#robin just screaming “you're the bitch”

[florallylly]

i know it's never really established exactly how rich the harrington family is, but i pray every single day that they are real housewives rich.

[haveihitanerve]

My favorite thing about the bats is that… they are gothamites. And sure they scare the shit out of people… but they are in Gotham. Superman is loved by his people, Flash is adored, people pray to Wonder Woman, Green Arrow is feared. But the Bats? The Bats are like all of Gotham's weird older brothers/sisters/parents. Superman and Green Lantern are visiting Batman in Gotham and all of a sudden he gets smacked in the face by a banana and they turn and find a group of teens skateboarding away and one kid calls over his shoulder ‘eat the fucking potassium you absolute brick.’ and Batman doesn't even do anything. Barry is chilling with Nightwing when a girl runs beneath the building they are sitting on and screams “Nice ass Night! But get it the fuck down here, my cats stuck in a tree.” And Nightwing does a flip off the building and just?? helps her?? Wonder Woman and Black Canary are passing through Crime Alley on their way to the Batcave and spot Red Hood standing in an alley, being lectured by a woman who is half his size and she ends the lecture by throwing two sandwiches at his face and walking away. Red Hood just takes his hood off and starts eating. Superboy is helping Red Robin defeat Scarecrow and while they’re hiding, waiting for him to walk into their trap, RR is casually conversing with a Gothamite about Hogwarts Houses, and when he says the Gothamite looks like a Gryfindor he pops his head out and screams “Yo scarecrow hes right fucking here!” J’onn is heading to the Manor to discuss League business with Bruce when he spots Robin(Damian) fighting Riddler all alone and is about to intervene when three teenagers show up and just fucking deck him instead. Damian doesn't thank them, just glowers, and one of the guys goes “you're welcome you fucking brat.” And the girl even smacks the back of his head and goes “manners.” Clark is sent to go find Tim and Steph and Damian and finds them at this girls birthday party, in full costume, eating cupcakes and drinking punch, jumping on the bouncy house and is like “errr, B-Batman needs you home.” And as one the entire birthday party group went “Fuck Batman.” Spoiler was spotted painting these guys nails, Black Bat was seen teaching calculus to a group of teenagers, Batgirl(Babs) was running after a group of kids screaming “Give me back my laptop you fucks!” Just- just the batfamily and Gothamites being annoying to each other and appreciative yet bitches. 

Bus driver: stop getting thrown at my fucking bus, i got places to be and my insurance only covers so many shatter windshields and person sized dents  Batman: I don't really control where I get thrown Bus Driver: well you better fucking start otherwise theres gonna be another fucking villain on these streets *drives away and almost runs him over* Superman: *gaping* yo-you're just gonna let him do that? Batman: *shrugs* Gotham insurance aint what its cracked up to be Superman: *staring dumbly*

[depresssant]

NEGLECTFUL!PLATONIC!YAN!batfam x GN!reader

synopsis : growing up with a shit mom and constant step-dads and mom's boyfriends, your view on life has grown pretty bleak. you just want to die, since it doesn't seem to get better than this. things can't get any worse, can they?

so reader is very flawed ppl. i’m trying to make this as gn as possible for pls bear with me. asks and requests r open. reblogs are also much appreciated. now that i’ve gotten my e-begging out of the way, enjoy this pathetic excuse of a story

warnings : child abuse, past sexual abuse, yandere, etc

you want to die.

you always do.

staring at the wanna be thug pointing a gun at you, you sigh and roll your eyes in exasperation. perhaps pissing him off will the best way to get him to curl a finger around the trigger. or judging by his temperament, you won't have to do much.

"you? i should give my money to you?"

"who the fuck do you think you are, bitch?" the thug screams at you angrily. his grip gets tighter and clammier. he's not experienced with this. he's probably ganged up with a bunch of thugs to pull shit like this. it wouldn't take much to disarm him. "give me the fucking money before i blow your head off!"

"to a junkie like you?" you are a junkie, too, so you're not too sure about making fun of him for that. "i don't give money to hobos."

that is wrong, too. but you want to piss him off.

"that's it, you stupid bitch!" the thug's stances becomes defensive. his hateful glare is pointed at you while he musters the courage to actually press the trigger. he doesn't look like he'll do it. you've seen countless like him roaming the streets, holding you at gunpoint. he probably won't do it. then again, this is gotham. you don't expect much. either he'll shoot you dead, forcibly take your stuff, flee the scene out of fear, or be dismantled by one of the city's vigilantes. perhaps he'd shoo—

"stop right there!"

damn it.

you think too soon.

a young robin is quick to have the wanna be thug tied up and beat down. you would've questioned why a kid who seemingly looked twelve can do such a thing, but you've learned to not question most things in your life. you merely sigh in disappoint and pick up your dropped backpack before beginning the journey to hell.

"excuse me? wait! where are you headed?"

gosh, his boy-ish voice grates your nerves. makes you clench your teeth. your gaze narrows, but you know better than to react. reaction gains a reaction—one that will never be in your favor. it'll lead to a fight—one that will never be in your favor. you'll end up broken, bleeding, and bruised. now that isn't something in your favor. now you're thinking of favor too much. forcing a smile, you turn around to face the pre-teen vigilante. "yes?"

"are you alright?" he asks with practiced concern. he doesn't actually care. it's probably just protocol.

"a-okay!" the words are hollow. they lack depth. like you. "thank you for your help. i don't know what would've happened to me if you weren't there."

you do know. you wish you wouldn't.

"you're welcome," robin replies with polished words like he's not exactly convinced. "would you like for me to walk you? the city hasn't been safe for some time now."

"when is it ever safe? but that's okay. i live just around the corner, so i think i'll be fine."

"are you sure—"

"completely."

please. why won't he just leave you alone? there goes your plan spoiled by him again. every time you've been in an attempted robbing, he's been there to destroy your chances of getting shot. of escaping. he always does this. this is a repeated cycle between the two of you. he's a flying bird until you shoot him down. your name clearly wants to escape from his lips, but robin nods his head in understanding.

"this seems to happen to you all the time. my wish is for you to be safe."

"this is gotham." the grip on the straps on your backpack tighten. "everyone's gotta go through this. anyways, i gotta go, you know. thanks for savin' me."

"of course."

you don't spare him a single glance. the sky is wrapped up in black clouds heavy with the burden of rain. icy cold wind sings a melancholy tune through the stiff air. the door to your apartment looks like the gates of hell. it's all futile. no matter how many sighs you sigh, how many wishes you wish, and how many curses you curse, you'll still land up in the same fate. without escape.

that is the summary of your life.

taking a few seconds to prepare yourself for the incoming session, you open the door to be met with radio silence. silence is never good. half the time, it means something is brewing for you, and they're taking their sweet time to scare you into thinking nothing will happen. sometimes. not all the time. the other time, it just means he need to rise from his pile of misery first.

the hand of your mother's boyfriend is instantly wrapped around your neck before you can even register why the hell the apartment looks like a tornado hit it. he squeezes so tightly you feel like blood is gushing out of your ears with how loudly they ring. white spots dot along your blurry sight as you struggle to breathe. you can hear a frantic voice telling him to let you go, but you're pushed up more against the wall. this is the norm. doesn't mean it hurts any less. he'll let you go, give you some time to regain your breath, and then rain down bullets upon you.

that's exactly what happens.

your hand goes straight to your neck as your raspy and shaky coughs wreck your chest. he squeezes hard enough for it to hurt but it not show. and then the kicks and punches come. with how much your chest and ribs are struck, you're a bit surprised at how you haven't broken a bone yet. your potential step-father screams at you, but you can barely hear it over the repetition of words in your head. he grabs your bloody face and shout something incoherent before letting you go to kick you.

leaving you in your own pile of misery.

it's normal. yes, it's completely normal. you're used to this. it'll get better. it always does. but you've got the crushing idea it never will.

gotham heights high school—the school you're forced to attend.

the class division is insane to look at, because it's there even from a short and near prospective. how the richest kids got put in a school with the poorest—you'll never know. the only thing you do know is that every one of these kids are pieces of shit. even the ones that pretend to be nice.

tim drake—or shall you say tim wayne—is no different.

even as he helps up the girl who just got roughly pushed to the floor, causing all her textbooks to scatter, you can only eye him with disdain. if he really cares, then he would've beat the shit out of those athletes. but he doesn't. they're all the same—privileged and all. sympathy shouldn't be given to them. not to drake or the wealthy yet somehow bullied girl.

"but y'know what i heard?" your friend drags your attention back to him. zarian leans against a locker lazily, but excitement practically buzzes off of him. "the bruce wayne is coming to our track meet today!"

your other friend, jaylene, rolls her eyes as she applies her eyeliner using the mirror hanging up on the inside door of her locker. she speaks exactly what you're thinking. "only because his beloved son is gonna be there."

"well, still. think about the connections we can make! all the famous people that'll be there."

"keep dreaming. asshat. i put all my money on the attention being on rich the kid. i don't even know why he joined track. varsity, at that, too. there has to be some sort of bribery going on."

an incoming argument is clearly brewing up, so you take in a deep breath to say something, but a new voice beats you to it.

"excuse me?"

you and your two friends turn to face the guy standing in front of you. charismatic, intelligent,  and optimistic—he's an enigma that shines on everyone. tim drake. his black, messy yet somehow in place hair does no justice for his good looks. he's the complete package. rich, good looking, tall, and empathetic. the mere sight of him annoys you.

zarian is the first to speak up. he quirks a brow and offers tim a grin. "what's up, man?"

"you're leaning against my locker." tim rubs the back of his neck. he smiles awkwardly in the presence of the three of you, and it takes your friend a beat to understand what he's saying before moving away.

"oh yeah. my fault," he says as he moved to stand next to you.

the school's very own bruce wayne only shakes his head and tells him it's okay while opening his locker and grabbing a few things. people flock around, waiting for him to be done with whatever the hell he's doing, so they can be back to his side like leeches sucking on blood. he surely can't be this dumb, no? these people don't want to be his friend...

well, it's not as if it's your problem. you wish it is. you and your friends turn to make way to first period, but drake clearly has other plans. he sandwiches himself between you and zarian with a grin of his own plastered on an unblemished face. one carefree of any worry or pain. "so," tim begins. "first track meet of the year, huh? aren't you guys nervous?"

jaylene merely hums in amusement and shrugs. "it gets better. when you've spent four years in track—in front of all those judging people—it wears off. hopefully, you'll get used to it soon."

that is jab, though, rich the kid doesn't seem to catch on. he laughs casually, but even you can sense the anxiety like it was radioactive. ""i hope so. i've sprinted so much i feel like i'll get shin splits again."

you zone out while he has a conversation with your friends. as if drake has ever had experience with track. it took you all of freshman year to just prove that you can actually be a part of the track team, and here tim drake is, parading around about getting on varsity without a single grain of hard work. he's a naturally talented person. good at everything. that's what makes you hate him so much. people like him get everything handed to them just because they're good at it first hand and leave behind people that actually work for it. you want to tell him to buzz off—that he can't talk about how much he's practiced and how nervous he is, but you keep your mouth shut. that is, until he directly addresses you.

tim's eyes narrow at you with comedic suspicion. "you know, you look like someone i know. a lot. the resemblance is crazy."

"eight billion people out there. you never know." your tone is flat, stoic, lacking any bit of emotion.

"gosh, you even sound like him! that's really terrifying."

"well, whoever, it is, i hope i never meet him," you murmur.

your two friends leave for their classes soon, and you and drake find your seats at the back of high school economics. exhaustingly so, you sit together in one of the many desk pairs, and drake uses this opportunity to annoy you any chance he gets. you give off the vibe that you don't want to talk to him. he doesn't get the hint. you don't tell him, though. maybe that's the problems. his shit-eating grin ticks you off when you look in his direction. "what?"

"let's be friends!"

"no."

"what? come on! don't be so cold!" he whines like a petulant child being told no.

"no."

"too bad! you're my friend now."

"tim," you sigh. it's wrong to scream. it's bad to scream. screaming leads to fights. fights lead to you laying in a pool of your own blood. laying in blood leads to missing practice. missing practice leads to less skill. less skill leads to less of a chance of getting the hell out of here. just smile. forgive and forget. know your persona. know who you are. kind. happy. funny. "fine." so you smile with gritted teeth. you smile like you played a cruel joke on him. "we can be friends... i guess."

his face brightens at your fake words like he is just given the the world.

tim drake wiggles his eyebrows playfully and nudges you with his elbow. "you know, i've been trying to get you to say that since school started?"

"really now?"

"really. i'm glad we're going to be friends. oh! should we go out to eat with zarian and jaylene after the meet?"

... there's a chance your mom's boyfriend will get pissed off. he'll probably beat the shit out of you since the track meet would have happened, and you wouldn't need to have an unblemished body for meets. he'd scream, yell, and punch... like his life depended on it... fuck it.

"yeah," you reply shortly after with a firm nod of your head. "we can go to this diner near the theater. i'm sure you'll love the food."

this doesn't mean you hate him any less. he's still rich scum⏤how you're poor scum. he's stuck up, pretentious, and sickeningly sweet. exactly what you hate. you just hope you can have a good time after the track meet. the mischievous glint in his eyes told you otherwise.

"and this is my dad, bruce wayne."

what the hell are you doing?

the sun is setting along the horizon, the air is getting cooler again, and you want to sink into the floor. the plan was to head straight to the diner after this, but rich the kid somehow roped you into meeting his dad?

nausea pools in your stomach from both hunger and the feeling of thousands of eyes staring at you. cameras are flashing at gotham's billionaire as he smiles and firmly shakes your hand. confidence drips off of him disgustingly. his high-tailored suit radiates wealth and money. his stoic demeanor gives off an aura of mystery. you want to lay on a railroad track with an incoming train speeding along the way.

"it's nice to meet you. tim has ranted about his track teammates quite a lot."

there's an eleven year old standing next to him. his eyes are on you like that of an owl's but you neither glance at him or bother to acknowledge him. you just want to eat some food before meeting your doom at that apartment for not placing first like your mom's boyfriend wanted you to. like a goat getting stuffed before slaughter. it always leads down to that. no matter how many times you try to wish it was different. no matter how many times you imagine it to be different. no matter how many times you try to make it different.

"nice to meet you too." you shake his hand as well with a polite smile on your face. polite. calm. gentle. proper. "and yeah, he seems very eager to be on the team."

"of course, of course. well, it is getting late. why don't you come over for dinner some time?"

"maybe tonight?" tim suddenly adds in. at your hesitant expression, he groans in exasperation. "who do you think we are? blood-sucking bats? come on, we can go to the diner some other time!"

you have just met him... you've just accepted being his friend... you aren't the most social person. you've never had much friends, but even you can understand that dinner with the family doesn't happen until the friend and person have come close in a long period of time. jaylene and zarian have other matters to tend to, so it's going to be just you and tim at a diner. not⏤

ding!

your phone's notification's alarm chimes, and when you check who has sent you a message, you feel like getting on the ground to pray to whatever deity for letting you have a moment of peace.

mom: ⏤he's heavily drunk. don't come home.

a part of you is hit with a strong current full of guilt. this is your mother. you're supposed to be there for her through thick and thin. you're supposed to protect her and be her wall of defense against monsters like him. family look out for each other. you have to take care of her... but she doesn't take care of you. this makes you a terrible person. you know that. she'll probably get beaten to an inch of her life and hide her heavy bruises under makeup that was terribly done in a rush. and then, she'll throw whatever object is in sight at you in a fury of anger.

telling you she made too many sacrifices for you. telling you that you're ruined her life. telling you that she should've aborted you like your father had told her to. telling you exactly what you believe yourself. a curse that should've never been born... she'll be beaten within an inch of her life. but you have already lost yours.

after pretending to text her and sliding your phone into the pocket of your sweatpants, you nod with a sigh of joking resignation. "sure. i asked my mom, and she said it's okay."

"wonderful." mr. wayne nods and gestures to the limo you can see in the parking lot. a bit of overkill, perhaps.

honestly, you're still surprised that gotham's billionaire is inviting you to dinner. this man is the topic of magazines, and you're about to take a ride in his limo. how the hell have you ended up in a situation like this? fate is still fucking with you, isn't it?

you find yourself seated next to tim while mr. wayne and his youngest son, damian, sit on the seats to your right. they're talking about something, but once again, you find yourself half listening and zoning out, staring at nothing until mr. wayne's questions pulls you back to reality.

"so how has school been faring for you?" mr. wayne asks in a cool and collected tone.

you laugh lightly and smile as politely as ever. "pretty good. i hope to leave gotham after graduation to study somewhere else."

"who would want to stay in gotham?" tim rolled his eyes, rolling the first place medal between his fingers. "by the way, remember when i said you looked like someone i know? i was talking about my dad?"

your brows rise in both exasperation and annoyance at his claims. now he's just plain, out right trying to make fun of you in front of a billionaire. your shoulders tense, ready to refute his claims, but mr. wayne surprisingly chuckles and rubs his chin while taking a good look at your face. "well, i can see it, but there's eight billion people out there in the world. i'm bound to look like someone. though, i didn't expect for it to be someone as talented as [name] here."

you force a quiet laugh along at the sound of his tone. foreboding. you know tones like this. like he's hiding something that they all know except for you. it means you've made a mistake in even giving in to tim drake's constant begging. why the hell was he so eager to have you become his friend? why is he so eager to maintain a friendship with you? why the hell has mr. wayne invited you to dinner when he's rumored to be mysterious, secretive, and a literal brick wall that nobody can get past?

"you've achieved so much for a child your age." mr. wayne sets his gaze dead on you. "your father must be so proud."

and his eyes glimmer with that same shine you saw in tim's.

ewwww

this was not proofread so forgive me and uh, i will be turning this into a series

um also making a tag list if anyone wants to be a part of it

[qcomicsy]

If the batkids had a podcast. Part. Xll

Nightwing: "How does it feel to be Batman"- You know that meme "I have no mouth and I must scream"?

Redhood: Wow- That bad??

Nightwing: No-Not really- It's just- You have a very set of limited things you can do as batman.

Nightwing: The fear is great though– People look at you and run.

Redhood: (giggles) Uh-huh

Nightwing: But like- If /Nightwing. Go up to a Penguing gang meeting and shout "Well that's fishy" no one bats an eye.

Redhood: Because you're weird-

Nightwing: I'm not weird- Shut up-("you are" on the background) I'm not. If- If Robin says that-

Robin: I would never say that.

Red Robin: I would

Robin: Of course you wou-

Nightwing: Point is- If I say that, Or Robin say that or Red Robi- No one cares. You can do a double flip and call them a bitch, and that's it. Now if Batman say's that-

Red Robin: You have a problem.

Nightwing: You would have like seven drug dealers heavily armed staring at you horrofied in a empty parking lot.

Redhood: That Sounds awfully restricting.

Nightwing: Right? It was. But (pause) it was a kind of- I don't know. I kinda of a honor noneless. Would do the same again. If had to.

Nightwing:

Nightwing: And people would– People would tweet "why the fuck batman is smiling so much this is terrifying"- And I would be like "well that doesn't add to the pressure at all"- (nervous laugh) Like- I'm trying my best guys- Please.

Prev Post // Next Post

[libraryofgage]

SpiderPool Steddie Part One

So, this is definitely gonna have multiple parts lmao

It's been bouncing around my brain for a while like the Addams Family Steddie AU lol

Anyway, lemme know if you'd like to be tagged for future parts ^_^

----

Sister Margaret's School for Wayward Girls is, at best, a dive bar. At worst, it's a cesspit in which the scummiest people in the city gather to bask in each other's scumminess. To Steve, however, it's the perfect place to collapse after a long patrol, splayed out like a starfish on the roof as the music playing inside vibrates the building itself.

Steve takes a deep breath, setting his bat down next to him before pushing his mask to the bridge of his nose. He then lies down on the roof, wishing not for the first time that the city's light pollution wasn't so bad. Seeing the stars and hunting for constellations would really help him ignore the cracked ribs screaming inside his chest and threatening to break if he even breathes wrong.

All things considered, though, it could be worse. Steve doesn't have any morning classes, Vecna didn't beat him up nearly as bad as he usually does during their fight earlier, and his accelerated healing means Steve will be able to breathe normally by morning. Robin would tell him he has a very low bar when it comes to judging how shitty his life currently is, but she isn't here, so her opinion doesn't matter. Dustin would tell him he should try not getting his ass whooped in the future. Thankfully, he also isn't here, making his opinion as meaningful as Robin's.

Steve closes his eyes, letting his shoulders relax and trying not to think about anything. It sort of works until his entire body suddenly tenses, every nerve on edge and goosebumps shooting across his arms. He shoots up, ignoring the harsh twinge in his ribs as he turns in a crouch and grabs his bat. Steve clenches his jaw, breathing harshly through his nose to keep from groaning in pain, and feels relieved he didn't completely remove his mask completely.

Over by the door leading to a staircase is a guy with ripped jeans, a worn-out shirt with "HELLFIRE CLUB" across the chest, a jean vest covered in patches and pins, and hair pulled back out of his face with a few wavy strands stubbornly escaping his hair tie. He's breathing a little heavily, his face flushed like he's just climbed a few flights of stairs. Actually, he probably has.

"Woah," the guy says, his voice soft enough that Steve would have missed it if not for the enhanced hearing. The guy clears his throat and holds up both hands, showing off a bottle of Jack Daniels in one and a bag with a grease-stained bottom in the other. "Uh, I come in peace. I didn't realize the rooftop was taken."

Steve has no clue what possesses him, but he forces himself to relax and set the bat down. "No, it's okay. I can head out," he says, staying seated despite his words. He's really hoping the guy will insist he doesn't need to; his ribs are still aching like a bitch.

Thankfully, the guy flashes a grin and slowly lowers his hands. "Nah, you're all good. Not every day I get to eat next to a hero. Want some fries?" he asks, walking over and sitting a good two feet away so there's plenty of room between them.

He tears open the bag to create an impromptu plate and puts it between them, the smell of greasy and undoubtedly delicious fries tempting enough that Steve picks up a smaller one and pops it into his mouth. "Thanks. Where are these from?" Steve asks, glancing over as the guy twists the cap of his bottle and takes a swig.

"A burger joint two streets down and one street over. On the corner."

Steve nods, making a mental note of the directions so he can get a burger before swinging home. He's got just enough in his pocket to afford one. "So, got a name?" Steve asks, figuring he's already eating the guy's fries and they're about to spend some time together on this roof. He should know the guy's name.

The guy's grin returns, and he sets the bottle down between them as well. It's tempting, but Steve doesn't trust his alcohol tolerance to hold up while his body is busy fixing his ribs. "Eddie. Do I get to know your name, too?"

Steve snorts and leans away slightly, putting a bit more distance between Eddie and his entirely too-grabbable mask. "Nice try," he says.

"Worth a shot," Eddie says, shrugging as he picks up a few fries. "So, Spider-Man, what brings you to Sister Margaret's? You enjoy the gay metal scene?"

"What's the difference between gay and regular metal?"

"Our hair is better," Eddie explains, dramatically flipping the few strands of hair escaping his tie.

Steve has to hold back a second snort, taking another fry and chewing on it before saying, "I like resting here after patrol. The whole building shakes with the music."

Eddie lights up, his eyes brightening and his back straightening some. "So, you're a fan of Corroded Coffin," he says, taking another swig of the Jack Daniels. It's only now that Steve realizes it's already a quarter of the way gone, and he wonders if Eddie's liver can handle that much alcohol all at once.

"Is that the name of the band?"

"Yep. They play here almost every night."

"I'm guessing you like them, too, then?"

Eddie hums, amusement dancing across his expression now, giving Steve the distinct feeling that there's some secret he simply isn't in on. "They're the best band I've ever heard. Their music is incredible. They really push the boundaries of the genre. And their lyrics? Amazingly layered with at least three meanings per line. I highly recommend actually coming in for a listen one of these days," Eddie says, leaning a little closer to Steve.

A beat of silence passes in which Steve holds Eddie's gaze. Or, he holds the gaze on his end; he's sure Eddie can't actually tell with the mask covering his eyes. "You're in the band," Steve says.

"Lead guitarist and singer, yes. I also write the songs."

"You're incredibly critical of yourself, really grounded in reality."

Eddie barks out a laugh. "I just happen to know my worth incredibly well."

"You have all the confidence of a mediocre white man on a job hunt."

Eddie gasps, placing a hand on his chest as he looks at Steve. "How dare you call me mediocre. I am revolutionary at worst and the second coming at best."

"You know the second coming involves, like, an apocalypse or something, right?"

"I'm Jewish, why would I bother with the fine details?" Well, Steve will give him that. "By the way," Eddie says, gesturing to Steve's bat as he continues, "do those nails actually see any use? Or are they just there to act as a threat?"

Steve looks down at his bat, considering it for a moment before carefully holding the middle and offering the handle to Eddie. Now that he's giving them a few moments of attention, he's realizing the nails embedded in the end are a little rusty and definitely need cleaning. "I try not to be deadly with it, but Vecna's got these lab-grown demon dogs and bats that always manage to break through my webs," Steve explains.

He watches as Eddie takes the bat, weighing it in his hands before shoving his palm into the nails. Steve jerks, a wordless shout escaping his throat as he launches himself over the fries and in front of Eddie. "Are you okay?!" he asks, grabbing Eddie's hand and shakily inspecting the nails sticking through it. Fuck, those are going to be a bitch to get out, and he'll probably have to swing Eddie to the hospital for a tetanus shot.

Being angry doesn't even register in his brain as Eddie laughs. "Don't worry about it, Spidey," he says, pulling his hand off the nails with a slight wince. He wiggles his fingers, letting Steve have a front-row seat to the injuries closing. "See, good as new."

And he's right. The injuries are good as new. In fact, there isn't even any scarring, and Steve almost rips his mask off to take a closer look but stops himself at the last minute. Instead, he grabs Eddie's hand and yanks it closer, turning it over to check his palm, too. "What the fuck?" he asks, looking up at Eddie, still gripping his hand tight.

"Super healing," Eddie explains. "Like, super duper. If I ever get decapitated, just hold my head to my neck, and I'll be right as rain."

"I'd rather not put that claim to the test," Steve says, frowning slightly as he runs his fingers over Eddie's palms, just to make sure the injuries aren't somehow hidden from sight.

"You know, I kissed the last guy who touched my palm like that," Eddie says, leaning in again with that grin.

Suddenly all Steve can think about is how Eddie's lips do look soft. And it has been a while since Steve actually kissed anyone. And he does think Eddie is funny. And he does find himself wondering if his smile will taste like the Jack Daniels and fries. And...and...

And Steve needs to go before he does anything he shouldn't be doing as Spider-Man.

He jerks back, dropping Eddie's hand like it burns, and ignores the ache in his ribs as he grabs his bat and stands. "I, uh, I need to get going. Thanks for the fries, Eddie," he says, hurrying over to the edge of the roof.

"Woah, just gonna eat and run on me, big boy?" Eddie asks, scrambling to his feet and over to where Steve is climbing onto the edge of the roof. "That's not very hero-like of you. You haven't even left me your name or number. How are you gonna pay me back $2.50 for the fries?"

"I had five," Steve says, turning to look at Eddie as he webs his bat to his back and pulls his mask down over his chin.

"The economy sucks, man."

Okay, he's got Steve there. Again. "Nice try, Eddie."

"Can you blame a guy? Your ass looks great in that spandex."

Steve is suddenly relieved his mask is back down, covering the furious blush spreading across his cheeks. He'd think it was just a joke, but the sincere and somewhat goofy smile tugging at Eddie's lips tells him it's more genuine than anything else. "Thanks," Steve says, giving Eddie a two-finger salute before taking a step back off the roof.

He shoots a web at the edge of the building, using the momentum to swing around the corner. His ribs are killing him with the movement, but he still manages to throw a, "See you later, Eds!" over his shoulder before he's completely out of earshot.

Later, Steve will wonder how Eddie got his super healing, if he's that flirtatious with every guy he meets on the roof of Sister Margaret's, and if he'll be there the next time Steve swings by. But that's for later. For now, he's just enjoying the breeze rushing over him and thinking about Eddie's eyes and his smile and his long fingers.

[fungus-no69]

School LIs x Pc/Reader (x Ivory Wraith)

You/your pronouns for pc, they/them pronouns for LIs, pc is mentioned to be uncanny and strange looking in general, pc is POSSESSED!!! by the IVORY WRAITH!!!!! attempted harassment by Whitney (it fails), burns in Sydney's, mentions of Kylar's parents (maybe spoilery???)

You're never really... here. Always a bit dazed with a faraway look in your eye, yet an alertness to you that means it can't just be disassociation or anything like that.

They see you talking to the mirror a lot, or if not, looking into alleys like you're supposed to be seeing something other than the knocked over bins and occasional stray. Even at the lake in the forest, you're crouched at the edge of it as water licks at your shoes. Sometimes, the shadows seem to warp around you or maybe, your eyes are just a bit too wide to be normal. Something about the way your knuckles jut out too far or even the way that your lip movements don't completely match up with what you're saying.

Sometimes they see you wandering around the street, like a puppet. Clumsy and artificial. If anyone did see your face in those times they'd comment on the vibrant, unnatural blue of your eyes. Or how your skin seems to lose any warmth in its undertones, or maybe the way that you hum to yourself- pressing a hand to your chest and holding onto your pyjama shirt.

Robin

They're incredibly concerned that they hadn't noticed before they woke up to seeing you climb out of your window???

Even when you disappear and only appear after a whole day- looking even more out of it than usual and covered in water and some... other sort of substance that Robin just doesn't want to think too hard about

They just assume that's another weird thing you do along with the... everything else.

Look they had reason to believe it's just normal 'you' behaviour okay!

They check on you each blood moon from then on, even offering for you to stay in their room at the end of each month.

If they see you trying to leave out of the window again they may panic and grab you- looking at your face and being chilled by your hollow expression, a smile that makes them uneasy crawling up your face as a voice that's not yours repeats their name

"Robin Robin Robin Robin"

'You' slip out of their grasp before they can react- disappearing behind the windowsill. They probably almost scream before seeing you're fine at the bottom.

They can't help you before you're gone, you'll probably return in the morning anyway.

Whitney

This bitch ass motherfucker was probably skulking around the alleyways when they saw you staggering towards Nightingale street

They popped up behind you and grabbed your shoulders- hoping to make you squeal.

You didn't.

Simply continued walking.

Whitney just shrugged it off after a second of sulking, adding it to their internal list of your oddities (No they don't think of you often shut up)

They keep following you, teasing, mocking, sexual innuendos- you name it.

They pause when they see you take a beeline into the forest because what the fuck? No one except for tourists and people with a death wish go there (especially on a blood moon)

They're not superstitious per se but everyone and their fucking grandmother knows that what you're doing is a bad idea.

They grab your elbow and finally get a good look at your face, blank expression with unfocused blue eyes that look out of place on you.

For a moment they think they've been following the wrong person around. But that's impossible because they know what their slut looks like!

They open their mouth, probably to insult you or make a comment but nothing comes out when you start repeating their name with a manic grin.

They stumble when you wrench away, breaking into a sprint into the underbrush.

They go to follow you but you're already gone.

Sydney

They instinctively know something's wrong when they wake up to you shambling out of the temple's pews

They know you're strange, that something's wrong with you on a good day! But this is a whole new level.

Even as goosebumps raise on the nape of their neck, something about you seems familiar. A lingering sense of deja vu keeping them from moving.

They manage to stand up after a minute, limbs feeling heavier with each step they make towards you. Even if they tried, they wouldn't be able to sleep now. The air is stifling and wrong.

You shriek when their necklace brushes your skin as they lean closer, it leaves a torrefied blue mark where it made contact.

Yeah no. That is not normal.

Even without their necklace scalding you, your scream leaves their ears ringing and their head pounding with agony. They can't hear themself over the sound of their heartbeat, bile rises in their throat and they can't process anything but the feeling of hands so cold they burn and the image of cobalt that sears itself into their mind no matter where they look or how hard they squeeze their eyes closed.

They must have been making some kind of noise though, because when they come to- they're kneeling on the floor in between pews with Jordan's hands on their shoulders and you're nowhere to be seen.

Kylar

They were already following you as soon as they realised that you seemed even more off than usual

Somewhat similar to their parents before they became... whatever they are now.

They don't want you to end up like that! So they fight their body's urge to flee and appear at your elbow- you don't flinch, as per usual.

They hope their presence soothes you, it doesn't. You don't look as bad as they were imagining but their skin is becoming clammy just by being around you. And not in the normal way either!

They start to blabber to you, hoping to get your attention but you don't even spare them a glance! Now you're starting to freak them out.

They try to look at you properly, closer. They don't like what they see.

Blue eyes fixed in front of you, pallid cheeks, blue lips. Your eyes flick down for less than a second before a grin curls onto your lips and you grab them, calling their name

They love it when you say their name but not like that! Not when your voice echoes in their ears and makes their mouth go dry.

As much as their nails dig into your arms and they grasp as hard as they can, you manage to slip away- like their hands just... phased through somehow.

As much as they want to- need to chase you, their feet are rooted to the floor like something's holding them there. They can't do anything but watch as you depart into the forest.

They know that something was wrong! You wouldn't run away from them right? Yeah! That must be it! Something's taken control of you somehow!

They're not sure which idea makes their stomach churn more.

[brucewaynehater101]

Hi! I have a writing idea, but I neither have the skill nor the motivation to turn it into a full story, so I thought of sharing it with you because *grips you by the shoulders with tired eyes* you have soooooo many writing ideas, and most of them inspired this brainrot in the first place

It all starts with Tim Drake living the good life. He's married, he has an aquarium full of fish, he's Aquaman's No. 1 Rival in being loved by fishes, and he's a mentor of most Young Heroes of that generation.

He's literally a grandpa (grand-uncle? grunkle?) with a good relationship with his brothers and Bruce, and a loving and spicy relationship with his partners (I can't choose between Kon and Bernard so they're poly)

He dies of old age with no regrets, content with his life and full of hope for the future.

And then he wakes the fuck up.

What. Was. Was none of that real? Did everything good that happened just a dream? A figment of his imagination?

Because not only did he not wake up, he woke up in a pool of his own blood within Titan's Tower. Jason was still there, painting on the wall with the blood that Tim spilled, still wearing that laughingly atrocious costume.

This.

This is bullshit.

Was his life too good that the universe decided "Ha. Fuck you. You need to suffer more, Bitch," and chucked him all the way to the past?

Jason notices him awake, picks up Tim's bō, and prepares to whack Tim.

But Tim barely cares. He's hurting in so many places. He misses his husbands. He just wanted his forever vacation.

He closes his eyes and just waits for the unconsciousness to happen.

It happens, and the next time he wakes up, Nightwing is hovering over him, and Batman is walking away to hunt Red Hood down.

Tim takes in a deep breath. Exhales slowly.

And then, he screams, "GET THE FUCK BACK HERE, YOU GODDAMN FURRY."

Bruce pauses in his walk, Dick is gaping, and Alfred simply blinks at the side.

"YOU GONNA GO SEE JASON? WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DO? SLIT HIS THROAT? YA BETTER STOP WHERE YOU FUCKING ARE BEFORE YOU DECIDE TO CONFRONT HIM, BECAUSE BY DIANA, YOU'RE MESSED UP IN THE FUCKING HEAD, YOU KNOW THAT?"

Dick tries to placate him. "Tim, calm down--"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP, DICK! DO YOU KNOW WHAT THIS FUCKER DID ON MY BIRTHDAY?! ASK ALFRED BECAUSE HE WAS IN ON IT, TOO!"

Tim was panting now. But he didn't care. He remembered heart to hearts with Jason. He remembered how he and Jason had matching neck scars, and how much pain Jason's face was in when he shared what happened between him and Bruce.

"We need to restrain, Bruce. He's going to kill Jason. He's going to put Jason back in the grave if we let him go out."

Everyone pauses, Dick and Alfred's eyes widened in horrified shock. Bruce's face paled.

Tim may have exaggerated a bit, but they don't know that. Because Jason still died. His heart restarts later, but it really doesn't erase what happened.

"I don't kill."

Tim scoffed.

"Just because a man doesn't die at that moment, doesn't mean he won't die later if he's left for dead.

"Jason is going to make you choose between him and the Joker. You're going to save the Joker. And Jason? Because he's no longer how you remember him? He's going to be left with so many injuries caused by you. And you'd want no one helping him, because you don't believe that the Jason that came back is even him anymore. Ergo, an indirect killing, Batman."

Tim glares at Alfred. "I don't fucking care if you're on Bruce's side." Then, he snarls at Dick, "And I don't fucking care if you know Bruce more than I do!"

"I don't give a damn that Jason hunted me down for some twisted revenge or some shit.

"But here's what I do care about: I worked too hard in making sure that the idea of Batman doesn't get tarnished. I'm Robin now. I'm here because I believe you need a Robin. And I'm going to do my fucking job of being your leash if it's the last thing I do!"

Bruce is just fucking standing there.

Tim wants to rip that cowl off.

He already went through sooooo many heartbreaking conversations with Bruce in his old life. Why does he have to go through this again?! Did Jason and Bruce not talk about this with each other in the other timeline?! Does Tim have to bridge their relationship and mediate like he does when Dick comes to visit?

Fuck this life.

Ahhhh, Tim misses his husbands so much, why couldn't they regress back in time with him?

After a few moments, Bruce.

Fucking.

He fucking leaves!

Tim gapes, he glances to Dick with his disbelief clear on his face, and then he grabs a pillow and screams into it.

Fuck. Fuck-fuckity-fuck-fuck.

Tim is soooooo not doing this anymore. He's 16 again, c'mon! He doesn't even feel any of his joint pains (which may be because of the anesthesia, but whatever.)

Tim turns to Dick with a grim expression.

"Call Superman," he says. "And Wonder Woman, and Martian Manhunter. Heck, even call Green Lantern and Flash."

"Why?" he asks.

This motherfucker even had the gall to be confused.

"Because you're the Justice League's eldest child that they raised together as a village," Tim says slowly, as if he's talking to a preschooler. "Let's not give a fuck about the 'no metas in Gotham' rule, and start giving a fuck about all we could accomplish by letting so many adultier adults help us."

Thank Billy Batson Dick nods.

"We're gonna save Jason?"

Tim shrugs, lies down, and tugs his blanket over his whole body. "I don't give a fuck about Jason, Dick."

"Wha--"

"I just care about making sure that Batman doesn't turn into a villain to his own children. He's already fucked up so bad with you, Dick. We gotta make sure he doesn't fuck up any more, especially when Bruce wants to bring Jason home some time later when he stops being an ass."

Tim makes a mental note to make sure that Bruce doesn't get any mind control technology on his hands either.

He hears Dick sigh, slide his chair back, and probably stand up.

"I'll be back," he says softly.

Tim grunts like the true bat-child he is.

Finally, Dick leaves.

Unfortunately, Alfred was still here.

In the previous timeline... Tim never got a heart to heart with Alfred about all the things the man did and didn't do. And he thought he moved on but...

This is the man who gave him the Robin suit first. This is the man who he helped take dishes away from the table every time Dick and Bruce gets onto their violent screaming matches. This is the man who everyone put on the pedestal, but is Tim's equal in everything regarding Bruce's wellbeing.

And it hurt. It hurt so much when only Tim is witness to all of this man's flaws.

°°°°°°°°°°

Aaaaand then I got nothing else to add. I have no idea where I was going with this but here is the culmination of my hatred for Batman, my disenchantment with Alfred, and my need for Tim to scream his heart out because, no. Tim did not die contentedly. He did not actually die a natural death of old age. And the only hope for the future he has is of him meeting up with Kon and Bernard in heaven while everything else on earth can crash and burn for all he cares.

Hello!!!! I'm so glad you shared this and for the compliments. It makes me really happy to see people sharing their AUs. It kind of feels like a community project? People will reblog or do asks for different AUs, so lots of people end up contributing. I love that this is the direction this blog has taken.

As far as what you've shared? Positively beautiful. Fuck Bruce, Tim deserves the chance to scream, and I agree about Alfred. I love that man.... but only some versions of him. What he did to Tim was foul, and his tendency to just stand aside (to not stop Bruce) is horrid. Fuck that bystander shit.

For your time travel AU, I love that he died peacefully and old before being thrown into the hell that was his childhood again. Even worse, it's during Titan's Tower, so he can't change anything that leads up to that. He's thrown smack into the thick of all the drama and bullshit.

Also, rip Tim's relationships in the AU. Unless his husbands got transported back in time with him, he wouldn't be able to fall in love with them. He'd look at their younger selves and see them as the children they are (and the kid he no longer feels like).

To add onto that, he might feel older than Bruce too. If Bruce is 35 ish in this and Tim was like 70, he probably sees Bruce as a grown adult who's also a baby. That man needs to get his shit together, but gods is he so fucking young and stupid.

Special parts I loved:

Fish loving Tim more than Aquaman

Tim going from hard-earned decent relationships with his family to the sewage of his Robin years

The acknowledgement that Tim was Alfred's equal on taking care of Bruce (and how much that betrayal hurt)

Jason actually dying when his throat was cut (that's my hc too)

Tim immediately getting the JL involved

I would so be down with exploring this AU more. Your writing is also fantastic!

[strangersteddierthings]

Steve, Gareth and Chrissy are cousins AU (sad edition) [prologue] [part 1] [part 2] [part 3] [part 4] [part 5] [Part 6] [Part 7] [Final Part]

"Oh Boom!" Steve cheers, stepping though the plants, "Bada bing, bada boom! There she is, Henderson. Skull Rock. In your face, man. In your stupid, cocky little face."

"Doesn't make sense," Dustin mutters, following after him.

"Yeah, yeah. Even with it staring you in the face, you can't admit it. Can't admit you're wrong, you butthead," Steve says, one hand on his hip as he looks up at Skull Rock.

"I concur," Eddie's voice is preceded by the thump of his landing, which causes Steve and Dustin to turn around to, "You, Dustin Henderson, are a total butthead."

"You son of a bitch!" a different, familiar voice shouts, and Steve watches, to his increasing horror, as Gareth rounds the rock Eddie just jumped off and beelines for Steve. He's too shocked to do anything other than watch as Gareth plants his palms to Steve's chest and shoves.

Steve goes down hard, arms pinwheeling. He hears several people call his name but the white noise his brain is generating has blocked out everything except Gareth. Gareth, who stands before him, chest heaving in his anger, hand back to his sides and fists clenched.

"Where were you!?" Gareth screams at him, and Steve can see tears threatening to fall. "Where the fuck have you been?"

"Excuse me, but who are you?" Robin asks, stepping forward and into Steve's periphery. The white noise quiets just a bit as he watches Robin whip to Eddie. "Who is he?"

Eddie says something back, but Steve doesn't fully hear it before Gareth has taken a step forward, closer, pulling all his attention again and Gareth asks again, quietly, "Where were you?"

Steve swallows, looking Gareth up and down. He's dirty, much like Eddie, and not wearing shoes. Why isn't he wearing shoes? What happened to them? He looks back up to Gareth's face. To the anger he can see, is sure everyone else can see, too. But, also, to the sorrow, the fear, the hurt underneath it all. Steve opens his mouth, a thousand questions on his tongue. Where are your shoes? How did you get here? When? I tried to keep you out of this, I wanted to keep you out of this. Why are you here? But, instead, what comes out is, "I'm sorry."

Those words seem to break Gareth. A choked off sob rips from his throat and he drops to his knees, curling in on himself. Steve, always protective, moves to comfort him at the same time as Eddie does but Eddie beats him there, kneeling down to be at Gareth's side, concern etched in every line of him. Eddie places a hand on Gareth's back, near his shoulder, rubbing small, soothing circles there.

It makes something squeeze deep inside of him, to see Eddie caring for Gareth so much, even as Eddie is now glaring at Steve in defense of whatever slight he thinks Steve has caused. Or maybe he knows. Maybe Gareth told him. Told him how Steve is the worst cousin in the world, failed to protect Chrissy. Failed Gareth, too, since he's here, barefoot in the middle of the goddamn woods instead of safe in his home.

Robin's arm hooking under Steve's own breaks him from his thoughts. He lets Robin help him stand, and watches as Eddie does the same for Gareth, and for a moment, the whole forest is quiet.

But they have Dustin with them, so that doesn't last long. "Can someone explain what the hell is going on? Why's Gareth here?"

Steve doesn't even have it in himself to scold Dustin for his language.

Eddie and Gareth exchange looks, a silent communication so like how he is with Robin that it gut-punches him, and then Eddie says, "it's, uhh, quite a story."

"Start telling it, then," Nancy says gently but still with her usual no nonsense undertone.

They get a story told by both. When Eddie pauses, Gareth picks up the tale, and the vice versa. When Gareth gets choked with emotion, such as explaining that Chrissy is his cousin, Eddie takes over and explains. He says nothing about Steve, doesn't even imply he knows more, so... maybe Gareth hasn't told him Steve is also his cousin?

Then they talk about Patrick and Nancy wants to know the time, and soon it's back to dealing with the Upside Down. Something's up with Dustin's compass they have to go investigate now, and Steve thinks everyone's forgotten the weird tension of Gareth shoving him down and demanding to know where he's been.

Everyone but Robin, it seems, who hangs back to ask about it as they follow Dustin and his broken compass.

"So, how do you know Gareth?" Robin asks, uncertain.

Steve frowns at the back of Gareth's head, where he walks ahead with Dustin and Eddie. "He's my cousin."

"Oh!" Robin's eyebrows shoot up in surprise, looking from Gareth to Steve, as if she can spot a family resemblance from the back of Gareth's head. "How did I not know that?"

"Gareth asked to pretend we weren't related when he started high school," Steve shrugs. "Was afraid it would ruin his 'street cred'."

"What a nerd."

"Right?" Steve chuckles at that and they walk in silence for a bit longer before Robin gasps like she's dying. A realization.

"Steve," she breaths out, a hand flying out to grab onto Steve's shoulder in an almost painful grip. He's so glad she's keeping quiet, as she whispers, "was Chrissy your cousin, too?"

Steve swallows and nods.

"Steve, I-"

"No. Not now. Not the time," Steve cuts her off, prying his hand from her arm. "Please, Robbie. I can't think about that now. Please."

Robin doesn't look happy about the development but she gives a nod, swallowing around the lump in her throat now.

[brbsoulnomming]

Tell Me Sweet Little Lies Part 25

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | AO3

-----

The silence that echoes through Forest Hills is deafening. It's never been this quiet, not in the whole time that Eddie'd lived here, and if that doesn't drive home how alone they are out here, nothing will.

For a long moment, the only thing he can hear is the sound of his own heart beating.

"Put all that stuff on the ground," Jason orders. "Slowly."

It's not like Eddie's in a position to argue with the guy pointing a gun at them. And yet -

"Don't you read the news?" he bitches as he slowly crouches down to put his boxes on the ground. "I was cleared of all charges."

Jason scoffs. "You may have the police and the news fooled, but you can't trick me. I know what you did to Chrissy and Patrick. I know it was you, I saw you at the lake."

"Whatever you thought you saw-" Eddie starts.

"Don't!" Jason shouts. "You think I haven't already heard it? My own family and friends telling me I'm crazy, that I'm just grieving? I know what I saw, you freak!"

"Hey, hey," Steve says. "No one's saying you didn't see anything, okay, just that it wasn't what it looked like."

Eddie can hear the crunch of gravel again, and he risks darting his eyes away from Jason towards Steve. There's a flash of hurt when he sees that Steve is moving away from Eddie's side - until he sees that Steve may have put his box down, but he's still holding his bat.

It's not over his shoulder anymore. Now it's held like a weapon, and he twirls it like a fucking maniac who's just screaming to draw attention from the guy pointing a gun at them.

Eddie's hindbrain notes that it's extremely attractive, just like it did when he saw Steve ripping a demobat in two, and he firmly tells it to shut the fuck up.

Jason shifts the gun so it's pointed entirely at Steve, instead of just hovering between the two of them, and even in the light of the sunset Eddie can see the hint of satisfaction in Steve's eyes, and -

Of fucking course his stupid soulmate is trying to make himself a bigger target to Jason.

Fuck that.

Eddie opens his mouth to try to get Jason's attention back, but Steve beats him to it.

"I don't want to fight you, Jason, even if you didn't have a gun," Steve says.

The prickle of a lie springs up on the back of Eddie's calf, and he briefly wonders what the hell Steve's doing before it hits him - Robin.

This could work, all they have to do is stall long enough for Robin to get help sent over here.

"This isn't about what anyone wants," Jason snaps. "This is about justice for Chrissy and Patrick, I'm just the only one willing to step up and do anything about it."

Steve snorts, spreading his arms and swinging the bat in a low motion. "Look around, man. You're sitting in Forest Hills, after it got wrecked, with a gun pointed at me. That's what you're calling justice?"

"You can still leave, Harrington," Jason says. "I don't have any beef with you. You're one of us, you know? You were one of the greats. You can leave right now, and it won't matter that this freak got you under his spell."

Steve's grip on the bat tightens. "I'm not going anywhere, Carver. You think you can shoot me enough times to bring me down before I get close enough to use this?"

Jason's determined expression falters, the gun lowering just the tiniest bit, and for a moment Eddie thinks they might have him.

Then the gun swings around and points straight at Eddie, and the look in Jason's eyes goes dark with hate.

"No," Jason says. "But I can shoot him before you get to me. You don't want that, do you Harrington?"

Fuck.

"Come on, man, I-" Eddie starts, then immediately clamps his mouth shut when he sees Jason's finger slide over the trigger.

"One more word from either of you and I shoot you right here," Jason says.

Eddie can't see anything but the barrel of Jason's gun right now, so he has no idea what Steve's doing, but he's just as silent as Eddie.

"Here's what we're going to do." Jason pulls something out of his pocket, tosses it at Steve. It hits the gravel with a faintly metallic clink. "You're going to toss that bat away. Then you're going to put those on, handcuff yourself to the railing right there. The Freak and I are going to take a little walk, and you're going to tell me everything you did to them. If the police won't make you confess, I will."

Fuck fuck fuck fuck.

"No, man, come on, leave Steve out of this, I'll go with you, just don't-"

"You want to die right now, Munson?" Jason asks. "I told you to shut up."

"All right, Jason, all right," Steve says. "I'll do it, okay? I'm going to toss the bat away."

Eddie risks a look over at Steve, sees him toss the bat aside somewhere and slowly pick up the handcuffs Jason threw at him.

"It's okay, Eddie," Steve says when he catches him looking. "It's going to be okay."

It isn't a lie, but at the moment, Eddie's not entirely sure how the fuck anything about this is going to be okay.

Steve cinches one cuff around his wrist, then takes a few steps back towards the trailer. He has to twist at a little bit of an awkward angle, but he manages to hook the chain of the handcuffs through one of the slightly warped rails of the front porch. Then he snaps the other cuff shut over his other wrist.

"Let's go, Munson," Jason says.

Eddie looks back over to him, and Jason makes a motion out towards the woods.

Jesus Christ, the woods again.

Eddie swallows, trying to tell himself that one pissed off jock with a gun is a lot better odds than a dozen of them, or a swarm of demobats, but with said gun pointed right at him he's not sure how convinced he is of that.

"Hey, Munson?" Steve calls.

Eddie doesn't look at him, but he hears Jason's footsteps slow a little, like he's waiting to see what parting words Steve has to say.

"I'm not going to be able to get out of this," Steve says. His voice sounds genuine, like he's admitting to something he doesn't want to, but Eddie feels the prickle of words being written on the side of his knee. "I can't come after you."

More words, along the back of his shoulder.

"Just do what he says, okay?" Steve asks.

No words this time, but Eddie gets the message loud and clear. He's not sure how Steve's decided he can get himself out of the handcuffs, and he wants to tell him not to hurt himself, but Jason's footsteps have picked up again.

"You heard him," Jason says, triumphant and vicious. "Get moving."

Eddie does, and even though there's still a pit of dread at the bottom of his stomach, and his heart is racing, and his hands are clammy with fear - there's still hope there.

He's not an NPC anymore.

He has Steve, and he has Robin, and he knows there's people on his side coming for him. He's part of the party now, and he realizes that not only does he trust them completely - but he believes without a doubt that they won't leave him behind.

Eddie's not going to die, not today.

All he has to do is stall Jason long enough for them to come find him.

"Do I get an idea about where we're going?" Eddie asks.

"Lover's Lake," Jason replies.

"Didn't know you had that kind of outing planned for us." The words are out of Eddie's mouth before he's even finished thinking them.

He regrets them immediately, even before he gets a hard push between his shoulder blades.

Eddie stumbles, his footing slipping over the slick forest floor, and he barely manages to avoid ending up on the ground. There's a flare of pain in his side from the quick, jerking motions he'd had to do, and his left leg twinges a little, but nothing too bad.

Still, it's a reminder that he needs to be careful.

"You shut your disgusting mouth," Jason spits at him. "We're going to the last site where you cast your Satanic spell. You're going to tell me everything you did, and then you're going to undo the curse you put on Hawkins."

Jesus Christ, Jason's completely lost it.

He guesses it's not surprising, considering what Jason saw with Patrick, but any amount of empathy Eddie might have had for the guy was completely gone the moment Jason pulled a gun on them and made Steve handcuff himself to that railing.

Eddie saw terrible things, too, and somehow he managed not to start waving guns around and threatening to kill people.

He remembers what Steve said, about experiencing something like this making you see yourself in a different light, finding things out about yourself that you might not like. Despite what Steve'd told him, he's still struggling with how instinctive it was for him to run and how much of a coward it makes him feel like, but you know what? He'd rather be a coward than end up like Jason.

If he wasn't concerned Jason might actually shoot him for saying something again, he might point out the irony of it all - that the scary Freak saw Vecna's attack and went into hiding, while the golden boy went on a murderous warpath.

Instead, he focuses on trying to move as slowly as possible, dragging his feet through the dirt and leaves and kicking up rocks and pinecones.

For one - he doesn't actually want to get to Lover's Lake. Sure, the trek there is long enough that it'd give Steve plenty of time to get loose and Robin time to bring in the calvary, but then they'd all have to get out to the lake, too, and that's way too far for Eddie's comfort. For another - he needs to leave some kind of trail for Steve to be able to follow.

It pisses Jason off eventually, because the next thing he knows he's getting another hard shove against his back.

"Pick your feet up," Jason snarls.

Eddie hadn't been expecting this push, though, and this time he's not quick enough to keep himself standing upright. He stumbles, twists a little to avoid falling face first, and ends up on his ass in the leaves and dirt.

The pain in his side flares again, and fuck, he's going to be so pissed if he reopened one of his bite wounds just after he got the stitches out.

"Get up," Jason orders.

"Give me a minute, come on," Eddie says. "I'm not used to this."

Jason snorts in disbelief. "Should've thought of that before you picked this place to do all your Satanic rituals."

Eddie groans, pushing himself up into a crouch. He looks up - and realizes Jason's gotten cocky. The gun isn't pointed directly at him anymore, it's just held loosely in Jason's hand, pointed more at the ground than anything else.

His heart rate picks up as Eddie decides - fuck, okay, yeah, he's doing this.

He hangs his head down, making his breathing harsh and ragged like he's panting for air, and hears Jason give a mean little laugh.

"Sorry you skipped out on so much P.E. now, aren't you, Freak?" Jason taunts.

Eddie's hands dig into the ground under him, picking up a double handful of dirt and pine needles.

Then he surges up, throwing it all in Jason's face.

"Fuck!" Jason shouts, dropping the gun as he instinctively throws his hands up to try to protect his face.

Eddie doubts he has time to bend down and scramble for it, so he kicks it instead, sending it skittering away before he books it to hide behind a grove of trees.

"Get back out here, you freak!" Jason shouts. "You think I can't take you even without a gun?"

Part of Eddie wants to retort that Jason's ability to take him even without a gun is a) kind of in question, considering Eddie's both stronger than he looks and pretty fucking scrappy, when he isn't recovering from nearly dying; and b) exactly why he won't be coming back out, but, well.

Eddie's smart enough to know that saying anything will just draw attention to where he is, so for once, he shuts the hell up.

"Don't think you can get away from me," Jason says. "I won't stop until you've been brought to real justice. You killed Chrissy! She was beautiful, and perfect, and she should be alive right now, not you!"

Eddie bites the inside of his mouth, hard enough that he tastes copper, to avoid making any kind of sound. Part of him still thinks that's true, but he won't give Jason the satisfaction of admitting it to him.

"She was my soulmate!" Jason yells. "She never once told a lie, and neither did I! Neither of us had any words on our skin, we were perfect together, and you took her from me!"

All right, maybe Jason was a little delusional even before all of this.

"You took her from me, and I won't let you-"

Jason cuts off with a choked sounding noise. It's enough like the sounds Chrissy and Patrick had made choking on their own blood that Eddie feels a surge of panic, and he risks peeking out from his hiding spot to see if he's just gotten even more fucked.

But Jason isn't floating above the ground.

Or at least, not more than an inch or so, as his feet scrabble on the slippery pine needles.

Steve is right behind him, and the metal chain of the handcuffs still around Steve's wrists is pressed tight to Jason's neck. Steve's got him pinned back against him, using the few inches of height he's got on Jason to prevent him from getting his feet solidly on the ground.

"Next time you tell someone to handcuff themselves to something," Steve says conversationally. "You should make sure they can't rip it free."

Jesus fucking Christ, Steve needs to stop doing things like this, or Eddie's not going to survive it.

Metaphorically.

Literally, he's very grateful for Steve continuing to do things like this to ensure Eddie's continued survival.

"You okay, Eddie?" Steve calls.

"Yeah," Eddie replies, finally coming out from his hiding spot. "I'm, uh, a little banged up, but otherwise good."

Seeing him seems to spur Jason on, though, because instead of scrambling at the chain around his neck, he tries to knock his head back into Steve's.

Steve seems ready for that, because he's got his body angled so Jason's head falls back against his shoulder. Still, the motion sets both of them rocking back, and though Steve keeps his balance, Eddie hurries over to help.

He's almost there when Jason balls up his fist and slams it back into Steve's face. Steve doesn't let go, so he does it again, and again, and again, and by the time Eddie's there, the last hit must have been enough for Steve's grip to loosen.

Jason slips from Steve's grasp, pushing both of them as he scrambles away. He's choking and sputtering, stumbling over himself, and he makes it only a few paces away before he's on his hands and knees on the ground, sucking in ragged gasps of air.

"You can't take both of us, Jason," Steve says.

Jason scrambles back more, then manages to get himself to his feet.

It's only when Eddie sees the gun again that he realizes Jason wasn't trying to scramble away from them, he was trying to scramble to something.

Shit.

"I'll go with you," Eddie says. "Same plan, okay? You want me to go to Lover's Lake, tell you everything and undo the curse? Just leave Steve out of this."

Steve glares at him, but Eddie doesn't care. Jason looks even more unstable than before, and Eddie's not letting Steve get shot because of him.

Jason shakes his head. Eddie's not sure if it's in response to him, or if he's just trying to clear it after getting choked, but he guesses it doesn't really matter.

Jason's got the gun pointed right at him, and doesn't seem to be inclined to start moving again.

"You said you wanted justice, but that's not really what this is about, is it? It's revenge. You're in pain, and you want Eddie to suffer, too," Steve says.

"What's wrong with that?" Jason demands. His voice sounds absolutely wrecked, like every word is hurting as it's pulled from his throat, and yet he keeps talking anyway. "He deserves it! He deserves to be punished for what he did to Chrissy and Patrick, for what he's done to me!"

"This isn't how you punish him," Steve says. "You think he's in league with Satan, right? So you kill him, and then what happens?"

"He goes to Hell!" Jason shouts. "He goes to Hell where someone like him belongs, where-"

Jason cuts off, and Steve smiles.

"Yeah," he says. "He goes to Hell where he belongs. What kind of nice welcome you think someone in league with Satan's gonna get? Maybe a throne, maybe a new army to command?"

"Maybe I'll get to be a duke," Eddie adds. "A Lord of Hell, that sounds pretty damn good."

"Shut up!" Jason hisses at him.

Still, he falters, and Eddie can practically see the cogs working behind his brain. "It's worth the risk," Jason says, but he doesn't sound as sure as before. "I can't just let him stay here and do it again. He won't confess, the police won't do anything, so this is the only option."

The gun is still pointed right at Eddie, and he contemplates the merits of moving to hide behind a tree again. Jason's barely standing, he's pretty sure the guy's aim is going to be shit right now.

He's pretty confident both he and Steve can get under cover quicker than Jason can shoot.

"You can teach him a real lesson. He took your soulmate from you, you take his from him," Steve says.

Jesus Christ, Eddie's going to kill him.

Jason laughs, harsh and mean. "A freak like this doesn't have a soulmate."

"Steve, don't you fucking dare," Eddie says, too terrified by what he knows Steve is doing to worry about keeping his mouth shut like Jason demanded.

"Yeah, he does," Steve says, completely ignoring Eddie.

The fucker.

Steve taps his chest with his still cuffed together hands. "You're looking at him."

Jason turns his focus entirely on Steve, and Steve gives a significant look to Eddie.

Eddie knows exactly what he wants. He wants Eddie to make a break for it while Steve has Jason's attention. Eddie assumes that Steve's noticed Jason's physical state the same as Eddie has, and drawn the same damn conclusion - only he wanted to make sure that Jason's gun was pointed at him before they both ran for it.

Never mind that Eddie'd just had the same plan when the gun was on him. He's not willing to risk it when it's pointed at Steve, and fuck, when they get out of this, that's probably something they're going to have to talk about.

Right now, he stubbornly stays right where he is.

"You? No way," Jason says.

"Why do you think Eddie kept asking you to leave me alone? You think he'd give himself up for someone if he wasn't soul bonded to them?" Steve asks.

"Don't listen to him," Eddie says. "I'm the one you want."

"He's not denying it, is he?" Steve says. "Because he knows if he does, I can show you the lie and prove it."

Fuck.

"Come on, Carver," Steve goads. "You said he took your soulmate from you. Don't you want to make him feel the same pain? I'm right here, all you gotta do is come get me."

No, nope, this isn't happening.

"Steve, stop, please," Eddie begs.

Shockingly - it works. Steve looks at him, and whatever he sees in Eddie's eyes must make him realize exactly how much Eddie does not want 'Steve throws himself in front of danger and takes the hits so no one else has to' to be Plan A here.

Jason's head keeps snapping back and forth between the two of them, but this time Steve stays quiet, not trying to get Jason's attention on him.

Instead, Steve tilts his head at him, and Eddie nods.

Run.

They both book it, in opposite directions, and sure enough, Jason must be too scrambled to act quickly enough to shoot either of them. For several long, terrifying moments, Eddie expects to hear the sound of gunshots, but all he hears is Jason's labored breathing and the sound of him stumbling a little as if trying to chase after one of them.

Eddie has no idea how much time passes as he stays hidden, listening to the those halting footsteps come closer, then veer away, then come close again. Jason's silent this time - either realizing that nothing he says is going to get them to come out, or in too much pain to keep talking.

Then, finally, there's the thundering sound of more footsteps approaching.

Before all of this, Eddie's first thought probably would have been oh fuck, Jason's buddies are here.

Now?

Now he has a soulmate - two soulmates, really - and a whole Party that he knows will always have his back.

Now he feels a giddy rush of relief even before he hears Hopper shouting, "Jason Carver, put your gun down," and Chief Powell echoing, "On your knees, now!"

They're okay, they're going to be okay.

Reaching the end now! I think I'm looking at one more part and potentially an epilogue.

-----

Part 26

Tag list (always happy to add more!): @vampireinthesun @koibug @estrellami-1 @mentalcyborg @allbimyself26 @questionablequeeries @the-s-is-silent @whimsicalwitchm @a-gae-af-racoon @tinyplanet95 @n0-1-important @velocitytimes2 @swimmingbirdrunningrock @newtstabber @jcmadgirl @roblingoblin285 @lexyvey @paperbackribs @goodolefashionedloverboi @evix-syne666 @raisedbylibrarians @stxrcrossed186 @nightmareglitter @greekgeek24 @starman-jpg @crazyhatlady86 @imfinereallyy @manda-panda-monium @deleataecount @prideandsensibility @chaoticvictorianspirit @maydillydally @disrespectedgoatman @scarlet-malfoy @i-less-than-three-you @hbyrde36 @hallucinatedjosten @dragonsandgayships @arepaconchocolate @g4ys0n @novelnovella @bisexualdisastersworld @ghostofyourvampiregf @scarletyeager @pettrichore @nerd-and-nervous @hiimlevi @queenie-ofthe-void @cinnamon-mushroomabomination

[savepc2023]

Do they have rizz?

🤨📸

Robin: Yes. A hundred times yes. Students see them walking by and they swoon. Specifically, they've got that 'girl/boy next door' rizz. Everyone (and by everyone I mean the more wholesome of the bunch because let's be honest most of them are downright nasty) wants to kiss their dimples.

Whitney: Well... yes and no? They have charisma, but it's more of aaaaa uh. Like they make an lasting impression. And maybe if they were nice they'd be somewhat on par with Robin. But they're not so all they got going for them is they're rough and sexy and people are into that. But in terms of romance? Hell no. No one wants to get with them like that.

Pure Sydney: Yes but to only a select few: The ones that have a certain type, which iiiis 'pure awkward baby girl/boy that is considered a role model'. Because to be honest if you're not one of those people you'd probably be a little scared and a bit annoyed of sydney tbh. Especially if you're a bit of a mischievous student bc what if they tell on you or smth??? nah. And plus they have a killer glare that just screams 'gtfo my way'.

Corrupted Sydney: The rizziest of them all. The rizzanator. The rizzly bear. The three rizzketeers. They are so hot and for what. With proper communication with pc (if they're dating), they openly flirt with literally everyone. Innuendos thrown into the air and suggestive pick up lines whispered huskily....lord. But that's about as far as it goes, they love leaving people hot and bothered just to sneak off with you to tickle your neck with kisses.

Kylar: Hear me out. Hear me out. Now you might think they have ZERO rizz and YOU'RE RIGHT. THEY HAVE ZERO. ZILCH. NADA. BUT THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT GIVES THEM RIZZ. THEY'RE PATHETIC AND SOME PEOPLE(me) LOVE THAT. Except the people that take an interest in them are too afraid to approach them lest they transfer some of his encounters with bullies to themself. Either that or it's purely sexual like they just want to fuck them and toss them aside.

Avery: N.....no. They're hot as fuck, don't get me wrong but that's....about where it ends. Unlike Whitney, nobody even wants to fuck them because uhhh bad attitude. Also most of the town seems to be into obedient subs? So yeah. Like their arrogance, their bitchy-ness, their pride and how pretentious they come across..........ew. But yeah, no bitches no rizz and definitely no head. (I'd still peg them tho)

Eden: No. He looks hot but he's too scary for that to give anyone confidence to strut up to him. Also there's almost no one to rizz up when you're living deep inside the woods in a cabin. There's a reason the only time he got a bitch was because they developed stockholm syndrome.

Alex: Yes<3 Similar to Robin in a way but unlike with them when people feel at ease and comfortable, with Alex you feel energized. Like you just wanna fuckinf chase eachother and end up tackling the other and just make out in the open. Like oughhh he is so sexy and cute. Save a horse, ride a farmer.

[dwobbitfromtheshire]

The Fixed Cup

He thought for sure things had settled down between him and Eddie after Vecna. He thought maybe he and Eddie could finally be friends, but how could he be friends with someone so annoying? Steve hoped that once their bat bites healed, they would stop bitching at each other. . . Boy, was he wrong. It's like everything about Eddie set him on edge, and it didn't help that they were stuck in this quarantine that the government had set up for them. Luckily, it was in their own houses, and Eddie was lucky enough to get stuck in his.

"I swear to God, Robin, I'm going to kill him," Steve complained into the receiver. "I mean it this time, and it will be self-defense too because I think he's also trying to kill me. If I trip over his shoes one more time. . ."

"Hmm, well, like I said before, I'm not helping you bury the body," Robin said casually.

"Aw, come on, big boy, it's so much fun watching you clean up after me," Eddie taunted from the other line.

"Get off the other line, Eddie! Goddamnit!" Steve cursed.

"Well, then, how else will I find out what you and Robbie say about me?" Eddie said.

"Well, I think you're a lovely person, Eddie," Robin said.

"Well, I'm glad someone thinks so," Eddie replied.

"Robin!" Steve whined.

"Just keeping you on your toes, Steve," Robin said. "Well, as much fun as this is. . .I'm going to call Vickie."

The line went dead, and Steve scowled before slamming the phone back on the hook. He ran down into the kitchen to find Eddie giggling at the island.

"Munson! You're such an asshole! You know I only have a certain amount of time to talk to her! Why the fuck do you have to do that?" Steve asked.

"The more you keep letting me know it bothers you. . .the more I'm going to do it," Eddie cackled. "It's fun riling you up."

Steve let out a holler and started chasing him around the kitchen. Eddie ran out laughing.

"Dick!"

Of course, it was mostly Eddie who enjoyed taunting him, but there were times that Eddie would get as annoyed with him as Steve did with Eddie himself.

"I told you I don't want to watch some dumb laundry basket game!" Eddie yelled as he grabbed for the remote.

"And I don't want to watch some stupid nerdy cartoon!" Steve yelled as he yanked back the remote.

"You're a douchebag!" He screamed.

"Oh, like you're one to talk!" Steve screamed back.

Eddie shrieked and dove on top of him. Of course, they would wrestle around with it for a while until their wounds gave them no choice but to collapse on the floor in exhaustion. They were mostly healed but still not healed enough. Steve’s not sure what it was. Maybe it was the fact that they were stuck here together with no one else. Maybe they missed their friends, Eddie missing his uncle, or maybe it was the fact that neither one of them could stop the nightmares that came every night. They were on edge all the time, whenever they were around each other. Sometimes, they just crossed the line.

"Eddie!" Steve exclaimed. "That's not a cup you drink out of! There's a sign!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, is the peasant living in King Steve’s house supposed to drink out of the poor cups?!" Eddie exclaimed as he slammed the cup down.

Of course, slamming it down on the table caused it to shatter.

"It's my grandmother's!" Steve said through gritted teeth.

"I'm sure your mommy and daddy can buy your granny another one," Eddie rolled his eyes.

"She hand-made that," Steve said, his eyes glittering with tears.

"And she can't make another one?" Eddie asked.

"It's kind of hard to do anything when you're dead," Steve snapped.

"Shit, man, I'm so - ," Eddie started to say but was startled when Steve slammed him against the wall like Eddie did that day in the boat house.

"I wish I never - " and Steve stopped himself.

"What? Saved my life?" Eddie asked, bristling.

Steve stared at him, gripping the collar of his shirt, and for once, he didn't know what to say. Eddie pushed him off of him and stormed upstairs. They didn't speak to each other for days after that. Steve thought it would be a blessing, but he found that he missed the sound of Eddie's voice. Steve had woken up in the middle of the night, after struggling to go to sleep, and walked into the kitchen to find Eddie gluing the cup back together.

"Almost as good as new," Eddie said, and Steve found himself smiling. "I mean, I wouldn't drink out of it. . ."

"Maybe I can use it as a pencil holder," Steve said and paused. "Thanks. . .and I'm sorry, I shouldn't have. . ."

"I know. I'm sorry, too, man," Eddie said softly.

"I know that it doesn't seem like it, but I'm glad I'm stuck here with you," Steve said.

"Yeah?" Eddie asked and he nodded. "Back at ya."

And for a little bit, it seemed like they were almost getting along until. . .

"I didn't ask you to clean my room, Harrington. You're not my goddamn mommy," Eddie snapped.

"It was driving me crazy!" Steve exclaimed. "Just like you do! I'm sorry if I didn't want you to trip in the middle of the night!"

"You don't have to worry about me, Harrington! I can look after myself, thanks!" Eddie growled.

"It's hard to tell! You couldn't even follow simple instructions! All you had to do was follow the plan. Instead, I find you almost dying in Dustin's goddamn arms!" Steve yelled.

Eddie screamed and pushed Steve up against the wall, pressing his body up against his. They were so close that their noses were almost touching. Eddie pinned Steve’s hand above his head.

"Shut up!"

"Fucking make me."

Eddie growled again before slamming his lips to Steve’s. His eyes widened before he melted into the kiss, moaning into Eddie's mouth. He nibbled on Eddie's lip before swiping his tongue over it and slipping into his mouth. Steve felt his body move on his own and freed himself from Eddie's grasp. He pushed Eddie back onto the bed before ripping off his shirt in a quick single motion, dropping it onto the floor. Eddie was propped up on his elbows, waiting for him. The realization hit him in that moment. . .Holy shit, he just made out with a guy! It wasn't long before Eddie made that same realization, and he looked just as startled as Steve felt. Leaving his shirt behind, Steve quickly ran out of the room. They quickly avoided each other, and not talking seemed to last longer than the cup incident.

"Robin - ," Steve croaked on the phone when he picked up.

"Jesus. You sound like shit," Robin said. "Did you and Eddie get into it?"

"Something like that," Steve said. "I wish I could tell you, but it's not just my place to say."

"I swear to God, I'm willing to risk breaking quarantine. Do I need to come over there?" Robin asked. "Did Eddie do something that requires me to kick his ass? Because as much as I like him, I'll kick his ass if he actually hurt you."

"Eddie didn't do anything wrong. I think I just realized something is all," Steve said and paused. "I kind of wished we were on the floor of the bathroom for this. . .Do you think that it's possible to like girls and also like guys?"

"Oh, dingus," Robin said softly, her voice full of love. "Anything is possible. Especially that. So, you don't actually hate Eddie?"

"Turns out. . . Not so much. . .not at all, actually. I don't think I ever hated him," Steve admitted. "What do I do?"

"I don't know. What do you want to do? Do you want to do something about it, or do you want to fill out the rest of your life full of regrets? You told me to go for Vickie, and you were right. Sometimes, things do work out for the best," Robin said.

"I want to do something about it," Steve said.

"Go get your man, Steve," Robin said with a grin.

Of course, actually doing something about it was harder than he thought. Steve had chickened out a couple of times. His house made it easy for them to avoid each other, and when they did come together, it was completely awkward silence. They didn't even fight over the remote anymore. Steve missed the sound of his voice even more now. What was it going to be like when the quarantine was over? Nothing happened until Steve woke up from a nightmare, went downstairs, and broke down crying in the kitchen. The kitchen light flickered on.

"Steve?" Eddie asked, and Steve jumped.

"I'm fine," Steve sniffled.

"You don't sound fine, man," Eddie said. "Nightmare?"

As soon as Eddie touched his shoulder, Steve burst into tears again and hugged Eddie around the waist.

"You were dead. You were dead and I was alone in this house again," Steve sobbed.

"Oh, sweetheart," Eddie said, running his hand through his hair. "You've got me no matter what. I'm here."

"Would you still be here if I told you that I'm starting to fall in love with you?" Steve asked and pulled back, his hands on Eddie's hips.

"Even more so, big boy," Eddie said, cupping his face.

He stepped in between Steve’s legs and leaned down to kiss him, falling into Steve’s lap. The kiss was short and sweet. . .getting its point across perfectly.

"I'm starting to fall for you too."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"You want to come to bed with me? Keep the nightmares away?" Steve asked.

"Absolutely."

Eddie took his hand, and together, they walked upstairs. When the quarantine finally ended, Robin was the first one through the door. Steve was at the stove, making breakfast.

"Please, tell me you settled things with Eddie," Robin said.

"Nope! Still hate the guy! Thought for a moment that there was something else, but I was wrong! The man is just so goddamn annoying - " Steve ranted.

"Steve! Are you fucking serious?" Robin asked.

Suddenly, Eddie pounced into the room wearing Steve’s yellow sweater and one sock.

"No, but he is fucking me. We worked things out, Robbie," Eddie said, kissing Steve.

Steve giggled against Eddie's lips as Robin yelled in frustration.

"Assholes!" Robin exclaimed and plopped down at the island. "So, tell me everything."

"Hm, everything? You want all the gory details of Steve railing me so hard into his mattress that he nearly breaks his back?" Eddie asked.

"Eddie, don't scar my best friend!"

"What can I tell her? Oooh! He likes holding hands during sex," Eddie said.

"Aww."

"Eddie!"

Steve rolled his before smiling fondly and kissing Eddie.

"Aww, what happened to your grandma's cup, Steve?" Robin asked.

"Don't worry about it, Robin, it's all fixed now. . ."

[dearanakin]

Sweet Feelings - Steve Harrington x Reader

Summary: You take care of Steve Harrington after they come back from the Upside Down, fighting against Vecna. You never actually liked his girlfriend, Nancy, and realized it wasn't only because she didn't treat him like he deserved.

Contains: mentions of wounds/blood, fluff

Word count: 3.1k

They came back from the Upside Down looking like they had lost a war, like they've seen a ghost. You haven't been around them that much when it comes to beating the monsters and the enemy.

Steve was bleeding on his stomach and his face was dripping blood, he had strangled markings on his neck as well. It shocked you to see him that way, though. Robin and Eddie were holding him up and helped him sit in your couch.

Both of them weren't that as injured as he was, but were still looking like they could use a shower and a bed at that point. They told you Harrington was pulled under the water and brought to the Upside Down, into Vecna's lair. He was beaten up by a bunch of Demobats, getting choked out and bitten on his stomach.

That explained a lot why he was so lightheaded at your house, Robin offering a glass of water while he was trying to catch his breath. Eddie was looking out your window, checking on the house, and it brought you to finally ask them about why they were there.

"So you're going to lure this demon into my house?", you were trying to digest the whole situation. You learned about first aid before, so you prepared a whole kit to patch Steve, otherwise he would die on your couch.

"He's probably not coming now anyway", Munson said. Poor guy was still terrified as he had never been face to face with something like that. Neither were you.

"He's learned we were after him to get him killed before he opened the portals in Hawkins". It was hard for you to believe everything about this story. You've heard about Upside Down before, you knew about other people's deaths that were caused by the supernatural. It was just too much to gather.

You nodded as you sat on the couch closer to Steve, and Robin sat next to Eddie on the other side of the livingroom. His wounds were oozing, and he was panting from the pain. Harrington couldn't fight against the pounding pain against his ribs, either.

"Just try to breathe slowly, it can ease the pain", you said. He tried looking at you, but held his head back against the furniture. "This is going to sting a lot, but I'm going to use some analgesic for the injuries, so you can get comfortable".

You weren't that close to Steve, even though you were almost always together, considering you were too close to Robin. Despite that, you were madly annoyed over how his girlfriend, Nancy, who would be such a dumbass with him.

She wasn't that nice to the guy, she would bitch about him all the time saying he was too clingy, and would ditch him to keep her status at the parties. You always thought he was too nice to his closest friends and specially to her.

He was always nice to you as well and you would banter about nonsense stuff at some point, having fun with the way you'd respond to each other. But still, you didn't know about his secrets, about his private life.

You heard him groan as you started to stitch him up, making sure the anesthesia kicks in on the rest of his wounds. It makes you flinch at the way he holds back his screaming from the pain and how he squirms his body in response.

"Has... anybody talked to Nancy- about what happened..", he was trying his best to keep his sanity while you're working on the needle through his body. You let out a scoff and he noticed it.

"You barely died, your friends are all worried about you, and you only worry about the single person who didn't move a finger to look for you?", you asked. It obviously came out the wrong way, as you didn't mean to be rude. But Robin realized she wasn't the only one to be so incredibly against his relationship.

But the thing is, she had the right to, she was his best friend. You were only his friend for a while and even though you get along, you couldn't just barge into his life like that.

"She's my girlfriend, (Y/N). I care for her", he responded. His body started to rest as the analgesic and the anesthesia were working, giving him some comfort.

"Well, is she here right now?", you give him a smirk and he furrows his brows.

"Steve, she has a point", Robin states. "Look, we've talked about that before. Once, I told you I didn't like the way she acted around you, and I still don't. If she's not looking for you, maybe it's just not worth it".

She assured him she would be by his side, even if his relationship wouldn't work anymore. But he wasn't in the mood for that right now. He was dealing with a lot of pain and with the fact he almost died to Demobats. As you finished his stomach injuries, you started giving attention to his face, his right brow was split open.

"I'm sorry about that", your touch was light and he closed his eyes. He didn't have much of a choice but to let you do your work. It didn't hurt that much like before, either way.

"Nah, I've been beaten up before", he said, playfully. "Just this time, the pain is worse".

"I didn't mean the beating". You whispered as your hand stitched up his skin. You had this weird feeling in the pitch of your stomach, which made you confused by your response about his relationship with Nancy.

"Oh.. yeah, maybe you were right. It wasn't the first time I heard about it. I guess I'm just not good at reading between the lines". Harrington sounded really hurt by the way he talked about it. He had to deal with a lot lately, specially with Vecna trying to kill him and his friends.

As you finished your work, you got up from the couch and started packing the first aid kit. "You guys should stay here for the night. You two can sleep in the guest bedroom", you smiled.

It's not just that it would be better for them, but you were kinda worried about the demon out there. Now that he knows they're out looking for him, it's just not good if they split up. In fact, staying at your house isn't even the best option, but you didn't want to be alone.

✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️

You just couldn't sleep. You were thinking too much about Vecna and the portal thing Robin was talking about. She seemed to be sleeping very peacefully on your king-sized bed, lying comfortably on the mattress under your blankets.

Shouldn't she be careful and awake, hoping for something to happen? Maybe she shouldn't, but you were. You couldn't wrap your head around the fact that those things out there existed. You rolled over your bed and headed to the kitchen, maybe if you drink some water or even a medicine for your sleep you could actually rest.

All the lights were out except the one from your hallway, which was almost always on. You were wondering if Eddie and Steve were also asleep or just taking turns in case anything happened. Somehow, you felt helpless after realizing you were the only one awake. Or you thought so.

You almost had a stroke as you approached the kitchen and saw a shadow in the kitchen counter. Your gasp wasn't loud enough to wake the house, but it surprised him. Steve was standing there, also dumbfounded, holding a bread knife. You would've laughed if it wasn't for the jumpscare.

"Jesus Christ, you walk too quietly", he said, still holding the knife. Standing on his feet while resting his hand on the chair.

You scoff, it's not like you'd do that on purpose. "And you're holding a bread knife".

"Can't always be that prepared", he replied. You turned on the kitchen light and it slightly illuminated the place. You let out a small grin.

"I thought you and Eddie were both sleeping. Or at least taking turns", he shook his head.

"Well, he snores, and I can't sleep through this sharp pain on my body. So I figured I would at least stay away from him". He sounded exhausted, even though his tone was playful. "And you?".

"I can't sleep either. In fact, I think I'm too scared to", you revealed. It's like you were ashamed to admit it and he noticed it. You thought he would make fun of you at some point.

"It's going to be okay. We'll figure something out, we always do", he grabbed your hand, giving you some comfort. Harrington gave you a sincere smirk.

"I'm sorry about what I said earlier. I didn't mean to sound nosy or rude at all". He looked down on his foot and breathed through his mouth, like a sigh. "It's your relationship, I know. I just don't like her".

"You and Robin share the same feeling, honestly", Steve pointed out, running one of his hands through his hair. The other one was now resting on his hip. "I kinda get why if I think about that now. Of all the people who knew we were dragged there, she was the only one who didn't ask".

He was bitter, and you sensed this was a very tough topic for him to talk about. He was almost killed, he was beaten up several times, and she didn't have the time to ask about him? She didn't mind just calling him to see how he was after that.

You knew why you couldn't just not say anything about it, because he was one of the sweetest people you know, and it's annoying how he doesn't get the attention he deserves.

"Look, I know it's not a good situation. But you deserve a lot better than that", you said as you walked towards the fridge, grabbing a bowl of ice cream. Ice cream was always a good way of getting the pain numb.

You put the bowl on the counter and grabbed a pair of spoons, offering him one. You saw him give you a small smile.

"I don't know about you, but I like to use this as an excuse to avoid any emotion or pain. At least at the moment". You explained, and you grabbed a spoonful of the sweet.

He followed you and ate a huge amount of the ice cream, making him scrunch his nose, squinting his face. He could barely eat the whole thing as it was freezing his brain out, and you laughed softly.

"You can't inhale the food, Steve", you were still trying to hold back the bursting laugh that was threatening to leave your mouth, and promptly gave him a glass of water.

He chugged the whole liquid and held back his head, tears were streaming down his face as he tried to breathe.

"Fuck, this is like torture". You looked at him and snorted, he literally forgot he was almost killed. "What- oh, yeah, I take that back", he was grinning as he grabbed another spoonful.

For the next few minutes, you were just enjoying the sweetness of that dessert while listening to the clock in your living room. Steve didn't say another word after that, but it wasn't uncomfortable at all.

When you felt like you had enough of the ice cream, he grabbed the bowl to himself and started digging. You grabbed a water jar for both of you after eating so much, you just had to digest it.

It was almost 4 am when you decided to go back to bed, realizing you should be safe for now, specially knowing Steve was still there, and he would fight for his life as he always did.

"Thank you for... you know", he said, making a gesture to his whole body. "The painkillers will certainly be of help".

"Of course, I'm glad I could be supportive". You didn't mean to sound sarcastic, but when you realized what you said, it was already done. You knew he might take it to his heart because of Nancy, but you were being honest at least.

✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️

After they left the next day to try and find their friend to kill Vecna, you only heard about what would happen through Robin. And it had been days since they were gone off the map to avoid the portals to open. You learned they never made it, you felt the earthquake under your feet as the city started shaking.

It was definitely the most traumatizing moment for you, as you weren't home when it happened, and you didn't know what you were supposed to do then. A few moments later, you finally got a call from Robin.

"Did you guys do it? What happened? Robin, everything is a mess here, Hawkins is in a mad shape", you said desperately, as soon as you picked up your phone.

"We didn't", she sighed. "Eddie is dead and-", you gasped under your breath as she paused. "Vecna didn't die, he's just wounded". She sounded really hurt about all that happened to them. Robin wasn't even in her normal state.

"How's Steve? Is he alive?", you asked too fast. You heard your heart thumping in your ears, your eyes burning from the tears that were almost escaping.

"Yes, he is. He's done with Nancy. It ended up in a non-conventional way though", she responded. "How are you, babe?".

You? You couldn't even describe how you were feeling. You just experienced an earthquake, you heard Eddie was dead, Vecna was still out there. The only good thing about that was that your friends were still alive, the kids were still alive.

You started to cry over the phone and didn't realize Robin was doing the same along with you, because she got you. She knew everything was still new for you, it was hard for you to understand all that. And the fact she had to experience all of that was also hard for her.

"We're coming back soon", she said after a while. "If your house is still in place, care to sort out your first aid kit? We're also going to need a few more rooms". You laughed at the way she asked you to host them at your place.

You went back home after that. Everything was still in place except for a few objects lying on the floor, a few broken things were splattered across the house, but you still had your place. You grabbed your first aid bag and left it in the living room.

You didn't know what to expect from them, you didn't know how hurt they were, but Robin didn't say anything, so you figured it wasn't a major injury anyway.

A few hours later, you heard a knock on the room and quickly ran to open it. Steve and Robin were facing you with a small grin, but behind them Lucas, Will, Dustin, Max and Evelen had that scared look on their faces. You let them in, looking behind you before closing the door.

They told you how most of the fight happened. Eddie died trying to save them after all. It hit you like a giant rock, you never expected that to happen too soon. And that was why you never tried to invest on helping them fight against all the monsters under Hawkins.

You just wanted to help them, giving them your house and patching them. Maybe trying to find out something, at most. But never going after those things. And hopefully they would never go after you either. But you were almost sure they would, one day.

They were all sitting downstairs while you were arranging your guest room with some pillows and blankets. You heard them talking and sometimes laughing off the pain and the trauma they just lived. It was relieving for you to actually have them by, which made you feel safer.

Steve knocked on the door even though it was still open, just so he would make his presence noticeable. You looked over your shoulder, and he was standing there, still looking beaten. He had a dark eye, a small split on his mouth and bruises all over his arms.

You shortened the space between both of you and hugged him. Not too tight to not squeeze him and his injuries, but also not too loose. He still smelled like his cologne, mixed with the dirt and the blood from his face that dripped on his neck.

He held you back, resting one of his hands on your hair, while cupping your waist with the other. You spent a good amount of time like that, and snapped out of your daydreaming when you heard Will laughing. When you looked at Harrington closely, you saw how his eyes were bright, he had this small redness around his cheeks and he held a side smile at you.

You didn't know why you had to be to be impulsive, but you crashed your lips on his. Just enough to feel the warmth of his skin in yours. But Steve opened his mouth, deepening the kiss, browsing for your tongue. It felt like heaven when you started exploring each other's tongues.

He squeezed your waist and pulled your hair gently when you gripped his lower lip with your teeth. You gasped when he started to fasten the kiss, this time it was feral, and it had a hint of second intentions. Which you realized things changed when he started to guide you through the room until the back of your knees hit the bed.

He was about to approach you with his swollen lips when you heard footsteps, but didn't have time to break the contact, just enough to stare at an amused Dustin standing at the door.

"Ohhhh, I'm so sorry. We're about to order dinner. Didn't mean to disturb the birdies", he said, laughing at how you were looking at him.

The little guy was really sweet and funny. "Close the door next time". He said louder as he left the bedroom.

You and Steve looked at each other and snorted, laughing at how he reacted to both of you almost having at it on the bed. He rested his forehead on yours before nuzzling your nose, rubbing your chin with one hand.

"We'll catch up later", he said before giving you a wet kiss, leaving the room. He came back right after and stood on the hallway. When you looked at him, he gave you a gentle wink and a smirk before going downstairs.

Nancy just lost her chance to have a gentleman as her boyfriend. She wasn't able to give him the love he should have. And you were there sitting on the bed, thinking how things changes so fast, you were already wishing you would be that person if he'd let you.

[nervousgardenerkid]

I'd do it on his birthday

casually drops a fic after being gone for a fucking lifetime LMAOOOOO 😭😭😭 enjoy part three of Stevie doesn't know🫡i'm still working on some requests so pls be patient with me im so sorry i'm like this😭 credit to the gif owner!!

warnings: unprotected sex, (wrap it before u tap it kids) eddie being a menace, breeding kink cause why not, smoking (cigarettes) mentions of weed, and a lil bit of robin x reader if u squint!! reader uses she/her pronouns and has fem body anatomy

“So basically I guess you could say that I saved Dustin’s life.”

“But you were playing dungeons-”

“YUP! I'm a hero.”

You rolled your eyes as your hand copied down the words that were in the textbook onto your notebook. History was a bitch.

“Hey,” Eddie said while scooting closer to you.

You hum, eyes never leaving your notebook.

“What are you doing tonight?”

Your hand stopped moving as you thought about it.

“I have plans with Robin and Nancy.”

“Ditch them.”

You finally turn to look at Eddie and he swears he can feel his heartbeat out of his chest when he sees the teasing look in your eyes.

“‘M not gonna ditch them Eddie! I haven't seen them in so long, I miss my girls.” you say with a pout.

Eddie smiled as the tips of his fingers danced along the skin of your exposed knee. He silently thanks whatever greater power is out there for making today one of the hottest days of spring Hawkins has ever had.

“C’mon, pretty girl. I miss you so much, haven't seen you since Steve came into the picture.”

You clench your thighs and clear your throat as you quickly start to scribble down more notes. Eddie bites back his chuckle when his hands move up to your thighs. Your cheeks are painted with a pretty pink color as he leans in closer to you.

“So easy to rile up. I haven't done anything and you're already squirming around. It's fun teasing you.”

“You suck,” you whisper while turning your head to face him once more.

He snorts. “You sure about that sweetheart?”

You open your mouth ready to speak out, but the sound of the bell fills your ears as Eddie lets out a groan.

“Later Munson.” you giggle out as you grab your things and leave.

-

“Wait, wait, wait,” Robin said while eating a handful of popcorn. “You're telling me you're with Eddie and Steve?!”

You shake your head ready to clear up any confusion when Nancy cuts in.

“Do they know?”

“I'm not with either of them!” you exclaimed while popping an M&M in your mouth, the movie you put on seemed less interesting now. “I'm just…feeling out the situation.”

Nancy let out a giggle and raised her eyebrows, her expression screaming keep thinking that.

“How about you feel things out with me instead y/n?” Robin said while smirking at you.

You ignored the small blush on your cheeks and threw your candy toward her, cheers coming from all three of you when it bounces off her head and into the bowl of popcorn. A knock on the door floods the room making you get up and fix your pajama shorts and head toward the door.

“Pizza is here ladies- Steve?”

Steve’s lips stretched into a smile as he leaned against the door.

“Hey, uh, I have your pizza.”

You grab the box from his hands, confusion written on your face.

“Thanks, uh…what are you doing here? Not that I mind that you're here! I just- I have company.”

Your cheeks flush when you hear Nancy and Robin giggle at your flustered state. There was something about him that made all confidence leave your body.

“Oh, sorry I didn't know.” he chuckled. “I was just wondering if you were coming to my party tomorrow. It is my birthday after all.”

You smile softly at him and tilt your head a bit.

“Of course, I'll be there. I got you a present and everything.”

Before Steve could open his mouth a low whistle interrupted him.

“Hope it's nothing he can take off sweetheart, that's my job.”

Your body tenses as Eddie leans in and plants a soft kiss on your cheek, you're so caught off guard you don't hear robin choke on popcorn she was still munching on.

“Eddie!” you breathed out. “Eddie and Steve. Steve and Eddie. Fun. How fun is this?!”

You're short-circuiting and everyone within a three-foot radius would be able to tell.

“She's gonna crack,” Nancy said while shaking her head. Robin shushed her and shook her head.

“She's gonna rip them to shreds!”

Nancy furrowed her brows, her eyes never leaving your tense figure as you talked with the men who had you wrapped around their fingers.

Robin sighed, catching on to her friend’s confusion.

“She hasn't been on a date with them in two weeks cause they keep crashing each other’s dates, remember?”

Nancy nods her head still not catching on.

“That means, she hasn't been touched in two weeks. She's a ticking time bomb and they don't even realize it.”

“You're really good at reading her,” Nancy said with a teasing tone. “Any reason why?”

Robin shoves her friend and nods toward you. “I'm giving them three minutes before she explodes.”

You're so lost in your little world that you don't even hear what Nancy and Robin are talking about.

“Sorry to barge in on your girl time,” Eddie said while shoving his hands in his pockets. “I come with a present though, unlike someone.”

“I love presents!” you say with a smile.

Steve scoffs. “I'm the one who gave her the pizza, moron.”

Eddie brushes off Steve's comment and pulls a small brown baggy out of his pocket.

“I remember how stressed you looked while taking notes, thought this could help unwind,” he said while placing the small bag on top of the pizza box that was much cooler now.

“Uh- I, thank you, Eddie. I'll pay you back once I have some cash-”

Eddie waved his hand around causing you to stop.

“Don't worry about it. I can think of another way you could pay me back,” he smirked while hiding behind strands of his hair. “What are you doing tomorrow?”

“She's coming to a party with me.”

“Well-”

Eddie rolls his eyes and turns toward Steve. “Last time I checked, parties usually happen in the evening, which means she's free all day tomorrow.”

Your eyes flicked back and forth between the men in front of you. “I'm sorry, what's happening here?”

Steve speaks up first, his eyes never leaving Eddie. “He's trying to steal you away so you don't come to my party.”

“I wouldn't have to steal her away if you just left us alone on our dates.”

Steve rolled his eyes. “For the last time lovers lake is a common swimming ground-”

“Swimming at midnight?!” Eddie barked out.

“You have your hobbies I have mine-”

“You're a fucking idiot-”

“Enough!” You shouted as your hands gripped the pizza box tightly.

“This,” you said while circling your hand to gesture to the three of you. “Is not fun!”

“I want romance! I want flowers, and I want candy! I want to be swept off of my feet and god damnit- I want to be felt up!”

Silence falls over the three of you while Steve and Eddie rack their brains trying to find the right words to say.

“Nobody is feeling me up!” you shouted, blood boiling when you saw their eyes never left each other's frazzled frame “Nobody is even looking at me!”

Their eyes finally landed on you.

“I'm a fucking senior who tutors on the side and has a job! Do you two know how busy I am?! I told you both that this is a dating situation and I haven't been on a single date!”

Steve spoke up. “But I took you-”

“Do you know how much effort I put into getting ready?! I shave, I pluck, I do my hair, and put on makeup, and- the two of you are still looking at each other!”

They snapped their heads forward facing you again.

Eddie stepped forward. “Y/n-”

“No!” you said firmly while putting your hand in between your bodies.

“I like you both, I really do, and it kills me knowing that I'm going to have to choose only one of you to be with me.”

They both looked down at their feet forgetting that you'll have to break one of their hearts.

“But,” you said, the firmness in your voice returned. “My fantasy is not two men looking at each other!”

Their flustered state returned as they stumbled over their words.

“No! No talking until one of you figures out how to plan a date! I want heat, I want romance, damnit I want to feel like a freaking lady!”

They don't have time to form a coherent thought or sentence because you slam the door in their faces signaling that you're done with them for the night. Silence falls over both of them until Eddie scoffs and nudges Steve with his elbow.

“Way to go, you blew it.”

“Me?! You're the one-”

The door opens and their eyes fall on you once more.

“Thank you for the weed and pizza.” you said before slamming the door once more. You stomp over to the couch, sitting between your two friends as you toss the weed onto the small coffee table and angrily open the pizza box before munching on the now cold food.

“You know,” Nancy said while grabbing a slice of pizza. “That party is going to be something.”

You grunted, your eyes following Robin's hand as she picked off a piece of pepperoni from your pizza.

“Sorry, you guys had to hear that.”

Robin hummed. “I for one am having fun,” she said while munching on the pepperoni. “It was nice seeing you express what you want.”

You snorted. “You just like when I yell at Steve.”

“You got that right babe.”

-

Grumbles leave your lips as your shoes crunch on the bits of gravel that are scattered on Steve's driveway. You mutter out an apology to yet another car you bump into as you struggle to check Steve's gift bag making sure everything was in there.

“How the fuck is he going to claim he's not popular but the block is filled with cars?” you questioned out loud to no one in particular. You shivered when you felt a gust of wind blow by. Although you did wear a sweater, the thin material could only protect you from so much.

“Y/n! Come sit with me!”

Your head whipped around and excitement filled your body as Eddie leaned against the hood of his car. You make your way over to him with a smile.

“Hi, Eddie.”

He smiled at you and grabbed at your hand that was resting at your side.

“Hey sweetheart, aren't you cold?” he asked while looking over your outfit. You shrugged your shoulders.

“I don't plan on staying out here that long.”

Eddie hums and places a cigarette between his lips and places the lighter in the palm of your hand.

“Light me up, baby?”

You swallow and nod your head before you flick on the lighter with shaky hands. He leans in close enough to where the flame lights up his face and when he looks up at you you can see the flame dancing in his eyes. He pulls back with a smirk on his face and blows out a puff of air.

“So,” he starts. “What’d you get Harrington?” he asks while trying to peek inside the bag.

Nervously, you pull the bag behind your back and shrug your shoulders.

“Just a cassette tape he wanted, and some more tapes for his camera.”

Eddie furrows his brows. “Tapes? Steve has a video camera?”

You nod your head and focus on the small rock you're kicking around.

“Yeah, his parents got him one since they aren't here for his birthday.”

He nods his head and clears his throat. “So what did you get him?”

“Huh? Eddie I just told-”

“No, no, no,” he says while hopping off the hood of his van. “Those gifts in the bag are what you got for Steve and his guests. What did you get just for him?”

Your mind goes blank as his hands slip under your sweater and rest on your back. The coolness from his hands causes you to jump closer to his warm body.

“I- uh, th-the tapes…” you stutter trying to find the right words.

Eddie chuckles at your flustered state.

“This pretty little outfit his present? Does he get to unwrap you once he's all alone with you?”

You're dazed and Eddie can tell.

“Poor baby hasn't been touched for weeks and now look at you. Can't even think of a single sentence.” he mutters while tossing his cigarette aside.

“W-what did you get Steve?” you whisper as he leans down peppering kisses over your neck, biting down gently over your pulse. You feel him smirk.

“Don't worry, I got something our sweet little Stevie would love to have.”

-

The house filled with cheers as Steve blew out the birthday candles and took a shot. This was his element, it had to be. The way he was glowing and how alive he looked was enough to make your knees weak.

“Y/n!” he shouted as he opened his arms and wrapped you up in a bone-crushing hug. “You made it!”

You giggled and grabbed the bag that was sitting next to you on the counter. He gasped.

“And you brought me a present!”

“It's not much, just some things you mentioned- Steve are you crying?”

His eyes sparkled as tears began to form and fall down his beautiful face.

“This is the sweetest thing anyone has ever gotten me.”

You let out a nervous chuckle.

“Steve it's just-”

“Seeeeee this is why I like you so much! You're just- you're so sweet…like a peach…or a plum! You're a peach and a plum my darling!”

You don't even have time to respond before he's planting a sloppy kiss on your cheek and being dragged to the nearest drinking game.

“Hey- wait, let go- I’LL COME BACK FOR YOU!!”

A chuckle leaves your lips as you grab into the red solo cup that was resting by your gift. Your face twists into disgust as you lightly shake your head, you forgot Steve tends to buy hard liquor when he has people over.

“I'm sorry y/n, but I can't let people know how much I love the cute fruity drinks.” he would say.

You sigh as you make your way over to Robin who is sitting next to Jonathan and Nancy.

“There you are!” Nancy squealed as she wiggled out of Jonathan’s arms.

You giggled as she fell into you and gave Jonathan and Robin a small wave.

“Yeah,” Robin started. “We thought you wouldn't show up because of the incident.”

“Incident?” Jonathan asked while taking Nancy out of your arms and setting her back in his lap.

“Y/n is seeing Steve…and Eddie. She's living a double life.” Nancy rambled on.

“I'm not living a double life, they're both aware of what's happening.”

Jonathan nodded his head, his eyes were red and a lazy smile rested on his face. “I still don't know what's happening.”

You opened your mouth ready to explain your lover's lore but Robin beat you to it.

“Y/n hasn't had sex in two weeks and is extremely pent up, so she blew up on Steve and Eddie cause they suck.”

You scoff and chug down the small amount of liquor that was left in your cup, your face heating up but you weren't sure if it was because you had eyes on you or because of the liquor.

“I'm not pent up-”

“You are, and it's okay,” Robin said while putting a hand on your shoulder. “I told you I'm here for you! With open arms…and open legs, and an open-”

Nancy spit her drink back into her cup to let out her laugh, which made you giggle.

“Please Buckley, you wouldn't know what to do with me.”

Robin chuckled and sat up while leaning forward a bit.

“Is that a challenge?”

“Yo, Buckley,” a voice said. “Hands off my girl.”

Your head turns to see where the voice came from, your heart pounding out of your chest when you see Eddie making his way over.

“Hi.” you sigh. Your head resting on his thigh when he sits on the armrest of the couch. His hand finds its home on your neck, his rings causing a chill to shoot through you like a lightning strike. His hand moves up your jaw and gently makes you look at him.

“Hi, pretty girl.”

Your insides turn to mush and you swear you hear angels singing the moment he opens up his mouth to greet you. You fight the urge to let out a whine when you feel his thumb rub against your jaw. Before you know it, he's moved you onto his lap and his arms are around your waist. you squirm around trying to get comfortable when you feel his breath on your ear.

“In a little bit, you're gonna go to the restroom okay? I have a surprise for you.”

Yesyesyes, god yes. You nod your head not trusting your voice, and you give yourself thirty seconds before you're stumbling your way toward the restroom upstairs. Once you reach the restroom you lean against the door, your hand gripping the doorknob as excitement courses through your veins.

Fuck, you think to yourself. Pull yourself together. You're not desperate. Oh, but you are desperate. You walk up to the mirror and grip the edges of the sink as you stare at your reflection. Your cheeks are painted in a pretty rosy shade and heat is radiating off of you. You could practically see how needy you were. A knock on the door stops your thoughts.

“Occupied,” you grunted out as you fixed your hair.

The knocking continues.

“Didn't you fucking hear- oh.”

You swing the door open ready to tell off whoever was behind the door but you stop when you see Eddie.

He lets out a low whistle. “You really are pent up.”

A scoff leaves your mouth as you drag him in by the collar of his shirt and push him up against the door.

“Yeah, I am.”

He doesn't have time to process what's happening before your lips are on his and your hands are racing trying to take off his jacket. He pulls away trying to catch his breath, letting out a laugh when your lips chase his.

“Eddie-”

“This is cute, you thinking you're in charge.”

He wraps his arms around you and lifts you to sit on the edge of the sink, the cold porcelain cools your skin. You whine when he pulls away from you to lean against the wall.

“Eddie-”

He shushes you.

You pout and rest your hands on your thighs.

“I wanna get a good look at how pretty you look right now. Matter of fact…how about we say cheese for the camera.”

Your eyes widen when you see him pull out Steve's camera from behind his back. You were so caught up in your needs that you didn't even notice he had the camera with him.

“I haven't filmed anything, but I figured since you and steve took some pictures maybe we can make a little magic.”

“How do you know about…”

He pulls the small polaroid out of his pocket and shows you.

You chuckle dryly.

“You are both something else.”

Eddie took a step forward testing the waters.

“The ball is in your court sweetheart.”

“I can't stand it, really. The constant bickering, the ruined dates. It's getting old fast.”

He stands between your legs now

“Not like the movies?”

“Nothing like the movies.”

He hums. “You could end it all now. Either choose or call it quits. We won't hate you, we knew what we were getting into.”

You were selfish, and you hated that you were. Even though the bickering did bother you, and you hated how they each ruined countless dates you didn't want it to end. Not yet at least, and that made you feel selfish. How often could a woman say she had two men fight for her? Not a lot, so you said fuck it. Fuck the selfish feeling cause you deserve this.

“You talk too much.”

-

By now the party has died down a bit and Steve is long gone. Jonathan and Robin drag his half-asleep body up the stairs trying to find his room.

“Where are we going?” Steve slurred out.

“Your bed.” Robin grunted. “Are you doing anything, Jonathan?”

“Do you hear something?” Jonathan mumbled while looking behind him.

“Yeah, I hear me doing all the hard work here.”

“You're both good friends. Great friends. Friends, friends, friends.” Steve said.

Robin rolled her eyes. “How the fuck did I end up on babysitting duty?”

“Yo, seriously. Does anyone hear that noise?!”

-

You died. You had to be dead and in heaven because you have never felt so good in your entire life. You had one leg propped up on the sink and the other was wrapped around Eddie's waist making sure he wouldn't be too far from you.

“F-fuck, holy shit,” Eddie chuckled breathlessly. “You look so fucking good like this,” he whispered while slowing his thrusts down.

“So. Fucking. Pretty.”

Each word made his hips meet yours. Your eyes roll to the back of your head and you let out a moan. Eddie is quick to shush you.

“Careful pretty girl, you'll spoil the surprise for Steve.”

Oh, right, the surprise. You almost forgot all about the camera that Eddie was holding in his shaky hands. Almost.

“C'mon baby, say hi to Steve for me,” he grunted out.

You open your mouth ready to tell him to put down the camera that way he can give you all his attention but you don't. Instead, your jaw drops, and your eyes roll to the back of your head when you feel Eddie angle his hips a bit.

“There it is.” he chuckled.

You don't even bother trying to keep quiet anymore. Moans and curses are spilling from your mouth as one hand grips the edge sink while the other flies behind Eddie's neck.

You moan against his lips when you finally feel his hands on your body, the camera long gone now.

“Who's fucking you this good baby?”

“Y-you- fuck, you are Eddie!”

A quiet fuck falls from his lips when your legs wrap around him trapping him between your legs.

“So fucking good for me, f-fuck. S-so fucking good.” Eddie mentally kicks himself for not having a better vocabulary but there's no other word to describe how he feels right now. His thrusts start to get sloppy and his hands are gripping your thighs, trying to pry them open.

“L-let me go baby-”

You shake your head and try to bring him closer to you. This isn't enough, you want to melt into him.

“S-shit- cum in me Eddie, please.”

He groans loudly and pulls away from you a bit. You open your eyes and clench at the sight in front of you. His curls are sticking to his forehead and his chest is covered in pretty little shades of purple, some of them over his tattoo.

“Yeah?” he moaned out. “Want me to cum in you?”

You gasp when he starts to speed up again.

“Fuck, you're gonna be so full of me. Gonna have me dripping down your thighs while you walk out of Steve's house.”

A moan leaves your soft lips at the thought of Eddie cumming in you once again.

“You like that baby? Like when I cum inside you and make you mine?”

You nod your head, the knot in your abdomen getting tighter and tighter with each thrust of his hips. Eddie’s hand falls to your clit, his thumb rubbing in a quick side-to-side motion, a lopsided grin appeared on his face when he heard you moan louder.

“‘M close Eddie!”

“I know baby- fuck, gonna come around my cock? Hm?”

You nod your head frantically.

“Please, please, please Eddie! Please let me cum.”

His lips crash into yours, swallowing your moans when the knot finally breaks, and you get drowned in waves of pleasure. A groan leaves his lips as his hips press into you with one final thrust.

Finally, silence falls over you both, the only noise that fills the room is the both of you trying to catch your breaths and the soft electrical hum from the lights above you.

“Thank you,” you whimper out, your arms wrapping around his shoulders as you kiss him again. “Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

Eddie chuckles, his lips melting with yours and his hands hold your face while his thumbs gently stroke the skin of your cheeks.

“We should probably get you cleaned up,” he whispers against your lips. You whine at the empty feeling as he slowly pulls out. His teeth bite into his bottom lip as he watches a mixture of you and him slowly leave your body. His mind is on autopilot as he reaches for the camera with one hand, his eyes never leaving you. A gasp falls from your lips when you feel two fingers slip back inside of you.

“Steve is an idiot if he thinks I'm not putting up a fight for you,” he mumbles to himself. He smiles at you and angles the camera toward your face. “Say hi to him baby.”

-

Steve lets out a groan, his hands flying to his pounding head as he squints his eyes trying to block out the sunlight that shines through the curtains.

“Fucking sun, all bright and shit.” he slurs, slowly sitting up in his bed making sure not to make himself feel even worse than he does. He rubs the sleep out of his eyes as he racks his brain trying to remember snippets from the night before. The last thing he remembers is taking a couple of shots with Robin, then his mind goes blank. Another groan slips past his lips but it cuts short when his eyes fall on the tape that was resting on his pillow.

He picks up the tape, turning it over trying to see if he could find anything written on it, but his eyes widen when he realizes the tape is for his new camera.

“Jesus Christ Steve, what did you do last night?”

Steve plops back down onto his pillow, and a small hum of curiosity fills the room when he sees a note peeking out from the pillow next to him.

To: Steve

Happy birthday. I thought you'd enjoy this :)

Eddie (and y/n)

Suddenly it all clicks into place. Steve stumbles out of his bed, tripping over red solo cups and the occasional bag of chips people left behind for him to clean up. He can't even be upset about it as he fumbles around with the tape, putting it in the player and turning on the tv. His eyes widen when your moans flood the living room and Eddie’s hand wrapped around your throat comes into the frame.

Eddie’s dirty talk goes in one ear and out the other, it's all too much for Steve. He quickly takes the tape out of the player and lets out a dry chuckle while shaking his head. He knew Eddie would put up a fight, he knew how much Eddie liked you but he liked you more. All he had to do was show you and Eddie Munson who the better fit was, and that won't be too hard for a charming guy like Steve. All he needed was a plan and a perfect moment to execute said plan.

“Where the hell am I?” a voice slurred out from behind the couch.

“Jonathan why are you still in my house?”

taglist <3

@lilliarussell @strangerthingsstories5255 @nanainwonderland @aloneatpeace @eddiessweetheart86 @bibieddiesgf @cityofidek @ajkamins @cutiecusp @sl-tfor-joseph-quinn @tayhar811

[jaozendry]

"It's in the past, it's all over."

Pairing: Jason Todd (Red Hood) x GN!Reader

Type: Fluff

Warnings: swearing, death, torture, trauma

Summary: You try to comfort Jason as he is having nightmares of his past trauma. Jason, as stubborn as ever, won't open up to anyone, not even you, his lover. This same cycle has been repeating since he came back to life. You tried everything, even therapy, and on this one night, you decide enough is enough: he needs to let his anger and sadness out and talk about it.

______________________________________________________________

It's 2 AM, you can't sleep because you hear screaming from the other room: It's Jason. He's having nightmares again. "...Bruce!... I'm here!... Please save me... Please... someone!"

"No... get away from me you son of a bitch!... Bruce is gonna get here... I know it!... No please... Get the fuck away!..."

The same cycle has been repeating every night ever since you moved out with him. You know of his past as Robin, his death and of the time he adopted the Red Hood persona, so you don't blame him. You tried the whole therapy process to make him talk about it; it ended up being a waste of money. Jason has always been the type of person to keep everything to himself, even his feelings. He won't even share his feelings to you: his lover. It took him forever for him to say "I love you" back. Even if you knew he did love you deep down, you always wanted to hear him say it out loud.

Even though it's two in the morning and you have work in a few hours, you decide to go comfort him. A cup of coffee will solve everything; what's more important to you is comforting Jason.

"Hey, Jason? It's me." you say as you knock the door to his room. No response. You decide to open up the door and see Jason cuddled up in his bed, whispering for help. As much as you think this is a bad idea, you decide to wake him up. While you run your hand through his curly hair carefully, he suddenly wakes up and grabs your arm very tightly, fury in his eyes. You try to break free, but he's got your arm firmly with a dead pan expression on his face.

"Oh, it's just you." he sighs, realizing who he was holding. He lets go of your arm, gently touching it, fearful that he might’ve hurt you.

As he stands up from his bed, you sit next to him while caressing his back, concerned. You look at him, almost accusing him as he stares the floor.

"What is it? Talk to me." you sigh.

"I told you, it's nothing. Nothing of importance." he replies.

"And I told you that it is something if you scream your lungs out every night." you say while holding his hand. "When will you talk about it?" He doesn't respond. You decide to lean your head on his shoulder.

"I know it's about your death." you sigh as he immediately moves away from you. You continue: "I hear you begging for your life and hoping Bruce will come to save you. Every. Night. You have to talk about it. It'll get better, I promise. The Joker can't hurt you now, he's dead. It's all in the past, you know that, right?" He looks at you with teary eyes, on the verge of bursting into tears. You wipe them away and hug him.

"Talk to me, Jay. You helped me go through some tough shit while you were Robin, I want to return the favor while you're Red Hood."

He sighs and starts explaining: "I just... can't get it out of my head... him laughing while beating the living shit out of me... me hoping Bruce would come and save me... and Crane- all his manipulations killed my soul- and Hank- it was my fault! It's my fault he's dead! I-" You notice as his voice starts breaking and he starts freaking out. You interrupt him by grabbing his face softly.

"Jason, it's just me. You're okay. The Joker's dead, Crane is in prison. It's just me and you. Nobody else."

He continues with his explanation, calmed down: "The Titans will never forgive me for killing Hank, will they? I mean, why would they? They didn't even care when I died so why would they forgive me for killing one of their loved ones? They all hated me." he goes on, staring at the ceiling.

"You don't need their forgiveness. What did I tell you? It's just me and you." you answer while caressing his shoulder.

Felling somewhat better, he looks back at you with a smirk: "And you're all I need." he says in a seductive tone before reaching for a kiss. You engage back and both of you go on for a few seconds.

"I love you, Y/N. Thank you... so much." he says softly.

"You're welcome, Jay. Love you too." you add as you stand up.

"Alright, since the idea of sleeping is out of the question for the both of us, what if I went to go get some pizza and we watched movies until morning?" you ask with a smirk. He nods at you while changing his stance to a very attractive one while smiling. You kiss his forehead and leave the room.

______________________________________________________________

The two of you, as lovey-dovey as ever, watch a bunch of his favorite movies all night like you proposed. You eventually fall asleep on his shoulder while he continues watching the movie, holding your hand. He later tells you that this was the best night he's ever had in a while. You realize he has really started to warm up to you now and even started talking to you about his problems.

"Thank you, Y/N. For everything."

[perfectlywrongformend3s]

Phone Call-Steve Harrington

A/n: So I decided to put two things together. I put scream and Stranger Things together. I just thought it would make a good one-shot so please enjoy.

-Samantha 

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

Your POV

We were all in Max's trailer trying to come up with a plan to kill Vecna. I was standing by the phone with Max next to me. 

" So, how are we supposed to take him down?" I questioned 

" I was thinking we could all go in groups so some go to the upside down while the other half go to the Creel house." Nancy stated to us

" So who's going where?" Robin questioned 

Before anyone could answer, the phone rang, making me turn to answer. " Hello?" I questioned 

" Do you like scary movies?" they asked 

" Who is this?" I was confused with the questions they randomly asked. 

They responded back with, " Tell me your name, I'll tell you mine." 

I immediately responded with, " I don't think so." I hung up the phone. I then took a deep breath. " Who was that?" Steve questioned 

I turned around to face the group. I shrugged, " I don't know if some guy asked me if I liked scary movies." I explained 

" Well, that's not creepy?" Max said next to me

" Yea..." before I could get anything else out the phone rang again. 

" Is he calling again?" Dustin questioned 

I groaned and mumbled. " He better not." 

I picked the phone up and said. " Listen asshole..." Only to get interrupted 

" No, you listen here you little bitch. You hang up on me again and I'll cut you like a fish understand." I felt a huge chill go through my whole body. I dropped the phone making Max pick it up and put it back on the wall. 

" Did he just say that?" Nancy said 

Steve's POV

I kept my eyes on Y/n cause she looked pale after what he said on the phone. I stood up and walked over to her slowly. Once I reached her I put a gentle hand on her shoulder. " Are you doing okay?" I quietly said 

She shook her head. " I just got threatened by someone." She mumbled 

Which made me pull her into me. " Hey, we're going to figure this out." I reassured her

I glanced at the rest of the group hoping they knew what to do. " How about we track the number?" Robin questioned 

" We would if we knew the number." Dustin stated 

They all let out a sigh of defeat. I slightly glared at them and pointed to the shaking friend." Guys were going to find out who it is." I said hoping it was cheerful enough

I kept trying to calm Y/n down which was slowly working. " We're going to catch who did this. Okay don't worry." I whispered to her. 

She nodded and pulled away, but stayed close to my side. 

" So what's the plan?" Nancy questioned 

" Well, we could always wait for another call and see if we can track the number." Robin once again suggested 

" What if this person doesn't call right away." Max asked 

I was about to say something, but there was a knock on the door. " Who's that?" Robin mouthed 

Which only made me shrug my shoulders. I let go of Y/n/n and walked over to the door. I went to open it, but got stopped by someone grabbing my arm. I turned to find Y/n looking terrified. " What if it's him?" She whispers with a shaky tone. I never thought about that. " Well if it is, we're sitting ducks right now." Eddie said which was a fact. 

I backed away from the door. " Well we can't stay in here even if it is a random person pranking her." I said 

Your POV

I moved over to the couch next to Nancy and Eddie. I didn't want to tell them how much I was panicking, but I am. I kept asking myself if I was going to die. I mean I'm only eighteen, which is way too young to stop living. I was terrified, I snapped back to reality by Nancy and Eddie trying to get my attention. 

" Hey Y/n/n...you okay?" Nancy questioned 

" What..." I questioned and paused some before saying, " Yea, I'm fine. Don't worry." I said softly 

Dustin came over to me. " It's okay if you're not okay...you know that right." He calmly said 

I bit my bottom lip a little. " I'm just scared, what if it's not some prank and I actually get..." I got interrupted 

" Don't say that, okay. We're going to keep you safe. I'll keep you safe." Steve said 

I was fiddling with my fingers while listening to Steve. I saw Dustin's hand grab my right while Nancy took my left. Steve then squatted down in front of me putting his hands on my knees. 

" We're all right here, Y/n/n." Robin softly said 

I looked around at everyone in the small trailer we were in. I jumped a little when there was another knock. I felt Steve slowly rub reassuring circles on my knee. 

" Nobody moves a muscle." Steve whispered 

It happened again, making us all go quiet. It didn't stop. " Maybe we should see who it is?" Erica whispered finally speaking 

" What if it's the person from the phone?" Max questioned 

" Who is it?" Dustin asked

Which made Steve and Eddie scold him. " That's how people die in horror movies." Eddie whispered 

Before any of us could say something the person at the door spoke. " It's Lucas..." they said 

We all stayed quiet. " Dustin, Max, Erica. I know you guys are inside." he said 

Dustin motioned for Max to look out the window. She walked over slowly, then peeked around the corner. " It's him." she said, walking over to the door to pull it open. " Wait Max, make sure it's actually him." Dustin said 

She thought, but got stopped before she could say something. " What happened at the Mall last summer?" Erica said 

" We were fighting the Mind Flyer." he said 

Everyone let out a sigh of relief which made Max open the door. " I'm so sorry, Y/n/n." he immediately said after walking in. 

" What do you mean by that, Sinclair?" Steve said with a protective tone

Lucas put his hands up...

" Steve, it wasn't me. Believe me, it was one of the guys on the basketball team." 

" Well, that's not cool man. Tell your friends to shut it down." Steve warned 

Lucas sighed, " They weren't actually going to do anything. They just wanted to scare her plus they saw it in a movie." He explained 

Steve let out a breath of relief and rubbed my knees. " You doing okay now, Y/n." 

I smiled and nodded, " Still a little shaken, but knowing everything was a prank I'm doing better," 

He gave me a gentle smile. " Good, so back to the plan, people." He ordered while sticking close to me now, not that I minded. 

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

I don't know about this one, I hope it made sense, cause to me it does but not sure. Let me know how you guys like this one. Also feel free to request anything, I'll be happy to write for you. 

again enjoy...

-Samantha

[steddiealltheway]

The last time Dustin was here it felt... different.

The panic and pain had seeped through his bones as he had left this place months ago. The early stages of grieving hadn't even hit him yet; he was more in a state of shock than denial.

Strangely enough, it was Nancy who had gotten through to him and got Eddie's body out of his grip. Something about Barb and the deep level of understanding had almost poetically fallen from her slightly quivering lips as Eddie was pulled away from him.

Dustin watched wordlessly as Steve struggled to pick up the limp body. "What- what are you doing?" Robin stuttered out in obvious panic.

"We can't just leave him here like this," Steve said as he walked back toward the half-destroyed trailer.

Dustin stared on as Eddie's head lifelessly rolled back with every step Steve took. "Come on," Nancy said gripping Dustin's shoulder tightly and moving his attention away from the sight.

Dustin doesn't remember much after that. He just knew that he never wanted to come back unless it was to kill the son of a bitch that did this to Eddie.

And here he is.

But this time he notes how cold it feels. How the air is thick. The world itself is muted and dull. But that's how it felt everywhere since Eddie was gone. People had told him the grieving got better, but to Dustin, it never seems to go away.

By now he has reached the acceptance stage in the grieving process. He knew Eddie was never coming back. But that didn't mean it didn't hurt like hell.

There's a sound coming from the trailer. A rustling sort of noise that almost reminds Dustin of Dart.

He isn't prepared for the door to swing open.

"Henderson?" Eddie's voice calls out weakly.

Dustin freezes. It had been months since he had heard that voice. He had cried for days when he noticed that he was slowly losing the exact memory of what it sounded like. And here it is.

"Eddie?" Dustin croaks out.

Slowly, Eddie walks out of the trailer and towards Dustin.

"Stay back!" Dustin yells. He knows Vecna. He knows what he does to people. He knows how he gets into people's minds and can pretend to be other people.

And he knows Eddie is dead. He had died in his arms.

"Dustin..." Eddie says carefully, "It's me, kid. I swear on your mother. Remember the boat house?"

Dustin knows exactly what he's talking about. He feels like he's having an almost out-of-body experience as Eddie approaches him the same way he did to Eddie. But Vecna knows this. He knows Dustin's memories. Hell, he probably knows Eddie's memories.

"I know, Henderson. I know how insane this is. Just yesterday I died. I remember dying. And suddenly I woke up in my bed with my arms crossed over my chest as if everything was all some sort of shitty nightmare, but I'm still in this damn place. I'm freaking out, man," Eddie's voice cracks as his eyes get slightly watery. Don't bullshit me, man. I know how this sounds.

Dustin can't tell what's real anymore. Everything sounds like an echo of a memory, but it seems so real. He feels like he's walking right into the arms of Vecna.

A wave of numbness washes over him. "I mourned you. You're not real."

"Dustin-"

"You're not real!" Dustin yells. "You died. You're dead." His voice slightly breaks although he's already had this conversation at Eddie's grave. It's different when talking to a stone.

"Dustin-"

"Don't! I have grieved you. I have mourned. I have finally tried to go on knowing you would never come back."

Eddie gets closer as Dustin goes on. "It's not fair, man. Why'd you have to go back? Why did you have to sacrifice yourself? You could've made it and graduated. And you have no idea what it was like to tell your uncle. Trying to bullshit about an earthquake and pretending that you didn't die because of me."

"You didn't kill me-"

"But I did!" Dustin screams, feeling beyond hysterical now, but he doesn't care. If this is Vecna's way of draining him before the final fight, then he'll give it his all. "I went through with the stupid plan, and I couldn't convince you to stay. Why didn't you go up the rope first? Why didn't I climb through the portal sooner? Why did I drag you into this whole thing to begin with? We could've hidden you in Steve's damn basement and cleared your name. We could have taken longer and come up with a different plan. Now you're dead, Max is close to dead, and Vecna is still here. Your sacrifice didn't even matter, Eddie."

It's brutal to say it and face the truth, but he knows he's right. "You died for nothing," Dustin chokes out. "There, Vecna! Did you get what you wanted?!"

"Dustin!" Eddie says again.

Dustin shakes his head. "What."

"I'm real, man. I'm real and alive. And I honestly feel like a fucking..." Eddie trails off and lets out a little shout before putting his head in his hands and squatting down. He laughs humorlessly, "It's like by not running, I ran away again. Don't have to deal with the consequences when I die, right? Shit!"

Dustin watches as Eddie's mind seems to race a mile a minute. There are scars where the bat bites must've healed, but it makes no sense. Why would Vecna pretend that Eddie just woke up? And there's something so fundamentally Eddie about him that Dustin has to wonder if he...

"How long have I been... gone?" Eddie gestures to the half-destroyed trailer. "And when the hell did that happen? You said Max isn't dead."

"Max died, but El brought her back, and you've been gone for months now," Dustin answers feeling the familiar numbness come back. It's been easier to tell the facts in recent months since it comes out more like a story that he's completely detached from.

Eddie looks around and asks, "Where's everyone else?"

"Split up."

"Is anyone... dead?"

"Just you."

Eddie nods and slowly stands up. "Wayne... is he. Is he okay?"

"He hasn't been okay since I broke the news to him." Dustin huffs and looks around. "I know I shouldn't have chosen this place, but I just... I had to make sure your body was... was properly laid to rest."

"Dustin, what if I'm not dead? Seriously, man, I'm starting to think that maybe I'm a zombie or a vampire or something, but I can feel my heartbeat." He puts his hand over his heart and approaches Dustin. "Feel."

Dustin hesitates a moment before slowly reaching out. It's strange to think, but it's almost like instead of seeing, feeling is believing.

He doesn't want to do it. He doesn't want to feel how cold he is, a reminder of how lifeless his body felt before. He doesn't want him to fade away and wake up from whatever dream or trance he's in. He doesn't want him to be not real.

So, Dustin finally puts his hand over Eddie's heart.

And it's beating.

Dustin can barely comprehend it, but then he's throwing himself into Eddie's arms and holding on for dear life. "I thought I lost you, man."

"I did, too," Eddie chokes out as he squeezes Dustin.

Dustin pulls back quickly and hits him on the arm. "I can't believe you fucking died, you asshole! Do you know how fucking hard it's been? Why didn't you fucking run with me? Why did you..." Dustin breaks again and throws himself back into Eddie's arms too confused and scared to let him go.

"I'm so sorry, Dustin. Shit, I'm so sorry," Eddie says.

"You fucking better be," Dustin chokes out. He swallows and tries to get his breathing under control. "I love you, man."

"I love you, too, kid," Eddie responds through tears.

Dustin doesn't care if it's Vecna or not. He'd do anything to just have Eddie in his life for a few seconds longer. But maybe he'll be staying longer than that.

(Thank you @henderdads and @stevesbipanic for encouraging me to write this little drabble :))) <3 )