#like tracking henrys blood

[kineticallyanywhere]

Monkey’s Paw pages 121-125 ( START HERE || ao3 || previous || next ) AU after episode 62. The Omega Dads try a more desperate gambit, but   careful what you wish for. Our dads find alternate versions of themselves in a strange dreamscape. If you die in the dream, do you die in real life?

IT'S BEEN MORE THAN A MONTH BUT i'M HERE, i'M ALIVE

me 6 months ago: I am ready to do more detailed backgrounds me now: I am not willing to do more detailed backgrounds

[artaxlivs]

Were they kidding with this bullshit? Like, seriously? So many gates opening up to different dimensions now that there were too many for Supergirl to close and this? This is what they got? Fuck this. Seriously.

"Are you a virgin?" Mike asked like the total little dickhead he is.

"So what if I am? Aren't you? And the rest of your little friends?" Eddie sniped back at the rude little bastard but then, he blanched, "actually, don't answer that. I don't want to know."

Why did this have to be happening when Eddie was on a perimeter check?

Mike rolled his eyes like he couldn't believe how ridiculous Eddie was being, "Dumbass, we're children. Unicorns never go to innocent children in fairy tales. Because we're all innocent. They go to innocent adults. Virgins." He put far too much emphasis on the word because he is, as mentioned, a little dickhead.

"Listen, fuck you and the unicorn you rode in on. I'm not fucking innocent. I've done...things. Things I'm not gonna tell you about!" Eddie sputtered, crossing his arms and almost losing his precarious balance on the tree branch.

He needed to be careful because there was a unicorn circling underneath him. And not the beautiful, ethereal kind. It was beautiful, sure, but it had blood all over his muzzle and splattered across it's chest and on it's front hooves. Probably from the last virgin it had tracked down in god knows what dimension and trampled slash eaten to death. It's eyes were blazing red fire and it had fangs. Fangs. Fuck. That.

Eddie heard Steve sighing and then he flailed an arm from Eddie's tree branch to Robin and said, "It can't be trying to get you because you're a virgin, it's not going anywhere near Robin!"

The girl in question squeaked. Her ears and cheeks went bright red. All three of them turned to look at her.

"Wait, what? Was it you know who? From the...? You didn't tell me? When did you...?" Steve asked cryptically, shedding absolutely no light on who Buckley was knocking boots with.

"Yes after we met at the...place." Robin supplied lamely and then bared her teeth and said through them, "After. But before we went back in to fight Henry slash Vecna slash One." She shrugged and let out a hysterical sounding giggle. "It was...End of the World Sex. Just in case, you know?"

"Ohhhh I'm so proud of you!" And oddly, Steve really did sound proud. Which was weird. Eddie was pretty sure Robin was gay which meant the caginess was in reference to a girl but the fact that Steve was so supportive was a little suprising.

Without actively thinking about the repercussions, Eddie's mouth decided to test that theory, "Well damn, wish I'd have thought of that. Steve - want to deflower me so this unicorn leaves me alone?" The hysterical giggle Eddie let out rivaled Robin's.

Slowly Steve turned back to him but before he could reply, Mike scoffed, "You are his type. Skinny, big bushy hair, big eyes, you and Nancy both talk like everyone is just waiting to listen to you to speak." He rolled his eyes, "Annoying."

"Rude!" Eddie tilted his head thoughtfully, "You know what though? I'm fine with it. Nancy Wheeler is a badass and I want to be her when I grow up. Or when I get down from this tree." Eddie cringed, staring down as the unicorn stopped and looked up, one of it's flaming eyes bore into him. It neighed, shaking it's gorgeous mane but also splattering little droplets of blood everywhere.

Gross. So gross.

"Huh. Now that you mention it..." Robin stared up at Eddie thoughtfully, "I totally see it."

Steve just dragged his hand down his face and glared at the angry unicorn, "Okay, we need a real plan because Eddie isn't coordinated enough to have sex in a tree." He put his hands on his hips like a baseball mom wondering if she brought enough orange slices and Shastas for the whole team. "Do we know any other adult virgins to lure this one away?"

Mike snorted, "Those are probably more rare than the unicorn.'

Eddie flipped him off, "You're rolling at disadvantage on all charisma and persuasion checks for the rest of time."

"We'll have to find a new DM when the unicorn gores you anyway," Mike shrugged. "Whatever."

Then he wandered off. Just walked away, like Eddie wasn't two feet away from being mauled by a feral beast who's name was probably Glitter Sparkle or some shit. What a dickhead.

Looking away from the unicorn, Eddie watched Robin wave Steve over and whisper to him. They had a hushed conversation for several minutes while Eddie yelled things like, "Wanna share with the class?" and "Good friends don't make shitty plans in secret!" But they ignored him. Bastards.

Until Steve turned to the tree and asked, "By 'things' what do you mean?"

What?

"Harrington, what the hell are you talking about?"

"You said you've done 'things' but not had sex. What things?" Steve brushed a hand through his miraculously still perfect hair, and sighed, obviously frustrated, "We're trying to figure out what the unicorn considers virginity. Robin's never..." He petered off and glanced back at her and then over at Mike who was half way down the block with his radio out, sitting on a bench with his back to them, probably telling everyone that Eddie still had his V card. Traitor.

He was too far away for them to hear his conversation so he was probably too far for theirs.

Robin cleared her throat. "I've never had, you know, penetrative sex. Just...um...uh...third base!" She squeaked again and then covered her face with her hands.

"You're being extremely weird about sex talk while a blood covered unicorn is stalking me like a jungle cat!" Eddie informed her. "Oral. Just say oral sex, you weirdo!"

"Ok fine!" She shouted, "I've given and reciprocated oral sex! Jesus." Then she crossed her arms and grumbled under her breath, tapping one foot on the grass.

Eddie couldn't help it. He laughed with glee. "Was she cute?"

Robin sputtered, mouth dropping in shock.

What? Did she think she was a subtle lesbian? Because she wasn't. Not at all. Her high tops had boobs drawn on them like some twelve year old boy just hitting puberty. He rolled his eyes.

Steve looked up at Eddie then. His eyebrows were arched in that way they get when he's thinking up a plan. They're not always good plans but he carries them out and everyone usually lives so, Eddie could do worse. "Well - Big Boy?" Steve's lips twitched in a smile at using Eddie's nickname for him. "I'm guessing when you said you've done 'things,' you were lying?"

"Yeah, duh." Eddie retorted, snapping in his irritation and mounting fear. Mounting, ha. Like a horse and like sex. Mounting. He bit his lip to contain the very poorly timed giggle.

Robin rolled her eyes, grabbed Steve's arm and gave him a severe 'be careful' look and then hustled over to where Mike was sitting. When Steve tucked his bat into his backpack and started to creep around the tree, he realized she was giving them privacy. Holy shit.

The unicorn didn't even acknowledge Steve's presence as he skirted around it and climbed the tree, grunting and complaining under his breath how nobody better call him the Virginsitter because he swears to God. Then the rest of his grumbling got lost, buried under the sound of Eddie's heart pounding in his ears.

Holy shit.

And that's how Eddie lost his mythically constructed virginity in a tree to Steve Harrington who was apparently bisexual and very, very good at blowjobs.

Neither of them even noticed which way the unicorn went.

[pretty-little-mind33]

dad!James Potter x wife!reader

Summary: When your eleven-year-old son comes home for Christmas break in tears, you and James are instantly worried.

Genre: Fluff, Hurt and Comfort

Warnings: mentions of blood-purity and prejudices, swearing, their son Henry is nicknamed as Harry ;)

happens in the same universe as Santa Baby

Your husband has always been dramatic, but when your oldest comes home from school in his first-year with frustrated tears streaming down his cheeks, James almost loses his shit.

Henry slams the door behind him and discards his shoes in the hallway, "Fuck," He mutters when he hears you call his name from the living room. You, James, and Emmie had been waiting for him to come home from the train-station. Emmie sits impatiently on your lap, making small gurgling noises as you bounce her on your knees. James had cooked (burnt) Henry's favorite dinner and he stands up, frowning when he hears his son curse.

"Harry?"

You stand up too, worried, as you hold Emmie in your arms. You hear Henry's footsteps run up the stairs. James looks puzzled as he looks back at you. You shrug and walk up next to him, handing him Emmie as she clings happily to his arms. "I'll talk to him," you pat James's forearm and walk up the stairs to Henry's room.

Gently, you knock on the door and then open it a little. Your heart shatters when you see Henry laying on his stomach, his arms around his pillow as he muffles his cries.

He's always been sensitive and you're cautious as you sit near him. "Honey? What's wrong? Can you tell me what's happened?"

Henry shakes his head, only turning it to mutter, "Go away, mum. I don't wanna talk."

Your eyebrows scrunch and you reach out to touch him, but hesitate and stand up. "Do ya' wanna talk to dad?" you ask, knowing Henry sometimes wants James instead.

Henry doesn't answer for a moment until he nods. You nod too, closing the door behind you as you make your way downstairs again. James is standing at the end of the stairs, Emmie on his hip, as he looks at you concerned. You reach him and take Emmie from him. "He wants you," you whisper.

James's eyes soften and he kisses your cheek, soothing a hand over your hair and down your cheek. You know it's usually a "man problem", as James calls them, when Henry wants James instead of you. Still, James knows your heart breaks when you can't help your baby boy.

James walks upstairs and disappears into Henry's room. You return to the living room and place Emmie down on her play-mat.

James and Henry don't talk for long as you hear hurried footsteps come down the stairs. "Honey?" you call, confused, and you stand.

He doesn't answer and just grabs his coat, his cheeks flushed a dark crimson. He looks beyond pissed. You turn to Emmie, you don't want to leave her unsupervised and she usually starts to cry when she sees her dad this upset so you know you can't carry her to him either.

"James!" you shout after him.

Henry runs down the stairs, his tears now gone as he follows James outside. "Henry!" you shout once more but neither of them listen to you. You feel helpless as you hear the car start in the driveway. You don't understand. You hold Emmie in your arms and sit on the couch, stomach in knots.

After what seems like an hour, the front door opens and Henry's laughter fills the room. You've put Emmie to sleep so you run to the door, hugging Henry to your chest as you tug a hand through his dark curls. James follows behind him, stopping dead in his tracks when he sees your expression.

"Where were you?" you say, narrowing your eyes at your husband.

"Oh, mum, you should have seen dad! The way he shouted at Liam's dad because of what he said at the station—it was awesome!"

"What did Liam say at the station, baby?" you ask him quickly.

"No, not Liam, his dad. He saw me come off the train and he made some comment about you, mum. About you being weird and how it must have passed on to me. He also called you a Mudblood but I didn't understand what that meant and dad won't— " James stops Henry with a hand on his head and you look up at your husband.

Your heart feels like it's beating hard. Weird. Mudblood. You've heard worse but something about it hearing it come from your son's mouth—knowing someone had said that in front of your son makes you ache.

Liam's dad went to school with you and James and he's always been a jerk, but that doesn’t make it excusable. James kisses Henry's head and sends him upstairs. You look at James, teary eyed as you try to find the right words. James just hugs you to his chest, his hand on the back of your head. "Shh," he whispers, "it's okay," he promises but you shake your head.

"It's not okay," you wipe at your tears, "Richard called me that in front of my son. It's humiliating," You bury my face in my hands. James's expression twists and he looks upset.

He cups your cheeks gently, kissing your nose. "I'm so sorry I left so quickly, my love, but he had to know I won't stand for anyone messing with my loves," he says sternly.

While his anger isn't directed at you by any means, it hangs in the air.

"I- I don't know what to say to Henry," you whisper, voice shaky, as you lean your head on James's chest. James's heart sinks at your tone and he holds you close.

He nuzzles his nose in your hair. "You don't have to say a thing, darlin'."

"Yes, I do," you pull away and look into your husband's eyes, "I'm his mother. I have to explain to him what that word means before he hears it at school again. Which, I'm surprised he hadn't already," you try to sound brave but James sees through you.

He always does.

"Hey, it's okay," he says as he runs a hand up and down your shoulders. He kisses your head gently and continues, "We'll talk to Harry, okay? Can you warm up dinner while I get him?"

Your shoulders relax a little and you nod. With your mind still fuzzy, you walk up to the pot where James had been making pasta and scrunch your nose. It's all burnt and cold by now. You glance at your wand on the counter, but instead, you decide a frozen pizza should do nicely.

After a few minutes, James comes back in with Henry hanging from his arm like he would as a little boy. Seeing you, your son jumps down and runs over. He hugs you and leans on his tip-toes to kiss your cheek. "I love you, mum," he smiles and your heart melts. Henry's smile widens when he smells the pizza in the oven.

"How many sweets did dad bribe you with to say that," you tease, ruffling Henry's hair.

Henry shoots James an unsure look but then smiles up at you, "None," he says confidently and you pretend to believe him. You look at James with a look that says, 'stop bribing our son with candy'. James just smirks and swoops in, resting his hand on Henry's shoulder.

"Harry, your mum and I wanna talk to you about something important, alright," he looks at you and pauses so you can take over.

You nod and crouch down to Henry's eye level. You hold his hands, "Honey, what Liam's dad said wasn't okay, you know that right?" Henry nods, listening intensely. "Mudblood is a very mean word that's used for witches and wizards who are Muggleborn—that come from muggle families—like me."

"I know you do—grandma and grandad don't understand magic," Henry grins.

James chuckles and smoothes his hand in Henry's hair and says, "Yeah, exactly, bud. But, you must never use that word, understand?"

Henry nods seriously and looks up at James. "What am I then? If mum's a Muggleborn and dad's family is—"

"In technical terms, you're a half-blood, honey," you say, standing and kissing his head gently, "It's all nonsense anyways. It really doesn't matter at all because you're a wizard. As long as you can do magic, then that's all that matters."

"Yeah, and you know your mum is way better at magic than I am," James says with a pretend pout, "so really, blood-status is a bunch of bogus," Henry looks at his dad and laughs at his dramatic display of feeling sorry for himself. You roll your eyes and push on James's arm, but you're secretly grateful for him lightening up the mood.

Once the talk is over and Henry is tucked into his bed, his stomach full of pizza, you finally exhale. You sit at your vanity, brushing your hair, and James is changing into his pajamas. He sits on his side of the bed and fiddles with Emmie's muggle baby monitor.

"I can hear you thinking, my lovely," he hums. He stands and makes his way over to you. He wraps his arms around your shoulders and kisses your cheeks. His hands caress up and down your arm as he whispers, "Henry understands. He's smart. You're raising him well."

"We're raising him well," you remind James as you turn to look him in the eye.

James chuckles. "I bribed him with candy. You taught him a valuable lesson."

You scrunch your nose and stand, wrapping your arms around James's torso as you hold him close. Your husband eagerly pulls you into him and inhales the scent of your hair. He leans his cheek on your head and you nuzzle into him.

As much as hearing other wizards and witches talk down on you hurts—like they've done all your life—one solace is that you have the most wonderful husband, who never cared about something as silly as blood-statues, and said wonderful husband gave you the most beautiful children you could have asked for.

"Thank you," you whisper, thanking James for being himself, "I love you." You've never meant anything more.

"I love you more," James finishes and kisses your head.

[a-local-idiots-shitpost]

Mc get´s kidnapped by Demon worshipers and has a nice conversation with their Demons

Lucifer:

for some reasons robe wearing weirdos kidnapped you while you were in the Human World on behalf of Lucifer

and turns out they wanted to use you as a sacrifice to summon Lucifer

I mean not how that thing works but hey if they want to see Lucifer fine by you, I mean it won´t be your death sentence so you don´t care about what will happen

and yeah at first they cheered but as soon as they noticed Lucifer was freeing you and looking at them with more anger than you ever saw from him

it went from happy cheering to blood chilling screams very fast

but you got cuddles with Cerberus and how many snacks as you wanted from Lucifer so pretty great day in your book

Mammon:

so not only do you get kidnapped by golden robe wearing weirdos but they also want to throw you into a pot of melted and burning hot Gold to summon Mammon?

pretty weird if you ask me but hey if they so desperately want Mammon you can get him for them but you already know he will be pissed about his Human nearly getting sacrificed

and he was reaaaally pissed about them trying to sacrifice the Great Mammon´s Human!

he killed them so fast they didn´t even get a chance to scream for mercy

after that he just collected you, and the Gold because that´s a lot and he can earn a lot of Grimm with it, and went back home

after that both of you just spent the reminder of the day together and had a nice sleepover, or rather Mammon was scared of you getting kidnapped again and refused to let og of you no mater what

and when I say no matter what I mean he tried following you to the toilet

Leviathan:

so you got kidnapped by a bunch of introverts who wanted the Avatar of Envy, honestly if they didn´t kidnap you they could have been online friends with Levi

but hey if they want to see him angry not only because they kidnapped his Henry but also because they distracted him from a limited time re-run from his favorite Anime fine by you

and wow that was one hell of a view, you thought he would have just drowned or killed them using Lotan but nope he also killed some of them

if he didn´t blush from your praise about him being really cool in this moment he would have seemed even cooler

he also invited you to watch his Anime with him, probably because he needs to make sure his Henry won´t disappear again

Satan:

yeah uh so you didn´t summon him this time, some people just took you with them while you and Satan were playing with a bunch of kittens

and he just tracked you down, needless to say those guys didn´t even have the smallest survival chance

you never saw Satan this brutal usually you thought the worst you saw of him when a Demon kicked a Cat, but no this is like this time times a million

all that was leftover at the end of the day was pulverized bones, blood and some mushy flesh that once made up a Human body, if the smell didn´t made you nauseous you would have been almost impressed

after all of this the both of you just went back to play with the kittens and as understandable as it was the kittens kept their distance from Satan, which crushed him

Asmodeus:

someone just took you when both of you went shopping in the Human world

Asmo was looking at a new dress for himself and when he turned around you were gone, which isn´t that uncommon but after being gone for a day he got really concerned

and shortly after him getting concerned you summoned him and man was he pissed, not only did those guys cause him to worry about you but they also caused him to get a grey hair because of them, the nerve of some people!

after Asmo freed you, both of you just decided to not give those guys anymore attention you just locked them in their building and burned it down

afterwards you and Asmo had a nice nap together as if nothing ever happened and you didn´t just burn who knows how many people to death \^-^/

Beelzebub:

so you got kidnapped in the Human world by stereotypical Devil Worshipers, pretty boring and shows their lack of creativity if you ask me

and all they need you for was an edible sacrifice for Beel, which to be honest if it wasn´t you he would have probably eaten it guess lucky for the random person who didn´t get chosen

but hey if the want to feed Beel I´m sure he would love to eat them instead :)

which is what he did after you summoned him, it surprised you how fast he managed to eat them you would have thought eating a Human would take more time but nope he just finished them in seconds

afterwards Beel just took you with him to Hell´s Kitchen, seems like the only thing those Cultist did was make him hungrier

Belphegor:

why would anybody even want Belphie? even more so kidnapping you so you can serve as the sacrificial lamb

like what could they even need the Avatar of Sloth for? He doesn´t do much besides sleeping and making life difficult for Lucifer

but hey if they want Belphie they can have him but he won´t appreciate getting woken up and I guess the fact that people kidnapped you to kill you

guess you´ll just have to sit back and enjoy the show and man that´s one hell of a blood bath

guess his hatred for Humans isn´t completely gone

but hey you got some nice nap hours out of it without him trying to kill you so honestly you don´t care about what happened

Diavolo:

honestly you are more surprised that Diavolo can even be summoned than by the fact they have to kill 33 sinners to even hope they can reach him

bad for them you did actually spent time with Diavolo before you just disappeared

and man he was not happy when he found you

he really showed why he´s the Prince of the Devildom, it was really unusual to see Diavolo not just as a happy go lucky guy as always but as the future ruler of the Devildom

he didn´t even get rid of the blood before he just picked you up and locked you in the Demon Lord´s Castle

he really doesn´t want to risk you getting in any kind of danger again

Barbatos:

both of you were working in the garden and having a little competition over who can make the prettier bouquet, Barbatos excuse on spending time with you and giving you pretty flowers

when suddenly you were gone and all that was left were a couple of flowers

needless to say he was pissed and immediately went off to look for you and he didn´t think it was possible but his mood worsened when he saw you that you got kidnapped by people who thought sacrificing you would summon him

well they succeeded in summoning him but unfortunate for them he was in an extremely bad mood

he completely destroyed everything there it look like a bomb went off there afterwards he just cleaned you and brought you to bed

while watching you of course he can never forgive himself is someone steals you form under his nose ever again

[acowardinmordor]

So Steve gets grabbed and pulled through watergate. The girls hesitate for a moment longer, pause to grab a weapon, to tell the kids, something. They follow, but when they get there, Steve is gone. Not dead. Gone. They can see tracks and a bit of blood and a dead bat-thing, but no Steve. Of course they’re going to look for him, they wouldn’t just leave him, but the bats start to swarm over head, and the three of them have to run for the trees.

They look while they head for Nancy’s and they look while they bike across town, and they’re not abandoning him, but even Robin knows they need weapons and supplies if they’re going to search for real. She’s nearly hysterical when Nancy’s eyes roll back, and she is hysterical when Nancy tells them what she was shown.

The kids are trying not to make it obvious that this is harder without Steve. Eddie manages to act more confident than he is, and they make a plan. Somehow, they still decide to send Robin and Nancy after Henry, with Eddie and Dustin as a distraction.

Henry dies in time for Eddie to only be heavily bleeding, not on the edge of death, so he’s already limping back to the trailer when he hears Dustin scream. Not for him though.

Nancy and Robin were in trouble in the Creel house, nothing they were doing was having any effect. Then Steve showed up. Saved them. Helped them take down Vecna. He looks like crap, and says he’s starving, wants to get back to the real world as soon as possible, but he’s alive. Robin and Dustin and Steve are tangled in hugs every possible second.

And maybe it’s just because Eddie is recovering in the Harrington place. Maybe it’s because he didn’t care about him as much as the others do. Maybe it’s because he’s just flat out cursed in life, but it only takes a day or two for Eddie to be sure that whatever came back, it is not Steve Harrington.

[lowkeyrobin]

Hello! I was wondering if you could please do newt (platonic/familial) with a younger sibling who makes/mends close and personality wise is similar to Luz from TOH? Thank you! :D

yesyesyesyesyesywsyes omg please keep the maze runner requests coming I'm very very fixated atm kdk how to function, PLEASE SPAM ME W TMR REQS RJNENE ; anyways thank you for requesting, hope you enjoy!! ; post writing robin here, I tried with the personality like Luz but I struggled for some reason so I'm so sorry about that LMAO

NEWT ; clothing maker/mender

summary ; you make and mend clothing around the Glade, and Newt is somehow always there to help

warnings ; language, Newt is still a runner so pre-injury era

genre ; platonic fluff

word count ; 1.1k

masterlist

The day you came up in the box, you were frightened and felt like you didn't fit in with the other kids of the Glade. You were socially awkward and didn't know how to talk to people, although being a people pleaser.

Talking was just hard for you, but luckily, Newt understood. He tucked you under his wing and tried to help you fit in with the others, but to no avail. Nothing was sticking out to you, it wasn't like jobs were supposed to be enjoyable but you truly couldn't fit in anywhere. The fifteen year old boy with dirty blonde hair was there for you, though, reassuring you that actually becoming a Glader, even after remembering your name, took time.

Becoming a Runner was off the table at day one, you had zero stamina and could barely run for shit, let alone your life, you and Newt, and Alby, Minho, and the other Runners quickly agreed upon that. Being a Builder was quickly eliminated as well, because you didn't want to deal with obnoxious assholes like Gally, Hank, and Alec all day long. Plus, you knew nothing about "structural integrity" or whatever the hell they were talking about anyways, wood to hammer to nail was all you saw.

You quickly gained a friendship with Winston after a month or two in the Glade, but no way in Hell were you joining the Slicers either. You'd gain an emotional attachment to the animals much too quickly to then watch them die, the emotional despair would be a bit much at the moment. Bagger was also off the charts, leaving Med-Jack and Track-Hoe on the table for you.

Newt wasn't going to let you become a Slopper, considering you weren't bad at helping people nor farming, you just had to find your thing that you'd be comfortable doing. So, you settled on Track-Hoe as they needed more help in the gardens and you wouldn't mind getting your hands dirty, with dirt, that is. No blood.

You found, or maybe relearned, your nick for sewing one morning as you needed to repair your shirt, and ran straight to Newt with your new talent. After seeing it himself, Newt quickly bounced to Alby's side to ask if you could make mending and making clothes your job. You hadn't had any luck finding a job out of the many in the Glade, clearly, so this might've been your luck turning.

The next coming days were slow. Thankfully, Alby approved your idea of a new job, considering you and Newt wouldn't stop pestering him about it, and it'd be a great convenience to have you around for something as necessary as clothing. The builders graciously built you a little hut next to the Homestead to give you your own little place to go and work, instead of working around the Glade and potentially dirty-ing the clothes you fixed and made.

The hut consisted of a table, a loom, a hanging rack for finished projects, and a little chest system organized by all the threads, needles, etcetera. Alas, Newt was the one to help you with your new job on days when he wasn't running out in the maze. Minho switched him out with Ben or George on those days as per his request, as to help you learn how to talk to and understand the Gladers, whom you didn't understand too well yet.

But, by the time the next Greenie, Henry, arrived, you were right on track. You modeled and measured and patched and sewed your days away, finding peace in the seemingly boring activity. And by this time, Newt had become your brother figure and your best friend, considering how much he understood and supported you and helped you get some great opportunities around the Glade. And now, you were the Keeper of the Seamers, the only worker, but still the Keeper.

After a long day of running in the maze with Minho, Newt jogs to your expansion of the Homestead, desiring your help.

"Hey, Shank" He warmly smiles, closing the door made of sticks behind him. "How's your day been?"

You shrug in response. "Slow. Need me to fix anything for you?"

He awkwardly smiles and nods, looking down at his knees. His cargo pants are ripped, and the skin beneath painted a light red in comparison to his pale complexion, rug burns covering his kneecaps.

"Tripped and fell out in the maze" He explains, "Just don't want them falling apart because it kinda trailed 'round to the back" He says, tracing the little rips around his knees.

You nod. "I mean, the best solution would be keeping them like that or turning them into shorts for hot days. But I know the maze is cold and stuff, so, your call. I don't wanna ruin your running pants but I can always scrounge up new ones, and the next Greenie will be up in two days so it wouldn't be that long of a wait-"

"I'll just keep them ripped" He lightly smiles, cutting your rant off.

He knew damn well to not let you spiral over something so little, so he developed the radar to sniff out when you were about to rant about small things for an hour out of panic. He pats your shoulder before sitting down next to you, looking over at the rack of finished clothing you'd patched up and finished making.

"Oh, were you able to finish that shirt you were making for yourself?" He asks, running a hand through his hair.

Lord, he needed a haircut, although the best method of that was knives, which made it all choppy and blunt. Hopefully, WCKD would send up some cutting shears or something soon. All of your hair needed a cut desperately.

You nod, setting your needle and thread down to go grab it. You pull it off the rack and hold it to your chest. A simple, thin, off white, long sleeved shirt rests against your torso as you cheesily smile at him.

"Looks good"

"Thanks" You put the shirt back on the rack, deciding to put it back in the Homestead near your hammock later.

Newt was usually very supportive and went out of his way to show appreciation and reassurance for you, though making it casual to actually feel real for you. Once he found out that he needed to speak with you like that after reassuring that you'd live without rain, he learned the lesson.

Before you can speak again, Ben runs in, looking for your help.

"Y/n, I ripped up the sleeve of my shirt, can you fix it?" He asks, holding the grey-blue shirt up for you to see

"Yeah, sure, leave it on that table" You reply, pointing at the table in front of you.

"Thanks, you're the best!" He says, setting the shirt on the table before leaving.

Newt looks up at you and smiles, "You're getting used to talking to people, I see"

You nod, catching his infectious smile.

"Welcome to the Glade, Y/n/n"

[gerrystamour]

i could be honest, i could be human [Chapters 11, 12 & 13]

Rated E | Steddie

[ FIRST PART ] [ PREVIOUS PART ] [ COMPLETE ]

[ MASTERPOST ]

“Stevie,” Eddie sighed, lifting his other hand to wipe Steve’s tears away, and he frowned when Steve just sobbed again. Then he smirked a bit teasingly, that cheeky smirk that made Steve’s stomach do somersaults. “Who hurt you?” “You did, asshole,” Steve gasped through another sob, though it ended with a laugh of his own. CONTENT WARNING: Blatant disregard for what is medically possible, also there is smut. Twice.

Chapter Eleven: April 1986

They all survived. By the skin of their teeth, but they did it.

Things were still a bit touchy with Max, since she still hadn’t woken up even once. The doctors were optimistic about her pulling through once her legs and arms healed a bit more, stating that the body needed rest to mend injuries so severe.

Eddie was finally out of the woods, but he had spent so much time hooked up to scary machines to put blood back into him and breathe for him. It had been nightmarish seeing him so small and pale on the bed like that with tubes and wires attached to him.

But he was slowly waking up, and he didn’t have to be on the ventilator anymore. Sometimes his eyes would open and he’d look around, and Steve would say something to him, but it was clear that Eddie wasn’t actually lucid. Eddie would follow Steve or Wayne’s voices but he would look at some point above their heads before closing his eyes again with an exhausted sigh.

It was still a relief every time Eddie opened his eyes, though, so Steve wasn’t going to complain at all. If he politely excused himself every time Eddie closed his eyes without acknowledging them to cry in the stairwell, that was Steve’s business.

The government officials that showed up after they already dealt with everything for them—again—were very easy to bully into meeting their demands; clear Eddie’s name, cover all their medical bills, and provide Eddie and Wayne with a new home.

The story that was spun had just enough of the truth to be believable.

Officially, the killer was Henry Creel, who had actually been in witness protection but became obsessed with copying his father. He had taken advantage of the community’s preconceptions of Eddie and his hobbies to get away with murdering three, almost four teenagers while everyone hunted an innocent man. Eddie was officially listed as Henry’s fifth victim, to account for the injuries he sustained, and it was reported that Henry died in the earthquake.

The reaction to the news was spectacular, in Steve’s opinion.

As soon as a reporter even mentioned the word “prejudice,” a majority of the community flip-flopped on their witch hunt for Eddie Munson. Very suddenly, people insisted that they hadn’t believed for a second that it was a Satanic cult, that they knew all along it wasn’t supernatural at all, that they weren’t about to murder a young man based on hearsay. The community, for the most part, came around to at least not caring about Eddie Munson like they used to.

Steve would never forget the frenzied way he people were arming themselves at War Zone, though, and he did his best to remember exactly whose faces he saw there that day. He was giving Vickie a free pass for Robin’s sake, but everyone else was fair game.

There was still an armed guard outside Eddie’s room, but that was to protect him just in case some zealot came for him.

It made Steve nervous every time he came to the hospital, the armed men stationed in the corridor and tracking everyone who came and went. It might have been paranoia, but he was starting to feel like they were watching him every time he came since he visited daily. Wayne had put in a demand that Steve was to be allowed to visit whenever and for however long he wanted, so there was no reason for anyone to be suspicious of him.

It wasn’t until one guard smirked when Steve returned from having a moment alone in the stairwell that it started to click. The guard had looked him up and down, likely noting his red-rimmed eyes and tear-stained cheeks and scoffed before returning to scanning the hallway with his eyes.

Steve hurried back into the room, fear clutching at his chest again. He didn’t know what to do, other than to stop coming so often, but what if Eddie woke up when he wasn’t there? But would him coming here and gaining that attention put the same judgments on Eddie as well? If Eddie woke up after being accused of being a murderer to being a queer just because Steve couldn’t just stay at home, would he be grateful?

“What’s going through that head of yours, kid?”

Steve jumped and looked across Eddie’s bed to meet Wayne’s eyes. He had forgotten the man was still there since he usually went home to sleep a bit before his shift. Eddie had been almost lucid the last time he opened his eyes, so Wayne was staying just a bit later than normal.

“I think the guards figured it out,” Steve said nervously, picking at his nails. “Why I’m here a lot, I mean.”

“Did any of them say anything? Because I’ll deal with ‘em if they did,” Wayne said seriously, and Steve shook his head quickly.

“Didn’t say anything, Mr. Munson,” Steve replied, clearing his throat. “I’m just… What if Iʼm doing more harm than good by showing up so much? He’s going to wake up with a whole new rumour mill…”

Wayne chuckled at that and shook his head. “Boy, that was a rumour mill he had years of practice with,” Wayne said with a sigh, shrugging a shoulder when Steve looked back at him. “Eddie’ll be too happy about you waiting at his bedside to give a shit what these assholes think.”

Steve blinked at Wayne before nodding slightly, smiling a bit sheepishly down at his hands. They sat together in a comfortable silence before Wayne said good night to Eddie, and then to Steve as he left for his shift.

Steve sat in his chair until the nurse did her final rounds for the night, making small talk with her while she walked around the bed. She made a comment that Eddie’s colour was better, and Steve agreed. He was no longer pale and gaunt, a lively blush returning to his cheeks that filled Steve with so much relief he could cry with it.

Once the nurse left, Steve pulled his chair closer to the bed and leaned his elbows against it, one hand wrapping around Eddie’s and the other hand petting over Eddie’s hair. He’d had to fight the doctors about not shaving it off just for cleanliness reasons and had made a point to make sure it was clean himself if he had to. Steve didn’t want Eddie waking up in pain and without the long hair he had loved so much.

“Hey Eds,” Steve whispered into the nearly silent room before clearing his throat and saying a bit louder, “Max was doing better today. She’s starting to do the half-waking-up thing like you, I think.”

There was no reaction from Eddie to his words, but that was normal. Steve talked and Eddie slept, then Steve would cry until he fell asleep until Wayne returned and sent him home to sleep properly.

“It’s gonna be my birthday soon. Robs wants to take me out,” Steve said, blinking as his eyes filled with tears. “So, it would be great if you woke up so I can celebrate my birthday with my best friend, yeah?” he added teasingly, laughing a little bit.

Eddie took a deep breath, which wasn’t uncommon, but his brow pinched together this time which was weird. Steve sat up straight, watching Eddie’s face for any sign of waking, but then he let the breath out in a sigh and his face slowly relaxed. Tears were already falling down Steve’s face as he slumped against the bed.

“Please, Eds, I need you to wake up. You were just supposed to be the decoy, you promised,” Steve said, feeling some of his sadness turning to a bit of anger, no matter how irrational he knew it was. Eddie did what he felt was right, and Steve wouldn’t actually hold that against him. 

That didn’t mean he couldn’t be upset about it, just a little bit.

“You promised, Eds, and now look where you are,” Steve sobbed, squeezing Eddie’s hand, then he laughed a bit wetly. “Maybe I should stop fighting them when they try to cut off your hair, huh? That should teach you for running off trying to be a hero when the only reason I let you leave my sight was because I thought you would be safest there.”

Eddie took another deep breath and when he let it out, it was accompanied by a groan that had Steve immediately standing over him. The sudden change in position on top of his lack of proper sleep had Steve almost blacking out, but he pushed through it.

“Eddie?” Steve asked frantically, and Eddie’s brow was pinched together again.

Deep brown eyes fluttered open, and they were a bit glazed over until Eddie blinked a few times as he looked around the room groggily, and Steve laughed around a sob. Even if Eddie wasn’t fully lucid, that was the closest he had been since he was admitted. 

“Eds,” Steve sobbed, his relief overwhelming when Eddie actually reacted to the sound of his voice. Eddie’s eyes quickly found Steve’s and his grimace visibly relaxed for a moment, something akin to a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. Then he squeezed Steve’s hand tightly with a pained groan.

“Hurts,” Eddie gasped, and Steve nodded quickly and reached for the call button.

The next twenty minutes was a whirlwind as the attending doctor rushed in and tried to talk to Eddie about his pain. Eddie was trying to speak, to answer their questions with more than just “hurts” when they asked what was wrong and “a lot” when they asked how much. 

Finally, Steve had enough of the circular discussions and stood up.

“Enough! Just do something for him. You had to sew his fucking guts back in, of course he’s in pain and obviously it’s a fucking ten on your stupid chart,” Steve snapped, gesturing at Eddie with one hand, the other on his hip. On the bed, Eddie let out a weak groan that sounded a bit like a chuckle.

“Sir, either you calm down or you will be escorted out,” one of the nurses said, though she looked inclined to agree with Steve if her annoyed glower at the doctor was anything to go by.

Opening his mouth to argue again, Steve stopped when Eddie squeezed his hand tightly.

“Steve, s’fine,” Eddie said, shaking his head as he fought through the pain to verbalize what was hurting, how it was hurting, and how badly it was hurting.

Finally, his answers were deemed worthy of an upped dose of the narcotics, just to help him get comfortable. Steve held Eddie’s hand the entire time, the audience of medical professionals be damned, stroking the back of Eddie’s hand with his thumb until he began to relax against the bed.

“Waking up for the first time like this after significant trauma is not unusual,” the doctor said to Steve in a tight voice, gesturing at Eddie. “We’ll revisit his pain in the morning to determine if staying on the higher dose will be necessary, but for now it should just help him get back to sleep.”

“Thank you, Doctor,” Steve said with a quick nod, a bit embarrassed by his outburst earlier now that Eddie was settling down. The doctor nodded, wrote a few notes on Eddie’s chart, and then left the room again with the nurse.

When Steve turned his attention back to the bed, Eddie was still awake but the lucid light was fading quickly from his eyes. Each blink was becoming longer and his eyes were rolling back, especially now that the narcotics were even stronger in his system. But he kept fighting through it and determinedly trying to hold Steve’s gaze.

“Go back to sleep, Eds,” Steve reassured him, brushing his hair out of his face as tears sprung to his eyes all over again.

Eddie blinked rapidly up at Steve, his eyes glazing over. “’Teve?” he murmured, and Steve grinned through his tears, nodding.

“Yeah, I’m here. I’ll be here again tomorrow,” Steve insisted, and Eddie gave him a weak smile.

“Pr’mise?” Eddie asked and Steve nodded again.

“I won’t even go home when Wayne tries to force me to, okay? I’ll be here all day, so you sleep as much as you need,” Steve promised, laughing a bit at the irony of spending days begging Eddie to wake up, just to tell him to go back to sleep when it happened.

“Kay,” Eddie sighed, and he squeezed Steve’s hand weakly one last time before he drifted off to sleep.

This sleep was different. Before, Eddie had been completely still, not making any noise at all and his only movement had been his chest rising and falling with his slow breaths. Now, he was a bit twitchy, his eyes moving behind his eyelids rapidly, and he let out little sighing breaths every few minutes. 

It was normal sleep now. Eddie was going to get better. He was on the mend.

Steve could finally breathe a bit easier.

Just as he promised, Steve didn’t let Wayne chase him from the room, and they both slept in their chairs on either side of Eddie, slumped over the bed. If he moved, he’d wake up at least one of them.

It was sometime in the afternoon when Steve woke up to a hand playing with his hair weakly. Reaching up, Steve gently took the hand into his, holding it gently as he sat up and met Eddie’s eyes.

He was awake, completely lucid, and smiling at Steve. Eddie squeezed his hand reassuringly and said, “Hey, Stevie.”

“Hey, Eds,” Steve replied, returning the smile before he looked around. “Oh, shit, where’s your uncle, he—”

“He just left. I’ve been up for a bit talking to him,” Eddie said, his voice hoarse. “You were sleeping pretty deep.”

“Where’d he go?” Steve asked, confused that Wayne would leave if Eddie was finally awake.

“He just went home for dinner and try to call out of his shift tonight. He’ll be back in a couple hours,” Eddie explained quietly, then he shrugged. “Said he wanted to give us some privacy to talk about something.”

Steve looked at Eddie laying against the white sheets, brown eyes open and clear, cheeks pink with life, and a smile on his lips. This was everything he’d been praying for since Eddie was admitted. He was over the moon with his joy, his relief, and he finally had the chance to tell Eddie everything he rehearsed in his head.

When he opened his mouth, though, all that came out was a sob and suddenly Steve was crying too much to speak. All the worry he had held inside himself was finally done, and now he had to grapple with all the other feelings he had been pushing back to make room for it.

“Stevie,” Eddie sighed, lifting his other hand to wipe Steve’s tears away, and he frowned when Steve just sobbed again. Then he smirked a bit teasingly, that cheeky smirk that made Steve’s stomach do somersaults. “Who hurt you?”

“You did, asshole,” Steve gasped through another sob, though it ended with a laugh of his own. “I told you not to be cute—”

“Kind of a tall order for me, Stevie, don’t you think?” Eddie asked teasingly and Steve laughed wetly.

“That’s not the point, you promised,” he pushed, leaning into Eddie’s hand. “I told you not to be a hero.”

“Yeah, but the bats would’ve come into our world. Or worse, they would’ve gotten bored and gone back to Creel’s place, where you were,” Eddie replied, shrugging.

“But at least you would’ve been safe,” Steve insisted, and when Eddie looked at him there was an angry edge to his stare that Steve wasn’t used to seeing on Eddie.

“But you wouldn’t’ve been,” Eddie replied fiercely. “You’re not the only one who’s allowed to do stupid shit to protect the people he loves, Steve.”

With that hanging in the air between them, Steve shut his mouth against any further arguments he had. Eddie’s brain seemed to finally catch up to his words, and the blush that came to his cheeks was intense.

“That was—I meant—Shit,” Eddie muttered and glanced away, but Steve stood so he could loom over him and meet his gaze again.

“Don’t,” Steve murmured, looking over every inch of Eddie’s face as he reached out to gently cradle his jaw. “I want you to know that I really like you, Eddie. I might even be in love with you, I don’t really know yet, but I want to find out.”

Eddie blinked up at him, big brown eyes wide and full of an emotion Steve couldn’t place. “Why, though?” Eddie asked after a few moments, blinking a tear free from his lashes.

“Because you’re kind, and so fucking genuine, even to me when I probably never deserved it,” Steve immediately started, shaking his head hard when Eddie went to speak. “Can it, Munson. I’m talking right now. Anyway, you’re funny even if half your jokes make no sense because they’re about that Dipshits and Dweebs game, and—”

“Don’t forget about my devilishly good looks,” Eddie interrupted a bit sarcastically and Steve groaned.

“And yes, you’re so hot,” he agreed, and it seemed to catch Eddie off guard. Steve scoffed at that and added lightly, “Seriously, Eddie? Are you actually going to act like you don’t know how hot you are? Didn’t take you for someone who fishes for compliments.”

“It’s less me thinking I’m not hot, and more just… you think I’m hot? The hottest guy in Hawkins thinks I’m hot?” Eddie babbled, and he dropped his head back against his pillow. “I’m starting to think this is all fake, that I’m actually in a coma and it’s all some dream.”

Steve just laughed and leaned in close to Eddie’s face. “So, what do you think about all that?”

Eddie smiled, then hesitated a bit. “What about your dad? Uncle Wayne warned me about him,” he said, glancing away from Steve.

“I’ll burn that bridge when I get to it, Eds. I want to know what you think about what I said right now,” Steve replied, squeezing Eddie’s hand until he looked back at him.

Eddie’s eyes searched his face for a few moments before he smiled softly. “I’ve been obsessed with you since before you were rehabilitated, Steve. Sophomore Eddie is losing his mind right now,” he said, and Steve rolled his eyes.

“Okay, but what does Triple Senior Eddie think about that confession?” Steve pressed and Eddie laughed tiredly.

“I think I want to take you to dinner or something when I get out of here,” Eddie said quietly, almost shyly, and Steve grinned broadly, even as tears began to fall again.

Steve leaned down to kiss Eddie, but he turned his face away. 

“Stevie, my breath is probably rancid right now. I am not finally kissing Steve Harrington until I brush my damn teeth,” he laughed, and Steve settled for dropping a kiss on Eddie’s cheek, and then his brow, and then the tip of his nose, and he would have kept going if Eddie hadn’t pushed him away with a loud laugh. “Stop being cheesy, you sap.”

Steve grinned down at him, taking in the little smile and the blush high on Eddie’s cheeks. 

“Better get used to cheesy, Munson. That’s my default setting,” he warned, and Eddie just grinned wider, his dimples coming out in full force.

“Looking forward to it, big boy,” he murmured, and he smirked as Steve flushed at the pet name.

He remembered that moment vividly in the RV, the way he very nearly pulled Eddie into a kiss about it, and how it took Robin gagging in his ear to snap him out of it. Thinking about the RV, however, brought another memory back to him.

“Oh!” Steve said, jumping up to grab his leather jacket off the coat stand. He rifled through one of the pockets until he pulled out a folded napkin.

“What’s that?” Eddie asked curiously, and Steve shrugged.

“A note from Robin. She wrote it for me before the big battle,” Steve replied.

“And you’re just reading it now?” Eddie asked, glancing around. “Isn’t it April-something?”

“April twelfth, yeah,” Steve chuckled as his eyes welled up with tears again. “I was only supposed to read it if we all survived, so… I was kind of waiting on you,” he teased, trying to keep it light even if his voice was a bit choked up.

“Well? Get on with it, then,” Eddie said, his own eyes glassy with tears as well.

With a huff, Steve carefully unfolded the napkin and blinked down at it until he burst out into actual giggles. Lifting the napkin to his chest, Steve leaned back in his chair while he laughed until tears were streaming down his face.

“Hey, share with the class,” Eddie whined, pouting at Steve while he tried to calm down enough to talk again.

“I’ll explain it later, okay?” Steve managed to get out through his giggles as he laid the napkin down on Eddie’s lap.

It was less a note, and more of a drawing. It was Robin’s artistic rendition of the old YOU RULE/YOU SUCK board, and the YOU SUCK column had so many tallies it was nearly blacked out. Then, under the YOU RULE column, there was one tiny little tally mark.

Eddie frowned at it, then raised an eyebrow at Steve. “You and Buckley are weird,” he said flatly, and Steve had another fit of giggles.

“You have no idea, Eds,” Steve finally said, taking the note back and refolding it carefully so he could take it home and frame it.

❖

Naturally, the moment news broke that Eddie was awake and okay, Steve never had a moment alone with him again. There was always some teenager hanging around and Steve was itching for Eddie to be released from the hospital. 

They weren’t quite keeping it a secret, what was going on between them, but they also weren’t advertising it either. There was still a lot they had to talk about, to figure out, and sharing their first kiss in front of any amount of an audience, no matter how supportive, was a no-go for both of them.

Eddie’s injuries were healing nicely, and he was able to move around a bit if he used the various mobility devices the doctors insisted on. With the severity of the injuries on his legs, there was a chance that he would always need a cane, but Eddie seemed in good spirits over it. Steve was still learning how to read Eddie and the moods under the ones he chose to show.

When Steve asked him if he was actually okay with it, Eddie just grinned and said, “you know how easy I can make a cane part of my whole image? It’s gonna be sick, Harrington. Just wait and see.”

Finally, the doctor gave them the good news: Eddie was going to be discharged, and the date was set for Steve’s birthday.

Steve was over the moon, ecstatic even, vibrating with his excitement that Eddie was getting out on his birthday of all days. Like it was fate or something corny and dumb like that. Robin had been just as happy for Steve and went ahead and cancelled their plans for Steve’s birthday. There was a moment of guilt, but Robin admitted that the plans were largely to make sure Steve didn’t spend it wallowing in Eddie’s hospital room if he was still comatose. If Eddie wasn’t being discharged, she fully planned on holding Steve’s birthday festivities in his hospital room. 

When the day finally arrived, the grin Steve wore was honestly starting to hurt his face. It was his birthday, the weather was beautiful, and he got to take his boyfriend home from the hospital. The only way for it to have been better was if Max woke up, too, which was becoming more and more likely every day.

Wayne was obviously at the hospital in the morning, but he had to leave before Eddie was set to be discharged, so he insisted that Steve take Eddie home for him. Then Wayne clapped Steve on the shoulder and said, “happy birthday, son.”

Steve blushed under the attention and nodded. “Thanks, Mr. Munson.”

“Enough of that Mister-Munson crap,” Wayne said a bit sharply, huffing as he rolled his eyes. “We’re practically family now the way I figure it, whether or not you and my boy work out. Got it?”

Steve blinked at Wayne, and before he knew it, there were tears welling up in his eyes. He groaned, digging the heels of his palms into his eyes. 

“Jesus Christ, I swear I don’t always do this,” Steve insisted.

“Do what, son?” Wayne asked, concern clear in his voice as he squeezed Steve’s shoulder.

“Crying,” Steve replied, wiping his tears. “I don’t cry this much usually.”

“Nothing wrong with that even if you did,” Wayne sighed before pulling Steve into a brief but tight hug.

That was how Steve ended up in his Beemer with Eddie in the passenger seat, smiling softly as the spring sun hit his face properly for the first time since the world almost ended. Steve tried not to be too distracted by the vision Eddie made, sitting there in the sunshine and wearing Steve’s old clothes; an oversized sweater and a pair of sweatpants.

The Munson’s trailer had been almost completely destroyed, and a lot of what wasn’t wrecked was decided to be contaminated and dangerous, especially anything that was soft or fabric. That meant Eddie’s wardrobe was gone. Sharing some of his lesser-worn clothes was the least Steve could do.

It had been truly selfless at the time when he offered, but now that he was seeing it in practice, Steve knew what he was feeling was not the spirit of altruism anymore.

“So, where we headed, Stevie?” Eddie asked, snapping Steve out of his increasingly horny thoughts.

“Oh,” Steve started dumbly, shaking his head a bit. “What did you want to do first?”

“It’s your birthday,” Eddie shot back, tilting his head at Steve.

“And I want to do whatever you want to do. At least right now,” Steve challenged, raising his eyebrows.

Eddie went quiet for a minute while he thought, sucking his teeth. “I want… to take a really long fucking shower,” Eddie finally said, and Steve had to work double-time not to think too much about that.

“I’ll take you to your new apartment then,” Steve said instead with a smile that quickly fell when Eddie frowned, shrinking in his seat. “What’s wrong, Eds?”

Eddie shrugged one shoulder. “I don’t know if I’m ready to go there yet,” he admitted quietly with a sigh.

Steve reached across the center console to hold Eddie’s hand gently. “Do you want to talk about it?” he asked carefully, and Eddie shook his head.

“Nah, Stevie, I’ll just suck it up,” he insisted, turning a bright smile at Steve.

“We can go to my place instead,” Steve offered, squeezing Eddie’s hand. “No one else is home, it’ll be quiet, and you can take as long of a shower as you want.”

Eddie frowned thoughtfully before shrugging. “Why not? Probably have the best water pressure in the world, too,” he sighed dreamily, and Steve snorted as he finally started the Beemer and pulled out.

“It’s alright, I guess,” Steve agreed with a shrug. 

The shower in the main bath at the Henderson’s house was definitely good, but there were times he missed the shower at his parent’s house. Now that was amazing water pressure.

“Uh, Stevie? Where the hell are we going?” Eddie asked, and when Steve glanced over at him, he was frowning.

“My house?” Steve replied slowly and Eddie glared.

“Okay, I know I was out for a month and lost a lot of blood, but Loch Nora is the other way,” Eddie said grumpily.

Steve grimaced a bit. “Oh, shit, yeah, I guess I never—I don’t live there anymore? I haven’t since last summer,” he said, chewing the inside of his cheek. Out of the corner of his eye, Steve could see Eddie turn to look at him sharply. “I live with Dustin mostly. Claudia gave me her spare room and a key, so I guess that’s home now.”

“Why do you live with Henderson, and how is this the first I'm hearing about it? Henderson literally never shut up about you,” Eddie said and Steve cringed.

“Eds, if I promise to tell you, can we skip this conversation today? Just for today, please?” Steve asked softly, turning to look at Eddie when they stopped for a light. “It’s not really something I want to talk about on my birthday.”

Eddie got that all-too-knowing look in his eye, but he just nodded at Steve and smiled. “Yeah, no problem,” he said, and his smile broadened the moment Steve’s shoulders relaxed. “So, you live with Dustin?”

“Yeah, and it’s exactly the nightmare it sounds like,” Steve laughed.

“I dunno, could be worse,” Eddie chuckled. “You could’ve moved in with the Wheelers.”

“Hey, me and the Wheelers love each other,” Steve insisted, and Eddie snorted.

“So, you’d happily live with Mike?” Eddie asked knowingly.

Steve sniffed. “Yes,” he answered.

“Before or after he disappeared under mysterious circumstances?” Eddie pushed.

“After, obviously,” Steve said imperiously, smirking when Eddie laughed.

Once they arrived at the Henderson’s, Steve shut the car off and immediately got out to help Eddie. Steve kept pace with Eddie as he shuffled up the front walk with his cane. He was still figuring out the mechanics, which was a difficult task given how much he lacked coordination before everything.

But Steve was happy to stay with him, only hurrying ahead once to unlock and open the front door.

Once they were inside, Steve busied himself with collecting a towel and washcloth for Eddie, setting everything up for him in the bathroom. 

When Steve turned to call for Eddie, he jumped when he saw Eddie leaning against the door frame. There was something about seeing Eddie standing there, in the closest place Steve had to a home and wearing Steve’s clothes, that had Steve’s heart skipping several beats.

“Hey,” Steve said lamely, flushing at the knowing little grin on Eddie’s face.

“Hey yourself,” Eddie said as he righted himself and shuffled into the bathroom.

There wasn’t a ton of space for two grown men to stand in the small room. When Steve leaned back against the counter to let Eddie past, Eddie leaned further into Steve until their chests were nearly pressed flush together.

“Were you gonna join me?” Eddie asked teasingly, and Steve let out a huff of breath as heat flooded south.

“There’s barely enough room for both of us in there, Eds,” Steve replied, his tone obviously saddened by this. Clearing his throat, Steve gently gripped Eddie’s elbows to support him as he slipped out from between him and the counter. “You take your time and shower up. I’ll be in my room just across the hall, okay?”

Eddie pouted a bit and rolled his eyes. “Really gonna drag this out, Stevie?” he asked grumpily without any actual heat to it.

“Drag what out?” Steve asked innocently, his cheeks warming under the weight of Eddie’s stare.

“Will you please join me, Stevie?” Eddie asked, nodding back toward the shower. “I want you to join me.”

Steve let out a slow breath before rolling his eyes and pulling his polo off over his head. He didn’t miss the way Eddie’s face went slack as his eyes moved slowly down his chest, and he couldn’t stop the smirk that came to his face. Feeling bold, Steve shucked his pants and socks so that he was standing in just his boxers, then leaned into Eddie’s space to start the water.

Eddie let out a small sound and Steve watched him shove the sweatpants down until they fell to the floor around his feet. When he went to lift the sweater over his head, he winced and let out a low hiss. Steve turned to face Eddie fully, meeting his eyes as he grabbed the hem of the sweater.

“May I?” Steve asked, and Eddie let out a shaky breath as he nodded.

Before Steve could do anything, however, Eddie had a hand in Steve’s hair and tipped his mouth up for a kiss. It was sweet, and while it wasn’t completely chaste, it wasn’t yet pushing for deeper or more.

It was tentative and unsure, two feelings Steve never would have associated with Eddie a couple years ago.

When Eddie pulled away, Steve chased his lips and coaxed him back into another, this one deep and searching, and it pulled a soft groan from Eddie’s chest. Steve swallowed the sound and responded in kind, lifting his hands to tangle in Eddie’s hair.

When Steve’s tongue teased at the seam of his lips, Eddie actually pulled back with a quiet, disbelieving laugh. 

“Holy shit, how is this even real?” Eddie asked around a giggle, stepping back a bit and hiding his mouth behind some of his hair while he flushed.

Steve remembered vividly the first time Eddie had done that in front of him and how much he had wanted to kiss the other man. Now he could, so he crowded close and pulled Eddie in for a third even hungrier kiss, licking into his mouth when he gasped.

“Whoa, tiger, slow down,” Eddie gasped, even though he chased the kiss when Steve pulled back. His eyes were a bit hazy, his pupils blown and his lips shiny and red. “We’re here to shower, remember?”

“Right, yeah,” Steve said, shaking his head a bit. “How far can you lift your arms?”

“I can lift them fine, it's crossing them to pull my shirt off that still hurts,” Eddie admitted, sounding frustrated and Steve could understand that. His own bat bites had hurt every time he twisted, and he didn’t have any on his chest like Eddie did.

“Okay then, arms up,” Steve said, and Eddie did as he was told.

When Steve lifted the sweater over Eddie’s head, he discovered very quickly that Eddie was quite naked underneath it. Apparently, Eddie had either not noticed the boxers Steve had included with the gifted clothes, or he deliberately ignored them. If Eddie’s smirk was anything to go by, it was the latter.

Eddie was thin from his time in the hospital, but the last couple of weeks since waking up had seen him regain some weight. He was looking healthy, and while the bat bites were still a bit angry looking, they were healing nicely. He was gorgeous and Steve was overwhelmed with the urge to kiss every inch of Eddie’s body. The night was young…

“I’m feeling under-dressed,” Eddie complained, and Steve laughed, rolling his eyes as he shoved his boxers down and kicked them aside.

“Oh, fuck, they weren’t lying,” Eddie breathed before slapping a hand over his mouth.

Baffled, Steve asked, “Who?”

Eddie shook his head and turned his eyes skyward, as if praying. “Forget I said anything,” he practically begged, and Steve laughed.

“No, I won’t, tell me,” Steve insisted, grinning as Eddie blushed and turned toward the shower.

“I’m taking my shower now, join me or don’t,” Eddie said in a rush, and Steve almost tripped over their clothes on the floor as he followed him.

Steve immediately crowded up behind Eddie, putting his hands against the wall and boxing Eddie in. “C’mon, Eds, what were you talking about?” Steve sing-songed, resting his chin on Eddie’s shoulder.

“Ugh, you’re so annoying, you know that?” Eddie laughed, turning around in Steve’s arms. “In school, all the girls you messed around with always talked about how big you are and I figured they were full of shit.”

“I don’t think it’s that big,” Steve said, blushing when Eddie looked down between them. Steve followed his gaze and let out a shivery sigh when he actually looked at Eddie.

If he compared them, Steve had to admit he was thicker. However, Eddie’s was just a bit longer than his and Steve desperately wanted his mouth on it at some point that evening. 

It was his birthday, after all.

“It’s a fucking soda can, what are you talking about?” Eddie was saying and Steve barked out a laugh.

“Shut up, it is not,” Steve said, rolling his eyes. “C’mon, let’s get this shower rolling. Get your hair wet.”

Without really discussing it at all, Steve took over washing Eddie’s hair for him, working his own shampoo into his roots and massaging his scalp. Carefully, Steve tipped Eddie’s head back under the spray and rinsed his hair. 

The motion exposed the long line of Eddie’s throat and Steve was weak against the temptation of it. With a sigh, Steve leaned in to mouth along Eddie’s pulse, relishing the breathy moan Eddie let out before pulling back and grabbing the conditioner.

Working it into the length of Eddie’s hair, Steve took his sweet time, enjoying the way Eddie relaxed against him with his forehead resting on Steve’s shoulder. Again, Steve gently tipped Eddie’s head back to rinse the conditioner out of his hair. 

This time when Steve put his mouth on Eddie’s throat, he sucked a mark into the skin there. Eddie’s full-body shudder and moan instantly became an obsession for Steve.

Pulling away again, Steve smirked slightly at the way Eddie whined as he reached for the washcloth and bar of soap. Lathering up the cloth, Steve started gently washing Eddie’s body, careful over the bites on his chest and stomach.

Turning Eddie to face the spray and rinse off the soap, Steve relished the happy little sighs Eddie let out. Then he dropped the washcloth on the floor of the shower and boxed Eddie against the wall with one of his arms, his chest and hips pressed flush to Eddie’s back.

“What about you, big boy?” Eddie asked, even as he rocked his hips back against Steve and pulled a sigh from both of them.

“Showered this morning,” Steve replied before sealing his mouth on the nape of Eddie’s neck, working the pale skin with his tongue and teeth until Eddie whined. Then he smirked a bit and said, “Gotta get a bit dirty before I need another one.”

“Ugh, that was terrible,” Eddie moaned, a shuddering whine spilling from his lips as Steve wrapped a hand around his cock and started to stroke him slowly.

“You’re just annoyed because it did something for you, didn’t it?” Steve asked, and Eddie’s cock pulsed in his hand.

“Shut up,” Eddie whined, leaning against his forearms on the wall. He shuddered as Steve sped up, his touch becoming more determined, and Steve ground his own cock against Eddie’s ass. “Stevie, a-as much as I’m loving this, my leg…”

Steve let out a shivering sigh, slowing his hand to a stop and rocking his hips back. “Sorry, babe,” he murmured, annoyed at himself for forgetting.

“Don’t apologize for stupid shit while my dick is in your hand, thanks,” Eddie griped and Steve laughed, shaking his head. Once the water was turned off, Eddie turned around and wrapped his arms around Steve’s neck. “Carry me to your bed, Harrington.”

“That was the plan, Munson,” Steve hummed, wrapping an arm around Eddie’s middle and lifting him just enough to walk across the hall to his room, not even bothering to dry either of them off before lowering Eddie to the bed carefully.

Once he had Eddie spread out beneath him, Steve couldn’t wait to bring their lips together again, licking into his mouth hungrily and groaning as Eddie responded enthusiastically. Hands were in Steve’s hair, fingers running through it as they kissed each other’s breath away, and Steve shuddered as one of Eddie’s fingertips followed a scar on his scalp, just above his ear.

“How do you want me, birthday boy?” Eddie gasped when Steve finally pulled away for air.

“God, I wanna suck your dick so bad,” Steve moaned, already kissing his way down Eddie’s body.

“Wait, wait, it’s your birthday, though,” Eddie said, tightening his fingers in Steve’s hair to stop him. The moan that tumbled out of Steve’s mouth surprised them both.

Regaining his composure as quick as he could, Steve restarted his descent down Eddie’s body and said, “Yeah, and for my birthday I want to suck your dick.”

“Wait, Steve—”

“Are you actually wanting to stop this right now, Eddie?” Steve asked genuinely, lifting himself up onto his elbows to look at Eddie properly. “Because we can stop if you want—”

“No! No, I want to! I want to so bad; I’ve imagined you with my cock in your mouth so many times, believe me,” Eddie said in a rush, petting Steve’s face and hair. “I just want—you don’t have to or anything. Especially if you haven’t before—”

“You think this is my first time sucking a dick, Eddie?” Steve asked, trying not to laugh because that was probably a safe assumption to make. But it was a little funny to Steve.

Eddie blinked down at Steve, his nostrils flaring slightly as the words seemed to land in his mind. “It’s not,” he murmured, and it was not a question at all.

“It’s definitely not, Eds,” Steve sighed as he dropped his mouth back to Eddie’s chest so he could resume his downward journey. This time, Eddie did not stop him, and Steve smirked against the skin of his stomach as he shifted his weight so he could wrap a hand loosely around Eddie’s cock.

“Jesus fucking Christ,” Eddie groaned, arching under Steve beautifully.

“Please, just call me Steve,” he teased, working his fist around Eddie while he sucked and bit marks into the unmarred skin of Eddie’s stomach and pelvis. He grinned when Eddie scoffed above him.

“I’ll call you a pain in the ass soon if you don’t—oh, fuck,” Eddie gasped as Steve wrapped his lips around the head of his cock. Pressing the flat of his tongue against the slit, Steve lapped up the precum already beading there.

Looking up through his lashes, Steve watched Eddie as he focused his tongue and lips around the head, taking in the way he shuddered and arched with little whining moans. It was a bit overwhelming, having Eddie in his bed after so long of dreaming of it, and tears stung at the corners of his eyes.

With a groan, Steve took his hand away from Eddie’s cock and took it as deep into his mouth and throat as he could manage. Hands immediately tangled in Steve’s hair, pulling it as he began to bob his head in Eddie’s lap.

“Shit, baby, I’m not gonna last,” Eddie confessed around a sob, and when Steve took him deep and moaned around him, he hissed, “So good to me, such a good boy, gonna make me come so hard.”

The praise hit Steve hard, and he let out a desperate, pleading little sound as he began rutting against the bed while he sucked Eddie off. The reaction was not lost on Eddie, who somehow managed to smirk despite being close.

“Like it when I call you a good boy, Stevie?” Eddie gasped, his hips jerking up into Steve’s mouth as he asked, gagging him briefly. Steve groaned and nodded as much as he could, relaxing his throat and taking Eddie into his throat. “Fuck, so good, baby.”

Steve registered the way Eddie’s voice was shaking, and he felt the way his cock pulsed against his tongue, so he pulled back until he just had the tip in his mouth. Bringing his hand back up, Steve wrapped it around Eddie’s cock and stroked it while he sucked and lapped at the head, desperate to taste him.

Eddie’s release spilled over Steve’s tongue before the man could react to the change, his back arching off the bed with a punched-out sob. The hands in Steve’s hair twisted viciously as Steve swallowed every spurt of cum Eddie painted his tongue with, and Steve whined at the delicious pain. 

When Eddie collapsed against the bed, Steve didn’t stop sucking and licking, relishing in the way the man under him shook and sobbed.

Finally, when the hands in his hair let go and started to push him away, Steve let up and lifted his mouth away to look up at him. Eddie was laying there, staring hazily up at the ceiling and panting.

“You okay, Eds?” Steve asked knowingly, smirking as he climbed up the bed to lay next to Eddie. His own dick was still painfully hard, but he was willing to wait for his own release. He just wanted Eddie to feel good, and he succeeded.

“The guy just sucked my soul out of my dick, and he asks if I’m okay,” Eddie groaned, rolling onto his side and pressing close for a needy kiss. Before Steve could properly react, Eddie’s hand was around his cock and pumping it determinedly.

“Eddie,” Steve groaned against his mouth, shuddering as the coil in his gut pulled taut. He was already close, just from sucking Eddie off. 

“Can’t wait until I can ride this cock until I fucking break,” Eddie babbled, his voice rough and sleepy, but his hand did not slow down at all. “Wanna fucking feel you for days.”

Steve shuddered and arched his back. “Close,” he whined, throwing his head back. Eddie immediately latched onto his exposed throat with his teeth, actually biting him as he worked a mark into his skin.

The teeth on his throat did Steve in. 

With a low, heavy groan, Steve came in thick stripes across his own chest and stomach, his back arching as he thrust jerkily into Eddie's fist. The hand didnʼt stop moving until Steve shuddered and hissed, the overstimulation becoming sharp and unpleasant. 

Letting go of Steve's cock, Eddie leaned back to look at him properly, taking in the way Steve panted for breath as he recovered, his own cum glistening in his happy trail and chest hair. With a content little sound, Eddie shifted so that he could lap up the mess with his tongue, careful around Steve's own still-healing injuries.

Once Eddie was pleased with his clean-up job, he flopped back on the bed next to Steve with a happy, if exhausted sigh. Steve immediately rolled over so he could kiss Eddie deeply, tasting himself on Eddie’s tongue with a sighing moan.

Eddie pressed a hand against Steve’s chest and with a sigh, Steve pulled back to meet his eyes. “You okay?” he asked, searching Eddie’s face.

“I’m fucking perfect, Stevie,” Eddie laughed before yawning. “Just getting cold. Can we get under the blankets?”

“Yeah, of course, sure,” Steve replied, and he made quick work of getting them under the comforter. Then he looked down at Eddie. “How’s that?”

“Amazing,” Eddie sighed, smiling dreamily up at Steve. “Happy birthday.”

With a laugh, Steve stooped for a sweet kiss. “Happy discharge day,” he countered lightheartedly.

Just then, the front door slammed open.

“Steve? What the hell are you doing home?” came Dustin’s shout, and they could hear his footsteps approaching quickly. “I thought you were taking Eddie… home…”

Steve stared down at Eddie, wide-eyed, before he looked at his open bedroom door just as Dustin stepped into the doorway.

Silence filled the space as Eddie and Steve stared at Dustin, whose mouth hung open mid-bitch. His brain was obviously working double-time trying to understand what he was seeing. 

“You think he’s okay?” Steve asked Eddie quietly.

“I dunno, he kinda looks like he’s in pain,” Eddie responded solemnly just as Dustin snapped out of his stupor.

“What the shit?”

Chapter Twelve: Bonus Track

Something that hardly anyone gave Will Byers credit for anymore was his intuition unless it was directly related to the Upside Down. 

The only exceptions were his mom, Jonathan, and usually Mike.

However, this was one of those times that Mike was ignoring him, too.

They were all hanging out in his basement and desperate for something to do. Ms. Mayfield had wanted some privacy and quiet, so she had asked them all to spend the day elsewhere, so they were a bit bored and anxious. 

Dustin was on a tear about Steve not having anything done for his birthday again, and how he was pretty sure Steve never had a birthday celebration ever.

“And now, what? He’s just going to give Eddie a ride home from the hospital? That’s it?” Dustin asked the party, gesticulating dramatically while he paced. “He cancelled his plans with Robin and everything!” 

Lucas and Mike were coming around to Dustin’s ranting. El was already sold the moment Dustin brought it up and was standing with him, nodding emphatically. She was working on understanding milestones like birthdays and anniversaries, so naturally when it was brought up that someone had a birthday that was consistently overlooked… 

Will was pretty sure the only reason Mike was even coming around to the plan to throw a surprise birthday party for Steve Harrington was solely thanks to El wanting it to happen. He wouldn’t think about that too closely, or about how annoying it was.

“Will, you’re being quiet, what do you think?” Mike suddenly asked him, and Will startled out of his thoughts.

Glancing around, he shrugged. “I mean, Mrs. Henderson said—”

“Yeah, yeah, my mom said to leave Steve alone today and she wouldn’t say why, but she was smiling so that just means it’s not serious or anything,” Dustin interrupted and the others nodded.

“I just think that maybe she has a point and knows something you don’t,” Will said, his tone deliberate and pointed. “That, maybe, he does have birthday plans, they just don’t include you.”

“Why wouldn’t they include me?” Dustin retorted, his tone vaguely hurt before he laughed it off. “What, like he has plans with Eddie? Believe me, Steve couldn’t stand Eddie before all the Vecna stuff.”

“Yeah, Steve wouldn’t even get out of his car when he’d pick us up from Hellfire if Eddie was outside with us,” Mike said, and he shrugged a bit. “I think Steve’s just giving Eddie a ride home because Mr. Munson had to work.”

Will looked around at all of them, absolutely amazed that none of them could see what was plainly in front of them.

Maybe Will missed most of a school year of context, but Will knew what he saw at that hospital room when the party would visit Eddie’s room.

Before Eddie woke up, Steve would be there with dark circles under his eyes because he obviously wasn’t sleeping. Sometimes he would be talking quietly with Mr. Munson while he sewed patches onto a denim vest. Other times, if Steve was alone when they arrived, he would glance up at them from a book he had been haltingly reading aloud before he quickly put it away in his backpack.

Once, Will managed to see the book before Steve hid it, and was surprised to see that it was ‘The Fellowship of the Ring.’ Steve was sitting in there reading a nerd book to Eddie.

On a more rare occasion, Steve would pinch the bridge of his nose as soon as they piled in like he had a headache building at the mere sight of them. He would claim he had to use the bathroom and slip out of the room for a bit. Was Will really the only one to notice that Steve was always crying when he did that?

Then when Eddie woke up, it was like a light inside Steve was turned back on. The way Steve had been so hollow before Eddie’s eyes opened may not have been immediately obvious to everyone, but after? How did they not see it?

How did they not see the way Steve and Eddie smiled at each other’s jokes? Or the secretive smirks they would shoot at each other? Or the way Steve would always volunteer to sit on the edge of Eddie’s bed to give Dustin one of the chairs and the way Eddie would lightly rub Steve’s back where he thought no one could see, as if they weren’t in a tiny hospital room full of people?

Were all his friends actually kind of dumb, or did Will only see what was going on because he was gay? They all knew about him, so it’s not like they didn’t know it was possible…

Will could have said all that, but maybe if they didn’t see it without being told, they didn’t deserve to. A petty part of Will wanted them to experience the consequences of letting their assumptions overrule the actual data provided to them. The only person he was going to try to win to his side over the course of the day and enacting Dustin’s plan was El. 

Maybe. If he won El over, she would convince Mike to stop and that would sway Lucas, too. 

He was really annoyed with them.

Will shrugged. “I just think Mrs. Henderson has a point and we should leave Steve alone,” he repeated, giving them all one more chance to back down before he let them seal their fate.

All of them, except El, rolled their eyes with a groan before they all started discussing the details of the plan. El narrowed her eyes thoughtfully before turning to join the others. 

“For a bunch of nerds, they’re pretty dumb.”

Will jumped, and looked over his shoulder at Erica, who he had forgotten was hanging out with them now. Everyone else was passionately arguing about where they were going to scrounge up the money for a cake, so they didn’t hear her comment. 

Will just snorted.

“Yeah, they are,” Will agreed with a sigh.

“This plan is gonna end with someone getting an eyeful of something children shouldn’t be seeing, and it better not be me,” Erica added flatly and Will snorted again, even if his ears turned a bit pink.

“You’re still gonna go along with it though?” Will pushed.

Erica smirked up at him. “Of course I am. I never pass up a chance to see my brother be embarrassingly wrong about something,” she said smugly and Will grinned at her.

❖

“Oh, what the hell, how is Steve already home?”

They stopped their bikes at the end of the cul-de-sac and stared at Steve’s Beemer in the carport.

Will and Erica looked at each other with raised eyebrows and dissolved into quiet giggles. This was actually too good.

See, after an afternoon of the others running around and begging for spare change and acquiring the various items needed for a surprise party, Will and Erica had followed and discussed the ways the plan could go awry. 

They decided on two possibilities: either they set up the surprise party and Steve stayed at Eddie’s that night, or Steve brought Eddie home.

Looked like the latter was what they were getting.

“What’s so funny, Will?” Mike asked, frowning at them both.

Will schooled his expression and shrugged. “Just rehearsing how I’m going to say I told you so,” he replied before turning his attention toward Dustin, who was truly beside himself that Steve had the audacity to be home in a spectacular way.

It would be amazing if Steve didnʼt hear his yelling from the street. 

Finally, an inkling of doubt entered Mikeʼs expression as his faith in Willʼs intuition returned. “Maybe we should just go back to my place then,” Mike said, and Dustin whipped his head around.

“Are you shitting me, Mike?” he asked and didnʼt wait for an answer. “After we did all this running around for him? No! I’m gonna go in there and distract him, and the rest of you are going to set this crap up in the kitchen.”

Erica snorted. “As long as it’s him going in there and not me…” she murmured low enough so only Will could hear, and he giggled again.

“Okay, let’s keep going. No turning back now,” Dustin says and pushes his bike back into motion.

Dustin was not at all subtle about going through the front door, so Will hoped that at the very least Steve and Eddie wouldnʼt be in an extremely compromising position.

“Steve? What the hell are you doing home?”

Will made sure he was inside the house and watching as Dustin stomped down the hallway, only glancing away to share another smirk with Erica about it.

“I thought you were taking Eddie… home…”

The sight of Dustin standing in an open doorway in the hall and gawking, truly speechless, was easily at the top of Will’s list of favourite moments. The way the other boy turned a very deep shade of red was also very funny. 

He could only imagine what Dustin stormed in on, and once again Will’s ears heated up at the thought.

“What the shit?” Dustin managed to exclaim after a few moments. Then he slapped his hands over his eyes and shrieked, “why isn’t your door closed?”

“Would that’ve even mattered?” They heard Steve shout back, and immediately Lucas and Mike turned around to leave, but Will and Erica deliberately blocked the path out the front door. El glanced at Will with wide eyes and let out a nervous, giddy giggle as everything very quickly made sense to her. “What’re you even doing here? Your mom told you to stay at Wheeler’s.”

“Wait a minute! That’s not what you told us your mom said, Dustin!” Mike shouted, his face a truly magnificent shade of red as he whipped around to glare at Dustin.

There was a long silence after Mike’s outburst.

“Henderson, please tell me you did not bring all of the shitheads here,” they heard Steve groan, and then, “Eds, stop laughing, I’m trying to be stern here—”

Finally, Dustin let out a flustered noise and reached into the bedroom blindly to slam the door shut.

Red-faced and fuming, Dustin stormed down the hall toward them.

Will glanced at Erica before he started to say, “I told you—”

“Don’t wanna hear it, Byers,” Dustin huffed as he brushed past, but there was no heat to it.

Will and Erica burst into giggles as Lucas and Mike followed Dustin. El hung back with them as well, but went to the kitchen to put the small cake she was carrying on the kitchen table.

With a huff, Will walked carefully down the hallway to knock gently on Steveʼs door. The low murmuring that was happening inside the room stopped immediately and Will felt a bit guilty.

“You learn how to knock, Henderson?” came Eddie’s voice and Will laughed.

“No, it’s Will. I just wanted to say sorry, just in case Dustin doesn’t later,” he said sheepishly, and he cringed when the room stayed quiet. Will could hear some movement, but no one was speaking. “He just thought you were gonna be alone for your birthday and wanted to throw a surprise party for you. For what it’s worth, Erica and I tried to stop him.”

Suddenly the bedroom door opened slightly, and Steve stood there in a pair of sweatpants and a thin tank top, his hair a tangled, sweaty mess and several little hickeys on his throat. Will was reminded all over again just why Steve Harrington was the first crush he realized was a crush and he felt his ears heat up.

“Where’s the little asshole?” Steve asked flatly, but the fondness lining his face was unmistakable.

“He’s out front already,” Will replied quickly, biting his lip as Steve looked toward the front door thoughtfully.

Sighing, Steve turned back at Will. “Between you and me, I’ve already forgiven him,” he said conspiratorially, and Will grinned up at him. Steve’s own lips split into a grin as he added, “he doesn’t have to know that yet, though.”

“Sounds good,” Will said as he stepped backward. Stopping, he added, “happy birthday, Steve. El left a cake for you on the table.”

Steve’s grin settled into a much softer, fonder smile, and he nodded. “Thanks, Will. Sorry we missed yours,” he said, and Will blinked at him a bit dumbly.

Did Steve Harrington actually know when his birthday was? Was he aware of all of their birthdays? Did the others know that he knew their birthdays?

“Don’t be, you guys were obviously busy, and I was across the country,” Will waved him off with a nervous little laugh.

“Will, c’mon!”

At Mike’s shout, Will startled and blushed before nodding at Steve one last time.

Hurrying out of the house, Will shut the front door and got his bike off the lawn to join the others on the road.

“Does Steve actually know all our birthdays?” Will asked Mike as they walked their bikes down the road for a while. Dustin was shockingly silent at the head of the group. 

“Yeah, he’s kind of annoying about it,” Mike grumbled, and Lucas laughed.

“Mike’s just annoyed ‘cos Steve actually gets us good gifts,” he teased, and Mike made a face at him.

“Why is that annoying?” El asked, and Will bumped her shoulder fondly. He loved when she put Mike on the spot for the dumb stuff he did. 

“Because then Mike has to thank Steve,” Lucas explained, even though that just seemed to confuse El even more. “Mike doesn’t like Steve—”

“Why not?” El asked, and this time her question was directed at Mike and her voice had an edge of anger in it. She had an affinity for Steve that Will never understood, but it was always funny when it reared itʼs head on anyone who said something bad about Steve. 

“It’s not that I don’t like him!” Mike insisted and Dustin finally joined the argument.

“That’s such bullshit, Mike! You obviously hate him,” he said, defensive of Steve.

“Oh really, Dustin? Are you really the best judge of who does or doesn’t hate Steve right now?” Mike snapped, and Dustin sniffed and looked away, his face red again.

“Oh, so are you saying you want to be making out with Steve now, too?” Dustin muttered just loud enough for their party to hear.

“Shut the fuck up, Dustin,” Mike grumbled as everyone laughed.

But Will saw the way Mike blushed and looked away, his hands flexing around the handlebars of his bike. Something dangerously close to hope bubbled up in Will’s chest and normally he would squash it ruthlessly.

For now, he’d let it stay, though.

Chapter Thirteen: Encore - December 1986

Steve fiddled with the handle of his backpack as he waited for Eddie’s van to show up on the cul-de-sac. He didn’t know why he was so nervous; it was just Eddie, and he was just spending a couple nights at his and Wayne’s apartment as an early celebration of Eddie’s birthday.

They both learned their lesson that they couldn’t trust having their birthdays to themselves if they tried, so Eddie planned ahead and was going to have an actual birthday party.

Wayne was out of town for a few days at a family holiday reunion that Eddie was outright not invited to, which meant they had the apartment to themselves. 

When Steve asked why Wayne would still go to something Eddie was barred from, Eddie just laughed and said, “don’t worry, Stevie, he always comes home at least a day early because he was uninvited. We have a bet on how long it’ll take for him to finally end up on the banished list with me.”

And that was how they had the apartment to themselves for at least three days, but possibly five if Wayne didn’t pull out all the stops. This would be the first time in a long time that they had proper privacy, time to just be with each other and not even just for sex.

The past several months had been a whirlwind that kept both of them extremely busy.

Max woke up a couple weeks after Steve’s birthday, her vision greatly impaired and healing limbs she had to relearn how to use. Special glasses allowed her to see decently well, and her doctors were optimistic that she would be able to walk again if she stuck to her physical therapy. The doctors even tried to reassure her that she might not even need mobility aids if she worked hard enough.

Eddie was quick to reassure her that having a cane had a lot of benefits (like brandishing it at annoying people like rude doctors) and there was nothing wrong with needing something like that. The duo caught on like a wildfire once Eddie started scheduling his physical therapy to match with hers, and when he could drive again, Eddie started giving her rides to and from therapy.

Therapy days were rough for both of them, but Eddie seemed to have a harder time of it. Max already wasn’t a very tactile person unless she warmed up to you, and even then, you had to reach a certain level of friendship for her to so much as pat your back. So, when she would come out of physical therapy shying away from even the accidental brush of arms as someone passed, it wasn’t that strange.

For Eddie, though, it was alien. After physical therapy, he would have anywhere between a few hours to several days of avoiding touch of any sort. Eddie explained once after snapping at Steve over a playful swat that his body was in so much pain and sensitive from having hands touching him that he didn’t want touching him, and it felt like he was full of broken glass. That it felt like even the slightest touch would tear his skin open all over again, and it took everything in him to just wear his clothes and sit in a chair.

During the first few months after his discharge from the hospital, Eddie spent most of that time in a state of touch aversion so intense, his mood dropped to a very dark place. Eddie thrived off of showing affection physically, and not being able to do that on top of the nightmares and panic attacks he had sent him spiraling.

Steve called a stop to how often Eddie was going to physical therapy when he tried to gently wake Eddie up from a nightmare and he had screamed as if Steve was skinning him.

Aside from the months of barely even being able to hold his boyfriend’s hand, Eddie was also generally busy with school.

Eddie was able to graduate high school after receiving a special exemption to take the semester he missed over the summer. It turned out that outside of a standard classroom, Eddie was actually a decent student and he aced most of his classes with ease. The only struggle was math, but he managed it.

After everything settled following his birthday and Robin’s graduation, Steve took a full-time job at Melvald’s. It paid more than Family Video and was generally more enjoyable in most ways. It mostly gave him a steady weekly schedule which meant he was home for dinner every day and had set days off.

It worked out well for the time being, especially with being able to see Eddie and plan movie nights with him.

The biggest thing that happened, however, was Steve getting away from his parents for good. They had summoned him for a meeting at their house in Loch Nora just before Thanksgiving.

Steve had almost gone alone, still having that knee-jerk reaction to handle his dad on his own, but Eddie shut that down immediately. It went about as well as Steve expected, which was more accurately described as a dumpster fire. 

There was yelling, slurs, an actual fight… but it was done. By the end of all of it, Steve made it clear that his parents were to stay out of his business and out of his life for good. He didn’t want to hear from them ever again, and he would never reach back out to them. That was when Katherine told Steve they were selling the house in Loch Nora and wouldn’t be returning to Hawkins. She said it in such a desperate voice, as if Steve would change his mind, that he actually laughed at her for it.

Steve told them to have the life they deserved as he left with Eddie and that was it.

He was free of his parents, completely and utterly. Steve could breathe easily everywhere now because there wasn’t the constant underlying fear that he would run into his dad in the middle of a grocery store, or on the street.

He had his whole future ahead of him with nothing in Steve’s way.

Outside, Eddie’s van appeared on the street and Steve was already outside the front door and across the lawn before Eddie finished pulling around the cul-de-sac.

“You in a hurry, gorgeous?” Eddie asked as Steve climbed into the passenger seat. “What if I wanted to say hi to Claudia?”

“You can say hi to Claudia in a few days,” Steve said simply, holding his bag on his lap. “This is our time.”

“Yes, it is,” Eddie agreed, grinning with his dimples in full force.

As they drove, Steve frowned at what was playing. “Why are you listening to Bon Jovi?” he asked, raising a baffled eyebrow at Eddie. “Where did you even get this? Did you steal mine?”

“I put it on for you, Stevie. To protect your sensibilities and such,” Eddie stated, his tone a bit teasing but there was a tenseness around his mouth as his thumbs fidgeted against the steering wheel.

“Eds, you don’t have to listen to my music in your van,” Steve huffed and opened the glove box for the box of tapes he knew was in there. Rifling through it, he grabbed one with a small sound of triumph and started to switch the tapes.

“What the hell did you just pick?” Eddie asked, but his question was quickly answered when the music started again, and his mouth shut with a click. “This is Dio.”

“Yeup,” Steve replied, drumming along with the song with his thumbs on his backpack.

“Since when do you listen to Dio, Steve?”

Steve laughed at that a bit sheepishly. “Since, I think… August of last year?” he replied with a shrug. “After I recovered from the Starcourt bullshit, I went to Indy for the first time and the guy that took me home was—”

“Steve, please, I could live with not being the first man to pop your cherry—”

“—Eddie, we’ve talked about you saying that—”

“—But now you’re telling me I don’t even get to take your metal virginity?” Eddie moaned dramatically.

“Sorry, babe,” Steve said with a little cringe, actually giggling when Eddie wailed.

“I can’t believe this,” Eddie whined, pouting over at Steve as they pulled into a parking space near his apartment. “You were driving all the way to Indy just to fuck metalheads when I was right here.”

“I didn’t go there deliberately to fuck metalheads. That just happened to be the only people I ended up fucking,” Steve replied with a laugh when Eddie glared at him.

“How the hell does that not mean the same damn thing?” he asked grumpily as he got out of the van.

Steve waited until they were safely inside the apartment before sidled up to Eddie, wrapping his arms around his waist as he said, “I went to Indy to try things out. The metalheads always picked me up.”

“And what, you hung around while they played you some music after?” Eddie asked, determined to keep the pout up, even as he reached up to hold Steve’s face gently. A laugh was pulled out of Steve at the question.

“No, uh, this one guy, I went home with him like three times,” Steve started, blushing at the memory. “He couldn’t get off unless we were listening to—”

“Stevie, you’re breaking my heart. You’re telling me some loser in Indianapolis has lived my dream of being fucked by Steve Harrington while listening to Dio?” Eddie sobbed, the smirk tugging at the corners of his lips ruining the effect.

Steve’s blush deepened a bit as he shook his head. “No, actually, he was doing the fucking, and it was Iron Maiden, so I mean…” he trailed off, bopping his head with his eyebrows raised high. “That dream of yours is possible, encouraged, and it would still be a first time for me.”

Eddie scowled down at Steve. “I will ignore for the moment that some loser popped your Iron Maiden cherry too—”

“—Eds, please stop using that phrase—”

“—Because I need you to be naked in my room yesterday,” Eddie finished, stepping out of Steve’s arms to drag him down the hall.

Steve stopped before they entered the bedroom, chewing the inside of his lip nervously. 

“Wait, before we do any of that, I wanted to give you something. For your birthday,” Steve said, and the unimpressed glare Eddie leveled on him was enough to make Steve laugh.

“We agreed no presents, Harrington,” Eddie huffed. “I didn’t get you a present for your birthday, so you don’t get me one for mine.”

“Except I did get a present for mine,” Steve retorted. “I got you, didn’t I?”

Eddie groaned, falling back against the door frame. “I’ve told you to cool it with that corny shit when I’m already this hard, Stevie,” Eddie sighed before trying to drag Steve into a hungry kiss.

“Stop trying to distract me,” Steve laughed, his voice muffled by Eddie’s mouth before he pulled back. “Seriously, just… if you don’t want it to be a gift, fine, then it’s not a gift. Just pretend I’m not giving it to you right before your birthday and that I gave it to you back in July when I actually finished it.”

“Stevie, did you make something for me?” Eddie asked, his eyes bright and excited now. At Steve’s baffled expression, Eddie said, “gifts people make are different. Give it. Now.”

Eddie stood there, leaning against the door frame of his bedroom with his hands grabbing air between them until Steve rolled his eyes fondly. 

Opening his backpack, he pulled out a lumpy package. It was wrapped in Christmas paper because it was the only kind Claudia had at the time, and apparently finding birthday wrapping paper right before Christmas was impossible. Steve made up for it by drawing party hats on the reindeer.

With a ridiculous little cackle, Eddie snatched the present out of Steve’s hands and hurried into his room, limping a bit. He flopped back onto the bed and turned the present over in his hands excitedly. Eddie’s expression morphed into something painfully fond as he looked at the wrapping paper and instead of tearing into the present, Eddie carefully lifted the taped edges to preserve the paper.

Steve shuffled his feet when Eddie uncovered enough denim to know it was clothing but then when he pulled the paper away and saw one of the patches he went very still. The room was utterly silent as Eddie slowly unfolded the battle vest and ran his hand over it.

“I tried to clean the old one, but it was ruined. Claudia and I cleaned the patches, and she taught me how to sew them back on,” Steve babbled when Eddie didn’t say anything. “I tried to make it as close to the original as I could, so I didn’t add anything.”

Eddie was still staring at the battle vest, his hair hanging in such a way that Steve couldn’t see his face at all. There was no way for Steve to guess what this reaction was, to know if his boyfriend was happy, or sad, or angry. Nothing.

“Eds, if I crossed a line, please just tell me, okay?” Steve asked, clenching his hands into fists at his sides.

At that, Eddie shook his head and wiped his eyes roughly before putting the battle vest on the bed next to him so he could get to his feet. Stepping into Steve’s space, Eddie pulled him into a kiss with a needy little sound at the back of his throat. Steve’s hands immediately found Eddie’s waist and pulled him into a tight embrace, their mouths moving against each other slow and sweet.

When Steve pulled away, he met Eddie’s eyes and wiped away the tears from his cheeks.

“Who hurt you, sweetheart?” Steve asked teasingly, smirking when Eddie scoffed and rolled his eyes.

“Shut up, I’m trying to get my shit under control so I can make a dumb joke and we can start touching each other’s dicks,” Eddie grumbled, smiling through his tears when Steve laughed.

“Okay, Eds, go ahead,” Steve hummed, stroking Eddie’s cheek with his thumb.

Eddie took a deep breath, and said, “I’ve told you to cool it with that—”

“You’ve already made that joke tonight, sweetheart,” Steve interrupted cheekily, and Eddie made a frustrated noise.

“Fuck! Let’s just skip the joke then, get to the touching dicks part,” Eddie said in a rush, pulling at Steve’s clothes.

They made quick work of getting their clothes off, even if they kept touching each other and stealing kisses. When they were finally on the bed, naked bodies pressed close as they devoured each other’s mouths, Steve felt his heart stutter in his chest at each breathy whine and sigh Eddie let out.

“Steve,” Eddie moaned, his eyes rolling back in his head as their cocks slotted against each other. Shuddering at the sensation himself, Steve deliberately rocked into it, dragging another delicious noise out of Eddie.

It wasn’t long until Eddie was impatiently slapping a hand out to the bedside table to grab the lube and a condom. Handing both to Steve, Eddie left his preparation up to him, stretching out under his gaze with a contented smile. Something in that gaze had Steve feeling gooey and warm, and the feeling it woke up in Steve was overwhelming.

Steve knew, without a doubt, the man spread out below him on the bed was the love of his life. Eddie was it for Steve; no one would ever come close to making Steve feel like this.

Beneath him, Eddie writhed as Steve’s fingers opened him up, his brow furrowed before Steve sought out his prostate with practiced efficiency.

“Fuck me, now,” Eddie demanded breathlessly as he flopped against the bed when Steve relented. “If I don’t have you fucking me into this mattress so hard I cry in, like, three seconds, I will literally actually die.”

“Three seconds isn’t enough time to get the condom on, sweetheart,” Steve teased, and Eddie snatched the condom packet out of his hand and threw it somewhere in the room.

“Fuck it, get your cock in me,” he said, squirting some lube on hand and stroking Steve’s cock just enough to make it slick. The attention on his cock pulled a punched-out groan from him, and Steve fucked Eddie’s fist for a few moments. Then Eddie’s hand disappeared, and he repeated, “fuck me.”

“How do you want this, sweetheart?” Steve asked, withdrawing his fingers gently.

“Just like this, wanna kiss you,” Eddie replied breathlessly, wrapping his better leg around Steve’s hip and pulling him closer. “Wanna see your face.”

“And you call me corny,” Steve sighed, more than happy to oblige. Steve couldn’t deny Eddie anything.

Taking his time, Steve lined up with Eddie’s hole and pushed, his own eyes rolling back as Eddie arched off the bed under him. Steve dropped onto his elbows so he could press kisses up the pale column of Eddie’s throat, sucking and biting little marks into his skin until he finally bottomed out.

“Oh, fuck,” Eddie sobbed, and Steve swallowed any other noises in a hungry kiss as he started to move.

Each shift of Steve’s hips had Eddie sighing and groaning against Steve’s lips, his hands spread across Steve’s shoulder blades and holding him close.

“Y’fuck me so good, baby,” Eddie whined, throwing his head back when Steve changed the angle of his next thrust just so. “Y’fucking ruined me.”

“Ruined me first,” Steve groaned, his voice thick with his need and his love for Eddie, tears springing to the corners of his eyes.

“Nuh-uh,” Eddie argued petulantly, letting out a choked-off noise when Steve got a hand between them to properly touch his cock for the first time that evening. 

Shuddering, Eddie raked his nails down Steve’s back, earning a nearly vicious thrust against him. Eyes rolling back, Eddie clenched around the cock inside him and sobbed.

“Just like that, baby,” Eddie demanded, and Steve groaned and braced his knees underneath him to thrust harder and faster into his boyfriend. The angle was perfect too, every slide inward punching a sound so obscene out of Eddie, Steve was afraid he’d come just from that alone.

Steve knew Eddie was close from the gasping edge of his sounds that grew louder and more urgent as Eddie writhed with an almost panicked look on his face. Groaning low and heavy, Steve dropped a chaste kiss to Eddie’s cheek and that was the last straw. 

With a sharp cry, Eddie was spilling between them in thick spurts, painting his own stomach and chest.

The clenching heat around Steve dragged him over the edge shortly after, his moan swallowed by Eddie’s demanding, hungry mouth. Steve kept moving inside Eddie as his cock slowly softened, even as the sensation became unpleasant for him. He only stopped moving and gently pulled out when Eddie lightly slapped his back several times.

When Steve flopped onto his back next to him, Eddie cursed under his breath.

“What?” Steve asked with a grin.

“Never want you to stop,” Eddie replied a bit sadly, rolling over to snuggle up to Steve. The cum painted across his stomach smeared against Steve’s side but he didn’t mind at all. “My ass feels all lonely when you pull out.”

A startled laugh tumbled out of Steve’s mouth, and he shook his head. “You’re so weird,” Steve sighed, rubbing Eddie’s back soothingly. 

“That’s why you like to keep me around,” Eddie sniffed, kissing Steve’s chest where his head was resting.

“I keep you around because I love you,” Steve hummed sleepily, his post-orgasm brain too slow to stop him from blurting that out.

Eddie pushed himself up on his elbow to stare down at Steve, his mouth hanging open slightly. Finally catching up, Steve tried to figure out a way to backtrack without lying somehow.

“I love you, too,” Eddie said quickly as if he could read Steve’s anxious thoughts, his brown eyes wide and full of happy tears all over again. Steve grinned up at him, wiping the tears that started to fall.

“Love you so much,” Steve said, lifting his head off the pillow to kiss Eddie sweetly.

Eddie sighed into the kiss, smiling lazily and happily as Steve rubbed his back again.

Then Steve remembered something.

“Eds, you forgot the music,” he pointed out cheekily, and Eddie froze for the briefest moments.

“Fuck.”

FIN

[ AO3 LINK ]

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Taglist!

@asexualjae, @scarcrossdlvrs, @xenon-demon, @steddieas-shegoes, @mylilplanet, @smalltownclaustrophobia, @strangersteddierthings, @steddierthings, @just-ladyme, @anzelsilver, @nburkhardt, @wrayofmoonshine, @indigohightide, @lostonceandneverfound, @amoralmorel, @steddie-there, @stevie-my-beloved, @bookbinderbitch, @dastard-bastard, @patchworkgargoyle, @amerikanskaya-krassavitsa

[real-fire-emblem-takes]

i think tharja should have been more important to awakening’s story. not only is she plegian and so could have provided a plegian perspective on the constant ylisse-plegia back-and-forth to help make things feel less one-sided (we aren’t given this until the second drama cd and it has to come from GAIUS, who is not plegian), but she’s also the game’s second-best example after robin of “you are not what the future dictates you to be,” one of the game’s main themes. i challenge my fate etc etc. what do i mean by this? well

first off personally, i tend to shelve the entire noire-dad support chain because it 1. sucks and 2. contradicts several other chains — ex. ricken + tharja A, where she acknowledges people don’t like to have hexes tested upon them and so has ricken test things on Her, her henry, gregor, & virion chains, where she can’t hex them at all, her frederick chain where she PROMISES to not hex him any more — and it also just doesn’t make sense with others, like her dynamics with lon’qu and libra, which are two of her most serious support chains. why would she do that to them. or considering how she is with robin, why would she hex him or her kids with him. she’s ALSO mentioned to be good with kids in her libra paired ending, making her hexing children more puzzling, and noire’s blood-and-thunder thing is also not actually caused by tharja hexing her like people think. so they wrote this in to make child abuse a teehee gag that contradicts a lot of tharja’s character setup and i just ignore it and that’s not what i’m referring to here. (note: her supports with noire mention to her she’s been tested HERSELF by her family since birth, which she thought was normal, but that same chain reveals her future self also kept noire away from dabbling in dark magic at all so it very much doesn’t make sense why she would expose her to it by testing it on her anyway). HOWEVER,

tharja is very still much a neglectful parent in the bad future and that’s her main issue. after her spouse dies she dedicates everything to getting revenge for him and tracking down the risen that killed him and neglects her daughter in the process. for the sake of getting revenge on a corpse. awakening tharja’s main thing is realising that by pushing her child away in the future she helped ruin her. noire spent most of her life doubting her mother loved her because of how she was pushed away after a certain point until tharja told her directly “i’m sure she did because she kept you away from curses to protect you. and i love you.” she’s one of the game’s biggest examples of learning what not to do and i wish she had more focus because that’s like. one of the main themes of the game <- biased tharja fan. thank you for listening

.

[steddieunderdogfics]

For time loop and travel weekend, I'd like to rec two of my favorites:

Right Where You Belong by WabiSabiPapi, a thoughtful and extremely well plotted Time Traveler's Wife AU with a tender love story and great humor

and

Echo by CaptainHoney. Thrilling, engrossing and sometimes brutal, this is a wild ride of a fic, as Eddie is trapped in a time loop on his last day on earth. The rare story where jumps in character perspective totally work as we jump from loop to loop.

Right Where You Belong by WabiSabiPapi

@arimakes

Rating: Explicit

32,826 words, 4/4 chapters

Archive Warning: No Warnings

Tags: Alternate Universe - No Upside Down (Stranger Things), Hurt/Comfort, Slow Burn, Friends to Lovers, Car Accident, Family Member Death, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Drug Use, A small helping of selfcest, Time Travel, Inspired by The Time Traveler's Wife, Happy Ending, Gay Eddie Munson, Bisexual Steve Harrington, Librarian Eddie Munson, First Meetings, like there's a couple first meetings, Getting Together, Alternate Universe - The Time Traveler's Wife Fusion, Self-Worth Issues, HAPPY ENDING I REPEAT HAPPY ENDING

Summary:

“...Eddie?” the guy chokes out. Huh. Interesting. He maintains a strict no name policy out in the wild. Sharing it is bad practice with the crime and trying to cover his tracks and all. “Uh, that’s me,” he offers an uncertain smile and a slow nod. “Anything I can help you find?” “You look so young. Your hair. I—” The guy shakes his head. Seemingly astonished. “I can’t believe you’re really here.” Eddie and Steve find one another at different stages of their lives. At very different points in time. A story about discovering and rediscovering, falling in love, and healing childhood wounds.

echo by CaptainHoney

@grandmastattoo

Rating: Explicit

30,342 words, 1/1 chapters

Archive Warning: Graphic Depictions Of ViolenceMajor Character Death

Tags: Time Loop, Heavy Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, character study through a funhouse mirror, content warnings for pretty much everything, Violence, Blood, Suicide, Murder, Murder-Suicide, Drug Use, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, non-graphic drug overdose, implied eating disorder, Henry Creel | One | Vecna is His Own Warning, Blow Jobs, Anal Sex, Anal Fingering, time loops should count as their own warning, eddie is trapped in a time loop, Multiple Perspectives, Non-Linear Narrative, he may be trapped in a timeloop but he's still horny, hitting the ground running with this one, Dead Dove: Do Not Eat, a really rank blowjob, Gore, overuse of the word 'viscera', the return of steve's strawberry scented lube, death death so much death, Bisexual Eddie Munson, Bisexual Steve Harrington, apologies in advance

Summary:

Loop 6 - Steve Eddie bleeds out in his arms. Loop 27 - Steve Eddie bleeds out in his arms. Loop 304 - Steve Eddie bleeds out in his arms. Loop 368 - Steve Eddie bleeds out in his arms.

Thanks for the recs!

These recs are a part of Theme Weekend. The theme this weekend is Time Loops & Time Travel.

Know a fic that deserves extra love? Submit through our asks or the submission box!

[suliscool]

wacky amnesia the bunker theory/headcanon about the monster (first post :])

hello, amnesia tumblr, i am sul. this is the first of hopefully multiple posts. i aim to post theories, headcanons, and maybe even art. anyways.

(spoiler warning, in case you haven't finished the game, or haven't been spoiled yet, somehow. also, i talk about some violent stuff. bunker typical death or injury and whatnot)

i would like to present my theory, with headcanon elements, as to why the beast in ATB doesn't murk Henri during the time he spends in a coma, just kinda- laying in the sickroom. of course, people who are unconscious have this cool ability where they are quiet (most of the time) and since the monster mainly hunts by sound, i think Henri wouldn't really attract much attention, especially since the beast was busy with two or more dozen louder, moving, targets for a while. that's a perfectly valid and cool theory, but it sort of leaves me craving something even more complex and tragic.

hear me out: Lamby over here, during his human, as well as early transformation days, was aware of the fact that his dear friend, Henri Clement, is hurt, unconscious, and fighting for his life in the infirmary. he sat by his side longer than the doctor would stand around, waiting for him to wake up; maybe he even talked to him. as Lambert began transforming into the beast, his thoughts, memories, knowledge, as well as his very understanding of the world around him, slowly became more simplified, animalistic and twisted. what if this normal human knowledge of his bestfren laying in the sickroom became- something a bit different. he's aware that the sickroom contains *something* important to him, like, fragile. by the point of full monsterification he's unable to fully comprehend a concept like Henri Clement, so all he understands is that the location is somehow important, and that the piece of meat laying around is not to be harmed. what if while Henri was unconscious the monster even busted into the sickroom a few times and just kinda- stood around. what if he even took a closer look and recognised Henri, sort of, further associating him with this location. of course, Henri here is a very special case. i just think that this could be similar to the monster's relationship with the rabbit toy, as in Lambert's friendship, care and empathy, towards Henri in this situation were strong enough to halt his violent tendencies and bring back a little bit of his humanity. this only works for the most important people in his life at the time, who i, in my somewhat backed up opinion, believe to be Henri and Lambert's son, who Lamby associates with the rabbit toy. according to the notes in the game, one soldier claimed that he thought the beast had recognised him somehow. buuut that didn't stop Lambert from violently tearing him limb from limb and using his entrails as chapel decorations, did it now.

i don't think that Lambert can recognise Henri during the actual gameplay, at least not until it's too late. this ties into my other theory about the beast having bad eyesight, since Lambert needed glasses back when he was human. idk if anybody else has also had this in the actual game but i have had multiple instances where the beast just walked right past me, if i stayed quiet, hidden under a bed in soldier quarters or something, but the second i shuffled by one inch, he suddenly turned around and yanked Henri out of the hiding place, killing him instantly. things like this have led me to believe that the monster has poor eyesight, increased sense of smell, since he can track victims with open wounds by blood, and, obviously, very sensitive hearing.

i think that the beast doesn't realise who Henri is for multiple reasons. first of all, the bunker is dark and Henri is always keeping a distance, unless he's dead (i will get to that). it's very much possible that, if Lambert was nearsighted, everything is just extremely dark and blurry, leaving the monster with no chance of potentially recognising his dear friend. could he recognise Henri if he spoke? maybe, actually. although i still do not think this would result in Henri being saved or *safe* (i will get to that too). the second reason why Lambert cannot reognise Henri, that i've been building up to, is because Henri's location has changed. what if, in his simple little monster brain, Lamby has "rationalised" that Henri is in the sickroom, that he belongs there, even. therefore, another random soldier, who Lambert cannot even see past a blueish blur, out in the open, definitely not in the infirmary, would NOT be Henri to him. dare i say, he wouldn't even think about it, i'm pretty sure. well, he doesn't really think in general, does he.

and at last, the things i was going to get to. i have my own headcanon based on this theory as to what happens after Henri's potential death. you might've noticed that after the beast kills Henri via mauling him, or snapping his neck, it just kinda stands around and OF COURSE this is most definitely just the developers not wanting to animate the beast ripping into Henri as the screen fades to black. i decided to over-interpret it anyway. i like to think that once Henri is dead and within arm's reach for the monster, it can actually recognise him by being able to see his face. this then leads to Lambert, once again, regaining a smidgen of humanity, possibly lamenting Henri's death, before dragging his lifeless corpse back to the infirmary and putting it in the bed that Henri was supposed to be resting in this entire time. this is kind of the same reason why i think that Henri could potentially face an even more grim fate than the monster simply hearing and murdering him, if he heard and recognised Henri's voice. like, what if he still rationalised that Henri is supposed to be in the sickroom and started hunting him with the intent of returning him there? i think Henri *could* get seriously injured, or even die, if, say, the monster decided to drag him across the entire bunker, back to the infirmary. you know, over all that stone, debris, and those loose pieces of wood or metal. maybe trample him a little bit too. even being grabbed results in injury in the game, let alone all of THAT. aaaanyways

this was a bit of a hefty first post, if anybody actually read all of this, then i hope you enjoyed it! i had fun writing it, i sure love gruesome death/injury and tragic stories. have a good day, i'm going to go on a walk now. more posts coming soon! maybe

-- sul

[sourwolf-sterek32]

Broken Without You

Summary: After witnessing the death of your best friend Henry and his little brother, you're close to giving up and ending it all. Until Joel asks you to join him and Ellie on their journey across the country and gives you a reason to keep fighting.

Pairing: Joel Miller x Fem!Reader

Word Count: 2.8k

Warnings: language, blood, suicidal thoughts

Previous Chapter

Chapter 4-

"His brother might be in Wyoming, that's why we're going there." Ellie randomly said, breaking the silence.

The three of you followed the old freeway north of Kansas City, putting as much distance between you and the horde of infected that were no doubt taking over what used to be the QZ.

"Ellie." Joel hissed, shooting her a warning look.

"What? It's not a secret."

Joel looked like he wanted to argue that statement, but kept his mouth shut. You looked between the two of them, but Ellie simply rolled her eyes at the man before you focused back on the scenery around you.

The just-risen sun shone softly on the green pastures either side of the road, bringing with it the melody of birds chirping. It was a beautiful morning, and you hated it. It shouldn't be beautiful, not after what happened in KC. In the movies it was always dark and miserable outside when people were grieving, but in real life? Mother Nature didn't give a shit about your feelings.

The bright shining sun felt like a punch to the face, so you looked away, staring at your feet as you walked.

"We don't know where exactly in Wyoming he is. Last Joel heard, Tommy was somewhere in that state, but then he lost radio contact." Ellie continued to ramble.

"Wyoming is a big place." You pointed out, glancing over at the girl. "Have you tried to contact him on the radio recently?"

Ellie looked over at Joel for an answer, but he seemed to be actively ignoring your conversation while he walked a few paces ahead.

"Joel?" Ellie called out, awaiting an answer. "Don't act like you're not listening to everything we've said."

Joel sighed, "I don't have a radio to try contact him on."

He didn't bother turning to look at you as he spoke, instead he kept his head straight while he walked, and Ellie opened her mouth to probably say something sarcastic before you spoke up.

"What if I took you to a radio tower?"

Joel stopped dead in his tracks. You and Ellie nearly walked straight into him, not expecting him to come to a sudden halt. He turned to face you properly, his brown eyes locking with yours.

"You can get me to a radio tower?" He asked in shock, and you nodded. "How?"

"FEDRA have a radio tower between KC and Omaha. Last I heard, it was still up and running."

Joel frowned, "how do you know FEDRA have a radio tower there?"

"It was common knowledge back in KC." You easily lied.

Joel eyed you cautiously, almost as if he could somehow sense you weren't telling the truth. He kept his expression blank and for a few seconds you feared he had figured it out, but then he was simply nodding before he continued walking.

The last thing you wanted was for Joel to find out who you really were. If he did, he would take Ellie and leave. He wouldn't let you stay with them, and to your own surprise, you found yourself wanting to stay with them.

Earlier, you were happy for them to leave you behind, but you're glad that Ellie came back for you because if she didn't, there was no doubt that you would be dead by now. Whether it be by your own hand or not was still up for debate.

The single bullet in your jeans pocket felt warm as you thought about it. Joels words from earlier this morning ringing through your ears.

'…if you plan on using that thing, I ain’t gonna stop ya. I get it… but just think about that kid over there. She’s already lost enough.'

You weren't sure how you felt about his words. But every time you thought about Henry and Sam, the more you wished you could be with them again. Just one shot and all your pain and suffering would be gone.

It was tempting, but you'd never do that in front of Ellie or Joel.

You'd never put them in that position, especially after Henry did it to you.

-

By late afternoon the following day, you were walking through the main street of town towards the radio tower looming high in the sky on the far side of the suburbs.

The weather had done a full 360, almost as if Mother Nature had heard your thoughts from earlier. The sun had been hidden behind the stormy clouds since you woke up and it had been raining steadily for the last three hours.

Your hair was drenched, and clothes soaked through completely. Ellie had her hoodie up, but it didn't do much to stop the rain and Joel wasn't faring any better, although the leather of his jacket was probably doing a decent job at keeping the water out compared to your flannel shirt.

"What is this?" Ellie suddenly questioned, pointing at a vehicle to your left.

You looked to where she was pointing to find a very old and faded ice cream truck parked beside the curb. Wait, had Ellie never seen an ice cream truck before?

"That is an ice cream truck." You answered watching her brows furrow in confusion.

"An ice cream truck?"

"Yeah. I don't remember a lot from before the outbreak, I was just a kid, but this..." You said, stopping beside the truck. "Oh, I remember this. They'd sell ice cream out of these bad boys."

"What? No way." She said, shaking her head in disbelief before glancing over at Joel for backup. "Joel?"

"It's true." He admitted, sparing a quick glance at you before focusing on the truck and if you weren't mistaken, there was a slight twitch to his lips as if he was fighting back a smile. "This thing used to drive around and play real loud creepy music and kids would come running out to buy ice cream."

Well, when he worded it like that it sounded super weird, but it was true.

"You're totally fucking with me."

"Um-mm serious."

"Man, you lived in a strange time." Ellie said, staring at the truck like it was a spaceship.

You smiled softly watching her before a thought hit you hard.

If Ellie didn't know what an ice cream truck was, that meant Sam never knew what one was either. There was so much about the old and the new world Sam never knew after a lifetime inside the KC QZ. Walking around in some random small town and seeing things like ice cream trucks and never-ending green pastures would be like Disney Land for him. But he wasn't here to see it.

"Let's keep moving. This rain isn't going to stop anytime soon." You instructed, looking away from the truck abruptly before you turned and marched on towards the tower.

If Joel or Ellie noticed your sudden change in demeanour, they didn't comment on it and instead silently followed as you led them in the direction of the tower.

It wasn't long before you were opening the door to the small shed next to the radio tower. There was a spare key hidden under a brick around the back, but like hell you were going to use that. Joel was a lot of things, but he wasn't stupid. He'd put two and two together. So, you used a crowbar that you grabbed earlier while you walked past the hundreds of abandoned cars in the neighbourhood knowing you'd need it for this moment.

You stepped inside first, the crowbar clutched in your hands tightly as you scanned the small room for any infected, but other than a few spiderwebs there wasn't anything in there. It had been a long time since you were last here. So, you hoped that the radio was still in working condition.

Joel and Ellie followed you inside and looked around while you went straight to the front desk and flicked on the switch for the radio, hoping, praying that the little green light would turn on.

A few seconds ticked by, but the light wouldn't turn on. The old radio had finally died.

"Shit." You cursed softly under your breath, flicking the switch a few times just to be sure, but it wouldn't work.

Joel appeared beside you, his eyes scanning the radio before he leant forward and began fiddling with the wires at the back of it. You stood back, giving him room to work before you glanced over at Ellie who was standing by the window and looking up at the tall radio tower beside the shed.

"Imagine the view from up there." She whispered, her eyes wide and full of curiosity.

"Got it." Joel suddenly said, bringing your attention back to him to find the little green light by the power switch was now shining brightly.

"Thank God."

You stepped forward and began scanning the frequency channels searching for any radio chatter out of habit more than anything. Back when the KC FEDRA was still up and running, the channels were full of people talking and relaying information. It was kind of eerie hearing the radio so silent.

"What channel did you used to talk to your brother on?" You asked, glancing over at Joel.

He opened his mouth to answer but didn't get a chance before Ellie suddenly cut him off.

"Uh, guys? There's a group of people with guns heading this way."

You had never moved so fast in your entire life. You ripped open the top draw of the desk and grabbed the pair of binoculars that you knew were inside, hoping Joel was too distracted to wonder how you knew it was there.

Raising the binoculars to your eyes, you looked out the window Ellie was standing by, and your stomach dropped in realisation.

They were survivors from Kathleen's resistance group.

You couldn't recognise most of them, but the woman leading the way was one of Kathleen's best friends. Shit. They must be here for the radio tower as well. How the hell did they even survive that horde of infected back in KC?

"We need to leave." You quickly ordered.

"Who are they?" Joel questioned sternly, catching onto the fact that you had recognised them.

"No one good. C'mon, there's a back door."

Joel and Ellie followed you without hesitation, the three of you rushing out the back door and running down the street in the opposite direction. Rain continued to pour down from the sky above you, but you didn't even notice.

"They're getting away!" A voice yelled in the distance before gunshots suddenly erupted from behind you.

"This way!" You shouted above the gunfire, ducking down between two houses and out the line of fire.

The three of you ran along the outside wall of the house before popping out onto a different street. You scanned left and right trying to get your bearings before you took off running across the street towards a small alleyway.

"Do you know where you're goin'?" Joel questioned, breathing heavily as you crouched down behind a large dumpster in the alleyway and he did the same, pulling Ellie down beside him.

"We can't go south, that’s where they are. So, that’s out the question, but all other roads out of town lead to the same place, the bridge."

"The bridge? Like a freeway bridge?" Ellie asked in confusion.

You shook your head, "no. A bridge over a river. If we can cross the bridge then we can disappear into the woods on the other side. They'll never be able to find us in there after dark."

You glanced up at the sky as you spoke, taking in the dark clouds. The sun was nowhere to be seen, but you knew it had to be close to setting which meant it would be getting dark soon and the woods would provide the perfect cover.

"If all other roads out of town lead to this bridge, wouldn't they know that's where we're heading?" Joel questioned, and, shit. He was right.

Kathleen's resistance group was smart. They had to be smart if they somehow escaped that horde of infected. Joel was right. They'd know exactly where you were heading. What were you meant to do?

"We should double back. C'mon." Joel muttered, grabbing Ellie's hand and leading her back out the alley before you could stop him.

Damnit.

You had no choice but to follow, however just as Joel stepped out onto the street, a car suddenly sped around the corner, and he was hurriedly backtracking and ducking behind the dumpster once again.

The car came speeding down the street, and you quickly knelt down beside Joel, peeking out from behind the dumpster just as the car pulled over and four men with guns jumped out.

"I saw them. They're around here somewhere. Search the buildings!"

The three of you remained hidden as the men all dispersed and began sweeping the streets and buildings trying to locate you.

"Anyone else got any other bad ideas?" Ellie questioned, a hint of amusement in her tone causing Joel to glare at her.

"Just one." You muttered, taking a deep breath before you took off sprinting.

The only way Joel and Ellie were getting to the bridge was if the resistance were distracted. If they were distracted, they wouldn't go to the bridge and then Ellie and Joel would have a clear shot out.

Joel shouted your name, but you ignored him as you ran straight to the car and jumped into the driver's seat, relieved that the keys were still in the ignition. Rookie mistake.

You turned the key, bringing the car to life with a roar before you revved the engine trying to draw the resistance attention towards you. Joel and Ellie were still hidden behind the dumpster, but you could see them watching you before bullets suddenly sprayed into the side of the car.

"Time to go." You said to yourself, pushing the gear stick into drive before you put your foot down on the gas and sped off.

You could see the men running after you through the revision mirror as you drove in the opposite direction of the bridge. Gunfire rained down on the car, smashing the back window behind you.

You managed to get a few streets away before the tyres got shot out and the next thing you knew, the hood of the car was slamming into the light post on the side of the road.

The airbags went off instantly, hitting your face harder than you thought they would. Pain blossomed across your nose, and you could feel something wet trickling down your chin. You didn't need to lick your lips to know that your nose was bleeding.

"Son of a bitch." You winced, pushing the already deflating airbag down.

The hood of the car was bent up so high from the impact that you could no longer see through the front windshield, but it didn't matter because the car was dead now anyway.

Suddenly, your car door swung open, and you were met by the barrel of a gun.

Your fingers twitched, itching to reach for the rifle that was looped over your shoulder with the gun strap, but you knew that would be pointless. So, you simply closed your eyes and leant your head back against the head rest and waited for the person to pull the trigger.

Joel and Ellie were probably at the bridge by now, they would be safe, and now you got to be with Henry and Sam again. It would all be okay.

"Hold your fire!"

You opened your eyes in confusion just as the man standing in front of you stepped to the side and Kathleen’s best friend appeared behind him.

Of course, it was her. Kathleen was dead, almost all the resistance was dead, but of course this woman survived and of course she found you. Fucking typical.

She didn't say anything, instead she leant down and grabbed your arm, hauling you out of the car with more strength than you thought she had. She shoved you down onto the road and your knees hit the bitumen, hard.

The gun strap was yanked off your shoulder, your rifle falling to the ground a few metres away before Kathleen’s best friend stepped in front of you. You couldn't even remember this woman’s name, but it didn't matter, not anymore.

You glanced around, noting three men standing off to the side with handguns strapped to their thighs.

"I am so glad we both survived that horde, so I can do this." She said, drawing her pistol from her holster.

"Just kill me and get it over with." You sighed, tilting your head up towards her.

She eyed you for a second before shaking her head and holstering her pistol.

"Don't worry, I will kill you. Just not yet. I want to capture your friends first."

Your heart stopped at her words.

No. Joel and Ellie were meant to be safe. That was the whole point of you distracting the resistance so that they would be safe.

"They're not part of this. They're just random innocent people-"

"No one who's friends with a FEDRA soldier are innocent." She snapped, nostrils flaring as she glared down at you. "My men are already hunting them down as we speak."

Shit.

-

Next Chapter 

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MASTERLIST pinned to profile 

Commissions open! Link in bio & DM for enquiries 

A/N- This chapter and the next are inspired by a certain 'bridge' scene in the video game, but the rest of this story will be more based on the show (yes, I know the show is based on the game, but I'm basing this fic more from the show)

Anyway, I hope you guys are enjoying this story! I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments ❤️

[fortunelowtier]

One of the things that's always irked me with fnaf lore is how they've already just kind abandoned the Afton stuff and are going into the weird pseudo sci-fi bullshit, despite the fucking angsty narrative GOLDMINE that could be made from Michael Afton alone

Like man fuck whatever they’re doing for the fnaf movie now, I don’t rlly care abt the animatronic side of things, i wanna see the trilogy following this physically and emotionally abused 16 year old struggling with the loss of his sister, his mother, and then causing the death of his brother, then having that guilt stick with him for decades until he’s tricked into wandering into his own fathers facility where he is then gutted like a fish and piloted like a fucking mech by an animatronic spaghetti amalgamation. Only to wake up weeks later as an empty rotting husk on the sidewalk with only one thing in mind, to kill his father and end all of this

He manages to track down his uncle Henry and after months of planning he manages to lure William and everyone else still refusing to pass on into a pizzeria which is then lit ablaze.

We get an entire segment in the final act in the final movie of the trilogy (beginning with Henry’s speech from fnaf 6 cuz that shit is the rawest monologue in gaming history):

William goes out screaming, begging for mercy just as his victims did to him, his plastic shell melting to reveal the flesh and metal beneath it. As Michael feels the flames around him he sits back and accepts his fate, a small semblance of a grin on his rotting, decrepit face. But before he can pass on he sees the ghostly visage of his brother, eyes blackened and shirt still stained with blood as it was on that fateful day. He knows he has nothing to say, nothing that can fix what was done to him all those years ago, so he says the only thing that comes to mind.

“I’m sorry...I’m so sorry...”

As he breaks down into what little tears his body can produce, the structure of the building giving way as the fire grew hotter and hotter, he expects to have the full wrath of his brother unleashed upon him. In his mind he deserves no redemption, no happy ending, and no forgiveness. Instead, he feels the embrace of a hug around him, hearing a voice he never thought he’d hear again

“I know...“

Michael uses the last of his strength to wrap his arms around his brother, embracing him, as they both are engulfed by flames, being able to die in peace knowing that whatever lied beyond the veil, his father would never see it. It was over.

Reflected on the monitor is a vision of both of them as they were all those years ago, embracing as they are in modern day, almost as a window into what could've been, had everything gone right.

The camera is obscured by flames as it begins to move up, through the flames and through the smoke, “Bonnie’s Lullaby” from fnaf 3 playing in the background. as the song comes to an end, so too does the movement of the camera

cut to black

“Five Nights at Freddy's

The End”

and then nothing else happens because the story is over and resurrecting William is a terrible idea and retroactively would ruin the ending of this (cough cough security breach cough cough)

thank you for coming to my ted talk

[findafight]

I saw a prompt somewhere that boiled down to "what if Steve and Eddie switched places in vol. 2" and basically. I was thinking about it. And making it so sad. Idk if I can make it into a full fic bc apparently I have OTHER full fics to complete but. Have a taste.

Robin, Eddie, and Nancy are feeling pretty good. they might not've killed Henry but they sure as hell injured him, and then they hear Dustin crying. Just. Sobbing and begging and telling Steve he's gonna be okay he's fine it's alright...

Robin breaks into a run because she realizes that she only hears Dustin. Nothing else. She calls for Steve, skids around a corner and. Dustin has blood smeared on hi cheeks with clean tear tracks running through. He's rocking Steve, who isn't moving. His eyes are open, but he doesn't blink. His chest is still. Robin kicks through the demobat bodies, slams to her knees and grabs Steve's shoulders, shakes a little. She looks at his torso, chest shredded and stomach...well. he'd already been wounded. This was just worse. So much worse.

Somehow Eddie has Dustin, pulling him to his chest and guiding him quickly back to the gate, whispering apologies. Nancy has to drag Robin, who protests because they can't leave Steve! They have to bring him back! That's Steve! Her Steve! She's not leaving without him!

But there's no time, and Robin is shaking too much to put up much of a fight. Nancy apologizes with a cracking voice.

They return to Hawkins one short.

At the hospital, after her oxygen levels evened out enough doctors felt she could be discharged (considering the carnage of the gates opening, she's surprised they treated her at all...), Robin makes a phone call to a number she never thought she'd use. She gets a secretary. Gets told to leave a message. She does.

Into the receiver, she growls, hot tears in her eyes not yet falling, "yeah, I'll leave a fucking message. Tell those neglectful assholes their son is dead, and no body can be recovered. Tell them Steve is gone and they couldn't be damned to pick up the fucking phone." And slams the receiver into the cradle once, twice, almost a third until long fingers wrap around her wrist and hold her back. Gently places the phone on the hook and pushes it away. Turns Robin around.

Eddie hugs her, but she doesn't cry. Not yet. She has something she needs to do.

"Eddie. I need you to take me with you can to Steve's house." And Eddie frowns. "I need to get stuff from Steve's room. Before his parents come home."

So by some miracle they end up driving to the Harrington house. Robin uses her key in the door, leads Eddie upstairs to Steve's room, beelines for the closet.

She pulls out a large tub, a legal box stacked on top. Moves both toward the door. She runs her hands over the clothes hanging there, and slips a jacket off the hook, shrugging it over her own shoulders.

Under the bed, there's a shoebox or two, and she uses her leg to hook around them. Eddie offers her a hand up, and she seems to remember that he's actually there.

"you doing okay, Buckley?"

And she stares at him, the pressure behind her eyes too much, too much. He must see it, the tremble in her lip or the hitch of breath, but he opens his arms and offers. She wraps her arms around his torso and can only think that he's too boney, and Steve was never too boney. Then, she sobs. Eddie settles them on the bed, sitting up.

Robin lets out big, heaving, agonized sounds. Like a dying animal, braying muffled in Eddie's chest. He holds her, rubs her back under the green and white jacket with HARRINGTON emblazoned on it.

Eventually, she calms. Wipes her eyes. Takes a deep, shuddering breath.

"he was the only person who knew all of me. And he loved every part. Even the bits he didn't like, he loved." She shakes her head "I didn't know you could be loved like that. That some people loved like that." She moves, grabs one of the shoeboxes and pulls out a few little pins. Shows them to Eddie.

"once I graduated, we were going to go to New York. Go to our first Pride together. Be anonymous and be ourselves. Be free. Forget about the fucking upsidedown. And now. Now he'll never get to." She blows her nose. "How am I supposed to go on knowing that? Without the one person who knows, who was going to be beside me for it all?"

Eddie doesn't answer. Just asks. "What are we doing with everything else?"

She shrugs. "If you see something you like, take it. He wouldn't mind. Can't mind now either way. I'm gonna grabs some shirts and sweaters, I think. For the kids. Everything else of importance except his car keys are in those boxes. Dustin can have some of it, but mostly it's mine."

"robin-"

"his parents will give everything to charity. Anything that made Steve Steve would be lost anyways, this way we get to keep parts of him. And his parents don't find-" she gestures to the shoebox, with its buttons and pamphlets and stickers all daring someone to say something. Eddie gets it.

They load the van. Robin's parents don't mention it when she arrives home with a wanted (still? Eddie's status is unclear) man carrying boxes to her room. She thanks Eddie.

Four months later, in the upsidedown on the way to kill vecna once and for all, she recognizes a figure walking out of the dead woods, demodogs and demogorgons and demobats (the very things that did that to him) following tamely behind him, and calls his name.

[aemiron-main]

modern au (but all the upside down shit still happened but is over now) party plays minecraft + byler isn’t together yet but theyre on the verge of getting together and mike and el are long broken up + everyone’s fending for themselves except mike keeps giving all of his resources to will and once everyone realizes, they start giving him shit for it/teasing mike about how he treats will so gently.  and while they’re arguing in vc and tabbed out of minecraft, will is running around and killing all of them for their loot which he then puts in his and mike’s chest.  mike is literally THE will defender, he’s a literal paladin guarding will from all of the mobs: will, gently harvesting crops mike, obliterating any monster that even Looks at will  eventually el and max team up on mike and chase him, all while mike shrieks in the vc about “it’s not fair for these two to team up on me!!!! theyre conspiring against me!!! ”  dustin builds the most insane redstone contraptions ever, and will patiently listens to dustin explain how they work, even if he doesn’t fully understand it. dustin also tames as many wild animals as he physically can lucas builds literally the cutest house for him and max ever. max accidentally blows part of it up while trying to kill mike with tnt. max and lucas repair the house together. eventually el also joins in with customizing the house and adding little details!!  jonathan starts playing for the first time one day + they ALL gang up on him and for the next hour, he’s dead within 2 seconds of spawning in. will tells everyone to stop eventually because “im pretty sure i can hear one of his blood vessels bursting from the other room”  nancy joins eventually too, and SHES the most brutal of them all. she’ll take down anyone for their loot. mike is begging for mercy but she kills him and takes his stuff anyway. she doesn’t have the heart to kill will or el, though. she does, however, ask them nicely to give her some items because she’s just starting out. will and el oblige because nancy is lowkey terrifying.  will dies in minecraft in front of mike because mike couldn’t kill a creeper in time and mike starts actually crying in the vc and everyone sort of feels bad because while yes it’s just minecraft, and sure, mike is maybe overreacting, trauma is weird and mike still isn’t over will having almost died in the final battle against the mindflayer/henry. will goes to the next room irl, where mike is, and just sits with him for awhile.  suzie starts playing eventually, and her and dustin build extremely complex castles and neverending story sculptures. someone (max) accidentally (while trying to kill mike AGAIN) blows up part of the structure, and suzie traps her in a strange eternal redstone rollercoaster hellscape for awhile until max apologizes.  the core party + max and el fight the ender dragon together. will and mike are the ones who land the killing blow. this makes mike feel slightly better about will’s death earlier.  like lucas and el and max, mike and will have an adorable house for themselves except the rooms mike decorated are kind of wonky, but will loves those rooms the most.  dustin is a madman who builds a sculpture/replica of the mindflayer based on will’s drawings. mike yells at dustin over vc for doing this. will, although he freaked out for a milisecond at first, is laughing his ass off over it because it’s honestly a pretty fantastic recreation suzie, now in cahoots with max after resolving their initial differences, is also sick of hearing mike and will swoon over eachother in vc, and therefore uses her hacking skills to change will’s username to “mikelover”. will, although embarrassed, does not deny the allegations. mike is flustered.  dustin’s tamed animals start living in lucas, el and max’s house since he doesnt really have a proper house, just a handful of extravagant castles with too many rooms to keep track of and a lot of sculptures unfit for pet habitation. el names all of the creatures that dustin hasn’t named yet.  mike has a coolass diamond sword. he takes the time to go and find diamonds for will because he doesn’t want will to feel left out because he doesn’t have a cool diamond sword. will insists that it’s fine and that he doesn’t need a sword, but mike makes him one anyway. mike also helps will build a coolass wizard tower for himself.  when the party first goes to the nether, they’re uncomfortably reminded of the upside-down/vecna’s mindscape. also will thinks the ghasts are adorable. max is throwing hands with the zombie pig men.  max bullies the villagers because their prices are “way too high”. el tries to befriend the villagers. max bullies the villagers because theyre being “rude” to el. 

[cookstorys]

𝙿𝚎𝚛𝚏𝚎𝚌𝚝 𝚑𝚊𝚜 𝚗𝚘 𝚖𝚎𝚊𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚗𝚢𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚎

___________

Character- Joe Goldberg

Show/Movie- You

Warning- Murder, mentions of murder, covering up a murder, Psycho husband, dad reader!, loosely inspired by the show Ginny and Georgia, lowkey might make this a series

Females dni

_______________

Perfect. That’s what you and Joe faked to be, just for this life. A fresh start. The perfect family, The perfect couple, the perfect dad, the perfect house, even the perfect town. Joe had worked his ass off to make it here with you and your son, Henry. He’s done things he isn’t proud of. You both have but look where it leads you. In a nice suburban neighborhood filled with rich people. You both had gotten away with so much and you could practically taste the sweet victory. Well, you almost tasted the victory.

__________________

“Have a good day champ.” Joe smiled as he ruffled Henry’s dirty blonde hair. He let out a short pout before turning around to walk toward his elementary school. Joe still couldn’t believe Henry had recently turned 4, time flew. “ It’s crazy how fast they grow huh?” There appeared a random guy that Joe definitely didn’t know. Possibly a friend of [Name]?

“Definitely, seems just like yesterday I was changing his diapers.” Joe chuckled. He didn’t want to entertain this guy but you both promised to give this new place a try, which meant sometimes entertaining randoms. “Well, he looks very well-raised. Who’s the lucky mom?” Aw, there it goes. The assumption of the other parent. Happens a lot more than you think. “Lucky father.” Joe corrected. The man sent a stern yet apologetic look. “Sorry for assuming, I just figured he was probably Guinevere Beck’s, or Candace’s, hell maybe Love Quinn’s. Who knows with your past.” He stated nonchalantly.

Hearing those names made Joe’s blood go cold. Who was the random man and what was he planning? The unwanted memories started to flood in and Joe couldn’t take it. “I’m sorry but you must have the wrong guy. I have no idea who any of those people are whatsoever. Now if you don’t mind, I have some cookies to buy.” Joe left without saying a word.

He slammed the door to his newly owned SUV. He thought he covered his tracks so well. Sure, there were a few bumps in the road, some bigger than others, but he always cleaned up well. So he thought at least. The car began to shrink into itself as Joe struggled to take his belt off. The smaller the car got, the more squished he was within the car. Until a notification pinged on his phone…than the allusion suddenly stops. It took a while for Joe to recover but when he did he checked his phone he saw that his husband had called and message him multiple times.

[Desired Contact name]

[name] - Did you drop Henry off yet?

[name] - Where are the cookies?

[name] - I need those cookies for the neighbor’s party

[name] - Joe?

[name] - Are you ok?

[name] - Text back as soon as you can

Joe mentally screamed at himself in the mirror knowing he was going to get his head yelled off when he gets home. He sent a quick text back and then started the car. He’s fucked.

__________________

Joe pulled into his new driveway in a hurry. He rushed towards the trunk to get the bags, got his keys, and ran to unlock his door. After putting down the bags of groceries he yelled throughout the empty house, “[Name]?”. “Upstairs!” Is what he was met with. Before he could even open the door fully he was immediately bombarded by your mess. “Where were you? You know what that doesn’t matter right now. Did you get the cookies? What are you wearing? What took you so long? Should we match? Did you find a job yet? How was Henry's drop off? Did he cry?” You continued your pacing around the room while doing random tasks still waiting for joes answers.

“I went to our local Walmart. I did indeed get the cookies. I’m wearing what I got on now. The lines and traffic were a lot longer than usual today. No, couples that match publicly are weird. I, unfortunately, have not. The drop-off was amazing, Henry took it like a champ. And no he did not but,” Joe dragged as he reached out for your hips to stop your pacing and for you to focus on him “You need to stop for a minute and breath.” He chuckled and you followed along. “Yeah, you’re right. I’ve been a mess recently.” You laughed. Joe's smile slowly started to fade.

“Speaking of mess..” Joe sat on the bed ready to take whatever reaction. “Mhm.” You questioned slowly and suspiciously. “Well, this man walked up to me today, and… he knew about my past.” Joe finished. [Name] gave him a blank stare at first then bust out laughing. “Joe anyone can know anyone’s past just by a simple Google search.” You rolled your eyes and walked down the stairs. You were one of the few that knew your husband's past and a normal person would’ve been worried for the sake of your family, but you were far from normal. The family you come to practically foreshadowed your future. So it wasn’t surprising that you ended up with a serial killer.

“[Name] he shouldn’t have been able to find me unless he’s been looking for a while.” You wished he would just drop this already, it was honestly ridiculous. “Listen, Joe,” You inhaled loudly out of frustration. “We have this nice house, great cars, and a wonderful family. We built this perfect life from the ground up and you’re over here stressing about some wack job that knows a little bit about you.” Joe’s eyes found their way toward the ground. “Let’s just go to the party and worry about this later. As in tomorrow.” You reasoned and Joe shook his head yes at that idea.

You grabbed the cookies and neatly placed them in a layout tray as if you did them yourself. The walk over to the house party was quiet. Thank god it was just next door. Joe went to knock on the door lightly and waited for someone’s arrival on the other side. When someone finally did both of your mouths immediately dropped for different reasons, however. Your mouth dropped since the man that stood before you was one of the hottest men you’ve ever seen in your life. You couldn’t tell if that was a bruise or a birthmark on his eyebrow but what does it matter? He was still hot both ways. Joe's mouth was wide open because this was the exact man from earlier today and after a glance at your facial expression he knew this mysterious man was going to be a problem. A problem for the life you built here, a problem for the things Joe had done in the past, a problem for you.

“Hi, I’m Elliot.”

[byler-alarmist]

So I know we collectively hate time reset/dimension wipe theories about S5, but.....maybe it does need to happen?

Assuming the last couple seasons of ST weren't some elaborate manifestation by Mike to deal with the trauma of losing Will, there are some problems that seem like they can't be fixed without some kind of a reset.

El. Just El in general. Owens was able to give her a fresh start, a new name and a chance at being "normal", However, too many people know about her telekinetic abilities and the ability to open and close gates to the Upside Down. I think she would be in danger of being kidnapped and studied/used as a weapon forever. She can't just kill off/destroy the entire U.S. government (if only), so her file will probably be available for years and even if not, enough people know about her existence that bad actors could target her.

Now that the UD is merging with the RU, will it be contained to Hawkins? Will it spread throughout the country? The world? Even if it is all a hive mind, if they killed Vecna and somehow closed all the gates (it exhausts El to even close one) , would those spores or whatever still be floating around and infecting things in the RU? How could they ever get rid of all of it or ensure that it was all contained in the UD?

As long as both the UD and El exist, even if Vecna is defeated, scientists/governments will always track her because trhey will want to know more about/study/find lucrative applications for the UD. They would still want to use El or use her to find their own way to open gates.

If all this is true and Will/El/the Party need to destroy the UD to make sure no one ever crosses over again, is that really fair? Even if Vecna harnessed the dark particles and created dangerous monsters out for blood, it is hinted that the UD is not inherently malicious. Sure, the Party want to kill Vecna, but if he's gone and the creatures are just minding their own business, would they be fine with destroying it?

And even if they wanted to, could they? How? If it turns out we're right about Will having powers, how would he use them to destroy the Upside Down? I highly doubt his powers would be like El's or involve gates. If he had some kind of creation powers, would he just recreate the UD with glowy light particles and make it beautiful? But even if he did this, wouldn't scientists still want to find a way inside to study it with El"s gate-opening powers?

On the other hand if he (or someone else) has some kind of time powers,, when would they reset it back to? Or what would they go back in time to change? Is there something out of space and time that doesn't belong? (Somehow I am reminded of El saying she doesn't belong anywhere).

If Will or someone else wiped out the dimension that contains the UD (or banished it to another dimension), MKUltra would still have been doing their telekinetic children experiments, right? And if they went back in time, how far back would they have had to go? Back before Henry was taken to Brenner? Would El have been created at all if her mother wasn't part of the MKultra experiments?

Bonus thoughts about a reset: we know how much the Duffers love The Neverending Story. Spoilers for Neverending Story after the cut:

At the end of the Neverending Story movie, Fantasia (the world of fantasies and dreams a bowlcut kid has been reading about in his book) is destroyed by the manifestation of emptiness that is the Nothing. Bastian ({the bowlcut kid) realizes he has the power to make Fantasia (the world of his fantasies) anything he dreams.

After he takes ownership of his role as master of this reality (by giving rhe Childlike Empress a new name 🤔), the entire world of Fantasia is wiped out and it's just Bastian and the Empress together in a black void. All that remains is one grain of sand (a glowing particle, if you will).

The Empress hands the particle to Bastian and tells him his wishes will recreate Fantasia. He recreates it the way he imagined it, and notably brings back all the people who died as a result of the Nothing.

Even more tellingly, he exclaims:

"It's like the Nothing never was!!"

👀👀👀👀