#ch: lucas sinclair

[samgelina-jolie]

insp

[kickbackkanzaki]

The Dungeon Master and Chess Queen

You're the new student and chess captain at Hawkins High. When Eddie Munson asks you for tutoring you're certain you have him handled but you may have underestimated his strategy.

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

It was morning break on Monday when Eddie came to find you.

You and Max were enjoying the quiet isolation of the picnic bench Eddie usually dealt at. You were sitting lotus style on the table with your chess board set up mid game while Max read a graphic novel you'd found in a thrift store.

Eddie's boots made enough noise to announce himself but you were completely transfixed by the still pieces on their squares. Max saw Eddie but went back to reading without a word.

Today you'd separated her hair into multiple braids and woven them together into a crown. Eddie thought of suggesting you swap book selling for hairdressing but he supposed a legitimate business wouldn't supply the same thrill.

"Sinclair said you two sometimes come up here before class," Eddie tried to get your attention away from the stalled game. "I hope I'm not disturbing you guys and your invisible friend."

Max muttered something about Lucas being a snitch and went back to reading.

You were more polite lifting your eyes and smiled at your visitor.

"I was hoping to catch you actually," you said and motioned for Eddie to join you.

"Really?" Eddie asked suspiciously, "Most people don't say that."

"Do you have ten bucks?" you got the point before he could waffle on. "One of my clients stood me up so I'm short."

"Oh so that's how it works does it?" Eddie asked with mock indignation. "You think a hot time in the janitor's closet opens an account at the Bank of Munson? Well credit denied madam!"

"I left half my good lipstick on you!" you protested joining in the joke. "You owe me! They're quality cosmetics!"

"I'll pay that," Eddie conceded with a chuckle and passed you some crumpled notes from his vest pocket. "What are you buying?"

"Greyhound tickets to Detroit," you answered and smoothed the currency on your leg. "I'm playing at a tournament this weekend. I'll pay you back next week plus ten percent of anything I win."

"Done deal honey."

"Hey, ten bucks doesn't buy you familiarity," you warned jabbing the notes his way threateningly.

"We're beyond familiar babe," Eddie replied then turned to Max. "Scoot kid, I need to talk to your mum."

"Do what I've shown you Max," you sighed returning your attention to the board.

Max flipped Eddie off with both middle fingers and told him to, "Die in a fire."

"I see you're a big inspiration for the youth," Eddie remarked snidely as Max packed the graphic novel in her bag.

"Says the man running a cult," you countered and turned to Max who was on her feet. "You don't have to go because of this guy."

"I don't want to hang around for the pillow talk," Max grunted. "I'll see you later?"

"Yep. Science Lab B for chess at lunch. I have a new opening for you."

Max stomped away through the undergrowth and you were left alone with Eddie and the chess board.

"Did you say I was a cult leader?" he asked when Max was out of earshot.

"You're a charismatic guy with wild hair who recruits young people to join him in practices outside the mainstream and adorn themselves in matching garb," you answered with a small shrug. "Pretty apt description."

"That doesn't make me a cult leader," Eddie retorted and crossed his arms.

"Whatever you say," you said as a smile started rising on your lips. "Just don't run a Kool Aid stand at the next school carnival."

That tickled Eddie's macabre sense of humour and he had to laugh. He and his Hellfire Club had been called a lot of nasty things but no one had the nerve to tease him to his face.

Besides, coming from a chess captain it was insults amongst outcasts.

"What did you come here for Eddie?" you asked.

The bell would ring soon and you needed to cut the banter.

"I wanted to check how you were with the suspension and everything," Eddie slipped his long legs over the bench so he could sit near you. "I would have called but none of your friends would give me your number. Robin said I'd make heavy breathing calls."

"Probably best you didn't. Dad has a habit of answering and trapping people on the line," you admitted.

"Yeah I heard your dad's a little-" Eddie broke off when he saw your friendly expression suddenly drop and eyes narrow.

"Go on," you dared.

"Never mind," Eddie was smart and changed the subject. "How much trouble did I get you in?"

"Got me in?" you nose crumpled from your confused expression. "I got you in trouble, I undid your pants to conceal my controversial library."

"Which I made you show me," Eddie interjected.

"Let's not squabble over details," you said rubbing your temples. "All Dad asked was who I was kissing and why so nothing came of it."

"He was cool with you kissing me? Really?"

One time he had seen his lab partner with her mother at the supermarket and had helped load their shopping onto the conveyor belt. Come Monday he was reassigned a new lab partner because the mother didn't want her daughter subjected to a "long haired thug" who would destroy her chemistry grade.

"A really nice guy who helped prevent a book burning? What's the problem with that?" you asked with open hands.

Eddie was rarely silent so you worried he was catatonic by the way he stared at you blankly while the birds chirped and trees rustled around you.

He thought your fiery defense of his character in the principal's office had stemmed from your need to rebel against Higgins, not genuine faith in his character.

He could count on one hand those who would stand up for him.

"Eddie?"

"Um yeah," Eddie came back online and blinked a few times to dissolve the glassiness of eyes. "I was wondering something else while you're here."

Your stomach began to twist and you held your breath. You'd been worrying about this possibility during your suspension, that Eddie would mistake your cunning romantic ruse for something real.

Something he would want to pursue.

"I hear you do some tutoring for the middle schoolers," Eddie continued before he lost his nerve. He never like admitting he was vulnerable. "I was wondering if maybe you could help me out with a few subjects?"

"Oh, yeah, sure," you stumbled through your quick reply. "We can sort something."

The bell rang and you both leapt into action relieved to end the awkward conversation. You had been rehearsing the 'Let's Be Friends' speech since the weekend and were elated to now know it wasn't needed.

Eddie was likewise pleased as he's half expected you to be contemptuous. He hadn't been suspended like you, he'd spent the last week in after school detentions where he'd asked around about the impressive grades Principal Higgins had mentioned.

Apparently you would be this year's valedictorian if only you could tell people to fuck off less. Hawkins High was not going to let you make the graduation speech for the Class of 86.

One of his fellow reprobates mentioned his younger brother was getting tutoring from you and Eddie started to think. He could feel this was going to be his year and now he knew why, the universe had brought you to him.

Eddie helped you pack up the board and offered a gentlemanly hand to help you off the table.

"Who won?" he asked showing his good mood. "You or Mr Invisible?"

"I lost that one," you admitted as you made your way down the hill together. "I was trying to find where they first made the play I didn't see."

"Who in the club beat you?" he asked curiously.

"That was a match from a local tournament three years ago. I like to go over my old games and analyse my opponent's strategies," you explained.

"You're shitting me," Eddie scoffed as the prison of Hawkins High came into view. "You can't remember the layout from that long ago."

"I shit you not," you countered and gave him a dead serious look. "I remember all my games. Even my first one."

That sounded incredibly spurious but somehow Eddie could believe it. He'd never seen you play but an amateur wouldn't take a six hour bus to play chess against strangers on a weekend.

"Well you better give me a kiss before we go to class," Eddie said changing the subject as you walked into the building.

"Pardon me?" you asked amazed at his hubris.

This guy had some serious balls if he thought you were going to dish out kisses like lollipops on vaccine day.

"The Eye on Sauron is upon us babe which means-"

"Principal Higgins is watching us for any further sign of felonious behaviour," you translated before you got buried in Tolkien theology. "So we best feed the gossip mill who will quilt us a cover with their vicious whispers and spiteful stories. I read Lord of the Rings too."

"Baby I'm not sure if you can get any hotter right now," Eddie purred silky and leaned in for the kiss.

Your lipstick printed on his mouth and you slipped a hand around his neck to feel the smooth skin under his jacket collar. There was no passion in the exchange but you had to admit the way Eddie brushed your hair behind your ear with his calloused guitarist's fingers wasn't entirely unpleasant.

You received a few catcalls and crude comments then pulled away from each other.

Mission successful.

Eddie had such a smug smile on his handsome face you couldn't let him swagger away in victory.

"Tolkien was overrated," you whispered in his ear and wiggled your butt so it suggested you were promising future favours. "Too many descriptions of fucking trees."

Eddie's nostrils flared like an enraged bull's and he opened his mouth to destroy you but your hand was already moving towards the winning move.

"I'm gonna eat this for lunch!" you yelled over the student herd migrating around you and gave Eddie's crotch a tight squeeze.

The crowd went wild with whoops and shouts and you held the delicate bulge just long enough for an appropriate amount of people to witness it.

Eddie was frozen in place and his bag slipped from his shoulder landing on the floor spilling his pens and books. His mind couldn't comprehend what was going on but his cock could.

The warmth and strength of your grip had opened the hormone floodgates and blood rushed straight into his length. You'd let go but his dick was crying out for more like a semaphore flag waving frantically for attention.

"Don't leave me hungry baby!" you hollered and ran towards your history class.

Checkmate.

[dame-zoom-a-lot]

Art by @/waldos-art

Batteries Not Included Ch 4

Rating: MATURE (mostly due to violence but some sexual undertone)

Hello! I'm actually scheduling this instead of procrastinating until the mood strikes me because I have a really exciting trip coming up on Thursday.

Thank you so much to @fkinkindagauche as always for keeping me interested in my own fics with their fantastic beta work. I actually went to the grappling classes at my gym so I could properly write this chapter. And I hate grappling.

Gauche also wrote some excellent homoerotic fight scenes in Please Please Please

Ch tags: Emotional hurt, hints of suicidal thoughts, Steve Harrington's self worth hitting rock bottom then grabbing a shovel, homoerotic fight lessons

divider by @/saradika-graphics

Steve would want him to wait until school let out like a good little boy. Go home. Do his math homework. Wait for Steve to roll up in his beemer and pick him up. Squabble about who gets to ride shotgun until Steve gives in and lets them take turns.

But. Steve also got his head smashed in yesterday. If it weren't for El…

If it weren't for El, Steve would have died for him. There's a blood debt now. Sinclairs always pay their dues. Lucas glares at the radio rune he drew on the ground as it fails and fails and fails to connect to Steve. Steve promised he'd carry his radio bracelet around in case there was an emergency. And Lucas is pretty sure there's nothing wrong with his rune. It's just that Steve isn't picking up.

Why isn't he picking up?

Mike and Max are shooting fireballs at the weird knot on the fence while arguing about who's the better shot. They're not supposed to be doing any magic during recess, let alone fireball, but Mrs. Reynolds, today's recess monitor, is too busy breaking up a huge fight. Someone's summoning big balls of spiders. Something about cheating in dodgeball. Who cares.

Now's their chance.

"Both of you. Shut up," Lucas hisses.

Mike and Max glare. Mike puts his hands to his hips. Max rolls her eyes and crosses her arms. "Language," she chides.

Lucas won't grace that with a response. He points his chin at Mrs. Reynolds, then at their bikes.

"You…you want to play hooky?" Mike asks, worried.

"Steve isn't answering the radio," Lucas says, trying to tamp down the sob that keeps trying to erupt out of his throat. "We need to go check on him."

"He's probably in class," Max says with her nose wrinkled. "Besides, I told you idiots that he's going to stop answering if you keep asking him for emergency rides to the arcade."

"But why would he stop answering today? What if Billy went back for him?" Lucas squeals.

All the color drains out of Max and Mike's faces in sync. It would have been funny if it weren't for…

"Yeah… yeah we should go," Mike stammers. Max is already going for her board.

Steve is alive.

He's pissed.

"Why aren't you at school?" he asks, glowering at all three of them. Lucas shrinks. Mike looks at the ground. Max rolls her eyes.

"Why aren't you at school?" she chides, marching into the house as if everything is normal. Lucas trails behind her with an apologetic smile. He can feel Mike behind him. Steve grumbles the way he always does before he gives in to whatever they ask for.

Max suddenly stops, and Lucas nearly plows into her.

"What's that?" she whispers, pointing at something in the middle of the foyer.

Lucas follows her fingers, and sees.

At first, he doesn't recognize what it is. There's a loud ringing in his ears that he vaguely recognizes as Mike yelling. But he's too focused on the… thing in front of him to parse the sounds.

It's a torso, and limbs. The limbs are tightly wound about the torso. It quakes and stutters as if the body is having a seizure. There is no head. The part at the end of the neck--where the head should be--is just gray static.

It's wearing Will's shirt, the one he was wearing the night he disappeared.

The body disappears.

It comes back, and this time a leg is coming out of the ribs. It glitches again. In and out. In and out.

Lucas feels his knees hit the floor. Vaguely knows a bruise is forming. Mike rushes past him in a blur. He pounces on the body. Tries to grab it.

His fingers go straight through.

Mike sobs and scrambles, pawing at every part of the thing (Will?). His fingers keep hitting the rough carpet. But Mike keeps digging, punching at the body, yelling at it to come back. There's blood on the floor. Max and Steve are clutching him, trying to get him to stop. He hits at them. Claws at their faces. El stands in the corner of the foyer, face ashen.

Billy comes out of nowhere and grabs Mike like he weighs nothing. Tucks him under his arm like a football and starts carrying him past the foyer into the living room.

"What the fuck are you staring at? Come here!" He yells sternly.

Then Billy's arm, the one clasping Mike to his stinky pits, disappears and Mike lands on the floor with a yelp.

"What the… fuck is happening?" Max asks.

"Ok, ok, ok, ok, ok," Mike sighs into his hands then looks up at everyone. Max and Lucas are sitting on either side of him on Steve's too-big, too-soft couch. Steve stares at him like he might lose it and go scrambling to Will's body any second. El is standing in front of them, shaking. Billy left a while ago.

"That's Will," Mike continues, "I told you he didn't drown in the quarry."

Steve nods, frowning. He's standing behind El, rubbing her shoulder.

"And El, you're saying the rest of him is… missing?"

"Yes," El says shakily.

"Ok then, what are we waiting for?" Mike yells, "we should go find the rest of him! El, do the thing you did to find this part, and we'll--"

"Can't," El whispers.

"You won't even try," Mike yells again.

Steve steps forward and puts himself between Mike and El. El peers out from around Steve's waist.

"Mike, El needs her tools, and those tools are with the people she escaped from. We don't even know that finding the other parts will actually bring Will back."

Mike cranes his head up, glaring. Steve can try to use his height advantage all he wants, but Steve is as intimidating as a… worm.

"Well then we can find the other part, then we'll try to put them back, then we'd at least have a body to bury wouldn't we?" Mike says, matching Steve's condescension. It's maddening. It won't just be a body to bury. Will's body was moving. He's clearly alive. If El would just get her head out of Steve's ass and try, they'd have Will back in no time.

"El, if you don't want to go get the tools yourself, that's fine," Lucas says, placating, "we can go get them. Where is this place?"

El squeaks and buries her head into Steve's back. Steve gently pries her off.

"Enough," Steve says. He does something, and the couch sprouts…legs, big, spindly, ugly ones that would have made Mike laugh and be reluctantly impressed the day before. Now it's just making him hopping mad. He tries to launch himself off the couch, but he's stuck. He can see Lucas and Max also flailing, trying to get off this stupid fucking chair.

"You--" Mike stammers out, too angry for words, "you tricky fucking mouthbreathing--"

"Here's what's going to happen," Steve continues, walking with the couch as the thing scuttles towards the front door. He's using a tone Mike's never heard before. He hates this. It's like talking to a different person. "I'm driving you back to school. You're going to apologize to your teachers. And you're not coming back here anymore until El specifically invites you and you have permission from your parents. I'm talking signed slips."

"We just--" Max starts.

Steve cuts her off. "And if you tell anyone about El, if I see a single person I don't know come sniffing around here, she and I are gone. You got that? You'll never see her again."

Mike gets detention then his mom grounds him for two weeks. He spends his detention time methodically tearing up all the little drawings he'd made of Steve's bat.

Harrington's eyes are bright when he comes home from dragging the kids back to school. He bangs about the house, reinforcing all the windows and doors like someone possessed. El trails after him, her little forehead screwed up in worry. He occasionally leans down to give her a hug or scratch her head, but it's half-hearted. He's jumpy. Mouth taut and ready to snap.

Billy keeps to himself.

He tries not to think too hard about what he's going to do. This is day two at Casa Harrington. He's not sure what's going to happen when those brats blow the secret and the place gets to crawling with those…'bad men' El won't shut up about.

Would Harrington ask him to come with? No, obviously not. So he'll be left here alone with his fucked up, glitching body, at the mercy of a bunch of goons that a girl who can push a grown man into the walls with her mind is scared of.

Shit. Maybe he should take his chance with Neil. It'd be pretty funny if that bastard tried to punch him in the guts and his guts just went 'poof'.

There's a knock at his door. Harrington steps in without waiting for an answer.

"Jesus Christ Harrington. What was the point of knocking?" Billy barks.

"Teach me to fight," Harrington replies. He's shaking.

"Fight what?" Billy asks.

"I'm going over to get El's things. I need you to teach me how to hold my own."

Billy bursts out laughing. It's not really funny. But the surprise catches him off-guard.

"Fuck you," Harrington growls, "stop making fun of me and be fucking useful for once."

"You want to go fight the 'bad men'," Billy says, making air quotes with his fingers, "the bad men that El is terrified of."

"Yes. Glad you've got some brain cells knocking around in that thick skull," Harrington says resentfully.

"I beat the crap out of you. Then she beat the crap out of me without even trying. What makes you think you've got any chance against a bunch of dipshits that can beat the crap out of her?" Billy asks, now laughing so hard he can barely breathe.

Harrington stares at him, unfazed. There's that prissy little frown on his face that he gets when his teammates aren't throwing the ball right because they all have the hand-eye coordination of a fucking toddler.

"And even if I have the skill to get through those assholes. What makes you think I could teach you? I could be training you for months and you wouldn't get to be half as good as I am," Billy finishes. He's feeling furious for some reason, but that's pretty normal. Anger is good. Better than nothing.

"Not months," Harrington sighs, "few hours. Right now. I'm going to get her stuff tonight."

Billy huffs and gesticulates wildly, about to repeat all of his good points from earlier. But Harrington cuts in with the bitchiest little tut Billy's ever heard.

"Look. Point taken. You're not wrong. But," Harrington sighs, "I'm a quick study. And I'm not planning to full out fight. I can be sneaky. Just need to be able to hold my own if I get cornered."

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Billy asks, genuinely curious. First the free baby-sitting. And now the suicide mission? Who is this guy?

"Look," Harrington sits on the edge of Billy's bed, close enough that Billy gets a quick waft of whatever it is that Harrington uses on his stupid hair. There's an undercurrent of stress sweat. Billy wrinkles his nose, not that Harrington notices or cares.

"These kids are fucking geniuses," Harrington continues. "And they're also the dumbest motherfuckers I've ever met. They're going to figure out where El came from on their own. Then they're going to go there then get killed. I need to get in ahead of them and fix this before that happens."

"And if, no when, you get hurt? Die?" Billy asks, rolling his eyes.

"Won't be much of a loss," Harrington says. "They'll move their location when they catch me and realize they've been compromised. Then the kids won't get hurt, and they'll grow up to… I don't fucking know, become necromancer supreme or something. Fix the energy crisis. Eradicate cancer."

It's the stupidest thing Billy's ever heard. Steve must know, because he's talking at the floor now. He plays with the hem of his shirt, which is already starting to fray a bit.

"What about El you dipshit?" Billy snaps.

"She's taken care of," Harrington says. He raises his head again with a look on his face Billy's never seen on someone their age. "But you can make it less likely I'd die," he says. A smile forms on his face that doesn't reach his eyes.

Harrington leans forward with the same smile. It's the move, Billy realizes, that move he does to girls when he wants to show off how he can get them all flustered. "C'mon Billy," Harrington croons, "this works out for you too. If I get El's stuff, she'll find the rest of wherever the fuck your parts are."

Harrington leans in even closer and all Billy can sense is hazel eyes and moles and expensive shampoo and Harrington skin and…

Billy shifts and puts both feet on Harrington's skinny ass. He pushes and Harrington topples forward with a surprised yelp, right on Billy's thighs. Billy bucks up, hard enough to send Harrington toppling right off the bed. Harrington stares at him from the floor, mouth wide open, panting.

"First lesson," Billy says, looking down at Harrington. He can feel a manic grin forming on his face. "Watch the limbs."

Harrington nods, resolute.

"She's not going to barge in and rip my heart out is she?" Billy checks with sudden panic.

"No, I drugged her," Harrington says casually. He struggles up, wincing as he brushes a hand lightly over his hip. "Ok. Keep going."

Billy gets off the bed, right into Harrington's space. "Punch me," he taunts.

Harrington frowns then winds up. Billy knees him right in the balls, lightly. Harrington doubles over with a winded gasp right into Billy's arms. There's that smell again.

"What did I say?" Billy growls.

"Watch the limbs," Harrington pants.

"And don't wind up so much. Makes it too easy to see what you're going to do, and makes you too slow. That's why I blocked you so easy during tryouts."

"That wasn't a block you asshole. You tackled me. During basketball."

"Whatever, you still shouldn't broadcast where you're going," Billy grips Harrington by the shoulder to stand him up. Harrington gets back into fighting position. Damn. Billy thought he'd be scared off by now. He didn't knee him that hard, but he didn't totally whiff that either.

Apparently Steve Harrington isn't the fucking bitch he likes to come off as.

Billy aims a low kick at Harrington's calves without warning, trying to sweep his feet out and knock him down to the ground again.

Steve is ready. He backs off out of range then pounces on Billy before he's had time to plant his feet again. Billy goes down with a huff, pulling Steve down with him. They end up on the ground with Steve on top. Steve sits above him, straddling his belly with a proud little smile.

It's kind of… cute.

Billy wraps both legs around Steve's waist and twists. Steve goes down with a yelp. Billy spins so he's on top of Harrington. He leans down close, pushing his full weight on Steve's chest to show him how it's done. Steve struggles vainly, but there's not much he can do now.

Their faces are inches apart. Steve has the start of a stupid little mustache that accentuates his plush lips. He has moles on his long neck. His tongue is red and wet. Steve's eyes are huge. The corners of his eyes angle a bit downwards, makes him look like a kicked puppy. His jaw is square with sharp lines.

Billy wants to stick his fingers in Steve's mouth. Explore the too-straight, too-white teeth. Stick a finger up his model-perfect nose.

"Urf," Steve breathes out, his face red.

Billy scrambles off him, huffing. "Don't just fucking smile when you're on top, you idiot," he chides, trying to sound casual, unbothered. "Finish fights quickly. When the guy's under you, grab them by the hair and bash their head on the floor. Capiche?"

"Uh, yeah, yeah," Steve says, nodding frantically. He shifts and crosses his legs, still on the floor.

"What happened to training? Why the fuck are you still on the floor?" Billy barks. Steve blushes even deeper. He scrambles up, leaning forwards toward Billy. He raps his knuckles on the top of Steve's head.

"Don't get up like that. What if I have a knife? Lean back, slide your leg under, yeah, just like that," Billy breathes out. Steve moves exactly as directed. He has long legs that look better in those stupid basketball uniforms.

Oh.

Oh.

Steve has an erection so hard it's tenting through his jeans. Billy pretends not to see. Steve, somehow, blushes even harder.

"What are you doing? You think you've got all year? Come at me," Billy snarls.

Steve nods. The redness fades a little from his cheeks. He winds widely with his left, again. Billy huffs with disappointment and moves away, anticipating the hit.

Then Steve's right fist comes out of nowhere and lands on his gut. Not full strength. But enough push to show that he could have hurt. Billy gasps and ducks the following left hook. Steve sweeps Billy off his feet with the same low kick Billy tried on him earlier. Billy stumbles and Steve seizes that moment to push him into the wall, clutching his shirt.

Shit.

Steve was right. He is a quick study.

Steve is grinning wide. It makes his eyes crinkle in a way that's pure joy. He smells like sweat and cologne and skin. He lightly knees Billy in the balls, just to show that he can. Billy's stupid, stupid fucking dick stirs.

Steve's faces is inches away. If he just leans forward…

Steve stumbles back. They continue to stare for a bit too long. Billy can feel his face heating up. He's paler than Steve. Indiana's done fuck all for his tan. Steve's eyes flit down, widen, then shoot back up to Billy's face.

He wants to wrestle. Wants to feel Steve's long fingers grasp his arm and twist. Wants those smooth knuckles to drive into his side. He wants…

"I think you're good," Billy says, "I'm a great teacher."

"Yeah, uh, yeah, right, yep, right," Steve stutters, "the best, absolutely, ermm… you… gonna need anything?"

"Just go," Billy growls. Steve scampers.

Steve throws himself onto his bed and screams (softly) into his pillow. Billy Hargrove has a sharp red tongue that pokes around his blood red lips. Gets them all wet and shiny. Billy Hargrove has deep blue eyes that widen when Steve manages to surprise him. Billy Hargrove knows how to hold back a punch. Knows how to give directions. Billy Hargrove has soft curls and stubble that accentuates the angles of his chin.

Billy Hargrove has a wide chest and shoulder and Steve has this insane nonsensical urge to nuzzle it.

What the fuck.

Steve raps the side of his head lightly. Now is not the time to give a shit about how Billy fucking Hargrove's thick thighs felt around his waist (bad, that's how it felt. Bad). Now is the time to prepare.

He gets his bat and gets down to business. This bat will be his only weapon. It needs to be aerodynamic. It needs to erupt in spikes. It needs to come flying back into his hands when he flings it at an asshole with a gun.

Billy strides in without even bothering to knock when Steve is deep in the throes of making his bat fireproof.

"That's what you're taking with you?" he says in disbelief.

"I magicked the fuck out of it," Steve says petulantly, "and it's not like I can just get a gun and I have like slug-levels of mana. So if you can save your breath--"

"I'm coming with you," Billy states.

"You're…coming with me?"

"Yeah," Billy says. He starts to rifle around Steve's closet and drawers. He rolls his eyes at the bowling pin and mutters something when he opens a drawer full of polos in different shades.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait. I thought you said this is a suicide mission?" Steve asks, trying to grapple with the fact that the worst person he knows is putting his neck on the line for him, unprompted. Tommy would never have in a million years.

"It would be a suicide mission with just you," Billy says derisively, "but I'm me."

Billy continues when Steve doesn't grovel appropriately in thanks. "Look, I worked hard for this body alright?" he growls, "and I'm not letting you get in there by yourself, spook the fuck out of those goons, and die. Then I'll never be able to get myself back."

"You realize we're going against an actual threat right? Not your nine-year-old sister and her friends," Steve says snidely. Billy visibly flinches and he feels a little bad. "You don't have to stick your neck out like this," he finishes more gently.

"I wasn't going to fight a bunch of nine-year-olds you jackass. I fought you, and I beat the crap out of you so," Billy crosses his arms and leans against the drawer with a manic smile, "think of this as warranty. I'm stronger than you. Got more mana than you. Definitely smarter than you. And I'm not letting you be my only hope for getting my body back."

"Alright, your funeral," Steve says, throwing up his hands. Billy smirks, and Steve only kind of wants to punch him.

[hawkins-losers]

Be strong, Red | Eddie Munson x Mayfield!Reader

Summary: Eddie surprised you at the hospital

Notes: In this version, Eddie didn’t die at the end of season 4. He is alive, and he is not Kas. He and Dustin got away from the demo-bats, he just has some bite injuries that are not too bad. I got this idea when season 4 ended, but never finished it. After seeing Sadie back on set for season 5, I picked it back up.

Warnings: spoilers for season 4, mention of injuries

—

Days passed since everyone got back from the Upside Down. Mike came back from California — with the whole Byers crew. Hopper was not dead…which was a shock to everyone. And Eddie was still the most wanted man of Hawkins. 

Because of that, he couldn’t return to live with his uncle. It pained him to play dead and lie to the man who raised him, but it was only until they figured a way to prove that he did not commit the murder of Chrissy. That could take a while, though…

Until then, Dustin got the brilliant idea of hiding him at Hopper’s cabin. It got a bit destroyed during past encounters with monsters, but everyone brought a hand and fixed the place. It wasn’t the Four Seasons, but it was better than Reefer Rick's dock house. 

Steve and Dustin brought him clothes and food, and visited regularly. But Eddie quickly got bored. He was also confused why his girlfriend had not come to see him yet. A week has passed already. Did they not tell her he was alive? 

He got his answer one afternoon while he was eating frozen hot pockets. Mike and Dustin were talking about Lucas being at the hospital until 6pm, which raised Eddie’s attention. 

‘’Why is Sinclair at the hospital? Did he get hurt or something?’’ 

Mike nervously glanced at Dustin, who gave him ‘absolutely not’ eyes. Their silent exchange told Eddie that there was something they weren’t telling him. And he wanted to know now.

‘’What do you mean ‘Red is at the hospital’?’’ 

After getting fed on everything he didn’t know, Eddie grabbed a hoodie and headed toward the door. His girlfriend’s little sister was in a coma and no one told him? He was fuming. 

Dustin tried to stop him, blocking the door with his body. ‘’Are you insane? You can’t go to the hospital! There’s police all over town—’’ 

Eddie played deaf as he slipped on his shoes. ‘’What? I see your mouth move, but I can’t hear the words.’’ 

Dustin glared at him. ‘’Nancy wanted to tell you, but Steve said that if you knew you would try to go and you really can’t do that. I know you want to be with them right now, with her, but that’s too big of a risk.’’ 

‘’Dustin’s right!’’ Mike agreed. ‘’Maybe we can find another way?’’

Eddie did not listen to his little sheeps. He waited for them to leave and went into town. 

Sneaking into the hospital was easy and, surprisingly, so was finding Max’s room. Since she was under eighteen, the only place she could be was the pediatric unit. Once on the right floor, all Eddie had to do was read every name on the doors until he found ‘Maxine Mayfield’. It was a long process, but he made it. 

Hand on the door knob, Eddie paused. What if there was a doctor inside, or a nurse? Worse, your mother? They wouldn't hesitate to call security on him. 

So he did a small prayer as he took a deep breath, then pushed the door and stepped in. Inside, the curtains were shut, dimming the brightness of the room. Thankfully, there were no doctors or other adults. Just you. 

Lucas must have gone home.

Your back was facing the room, but Eddie recognized the back of your red hair. The same as Max's. You were sitting alone by your sister's side. 

Max. 

Eddie let his eyes drift from you for a few seconds to check on the little one who threw his Iron Maiden cassette out the window on the way to school. She had a cast on both arms and legs, and a cervical brace around her neck. Eddie’s stomach churned. Mike and Dustin had warned him that it was bad, but he didn't think it was that bad. She looked just like Chrissy.

‘’Red.’’

The voice made you bolt up from your chair. You knew he was alive, Dustin told you that the death rumors were false, but seeing him in person made it more real. His curly hair was covered with a hat and he had a hood on to further cover his face and identity. He had no rings, chains or band tee shirt. Just plain old clothes that didn't look like they belonged to him. 

Your feet brought you to him, and tears welled in your eyes when his arms closed around you, a rush of emotions crashing. You had vowed to yourself to not cry in front of your mother anymore. It was so hard for her to see Max in a hospital bed, you needed to be strong for her or else she might lose herself under alcohol bottles.

‘’Please don’t let me go,’’ you said against Eddie’s shoulder, holding him so tight it was probably crushing his lungs. 

Eddie didn’t complain. He let you take what you needed and kissed the top of your head.

—

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[hbyrde36]

Life is a Game (and True Love is a Trophy)

Chapter 9

Ch 1 Ch 2 Ch 3 Ch 4 Ch 5 Ch 6 Ch 7 Ch 8 ao3 link

*Eddie*

Eddie pressed his fingers to his mouth as he walked down the front steps, still feeling the ghost of Steve's soft lips against his own. He felt like he was walking through a dream, instead of the nightmare that his life had become in the past 24 hours. Though that feeling began to drift away rapidly as he got into his fan and drove away from the trailer, and Steve and Eleven. 

Once he was alone, with nothing to distract him and no sound other than the hum of the engine, Eddie couldn't help but start spiraling, just a little. 

Could Steve have really meant what he said, when it was far more likely that he had just latched onto Eddie because he was the first person who’d helped him after two years in what was essentially captivity?

Did Steve actually like him, or was this some kind of Stockholm Syndrome thing?

No, that was for kidnappers.

Florence Nightingale syndrome?

It was a slightly better match, but it wasn’t as if he’d nursed Steve back to health or anything. 

Okay, so maybe there wasn’t a fancy name for it, but the two of them had been pulled together under wild circumstances. Was it so surprising that they might cling to each other as anchors for their respective ships in this storm?

A little, considering they were both boys and he had been 100% sure that Steve Harrington was straight, right up until the moment he’d kissed him!

Eddie knew, at least for his part, that it was more than a thing born of shared trauma. He’d been crushing on Steve for years, and had fantasized about kissing him countless times. The reality of it had been better than he could have ever imagined, too good to be true in fact, or maybe that was him projecting his own fears.  

It was a scary thing to be handed everything you ever wanted, and even more frightening to accept it when you’ve spent so long being absolutely sure that it would never be an option.

As he pulled into the high school parking lot he decided to just put the whole thing out of his mind for now, as best he could anyway. There were much more important things to worry about than his love life.

The bell rang, and he watched from his parking space as students began pouring out of the school. He spotted Mike and Will first, the two of them having grown so tall this year that they stood out from the crowd. He peered behind them, knowing Lucas and Dustin wouldn’t be far off. The four boys were rarely without each other, except when Lucas had basketball practice of course. Which he must have today, Eddie realized, when he found Dustin bringing up the rear on his own. 

He stepped out of the van and made a beeline for the boys, wanting to catch them before they got on their bikes and took off. 

“Hey shitheads!” Eddie shouted, hands formed around his mouth to boost the sound.

All three boys whipped their heads in his direction. Dustin’s expression morphed from a wide happy grin into a worried frown in an instant. Mike and Will just looked confused. Eddie jogged the last few feet to them, in a hurry to get everyone on board and get back home as soon as possible.

“Is everything okay?” Dustin asked, at the same time Mike said, “Where were you today? 

“Everything is fine” Eddie began, holding significant eye contact with Dustin, then looking at the others. “But there is something back at the trailer that I need you all to come see.”

Dustin gasped.

“What is it?” Mike asked, sounding annoyed.

Will was quiet, watching it all go down with a slightly amused smile on his face. He was definitely in the running to be Eddie’s favorite today.

“All will be revealed in due time, young Wheeler. Go throw your bikes in the back of the van. I’m gonna see if I can snatch up Sinclair before his practice starts.”

Mike opened his mouth, either to ask another question or to argue, but Dustin elbowed him in the ribs and told him to hurry up. Will had already unlocked his own bike from the rack and was walking it towards the parking lot. 

Yup, favorite kid. 

Eddie set off in the direction of the gym. He opened the door only to see Chrissy who had just come from the girls' locker room. It was perfect timing. 

She smiled at him and ran over, her sneakers squeaking on the court as she did. 

“Eddie! You weren’t in school today. You okay?”

He smiled in return. Chrissy was a literal ray of sunshine and he couldn’t help but react to that, no matter how weird his day had been.

“Yeah, I just had some family stuff to take care of.”

He scrambled for a way to ask her to come with him. If things did pan out the way they feared, she was in very real and immediate danger, and he just couldn’t imagine letting anything happen to her. 

He didn’t really want to give anything away until he could prove it, and there were too many prying eyes and ears for him to just blurt out - I found Steve Harrington in the woods! But he had to try something.

“I know you’re about to start cheer practice,” Eddie began, “But…uh, do you remember all that stuff we talked about in the library?”

Her smile faltered a bit but she nodded encouragingly.

“There’s been some developments and I'd really like to fill you in on what I found out, if you wanted to come back to my place? The boys are coming too, my cousin and his buddies.” He added quickly, worried that she might somehow take his invitation the wrong way.

Chrissy glanced nervously around the gym, and he was pretty sure she was about to agree to go, when two things happened at once. The outer doors swung open loudly, revealing Dustin, Mike, and Will, who must have gotten tired of waiting and came to look for him, he guessed, while the door to the boys locker room was also thrown wide as the entire basketball team came trotting out. They were buzzing with pent up energy and Jason Carver was at the head of the pack. 

He spotted Eddie immediately and rushed over. With no hesitation the jock planted himself between him and Chrissy.

Jason crowded Eddie as he shouted in his face, “Get away from her, freak! She doesn’t want to talk to you. What are you even doing here?”

“Jason, stop!” Chrissy shouted.

He waved her back dismissively. “No, no, it’s alright babe, I got this.”

Eddie grit his teeth, fuming, and not only because of the way Jason was talking to him, he could deal with that, but the way he was so openly dismissive of his girlfriend. Someone he was supposed to love. Chrissy deserved better.

“What is it, Munson? You like to watch the girls while they practice, huh? You got a thing for looking up their skirts?” Jason accused loudly, then lowered his voice to a sinister whisper.  “Or is it the boys locker room you’re more interested in getting a peep at?”

It was a dangerous accusation, and it unnerved Eddie a little that Jason might have suspicions about him. If he’d said what he did a little louder, there might be a lot more guys looking to jump into this fight. He tried his best to ignore it like he would any other barb, but it was an effort to keep from overreacting and rising to the bait

“Oh fuck off, you neanderthal. We were just talking.”

“What did you call me?”

Eddie looked at Chrissy over Jason's shoulder and rolled his eyes. She stifled a giggle, stopping abruptly and going wide-eyed when Jason turned his head to glance back at her.

“Don’t worry about it, Carver.” Eddie answered. “Now, if you would just kindly back the fuck up so I can finish my conversation with the lovely Ms. Cunningham here, I’ll be out of your hair in a jiffy.”

“I don’t think so. What makes you think she wants to talk to somebody like YOU anyway?”

In Eddie’s defense, it had been a long and mostly no good very bad day. He stepped into Jason, closing the very small gap that remained between them until they were almost nose to nose. 

“And what exactly is that supposed to mean?” He said, jabbing the other boy in the chest with his finger.

Jason shoved Eddie away from him hard. He stumbled, but Will, Mike, and Dustin were all there to steady him.

“Stop it, Jason! He's my friend!” Crissy shouted again, still hovering but trying to stay out of the way. This time her boyfriend either didn’t hear, or completely ignored her. 

Eddie shoved Jason right back, pleased when he had to take a step back to maintain his balance. Unfortunately, Eddie hadn’t really been in that many fights. Guys usually took one look at him and backed off, assuming he carried knives and shit just because he wore leather and a battle vest. He was briefly a drug dealer, so maybe that had something to do with it too. So, he was a little unprepared for Jason cocking back a fist and punching him square in the face. 

Chrissy looked like she was about to jump on Jason’s back to stop him but suddenly Lucas was there. He caught Jason’s arm, stopping it before he could land another hit.

“I knew you weren’t really one of us Sinclair! I should never have told the coach I had a good feeling about you! I’ll have you thrown off the team for this!” Jason shouted.

He shrugged himself roughly out of Luca’s grip and walked back over to where the rest of the team was doing warm ups and pretending not to watch the drama unfolding in front of them. 

Chrissy looked torn. She watched Jason walk away, bouncing her eyes between him and Eddie as she gnawed on her bottom lip. 

“I’m sorry,” she finally said to Eddie. “I don’t know why he gets like that.”

“Don’t apologize, it’s not your fault.”

She nodded a little to herself, sending a sad smile his way and turning to follow after her boyfriend. 

Eddie sighed. He’d have to let her go for now and hope that tomorrow wouldn’t be too late. He felt like an idiot, he should have known better than to approach her when that meathead was bound to be close by. 

“You good?” Lucas asked. Producing a small towel from his pocket and handing it to him to dab away the blood from his nose. 

“Yeah, sorry if I made trouble for you.” Eddie said, gesturing off towards the rest of Lucas’ teammates.”

“Don't worry about it, they all know how Jason can be. I’m sure the whole thing will be forgotten by tomorrow. What are you guys doing here anyway?”

“We need you to come with us.” Dustin butt in.

Lucas looked at all of them in turn. “Party business?”

“Don’t ask us,” Mike said, hooking a thumb in Eddie's direction. “He won't tell us shit.”

“I’ll tell you everything when we get to the trailer, I promise. We can’t talk about this here. You in, Sinclair?” Eddie asked.

“Fuck it, why not. Didn't feel like dealing with Jason’s attitude today anyway.”

“Good choice.” Eddie said, grinning. “Come on boys, let's get out of here.”

-

On the way back to his van, Eddie noticed Nancy and Jonathan about to get into her car. He’d thought for sure that he had taken too long and missed them, but somehow he’d gotten lucky.  Maybe the eldest Wheeler got caught up doing newspaper stuff after school. Whatever the reason, he was grateful. He told the boys to get in and trotted over to the couple.

Eddie found he had mixed feelings towards Nancy. She’d been so great about the investigation thing and told them everything they wanted to know, and she was nice about Eddie’s own reaction to it all, but there was a small part of him that bubbled up with jealousy when he thought about her and Steve being reunited. 

He knew she was with Jonathan now, and had been for a long time, much longer than she’d dated Steve, but the thought still set his teeth on edge. He shook it off, he had no reason to think they would still be interested in each other, and even if they were, it’s not like he had a claim on Steve now just because they’d made out a little bit. Nancy cared about Steve, and she deserved to know that he was alive and safe. Well, as safe as any of them were now.

“Shit, man, what happened to you?” Jonathan said as Eddie got close. He must still have some blood smeared on his face. 

Eddie shrugged, shoving his hands into his pockets. “A disagreement between me and one of our resident jocks. No big deal. Listen, uh, are you guys busy right now?” 

The two of them shared a look. “Not really, why?” Nancy said.

“I can’t tell you here.” He was getting really tired of saying that already. “I’m sorry to be cryptic about it, but I think you’ll understand when you see. I’m taking all the kids back to my house right now, could you follow us there? There's something I need to show all of you.”

The couple looked at eachother again, confusion clear on their faces, but for whatever reason they agreed. Probably because he already had their brothers roped into something. Oh well, he'd take it. This had all gone much easier than he thought it would, apart from the black eye he could feel forming. 

-

The short ride back to the trailer park was uncharacteristically quiet. Dustin remained silent, though Eddie could practically hear the thoughts churning in his head. The other boys knew at this point that Eddie wasn’t going to give in, so there was no point in questioning him on the way. 

He pulled in front of the trailer and got out, ordering the boys to stop when they tried to walk right inside, insisting they needed to wait for Nancy and Jonathan.

He and Steve hadn’t exactly planned this part but Eddie made sure to stomp his feet on the steps so that anyone inside would hear them coming. He turned to his small assembled crowd, feeling like he should give them some kind of warning. 

“So, this might be a bit of a shock. Just…everybody try to be cool, ok?”

Eddie spun back around quickly to avoid the several sets of very concerned eyes that were aimed in his direction. He opened the door and stepped inside, doing a quick sweep of the room, finding Steve and Eleven sitting at the kitchen table with Wayne. He stepped further in, letting everyone trail in after him. 

Wayne, who’d had a sandwich halfway to his mouth, let it drop from his hands to hit the plate with a little thud. He rubbed at his face muttering, “God damnit Eddie.”

Eleven didn’t seem surprised at the influx of new arrivals, Steve must have filled her in when she woke up. 

“Wait, is that?” Lucas started to ask but was cut off by Nancy’s gasp of, “Steve?!”

Steve stood, giving her a little wave. “Hey, Nance.”

She hesitated, just staring at him for a handful of seconds before stepping forward and throwing her arms around him. “You’re alive.” She murmured softly into his chest, eventually pulling away to look at his face.

“Oh my god, you’re alive!” She said again, much louder this time and with tears in her eyes. “Are you okay?” She asked, reaching up to cradle his face in her hands. 

Eddie had that feeling again. He knew it wasn’t right but he felt like she was touching something that belonged to him. He held the jealousy in, Nancy and Steve had been something to each other once upon a time, and they were entitled to this without his interference. 

Steve lightly took her hands and lowered them from his cheeks. Then he finally looked up and met Eddie’s eyes, smiling as he said, “I’m okay, Eddie’s been taking good care of me.”  

Oh and didn’t that make his stomach flutter. Eddie could feel himself blushing a little under Steve’s gaze, glad that no one was really paying attention to him. Everyone was too focused on the missing person in the room, now found, and the young girl at the table who was a stranger to all of them.

Steve broke their stare after a moment and looked around at the rest of the assembly crammed into the small space of the trailer. 

“Hey guys.” He said, nodding to the younger boys.

Dustin, he greeted by name, causing the other three to look his way accusingly. He shrugged at his friends, mouthing the word sorry while looking far too smug to mean it, before walking over to take a seat next to Eleven. 

“Hey man.” Jonathan said, finally emerging from a stunned silence as Nancy came back to stand near him. “I’m, uh, glad you’re alright.”

“Thanks.”

“So that’s it? You found Steve?!” Mike blurted out, finally losing patience. Honestly Eddie was surprised he’d lasted this long. “I mean, not that that’s not cool and all but what’s with the secrecy, and why is he here instead of with his parents or Hopper?”

Eddie finally sidled up to Steve, close but not touching like he really wanted to. He wasn’t sure how he was meant to act now in general, let alone in front of this many people, so he was happy enough just to be near the other boy. 

Steve wasn’t. 

He took that one step closer that caused their sides to brush and rested his hand on Eddie's lower back where no one else could see. “Are you still sure about this?” He murmured the question softly into Eddie’s ear. 

Eddie nodded, even as his heart started to race from the gentle touch and the feel of Steve’s breath on his skin.

“There’s a lot we need to tell you all, starting with introducing you to someone. This is Eleven. She and I have been held against our will at Hawkins lab for the past two years.”

Mike, Lucas, and Will’s jaws all dropped simultaneously. Dustin grinned from his place next to the girl. She looked a little shy suddenly with all the attention and Eddie noticed Wayne gave her a little pat on the back in support. 

As he watched the interaction, and how the girl smiled up at his uncle, it hit Eddie suddenly how lucky he was to have made it out of that place when he did. Luckier still that Claudia had found him and took him home. He could have died, or been made to spend the rest of his childhood in that place the same way Eleven had. He honestly wasn’t sure which one was worse. 

-

Steve and Eddie took turns telling their parts of the story and then together explained the parallels between the game and the real world. Surprisingly, or maybe not so surprisingly, it didn’t take much to convince the boys that they were telling the truth. They quickly accepted the fact that much of what they had played through was real and they even took Eddie’s backstory in stride, though they had a lot of questions that he didn’t have the answers to. 

Jonathan and Nancy were a bit harder of a sell. He was quietly skeptical, while she kept trying to poke holes in everything and seemed completely unwilling to accept that anyone could have the type of power they were claiming. Finally, with a flick of her hand El sent a magazine that had been sitting on the kitchen counter flying in Nancy’s direction. She caught it on instinct, her mouth opening in a soft ‘oh’ of surprise as her brain caught up to what it had just witnessed. 

The rest of the room went dead silent at the display, save for Dustin who was giggling like an idiot at having finally seen what he’d been waiting for since the morning. He offered her a high five, which she returned with gusto, smiling wider than Eddie had ever seen her in their short acquaintance. 

Things went a lot quicker after that.

Wayne didn’t say much throughout the explanation, which wasn’t surprising to Eddie, his uncle had always been a quiet person, but he watched the man's face fall as they reached the end and had to tell of Eddie’s character's death at the hands of Vecna via the demobats.

“You boys said things don’t always go the same as your game, right? Do you think…does that mean…is that likely to happen, Eds?” Wayne's voice shook as he finally spoke. His worry for his nephew clear as day. 

“We’re honestly not sure.” Eddie admitted reluctantly.

“That’s why we wanted to tell everyone who might be involved as soon as possible,” Steve added.

“There’s more too. Fred, and Patrick were victims in the story, and Chrissy. I tried to get her to come with us but her boyfriend interrupted.” Eddie said, mostly to Steve since the others had been there. 

“Yeah! You should have seen it, Steve.” Dustin jumped in. “Eddie got a good shove in but then Jason punched him in the face.”

Wayne shook his head, grumbling softly, “Gonna have to call that school tomorrow. Ain’t right letting my boy get hit like that.”

“I’m fine.” Eddie insisted, catching his uncle’s eye.

“Jason Carver?” Steve asked, jaw tightening every so slightly.

Lucas nodded, answering him. 

Steve touched his fingers lightly to Eddie’s chin, examining his face carefully. “Did he hurt you?” He said softly. 

It was almost too much, the way Steve was looking at him, and a lump formed in Eddie’s throat. “I’m fine.” He forced out, hoping his voice sounded more normal than he felt. He swallowed hard and tried again. “I'll probably have a hell of a black eye later, but that’s all.” 

“So, what do we do now, what’s the plan?” Will asked.

Steve and Eddie shared a look. “We hadn’t really worked out much past telling everyone what we had figured out.”

“What about Max and Billy?” Lucas asked.

Steve frowned. “Who is she again?”

“Max is a girl the boys tried to make friends with, she and her shitty brother, Billy Hargrove, moved here the fall after you got taken.” Eddie explained.

“What do you mean, tried to make friends?” Steve asked.

“We were all hanging out at the arcade once, a few days after we met Max.  Billy showed up early to pick her up. He saw her and Lucas holding hands and he freaked out.” Dustin said. “I’m pretty sure if we weren’t in public he would have killed lucas.”

“Yeah, he said some pretty messed up stuff.” Will added.

Lucas sighed sadly. “She wouldn’t talk to us again after that.” 

Will patted him on the arm. “She doesn’t talk to anyone, Lucas. It’s not your fault.” 

“He’s right.” Mike agreed. “She always acts pissed off, but sometimes when she thinks no one is looking her eyes go all sad. I don’t think she has any friends.”

Eddie didn’t like the sound of that. “So, she’s alone, and possibly depressed.” He pointed out, looking at Steve.

“And If Henry picks his victims like you said, then…” Steve trailed off.

“She’s screwed.” Eddie finished the thought. “Do any of you dipshits know where this girl lives?”

The younger boys all shook their heads, they didn't know.

“Cherry Street.” Wayne answered out of nowhere. 

Everyone including Eddie stared at him for a moment in surprise. 

How and why the hell did Wayne, of all people, know where this girl lived?

“That boy you were talking about, the racist one? I know his old man, Neil. He’s a supervisor at the plant and a real piece of work, apple doesn’t fall far, y’know? You go get that girl, but be careful.”

Eddie gaped at his uncle. “You’re seriously on board for this?”

Wayne laughed. “As if I could stop you. You boys go, I'll handle things when Jim gets here.” He paused to check his watch. “Which should be any time now. Probably better if you stay out for a while and let me explain to him what’s going on. He’s gonna blow his stack.”

“Jonathan and I can stay and help you explain it to him, Mr. Munson. If that’s okay with you?” Nancy offered.

“It’s fine with me, and please call me Wayne.”

Steve wanted El to stay behind too. She wasn’t happy about being left out while her brother put himself in danger, but she agreed once Eddie promised to keep an eye on him for her. It was decided that the four younger boys would go along with Steve and Eddie to the Mayfield/Hargrove house, because at least she knew them a little from school, and it would be less creepy than two older boys showing up alone unannounced. 

They were getting ready to leave when there was a knock on the trailer door. Eddie, thinking it was Hopper coming early, opened it without hesitation. 

It wasn’t the police chief, it was Chrissy Cuningham. 

She started profusely apologizing the second he opened the door, but stopped abruptly in the middle of her speech and let out a loud gasp when she spotted Steve hovering behind him.

“Oh my god, I can’t believe you found him!” Chrissy cried out.

Eddie took her by the hand and pulled her inside, he didn’t want to risk his neighbor overhearing anything. “Actually, he sorta found me.” Eddie told her. 

She smiled brightly at Steve and hugged him before turning back to Eddie. “Is this what you wanted to tell me?”

“This, and a lot more actually.”

Chrissy looked around, finally taking notice of just how many people were inside the small home. 

“Why don’t we take her with us?” Steve suggested. “I think I can explain it to her on the way.”

Eddie shrugged and looked at Chrissy. “You up for a little field trip?” 

-

Dustin called shotgun. Eddie would have preferred to make the trip with Steve sitting by his side, but he and Chrissy had crawled into the far rear of the van so they could talk, giving the back seat to the other boys. 

The whole way there Eddie couldn’t stop staring through the rear-view mirror at the two of them huddled together. It wasn’t a jealousy thing this time, it was the fact that Steve kept catching his eye in the reflection, and smiling in a way that would’ve made his knees give out if he wasn’t already sitting down.  

When he almost missed a turn for the second time, Dustin elbowed him hard in the side. “Eyes on the road, Romeo.” He kept his voice low enough that Eddie didn’t worry about the other boys hearing it over the music, but he still blushed and swatted at the kid’s arm. “Shut up!”

It turned out that Chrissy knew exactly where the house was, since Billy had been on the basketball team with Jason before he graduated. They parked a few doors down, trying to scope out the situation a little before going in. 

It looked like the kids' parents must be out, as the driveway was empty, but a blue camaro that Eddie knew belonged to Billy was parked out in the street. That was going to be a problem. He had known better than to hope that the girl would be home alone but he still didn’t have any idea how they were going to do this.

“What if I went up to the door and distracted him?” Chrissy offered.

“Yeah! And then we can sneak around the back and find her window or something!” Lucas said.

Eddie chewed on his thumbnail, thinking. “If me or Steve get caught sneaking in a young girl's window we’ll get arrested.” 

Honestly if they got caught doing this, getting arrested for that would be the least of their worries. 

“You two can stay here then and keep watch. We got this.” Dustin said.

Eddie didn’t like it but he didn’t have any better ideas, so he reluctantly agreed. At least it was dark out now, so the kids had a decent chance of not being seen. 

Chrissy slipped out the back door of the van, and they all watched as she walked up to the front door and rang the bell. It didn’t take long for the door to open, revealing Billy, silhouetted in the doorway by the lights inside the house. They weren’t close enough to hear what was said but just based on the guy's body language she must have been doing something right. He leaned against the doorframe with his hip, smirking at her as he listened to whatever it was she was saying. 

They didn’t know how long she’d be able to keep it up so the boys quickly spilled out, going through a neighboring backyard to come up behind Max’s house. 

With everyone else now gone, Steve climbed over the back seats and settled in next to Eddie, taking his hand right away and squeezing it. It would have been romantic, holding hands with Steve in the quiet dark, had they not been so worried about the others and what could go wrong. 

About five or ten minutes had gone by since the boys had left the van, and Billy was still happily chatting with Chrissy by the front door. Eddie should have known that things couldn’t be this easy, that something was about to go wrong. 

Out of nowhere, all of the lights in the house began to flicker wildly. Eddie’s heart sank. It had to mean what he thought it meant, there was no way it was a coincidence. They’d almost been too late, still might be if they didn’t get in there right now and try to help the poor girl.

Without a word he and Steve both leaped from the car, perfectly in sync about what needed to be done, and ran for the house. Chrissy was already looking in their direction, a panicked look on her face. Billy was distracted looking around at the blinking lights. Neither of them stopped or slowed their steps as they approached the door to the home, pushing right past a bewildered Billy and into the house beyond. He recovered quickly, following closely at their heels and shouting at them to get the fuck out of his house. 

Eddie could hear distantly that Chrissy was trying to stop him or distract him, but he couldn’t concentrate on what was being said. They needed to find the girl. 

Thankfully the house was small and the second door they tried turned out to be her bedroom. It was a crazy scene. The young redhead was standing in the middle of her room stock still, her eyes rolled into the back of her head. He could see the boys standing on the other side of the window, they were banging on the glass and shouting. It looked like she'd been walking towards the window to talk to them when the attack started.

Finally Billy fought his way into the room. Eddie was sure that under normal circumstances fists would be flying by this point, but with the lights flashing and his sister having some sort of episode, it was chaos, and the guy didn’t seem to know how to respond to it all. 

“Music right?” Steve said.

“Yeah, let’s just hope it works. Everybody look for a walkman!”

Chrissy, Steve, and Eddie started to tear the room apart as Billy continued to shout.

“What are you doing to her?! You better get the fuck out before I call the cops”

Chrissy quickly found it lying on the girl's bed half obscured beneath a throw blanket. She shoved it in Eddie's direction. He popped it open, and after all of this he was still somehow surprised to find that the tape she’d last listened to was in fact Hounds of Love by Kate Bush. He shook his head, rewinding the tape to the start of the last song that had been played before shoving the headphones over the girl’s ears. 

He heard more than saw Steve bodily shoving Billy out of the room. Eddie was worried about him getting hurt, but he had to trust that he could handle it. Eddie had his hands full trying to save this girl. Once she was okay he could worry about everything else. 

The song began, the volume loud enough that it could be heard in the room which had grown quiet in Billy's absence. When Eddie had envisioned this moment, the young girl’s first battle with Vecna, it had been to the soundtrack of Running up that Hill. Though he was a metal guy first and foremost, he enjoyed all kinds of music, and was able to appreciate Kate Bush for her theatricality. He didn’t know why that was the song his mind conjured up, had never thought to question it. That wasn’t the song that was currently blasting out of the girl’s headphones now, however Jig of Life felt more than appropriate under the circumstances. 

🎵I'll be sitting in your mirror Now is the place where the crossroads meet Will you look into the future Never, never say goodbye To my part of your life🎵

“Come on, Red. You can do this.” Eddie murmured, shaking the girl by the shoulders. He wasn’t sure if she could hear him, and even if she could, he didn't know what he could possibly say to help her fight this thing. 

🎵No, no, no, no Oh-oh-oh-oh let me live She said come on and let me live, girl She said come on and let me live, girl Come on, let me live This moment in time, she said It doesn’t belong to you”🎵

The lights stopped flickering so suddenly that it was jarring, and in the same moment Max’s eyes shot open. She gasped as if rising out of a deep pool of water, swaying on her feet, and would have fallen if Chrissy hadn’t been there to catch her. Max grabbed on to Chrissy's arms, gripping tight as her breath came in short gasps. She looked frantically around the room searching for a danger that was no longer there.

“You’re okay, you’re okay. It’s over. I got you.” Chrissy rocked the girl gently, murmuring comforting words into her hair over and over again as she fought to control her breathing.

Now that Max was free, Eddie finally tuned in to the noise happening in the rest of the house, and he could hear that the raised voices in the other room had reached a fever pitch. It wasn’t only Steve and Billy that could be heard now, but the younger boys as well. 

He locked eyes with Chrissy over Max’s head. “Stay with her, I'll be right back.”

She nodded rapidly. “Go! Help them!”

Eddie rushed out to the hallway and found everyone in the living room. Steve was in the middle of it, the only thing standing between an enraged psychopath and the four younger boys. From what he heard, it sounded like Steve had been trying to explain to Billy some of what was going on, but he was refusing to listen. Then the boys had come bursting in, and Hargrove took one look at Lucas and lost it. 

Billy had his back to Eddie, so the asshole didn't see it coming when he creeped up behind him, snatched a commemorative plate right off the wall, and smashed it over his head. Unfortunately, it didn’t knock the guy out like he had planned, but it did send him to the floor. Eddie jumped on him, holding his upper body down, while Steve quickly got the idea and took hold of his legs. Eddie yelled at the boys to find some rope or anything they could use to tie him up with. They returned quickly with a handful of zip ties and a roll of duct tape. They made it work, finishing the job off with an extra piece of tape over Billy’s mouth for good measure. 

Chrissy and Max chose that moment to come out of the young girl’s bedroom, both staring open mouthed at the scene before them.  Max’s eyes were wide but sparkled with amusement as she watched her step-brother struggle against his bonds.

“What are you going to do with him?” Chrissy asked.

“I have no idea, but at least we shut him up for now.” Steve said between heaving breaths. He sat down on the floor hard, using the hem of his shirt to dab the blood from his split lip. Eddie tried not to stare at the strip of exposed skin that the move had caused, but it was a losing battle. He knew it was fucked up to ogle the poor guy while he was bleeding, but he felt less bad about it when he realized that Steve was watching him right back, eyes full of intense desire. Apparently seeing Eddie smash a plate over some douchebag's head had really done something for him. 

Dustin cleared his throat loudly, purposefully, interrupting the moment before either of them could do or say something they might regret in front of all these people. Eddie didn’t know whether to thank him for it or throttle him. 

Lucas was the first to approach Max, the other boys following close behind him.

“Are you okay?” Lucas asked. The tender expression on the kid’s face told Eddie that his little crush on the redhead hadn’t dimmed at all since that awful night at the arcade. 

Max gave him a small smile. “I have no idea what's going on or how you and your weird friends got me out of there, but yeah, I’m okay.” She said.

Chrissy stayed by Max’s side even as the boys swooped in to try and cheer her up, the poor girl was still clinging to her hand like a lifeline.

“Maybe we should take him back to the trailer with us, Hopper should be there by now. Maybe he can hold him for something down at the police station?” Steve suggested, mostly aiming the idea at Eddie since the others were occupied. 

“That’s not a bad idea.” Eddie agreed. He offered a hand to help Steve. He took it, letting the touch linger a little longer than necessary once he was on his feet.

Eddie raised his voice to be heard over the small roar of all the younger boys talking at once. “Hey Red, you got a problem with us kidnapping your shitty stepbrother?”

“No.” Max answered quickly, then hesitated before continuing, “but uh, I don't think I want to be alone right now. Can you take me too?”

Chrissy released the girl’s hand in favor of wrapping an arm around her shoulders as she said, “I think you’d better come with us anyway so we can try to explain what’s happening to you.”

Eddie caught her eye and nodded in agreement. “We’re definitely not all going to fit in my van this time. Maybe we could take two trips?”

“One of you could drive Billy’s car. I know where his keys are.” Max supplied helpfully. Eddie was really starting to like this kid. 

Together, he and Steve managed to pick Billy up to carry him to the car, the others going out ahead to keep watch and open doors. Halfway down the front yard, their captive started thrashing violently, causing them to drop him to the ground. Luckily for Billy, the lawn was pretty lush and probably cushioned his fall well enough, though Eddie sincerely hoped he hurt something in the fall. 

They were working on getting him back up, Mike and Lucas now helping now too, when Eddie heard a rustle in the bushes separating Max’s house from her neighbor’s.

Great.

The last thing they needed right now was for some nosy housewife to spot them in the middle of - whatever this was - and call the police.

Eddie shushed the group and had them lay Billy back down on the ground. He crept over to where he’d heard the noise. It was very dark in the side yard, since Max’s house didn’t have any outside lights other than the single bulb on the porch. He squinted as he got close, trying to see if there was really someone there or if it was just a raccoon, only to get blinded as the creeper turned on a flashlight that was aimed directly in his face. 

“Jesus H. Christ,'' Eddie shouted, stepping backwards as he threw his hands up to shield his eyes, and proceeded to trip over a branch and fall flat on his ass. 

Steve was at his side quickly, making sure he was okay, and helping him up.

The mystery person with the offending flashlight had also come out of hiding. Eddie blinked a few times, trying to force his eyes to adjust. It took a second, but once they did he realized they were standing face to face with Robin Buckley.

“What are you doing?!” She asked accusingly.

“It’s not what it looks like!” Eddie insisted.

She crossed her arms over her chest, eyeing the two of them curiously. “So...you don’t have Billy Hargrove trussed up like a Thanksgiving turkey, and you and your merry band of freshman, along with whoever else, aren't getting ready to take him and his step sister god knows where?”

Eddie sighed. “Okay, it’s exactly what it looks like, but I swear we have a really good reason.”

“We’re not trying to hurt anyone.” Steve added.

Robin tilted her flashlight up again, shining it directly in Steve's face this time. 

“Wait a second…Harrington?! I thought you were missing!” She all but shrieked.

Eddie slapped his hand over her mouth as he said, “Technically, he is still missing. It’s a long story.”

Robin glared hard and he lowered his hand for self preservation.

He turned to Steve, they hadn’t really talked about bringing Robin into things. She had mostly served as Steve’s side-kick in the game, and she wasn’t a victim of Vecna’s. She also wasn’t friends with anyone in the party, Eddie knew her from band but that was all. Now he wondered if there was some reason why, out of all the people in Hawkins, he had chosen her to be NPC-Steve’s best friend.

Steve seemed to read his mind. “You want to tell her?”

Eddie shrugged. “At this point we might as well.”

“I really love the way you’re talking about me like I'm not here, guys. Doing wonders for my belief that what you're doing has no nefarious purpose.” Robin said, clearly rolling her eyes despite the fact that they could barely see her.  

“Look, we can explain everything, but you’ll have to come with us.” 

She stared at the two of them, then looked towards the gaggle of kids behind them keeping watch over Billy. Finally, her eyes settled on Chrissy, going just a little wide as she recognized the cheerleader. 

Oh, that was interesting.

“Okay, fine.” She said. “ But if anything happens to me I will haunt your asses!.”

Chapter 10

Thank you @penny00dreadful for beta reading once again!

Taglist: @yeahhhh-suga @steddie-there @goinsteddie @brbsoulnomming @the-s-is-silent @paintsplatteredandimperfect @estrellami-1 @herebedragons404 @epiclazershark @mentallyundone @hardboiledleggs @manda-panda-monium @ellietheasexylibrarian @sofadofax @5ammi90 @bestwifehaver @eddie-munsons-lunchbox @soaringornithopter @buckleybarnes @adaed5 @goodolefashionedloverboi

As always, i'm happy to add or remove anyone from the taglist. Just let me know!

[steddie-fanfic-recs]

messing with the beat of my heart

by radicalnothing

Rating: Explicit Archive Warning: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationship: Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson Characters: Eddie Munson, Steve Harrington, Dustin Henderson, Wayne Munson, Mike Wheeler, Will Byers, Eleven | Jane Hopper, Lucas Sinclair, Maxine "Max" Mayfield, Erica Sinclair Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Eddie Munson Lives, Eddie POV, Steve plays a little DnD, Eddie is the best DM, the kids are only really around in ch 1, fic earns its rating in ch 3, Post-Vecna (Stranger Things), I don't know anything about Indianapolis lmao, karaoke fic is the natural evolution of songfic, Underage Drinking, Intercrural Sex, Choking, Hand Jobs, Nipple Play, Steve Harrington's hairy little tits Words: 24,244 Chapters: 3/3

Summary

After Vecna nearly tears the world in half, Eddie and Wayne move away from Hawkins for a fresh start. When Dustin calls Eddie up and asks if Hellfire can come visit for one last summer campaign, Eddie agrees—it's not like he has anything better to do. He just doesn't expect Steve Harrington to come, too. (or: eddie deserves love. i love him.) (or: eddie and steve falling for each other, stupid and inevitable.)

[felicitykings]

I'm here, right here Wishin' I could be there for ya

[wyatthaliwells]

Stranger Things 2x02 - "Trick or Treat, Freak"

[dcbicki]

#let them double date, you cowards

[amazingspidermans]

new stranger things challenge let lucas sinclair go ONE season without being fucking hatecrimed

[lesbianjugheadfromriverdale]

if u don’t like lucas sinclair, then u don’t like me and u can leave

[samgelina-jolie]

[jacen-solos]

Max? Hey. Um, it's nice, right? You wanna.. Do you want to, like.. You know, like, just, you and me? Are you trying to ask me to dance, Stalker? No. Of course not! Unless you want to.. So smooth. Come on.

[twilightdriveintheatre]

s04 e01 // THE HELLFIRE CLUB

[robinwrightarchive]

[steddie-fanfic-recs]

A Traditional Friendsmas

by MeaMeaAudio

Rating: Explicit Archive Warning: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Relationship: Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson, Jonathan Byers/Nancy Wheeler, Maxine "Max" Mayfield/Lucas Sinclair Character: Steve Harrington, Eddie Munson, Robin Buckley, Nancy Wheeler, Will Byers, Mike Wheeler, Chrissy Cunningham, Dustin Henderson, Billy Hargrove, Joyce Byers, Jim "Chief" Hopper, Maxine "Max" Mayfield, Lucas Sinclair Additional Tags: Sex Worker Eddie Munson, CEO Steve Harrington, Steve Harrington is a Sweetheart, Eddie Munson is a Sweetheart, Enthusiastic Consent, Robin Buckley & Steve Harrington Friendship, Steve Harrington & Nancy Wheeler Friendship, Sex Work, Panic Attacks, Bisexual Steve Harrington, Gay Eddie Munson, Good Friend Robin Buckley, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Party, Jewish Character, Non-Binary Jonathan Byers, Touch-Starved, Touch-Starved Steve Harrington, Bottom Eddie Munson, Billy Hargrove Being an Asshole, Bottom Steve Harrington, Top Eddie Munson, Switch Eddie Munson, Switch Steve Harrington, Top Steve Harrington, Implied/Referenced Domestic Violence, Chrissy Cunningham & Eddie Munson Friendship, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Past Steve Harrington/Nancy Wheeler, Falling In Love, Protective Steve Harrington, Protective Eddie Munson, Minor Jonathan Byers/Nancy Wheeler, Good Friend Nancy Wheeler, Good Friend Jonathan Byers, Minor Maxine "Max" Mayfield/Lucas Sinclair, Eating Disorders, Domestic Violence, Anxiety Attacks Words: 62,133 Chapters: 5/5

Summary

“I have a room key reserved for me?” He coughed. “Oh?” She asked. “Mhmm. My er—” “Boyfriend.” “Right. Boyfriend and I are meeting tonight.” She plucked a card and began to code the card with the necessary information. “Wasn’t it last week… your… husband?” she teased. “Divorced. Nasty thing.” He grinned. “Ahh… and the week before that… was it… your cousin?” “That we don’t talk about. That client had a very specific kink.” Her nose wrinkled up in the cutest way and she knocked back her head in silent giggles so as not to alert her boss. “Unbelievable.” “Who? Me or my clients?” He whispered. Eddie has been a sex worker for a little over two years now, and he thinks that this will just be another one of his clients... he has no idea what he's getting himself into with this 'Steve' guy. Steddie smut in chapter 2, 3, & lots in ch 4