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brbsoulnomming · 2 months ago

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Heart On Your Sleeve Part 8

written for steddiebigbang2024 and belatedly posting here!

-----

The kids leave the next day, after Steve's heart has mostly reformed itself. It's still a little beat up and mangled, but it's clearly a heart again, and it barely hurts anymore.

He doesn't know how he'll ever be able to thank them.

Eddie doesn't call.

—

His house stops being empty.

Robin's over almost constantly, their hearts in each other's chests more often than not. He can tell Robin's worried about him, and he likes feeling her emotions - it tells him when she's upset, or sad, and he can respond without her having to say anything.

The rest of the kids are over almost as constantly, as though his house has just become the de facto hang out.

He minds it a lot less than he pretends to.

Erica sulks at him, and he can't figure out why until Lucas makes a comment about their heart sharing and she rolls her eyes so hard he's afraid they're going to pop out.

Steve frowns at her, hanging back after the others have gone on into the kitchen.

“That's an extra level of snide, even for you,” he says.

She gives him a look. “You want it directed at you?”

He holds up his hands. “What'd I do?”

Her look only becomes more unimpressed. “You had my brother over for your little healing pow-wow? He wasn't even part of Scoops Troop.”

Oh.

That's.

Oh.

Never in a hundred years did he think Erica Sinclair would be throwing a fit because she didn't get to be a part of their group heart sharing, but here it is.

“You want to swap?” Steve asks.

Erica scoffs at him. “I don't need your pity heart exchange.”

“It's not pity,” he protests.

This time the look practically burns through him.

“Robin and I do it all the time,” he insists. “It's easier. It means we can understand the way the other one feels without having to figure out how to say it.”

Her eyebrows raise. “And you want to know how I feel?”

Steve holds out his hand in response.

She stares at him for a long moment, then sighs in a far too long suffering manner before she takes her heart out and gives it to him. He exchanges his for hers, and -

“Is it messed up again?” Dustin demands. “Why didn't you tell me?”

He honestly isn't sure if the surge of somewhat affectionate irritation he feels is his or Erica's, and he exchanges what he suspects is a near identical look with her.

Dustin narrows his eyes at them. “What's this look you're doing, I really don't like it on both of you.”

“That's because it's bad news for you,” Erica retorts.

“We're just swapping,” Steve says.

“It's what you do when someone is a little too hard headed and out of touch with their feelings to realize how insensitive they're being.”

That is absolutely not what Steve had been going for, but Erica says it with such superiority and Dustin is looking so contemplative at it that he just sighs and goes with it.

Erica shoots him a smug little look - she knows exactly what she's doing and how he feels about it.

“Mike!” Dustin shouts. “Come here, we're swapping, so you can know that I'm right!”

Steve groans, but there's no stopping it now.

Swaps are called to settle arguments, to prove that this movie really is scary guys come on, for a dozen other reasons until Steve honestly can't be sure who has whose heart at any given moment.

He'd worry about the effects of so much heart swapping, but - the kids seem happy. Sometimes he even catches them just sitting with each other and swapping, and after everything they've lost - who is he to say what's healthy and what isn't?

Steve can't complain.

Well. He can, and he does, but he also knows this is probably the happiest he's ever been in this house, so he doesn't complain too much.

—

Eddie still doesn't call.

He doesn't answer, either, when Steve calls him. Any of the times Steve calls him.

Steve drives out there, once, stupidly. He's pretty sure he can hear Eddie's music, but the trailer’s dark, and no one answers.

Steve takes the hint after that.

He doesn't let anyone but Robin swap with him for a while, as long as he can get away with. He doesn't really have a name for what he's feeling - he doesn't want to put a name to what he's feeling - and she doesn't make him.

—

The Hopper-Byers are moving.

None of the party take it well, but it seems to hit Max the hardest.

Or at least, he assumes it does, because she's suddenly not over for a week straight, and Steve knows avoidance when he sees it.

He finds her sitting at the skate park, all alone, but she doesn't protest when he sits down next to her.

“Swap?” Steve asks softly.

Max rolls her eyes. “I'm fine.”

He gives her the most unimpressed look he can muster.

She scoffs, then gives him one right back. “Okay, so, what, you want to feel angry and miserable too?”

Steve weighs his options for a moment, considering how to respond, then decides just to go for honesty. “Yeah,” he says simply. “I'm not here just for the good stuff, Mayfield, I'm here for all of it.”

She looks at him for a long moment, her expression hard. Then she wrenches her chest open.

He pops his open, too, taking his heart out and offering it to her. Steve expects her to take it and put her own in his hand, but instead she shoves her own heart into his chest before he can so much as blink, snatching his out of his hand. He blinks at her, but - yeah, okay, fine, that works.

She is angry, and miserable. She hated Billy, and she's still sad, and El is the only one who really gets her, and she knows that's not true, and everyone leaves, and he hasn't left, and she loves and she hates and she's so tired.

Steve can't really put any of it into words, but he doesn't have to.

He just has to be there.

—

School starts, and it gets quieter. He and Dustin still have their weekly movie nights, and he plays ball with Lucas, cooks dinner with Max, but Robin's the only one over as much as she used to be.

It's - actually fine, this time. He gets a job at Family Video, and he hangs out with Robin and spends time with the kids and goes on dates, and he's still happy.

Well, except the going on dates bit. Something's missing, something obvious, but he tells himself that's fine, too.

—

Dustin starts talking about Eddie, a few months into school.

Well, he talks about Hellfire, which Steve doesn't really put together at first, but he's happy Dustin's having fun with his club.

When he mentions Eddie, Steve probes a little, asks how he joined up. Dustin lights up, talking about how Eddie looked out for them starting from day one, even if he's definitely a little scary at times, and Steve -

“Swap?” Robin asks the second she gets to his house later, like she took one look at him and knew he needed it.

They both need it, actually.

She has feelings about Vickie, and he has feelings about Eddie, and they're both complicated and messy and neither of them know what to do about it.

“Ask her out,” Steve tells her.

“She doesn't even like girls!”

“How do you know?”

And that's - point, okay, Steve has nothing to counter that. Yet. He just has to start collecting proof.

Robin feels his intentions and gives a dramatic huff, but she doesn't try to stop him.

She won't admit it, but she's grateful.

“Do you regret asking Eddie out?” she asks.

He makes a face. “I mean, I didn't ask him out so much as take him out a bunch of times, realize like halfway through it that's what I was doing, and then he ran the second I made it obvious, so… I guess I regret not actually asking him.”

She considers that. “Do you think it would have changed anything?”

“I don't know,” he admits. “Maybe I could have made it so he didn't feel like he had to run, maybe we could have still been friends? I wish I'd known what I was doing and I'd done it different, but… I think I'd regret it more if I didn't try at all.”

She drops her shoulder against his. “Of course you would. You always go for what you want, it's like you have no fear.”

He has plenty of fear - she's felt it - but not about shooting his shot. She's right; he's a man of action, and he's not sure he knows how to be anything else.

“Ugh, let's stop talking about it. I'm glad he's still a good guy and is watching out for the little shits, end of story.”

It's not the end of the story, but for now, they both let it be.

—

Dustin calls him to beg him to play in Hellfire with him, and Steve groans audibly.

“Does Eddie know you're asking me?” he asks.

Dustin scoffs. “Of course not, but I have to show up with someone on Friday.”

Steve frowns. “On Friday? That's the championship game. Lucas is playing.”

Dustin groans, and Steve makes a little bit of a face at himself when he realizes the kid sounds almost exactly like him.

“Don't remind me,” Dustin grumbles. “He's the reason we have to find someone in the first place.”

“Lucas asked you to find someone to sub in for him?”

Steve doesn't even need Dustin's heart to be able to tell the silence that follows is guilty as hell.

“Dustin,” Steve says.

“Ugh, fine! Lucas asked us to come to the stupid game. He asked us to get Eddie to move Hellfire so he wouldn't miss the last session.”

“And did you?” Steve prompts.

“Of course!” Dustin says, indignant. “Eddie was pissed. Called Lucas a traitor, said now it was our responsibility to find someone to fill in for Lucas since he ditched us.”

That - isn’t what Steve was expecting at all.

“And instead of standing up for Lucas, you're doing what Eddie says?”

“He ditched us!” Dustin insists.

Steve pinches the bridge of his nose. “Go swap with Lucas.”

Dustin makes an almost incomprehensible noise of protest.

“Swap with Lucas, and tell him what Eddie said. If you guys come to an agreement and you still need a sub, I'll think about it.”

He'd rather watch Lucas play, and that's sure as hell what he's going to do if Dustin doesn't follow through, but if both Lucas and Dustin agree, then he'll sub in.

Not just to give Eddie a piece of his mind about this whole thing.

“You're no help!” Dustin retorts, hanging the phone up.

Robin leans against him. “Are we talking about it now?”

He considers that, then wordlessly takes his heart out and offers it to her. They swap, sitting in silence for a moment as they adjust to each other's feelings.

She's upset. He is, too, though not about exactly the same thing.

“I'm still not mad at him for how things went between him and me,” he says.

“I am,” she replies, sharp and firm. “He made your heart hurt, I still think I should get to kick his ass.”

It's not Eddie's fault, though, not as far as Steve's concerned. Steve was the one that fumbled around without knowing what he was doing, that came on too strong. He didn't get it then, but now that he knows Robin and Will and how difficult things are for them - he understands it better.

But one of the things that made Steve fall for Eddie in the first place was the way he watched out for people. It wasn't the same way Steve did it, but - they were both protective, both willing to take the hits so other people wouldn't have to. It's disappointing to see how he's pitting the kids against each other like this.

He wishes they were still friends, wishes he could call him and ask what was going on.

“If he hurts one of the kids’ hearts, then you can kick his ass,” he says finally, once he's worked through his feelings and felt Robin's support.

—

It comes back, because it always does.

It comes back, and Eddie comes back, and Steve wasn't expecting that.

—

There's tension in the boathouse even after everything's been explained, and Steve knows everyone can feel it.

Knows because it's only a few moments before Dustin's announcing, “Hearts out! We'll show you we mean it, right, guys?”

Steve sneaks a look over at Max. He still hasn't gotten a really good look at her heart since after the 4th, but maybe - no, she clearly hasn't shown anyone else here, because she's gone pale, and she looks a combination of pissed and afraid.

“Dustin,” Steve snaps, trying to keep the irritation out of his voice and failing a little. “Did you forget that some of us have hearts that aren't all that reassuring to see?”

Dustin's expression scrunches for a moment, and Steve feels most of his irritation fade away as he realizes that, yeah, Dustin did forget that.

“Oh,” Dustin says quietly. “It's okay, Steve, you don't-”

“No,” he cuts him off, still a little annoyed. “Look, we all know that I'm the one causing doubt here, right? I'll show my heart so Munson knows I mean it and we can get this over with.”

He doesn't want to, but he wants even less for this to put a spotlight on Max.

So he takes his heart out, gets back in close enough for Eddie to see it, says, “We're not lying, man, I promise.”

His heart beats true, true, true in his hands, but Eddie's eyes are going wide and wet as he stares at Steve's heart, and he isn't any less pale.

“Jesus fucking Christ,” he whispers. “What the hell happened?”

“Nothing you have to worry about,” he replies, putting his heart back in his chest as soon as he can. “It's not going to happen to you.”

It comes out a little more protective than he'd intended, and it makes Eddie's eyes dart up to his, trying to search for something in there. Steve can't tell what, and he doesn't have Eddie's heart in his chest to help him out.

Strange, how quickly he's come to rely on having that familiarity with those he cares about.

Less strange that Eddie is still someone he cares about.

“Do you want to see mine?” Eddie asks, soft enough that Steve's pretty sure he's the only one who can hear it.

Steve does, is the thing. He really does.

But not like this.

“Do you want me to?” he asks, just as soft.

Eddie looks away, silent enough that Steve knows what the answer is without him saying anything.

“People try to make me show it all the time,” Eddie says, a little bitter. “I'm not trustworthy, you know. I'm not honest. I'm just going to screw them over.”

Steve's quiet for a moment, unsure what to say. He doesn't know how to tell him that Steve's never seen him that way, that all those other people are stupid.

Finally, he settles on, “I still haven't asked.”

Eddie turns to look at him again, his eyes gone molten. “No,” he says softly. “You haven't.”

Steve gives a half shrug. “There you go then.”

This is already written, and my plan is to post one part a day until it's all up here!

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Part 9

Taglist (always happy to add more to this if anyone wants): @fairytalesreality @lostonceandneverfound @wheneverfeasible @awkwardgravity1 @theintrovertedintrovert @thewickedkat @ravenfrog @scarlet-malfoy @missmagillicuddy @xxfiction-is-my-realityxx @ollyxar @cringe-culture-is-dead-99 @thedragonsaunt @makewavesandwar @cryptid-system @ajeff855 @mae-liz @the-fantastical-asexual @jettestar @warlordess @persnicketysquares @samsoble @my-love-of-books @mydysfunctionallife @dreamercec @holyangelstudentuniverse @breealtair @shunna @xtraordinarally @thatdamnfan @justalittledrainbamage @strangerfolks @disrespectedgoatman @amber-ambience @anxietyfulloption @thepossummoldypasta @irregular-child @th30ra3k3n

#steddie #steve harrington #eddie munson #stranger things #steddie fic #robin buckley #dustin henderson #max mayfield #erica sinclair

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dovesdreaming · 6 months ago

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PLEASE I AM BEGGING YOU FOR ETHAN MORGAN X VAMP!READER FICS THERE ARE LITERALLY NO ETHAN FICS I HAVEN'T READ I WILL GIVE YOU MY LIFE AND SOUL 🙏🙏🙏 -🩻

Teeth marks

My first emoji anon hiii!! Thank you so much for your request!! I loved writing this and I’m sorry for the wait. This also isn’t as long as I wanted it to be so when I get time I will write more headcanons for this dynamic!! <3

not proofread sorry

Warnings: none

You had recently been turned into a vampire. While it had its perks it did mean that you were now immortal and it all felt a little daunting, especially when you had to keep everything a secret.

Everything had been going fine, you had been managing to hunt at night so no one saw you and it had been working. Key word being had. This was because tonight while you were hunting small animals you were found by the one and only Rory. You wouldn’t say you were friends, you had only spoken a few times in class to swap answers but now he had seen you sucking the blood from the neck of a squirrel. That was irreparable damage to any future friendship aspects. Or so you thought. You had thought many things, your thoughts racing as he might tell the whole town and you would have to flee but all he did was grin. He got super excited and started rambling about how cool this was. You missed the majority of what he was saying from the shock of his reaction and when you finally tuned back into what he was saying you heard “you’re a vampire too!”. You finally dropped the squirrel and stood up, slowly walking towards him. “You mean you’re a vampire aswell?” You asked Rory with a very confused look. “Of course, Erica and Sarah are too”. You couldn’t believe there were more, you had been suffering this whole time with so many people like you close by.

After your encounter Rory introduced you to the rest of the friend group and they immediately accepted you. Benny and Ethan being the only non vampires of the group were slightly cautious as they didn’t know your tolerance for the smell of blood yet. They quickly warmed up to you though when they saw you could handle yourself better than Rory and Erica.

You took a special liking to Ethan, you found it cute how he got slightly nervous around you. Stumbling over his words slightly. You loved to tease him to make it worse. You did however also befriend him and become close to him. He understood some of your worries about being a vampire (hearing the same worries from Sarah and the others) and he listened to al your other concerns. You were each others confidants. You grew closer until the point where your feelings for each other were undeniable to even yourselves. Ethan would take a while to admit his feelings so you probably ended up beating him to confessing them. Ethan doesn’t mind you being a vampire but he does worry for your safety even if you could handle yourself. He would hate to think of a future where you were still young and he was getting older, would probably consider turning into a vampire for you. Whether he went through with it though is another thing.

Headcanons:

-He completely trusts you around him and doesn’t feel threatened even if you have your teeth out around him. He also feels bad that you’re stuck with someone with such irresistible blood to a vampire.

-he only gets nervous around your teeth if you bring them out while play fighting or cuddling. He doesn’t feel threatened he’s just scared of the power they hold.

-would try his best to help you with any of your cravings, may even offer some of his blood but you would always refuse.

-would be so caring towards you and would always stick up for you in any situation. Especially if you were fighting the weekly problem and they went after you.

-would try and find a spell in bennys book or some cure for you as he knew it troubled you at times. Would never pressure you into anything like that though

-he always felt protected when you were by his side and he hoped you could feel the same when he was close by even if he didn’t hold half the power you did

-would ask advice about vampire stuff from Sarah and would listen to everything she said

-would be in complete awe of you at all times.

-he found you so hot when you used your powers against any supernatural being

-would research and look through ALL the pages of google on vampires to just find everything out about you

-he would trace his fingers gently over the teeth marks on your neck. Occasionally softly kissing them.

-would never judge you in any shape or form

-would just genuinely love you and wouldn’t care that your slightly different from the average person. Would face any challenges along the way with you and stay by your side.

Thank you for reading!!

#blog #fanfiction #fandom #x reader #x you #x y/n #disney #mbav #my babysitters a vampire x reader #my babysitters a vampire headcanons #my babysitters a vampire #ethan morgan headcanons #ethan morgan x reader #ethan morgan #mbav x reader #disney x reader #disney channel

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chaifootsteps · 6 months ago

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Hello chai! I'm going to a convention soon, SacAnime. It's a decently attended convention, not nearly the size of something like AnimeExpo, but still notable and gets quite a few high-profile special guests.

This year, Vivziepop, Morgana, Sam Haft, and a handful of the voice actors for Hazbin Hotel will be attending as special guests, which means that it is possible for there to be a panel.

This is notable, as during the SacAnime winter convention, Vivziepop, Brandon Rogers, Richard Horvitz, and others on the Helluva Boss team attended as special guests and had a panel. It was enlightening, as the panels typically are. I believe I tweeted at you about it actually, but I never gave proper details. Since the summer convention is coming up, I'll give those details now.

1. Vivziepop did not attend the panel despite being expected to, and did not post a reason for her absenteeism on social media as far as I'm aware. The convention also did not make mention of it. This panel happened at least 6 hours after your post on Twitter exposing the pay structure of Spindlehorse, so it's possible she was running damage control? Although that is just speculation on my part.

2. The panel was not age restricted. I personally sat next to someone who was around 15 or 16, and it made me *highly* uncomfortable, as Brandon and others on the panel made increasingly sexual comments, not even just references to the show. I am unsure if there will be a panel for the Hazbin crew, but if there is, I sincerely hope it will be age restricted. This I will say is a fault of the convention rather than the panelists.

3. They openly mocked the "my name is Caine" joke, referring to the people making criticisms against the show as "babies" and pointing out the use of cartoon characters for their profile pictures. A strange decision given that last I checked, they make cartoons.

4. Most of the comments made by panelists were made by Brandon Rogers and Richard Horvitz. Erica Lindbeck and Vivian Nixon hardly spoke at all, and there was at least one time I could recall where it seemed Brandon spoke over Vivian. Many of those asking questions of the panelists also did not ask Erica or Vivian any questions directly, instead the only questions they were able to answer were broad questions that applied to all panelists.

5. Now obviously I can't say this was true of the ENTIRE room, but I've been to a few panels in my time with some notable folks. People will cosplay as characters for specific panels, cheering can get loud. This is typical. What *isn't* typical is people screaming their heads off shouting "I love you" and legitimately crying. There were several people like this. Very strange behavior!

Anyways. As I am already attending this convention, I'll likely attend the panel this year, if there is one. It goes without saying that I do hope the fans enjoy the panel and as long as they are respectful of other convention members I have no issue with the fans. And I would NOT want others to attend this con PURELY for ruining the experience of Hazbin fans. My criticisms here are specifically towards the attitude of the panelists and a concern for parasociality, which I strongly believe should not be encouraged in ANY fanbase.

Thank you for the very balanced insight. It definitely sounds like there were a bunch of babies in that room, and I'm not talking about the people making "My name is Caine, I am your bitch" jokes.

The fact that it wasn't age restricted and there were actual kids there is the worst part. So much for Viv and co. trying to argue otherwise.

#tommycorriander #vivziepop critical #spindlehorse critical #viv stuff #vivziepop archive

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uiiyru · 3 months ago

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your fem southpark art is amazing- I'd love to hear your thoughts on other stuff related to that (not asking for art fyi- just dazzled by the choices you made with them!) <3

p.s.: thank you for putting kendall in a jeans-skirt combo.. very good choice.

Thank you so much for the kind words (anon and everyone in the reblogs and comments of my posts). I really appreciate it!

To be honest, I am the firmest believer that genderbends are basically the same characters just with a slight background context. Essencially they just behave the same, play the same games, fight over the same things, but maybe just give a slight girly undertone (unlike how girls are actually in the show).

I think the girls are quite popular like in the show (Lots do find them insufferable) (they are). They do things for their own benefit, constantly moving people around, the usual etc.

Stacy, is a pretty girl who gets a lot forgiven for just being the "sensitive one". She's naturally girly, naturally skinny but starts gaining more weight by the end of HS. She joined the cheerleaders to support Kylie, forcing the other two to join. Now the other girls (craig and those guys inc) won't join the team because Erica is there 🙄

Kylie, is tall, stalky, and quite masculine. She is a creature of habit 100%, find her outside her comfy clothes is basically impossible. She's smart, sporty, and a great friend. Well, throw everything out of the window when Cartman is fucking around. Often getting in physical fights which Erica calls unfair cause "Kahly fights like a dude".

Kendall, the poorest girl in class. Kind hearted, honest Kendall. She's the friends that will make the most odd comments ever. She's thin and her growth sprout was only vertically, allowing her to wear the aame clothes for years. She's pale because of wearing her parka all year long.

Erica, the nut case, somehow popular, somehow hated. She always makes herself be listened. LOVESS her sweet treats, making fun of Kylie, and expensive purchases her dad can BARELY afford. At first she hated being a cheerleader but with time realizing how much she adore performance, dance and music. She has the spark let's say. Erica has an unhealthy obsession of calling Kylie 'a lesbian' often getting angry when Kylie doesn't fit the mold........ I wonder what that says about herself 🦭

#I tried anon #ask box #I'm not the best at describing #south park #genderbend #i've been a jeans + skirt enthusiast since 2019 #Some of this stuff I'll #make into art!

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keerysfreckles · 1 year ago

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breaking the silence — steve harrington

pairing: steve harrington x nurse!fem!reader

warnings: s4 spoilers, canon s4 events, use of y/n and she/her pronouns, mentions of death, long fic (i got carried away oopsies)

a/n: thanks to my wifey @keerysbrowneyes for the idea :) <3

｡ﾟ•┈୨♡୧┈• ｡ﾟ

"can we go to the cafeteria?"

"what if she wakes up soon?"

"can we play dnd now?"

steve groans for the hundredth time today. the kids were on his last nerve.

"guys!" steve interjects all their questions. "yes, you all can go to the cafeteria. i'll stay with max in case she wakes up. and no will, you can't play dnd."

dustin smiles, along with lucas and erica, as will frowns. the party makes their way out of the room and down the hall, all will empty stomachs.

steve can finally relax as he sits in one of the chairs placed in the room. he stares at max. her eyes are still shut, the blood has now faded to a light pink color around her eyes. she still had all the casts on her body.

steve couldn't stare at her for long, or else he'd breakdown right then and there. instead, he chose to fiddle with his calloused fingers.

however his head picked up once the door opened, revealing a nurse he hasn't seen before.

usually the nurse was male, who was much older with his grey hair. this nurse looked younger, and was a woman.

"oh hi, i didn't think anyone would be in here right now," the nurse explains.

steve stands from the chair, "i can leave if you want?"

the nurse only smiles, "don't be silly. i'm just checking her vitals."

steve nods, before sitting back down. "do you know how much longer she'll be like this?" he asks.

"well she's taking all the medicine nicely, and getting the rest she needs. so i'd say give her one more month at most."

steve runs his fingers through his hair. it's been two months since the upside down incident. all he hoped for was for max to get better as quick as possible.

"are you her primary care-taker?" the nurse asks.

steve shakes his head.

"i just figured since you're here everyday to see her," the nurse explains.

"no uh- her mom checks on her sometimes. at least that's what she tells me."

the nurse nods, as she finishes taking max's vitals, and writing down any changes.

"thank you," steve gestures towards max, "for doing all this?"

the nurse laughs, "for doing my job? you're welcome," she puases, not knowing the man's name.

"steve."

the nurse smiles, "steve."

｡ﾟ•┈୨♡୧┈• ｡ﾟ

twenty four hours pass and steve finds himself in the hospitals visiting max again. the only difference being robin sitting next to him.

keith agreed to let robin go with steve, as family video wasn't busy on tuesdays.

robin was in the middle of telling steve about her and vickie's date from last week, until a knock on the door interrupted the girl.

steve noticed the nurse that walked in. it was the same nurse as yesterday, and today she had a cart filled with medical supplies.

"oh hi steve," the nurse smiles, "who's this?" she gestures to robin.

robin waves, "i'm robin, steve's friend."

steve nods, "yeah she agreed to come with me today, instead of the kids."

"you knew those kids in the cafeteria yesterday?" the nurse asks.

steve nods again, "well they were friends with max before me, but yeah i guess i-" robin hits steve's shoulder. "we look after them now."

"that's sweet of you guys," the nurse smiles.

robin turns to steve once the nurse starts checking on max. steve turns to robin as well, confused once he gets a look from her.

robin gestures her head towards the nurse. steve on the other hand just dismisses it. she was totally asking about it later.

robin's seen steve with this same look on his face before. whenever he looked at a breathtaking girl walking into scoops or family video. it was the same way he looked at nancy.

robin smirked to herself while getting out of her chair, "do you want anything from the vending machine?" she asks steve.

he shakes his head, and sends her a narrow look, knowing why she was leaving the room so suddenly.

in five seconds, it was just steve and the nurse in max's room again.

"i never got your name yesterday," steve breaks the silence.

"it's y/n," she looks over at steve.

"that really suits you," he smiles, and notices her cheeks turning pink.

the very sweet moment was cut short when robin re-entered the room, with three bags of chips in hand. steve gave her a look.

"what? i'm hungry," robin answered, before sitting back down in the seat next to steve.

y/n finished filling out the paperwork for max, and took the iv out of her arm she put in earlier.

she then walked over to steve with a few papers in her hand. she first hands him two papers, "these are the improvements she's made since last week, and the negatives."

steve gets handed another paper, and tries to ignore how his fingers touched y/n's.

"this is for her care-taker, so either for you, or if you're lucky to find a legal guardian."

steve and robin both look over the papers, happy once they read max is finally starting to have bigger improvements.

a device on the medical cart beeps twice, making y/n have to leave the room quickly to get to another patient. once steve and robin are alone, robin's curiosity gets the best of her.

"you like her don't you?"

steve whips his head to face robin, "what kind of question is that? we just met yesterday."

"i'm not hearing a no steven."

"rob, come on, don't be ridiculous."

"all i'm saying is, maybe it's good that you finally moved on from nancy. she's with jonathan in california anyways. maybe it's time to hop off that train."

steve shakes his head, "gee thanks for reminding me robin."

steve knew robin had a point. all the unnecessary pining for a girl he couldn't have. it just weighed him down most of the time.

an announcement was emitted over the speakers of the hospital, stating that visiting hours were over. steve and robin get their belongings before leaving the room. they pass the cafeteria, making steve stop in his tracks.

"do you want to get food before we head home?" steve points to the food court like area.

"no, vickie's actually picking me up for a date," robin nonchalantly answers.

steve's eyes widen, "wow, and you didn't tell me?" he laughs.

robin shoves him, before she starts walking to the lobby, "i was going to tell you eventually."

the pair shares a wave, knowing they were probably going to see each other again by the end of the week.

steve was quick to grab food, knowing exactly what he was in the mood for. a sandwich, a drink and a chocolate chip cookie were on the white tray.

he turned, and look around the tables. some were filled with parents. others had just one person, and some were empty with a few crumbs littered on top. steve however noticed on table in particular.

he recognized the purple scrubs of the nurse who he saw less than thirty minutes ago.

several thoughts flooded his mind as he walked over to the table y/n was sitting at.

what if she doesn't want to see me again? maybe she can't sit with visitors. what if she wants to eat alone?

however the thoughts don't stop him from standing in front of the table.

y/n picks her head up from her food, and sees a familiar grey jacket. her eyes reach the eyes of the person standing in front of her. she smiles, once she notices it's steve.

"hi steve," her smile never falters.

steve points to the empty chair across from her, "can i sit?"

y/n nods, "be my guest. i was feeling kind of lonely anyway."

steve and y/n both smile as he sits down across from her. they both eat in a comfortable silence for a few minutes before steve breaks the silence for the second time today.

"what made you become a nurse?"

y/n takes in a short breath, which doesn't go unnoticed by steve. she wasn't sure why she was about to tell him the real reason, but she felt like she could trust him.

"before my dad passed away, i felt like i wasn't doing enough when he was in the hopsital. so when he passed, i made this like, promise to myself to help everyone else since i couldn't help him."

steve's heart breaks for the girl in front of him, "i'm so sorry y/n."

y/n can tell his voice is nothing but sincere. she only smiles, her own voice now feeling lost.

steve, trying his best to change the subject, asks another question.

"is this your first job?"

y/n nods, "yeah, i was going to work at the mall after high school, but decided this is what i want to do for a while."

"i used to work at the mall," steve laughs, making y/n gasp slightly.

"seriously? which store did you work at?"

"scoops ahoy, you know it?"

y/n nods, "i walked by it probably hundreds of times while me and my friends were out shopping," she laughs, now remembering seeing steve in that stupid sailor uniform whenever she passed by.

"but then the mall got destroyed from that fire," steve continued, "so now i work at family video. next to the arcade."

"i've been meaning to get some movies from there. but with school and work i've just been too busy," y/n sighs. don't get her wrong, she loves everything about her job, and the opportunities she's been given at such a young age. she only misses the amount of free time she used to have.

"i have a shift tomorrow, if you want to stop by whenever your shift ends, i can recommend some great movies," steve offers, in hope to be able to see her again tomorrow.

"i'll have to see how late i'm working tomorrow. i'd love to see you again," y/n catches onto to what she just said, which made steve raise his eyebrows and laugh quietly.

"i mean, i'd love to see you recommend me some movies. not that i won't be happy to see you again."

steve chuckles again at y/n's rambling, which instantly reminds him of robin.

"i know what you mean y/n, don't worry."

y/n's shoulder relax, as her and steve both finish their meals.

y/n takes both her and steve's white trays to the trash bins, and dumps the containers inside. steve grabs his car keys and wallet, along with y/n's jacket draped over the back of the chair and her purse.

y/n thanks steve while putting on her jacket. the two of them walk down the hallway together, and make their way through the lobby and out into the parking lot.

"you know you didn't have to walk me to my car right?" y/n lets out a giggle, which steve finds adorable.

"i know, just thought it'd be the chivalrous thing to do," steve chuckles, as he remembers dustin using that word a lot.

"well thank you steve," y/n sends him a smile, before reaching in her pockets, looking for her car keys.

steve realizes he's still holding her purse. he lets out a small 'oh' before handing it to her, making her thank him again.

steve waves to her as she turns her car on. he makes sure she leaves the parking lot safely, before he starts walking over to his own.

｡ﾟ•┈୨♡୧┈• ｡ﾟ

steve's shift at family video the next day was uneventful and slow. only three customers have come in since steve's shift started. was it slow because he wanted to leave? maybe. did he want to leave only so he could see y/n again? absolutely.

robin noticed how bored steve looked as he played with the slinky on the counter.

"keith won't care if you leave ten minutes early ya know?" robin states, "we've been slow all day."

"you're telling me this why?" steve turns to face robin, who's stocking one of the shelves.

"you and i both know you just want to see that hot nurse from yesterday, who you obviously have chemistry with."

"i did not call her hot," steve dismisses.

"no, but you're thinking it," robin smirks.

steve just sends her a look, which makes robin laugh as she continues working.

steve contemplates on leaving early. he knew keith wouldn't care, just like robin said a moment ago.

"screw it."

steve walks into the small break room in the back of the store and clocks out. he grabs his keys and wallet, and a can of coke for the drive there, then jogs slightly through the store to get to his car.

"bye romeo!" robin yells as the store door closes.

steve's thankful the hopsital is close to fanily video, making him only have to deal with a twenty three minute drive.

he's lucky to find a parking spot. he takes notice of all the cars in the parking lot, knowing how busy it must be inside.

steve walked in and his assumption was correct. the lobby was almost filled to the brim with visitors, incoming patients, and doctors coming in and out through every door.

he walked to the front desk, and was surprised how quick he got his visitor sticker.

while walking through the hallway to get down to max's room, steve was passed by many doctors, nurses and patients. one nurse he wasn't expecting to see run by was y/n.

y/n, two doctors, and two others nurses were running by steve at the same time. he heard a certain code from the speakers as they all ran by, as well as calls from their moniters.

steve stopped walking for a moment, as he turned to see the group of five running back with a little girl on a stretcher. she looked maybe six or seven, and was as white as a ghost. her cries could be heard throughout the lower level of the hospital, even with the mask on her face.

steve got back to his original task, once the hallway had calmed down. he finally made it to max's room. he smiled when he saw the familiar room number.

"what are you guys doing here?" steve thinks out loud, as he's met with the whole party in max's room.

lucas, erica, will, mike and eleven all stood beside the bed near the window, while nancy and jonathan sat in the seats.

"mike, nancy and jonathan all came back from california this morning. we thought they should come see max," will explains.

just as steve is about to ask another question, a knock on the door makes him turn. a nurse comes in, who isn't y/n.

"oh wow, a lot of visitors in here," she smiles.

the nurse starts to take max's vitals, just like any other day. with all of the people in the room, steve's face grows hot as he starts to feel claustrophobic. he tells nancy he'll be outside the room if any of them need him.

less than ten minutes pass as everyone walks out of max's room, besides the nurse.

they all walk past steve and go down the hallway, after nancy tells steve that all the kids are getting antsy and need to get out of the hospital. steve nodded in understanding, knowing they could only handle it for so long.

steve debates on going back inside to check on max, but decides not to.

whenever he goes into that room, all he can think of is it being his fault for her condition. he always feels as if he could've done more to protect her from vecna.

steve stands from the chair and starts walking to the cafeteria. might as well get free food before i leave.

his plans change however, once he turns the corner and sees y/n sitting on the floor. her elbows are resting on her bent knees while her hands are in her hair. steve hears the soft cries coming from the girl.

he jogs towards her, before kneeling down besides her.

"hey hey, are you okay?" his voice is gentle, as he rests his hand on her shoulder.

y/n's head turns. she definitely wasn't expecting to see steve at the hospital today. "what are you doing here?" her voice was raspy.

"i was visiting max, but then was going to get food, and i found you here. are you alright?"

y/n only shakes her head, after sniffling and wiping her eyes. "a little girl passed away, not long after she came in from an ambulance."

steve listens, keeping a hand on her shoulder as he rubs his thumb along the bone.

"i've dealt with patients passing before, but this one felt so different. her parents were in the room," y/n hiccups as she tries to catch her breath, "they were in the room while her time of death was announced."

steve didn't say anything in return. he simply stood up and held his hand out, which y/n instantly took. he helped her stand up, and was quick to open his arms. of course y/n complied.

steve's arms were wrapped loosely around her neck, while her own were around his waist. the action only made her break down more, making her grip onto steve's grey jacket. he gently swayed the two back and forth, in efforts of calming y/n down.

steve kissed the top of y/n's head once he heard her cries starting to die down.

"how would french fries and milkshakes make you feel right now?" steve asks, not moving from his current position.

y/n giggles before sniffling again, "i wouldn't hate it."

steve reluctanly pulls away from the hug, "when does your shift end?"

y/n checks her watch and chuckles, "two minutes ago actually. let me grab my things and i'll meet you in the lobby?"

steve nods, watching y/n walk away from him.

just as promised, steve's waiting in the lobby when y/n walks through the double doors.

they both walk out to the parking lot, and before y/n can walk to her own car, steve grabs y/n's shoulder.

she turns with her eyebrows furrowed.

"we can just take my car," steve offers, "we can go to the diner, and if you want to you can stay at mine for the night."

y/n's heart melts at steve's offer, as he starts to ramble.

"i mean you've probably had a long day, and i know if i were you i wouldn't want to be alone right now. i know we just met so it-"

"steve," y/n cuts him off.

"yeah?"

"i'd love to," she smiles, making steve send one back to her.

｡ﾟ•┈୨♡୧┈• ｡ﾟ

steve stuck to his word as he took himself and y/n to the diner nearby. they got a large order of fries, as steve got a chocolate milkshake and y/n got a strawberry one.

now the pair was at steve's house. his parents were out of town, which didn't surprise steve. which meant they had the house to themselves.

steve noticed y/n was still in her purple scrubs, which prompted him to ask, "do you want some comfortable clothes to change into?" he chuckles.

y/n nods, "if you don't mind, that'd be great."

steve motions for her to follow him up the stairs, which she does.

y/n looks around steve's room once they both enter, as steve goes over to his dresser. y/n sees the different trophies placed around the room, as well as multiple picture frames of what seems to be of himself and friends.

steve comes back to the girl, and hands her an old t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants.

"bathroom's right across the hall," he smiles. he hears a small 'thank you' as y/n walks out of his room.

he takes the time to change out of his jeans and polo shirt, and into a pair of pajama pants and old high school t-shirt.

he turns once he hears the bathroom door opening, and smiles at the sight of y/n wearing his own clothes.

"thank you steve," she places her old clothes by the wall, before standing in front of steve.

"thank you for everything actually," she admits.

"you're very welcome," steve smiles, "i just want to make sure you're okay after today."

y/n nods, "yeah, i think i'll be okay."

after a moment, steve breaks the silence, "do you want to go downstairs and watch a movie? or we could go outside and just talk?"

"i'm okay with a movie."

once y/n and steve make their way back downstairs and into the living room, a thought pops into y/n's head.

"do you mind if i call my mom first? just in case she calls and i'm not home, i'll tell her why."

steve points in the direction of the phone, "yeah of course, phone's in the kitchen by the fridge."

steve chuckles to himself when he hears another 'thank you' coming from y/n before she's in the kitchen.

steve can't help but look at the girl from the living room. he's able to see from her waist up, and still think she looks perfect in his clothes.

y/n hangs up the phone after a short conversation with her mom. she puts her head in her hands and takes in a deep breath. the last thing she wanted to do was breakdown in front of steve again.

"are you okay?"

speak of the devil. y/n saw steve standing right outside the kitchen. she simply nodded before walking over to him.

"today was just a lot," she sighs.

"i get that," steve agrees.

just by the look on y/n's face, he can tell a million different thoughts are going through her mind. he grabs her chin in his hand to make her look up at him, and then moves his hand to cup her cheek.

"are you sure your okay?" his voice is softer than before.

once again, y/n only nods.

steve and y/n mantain their eye contact, completely getting lost in each other's eyes.

y/n noticed how soft and gentle his eyes look. she believes there's a whole story underneath his eyes, but decided against asking.

as steve is doing the same thing to y/n, the girl leans up and kisses him on the lips quickly.

her heartbeat only picked up once he didn't say anything. she feared she had messed up the relationship the two had just started.

steve didn't move his hand from y/n's cheek, and he smirked slightly.

before y/n could start profusely apologizing, steve beat her to it.

"why'd you stop?"

the question immediately caught y/n off gaurd, "what?"

"why'd you stop kissing me?" steve asks again.

y/n can only stutter in response and before a full sentence can be formed, steve pulls her to him and kisses her on the lips.

his other hand moves to her waist, gripping at the skin peaking out from under the shirt.

y/n quickly responds by kissing him back, as both of her hands go to his waist.

y/n gasps slightly as steve turns to hold her against the wall that he was previously leaning on. the gasp gives steve the chance to slip his tongue into her mouth, making the two's tongues have to fight for dominance.

"screw the movie," steve mumbles against y/n's lips, making her giggle before she wraps both of her arms around steve's neck.

y/n giggles again after steve grabs her hand, and pulls her back upstairs to his bedroom.

to say robin would be getting a very interesting call from steve the next morning would be an understatement.

｡ﾟ•┈୨♡୧┈• ｡ﾟ

#ALY THANK YOU FOR THIS AMAZING IDEA OMG #shelbi writes #steve harrington #steve harrington x you #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington stranger things #steve harrington imagine #steve harrington x y/n #steve harrington x fem #steve harrington x fem reader #joe keery #joe keery x y/n #joe keery x you #joe keery x reader #stranger things imagine #stranger things

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ladykailitha · 1 year ago

Text

Grief (A Friend Indeed) Part 12

And here we are at the end. Thank you so much for being on this journey with me.

Here we have Steve's POV of the last scene from last week, he talks to Hopper and Steve's uncle further proves he'd be a better parent than Clint Harrington.

Pt 1 Pt 2 Pt 3 Pt 4 Pt 5 Pt 6 Pt 7 Pt 8 Pt 9 Pt 10 Pt 11

****

Steve watched Eddie march to the truck and let out a shuddering breath. He thought that they had really connected here. But now as they were going back to Hawkins it appeared that Eddie was just going to leave that here in Ashland.

He got to his car and looked at the sad little cooler and just lost it. He started cursing and hitting the steer wheel.

“Stupid, stupid, stupid!” he hissed. “You never did hear a name, did you, Harrington? Apparently he was in love with someone else all this time and was only being nice because you were having a mental break down.”

He could feel the tears stream down his face. Bitter and angry. “You should have been supporting him not the other way round. That’s probably why he’s soooo pissed at you. Because he was grieving and you made it all about you. Like you always do. Fuck!”

Just then the passenger side door was wrenched open and Eddie slid in.

The tears dried up instantly in his surprise. “Eds?”

And then Eddie proceeded to just knock all his intrusive thoughts out of the fucking ballpark. Just sent them running like a scared dog with its tail between its legs.

Then kissed him about it.

They still needed to have a proper conversation but that could wait until they were back in Hawkins.

Steve could live with that.

When they got home they had that talk. Eddie learned about all the different girls who had propositioned him and was pissed on his behalf.

“That’s fucking bullshit,” he said. “You shouldn’t have had to deal with that.”

Steve shrugged. “You had enough on your plate. Plus, I sicced Uncle Danny after them.”

Eddie blinked. “Oh. I think I would have paid good money to see that.”

“I didn’t have to send anyone after Beth though,” Steve said with a grin, “Lauren did that all on her own.”

“I’m so glad you two got along,” Eddie murmured. “But in the future, you tell me these things. I want to protect you, the way you protect everyone else, okay?”

Steve agreed.

Wayne walked into the new house provided by the government, wiping his hands on an old rag.

“Everything is in the garage for us to sort and place later,” he told Eddie.

“You two going to be wanting help getting everything in?” Steve asked.

Wayne shook his head. “Lauren and her Uncle Hal are coming out next week to help out.”

Eddie ran his tongue over his teeth thoughtfully. “Yeah? I didn’t hear about that.”

Wayne had the presence of mind to blush. “It must have slipped my mind.”

“Uh-huh,” Steve and Eddie said together.

Wayne cleared his throat. “So I’m going to be seeing you a lot more now that you and Ed are together?”

Steve grinned, wrapping his arms around Eddie’s waist and putting his head on his shoulder. “I’ll be here so often, you’ll think I live here.”

Wayne hummed. “We’ll come back to that in a few months.”

Eddie blushed. “Nice to know you aren’t planning the wedding already, old man.”

Wayne blinked innocently. “Oh I am, but I’m thinking fall of next year or the year after.”

Eddie coughed and sputtered as Steve laughed.

He turned to Steve. “Why aren’t you defending me against this?” He waved at Wayne’s smug expression.

“Because I’m already coming up with arguments for a late spring early summer wedding instead.”

Eddie’s jaw dropped. “That’s some confidence you got there, darlin’. What makes you think I’ll say yes.”

Steve kissed him, slow and searing.

Eddie blushed. “Yup. Okay. Uh-huh. Point made.”

Wayne just smiled fondly.

Steve was really starting to regret setting the party on his Uncles Percy and David.

Robin, El, and Will had kidnapped Percy, while Dustin, Mike, and Nancy had absconded with David somewhere.

Eddie, Lauren, and Jonathan were talking to Hal and Lucas, Max, and Erica were talking to Wayne.

Hopper came up to Steve and put his arm around his shoulders.

Steve relaxed into the embrace.

“You did good, kid,” Hopper said. “I’m proud of you.”

Steve nodded and then rubbed the end of his nose, trying to fight back the tears.

“I had a long talk with Joyce about some of her choices that she made while I was gone,” he continued. “I’m glad I’m out of that hell hole, but she should have made sure everyone was safe first.”

“She had a lot on her plate,” Steve murmured.

Hopped cuffed the back of his head. “Don’t you go forgiving her without her apologizing first. I had to go back to California because apparently some fucked up general decided to shoot up the Byers house in Lenora.”

Steve looked over at Hopper in shock. “They did what now?”

Hopper nodded. “It was a complete shit show. But you have to know, I wouldn’t have just left you behind if I didn’t think you could handle it.”

“I know, I just...”

“Just wish you didn’t have to handle it?” he asked. Steve nodded. “I getcha. I wish you didn’t have to either. But I trust you to take care of everyone here, because I know they’re in safe hands with you.”

Steve choked back a sob. “Thanks, Hop.”

“Still can’t believe you’re dating that Munson kid,” he teased.

Steve pushed Hop way playfully. “Oh fuck off. He’s a good man.”

Hop looked over at him talking to Jonathan and Hal. “If he gets you to take care yourself or at least does it for you, he gets a pass from me.”

Steve blushed. “He takes care of me. It’s incredible how easy he makes it look.”

“I know your family was shit growing up,” Hop said. “But look at it now.”

Steve looked out at the fifteen-sixteen people out there lounging around the swimming pool with fondness.

“I always wanted a big family,” he said softly. “Who would have thought that all it would take is some extra-dimensional monsters to make it happen.”

Hopper chuckled. “I feel you kid. Before I started all this, I had lost my daughter to cancer and my wife to divorce. Now, not only do I have another daughter to take care of, I have a woman I love and her two boys that are like her sons to me.”

Steve made a grimace. “Does that mean Jonathan is my step-brother, because ew.”

“I heard that Harrington!” Jonathan called out.

Steve and Hopper laughed.

Eddie came bounding up to Steve. “I’m not sure I want the Chief as a father-in-law, babe.”

Steve smiled. “Oh that is going to make for some very awkward family dinners.

Percy came up behind Eddie.

“Hello, I’m Steve’s uncle, Percy,” he said extending his hand to Hopper to shake.

“Yeah,” Hopper said. “I’ve been hearing all about you. I’m sorry Clint Harrington kept you away from Steve for all this time.”

Percy nodded. “Jasper being an idiot didn’t help, unfortunately. But I’m in Steve’s life for good. There’s nothing that his parents could do that would change that.”

Steve gave Percy a hug in gratitude.

“Welcome to Hawkins then,” Hopper said with a smile. “It’s bit of a mess at the moment, but it’s home.”

“Well,” Percy said with a smile, “the welcome so far has been amazing I’m happy Steven has a support system now.” He turned to Steve. “May I pull you away for a moment. There’s something I would like to talk to you about.”

Steve looked at Hopper and Eddie who both shrugged. “Sure, lead the way.”

Percy went inside the kitchen and sat down at the counter. “When you told me that you didn’t get into the colleges and universities you applied for, I called around.”

Steve frowned. “Why? My grades slipped after Christmas my senior year. I ended at 2.76 GPA. I figured that wasn’t good enough to get in.”

“Yes,” Percy said. “If they only looked at your senior year. But they don’t. They look at a cumulative GPA from all your years at high school. You had a cumulative GPA of 3.16. Which is more than enough to get into any college you wanted. Especially with you still winning medals in swimming.”

His frown deepened. “But Dad said that I didn’t get into any of those schools.”

“Yes, which I thought was odd,” Percy further explained. “Which is why I called. Steven, you got accepted into two thirds of the schools you applied for.”

Steve leaned back. “What? That’s not possible.”

“I’m guessing Clint only showed you the one third you didn’t get into and told you the rest was the same.”

“Why?” he breathed. “Why would he do that?”

“Because the schools you got into weren’t the ones he wanted you to go to is my next guess.”

“I can go to college?” Steve asked, his lip quivering. “I don’t have to be stuck here my whole life?”

Percy shook his head. “You are a smart young man, and David and I are very committed to helping you get to where you want to go in life. Your parents mail have failed you, but I promise we won’t.”

Steve let out a shaky breath. “Thank you so much.”

Percy got up and hugged him. “Now go back out to your boy, he’ll be worried about you.”

Steve nodded and walked back out.

Percy followed close behind and wrapped his arm around David’s waist.

“You think they’re going to be okay?” David asked as they watch Steve and Eddie cling to each other.

“Oh yes,” Percy said. “It may have taken a tragedy to get them here, but they are smart boys with a great support system. There is nothing those boys can’t do now.”

“I’m happy to have met them,” David said.

“Me too.”

****

Tag List: @spectrum-spectre @estrellami-1 @zerokrox-blog @artiststarme @swimmingbirdrunningrock @gregre369 @pyrohonk @a-little-unsteddie @chaosgremlinmunson @chaoticlovingdreamer @messrs-weasley @goodolefashionedloverboi @maya-custodios-dionach @val-from-lawrence @i-must-potato @danili666 @carlyv @rozzieroos @emly03 @wonderland-girl143-blog @justforthedead89 @bookworm0690 @itsall-taken @bookbinderbitch @redfreckledwolf @vecnuthy @littlewildflowerkitten @scheodingers-muppet @mira-jadeamethyst @cinnamon-mushroomabomination @gutterflower77 @genderless-spoon @hel-spawn @ellietheasexylibrarian @anne-bennett-cosplayer @mamafaithful @yikes-a-bee @dragonmama76 @flaming-reauxster @r0binscript @awkotaco24 @ilikeititspretty @5ammi90

#my writing #stranger things #steddie #ladykailtiha writes #minor character death #dealing with grief

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biggukuma · 11 months ago

Text

A fanfiction or a series (my god, a series about this) in which Eli explains (in the voiceover for the series?) just how weird his family is.

Starting with Eli's many aunts and uncles, 3/4 of whom share no blood ties with him. ( Yes, the puppy pack is part of the Hale pack. Yes, Alec was Eli's babysitter. )

( Erica and Boyd would have twins about the same age as Eli. Why would that be? I have no idea. )

( For those who love Scott/Isaac/Allison, they would have 4 children. Yes, exactly, so that 3 of them would come from duos and the last one would come into the world thanks to the magic and presence of 3 DNAs. )

(The whole pack would not live in the huge mansion that is the Stilinski-Hale mansion. Thiam and Morey would have their own place. Sheriff would have refused to move in. )

Then his cousins, of all ages, each more unusual and annoying than the last. With whom he shares the same grimaces when they learn that most of their parents have gone out with each other.

( - Sweet Home Alabama-

- Shut up! )

His dziadzia, who had never been angry with him for ruining his wallpaper (he had every reason to be. They were horrible drawings-) and who had taught him to lie to his tata while making him promise never to lie, understood, you little rascal, when they went to get the greasiest order in the whole fast-food restaurant. And his babcia and his abuela and his abuelo and his tias and his tios and his primos and his primas he knew only in grave form.

Finally, his dads, who look like they hate each other half the time or would kill someone if it made the other half smile. His two dads who have criminal records but brunch with the station cops once a month. His two dads who are both biologically men and who have biologically managed to have a child together.

(Eli politely asks anyone who jokes about him being his parents' little shit to fuck off. His dads told him his tata had a C-section, okay ?!)

A fanfic or series in which we discover the famous Hale Pack that has risen from the ashes and is so feared and respected. Where we discover how Eli feels so alienated from the pack he loves and cherishes, so alienated from his family. How Eli feels he's not cut out to be the next Alpha of the pack. How certain Eli is that he'll never be anything like his incredible, powerful, famous dads, no matter how many times he's told he's the spitting image of Stiles or has Derek's eyes and sourwolf face.

Eli sees himself as the boring kid in this extraordinary family, the boring offspring of a rich heir to a famous werewolf pack, a bad boy with a tragic past in his youth, a DILF today with his dad's super skills, a fair and fierce true Alpha (alive and not DEAD) and an FBI agent as sarcastic as he is intelligent, a supernatural detective in his spare time, a fearsome spark, emissary and Alpha mate. Like the good old cliché of the character with no friends but his cousins and an overpowering entourage, so beloved and popular and so much more remarkable and interesting script-wise than he is.

(Perhaps Eli never could and never will be able to shift? Perhaps being human is in part the source of his fear.)

And being the good old cliché that he is, he apparently becomes interesting when he gets superpowers. (Stiles is not at all happy that the Nemeton has chosen him to be its guardian. In fact, no one in his family seems happy. Great.)

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kakerutori · 2 years ago

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Will being the most beloved person in The Party to Mike is sweet, no doubt, but like, god, imagine how the others would subtly favor him too-

Dustin and Mike sometimes catch Will wearing Lucas’ letterman jacket and they’re a little jealous. Lucas justifies that Will is only one who won’t ruin it (and he’s right - Will never does).

On that strain, Lucas doesn’t let anyone else near his wardrobe except for Will. Only he gets to wear the headband. Lucas also doesn’t accept fashion advice from anyone else.

When the boys get older and take everyone out to dinner to hang out, the fight for the bill at the end of the night is absolutely insane. There is yelling and threatening between Mike, Lucas, and Dustin, and Will sometimes has to sneak the waiter the bill just so they’ll stop, but they get even more upset because they don’t ever want Will to pay (Will finds it hilarious).

After the night Will went missing, Dustin made it a point to buy Will comics. Dustin felt so bad, at first, thinking about the time he went missing, but it slowly became just a regular thing and now Will has a truckload of comics.

Dustin randomly gives Will snacks in passing between classes. Will would sometimes refuse them or give them back, so eventually, Dustin just put them in his locker.

When Will gets his first job, everyone visits him at least once a day to keep him company and see how he’s doing. They don’t care to visit each other though. Just Will.

Second to El, Max teaches Will how to skate when he asks about it. She refuses to teach anyone else in The Party (much to Lucas’ dismay lmao).

Max also shows Will how she gets high scores on Dig Dug. Everyone else can suffer.

Every secret Santa, Will’s gift is always the most expensive. Without fail. (For example, Max gave him brand new Vans with cool designs. Dustin gave him a fancy radio. Lucas gave Will a bunch of really nice art supplies. And bonus because of my Byler heart - Mike gave him a nice leather jacket just so he could see Will wearing one).

Erica is usually a pretty aggressive player in D&D and she will sacrifice her party members on some occasions, but she never lets Will die in any campaign. It doesn’t matter that he can be revived. He cannot die on her watch. Ever.

Also!!! Erica buys Will a new D&D set with even more cool features as a thank you for the set that he donated to her 😭💕

Also another bonus - when the kids went to Scoops Ahoy, Steve and Robin made it a point to give Will extra ice cream and toppings.

(I know that El’s also a part of The Party, but that’s just sibling stuff so I’ll make a part two just for them :3)

#stranger things headcanons #will byers #mike wheeler #lucas sinclair #dustin henderson #erica sinclair #max mayfield #byler #the target audience #oh headcanons i do adore

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agaypanic · 1 year ago

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Erica jones x reader who’s Rorys older sister😻

Kissing the Babysitter (Erica Jones X Keaner!Reader)

Masterlist

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Summary: You accompany your girlfriend while she babysits Jane, Ethan’s little sister. While the two of you wait for her parents to come home, Ethan and his friends, including your brother, walk in on the two of you.

A/N: AU where erica’s the babysitter for the morgans instead of sarah. Not too smutty despite what the summary might imply, they’re just kissing lol the girls and reader are in the grade above the boys. usually when i write the group, they’re all in the same grade but since reader is rory’s older sister, im making her, erica, and sarah in the grade above the boys

***

“Babe, I’m sorry, but I have to cancel our date.” Erica frowned as she broke the news to you.

“What? Why?” You whined in disappointment. “Erica, the fourth Dusk movie is coming out next week, and you promised that we’d watch the first three before going to the theater.”

“I know, Y/n, I know.” Erica sighed, equally as disappointed in the predicament you were in. Although she had basically renounced all things considered geeky when she turned into a vampire, the girl’s one guilty pleasure that she indulged in was the famous vampire romance franchise. “But the Morgans need me to babysit Jane.”

“Can’t Ethan do it? I mean, he is her brother.”

“They still don’t trust him after he and Benny let her wander out of the house.”

“Figures.” You muttered, before sighing. “It’s fine. We can watch the movies another day.” You put on a smile, now wondering what you would do by yourself on a Friday night. Erica grinned, kissing your cheek.

“You’re the best, N/n.”

“I know.”

***

Friday night came, and you found nothing better to do than lying in bed and being on your phone. You were in the middle of scrolling through social media when you got a text from Erica.

Vampire Girlfriend <3

Hey baby. wyd right now x

You smiled softly at the message, turning over on your stomach before replying.

Not much. How’s babysitting going?

The reply was almost immediate, probably due to your girlfriend’s superspeed.

Vampire Girlfriend <3

It was fine until your brother and Benny came over lol the boys are playing video games and I’m trying to get Jane to go to bed.

Rory’s over there?? He didn’t tell me that, I would’ve come over with him :(

Vampire Girlfriend <3

Well no one would stop you from coming over rn. I certainly won’t :))

I’ll be right over

Wasting no time, you jumped out of bed and put on your shoes and a jacket. Luckily, Ethan lived just two streets over, so it wasn’t much of a walk for you. You were especially thankful for this because it was a bit chilly outside, and you didn’t have a car.

When you reached the Morgan house, you barely knocked on the door before it opened.

“Hey!” Erica greeted you with a smile, hug, and peck on the cheek. It might’ve been a strange sight to anyone else to see Erica so affectionate. But she just liked you that much. “I finally got Jane to bed, no thanks to some people!” She shouted the last part over her shoulder for the boys to hear.

“Sorry ‘bout that!” Rory shouted back, looking over the kitchen island and down the hall. He perked up at the sight of you. “Hey, Y/n!”

“Hey, Rory.” You kicked your shoes off at the door and walked to the kitchen with Erica. “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming over here? I would’ve come with you.”

“I thought you were asleep.” Rory shrugged.

The five of you conversed a bit before being interrupted by a stomach growling. Specifically yours. It was then that you realized that you hadn’t had anything since lunch at school.

“How about some pizza?” Erica suggested, reaching for the money Ethan’s parents left her for food. “You guys can go get it.”

“Why don’t you get it?” Benny asked.

“Because I’m in charge tonight.” Your girlfriend replied, flashing the boy a fanged sneer. “I mean, I could go. But if Jane wakes up, you guys will have to get her back to sleep.”

Before you knew it, you and Erica had the house to yourself. Save for Jane, who was sleeping soundly upstairs. You sat on the couch, trying to think of something to do, before seeing your girlfriend look down at you with a smirk that said she was up to something.

“What?” You asked.

From behind her back, the blonde showed three DVD cases, and you squealed when you saw the covers.

“I realized I still had them in my bag when you said you were coming over, so I thought we could watch them.” She said while opening the case for the first Dusk movie, turning on the TV, and putting the disk in the movie player.

After starting the movie, Erica sat on the couch next to you. You leaned into each other like two magnets, and Erica put her arm around your shoulders.

As time passed, Erica slowly started distracting you. Unintentional, of course. At least in the beginning. Absentmindedly, she was brushing your collarbone with her fingertips. Her touch gave you chills, both because of her cold skin and the way her fingers glided over your sensitive skin. Every now and then, her hand would tangle with your hair and give you a soft tug or two.

Then, out of nowhere, you felt Erica’s lips press against your jaw.

“Watch the movie.” You whispered, even though there was no need to.

“I can think of something better to do,” Erica whispered back before locking her lips with yours.

Although you wanted to watch the movie, you must admit this was a million times better.

Erica swallowed your moans as she gave your hair another pull before manhandling you to lay down on the couch. You giggled in surprise at the action before locking lips with her again. The movie became background noise; all you could focus on was Erica, her mouth and her wandering hands specifically.

Erica lifted her head, smiling at the sight of you trying to chase her lips with your own.

“So needy.” She teased, cupping your chin with a hand and squeezing your cheeks. You whined, feeling your face grow warm under her cold touch. Not wanting to see your pouting lips any longer, Erica leaned back down and started kissing you again.

“Oh my God, ew!” Rory’s yell made you and Erica jump, but Erica didn’t move away from you. She simply turned her head while you looked at your brother and friends in embarrassment and surprise.

“You guys were taking too long.” She said with a shrug. Then she turned back to you, patting your hip before getting off you, offering you her hand. “Come on, let’s eat.”

#agaypanic #erica jones x reader #erica jones #my babysitter's a vampire #my babysitter's a vampire x reader

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ilovecupcakesandtea · 8 months ago

Text

My @steddiesummerexchange for the wonderful @skepsiss I had a lot of fun writing this.

As always thank you to @slippy-slip for being there and for beta reading this. I appreciate you <3

Word Count : 12075

Archive Warnings : Injury detail. (if i have missed something please let me know)

Rating : M

Pairing(s): Eddie Munson/Steve Harrington

Character(s): Eddie Munson, Steve Harrington, Robin Buckley, The Party

Ao3 link

“Just go!” Steve screamed trying to push Dustin through the still open gate.

“But Eddie!” the curly haired boy shouted in response, trying his hardest to get back down off the older man's shoulders.

“I’ve got him ok, Robin can you grab Dustin please?” He asked loudly, shouting into the gate.

“Yeah, I’ve got him,” she replied as she pulled Dutin up with the help of Lucas and Nancy. “You next,” she said, grabbing Steve.

“I’m not leaving him, you guys all go. Get what help you can, I’ll get Eddie and get out,” he said, squeezing her hand once before running away.

“Did he get out?” Eddie rasped out as Steve knelt down next to him.

“Yeah he did. This is going to suck okay but we need to get you out of here so you need to move. I can do all the heavy lifting but you gotta work with me,” Steve said as he scanned over Eddie's body, trying to work out the best way to move him without causing any more damage.

“Come on then big boy, let’s roll,” Eddie stuttered out as he tried to sit himself up, clearly in a lot of pain.

Between the two of them they managed to get Eddie standing and he moved a few steps towards the gate, his whole weight against the other man.

“Guys come on! We’ve got things ready but you need to hurry, the gate is closing!” They heard Erica shout from the open gate. “Move your asses!”

The pair moved as quickly as they could towards the gate but they could see it was closing up. Trying to move quicker, they almost made it before the last speck of light faded out and it shut.

“Well fuck,” Eddie whispered. “We’re screwed. Stuck down here.”

“For the time being, yeah. We need to get you somewhere where you can rest up whilst we think of a plan,” Steve sighed, looking around. This had to be somewhere close, Eddie was getting real heavy and Steve’s own injuries were hurting the longer he held the other.

He noticed the bench close by in the trailer park and moved over towards it.

“This isn’t ideal but it’s something for now okay,” Steve panted whilst helping Eddie sit down at the bench.

“What’s up? Your big strong jock muscles not up to the task of holding lil ol me?” Eddie asked, giving the end of his sentence a Southern twang.

“I could bench your weight easily any day Munson,” Steve laughed and then winced. “I’m just injured right now.”

“We can put that to the test another time,” he hummed.

“Alright, calm down,” the other man blushed and turned away. “I’m going to go and have a quick look around and see what I can find, o? Think you can stay out of trouble while I'm away?”

“I make no such promise. Don’t leave me too long though, yeah?” Eddie joked with an overly dramatic wink.

“Don’t miss me too much,” Steve laughed, walking away.

Everything seemed to calm. Vecna was dead, he knew this, Robin having landed the killing blow. But he still couldn’t help but feel that this was too calm. The bats had disappeared and the red sky was now just a dull grey. He wondered where he could head to find something to at least drink, he figured the best place would be Benny’s. The diner was most likely to have things like bottled water and things in wrappers not out of date regardless of what time they were in or from.

It felt weird to walk into Benny’s as it was before Benny had been murdered and the diner had changed hands. He was suddenly hit with the memories of the handful of dates he had brought here over the years. Fries and a milkshake making the perfect ending to a movie night. Sugar laced kisses under the lights of the sign outside.

Heading straight to the stockroom Steve looked around to see what he could find. Small bottles of water were stacked up against the wall. He noticed a little cart also sat in the stockroom and filled it with bottled water and cans of beans he also found. He added a bag of salt that he figured they could use to make sterile water to the cart too. As he was about to leave he remembered that the diner must have a first aid kit and went on a hunt for that. Rummaging around the office he came across 2 bottles of vodka as well, those went straight into the cart. Finding the first aid kit he made sure everything was in the cart ok and left the diner, not before grabbing spoons and forks for them to eat with, as well as a pan to warm the beans up in if they wanted.

The short walk back to the trailer park and Eddie was filled with anxiety. What if he got back and Eddie wasn’t there or he had been attacked again? What if he had succumbed to his injuries and there was nothing that Steve could do when he got back? All these kinds of thoughts raced through his mind until he saw Eddie still sitting at the picnic table looking around and very much alive.

“Wow, did you get a full weekly shop while you were away?” Eddie laughed the best he could through the pain. Wincing and holding his side gingerly as he did so.

“I only managed to find water, beans, a first aid kit and vodka, nothing fancy unfortunately,” Steve joked back gesturing to various things in the cart. “But this does mean we can eat, drink some water as well as clean and dress the wounds.”

“We should find shelter as well,” Eddie suggested. “I don’t think we should go far though with the gate being around here, at least for a few days, for when they come back for us.”

“Yeah that’s a good idea. Any idea where we can find a tent or something like that around here?” the other man asked, looking around to see if he could find somewhere suitable.

“There was one in the trailer, I’m not sure if that’ll have disappeared in the wreckage though,” Eddie answered, nodding towards what was still standing of the trailer he used to call home.

“Okay, let me go and see what I can find,” Steve said, starting to walk off in the direction indicated.

“Sit down and have a drink at least, you’ve just been in a battle. We’re not in immediate danger so take a second, please,” Eddie stopped him and reasoned with him.

Steve nodded and sat down taking a couple bottles of water from the cart, handing one to Eddie and opening one himself. They sat in silence and drank the water, not feeling as though they needed to say anything.

“Permission to go and see what I can find now?” Steve joked once he'd finished the water and stood back up again gingerly.

“Sure, I’m not sure I can be of any help though. I’ll probably curl over and pass out if I move much,” Eddie sighed.

“Just sit there and stay alive okay? You’d be less use to me if you passed out or bled out,” Steve said sternly as he walked away.

Steve walked over to the Munson trailer and stepped inside. Aside from half of it being missing, most of the trailer looked okay. He started to look through various big cupboards, finding a handful of blankets, a couple of old spare pillows and the mentioned tent. He also found a couple pairs of jeans, some underwear, t-shirts and a couple of towles. Grabbing it all together he headed back out to Eddie, hoping he could remember how to put a tent together. It had been years since he and Tommy had their obsession with camping and Steve smiled to himself at the flash of memories of his former best friend.

“I’m back and I found a few things we could use. Not sure not sure how to set up the tent though but I'll work it out. I also found a change of clothes for each of us,” he announced as he walked back towards the table.

“The tent will be super easy to put up, it'll have been a really cheap one,” Eddie explained. “Click the poles together and thread them through the holes,” he shrugged, attempting to lean forward to show Steve but stopping with a grunt.

Less than 10 minutes later the tent was up.

“We should dress these wounds and get changed,” Steve suggested, laying all of the provisions for that on the table.

“It's just my side really,” Eddie said, standing up and removing his t-shirt. As he removed the t-shirt he had to peel it away from dried blood on broken skin. “Fuck,” he screamed as his skin was pulled away from his body even more.

“Shit, ok. Erm Eds you’re bleeding a lot ok. We really do need to get you bandaged up and quickly,” Steve said in a quavering voice, clearly panicked and rushing towards the other man.

He opened up a bottle of vodka and poured some onto the towel he held.

“This will sting but we need to get this clean okay?” he said, stepping into Eddie’s space and cleaning around the wounds as quickly as possible.

Once the wound that was bleeding again had been cleaned around it, he opened the bottle again and poured some of the vodka directly onto the wound itself as Eddie let out a scream. He opened the largest of the dressings he could find and placed it over the wound. Once that was covered he started to work on cleaning the other smaller wounds and covering what needed.

“You said there was more than one bottle of this?” Eddie asked, pointing at the vodka.

“Erm yeah there is,” Steve answered, handing over the open bottle to Eddie who started to reach for it as soon as he started to answer.

Taking a couple of big swigs from the bottle he winced at the taste and handed the bottle back to Steve indicating that Steve should do the same.

“Lets get cleaned up and in the tent before we drink anymore shall we?” Steve said through a cough after he had also taken a drink from the bottle.

Steve took off the vest he was wearing and undid the temporary bandage that Nancy had put around him. Cleaning himself up using a different towel and a new bottle of vodka, he put new bandages on.

“Here, let me help with your neck, it’s much harder to see,” Eddie offered, reaching out for both the bottle and the towel.

Stepping into his personal space, Eddie was suddenly very aware of how attractive Steve Harrington actually was. It wasn’t just moles that he had, but also a light dusting of freckles too, or maybe it was just dirt, either way Eddie was transfixed for a moment too long.

“Everything okay?” Steve asked quietly, the question startling Eddie from his thoughts.

“Yeah, yeah, everything’s fine. Just a little light headed is all,” Eddie whispered, visibly shaking his head.

Once Steve’s neck was cleaned up both boys set about getting changed. With no running water they could only do so much about getting clean but a fresh set of clothes was a start.

“Looks like you got some of Wayne’s jeans,” Eddie laughed, nodding down at the pants Steve was now wearing.

“Which is a good job because judging by how skinny they are I’d never have fit into those,” Steve laughed back, pointing at Eddies.

“It’s a good job I haven’t really grown much in the last 3 years, they’re a little short that’s it.”

“Let’s eat some of these lovely beans and drink some water before we get some rest,” Steve suggested, grimacing at the idea already.

“Pass me a couple of the cans and I'll get them opened,” Eddie said, taking a Swiss army knife out of his pocket.

The pair sat in relative silence, eating the beans and drinking the water, occasionally making a comment about the things they could see around them.

Once they had eaten and drank a couple of bottles of water they headed inside the tent with the mostly empty bottle of vodka.

“What a day, ay?” Eddie chuckled, opening the bottle and taking a big swig from it.

“Yeah, I’ve certainly had better,” Steve laughed, taking the bottle from the other and taking a drink. “I thought I’d told you not to be a hero though?”

“It bought you lot enough time to kill Vecna right? You also told me not to do anything cute, was me being a hero cute?” Eddie asked, batting his eyelashes.

“I would not call almost getting yourself killed cute,” Steve sighed with an eyeroll.

They sat talking whilst finishing the vodka and then they set up the inside of the tent ready for the two of them to sleep in as much as they could on a hard flood with little padding.

“Now that I’ve laid down, I'm exhausted. I haven’t seen anything to suggest that we’re in danger so I think we’ll both be okay to sleep,” Eddie said as he lay down.

“I don’t sleep well anyway, I haven’t in years. Not since it all started at least,” Steve shrugged, like it was okay that as a teenager he had become used to not sleeping at night because of horrors that he had witnessed and that he knew lay under the town he lived in.

“Just try, and keep your hands to yourself Harrington, I’m not one of those girls,” Eddie joked in a mock high pitched voice.

“Damn, and here was me hoping I could get lucky in this hell space whilst wounded from an attack by bats,” Steve laughed, rolling his eyes.

He joined Eddie laying down in the tent, pulling a blanket over himself and closed his eyes. The pair fell into an uneasy sleep, tossing and turning a lot and then ultimately just deciding to lie there talking but still resting.

“Do we even know what time it is?” Eddie asked. “My watch broke as I dove down after the girls.”

“Mines also broke so no, I guess we don't know the time,” Steve replied, looking at his own wrist.

“Well that’s just great isn’t it?” Eddie sighed, groaning in pain as he tried to throw his hands up dramatically.

“We may as well make the most of this seeing as we really can’t move far and we’re stuck here,” Steve suggested, sitting back up the best he could in a tent. “Let’s move from the tent and have a drink and something to eat. I don’t think we should be changing the bandages yet as we don't have many. Maybe I should go on a hunt to see if I can find some more.”

“I think you may have to help me up from this hard floor before you go all hunter gatherer on me.”

“Sure, I can’t pull too much though,” Steve pointed out, offering his hand.

With a lot of grunting, groaning and more than a few curse words, Eddie was up off the ground and both boys were in a lot of pain.

“So, we have plenty of time for you to tell me the story. What happened to King Steve? One day you’re all loved up with Nancy and the next Billy Hargrove is pushing you around on the basketball court and you’re doing jack shit about it,” Eddie commented, as he opened more beans for them to eat once they'd sat back at the bench.

“Well you know we explained all about the 3 previous rounds we’d gone with this place,” he answered, gesturing all around him. “Well, in between rounds 1 and 2, I stepped away from all the superficial bullshit because it meant nothing. It cost me Nancy and almost my life because of that. After that I didn’t really care. In comes Billy after round 2 and Nancy broke up with me. I had no reason to keep my appearance up,” Steve shrugged.

“I guess almost dying a handful of times does make you think of things differently,” Eddie hummed.

“What about you? If we're getting deep and personal right now, why Hellfire?” He asked, nodding to the other boy.

“I didn’t have any friends when I first moved here. I was the new kid with parent issues, living with his uncle in a 1 bed trailer. So when I actually found friends and we started to play DnD together I wanted to keep that going, I wanted to make sure no one else had to feel that lonely again if I could help it,” Eddie answered before totally looking away, clearly upset by the mention of his friends.

“Makes sense. I guess we all find community where we can, when we can, especially in highschool. Your little band of misfits always seemed to have fun though. You’re little table top rants always made me laugh,” Steve said lightheartedly, remembering some of his favourites.

“Which is actually really funny, seeing as they were mostly directed at you and other people in privileged positions like you.”

“I’d give up an empty house and parents who don’t speak to you for weeks on end for a home that has love and a guardian who loves me any day of the week. A lot of the kids like me are the same. Big empty, sterile house. Raised by a nanny or two until 14, then you’ve got to learn to cook, grocery shop and keep a house. I’m not saying I had it harder at all. The parties were fun. Having a big house with a pool obviously has its perks but it's a different struggle I guess,” Steve shrugged.

“Damn Harrington, got me feeling sorry for you over here,” Eddie whistled lowley.

“Anyway, let me take this cart and go and see what I can find to keep us alive,” he exclaimed, maybe a little too loudly, and stood up, stepping away from the table.

Steve helped Eddie get back into the tent and settled down so that he could get some more rest before he headed off towards Bradley Big Buy and Melvalds Drug Store. He needed to find all he could to help them whilst they were down here.

Heading straight to Big Buy he found it closed and locked up.

“Damn it,” he shouted and sighed heavily. Now what?

He turned and headed to the drug store, hoping to at least find bandages for them both and maybe something to help keep their wounds clean.

Finding the store open and the door unlocked he headed inside and looked around and what he could find.

He found more water, some packs of wet hand wipes so they could freshen up a little. Rooting through the aisles Steve also found bandages of all different sizes, sadly the antiseptic products all appeared to have sold out. Seeing if he could spot anything else that they may need he continued to wonder. He found a handful of cans of food that he added to the cart, already trying to count up how much food they had and how best to ration it out with them being stuck here for an unspecified amount of time. As he was walking down the final aisle he saw it, the door to the store room and went towards it.

It was small but it was full. He found a lot more water, more cans and more bandages and cotton pads they could use to clean the wounds. His cart was almost overflowing when he left the store.

Heading back to Eddie and their little camp they had created he thought about Eddie, how they had just opened up to each other without really knowing each other all that much but had bared themselves so quickly, so easily, like they were discussing the weather and not childhood trauma that had changed everything.

He finally made it back to the tent and opened it up softly to try and make as little noise as possible, looking inside he saw something that he wasn’t sure ever existed. Eddie Munson, completely still and as calm as they come. No fidgeting with his rings, his clothes or just generally moving, totally still. He was almost ethereal lying there with his hair fanned out and a peaceful look on his face, Steve wasn’t sure he had ever seen Eddie looking peaceful, a range of other emotions yes, but not peaceful.

“He looks so beautiful” was Steve’s last thought before he realised that it was actually really creepy for him to be standing there just watching the other man sleep and stepped back,closing the tent back up.

He sat at the table and tried to think of something to help them out of this situation. They could only survive down here for so long. Then what? Could they try to communicate with the other side? El couldn’t open the gate again, she was too far away and they couldn’t drag her back into all of this when she was finally free of this nightmare. The only saving grace of it all was that Robin, Nancy and Dustin all knew they were down here. Three people that would not stop before that gate was opened again and the two of them were found. Surly Dustin, Robin and everyone else would be looking for ways to get them back? He just hoped they would still be alive when that happened.

A little while later he heard a groaning from within the tent and he went to investigate.

“Good morning sleeping beauty, manage to get some sleep then?” He asked as he peered into the tent and noticed Eddie was awake.

“I think my body just shut down and decided it needed to rest I guess. I lay down one second and the next I'm waking up in a lot of pain. How long have I been out?” Eddie asked.

“I’m not really sure but I don't think I’ve been back from my shopping trip long, so probably not all that long I guess,” he shrugged.

“Did you manage to find anything?” Eddie asked as he tried to move towards the entrance of the tent.

“A little bit yeah, some more water, some more food and most importantly more bandages so i think we should change ours soon,” Steve replied, leaning into the tent properly and helping Eddie to his feet outside the tent.

“Okay, yeah. Probably for the best. Erm we should move from this spot and drink something,” Eddie whispered into the very small distance between them. Their noses almost touching.

“Yeah we should,” Steve whispered back, still holding onto Eddie's arm and still not moving backwards.

Eventually after a few more seconds, that felt like a lifetime to both boys, they moved to sit back at their bench.

Things were getting intense between the two of them already, sharing moments like that. Eddie hadn’t seemed too bothered by it though. He didn’t seem too awkward by them. Steve did need to get a grip on his feelings though. Things were going to be difficult enough down here without throwing any kind of romantic feelings into the mix. He wasn’t even sure where they had come from. He’d never really noticed the other man like that before.

“‘Shall I go and gather some wood so we can set a fire and heat some water up so we can clean the wounds with some sterile water?” Steve questioned wanting to get away and think about all of this.

“Sure, let's get this cart emptied and we can go and see what we can find. I’m sure I can help with that,” Eddie responded.

The two boys spent time sorting out all of the bottled water, all of the cans and all of the badges so they could clearly see how much they had to last them.

“I’m really unsure if I can find other stuff to go with all of this easily so we may need to be careful with this lot,” Steve pointed out, gesturing to the piles.

“Yeah we really do need to go easy on it,” Eddie agreed. “Let's go act like boy scouts and build a fire.”

Steve once again grabbed the cart and the two of them together, very slowly, made their way back into the woods.

They searched the ground for all the odd twigs they could find before trying to get any that were actually attached to any trees.

“Wait!” Steve exclaimed as Eddie reached for the tree. “Remember the hive mind, I think we need to be really careful that they're not all linked still. If something comes for us you get to safety and I'll hold them off for as long as possible okay? Nothing heroic this time Munson. Got it?” He ended with a raised eyebrow.

“Don't worry big boy, you can have your sacrifice play should it come down to that,” Eddie replied with as dramatic of a bow as he could. He was sure there was nothing out there wanting to hurt them but he wasn't going to tell Steve and cause an unnecessary argument when simply agreeing with him solved everything. Plus he had to admit having that protective streak of the others turned on him was hot.

As Steve stood watching Eddie once again reached for a branch and got ready to run if needed. Grabbing the first branch he could, he waited to see if anything happened before he broke it off.

“Can you hear anything?” He whispered to Steve.

“No, I think we’re all good,” came the reply in a hushed tone.

“I’ll snap one off then,” Eddie said, breaking the first branch off.

Nothing came running at them, no loud noises could be heard in the distance and they weren’t attacked. Once the first couple of branches were added to the cart Steve helped to add more, the boys worked quickly and in a comfortable silence.

“Erm, were any of us actually a boy scout?” Steve questioned with a laugh once they had returned and sorted the wood out into its own little pile.

“I sure as hell wasn’t that would mean that daddy dearest cared enough to do something like that for me,” Eddie pointed out. “That doesn’t mean that I don’t know how to build a fire though, let's hope my lighter survived the hell that has been the last few days.”

“Alright, I’ll leave that to you then,” Steve gestured to the wood pile.

Rummaging through the wood pile, Eddie found some smaller bits whilst Steve went to see if he could find something to sit over it to rest their pot on in nearby trailers.

Eddie got a fire started and Steve found a piece of equipment designed for exactly what they needed. They emptied a couple of bottles of water into the pot, added some of the salt and placed that over the fire to boil up. Whilst they waited for it to heat Eddie opened a couple of the cans and they started to eat them.

“So, tell me something about Steve Harrington that I wouldn’t have previously known,” Eddie pipes up, jolting the other from his thoughts.

“Erm, wow, that’s a tough one. Okay, so, this is something only Robin knows but something tells me the secrets safe with you. I actually like men as well as women. She said there’s a word for it but I can’t remember it. But yeah, I also like men,” He ended with a shrug. This was terrifying, he could have read the whole thing wrong and he could have just revealed his biggest secret and was about to be ridiculed for it.

“Bisexual, the um, word you’re looking for is bisexual. Thank you for telling me. You’re 100 percent correct as well, secrets safe with me because I too like men as well and women. Mines not so much of a secret in Indy though. The clubs there are a lot more liberal, we can go there when we’re out of here and all healed up.”

“Yeah, that sounds good. I guess I’ve never explored it, never really been safe for me to do so in Hawkins and there’s always been a girl for me to hook up with if I wanted to.”

“We can take Robin too if she wants to come.”

“Oh, I’m not really sure it’s for her,” Steve responded, a little panicked. He couldn’t out Robin.

“If she doesn’t want to go because it’s a club and they’re all loud and crowded we can find a quiet bar instead, but a friend knows a friend and I think she too could benefit from some Indy freedom,” Eddie soothed, seeing the panic rising in Steve.

“Thanks, I’ll mention it to her when I can,” Steve whispered, suddenly choking up. Robin had been accepted for who she was fully by some who she hadn’t had to come out too or explain that when it got too loud her skin felt too small for her and she needed to escape.

“No worries and it’s not a big deal if she doesn’t want to join us for whatever reason,” Eddie smiled.

They slipped into more of a casual conversation as they finished their food and took the water off the boil to cool down. Once it was cooled enough they took off the old bandages before using the cotton pads to clean them all off with.

“This is the best we can do I guess. At least we know that the water is sterile, not just whatever it is in the bottles,” Steve said.

Once they had cleaned the wounds and placed new bandages on them the pair got settled back into the tent and ready to get some rest for as long as they could.

“Would you rather wake up as a worm or as a moth?” Eddie suddenly asked into the quiet of the tent.

Steve let out a startled laugh “Erm probably a moth, I can move around quicker then. I’d be eaten as a worm I think.”

“Hmm, yeah I agree, a moth would be better but also you can just bury yourself in dirt as a worm,” Eddie pointed out.

“That's actually pretty gross and I stand by my original answer of moth. Would you rather be a ladybug or a beetle?” Steve questioned.

“Ladybug, easy. They’re much prettier,” Eddie answered as though it was a fact and silly that he was being asked.

“But beetles are so much cooler, they can do some really fun things, so Henderson says anyway,” Steve squawked.

“But they’re disgusting, don’t listen to a thing that dweeb tells you,” Eddie laughed. “Okay, lion or elephant?”

“Oh that's really easy, lion. Top of the food chain, ruler of the jungle and all of that,” Steve said, flexing his muscles.

“Why did I even ask, of course King Steve was going to pick the lion. Tiger would have been more fitting though but it wasn’t an option,” Eddie giggled.

They continued to play would you rather for a little longer before they fell into a comfortable silence. Eddie couldn’t believe how comfortable he felt whilst he was with Steve. He normally had to fill any silence with noise of some kind. Whether that be talking or random questions or sounds, he would fill the silence. He didn’t feel the need to do that with Steve around.

“I miss the little shits,” Steve said suddenly, breaking Eddie’s thought process. “I hope they’re all okay. I don’t think anything from down here got up there so at least they won’t have to battle the monsters again.”

“Yeah, me too. This place would have made an amazing background for a campaign. Maybe I’ll write a new one for them when I’m home again. Wherever home is I guess,” he hummed, clearly trying to remain positive.

“Well, I do have a couple spare rooms and my parents left me the place to myself so if needed you and your Uncle Wayne can come and stay with me for as long as needed. I don’t mind,” Steve suggested.

“We’ll see,” Eddie replied.

“I’m going to go and grab a drink, be back in a little bit,” the other whispered before moving away almost as though he had been scalded.

Eddie was glad of the distance, he wasn’t sure he could have given Steve an answer if pressed for one because he wasn’t sure he could handle living with Steve Harrington and everything that would come with that. His heart would never survive it. Developing a crush on the other brunette was not something he should be doing right now. They were in a hell space with no means of escaping and feelings would only make things more complicated.

“So, you, erm, mentioned earlier about being openly bisexual in Indy. What’s that actually like?” Steve asked later that day once he had returned from his walk.

“It’s a whole different world man, totally different out there than back in Hawkins. You’ll see some familiar faces when you’re there but it's never mentioned. There’s so much more freedom for everyone to be exactly who they want to be. You, erm, ever done anything with another guy before?” Eddie asked softly.

“I’ve never had the option to try. I know I find men attractive though. I have wanted to kiss men and have sex with men. When I picture a future I can see it being with either a man or a woman.”

“I’m sure we can find someone for you to experiment with if that’s what you want to do.”

“Hmm maybe, we’ll see. I’m not really a huge fan of just sleeping around anymore,” Steve shrugged.

The pair settled down into small talk, swapping stories of classmates past and present as well as stories about people within their town. Eddie laughed at how much gossip Steve had and how big of a bitch he was. Over time the two of them slowly fell asleep, albeit still fairly restlessly, the tent filling with the sounds of them both snoring and steady breathing.

“What was that?” Steve shouted, sitting up right and feeling around for the axe that had been left with them both.

“No idea but I heard it too,” Eddie replied in a panic.

“We should at least leave the tent to see what’s going on and get somewhere safer,” Steve suggested moving ahead of Eddie and opening the tent up slowly, as quietly as he could.

After checking their immediate surroundings and with as little disturbance as possible the two men made their way out of the tent. They could now see a lot further into the distance and couldn’t see anything of any concern.

“Look, I’m the one with the weapon okay, stay with me and run if needed, please,” Steve pleaded with Eddie.

“Yeah as if I’m leaving you alone down here, especially when you have the best weapon,” Eddie joked, trying to keep the mood light.

Eddie was not sure what he could do though. He wasn’t in any state to fight, there didn’t seem to be any weapons around either for him to pick up and use, Steve would stand a better chance if he wasn’t there. And then it hit him, how this beautiful man with his whole life ahead of him could potentially die because of him.

“Whatever,” Steve snorted a laugh and shook his head.

The noise was heard again. Almost like a screeching, neither could say if it sounded viscous or even hostile really. The walk over to the noise took the pair through the woods, past the lab and coming out by the quarry. Standing at the top of the quarry they looked down to see if they could spot what had been making the noise.

“Holy shit,” Steve stage whispered. “Look down there,” he pointed.

Down at the bottom of the quarry were a handful of demodogs which could only be described as playing, they seemed to be chasing each other around like actual dogs. It was kind of cute.

“What the fuck are those?” Eddie asked, horrified.

“Demodogs. Met them during round two with this place. One kind of saved us, it was really weird,” Steve explained.

“That doesn’t take away and from my what the fuck dude,” Eddie stressed.

“I’ll explain all later okay? I don’t think they’re going to hurt us. We’d know if they were. This seems to be the cause of the noises we heard, I can’t see anything else around here. Can you?”

“No, I can’t see anything else around here or hear any other noises. Let’s get the fuck outta here man,” Eddie suggested, grabbing Steve’s arm and walking away.

Walking back the way they came they fell into easy chatter with Steve explaining all about the demodogs and how they had been saved by D’art. Conversation had come easier and easier during the time they had been down here with the forced proximity of living and sleeping in a very small space and not having anywhere else to go due to dangers and injury.

Conversations had been frank and honest at times. Talking about their hopes and dreams for the future, what they wanted to do and what they thought they would actually end up doing. Steve confessed his desire to do all he could to get into college and become an EMT. Eddie admitted that he really wanted to teach music to kids that couldn’t afford private lessons, that he’d like to work with a music shop to make sure that each kid he taught could get an instrument in an affordable way. They also had ridiculous conversations, all the silly stuff they had believed as children that now they think about it seems really stupid. All the rumours they had heard during middle school and high school that they could remember. Both confessed to having started a few of them each.

“I’m going to sit outside tonight, just to make sure. You get some sleep,” Steve stated matter of factly later on in the day.

“Alright then, you can come and sleep any time though if you need to,” Eddie pointed out.

Eddie lay down and tried his best to get comfortable. Something that was difficult for him to do with the amount of pain he was in with the bites, how every movement felt like it was opening some part of the wound up again. Finally he fell into an uneasy rest, already missing the presence of another person next to him, or maybe it was who that other person had been.

Waking later on Eddie made his way out of the tent and straightened himself up the best he could. Looking around he made sure that all seemed safe. Nothing seemed to have been wrecked in the right and there were no other signs of conflict or anything else having gone wrong.

He looked over at the table and saw Steve slumped over. Running as fast as he could over to the other man he feared the worst. Not only was Steve dead, Eddie himself was doomed.

“Stevie, sweetheart, I really need you to wake up,” Eddie spoke as he shook Steve gently. “Steve please.”

“Please what?” Came the sleepy response.

“Jesus Christ!” Eddie exclaimed, pulling his hand back from Steve’s shoulder. “I thought you were fucking dead, and you were just napping.”

“Oh, shit. I’m sorry I didn’t mean to fall asleep. Seems as though it was all okay though,” Steve smiled, looking up at Eddie sleepily.

As he calmed down from the near heart attack he’d had moments before he realised just how beautiful Steve looked when he was all sleepy. It was obvious how attractive he was when he was wearing his preppy clothes and his hair was styled perfectly but this Steve was on a whole new level. Messy hair and a dopey smile across his face made him look less polished but more perfect in a way.

Time blurred and the two men grew closer. They spent time wondering as far as they dared around the surrounding area to see if they could find anything else to help them survive more comfortably down here. They even discussed actually moving into one of the houses that was close as both were suffering with sleeping on the floor, as padded as they had since made it. They ultimately decided that it still felt too weird to live in someone else's home that was stuck in a time capsule, however both did agree that they would revisit the conversation at a later date if needed. They had managed to add more food and water to their pile and had been able to change their clothes too a few times.

The ‘day’ started as normal, the two sleeping closely on the bed that they had made. Steve woke up and propped himself up on an elbow and looked down at the sleeping boy sort of beneath him. Taking a moment to admire how handsome Eddie actually was, he moved some hair from the other’s face and allowed his fingers to linger a little before moving them away.

“Keep doing things like that big boy and I’ll start to think you like me,” Eddie hummed sleepily, eyes still closed.

“Maybe I do, is there an issue with that?” Steve whispered, without really thinking and then hoping the other hadn’t heard him.

“That depends if you’re going to do something about it or not?” he questioned opening his eyes and meeting the others.

“Oh, erm,” Steve gulped, moving backwards and making to leave the tent.

“Stop,” Eddie insisted, wrapping his hand around Steve’s wrist.

“Let me go please?” he whispered, tears evident in his voice.

“No,” Eddie replied. “I want you to do something about it.”

“What?” Steve asked, shocked.

“I want you to do something about it,” Eddie repeated. “I like you too.”

“You mean it Eds?” Steve spoke softly.

“Deadly serious sweetheart,” he answered, sitting up and closer to the other man.

Steve finally looked around and into Eddie’s eyes. He moved so he was facing the other again and they both leaned forward, meeting in the middle with a tending touch of their lips.

Their ‘days’ continued as they had before. The Kiss as it would become known as, but now there was added intimacy. They cuddled at night, as best they could with wounds that didn’t seem to be healing.

What felt like weeks later, the concept of time really gone by this point. The gate once again opened.

“Steve, Eddie?” came the voice of Dustin from outside of the tent.

The pair untangled themselves and raced out of the tent as quickly as they could considering they were both very weak from dehydration, malnutrition and prolonged pain.

“Dustin!” Eddie exclaimed, walking as quickly as he could towards the curly haired boy. “You’re here! Does this mean we can finally go home? I’ve had awful company, truth be told he smells a little, and I’m ready for a meal that isn’t beans from a can and drink something that isn’t bottled water. I’m still in a really bad way and I’m pretty sure Steve’s wound is a little infected so heading to a hospital might be the best thing for us both.”

“So I went ahead and called Dr. Owens and told him that none of us were signing another NDA until everyone had been treated and Eddie’s name had been cleared. We’re not children they can force into them now, I will happily write an article about this and send it to every major newspaper. I am sick of this bullshit,” Nancy declared, making her presence known.

“This means that they’re actually on the way here. You two will be taken to a private suite and looked after around the clock until you’re able to go home” Robin added, leaning up from where she had been tucked under Steve's arm.

“That’s amazing, “ Steve breathed. “We’re finally getting out of here, Eds,” he smiled at the other man. He didn’t miss the look Robin gave him as he said it.

Getting both Steve and Eddie back out of the Upside Down was a struggle.

“You go first Eds, let's get you to safety,” Steve insisted, trying his hardest to help Eddie towards the gate.

Once both of them were through, they were to be taken to a private hospital. They were promised doctors and nurses would be waiting to treat their wounds and monitor them for any ill effects from prolonged exposure to the Upside Down.

Doctor Owens was waiting in Steve’s room when he arrived.

“Where’s Eddie?” Steve demanded to know as soon as he saw the other man.

“He’s in surgery currently. He’s in a bad way, the surgeons, doctors and nurses are doing all they can to save him. It seems as though the Upside down was keeping him somewhat stable so once he was taken out of it he got rapidly worse.”

“Owens I swear if he dies I will be going to the press about this latest fight we had because you guys had to mess with shit you didn’t know. I’m standing with what Nancy said. None of us are signing anything until we’re all okay and Eddie’s name is cleared. Simple as that,” Steve stated, trying his best to not wince in pain.

“I assure you, we’re already working on getting his name cleared okay. We’re going to say that Henry Creel came back to Hawkins and went on a killing spree but that we’ve got him and he’s heading to prison. We’re going to say that Eddie was taken from his trailer and managed to escape later on,” Owens informed him.

“Speaking of the trailer, Eddie and his uncle are going to need somewhere else to live. Think you can make a nice little two bed or more happen for them?” Steve asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah, I’m sure we can arrange that. Can we just focus right now on making sure you’re both okay and get you both well again,” Owen replied with a sigh. He wasn’t surprised by Nancy’s demands when she spoke to him earlier, but he hadn’t expected this from Steve.

“Dr. Owens, can I be left alone with the patient please? We need to get him assessed properly,” a nurse asked, walking up to the pair.

“Steve, please. Mr. Harrington is my knobhead of a father,” Steve smiled as Owens left the room.

He sat on the bed in silence. The true horror of what had happened started to sink in. Eddie could potentially die because he didn't get him out of that hell quick enough. He was lying on an operating table dying because Steve failed.

The nurses worked around him getting him to stand and sit, moving his arms and legs. Sticking him with needles, hooking him up to lord knows what and taking what seemed to be more blood than they should given how much he’d lost recently. They talked at him more than anything and his replies were short. He was sure he hadn’t answered half of the questions asked.

He was physically and mentally exhausted. The nurses laid him back on the bed and he fell asleep instantly. When he woke up it was darker in the room and there was a quiet sobbing coming from beside him. Turning he saw that Robin was sitting at his bedside crying into his yellow sweater.

“If there's any snot on that sweater you can get it dry cleaned,” he winced through a laugh.

“Steve,” Robin gasped and leaned forward to grab his hand. “I’m so glad we got you out.”

“Hey birdie, me too. Thank you for helping get me out of there and Eddie too,” he replied, squeezing her hand.

“About him, anything you want to tell me?” Robin asked softly.

“I really really like him, Bobby. We got so close in the time we were down there. He’s amazing. I really hope he makes it, I need to ask him on an official date.”

“Oh dingus. I’m sure you’ll get to live out all of your gayest fantasies with him once you’re both out of here,” she laughed wetly.

“Is there any news on him?” Steve asked cautiously. Her words were encouraging but that didn’t mean Eddie was actually okay.

“He’s out of surgery and he’s in a room but he’s still critical. They��re hopeful though,” she explained.

Steve spent a couple of days almost entirely in bed resting up and being treated for dehydration and a little malnutrition. He got updates on Eddie as often as he could which was mostly when his nurse needed to leave his room. There was also a steady stream of visitors over those first couple of days. They made sure he was okay and filled him in on what he had missed in the 3 weeks they had actually been stuck down there.

“Morning Steve,” Nurse Nova greeted him one morning 5 days after he was admitted. “I have news from camp Eddie. They’re going to try and wake him up this morning. I do have to warn you that this doesn’t mean he’s better or that he’s out of the woods just yet. He is still very ill, I also need you to know that taking away sedation is a slow process and doesn’t always work. Not that they never wake up again but sometimes the body isn’t quite ready for it and we need to sedate again.”

“That’s great news! Will you let me know when he’s awake and I can go and see him please?” He asked, smiling for the first time in almost a week.

“We can certainly look into that, everything depends on Eddie is and how your day is going. You’ve got a lot that you need to do today, starting with a bit of light physio soon.”

Hours later his wounds had been swabbed, cleaned and redressed again. He had another barrage of tests, another heavy course of antibiotics, and another bag of fluid before he was allowed to move around again.

“Steve please stay in bed, you need rest,” Nova advised as he tried to get out of bed.

“I need to go and see Eddie so either you can help me and make sure I get to him all okay or I can get up and go myself. I’m asking you to please help me. I need to see him, I need to make sure he’s okay,” Steve pleaded with her.

“Okay, if I help, will you at least let me grab a wheelchair first? If I come back and you’ve moved without me I will be insisting on restraints on your bed,” she sighed before leaving the room.

A couple of minutes later she returned with the wheelchair and helped Steve into it before taking him down the hall to Eddie’s room.

“Hey pretty boy,” Eddie dreamily sighed as Steve entered the room.

“He’s on some pretty strong painkillers right now,” the nurse looking after Eddie laughed.

“Thought he was pretty anyway, me being high hasn't made me realise,” Eddie pointed out.

“How you doing Eds” Steve asked, trying to change the subject, already very aware that he was blushing.

“I’m doing ok, I feel less like I’ve been hit by a truck than I did. They’ve taken bits of me away though Stevie. They stole bits of me!” He exclaimed, it was clear that the painkillers he was on had him higher than a kite.

“They had to remove infected flesh and some infected muscle. That’s all they took,” the nurse explained with a laugh. “He needs to rest a lot and will need a lot of physical therapy before he’s even close to okay again.”

“You're going to be okay Eds, promise. Here for a few more days and then you can stay at mine for as long as you need or as long as you want,” Steve smiled, placing his hand on top of the other’s arm. He really wanted to hold his hand. To crawl into the bed beside him but he knew he couldn’t.

“Stay with you forever if you let me,” Eddie smiled back dopaly.

“Easy there Romeo, calm it down,” Steve laughed. He really hoped the nurse wasn’t paying that much attention to what they were saying.

Over the next few days Steve spent as much time as he could with Eddie. Only being in his own room when either of them needed privacy for something or was receiving treatment. The doctors were very happy with how his wounds were healing and thought he could go home to continue to heal within a couple days.

“What time is visiting?” Steve asked as he was finally being allowed home. “I want to be able to come and see Eddie,” he blushed.

“10am until 5pm,” the nurse answered him as she gathered his paperwork together. He was given instructions on how to change his bandages, what movements he could make to help with his healing and what to avoid.

“They’ve released me Eds. I’m heading home. Nancy is coming to pick me up, I’ll be back tomorrow though okay,” Steve said, popping in to see Eddie before he left.

“You don’t have to come back. Stay home and rest Stevie, you also need to heal and you’ve not got a lot of bed rest whilst you’ve been here,” Eddie argued.

“I’ll be back in the morning,” he nodded, not leaving room for further argument.

“Alright then,” Eddie smiled softly. “See you tomorrow.”

The pet names and Eddie being over affectionate had stopped since his painkillers had been changed and he no longer spent his days high. Steve almost pouted about it every time, he missed them a lot. He was missing having Eddie on his own like he had for all that time in the Upside Down. He knew it was for the best but he still wanted to pout about it with Robin. Obviously she already knew about how close him and Eddie had got whilst in the Upside Down and trying to survive.

Returning the next day Steve was walking through the foyer of the hospital when he saw them. Flowers and plants sitting outside a little gift shop, he walked over and took a look. Almost all the flowers were bright colours with a couple bunches of roses thrown in. None of these were particularly Eddie. He looked at the plants instead, maybe one of those would be better. These were boring and far too colourful but in the wrong way. Then he saw it, a tiny little succulent with purple stems leading into green leaves. It was small enough that he could get away with saying it was for a friend if needed but also something that he thought Eddie would like. Before he could think himself out of it he picked it up and brought it.

Heading up to Eddie's room, he tried to hide it as best he could until he knew which nurse was looking after him today. He’d seen how a couple of the nurses looked at them whilst they sat close and talked. He wasn't bothered about people knowing he liked guys but he didn't want to give them anything else to talk about. As soon as Steve turned to go into Eddie's room he noticed there wasn't a nurse in there.

“Scared them all away finally ay Eds,” he teased as he walked into the room

“You came back,” Eddie replied softly, a tone of disbelief in his voice.

“Told you I would,” Steve smiled softly, walking over and taking the seat next to the bedside again. “Got you something,” He declared, taking the little plant out of its hiding place. “I thought the room could use some colour.”

“My favourite colour! It’s cute, just like you,” Eddie smiled, taking the plant from the other and looking it all over before placing it on the locker beside his bed.

The two sat close and whispered between themselves before the nurse got back from her break, when they reluctantly sat away from each other again.

The days rolled by and Eddie got stronger and stronger. His blood work no longer showed signs of infection and he was able to start moving around without assistance. Walking was still an issue but he could transfer into a chair and back to his bed. The first time Steve walked into Eddie's room and saw him sat up in one of the patient chairs he could have cried. It was after this that the doctors and nurses started to talk about allowing Eddie to leave and have all of his physio treatment as an outpatient.

“You will need somewhere to stay that's low profile. It also needs to have as few steps as possible up to it and no stairs that you have to go up or down to either sleep or go to the bathroom.”

“I can make that happen at mine, if you want that is?” Steve rushed to say before blushing.

“Sounds like a good idea. I’m not surprised that the Harrington mansion has bedrooms downstairs,” Eddie laughed.

“Oh, it doesn’t. But I can turn my dads office into a bedroom for you,” Steve replied sheepishly, already thinking about what he would need to do to make this happen.

“Okay then, as long as you’re both happy with the arrangement we can get things moving and get you out of here. You’re doing great Mr. Munson, all you need now is time and rest,” the nurse smiled as she left the room.

“You, erm, sure about this?” Eddie asked nervously once the two were alone again.

“About what? You coming to live with me for as long as you want to? Yeah absolutely I’m sure, 100%. Never been more sure of anything in my life,” Steve grinned at the other before leaning forward and giving him a quick kiss on the lips.

The look of surprise on Eddie’s face had Steve second guessing everything that had happened in the Upside Down. Had he misread everything and what they actually were having was a little bit of fun to make things bearable. Of course Eddie didn’t want anything now they were no longer trapped. He could go back to Indy and find whoever he wanted on a weekly basis. Why would he want some closest case that peaked in high school and had no hope of going anywhere outside of Hawkins.

“I’m gonna go home I think,” Steve whispered into the deafening silence that felt like it was dragging on for hours.

He grabbed his jacket and walked away, hoping the tears wouldn’t start falling until he was in his car.

“Please don’t,” Eddie replied, clearing his throat. “I wasn’t sure you’d still want me like that now we were out of there. My brain couldn’t comprehend the idea that the Steve Harrington wanted me.”

“Why would I not?” Steve questioned, outraged. “I’m already more than half in love with your stupid reckless ass so.”

“Oh yeah? Come back here and say that to my face then,” Eddie raised his eyebrow in a challenge.

“And what if I do? Hmm, what are you going to do about it?” Steve asked with a teasing tone in his voice as he stepped back towards Eddie. “I want you Eddie. You’re reckless and do silly things when told not to but you’re also kind and funny, weirdly charming and I’m already more than half in love with you,” Steve breathed into the space between them.

“It’s a good job I’m more than halfway in love with your perfect ass too then isn't it?” The other boy responded before leaning forward and capturing Steve’s lips with his own.

The world seemed to stop still in that moment. This was by far not the first kiss they had both shared but seemed to be the most significant, this one tasted like hope. Not of comfort as those they shared in the Upside Down had but of hope that they were both going to be okay and of a future together.

“Don’t mind me boys, I just heard they were talking about releasing Eddie,” Wayne said, interrupting the moment the two were having.

“Wayne!” Eddie exclaimed, the grin on his face becoming impossibly wider. “Yes! I can go and stay with Steve because he has a big house with a whole bedroom downstairs and I won’t need to go up stairs for anything. Plus you’ll be really busy moving into the new place and starting your new job.”

“Alright then, if that’s what you both want, who am I to stand in the way? Just remember that you’ve always got a place with me boy, as long as I’m alive you have a home okay?” He said, squeezing Eddie’s shoulder and his hand. “And Steve, he’s your problem now, you chose him.”

“Don’t scare him off yet Uncle Wayne, I’ve only just got him,” Eddie sighed with a playful roll of his eyes.

“Oh, I’m fully prepared for what a handful you’re going to be,” Steve laughed, poking the other boy in the cheek.

Eddie was released from hospital the following day with the instructions that he would be going back once a week to have physio. Steve was shown how to properly clean the wounds and dress them as well as what to look out for to make sure they were all healing nicely.

Steve had done exactly what he said he would do and had converted his dads old office into a bedroom with the help of the party.

“Erm, the beds not the best, it's the one from the spare room. I didn’t think my parents' bed would fit in here with the new draws and wardrobe and things that will be coming in the next couple days.”

“Sweetheart you didn’t have to go through all this trouble for lil old me. I’d be perfectly fine on a pullout with a blanket and a throw pillow,” he responded, grabbing Steve and giving him a kiss.

“Those throw pillows are sacred Munson, no one rests a head on those,” Steve scoffed in reply before laughing. “It’s nothing, you need to be as comfortable as possible and I didn’t want you feeling rushed at all with your recovery. I want this to feel like home for you. I’ll give you a moment to settle in and let you have some time for yourself if you want? I’m going to go and cook us something to eat and we can go and sit outside with it if you want so you can get some fresh air.”

“Yeah that sounds amazing, thank you,” he replied, smiling at Steve as he left the room.

Taking a seat on the bed Eddie took a moment to think about how much his life had changed in the last few weeks. Finding out that there was a whole different world below Hawkins, that the monsters he read about in his Dungeons and Dragons books actually existed was unbelievable. Coming so close to death, twice, and having a murder charge against him and then removed. But there was some good. He had a new appreciation for life and from the couple of chats that he and Steve had he had a boyfriend to live that life with. He didn’t want to keep Steve waiting for too long so he got up and left. Sitting in some fresh air really did sound like a good idea.

25 minutes later the two boys were sitting outside at the little patio table that the Harringtons had with plates full of pasta and meatballs with some garlic bread sat in front of them.

“I’ve got some clothes that you can use for a while but as soon as you’re up for it we can head somewhere and fill your wardrobe backup. I’ve picked you up some basics like underwear and a couple sets of jeans and some t-shirts but that’s all I could get, sorry,” Steve spoke up almost suddenly.

“It’s more than you needed to sweetheart, you’re amazing. Thank you for everything,” Eddie replied, taking Steve’s hand in his and giving it a slight squeeze. “Can we, erm, talk about that too? About us. Like what is this?” He gestured between the two of them. “I would very much like to call you my boyfriend but I understand if you’re not ready for that. If you want to see what else or who else is out there.”

“I want you and only you. I want a life with you Eddie, I understand that Hawkins will make this difficult for us but together we can get through it. We can see about moving out of this shitty town that’s been nothing but hell for us for years. I just want to be where you are.”

“Sap,” Eddie smiled. Steve saw the tears in his eyes as he leaned forward for a kiss. “Lets eat though before this goes cold.”

The rest of the evening was spent sitting outside under the stars laughing, joking, kissing and enjoying being free. Eddie yawning put a stop to the conversation and the two went inside.

“Good night then baby,” Steve said against Eddie’s lips as they kissed at Eddie’s bedroom door.

“Yeah, like you’re going anywhere else other than into this room with me,” he replied, grabbing the other close by his hips and opening the door and pulling him inside.

“Alright alright, I’m moving,” Steve giggled. “Be careful of your stitches and everything though.”

Once they were in the bedroom and they spent a few more moments kissing and just touching each other in ways they had not been able to do before tonight. Neither boy being on death's door anymore meant that they could finally explore each other's bodies a little more than they were able to in the Upside Down. Kissing and undressing each other until they were both naked except for the bandages that they both wore. Nothing more was needed than just kissing and being close to each other.

“You kept it,” Steve whispered, walking over to the plant that Eddie had set on the makeshift nightstand that had been made.

“Of course I did sweetheart, you thought I’d get rid of it?” Eddie questioned, walking over to Steve and hugging him from behind. “Going to make sure it lives and keep it with me, just like I’m going to keep you if you’ll let me.”

“Well I’m not letting you go either so I guess we’re stuck with each other,” Steve laughed, turning around slightly to give the other man a kiss. “Let’s get you to bed though bambi, it's been a long day today and you must be exhausted.”

As if on cue Eddie yawned. “That sounds like an amazing idea. Come cuddle with me until we’re asleep sweetheart? Like we’ve done before.”

“Yeah, yeah lets curl up and sleep,” Steve replied, moving to get under the covers, reaching out his hands for Eddie to join him.

The following days were filled with visits from the Party, minus Lucas who had taken up camp at Max’s bedside. Wayne stopped by a lot but was also really busy sorting out the new house, it quickly became apparent to him that he could have the biggest bedroom with the ensuite when he saw how close his boy and Steve were.

Eddie regained more and more of his strength and barely spent a moment alone, Steve making sure that Eddie was doing as little as possible and resting as much as he could.

Robin had taken Steve to the side, in a bathroom naturally, and had questioned him over everything that had happened since they spoke at the hospital.

“Nurse Steve at my service once again?” Eddie joked as he sat at the breakfast bar in the kitchen one morning whilst Steve was sorting out fresh bandages.

“How about I get a uniform to wear next time? Hmm?” Steve suggested.

“Steady now big boy, we’re heading out for my physio soon, don't go talking like that or we won’t be going anywhere,” Eddie said playfully, pulling Steve towards him.

“And you almost tore a stitch last night so let’s keep everything pg13 yeah?” Steve smiled, kissing him lightly before stepping back and continuing to sort out the things needed.

Eddie’s wounds were still healing, some weren’t healing as well as others, so they still had to be careful when their relationship took a physical turn a couple of weeks after Eddie got home. His twice weekly physico was also going really well. He was moving around the house a lot easier and the muscles that had been eaten away or had wasted from not being able to move much were growing back. He and Steve had been into Indy to restock his wardrobe and had made a stop at a shop that was known to sell books aimed at queer teens and young adults, Steve having thrown himself fully into learning the history of the LGBT community. They started to go out more and more around Hawkins as Eddie grew stronger and short outings no longer left him laid in bed for days afterwards like they had at first.

The one thing they didn’t do was move Eddie’s, well theirs he supposed, bedroom out of the office. Steve had actually moved some of his things down into the room and they had made it more of a mix of both of them. Steve had enlisted the help of the Party to move everything that didn’t need to be in there out of there and into other rooms. Laying in bed one night they had even discussed a new colour scheme for the room. It was their room now, the first place they had made their own.

“This should be your last bandage change bambi,” Steve shouted from their bedroom to Eddie in the living room a handful of weeks later. “Doctors said it’s all closed up now basically so as long as its dry when I take the old ones off this will be the last one.”

“It’s about time!” Eddie shouted back, walking towards the kitchen “I’ll meet you in the kitchen.”

“Ready to be seen now?” Steve spoke in a low tone from the doorway catching Eddie's attention.

Turning around he was greeted with a sight he was sure he would never forget. Steve was standing there in a nurses outfit and a smirk on his face. He filled it out beautifully, yes it may have been a normal nurses outfit that was a little big on him but the sight was enough to render Eddie speechless.

“Everything okay?” he asked in a voice filled with faux concern as he walked, no sauntered, into the kitchen and towards Eddie. “Feeling okay? Do I need to check your temperature?”

“I don’t think things could be any more okay right now” Eddie replied breathlessly reaching out for his boyfriend.

“Let’s get these changed and maybe I’ll let you take it off me,” he whispered before laying a few kisses on the metalheads neck in a spot that he knew made the other weak.

And as if nothing had happened Steve stepped back and went about changing bandages, ignoring the fact that Eddie was hard as a rock between them.

“And now for your treat,” he announced as he put all the rubbish in a bag and then into the bin.

Turning around to leave the kitchen Steve opened up the dress and allowed it to fall off his shoulders, revealing a much sexier nurses dress that barely covered his ass and fit like a second skin. He was clearly wearing nothing underneath it. As he bent down, sticking his ass out, Eddie caught a glimpse of a butt plug nestled inside of his boyfriend.

“Come here you, I need to get my hands on my treat,” Eddie growled as he followed.

#eddie munson #steve harrington #stranger things #steddie #steddie summer exchange

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unclewaynemunson · 1 year ago

Note

Jeff is one of my favorite characters and I think we should start a post of all our favorite Jeff headcanons. He and Freak get left out in almost every Eddie-centric fic I read, with his "best friend" being either Gareth or Chrissy, and I'm tired of it. Jeff is wonderful. Here's my hc's:

- Jeff and Eddie have been best friends since middle school. They started CC and Hellfire together.

- they went to the Snowball together and rigged the bubble machine to spew bubbles during the slow dance songs. The dance had to end early and Jeff and Eddie never got caught

- Jeff's parents loves Eddie. They used to have sleepovers at each other's place almost every weekend.

- Jeff was the first person Eddie came out to. Jeff tried to be surprised and "that's great, man, thanks for telling me!" But Eddie saw right through that.

- Eddie is afraid of geese and spiders. Jeff thinks this is fucking hilarious.

- post-Vecna, Jeff is the one Eddie reconnects with first. Eddie tells him everything, despite the NDAs and Steve's warnings. Jeff believes him, because he knows there's wacky shit going on in Hawkins, and he's seen Eddie's wounds.

- they have that kind of friendship that nothing can break. Even if they don't see or talk to each other for years, because Life Happens and people lose touch, they'll always have part of themselves carved out for their best friend.

Ok, that's all I got for now, and sorry for the long ask! I just love Jeff so much and he (and Freak, too, because Freak gets ignored because of fatphobia) deserves just as much love and attention as Gareth gets.

What are your Jeff and Eddie headcanons?

I am loving this Jeff love and your headcanons, thank you so much for sending this to me!!! <3

I think with Unnamed Freak things are a bit different bc, yaknow, he doesn't have a name. For me at least that makes me hesitant to write about him so I don't wanna go as far as to say it's all bc he's fat (even though I'm not gonna deny that that probably also plays a part in how popular he is in this fandom urgh). Anyway, yes this fandom certainly does Jeff dirty. I think it's this gross combination of racism and people copying a lot from already existing stories, characterizations and headcanons without much critical thinking of their own (which baffles me, if you're creative enough to write a story please use that creativity for some originality ffs). Anyway, this is gonna turn into a rant again can you tell I'm still annoyed? so let's turn to something more positive now, like my headcanons for our beloved Jeff:

He was the first person in Hawkins (after Wayne obviously) that Eddie got close to. For Jeff it was kinda the same, being a black, nerdy boy in this town had been very isolating for him and Eddie was his first real friend.

Unnamed Freak made their duo into a trio a bit later. All the others in the group (including Gareth) were Eddie's "lost little sheepies" who he sought out to protect. This means that Jeff and Unnamed Freak are the only people who don't borderline worship Eddie but see him (and love him) for who he is including all his flaws. They're also the only ones not afraid to call him out on his bullshit.

Jeff's mom is really cool. Her name is Pauline and she's not like Jeff at all (she was a cheerleader in high school). Despite their differences they love each other a lot. (Jeff's mom is actually heavily featured in one of the fics I wrote so I got her all fleshed out lmao)

He has two little twin sisters. They're friends with Erica, one of them is one of her friends we meet in the mall in s3. He has this typical hate-love relationship with his sisters: they fight a lot, but at the end of the day, he would die for them.

HE'S BISEXUAL

While he can't wait to get out of Hawkins and to a place that'll be more accepting of him, he doesn't want to move too far away from his family.

He's the most loyal friend in the world, 100% a ride-or-die kinda guy

While he does love metal a lot, his guilty pleasure is Tina Turner

Tell me all your Jeff headcanons i wanna hear more about him!

#don't mind me rambling about stranger things #jeff stranger things #corroded coffin #stranger things

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brbsoulnomming · 1 year ago

Text

Tell Me Sweet Little Lies Part 10

-----

They're a restless group, checking weapons, going over the plan, bunching together in tiny groups of twos and threes that shift and change as they all seek something - distraction, comfort, anything to keep their minds off what's coming, he supposes.

After a while, Eddie finds himself alone, standing at the little kitchen of the camper and staring into a cabinet like he could stomach anything even if it wasn't all but bare. Erica and Dustin are sitting with their heads leaning into each other, discussing something that must be pretty important with how focused they are, though Eddie can't make it out. Robin's sprawled out on the couch, Nancy's reading through her notes again, one long line of tension. Steve sits with Lucas and Max, all loose limbs and forced ease, like he's done this a dozen times before.

He probably has, Eddie realizes, wondering just how many times this little group has sat together like this, waiting for their turn in the action.

Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Steve stand to rock up on his toes, miming tossing a basketball into a hoop.

"And the crowd went wild," Steve says, grinning widely and voice just loud enough to carry to where Eddie's standing. "I should know, I was in the crowd."

Lucas scoffs, says something that Eddie can't make out, though there's something like a tiny smile tugging at his lips.

"Robin'll back me up!" Steve says, purposefully louder this time. "Right, Robs?"

"I know better than to blindly agree to anything just like that, not after last time," Robin calls back without even opening her eyes.

"What happened last time?" Eddie asks, too curious not to.

She opens her eyes now, sitting up so she can look piteously at Eddie. "He tricked me into going running at dawn."

"Ouch," Eddie says sympathetically, resolving right then to never let that happen to him. "Thanks for the heads up."

Steve looks between the two of them, nose scrunched up like he's not sure he likes them ganging up on him, which makes Eddie flash a wide, gleeful grin at him.

"You're backing me up that Lucas was awesome at the game," Steve says, waving his hand like he's waving off their previous conversation.

"Oh! Yeah, okay, that I'll back you up on. You were great, Sinclair."

"See?" Steve says, turning back to him triumphantly. "Would I tell you that you were epic if it wasn't true?"

Lucas ducks his head. "Yeah, well, you stood up to cheer for me whenever I even made a good pass, so your definition of what's epic might be a little suspect."

Steve makes another motion with his hands, though Eddie's not sure if it's supposed to mimic some sports move or is just a meaningless gesture. "Man, no one ever cheers at good passes, and they should! Getting the ball to someone is just as important as the one who-"

"You went to the game Friday night?" Dustin interrupts, sounding betrayed. "I thought you had a date?"

Eddie… didn't know that Dustin knew that much about what was going on in Steve's life, which. All right, maybe there was some truth to how much Dustin talked about the guy beyond their shared adventures in the Upside Down.

"I did!" Steve protests. "Brenda and I went to the game."

Eddie raises his eyebrows. "…you took your date to a high school basketball game?" He doesn't want to agree with Dustin, but - he kind of agrees with Dustin, here. If that's Steve's idea of romance…

Steve scowls at him. "No, I took my date to a championship game where one of my-" He cuts himself off, jaw snapping shut with an audible click.

Robin immediately pounces on his unfinished sentence, gleeful. "One of your kids! Aw, Steve, you took your date to see your kid's basketball game."

"Shut up!" Steve retorts. "I took my date to see one of my friends play, because it was important to him."

Lucas and even Max are grinning at him a little now - though given the gleam in their eyes, Eddie suspects they're getting ready for a whirlwind of teasing.

Eddie glances over at Dustin, expecting to see the same gearing up towards mockery, but instead the kid looks - almost hurt. Before he can say anything, Dustin's speaking up again.

"What, so some dumb basketball game is good enough to make a date out of, but coming to Hellfire isn't?" he demands.

Lucas's smile drops, and Steve frowns at Dustin.

"We really doing this now?" Steve asks.

Eddie looks back and forth between Dustin and Steve, bewildered. "Why the hell would Harrington ever come to Hellfire?"

Look, Eddie may be beyond sold on Steve Harrington being both a badass and a good guy, but he still can't see him anywhere near Hellfire or Dungeons and Dragons in general.

"Because I asked him to!" Dustin shouts. "Because it was important to me, and that's supposed to matter, because he's supposed to be my best friend!"

Silence echoes through the camper. Even Nancy and Erica, who had stayed out of the conversation, are just watching them now.

A muscle in Steve's jaw twitches, and then he nods. "Right, yeah, okay, I guess we're doing this now."

He stalks over to Dustin's side, grabbing the back of his shirt and hauling him towards the door of the RV. Dustin yelps and bats at his hand, but he doesn't actually stop Steve from tugging him outside.

The door slams shut behind them.

The awkward silence lingers. Nancy just looks confused, Lucas won't meet anyone's eyes, Erica and Max have twin expressions that are some mix between defiance and guilt, and Eddie -

"Jesus Christ, does the constant world saving make you all this dramatic about everything?" he asks.

Robin and Max snort, then level him with near identical bitch please looks.

"Do I have to bring up the table speeches again?" Robin asks, at the same time as Max says, "Said the guy who threw a hissy fit about someone missing a session of his dumb little club."

Eddie slaps a hand onto his chest, clutching his heart as if he's just been shot, and lets himself drop dramatically onto one of the chairs. "I am wounded, the likes of which I may never recover from! Will no one defend my honor?"

He casts a glance around the camper, wide eyed and beseeching, gaze never straying to the window. From this angle, he can just see the back of Steve's head, and he'd rather keep everyone's attention away from whatever emotional warfare is going on outside.

"Don't look at me, fool," Erica says. "You are a dramatic little bitch, those're the facts."

"This is stupid," Lucas says suddenly, standing up and pacing across the camper. "I told Steve it doesn't matter. Everyone was right, okay, there's way more important things than a basketball game, and I don't even know if I still want to be on the team after all of this. It's not like it mattered to any of you before, so why are we all talking about this now?"

The levity that Eddie'd been trying to bring back is sucked completely out of the RV, which - yeah, okay, fine, fair enough, this isn't a time for levity. It's just that Eddie doesn't really know what to do without that, and he casts a desperate little look over at Robin and Nancy.

Nancy and Robin exchange a look.

"Lucas," Robin says, softer than he's seen her so far. "Did it matter to you?"

"I-" Lucas stops, looking miserably over at Max before his eyes cut away. "I don't want to answer that."

He doesn't want to lie, he means, or else Max will know, and he doesn't want to admit that it mattered. The way Lucas looks right now is like a kick in the teeth.

Eddie did that. Eddie made one of the kids feel isolated because of something he enjoyed doing, Eddie made the kid's friends find a fucking replacement for him, Eddie made sure that not only did he not get to participate in the final session, but that he was made fully aware that they would all choose Hellfire over him and his shitty basketball game.

Fuck, that Eddie guy is an asshole.

"I should have moved Hellfire," Eddie gets out through gritted teeth.

Lucas's head snaps up. "What?" he asks in disbelief.

"Look, if we're all going to ride off to our very probable heroic deaths soon, then I'm going to do it with a clear conscience and not feeling like I'm the one who made you look like a kicked puppy, all right? Your terrible choice in extracurriculars and even worse choice in new friends notwithstanding, I should have moved Hellfire. It wasn't fair of me to make you choose, or to make your friends choose between you and the campaign, or to hassle you all about it."

The door slams open, making Eddie and several others jump, and Dustin stomps back up the stairs with Steve right on his heels. Dustin's shoulders are hunched and his face is screwed up like he's still upset, but there's no lingering tension between him and Steve. Steve ruffles Dustin's hair, then grips his shoulder briefly as he passes him, so Eddie assumes they've worked whatever it was out.

Dustin stops next to Lucas. "Hey Lucas, can I talk to you for a sec?"

Lucas looks at him warily. "What about?"

Dustin sighs. "About me being sorry?"

Lucas raises an eyebrow. "Sorry for what?"

"For making you feel like your friendship wasn't important and not being there to support you?" Dustin gets out, looking at Lucas pleadingly as he edges towards the door, clearly hoping not to have to keep going with everyone else here.

Lucas lets him squirm a little longer before nodding. "Yeah, okay, we can talk. I guess I'm sorry too."

The two of them tromp back down the steps, the door swinging open and closed again. Steve comes to stand by Robin and Eddie, raising one eyebrow at him when he sees how he's still just flopped over the chair.

Eddie waggles his eyebrows at him, grinning. "You tell him that you weren't mad, just disappointed?"

"Shut up," Steve mutters, which Eddie is going to assume means yes.

Nancy's smiling, looking at Steve all amused and a little fond, and even though Eddie was the one who encouraged Steve to go for it, that makes something twist in his stomach.

"Did you do the hands on your hips thing?" Nancy teases.

Steve rolls his eyes. "Little shit just needed a little reassurance, that's all. And a smack upside the head."

Max groans, bending over to rest her forehead on her knees. "I don't want my soulmate to come save me from stupid boys and their delicate feelings."

Eddie beams, resting his elbows on the table and cupping his chin in his hands. "Look, guys, we created a monster. A soulmate talking rebel."

Max chucks a candy bar wrapper at him without looking. He expects it to go wide, or flutter to the ground without making it very far, but it must have some candy remnants still stuck in it because it smacks him right on the forehead.

Which, well, means there's only one thing to do.

"Free snack!" he crows, opening it up to scrape melted chocolate and caramel off with his teeth.

"Dude!" Steve says at the same time as Robin yells, "Gross!"

"Oh my God, Eddie, if you're hungry we have food," Nancy says.

Max sits up enough to fix her gaze on Erica, gesturing at Eddie. "This?" she asks, judgment dripping from her tone. "This is the guy your brother and his stupid friends have decided is their new dork lord?"

"He's your soulmate," Erica scoffs. "He's your responsibility now."

Eddie grins at them both, hoping there's chocolate in his teeth, just so he can watch them make grossed out faces.

When he looks up at Robin, Steve, and Nancy, all three of them are clearly trying not to laugh, and oh, that's even better.

"Now!" Eddie says, pitching his voice a little in a muted version of his dungeon master boom. "Where is this food I was promised? Cause I gotta tell you, Wheeler, cabinets are looking a little bare unless we want to eat tomatoes or beans out of a can."

He's not certain what he's expecting - maybe for them all to look around at each other before he or Max sigh and start doing what every kid who's been left to their own devices before they're old enough to be able to grocery shop knows how to do. It sure as shit isn't for all of them to look at Steve.

Steve shrugs. "Yeah, sure, I'll see what they've got."

Eddie stares at him as he slides past to peek in the cabinets, pulling out canned vegetables and cream of chicken soup and probably expired spices, a worn looking pot and a can opener and a few half eaten bags of chips.

He leans over into Robin's space so he can whisper, "Can Steve actually cook, or are we all about to have food poisoning?"

She flicks him on the forehead. "Steve's a great cook," she says, and she sounds just a little bit irritated, which -

Not what he was going for, at all, and he leans back, hands up palms out to show he's backing off. Nothing that could be interpreted as talking behind Steve's back, got it.

"Just wary about the expiration date on all those cans," he deflects.

She raises one eyebrow at him, clearly not buying it - he did just lick chocolate out of a candy bar wrapper, after all - but she lets him have it.

Max comes up behind Steve, grabbing the can opener and getting to work opening up the cans he's set out. Robin leans back into Eddie's space, his transgression apparently forgiven, and rests her head on her hand, just watching them. It makes him feel like they've done this before, and there's a moment where he's not sure if he should feel out of place.

Nancy comes to sit at the table, looking a bit tentative. Erica's worming her way in there before anyone can say anything, immediately providing commentary on what Steve's doing like it's a cooking show, and something in Eddie settles in a way he's not sure he's ever felt outside of the trailer with Uncle Wayne.

Dustin and Lucas come stomping back in when Steve's got a mess of diced tomatoes and beans and corn and cream of chicken and spices in the pot cooking over a hot plate, all bluster like they think if they make enough noise no one will call attention to why they were outside in the first place.

No one does, but Eddie's pretty sure that's more to do with the fact that no one wants to talk about it than anything else.

"What're we having?" Dustin asks, while Lucas leans in to look only to get shoved away by Max.

"Taco soup," Steve replies. "There's chips to go on top when it's done."

There's not enough tortilla chips for everyone, but it doesn't really matter. Robin shoves handfuls of potato chips on her soup without complaint, and Nancy digs into hers without bothering with any chips at all. Eddie joins Dustin and Lucas in fighting over the bag of corn chips, only to have Max calmly snatch it while they're occupied and share it with Erica.

Both Lucas and Dustin turn huge, sad eyes on Steve - who'd clearly grabbed tortilla chips for his own bowl before anyone else - but he just gives them an unsympathetic smirk and shovels a big spoonful of soup and corn chips into his mouth.

The soup's good, tortilla chips or not, and Eddie actually kind of likes the salty crunch and extra flavor from the barbecue potato chips he'd put in his. Part of him wonders how - or why - Steve Harrington knows not only how to cook, but how to cook with whatever ingredients are left in someone's pantry. It's the first hot food he's had in days, though, and the mood is probably the lightest it's been in a while, so he doesn't ask.

He just eats his taco soup, hunched around a cramped table in a little camper with a group of people who risked their lives for him, who are all about to risk their lives more, and tries not to feel guilty for having a moment of contentment.

—

When Max suddenly jolts up, they all know it must be time.

I'm not ready, appears on Max's arm. It isn't time to move forward with the plan.

Eddie feels like a fucking live wire of nerves, stripped raw and bleeding. Part of him wants to nervously ask more questions about this girl with superpowers, what her plan is, how they're sure they're all on the same page, but the others have a focused air of grim determination about them and he's a little afraid to bring down the morale.

It doesn't really matter, he guesses, since he'd been on board with this plan before they looped in Max's magical soulmate.

Before he knows it, Steve is telling him and Dustin not to be cute, if anything goes wrong, and fuck the way that stupid boy is looking at them. He understands it with Dustin - as much as he hadn't gotten it before, it's obvious that Steve and Dustin think the world of each other, and Eddie's pretty sure that Steve would do just about anything to protect the kid. But Steve is looking at him, too, like he gives a shit if Eddie makes it out of this - like he gives more than a shit.

Eddie wants so bad it nearly overtakes his brain completely. If this is going to be the last time that they see each other, he wants Steve to know - to at least consider -

He chickens out just like he had the last time they were in the Upside Down together, scrambles to come up with something other than I'm pretty sure you're my soulmate - and tells Steve to make him pay instead of saying anything really important.

He's running on pure adrenaline after that, playing like his life depends on it - his life does depend on it, fuck, all of their lives do, and he pours more of himself into his guitar than he ever has before, all that bottled up terror and rage and grief, until he feels like he's all burned up with it.

It's not done.

Of course it's not done, of course the little shits found a way to get past their reinforced walls, and as he looks up at Dustin shouting at him, he knows there's no other option.

Eddie's not going to run this time. They all brought him in, made him a part of this party, relied on him, and he's not going to let them down.

When it comes down to it, anyway, he's the most expendable. He's been nothing more than an NPC for most of this, and yeah, he's been helping the party - flirted with one of its members, maybe thought he could be something more - but in a campaign, his death makes the most sense. A valiant NPC that the player characters will mourn, but they'll all survive onto the next campaign.

It was always going to be him.

There's been so many moments where he thought he was going to die during this last week that it seems fitting for it to finally happen, for it to be the demobats that get him. He makes it longer than he thought it would, but he can't fight them off forever, can't keep them from pinning him down and tearing into him like he's a fucking banquet on display.

And he thinks, one last time, that this is it. This is going to be how he dies.

But he doesn't.

Taglist (hopefully I got everyone, and always happy to add more!): @vampireinthesun @koibug @estrellami-1 @mentalcyborg @allbimyself26 @questionablequeeries @the-s-is-silent @whimsicalwitchm @a-gae-af-racoon @tinyplanet95 @n0-1-important @velocitytimes2 @swimmingbirdrunningrock @newtstabber @jcmadgirl @roblingoblin285 @lexyvey @paperbackribs @goodolefashionedloverboi @evix-syne666 @raisedbylibrarians @stxrcrossed186 @nightmareglitter @greekgeek24 @starman-jpg @crazyhatlady86 @imfinereallyy @manda-panda-monium @deleataecount @prideandsensibility @chaoticvictorianspirit @maydillydally @disrespectedgoatman @scarlet-malfoy @i-less-than-three-you @hbyrde36 @hallucinatedjosten @dragonsandgayships @arepaconchocolate @g4ys0n @novelnovella @bisexualdisastersworld @ghostofyourvampiregf @scarletyeager @pettrichore @nerd-and-nervous @hiimlevi @queenie-ofthe-void @cinnamon-mushroomabomination @bookworm0690

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Part 11

#steve harrington #steddie #eddie munson #robin buckley #steddie fic #steddie fanfic #lucas sinclair #dustin henderson #max mayfield #erica Sinclair #Nancy Wheeler #steddie soulmates au

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