#Isabella Sarah and benji are… something

[estrellami-1]

Okay I’ve been infected by the brainrot and I have Thoughts

“Holy fucking shitballs,” Eddie said, eyes wide, as he looked at the creature emerging from the woods.

“Language,” Steve sighed tiredly. “There’s kids here, dude.”

“Hey,” Sarah said, crossing her arms. “We’re adults.”

“Yeah, and we’re still old enough to be your dads. You’re kids.” Steve sighed again, eyed the monster. Of course getting out of Hawkins wouldn’t stop the fuckery. He glanced at Eddie, who was looking back at him. They had a silent conversation, then nodded.

Eddie went to the back, grabbed all the alcohol he could, and started on Molotov cocktails.

Steve grabbed his bat from beneath the counter. It wasn’t the old nail bat. This was lighter, but aluminum, so hopefully it would hurt more. “Eds,” he called back to the kitchen. “We got four minutes. Where’s the plywood?”

“Back here. Elijah, Benji, come grab the wood.”

The kids jumped up, and Steve knew the look in their eyes was familiar, knew he’d seen it in every mirror he passed, but he had refused to think about it, refused to put a name to it, because kids didn’t deserve to go through this.

“Belle,” he murmured to a girl sitting at the counter. “Have you faced this before?”

She hummed. “We call it Echidna. From Greek mythology. The mother of monsters. Its mouth is a soft spot. Eyes too, and nose. It’s deceptively fast. Doesn’t have great eyesight. Does have great hearing and smell.” She shook her head. “We thought we got the last of them a year ago. Shoulda known we wouldn’t be that lucky.” She turned to squint at him. “This isn’t your first time.”

“Nope.” He stepped in front of the counter, took a practice swing. Missed the weight of his old bat. “We—well, our kids, that is—named everything we fought from Dungeons and Dragons.”

She frowned. “Your kids?”

Steve smiled. “Not biologically or legally, but in every sense of the word, yeah.” He raised his voice. “Eds? Where’s the walkie? I wanna get El in on this.”

Something fell. Eddie let out a string of curse words, which is how Steve knew he was okay. He sighed again. “Uhh, here or the house?”

“You are… so helpful right now.”

“Love you!”

“Don’t die in there. Love you too.”

Elijah and Benji ran back out, arms laden down with wood, nails, and hammers. Steve nodded at Isabella and Carter to help. He took a few deep breaths, gripped his bat, and glanced back into the kitchen. “Ed?”

Eddie looked back at him. His eyes widened. “Baby, please-”

“Ed.” He swallowed. “You know I’ve gotta.”

Eddie shook his head. “Not without me. Don’t be cute, Harrington.”

Steve smiled at that. “Think I’ll leave that to you. At least there’s no bats this time.”

“Fuck the bats,” Eddie said. “Fuck this entire situation.”

Steve just walked closer. “C’mere. Wish me luck.”

Eddie’s face fell. Steve watched as he picked up the pieces, looking normal as he crossed the threshold. He pressed a long kiss to Steve’s lips. “Make him pay,” he whispered as he leaned in, resting their foreheads together.

Steve leaned in for one last kiss. “Have one of the kids look for the walkie. I refuse to believe our luck is that bad.”

Eddie grinned crookedly. “Can’t be, with both of us here.” One more quick kiss, then he pushed Steve away, nodding towards the doors. “I’ll be right behind you.”

As Steve marched out, he heard Eddie calling for Isabella. “Belladonna, help me look for a walkie-talkie.”

Steve allowed a grim smile to cross his face as he walked toward Echidna. He could tell the moment it smelled him. He raised his bat, ready for the moment to strike.

He wasn’t going to let anything happen to his family.

it takes a while, but one day, after the kids have graduated, eddie and steve pack their most precious things into eddie's van, and they leave. for months, they just drive from city to city, from state to state, go wherever it takes their fancy. until they find a little town surrounded by age-old trees and mountains, with unpredictable weather and more rain and fog than sunshine. but the pacific ocean isn't far, and if they leave early in the day, they can spend a few hours in san francisco's queer neighborhoods.

the town has a little old diner that's a bit run down but has good bones. so, steve and eddie combine their powers: steve knows how to take care of customers, has one of his nonnas old books with delicious cake recipes, and knows how to use it. eddie is a god in the kitchen and knows how to make money stretch. they are both charming, so pretty soon they have a few regulars and a steady stream of patrons.

included, are a group of high schoolers. and neither eddie nor steve know what happened to these kids, but they recognize the looks in their eyes. and they just can't help themselves, both like taking care of people a little bit too much, so they basically adopt this group of little ducklings, offer their time and ears in the hope of making the lives of these kids a little easier.

but the longer they stay, the more the town starts to feel a little...strange. there is something unsettling about the way the woods creak at night, how the shadows stretch at night. sometimes, after locking up the diner, steve lingers by the stairs that go up to their apartment and stares into the woods, and he knows something is looking back.

it comes to head a few months later. the ducklings stayed late at the diner, late enough that it's just them, when the thing that kept its eyes on steve steps out of the forest. for a second, everyone just stills before the kids spring into action. trying to barricade the diner doors.

steve and edddie share a resigned look, a touch, then separate. eddie goes for the high proof alcohol they keep in the kitchen, making molotov cocktails. steve gets the bat from under the counter. it's not the original, but mark ii is sturdier, a little bit deadlier. he tests his swing once, twice, then steps into the way of the first thing the crashes through a window and bats it right back out.

afterward, the diner is a burnt out shell, but everyone is alive. the kids are a little worse for wear, but steve knows this was probably not their first or second rodeo. steve and eddie keep the kids in sight but step around the van a little for some light thank-fuck-we-survived pda.

that's when a bunch of government cars arrive and out steps none other than owens. owens prioritizes the kids at first before movement catches his eyes. he stops, stares and then makes the kids loose their minds when he greets steve and eddie by name.

steve just pinches his nose and sighs. they should have known.