Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Whatever’s happening in Lenora, it’s connected to all of this.” Nancy’s voice still shook when she spoke, but she stood up and balled her fists as though there wasn’t an ounce of fear in her body. “But he can’t hurt them, not if he’s dead. We have to go back in there.”

“Woa no no no let’s think this through–”

“What is there to think through? ”

“We barely made it out in one piece!”

“Yea because we weren’t prepared! ” Her hands weren’t in fists anymore, though they flailed wildly, about hitting Steve with the gestures she made as she spoke. “We’ll get weapons, and protection, and then we can go back in and kill him!”

“Or he’ll kill us. The only reason you survived is because he wanted you to. He’s not scared of us!”

“And for good reason.” Robin stood up, staring at him with the same rage and frustration Nancy had. “We were wrong about–Henry? Vecna, One–whatever the hell you want to call him, we’ve learned something new about him! He’s a number, like eleven only a sick, evil, male, child-murdering version of her with really bad skin but my– my point is he’s super powerful! He could turn us inside out with a snap of his fingers. It's not a fair fight!”

“So then why fight fair?” Dustin spoke up again. “You’re right, he’s like Eleven, but that gives us an upper hand. We know her strengths, and we know her weaknesses.”

“Weaknesses?”

“When she travels, she goes into this–this trance-like state. I bet Vecna’s the same.”

“That’s what he was doing in the attic! His body’s completely unguarded when he’s going after someone!” 

“Exactly!” Dustin pointed at Lucas and continued. “When he attacks his next victim, he’ll be defenseless!”

“Yea, defenseless, unguarded sure but how about the–” Steve motioned across his neck ,“ army of bats? ”

“Ok, then we distract them!”

“Mhm, yea sure sure how do we do that?--”

“No idea.” Dustin answered fast, turning away from Eddie when he immediately went to sit back down again. “But it’ll be easy! Like slaying dracula in his coffin!”

“That all sounds well and good but there’s no pattern to Vecna’s killings. I mean, at least not one that I can decipher. We don’t know when he’s going to attack or who he’s going to attack next.”

“Sure we do.” Max looked away the second everyone’s eyes turned to her. “He already went after me once, I– I’m still… marked. If I just ditch Kate Bush then–”

“No.”

“It’s a solid plan! I survived before so–”

“You heard me! No, no way, not gonna happen, I will tape those headphones to your god damn ears before you even think about going through with that bullshit–”

“But Robin’s right, Steve! We don’t know who his next target is! We don’t even know if there will be a next target– he already has enough people so–”

“What if there was?”

“What?”

“You’ve got music on like a lifeline, you’re untouchable right now. What if…he had a backup?”

Max furrowed her brows, staring right through him, trying to see past his eyes. “What are you…”

He took in a deep, shaking breath and glanced back to the older members of the group. “No one else heard any clock noises when they went through the lake, right? The whole…ominous four chiming thing? So I’ll be the bait, and–”

“No! No one is being bait, I–we never even agreed to this!”

“Robin, come on. She’s got a point here, not much of a choice when it comes to drawing Vecna out.”

“I don’t care! We’re not doing this sacrificial lamb bullshit, it’s too risky!”

“This whole thing is risky!” Dustin shouted, stepping in between the two. “It’s a stupid plan but we don’t have time to come up with anything foolproof, and sure he’s only won maybe one or two fights, but one of those was with the demagorgon, if any of us could take this guy in a hand to hand fight it’d be him!”

“Ok, sure he’s got fighting experience, but this isn’t my brother or some security guard, this is Vecna , and I’m the only one who’s escaped him! I know what I’m getting into!”

“And we’re not sacrificing you either!”

“Lucas please ; I can handle it!”

“Guys.”

“You can handle a lot, but this guy goes for some personal shit, and I don’t want either of you to die in some horribly gruesome way!”

“Guys.”

“Dustin’s right.” Nancy crossed her arms and looked to the ground. “We don’t have time to work this out, and Steve’s always just…handled everything, if anyone has a chance at holding off Vecna that long I really do think he could do it.”

“If he’s so good at handling things then why is Vecna going after him in the first place–!”

“ Guys! ”

The group turned, frozen in place the second they looked over. Eddie looked frantically between the group and Steve while Erica shook the man, her efforts doing nothing to bring him back to reality.

“He–he’s definitely a target.” 

“Shit.” Dustin started sprinting towards Eddie’s room, searching through the music just as they’d done mere minutes earlier. “Shit shit shit shit–”

“What are you doing?!”

“Looking for his favorite song!”

“There is no way any song he likes is in my collection!”

“No, no guys it should be fine, right?” Max stepped in, though her gaze didn’t leave from where it had locked onto Steve. “He said he just heard the chimes, he–he heard them recently enough. This–this isn’t the worst of it.”

“Oh well that’s just great , thank you, Red, for that wonderful comfort! Just give me a minute to mentally prepare for his friggin bones to snap–! ”

Steve let out a small gasp, his eyes flicked back to the center, color returning to them just as quick as when it had left. 

The room stayed silent, watching his every move, following his gaze everytime it darted in a different direction.

“Where’s–”

“I got it! I got it I–” Dustin paused, then sprinted over to him, slamming him into a hug, holding on for a few seconds before pulling away and sliding the walkman into his hands. “In case you need it.”

“No, hey if anything that’s even more proof we shouldn’t be–”

“Robin.” Steve smiled, and let his hands rest on his pockets, posture calm and relaxed. “I’m ok. What’s the plan?”

–

“The war zone.” Eddie’s tone sounded almost serious. A first, even if things had been dire for him for a while. “I’ve been there once, it’s huge. They’ve got everything you need for uh…killing things.”

“Do you think the fake Rambo has enough guns there?” Robin leaned in further, looking at the ad in the book. “Is that a grenade? I mean, how is any of this legal?”

“Well, lucky for us, it is, so… this place is just far enough outside of Hawkins. So long as we steer clear of main roads, we oughta be able to avoid cops and uh…angry hicks.”

“If we’re trying to avoid angry hicks, maybe we shouldn’t be going to a place called the ‘War Zone’.”

“Normally I’d agree but…” Nancy huffed and pushed her hands up off the table. “We need the weapons, so I think it’s worth the risk.” 

“Mhm, yea, and how are we planning on getting there? You got a car we don’t know about, Munsen?”

Eddie smiled at Steve, nothing warm behind it. “It’s not exactly a car, Steve, and it’s not exactly mine , but I think it’ll do.”

Steve scrunched his nose, watching as the group scrambled out of the trailer. Eddie slipped on a mask Max threw his way, then grabbing his wrist and quickly sprinting to the other side of a motorhome before he slid open a window and climbed through it.

“ That was suffocating!” He said just a bit too loud for anyone’s liking, the group quickly forcing their way through the window as well. 

“Where’d you learn how to do this?” Steve asked, watching as Eddie tugged a bunch of wires and started cutting and twisting them.

“Well, when the other dads were teaching their kids how to fish or play ball, my old man was teaching me how to hotwire.” Eddie twisted the copper bits just a bit more aggressively than before, glaring daggers down at his hands. “Now, I swore to myself I wouldn’t wind up like he did, but now I’m wanted to murder, and soon…Grand theft auto. So, uh, really living up to that Munson name.”

“Uh, Eddie?” Robin quickly made her way to the front of the vehicle, letting her hands and chin rest of Steve’s shoulder. “I don’t love the idea of you driving.”

“Oh I’m just starting her up. Harrington’s got her.” Eddie smiled again, leaning close to his face. This time warmth was evident in his smile instead of sinister intentions. “Don’t ya big boy?”

The engine started,before anyone could say anything more. Steve launched himself over the seat and slammed on the gas, ignoring whatever shouts came from in and outside the motorhome. Instead, focusing on handling what was essentially a bus, barely managing to turn it onto the road–at least without hitting a few trash cans. Once the shouting died down, he finally let himself breathe.

His hands were still shaking, even though he had a firm grip on the wheel.

–

“You know, I don’t think I’m a fan of you driving either.”

“Why not?”

“Well, you know, you get another one of those visions and boom! Who’s driving this bus? Vecna? No one?”

“If I can drive with a grade three concussion I think I’ll be good with this.” He flashed a grin back her way. “Seriously, driving while partially unconscious is an honest to god skill at this point.”

“Wait.” Max scooted forward a few seats. “When were you unconscious?”

“Remember when I almost hit that tree?” He paused for a beat, then shrugged as much as possible while keeping his hands on the wheel. “Yeah.”

Lucas blinked, scooting forward a few seats as well. “You went… home after you dropped us off.” 

Lucas knew, logically, that must have been the case– hence it being more of a statement than a question– moreover he knew the answer. He needed confirmation. He needed to dwell on every other time Steve just… left after a big event. 

“Yep! And I didn’t crash–more proof that I think I’ll be alright to drive now.” Steve’s smile grew wider, almost strained, then he turned back to the road. “Besides, if I get– vecna’d– or whatever the hell we’re calling this now–Nance can just slide on over from shotgun and steer till I snap back to reality, no problem.” 

There was silence, for a moment. Steve was practically able to feel the eyes burning into the back of his skull, none of them daring to look away. That silence was broken once Max made her way to the front.

“Can I uh– can I borrow shotgun?”

“Kid, I’m not letting you drive this damn thing–”

“I know. I just wanna talk.” She glanced over to Nancy. “Please.”

The woman gave a cautious nod, but got up all the same, sitting beside Robin and casting a few glances when she thought they weren’t looking.

“Let me talk.” Max said the second Steve opened his mouth. “Hear me out, okay? I just– I wanted to ask…outside of Nancy, there’s–there’s been a connection between all the victims, the file said they all–”

“Nancy does too.” He spoke in an almost firm tone. “After…After Barb died, she kept–she wished it was her. She wished it was me, probably, never said that but I can take a damn hint.” He took in a breath. “I saw it, on the files. The whole…having… thoughts thing.”

“Right, and that doesn’t connect to you because you don’t think.” She joked, letting Steve reach his arm out to quickly ruffle her hair, before huffing and turning to the rest of the vehicle. “Would you guys give us some privacy or something?! You staring at the back of my head is driving me crazy! ”

The rest of the group quickly shuffled to the back and started talking amongst themselves, though their eyes flicked over to them every couple of seconds despite their efforts.

“I…I feel that way too, okay?” She said, voice smaller than before. “I wanted–I want to take Billy’s place–or I’m glad he’s dead, or–or I want us both to be alive or both of us to be dead, I don’t know. It’s stupid.”

“It’s not. You care about him, he’s an asshole, those things are bound to conflict.”

“Maybe.” She started tugging at the ends of her sleeves, then shifted to fiddling with the chord of her headphones. “Apparently um…it helps, to talk about it? That’s what everyone keeps telling me anyway.”

“Nah, you already know the gist of it. Don’t think it matters who knows what I’m up against, I’m still gonna have to kick Vecna in the balls for the next hour or some shit.”

“You could hide.”

“Huh?”

“He–he goes after the worst parts of you, your fears and guilt. Maybe–it’s your mind, right?--Maybe you could think of something good, and hide there. Hide in the light.”

Steve glanced off the road, over to her, though she was staring at the glove box hard enough she didn’t see. “Sounds like a solid plan.”

“Got anything in mind?”

“A few things.”

“Am…I…in any of them?”

He glanced over to her once more, flashing a grin when he met her eyes. “You’re in most. All you little shits occupy way too much space in my mind.”

She gave one back. “The good spaces, apparently.”

“Yea, the good spaces.”

– 

“Hey Steve, how many of these do we need?”

“Uh…five or six.”

“Is…are you still wearing Eddie’s vest?”

Steve blinked and looked down, over top the leather jacket and shirt covering up the various bandages beneath the fabric was the vest, still dirtied, bits of dried blood dyeing the tips. “I tried giving it back.”

“Oh I’m sure you…” Robin stopped, looking just past him at a girl going through survival supplies. Steve turned and followed the direction of her gaze, huffing once he saw her.

“You just gonna stand there and gawk or–”

“Shut up.” She shook her head, still staring for a bit too long, then took a step forward.

A man wrapped his arms around the girl, she took a step back before he kissed her, then took another. 

“Robin–” Steve started to say, but she ran before he could get anything out. “Robin–!”

He made a quick move to grab the canisters and shove them into one of the baskets he had, then wormed his way through the crowds of angry hicks they were so desperately trying to avoid, following her out the store to the back parking lot.

“Robin, hey I–”

“It’s fine. I just–I was ready for it! I was ready, okay? I just need a few minutes to throw up in my mouth a little and then I’ll move on.”

“What? No, okay–okay so that guy, Dan Shelter, graduated like two years ago, right? That means he’s here for spring break, and Fast Times was returned what, two weeks ago? Unless she’s got a horndog brother we don’t know about, or she’s really into–”

“Steve.” She put her hands on his shoulders, forcing him to hunch just a little so they were the same height. “I don’t care. And I don’t know why you do either with everything that’s going on.” She stared bullets into the concrete at their feet. “Honestly, this is the perfect time for that little rug to be pulled out from under me because…You know, in the grand scheme of things, the world ending and everything, the stakes of my love life feel spectacularly low.”

Robin huffed, shutting her eyes and waiting for his response, already going through various ways to shut him down in her head, though she only waited a few seconds before speaking up again.

“I–I mean it sucks, I’m just–you know I’m more so worried about Vecna/Henry/One or– god we need to figure out what to call him because I can’t stand the whole slash thing and no one ever gives me a definitive answer on what to say but my point is, you know, this is big and we might not make it through so I could care less who the hell Vickie makes out with while we’re flaming this guy and I think I’m rambling again so if you could please just shut me down for a second so I can talk about this coherently that would be great. ”

The response never came, she opened her eyes and looked up.

“Steve?” She took a step back, for just a second, before planting her hands back on his shoulders. “Shit, no come on Steve why didn’t you bring the stupid headphones–Steve!”

“Everyone in the car! We gotta go, we gotta go!”

“What? Wait no we can’t he’s–”

Just as she looked back at him, Steve's eyes snapped back to the center, color back to normal, posture not stiff like before. He didn’t say anything, simply glanced back at the group, nodded to the people yelling behind them, and ran to the vehicle.

“Whoa! Hey you’re not driving! Are you listening to me?! Steve you’re not–” Suddenly she was being tugged by Nancy, thrown into one of the seats not even knowing how she got there. “Get your ass out of the driver’s seat I swear to god–! ”

“Everyone sit your asses down!”

Robin opened her mouth to say something again, even though everyone else quickly shut up and held onto the cushions behind their backs. She didn’t get the chance, him slamming on the gas forcing her mouth to snap shut as it sent her back. 

They kept driving. She thought she’d opened her mouth again to say something, to protest him driving, to explain why she was so freaked out, but it shut again before she even registered her own effort. Before she knew it, she was walking outside onto a field, filling bottles with gasoline while the rest of the group talked seriously to each other or goofed off with the weapons they made.

“Steve?” She finally managed to crack out as she poured another bit of gasoline into the bottle he was holding. “Not that I don’t have full confidence in you, I do I promise I do just–you know you can talk to me. This whole venting thing isn’t a one way street.”

“You’ve sat through all my talks about meaningless sex, so…trust me, I’m well aware.”

“And I’m a saint for that I hope you know.” Then, she sighed, letting the facade of humor fall. She put a rag in the bottle once it was full and shifting to sit closer to him, the two facing each other and their knees pressed together. “I can go with you. As much as I want to burn Vecna’s sleeping body to ash, if you want me with you I’ll stay.”

He smiled and looked down at their knees, letting her take his hands and rub circles onto his knuckles with her thumbs. “Eddie made a pretty good case for himself.”

“Yea?”

Steve nodded absentmindedly. “Said after he’d seen two of Vecna’s victims die like they did, he wanted to be there to stop one. He didn’t want to be some coward who ran away again, gave this whole speech to me and everything.”

“Is that what all those dramatic hand motions in the front seat were about?”

“It’s how he talks, I guess.” A huff. “Besides, You, Nancy, Max, I think the three of you are probably the best group to kill him.”

“Is it just the Upside down?”

“Hm?”

“What you’re seeing, it…is it just what happened to us there?” She paused and took in a breath. “I just–I wanna make sure, I can help with that too, obviously, but if there’s something outside of that going on then I wanna know.”

His head fell, resting against her shoulder. He didn’t move for a second, and for that second Robin started planning the quickest way to pull the music from the center console of the motorhome, but eventually, he spoke, pulling those thoughts from her mind.

“If anything going on in my personal life is big enough for him to use, I’ll let you know.”

“Promise me we’ll talk?”

“Promise me you’ll make it out so we can?” Steve retorted, voice surprisingly smaller than she was used to hearing from him.

She gave his hands a good squeeze and pulled away, taking two of the filled bottles and handing one to Steve. He smiled and took it.

“I swear I can hear Dustin rambling to Eddie about how we should totally be dating right now.”

“Yea?”

“And I bet Eddie’s probably all like ‘no no you don’t understand he should get back with Nancy!’” Another laugh, this time Robin joined in. “You wanna talk about people who shouldn’t be obsessed with other people’s love lives…those two have an honest to god problem.”

“Well, too bad for them. We are platonic with the most capital of P’s,” she bobbed her pointer finger back and forth, a smile growing when he nodded along. “And you and Nancy do not need to be getting back together.”

“Yup,” he said, popping the ‘p’. “Here’s hoping our shitty love lives go back to being our biggest problem?”

“Yea,” Her smile fell a little, before she forced it back up. “Here’s hoping.”

“To killing Vecna.”

“Slash Henry.” She said with a smile that matched his own.

“Slash One.” 

They let the bottles clink together, and carried on in silence.

– 

“So, Journey?” Eddie asked, somehow managing to crack a smile even as they made their way up to the broken house.

Steve scrunched up his nose and pulled one headphone back behind his ear. “Surprised?”

“Oh not at all, there’s maybe two songs I like from them so of course they’d be your favorite band. Just…” he glanced down at the tape, the words ‘Troubled Child’ partially rubbed off from the label. “Didn’t expect you to be the angsty type.”

“It’s not angsty.”

“Dunno, it’s a little edgy, baby’s first edgy song if you will.”

“Ahem.”

The two turned around, looking down at Erica, who had her arms crossed, lantern in one hand and tapping her foot. “Don’t alert Vecna until you find him, right?” 

“Right. Radio silence. Being silent .”

“Are you sure you’re cut out for this–?”

“Oh shut it Harrington.”

–

“Should we be letting her run ahead like that?”

Nancy bit her lip, but didn’t run forward to catch up with her, instead staying with Robin and fiddling with her gun instead. “She’s…antsy. We all are.”

“Of course, of course, completely understandable, I mean our lives are on the line and I swear we’ve passed that tree like thirty times now but–”

“The vines?”

“Yea, the vines.”

“She’ll be careful.”

Robin gave her a nervous smile, but only looked her way for so long, looking ahead at Max and furrowing her brows.

“You’re…being quiet.”

“I know, no one would believe me but I am capable of such a thing.”

Nancy huffed and had a crooked sort of smile, one that Robin only caught a glance of before she quickly turned her head back. 

“Though, now that you mention it, the silence is kind of killing me. I mean, it’s not like we’re bound by the radio silence rule like our friends already in Vecna’s lair, we can talk as much as we want! Like, hey, what would be the song to save you from Vecna, because, like, I looked through the tapes in your room and there was a bunch of Blondie, and you know that makes me think it’d be something from her, but people usually have a bunch of songs from one band and then one favorite from another and that one’s just better even though you don’t like any of the other songs from that band–”

“You were looking through my tapes?”

“Huh? Yeah uh…okay that sounds super creepy doesn’t it? I’m a total stalker, poor Steve has had to put up with that weird shit for a while now.”

“No, no it…it makes sense to want to know right now.” She put her gun back in its place and elected to fidget with her sleeves instead. “So you and him…you’re really not a thing?”

“Once again, even though no one believes me when I say it, it’s true. We’re best friends, and if I’m feeling especially sentimental, which considering the circumstances and my current anxieties that would ring true right now–I’d even go as far as to call us soulmates or something, but in the most platonic way. Completely platonic–”

“Capital P.”

“Yup! I love him, but kissing him…” She gagged. “Dating him…” She gagged again. “ Marr– ” She cut herself off with a gag this time, putting her hands on her knees and pretending to catch her breath. “You get the idea.”

“Yea, yea I think I get the idea.” 

Robin shot up and grinned, though it turned more nervous and strained by the second. Before Nancy could say anything more, she took the cap off her head and screamed into it.

“What are you–”

“I’m taking all my Vecna stress–” She placed the cap back on her head, tugging it on tight. “And keeping it right in there till it’s all over.” 

Nancy laughed; she didn’t notice how Robin moved to grab her cap again, the motion being stopped by footsteps racing toward them.

“Hey! I found him.” 

“You–”

“Erica’s already giving the signal.” Max was almost smiling, almost, though her expression stayed far too hardened for it to actually happen. “Let’s torch this sucker.”

–

The two were sitting across from each other, Steve trying his best to stay–or at least appear relaxed, one leg drawn up to his chest, elbow resting on top of it while the other laid straight out. Eddie elected against putting on that persona, instead bouncing his legs at the speed of light and fidgeting with the marker he’d used to communicate with the group, looking every which way but especially staring at the flickering glow of the lanterns beside them.

He looked away at the sound of a cap popping off and the soft squeaking of the marker. Steve set the marker down and turned the paper to him. 

Hey

Eddie tried to suppress a snort, instead focusing on quietly taking off the cap of his own marker and writing a response. 

Bored already?

This time, he took a little while to respond, especially slowed down by his efforts to make the marker silent. 

Saving the world gets boring :(

Eddie put his head in his hands and shook it a few times, grin wide when he finally pulled his head up to respond. 

You, Harrington, are a freak

Steve narrowed his eyes, feigning offense, then huffed and wrote out a response.

Bold words, Munson

Eddie stuck out his tongue and moved to write again, only to stop dead at the sight of lights flashing. The two stood up, perhaps faster or louder than they should have, but they did it nonetheless, scrambling over to the window and watching the message fully cycle through. Eddie gave a long huff and pulled out his own flashlight, flicking his own response and quickly turning around.

Steve already had his boots back on, already moved to shut off the music, already gave a short tug to the headphones so they fell to his shoulders.

“Alright asshole. No more music!” He took a deep breath. “No more games.”

The second he spoke, the second his confidence wavered just a bit, the light dimmed, shining bright again when he took a step out of the room with it. He glanced back at Eddie, glancing back a few times more every few steps up the stairs to make sure he was still close by.

“ I found them.” El whispered out, quiet enough the people around her could barely hear. “They’re carrying a light…a blue light.” 

They walked slower, once they reached the attic, the light shined bright when he stepped onto a carpet at the center, a small sort of box used as a table in front of it, candles long since used and covered in cobwebs decorating the edges. The light dimmed, Steve slammed the lantern onto the center of it.

“It’s rude you know, making me wait.” 

“It’s not working. He’s not taking the bait.” 

“What, you want me to freak myself out or something? Fine.” Steve huffed out a laugh and slowly sat on the carpet, still trying to sit as though he were relaxed despite the situation. “I thought about what you said, okay? What you made Robin say to me, what everyone said during that first vision. I do want this.”

He glanced over to Eddie, eyes immediately flicking away when the man’s breath hitched, his posture going a bit stiffer.

“I…I do egg people on. I take hits when I probably shouldn’t, I dive into things without thinking about a plan to escape. I do it to protect people, but…” His breathing started to shake. “Sometimes I don’t want to make it out.”

Another dart of his vision over to Eddie, another immediate dart back, now gripping his pants like they were a lifeline, almost not noticing the sudden growth of light from the lantern in front of him.

“I don’t have much of a future, okay? I was a shit person when it really counted and now doing this is the only purpose I seem to have.” He laughed, almost a laugh, though it was really more of a long, shaking breath. “No one’s got the guts to kill me no matter how much I try to deserve it. Bet you do, though.”

He didn’t look to the side this time, didn’t stop himself from gripping skin as well as fabric despite the pain it caused.

“I want you…I want you to make me disappear.”

“Is that all true?”

Steve’s eyes went wide, he swiftly turned over to Eddie again. “You’re not supposed to be–”

“You ever tell any of the kids that?”

“What?” He shot up and took a step toward him, even though Eddie hadn’t moved from where he was standing. “No I would never–”

“You think they don’t deserve to know how you try and crash your car anytime they’re not in it? You take just one too many pills when your head hurts? That the person they put their trust in, their hero, is just an asshole with a death wish?”

“ Shit . Shit shit shit–”

“You’ll get what you want,” Eddie said, then laughed, voice growing more and more distorted by the second, eyes nothing but a glassy white when he turned to face him, taking steps forward like he’d never used his legs before. “The fourth and final sacrifice. The one to break the world.”

“He has him,” El spoke, her breath starting to speed up a little. 

“Don’t be scared, Steve. It’s okay…you don’t need to run from me.”

“I’m not.”

Despite himself, Eddie– Vecna– took a step back, just as Steve grabbed the closest blunt object he could find, smashing it against the man’s head and making a break for it. 

A hand grabbed his wrist before he could take more than a few steps, and when he turned around it wasn’t Eddie who met his eyes, it wasn’t Vecna, it was a woman, one who could barely stand on her own two feet without swaying to the ground.

“You…you said you’d never–” Her words came out in a sort of slur; she looked up at him, forcing him to see the bruises and blood dripping down her temple. “You said you’d never hurt me.”

Steve tried to tug away, the first not doing anything, the second sending her lurching forward, moving to grip both his arms with her hands.

“You’re better than him, you’re better than him, baby. I know you are, I know–” She cut herself off with a deep shaking breath, swaying on her feet, barely keeping herself steady despite putting all her weight on him. “I know you don’t mean it.” 

“What? No, Mom I–” He stopped himself, forcing his eyes shut, forcing himself to focus–just focus –on anything other than what he was seeing now. 

Dustin and the kids forcing him to watch Star Wars…throwing popcorn at Robin instead of working his shift… 

His eyes snapped open, expecting warm neon lights or the old couch in the wheeler’s basement. Instead, he was met with putrid air and dirt all around. He gripped the bat covered in nails hard in his hands and took in a short breath.

“Fine, I figured this wouldn’t be easy.”

–

He’s in. Initiate phase three.

Got it, Dustin, Lucas, initiate phase three. 

“Copy that,” Dustin responded as fast as he could manage, then quickly moved to plug in the amp, grabbing a microphone and standing beside Lucas. “ Man, I hope Eddie doesn’t kill us for using his stuff.”

“If this works, I don’t think he can give us any crap.” 

“So are we just gonna shout until the bats come over or–”

“Dustin?” Lucas paused, just to make sure Dustin didn’t keep rambling, that he could get his words out before they started their plan. “I’m sorry. For skipping Hellfire so much. I never wanted to lose you guys as friends.”

Dustin blinked, and for a second Lucas worried Vecna had figured them out before they could even get their boots on, but instead of rising into the sky the boy simply smiled and shook his head. “Nah, I get it man. I’m sorry for skipping your game.”

Lucas smiled back. “You think Eddie would mind us stealing his music?”

“We’ve already stolen most of his equipment, what’s a few tapes?” 

Dustin hopped off the trailer and came back up with a hoard of tapes from the pile in Eddie’s room, going through the lot of them before pulling out the most ‘scary’ looking one, as he put it, and set it to play.

“Dude.” Lucas’ smile grew to a manic grin, already seeing bats flying toward them in the horizon. “Crank that shit up.”

–

Screaming. That’d been the soundtrack to his own personal hell.

Honestly he should’ve expected it. The first thing one thinks of when imagining hell outside the fire and torture is the sounds of screams, maybe manic laughter of the devil’s servants as they plunged pitchforks into the stomachs of the poor souls that were dragged down. 

For Steve, the agents of hell took the form of demo-dogs, and no matter how many he hit, one always managed to slip by.

More screaming. It was Dustin this time–no, Mike, they’d caught his leg, he hadn’t gotten there in time, his stomach was spilling out his side before Steve had even raised his bat–Max, dragged up the tunnels walls by her ankles, hanging off the ceiling, blood dripping down onto his face–Lucas barely getting a moment to even scream before a demo-dog ripped at his throat. 

Hyping Dustin up for his first big dance…him and Max terribly singing along to Cindie Lauper in his car…fucking anything where they’re alive—

A hand shoved him down onto a light metal chair, which immediately fell back before being yanked forward again. 

“Who do you work for?”

“Scoops god damn Ahoy!” He sounded almost proud, saying that, looked it too, if his bloodied grin was any indication.

“It’s all black, he’s not letting me in.”

“What? That doesn’t–maybe–maybe focus on memories with him? A connection or something?”

“I’m trying Mike, he won’t let me!”

“Lying won’t get you anywhere, boy.”

A kick to his side, a boot pressed into his arm, the short crack echoing around the room the second the pressure was too much.

“Yea, well clearly your stupidity was behind those messages!” His laugh was almost manic, forcing it to grow in volume at the surge of pain he’d felt. “A bunch of bored ass kids figured it out in a day! ”

“Who.” A punch to the stomach. “Do you.” A kick to the side. “ Work for?!”

“Scoops! Ice cream store fifty levels up and two stores to the right, you can’t miss it!”

The man swiftly grabbed a handful of hair and yanked him forward, slamming his foot down on his back the second Steve hit the floor.

“Why do you always have to talk back?”

“ ...train tracks?”

“Those are good!” Mike let out a breathy laugh and squeezed her hand. “Follow those, they’re good!”

The shoe–no longer a military boot, something slick and far too fancy to be in an underground lab–kicked him again, forcing him to lay on his back before the hand grabbed his shirt collar and dragged him up against the wall. He didn’t have on a uniform, instead a messed up dress shirt and form fitting black pants.

“Are you deaf?” He pulled Steve forward, only to slam him against the wall again. “All this shit I give you, everything I let you do, and you can’t be bothered to listen when I ask?”

“Oh come on Vecna, your big finish is daddy issues? A bit lackluster, all things considered.”

“Your hands are shaking.” His voice was still, it wasn’t loud explosive anger like that of the guard before. It was quiet. His moves were planned. “Don’t want anyone to see.”

Eyes. Eyes everywhere. Gray and brown and blue, horrified, disgusted, and ashamed, glaring at him, each of them getting closer and closer, behind him beside him fucking everywhere–

“Mike… something’s wrong.”

“Did you find him?”

“No, no it’s bad–” the man’s hand let go of his collar, only to wrap around his throat. “ Bad bad bad bad bad–! ”

“Don’t worry…your suffering will soon come to an end.”

But…Tammy Thompson’s a girl. 

Steve fell to the ground, legs collapsing onto the cold bathroom tiles, bright lights burning down on him from the ceiling. Lights that he tried to shield himself from by forcing himself under the row of sinks.

“I found him.” 

–

“Shit!” Eddie gave Steve’s shoulders a good shake, despite knowing full well what little help it’d do, then shot up, tripping over himself to flick his flashlight on and off through the boarded up windows. “Shit shit–come on kid, what’s taking you so long?”

“Found you.”

“ Shit. ” Eddie dropped the flashlight and whipped around, hating how quickly his hands started to shake when he met Jason’s eyes. “Ok, look I know you’re not gonna believe me but–”

“Is this what you did to Chrissy?” Jason asked instead, knelt down with a hand on Steve's shoulder. “What you did to Patrick? Is this all just some shitty revenge scheme, freak?”

“Don’t touch him.” His voice was still. Anger in it and not an ounce of fear in the mix, though he found it returning Jason moved.

“What, will it break whatever curse you put on him? What did he even do to you?!”

He could make a dive out the window. The boards were old, they’d fall apart at the slightest hint of pressure, if he went fast, maybe he could avoid whatever bullet Jason had ready to shoot in that poorly concealed gun of his.

Jason stood up, Eddie took a step back.

“Scared, freak? You really think we’d let you get away with this?”

“Ok, ok–Hellfire, it’s not a cult or anything. That whole speech I did was for show! It’s a bunch of nerds and losers sitting around a table and throwing dice. We pretend to be heroes or villains but none of it’s real. ”

“Then why the hell was Chrissy at your trailer?”

“She was buying drugs–!” 

“ Liar!”

The safety clicked. He knew he’d shoot him; if he made a move he’d pull that trigger without a second thought. He could run for it: if he moved fast enough, maybe he could get out and–

Eddie glanced down at Steve, seeing his breathing speed up even more, quietly hyperventilating while his eyes flicked every which way. He took a deep breath, and looked Jason in the eye.

“You know, it’s kinda crazy. Deep down I always wanted to be like you.” He grinned, false confidence leaking out of him like a second skin, covering him and forcing his shaking hands to still. “Popular, maybe even just tolerated would be nice. Normal. Turns out normal is just a raging psychopath.”

He heaved a breath to steel himself, and lunged forward, ducking under the shot Jason fired and shoving the man back onto the ground. Jason threw a punch the second he could get his bearings and fuck did it hurt, but Eddie kept him pinned despite that, throwing his own in retaliation. 

The fight became a blur for him, a punch thrown, a kick sent, someone was shoved down onto the ground or against a wall, someone was being put in a chokehold. It was almost feral, the brawl between the two of them, though frankly he was kind of impressed he wasn’t dead yet–Jason had far too many advantages over him.

Just as he’d had that thought, Jason grabbed a vase and smashed it against his head.

–

He jumped at the sight of human life, walking into the room and looking around. Steve mentally cursed himself the minute he did, the completely manly yelp he let out alerting her to his well thought-out hiding spot. The girl slowly knelt down and smiled.

“El?”

“I’m here to help.”

“...right.” He let out a nervous laugh and poked her side, his laugh getting just a little less nervous when she scrunched up her brows in response. “Sorry, just making sure you’re real. Warn me if your skin falls off or something?”

“It…won’t…” Her brows scrunched up further, tilting her head a little as well. 

“Mhm, okay, and uh…how did you get here, exactly?”

“I piggybacked from a pizza dough freezer.”

“Of course you did.” Steve shouldn’t be surprised at this point.

 He jumped again, at the sudden thunderous boom that sounded just outside the door, finding himself pressing his back against the wall under the sink despite his efforts not to react. “ Shit .”

El turned around and stood, looking at the scene around her: the way the sinks started to run, deep red blood pouring out the faucet and filling the space beneath until it overflowed. Steve scrambled out from under it the second he saw where her horrified look was directed, barely getting out before it started to spill over the edge of the counter.

A bat appeared,  covered in familiar rusted nails, while blood started rising from the floor. Steve huffed out a laugh and grabbed the familiar weapon. “I can take him.”

She scrunched her nose and opened her mouth to speak, only for Steve to speak again. “You hold him down, I’ll give him a good wack.”

El found herself smiling, an odd thing to do in a time such as this, and opened the door.

They were met with putrid air the second the door opened, bright blue and yellow lights around the mall shining a deep red, illuminating the small bits of dust flowing around them. Vines lined across the floor, creating a threatening web, the spaces inbetween filled with puddles of…well, they hoped it wasn’t blood, but there weren’t many options outside of that.

The two took careful steps, avoiding the vines even if the blood filled alternative made them sick to their stomachs. Steve kept both hands squeezed around his bat, and El already found blood dripping down from her nose, building up power the second Vecna revealed himself.

The ground shook, and El’s foot slid onto one of the vines, her body being dragged away by seemingly nothing before either had the opportunity to react.

“Shit–Let her go, asshole!” Steve shouted to the empty space around him, begging a figure to step out as he ran after the girl. “You hear me?!”

A quiet sound was made behind him, a step, something he was bound to miss in any other circumstance. He didn’t, and he didn’t waste time swinging at the source behind him.

“ Let her go!”

The man fell backward at the blow, El dropping to the ground and scrambling to stand the moment she was able. Shattered glass surrounded the two of them at her raised hand, flying toward Vecna, slamming down on the ground around him, slashing at his sides. Nothing hit head on, despite her best efforts, with one look from Vecna, they were all sent to the side.

“You’re still…weak,” the man said with a broken laugh. “Perhaps Papa did not train you enough.”

Steve swung again, this time even harder than the last. Vecna went to move his hand, to send the man flying back, only to find his body was frozen. He took the hit and yet he still hadn’t moved an inch.

“Papa…is dead. ”

Vecna smiled, at the small crack of her voice. “Then this will be easy.”

Another lunge forward, another swing of the bat, though this time El wasn’t able to keep him still. Instead, Steve’s ankle was grabbed by one of the vines, yanking him back hard and slamming him against one of the walls. The rest of the building started to fall apart, chunks of wall and ceiling flying around them instead of just small shards of glass. 

El raised one hand, then two in response, crying out as she tried her damndest to send the rubble out of their way. She wasn’t able to send as many away, one hitting her square in the chest, knocking the wind out of her.

“You know, Jane .” Vecna slowly sent vines around her wrists and ankles, dragging her up against a post left over from the mall–no, it was a door , far older than anything she’d seen, stained glass cracking against her skull the more she was pressed against it. “I had wanted you to join me.”

His hand grabbed at her face, long pointed fingers digging into her jaw. “Now I just want you to watch.”

“El? El! We have to get her out, she’s not breathing she–”

“She’s okay! She can do this we just have to wait–”

“I’m not waiting, Will! We’ll just have to find something else, this isn’t working!”

Will took in a deep breath and shook his head, moving to the other side of the freezer to take El’s other hand, giving it a good squeeze. “Jane. I–I don’t know if you can hear me, but I’m here, okay? I’m right here. I know I’ve been–I haven’t been here for you as much as I should have, and I haven’t said what I needed to then, but…you’re my sister, okay? You’re not like my sister, I don’t see you as something like family, you are family.”

El gave his hand a small squeeze back, throat still closed up and breathing still terrifyingly shallow.

“You’re a total badass, powers or no. You stood up for yourself when you thought no one else would, you’re like that no matter what abilities you have ready. That’s not the lab that’s you. And I love you, the you that saved me without even knowing me, and the you that punches people in the face with skates when they say something stupid. Use that. Fight. ”

“Stay very still…” The long pointed fingers of Vecna’s hand covered every inch of Steve’s face, holding it in place despite the man’s struggling. “This will all be over soon.”

A crack of his leg, snapping to the side and up in a way bones couldn’t move. Eddie elbowed Jason in the face, one, twice, shouting hysterically all the while. A crack to his arm, fingers twisting every which way, Eddie slammed Jason into the ground and made a run for it.

Another crack, the other leg snapping up to match the first, Eddie could have sworn he’d heard a girls screams over his own, could have sworn he’d seen something just like Vecna, a vague figure of him slamming back against a wall, turning to dust the second he stole a glance. He didn’t focus on it, instead reaching out his arms and catching Steve the second he fell, one arm left unbroken, eyes… eyes still there, breathing still there.

“El! El you’re back!” Mike tugged her into a hug, one Will joined in with the same intensity, almost protective in their strength. “You–you did it! You’re amazing you–!”

“No.” Her breathing was still shallow, tears streamed down her face same as blood did from her nostrils. “No, no he’s–I killed him, he’s dead but–I didn’t–I wasn’t fast enough, I–I…I’m so sorry.”

“Eddie!” Erica shouted for what had to be the hundredth time on her trek up the stairs, limbs still hurting from getting slammed down by one of the other men that broke in. “Eddie–!”

“We need a doctor! Call an ambulance! I–I don’t care how they react to me call a damn doctor! ”

She was frozen. Only for a second, the sight of broken bones, blood dripping down Steve’s face, color completely lost from eyes making her sick to her stomach. She wanted to puke. Instead she simply nodded and ran.

“Eddie.”

He sucked in a breath, feeling sick as well, Steve’s voice as small as it was. He forced himself to look down, to look the man in the eyes, even though his gaze wasn’t returned. “I’m here. I’m here.”

“Eddie I can’t– everything hurts, I can’t–” He took in a small breath, gripping Eddie’s shirt like a lifeline with the only hand he could move.

“I know, I know it’s gonna be ok. You’re gonna get help ok, just hang on for me.”

“I can’t see anything, I–I can’t–Eddie it hurts, I–”

“Hey, hey it’s okay. I’m not going anywhere, alright? I’m right here. The kid–she’s gonna get help, and you’re gonna be okay.” 

His breath hitched when Eddie shifted his hand away from where it rested on his face. It moved to pull Steve’s hand from its iron grip, holding it just as tight as he’d held the fabric of the Hellfire logo.

“Breath for me, darling. I promise I won’t run.” His hands started to shake, he tried to force them to still. “I’m not running this time. I promise. ”

Chapter Text

Eddie woke up with a start, the sudden gasp of air turning into fast, hard breaths, shaking hands brought up to either side of his head to tug his hair.

“Eddie.”

He flinched, the source of the voice…it sounded almost confident, at least compared to how he’d heard his name being said previously, worried instead of fearful. He slowly turned his head to the side and looked at him, though his gaze wasn’t met.

“Sorry–I would’ve shook you awake but–” Steve gave a nervous grin and lifted his arm– the only one left uninjured– showing how strongly Erica had latched onto it, the girl still fast asleep. “My hands are full.”

Eddie huffed out a laugh, finding his breathing to be almost…normal. “I appreciate the effort, Harrington. Did I wake you up?”

“Nah, I’ve been awake for a while.”

He searched the man’s expression, the slight quirk of his brows, eyes a bit wide, though he didn’t let himself stare at his eyes very long, still feeling slightly sick at the faded brown they’d become, color returning to them only barely. “You ok?”

“I’m not the one who just had a panic attack.”

“And why were you awake?”

A frown, Steve turned away from him, instead electing to squint at a poster on the wall across from his bed.

“It was just a helpful recap of our recent adventures.” Eddie said his words with the best grin he could manage, even if Steve couldn’t exactly see it, it helped him keep his voice steady. “Changed at the end though, you weren’t given the luxury of your eyes still in your skull.”

His face scrunched up, the bandaged fingers in his cast twitching, as though he’d wanted to do something, to move his hand to Eddie, comfort him, maybe. 

“I’m ok though. You’re still here, and that’s enough to make me breathe easy.”

Steve’s posture was still stiff, he hadn’t relaxed even a little. Despite knowing it was over, Eddie still found himself absentmindedly searching his pockets for the walkman and headphones. 

“A doctor came in and talked to me.”

“Yea?”

“Good news is, so long as the next time all this rears its ugly head it decides to give me a good year or two, I should be fine to help. I just… have to get used to this.”

This time, Eddie was the one to frown, his hand automatically going up to put it over Steve’s own. It hovered over the cast before moving back. “I hate that that’s what you’re focusing on.”

“Is everyone ok?”

“I–” A huff. “Yea. Dustin hurt his leg, Lucas–he’s fine, well, he uh…He got hurt pretty bad but I think he’d prefer to tell you himself. Everyone else is just a bit scraped up.”

“You?”

“I kicked Jason Carver’s ass.”

“Seriously?”

“Yep! Do I have a mild concussion and an obscene amount of bruising? Yes. Is he still in a hospital bed? Also yes.”

“Metal.”

Eddie snorted, then sighed, letting his hand wander to the long cast lining Steve’s arm, giving it a few taps with his finger. The two stayed silent, for a few moments, before he shot up.

“I forgot to tell them you’re awake!”

“Huh?”

“Henderson’s gonna kill me! Shit shit shit–” 

Steve watched as the fuzzy figure in front of him shot up, scrambling out of what he’d assumed to be the door, if the sound of it slamming open and shut was any indication. Vague shouting could be heard, an array of voices saying various accusations and complaints, the loudest of the bunch being Robin and Dustin, before the group of people all came shuffling through the door.

“Holy shit! ” His only warning, Dustin shouting that out before slamming him into a hug, Steve doing his best not to let out a pained groan at the sudden contact. The boy immediately pulled away, so clearly his efforts weren’t worth very much. “Sorry, sorry he uh–Eddie told us what your eyes looked like and I’m not freaking out or anything, they look badass honestly!”

“Uh…thank you…?” Steve gave a nervous laugh, trying his best to suppress the red that appeared on his face as he spoke again. “Who all is um.. Who’s here right now?”

“Oh!” Eddie slapped his hand onto his forehead once or twice, then sat down next to him again, not particularly complaining about how  “The whole group! Though a certain someone shouldn’t be out of bed!”

Steve scrunched his nose, about to ask again for clarification, before Lucas raised his hand, rubbing the back of his neck. “He’s uh–he’s talking about me.”

“What did you do?”

“Oh shit he’s got the mom tone.” Dustin laughed “Oooo…you’re in trouble!”

“You’re not out of the woods either, Henderson. Munson told me you hurt your leg.”

A squeak could be heard beside him, he snorted, then tried to look in what he hoped to be Lucas’ direction.

“So…funny story…we have matching scars now!”

“ What? ”

“Well the vents weren’t covered, so bats kept getting into the trailer, and I told Dustin to run and cut the rope–”

“ Lucas–!”

“Yea, yea I know everyone’s already yelled at me for that. Anyways I ran out of the trailer and played bait for them, they tried to make me a McDonalds happy meal, but then Dustin jumped through the portal without the rope–that's why he hurt his leg by the way so it’s technically on me here–and used the speaker system to confuse the bats!”

“Oh and he’s been bragging about those scars for days now.” Max cut in, latched onto Lucas’ arm. “He’s all ‘you guys don’t understand! I have matching scars with Steve Harrington , and he’s so cool and hot seriously guys it's so crazy oh my god’--”

“Shut up! Shut up I hate you so much–”

“Really? Really that’s so crazy because I seem to remember you professing your undying love to me on the way to the hospital.”

“I–” 

“Have you nerds heard of the word quiet? ” Erica pushed herself up and yawned, glancing down to the firm grip she had around Steve’s arm, then to the others, and elected to keep herself there. “Lucas, you’re lame and not slick at all about your giant man crush, you and Max can be gross about him all you want just wait till I’m out of the room , please.”

This time Max was the one to stutter out a response, embarrassment equalling his, though not as bad as Steve’s. 

“Alright, let’s leave him be,” Nancy shook her head, fond smile on her face looking over at the two before turning to Steve, expression becoming more serious. “Do you know the verdict?”

“Well it's not good, but it’s not terrible either? The way my bones broke it’ll be awhile before I get out of these casts,” his face shifted, disgust looking at the white blobs that they were. “And even then it’ll still be hard to do shit like..Walk. So that’ll be fun.”

Nancy frowned, the air in the room quickly shifting to discomfort. “And your eyes?”

“Legally blind, apparently having someone try and tug your eyeballs into your skull does some permanent damage. It uh– I…” His breath shook a little. “I’m probably gonna see nothing but fuzzy blobs for the rest of my life. They don’t make lenses thick enough to do much of anything for it.” 

There was a bit of silence, none of them knowing quite knowing what to say. Nancy simply nodded and shifted to the back of the group, lingering by Robin and motioning for the rest of the group to step forward.

The energy picked up almost instantly, each of the kids giving wild summaries of their adventures, and one incredibly detailed description from Lucas on how beat up Carver was when they saw him last. He nodded and laughed along to it, especially grinning at the last of it, with how almost bashful Eddie was at the glowing testimonies to his apparent badassery. 

Neither Robin nor Nancy said a word.

He’d expected it from Nancy. She was always quiet in her anger–at least with him–especially when there were other people around. She preferred to keep a level head, until she could fully collect her thoughts in a way he knew would probably rip him apart, but Robin…it was unsettling, her silence. 

They let the group ramble for about an hour before guiding them out of the room, using the excuse of adult talk or something of the like. Eddie’s tone was surprisingly serious, when the kids had turned and asked him to vouch for them, instead siding with the girls and taking the group outside, specifically to Lucas’ hospital room, which the boy in question adamantly protested. Before he knew it, they were gone, Robin and Nancy on either side of him.

“Eddie told us…about what you said before you were–before the plan started going through.” Nancy spoke again, before Steve got the chance to protest. “And I know he shouldn't have, and you have every right to be upset over it, but I–I’m glad he did. I heard what you said in the van, too and I–Steve I don’t think that, ok?”

“You did.”

“I was an asshole. I know you were too, but you’d long since made up for it, and I kept giving you shit about the situation because you weren’t dealing with it like I was, and that wasn’t fair! So if I ever made you feel like–like you deserved what’s happened to you then I’m so so sorry.”

“What? No, Nance you didn’t.”

“But–”

“You didn’t. It wasn’t you, ok?”

“Then who…” She started to say, only to shake her head. “That’s all I wanted to say. You uh…you’d promised Robin the details.” A glance over to the girl in question, still staying silent, only casting a fraction of a glance in return. “Oh, and... I didn’t miss. Shot him straight through the head.”

With that, she stood, brushed back his hair to press a kiss to his forehead, then calmly walked out the door. 

Robin still hadn’t spoken, even though it’d been a few minutes since Nancy had left, and no noise could be heard outside the door. She took his hand and rubbed circles into his palm, staring bullets through the casts on his legs, on his arm.

“Your parents called.”

“Oh.”

“El called first. Said she wanted you to stay with her and she wouldn’t take no for an answer, and considering how often you’re by yourself in that house I was inclined to agree, though I did–I argued on your behalf, said that me, Eddie and Nancy would just take shifts when your parents were home. She was insistent.”

He could feel his hand start to shake against her soft grip, the shaking never lessening, even when the grip tightened.

“I vouched for you. Even though she’d seen it. I didn’t believe her but then they called and I–I wanted to be the one to answer, Nancy doesn’t know all your medical information, and for some reason I’m your emergency contact and I never understood that but–”

“Robin.” This time he was the one to squeeze her hand, waiting for her breathing to slow.

“They were awful. Your mom answered, and she was polite, I guess, but then I told her I was your friend and not a nurse or something, and then her dad took the phone and he kept giving me ‘things he wanted me to tell you’ and things he wanted to say about me and about the kids and so much to say about Eddie, honestly it was insane how long that man went on, and the whole time I was just…I was thinking about how you said there wasn’t anything important to worry about. Nothing I didn’t already know. And then a girl you barely know is begging me to get you out, and your dad’s screaming in my ear about how he wished you’d died of shock on the way to the hospital.”

“Oh, that’s all? Usually he’s more flavourful. Guess he was still being polite.”

“That’s not funny.” Robin spoke firmly, though her voice still shook. “Steve it’s not–do they…”

“Shit, yea my dad’s beat the shit out of me a few times. I didn’t think it would show up!”

“Why wouldn’t that show up?”

“Because I’m not fucking afraid of him!” He stopped, taking a moment to collect himself, speaking in a far quieter tone than what he’d started with. “I’m not afraid of him. A year ago I–my mom, she caught me off guard, and the lights had been acting weird all night, so when she showed up out of nowhere behind me I reacted on instinct, took the glass in my hand and I broke it on her head.”

Robin’s free hand went over her mouth before she could stop it, finding herself glad Steve couldn’t see the details of her expression.

“ That , that I’m scared of. She was drunk off her ass, because she’s always drunk when she’s home, and she was sobbing , saying she know I didn’t mean anything by it, that it was a mistake and–and she knew she was drunk, she knew I hated it so it was ok that I was mad and–”

“Steve, hey it was an accident–”

“I know , I know it was! But for a second, looking at her, having her talk to me like I was–I was an asshole for the longest time, and I’ve seen people turn into their shitty parents because they didn’t know what else to fucking do, and sometimes I feel just like them and it’s terrifying!”

“You’re not.” She gave his hand a good squeeze, wrapped her other arm around his for good measure. “Frankly I don’t care what you used to be, because now you’re a dork and I love you. I’ve seen you take down Russian guards and rip a bat's head off with your bare hands and I can’t even fathom the idea of you hurting me, it’s just… it’s so unlike you.”

“Yea?”

“Did your dad ever willingly chauffeur a bunch of teenage brats around in his car?”

Steve snorted and shook his head.

“What else did you see?”

“I spent a good amount of time in the tunnels. The kids getting…not making it out. Then it was the Russian base, getting my ass kicked.”

“You never told me what they did.”

“Asked a bunch of questions about the government, shocked me real good, that’s all there really is to it.” He paused, as though he were just going to leave it at that, then forced himself to continue. “I got some extra drugs, made everything hurt a lot more, those didn’t fade for… god, a week? And they took a hot poker stick to my side, right after they gave that to me.”

“ Jesus. ”

“Nope, just some shit doctors.” He smiled, for just a second, though the smile fell fast. “The guard he uh–he kicked me onto the ground, then next thing I know my dad’s there instead, fucking choking me against the wall.”

“You said you weren’t…”

“I’m not scared of him, it wasn’t him that freaked me out, it was…you saw . Everyone was just staring at me, watching me freak out because his skin was falling off and surprise! It’s Vecna and I’m about to die! They just watched. I only got out because of Max’s whole ‘happy memory’ trick, and even then it was so fucking close, I–”

He choked, hating the way he shook at every word, how he squeezed his eyes shut despite there being barely any difference.

“Where did you hide?”

“What?”

“Your happy memory, where’d you hide?”

“Oh.” He found his breathing started to slow without even thinking about it, fear turning to embarrassment. “The mall bathroom.”

“Your happiest memory…is puking in the mall bathroom after being drugged and tortured by Russian scientists.”

“You told me something important to you. And you’re my best friend so…it’s important to me.”

Robin laughed, soft and low, then the laugh turned to a sob, tears falling down onto his hand.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry I just–that means a lot, dingus. And–you know after I graduate, that’s not too far out, we’ve got a lot of money from the Family Video, and I know you don’t wanna leave Hawkins, but I don’t either, and there’s this really nice old house down the road, super broke down but good space and–”

She laughed again, a short, wet laugh, wiping the tears from her eyes.

“Everyone thinks we’re dating already so uh…what I’m saying is, do you wanna get a house together?”

“There’s a really expensive vase in the cabinet of my kitchen. We could use it for the downpayment.”

“Why is it in your cabinet?”

“Take a guess.”

“Dustin tried to–”

“Dustin tried to throw it.”

She laughed, a laugh he joined in, long and loud despite how much it hurt his sides. They didn’t stop, even when someone else walked in, only stopping to gasp for breath when that person started to speak.

“The uh–the nurses kept giving me glares in the hallway, sorry.” Eddie said finally, foot halfway out the door. “I thought this was a serious talk?”

“It was!”

“We’re buying a house together!”

“You’re what?! ” Dustin exclaimed, scrambling inside and shoving past the man, taking Steve’s shoulders and giving him a small shake. “You’re not dating but you’re getting a house together?!”

“He can’t help it, his heart longs for another!”

“My heart–what happened to me not knowing what I want?”

“You know what you want.”

“Huh?” Dustin glanced between the two, Robin’s teasing grin and Steve’s growing anxiety. “Who is she?” 

“Yes, who is she indeed?”

“Holy shit.” Eddie cut in, laughing harder when the beeping of the heart monitor went faster after he spoke. “Dude, your heart rate spiked!”

“And it’ll call a nurse in if you guys don’t drop it!” He waited, the three of them staying silent for a few moments, only then did he let out a sigh of relief.

“Oh!” Dustin shouted, and for a second Steve thought he may have to tell him off again, only for something to slam down on the empty space of his hospital bed. “We brought things!”

“Yea?”

“Kid made me spend like… my entire government issued savings on shit for you.” Eddie said, shaking his head with a smile, one he could practically hear in the man’s tone.

“We got music, a bunch of stuff I know you like and what you usually turn up on the radio? I had to make a list. And since the school doesn’t feel ‘comfortable’ with us having D&D in the school anymore, we pooled together all our stuff to play it here!”

Robin snorted. “Oh I’m sure he’s very excited to hear that.”

“Yea, well, I also got these!” He took something out from his bag, waving it in front of his face. He paused, watching as Steve simply blinked and waited, Dustin’s face immediately turning red. “They’re uh–sunglasses. That one pair you really like broke a while back, and that was kinda on me anyway so we got new ones! And–and now you can wear them inside without looking like a total loser so…”

“That’s…” Steve huffed out a short laugh, holding the glasses tight after Dustin handed them to him. “Thanks kid, but I mean, I–I left it on the passenger seat so–” His voice cracked, his breath hitched. “So it wasn’t really your fault. You didn’t have to–”

“Can I… er…”

“Hell yea hop on up, kid.” He tried to pat the empty space next to his wrapped up hand, though he only managed to tap one of his fingers. Dustin seemed to understand well enough at least, quickly but carefully sitting in that space, Eddie and Robin more content to have a hand on either side of them. “Don’t tell anyone, but I’m kinda freaking out right now.”

“I don’t think anyone would mind.” Robin took in a short breath, to collect herself more than anything. “All things considered.”

“Yea I think I’d sob all the water out of my body if it were me.” Eddie huffed out a laugh. “I kinda did, actually.”

“But you like.. Watched all my bones snap. And that’s what–the third time that’s happened to you? You’ve got shit luck, dude.”

“And yet, my bones are unbroken, dude. ”

Steve huffed a laugh and slipped the sunglasses on, a surprisingly easy enough movement, likely due to the muscle memory of it, saving himself the embarrassment of fumbling. He let his head slump against the pillows propped up behind him, let his uncast hand slide back to his side, falling into Robin’s hold like that too was muscle memory. He gave the hand a squeeze and took in a shuddered breath.

“Fuck, I just realized I can’t do my hair anymore.” He grinned, hearing Dustin snicker beside him, feeling the shake of his shoulders. “No, hey, what happened to no judgement. This is honest to god the greatest tragedy of my situation. I’ll look stupid and I won’t even know.”

“You look stupid anyway, stupid!” Dustin says between snorts, laughter louder and uncontrolled, Steve’s grinning so damn wide he ought to look stupid. 

For some reason, that doesn’t bother him. Everyone’s laughing, and he’s smiling wider than he ever has in his life. It doesn’t bother him at all.