#fae!eddie munson

[dwobbitfromtheshire]

Eddie has fae blood in him. It's why he survived. He never thought anything of it. It was a story that his mother had told him about when he was younger, and he believed it when he was a kid. She told him about faes in their families and how they could grant one wish and one wish only. He had to say the words in order to grant the wishes. That story was the reason why he loved Dungeons and Dragons, Lord of the Rings. It was the magic of the stories that sent a thrill through his veins. He could feel it pounding away in his blood.

One night, Eddie was lying next to Steve on his couch. It was one of those horrible nights where they both had trouble keeping the nightmares away, even with the comfort of their newly minted friendship. They decided to get drunk and a little bit cross faded with the weed Eddie had brought over. Steve had been a little nervous. He had only drank and smoked weed once before. He had something weird when it happened. Eddie promised not to judge.

"I get jealous of women sometimes," Steve said.

"How's that?" Eddie asked.

"Most of them can get pregnant, I wish I could pregnant," Steve said sadly. "But I am a man."

Steve stroked his belly softly, pouting. Eddie looked over at him, wanting so badly to kiss the pout right off of his lips.

"Is it - I mean - you want to be a woman?" Eddie asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No, no. I still want to be a man. I want to be a pregnant man. I wish men could get pregnant like men born as men also could get pregnant. That would be cool," Steve said.

"Steve Harrington," Eddie said in a cool voice, and Steve looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Huh?"

"Your wish is granted," Eddie said, cupping his cheeks.

"I feel funny," Steve said and promptly passed out along with Eddie.

When they woke up the next morning, there was a news story about men passing out all across the world, but since Eddie and Steve were hungover, they hadn't heard about it. Over the next few weeks, things began to develop between the two young men, and eventually, they went from being friends to being lovers. They hadn’t thought anything of it when the condom broke. They were both clean.

"And it's not like I can get you pregnant," Eddie joked, and Steve froze underneath him. "Sorry, Stevie."

When Steve started getting sick, he was afraid the worst was happening. It was side effects from being in the Upside Down coming to kick him in the ass. When the doctor had come in and told him the news, Steve had laughed.

"What?!" Steve exclaimed.

"You're pregnant, Mr. Harrington," the doctor him.

"But - but I'm a guy. . .," Steve trailed off.

"This is a safe space, Mr. Harrington, I want you to know that you can trust me. My brother is in the same situation," the doctor replied and then lowered her voice. "Are you having a sexual relationship with a man?"

"W-what? Why does that matter?" Steve asked.

"How do you think you got pregnant, Mr. Harrington?" The doctor asked. "You had sex with a man. I am going to give you my brother's number if you ever need to talk. I'm an ally, Mr. Harrington and normally I wouldn't ask about someone's sexual orientation, but these are . . .complicated times, and I wanted you to know that you are not alone. I also made sure that no one else saw your blood results. If you ever need anything. . ."

When Eddie came home that evening, Steve was looking pale and staring at a picture of a sonogram.

"I'm pregnant, Eddie, and there are other. . . Other men like me," Steve said.

"Shit. . .fuck, the stories are true. My mom was right," Eddie said, his eyes wide.

A/N: When I was a lot younger, I used to think men were secretly jealous of women because they could get pregnant and men couldn't. I don't know why I thought of this, but I did, I like to imagine that Steve wishes that he could get pregnant. It's probably weird, I know.

[dreaminginpencil]

The first chapter of However Wild is up and you should be reading it.

The lovely Ayes and Kleo have smashed it once again 💗

[stevieharringtonwifeguy]

witch eddie uses magical dice for dnd- not enchanted to always roll high bc that's cheating and he has too much Respect For The Game for that, but instead they're enchanted to always roll whatever's most Narratively Satisfying. like if his character has concluded their arc he rolls low on a death saving throw, if he's in a final fight with an enemy his character has had major beef with he always gets the final blow, stuff like that

and then when steve starts playing it seems like eddie's dice are on the fritz, bc they let steve get away with everything. every time steve tries to charm someone (which is basically every other interaction), he succeeds. eddie's character never rolls high enough insight to tell when steve's lying, even when the lie is so egregiously bad steve's rolling with disadvantage. they don't even seem to be narratively satisfying rolls, half the time theyre kind of bad or distracting to the story bc steve's still so new at the game he doesn't really have a feel for what he should be doing yet.

eddie checks the spell on his dice like five times and by all accounts it should be working fine. little does he know his crush on steve is so bad his magic has decided Steve Gets What Steve Wants without eddie even realising it

[hawkinsbnbg]

Steve Harrington was a dragon.

Once upon a time, he would kidnap a princess, imprison her in his tower, guard the said tower, and await his doom delivered by a knight in shining armor.

But this wasn't that kind of fairy tale. No, in this story, Steve and the princess were friends. Her lover was a fae who was his platonic soulmate, and the knight in shining armor was his brother in arms.

Still, no one, even Steve himself, foreseen it when a handsome mercenary arrived at his tower and stole his heart.

Steve never felt so adored in his long and boring life, but Edwyn "Eddie" Munson managed to do the impossible.

The man was good with his words, even better with his fingers when he scratched the itchy spots beneath Steve's scales and drew runes of protection and love on Steve's human body.

Eddie was also an attentive lover who brought Steve sparkly gifts every time he visited the tower.

In turn, Steve let the mercenary ride on his back in their adventures, let the man guide him to wherever he was pleased, and let himself be consumed in the amorous looks Eddie would give him when the man thought he didn't notice.

Robin, Nancy, and Jonathan had been suspicious at first about Eddie's true motive. They worried that the mercenary would betray Steve because, despite his peaceful nature, Steve was the most powerful of his kind. And frankly, many had hunted him throughout his life given that even a piece of his scales cost a fortune in black markets.

Their concern was warranted, Steve supposed, but he trusted Eddie to not do him harm. Yet, sometimes, when Steve couldn't sleep at night, he would think about the worst and decide that if Eddie asked, he would give the man everything.

After all, Eddie already had his heart.

In the end, Eddie only asked of him a vial of his blood to cure Wayne's illness.

The day the truth came out was when Eddie approached him and stated that his uncle couldn't wait any longer.

Steve could see the desperation and hope in those chocolate eyes that he so loved, and knew for certain that Eddie wouldn't fight him but would be on his knees and beg until he agreed to help.

Before things could go any worse, Steve decided to take the matter into his own hands. Literally.

"So you had approached me because of my blood," Steve smiled wryly at the sting of the betrayal as he let Eddie dress the gash on his forearm. They both knew the cut would heal in a few minutes, but Steve didn't turn down Eddie's help. Couldn't.

"You should know that I didn't only have your blood in mind," Eddie fastened the bandage's knot securely.

"What? Are you asking for my organs next?" Steve huffed out a bitter laugh. "I heard they're quite useful ingredients for rituals and potions."

"No," Eddie met his eyes calmly and guided Steve's hand to rest on his chest. "Please listen to the song of my heart and do know that it is never a lie when I say this: I've been wanting all of you for myself since I first laid eyes on you."

Steve blinked rapidly in bewilderment and awe. Every dragon had an innate talent, and Steve's was the ability to see only the truth.

Thus, when Eddie opened himself up so freely like that, Steve could also see the man's deepest desire. And what he saw made him blush terribly. This man was truly hopeless.

"You never do anything in half, do you?" Steve snorted.

"Once Uncle Wayne gets better, I will return to the tower and never leave your side again," Eddie held his hand tightly as if fearing he would take it back and peppered feathery kisses on his knuckles.

Those words sung true to Steve's heart. Yet, he also sensed the wordless yearning from his lover. There was only one way, wasn't it?

"I'll go with you, then. I think it's time for you to introduce me to your family."

"Are you sure?"

Looking at Eddie's hopeful eyes, Steve leaned in to kiss the love of his life soundly.

"As sure as gold."

They both chuckled fondly at the memory together. After all, the first thing Eddie had given him upon their meeting was a sparkling bar of gold.

[luvfae]

MY FAVOURITE

HENDERSON

MASTERLIST

summary: your little brother, dustin henderson’s older friend, eddie munson has taken an interest in you. he spends his days lounging around your house, flirting with you and annoying the shit out of dustin in the process.

fandom: stranger things

parings: eddie x f henderson reader, dustin x sister reader

warnings: swearing, smut, drug use, angst, bullying, violence

note: eddie does not die in this series, no way i’m putting myself through his death twice.

smut: *

🎧 — PART ONE

🕯— PART TWO

💀 — PART THREE

🎧 — PART FOUR

🕯 — PART FIVE

💀 — PART SIX

🎧 — PART SEVEN

🕯 — PART EIGHT

💀 — PART NINE

🎧 — PART TEN *

🕯 — PART ELEVEN *

💀 — PART TWELVE

🎧 — PART THIRTEEN *

🕯 — PART FOURTEEN *

💀 — PART FIFTEEN

🎧 — PART SIXTEEN

🕯 — PART SEVENTEEN *

💀 — PART EIGHTEEN

🎧 — PART NINETEEN

🕯 — PART TWENTY *

💀 — PART TWENTY ONE *

🎧 — PART TWENTY TWO

🕯 — PART TWENTY THREE

💀 — PART TWENTY FOUR *

🎧 — PART TWENTY FIVE *

🕯 — PART TWENTY SIX

💀 — PART TWENTY SEVEN

🎧 — PART TWENTY EIGHT

🕯 — PART TWENTY NINE

💀 — PART THIRTY

🎧 — PART THIRTY ONE *

🕯 — PART THIRTY TWO

💀 — PART THIRTY THREE

🎧 — PART THIRTY FOUR

🕯— PART THIRTY FIVE

💀 — PART THIRTY SIX

🎧 — PART THIRTY SEVEN

🕯️ — PART THIRTY EIGHT *

© luvfae 2022

[hitlikehammers]

I’m giving this to you lovely people because everyone I’ve asked individually has offered answers that amount in a DEAD HEAT TIE: so!

[sparkle-fiend]

So I saw this prompt by @throwusaboner about the Harrington’s trading Steve to fae! Eddie for wealth and success, and I kind of ran with it.

***************************

He was Fae. A wild thing - a spirit of music and curiosity. Once upon a time, he amused himself by taking part in the world of mortals; walking among them and watching their lives, making the occasional bargain when it was interesting. But many long years had passed since that was the case. Most humans had forgotten his kind.

That's why he was so surprised to come across the offering in the woods. A splash of color laid out on a tree stump - expensive hothouse flowers in the middle of winter, bright against the grey bark and white snow. It kindled his curiosity.

He lingered, visiting the grove of trees again and again, finding new gifts every time: a bowl of milk and a loaf of sweet bread, an antique silver comb, a finely worked wool scarf. When he found the silver ring set with onyx, he finally decided to wait and greet whoever it was that seemed to be trying to summon one of the Fae.

They crunched through the crust of snow together, hand in hand. A handsome young couple, well-matched: the man was tall and broad, with a pleasing face despite the harsh clench of his jaw, and the woman had warm hazel eyes that glowed nearly golden in the late afternoon light. They stopped short at the sight of him, and the woman gasped out loud.

"So many gifts; you must have a request in mind. What would you ask of me, mortals?"

The man stepped forward boldly, meeting his eyes without hesitation. "I want riches and success to rival my father."

Money and power. Yawn.

"And what do you offer me in return?"

"My firstborn child," the man said, unflinching.

That was more interesting. There were plenty stories of Fae dealing for human children, but in reality, he’d never been offered such a price – not in all his long years. He looked to the woman, who only lowered her eyes and nodded.

He had been alone for a long time, wandering as a raven or a wolf, watching the changing world from its outskirts. It was perhaps a reckless deal to agree to - but he was a reckless creature. "I accept. On the last day of the child's 18th year, it will become mine."

Bargain made; he could have disappeared until the appointed time. But the notion struck him that it might be interesting to stay close, in a form that would let him interact as well as observe.

He didn't have to go far to find what he needed - another mortal, a woman longing for a child that her body couldn't give. Evelyn Munson was overjoyed by her little foundling baby – so happy she didn’t bother to ask too many questions.

He expected the human to feed him and shelter him. He didn’t expect her to have a passion for music that rivalled his own, or for her to name him Eddie, after her favorite song - which she sang to him every night while combing her fingers through his wild, dark curls. He didn’t expect her stories or games or her gentle hands guiding his small fingers over the strings of a guitar.

Most of all, he never could have expected the way she loved him – fierce and gentle at the same time, enduring in a way that was unfamiliar. The emotions of the Fae were flicker-quick, flashing like lightning – here and gone. Evelyn taught him a softer kind of love, enduring and constant as the stars.

If she ever guessed that her odd, eccentric child wasn't human, it never changed her feelings for him. When she died ten years later, he was devastated. He might have abandoned the mortal realm in his grief, if not for Wayne - who took him in and loved him just as well as Evelyn had.

And Steve, of course. Firstborn son of Richard and Margaret Harrington, the couple he'd bargained with in 1965. The boy was difficult to keep track of for the first few years - they lived very different lives, separated by more than just the distance of a town between them. Eddie hadn’t anticipated that when he embarked on his plan.

When he found Steve again, in the halls of Hawkins Middle School, Eddie was captivated. Steve was beautiful, with the best qualities of both parents: the promise of his father's broad shoulders and square jaw, his mother's warm hazel eyes. And he had a mischievous smile that was all his own. Unfortunately, he was in the grade below Eddie's, and there wasn't much opportunity to become friends.

It was worse in high school. Steve quickly climbed the ranks of popularity (unsurprising, since he'd inherited a portion of the charm given to his father as part of the bargain with Eddie). The handsome boy was surrounded by sycophants and flatterers, befriended by bullies.  Eddie was bitterly disappointed to see Steve's indifference to the cruel antics of his so-called 'friends'. He started to worry he'd made a mistake. Richard Harrington was a hard man, callous and cruel - was it really any wonder his son was turning out the same way?

Then Steve fell in love with Nancy Wheeler, and things started to change. The obnoxious friends disappeared, and Steve seemed to be making a real effort to be kinder. Even his smile was different – brighter and sweeter, unfettered.

Eddie wasn't jealous (he was a little jealous). Steve could dabble with human girls all he liked, but it was Eddie's name - his true name - that was stamped on the boy's heart like a brand.

*******

When Eddie failed senior year, he wasn’t concerned. Repeating a year of high school meant staying close to Steve; with the added benefit of being able to stay in Hellfire Club, where he could keep playing Dungeons & Dragons (one of his favorite discoveries in the mortal world, second only to heavy metal music).

Three months after the start of Eddie's second senior year (two months after Steve's 18th birthday), Nancy and Steve broke up. A week after that, Steve and Eddie finally spoke to one another for the first time, at a house party thrown by Vicki Carmichael.

Eddie was surprised when he spotted Steve at the party, considering Vicki was friends with Carol and Tommy H. He was even more surprised when he got a clear view of Steve’s face – battered and mottled with bruises and cuts. Concerned, Eddie trailed after him as he snagged a solo cup full of spiked punch and slipped out the back door.

The rear patio was deserted, despite the cheerful strings of fairy lights illuminating the space. The night was young – none of the other partygoers were drunk enough yet to brave the chill November night air.

Eddie settled silently near Steve, sitting on the concrete retaining wall and ignoring the immediate cold seeping through the worn denim of his jeans. He flipped open his black lunchbox and pulled out a joint, nudging Steve’s arm before holding it out.

Steve shook his head. “I don’t have any cash on me.”

“On the house,” Eddie said. “Consider it medicinal. Your face is, uh… pretty messed up.”

Steve snorted with laughter and then winced, pressing his fingers to his temple. “Yeah, no kidding.” He accepted the joint and tucked it behind his ear, and then took a long sip from his drink.

“What happened?” Eddie asked.

Tell me who did this to you, his heart screamed. Tell me who I have to kill. I will turn them into stone, into sand, into a vapor so fine it won’t even settle into dust. Steve was his, and he hated seeing him hurt.

Steve just sighed. “It’s a long story.”

“Well I’ve got all night Harrington.”

Steve gave him the bare bones of a story which felt mostly true, except for all the empty spaces. Eddie wondered at those gaps – what was Steve hiding? The actual name of his attacker for one, although Eddie could guess who it was well enough. (Going forward, Billy Hargrove wouldn’t be able to get within 10 feet of Steve without experiencing a sense of debilitating nausea.)

After that, they started meeting on a somewhat regular basis. Hanging together on the fringes of parties, late night encounters at the quarry - Steve even came to the trailer a few times. Always with the excuse of smoking together, but the real goal was conversation and the easy companionship slowly growing between them. The more Eddie learned about Steve, the more he wanted to know. He was fascinating - like a puddle that appeared shallow until you stepped in and sank to your neck.

On one such night, sitting bundled in the back of Eddie's van, Steve told him about the implosion of his relationship with Nancy.

"She said it was all bullshit. I thought we were really in love, ya know? I was really in love."

Eddie did know. He could feel it - Steve's honesty. Just like he could sense the discordance of a lie when he used to pass the two of them in the hallway at school. It wasn't Nancy lying to Steve, not on purpose. It was Nancy lying to herself.

Steve talked about his relationship with his parents too. "They're so distant sometimes. Or uh, all the time, I guess. They're hardly ever home anymore."

Eddie felt a pang of remorse. He had nothing to do with the failure of Steve's relationship with Nancy (tempted though he may have been), but this hurt was one Eddie had some part in.  

He'd made the bargain on a whim, a passing fancy. The Harrington's were an attractive couple, so it stood to reason their child would also be attractive. And he enjoyed the company of lovely mortals. The Fae were creatures of desire - hungry and passionate, often self-absorbed, distant from the concerns of mortals.

He hadn't thought beyond his desire for a companion. Never considered the child, or how his parents would treat him. Why grow attached to a baby with an expiration date? A son they had already given away; traded in exchange for wealth and fortune.

Maybe it didn’t matter. The sort of humans that would barter a child probably weren’t capable of real love. Not the kind of love he’d learned from Evelyn and Wayne.

His feelings for Steve were becoming all tangled up. There was desire, and a territorial sense of possessiveness, but there was also a growing sense of fondness and affection – and maybe something deeper. A feeling he had no concept of before he took a human form, and a human name.

*******

The school year ended. Steve graduated; Eddie did not. It stung a little the second time around - even though Eddie knew school had been the very last thing on his mind all year. Steve's father made a fuss about his son’s failure to get into college, even though Eddie knew the man didn't actually care. As a result, Steve ended up getting a job at the new mall (and Eddie developed a sudden, frequent craving for ice cream).

He wasn’t expecting anything out of the ordinary to happen that summer; or he never would have driven two days out of state to see Accept play at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado. He was on his way home, still five hours out from Hawkins, when he sensed it. A darkness – something inhuman and strange, from a dimension outside both the mortal realm and the Otherworld of the Fae. It filled him with dread.

He could see the red glow of flames against the night clouds as soon as he reached Hawkins town limits, the acrid scent of smoke seeping in through the vents of his van. When he realized it was coming from Starcourt, he broke every speed limit, screeching into the parking lot to a scene of chaos – emergency vehicles and flashing lights everywhere, the fire department making a valiant attempt to contain the flames consuming the mall.

When Eddie was first adjusting to life as a human, he’d gone exploring in the woods behind the trailer park, enjoying the novelty of his new form. When Evelyn found him hours later, she was frantic, crying and cursing even as she squeezed him tight enough to bruise. He never understood the conflicting emotions – not until he finally laid eyes on Steve, sitting alone by the Beemer. The other boy looked beat to hell, squinting his one good eye as he looked up. When he recognized Eddie, his lips curled into a heart stopping smile. Eddie wanted to cry and curse like Evelyn had. He wanted to wrap the other boy in his arms and shield him from harm.

For the first time, Eddie found himself dreading the final day of Steve’s 18th year. He didn’t want a magical thrall anymore, devoid of free will or personality. He wanted Steve – wanted to love him the way humans loved.

The feeling got even worse with the start of his third senior year, when he finally got to meet some of the kids Steve was always talking about. He was adorable with them, like an overgrown puppy imprinted on by a bunch of ducklings, doing his best even when they bewildered him. He loved them selflessly, the way Evelyn once loved a baby she’d found in the woods.

When the appointed day arrived, Eddie ignored it. He went to school as usual, dutifully attending all his classes, and then Hellfire in the evening. It only required a minor nudge of magic to ensure the weather would be nice, so that the kids would ride their bikes home rather than get a ride from Steve.

He was clearing up after the game, snuffing all the candles out when the sound of a throat clearing startled him into turning around. Steve was standing, half hidden in shadow, watching him with hooded eyes.

"Jesus H. Christ, what are trying to do Harrington - give me a heart attack?" Eddie said.

Steve shrugged and moved closer, leaning against the game table. There were strange undercurrents of emotion moving around him, a crackling feeling of tension, like a storm looming over the horizon. "It's my birthday tomorrow."

Eddie's throat went dry. "If you're fishing for information on a surprise party, you're barking up the wrong tree. Henderson hasn't told me anything." He busied himself with clearing away his figures and notes, stuffing everything into his backpack without his usual meticulous care.

"My mom called."

That prompted Eddie to stop and look up. He was immediately pinned by Steve's intent gaze.

"She told me something... crazy. Apparently, my family is rich because my dad made a deal with one of the Fae?"

Eddie choked out a thin laugh. "Sounds like a fairy tale."

"Yeah, I thought so too. But she was serious about it. She told me the whole story, about how they left all kinds of gifts to summon the Fae. And one of those gifts was a ring that belonged to my grandmother."

Eddie couldn't stop himself from flinching and glancing down at his hand. At the silver ring set with onyx, which he'd held onto for twenty years.

Steve let out a long, shaky breath. "It's true, isn't it? You're the Fae."

Eddie can't lie. Not when confronted directly. "Yes."

“So how does this work? What… what happens now?”

Eddie shook his head, hands clutched into fists. “Nothing. I changed my mind.” He wasn’t expecting the hurt that flickered in those hazel eyes.

“Why?” Steve whispered.

“Because… I’m not the person I was before. And I care about you too much to trap you like that.” He pulled the silver and onyx ring off his finger and held it out. “You should have this back.”

Steve took the ring, turning it over in his fingers thoughtfully before tucking it into his pocket. Eddie thought he would go home then, but he didn’t. He stayed and helped Eddie finish cleaning up, and then followed him back to the trailer. They shared a joint, passing it back and forth while Eddie kept a subtle eye on his watch.

At the stroke of midnight, he let out a sigh as he felt the contract dissolve. “You’re free,” he said softly.

Steve leaned over Eddie in order to snuff the remains of the joint in the ash tray on the side table. When it was done, he didn’t go back to his own side of the sofa – he swung a leg over Eddie’s hips and settled in his lap while Eddie stared up at him, wide-eyed. Steve took hold of his left hand and kissed the back of it softly, before pulling the silver and onyx ring from his pocket. He slipped it back onto Eddie’s finger, right over the tan line.

“I want to make a bargain,” Steve said, holding his gaze steady.

“What would you ask of me?” Eddie whispered.

Steve ran his thumb over Eddie’s hand, still gripped between his own. “What would be the cost, to make you mine?”

Eddie drew in a sharp breath. He tilted his head back and closed his eyes, considering. It was a reckless bargain – but it seemed he was still a reckless creature.

“Love me. Love me and I will belong to you forever.”

Steve smiled slow and sweet, like wildflower honey. “Well that’s easy.”

They sealed the deal with a kiss.

[xgumiho]

"You are all the kingdom I need." 🥀⚔️ "I am not all the kingdom you have."

 Based on @sayesayes and @noxarcanaart‘s incredible However Wild AU 🖤🖤🖤

© xgumiho | do not repost/steal/edit/crop

[dwobbitfromtheshire]

@softuntoward Here is fae!Eddie! Hope you like it.

[dreaminginpencil]

𝖍𝖔𝖜𝖊𝖛𝖊𝖗 𝖜𝖎𝖑𝖉 ⚔️🕯️🥀 chapter five

Steve let his hands wander, let himself touch Eddie as if he owned him, somehow feeling fearless as he sat atop the throne that Eddie had never truly abandoned.

[stevieharringtonwifeguy]

fae!steve who, practically the moment he learns what he can do, sets up a trap curse for his parents. if they ever kick him out and disown him, then the second he exits their threshold he'll take all their luck with him. he'd feel bad about cursing his parents, but the point of a trap curse is that it doesn't activate unless the targets of the curse do something to meet its requirements. if his parents were just good people, good parents, then nothing bad will ever happen to them.

but they really can't seem to help themselves. steve guesses he saw this coming.

he tells eddie about it, when eddie comes to pick him and his one allowed box of clothes and shit from the harrington house. eddie'd offered to curse them, 'might as well make good on my whole evil satanist reputation', but steve told him he already had it covered. told him about the trap. he's never seen eddie look so proud and so sad at the same time.

and sure enough, all good luck leaves the harrington household when steve does. a random irs check reveals harrington sr's years of tax fraud, and his business goes bankrupt trying to pay the fines. someone leaks pictures of one of mrs harringtons senior aides on a drug filled bender in the city, ruining both her campaigns squeaky clean image and her chances at reelection in the fall. several of mr harringtons former secretaries sue for sexual harassment, while seemingly every other woman he's ever come in contact with simultaneously sues for child support.

and steve just watches. he's happy now, living with eddie in a small apartment with their cat and the various small woodland creatures eddie keeps trying to sneak in (so far steve's had to kick out three raccoons, a possum, a skunk, two bats, and a coyote. they've all been very understanding when he's explained the situation to them but eddie still acts like a kicked puppy every time he does it). eddie keeps a little shoebox under their bed with newspaper clippings of every terrible thing to befall the mighty harringtons, says it's in case steve ever wants the reminder that he got one over on them in the end. a reminder that steve's happy and they're not.

steve doesn't need it. he feels it, every time the curse does something to them, something clicking in his chest like one of those alarm clocks with the flaps that flip over from one minute to the next. he wonders if it'll ever feel like too much. if he'll ever think they've been punished enough. they've had a rough couple years, it's sort of only a matter of time before something happens that's unlucky enough to injure or kill them.

steve thinks if he was human, maybe he'd care. maybe he'd look at that shoebox with the guilt eddie seems to be half-expecting every time he brings it out. but he's not, so he doesn't. he set the trap, but his 'parents' are the ones who sprung it.

they really should have known better than to cross a changeling.

[chaosgremlinmunson]

Fae Steddie

He looked over at him, his eyes shining with unshed tears. How could this have happened? All they had to do was follow the plan and now here they were, everything a mess. He moved slowly over to where Eddie lay on the ground, the noise of Dustin's wailing like muffled cries to his ears.

“Eddie, Eds, c'mon man. Open your eyes, you can't do this! I told you not to be cute!” Steve pulled him into his lap, he felt the jolt of Eddie's body signaling some life still within. He reached his hands out pressing into the flesh, and felt warmth flooding through his palms, a golden light emitting from each wound, his own eyes filling with tears that fell in golden drops absorbing into Eddie's skin, “you can't leave me. Don't you dare fucking leave me. I'm not done getting to know you! I have so much to say to you, so much to talk about. Please, Eddie, stay with me!!?” 

A violent gasp wrenched itself from Eddie's chest who opened his eyes, his own shining silver looking at Steve. He smiled, and grasped Steve's hands, his own tears falling in silvery pools down his cheeks. He felt a cool rush through his body and he grasped Steve harder pulling him down into a kiss as sparks of golden and silver light shot off around them. 

“I'm here, big boy, I'm here.” He smiled wetly against Steve's lips, “Let's go home.” 

Steve nodded against him pulling him up, as they looked up at Dustin who stood eyes wide taking in his two best friends.

“What the fuck?” Dustin said gesturing at their backs, Eddie turned his head seeing his own silver wings like lace and lightning, beside Steve's whose golden wings looks like thorns and sunlight, he knew in that moment the tales Wayne had told him as a child were more than simply fairy tales, they were something old, something different. Something most humans had long forgotten about.

They made their way to the portal pushing Dustin through first and landing before their friends who looked on in awe. 

“I knew it.” Robin quietly said as she approached Steve, “you're like me.” She reached out a single finger running it against his wing, her own lilac wings spreading out no longer hidden and eyes shining the same shade, “there's much to discuss, we need to get to the colony. Wayne, Eddie's back, and he's changed.” She said the last part over her shoulder to the man who stood gaping at the vision before him, the light shimmered before his own silver and black wings unfurled, his skin turning alabaster. 

[sweetcreaturetm]

I am literally going FERAL over the art for this fic.

However Wild on AO3 by Ayes and itskleo.. the art is by @noxarcanaart

[hitlikehammers]

dearest-mine (until next)

a Fae-King!Steve/Human-Prince!Eddie fic for @thequeenofcarvenstone in the Steddie Valentine's Day Exchange ✨ ao3 link here

part i: until next

“Dearest,” Steve whispers gentle, ever-so, against the hidden space behind his beloved’s ear; “dearest-mine,” he exhales as a song, lilting; tender if not wholly devoid of the barest sorrow as he rouses his lover before the dawn as he must: “until next.”

With which he wakes his dearest, his Eddie, every morning he is blessed to spend wrapped around and within: he will not bid farewell, the parting already too raw; he cannot bear the heartbreak of permanence etched in harsher words. And yet: part they must; fae magic is firm.

The morning light seals the liminal space to solid. To remain beyond the dawn means to remain forever.

“What if I were to stay?”

Eddie’s voice comes itself like a song, though the words more a temptress; as if he hears Steve’s own thoughts tucked deep in his chest.

“You know you mustn’t,” Steve says it as he says it every morning, swallowing his own regrets and wishes deeper than his thoughts as he strokes fingertips delicate through his beloved’s hair, soft without need for Enchantment’s touch; “you have a kingdom which depends upon your kind hand in guidance,” and it is true: his beloved stands to inherit rule of the kingdom that curls east-and-north to the borders of Steve’s Realm, should the Realm be given space within the mortal plane. It is how they met, fortuitous by the hands of chance to other eyes but Steve: Steve believes otherwise.

He believed in destiny only for the fact of Eddie beside him; that after millennia now of feeling only passing warmth within him, and surface satisfaction of the flesh, he aches in perpetuity, now, for the expanse beneath his breast, the way Eddie sits on a wholly other throne beside Steve’s heart: Steve has lived and breathed beside Enchantment his entire life-length, and will for what remains, but he has never had reason to ponder and marvel at the true extent of its powers before this.

Infatuation is a lesser word by leagues, and yet: love too is so far beyond this feeling.

Though, for the immediacy of feeling: Steve stills when the touch of his lover slips lower, his lashes dancing, the blood high on the sculpt of his cheekbones.

“I believe,” Eddie whispers, near-devious: “my kind hand,” he echoes Steve’s words in a wholly other fashion, and Steve feels the desire that never fades with his beloved, he feels it stir to rising, to sprinkle the flesh of him up from the ends: “may better be suited to,” and he lays a palm at the join of Steve’s hips, lets the weight of his touch settles meaningfully, warm where heat is no matter, Steve already walks an inferno beside him:

“Other tasks.”

Steve’s blood whirls riotous between the chambers of his chest, a dancing ribbon on Lughnasadh in the blood of him, the life of him celebratory and yet—

“Darling-mine,” he forces his own hand to cover Eddie’s, and laments the way his fingers curl to lift that hand to his chest to feel the hum there, not-quite-human but not so unlike, simply broader, less predicable and more married to the whims of the World-Rhythm, and here beside his One-True—though he has not spoken such, and will not for the unbalance of thus speaking clear his own heart, should he stumble into tempting Eddie to move in kind; for where no consequence lies for Steve to bare his love within his own borders, for Eddie it would tempt Enchantments older than even Steve can fathom, laid by the crueler of his cousins long gone from these lands though the roots, the soils retain the memory, and deeper-still the danger. Yet Steve has known for some time the gravity of what he feels, of what this truly is—

“Your nation lays its demands upon you by daylight,” he presses lips against his beloved’s jaw, holds to feel his lifeblood and smile there for the fact of it: “my heart remains forever at the ready for your return by evenfall.”

For this is how it is, for them; this is how their worlds must spin: there is no more, and no less, nor should there ever be, for to quantify it on any scale, human or Deeper, is folly, and ill-fitted. What they are is this, in its unquakable wholeness. It can be no other.

“I miss you terribly in the interim,” Eddie says, the soft heart of him in his eyes as he confesses the depth of this in simple words that cut every time, that clench in Steve’s chest and make him wish…

Make him wish things he cannot wish. Eddie is a Prince, with a Kingdom that will await his ascension in due course. Eddie is a human, a beautiful mortal soul, perfect for all that he is and ever will be, just so. Steve could barely hold the notion of asking someone to forsake their homes, their lands, their families and peoples to join the world he reigns over: he cannot ask this man, the only one he would desire to pose the question, not when he holds in him a greatness of his own that Steve cannot presume to measure to, no matter what titles or powers he himself might offer in exchange.

“I misspoke,” Steve settles on, and draws Eddie’s hand to his lips to kiss soft, then his chest to press true: “my heart does not wait at the ready,” he breathes, and lets Enchantment swell in his veins to be felt and held for the touch:

“It goes with you, always, whole-of-my-heart,” Steve exhales the vow of it, the love of it, careful but long-kept and nurtured to be open, always, and wholly but safe, held mindful and meticulous and offered so as to have none of the ties of Fae-Kind that may sway Eddie’s mind, or his heart; that would unfairly, and unmeaning, ask for things Steve will not ask, sacrifices he will not so much as hint toward Eddie considering, no matter the outsized wanting within him.

“So there is no need for longing in these hours,” Steve breathes out, and wills the weight of what he gives between them swell with breadth and feeling, as he’s practiced long to master so that it skirts all wiles of his Winter brethren, and even his own sun-soaked kin—a magic here without twists save to hold as dear; an oath sworn that asks nothing in return: “never a need, dearest-mine, however long those mournful hours may deem fit to stretch.”

Eddie considers him, lips parted as he breathes in the warmth of evocation Steve is gifting into the space between them, with every exhale and pulse-flutter: the flush high on his beloved’s cheeks for it is all he asks for, if not all he desires—if he cannot claim the latter, he will treasure the former with all that he is.

“Impossible, though,” Eddie finally exhales, thready and awed as he slowly turns their twined-together hands and brings Steve’s to his own chest, now: there is no Enchantment singing beneath his breast save for the fact and marvel of him, but that could never mean it’s less a song, and Steve craves it wholly, the wing-beat of it so untethered, so free—Steve relishes it with his full being, even for the reminder that in its freedom, it is proof pressed into his hand of what he can never, will never even hint at mentioning, to choose and tot bind and to join Steve here but to lose far more: he will never so much as suggest the notion, lest his resolve crumble, or the worst of his nature take selfish tacks to keep.

“I leave my heart with you,” Eddie murmurs, and leans to rub his cheek to Steve’s, the gentle prickle of scruff delicious on Steve’s soft skin. “I question often, whether it remembers still how to beat without you near,” Eddie breathes as a confession and Steve own heart trembles for it, to be cared for so deeply in kind: a revelation. Novel beyond his ken.

“It is well-done then,” Steve can only whisper back, just as delicate; cannot break the gentle spell cast wholly of they two alone, and the beating of life between them, Steve’s for Eddie and Eddie’s…possible some proportion of him, too, for Steve: unfathomable—and yet.

“Of course there is not life without a heart,” Steve mouths now against Eddie’s jaw, soft and tender until he raises shivering; delicious; “and yet we endure through the cold hours,” and he fastens his mouth then to the delightful pump of the pulse at Eddie’s throat, a buoyant little wave of feeling: “safe in hand of hearts given,” Steve kisses there reverent and breathes: “happily so.”

“Joyfully so,” Eddie counters, reaching then to cup Steve’s face and meet his eyes with such weight in their fathomless gaze:

“You are dear to me in ways I never dared to dream,” Eddie tells him with his full chest, uncannily breathless for the strength he holds inside the sentiment, audible and tangible in the air as he speaks and it fills Steve to bursting just to be privy to it, let alone to be the intended recipient of such unutterable gifts.

“Take this then, beloved,” and Steve kisses him thoroughly, with all intention and his own choice gifts: “and be well in your journey.”

Eddie raises a brow at him, his lips quirking impish.

“What was it this time, then?”

And Steve meets him, smiling warm where he could not resist if he tried, and would not dishonor this moment or the depth of it all in his chest to make such attempts—of course his beloved has learned the sensation, now, of Enchantment working upon him, even in bare hints.

“Simply safe-keeping,” Steve smooths hands down Eddie’s arms, and kisses his lower lip so to coax the flesh just so into full-dark bloom: “it would do poorly should I fail to protect my heart in its travelings,” he adds playfully, though it may shoot afar its mark: too sincere, too much of heart in it by necessity alone.

“And?” Eddie forgives whatever undue weight Steve may have let dampen the tease, or else maybe he simply accepts it for all that it is; but he moves onward, and presses further—so bright, his dearest, so keen.

“Subtle fortune,” Steve admits, gathering his hands to hold, to squeeze: “your negotiations today,” for they had spoken: Eddie’s Kingdom seeks trade and alliance with their neighbors at the furthest reaching leyn-lines of Steve’s borders, and Steve would see it done for the best of both his own people, and Eddie’s in turn—though he would see it done no matter, were it Eddie’s wish.

“My uncle needs that more than I,” Eddie shrugs the sentiment a bit but pinkens, ducks his head and buries in the fluff of his curls, sleep mussed and wild and adored.

“Beloved-mine,” Steve feels himself compelled from the heart of him to speak it, to counter the hiding, however endearing; to banish so much as the hint of feeling less-than deserving, contexts aside, not least as the deep-dark of the sky starts to soften with bare hints of amber, their moments dwindling:

“You carry the whole of me as companion,” Steve frames his face and speaks true, feels the welling of his devotion, the depth of how much of himself is offered in his touch and in his words, and he suspects his eyes flash opalescent for the way it trembles as truth through his skin to bone, the whisperings of the Elders ebullient in his voice as he speaks: “and yet that is a trifling thing compared to the whole of you.”

Eddie stares at him as if he is a wonder, a true child of something rooted deep in the movings of being, in the seasons of the world and the glories no longer spoken aloud as the tongues are long lost but life on in the flesh of those like Steve, and that is a truth: but here. Here, before Eddie, next to Eddie, Steve is really but one thing alone: his.

Steve belongs solely and wholly, here, to him.

“You speak nonsense, my liege,” Eddie finally murmurs, eyes still stretched almost unfathomably wide, as if seeing Beyond: “of us two I am the one who wakes in your arms and wonders endless what heaven I’ve stumbled upon,” he reaches to cradle Steve’s face much as Steve had done in turn, and Steve has never learned before this man to feel adored, or valued for what he is, for who he’s grown to be, rather than what influence he wields, and what power he can enact, as if his rapport now with Enchantment is some coercive thing: no. No, Eddie sees Steve, not a King, not a Fae, not a means to an end. And the strength of his feeling is somehow palpable through the leaves, on the wind itself: for Steve alone, just as he is.

It is a heady revelation that has never yet grown old, or less miraculous.

“To be so blessed as to behold you,” Eddie toys idly at his hair with the softest curve to his lips, his pulse strong, full at his neck; “let alone—“ and his voice breaks a little for feeling, and Steve chest cracks open a touch to take it in safe, to wrap it around his own heart and covet it close, gifts-upon-gifts.

“Now who speaks nonsense, dearest-mine,” Steve teases, though he knows his eyes still glow with the world-craft of his birthing, its power awakened to press firm the truths deeper than his words: this man is all things, in Steve’s chest and in his blood and of his soul he is all things; “what wild notions you have, to think you are less the revelation,” he chides, and flips a thick tangle of Eddie’s hair to puncture the point before he leans close, catches Eddie’s hand again close to his chest to measure the significant in moments’-moving blood beneath:

“That you are less my heart entire.”

Truths. May well have been drawn in the roots of the world-tree at creation itself. And Eddie looks at him in such a way that he must, he must feel grasped and held to Steve’s heart under his palm, for the leaping and the drumming-divine that takes up its song through his chest as Eddie licks his lips and looks to Steve like he is unfathomable and immutable, like he is everything there is to be somehow; his eyes gleam bright and his lips part slow, near-worshipful:

“I love—“

And Steve leans to kiss him, to claim his lips and still his words, to keep them inside his lungs and deep near his heart because as much as Steve wishes them, he wishes nothing of what they may bind to, what they may be taken by Enchantment to mean: a debt. A claim. All that Steve strives with the whole of him to keep his dear one safe from: the dangerous edges that are axiomatic to all Fae is varied in their shape and magnitude; edges Eddie skirts by his nature, so fond of the risk to the point that it pricks often in Steve chest for fear, even as he knows he will never live to let harm visit upon this man, not a single curl upon his head will come to hurt under Steve’s eye, but this: this is not a mere hurt.

This is a sentence for all of time; a condemnation underscore in terms beyond forever. And he will not subject Eddie to such ruin; he would not leave such ends to this man who never needed to stake claim upon Steve to have the whole of him.

And Steve will never risk stealing the claim of eternity in return, no matter how his heart longs to hear those words.

“Sunlight hastens,” Steve moves his lips against Eddie’s; breathes protection into him soft so that he knows love in the motion, but caution in what Steve has sealed back into his lungs: safe and unspoken, risking none of the radiant humanity in Eddie’s precious veins as he cups that dear-held cheek:

“Hasten in kind, beloved.”

Until next, indeed.

✨ part ii: here✨

✨ ao3 link here

permanent tag list (comment to be added): @pearynice @hbyrde36 @slashify @finntheehumaneater @wxrmland @dreamwatch @perseus-notjackson

💜

divider credit here

[sparkle-fiend]

A Bargain Made in Winter

I expanded on my fae!Eddie drabble a little bit and posted it on AO3 here.