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salchica · 22 days

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tender love is blind

In which Eddie dies, Steve lives, and the two of them finally get their happily ever after. -- For the Steddie ABO Valentine's Day Exchange!

Published: 02/08/2024 | Words: 5,462 | Rating: Mature | Link: x

Eddie doesn’t believe in the afterlife, not really.

Years ago when the paramedics wheeled his mom’s body away, Eddie had sat at the window in their shitty little apartment building and stared up at the night sky. He didn’t even know what he was looking for-- a sign maybe, like a shooting star. Something to let him know that the heroin was worth it and Josie Munson was in a better place.

There wasn’t anything, of course. Eddie’s Dad had stumbled into the apartment high off his ass, like the solution to his wife’s overdose was to follow in her footsteps. He shoved Eddie into a car and somehow got him to Hawkins in one piece. In hindsight maybe that was the sign, his mama’s way of doing him one last solid from the beyond. Wayne is the best thing that’s ever happened to Eddie, and if the grizzled Beta could be believed Eddie was the best thing to ever happen to him, too. He thanks a god he only sorta believes in that Wayne is safe in Normal Hawkins, that none of this shit will ever touch him. Eddie tries to smile, but then he remembers that he’s dying.

“Please, Eddie--” That’s Steve, fuck. He hadn’t wanted Stevie to see him like this. He tries to talk, but instead of ‘I love you’, iron and copper flood his throat.

Eddie regrets a lot, but right now not mating Steve is the biggest one. Eddie had wanted to wait-- until he’d graduated, until he'd saved enough money, until until until. He regrets not taking his chance at happiness when he could. Steve had wanted Eddie’s bite, had made that abundantly clear every heat and rut they’d spent together over the last year. It had been Eddie that got hung up on wanting to give his Omega the best start at their life together… and now he’ll never get the chance.

“He’s gone, Steve, we gotta go--” That’s Nancy, probably. She seems like the type to compartmentalize.

“Eds, you can’t leave me, please baby get up. It’s your year, remember? You gotta just get up for me, just sit up--” Steve is spiraling. Normally Eddie would distract him, would have already pulled Steve into a hug and probably scented him a little. Make them both smell like clove-honey, cinnamon-vanilla.

“Wakeupwakeupwakeup,” There’s pressure on his chest, but it keeps sliding off because from what Eddie remembers he doesn’t really have much of a chest anymore. He feels a mouth on his, realizes that Stevie is giving him CPR. “Nancy you gotta do something!” That’s Buckley. Killing Vecna must have gone well then, if all three of them are here and alive.

“Shit,” Nancy says. And then she growls, “Steve, let’s go.” All Alpha, a tone Eddie’s only used on Steve to snap him out of a panic attack. Usually Steve is thankful, but this time he makes a sound Eddie’s never heard before; a high, keening wail that breaks what’s left of Eddie’s heart. He hears a scuffle, like Steve is being dragged away. The wail doesn’t stop.

Eddie really hopes there’s an afterlife, if only so he can see Stevie again. He imagines them meeting in Heaven; Steve will be like 98 with crow’s feet and gray hair that’s full but maybe a little shorter and he’s been happy and they can dance and kiss, even though Eddie is frozen at 21. It’s a nice dream. Eddie really wishes he could smile.

Robin holds Steve, after everything.

She’s the only thing keeping him together when his body threatens to shake apart, and now that Steve is almost officially out of secrets he feels numb. The entire Party witnessed him trying to claw his way back into the Upside Down, screaming for Eddie to come back. They’d known he was an Omega-- it was hard to hide, after Starcourt and the Russian drugs-- but they hadn’t know about SteveandEddie.

Eddie had thought it was funny, to keep them a secret. Dustin kept pestering them about meeting each other, and the kid was insufferable on a good day. They’d wanted a big reveal; something to give the kid a heart attack when they finally told everyone they’d been dating for a year. Besides Robin and Uncle Wayne, no one had known, and now everyone’s found out in the worst way possible. In hindsight, Max probably knew the whole time. She’s a smart kid, and if the whole Vecna thing is any proof, really good at keeping secrets.

Over the next few days the Party curls up in the pack nest in the Harrington living room, everyone filtering in and out in shifts so Steve and Robin are never alone. Robin only gets up to make food and use the restroom; she pumps out a constant stream of calm and steady pheromones even though Steve can tell that she’s grieving, too. Steve hasn’t taken off his scent patches since before Vecna. They make his neck and wrists itch, and he knows wearing them this long isn’t healthy but there’s so much he’s not ready to face.

Everyone talks to him, even though he can’t bring himself to respond. Max has a broken leg, but she’s fine. Dustin has a sprained ankle, but he’s fine too, at least physically. Hopper was never dead, just held captive by Russians. Eleven has her powers back. Erica and Lucas are rattled, Mike and Will are being awkward, and Jonathan has a new friend named Argyle. Nancy is busy as always, running around helping with the town’s relief efforts.

They all pepper Robin with questions whenever they think Steve is out of earshot.

“He smells like my aunt after my uncle died,” Mike asks. “He smells like a widow. Were they-- I mean I don’t see a bite mark, but… were they mated?”

“No,” Robin says. “Eddie wanted to wait until graduation.”

“Oh. ‘86 was going to be his year.” Mike makes a punched out noise, like it just dawns on him.

That night, Steve burrows into Robin’s side. Her scent is lavender and lemon, soothing yet sharp. Steve knows he’s not going to like what she has to say when she starts smelling nervous. “Babe, look at me for a second,” She says. She pats his hair until Steve looks up. “Dustin said he saw Wayne putting up posters at the school, looking for Eddie. Looking for the both of you, actually. Someone has to tell him.”

Steve closes his eyes against a wave of despair. It threatens to crush him, to pull him under until he can’t tell up from down. “I can’t, Robbie,” Steve says. He’s never been more at war with himself; his Omega feels far away, only mildly distressed even though Steve has never felt further from peace. “I can’t stand there and tell him I couldn’t bring Eddie home.”

“I know for a fact Uncle Wayne would never blame you,” Robin tries. Steve doesn't answer, just wraps an arm around his stomach. Robin sighs.

“I’ll ask Joyce, or Nancy.” Robin says finally.

He nods. He shuts his eyes. He quietly wishes to float away and never come back.

Steve has only been to two funerals in his life. One when he was eleven; his Grandpa Otis passed away, and the Harringtons had thrown a memorial fit for a small-town king. The coffin was shiny, the food was catered, and the choir was hand-picked from among local unpresented pups. The ceremony was gorgeous, and at the end of it people came out of the woodwork to shake hands with Steve’s parents and tell them how much of a pillar of the community Grandpa Otis was. Little Steve had fixated on the flowers-- even though he was an alpha, Grandpa Otis always loved roses, and had had a huge plot for them in his backyard. He’d said they reminded him of Steve’s grandma, a society Omega that always smelled like roses and rainwater. Otis had taught Steve how to weed and pluck and prune his rose bushes, but at his funeral, there were only hydrangeas and gardenias.

“Where are the roses?” Steve’d asked his mom.

Vivian Harrington rolled her eyes, “Roses are so… common.” She sniffs at the word, her perfect face wrinkling in disgust. “Don’t you want everyone to know how much we loved Grandpa Otis?”

Even then, Little Steve had known to read between the lines, that what his mother was really saying was Don’t you want everyone to see how much money we have? He’d bitten his tongue, but later when his parents were away on another business trip Steve snuck into the cemetery with a handful of roses and spent the night curled up by Grandpa Otis’ headstone.

The second funeral Steve had gone to was for Dustin’s cat, Mews. It was actually more like a candlelight vigil, and Mrs. Henderson had bawled, clutching at a guilty Dustin who’d given a very heartfelt speech. It was all very moving if not a little uncomfortable, but Steve can’t imagine that Mews actually gave a fuck that in lieu of a body they’d buried a can of his favorite food.

Both instances cemented one thing in Steve’s mind; funerals, they’re for the living.

So when Wayne tracks Steve down two weeks after Vecna and asks if Steve will come with him down to the church to plan Eddie’s service, Steve can’t help but think of the way Wayne welcomed him into his home with open arms; the grizzled Beta rarely asked for anything, but gave Eddie and Steve everything in return. Of course Steve says yes.

Wayne’s truck squeals as they pull into the church parking lot. His fingers grip the steering wheel, the white of his knuckles the only thing giving away his nerves. Like Steve, Wayne is wearing a scent patch-- Steve can’t pick out any of Wayne’s emotions, only catching hints of tobacco and orange.

Hawkins only has one church still standing, and it’s unfortunately been run by the Carver family for the last 70 years. Pastor and Mrs. Carver had gone on the morning news and invited all of Hawkins to use their church to say goodbye to their loved ones that died in the “earthquakes”. They were the picture of the perfect alpha omega couple, eyes red-rimmed and mouths spouting bullshit like ‘it’s what Jason would have wanted’. As if their kid hadn't died during a manhunt for an innocent person. Steve knows this whole thing is useless, but he respects Wayne for trying anyway.

He thinks that if Eddie were here he probably would have insisted on the church, actually, if only to scandalize the ‘fine upstanding hypocrites of Hawkins, Indiana’. Steve lets himself imagine it-- instead of hymns, they’d shake the walls with Metallica. The Party would all wear their Hellfire shirts, and Steve would wear the cropped prototype Eddie had made for him, even though it was cut right under Steve’s nipples and entirely inappropriate. Eddie had always loved Steve in that shirt and would always cut it incrementally shorter, and Steve would pretend not to notice. Maybe his ghost would appreciate the show.

Wayne doesn’t move to get out of the car. The silence weighs down on Steve, this heavy thing that isn’t even being offset by the mellow croon of Dolly Parton on the radio. Wayne turns towards Steve, his mustache twitching oddly above his lip.

“Steve--” Wayne starts.

“I’m sorry,” Steve blurts out. “If I hadn’t… after Starcourt, if Eddie hadn’t found me, and then with Vecna it was Eddie’s first time with the Upside Down and if I hadn’t left Eddie and Dustin alone--” Steve hasn’t been able to stop crying in two weeks, and this time isn’t any different. It’s like he gets three seconds of peace before the fact that Eddie is gone slams into his chest and sets him off again.

Steve fists his hands in his sweater, rubbing harshly at the fat tears rolling down his face. His stomach somersaults but he holds back the nausea, not looking Wayne in the eyes.

“Harrington,” Wayne says again. He clears his throat when Steve flinches at the use of his last name-- “Steve, please, can you look at me, son?”

“You don’t have to say anything, Wayne, I know it’s my fault--”

“Steve, I don’t blame you,” Wayne says.

“You should,” Steve scoffs.

It’s true; he’d had a bad feeling about their plan but he’d let everyone go through with it anyway. A not-small part of Steve was convinced that if Eddie had never met him, the Upside Down would have never come into the Munson family's lives. It’s like the Upside Down was a disease; once you’re a part of it, anything and everyone you get close gets infected.

“You should hate me,” Steve says.

“I don’t,” Wayne says. “I can’t.”

Even though Wayne isn’t a man of many words, the Beta has always been kind to Steve. He’s never given Steve a shovel talk, not even when he caught Eddie sneaking Steve out of the Munson trailer more than once in the early hours of the morning. And when they were officially introduced around a dinner of pizza and Coke, he’d welcomed Steve into their family with open arms even though he’d had no reason to trust a Harrington. Even when he seemed confused that Steve seemed to be sticking around.

“You should hate me,” Steve says again.

With a frustrated growl, Wayne lifts his scent patch. The truck is a three-seater, so it doesn’t take long for his scent to flood the carriage with the expected citrus-tobacco-grief. But underneath that… love-protectiveness-affection. Steve’s nose twitches, heart stuttering.

“You made my boy the happiest I’ve ever seen him. The way Dustin Henderson tells it, Eddie went out a hero. Protecting one of those pups you care about so much.”

“Yeah, yes,” Steve is quick to agree. “He was a hero.”

Wayne nods and takes a deep breath.

“Eddie is… Eddie was used to people leaving,” Wayne says. “His mama, his daddy-- that boy was accustomed to giving people his heart and then watching as they stomped all over it. I knew as soon as I saw you two together that you weren’t like that.” He sniffs and clears his throat.

“I knew that boy like the back of my hand, and I don’t know if I would have been able to put him back together, if he had lost you. I know you weren’t mated, but you’re still family.”

Steve realizes, then, that Wayne probably understood. Mike was right-- Steve, when he lets himself take off his scent patches, smells like he’s been widowed. Eddie wasn’t Wayne’s kid, and he wasn’t Steve’s mate, but he still held those places in both of their hearts.

“Thank you,” Steve chokes out.

Wayne gives Steve a pat on the shoulder, rubbing his wrist against Steve’s arms before sticking his scent patch back into place. “You might be family, but I’ll thump you if you ever make me talk that much again,” Wayne laughs wetly. “Now let’s go.”

In the Upside Down, Eddie Munson opens his eyes.

The line for the church moves agonizingly slowly because people keep jostling in front of them once they recognize Wayne. People shove past with barely concealed snarls, and Steve’s glad his scent patches are on; the scent of distress-anger-omega would have probably made the situation worse.

As it was Steve already had to breathe through his mouth so he wouldn’t be able to smell the shock-disgust-confusion radiating off of the people of Hawkins as they wondered at Wayne’s audacity. Even though the government big-wigs had swooped in and cleared Eddie’s name, it wasn’t enough when people had already decided that Eddie had invited evil into Hawkins by simply existing.

“Won’t be long now,” Wayne says.

Two hours pass. Wayne keeps his eyes forward, his scent never wavering beyond his stoic citrus. All the different scents layering over each other give Steve a headache. It bursts into existence from behind his eyes, and Steve isn’t sure if it’s a result of repeated head trauma or… well, something else.

After that everything is blurry.

Steve knows they get to the front of the line, remembers Pastor Carver baring his fangs and yanking the ‘Funeral Request Form’ out of Wayne’s hands. He remembers laughing, humorless; for all that Jason Carver Sr. preached about religion putting him ‘above his base instincts’, he was halfway feral at the very sight of Wayne Munson.

Steve remembers Wayne tilting his head, submitting, and snatches of a conversation--

“I figured you know what it’s like, losing a son,” Wayne had said. “I’d like to bury mine, please. Near his mama, if that’s alright with you.”

He remembers Carver Sr.’s fangs extending, eyes shifting into a bloody, Alpha red—

“My son,” Pastor Carver spat, “was not a murderer.”

“Neither was mine,” Wayne growls.

Steve remembers letting out a whine as a sharp pain shot through his stomach, accompanying the one in his head, Wayne turning, looking at him with concern-- “Steve, are you okay?”

And then, nothing.

Eddie can’t tell if he’s in Hell or the Upside Down.

He also hasn’t decided if he’s dead or not, but that seems like a secondary concern, honestly. He kind of hopes he’s in Hell, because at least then there’s bound to be other Damned souls hanging around if he looks hard enough. But if it’s the Upside Down that means that his friends left him. And if they left him, that means they didn’t think he needed a way out in the first place.

Of course, there’s the possibility Hell only looks like the Upside Down because that’s where Eddie beefed it… he doesn’t know. Everything’s all jumbled together, and to be fair maybe-dying hasn’t left him a lot of time to parse through the maybe-Afterlife logically.

Fact: He’d woken up surrounded by dead demobats. Their bodies were all twisted and broken, like they’d fallen mid-flight instead of landing. Point for the Upside Down.

Fact: Eddie’s room in Wayne’s trailer is still stuck in 1983. It’s almost hard to notice-- Eddie has always been in the habit of adding more things to his room, layering posters on top of each other. Stevie used to joke that if Eddie added any more layers, he’d be boxing himself in. The biggest difference, though, is the absence of Steve’s nest. It makes his Alpha panic, actually; his instincts are screaming for him to find his Omega and make sure Stevie’s safe.

Fact: He’s hungry. He feels like Tantalus, hunger fogging his mind until he can’t even fucking think. His fangs are longer than they’ve ever been, even for an Alpha, and combined everything is pointing to something Eddie doesn’t even want to think about.

So he’s decided that he’s probably haunting a parallel dimension. Maybe. It’s still unclear.

He’s doomed to live out his afterlife in a parallel dimension because he saved a fucking freshman. Not that he regrets it-- Dustin was Eddie’s favorite, and Steve’s favorite even though Steve claimed not to have any-- but Eddie can’t help but relive the moment he died over and over again. He can’t help thinking that instead of cutting the rope and trapping Dustin in the Rightside Up, he could’ve jumped down with him. Instead of standing on top of his trailer and playing Master of Puppets, he could’ve hooked his radio up to his amp and fucking blasted it.

Luckily he has time, an eternity even, to really think about all the ways he’s fucked up.

At some point, Eddie adopts a demobat. It’s rare to find one that’s alive -- all the ones that used him as his last meal were 100% dead, thankfully -- but this one’s a baby. He’s calling it Dustin II, because it’s annoying in a cute way, using its feet to bop along and walk behind Eddie instead of flying. As the only other thing Eddie’s seen alive, he’s kind of attached to the little guy.

“Never let society tell you that drug dealing isn’t good,” Eddie says. Dustin II flaps his ears, and Eddie takes that as a nod. “Nothing can be that bad, especially not when it introduces you to the love of your life,” Eddie says.

“Stevie called me one day, just like super out of it. He said he got roofied by Russians. I thought he was kidding, but now I know he was most definitely not--”

Eddie’s in Melvad’s, trying to find food he won’t throw up. He’s gone through cans of beans, cans of vegetables, bags of chips… nothing sates his hunger, and even though Eddie thinks it might help, he avoids the meat section entirely. It’s probably all spoiled anyway. He ignores the fact that it still sounds delicious.

“He calls me over to get some strong painkillers, and asks me to stay with him in case he freaks out. Of course I do it-- King Steve calling me? I’ve been half in love with the guy ever since he was a fucking freshman, of course went over immediately. I show up with drugs, he actually does freak out. I talk him down, and as the kids say, the rest is history.”

Eddie picks up an apple. It’s more than rotted, it’s practically mummified. He considers it, weighing it in his hand. His stomach revolts-- this won’t do him any good. Eddie shakes his head and throws it away.

Dustin II chitters. “I know, man,” Eddie nods. “Finding out King Steve was actually Stevie, that he’s a good guy who takes care of a gaggle of kids and likes fucking ABBA-- it rocked my fucking world. Falling in love with him probably goes against the natural order, but I dare you to find anyone that wouldn’t love that man.”

Somewhere an aisle over, there’s a crash. Eddie flinches and ducks into a crouch. He was stupid to think that Dustin II was the only thing to survive in the Upside Down-- what if it’s a Demogorgon or a Demo-something else… Eddie’s too hungry, he’s too tired, he can’t do this…

He creeps up the aisle, peeking around the corner. He jumps out with a yell, claws and fangs hyperextended--

--There, in front of Dustin II, is a thick, reddish membrane. Dustin II chitters again. If Eddie didn’t know any better, the thing would look fucking smug. “Holy shit.”

The first thing Steve sees when he wakes up is Robin’s worried face. It immediately shifts to relief, and she goes to punch his arm before she hesitates, her hand spasming before she rubs his shoulder instead. She holds a glass of water up to his lips and he sucks it down, greedily. “What happened?” Steve says.

“You passed out at the church, dingus. Apparently Wayne had to actually catch you before you got another concussion.”

“Oh.”

“Steve… They called the ambulance. The EMTs took off your scent patches.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah,” Robin says. She brushes her wrists over Steve’s neck, his sides, filling his nose with lavender. “Everyone’s waiting downstairs.”

Steve Harrington is officially out of secrets.

The thing is, Steve never planned on saying anything. When the pregnancy test came back positive, Steve had immediately gotten into his car and driven out of Hawkins. Not even twenty minutes later he’d had to pull over and throw up his lunch.

His Omega wasn’t happy-- he could feel his instincts rebelling against his very human, very urgent need to get the fuck out of Hawkins, Indiana. Steve had looked down the highway, eyes roving over the Welcome to Hawkins sign. It mocked him in happy yellow letters, like Hawkins wasn’t a hellmouth that’s already taken everything from him. He’d leaned back against the cool metal of his car, letting the soft rumble of the idling engine sooth his sour stomach. Eddie’s battle jacket was warm around his shoulders, and Steve had stuck his nose in it letting Eddie’s clove-honey scent soothe and calm him down the rest of the way. His hands had passed over his stomach as he got back into the front seat.

He makes a U-Turn and drives back the way he came.

Steve walks downstairs.

As one, all eyes turn to him. Everyone’s there-- all the kids, Hopper, Joyce, Murray. Even Wayne. Steve turns to him, first. He doesn’t care if everyone hears, he needs to make Wayne understand.

“I’m sorry,” Steve says. “I wanted to tell you, but I figured you’d eventually want to leave Hawkins and I can’t be the reason you’re stuck here. This whole place, no matter how much they hated Eddie and the way Eddie hated them… He’s just, he’s all over Hawkins, and I can’t leave him when he’s here or in some version of here, and I know you don’t owe me anything because we weren’t bonded, not really, and we’d just talked about it--”

“You’re carrying my grandpup,” Wane interrupts. His eyes are misty.

“Yeah,” Steve says weakly. Wayne crosses the room and pulls Steve into a hug, passing his wrists all over Steve in a way more intimate scenting than they’d had in the parking lot of the church. This time it’s more than a light touch; it’s borderline parental, in a way Steve’s parents never were.

He sees the happiness in Wayne’s eyes, his joy at having a piece of Eddie that isn’t locked behind the gate to a hell dimension. Wayne has said a million times over that he sees Steve as his own kid, but this is the first time Steve actively lets himself feel it. Wayne finally lets Steve go but hovers at his side as he turns and faces the rest of the kids.

“So yeah,” Steve smiles sadly. “I’m having a baby.” The room erupts into cheers.

Eddie Munson laughs as he bursts into the Rightside Up, taking huge gulps of fresh air. “YES! ‘86, baby, what did I say! It’s my fucking year!!!” At his side, Dustin II screeches, feeding off Eddie’s energy.

So.

Fact: Eddie Munson is a vampire.

It’s the only explanation, really-- he survived for weeks in the Upside Down without food, raw meat is the only thing that sounds even remotely edible, and his fangs are so long they probably belong in a record book somewhere. His first instinct is to find Steve, to claim him right then, to make up for all the time he wasted. He lets himself imagines it:

It’s the afterglow of Steve’s heat and they’re sweaty and practically glued together--

Steve looks at him, his face breaking into a smile that makes Eddie’s favorite moles scrunch together, practically touching, and Eddie will lick his lips, he’d be nervous, probably--

It’d be evening, hopefully sunset, so the sun can outline Steve in a halo of yellow light. He’ll look angelic and fucked-out. His blush’ll spread down his chest and over the sharp planes of his stomach, and Eddie will take his hand in his jaw and he’ll nuzzle at Steve’s throat, popping out his fangs--

Sticky blood runs down his fingers, and he’s trying to prop Steve up and Steve’s eyes go from trusting to horrified and it’s too late and he can’t move and nothing he’s pressing his fingers to Steve’s neck but the blood won’t stop but instead of being horrified… His knot expands, pushing at Steve’s belly from the inside and he’s killing him and he wants to stop and he can’t, and he wants to save Steve but he can’t, and then. And Steve is lifeless, a broken, bloody thing, contorted and dead in their nest.

Eddie shakes himself out of it. That can’t happen, that won’t happen. His laughs peter off into sobs…

He doesn’t think he can ever see Steve again.

Steve’s Omega wakes him up that night.

He shimmies out of Robin’s hold, steps over the pups and out of the backdoor of his house before he’s even fully shaken off the haze of sleep. He walks into the first behind his house, following the scent of clove and honey. Steve thinks it’s his mind playing tricks on him. It’s Eddie’s scent but something more piggybacking on it, something that smells like blood, an undercurrent of iron.

He feels stupid, but-- “Eddie?” The trees in front of him rustle.

Steve whips around, tiny fangs bared and hand hovering protectively over his stomach.“Stop,” The shadow growls. Steve can feel a whine in the back of his throat. His Alpha is ordering him away, doesn’t Eddie want him anymore? Logic is gone, there’s just sadness.

“Eddie, is that you?” Steve’s shaking, he’s unraveling, he’s coming apart why can’t his Alpha see that. “Eds, talk to me please.”

“Don’t come any closer,” He says, but his voice cracks on the command. Steve has fallen asleep to that voice too many times to not recognize it. For the first time since Vecna his Omega and his heart are on the same page. Steve feels despair, but more than that he’s angry.

The shadow moves further into the forest. Historically it’s the Alpha that chases an Omega, but Steve’s nose isn’t lying to him, his heart isn’t lying to him. He holds his hand over his stomach, the barely-there swell comforting him. He’s about to do something so fucking stupid--

Steve runs.

The shadow is impossibly fast, almost teleporting through the trees, but Steve is determined. He ignores that he’s barefoot, even though the ache in his feet is already catching up to him. Maybe-Eddie might be fast, but Steve grew up in these woods, mapping them every summer since he was old enough to walk. Steve sniffs-- smells iron and blood, clove and honey-- there.

He launches himself at the shadow, and they tumble to the ground in a tangle of limbs. Steve’s legs wrap around Eddie’s waist, pinning him to the ground in between his knees. It’s Eddie, but… the first thing Steve notices is that Eddie’s fingers are different, long and skinny and pitch black at the tips. Steve thinks it’s a trick of the light until they move to cover Eddie’s face.

“Alpha, how are you here?” Steve says.

“Surprise,” Eddie says. He moves his hands, finally, and Steve tries to catalog every change in his face. He’s skinnier, gaunt almost, the circles under his eyes making them look impossibly wide and dark. Steve brings his hands up to Eddie’s face, cradling it. They’re both crying. Salty tears drip down Steve’s nose and onto Eddie. “Why did you run from me?”

“Stevie, you saw me die,” Eddie says. “You saw me die, and then I came back wrong.” Eddie’s shaking. Steve holds him tighter. “Nothing about you could ever be wrong, Eds,” Steve says.

“Yeah, well, I’m pretty sure I’m a vampire now.”

That gives Steve’s pause. But… it’s Eddie, impossibly kind, impossibly wonderful Eddie. The guy who takes spiders out in his palms even when it would be easier to kill them. Again, Steve and his Omega are on the same page.

“Okay, so you’re a vampire. There is a literal child with superpowers in my nest as we speak,” Steve says. “I know you, Eddie. You’d never hurt me, and you’d die before hurting our baby.”

A beat. Steve is just so happy now, and it bubbles out of him as he laughs at Eddie’s dumbstruck expression. “Wait, huh,” Eddie says. “Come again?”

“You, Eddie Munson, would never hurt me or our baby,” Steve giggles. “I was thinking Winnie, if it’s a girl, and maybe Otis for a boy. What do you think?”

“We’re having a baby?” Steve is right; even through all the changes, Eddie is Eddie. His hands flutter over Steve’s stomach, eyes searching Steve’s in the dim moonlight. Steve nods, grabbing Eddie’s hands and placing them over his belly. There’s nothing to feel, not yet, but Eddie’s eyes are wide with wonder anyway.

“You’re gonna be a daddy,” Steve says. Between one blink and the next, Eddie growls and pulls Steve down on top of him. They come together in a crash of teeth and tongues. Steve whines, a small thing in his chest that gets louder as Eddie’s attention shifts to Steve’s neck and chest, sucking and biting everywhere but where Steve wants him.

Later, Eleven will go through Eddie’s mind and confirm what Steve already knew, that Eddie is still himself even if he needs a little blood once and a while.

Later, they’ll welcome their baby girl, a sweet little thing with Eddie’s curls and Steve’s moles. They’ll give Wayne his ‘worlds best grandpa’ mug and he’ll get tears all over all of them.

But right now, under the moonlight, they have all the time in the world.

THE END.

Notes: Dividers by @strangergraphics

#eddie x steve #stranger things #omegaverse #steddie #exchange fic #major character death #but not really at all #vampire Eddie munson #non graphic mpreg #mpreg #secret relationship #omega steve harrington #alpha eddie munson #Steve Harrington x Eddie munson

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ironunderstands · 14 days

Text

Rules for how my Omegaverse works for the Aventio au because I don’t like how others write it (so my picky ass will resolve it myself)

Some mentions of SA because unfortunately it comes with the trope

-Beta’s are basically just normal humans, far less attuned to things than alphas/omegas, but they can be turned into alphas/omegas through difficult/unnatural means, although not by other alphas/omegas without consent, have a similar mechanic to what omegas have (you shall see). Blade is an omega bc of whatever the hell happened to him but originally he was a beta

-omegas still have heats- but the desire to submit to alphas is able to be controlled even inside of heats, although it’s very difficult of course, it just requires mental fortitude. It’s even easier for pathstriders

-omegas have a lot of trouble getting pregnant before getting mated, but after it’s fair easier, especially if you’re the mate of an omega, while it’s virtually impossible for non-mates

-omegas can refuse mating bites, and if they do, the offending alpha will die (they can naturally poison their own blood, which is toxic to anyone but the omega themselves, unique to each omega), however this organ can be removed surgically and in some cultures they do (it’s framed as a bad, archaic practice). Nevertheless, this is often why people wait to be married before going through with a mating bite, bc being killed by refusal is only prosecutable by law after marriage in most places

-alphas can use their scent/pheromones/whatever to influence others, especially omegas, but it’s frowned upon and not entirely effective because with enough willpower anyone can resist. However it works against more weak willed individuals, and even subtly against people who aren’t even part of the omegaverse at all (you will see in the next point)

-since hsr has so many different species of person, many are just normal people outside of the omegaverse entirely, like characters from Belabog/Xianzhou don’t have any of that stuff

-Ratio, Aventurine, Black Swan, Acheron, Blade, the Trailblazers, March 7th, Sunday, Robin, Boothill, the people from their respective planets (just Halovians for Penacony) and the Amphoreus characters do though

-Aventurine + the rest of the Avgin + Sigonians are unique bc their pheromones can even affect people with no distinctions at all, it’s part of their bad reputation/stereotypes in the galaxy, really it’s not as strong as their enemies make it out to be, and most would never abuse it unless in desperate situations

-also comes with a thing I’ve seen in other fanfics that’s called alpha voice I think? It’s unique to him + other alpha Sigonians + strong pathstriders + emanator alphas where they can basically command other people, but again it’s rarely used especially by him because Aventurine isn’t a piece of shit

-the IPC was aware of this which is why they made it so the people they sent to enslave the Sigonians a) had no distinctions b) turned off their synthesia beacons c) wore filtration masks

-the reason I’m adding this is because Aventurine is going to use it on Ratio for reasons we will both find out (because I haven’t thought of why yet, I just like the ideas) but won’t involve non-con at all I promise

-currently I’m thinking Aventurine gets mad/upset/worried/whatever and uses the alpha voice unconsciously to basically tell Ratio off, resulting in him submitting which will be a whole mess

-at this point ppl w these traits are common enough that those without have learned to synthesize things to use with/against them, like replicating alpha pheromones or something, which can cause problems and has led to strict regulations of them by the IPC

-suppressants still exist, and because I like this trope (well more like it’s useful), they don’t permanently harm alphas/omega’s by using them, but they slowly make their users feel worse and worse, and can be fatal with over use, they also make any ensuing heat/rut stronger after being off them, this is the only time it becomes practically impossible for alphas/omegas to circumnavigate their instincts, and can lead to problems

-Therefore it’s rarely recommended for people to be on them forever, and if individuals really hate their instincts they can get surgery to remove their mating gland (back of the neck, I didn’t specify before but that’s where others put it, not gonna fix what isn’t broken) to suppress the effects of being an alpha/omega, although it can’t remove them completely. This also tends to make people infertile, which is why the procedure is often frowned upon/undesirable, bc as annoying as heats/ruts can be, most still want kids

-Everyone regardless of sex is a hermaphrodite and presenting is what changes their anatomy, how? It kinda just gets absorbed into the body the day of presentation. Which is a) funny b) means nobody has to deal with stray organs everywhere c) it’s a cop out hahahaha also betas retain both

- Black Swan is an alpha and so is Acheron (mmm alpha x alpha) I’ll figure out how that works later lmao

-Boothill, Blade, Caelus, Ratio, Topaz and Sunday are omegas (as they should be)

-March is a beta, Stelle is a beta, Robin and Aventurine are also alphas

-not sure if I wanna make Stelle and Caelus coexist in this or not

-Can you tell I don't like the rapey elements of the genre and I hate when ppl write omegas like they are weak and can’t resist at all. I get it’s fun for horny stuff but honestly it just annoys and disgusts me more than anything. If that’s your cup of tea then go ahead, but I am not a fan of it at all unfortunately

-Nesting has always been an interesting concept for me. I think I’ll keep the elements of it that involve omegas surrounding themselves w the scents of their desired alphas, and just precious belongings in general

-I’ll make an alpha version of this where the scent of their desired omega can calm them down and provide them comfort during ruts

-similar for omegas where the pain (but not the horniness) of heats goes away if near desired alpha

-by “desired ___” I mean crush/mate if you don’t fuck with someone (in a metaphorical sense although literally this can also be true) they cannot help you

-foxians aren’t part of the omegaverse but they have heightened senses so they can tell when someone’s going through heats/ruts/stuff which is why a lot of doctors specializing in this stuff are foxians

-people present at 18-20

-none of that kits/pups/litter shit sorry not my thing at all, also I feel like it dehumanizes the potential children like dude those are human beings not dogs

-Way less of the strict gender rules, no omegas can’t do this alphas should go that kinda stuff, I don’t want omega’s to be seen as significantly weaker than alphas/they should mostly balance each other out. However as stated prior alphas can absolutely influence people, especially omegas which can result in very interesting problems, however they do have means of fighting back (the poison + personal willpower)

-However the willpower required to resist is a lot/its very hard in general. Most people in universe do not blame omegas for giving into their instincts, although there are plenty of victim blamers, just like in reality unfortunately

-mpreg

#tw mentions of sa #mentions of sa #aventio #aventurine #dr ratio #omegaverse #ngl this was so fun to write I love making rules #I think the actual fic will have multiple chapters I just need to think of what the plot will be #Beyond the whole “Aventurine is an alpha and discovers Ratio is an omega when he’s been pretending to be a beta his whole life”#I’ll think of something #I just have a particular scene- or rather sequence of scenes in my mind #I need Ratio curled up on the floor in heat not responding to texts for days having Aventurine break into his house out of panic #Only to discover his secret #And proceed to take care of him #Also if you have any suggestions pls tell ive literally never written for this trope before

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nerfpuncher · 7 months

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Wrecker and Omega bonding like:

#star wars #the bad batch #tbb wrecker #tbb omega #they have to have a secret handshake #they have secret hand signals between one another #code phrases #then of course stuff like in this video

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divinefeline28 · 8 months

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does it make any more sense at a 45 degree angle, bud?

@teamdarkweek day 4: malfunction!

i actually drew all of omega and i wasnt going to shade this at all but he hurts to look at without shading so he gets to be a special boy

#swift art #team dark week #teamdarkweek #joining the most dangerous 1%: furry artists who can also draw robots #my dark secret is always knew i probably could i just didnt care enough to find out #also figures the first time i draw rogue its at the most impossible angle ever. i will right this eventually #sth #shadow the hedgehog #rogue the bat #e 123 omega #team dark

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connecting-the-stars · 4 months

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How I had envisioned the last scene of the Bad Batch would have gone:

Going frame by frame- 3rd person- following up this bright tan gravel hill, the different sets of footprints and how boots slowly follow them, when the bright trees disperse we find a blonde facing out past the hill, dunes and valleys stretching ahead with bright water and clear sky’s, she’s wearing light weight armor and a satchel,

A shoulder appears next to her, offers a bright container.

“You’re going to burn. You don’t need to use much.”

“It’s fine. I don’t mind the sun.”

“I won’t feel sorry later when I told you so.’

She shakes her head at Echo’s push for the importance of sunblock, she looks down at something in her cupped hands. Shows Echo’s face with patches of red along his nose and forehead.

when she hears the footsteps behind them she twists her head to the camera and smiles impossibly wide at the person approaching, excited and thrilled but we see the scar besides her temple, her hair braided back, her sharper nose and chin, a skull painted on her shoulder armor,

“look what tech found!”

hunter then steps into frame as she unfolds her hands, tiny geo-salamanders wiggle on her palm, their scales reflecting like glittering crystals in the sun, and she recites what tech explained

“Very shiny. Have you added them to your logs?”

She nods quickly, smiling wide, her eyes crinkling

“About to!”

hunter looks up to see tech crouched next to a nest and scanning with his datapad while wrecker holds a rock back for him, omega yells for their attention and they turn to wave

“about time serge!” Wrecker hollers.

tech adjusts blue modified goggles on his nose. “you could've missed the new record”

“You’ll owe me 15 mentell mix this time and I won't let you forget” wrecker shouts over,

turns their gazes to the hill on their right, highest point where batcher (larger and brighter blue) is resting, she lifts her head at them as crosshair is mediating peacefully not even moving as his rifle sits beside him, hunter puts a hand on her shoulder and they share as smile

“he’s gonna make it to 324 clicks this time”

hunter crosses his arms. “we’ll see about that”

wrecker shouts in the distance as a dust cloud erupts from a overturned boulder, a swarm of much bigger reptiles begin to crawl out and tech says something about how unexpected the amount is and identifies why they are attacking while wrecker throws one past frame, tech turns to run but his cybernetic leg is a bit slower than expected in the gravel thus wrecker hurls tech over his shoulder and makes a run back up the hill, tech brings his blaster up setting it to stun.

A massive salamander lunges for them but it crashes into the gravel with a crackling zap, the shot echoing up the valley to where crosshair has taken on cover fire, Echo doubles back the opposite way, heading to the newly repaired Marauder. Omega unfolds something from her satchel and it hovers beside them to hop up hunter chuckles and omega slaps his arm

“he’ll have better luck next time”

They speed down the hill laughing, they disappear down the hill with the shouting and the growls of monsters but across the fray the voice that stands out the most says

“can we check out the eastern beach next?”

black screen

“of course we can.”

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stars-n-spice · 2 days

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Blond Cross

@here-comes-the-moose was telling me about natural blond Crosshair (like Omega and Rex) who just dyes his hair silver and I needed to see it so-

Tcw Era Cross and TBB Era Cross but make him blond.

It's just so silly I love it.

Bonus: Live Tay reaction.

Not pictured is Tay calling him "blondie" and/or "sunshine" and getting absolutely clocked.

#crosshair's deepest darkest secret: he's blond #honestly that would make so much sense #it would explain a lot #he's twinning with omega #now I want to see him with different colored hair #i am going to have fun with this #rip tay #tbb #the bad batch #tbb crosshair #crosshair #crosshair bad batch #tbb headcanons #tbb doodle #tay'kaa marr #sharpshooters #my art #doodles #i need to make a doodle tag :/

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heyclickadee · 1 year

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I really hope Hunter, Wrecker, or Echo at least sent Shep and Lyana a message about what happened to Omega. The batch was new to Pabu and everything, but Shep welcomed them in, and Lyana and Omega were friends. And it’s hard for a kid to lose a friend, especially if it’s suddenly and there’s no explanation.

#the bad batch #lyana hazard #shep hazard #seriously I hope Omega at least told Lyana they were leaving #and that it was a secret mission and that they’d be back #Omega told Phee so I bet she told Lyana #THEY HAD FRIENDSHIP BRACELETS IN THE CONCEPT ART #Wrecker would probably send a message

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glitch-the-artist · 4 months

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MARCH TO THE OMEGA.

#deltarune #deltarune secret boss #deltarune oc #deltarune chapter three #marchon deltarune #marchon omega #sprite work #deltarune au #bjbs deltarune shits #bjbs twilight theory

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third-generation-female-warrior · 5 months

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I am in WIP hell right now

The Rebel Pilot!Omega stuff alone is 3-4 additional ideas

#the bad batch #tbb #tbb fanfiction #tbb season 3 #tbb spoilers #tbb omega #secrets of the buried #coveted honor #a tale of two imperials

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ili-ote · 6 months

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So, according to the Clone Wars movie novel Rex lost his entire company (pretty much just five of them walked away if I remember correctly) on Teth. His first massive loss. A hostile world, the gravesite of so many of his men, his brothers, and he chooses to go back there, to the same monastery where he lost so much, and make it his secret base.

Makes sense when you think about it. Who’d expect him to go back somewhere so painful?

Imagine the memories. That little shiny new Padawan he was just getting to know, his general putting the mission first, Obi-Wan saving the day. All that death. Ventress choking him, trying to Mind Trick him. How the hell does he get any sleep there?

Oh, and the operative dude? Kinda half expecting it to be Cody in there. The guy went AWOL and never turned up again. Could be winter soldier Tech, but the legs just aren’t skinny enough! I’m not one for speculation, but I just have this strange feeling given how resilient he is…

#captain rex #clone wars #star wars #rex #tbb omega #the bad batch #tbb echo #tbb tech #tbb wrecker #tbb #tbb the final season #Teth #the clone wars movie #wolffe #not so secret hiding place

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multi-fandomsfreak · 4 months

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Back at it again with the request the moment it opened.

I wanna request another Secret History Mario x Reader, they could be a horrorbrew or not depending on this scenario idea. Idk part of my brain thinks that SH Mario is secretly possessive? (I could be wrong and I am just overlooking the one scene where Peach explained her now deformed state cause of Mario unable to accept the fact she cheated on him so in return, He forced surgery on her.) So, What if they got flirted on by other horrorbrew mario fam whether it be just so they can under the dictator's skin or something. How would he deal with it?

Can be a headcanon or story- the SH mario cravings need to be quelled No i am not who you think I am... Maybe...-

Secret History Mario Possesive/Jealousy HC’s

Hey there thanks for the ask!

I think I know who this is. Regardless I agree with you given what he did to peach in the original secret history series I wouldn’t be surprised if he was very obsessive over his loved ones. Also I did regular reader but I did mention Horrorbrew reader a bit but mostly focused on regular if that is alright. Anyways I hope you enjoy it. ~Blaze/Dawn

Pronouns: Not Mentioned

Warning: ⚠️Mentions Of Violence + Possessiveness + Stuff Done To Reader (Not specified)⚠️

Requested: Yes/No

Characters: Secret History Mario + Mentions Of Other Mario Madness Characters

Proofread: ❌

Credits: Art by Blazing-T on Newgrounds + Banner by swugarbunny on Pinterest

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- This man is definitely something when it comes to jealousy. If you’ve seen my previous x reader based on him although it does take him a bit to be jealous that doesn’t mean he doesn’t and when he does it really is something. I kind of feel like he has stages when it comes to his jealousy. First stage is alright. He gives people the death stare and that usually does it for some people. However the more jealous he becomes the worse he gets. His behavior towards the person he’s jealous of is really bad. Considering the shit he did in his origin I wouldn’t be surprised if he does the same thing. If he needs to result to violence in order to get the person to leave you alone he would and he isn’t afraid to admit it. He won’t let anyone threaten your and his relationship.

- He pretty much trusts you that you won’t do anything with other people. Otherwise you wouldn’t have agreed to be in a relationship with him. If you were some sort of Horrorbrew he knows you won’t let that stuff slide. Even if you weren't, he knew you wouldn’t reciprocate. If you aren’t very open about expressing your feelings depending on how out forward you are he’ll settle on having your close towards him. If you don’t push him away he knows your answer to it.

- As for the Horrorbrew gang, let's just say it’s definitely something. Considering the differences between them and you (depending if you want to be a Horrorbrew yourself or not.) he definitely keeps an eye out for them. Some of the characters know how to get their way when it comes to stuff and seeing you with him you can bet they're definitely going to do some stuff in order to annoy him and definitely involve you even if you're reluctant with it. And they definitely get on his nerves and he hates it. Absolutely hate it. He doesn’t get why they do it. Well considering how sadistic some of them are he’s not surprised but still he doesn’t get them.

- When it comes to flirting some of them definitely do it on purpose. With characters like Mr Virtual, Omega (Maybe), Mr L and sometimes Luigi’s Day Out Mario. With characters like them they are definitely doing to get a reaction out of Secret History Mario. Depending on their power level like Mr Virtual and Mr L he’ll just result in telling them off which just causes them to chuckle at him knowing what they’re doing is affecting him. Is the talking going to stop them? No it won’t. They’re too much of little shits to stop, they’re enjoying the reaction they’re getting off of him. However with characters like Luigi’s Day Out Mario although he likes to tease him he does stop for a while once he gets told off by him but again like the others he still continues once Secret History Mario has his guard down.

- As for the others like Beta Luigi, Luigi’s Day Out Luigi, DJ Hallyboo and maybe MX (depends on his overall relationship with you) they don’t flirt with you (intentionally at least). Given at least two of the characters I just listed off, they probably don’t want to upset him like the others so they just leave you alone. The most they’ll do is compliment you. Surprisingly he’s actually alright with them (minus MX because just like before I think it depends on yours and his relationship) and trusts them to a certain extent.

- To be honest he doesn’t trust most of them. From what I just mentioned in my previous two points depending on who they are and if they purposefully try to flirt with you. He does his absolute best to keep you away from them only letting you be around them if he’s there and if it’s an absolute must. Of course he does let you hang out around the one’s he trusts, he doesn’t just keep you locked in a cage, he's not that heartless. For the most part.

- As mentioned in my first point, if you've seen my previous x reader based on him I pretty much said he’s pretty clingy/overly loving when he is jealous. In more ways than one. He can’t help it as long as you don’t mind it he’ll definitely be on you to make sure his love for you has been acknowledged. As long as you don’t do anything that proves you don’t love him he’s alright. If you do then he may have to do something to you, maybe not something that happened to Peach in the original video but definitely enough to make sure that you know how much he loves you and wants you.

- You do eventually somewhat get used to his possessiveness over you admittedly even though you knew his past sometimes you're still surprised at his boldness in a way at his insistence that he deserves you no one else. Honestly as possibly cringe this may seem his actions definitely make seem yandere in a way. To be honest he doesn’t care. He doesn’t care if he has to be the bad guy in order to get his point across. If it does then he will do it.

- Overall despite his behaviour sometimes towards people he doesn’t trust he does care about you in his own way and would do anything to make sure you know it. Even if it takes a while for you to do so.

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