#vecna/kas

[thyeternalhunger]

old days

[theinkedknight]

This picture is from the new DnD book, and comes with the caption "A young Kas and Vecna muse about the destruction of Oerth". Just. Let Kas and Vecna be gay. Let them be the messy friends to lovers to enemies to lovers gay uncles of DnD. THEY'RE DOING EVIL PLANS OVER TEA AND PASTRIES. I'm not saying this is the gayest thing I've seen this week, a week wherein I do gay things myself all the time, but the Pope probably would.

[stevieschrodinger]

Everything is going slowly foggy. The fear is fading. Eddie's vaguely aware that it's probably because he's dying. What was terrifying a couple of minutes ago, is only vaguely of interest now. An ephemeral pressure on the back of his brain. Present, yet easy to ignore.

All he can taste is his own blood, but it's not so bad. At least he can tell Dustin how much he loves him. And Steve's there. Steve Harrington. Who knew he would turn out to be such a great guy? So, yeah. It all feels alright.

Eddie feels sleepy, vaguely aware that he's, actually, probably dying.

He closes his eyes.

There's a strange sense of vertigo, strange enough that Eddie notices he's standing up before he notices that someone's kissing him. It's a soft press of lips. It's wonderful.

Eddie blinks his eyes open, and from an inch away, he's looking at Steve Harrington.

He's standing in a kitchen. it's nice. Eddie's clean; he's wearing sweats and a tee. Barefoot. The kitchen smells like coffee, and sun is shining in through the window.

Somewhere in the house, a child sequels; Eddie startles. "Steve?" He asks, carefully. "I mean...not that it isn't-"

The child comes barreling into the room. It's a little girl. She's wearing the smallest Dio shirt Eddie's ever seen. She throws herself at Eddie's legs, screaming "Papa!"

Eddie has no idea what his face is doing as he looks down at this little girl, but Steve is taking his hand, tugging it, Eddie looks up, "it happened again, didn't it? You forgot again?"

"I...what?"

Steve scoops up the little girl, throwing her over his shoulder, she squeals again, laughing like this is the best thing ever, "come on pumpkin patch, Papa's not feeling so hot today and auntie Robin's going to be here in two whole minutes."

He looks back to Eddie, mouthing 'just wait, okay?'

Eddie, at a loss, just nods.

He creeps to the doorway, watching, fascinated, as Steve Harrington fixes the little girls hair into pig tails. Helps her get her socks straight. Helps her tie the laces on her sneakers. Gets her back pack on her, "eat your carrot sticks today, okay Ronnie?"

'Ronnie,' Eddie mouths to himself.

Watches as Steve puts her little hand into Robin's, standing on the front porch. Robin looks different. Older. She's smartly dressed.

Steve whispers something to her, and she looks at Eddie. Smiles a sad smile. They leave.

Steve stands there for a moment, waves them off, then closes the door. He seems to steal himself, and then he turns and comes back to Eddie, "I have to go to work, but, come on, let me show you something."

Eddie follows Steve into an office, there's shit everywhere, "I don't come in here often, your mess drives me fucking batshit," Steve digs into a desk drawer, brings out a notebook. "I have no idea what's in here, I've never read it. Something about...what happened. You did die. You were oxygen deprived long enough to cause a brain injury, so sometimes you...forget everything. After the second time it happened, you started writing letters to yourself. So, yeah...you call it your instruction manual, I get it for you when this happens."

It takes Eddie what feels like a really fucking long time to process this, and he can't help but notice that Steve's eyes are wet, Eddie feels crushingly guilty about it.

"Okay so what do I...do?"

Steve shrugs, "read it, I guess. You add to it whenever anything important happens...Eddie...just, the bats, they did a number on you...when you, when you look at the scars, the first time, just, brace yourself, okay and...don't forget that I love you, no matter what, I love you."

And Steve just...leaves the house. Leaves Eddie in this absolute disaster of an office. Leaves him holding a notebook that's ratty and untidy and feels like it's bursting at the seams.

Eddie reads.

So, I'm going to try and keep this simple, but I'm you, from the past, and our dumb ass has fucking brain damage...

You're not going to fucking believe this...we bagged Steve Harrington...

Hold on to your hat big boy, but we got fucking published! And if you're reading this, then you are in for a treat, because it means you get to read our genius for the first time all over again...

Okay, so this one was a bad one, we initially, didn't react so well, so, here's what I was worried about, and I'll talk you through it...

So, I need you to not fuck this up for us, okay? So, this is the Steve Harrington play book. The man is romantic, buy flowers, do nice shit. I cannot stress this enough - just pick up your crap man, he hates it when the place is messy. Now, we have to get it right so here's everything I know, I'll start at the top and work down. He loves having his hair played with, and tugged, but not too hard, gentle but firm, there's a sweet spot. The neck, the whole thing is an erogenous zone, I really can't downplay the importance of the neck...

We bought a fucking house! Look at it! Just look at it! And Eddie does, because there's a Polaroid stuck to the page.

So, this might sound dumb, and I probably should have written to you sooner, but...Steve jizzed in a cup for Robs, and Nancy turkey basted it, you know. Anyway, the point is...Rob's pregnant. With our baby. And then me and Nance got drunk, like, to celebrate, and she got all sad that her and Robin weren't having a baby, stay with me, I know this is mad as shit, but Nancy wanted our kid and their kid to grow up together....

Look, I don't know if it's the stress of like, imminent fatherhood, but we've been forgetting a lot lately, so, here's the plan for when Rob's in labor, and everything you've talked to Steve about when it comes to being the stay at home parent, okay...

The next page is just a Polaroid, a little scrunched up face. A little pink potato swaddled in blankets, and underneath it says 'Ronnie Jamie Harrington'...

And the next page, another Polaroid, another scrunched up face, another little pink potato swaddled in blankets, and underneath it says 'Stephanie Edwina Wheeler'...

Steve comes home. He looks exhausted. Like, drained. And, worried and scared and pale and lots of other things Eddie can't even begin to imagine. Eddie holds his arms out and Steve practically throws himself into them, "how long does it take, for me to get back to normal?"

Steve shrugs, "it's different every time, but it's a good sign you're still here, sometimes you run. Those times are the worst ones."

Six weeks later, Eddie writes to himself, "do not, under any circumstances, run away..."

Eddie thinks he's seeing things. Thinks maybe he's going senile. But he hasn't forgotten for...well, it's been years now. At least seven or eight. And yeah, Ronnie might be about to finish high school and Steve might be stressed to fuck over her college applications, but...Eddie's glad. He's glad she's spreading her wings. He's glad they managed to produce a stand up human being.

He's really glad her and Steph are trying for the same colleges, they're always going to have each other.

But yea...he's worried his mind is kind of...slipping. Hasn't told Steve. Doesn't want to worry him. They're both sprouting a few gray hairs, no need to add to those.

But sometimes. Sometimes when Eddie looks out of the window, he thinks, for a moment, that the sky is dark and...it looks like snow?

And sometimes, Eddie catches himself in the mirror, and he's sure he's dirty. A mess. Covered in blood but...no. He walks back a step, checks again. Everything is fine.

Sometimes he's sees movement out of the corner of his eye.

Sometimes, in the beat of the music or the rumble of the car engine, he swears he hears things. Sometimes a voice. Sometimes it sounds like they're yelling.

Sometimes it sounds like Steve.

And once, he blinked awake, Steve bringing him a coffee. But it wasn't Steve, for the time between startled, half asleep blinks, it was Vecna.

It gets worse.

Something isn't right. The house is empty, and it shouldn't be.

He can hear Steve, but he can't find him. And that's silly because the house isn't that big. He searches and searches, growing more frantic. He calls back to Steve, but Steve...doesn't seem to hear him.

There's something dim about the light, but the light has always been that way, hasn't it? Something...dusty, in the air. Eddie feels like he's dreaming. He has to be dreaming; there's a crack in the living room wall. A crack that spreads and lengthens until the whole house is crumbling and Eddie can see clearly now that the sky here flashes red.

That it's always been flashing red.

How did he not see before? The dust on every surface? The pages of his notebook are blank. Eddie knows. He's always known.

Steve.

Steve is here. He's hanging from Eddie's fist, bruised and bloodied and begging Eddie. Begging Eddie to stop this, to hear him, to see him. It's Steve.

It's Eddie's Steve.

Next to him, Vecna says, "finish it."

Eddie has something in his hand, the hilt of something he's sure of, long and sharp and dependable.

Eddie doesn't think, he just moves.

He drops Steve.

He doesn't need to look. Eddie turns, and he swings.

Part Two

[dwobbitfromtheshire]

Steve is fighting to defend the kids from Vecna's reign, and he's actually gaining the upper hand.

Vecna to Eddie: I want you to kill Steve Harrington.

Eddie: *gives him an odd look* Okay, whatever you say, my liege.

He walks over to Steve and grabs his jacket roughly, pulling him closer.

Steve: Eddie, this isn't you -

Eddie slams his lips to Steve’s.

Vecna: WHAT ARE YOU DOING?

Eddie: *breaks the kiss* This is what you wanted me to do!

Vecna: Kill! I want you to KILL him! NOT KISS!

Eddie: I'm still hearing kiss! *turns to Steve* I'm not sure why he wants this to happen, but I guess it's happening!

Steve: I've got no complaints.

Vecna: MUNSON! I WANT YOU TO FUCKING MURDER HIM!

Eddie: *gasps* You want me to FUCK him? In front of the kids?! Henry! You kinky son of a bitch!

Vecna: I WANT YOU TO END HIS LIFE.

Eddie: You want me to make him my wife?! Okay, whatever you say, Henry. *Gets down on one knee* Steve Whatever Your Middle Name Is Harrington, will you be my wife?

Steve: Yeah. Okay. I'm not doing anything important right now.

Vecna sighed and turned to El.

Vecna: Okay. You can kill me now.

[criminally-obsessed]

VECNA: Did you take out Steve as I requested? KAS!EDDIE: Steve has been taken out, yes. VECNA: You have my great- KAS!EDDIE: It was a great restaurant. KAS!EDDIE: We had a romantic candlelit dinner. KAS!EDDIE: Steve proposed afterwards- we’re filing the wedding papers.

[princessdave]

Kas!Eddie, bored in the Upside Down: *trying to coax a demobat to fly through a hoop*

Vecna: what are you doing?

Kas!Eddie: *quickly rips a top hat off and throws it into the bushes*

Kas!Eddie: nothing! just…uh…training to take over Hawkins

Vecna: …

Venca: are you trying to train them like circus animals?

Kas!Eddie: *shifts to stand in front of a demogorgon on a tricycle*

Kas!Eddie: ….no

Vecna: jesus christ

Kas!Eddie: so I shouldn’t teach the bats to spell out ‘Steve’ in the air?

[fightabear]

once upon a time i wasn't swamped, and we're slowly entering the no-longer swamped era again. so here are pages  26 - 29 of my steddie comic. expect an update every two-ish weeks until i get a backlog going again.

my final fantasy comic will be getting similar bi-weekly updates.

[yours-etc]

🪱🩷 wiggly worm wednesday🪱🩷

this very special wiggly worm wednesday is for @someforeignband <3 we have been obsessing over THE steddie album— Conan Gray’s Found Heaven— for months now and it’s time i did something about it!! so here is a little blurb i wrote <3

Eye of the Night 🦇

Steve could feel something watching them as he walked Robin over to Vickie’s. He house wasn’t far from Steve’s place where they were hanging out before hand, and when Vickie rang asking if Robin wanted to stay the night, there was no stopping that lesbian from practically running out of his front door. He offered to drive her the handful of blocks, but she refused. Saying that this was probably one of the last few nice fall evenings they would get before winter made it unbearable, and she needed to let out energy before she got to Chrissy’s. Steve just laughed and told her he would walk with her just to be safe.

“Well aren’t you just my night in shinning armor!” She cooed as they left his house.

“Yeah yeah, laugh it up Buckley, but this gated community is really dangerous. A raccoon could come out and bite you at any moment,” He said leaning into her, “Racoons with rabies!”

Robin pushed him away and pointed her finger angrily at him, “Don’t even joke about that with me Steven,” she said in a stern tone that has long lost its affect on Steve.

And so here they are making the track to Vickie’s place. He hates to admit it but it is a lovely night out, just cold enough to need a jacket but not too cold that your bones start to ache. But there was a nagging feeling at the back of Steve’s mind.

Something is watching them.

Something is following them.

He tried to shoo the thoughts away, but ever since Vecna he’s always been on edge, never feeling truly safe anywhere. He’s trying to get over it, but it’s difficult when shit keeps happening in the god forsaken town. The kids all say that there’s no reason to be worried, no reason to fear, Vecna was the biggest bad guy and they took care of it, nothing else is going to happen.

Except that’s what they said the first three times. So sue him if he wants to stay prepared.

Robin picks up her pace slightly when Vickie’s house comes into sight, “Alright Steve-o see you tomorrow at work!” She runs off leaving Steve at the stop sign at the end of the road like a parent watching their child go to school for the first time, only its his best friend going to try and sleep with her long time crush she won’t make any moves on.

He watches until he sees the front door open and Robin walk in. Once she’s inside he lets out a deep breath he’d been holding and turns around to start walking home.

Steve could feel whatever it was the whole way back. He’d hear a rustle of leaves, a snap of a twig, a breath not coming from himself. The closer to home he gets the more wound up he becomes. Thank god he grabbed his keys before they left the house, and thank god he always left his bat in the trunk of his car. He’s only a turn and a few houses down when he feels whatever it is that’s been trailing him get close. He doesn’t know how he knows, but something tells him they are closer now and he needs to run. His hunch is only confirmed when the street lights start to all flicker around him.

And so he does.

Without warning.

He takes off running as fast as he can pulling out his keys to unlock the trunk when he gets there. He can hear quick footsteps speed up with him, which only pushes him to go quicker. He hears a snarl? Growl? Something not human for sure, come from the thing behind him when he takes a sharp turn down the street his house sits at the end of. It take both no time as all and what feels like hours to reach his car and get the bat out.

Once it’s in his hand he turns around to find…nothing.

The street is quiet and the lights have stopped flickering.

Steve stands there and waits. He’s not stupid enough to think it left. And sure enough out of the corner of his eye he sees a figure dart to his back yard. He takes after, this time being the one who follows. But once again, when he gets to the backyard, it’s empty. The pool he should have drained moths ago sits completely still, not a single ripple being made. The only light comes from the pool and his house which is too far back to provide any kind of helpful light to him.

“I know you’re back here,” He says into the darkness.

There’s a small rustle and nothing else.

“What do you want?” He says still surveying the area. He looks around slowly trying to see if anything is amiss, if he can even make out anything in the dark.

Then he hear it, the sound of his back door sliding open. Steve is just quick enough to see the lights get turned off. He takes off immediately, barreling into his own house like he’s the fucking intruder.

Once again, there’s nothing at first.

But this time the science is broken quite quickly by a creek of the old wood floors and quick steps up the stairs.

It’s then that Steve realizes he’s being lead, played with, this thing wants him to follow this goose chase. For what though, he’s not completely sure. If it wanted to kill him there was plenty of time to do that already.

More aware of his position, he’s cautious climbing his stairs. When her makes it to the hallway it’s only his bedroom door that is open. He can feel cool air from his room window down the hall creating a chill in the house. In his room he finds an open window and something small sitting on the ledge. When he edges closer, bat still tightly gripped in his hands. The small item reflects the moonlight. It’s a ring, a fairly normal ring, silver with a blackish blue gem in the middle.

Steve has seen that ring before.

He gasps and drops his bat running the rest of the distance to the window to pick it up.

“Eddie?” He says to himself, almost like a prayer, closer to a plea, full of desperation, words getting half stuck in his throat. He looks at the ring like it’s the most precious thing in the world, holds his like it could disappear at any second. This is Eddie’s ring, the ring he gave Eddie the summer before… well before everything happened. Steve never thought he’d see this ring again.

He doesn’t flinch away when familiar arms wrap around his waits pull him back into a warm chest.

He doesn’t flinch when warm breath against the crook of his neck causes goosebumps to cover his skin.

He doesn’t flinch when lips graze his ear and soft curls brush his cheek lightly.

“Did you miss me much Stevie Baby?”

No pressure tags i just want to see what y’all are cooking up! (if you want to share!)

@theroundeviloftable @cheerscoops @someforeignband (HA i tag you back 🙂‍↕️)

And of course anyone I didn’t tag POST YOUR WORMS I WANT TO SEE THEM!!

[demobatman]

inspired. thank you @miwism

[trashmouth-richie]

͎l͎͎e͎a͎͎v͎͎e͎ ͎m͎͎e͎ ͎i͎͎n͎ ͎t͎͎h͎͎e͎ ͎d͎a͎͎r͎͎k͎ 🦇🌑

a spooky tale of the night things went bump in Hawkins, the aftermath and how things had been affecting your boyfriend, Eddie months before you both were on the run.

tw: possession, ptsd, nightmares, drug use, cheating, vecna lives, mean!evil!Chrissy , mean!Eddie, a sprinkle of Steve and Dustin! yay we love them. Mike wheeler, ew! This runs the same course as season 4, I just thought it would be cool to see Eddie’s life before spring break of ‘86 and what it would be like if he had a girlfriend, you baby— that’s you!

eddie x fem! reader

“No, no!” 

  He could feel the razor sharp teeth sinking into his flesh, gouging his sides like butter under a hot knife. It was all too real. 

  It always was. 

  The nightmares presented around the anniversary of that day. The day you almost lost him. 

  You did what you always had, holding him close to your own body, pressing your lips to the plains of his shoulder blades, running the pads of your fingers over the pink marred scars delicately to remind him it was just a nightmare. 

  That he was safe with you.

  You weren’t around when it happened. he didn’t want you down there, instead your position was right side up with erica and Lucas at the Creel House. 

  “I’ll be fine,” He had teased, rolling his eyes as you fretted and pouted that you couldn’t go with him. He kissed the knuckles of your right hand, those infamous dimples dipped into his cheeks, “I’ll be right back.”

  Only he wasn’t right back.

  He was choking on his own blood when Steve hoisted him through the gate into the disheveled remnants of the Munson trailer. 

  A day burned into your memory. A day he still suffered from. No matter the amount of medications he was on to help numb the nightmares. 

  “It's okay Eddie,” you whispered softly into his skin, “you’re here with me,” 

  His shoulders begin to release the tension he was holding, fist gripped hands softened as much as the guitar calluses would allow. 

  He shifted his weight to his other hip, facing you. His puffy eyes moved erratically trying to gain security in your face as you smiled softly at him. 

  His hand presses to your chest to feel your heartbeat trying to mimic his breathing to yours. He’s warm, sweaty and hair a nest around his face.

  He would take it all back if he could— selling to that bitch Chrissy to make a quick buck. Running and hiding at Rick’s. Dodging your phone calls because you had been in another fight about whether or not he could just move hellfire so Lucas would be there, and why he was selling to Chrissy.  

  Moves and counter moves. And those 4 days, Eddie had made the worst ones. 

  “‘m sorry, fuck, I’m so sorry.” 

  Years had passed and it still felt like it was yesterday. The red lightning striking behind his eyelids every night before he went to sleep, a reminder of the world that crawled with demons and creatures beneath his feet, just aching for another gate to open and make the two worlds collide. 

  The embarrassment hung heavy on his features, tinging his marble cheeks pink, a silvery tear fell from his grove of lashes. 

  Guilt riddled through him from those days, and the months leading up to it, he had no idea what was happening.

  He promised Steve and the others that he wasn’t a hero, then cut the sheet and rammed through the door to give them all time.

  Scoffed and told you he’d be fine then ended up laying in a puddle of his own blood, Dustin screaming for him to stay awake. 

  Swore to Wayne that he would graduate that year, but ended up hospital bound for months and missed graduation again.

  Flashes of your face, your eyes, the sweet nectar of your lips played through his mind. Your voice was the only thing he heard, maybe it was the loss of blood that numbed him, he wasn’t sure. But one thing remained, your voice was the only thing he could hear.

“Ed please, please let me come with. I wanna be with you.” 

  Your relationship was hanging on by threads in March of ‘86. He had loved you for years, knew every single freckle and imperfection on your skin. He loved the way you had shown up to every concert cheering for them when the bar was silent and empty. He had been the one to teach you a little about cars when you sat on the ground beside him watching as he cranked a wrench this way or that. He knew the spots to kiss below your ear to summon the pretty noises, just for him. 

  You were the love of his life, and he was yours. Two outcasts finding each other and sticking like glue. 

  But the past year had been hard on him, he was back in school again, super senior times two, and he fell deep into the facade the town had molded him into. He was angry, feeling the weight of the heavy chip on his shoulder, the pounding ache in his skull.

  It wasn’t your fault, but somehow you were the easiest to push away. 

  He became mean, became everything they thought he was, leaning into his reputation. And as much as he fooled the others you knew that wasn’t the Eddie you had fallen for. 

  The Eddie you knew was sweet. And not just a nice guy but affectionate in ways you didn’t know anyone could be. 

  He’d open doors for you, carry your books to class, pick you up before school and drop you off every day, even on days you worked at the bar wiping slimy tables, he’d wait for you shift to be over, tipping and whistling when you walked away, letting the whole bar know you were his girl. 

  He wrote mushy songs about his love for you that would make the rest of the band gag. Promising you the moon and the stars while laying out on the top of his van, Eddie was wrapped around your finger, just as much as you were around his. 

  November was the month she had left, and it was always tough for him, but that year it ate at him. The pain from abandonment spread like wicked vines in his chest and he lashed out at anyone who crossed him. 

  It hurt when he started picking fights, bickering over what songs you played in your car, tossing the tapes out the window, laughing when you got mad. It hurt worse when he ignored you all together, heated fights ending with him unplugging his phone from the wall jack, not wanting to hear your pleas. 

  He stopped calling, stopped staying for your shift at the bar, claiming he had something else to do. DnD and weed became his only escape, usually finding solace in your arms, your kisses, but he had outgrown them, outgrown you. 

  That day was the same as any other Friday. 

  He had picked you up for school, wearing his hellfire shirt and greeting you with a sleepy smile and a morning cigarette, one he had inhaled and held while he pressed his lips to yours, only breaking away and pushing the smoke from his lungs and into yours when they were screaming. 

  “You look pretty, who’s the lucky guy?”

  It was a running joke between you, but somehow the joke fell flat when it was rumored that Chrissy Cunningham was seeking him out. 

  you blew the smoke between your lips and settled into the velour seats of his van, “oh just some curly haired metal guy, always wears the old leather jacket we found in Indianapolis three years ago, super good lookin’ kind of a dick, lately.” 

  He scrubs his hands down his face, “c’mon babe don’t start this shit again.” 

  You were still hurting from your argument last night, he just couldn’t understand how it was a big deal that Chrissy seeked him out to do special k with her, at his trailer, alone. 

  “I’m not starting anything, I just think her intentions are more than getting high.” 

  “It’s an easy sixty bucks, triple what it’s worth— I’d be stupid to turn it down.” 

  “Or just stupid to do it.” 

  The two of you had argued for hours over this, ending the phone call with a slam into the receiver on Eddie’s end. And tear stained pillows on yours. 

  Crazy to think now how that was what was killing you, your boyfriend who was pushing you away. 

  You were so naive, then. Not knowing that within a day's time, Chrissy would be found dead in Eddie’s trailer and he would be missing. And whatever her intentions truly were wouldn’t matter. 

  “No need to apologize,” you whispered into the dark, fingers moving his bangs from his face. 

  He pulled away, reaching for the lamp on his side table and pulling his knees to his chest. “Thought I was past this shit.” 

  “Your doctor said the possibility of them coming back is higher than them leav—”

  “I know—” he barked, rubbing the heel of his palm into his eye, “sorry, fuck I’m tired of it— it’s been six years!” 

-

After Hellfire was over, Eddie paid Mike to make sure you got home safe, which led to you throwing the velvet bag of dice at his chest, demanding answers. 

  “So I’m not allowed to be at your place when she’s there?!” your finger nails dug into your jeans as your hands pressed into your hips. 

  “Oh here we go—“ Eddie breathed out annoyed, “it’ll take a half hour, tops.”

  “so since it won’t be that long it shouldn’t be a problem for me to be there when Chrissy and her skanky ponytail show up, right?” 

  “Well, I’m driving her there.” 

  You almost laughed in his face at his hurtful joke, but when he peered down at you, you knew his dimples wouldn’t show up and he’d tickle your sides kissing you frantically and laughing. 

  He was serious. 

  Driving that cheap tramp to his place, making a sale, doing k and then what? You could see the web she was stringing along, and you knew he did too. He was just playing dumb. 

  “.. wow munson, (a name you only called him when you were mad) hope she swallows.” 

  Rolling his eyes he muttered, “Jesus Christ sweet—” 

  “Don’t sweetheart me!” You said shoving his chest with all your might, he didn’t even tip back onto his heels. “You can use the sixty dollars to pay for your new script when you catch something.” 

  “Grow up, it’s not like that,” he grumbled, blowing you off and walking away from you. 

  “Really?” You chirped, following him to the back of his van, “tell me what it is like then, because last time I checked- I didn’t have guys over at my house without you.”

  “It’s just a sale,” he gritted through his teeth, slamming the back of the van door, “don’t fucking pretend like you weren’t doing the same shit before we started fucking.”

  That was exactly your point. And the fact that he could say it and not even bat an eye or see what her intentions were was fucking insane. 

  Your tongue pressed into your cheek and you ripped his guitar pick necklace from your neck, and threw it as his reeboks, “fuck you.”

  Stomping over to Nancy Wheeler’s station wagon, you hopped in the passenger seat. 

  “Drive Wheeler.”

  “Huh?” Mike said confused and nervous that he was the one to drive you home. 

  “Fucking drive!” 

-

  Whatever could have or would have happened between Chrissy and Eddie never did, she was dead within ten minutes of being at the trailer. 

  And Eddie fled, making a pit stop to grab the only thing important to him, the only one who would believe him, you. 

  You had never seen him like that before. His eyes were wider than they ever were. At first you thought he was fucked up on some bad shit, maybe Chrissy convinced him to do some coke or even worse. 

  “Aww the princess wouldn’t put out?.” You seethed before attempting to slam the door in his face, he caught it with a thick hand and shoved his way in. 

  His face was ghost-white pale, eyes wide and scary like he was a little kid and witnessed a true monster lurking beneath his bed. 

  “Shut up, we have to— c’mon,” he grabbed your wrist and drug you up the stairs to your bedroom, once there he began opening up your drawers and tossing clothes onto your bed. 

  “What the hell are you doing?” you protested, trying to stop him from ripping your entire room apart. 

  “I can’t,” and this was the first time you saw your boyfriend break, he was always strong, holding you when your own mom left with her many boyfriends, brushing your tears away at the end of a sad movie, but here he was, tears stinging his eyes, crying while he held a combination of his clothes that you kept in your dresser and yours. “…can’t explain— right now, please baby, fuck please! Help me!” 

  you did as you were told, opting to ask questions later, you nearly tripped down the stairs with how hard Eddie was dragging you behind him, he stopped in the kitchen and grabbed the first food items he could think of, and thirty seconds later you were in his van, watching him wipe tears from his eyes as he sped through town. 

—

He had never told you the most frightening part of his nightmare, and it wasn’t the bats or vecna or the way he felt like he was suffocating. Or Chrissy’s body snapping like a fucking twig under a bears claw, it was worse than all of that. 

  “It’s the same thing over and over again,” Eddie said between puffs of a cigarette, your warm hand rubbing his back like you always did on bed nights,  “I’m lying there almost dead, and I can see Henderson, feel the bats teeth, but…”

  “It’s okay Eddie, it was traumatizing— but you’ve come a long way, and I’m so proud of you.”

  The truth is what scared him the most. 

-

  “You’re scaring me Eddie,��

  “Yeah- well I’m pretty fucking scared right now too, I have no idea what I— fuck I’m losing my mind.” 

  His foot was pressed flush with the floor, no time for stop signs. 

  “Just tell me what happened so I can help!” you yelled, unable to calm yourself out of fright.

   He turned to look at you and you swore he aged 10 years, “She’s fucking dead, I don’t know how, I don’t know why. She flung into the air like a fucking squirrel or some shit and then she- she, and then she snapped.” 

  “She snapped? Like she went crazy? Like a witch?”

  “What? No, not like a witch! She snapped like her bones fucking snapped and then she fell to the ground and she was— dead.” 

  “Jesus.” 

  “We need to hide, it won’t take very long for someone to notice there’s a dead bitch in my living room.”

  —  

  “You were right.” 

  “What?”

  “She— Chrissy, she wasn’t there that night to buy from me. I didn’t, I swear to you, I had no idea.” 

  “It was so long ago Eddie, it doesn't matter now.” 

  “It does..”

  -

  “I wanna be with you.” 

  Running from the cops, finding out about the upside down and helping your new found friends discover vecna and his curse still couldn’t stop you and Eddie from bickering. 

  He was pissed that you had dove in the water after Robin and Nancy, even more pissed when you resurfaced and found you helping Nancy wrap up a badly bleeding Steve. 

  You were mad that he ate all the honey comb back at Rick’s before you even woke up, leaving you with a rumbling stomach and a growing hatred for him. 

  And worst of all, you were still upset that you were both in this mess. Imagine if he had just listened to you and Chrissy would have died at her own house or better yet at Jason’s. You and Eddie wouldn’t be reeking like an ogre’s armpits and your socks and underwear wouldn’t be soggy.

  And now he didn’t even want you with him.

  “I’ll be fine,” he said with an eyeroll, his chin dipping into the green vest, “I’ll be right back.” 

  -

  Chrissy didn’t come over for drugs, the minute her door slammed in the van she was all over him, rubbing his thigh and walking her nails up his chest. 

  It felt good to be wanted by someone else. He wouldn’t deny it. He felt like you were his past and he wanted something new, something… more. 

  Someone like Chrissy Cunningham. 

  She wasn’t prettier than you were, but she was cute, and he had a crush on her for as long as he could remember. 

  Plus, her boyfriend was the biggest asshole in all of Hawkins High so how great would it be to find out his girlfriend was cheating on him with the freak? 

  He thought of you.

  His girl.

  Your smile, your witty little jokes, the way your curves felt in his hands, how you were the first girl to actually give a shit about him. 

  He loved you, goddamn he fucking loved you. 

  He started second guessing everything that was happening. Suddenly Chrissy’s nails felt like talons and her perfume smelled like rancid rotting fruit, he pushed her away in disgust, and her eyes flickered a sinister shade of milky blue. 

  But before anything could happen, before her lips could even touch his, and before he could tell her to get out and find another way home, she was dead. 

  —

Blood was fountaining from his mouth, he made Dustin promise to take care of the others. And before Dustin could beg him to stay, he heard your voice. Pretty and musical, 

  Eddie bear. 

  You had called to him like an angel. 

  My sweet sweet Eddie, how fucking dumb are you? 

  He couldn’t get away from it, he tried to focus on Dustin’s voice but it was no use. 

  I’m glad you’re dying, you worthless fuck. Now you can lie with that whore, forever. 

—

  “I— I know it was Vecna, but it— fuck baby it’s your voice.” 

  You didn’t cry easily, not anymore. But the tears hit the tops of Eddie’s bare shoulder before you can catch them. And you sob into his neck. 

  “I love you, sweet girl— I’m sorry I’m so sorry.” 

  It wasn’t a secret how much you didn’t like Chrissy, even now when she’s been buried for years you still couldn’t forgive her. 

  You had heard what her plans were when you were stacking paint supplies for Ms. Greenly in the supply closet earlier that week. Her locker was right next tk the closet door snd you could hear everything she was saying. 

   She was talking to Carol about her plans of seducing Eddie, how he had become so hot this past year, how Jason wasn’t filling her needs anymore. But maybe if she got under some trailer trash like Eddie— it would help her appreciate how good she had it. 

  She had just wanted to use him for her own benefit, using the fact that he had liked her years before to win him over. 

  “Plus,” she added, “have you seen the dog he’s dating? Barf.” 

  You may pried open her locker after that, and you might have poured red paint on her Pom poms. But it wasn’t anything she didn’t deserve. 

  Eddie never told you about what he heard when he was fighting for his life that night. 

-

  You had cried so hard when Steve rolled up to the creel house and hollered for you to get in, Eddie was sprawled in the back nearly dead. You jumped in beside him, holding his head in your hands and asking a frantic Dustin what had happened. 

  The rest of the days were a blur. Eddie was stable but in extreme amounts of pain. Feeling guilty that he was the one to come back and Max was still in a coma, bones shattered like Chrissy’s were. 

  You rarely left, visiting every hour you could and sharing Eddie’s hospital bed. 

  “I’m sorry baby, I’m so fucking sorry,” he repeated it almost every hour, you thought it was for him almost dying and refusing to let you come with, but now you understood. 

Six years has passed and you both left Hawkins the week after he was cleared from the hospital. Both unable to stomach the idea of staying in a town that quite frankly was formed on the hubs of hell. 

  Hawkins was your home, but it was filled with toxic memories. Ones that you and Eddie had put behind you, ones that never got brought up. 

  You were in love again, no longer fighting, promising to be together until you were both old and gray. Eddie was the same boy you fell in love with in the band room years before, sweet as can be. Your hero. 

  And maybe it was Vecna’s curse brewing that wedged between you and Eddie to begin with. Vecna saw that he was valuable, much more use to him as a leader among an army of the undead than just an undead soldier. 

  That was Will’s theory at least, explaining why Eddie was distancing himself, why his head hurt all the time why he became so mean and vile, and why he was driving you away. 

  Vecna acted through Chrissy, taunting and teasing him, coming into his dreams and promising him power, riches, and companionship. 

  The nightmares were like a ticking clock, acting on the same four chimes as Vecna worked, four nights of hell for not obeying his orders, for not joining him. 

  For now, he waited in the shadows. He’d wait for however long it took. Waiting for his right hand Kas, to return. 

[thyeternalhunger]

High Magus is resting now go disturb him

[acowardinmordor]

Bedtime angst related to prior thought from a while back.

Time travel Kas. Where V is going to lose, so sends Kas back to like, the day before spring break, and Kas doesn’t have super duper powers, but he makes it easier for V to channel power topside. Which means that he watches gleefully as Chrissy dies, and hides the body. Tracks down Fred soon after to help. They find Chrissy, the town realizes who must have done this, and he sorta kinda did, so they’re not wrong chasing him down.

Dustin was convinced something was wrong with Eddie when he agreed to postpone Hellfire, but no one believes him. When rumors start about Chrissy and Eddie, Dustin is still the one who insists they find him and help him, convinced that this isn’t Eddie.

Patrick dies in front of Eddie and the Party, and Kas puts on a great show of being paralyzed with terror. It’s the perfect way for him to join up with the others and get the last one. Get Max. Except Kas didn’t have time to hide Fred, and the party is genuinely smart. They speed run the research, and Max is in headphones, surrounded by people who love her, and she’s holding it off, even with Kas in the room.

Sometime the next day, Dustin sees Eddie have something like a seizure, before clutching his shoulders and rambling about being in danger to Max, that he’ll do to her what he did to the others, that they need to keep him away from her. A few seconds, that’s all. Then he snaps out of it, and tries to brush it off. He’s annoyed and pushy, but Dustin is pushier. Within an hour, there’s a second episode. About Max and the Creel house, and a warning about bats.

That’s when Dustin, who knows Eddie well enough to understand his references, and smart enough to put it together, realizes that it wasn’t Eddie confessing that killed those people, it was a little bit of Eddie shining through the cracks of someone else.

[fromaliminalspace]

Henry Creel & Eddie Munson: parallels

[resident-gay-bitch]

steve’s pov here :)

prey.

lots of prey.

that’s what eddie knew.

he watched them enter his land through that… thing. that hole in the ground that let off a high pitched sound and kept him in line. it scared him and his brethren. none of them could go near it. it hurts if you do. they’ve all learnt the hard way, whilst trying to escape. it burns your body to touch and turns your brain dizzy.

but the prey passed through it without an issue.

eddie watched from the top of the tree he was perched in, crowded around by his resting family, his cousins and friends. he watched the prey make their way through his world, listened as his master told him to kill.

eddie attacked when they least expected it.

he swooped down and swiped at one of their necks with his claw. he would have gotten it, if that one with curly hair didn’t scream his name.

it sent eddie flying back- he recognised it, the voice. the face.

it wasn’t prey.

it was a friend.

eddie flew away. too scared of what would happen if he stayed.

he couldn’t stay.

his master was mad. beyond mad at him.

he threatened to kill eddie if he didn’t complete his task. he’d send his brethren on the prey and himself.

eddie didn’t want that. he wanted the prey to live, he thought. well… the curly haired one. he didn’t know about the rest. but if not for that curly haired one, eddie might let master carry out that promise. he didn’t like this world. it was cold and dark and he felt dirty and he only remembered pain.

he flew back to his home, to his nest in a place he felt most safe. a safe place that was still standing. his old home, the one with who he thinks is his father from the other world, now destroyed to the hole that was too big and too loud and hurt too much if he flew near it.

his home in the drama room at school. he’d dragged mattresses and pillows and blankets back into the changing room and built himself a nest, collected all his favourite things.

he had a pile for his father, flannelette shirts all piled up on a bunch of random mugs. he had his sweetheart there too. he’d been collecting dice from everywhere he could find them, all different shapes and colours, they were scattered around his nest, and he played with them when he got bored and couldn’t sleep. he had a picture frame shoved there somewhere with a photo of his mother, a flower pressed under the glass that was her namesake. it was the only name eddie could remember; petunia. and he had the mangled old teddy bear she gave him as a baby that he curled up with every night.

but he had his most favourite pile there too, at the place where he lay his head every night. in the pile was a green and white jacket with a name eddie couldn’t read written across the back. there were shirts and two jumpers, a red and a yellow one. he had three odd socks and one pair, and some underwear, and a singular sneaker. he’d taken them all from a large house on the nice looking side of this world, from a room he didn’t like very much, but he remembered the boy that owned all those things was very special to him.

he couldn’t remember his name or his face though, and eddie cried about it every night.

he pottered around his nest, moving his things about and settling down in it. he hurried out and to the other side of his home where he had a pile of things he’d collected that took up too much space in the nest. he sifted through them; some more mugs, a weird al shirt, a pair of drumsticks, some comics, a bunch of action figures, a green ribbon, an old year book, some novels, an acoustic guitar, car keys, a cheer skirt, journals, a lunchbox- all things that made his heart clench to look at, to touch, but he couldn’t remember why.

except for the yearbook.

when he found the yearbook he got so excited he’d stretched out his wings and started flying in the tiny little room. he knocked over a rack of costumes with them, fucked up his nest, and put a hole through the wall. he didn’t care though.

he had the year book almost permanently open to one page. a page he remembered looking at a lot when he was younger. on the page was him, the man that eddie couldn’t remember the name or face of. the one he loved so much. and beside him was another man with eddie’s old face! he’d made it. he remembered making it. he wrote something, but eddie couldn’t read that either.

after finding that year book, eddie looked at the page every day and every night, whenever he could. he often went to sleep with the page open, he’d sometimes just sit there and look at it. he’d draw his claw lightly over the man’s pretty face and sometimes he’d lick it when he particularly missed him.

oh eddie loved him so much.

so that’s what eddie did now. he sat down in his nest and drew over his pretty face and he stretched out his long tongue until it touched the page and then he smiled.

he smiled so much his heart squeezed.

he missed his boy.

but his master was not happy with him. he made eddie go back out to kill them.

eddie promised himself he wouldn’t kill the curly haired one.

he flew out until he found them, and then he swooped down over their heads to give the prey a scare and perched himself atop an electricity pole. he crouched there with his wings hanging heavy down behind him and looked at his next meal.

only, he didn’t attack. not straight away.

there was something familiar about one of them. the one holding a bat over his shoulder, scowling at eddie. he had floppy hair and strong shoulders. eddie thought he’d put up the biggest fight.

but there was something about him.

eddie cocked his head and looked at him some more. looking looking looking. trying to figure him out. he ignored everyone else. the man adjusted his grip on his weapon, ready to swing it at eddie if needed.

eddie moved his head forward because… no…

no it- it couldn’t be.

it was him.

the boy in the picture.

the one he loved!

he straightened his back out in a flesh, sitting up tall, perched on the pole, and he let out a screech of excitement. he hoped the man was just as excited as he was.

his love leered forward slightly, looking ready to fight… to protect. oh, he looked so strong and brave like that, ready to defend his own brethren. eddie admired him so much. he was so beautiful. so strong. so handsome.

eddie stretched his wings out and stood, he let out another thrilled sound because- oh, because he was here! the one he loved was here… in his world! and eddie could have him.

eddie clutched at his heart like he’d just been struck by cupids arrow and fell backwards off the pole, like he was fainting. he was swooning afterall. he hoped to impress this man too.

eddie had to impress him.

so he free fell and right before he hit the ground he stretched his wings out further and lifted himself high into the sky. way higher than he needed to go. he looked down at the one he loved and- oh goodness, he just couldn’t help himself. he tucked his wings around his body and nosedived straight for him.

it’s what he’d seen his family do, when they found their love. one would fly high in the sky and barrel roll into the other, catch them, and take flight again.

it was their mating ritual, so it’s what eddie would do.

he crashed into the pretty golden haired love and had to take a moment to just look at him as he wiggled around on the ground beneath eddie. eddie tired to pin him down, to show him he was safe… it was just eddie. he tried to communicate, clicking his tongue to say “hello, it’s me, i love you” but he didn’t seem to get it.

that was okay.

eddie would show him.

but before he had a chance his wing was struck with an immense amount of pain.

he stretched it out to look, and found a hole clean through it, and he lowered it just enough to see one of his prey, standing there, a gun aimed right at him.

you hurt me, eddie thought, you tore me.

he was going to make her death the most painful. save her for last.

he looked back at his love and grabbed him tight and lifted up info the air. it made him scream, and eddie thought it was a nice sound. similar to his own happy call. eddie really liked this man.

he took him to his home, sweeping through the crack in the roof, down into his little home, and he lay him down in his nest. his love is the only other being allowed anywhere near his home.

the last being to try - his brother and friend - was ripped to shreds by eddie’s own teeth. no one breached these walls again.

eddie laid him down and crawled back to sit by his loves legs, crouched there and waiting. he looked at him curiously. he looked quite different than the picture. he had lighter, floppier hair, and some scruffy fur around his mouth, and he had this thing on his face that made his eyes look a little bigger than usual, and… clothes. in the picture he only had little swim shorts on. eddie hoped his love might take these clothes off soon.

oh eddie thought he was just neat.

the perfect new item to make home of his nest. he’d keep him here forever, that was for sure.

he was eddie’s now.

he looked a little confused, but that was okay. eddie would help him understand anything he needed. all eddie wanted to do was look after his love.

oh. the picture. that would help him understand. that’s how eddie could tell him he loved him.

great idea!

he crawled over to get it, leaving his love in the nest for a little moment. he sifted through some of his other things before retrieving it. he grabbed the book with his teeth, and crawled back over to pretty man, and perched himself as close as possible. he dropped the book between his own feet and pressed his hands on top of it to keep it safe, and waited.

when he turned back around to look at eddie, he freaked out a little. eddie thought it was very sweet. eddie wanted to see every face this man could make, they were all so beautiful. he cocked his head to the side and looked at him some more, trying to figure him out.

to ask if this was okay.

his love held up the jacket with the name eddie couldn’t read. he looked at the jacket, then back at his love, then back at the jacket, then back at his love and he felt warmth bubble up in his chest. he purred, hoping to let his love know what this meant. hoping to let him know he was happy that he was here. that he wanted his love to wear the jacket.

eddie noticed how his love was wearing one thing that meant a lot to eddie himself. a vest. one covered in patches and pins that he used to wear every day. eddie lowered his head to bump his loves shoulder and blinked at him once.

“it’s yours.” his love said, and it made eddie’s heart flutter so much! he loved the sound of his voice. it was so soft and smooth and eddie wished he could talk the same. his love tugged at the sleeve of the vest, “i know, i’m sorry. i hope you don’t mind. it helped ground me on the bad days.”

don’t mind? don’t mind!?

why would eddie mind about that? this was the best day of his life. not only was his love here, but he was here and collecting eddie’s things too.

eddie cocked his head, trying to communicate that of course he was okay with it. that he was okay with anything his love wanted.

“can you understand me?” he asked.

eddie nodded.

“can you talk like me?” he asked again.

eddie really wished he could. he wanted nothing more than to say that he loved him. he wanted to ask his name.

“i’ll take that as a no.” he hummed, and it made eddie’s chest vibrate, “you have a lot of my things.”

eddie wanted to collect more of them.

he dropped the book on his loves lap and watched curiously as he opened it. eddie’s heart was about to leap out of his chest when the man found the page eddie wanted him to see.

his pretty pretty love drew his finger over the page and read out the words eddie had written there many years ago… the words eddie had longed to be able to read or remember, and now he’d know, “by the time you graduate, this will be real, and he will be nice and want you back.”

oh… right.

yes. eddie loved him. he knew now. didn’t he. his love knew and- oh, he was laughing.

eddie didn’t like that. why was he laughing? did he not love eddie too.

eddie screeched at him and pouted because… because why would he laugh? that’s mean. it hurts eddie. it hurts eddie a lot. he would just like to love his love.

oh eddie loved him so much.

he watched with sad eyes as his love realised how much it was hurting eddie, and then he said, “you technically still haven’t graduated, you know?”

oh goodie. his love wanted him too!

he loved him so much he just- oh, he just couldn’t hold back any more. he flicked his tongue out and licked up his loves cheek and it was so much better than licking the picture. this time, when his love laughed, eddie liked it.

this was a good laugh.

“licking? really?”

eddie smiled at him and nodded his head because, yes. of course! he had to show his love and that’s how he did that. that’s what he knew. he hoped his love would lick him back… but maybe that’s not how those creatures showed their love.

that’s okay. eddie would learn eventually.

eddie helped shuffle his love back to cuddle because he didn’t care how mad his master got right now, eddie had his love and he’d finally be able to sleep well. he was sure this would be the first sleep he got without crying since waking up down here, in this world.

he curled up with his teddy and wrapped his wings around his love, curling into his lap and chest. eddie pressed his ear up over his heart to listen to the steady drum beat of it inside. it was one of the best sounds in every world. eddie started to purr again, feeling warm and dizzy against his love. he smelt amazing, and eddie nuzzled his face under the vest to get closer to him.

eddie felt his love pet his head softly and hold him a little tighter. eddie didn’t think he could love something any more than he loved this being right here. he was going to keep him forever. protect him and make sure he was safe, and well fed, and warm. he’d stay here, in eddie’s home, where no one else was allowed to go so eddie could keep him for himself. if he wanted anything, eddie would fetch it for him.

eddie would love him with every fibre in his body and more.

he’d do anything for his love.

he was sure of it.

if only he could remember his name.

[criminally-obsessed]

STEVE: *looks at Kas!Eddie* STEVE: Baby boy. Baby. STEVE: *looks at Vecna* STEVE: Evil.

[hbdttg]

Eddie, or something that used to be Eddie, wanders the Upside Down in the aftermath of it all.

He may not know where or who he is, but he knows he belongs. His heartbeat syncs with those of the screeching creatures that soar up above. The thrumming in his veins mirrors the pulsing of the vines that cover the ground at his feet. The hunger at his core is shared by the flower-faced beasts that roam the earth on all fours. He belongs, so he must be home.

Weeks after waking—or months, or years; time is unpredictable in this place, moving at whatever speed it so chooses, sometimes not moving at all—Eddie happens upon a gate. It's located on Morehead Street and small enough that he might have walked right past it if not for its peculiar orange glow.

Curious, Eddie digs his clawed fingers into its center, tearing through the viscous membrane until there's enough space for him to crawl through. He drags his scarred body through the tiny opening, dropping onto the other side with practiced grace. He finds himself atop what appears to be a crumbling staircase, overlooking a decrepit landscape that stretches on for miles.

Gone are the blue-gray skies, replaced with hazy red, roiling fog, and flashes of vibrant lightning. Gone is the air damp with rot, replaced with a sticky blanket of humidity and the scent of acrid smoke so thick he can taste it on his tongue.

Eddie descends the staircase, heedless of the wet squelch his shoe makes when he steps through a puddle of black, oily liquid at the bottom. Intrigued, he runs a pale hand lightly over a nearby tower of stalagmite. The place is littered with them, pointed spires made of knotted, dormant vines.

Eddie steps toward one of the larger spires, taking in the figure encased in its vines. It's a human girl, fair-haired and slight in stature, held upright against her tower by large, twisted tendrils. There's no life in her, just the stench of death and decay.

For a fleeting moment, Eddie thinks he might know her. But that's impossible. He knows only his brethren, knows only their chitters in the dark and their shrieks overhead.

He turns away from the girl, staunchly ignoring the deja vu that grips him as he walks away from her. It unsettles him, that niggling feeling he's missing something important here.

Without warning, a bell begins to toll, its ominous knell crashing through the air like thunder. The distant sound of footsteps reaches his ears next, accompanied by heavy, panting breaths and the occasional hissed curse.

Eddie conceals himself behind a partially standing wall, peering through its broken glass windows in search of his interloper. He spies a figure approaching, running through the fog in a zig zag pattern, as though trying to evade something. As the figure gets closer and Eddie can make out more of its features, he realizes it's a boy, carrying a bat embedded with nails and dressed in a brown leather jacket underneath a battered denim vest.

Denim vest?

Eddie doesn't have time to dwell on the vague sense of familiarity that flashes through him at the sight of this boy—of the vest—because the fog and miasma behind him slowly start to clear, revealing a large, gnarled creature walking calmly after him.

"Why do you run from me, Steven?" the creature says, its voice sinister and seductive, a long-stemmed rose laden with thorns. "You asked me to find you. You begged to be mine. Because you know, Steve, that only I can end your suffering."

The boy skids to a halt beside the body of the girl. He whirls around to face the creature, throwing an arm up to point at her remains. "End my suffering like you ended Chrissy's?"

Steve? Chrissy?

The creature laughs, an ugly, croaking sound that sends shivers up Eddie's spine. "She is beautiful now," it croons. "And you will be, too, once you join us."

And that confuses Eddie. Because despite his dirtied appearance, windswept hair, sweat-slicked face, and scarred neck, the boy before him is already beautiful.

"You want me?" the boy—Steve—spits as he brings both hands together, knuckles going white as he tightens them around the handle of his bat. He raises it between him and the creature, widening his stance and shifting his weight between his feet in anticipation of a fight. "Come and get me!"

As soon as the words leave his lips, the vines at his feet spring to life, shooting up and thrusting him back against a nearby spire. The force of it visibly knocks the breath out of Steve, but he was apparently expecting something like this, because he managed to bring one hand up to the level of his eye before he was fully immobilized, trapping his wrist in the hold one of the vines has against his neck.

"Poor, foolish Steve," the creature says, slowly approaching him. It huffs out a derisive laugh as it steps over the fallen nail bat, then reaches out a thrawn, leathery hand, hovering it over Steve's face, clawed fingers curling as if to grasp him, puncture him. "You cannot run from me."

Steve gasps and struggles against his binds, but goes still when something new resounds through the air—the sudden blare of an electric guitar, followed by a series of deep and distorted notes that Eddie can feel in his very bones.

Drums come crashing in, loud and unapologetic, and he revels in the sheer power of it all, letting the music wash over him and set his nerves alight.

"Try and stay very still," the creature murmurs, giving the noise no mind. "It will all be over soon."

Slowly, Steve's brows unfurrow and he actually smiles. "Yes, it will," he manages to choke out, the challenge in his voice apparent despite its compromised state, "but not in the way you think."

As if on cue, a voice rings out, rough and raspy and angry and perfect above the thunderous melody that fills the air. The words are familiar, seared in Eddie's mind like a memory. Without a doubt, he knows this song. If only he could remember how he knows it.

With the voice comes a gate, though it's unlike the one Eddie came in through. Its edges are wispy, like the fog itself cleared to make an opening, and he can see clearly through it to the other side.

The scene features three unconscious bodies. The first is Steve's, wearing a set of headphones and levitating several feet off the ground. The second is a young girl's, floating in a bathtub with a blindfold tied around her head. The third is a boy's, slumped over the side of the tub with his fingers intertwined with the girl's.

A gaggle of children are split between them, some kneeling by the tub and others standing below Steve, jumping and screaming up at him. Their faces are so familiar. Eddie wishes he could place them. But all he has to go on are the frantic pounding of his heart and the bone-deep feeling that these people, these strangers, are important.

There are older kids scattered about, too, one of which has her hands wrapped around Steve's ankle, yelling as she tries to keep him tethered. Her voice is muffled, but Eddie can make out her panicked, "That's enough, dingus, it's time to come back! They've got it from here!"

The song swells, powerful and ferocious, and Eddie feels the chords right in his very heartstrings. He looks down at his hands, watches some muscle memory react viscerally to the song's fury, watches his fingers start to curl as if itching to rest on a fretboard.

"This is for Eddie, you ugly son of a bitch!" Steve yells up at the creature. He manages to leverage a bit of space with his trapped hand, then—at the crest of an absolutely face-melting guitar solo—drops his head to take a huge, violent bite out of the vine wrapped around his neck.

Several things happen at once:

1) The creature—Vecna—rears back, affected enough by Steve's display of unhinged ferality that the vines loosen their grip on him. Steve bursts out of Vecna's hold and starts sprinting toward the gate.

2) Two figures materialize behind Vecna: the girl and the boy from the other side. He must be Will the Wise, in all his bowl-cut glory. And she must be Supergirl, if the way she blasts Vecna straight through a nearby wall is any indication.

3) Eddie fucking remembers.

He remembers Hawkins and the Upside Down. He remembers Vecna, and Chrissy, and nearly every single face on the other side of the gate.

He remembers Dustin sobbing over his dying body; he remembers Max offering up herself up as bait; he remembers Lucas turning on the basketball team to help his true friends; he remembers Erica thrusting a belt made of literal bullets into his hands; he remembers Nancy wielding a felonious shotgun into battle; he remembers Robin's knowing expression at hunt the freak. He remembers Mike Wheeler, and Jonathan Byers, and—well, not the long-haired guy next to Jonathan, but that's probably fine.

And of course, he remembers the boy who'd stripped off his yellow sweater and thrown it in Eddie's slack-jawed face, who'd worn Eddie's battle vest over his still-bleeding battle wounds, who'd walked side-by-side with Eddie in a forest full of danger and decay, who'd blushed so prettily when Eddie called him big boy, who'd held Eddie's gaze and warned him not to play hero.

Eddie remembers Steve.

Later, once they both tumble through the gate and end up on the ground in a pile of limbs, Eddie will groan low in his throat and try to untangle himself from Steve's heavy body. Steve, terrified that he might have brought something dangerous back with him, will twist on top of Eddie and nearly slam his head down into the tiled floor, stopping himself only once he realizes exactly who he has pinned under him.

Later, once the party finally stops screaming in response to Eddie's sudden appearance—to his literal resurrection—Steve will drag him into his chest and clutch desperately at his back, rocking their bodies back and forth in near-catatonic shock. Eddie will clutch him back just as tightly, drenching his shirt with hot, wet tears.

Later, after Vecna is reduced to mere dust and Eddie struggles to heal from his months of being trapped alone in an alternate dimension, he'll dial Steve's phone number in the dead of night just to hear another person's voice. Steve will talk about nothing and everything, hanging up only when he can hear Eddie's breaths slow and finally even out through the line.

Later, Steve will admit he purchased Metallica's record shortly after Eddie's supposed death, wanting to hear the song he played in the Upside Down, the legendary song he used to brand himself as bait before running off to protect Dustin and buy the rest of the party more time. Eddie will hide the pleased little thrill that rushes through him at Steve's admission by throwing an arm around him and insisting they'll make a metalhead of him yet.

Later, Eddie will bring the subject up again, curious to know how the song became Steve's Vecna song. Surely he had other options that he'd cherished for far longer than the several months he'd known Master of Puppets. Steve will quietly confess that the song made him think of Eddie, of a fiery, vibrant life snuffed out too soon. And though Steve made the mistake of not turning from the Creel house and running back to Eddie that night in the Upside Down, he knew if he'd ever have to fight for his life trapped in a Vecna mind prison, he'd do it right. He wouldn't for one second hesitate to run toward the song—to run toward Eddie.

Later, Steve will gently cup Eddie's cheek and press in, close enough that they both have to go slightly cross-eyed to keep eye contact, that they feel each other's nervous, shallow breaths in the space between them. Eddie will grapple with the slew of feelings swirling messily in his ribcage before his stubborn resolve wins out and he presses his lips against Steve's in a long overdue kiss.

Later, Steve and Eddie will fall in love. But now?

Now, Steve runs.

And Eddie, or the something that never truly stopped being Eddie, follows.