#Ash Henderson | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

keeryhours · 3 months ago

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wildflower chapter two

Eddie Munson x Henderson! female reader, Steve Harrington x reader

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Eddie Munson Masterlist

Summary:

Corroded Coffin performs their homecoming show in Hawkins, and mistakes are made.

Chapter Warnings:

Smut (18+), p in v, unprotected sex, drunk sex, underage drinking, secret baby

Word Count: 3.4k

A/N:

This next chapter was a long time coming, but I hope you guys enjoy!

—

The rest of the week was a blur. You hadn’t thought of Eddie this much in over a year, and having him thrown back into your consciousness was like opening an old wound. You tried your best to push it out of your mind and keep yourself busy with work and chasing after Asher, but it was fruitless.

Steve and Robin were at your apartment Thursday night, the usual hangout since the three of you shared the night off. Asher was fresh out of his bath, dressed in his pajamas and sitting on the floor showing off his toy trains to Robin, who, to her credit, showed equal enthusiasm even on the 50th time of seeing the same Thomas the Tank Engine.

Steve and Robin had come armed with movies - these weekly hangouts usually turned into movie nights, especially when something new came into Family Video that one of them snatched up. Not that you’d complain.

“Alright, Ash. Time for bed,” you said, although the nearly 2 year old paid you no mind as he picked up Percy, the green train.

“You heard her, buddy. Time for the trains to go back to the station,” Robin said, helping the toddler gather his toys.

Asher pouted, but he helped put the trains in his toy box anyway. Once the toys were cleaned up, you lifted him into your arms, heading into his bedroom. A fresh diaper and a kiss goodnight later, you turned the lights off and slowly closed the door behind you.

Back in the living room, you flopped down on the cheap couch with a deep sigh.

“What’s on your mind, Henderson?” Robin asked, still lounging on the carpet. “You’ve been in your head all week.”

Steve looked at her like she was dumb. “Corroded Coffin?”

Robin rolled her eyes at him. “Are you thinking about going?”

You sighed again, running a hand through your hair to push it out of your face. “I don’t know. I don’t know.”

Steve looked at you sympathetically. “You know…it might be good. You never got that closure. Even if you just want to go to throw a drink in his face.”

You bit back a grin at the idea. He deserved it, that was for sure. “I don’t know. Maybe.”

“Do you think you’re going to wonder what if for the rest of your life if you don’t go?”

Steve’s sudden sage words caught you off guard. You hated to admit he was right. After these two years of wondering what you had done wrong to deserve his abandonment, there were definitely still wounds deep inside that never had the chance to heal.

Maybe you did need to see him.

—

Saturday night, with Ash at your mom’s house, you stared at yourself in the mirror. You couldn’t believe that you’d let yourself be talked into this. Dressed in a short black skirt, tight top with a leather jacket over top, you felt like you were looking at your high school self again. Like nothing had ever changed. Like Eddie was going to walk up behind you at any moment and wrap his arms around your waist with a wink and a “Looking good, baby.”

“Ready to go?” Steve asked as you walked back out into your living room. Steve and Robin wouldn’t be blending into the crowd at The Hideout as well as you would, and the idea nearly made you laugh a little.

“I guess so,” you said. “I’m ready for a drink.”

The Hideout really wasn’t much different than you remembered, besides the fact that it was absolutely packed full with a huge line out the door. It was surreal to see so many people wearing Corroded Coffin merch, the crowd absolutely buzzing with excitement.

Inside, you pushed your way through to the bar, Steve and Robin following close behind. You may still be a few months away from 21, but you knew that wouldn’t matter.

“Hey, Chris,” you greeted the bartender with a smile. He hadn’t changed a bit in the past two years.

“Well! Long time no see,” Chris greeted, his face lighting up. He pushed three beers across the bar without having to be asked. “I should have known you’d be here to see your boy play.”

Your boy. You resisted a wince as you passed bottles to Steve and Robin and opened your own, taking a big swig. “Yeah, of course.”

The crowd was intense. It had been a long time since you’d been in this scene - hell, it had been a long time since your nights had been more exciting than an episode of Sesame Street. Visually you fit in, but you still found yourself standing off to the side with your friends rather than joining the crowd of fans.

You downed your beer in no time and ordered another. You were already multiple beers in before the opening act even came on.

“Are you okay?” Steve asked, eyeing you as you popped open your fourth beer. “We can leave if you don’t want to do this.”

You shook your head. You were already here, you were going to do this. “I’m good,” you assured him, waving him off. He still eyed you warily, but didn’t push it.

You barely paid any mind to the opening act. Sure, they were good, but you knew what you were waiting for. Your heart thundered wildly in your chest, although the nerves in your stomach were fading with every drink.

When the opening act left the stage, the change in atmosphere was palpable. The crowd began to chant and cheer, and then -

There they were.

Gareth walked out first, drumsticks in hand. You felt your breath catch in your throat - the memories came rushing back. The other guys followed behind, and then finally - Eddie.

Eddie sauntered out with a cocky grin and a hand up in a wave to the crowd, who were screaming so loud you thought your eardrums might burst. Your blood felt like ice, you didn’t think your heart could beat any harder without killing you. He looked like himself, but there was something obviously different. He wore a tight pair of ripped jeans on his long legs, a Metallica tee with the same leather jacket he always wore. You hated how familiar it felt. He carried himself with the confidence of a real rockstar. You supposed that’s what he was now.

He approached the microphone. “Hello, Hawkins,” he drawled, and the cheers somehow grew even louder. A bra flew from the crowd and landed at his feet, and he reached down and picked it up with a chuckle, hanging it on the mic stand. You rolled your eyes.

“It’s good to be back in our hometown,” he continued, that grin still on his face. “You guys made us what we are. We owe it all to you. We couldn’t imagine ending the tour anywhere else.”

The crowd ate up every word. And Eddie looked like he reveled in the attention. He looked so natural on stage. He was living his dream, after all.

As Gareth hit his drum sticks together and the band started their first song, Eddie scanned the crowd. You had felt sure you, Steve, and Robin were far enough into the shadows on the sides that you’d be unnoticeable, but with that magnetism you two had always shared - Eddie’s eyes locked on yours.

He froze. The cocky facade dropped and his mouth parted in shock as you stared at each other. You felt dizzy all of a sudden, like you might pass out. Ever observant, Robin noticed immediately, eyes darting between you and Eddie. He nearly missed the opening line of the song before he jolted back to awareness.

“I need another drink,” you mumbled, pushing through the crowd and back to the bar.

You didn’t slow down on the drinks as the show went on. Eddie was taking shots onstage, like he needed to feel numb just as bad as you did. By the end of their set, Eddie was drunk, yet he still managed to perform perfectly.

“Thank you, Hawkins,” he slurred into the mic as the show ended. “Next round’s on us for everyone!”

That set the crowd even wilder than they had been. The band exited the stage, and you pushed back through the crowd to the bar again, stumbling in your boots as the room tilted around you. You heard Steve calling your name from somewhere behind you, but you lost your friends in the crowd in your pursuit of yet another drink.

“One more on my tab, Chris,” you slurred once you reached the bar.

“Add her whole tab to mine,” an uncomfortably familiar voice came from behind you. “And another round of shots for me and the boys.” You felt chills across your skin as Chris nodded and pushed you another drink before he poured the alcohol into four shot glasses.

You saw his ringed hand reach forward and grab one of the glasses. You slowly turned to meet his eyes as he downed the shot, shooting you a smirk as he smacked it back down on the bar top.

“Well,” he slurred, his eyes just as glassy as your own. “Hello again, beautiful.”

You were so drunk that you didn’t even remember how he hurt you. How he abandoned you. You just saw Eddie, and your heart reached for him through your chest just like it always did.

“Eddie,” you whispered, as if there was nothing else to say.

He kept smirking at you, his large hand landing on your upper back and then sliding down to rest on your hip. His eyes roamed over your outfit, drinking you in hungrily.

You didn’t mind.

“I’ve missed you,” he murmured, his hand squeezing your hip posessively and pulling you closer. Your head spun with the motion, and you weren’t sure if it was from the alcohol or from Eddie himself.

“I missed you too,” you admitted, both to him and to yourself.

“Want me to take you home?” he asked, leaning forward, his voice a purr in your ear. It sent goosebumps across your skin.

Even in your drunken haze, you knew you shouldn’t say yes. Eddie had done something truly shitty to you, and you had no intention of forgiving him that quickly, or maybe even at all. But he was just as intoxicating as the large amounts of alcohol in both of your systems, and you found yourself letting him lead you backstage and out the back door.

You were so drunk yourself that you hadn’t even thought about whether Eddie could even drive in his state, but he ushered you into the back of a car with a man already sitting in the driver’s seat before sliding in beside you. His hand rested on your thigh as you told the man the address of your apartment, rising higher and higher until it was teasing under the hem of your skirt.

He pulled you into him as the car started moving. Your lips found each other like they’d never been apart, and he kissed you hungrily, tasting like alcohol and cigarettes, but you didn’t care.

Neither you nor Eddie seemed to care a single bit that there was a stranger in the front seat as an audience to the two of you all over each other. Your apartment wasn’t far from the dive bar, and before you knew it you were stumbling out of the car hand in hand with Eddie, both of you giggling like it was 1985 again and you were just two kids in love.

It took you three attempts to unlock the front door of your apartment, your vision hazy and your brain even fuzzier from the feeling of Eddie’s hands all over you, pushing up your top right there in the hallway while he placed sloppy kisses against your neck and shoulders.

When the door finally opened, you barely had time to kick your boots off and drop your leather jacket before Eddie was pushing you up against the door, slamming it closed. You moaned against his lips as they devoured your own, his tongue exploring your mouth desperately. He pulled your top over your head and dropped it to the floor. Your lipstick was smeared across his face, and he wiped it off with the back of his hand.

“Look so fucking sexy,” Eddie mumbled as he moved in to attach his mouth to your neck, sucking love bites all across the skin. “I’ve thought about you every day.”

You didn’t have the brain power at the moment to process those words. The drinks had already taken all concepts of critical thought, but every moment of Eddie’s mouth and tongue against your neck drowned out coherent thought itself.

His hands lowered from your hips to the back of your bare thighs and he squeezed. You worked in tandem just like old times as you jumped up for him and he gripped your thighs as you wrapped your legs around his waist. You could feel how hard he was already through his jeans, pressed up against your core.

“Where’s your bedroom?” he asked breathlessly, moving back to your lips.

“Last door down the hall,” you mumbled back, and then you were pulled away from the door as he walked down the hall, carrying you like you weighed nothing. He was sloppy, still drunk and knocking into the table in the hall, sending a picture frame falling to the (thankfully carpeted) floor.

He pushed the door open to your bedroom, and seconds later you landed on your back on your soft mattress. Eddie’s eyes were completely glazed over with lust, locked on yours as he kicked his shoes off and started unbuckling his belt. You watched him with equal hunger as he undid his tight jeans and pushed them to the floor, his excitement obvious through the material of his boxers. He leaned over the bed and reached behind you to unzip your skirt, pulling it down your body and leaving you in your bra and panties.

You pushed the jacket off his shoulders and grabbed onto the hem of his t-shirt, pulling it over his head and tossing it. His body looked the way you remembered it, the familiar lines and curves coming back to you as you roamed your hands over his soft skin like second nature.

“Eddie,” you whined, pushing your hips up against his painfully hard erection. He hissed at the contact, his mouth trailing hot kisses down your neck and over your chest. He reached behind you and unclasped your bra, your nipples quickly pebbling in the cool air. His mouth moved to envelop one of your nipples, his hand attending to the other. He swirled his tongue around it, sucking on your tits as you arched beneath him.

It had been a while for you, honestly.

“Fuck, need you so bad,” he muttered. He sat up on his knees, eyes raking over your body for only a moment before he reached for the hem of your panties. He pulled them down your legs quickly, urgently pushing his boxers down. His hard cock sprang free, already leaking precum. He wrapped his hand around the base, squeezing, another hiss leaving his lips.

He grabbed the backs of your thighs again, spreading your legs and pushing them up towards your chest to take in the sight of your pussy, glistening and ready for him. He muttered another “Fuck,” under his breath.

He traced a finger through your folds, collecting your wetness on his finger and bringing it to his mouth. He moaned at the taste of you, just as sweet as he remembered.

He leaned back over your body, lining himself up at your entrance, not a single thought about protection going through either of your minds. He pushed in quickly, causing your back to arch and a gasp to fall from your lips, fingernails digging into Eddie’s shoulders as he stretched you intensely.

“Too big,” you managed to squeak out, which made Eddie chuckle against the skin of your neck.

“You can take it,” he assured you, starting up a slow pace, although it pained him to do so. “You always took it so well.”

It didn’t take long for your body to remember his. The pain faded into pure pleasure within the minute, and then you were moving your hips along with his thrusts. Eddie noticed and picked up the pace of his hips, giving up on being careful and fucking into you with reckless abandon.

High moans spilled from your lips, your eyes falling closed as the feeling of him enveloped you completely. You could think of nothing but the pleasure he was providing with every press of his cockhead against that bundle of nerves deep inside you. Even after all this time, he knew exactly how to fuck you.

Eddie’s own grunts and groans were unashamed as he rutted into you with no real rhythm, drunkenly chasing his own release inside you. Somehow through the drunk and lust filled haze, he had the thought to reach down and rub tight circles on your clit, building that tightening feeling in your belly faster and faster.

“G’na cum,” you whined, your pussy tightening around his cock enough to make him moan even louder as he started fucking you even faster.

“Yeah, princess, that’s it, cum on my cock, just like that,” he babbled encouragement, his own release approaching rapidly. “Fuck, yeah, all over my cock baby.”

Your orgasm crashed through you with the power of a fucking train, and your eyes rolled back, body trembling and pussy clenching around him over and over again as you chanted his name, sounding just like all his groupies at the concert.

That’s all Eddie needed to fall over the edge with a hissed “Shit, shit!” and a low groan against your neck as he spilled inside of you, filling you deeply with ropes of his cum.

Once you were both spent, Eddie pulled out of you, rolling off and collapsing on the bed next to you. You both caught your breath. You wondered if you should say something, but the pull of sleep in both of your drunken minds was too strong. It wasn’t long before you heard Eddie’s soft snores, before you were pulled under, too.

—

You were woken up by a pounding at your front door.

Still, your eyes opened slowly, adjusting to the light filtering through your bedroom windows through the pounding headache already plaguing you. Your heart stopped in your chest when you saw Eddie’s naked form still sleeping next to you.

Fuck, what did you do?

You jumped out of bed and pulled on a t-shirt and pair of sweatpants before walking into the living room before whoever was pounding on the door woke up your entire apartment complex.

You swung open the door, irritated, to find a panicked looking Steve standing there.

“Jesus Christ,” he said when you opened the door. “You just disappeared last night. I thought you got abducted or something.”

The guilt and emotions hit you as the full reality of what you’d done fell on your chest. “Steve…” you started, unsure how to even explain yourself.

“How did you even get home? You just went to the bar and-“ Steve stopped cold, wide eyes trained at something over your shoulder.

Despite the dread in your stomach, you slowly turned, seeing Eddie standing in the hallway behind you, looking sheepish and dressed back in his jeans with no shirt.

“Uh, hey,” he said, a hand running through his curls.

Steve slowly looked back at you. “What the fuck.”

You didn’t even know what to say as you looked between the boys. Eddie looked down at the picture frame on the floor that had been knocked down last night.

“Oh, shit,” he said, almost to himself. He leaned down and picked it up. “I, uh, might have knocked this over-“

He froze. And the second you realized what photo he was looking at, you did, too.

It was Asher. A recent portrait, The toddler sporting a huge gap-toothed grin, his big brown eyes and wild head of curls mirroring the man currently standing in your hallway.

Eddie stared at the photo, completely unmoving. You didn’t even think you were breathing at this point. You could feel Steve’s presence behind you, everyone frozen waiting for someone to make a move.

He finally looked up slowly, eyes meeting yours with questions swirling inside that you didn’t want to answer and he wasn’t sure he wanted the answers to.

Eddie said your name softly, fear lacing his voice. “What is this?”

tag list

three of you it wouldn’t let me tag, so if you requested to be on the list and you aren’t here that’s why! i’m sorry :(

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loveinhawkins · 10 months ago

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picturing Dustin watching at the trailer park, right after Eddie says, “Hey, Steve? Make him pay.”

And for some reason Dustin’s reminded of ‘84, of his conversation with Steve on the railroad tracks, it’s like before it’s gonna storm, you know? You can’t see it, but you can feel it, like this, uh... electricity, you know?—although he’s grown enough to suspect that Steve might not know everything in that regard.

And it’s not electricity he senses, not exactly, but it’s definitely a storm of some kind: something fragile. Something—someone—that’s very scared.

Dustin’s running before he’s even registered his decision. “Steve!”

Steve turns around, and he already looks like he’s about to ask a question—something practical, like whether Dustin’s forgotten something—and Dustin feels a twist of regret, that that’s where Steve’s mind goes; yeah, they’re all ready for battle, so it makes sense, but…

Feeling suddenly very young, Dustin barrels into Steve and hugs him.

He hears Steve’s surprised inhale, his hesitancy, before he returns the hug in full force.

For a little while, it’s like the world narrows down to only this. No ash in the air, no nightmarish red in the sky. Just the two of them.

Dustin’s about to pull away when he feels Steve’s chin dig into the top of his head. Hears him sniff, very quietly, like he’s trying to hide it; and that makes Dustin think of the tunnels, or afterwards, really, when Steve held onto him with shaking hands, kept saying, “We’re okay, we’re okay.”

So he just keeps hugging back.

Steve’s the one to let go; he’s smiling, but he looks a little sad too, forehead creased with worry.

“I need a ride tomorrow,” Dustin says.

Steve huffs. “Oh, yeah? Where to?”

Dustin taps his nose obnoxiously. “That’s for me to know and you to find out.”

It’s bullshit, of course; Dustin doesn’t need a ride anywhere.

Steve rolls his eyes, but some tightness in his jaw finally eases. “God, you’re such a dick.”

“Bright and early, Steve!” Dustin adds smugly. “Five am!”

“Yeah, yeah,” Steve says, waving him off, and for a moment it’s like they’re just in the school parking lot. He looks as if he’s about to say something else, then thinks better of it—glances back to where Robin and Nancy are waiting. He pulls Dustin in with one arm, a brief but tight hold. Nods, as if to himself. “Go on, scram.”

Dustin runs back to the trailer with a stitch in his side but a smile on his face. He knows it’s naive to think he can fix everything, but in this moment at least some part of the universe has been righted, even while in The Upside Down.

Eddie’s standing right where he left him, like he’s been frozen the whole time.

“Hey,” he says quietly. “is he, uh… is he okay?”

Dustin’s reminded that of course, Steve isn’t the only one who’s scared.

“Yeah, he will be,” he says, which he thinks is a more accurate answer than a simple yes or no.

It’s funny how life works, he muses while gathering supplies for the trailer defences. There’s no way he’d have thought even a week ago that Eddie would be sincerely asking him about Steve’s well-being. Whenever he happened to bring Steve up at Hellfire, Eddie would imitate him in a comedic falsetto, “Oh, Steve this, Steve that.”

For a minute, Eddie remains rooted to the spot, still staring in the direction of where Steve went—like he’d watched helplessly as Steve walked into the eye of a storm or something.

“You just gonna stand there and gawk?” Dustin says.

Eddie snorts. “So rude, Henderson.”

And it’s not like Dustin really knows, not when Steve and Eddie are still barely dancing around it themselves. Still, he can pick up on some things.

Like when they’ve finished setting up everything, waiting for the go-ahead for Eddie to start playing his guitar—to pass the time, they recount the high points of the day, keep it light. It’s a practice Eddie used to implement after campaigns.

And look, Dustin’s damn good at picking up on patterns. Like, he loves Steve, but he’s pretty sure the reality of him driving the hotwired RV doesn’t quite match up to how Eddie’s currently waxing lyrical about it.

He’s making it sound like it was something outta James Bond, Dustin thinks, when he’s sure Steve drove right into several trash cans.

Suddenly he knows exactly what he should do.

“Steve this, Steve that,” he sing-songs.

Eddie flushes; Dustin cackles.

“Fuck off,” Eddie says, but he’s smiling as Dustin keeps laughing, like he knows there’s nothing mean-spirited in it. He keeps going, Steve this, Steve that, talking right over Dustin’s teasing—somehow finding even more moments where Steve truly shines.

And Dustin doesn’t know everything, not even close, but at the very least, he knows that this feels right.

#i just love writing perceptive Dustin #think it’s partly the thought that “you’re my brother and I love all of you”#steddie with dustin’s pov #dustin henderson fic #steve and dustin #eddie and dustin #steddie #pre steddie #steddie ficlet #implied steddie #steve x eddie #dustin henderson ficlet #dustin henderson #steve harrington #eddie munson #henderfam

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tinyevelyn · 8 months ago

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AAAAAUGHH ASH THIS IS ADORABLE!! TYY!!

and don't worry about it, it's fine if you like one of my OCs over the other, I get it, it happens and it's perfectly fine

also yeaa, Emiko can be fun to draw

anyways these are both still soo cute!!! I LOVE THEM!!

ouh yesh, and my stranger things oc's is Andrea Henderson, if you didn't know

for the emotion chalenge,

8D for my stranger things OC, if you don't mind, you could draw the cartoony version of her

and 3H for my little rottmmt OC Emiko, you know her >:3

you don't have to do this if you're busy with other stuff kay?? also i wish you luck on your pride month project thingy :3

Heh- here you go pookie😏

I don’t know if you can notice but I had WAY more fun with Emiko- not that your stranger things oc is bad! Idk- maybe I’m just turning into a furry idk-

#emotions challenge #tiny rambles #Ash My Moot��️🌻#rottmnt oc #emiko #stranger things oc #andrea #andrea henderson #art #digital art

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thisapplepielife · 3 months ago

Text

Written for @steddieholidaydrabbles.

Impossible Things

Prompt Day 2: Fireplace | Word Count: 1000 | Rating: T | CW: Language, Temporary Canon Character Death | Tags: Post S4, Resurrection, Fix-It, Platonic Stobin, Pre-Steddie, The Party

Steve lights his fourth fire in three days. Stokes it, trying to get it really going, hotter, quicker.

"It's not even cold, dingus," Robin complains, and she's not wrong. If he's gonna have a fire burning all the goddamn time, he might have to run the air conditioning, year-round.

But he feels crazy. He keeps seeing things in the fireplace. Things that don't feel real, or right. Or maybe they feel too real and right. Maybe this house is haunted. A fire ghost? Is that a thing?

Robin sits next to him, and he watches the flames dance, making familiar shapes, faces. Impossible things.

"Dingus, are you listening to me?"

He wasn't. Not at all.

"No, sorry."

"What are you gawking at?" Robin asks.

"A ghost," Steve says.

"A what?" Robin laughs, turning her head to see if he's kidding. He's not. Not really.

"A fire ghost?"

She cackles, but he's serious.

"Do you not see that?" Steve asks, because maybe he is crazy. But the flames in this fireplace take shapes, he's sure of it.

Robin watches the fire as intently as Steve is, then she says, "Holy shit."

The air is sucked out of his lungs.

"You see him?" Steve asks.

"Eddie? Hell yes, I see him," she says, getting down on her hands and knees in front of the fire.

Steve follows.

The fire dances, crackles and pops, flames flaring up. Embers floating. As if it knows they know, now.

"Eddie!" she shouts, "Are you haunting Steve's fireplace?"

There's no answer, but that doesn't stop Robin. Her wheels are already turning.

"How'd he get in there? How do we get him out of there? Is he a phoenix? Is he gonna rise from the ashes? We should call Dustin!" Robin rattles off, quicker and quicker by the thought.

Dustin is exasperated when he arrives, having flown halfway across the country.

Steve's tired, eyes heavy. He's kept the fire burning, scared that Eddie might disappear if he lets it go out. That hasn't happened before, but he feels like now that they've acknowledged what they're seeing, that maybe they've interrupted, changed, the magic.

Or whatever this is.

Maybe it's not Eddie at all.

"Are you sure you two aren't suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning? You did have the chimney inspected and cleaned before using this old thing, right?"

Well, no. Steve didn't. He didn't even know that was a thing. Whoops.

But he has CO detectors, and they aren't screaming at them, so it's probably not that.

"Just look, Henderson," Steve says, and Dustin squats between them. He doesn't react, and Steve is concerned that maybe they have somehow built up this shared delusion.

"Oh shit," Henderson finally says, and Steve sags.

"See? I told you, you little asshole. Eddie's in the fireplace."

"Well, excuse me for thinking that sounded crazy, Steve," Dustin snaps back, immediately rushing towards the phone. Calls are made. The weirdness has resurfaced in a totally unexpected way, and it's time to get the band back together.

It'd be helpful if Eddie could talk to them, but that doesn't seem to be an option. If he could run his mouth, Steve's certain he would be, incessantly.

They try witchcraft. Not that any of them especially believe in witchcraft, but they bought books, and are trying to spell him out of the fire.

It doesn't work. Nothing happens, nothing changes.

El lost her powers in the final showdown, and hasn't ever regained them. She stares at Eddie, face so close Steve's worried she's gonna lose her eyebrows, but she can't communicate or change things for him.

"Munson, Munson, Munson!" Mike yells, and they all look at him. He shrugs, "What? I thought he might be like Beetlejuice."

They all sigh.

"We could burn something. Of his. See if that frees him," Joyce says, and they all turn to look at her.

"What do we even have of his? It's been a decade?" Dustin questions.

And they all look at each other. Steve has something, but there's no fucking way he's throwing it into a fire.

"Steve, you still have the battle vest, right?" Robin questions, and Steve wants to kill her.

"We're not burning that on a hunch. What if that's what's tying him here, huh? Then what?"

Dustin runs up the stairs, and Steve gives chase.

"We can try one pin, right?" Dustin argues, unbuttoning the Accept button from the vest, and Steve can concede to that. He's sure it's not gonna change shit.

"Fine," he snaps, but yanks the vest back into his own hands.

Dustin stands in front of the fireplace, "Here goes nothing."

He tosses it in, and the fire flares so hot, Steve shields his face, pretty scared they may burn his house down.

But it settles, and Eddie is clearer. Like his image has been sharpened.

"That worked, right?" Dustin says.

And they all kind of look at each other, like, yeah. It worked.

Steve hands over the W.A.S.P pin.

After, Eddie looks even more solid.

"He's getting corporeal!" Dustin says.

"He's being punished?" Steve asks, brows furrowed.

"Jesus Christ," Dustin says, and well, excuse him. "Just do it, Steve."

Steve wants to bring the vest to his face, wants to hug it close, say goodbye, but feels too fucking weird about it with all these eyes on him.

Instead, he squats down.

"This better fucking work, Eddie," he whispers, laying the denim on the logs, and the immediate flaming knocks him back onto his ass, but he hasn't been burned.

It's a raging inferno in there, somehow contained, and they wait, frozen.

Finally, Eddie steps out of the fireplace, looking exactly as he did the day he died, ten years ago.

Still sassy.

"Jesus H. Christ, do you know how many things I've haunted of yours, Harrington?"

"Uh…"

"The toaster. The mirror. That stray cat."

"I told you that cat was special!" Steve screams at Robin, "And you said no!"

The bickering, the blame, starts. But Eddie's here.

If you want to write your own, or see more entries for this challenge, pop on over to @steddieholidaydrabbles and follow along with the fun! 🔥

Notes: If there's one truth in Stranger Things, it's that Joyce Byers is never wrong and they should always listen to her.

#steddieholidaydrabbles #prompt: fireplace #steddie #steddie ficlet #eddie munson #steve harrington #stranger things #thisapplepielife: short fic #thisapplepielife: steddieholidaydrabbles #platonic stobin #dustin henderson

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stervrucht · 6 months ago

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🧠🪱 Wiggly Wednesday 🧠 🪱

Thank you for the tag @just-my-latest-hyperfixation 🧡

Today I’m thinking about this ridiculous story of a friend of mine, who, after she thought she’d been ghosted, proceeded to hold a cremation by burning the guy’s picture, only to receive a text right after.

“Where are we going, Eddie?”

Dustin’s tone is starting to grate on his nerves and Eddie needs to take a deep breath to calm his voice before responding.

“I told you, a small detour.”

“Through the woods? What about the guitar lessons?”

“Yes, through the woods," Eddie snaps.

He doesn’t even have to look to his side to know Dustin is pouting. Despite that, the little guy still follows him, ducking underneath the brush as they make their way to Skull Rock.

He didn’t tell Dustin—doesn’t think there’s an adequate way to explain that this was what he did whenever he was dealing with a serious bout of heartbreak. That—because Steve Harrington hadn’t been answering his phone and clearly dumped Eddie without the courage to say so to his face—Eddie now needed to initiate the Cremation Stage.

Yeah, you heard that right.

It first happened three years ago, after Stacy Morgan landed on him during a game of spin-the-bottle and cried after kissing him. That one kinda stung.

After a bit of dumb back and forth, he and Gareth decided to cut her picture from the yearbook and held a stupid little funeral—speeches and all. After they were done and said their goodbyes, they burned the picture. It made him feel better. So much so, that it became a dumb little habit.

One he hadn’t executed that often, really.

Which is why it sucks so much he is off to Skull Rock, the place he first kissed Steve Harrington against the expectations of everyone ever, to burn his stupid picture.

When they finally reach Skull Rock, Eddie digs through his pockets and pulls out his Zippo and Steve’s picture. Dustin leans over his shoulder, knees digging into the back of Eddie’s arm as he leans over to watch.

“Why do you have a picture of Steve?”

“Because.” Eddie strikes the Zippo, trying to make it catch flame, but the old thing is protesting.

“Because why?”

The stupid thing still won’t catch. Eddie strikes his thumb over the wheel with a little more aggression—pulls his lips into a thin line, frustration pulling at his gut. “Because I need to burn it.”

“Why?”

Eddie throws his hands. “Because I have to okay! Because—”

Because Steve’s finally realized Eddie was a mistake. And Eddie knew the day would come. He was just pushing his head in the sand like a fucking ostrich, hoping he could enjoy what little time Steve was willing to give him. He just hoped Steve would have had the guts to actually say so to his face.

He can’t tell Dustin any of that though.

Finally, the Zippo produces flame and Eddie holds the corner of Steve’s yearbook picture near it. It takes a few seconds, but soon enough the picture engulfs into flames and Eddie has to drop it between the twigs and dried leaves. He allows it to burn for a few seconds until the leaves around it start to smolder. He quickly kills the flame with his shoes and once he removes his feet, only ash is left of what was once an image of Senior Steve.

Eddie pulls himself into a standing position and slips the Zippo back into his pocket.

“All done.”

“Dude, that was so weird.”

“No, it wasn’t. And don’t tell Steve about this.”

Dustin raises an eyebrow at him but probably senses it’s best to not push it.

“Can we go play guitar now?”

“Yeah, man, whatever. Let’s go.”

A little while later, Eddie sits in Dustin’s bedroom, his guitar in his lap as he shows Dustin some chords to Metallica. The little dude learns fast, last week's chords already dexterously mastered. A little more and he’ll be playing his first full song. Now, just to get a feeling for it, he makes Dustin play the same five chords as base while Eddie plays the more complex parts of the song.

He’s actually starting to get into it when the doorbell to the Henderson residence rings.

“Really, now?” Dustin lets out a frustrated sigh and puts his guitar down on his bed. “I’ll be right back.”

Eddie hums and continues picking at the snares. Mumbles along to the song until he hears Dustin return to the room.

“Oh, hey Eddie.”

Eddie looks up. That didn’t sound like Dustin. That sounded like—

“Steve.” Eddie is staring at Steve standing in Dustin’s doorframe. Can’t do anything else than stare because an hour ago, he cremated Steve.

And now he’s here.

“You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” Steve lets out a little laugh. And it’s not the ‘oh shit I ran into my ex’ kind. It’s the genuine kind. The fond kind.

Dustin pushes himself past Steve into his bedroom. “I told you, I’d give it back to you on Monday,” he complains.

Steve rolls his eyes, watching with amusement as Dustin digs through his closet.

“W—where have you been?” Eddie hardly dares to ask. He tries to keep the tremble out of his voice.

“Ugh, my parents man. They took me on some campus visits to fancy universities. Didn’t give me any warning either. It sucked balls.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah, not great. How have you been holding up with this asshat the past few days.” Steve looks back to where Dustin is now clearing the lower levels of his closet.

“I heard that!” he calls back.

“I…I’ve been doing just dandy.” Eddie shoots Steve a little smile, and yes, that’s definitely fondness in Steve’s face. God, he’s such an idiot.

A total overreaction.

When Dustin rears his head from the closet, proudly holding a cassette tape, Eddie thinks he needs to make sure Dustin takes this little Skull Rock detour to the grave.

---

No pressure tags for @sleepy-steve @spectrum-spectre @runninriot @wheneverfeasible @eddiethebrave

#steddie #steve x eddie #eddie x steve #steve harrington #eddie munson #steddie fic #my fics #wiggly wednesday #ster writes steddie

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parasocialites · 1 month ago

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Please, I don’t think I have a lot of people on here, but my aunt recently lost her home in the Eaton Fire in SoCal. I go outside, and there’s ashes in the air and I know it’s all parts of the neighborhood I used to walk around in. I would go from friend’s house to friend’s house and I can’t stop thinking about how their parents used to feed me and take care of me just because Altadena has that small town feel.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/restore-hope-for-the-henderson-family-postfire?attribution_id=sl:21a4eb74-414c-4553-87c5-e39625b17c8f&utm_campaign=pd_ss_icons&utm_medium=customer&utm_source=instagram_story

Please if you have anything, consider donating. We’re working on getting her set up temporarily at my grandparent’s and this would help tremendously. Thank you. Please share!!

#fire #socal #eaton fire #news #los angeles #la #current events #la fires #la fire #fundraiser #climate change #climate crisis #evacuation #emergency #mutual aid #stay safe

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victusinveritas · 5 months ago

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Photos and words taken from various Facebook posts:

Appalachia was never prepared for this.

I’m sharing in hopes to raise more awareness and also to encourage any type of support that can be provided to Appalachians.

Entire towns have essentially just been washed away. So many people have lost everything they had, some even losing loved ones.

Below are some organizations I have been seeing locals share to help with the recovery efforts:

-RISE Erwin https://gofund.me/bad8e5ab

-American Red Cross https://www.redcross.org/donate/dr/hurricane-helene.html

-Unicoi County Animal Shelter https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=QRXK7CAJK2GCE

-Report Missing Persons 1-800-824-3463

-United Way of East TN Highlands https://unitedwayetnh.org/help/

There is a lot more to the NC Mountains than Asheville.

Boone, Blowing Rock, Banner Elk, Vilas, Sugar Grove, Elk Park, West Jefferson, Black Mountain, Swannanoa, Sylva, Cullowhee, Brevard, Bryson City, Hendersonville, Cherokee, Waynesville, Burnsville, Candler, Canton, Spruce Pine, Chimney Rock, Lake Lure, Linville, Marshall, Maggie Valley, Newland, Grandfather, Beech Mountain, Sugar Mountain, Old Fort, Morganton, Marion are just a few of the cities and towns that have been flooded and/or destroyed. The counties of Yancey, Mitchell, Avery, Ashe, Watauga, Transylvania, Burke, Caldwell, Alleghany, Madison, Buncombe, McDowell, Rutherford, Polk, Henderson, Haywood, Jackson, Macon, Clay, Cherokee, and Swain are devastated and in need of the same help, some even more.

Other counties that fall under various definitions of Western North Carolina include: Alexander County, Catawba County, Cleveland County, Surry County and Yadkin County. When these counties are added, they form a total regional area of roughly 11,750 square miles (30,400 km2). This makes the region roughly the size of Massachusetts. Western North Carolina holds 11% of the state's population.

There are millions of people up there with no electricity, no communication, no water, and no way to get out or let rescue teams even know where they are. I am not taking anything away from Asheville and the utter destruction there or any other areas in NC that have damage. The level of destruction is unimaginable. But it's not one or two cities or towns that are in need of help.

This does not include the destroyed areas in the Tennessee mountains, Western Virginia, Georgia, or South Carolina.

#hurricane helene #north carolina #western north carolina #asheville #smoky mountains #blue ridge mountains

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doublesilly · 2 months ago

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Divorce Quartet - Web Weave

made for @aliteral-ghost as part of @mcytblrholidayexchange

sources undercut

Part 1 (Martyn & Cleo):

Green Vision - Werner Drewes // What about “us” though - @/obeliskandmetronome // White Ferrari lyrics - Frank Ocean // Battles of the Sexes: Duels between Women and Men in 1400s Fechtbücher - Hans Talhoffer // You never fail to wipe the smile off my face - @/holisticcommentcollection // Vase with bleeding hearts - John Bennett // Push to Reject - @/screenshotsofdespair // The Future is a Foreign Land lyrics - Ghost // Sculptuur de Rejected Lover - Leopold Harze // i fear only one person has truly ever understood me and i fucking hate the guy - @/uhhitsjoe // OBLIVIOUS lyrics - The Strokes // "it still hurts" bandaid - @/riottsrph // Make me the subject of your desire - @/grlofswords // Scissors - Bonnie Marie Smith // Orange texture - Unknown // Absolute Rejection - @/screenshotsofdespair //Bound! - @/cheerioskid // strangles you with the red thread tying us together - @/alleycatboy // Bleeding heart (Love's doubts and fears) - @/snowrassa // Kiss with a Fist lyrics - Florence + The Machine // Unfucktheworld lyrics - Angel Olsen // IFHY lyrics - Tyler, The Creator // Excerpt from "All My Mothers" - Joanna Glenn via @/mournfulroses

Part 2 (Scott & Cleo):

a plane flying in the sky at sunset - Shubhankar Sharma // Sheet with blue and orange floral pattern - Anonymous // Two of cups card - Anna Surgan // A World Alone lyrics - Lorde // 'It Might Have Been' - Ella Wheeler Wilcox // Double ring - Marcus and Co. // Puppet Show - Reginald Pollack // social climb lyrics - I DON'T KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME // Friendship between Ephelia and Ardelia - Anne Finch // Victorian Clasped Hand Seal - via @/Moonscuriousitems // Scott & Cleo art - @/elven-kisses // Heart shaped earrings - @/snailspng // Twin Stars - Luis Falero // Gold finger ring // Yellow Rose // BIRDS OF A FEATHER lyrics - Billie Eilish // Till Forever Falls Apart lyrics - Ashe & FINNEAS // Team lyrics - Lorde // Rainbow Bridge - Werner Drewes // Heart Axe - @/psychoactivism (deactivated) // Gold rose wax seal - @/adjpngs // the perfect pair lyrics - Beabadoobee

Part 3 (Scott & Pearl):

Blue paper texture - Unknown // This Hurts lyrics - Mindless Self Indulgence // Vintage ring - @/snailspng // Friendship - Daniel Henderson // (The Artist and the Model, portfolio) Confrontation Across Two Shadows - Michael Mazur // Harm crochet block - @/uglyfruit // Double-bladed Processional Axe // Ruby Blue lyrics - Róisín Murphy // Share Pain - @/screenshotsofdespair // "Erasing Soulmate" - @/screenshotsofdespair // Beast - @/snailspng // Possibility lyrics - Lykke Li // The Devil’s Tower from Johnstons - Thomas Moran // Accepted -> Abandoned - @/screenshotsofdespair // Hate - @/literaryvein-reblogs // Red paste paper book cover - Anonymous // Transverse section of a human heart - @/snailspng // Unknown - @/letsbelonelytogetherr // You weren’t chosen. - @/screenshotsofdespair // Wolf locket - @/cherishedpngs // Curiosities - Bonnie Marie Smith // Red Red Red Red Animation - @/cocoabats // Turn it off lyrics - Paramore // The Garden lyrics - The Crane Wives

#double life smp #double life #trafficblr #traffic series #life series #martyn inthelittlewood #zombiecleo #scott smajor #smajor1995 #pearlescentmoon #divorce quartet #webweave #web weaving #martyn #cleo #scott #pearl #we only matched on martyn&cleo but I saw you also requested the 4 of them so I though if i had time #I’d do the whole quartet

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battyaboutbooksreviews · 4 months ago

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🐈‍⬛ Queer Witchlit for Spooky Season

✨ Witch please (add these witch reads to your TBR, perfect for spooky season)! Posting this from my first Pride!!

🧹 Spells to Forget Us - Aislinn Brophy 🧹 Reverie - Ryan La Sala 🧹 The Witch Boy - Molly Knox Ostertag 🧹 Carry On - Rainbow Rowell 🧹 Practical Rules for Cursed Witches - Kayla Cottingham 🧹 Spell Bound - F.T. Lukens

✨ This Spells Disaster - Tori Anne Martin ✨ All the Bad Apples - Moïra Fowley-Doyle ✨ Her Majesty's Royal Coven - Juno Dawson ✨ A Marvellous Light - Freya Marske ✨ Runaways - Rainbow Rowell ✨ Mortal Follies - Alexis Hall

🐈‍⬛ Blood Debts - Terry J. Benton-Walker 🐈‍⬛ The Scapegracers - H. A. Clarke 🐈‍⬛ So Witches We Became - Jill Baguchinsky 🐈‍⬛ Three Dark Crowns - Kendare Blake 🐈‍⬛ B*WITCH - Nancy Ohlin and Paige McKenzie 🐈‍⬛ Remedial Magic - Melissa Marr

🧹 Witchlight - Jessi Zabarsky 🧹 The Dark Tide - Alicia Jasinska 🧹 Coven - Jennifer Dugan & Kit Seaton 🧹 Payback's a Witch - Lana Harper 🧹 These Witches Don't Burn - Isabel Sterling 🧹 Toil & Trouble: 15 Tales of Women & Witchcraft - Various

✨ Mooncakes - Suzanne Walker & Wendy Xu ✨ Summer of Salt - Katrina Leno ✨ The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea - Maggie Tokuda-Hall ✨ Basil and Oregano - Melissa Capriglione ✨ The Once and Future Witches - Alix E. Harrow ✨ Spell on Wheels - Kate Leth

🐈‍⬛ An Academy for Liars - Alexis Henderson 🐈‍⬛ Over My Dead Body - Sweeney Boo 🐈‍⬛ Wild and Wicked Things - Francesca May 🐈‍⬛ A Sweet Sting of Salt - Rose Sutherland 🐈‍⬛ The Last Sun - K. D. Edwards 🐈‍⬛ The Witches of New York - Ami McKay

🧹 The Midnight Girls - Alicia Jasinska 🧹 The Witchery - S. Isabelle 🧹 The Spells We Cast - Jason June 🧹 Now, Conjurers - Freddie Kölsch 🧹 Cemetery Boys - Aiden Thomas 🧹 That Self-Same Metal - Brittany N. Williams

✨ The Honey Witch - Sydney J. Shields ✨ Wild Beauty - Anna-Marie McLemore ✨ The Invocations - Krystal Sutherland ✨ Improbable Magic for Cynical Witches - Kate Scelsa ✨ Flowerheart - Catherine Bakewell ✨ Snapdragon - Kat Leyh

🐈‍⬛ Labyrinth Lost - Zoraida Córdova 🐈‍⬛ The Witches of Silver Lake - Simon Curtis 🐈‍⬛ Sweet & Bitter Magic - Adrienne Tooley 🐈‍⬛ Witches of Ashes and Ruin - E. Latimer 🐈‍⬛ Edie in Between - Laura Sibson 🐈‍⬛ When We Were Magic - Sarah Gailey

#books #queer books #queer fiction #fantasy fiction #fantasy books #queer romance #queer #book reader #book reading #book list #spooky books #spooky #batty about books #battyaboutbooks

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moonkake-143 · 8 months ago

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𝐄𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐞'𝐬 𝐋𝐚𝐛𝐲𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐡 | Into the Labyrinth

Goblin King!Eddie X AFAB/Fem!Henderson Reader

Edited By the lovey: Jen

Contents: Slow Burn, One sided pining from Eddie turned mutual, love at first sight, fluff, angst, no use of y/n

Summery: Your time starts now and your first challenge awaits.

Chapter 2/? {wc: 5.7k}

Masterlist

Part 1 Part 2

The walk felt long and arduous, especially with the sun beating down on you as hard as it did. How odd it was that you were just under the cover of darkness back home— it had been cold and stormy, but here the sun was high up in the sky, with clouds only partly covering the land. Below you, the grassy hill felt as if it went on forever, and for a beat, you thought it did— a sick trick already at the start, but one thing remained a constant in your mind.

Find Dustin and get out of there.

You thought those words over and over like a mantra, or hell, even a prayer, pushing yourself forward despite the burning sun. Despite the clock that timed you from the top of that damn hill. Despite the handsome, curly-haired man who brought you here in the first place.

Cursing him, you shook your head and continued your trek, finally reaching the bottom of the hill and landing on a dirt road. The surrounding fields were barren, and crops rotted in tipped-over barrels. The area was devoid of life, and as the smell of charcoal invaded your nostrils, you scrunched your nose in disgust, picking up the pace. With sunken thatch roofs, the houses were charred, and when you came closer, you noticed arrows stuck in the rotting wood. You noticed the claw marks that scarred the doors and the rust-colored stains that marred the sides of the cottages. There had been some sort of struggle; a carnage that had been long forgotten, but there were no bodies in sight— as if they had just up and vanished.

Just what happened here?

As you walked, the ash-stricken houses began to converge the closer you walked towards the forest, as if a village was waiting deep inside. A growing uneasiness followed you until you finally stopped in front of a signpost, realizing that the dirt road forked into two paths— one that went into the forest, and another that continued towards abandoned farmland. Both signs were illegible, written in a language that resembled the scribbles of a two year-old. But even if you could translate them, the wooden signs were so damaged, rotting and falling apart, that you struggled to decide which way to go.

Without warning, a gust of wind swept through you, and you shivered, rubbing your arms to combat the sudden chill. Now you really wished you had a jacket, rather than just a tank top. However, you noticed that the wind whisked a trail of leaves into the woods.

If that wasn't a sign, then you didn't know what was.

Taking a deep breath, you followed them down the path.

Time seemed to stand still as you walked through the damp forest, but then again, time felt a lot different here. The trees provided a much-needed cover from the burning sun, casting gloomy shadows. It seemed to be a logging camp, with a scattering of wooden cabins that looked in better shape then the ones outside, but were still unsettling to walk past. You found more arrows, with rusty axes embedded in the trunks of trees, but nature seemed to overtake them. Grass and daisies grew in the gaps between abandoned machinery, covering the pieces in moss. More houses seemed to go deeper into the forest, all seemingly abandoned and overgrown.

As you walked, the humidity caused your hair to frizz up and covered your entire body in an uncomfortable layer of sweat. You let out a huff and wiped the condensation from your brow, your legs aching.

How long had you been walking for? Was this all for nothing? Had you gone the wrong way? Was there no labyrinth at all? Questions swirled around your mind as your chest swelled, your breath shortening. The heat was not helping— it felt suffocating, as if the entire forest was a damp sauna. What was it with this sudden change in weather?

With a ragged breath, you finally stopped walking, and your vision blurred with tears. Anxiety gnawed at your very core, your body tensing and trembling as you buried your face in your hands, taking deep breaths. Slowly, you tried to steady yourself, your head aching and pulse pounding. As the pain in your chest subsided, you lowered your palms from your eyes, slowly opening them.

In front of you wasn't the dirt path, but a large gate— one that hadn’t been there before. It was tall and deeply ornate, with a stone arch and iron bars that were curled into what looked like bats. Moss and vines twisted along the cobblestone pillars on either side, but what caught your eye was the wide, seemingly endless wall that encompassed the labyrinth. You slowly walked up to it, grabbing onto the iron bars and pulling— but the gate was locked.

"Come on, I've come this far…” you sighed.

"Halt! Who goes there?”

Jumping in surprise, you spun and frantically looked for the source of the voice, bringing your arms up in a defensive position— albeit a rather weak one.

"Who’s there?!” you called out.

The disembodied voice seemed to chuckle at your attempt at intimidation.

"I should be asking you that! What brings a human to my neck of the woods?”

The voice sounded feminine and held a jolly lilt of humor, one that eased your stance slightly. Looking around, you kept your fists up, stepping forward. Maybe those karate classes from elementary school would kick in if something did happen.

Then as swift as the wind, someone from the top of the gate dropped behind you.

"Boo!”

Yelping, you tripped and landed on your bottom, stirring up dust that caused you to cough.

Curse your lack of instincts and balance. Those classes did nothing to prepare you.

When the dust settled, you found a pair of striking blue-green eyes staring you down. You let out a gasp, quickly scooting backwards in a feeble attempt to crabwalk away from her. She was sun-kissed, as if she spent her life outside, with freckles dotted across her nose— or was it dirt? You couldn't tell, but she was studying you like a specimen, her eyebrows married in concentration at the possibility of you being a threat. But then she relaxed and flashed a sharp-toothed smile, her teeth both blinding and scary.

"So it is you! The girl Eddie’s always on about!”

"Wh-What?”

"Oh, sorry for startling you— here, lemme help you up.”

She grabbed your forearm, hoisting you up as if you weighed nothing, and you winced as her sharp claws lightly grazed your skin. Her dirty-blonde hair was chopped just above her shoulders, her eyes crinkling under her wide grin. How could she smile even more?

"Who are you?”

"Oh right, I’m Robin! I watch over this gaudy-looking gate!”

Robin stepped back from you, and it was then that you fully took her in. She wore a similar outfit to Eddie's, dressed in a poet shirt and tight trousers, with gloves fit for an archer. Slung over her back was a longbow and a quiver of arrows, and a dagger was sheathed to her hip. Gold piercings adorned her ears, which were long and pointed— something you had only ever read about in fantasy novels.

"You’re an elf…?”

"Oh hells no! A goblin, actually! Never seen a goblin before? We're nothing like those posh pricks!"

"No, I've never seen a real goblin before..."

"And it's been a while since I've seen a human! They're quite rare around here.”

Shaking your head, you stared at her in awe. Goblins always were depicted as small, evil green things, but Robin— she looked human. It made you wonder what elves really looked like.

"I know, I am quite stunning, but I'm afraid I'm taken!"

You realized you were staring for longer than was socially acceptable, and your face turned bright red as you broke your stare.

"You're really the girl he's always talking about, huh? I can see why he likes you.” The relaxed tone disappeared from her voice, her previous expression returning as she studied you. The goblin woman then began to circle you like a vulture, sizing you up and scanning you from head to toe.

"What? Why are you doing that? Robin, right? Please, can you let me inside?”

"Woah, one question at a time. Start with the most important one.”

"Can you please let me inside?”

"I can, but that’s not the right question.”

"What? What do you mean not the right question?”

"You ask a lot of questions, huh?”

Robin finally stopped in front of you and stared, a smile slowly appearing on her face. She was quiet, letting you stew in your own mind.

What was she talking about? You said please, was that not enough?

You turned your back to her, opening your arms and lifting them to the sky.

"Open Sesame? Abracadabra?”

Robin burst into a fit of laughter, her own face turning red as she clutched her abdomen, her shoulders shaking. You dropped your arms in embarrassment, cheeks flushing as you wracked your brain for what could have been the answer— why wouldn't she open the gate?

Oh wait.

"...Will you please open the gate?”

"Now that’s more like it!”

Robin turned and pushed vines aside to reveal a wooden lever, pulling it down. The mechanisms began to churn, the cranking of the gears becoming louder as you walked closer. Anxiety quickly settled into a permanent place in your stomach.

"How bad is it?”

"The truth? Terrifying. Are you really going in there?” Robin watched you with curious, worried eyes.

"I have to…for my brother.”

"You mean the brother you wished away? How admirable. But here’s your official warning: a mere human like you may not make it out alive. The labyrinth is no game to take lightly— you might forget which way is which, fall into a pit of spikes, or encounter a monster thirsty for blood— you'll never know what you might find.”

Staring wide-eyed at the open gate, you turned to her.

"There are monsters in here? You're not messing with me?“

"Afraid not, but here— you might need this.”

Robin unclipped her dagger, quick to wrap the belt around your waist.

"Promise we’ll be friends if you make it out alive?”

"When I make it out…”

"That's the spirit! Now go get 'em! Don’t die!" Robin’s smile was blinding as she pushed you towards the entrance. "Good luck, and don’t take anything at face value!”

You swallowed the lump in your throat as you stared at the stone walls, which seemed to beckon you inside. Taking a breath, you crossed under the gate, which quickly fell shut behind you with a loud bang. You jumped, turning to see the goblin woman waving from the other side.

Letting out a surprised huff, you faced ahead once more.

"Alright, I gotta find Dustin," you thought. "I've only got thirteen hours— how am I even going to track that? Robin mentioned monsters...at least she gave me this…"

Pulling the dagger from its place on your belt, you examined it. It was a simple thing wrapped in leather, with a slightly curved blade. Embedded in the hilt was a red stone, possibly a ruby. You held it out and slashed at the air, imagining your target as someone with curly hair and brown doe eyes. Once satisfied with yourself, you sheathed it away and continued your journey.

You walked slowly, taking in your surroundings and keeping a watchful eye out for any traps. Brown roots covered the stone walls and spilled onto the path in thick chunks. You carefully maneuvered around them, but the passage seemed to go on forever, and you slowly went from a walk to a jog, and from a jog to a sprint, running down the path with no end in sight.

Your careless running finally caught up to you when you tripped over a thick, gnarled root, toppling over and tumbling to the ground. Knees digging into dirt, you huffed as you looked up, and from the corner of your eye, you saw it.

The labyrinth was moving.

By the looks of it, it changed ever-so slightly— nothing the careless eye could catch so quickly. The walls shifted in what looked to be a wave of magic, pulsating as if they were alive, and the root you had just tripped over slowly disappeared, rescinding into the stone crevices behind you. Was the labyrinth alive after all? Or was this Eddie’s doing?

You punched the ground in frustration as the pain in your knees became a dull ache. Groaning, you sat up against the wall, your face red not just from exhaustion, but the anger that bubbled to the surface.

"You can’t be serious!" you screamed at the bright blue sky, hoping someone— anyone— would listen. "What the actual fuck am I supposed to do? Hey, Eddie! Yeah, I have a feeling you can hear me, you prick! What the fuck!? You didn't say it fucking moves! Or that there were monsters in here!”

You were met with dead silence as you leaned your head against the stone wall, catching your breath and closing your eyes.

"Alright, this is fine, just breathe. This is like one of those DND campaigns. Yeah, okay, maybe none of this is even real. Did I finally lose it? What if Dustin is dead? Oh god, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself— what if I'm dead too?! What if mom finds me on the side of the road?!” Your ramblings carried through the silence of the labyrinth, hands trembling as you raked your fingers through your hair in anxious panic.

Tears threatened to escape your eyes, and you tried to will them away, but had to shove your palms against your eyes to force them to hide. You wouldn’t cry, not over this, not over hypothetical scenarios. Dustin was alive— he had to be. You remembered his bubbly laugh. You remembered how curious he always was, often getting into trouble. You remembered how he tucked his head of curls under your chin when you watched movies together. Then you thought about how scared he must be without you there, in the dark and surrounded by terrifying monsters who could eat him if they wanted to. You tucked your knees close to your chest, hiccups erupting from your body as the tears you tried so hard to fight back flowed from your eyes.

"Are you alright, dear?”

You jumped at the sudden voice. It was a gentle thing, feminine and holding a motherly lilt that pulled you out of your internal dread. You searched for the source of it, eyes teary.

"Would you like a spot of tea? I believe I have some leaves perfect for brewing.”

The source of the voice finally revealed itself to you, hanging from a vine on the wall. Rubbing the tear stains from your cheeks, you leaned towards the creature. A spotted mushroom sat on its head, and delicate, glistening fairy wings sprouted from its back. You shook your head at the question.

“What troubles you, my dear?”

The fairy was small but seemed wise with age, with pointed ears that stuck out from her dark brown curls. Her skin was golden, as if the sun blessed her, and she wore a dress made of leaves. Her voice was warm and inviting, but her golden eyes looked you over with sorrow and worry— a mother's gaze, no doubt.

"It’s this maze! It moves without warning! How am I supposed to get through it in thirteen hours?! Dustin is probably scared to death and it's all my fault!”

"Oh dear, our king hasn’t properly warned you of the labyrinth, has he? Well, I can tell you with certainty that the brother you shed tears for is safely tucked away in his manor. Our king is kind and always watches over us, including little ol’ me. But in this place, things are not what you expect— for example, take that wall in front of you. It is no ordinary wall.”

The fairy's wings gently fluttered as she lifted herself towards the wall. Placing a small hand against it, she seemed to keep floating forward.

Slowly calming your tears, you picked yourself off the ground and approached the wall. Hand outstretched, you expected yourself to stop short, only you stumbled forward.

"So it’s an illusion...” You walked further and were finally able to place your hand against the cobble, where you saw paths on either side. The fairy slowly settled onto your shoulder, her wings limply hanging downward.

"I’m sorry, dear— my wings don’t quite flutter how they used to. Can you set me down near that mushroom there? Thank you.”

"No, I should be thanking you. I needed your help.” You crouched and held your palm towards your shoulder. The fairy hopped onto it, and you set her on the dirt.

"Oh dearie, it was nothing. Now go, he’s waiting for you!”

"Thank you again.”

The fairy gave you a warm smile before waving you away, her hands sparkling as you straightened up. There were two paths to choose from, both looking nearly identical. You looked to the right first, which was lined with spotted mushrooms, and then to the left, where flowers grew from stone walls. Your feet moved towards the left path, distracted by the flowers, but you stopped.

"Maybe the flowers are a trap. Their smell is so overwhelmingly sweet, it's giving me a headache— I can't go that way.” You shook your head and swiftly turned to the right, following the mushrooms down the path.

You walked and walked for what felt like hours, the pulsating walls shifting from gray cobblestone to green hedges, the changes taking place in your peripheral vision. When you looked over your shoulder, you noticed that shrubbery covered the opening you came through. You pulled the dagger from its sheath and carved an arrow into the ground, marking your path. Keeping the knife out, you trekked through the hedge maze, and when you reached a dead end, you sighed and turned back— only for the arrow mark to be missing.

"What the hell? This is such a sick joke— I swear it was right here! Ugh!” You stomped, and the stone tile beneath your foot clicked. Your breath stalled short as your eyes darted around, but you saw nothing. You heard the sudden rustle of leaves, and turned to find that the dead end had opened into an archway. It could have been some sort of trap, but you were desperate, and hurried through the opening.

The passage slowly opened to a courtyard surrounded by round hedge walls, and you froze as fear took hold of you. Between two pillars, you found a mysterious creature sleeping. It was blocking something— a door.

"This has to be the way. Of course it wouldn’t be so easy. I need to find a way around this thing— whatever it is."

You surveyed the creature from a distance, still frozen in fear and awe. Curled like a sleeping housecat, it resembled a golden lion with feathered wings. How were you going to get around it? Your sweaty fingers gripped the hilt of the dagger Robin had given you. It wasn’t much, but you took comfort in having something to defend yourself with. You inched forward, trying to find a way around the beast.

The animal stirred and you froze immediately, sweat beading on your temple as you defensively held the knife in front of you. The creature then growled and twisted, stretching out in its sleep. A crystal ball rested under its paw, suddenly lighting up, and an all-too-familiar voice shouted through it.

"Chrissy, wake up!”

The creature hummed and swiped at the ball, which rolled its way towards you. Maybe this was your chance for contact— to see if your brother was alright.

You quickly sheathed the dagger and dropped down to hoist the crystal ball into your hands, backing away from the creature. Larger than the one previously offered to you, the orb reflected a man with shaggy curls. You glared at his image, but Eddie's attention was elsewhere as he shouted at someone, his voice muffled by all the noise around him. In the background, you heard the sounds of goblins yelling and knocking each other over as something metal loudly clattered to the floor.

"Eddie, the kid is causing too much trouble! He nearly decapitated little Mike with a sword just now! You watch him, I need a break!”

"Stevie you can't leave now! He likes you!"

"Not my problem! And stop calling me that!

The unknown man huffed in annoyance before walking off and Eddie rolled his eyes before he let out a heavy sigh.

"Some one else was watching over Dustin? And he was around a sword?!"

Eddie's pointed ears twitched at a high-pitched scream and he groaned, before turning his head to face you.

"How many times do I—? Oh hello, Miss Henderson.” His eyes widened, not expecting to see you on the other end of the crystal.

"Where is he?” Your voice was low and angry as you quickly hid behind a pillar, but he seemed distracted.

"Where’s who? Hey!" The ball jostled as it was ripped from his hands. "Get back here!” He started chasing after the thief, and when he seemed close, you heard childish laughter.

"Dustin, is that you!?” Your eyes brimmed with tears as you clutched the ball close, a relieved sigh escaping— none of your fears had come true.

The laughter became louder as your brother’s gummy grin took center stage, his blue eyes crinkled with glee as he ran, the crystal shaking in his hands.

"Dustin! Dustin! Are you okay?!” Your voice shook as you tried to get his attention, lowering it as the sleeping creature stirred. He laughed and joyously called your name.

"I okay, no worry!”

"Are you sure? You're not hurt? Where are you?” Your questions came out quick, but he giggled, his curls bouncing as he ran.

"I at Eddie's house! I like it here and I like Eddie! He play with me and I still eat my veggies, like you say! But Eddie don’t eat.”

"I’m coming to get you, okay? I'll be there soon. Then we’re gonna go home and eat all the ice cream you want. If the goblins do anything bad, then you hit them real hard and run away.”

"Yay!" The boy cheered, but his running slowed, his eyes droopy and tired. "Pinky promise...?”

"Pinky promise…I…I love you.”

"Love you…” he yawned.

Suddenly he was scooped up, laughing sleepily— something you didn’t think you would miss so much.

"I’ll take that back now, you little rascal— time for bed.”

The image shook once again as Eddie plucked the crystal ball from Dustin's grip, holding it out to show the two of them. Dustin dug his face into his shoulder and clung to his neck, legs wrapped around his torso. The man’s eyes were gentle as he shifted his attention from the boy to you, and with a soft voice, he stared you down.

"You have eleven hours— I'll see you soon.”

Red smoke filled the crystal, and when it cleared, he was gone.

"What was all that about? No, forget him, Dustin is okay. He's been eating and now he's going to sleep. See me soon? When I see Eddie, I’m gonna—"

You set the large crystal ball on the ground and turned to the now very-much-awake creature— one that was half-human, dressed in a white and gold toga. Her ocean blue eyes were piercing, her golden hair perfectly framing her soft face.

"It seems you caught me napping— you must be the famous Henderson girl I hear so much about.” The creature's voice was soft and tired, her eyes staring you down as you stood away from her.

How did all of these creatures know you?

You kept still, your heart furiously beating in your ears. You were sure she could hear it too.

"That knife at your hip— I hope you weren't planning on using it on me. Otherwise, you might have been my lunch.” she grinned nonchalantly.

You quickly shook your head— a lie.

"Come closer, don't be shy. I’m Chrissy and I promise I won’t eat you— there are things here that are far worse than me. Now for your test!”

You slowly began to approach her, noticing three large locks on the door behind her.

"Test? What kind of test?”

"It’s really easy, just answer some riddles and unlock the door behind me to continue towards the city. Easy-peasy!”

"Wait, riddles? You're a sphinx?” You wracked your head for the story, remembering the creature from a book of Greek mythology you read for history class.

"Well no, I’m a goblin. We come in all shapes and sizes." Chrissy was a large creature, but she began to shrink, her lion legs shifting into human ones. Her toga reached her ankles, and her bare feet seemed to have been dipped in gold. Her blonde hair fell just past her shoulders as she yawned, arms stretching out above her head.

You watched in awe and she smiled brightly, giving you jazz hands. The golden bangles around her wrists clanked when she did so.

"Alright then, I have three riddles for you. If you can’t solve them, then unfortunately, you'll be...misplaced.”

"Wait, misplaced? Where to?”

"Typically you’d be placed anywhere in the labyrinth, but in this case, I was told to send you back to the beginning.”

Your eyes widened and she laughed, her jewelry jingling as she approached you.

"So, are you ready or not? You don’t have that much time…”

Taking a deep breath, you nodded. Hopefully all those Dungeons and Dragons sessions would pay off.

"I’m ready…I think.”

She clasped her hands together in prayer and her blue eyes gently closed. When she opened them a few seconds later, they glowed a bright gold. You flinched at the unexpected change, but tried to relax. This was your first true test.

"Your first riddle is this: if given one, you’ll have many or none at all.” Her voice echoed throughout the landing, shaking the hedge walls.

You steadied yourself and delved deep into your mind, stewing in the question. You had to think carefully; if you gave the wrong answer, you would have to start all over again. And if you did, there most likely wouldn't be a kind fairy creature to help you. What would you even choose to say? There were so many choices.

Wait.

Taking a deep breath, you shakily gave your first answer.

"A choice…?”

Chrissy smiled, and a lock from behind her fell to the floor.

"That is correct— your destiny is shaped by the choices you make on your journey through life. Many choices can alter your path, whether they lead you to ruin, or lead you to glory. Choices give the power to challenge your fate. Now your second riddle is this: some are cherished, some are hated, and even if lost, they remain with you.”

You stared at her, taking in her words, imprinting them into your mind. It could be people— maybe it was. But how are lost people still with you? In your heart?

Suddenly you thought of your father, the day he left Hawkins ingrained into your memory. Your mother was pregnant with Dustin at the time— you remembered her crying after work, still in her scrubs. You remembered the day she came home with your brother in a carrier and how she cried for weeks after. You remembered seeing her less often. You remembered waking up to feed Dustin when your mother worked night shifts. You remembered not having a Sweet 16th after he was born. You remembered helping to pay for his racecar bed. You remembered getting him to say your name for the first time. It was his first word. You remembered raising him, and you remembered loving him so much. But you remembered the sleepless nights before tests. You remembered missing school to watch over him when he was sick. You remembered crying when he wouldn’t stop. You remembered having to swallow back the tears when your mother was there. The memories were a cocktail of pain, loss, and happiness.

You remembered…

"Is the answer memories?”

Another of the locks fell to the ground, causing it to shake.

"Correct— memories are powerful. They may hold a person's love or hate, their joy and their grief, and some may choose to block them out. The memories you hold dear will always be imprinted into your heart, even as years pass. Our memories shape us, and you are now stronger because of them. Keep those memories close, for even if they hurt, they are a part of who you are. Now, your last riddle is this: they arrive every night, whether invited or not. They can be seen, but not heard or touched. If one falls, they all keep moving.”

You absorbed her words into your mind— you needed to get this right, or you would be doomed to reset this death trap. Tapping your foot, you tried to wrap your head around the riddle. You looked up at the sky above you, falling into a distant memory.

"Whas in da sky?”

"Those are stars, Dustin. You can only see them clearly out here.”

"Why?”

"Because it's dark here.”

"The dark is scawy...”

"It can be, but the stars will always keep you safe.”

"How?”

"Well, you see that up there? That’s the North Star— when it comes out, you make a wish on it. And guess what? If you follow it, it can take you home.”

You sat on the driveway with Dustin in your lap, staring up into the starry sky. There had been a blackout, and your mother was still working at the hospital. The sudden darkness had scared the boy, and you tried to calm his cries by bringing him outside.

"It can?”

"Yeah, and do you wanna know the coolest thing?”

"Wha?”

"Sometimes stars fall from the sky. They say bye-bye to their mommies and they go on their own adventure. They fly by and spread their magic dust to make you happy.”

"Really? They not scawed?”

"Maybe, but it’s okay to be scared. Their mommies are always watching.”

"And sisters?”

"Yeah buddy, their sisters watch them too.”

Dustin leaned against you, staring up at the sky with awe in his bright blue eyes. The stars, despite the blackout, kept on moving.

"Is Mommy still working?”

"Yeah, the hospital needs a lot of help, so she’s staying late.”

"I sleep with you?”

He looked up at you with pleading puppy-dog eyes, and how could you say no to that? You sighed and gently nodded.

"Yeah, you can sleep in my room 'til Mom gets back.”

He cheered and leaned against you, his eyes starting to close, and for a second, you thought a comet shot through the sky.

You wished things were different.

"Stars— the answer is stars.” Your voice came out shaky and unsure, and you held your breath until finally, after what felt like years, the final lock clicked open and fell to the ground with a heavy thud.

"Correct— for centuries, the stars have guided the lost, and today, their memory guides you forward. Whenever you feel lost in your heart, unsure of how to navigate the darkness within, then look to the night sky. Follow the stars and allow them to guide you, just as they guided others long ago. Just as the stars keep moving, so will you. Congratulations— you have passed the test and may continue on your journey.”

You held your breath, your eyes wide with shock. Your heart raced as you stood still, as if one wrong move would send you back to the start of the labyrinth. But your anxiety melted into joy when you realized that you had done it— you had passed the first test. You let out a shaky breath, your trembling hands quickly rubbing away the joyous tears that poured down your cheeks. Breaking into a smile, you turned to the orb, pointing at it with a determined fire in your eyes.

"See that, Eddie?! Fuck you, I did it! Bring it on!”

Chrissy smiled and tried to hide her laugh. She closed her glowing eyes, and when she blinked them open, she was herself again.

"Do watch out for traps, won’t you? I would like to see you at the banquet.”

"Banquet?”

"Yes, I would like to see you there alive and well. We have a celebration coming up and would love to have you there.”

You stared at her with confusion etching your features— as if you would voluntarily spend another second in this godforsaken place.

Chrissy stepped aside as the door swung open, exposing a topiary of a lion on the other side of the passage. You turned to her as she stretched and yawned, her form shifting back to her more animal-like appearance. Swallowing a lump in your throat, you were finally able to voice your concern.

"Are the next trials harder?”

"Well, everything has its difficulties and everything has its solutions. You’ll be fine, just keep looking ahead.”

"Alright, thank you!”

You took a deep breath, and with a newfound excitement, you passed through the doorway, your eyes trained on the topiary ahead. You looked back at Chrissy, who seemed to settle into sleep, and with a wide smile, you began to run. Your shoes pounded against the flagstone floor as you hurried through the passage.

But then the flagstone was gone, there was no ground, and your eyes widened as you fell down a gaping abyss. You clawed at the edge of the stone, but it was too late. Your heart raced as you helplessly flailed your arms, the darkness swallowing the scream you let out as you plummeted into the unknown. Was this the your fate all along? Had you made the wrong choice? Gone the wrong way? Were you going to die?

"I should have looked where I was stepping."

You fell down, down into the abyss, and the darkness consumed you.

A/N: Thank you so much for reading! I know it took almost a year to get here but it's here! I'm a full time college student and coming up with original puzzles for this was no easy feat I'll tell you what. I promise I haven't given up yet! Don't forget to reblog, like and comment it really helps! (gosh I sound like a Youtuber lol) But anyways thank you again for reading and back to the writing cave I go!

Taglist: (If you want to be placed on it comment under here)

@fan-girl-97 @sh0wthyself @maxstecc @mirkwoodshewolf @bellalillyrose @under-the-clouds @bllshtbel @ali-r3n @darknesseddiem @ladyjbrekker @mewchiili

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munsonfamilyband · 1 year ago

Text

In Everything But Blood

Alright, I finished the giant paper I had to write (40 pages jesus christ) and then grad school kind of kicked my ass for a while BUT I AM HERE, back from a months long hiatus to finally write the claudia henderson thing I wrote weeks ago. Enjoy, there will be more but this was so long and I only got to like halfway through it but I wanted to post this.

TW!!!! Seriously TW, graphic descriptions of gore and injuries, medical talk, THIS IS NOT FOR THE SQUEAMISH IT IS SUPPOSED TO BE GRAPHIC ON PURPOSE

~~~~~~~~~~

Steve wasn't fully aware of how he was still moving but he wasn't going to question it as he sprints into the hospital behind Nancy and Robin, Eddie draped over his back and getting blood everywhere, Dustin limping as fast as he could behind them. He would probably be panicking more if he couldn't feel the little puffs of air Eddie was breathing out every few seconds against his neck.

The nurses all turn to the doors when Nancy slams them open and while there are already plenty of people who look worse for wear in the waiting room, no one looks quite like the group that just walked in. They're all covered in dirt and ash and sweat and lake water and blood blood bloodbloodblood-

Okay, maybe Steve is starting to panic a little.

Nancy yells for help when no one immediately moves and the gun she's holding definitely helps encourage any nurses and doctors to get over any issues they have treating Eddie.

Robin has to pry Steve's hands off of Eddie's pants. He didn't want to let him go, too scared that he would die and Steve wouldn't be there to help. She manages to gently guide him away from the doors they took Eddie through and she sits him down in a chair before sitting next to him and leaning her head on his shoulder.

"He'll be okay, Stevie. We got him here, he's okay."

Steve knows that she's only saying it to help calm him down, and probably to calm herself down too, but he appreciates it all the same.

As they sit there Steve feels the adrenaline starting to fade and he gets a very stark reminder of how his sides are stinging and every breath makes his shirt rub against the scrapes on his back and arms. If he hadn't been in a state of panic already, worried about Eddie and Max and Lucas and Erica and-

He takes a deep breath and leans into Robin's weight at his side. He can't get help yet, not until he knows everyone else is okay.

(If he were feeling braver he might also admit that he's been a little scared of doctors since Scoops, but he's not feeling very brave at the moment.)

A little while later Steve sees Lucas and Erica and forces himself to stand, hurrying over to check on them, to find out where Max is. He instantly knows that something went wrong when Erica slams into him and holds on tight. He only gets more concerned when Lucas leans in to hold onto Erica and Steve at the same time. And then the pit gets bigger when he feels tears hit his shirt.

"Lucas, hey, you're alright. Hey, look at me- hey. What happened? Where's Max?" Steve stares at Lucas's face as he speaks, trying to get an idea of how he's feeling.

Lucas takes a shuddering breath in before he answers, "She-she-.. it was going fine and then... Jason-Jason fuckin'- he crushed her Walkman and I couldn't-she was floating and Jason had-had a gun and I-She was-was dead, for a minute, and then she-she just started breathing again and I dont-"

Steve pulls Lucas closer again, a hand on the back of his neck to give him support as he spoke quietly. "Okay, alright, you did good. She's here, right? She'll be okay. She's gonna be okay." Steve stayed there with them for who knows how long, only separating when he heard a familiar voice gasp from the door.

"Oh thank god, Erica, Lucas!"

Both of them turned to see their mom in the waiting room and ran at her, where she met them in a crushing hug. As Sue held her children close she looked up, tears falling and made eye contact with Steve. Steve saw her mouth 'Thank you' to him and it made his stomach fall to his feet. Sue had always adored Steve for protecting her kids, first from Billy and then in the "fire" at the mall. But this time, Steve was the reason they got hurt. He let them go off on their own and they got hurt.

He nods and walks back over to Robin and Dustin where they're sitting, suddenly remembering his injuries again as he moves away from the Sinclairs. He has to force himself to walk normally just to make it to the chair, only to nearly collapse back into it.

~~~~

"Alright, time to go, Dust. Now that your foot's been treated I really need to get you home. Claudia is going to start calling morgues if I don't," Steve grunts out as he helps heave Dustin out of his seat and get settled on his crutches. Robin stands once Dustin is steady and she follows them out of the hospital and climbs into the passenger of Steve's car. (Nancy had left once Eddie was taken to stash the RV somewhere and she came back with his beemer. Steve isn't going to ask.)

The ride to Dustin's house is quiet, Steve can tell each of them is silently asking anything out there that the Henderson house was spared. Thankfully when they pulled into the driveway the house was in one piece and only seconds after parking Claudia is yanking open the front door and running out to meet them at the car.

She runs up to Dustin who had managed to stand up using the car as support and they both cling to each other in tears. Steve watches them for a moment before he has to look away or he'll start crying. He spaces out for a bit, just holding Robin's hand when he get startled by the harsh knocks on his window. Looking up, he locks eyes with Claudia and he can't quite read her expression but he can hear her say, "Get your butt out of that car, Steve, I need to look at you. You too, Robbie."

He and Robin make eye contact for a split second before hurrying to comply. As soon as Steve is standing fully he finds himself being yanked down into a hug, Claudia's arms wrapped around his shoulders.

Steve has to take a deep, shaky breath and blink very quickly to stop any tears. He loves Claudia's hugs, they feel like birthdays and Christmas and being wrapped in a fuzzy blanket with hot chocolate all at once. When he hears her mumbling about how glad she is that he's okay, well, maybe he cries a little.

After he and Robin are both fully looked at by Claudia and then each given at least 3 hugs, they climb back into his car and pull away form the Hendersons.

"Am I taking you home or are you coming with me?" Steve glances over at Robin as he says it. He knows the answer without he responding, just because her face pinches in the way it does when she's afraid of making Steve sad.

"I know last time we went to yours but I just... I need to see my parents. I'm so sorry-"

"Robs, it's okay to want to check on your parents. I'm not upset. Can you just.. keep your walkie on our channel tonight?" Steve glances at her again, getting hit with another Robin look that says she can see right through him.

"Always, Stevie. I am sorry though, I hate the idea of you in that house alone."

"I'll be okay, Robbie. I'm just gonna sleep as soon as I get home anyways."

Robin stares at him for a moment longer and then nods, grabbing one of his hands to hold in hers for the last half of the drive. She only lets it go to give him a tight squeeze before hurrying out of the car to her front door.

Steve waits until she's safely inside before he pulls away and goes to his own house.

The moment he shuts the door behind himself it feels like all of the energy in his body has been drained away. He can barely keep himself standing, only the pain that shoots down his spin when he leans back onto the door keeps him upright.

He forces himself to trudge upstairs and goes right to the bathroom. He starts with getting the clothes off, deciding to just cut them off so he doesn't have to lift his arms.

Then comes the cleaning. He first tries to shower but he can only handle standing with pressured water pelting his back and soap stinging his feet for a minute at the most. When he gives up on the shower he figures he should at least try to clean the bites.

One second he's standing in front of the mirror and reaching to pull off the fabric, the next his whole body is covered in sweat and he's sitting on his ass on the tile floor. His hands are shaking at he wants to vomit from the pain.

No changing the bandage then.

Steve forces himself to at least wash his face and hands with a washcloth before he collapses directly into bed and falling asleep in seconds.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Claudia is worried. She had already been a little concerned when Steve showed up two days earlier for lunch with a flushed face and too pale skin. She watched him and he didn't act any different but she kept note of it so that she could watch him. But then, when they were supposed to have lunch at 12 and Steve still hadn't shown up or even called by 1, well, Claudia was concerned. Steve always insisted on being on time, claiming it came from all the sports he had done (but she had heard him mumble about his parents harassing him about being late before when he had a head injury, so she just nodded along to his excuses). Being an hour late was entirely out of character and something in her gut, the same feeling she had experienced multiple times over the past few years about her Dusty, told her that she needed to go see him, and soon.

Dustin was thankfully not at home, spending the afternoon with the Wheelers, so she didn't have to tell him what was happening before she got into her car and drove to Steve's house.

What greeted her when she parked only made her more nervous. Steve, she had noticed, had strange habits relating to many things. He had to sit close enough to touch the person next to him, he tried to hide it but he never kept alcohol in the house anymore, he kept the curtains closed facing the backyard, and he always, always leaves the porch light on.

But that afternoon in early April, the porch light was off.

Claudia parked quickly and hurried to the front door, not even bothering with knocking. Instead she pulled out the key Steve had made for her and Dusty after the previous summer and let herself in.

The dread that had been growing in her gut only intensified when she entered the house and a very familiar smell hit her nose.

Body odor, sweat and salt and morning breath.

Bodily fluids, urine and vomit. And blood.

Infection, sickly sweet rot mixing with something like ammonia.

Time seemed to freeze as Claudia ran up the stairs, calling Steve's name all the while. She knew those smells, she had dealt with them at work too many times to not know them, and to smell them in relation to Steve made her blood run cold. She needed to see him, this boy who cared for her Dusty so much, this boy who had wormed his way into her heart, this boy who was her son.

Rushing into Steve's room she was greeted by her worst fears. Steve was lying on his bed, the sheets clearly kicked off and tangled around his ankles. He was only wearing his boxers and they had clearly not been changed in a few days, stained with his sweat and urine. His skin was covered in sweat, his chest and cheeks were bright red and the rest of his skin was a waxy yellow. He was shirtless, vomit covering his chin and chest and staining the pillow and sheets below him. He had what looked like scraps of a sweater or shirt wrapped loosely around his stomach. It was filthy, saturated with sweat, blood, dirt and pus. The smell in the room was much stronger than by the front door, her eyes watering briefly before she forced herself to focus. She was a nurse, she could handle this.

Claudia moved to the bed and gently kneeled onto the mattress. As she moved closer she could hear Steve mumbling to himself but it was so quiet and so slurred that nothing was legible. Claudia placed a hand on his forehead and jerked back in shock at how hot his skin was. Glancing around frantically for anything to help she saw the phone at his bedside table and grabbed it, punching in 911 before cradling the receiver between her ear and shoulder as she continued to check over Steve.

The next moments all passed in a blur for Claudia as she explained who she was and where she was to the dispatcher before they hung up and she waited for the ambulance to arrive. The ride to the hospital passed in what seemed like a blink of an eye and suddenly Claudia found herself in the empty waiting room at Hawkins General and she became aware of two equally important facts.

Her sweater and hands were saturated with Steve's sweat and blood.

She needed to call Robin.

The blood would have to wait, because she knew that Robin would want to be there for Steve so she managed to wipe her hand with some tissues before dialing the Buckley's house.

"Buckley residence, this is Robin," Robin's voice came through the receiver and Claudia let out a loud sigh.

"Robbie, honey, thank goodness you're home. I have some bad news. I'm at the hospital right now sweetie, it's about Steve." Claudia paused after she finished speaking, waiting to see what Robin would say. Unfortunately for Claudia, rather than saying anything, she had to listen to a gut wrenching gasp and sob from Robin, so she chose to keep talking. "I went to his house and found him in his room. I think he had been hurt and it got infected. If your parents are home, I think you should come here, he would want you here."

Robin mumbled a few okays, clearly through tears before she hung up. In the silence after Claudia had no choice but to go clean herself up, allowing herself a minute to collapse onto a toilet seat and cry. Her boy was hurt and she couldn't help him, he was so hurt he didn't even know she was there and she didn't know what to do.

Robin arrived about 10 minutes after they ended their call with a surprise in tow.

Jim Hopper, thinner and without a mustache, but somehow alive and marching into the hospital like he was going into hell. Knowing about his daughter, he probably felt like he was in hell.

Robin spotted Claudia first and ran over to her, arms open and Claudia pulled her right into a tight hug, rocking her back and forth the way Steve always loves. Robin held back just as tight and cried into her shoulder while Claudia whispered to her, "He'll be okay, he's going to be okay."

Jim didn't say anything, just nodded - as if she hadn't thought he was dead until that moment - before he collapsed into a chair, head in his hands and knee bouncing with anxiety.

Hours passed, Robin had curled herself up in a chair next to Claudia and was leaning into her side. Jim had moved to sit on the other side of Robin and surprisingly she reached out and held his hand.

After ages of sitting there in silence a doctor walked through the doors. Claudia recognized her immediately and knew that she had been lucky to find Steve alive if she had been called in. Dr. Graham was one of the only wound specialists they had at the hospital and she focused on the worst cases.

Claudia straightened in her seat, her two companions also coming to attention as Dr. Graham came to sit with them.

"Hello, Claudia. I'm sorry you had to come in on your day off but you got very lucky. If you hadn't brought him in today he may have gone into sepsis. Thankfully he has you listed as his emergency contact so I can fill you in on everything. I want to start by saying that he is currently stable and on heavy medication. He had multiple heavily infected wounds, primarily on his abdomen but there was also apparent road rash across the back of his arms and upper back. We were able to debride the wounds from the rash relatively easily but his abdomen was more difficult. The bandage he had been using was extremely dirty and not made for wound coverage so many fibers had been imbedded into the open wounds. Luckily there had been little necrotizing fasciitis but there was enough that we had to remove the dead tissue. I do want to make sure you understand that he was very seriously injured and delayed treatment made it worse. We are going to test the pus we collected for different bacteria to narrow down the treatment for him but I'm thinking it may be leptospirosis, since he is visibly jaundiced and the injures are obviously animal bites. We have him sedated currently and on heavy antibiotics in the ICU. If you wear protective gear you can visit him for a little bit, but only people on his emergency contact list can come."

Claudia's head was spinning, she was hearing the words being said and she was following the doctor down the hall to the ICU. She was putting paper scrubs on over her clothes and donning a mask and gloves, but it was all in a daze. She needed to see Steve, she needed to see him breathing, then she would be okay.

She was not okay.

Seeing Steve only made her collapse into a chair in tears. He looked so small in the hospital bed, wrapped in wires and tubes. But he was breathing. Robin collapsed onto the foot of his bed and bent over his shins while she sobbed and Jim stumbled into the wall by the door with a hand over his eyes as his shoulders shook with silent anguish. They knew he wasn't out of the woods yet, but he was breathing and he had to be okay.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Alright that was part one, I'm working on the next half but wow that ended up being really long

Taglist

@maya-custodios-dionach @ape31 @eldtritchlizardblast @y4r3luv @devondespresso @zerokrox-blog @disrespectedgoatman @finntheehumaneater @estrellami-1 @jonesn4coffee @whatexactlyismyhoohah @lingeringmirth @my-hyperfixations-hell-blog @spectrum-spectre @steddieasitgoes @puppy-steve @frankenstein-ate-my-left-shoe @nburkhardt @sllooney @princessstevemunson @yellowdevilkitten @emchant3d @steddie-island @afewproblems

#steddie #it will be happening in the next part just not yet #stranger things #steve harrington #platonic stobin #robin buckley #claudia henderson #parental jim hopper #i just tagged a bunch of people who responded to the last post lmao #this was so interesting to write because i am such a fucking nerd that I spent like 5 minutes searching for common bacterial infections #specifically from animal bites #please enjoy my word vomit of emotional unloading #my period gave me the motivation to do this

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keeryhours · 2 months ago

Text

wildflower chapter five

Eddie Munson x Henderson! female reader, Steve Harrington x reader

Main Masterlist

Series Masterlist

Eddie Munson Masterlist

Summary:

Eddie meets Asher for the first time, and Steve has some complicated feelings.

Warnings:

Angst, secret baby

Word Count: 2.8k

A/N:

Thank you all so much for your support on this story! And shoutout dialogue/banter queen @punkrockmlchael I absolutely adore you

—

“So you’re letting him meet Asher,” Steve stated more than asked as he sat on your cheap couch, sock feet propped up on the coffee table.

“Yes,” you confirmed, sipping from your hot tea. Asher had just gone to bed, Steve coming over to help with the bedtime routine and hang out since it had been a couple days since you really got to talk.

He sighed deeply. “Are you sure that’s a good idea? You don’t think it will be confusing for Ash?”

“I think it’s early enough that it’s okay,” you said. “And if he wants to be a dad now, I’m not going to stop him.”

Steve scoffed. “I don’t think he even knows what it means to be a dad.”

It was your turn to sigh. “He’s trying, I think, Stevie.”

“Yeah, well, a little too late don’t you think?”

You sat your mug on the table, pulling your hair around to begin a braid for the night. “He deserves a chance. Asher deserves to have a dad in his life, if he wants to step up.”

“Asher has me,” Steve said, his voice full of emotion. Your head snapped up to look at him, surprised by the intensity swirling behind his brown eyes. Your expression softened.

“And you’ve been amazing,” you said, reaching over to grab Steve’s hand in your own. He intertwined your fingers. “Ash loves you. More than me, I think.”

That brought a reluctant smile to Steve’s lips. “I love him. I’ve known the dude since he’s existed.”

The thought brings a warm feeling to your chest. It was true, Steve rarely went a day without seeing Asher for at least some amount of time. He was a constant in his life, and they were very close because of it.

“No one’s going to replace you, you know that?” You said, looking into Steve’s eyes. “You’re always gonna be Uncle Stevie.”

Something like sadness flashed across his face, but it was gone as quickly as it came. “Yeah. I know.” He was quiet for a beat. “But what if Eddie doesn’t want me in his life anymore?”

“Oh, Steve.” You squeezed his hand again. “That’s not gonna happen. I wouldn’t let that happen.”

Steve nodded, looking down at his lap. He wanted to trust you, but Eddie coming back into the picture was shaking up everything. He was happy with the way his life had been, with you and with Asher. He liked the position he had in your lives - although, only in the deepest parts of his heart, he wished for more.

“You…you know I love you, right?” Steve said, looking back up to meet your eyes again.

“Of course I do,” you said, a gentle smile on your face. “I love you, too. We’ve been best friends for forever.”

Steve’s lips pursed. “Yeah. Best friends.”

“Do you want to come over tomorrow? When Eddie comes?” You asked, removing your hand from Steve’s to continue your braid. Your fingers worked quickly, the motions familiar to you.

“Do you want me here?” He asked tentatively. He badly wanted to be, but didn’t want Eddie to think he was overstepping any more than he already did.

“Of course I do,” you said, picking your mug back up. “You don’t have to be, but you know I like having you for support.”

Steve smiled softly. “Yeah. Okay, I’ll be here then. 2?”

“Yep.”

Steve slapped his palms on his lap with a “Well, I better get going,” in a major dad move. You smiled to yourself as he stood and slipped his shoes back on. “I’ll be here tomorrow. Let me know if you need anything?”

“Sure,” you said. Steve leaned over and kissed you gently on top of the head before he was letting himself out of the apartment, leaving you alone with your Full House rerun.

—

The next morning, Asher was up bright and early. You helped him onto his step stool in the kitchen to let him “help” make breakfast. You were teaching him how to crack eggs in the bowl without getting shells everywhere, and he was slowly getting the hang of it, but egg usually ended up everywhere anyway.

You were pulling muffins from the oven when the front door lock turned. Asher jolted to attention, knowing exactly who it would be.

“Stebe!” He yelled, nearly jumping down from his step stool and running to hug Steve’s legs.

Steve knocked back dramatically with an “Oof! You’re getting too strong for me, Ash.”

The toddler giggled, before grabbing Steve’s hand and pulling him over to the counter where breakfast awaited.

“You’re early,” you told him, eyebrows raised. “Like, really early.” It was still 10am.

Steve shrugged. “I wanted to hang out with my favorite people.” He grabbed a piece of bacon and chomped on it.

“You’re lucky I made enough for you,” you said, grabbing three plates from the cabinet. You handed them to Steve to plate.

“Almost like you knew I’d be here early,” he said, a teasing smile on his face that you returned with a knowing one as he took the dishes from your hands. You knew each other way too well.

After breakfast, Steve played trains with Asher on the living room floor while you cleaned up the kitchen. Steve was a little too distracted as he played today, eyes lingering on you a little too long, especially when you’d bend over. He just thought you looked so cute in your oversized t-shirt and short shorts you slept in. He loved how you let him see you in any state, and he always thought you looked beautiful.

It was naptime by the time you were done, and Steve offered to take care of it for you so you could sit down. You took him up on the offer, but still found yourself lingering behind, watching the way Steve would get Asher laughing so hard while he changed him, how Asher would refuse to let him leave without a “night night kiss”.

During his nap, you and Steve took up your usual positions on the couch. You laid your feet in his lap and Steve rubbed them over your fuzzy socks.

“Are you nervous?” He asked. You noticed how his biceps flexed as he massaged you.

“Maybe a little,” you admitted. “I don’t know what to expect.”

Steve squeezed your leg. “I’m here for you no matter what. Even if this doesn’t work out.”

“Do you think it will?” You asked, your voice full of nervous hope. “Work out?”

“I don’t know,” Steve answered honestly. “He’s not the same guy who left. I don’t want you to expect him to be.”

Asher woke up from his nap right on time, at 1:45. You got him dressed in a cute outfit, some little overalls with a yellow shirt underneath. He quickly ran back to the living room in search of Steve, who got back on the floor with him and watched as the toddler pulled every toy out of his toy box.

It wasn’t long before there was a knock at the door.

You and Steve exchanged a look as you stood and headed to the front door. You opened it, seeing Eddie standing on the other side. He was dressed nicely, wearing a button down and tight jeans. His hair was brushed and tamed, and he held a bouquet of flowers and a gift bag in his hand.

“Hey,” you greeted, surprised at the effort he’d put into his appearance. “Come on in.”

You backed up, letting Eddie walk inside before you closed the door.

“These are for you,” he said, handing you the wrapped bouquet of carnations. You smiled as you took them, bringing them to your nose to smell them.

“Thank you,” you said. “I’ll go put them in some water.”

You walked into the kitchen, Eddie following behind you awkwardly. He looked into the living room as you filled a vase with water, only able to see Steve’s head and hear Asher’s laughter.

“What’s that?” You asked, gesturing towards the gift bag.

“Oh, uh,” Eddie said, looking down at the bag. “I just brought something for the kid. I hope that’s okay.”

You smiled softly. “That’s sweet. I’m sure he’ll love whatever it is. Are you ready to meet him?”

Eddie swallowed. He took a deep breath. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m ready.”

You walked into the living room with Eddie trailing behind. “Hey, Ash?”

The little boy turned away from the ninja turtles he’d been playing with with Steve, looking back at you. His eyes immediately moved to Eddie, and they widened. He turned, quickly scurrying into Steve’s lap and hiding his face in his chest. Steve looked up at you, unsure what to do as he wrapped his arms around the boy.

You turned to Eddie, who looked absolutely heartbroken. His face had fallen, and he looked like he could cry at any moment. You quickly put a hand on his arm. “It’s okay. He’s just shy. He’ll warm up.” Eddie nodded, attempting to swallow his nerves.

“Ash, there’s someone I want you to meet,” you tried again, crouching down in front of him and Steve. Asher turned slightly, looking only at you through just one eye, his face still half buried in Steve’s shirt. “Can you do that for me?”

Slowly, cautiously, Asher turned, looking at Eddie. He didn’t leave Steve’s lap, clutching onto his shirt in his tiny fists for dear life. Eddie watched on, at a loss for words, his heart broken in his chest as he took in the sight of his son, who looked even more like him in person, who wanted nothing to do with him. Who clung to Steve rather than even look at him.

“This is Eddie,” you told Asher, who was currently scrutinizing everything about him. You wondered if he found him intimidating. “He’s…this is your dad.”

Asher looked at Eddie, not understanding your words.

“Hey,” Eddie greeted gently, sitting the bag down and crouching down in front of Asher. “Nice to meet you, little man.”

Asher didn’t say anything. He turned, hiding his face again, acting like he was terrified of Eddie, would rather be anywhere else.

“Can I use your bathroom?”

You turned to Eddie, surprised by the random question. But the man looked utterly defeated, his lower lip quivering as he sniffled. Before you could answer him, he was standing and rushing off to the bathroom.

You looked at Steve, who looked completely uncomfortable. Asher finally uncovered his face with Eddie gone, looking around the room to see if he was still there. You stroked his curly hair gently.

“That might have gone worse than I expected,” Steve murmured, his hand stroking Asher’s back soothingly.

“He’s just shy, he’s not used to strangers,” you whispered back. “Maybe I should go talk to him.”

Steve nodded, and you stood, heading to the bathroom and softly knocking on the door. “Eddie? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” he said, but it was obvious in his voice he’d been upset, maybe even crying.

“Can you let me in?”

There was a minute of silence before the lock turned and Eddie opened the bathroom door. His eyes were red, cheeks wet from tears. The sight broke your heart. You stepped into the bathroom with him, closing the door behind you two.

“I’m so sorry, Eddie. I should have warned you about this ahead of time.”

Eddie shook his head. “He hates me.”

“He doesn’t hate you,” you said. “He’s just being shy. He doesn’t know you yet. Just give him time.”

Eddie laughed humorlessly, looking around the small room. “I’m no better than my own dad.”

Your heart broke for him. “That’s not true.”

“Isn’t it though?” He gripped onto the counter, leaning over. “I’ve been completely absent. Being a rockstar. My kid doesn’t know who I am. He doesn’t even want anything to do with me. He hates me.” He laughed again. “I said I’d never be like my old man.”

“Eddie, you’re nothing like your dad.” You reached for him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“I wanted to end the cycle but here I am continuing it. Walking away, leaving you, leaving him, leaving our son. He probably thinks Steve’s his dad.”

Your stomach hurt at his words. “You just have to give him time,” you said again. “He’s just a toddler. He’ll warm up, I promise.”

Eddie seemed to consider your words. Finally he nodded, wiping the tears from his face. “It’s just a lot, you know?”

You looked at him with sympathy. You knew this was hard on him. You felt terrible that it wasn’t going how he hoped. “I know. I’m sorry.”

Eddie shook his head. “Don’t be sorry. It was my fault. It was all my fault.”

When Eddie rejoined you in the living room, he had pulled himself back together. Asher was back to playing with his toys, and didn’t notice as Eddie approached again. He sat down on the ground across from Steve and Asher as you sat on the couch, watching the interaction.

“Hey, Asher,” Eddie said softly.

Asher startled, quickly moving back into Steve’s lap the second he realized Eddie was back. Eddie’s face fell again, but he didn’t cry this time.

“I brought something for you. Wanna see?”

Asher looked at you, and you nodded encouragingly. He looked back to Eddie, then to the gift bag sitting beside him. “Toy?”

Eddie smiled. “You’ll have to open it and find out.” He handed the gift bag to Asher, who immediately started ripping into the paper. He got distracted, crinkling the gift paper in his hands, which made Eddie laugh.

When he made it into the actual gift, Asher pulled out a brand new blue train. His little eyes lit up, his mouth dropping open. “Thomas!”

Eddie smiled. “Do you like it?”

Asher nodded eagerly, examining the new train. It was different than his others. He reached back into the bag, pulling out the last gift - a stuffed bear with a custom Corroded Coffin t-shirt. “Bear!” He said, wrapping his chubby little arms around it and giving it a hug.

“That’s so you can remember me when I’m on the road,” Eddie said sadly. He felt better that Asher was talking to him and had loved his gifts, but he was still weighed down by the reality of the situation.

Asher picked up his green train and handed it to Eddie.

Eddie gently took the toy from his small hand. “This is for me?”

Asher nodded. He pointed to the train track, showing him where Percy goes. Eddie put the train down, and Asher smiled. He didn’t leave Steve’s lap, however. You watched on as Eddie and Steve played with your son - it was almost like you weren’t even there. Eddie seemed to feel better as Asher opened up more, but he still clung tightly to Steve. You could tell Eddie noticed.

Eddie stayed to eat lunch with the three of you. You made a frozen pizza, Asher sitting between Steve and Eddie. Eddie smeared pizza sauce on Asher’s nose, making the little boy laugh hard.

“I don’t want to bother you guys for too long,” Eddie said after you’d all finished eating and he helped wash up. Asher had returned to the living room with Steve.

“Oh, okay,” you told him. “I’m…I’m really glad you came. I think Ash is really starting to like you.”

Eddie smiled. “Good.” He stood there awkwardly for a minute. “Do you think…I could see him again?”

“You can see him any time,” you said. “Just let me know?”

Eddie nodded. “Yeah. Okay. We have to work in the studio tomorrow, but maybe I’ll call you the next day?”

“I have to work,” you told him reluctantly. “But we’ll figure something out.”

You walked with Eddie to the door, seeing him out. “Thank you again, for giving me a chance,” he said.

“Of course.” You touched his arm again. “I’m glad you want to be here.”

“I wouldn’t miss another second for the world.”

When you returned to the living room, Asher looked up. “Where Ebbie?”

Something hit Steve then. An intense kind of jealousy. Asher had never asked for anyone like that. He already felt like he was being pushed out of his position in Asher’s life. He saw the boy like his own son. He was afraid.

“Eddie had to go,” you told him. “But he’ll be back to see you very soon.”

Steve, who was never worried about imposing, stayed late again that night. He helped put Asher to bed before curling up on the couch with you as usual.

“How do you feel?” He asked.

You let out a long sigh. “That was…a lot.”

Steve rubbed your leg. “You did great. Ash did great.”

“I just feel bad. I know it hurt Eddie’s feelings. He’s being hard on himself.”

“Well, he did fuck up royally.”

“I know.” You nudged Steve with your foot. “Kid’s attached to you.”

Steve smiled, a look of pride crossing his face. “I love you and Ash more than anything. And I mean that.”

You knew he was telling the truth. You just didn’t know how much Steve loved you.

tag list

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