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rindecision · 2 years ago

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Chapter 21: Barracks - The Devil of Hawkins Fanfiction

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Eddie rushed out of Tommy’s front door and hid to the side of it, waiting. As soon as Steve stepped out of the doorway Eddie scooped him into his arms and dodged the baseball bat flying at his face.

In a panic, Steve punched Eddie in the chest. “What the hell, man?” he shouted.

Eddie laughed and leaned his face close to Steve's, “I just wanted to scare you.”

“You nearly gave me a goddamn heart attack.” Steve shrugged Eddie's face away, trying to get him to set him down.

“Then, goal achieved,” he teased. “And I told you, you’re safe here with me around.”

“Yeah, that’s not something I’m putting all my faith in.”

Eddie held Steve tighter, moving his face close to Steve's again. “Still don’t trust me?”

Steve glanced around the wasteland. “I don’t trust this place, even if you say you’re in control of it.”

Eddie shrugged. “That’s fair,” and gave Steve a quick kiss on the neck getting a full body tense, and making him drop his bat.

“You can let me down now,” Steve said, pushing on Eddie’s chest.

“I don’t wanna.” His grip on Steve tightened.

“I’ll just snag Tommy’s bike.” He continued to try to get out of Eddie’s arms.

“Aw,” Eddie complained. “But I like carrying you.”

“I can fucking tell,” he grunted.

Eddie pouted and released the arm that was holding his legs, letting them fall while keeping hold of his torso. Steve reflexively grabbed onto his neck. Eddie placed an arm under Steve’s ass, keeping his feet from touching the ground and slid his hands down to Steve’s thighs, lifting them above his hips. “How about this?”

“No,” Steve said firmly, uncomfortable with how comfortable he was with their bodies being so close.

“Fine,” Eddie said defeated. He grazed his hands up Steve’s thighs until he had a handful of each ass cheek and bit his lip while giving them a firm squeeze.

Steve tensed, pushing their chests together. “Let me down!” he demanded, trying to pry Eddie’s hands off of his ass.

Eddie enjoyed Steve struggling against him and wanted to enjoy it just a little longer. “No,” he said as he turned and pressed Steve’s back against the wall beside the doorway, getting a grunt from him.

Steve looked into Eddie’s black eyes, trying not to show that he liked this position. “I- I thought you had to be somewhere?”

“I do, but I can spare a little time to enjoy you.” He leaned forward and was surprised that Steve met him halfway, tongue ready. When their lips locked, he felt Steve tighten his hold around his neck. Eddie took the opportunity to get another firm squeeze of Steve’s supple ass. He felt like he was starting to lose his resolve to the passion and forced himself to stop. He leaned away from the kiss, lightly panting. “We really should get going, though.” Steve’s pink tinted cheeks and large brown eyes, made him nearly regret those words.

Steve closed his eyes and took a composing breath. “Then let me down.”

“Yeah.” Eddie stepped away from the wall and let Steve’s legs drop, so his feet were on the ground.

“Thanks,” Steve looked over Eddie’s bare chest. “Where’s your vest?”

“Oh, shit.” He looked down at his naked chest. “I left it in the room, I’ll be right back. Go grab that bike, if you really want it.”

Steve nodded and cautiously walked around the back of the house. Being alone in this creepy place made his skin crawl. He found Tommy’s old bike laying on the back porch. He took a deep breath and walked across the open yard, avoiding the vines as he went. Finally, he made it to the porch and got a look at the bike, vines were covering it. Shit. He looked around, and saw no signs of any beasts, or any movement whatsoever. With a swallow, he gently tugged at the bike tire, his hand slipped and scrapped over the rough tire, hissing as the cut on his hand reopened. He looked down at his palm, blood had began to bead on it again. The shifting of the vines moving off of the bike caught Steve's attention. The bike came free as the vines slithered away, and he was able to begin walking it off the porch, pleased there was no other signs of movement. He walked around the corner of the house and his blood ran cold as he was staring at a large demodog. Fuck. He didn’t know what do to, and he’d left his bat by the front door.

The beast crouched and made a wet purring sound. Steve tried not to move, hoping the thing wouldn’t notice him. At least it’s alone. I might be able to handle one. It took a step closer to Steve, it’s face petals shivering as it cooed. Two more walked around a neighboring house and stood behind the first one. Shit! Eddie, where are you? He needed a way out, so he carefully looked behind him, only to see two more dogs creeping up on him. When he turned his attention back to the three in front of him, they had crept closer. The closest one, opened its face and roared at him, startling the bike out of Steve's hand. Its roar was cut short, as a window on the top story of Tommy’s house exploded. The dogs ran off and Eddie landed on all fours, vest on, with glass showering around him. He looked over at Steve in a panic. Before Steve could fully process what happened, Eddie was already in front of him looking him over.

“Are you okay?” he asked frantically.

“Yeah.” He looked around and couldn’t see any more dogs, or vines for that matter. “I think so.”

“I’m so sorry.” Eddie looked at him with wild eyes, cupping his face briefly before feeling over his shoulders. “I never should have left you.” He gripped Steve tightly in a hug.

“It’s cool,” he said, tapping Eddie on the back awkwardly.

“No it’s not.” He held him tighter. “You could’ve been hurt.”

Steve sighed and leaned into the hug, it did calm him. “You showed up in time, so nothing happened.”

“You sure you’re okay?” Eddie pulled away and held Steve’s shoulders at arm’s length.

“I’m fine,” he stressed. He noticed a cut on Eddie’s cheek, unnaturally dark blood threatening to drip from it. “You’re the one that’s hurt.”

Eddie furrowed his brow and tapped where Steve was looking. He glanced at the blood on his fingers. “That’s nothing, chances are that’ll be mostly healed before we even get back to the cabin.”

Steve looked at Eddie with concern, wiping bits of glass out of his hair and off his vest. He had a few more shallow cuts on his arms and chest. “Jeez, you’re covered in cuts.” He cringed as he saw a fairly large piece of glass sticking out of Eddie's bicep. "Oh my god," Steve said quietly as he pulled the glass out of his arm, dark blood streaking the shard.

Eddie hissed at the feeling. "Thanks." He rolled the shoulder, a thin trail of blood ran down his arm from the wound. “Honestly, I can barely even feel them.” Eddie ran his thumb over Steve’s cheek, he kind of liked being worried ove. “If you want, I can bring you back to the cabin and do the rest of this by myself.”

Steve shook his head. “It’s fine,” he reassured, wiping some of the blood off of Eddie's arm. “Sure, it was scary, but it’s not the first time I was face to face with a pack of those things.”

Eddie gave him another strong hug. “And you’re sure you don’t want me to carry you? It’ll be safer.”

“I’ll bike.” Steve leaned out of the hug.

Eddie sighed with worry. “Fine,” he resigned.

“Just keep them off my back, okay?” Steve smiled.

“I will.” Eddie paused and looked like he was in deep thought. “I can tell you right now, there aren’t any beasts within a quarter mile anymore.” His eyes settled back on Steve.

Steve laughed weakly. “You really sent them running didn’t you?”

“They almost hurt my babygirl, so-”

“Eddie...” Steve interrupted. “Never call me that again,” he said sternly.

Eddie chuckled at Steve’s serious reaction. “I’m just playing, you know you’re my princess,” he said with a big grin.

Steve’s jaw dropped in offense, he tried to stop himself from laughing. “No,” he laughed.

Eddie’s smile widened. “If you don’t like it why are you smiling?”

“Because you’re ridiculous.” He punched Eddie in the chest, he barely reacted.

“How about, my big boy?” He gripped Steve’s hips.

“How about, no?” Steve raised his eyebrows.

“What about-”

“Can we just go?” Steve cut him off and took Eddie’s hands off of his hips.

“Sure, whatever you say, honey.”

“Nope,” Steve snapped.

Eddie laughed as he watched Steve get on the bike.

Steve looked back at Eddie. “I don’t know where we’re going.”

With a wide smile Eddie walked up next to Steve and pointed down the road. “I have to make a quick pit stop downtown before we head to the main target.”

“Lead the way.” Steve pressed on the pedals and began moving in the direction Eddie pointed.

“This way, baby.” he ran past Steve, trying to maintain a speed Steve could reach on the bike.

“No,” Steve called after him. “I hope wherever we’re going, there’s something for me to rinse my mouth out with. I need to get rid of the flavor of your cum.”

Eddie swooned at Steve’s crude validating words. “Fuck, that’s hot,” he exclaimed with a laugh as he ran, making sure any remaining vines parted out of the way before Steve’s wheel hit them. He guided him to a seedy part of the downtown district. Steve looked around as Eddie slowed down and stopped in front of a place called, ‘Purest Pleasure’, a sex shop.

“What are we doing here?” Steve contorted his face in confusion.

“I just need to grab a couple things, c’mon.” Eddie walked toward the front door, and waited for Steve to get off his bike and walk up. He let Steve enter first. “I’ll only be a second, grab anything you want, man.” Eddie walked up to the counter and leaped over it, rooting through the drawers and shelves. “Hey, sweetie.” he called out to Steve.

“Definitely not.”

Eddie laughed quietly at Steve’s reaction. “Catch.” He tossed a bottle of water at Steve, who watched it fly past him well out of his reach. “Something to wash me down with.” Eddie smirked as Steve picked up the clear plastic bottle.

“Is it safe?” Steve stood and looked at it.

“I’ve found that anything with a water tight seal is safe.” He paused to think. “At least so far.” He shrugged.

“Reassuring,” he said sarcastically as he cracked the seal on the bottle. He’d already inhaled so much of that weird particle crap, how could the water be any worse? The water tasted fine, and it did help clear the bitter flavor from the back of his throat. “What on earth are you getting here anyway?” He said more casually than Eddie expected.

“You’ll see later, Stevie.” Eddie grabbed a large black shopping bag and continued sifting through the stuff behind the counter.

“Ugh, no.” Steve cringed. “Tommy used to call me that.” He waved the open water bottle at Eddie before he took another drink. “And there you go with your secrets again.”

“Surprises, pumpkin,” Eddie corrected.

“What’s the difference between a secret and a surprise anyway?” Steve groaned. “And can you please stop trying to give me a pet name?”

“Well you see, sweet cakes,” Eddie started.

“Please stop.”

Eddie continued as if he wasn’t interrupted, “a secret, you have no intent on ever telling anyone, but a surprise, you just time the big reveal.” He looked up at Steve with a big smile. “For the best reaction.” He dramatically tossed something small into the bag. He turned his attention back to scrounging. “Why don’t you look around while you wait?”

Steve was suddenly aware that he was staring at Eddie’s ass. “Uh, sure.” He turned away from the counter and looked around the shop.

Eddie leaned on the counter and watched Steve walk around. He was surprised that he didn't put up more of a fuss about being in a sex shop with a guy. He smiled and returned to looking what he came for.

Steve had been in the shop once or twice, but it was mainly for the chicks he was with. He would just let them pick out whatever, he never really browsed himself. Being inside a building made him feel a little more secure as he wandered the aisles of sex supplies. He finished off the water and toss the empty bottle aimlessly over the shelving. Eddie continued to keep half an eye on Steve as he searched the drawers and shelves behind the counter.

Most of the store’s contents confused Steve. From oversized dildos and butt plugs, to strange contraptions he couldn’t, for the life of him, figure out how they worked. What could that freak want from here? He walked down an aisle lined with electronic toys like vibrators and things that were meant to shock you. He winced as he looked at a chain with nipple clamps on it, his chest hurt just thinking about it. The back end of the isle was full of various leather strappings and restraints. He ran his hand through the dusty tassels of a flogger. The soft leather felt nice running over his skin.

On a shelf next to it was a series of ball-gags. Steve vaguely cringed, mainly thinking of the drool it would cause. A strange leather harness caught his eye, he lifted it up and couldn’t figure out how it was supposed to go. It had a long central adjustable leather strap and three collars. One collar was larger than the two on the other end. He spun it around as he looked at it.

“That’d look hot on you, Precious,” Eddie said as he walked down the aisle with a wide smirk.

Steve fumbled with the harness in shock and let it fall to the ground. “W- what?”

Eddie walked up to him and bit his lip as he picked up the harness. “Do you even know what this is?”

“No.” He squinted. “Do you?” Steve looked at Eddie and the harness in his hand. The black leather looked good next to him.

“Yeah.” Eddie nodded with a grin. He licked his lips and stepped closer to Steve. “What me to show you how it works?”

Steve swallowed, uncertain how to feel about the situation and was concerned that he wasn’t more concerned. He knew whatever that thing was, it had to be a restraint and the thought of that both thrilled and scared him, but mainly scared him. “Uh, I think I’ll pass,” he said slowly as he took a step back.

Eddie’s smile widened, “I think I’ma keep it.” He tucked it in a plastic shopping bag he had over his arm that was already fairly full.

Steve shot him a worried glance, “Eddie, I don’t-”

“Don’t worry, Doll” he reassured. “I won’t use it on you if you don’t want me to.” He leaned his face next to Steve’s ear and whispered, “but maybe you can use it on me?” When he leaned back, he saw Steve’s face flushed in embarrassment. He tried to fight it, but ended up snorting a laugh at his face.

Steve looked at him, offended. “Maybe I should get one of those,” he pointed at the ball-gags, “to shut you up for once. And for the love of god, stop with the pet names.”

That only made Eddie laugh harder. “You’d look so much better than me wearing a gag.”

“Don’t even think about it,” Steve warned.

Eddie squinted at Steve and smirked. "I expected you to be a lot more freaked out by being in a sex shop, especially with another man."

"If it was in public, I'd be a little more freaked out about going here with a guy, but why would being in a sex shop bother me?"

"You just come off as so vanilla."

"What?" Steve furrowed his brow at Eddie.

"Plain, no spice, no kink, basic," Eddie explained in quick succession.

Steve was offended by being called plain and basic. "I am not plain."

"Looks wise, absolutely not." Eddie took the bag off his arm and hung it on one of the empty shelf hooks. "But kink wise, definitely." He smirked and ran his hands down Steve's built arms. "I mean, have you ever been in here before?"

"Yes," Steve said firmly.

Eddie licked his lips. "And what did you get?" He stroked his fingers delicately over the back of Steve's arms.

Steve shivered at the light touch. "I usually just let whoever I was with pick out what they wanted. That's where I got that lube."

Eddie's face dropped, sliding his hands down to Steve's elbows. "So that lube we've been using was picked out by one of your flings?"

Steve found Eddie's sudden tone switch strange. "Yeah, did you really think I would pick strawberry?"

"I'm throwing it away as soon as we get back," Eddie said firmly.

"Why?" Steve shook his head in confusion.

He gripped Steve's arms and leaned closer to his ear. "I don't like the idea of using things that were intended for someone else."

Steve huffed in amusement. "You really are a jealous one aren't you?"

"That's what I'm finding out about myself anyway."

"It's kind of cute."

Eddie flinched at being called cute. "So you haven't really bought much of anything from here?"

"Personally no."

"And you still thing you aren't plain?" Eddie smirked and slid his hands around Steve's waist. "I mean, what kind of kinks are you into?"

Steve didn't enjoy being challenged like this. "I did make you cry didn't I?" He slid his hand into Eddie's hair and gripped it enough to tilt his head back slightly.

Eddie bit his lip and laughed. "That’s small fry shit."

Steve clenched his jaw and released Eddie's hair. "Okay, Mr. Kink Master, what about you?"

Eddie smirked as Steve's poor comeback. "Let's see, I enjoy..." He sucked on his lower lip as he thought, mindlessly rubbing his thumb on the inner area of Steve's elbow. "Role play, obviously. Objectification is fun. Exhibitionism and Voyeurism are enticing, but legal consequences dampen that a little."

"Says the guy stealing from a sex shop," Steve teased.

"Yeah, but there aren't any consequences for that." He quirked an eyebrow and continued, "edging can be fun, but it can also be frustrating. Most things B.D.S.M., particularly things in the bondage and sadism category."

"Okay, jeez, I get it." Steve said quickly, stopping Eddie from continuing. "I don't even know what most of that means."

Eddie smiled and slid his arms around Steve's waist pulling him close. Steve didn't bother resisting. "Being vanilla isn't necessarily a bad thing," Eddie stated calmly. "I mean vanilla is the base for some of the best flavors." He rested his chin on Steve's shoulder. "You just need someone to add a little spice to it." His hands wandered lower until he got a handful of each of Steve's ass cheeks. He closed his eyes and pulled at his lip as he squeezed the supple flesh. Steve pursed his lips and pushed on Eddie's chest. Eddie let himself be overpowered and took a step back, keeping his hands on Steve's waist. "If you want I could turn your vanilla into at least." Eddie tried to hold back a laugh but ended up snorting as he said, "S.S. Butterscotch." He released Steve's waist and grabbed his stomach, doubling over in laughter as his own joke.

Steve looked at him in shock. "How do you know about S.S. Butterscotch?"

"Dude," Eddie wheezed. "You suggested that one more than any other at that fucking ice cream parlor."

"You god damn stalker." Steve's stern resolve broke and he ended up chuckling.

Eddie caught his breath and gazed up at Steve's smiling face. He stood to his full height and ran his hands over Steve's shoulders getting him to look at Eddie's face. "So what do you say?" Eddie smirked sliding his hands down Steve's biceps. "Want me to spice you up a little?"

Steve contorted his face in playful concern. "I don't know if I want to become a freak like you."

"Not full rocky road, but maybe mint chip?"

Steve started laughing again. "Stop with the ice cream references."

"Why?" Eddie wanted to caress Steve's face but figured that might be a little too sensual. Instead he just lightly gripped above his elbows. "It makes you smile."

Steve's smile faltered. "Don't be such a fag," he said pushing Eddie away. When he looked at his face, Eddie was dramatically raising an eyebrow at him. "Okay, that's fair," he laughed. "Just don't try anything too weird, alright."

Eddie smiled and looked around, the whip display caught his eye. “Have you ever played around with shit like this?” Eddie lifted a riding crop off of its hook.

“No, I can’t say I have.” He stared wearily at Eddie gazing at the crop. “Have you?”

Eddie smiled at him, and dragged the end of the crop over Steve’s cheek getting him to stiffen nervously. “Just say I’ve done my homework.”

Steve raised an eyebrow at him. “Is that why you’ve been held back so many years?” he teased.

Eddie laughed. “Personally, I think knowing how to use these tools properly is much more useful than knowing who won the civil war.” Slowly, he guided the crop under Steve’s chin as he stepped closer. He lowered it over Steve’s chest. “But I could never hurt you,” he said as he stepped back, tossing the crop aside. Steve audibly sighed, but tensed back up when Eddie gripped his jaw tightly. “That is, unless you ask nicely.” Steve didn’t have a name for what he felt. Eddie moved his hand to Steve’s neck. “Ready to get out of here.”

“Yeah,” Steve said quickly, turning around to face the door. Eddie took the bag off the hook as he slid his hand down Steve’s arm and grabbed his hand. Steve rolled his eyes, but gripped Eddie’s hand back as they walked toward the door. “Seriously, what did you get?” Steve glanced down at the bag, the harness blocking his view of any other contents.

“Like I said, you’ll see, but it’s not important right now.” They left the building and Steve walked over to the bike. “There’s only one more thing I need to do, and I hope we can do it before dawn hits on the flip side.”

“Lead the way,” Steve yawned.

“You too tired?” Eddie asked sincerely.

“Nah, I’m fine.” He shook his head.

“Alright, let’s go.” Eddie began running in the direction of Hopper’s cabin with Steve riding at his side. After about ten minutes, Eddie skid to a halt, forcing Steve to drift the bike to stop anywhere near him.

“Why did you stop?” Steve asked looking back at Eddie who was staring at a demolished house.

“This is one of the places I fucked up,” he said plainly as he took a few steps closer to it.

Steve looked in awe at the destruction. “Who lives here?”

“Jason.”

“Carver?” Steve clarified.

“Yeah, he was one of the assholes that went out of his way to piss me off.” He looked up at the sky taking a deep breath. “He was one of the main reasons things ended up as bad as they did.” He balled his fists and looked back at the rubble. Steve set the bike down and walked next to him. Eddie closed his eyes, “to think that if that douchebag and his lackeys didn’t get involved there’s a good chance that Max wouldn’t be in a coma and Lucas wouldn’t have gotten his ass kicked.” He sighed heavily and pursed his lips in anger and stared back at what remained of the Carver’s house.

Steve could understand his rage. “Did you do this bare handed?”

"Not entirely." Eddie shook his head and wrapped an arm around Steve’s shoulder without looking at him, just touching Steve calmed his fury. “I used the vines, and various tools, but a lot of it was by hand.”

“That’s nuts.” Steve stared at the collapsed house.

With a smile he tightened his grip on Steve’s shoulder. “And yet you don’t run from me.”

“Believe it or not,” Steve sighed, “I do trust that you won’t hurt me.”

“That’s very reckless of you,” Eddie teased.

Steve looked at Eddie’s profile. “Do you plan to prove me wrong?”

He turned to face him draping his other arm over Steve’s shoulder. “Not if I can help it.”

That wasn’t as certain of a response as Steve had hoped for, but he knew what Eddie meant. He placed his hands on Eddie’s hips. Even if he hated the Upside Down, he couldn’t deny that Eddie looked good in the warm dusky lighting. He watched Eddie bite his lip as he stared longingly at his face. He smiled gently and pulled Eddie into a kiss. Eddie tightened his grip around the back of his neck, but didn’t prevent Steve from pulling away. “Let’s go,” Steve said softly. Eddie nodded and waited for Steve to mount the bike before he continued his path to the cabin.

Eventually Eddie turned down the familiar dead end dirt road. With the Upside Down being set three years in the past, they didn’t need to worry about Hopper’s security system and Steve was able to ride freely to the front porch.

“So this is where you’ve been hiding?” Steve said as he got off the bike.

“Yup,” Eddie walked up to the front door. He waited for Steve to come up behind him. “So, just to let you know, I’ve found something new while I was here, and well,” he paused to think, “just try not to freak out.”

Steve looked at him wearily and took a couple steps back.

Eddie smiled. “As far as I’m aware they’re harmless, but it’s been a couple of days since they hatched, so who knows.”

“What the fuck have you been up to Eddie?”

Eddie pulled in his lips. “To be honest, I don’t know.” he chuckled and turned the knob. He swung the door open and the pair stood dumbfounded at the state of Hopper’s cabin.

---

Nancy pulled their car up next to Jonathan’s place and parked. “Hey,” she squeaked.

Jonathan looked over at her before he opened the door.

“Think you could come over?” she asked shyly.

He nodded, “yeah, I just need to leave a note and grab my stuff for school tomorrow.”

She nodded and held her elbows. “Be quick?” she requested.

Jonathan sighed and kissed her on the forehead. “I’ll only be a minute.”

Nancy watched as he climbed in the window he left open. The silence of the forest was unnerving and anything that broke that silence was terrifying. As Jonathan promised, it wasn’t long before he was crawling back out of the window. Just seeing him brought her comfort. Once he got in the car, they made their way to the Wheeler’s residence. Nancy helped Jonathan climb up to her bedroom window.

“Thanks,” she whispered as she shut the window behind them.

“Of course,” Jonathan gave her a hug and kissed the top of her head.

She stepped back and got on her toes to give him a quick kiss before double-checking that her door was locked. With a heavy sigh she turned to look at Jonathan. No matter how many times she was forced to face those beasts, she could never get used to it. She sat on her bed and Jonathan joined her. She was reminded of the first night they tried to hunt one of those monsters, that train of thought brought her mind back to Barb, she just wanted all of this to be over. Jonathan wrapped his arm around her shoulders and puller her to his chest. She didn’t fight it and leaned into him. One of the things Jonathan loved about Nancy was her strength, but he was glad he could be the one she showed her weakness to as well. He held her tight as he felt her shoulders heave.

---

“So you didn’t know they could do that?” Steve wore Eddie’s backpack as he biked frantically beside Eddie, who had a large, squirming, makeshift sheet sack slung over his back.

“No, not at all. I have no clue how that managed to do that to the cabin.”

“And they weren’t that big three days ago?”

“No, they were about the size of a fucking quarter, not a baseball.” Eddie ungracefully turned into Steve’s Upside Down driveway, Steve followed him smoothly on his bike. “Do you keep any of your doors unlocked?” Eddie tried to compensate for the weight of the sack as he caught his balance.

“If this was before Will went missing, then maybe the door by the pool.” He rode the bike down the steep driveway behind the house leading to a second garage. He tossed the bike aside when he got to the grass, Eddie not far behind him. Before walking up the hill to the pool he checked the door beside the garage, and it was unlocked. “There we go,” he said, holding the door open for Eddie.

“Sweet,” Eddie stepped through the doorway, trying not to knock the squirming sack in the process. Once inside, Steve shut the door behind them. Eddie looked around the large open basement, “this will do just fine.” He stepped on one of the vines near his foot and paid close attention to the sonar feeling. “The inside of the house is clear, there are a couple of bats on the roof though.”

“That’s freaky, man.”

“It’s handy.” Eddie sat the sack down, the sheet unfolded revealing a wiggling mass of baseball sized puddings. “Now we need to make sure all of the doors and windows are sealed. These little buggers can slip through any hole.”

“Right.” Steve nodded and joined Eddie in checking the basement for any vents, or cracks in doors and windows that lead outside. Eddie crawled along the ceiling, plugging any air ducts he could find. After the basement was done, they continued over the rest of the house. It was a well build house, so other than vents, fireplaces and doors, they didn't have too much to blockade. Once they managed to plug up the whole house, they returned to the basement to check on the creatures. Eddie leaped over one that was making its way up the stairs. They sat together on a couch with a mutual sigh of accomplishment. Steve watched one of the jiggly black orbs scoot along the floor. “They’re honestly pretty cute.”

“I know, right?” Eddie leaned on Steve’s shoulder watching the same one.

“What was it you called them?”

Eddie laughed, “I’ve been calling them puddings.”

Steve snorted, “They do jiggle like pudding don’t they?”

“Yeah, but my reason is much nerdier, it’s a D&D reference.”

Steve rolled his eyes. “God you really are a loser. Of course it’s from that dumb game, as with pretty much every other thing from the Upside Down.”

“It’s a good reference, and even more so now that I know what they can do.”

Steve watched one fall off a window and hit the ground with a wet 'plap'. "Do you really think they could be of use?"

Eddie snorted at the sight. "Maybe, after seeing what they did to Hopper's cabin, I have some theories, but I need to study them a little more to be certain."

Steve nodded. “How did you find them?” He placed an arm around the back of the couch behind Eddie.

Eddie bit his lip as he leaned into Steve’s chest, placing a hand on his stomach. “I just found a pack of dogs eating some eggs and I decided to snag an intact one.”

Steve felt an awkwardness from Eddie's affection but sighed and let himself wrap his arm around his shoulder. “And these are what hatched from it?”

“Yep,” he nuzzled Steve’s collarbone before sitting up and giving him a gentle kiss on the cheek.

Steve squinted at Eddie. "Why bring them here though?"

He ran his hand over Steve's chest. "I have no clue how big they can get, I needed an enclosed place with a lot of room." He rested his head back on Steve's shoulder and picked up his right hand, running his thumb over the scabbed cut, and looking at the back of the silver ring on his finger.

Steve looked between his hand and Eddie's somber face. "What happened with that anyway?"

"I don't really know." He let Steve's hand go and sat up. "I was like something came over me."

"Like Vecna?" Steve asked cautiously.

Eddie shook his head. "No, nothing like that." He sighed and leaned back. Steve situated his arm so it acted like a head rest for him. Eddie turned his head to look up at Steve. "It was something from myself, something primal." He could tell by Steve's expression that he had no clue what Eddie was talking about. "You know that kind of... animalistic high you get from sex?"

"Yeah," Steve confirmed.

"It was like that, it was an urge so strong that it made everything else around me disappear. I didn't snap out of it until you said my name." Eddie sighed and ran his cheek over Steve's arm. "I hope I didn't hurt you." A few strands of hair fell over his face.

"Nah, it was more freaky than painful." Steve brushed the fallen hair out of Eddie's face.

Eddie could feel his face warm up at the affection. He glanced at Steve and leaned forward, placing a quick kiss on his lips. “We should get going, though.”

“Uh, yeah.” Steve removed his arm from behind Eddie and stood.

“Which door wouldn’t mess up our work?” Eddie stood and smiled at Steve.

“The pool door.”

Eddie nodded and walked behind him up the basement stairs. He smirked and pinched Steve’s ass as he breached the top step.

“Hey!” Steve jumped and scowled down at Eddie’s smug grin. He stepped aside and pointed for Eddie to walk in front of him, “go,” he demanded.

Eddie skipped up the last couple steps and pecked Steve on the cheek before leading the way to the back door. Eddie leaped on top of the tall wooden fence and balanced himself as he watched Steve begrudgingly climb up behind him. He stealthily took out his wings, keeping them down flat along his back and draped over the other side of the fence. Once Steve was within reach he pulled him into his arms bridal style. With a wide smile, he leaped off the fence, gliding them to the ground and taking off as soon as both his feet hit the ground.

“What the fuck, Eddie?” Steve shouted as he clung to his neck.

Eddie laughed. “The bike was going to take too long,” Eddie explained. “Plus most of the way is through the woods.” He turned and ran off the road and through the trees.

"How can you tell if the gate you use isn't swarmed by military?"

“I can't, I just have to go deep in the woods and hope they aren’t on the other side.”

The idea of facing the military was not something Steve liked. “But even if they are, you can out run them, right?”

Out of the corner of his eye, Eddie saw a Demogorgon returning through the gate, dragging a couple of bodies behind it. He gripped Steve tighter and said, “I guess we’ll see,” as he dove them through the same hole they made when they entered.

“Eddie!” Steve shouted as he clung to Eddie with all his might.

The demogorgon paid no mind to them as it lifted the bodies back onto its shoulders and began walking towards the library. It carried the bodies over the rubble of the library wall and down a couple of hallways before tossing them down a flight of stairs and into the basement. A few slugs crept out around the doorway. The beast slunk away as vines wrapped around the bodies and pulled them to a spot on the wall that wasn’t already occupied by another corpse. A vine slowly slithered its way into their mouths. The large basement was crowded with corpses of both humans and livestock. Slugs covered nearly every surface and more joined them one by one from the orifices of the corpses.

Announcement:

This story is going on hiatus for an undetermined length of time (Hopefully not too long) But I could use some input from you guys on the future of this story on AO3. Here I'll post them as I have been.

I've written up to Chapter 45 (all first drafts so they're error city) and I've noticed some things that could be reworked that may impact the chapters I've posted or completely change the trajectory of the story. If it only impacts the story a little I plan to just alter the chapters and make a note, but if it vastly changes the story there are three ways I can go about it and that's what I need your help. 1: (My preferred option) Drop this entry, label it "Old Version" and make a new entry to start fresh 2: Edit this entry and make it the new story, ultimately deleting this one (This is probably my least favorite option) 3: Same as 1 but post all the unedited chapters in this entry, on AO3 not on Tumblr (May contain spoilers for the new version)

One more thing, I'm open to constructive criticism so if there is anything that's bothered you about the story, the way I write, general pointers, inconsistencies, etc now is the time to voice them as it may help me make my story better in the long run. Feel free to make requests for additional content in the story as well, aspects you'd like to see elaborated on, the things you're excited to see cleared up, or anything that comes to mind. (My beta reader is very critical and nit picky so you can thank them for getting the story to where it is now, some of the best scenes wouldn't exist without them)

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