–

BEEEEP! BEEEP! BEEP!

Steve jolted awake, sitting straight up in his bed, disorientated. He panted for breath. He looked around to see that he was in his bedroom and it was still dark outside. He picked up his phone, silencing the alarm.

“Fuck!”

Steve ran his hands over his face. He had forgotten to turn off his alarm. He wasn’t meant to be into the bookstore until the afternoon. He flopped his head back onto the pillows, staring up at the ceiling.

That soulmate dream had started toward the steamy. While he had heard of them happening to other people, he had always assumed that they were when they were about to meet, not the second clear dream ever.

But like all the other dreams he had of his soulmate it was very tender and intimate. He knew that once he met his soulmate that they would be perfect for each other. He knew that sounded bit like hyperbole, but he could feel it with every new dream he had about his soulmate.

He curled up into a ball and tried to drift back to sleep, all the while in the back of his mind it fused the memory of the rings on his soulmate’s long fingers.

~

Fuck!

Eddie hated having to wake up early on performance days because it meant that he would be running on empty from the get go. But there was some major sporting event in town where everyone had come from far away to watch this game. And even though Chrissy had gotten them hotel rooms before the game was announced in the city, they had been bumped to make room.

Chrissy had spent hours screaming at the poor guy who did reservations to no avail. There were no rooms in the whole fucking town to be had. So they had to get a hotel in a city about an hour away and then wake up early to drive into the city so that they could get everything set up.

He rubbed his eyes and then pressed the heels of his palms into them. That dream last night was so fucking domestic that it made his teeth ache. The way Steve murmured that he couldn’t resist all of Eddie? God that was like fucking catnip to him. The casual affection was addictive as hell.

He crawled out of bed and started making the coffee as he padded into the bathroom for a shower. He hoped the combination of the two would make him less of a zombie and more of person by the time he got down to the lobby to meet with Chrissy and the rest of the band.

He scrubbed his hair and had to stop for a moment to catch his breath. The feeling of Steve’s hand in his hair had decided to make an indelible mark on his psyche today. The way that it feel was tender and possessing all at once. Like Steve had laid claim to him to care for him.

Eddie pressed his hand to his chest were the tattoo of the black, thorny crown was etched into his skin. He had gotten after their first song had gone platinum. ‘King of My Heart’ was a song off their third album. They had had songs go gold and whole albums go platinum, but that was the first time a song theirs had done so.

The guys knew it was about Steve, but everyone else thought it had been about Eddie’s then boyfriend, Ferdie Olivier. Ferdie’s parents were big Shakespeare fans and that’s how he got the name Ferdinand. Dude was hot, but wasn’t meant for the life under the bright lights. He loved being a small character actor, not the boyfriend of megastar Eddie Munson.

He wasn’t sure how long he stood there taking in the memories of his dreams, but not long enough that the water went cold before he got out. The coffee was still hot and he put it in a little to-go cup, adding enough cream and sugar to kill a horse. He finished getting dressed and then grabbed his stuff and coffee on the way out the door.

He was the first down in the lobby and sat down in a nearby chair as he eyed a croissant hungrily. Jeff came down and swiped two croissants, tossing him one.

“Jesus fuck,” Jeff huffed as he sat down next to him, “just fucking eat if you’re hungry. You don’t need to go looking like fucking Oliver Twist, dude.”

Eddie blushed as he bit down on his buttery croissant. “Thanks.”

After he munched on the pastry he stood up and got a couple of bagels and some cream cheese spread. By the time Chrissy arrived, the band had eaten and were fully caffeinated.

She raised an eyebrow, but wisely said nothing. Their PA took their luggage and packed up the car they had rent for the day. Once they were on the road Chrissy spoke up.

“I’ve got a treat for the whole band really,” she said, “though it started as a way to make up for being a bitch the other morning.”

“Wha’cha got?” Gareth asked, leaning forward and propping himself up with his elbow to the seat.

“You know how we have three days between Indy and Bloomington?” she asked with a huge grin on her face.

Brian rolled his eyes and huffed. “Don’t we know it. We were going to spend it with our families, maybe get the cops to chase us for old time’s sake.”

“Well...” Chrissy said, “what would be another thing you’d like to do for old time’s sake?”

Eddie blinked for a moment. “There is no fucking way. They’d never agree to it, they’re like a country western bar now or some shit.”

Chrissy turned around and smirked. “Not anymore. It’s not even a dive bar anymore. It’s a full on metal and leather bar now.”

They all stared at her in shock and suddenly they were all talking at once over top of each other as they expressed their excitement and in Gareth’s case incredulity. Eddie put his fingers to his lips and let out a loud, piercing whistle.

Everyone went stock still.

“Thank you,” Eddie murmured. “So you are telling us that not only is The Hideout a metal and leather bar, but that you got us a gig there during our three day layover in Hawkins?”

“Yup!” Chrissy said brightly. “So I couldn’t decide which say you guys would have wanted; day one, two, or three. So I figured, I’d let you decide and then call them with the exact day.”

All at once everyone was talking over each other again, this time Eddie joining with them, while Chrissy settled in her seat with delighted giggle.

In the end they chose the last day. That way they had plenty of time to spend with their families, and a chance to bow out of town on one hell of a high.

Chrissy called The Hideout and made sure they had the date set. She might have fucked up but she was pretty sure this more than made up for it.

~

Steve went through the day in a haze. He had spent some time in the health section of the bookstore looking at the books on soulmate dreams. Especially the ones on sex and found out that the sooner those types of dreams started between soulmates the tighter the bond was between the two.

So the fact that they had almost had sex or at least almost made out like horny teenagers in the the second dream meant that they were destined for a bond that would last their entire lives. Soulmates came in all sorts of flavors from good friends to a love that would last the ages. And according to the seven books he looked at, that’s what he was headed for.

On the one hand, it was heartwarming to know that having waited a long time he was about to meet the other half of his soul, the person that would complete him in ways he couldn’t even imagine. But on the other hand, that pressure was immense. How was he supposed to live up that kind of fairy tale romance?

He was absently drawing one of the rings that he saw on his soulmate’s hands when Dustin came in with his mom to look for a new knitting book she had heard of that had patterns from ancient times.

When Dustin came up to the cash register, he spotted the drawing.

“Hey, I didn’t know you drew,��� he said cocking his head to the side. “Wha’cha drawing?”

Steve sighed but handed the drawing over to him. “My soulmate likes lots of chunky rings, I guess.”

Claudia leaned over Dustin’s shoulder to look at the picture. “Oh my heavens! Is that a pig?!”

“Yeah,” he replied with a shrug. “The one of the others was a skull ring and the last one was like a coffin or something because it had a cross and skulls on it.”

Dustin frowned at the description of the rings.

“What’s up, Dusty?” he asked.

Dustin pulled out his phone and began searching. When Steve opened his mouth to ask again, Dustin held up his finger.

“Dusty,” Claudia admonished, “don’t be rude and answer Steve.”

“Ah ha!” he cried. “I thought that sounded familiar!” He turned the phone over for Steve to see.

Steve took it from him to look at the picture more closely. It showed the close up of a man playing guitar and all three of the rings looked about right and even on the same fingers.

“Yeah,” Steve said with a nod. “That’s what they looked like.”

“Those are Eddie Munson’s rings,” Dustin cried. “Like could he be your soulmate?”

Steve frowned for a moment as he tried to place the name. “He’s that guy from Hawkins who made it big with that rock band right?”

“Metal band,” Dustin said rolling his eyes. “But yes. Corroded Coffin. You know, the music you said plays in your soulmate dreams.”

“Yes, okay,” Steve side biting his lip. “But I’m not really Eddie’s type. Or at least I wouldn’t have been in high school. He prefers the dudes that look like him.”

“It’s more likely,” Claudia said gently trying to not get Dustin’s hopes up, “that the rings in Steve’s dreams aren’t exactly the same ones that Eddie Munson wears.”

Dustin looked at the phone in Steve’s hand. “Maybe your soulmate is an uber fan or something if he got replicas of Eddie’s rings.” He looked up at Steve.

Steve handed the phone back to Dustin. “That’s probably it. Plus, Eddie’s a metal star now and what would he want with a mousy bookstore owner, anyway?”

“Well,” Dustin said with a grimace, “when you do meet your soulmate, ask him where he got his rings because they look so spot on for Eddie’s and I’d like to buy some too.”

Steve huffed out a small breathy laugh. “Sure thing, bud. I’ll be sure and ask.”

Dustin grinned and finally allowed Steve to ring them up.

Steve mouthed the name ‘Eddie Munson’ and then shook his head.

Nah. It couldn’t be.

Could it?

~

Tag List: FOUR SLOTS REMAINING

1- @itsall-taken @estrellami-1 @zerokrox-blog @sadisticaltarts @dolphincliffs

2- @gregre369 ​@a-little-unsteddie @irregular-child @cryptid-system @kultiras

3- @maya-custodios-dionach @goodolefashionedloverboi @val-from-lawrence @carlyv @wonderland-girl143-blog

4- @bookbinderbitch @bookworm0690 @forgottenkanji @dreamercec @blondie1006

5- @yikes-a-bee @awkwardgravity1 @genderless-spoon @fearieshadow @thesecondfate

6- @dragonmama76 @ellietheasexylibrarian @thedragonsaunt @useless-nb-bisexual @disrespectedgoatman

7- @counting-dollars-counting-stars @tinyplanet95 @ravenfrog @swimmingbirdrunningrock @lingeringmirth

8- @gutterflower77 @a-lovely-craziness @just-a-tiny-void @w1ll0wtr33 @beelze-the-bubkiss

9- @themoonagainstmers @eyehartart @tartarusknight @chaotic-waffle @dotdot-wierdlife

10- @stedestielfrattficlover

[gregre369]

love and other catastrophes at the omega cafe (6.1/8) 🐈‍⬛

Another loooong chapter, part 2 is up!2 should be up later💚  A little bit of angst this week, but nothing too bad, I promise (part 2 is mainly smut!)  

Summary: Steve is a runaway Omega who gets a job at an Omega café, where he’s basically paid to curl up and purr in Alphas’ laps. It’s legal, and he earns a living, rents his own place. He’s getting along fine for a packless Omega. Then Alpha rockstar Eddie Munson turns up for an hour of ‘kitty’ petting, and shatters Steve’s fragile little world…

Rating: E; CW: past angst; Tags: omega steve, alpha eddie, a/b/o dynamics, fluff and angst, sexual content 💚 

Chapter 1 on tumblr (also index post) Chapter 2 on tumblr Chapter 3.1 Chapter 3.2 Chapter 4.1 Chapter 4.2 Chapter 5.1 Chapter 5.2

🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛

Chapter 6.1

Eddie held Steve in his arms and swept his tongue to the depths of Steve’s mouth. The veranda, the city, and the starry sky all crumbled to dust. Eddie didn’t even strain to support Steve’s weight.

He wasn’t floating anymore. They were flying.

He worshipped every strand of Steve’s flavor. Peaches and vanilla or what-the-heck-ever did this Omega no justice. His mouth was sweeter and softer than the lightest cupcake ever baked, tinged with something juicy and salty and verging on badass. 

Something uniquely… Steve.

The way he glided his tongue tentatively against Eddie’s was super-sweet also. Soon their flavors mingled, giving that salty cupcake delicacy a sharp metallic edge. Steve twisted his fist in Eddie’s hair, mashing them even closer. His soft purrs trilled in Eddie’s throat.

Eddie was more than turned-the-fuck-on now. His chest was no-holds-barred glowing.

Ooookay, and here we go with the once-dreaded l-word, and already I wanna write dumb lyrics about it. Yeah, you and me we’re gonna ride on a star, if you’ll stay with me, Steve… We can Ruuuuule the Woooo-orld!

Yup, those stars that’d vanished from the heavens wheeled in front of his eyes. Though that possibly meant… Whoops! Need to breathe! 

Not a great move to suffocate his Omega with their first kiss either. He pulled away, finding Steve looking gloriously dazed.

“That… was… amazing, Eddie.” One of Steve’s arms slipped from around Eddie’s neck and dangled. “You’re one hell of a kisser.”

“Not so shabby yourself.”

Eddie had no sooner placed Steve on his feet, when he grabbed him again to smack another kiss on those shiny, kiss-swollen lips. He pulled back, cupping the Omega’s face in his hands. 

The smile that played on Steve’s lips was… odd, fragile.

“You okay, Baby?” When Steve didn’t answer immediately, Eddie’s heart squeezed, then careered straight back to pouring out its truth. “I’m gonna give you that home. I’m gonna build you a castle! With the cosiest nest you can imagine. I’m gonna treat you so good and the whole world's gonna know you’re mine, and… Hey, what’s up?” 

The Omega’s scent soured, and he looked like he verged on tearing up.

“Baby, what is it?”

“I’m sorry, Eddie. I came back to tell you something about my past. I guess I kinda got distracted, your scent sends me wild. You send me wild, and now… Ugh, I can’t think straight!” He buried his fingers in his hair and crinkled his nose. “You might regret everything you just said. You might never want to see me again.”

Eddie’s hands slid to brace the Omega’s shoulders. “That’s not gonna happen. I’m not some old-fashioned douchebag who gives a damn—"

“Eddie, I’m married.”

“Huh?” 

The revelation pinballed around Eddie’s brain, refusing to settle. 

Married. Married?!?

Sure, fury sparked. Not with Steve. Never with Steve.

Particularly while Steve’s watery eyes stretched so wide and terrified Eddie saw the whites.

“Eddie, say something.” Steve backed away. “Should I go?”

“Don’t you dare!” Eddie lurched for the Omega, needing him back in his arms right this instant. “Steve, don’t you get it? You’re mine, I’m yours, and I don’t give a… shiiiiiiit!” 

As Eddie grabbed him, Steve swayed slightly, and momentum did the rest. They tumbled into the deep end of the pool, with Eddie flailing and splashing then sinking like a stone.

His head was already swimming before he fell. 

Married. Steve was married.

It didn’t make the teeniest dent in how Eddie felt. Steve had already said he was a runaway. It obviously hadn’t been a happy marriage, and this only heightened his resolve to take care of Steve. To keep him safe and… 

Uuuuuuurgh!

Eddie’s flapping arms were not propelling him upward. He inhaled a gallon of water. Panic boomed in his tightening lungs and then…

Steve’s arm hooked firmly around Eddie’s chest. He dragged Eddie to the surface, through the fizzing bubbles of their breath. “Put your feet down, dipshit!”

Eddie did so, simultaneously spluttering out a ton of water—half of it at Steve.

“Eddie?” Steve’s flat wet hair made his eyes seem huge. “You okay?”

Eddie snatched a deep breath, coughed it out, then nodded.

Steve shrank away again. “I’m so sorry, Eddie, there’s so much more I need to tell you. I hope you’ll understand, but I get if—"

“My one-true-darling.” Eddie grabbed him and gently shook him: “I’ll tell you a billion times. Heck, I’ll write a song about it—I don’t give a damn about your past! C’mon, let’s get out of these wet threads.”

They squelched into the apartment and into the chaos of Eddie’s bedroom. Steve remained edgy and quiet, and Eddie was getting jitters too, and not just from the wet and cold. 

Maybe there would be major obstacles before they could bond? Maybe Steve wasn’t quite as dead set on them as Eddie was?

He bit back his questions, though. This time, he wouldn’t steamroller Steve before he was ready to speak. 

He located Steve the softest, fluffiest towel he owned. Also, clothes including a baby-pink sweater with smiley skulls on it—Granny Munson, who knitted it, was an Alpha with a GSOH. Plus, while it wasn’t quite their color scheme, Eddie was keen to see Steve in it. They changed separately. When Steve emerged from the washroom having changed, he sat down on the edge of the bed, shoulders hunched.

“I was betrothed at sixteen to an Alpha three times my age.” He fixed on his hands twisting in his lap. “It was a business transaction for my parents, nothing more. I stayed with them till my nineteenth birthday. That morning, he came for me, and we were legally wed. The same evening, before it was consummated… I ran away. Since then, I’ve been on my own, trying to make a new life for myself.”

“Baby, I’m so sorry.” Eddie sat down besides and curled an arm around him, devastatingly grateful when Steve leaned into him.  “Listen, I got lawyers. Rogue wolves, the bunch of them, and cold-blooded killers at what they do, and… this son-of-bitch didn’t mate you. He didn’t bond you. He didn’t even bite you. It was really only a few dumb words?”

Steve’s gaze darted sideways and dipped. “Pretty much.”

“Look, I’ll get it sorted. It’s gonna be fine. You forget about it, Sweetness.” He squeezed Steve a little tighter, and they simply sat together, more quietly than Eddie knew he could sit. Steve sank his head onto Eddie’s shoulder and closed his eyes, and Eddie was more than happy to support him as long as needed.

Unfortunately, having Steve in his room and wearing his clothes was sending several pints of blood due south. He clenched his teeth. Pesky horndog Alpha instincts. It was obvious now that Steve had NOT come back for sexy times and no way did Eddie actually want to jump the Omega right now. Not with that darling scent so dampened and subdued.

Eventually, Steve yawned. “You wanna go home, Baby? Should I call you a ride?”

“No… no. Please, not yet.” Steve rubbed beneath his ribs, sighed, then peeped up. “Could do with some fresh air though.”

“Cool with me. If you’re up for it, there’s something I wanted to show you.”

Eddie led Steve to the half-coconut-shell swing by the pool and pushed him in with a gentle tip. Steve giggled and sunk snugly into the fuzzy cushions. Eddie flung himself down beside him, setting the shell swinging madly.

“Jesus, you’re gonna make me seasick,” bitched Steve.

“Sorry, Babe. Kitties not so keen on water after all?”

“Still not actually a kitty!” He beamed all over his face as he said it. “I mean, you’re the weirdo who’s planted me in a dangling kitty basket!”

“You got me,” admitted Eddie, then, tentative, he added, “It’s the one thing in this crappy apartment I’d actually like for you. We can get one for beside your pool.”

Steve froze… then flinched as if in physical pain. Before Eddie could worry too hard, Steve’s scent spiked up Eddie’s nose, super-sweet for the first time since the marriage bombshell: “Okay, I surrender,” giggled Steve. “A swinging cat basket would rock my world.”

They chatted for a while, mainly about growing up. Steve curled up into a ball with his head in Eddie’s lap, a comfy ‘normal’ that felt like Eddie had enjoyed it for years.

“Honestly, I was a spoiled brat,” admitted Steve. “I was into sports, hung out with the mean crowd, though after I presented, they all jockeyed to get in my panties.” He hissed between his teeth. “My betrothal was a huge slap in the face. I guess it humbled me. Knowing what I was really worth.”

“You’re worth more than all the stars in the sky,” said Eddie, his blood simmering.

Steve seemed all talked out, so Eddie smoothed his hair tenderly, while he shared his own High School story.

“I was the worst kind of drop-out. The principal told me I was the ‘most likely’ to wind up in jail, like my old man. I bet he spat teeth watching me make my first million, and…”

Steve squeaked, and his breath grew snatched and shaky. For about the fifth time in as many minutes, Eddie asked if he was okay. When Steve flapped his hand—and more vanilla-peach scent overpowered the still night air—Eddie pressed on:

“I’ve always had this cuckoo hankering to go back, finish my senior year. Just so I can flip the bird in that asshat’s face as I graduate.”

“I wanna be there cheering when you do,” said Steve, and then… no mistaking it now. Steve cried out desolately, and when Eddie leaned over him, pain was etched all over his face.

“Okay, Baby. You can’t fool me. You’re not okay. What’s wrong?” No answer, just another moan. He caressed the Omega’s clammy brow, and dammit, these next words were gonna sting. Eddie wasn’t proud, but he had a killer erection. While he could resist fucking Steve for good reason, no part of him wanted his Omega to leave. “Do you want me to call Robin?”

Steve’s voice was small, almost lost in the vastness of the night. “Can’t I stay here?”

YEAH, YOU CAN STAY! I LITERALLY NEVER WANT YOU OUT OF MY SIGHT FOR THE REST OF ETERNITY!

Instead, he said, “If you’re sure, Honey? There’s two spare bedrooms to choose from. Neither of them particularly snug, but—”

“Seriously?” The Omega stopped whimpering to glare up at Eddie through the blur of his lashes. “You kiss me and tell me my whole marriage-shitshow is gonna go away. You take me to your room, dress me in your clothes. You pet me mercilessly… and the last half hour, I got heat cramps kicking off like you have no idea! Even though I only got through my stupid heat a week ago! I swear I didn’t plan… Oooooow!” His face crumpled, and he curled his knees to his tummy. “Jesus, Eddie! You gotta help me!”

OMFG, AM I DREAMING? HE WANTS ME TO MATE HIM! OR AT LEAST, HELP HIM THROUGH HIS HEAT.

TONIGHT.

🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛

Chapter 6.2

(okay promise won't leave them squirming too long... I'm working on it!)

Thank you so very much for reading. If you enjoyed, every little like and reblog or comment means a lot to me so thank you💚

I am always happy to tag, pls let me know, or you can follow the tag #steddie omega cat cafe 💚

tags 💚🐈‍⬛💚 @disrespectedgoatman 💚 @bumblebeecuttlefishes

@katethetank 💚 @themoonagainstmers 💚 @chaotic-waffle 💚

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On AO3

[gregre369]

the boxers

[gregre369]

your 'jerking it to the smell of isopropyl alcohol' post has me remembering how i used to be so ashamed of having any sexual desires that i only allowed myself to jack off to the mental image of an arial drone shot of a pine forest

transcendentalism

[gregre369]

Eddie could pretend that he only says it because fear and adrenaline—a lethal combination—have destroyed his brain to mouth filter. Which, sure, there’s something in that; all things considered, he’d say that’s a reasonable reaction to the whole cursed Hawkins experience.

But he knows it’s not just that. And he knows that if he really dug deep, he’d find exhilaration lurking underneath all the fear, and maybe that’s weird, but he can’t help it—can’t help thinking, as the RV speeds out of Forest Hills, God, if we’re all actually having fun now, imagine what we’d be like with a normal Spring Break.

He grabs a moment alone with Steve, sat in the field, and the conversation turns to confessions, stupid minor things like what they sing in the shower, but they’re on a tightrope nevertheless, one wrong move pitching them into morbid territory, and Eddie has a vested interest in avoiding that, if only so Steve doesn’t look so goddamn worried—

And so, studiously casual, Eddie admits that in the halcyon summer of ‘85, he started a club. At Steve’s confused look, he adds that he was the only member, because the club existed only in his head.

“Okay…” Steve says slowly. “What was the club?”

No matter what happens next, Eddie tells himself, at least it’s gotten Steve’s mind off recounting flambé supplies.

He takes a deep breath and says that the club of one was the Homosexuals Doomed by Steve Harrington’s Legs Society.

And Steve… laughs. Lies back in the grass, full-bodied, genuine, and Eddie’s heard cruel laughter, and he knows deep in his heart that this is not it.

He laughs too, relief soon giving way to joy. “You dick,” he says, beaming, “stop laughing! I just bared my soul, Harrington.”

Steve tries to speak several times, overcome with giggling. Eventually he gets out, “I hated that goddamn uniform,” which makes them both laugh harder, and then Steve’s sitting up, and he grabs onto Eddie’s wrist, and Eddie suddenly feels the heat of summer in the touch, and maybe finally dares to hope.

“But, Eddie,” Steve says—teasing and sincere all at once, Eddie can hear it—“you just made the shorts worthwhile.”

[gregre369]

*eddie and steve fighting*

robin: enough! this is bad for the baby!

*eddie and steve both freeze and turn to her*

steve: …what baby?

robin: dustin!

*dustin is covering his ears and mumbling ab how they’re the stupidest people to ever exist*

[gregre369]

Pre-Steddie +stobin

Robin was just trying to have a normal ass conversation, but Steve’s eyes kept flicking behind her. Robin sighs, a “what are you looking at” halfway out of her mouth before she turns around to see what he is looking at.

Behind her is EDDIE MUNSON’s ASS.

He’s leaned over and looking at a low shelf. His legs spread putting him in a yoga-esque pose.

She turns back to Steve, mildly horrified.

“If you want to be the straight man you say you are, stop checking out Eddie��s ass!” Robin whisper yells at him.

“It’s in my face!” Steve justifies.

“He’s six feet away from you!”

“It’s like a car crash, I can’t look away!” Steve responds, still looking over her shoulder.

“I believe that you know your identity and I trust you, but this is pretty fucking gay.”

“I’m not!”

“Then stop acting like you wanna unclog Eddie’s pipes!” Robin complains.

Steve froze, face rapidly reddening.

“Stop thinking about it! Have your weird sex fantasies elsewhere!” Robin squeaked.

“Weird sex fantasies?” Eddie’s distinct voice questions over her shoulder. Robin immediately tenses in response.

Both Steve and Robin stare at each other, encouraging the other to respond.

“Well since nobody wants to respond I’m going to start guessing…hmm is it Martha over there. Steve I think she’s too old for you, she’s like 90.”

Steve flushes even more somehow.

Robin proclaims “I’m taking my break” and storms back to the employee room.

In IRL I offered to get the guy a rubber band to snap at his wrist whenever he does this gay ass shit.

[gregre369]

The S1-S2 party: “Steve has always taken all this stuff so well.”

The kids (mostly Dustin): “He’s practically invincible.”

Nancy probably: “He’s too dumb to be affected by Trauma.” (The rest of the party hates that but Dustin’s the only one who argues)

Robin not even a week after star court: “Steve is traumatized and hurt, he just tries to hide it, and he’s not even that good at it you guys just don’t care enough to notice (Dustin is offended; he does care he’s just a kid and Steve is actually pretty good at hiding it.)

Eddie a week out of the hospital: “Steve, you're not very good at advocating for yourself." (Steve didn’t get his injuries attended to because he thought he could handle it and ‘the others needed him’)

Steve: “I'm supposed to be advocating for myself??"

The entire party (minus Dustin) after Robin and Eddie scream at them for over an hour about Steve’s condition (they’re a little nicer to the kids it’s not really their fault): “Oh shit, we fucked up.”

Steve after people start being nice to him all of a sudden: “There’s an imbalance in the universe, am I being Vecna’d? Did he not really die? Shit. What is happening?”

Eddie and Robin: *crying*

[gregre369]

Steve and Eddie lounging in bed, Steve shirtless and Eddie playing Find the Constellations on Steve's back. Early on, he'd play this with a star book next to them, but has long ago memorized the night sky.

This afternoon Eddie's finger is tracing along, Steve nearly dozing, when Eddie lets out a "Huh! There's a new freckle. I can now fully make Sagittarius here. Cool." and he goes back to tracing, Steve drifting off.

Over coffee that weekend, Steve mentions Eddie's "New Star" to Robin as a funny little Eddie Story. She does not find it funny and bully's him into using his newly gotten work provided health insurance to call a dermatologist. Now, he's had freckles come and go throughout his life, so he's not too worried, but will go to sooth Robin's little worried face.

So, he goes, they check every single one on his entire body which takes forever, and then he goes home worried...about Eddie.

Because there were a few freckles/moles/stars that the doctor found concerning and was able to remove that day...and a few more they might need to remove later.

And he's not sure how Eddie's gonna take it.

Eddie's obsessed with his freckles; he has favorites that he kisses every time they're uncovered, he has constellations he subconsciously traces when they watch tv. So, Steve's just worried Eddie will be disappointed.

But, of course, just like he's done repeatedly in their last 10 years together, Eddie surprises him.

After Steve told him about the appointment, Eddie went to the library to do some research on Steve's moles. He'd never thought about how his little stars could end up hurting Steve. He even popped into the dermatologist's office to grab some informational pamphlets. He now knows what to look out for; now knows how to better take care of Steve.

It's Steve who ends up crying when he shows Eddie what will be little pale dots.

He's just continuously amazed at how much Eddie loves him, unconditionally, with or without constellations.

[gregre369]

Steve and Eddie, who are both in a city for some music awards the next day, who both decide to go out for a couple of drinks the night before, who entirely thanks to destiny sit next to each other at the bar, who hit it off quickly and start talking and go on and on and on and on...

Steve knows that he recognizes Eddie from somewhere, but he is not entirely sure where from until a guy approaches them asking for a picture with him, that Steve takes very amused, and he realises he's the metal guy Dustin had asked him to take a picture with if he saw him at the awards.

Eddie, on the other hand, doesn't recognise Steve at all, even though he is objectively way more famous than him. It's just that Steve always wears a wig and sunglasses, a moustache that is sometimes fake. It's not like his identity is a secret, he does some interviews without the costume. It's what robin has called his 'drag persona' and not his hannah montana. Gives him some peace in the way that only dedicated fans recognise him when he's out.

The night is coming to an end and Eddie gets a brilliant idea to see Steve again. He asks him to be his date to the award show, like a full date, stand at his side at the red carpet and pose with him and everything, he thinks it will be fun and a very amused Steve agrees.

Eddie is very confused and surprised when the photographers ask to take pictures of his date alone at the red carpet, when some interviewers call out to him and he goes to them easily, but he is too caught up on his own interviews with his band to really pay attention to whatever shenanigans his very hot "anonymous" date has decided to pull.

Eddie is absolutely shocked when his hot "anonymous" date wins artist of the year and kisses him before going on the stage.

[gregre369]

redraw of an oldie image of mine

[gregre369]

It recently became department policy to purchase all our animal care supplies online and have them shipped, but my work location (public park) doesn't have a mailbox, so we've been getting things shipped directly to the post office. Today I went to pick up a shipment of several hundred superworms but the postal workers are insisting that it's not possible to have packages shipped directly to the post office. I gave them a tracking number which revealed they were delivered a couple days ago and now they're looking for them. Somewhere in the post office are 500 lost worms.

[gregre369]

Steve meets Wayne for the first time and starts off calling him sir and being a polite and then almost has a heart attack when Eddie starts swearing right in front of him. Wayne doesn’t even react he just keeps taking like everything is normal. Steve swears his heart stopped beating when Eddie gave his uncle the middle finger for teasing him about something.

And Steve knows his parents are a terrible example for how families interact with each other but he’s never once heard Will or Jonathan swear in front of Joyce and he was pretty convinced she was the best mom ever. And while Mike and Dustin have swords in front of their parents Dustin got scolded and Mike got grounded. Jane/El only got away with swearing in front of Hopper because she was raised in a lab and didn’t even know what swears were when she first said one. So something was off, right?

Steve quickly learned that not only did Wayne simply not care about swearing but he actually spent time with Eddie, and Steve while he was there. They played Janga together on the floor. And Wayne asked him to call him Wayne and not ‘sir’ or ‘Mr. Munson’ and Steve was going to die. Wayne even started talking to him about baseball (much to Eddie’s dismay) and Steve was just stunned.

The first day of meeting Wayne Munson and Steve already wanted to steal him. As time went on that never wavered he just wanted it more. He told Eddie a month later and Eddie just laughed at him. Steve was entirely serious though. If he could live in their trailer with the two of them for the rest of his life he would and he’d be the happiest person alive.

Little did Steve know Wayne had already decided Steve was his son in a law. He was going to plan them a surprise wedding in the woods and while it might not be legally recognized they would remember it for the rest of their lives and it would be cute. Steve and Eddie were not dating yet. Wayne just thought they were too scared to say something. Eddie never even officially came out to him Wayne just told him to be safe every time he went to Indy and thought the kid knew what he was talking about. Eddie thought he meant driving.

[gregre369]

Hey, you know how in one of the Stranger Things books/comics, Nancy is said to have dressed up as an elf for one of the D&D campaigns Mike had?

What if...now hear me out...

Steve, very politely, asks Nancy for them. He doesn't explain why. Just tells her that she's definitely going to get them back. (No she won't.) But he wants them to use in the bedroom.

He finds one of Eddie's journals strewn about in his room, nestled tight between the wall and his dresser, something obviously to never be found. But Steve finds it because he just sees it there. Gets a little too curious.

Inside, are tens and tens and tens of pages worth of some sort of little fiction piece. About Edward Munson, knight of the land, coming to rescue an Elven prince from the dungeon. It involves handcuffs and a blindfold...somewhere in there is about the elf getting freed...and then they have "soft dungeon sex" with very detailed images of this handsome Elven prince (a guy that looks strangely similar to Steve) having the most romantic, passionate, dare Steve say tender sex—Edward (who is obviously Eddie) is laid back on the floor, stripped down to his under garments, a big hand nestled in his curls, the other hand holding tight to his calloused palm. They're merely frotting, little lines around their hips designating the delicate rolls they do with said hips, but there's a certain way they hold to each other. As if they're reuniting after they thought they wouldn't see each other again.

It's so warming, so beautiful, Steve can only think, how can I do that?

And then he remembers the elf ears, the ones he found while Nancy picked an outfit for Robin. He knows exactly what he has to do.

He's going to roleplay/recreate the—what must be—Eddie's high school wet dream. Even if he has to learn a bit of Elvish to do so, Steve wants so badly something that tender.

They're not even dating.

[gregre369]

I think like right out of the gate like I’m super confident. But I’m also like an idiot. Which is just… I mean it’s a brutal combination.