Chapter Text
When it came to popular high school assholes, Steve ‘The Hair’ Harrington was the top of the pack.
He laughed at all the weird kids, letting Tommy take the lead. He let Tommy beat up essentially anyone, because he was better at figuring out how to make them hurt a little deeper - like he did with Jonathan’s camera (which he eventually apologized for and bought him a better one). He knew exactly what to say to make people hurt. He kissed girl after girl, only to leave them the next day, his stylish hair a constant pull. He was what everyone wanted to be. The teachers liked him, even if he wasn’t doing great in all his classes, because he put on a face. The parents liked him. If someone didn’t, it’s because they were the target of the popular kid posse, filled with jocks and blonde babes, none of whom knew how to spell.
High school Steve Harrington was not a good person.
But he had a soft spot - his younger brother Jude.
Jude wasn’t popular. He was quiet. He liked to listen and watch, and figure out things about people and places. He was also in middle school when Steve ruled high school. He liked to hang out with his four friends who were massive nerds - Mike Wheeler, Lucas Sinclair, Dustin Henderson, and Will Byers. They played a fantasy game called DnD, which Mike originally didn’t want to include Jude in. Steve had to spend the entire afternoon that day after school comforting Jude, who didn’t understand why Mike didn’t want to play with him.
Next time Jude went over to Mike’s house, Steve drove him and accepted Mrs. Wheeler’s invite inside, glaring at Mike the moment he walked into the room while the two eleven year old's waited for the rest of their friends to show up for movie night. Jude slid DnD into the conversation, asking about what the next campaign was about, and Mike squirmed. Nancy cut through the kitchen to him, cuffing him on the side of the head with a sigh. Mike had yelled something, about to protest until Nancy leaned over in front of him and said: “You said, ‘no girls allowed.’ Jude isn’t a girl. He isn’t breaking your dumb rule.” Then she stood up, smiling softly at Steve’s face of shock, before going up the stairs. Mike mumbled an apology and Jude’s face lit up, launching into a rant about his character, who was an elf with low charisma and high wisdom. The doorbell rang, interrupting him as Will and Lucas barged in. Mike glanced over and Steve caught his eyes, giving him a nod before slipping out.
Both Harringtons were required to pick a sport when they were younger. Steve liked sports, so he did a few, starting with baseball and basketball. Jude didn’t really, and the ‘acceptable’ sports, deemed by their parents, for young girls was far more limited than the one Steve got to choose from.
Jude ignored the obvious favoritism in his parents, picking archery.
Jude liked archery, and he was really good at it. So good he would go to weekend long competitions and come back with medals weighing down his neck. He would bounce into Steve’s room, regaling him with the tales of the competitions. Steve was the only one who cared, and asked him questions about it, knowing full well that their parents only like the reputation of a skilled kid, not actually caring. Once Jude was old enough to take buses to competitions by himself, the Harrington parents stopped going, so Steve went, cheering loudly from the stands when he was supposed to be quiet and taking a million pictures on disposable camera after disposable camera.
Jude hit the bullseye every time.
Jude could hit moving objects without breaking a sweat. Once, Jude and his friends tested it out by throwing water balloons at Jude from all over, and Jude popped every one.
“Holy shit, you’re like a real-life Legolas!” Dustin’s jaw was nearly touching the floor, soaking wet like the other three. Jude was surprisingly dry.
Jude had blushed and muttered a thank you. When Steve picked him up, he was glowing with pride, chattering to Steve about it the whole way home.
When Jude was seven, he found concealer in Steve’s drawer, looking for a comb, at first he thought it was from a lady friend. He knew what concealer was, Mike’s older sister had explained it to him the other day. Jude compared it to his skin, and it was a perfect match.
“Steve?” The older brother glanced up at Jude, doing a double take when he saw what he was holding. “Why do you have concealer? You don’t have any other makeup.”
Steve’s face turned crestfallen, and he had to explain one of the harder parts of being a Harrington to him. Mommy and Daddy weren’t going to love them the way they were supposed to, and the way that Daddy talked to them was wrong, and sometimes he did other things too.
Jude had nodded the whole time, looking sadder and sadder as Steve explained. When Steve finished, Jude had jumped up and crushed him in a hug. Steve gripped back just as tightly, a tear travelling down his cheek, knowing that part of Jude’s childhood innocence was lost forever.
When Steve reached middle school, their parents started going away, and for longer and longer periods of time. Steve didn’t mind. Jude was happier when they were away, more carefree and relaxed. So was Steve. When the Harrington’s were away, Steve and Jude felt the safest.
It was a blessing in disguise. While some of the moms looked sad and promised that their parents would be back soon, Steve loved it. He could do whatever he wanted, and he could take Jude places to do fun things and actually be a kid.
They were gone when Jude started hitting puberty. Steve took him to a bra shop, and the clerk gave him a look of pity, helping him and Jude find some options that he might like.
Jude tried all of them on while Steve sat outside nervously. He knew what happened during girl’s puberty, he had learned about it in health class. But it was still weird. It was weird for him, and he had been going through it for years.
Jude stormed out in a huff, grabbing Steve’s hand and dragging him out of the store, having chosen none.
On the bus ride back, Jude looked out the window the whole time, ignoring Steve.
It wasn’t until Steve pulled out his key to unlock their front door that the heavy silence was broken.
“Steve?”
“Yeah, kiddo?”
“I’m not normal.”
Steve sighed, crouching in front of Jude. “It’s okay if you don’t want a bra now. You don’t really have boobs anyway. And if you don’t want to shop with me, we can ask Mrs. Wheeler or someone else.”
“No, it’s not like that,” Jude stared at his toes, playing with the edge of his shirt. “I don’t think I’ll ever want a bra.” Jude took a deep breath and glanced up at Steve, his eyes filled with tears threatening to spill over. “I don’t think I’m a girl.”
Steve’s brain short circuited, but he pulled him into a hug anyway. Steve didn’t give a fuck about what gender Jude was, but he didn’t know what that meant. Or how to help.
That night when Jude went to sleep after a movie and some ice cream, Steve pulled out the phone book, jotting down numbers of places that seemed like they might know anything about this.
It took a while, and a lot of borrowing books on the downlow, but Steve and Jude figured it out. They figured out where to get a binder. They figured out how Jude liked to dress, going to the mall to shop more than once, much to Steve’s chagrin and a lot of eyerolls from Jude when he saw a cute girl. They figured out which barber was safe to come to get Jude’s hair cut shorter. They figured out how to style Jude’s hair as they slowly cut it shorter and shorter, often covering it with a hat when their parents were home. They figured out how to hide every purchase from the credit card statement. They figured out how to tell Jude’s friends, and how to keep it on the down low. They figured it all out together.
Steve Harrington was a lot of things, and there were a lot of things he wasn’t good at, but he was the best at keeping his brother safe.
That’s what had drawn Nancy to him, not his popularity or reputation, but how he would make sure Jude knew how to ride a bike, had eaten enough that day, got his homework done. Nancy once even saw a note in Jude’s lunchbox with a goofy drawing and a message from Steve. The hidden side of Steve Harrington.
The popular asshole wasn’t Steve’s best quality, but it had its perks. It made him so attention sucking that no one paid attention to the younger Harrington who used to be a girl.
Not that most people knew, if word got out than Steve and Jude would have to deal with their not so loving and definitely trans- and homophobic parents, and neither of them were ready for that bomb to explode.
So Steve just took up the attention of anyone and everyone, and Jude was safe to tell who he wanted and be quiet enough that he didn’t have to deal with the rest.
People suspected, sure. Jude wore boys clothes and more than one mother had seen the two of them shopping (but most just thought it was cute how Steve was taking care of Jude), and he didn’t like girly things. He referred to himself as a boy and hung out with pretty much only boys. And his name was pretty neutral, so he didn’t feel like anytime someone called him his stomach would fill with knots and never untangle.
People suspected, but no one ever said anything. All the kids either feared or were in awe of Steve, and all the adults felt the same towards his father.
And for the most part, it worked.
***
When Will went missing, Steve was still King of the high school. He didn’t find out about it until he found Jude sitting on the couch, staring at his hands.
“Jude, I was thinking of throwing a party, just a few friends, you know, Nancy, maybe…” Steve’s voice died in his throat when he looked up. “J?” Steve slid in front of him, hands on his knees. “J, what’s wrong?”
Jude gazed up at him, eyes full of emotion yet painfully numb. “Will is missing.”
And then they found a girl that was terribly small and scared and quiet and powerful and impossibly important.
Eleven was a surprise to all of them, and Steve was too over his head with trying to keep Nancy that he didn’t realize Jude was being weird and shady. He did notice that Jude kept leaving the house with his bow, especially after a body was found in the lake. He thought that Jude would be sadder that Will was dead, but he seemed more determined than anything else.
Jude and Steve would swap stories later, but both fought in a panicked state that ended in Steve beating the pulp out of a monster and a few arrows where Jude thought the heart would be (and it was somewhere else), and a few stray arrows along the halls of the school.
When Will returned and Jude and Steve came back to the house, both freaked out and adrenaline filled with scrapes and bruises, they found another link.
“Demogorgon?” Jude asked tiredly.
“You mean the horror thing that face opens and tries to eat you?” Steve mumbled from where he was lying on the couch.
“Yeah.”
“That thing is fucking scary.”
“Fuck yeah it is.”
“Language.”
“Fuck you.”
They both dissolved into giggles in their living room, even though neither of them would sleep alone or with the lights off for a long time. It was a sleepover every night, and Steve found himself missing his warmth next to him when Jude slept over at one of the boys' houses.
***
And then came a red hair wonder who swept the friend group.
Jude would never tell anyone, but Max might be his favorite.
The other boys were skeptical at first, especially Mike, but Jude loved her. So much that he went trick-or-treating with her instead of the others.
She was different. Max got him in a way the others didn’t. She didn’t take any shit, and she did what she wanted and she was so fucking cool. She rode a freaking skateboard and spent time at the arcade and knew about comics and movies and she was everything Jude wanted to be.
Billy was an asshole, and when he beat up Steve, Jude hated him more than he thought was possible, but Max seemed to agree, so Jude didn’t feel too guilty.
Jude grimaced when El walked past Max’s outstretched hand, sending Max an apologetic look. Max’s jaw tensed, but she shrugged it off, like she did most things.
One of the good things about Max moving into Hawkins when she did is she never knew Jude before. So, Jude didn’t have to explain, Max just assumed he was a boy and he had always been a boy.
Jude wasn’t hiding it, but the whole thing with the tunnels and the demo dogs and the Upside Down part 2, he kinda forgot to bring it up.
Jude didn’t think Max would hate him for it. It wasn't her style. For instance, when he had pulled out a bow, Max’s eyes had lit up and she made him promise that he would teach her how to use it (only if she taught him how to skateboard), and they shook on it.
Which led them to now, Max hovering with her hands out around his waist as he shakily stood on the board in front of her house.
“I’m gonna give you a small push, okay?” Max assured him, and Jude swallowed hard, nodding. Max shot him a smile and gave him a push that was not small - they clearly had very different definitions.
But even with gaining speed and Max’s clapping and Jude’s yells of protest, Jude didn’t fall off the board. Max jumped in the air and yelled, a grin taking up her face as Jude wobbled down the street as fast as a turtle, arms stretched out around him like a yoga pose.
“I’m doing it! Max!! I’m skateboarding!” Jude yelled, stealing a glance back at Max.
“You go Arrow Boy!” Max laughed, raising her hands in celebration. How she wished she had a camera to capture how beautifully stupid her friend looked.
Their celebration was short lived as a car came careening around the corner. Max shouted in alarm, and Jude jumped off the skateboard, sliding across the concrete as the car clipped the edge of it, sending the board spinning across the pavement.
The car came to a screeching halt as Max sprinted towards Jude. “Shit, shit, shit!” Max helped Jude sit up with a groan. “Are you okay?!” Max ran her hands over Jude’s arms and legs. “Anything broken?!”
Jude rubbed his head and shook it, hissing when he touched a small cut on his forehead as a car door shut. Max spun around, defensive mode up. “What the fuck?!”
“I’m so sorry, are you alright?” The adult wrung his hands nervously. “Did I break your skateboard?”
“Why were you driving so fast?! This is a residential neighborhood!” Max gestured with her hands wildly, the man shrinking back a little. “You could have killed him! Are you blind?!”
“Now, young lady, that’s not very fair -”
“Your friend isn’t bleeding on the concrete!” Max cried.
The man spluttered, flustered by the force that was Maxine Mayfield. “I can take you to the hospital if you need to?”
“And hit someone else on the way?” Max crossed her arms, opening her mouth to keep arguing with him.
“Max,” A quiet voice broke her anger, and Max turned back towards her friend. “I’m fine. A few scrapes, a little dazed. I don’t need to go to the hospital.” Max got the message Jude was really trying to tell her: I want to get away from here and from him.
“Sounds good,” Max sent one last glare the man’s way before reaching down and pulling Jude up. She grabbed her skateboard as she ushered Jude towards the house, marching past the man with indifference.
Jude wasn’t too hurt, but scraped up the side of their leg pretty good, courtesy of his shorts. He might end up with a gnarly scar, Max quipped, and Jude had laughed along with her, even though the disinfectant made him scrunch up his nose and his breath hitch when she pressed it to his skin.
The Mayfields would definitely need more bandages, Max thought as she threw away the last bandaid wrapper.
Max wiped her hand on the paper towel, dropping the bloody one in the trash. “Anywhere else?”
Jude pointed to his back. Max gestured him up, and he stood up from the toilet seat to face the mirror, leaning forward on the bathroom counter. Max looked at him in the mirror, her fingers grazing the hem of his shirt and he nodded.
Max lifted the back of his shirt and inhaled sharply. It was pretty banged up too. Less bloody, but more bruises. “You’re gonna be sore for a while, J,” Max dabbed his back with a new paper towel. Jude snorted.
“I’m sore now.”
Max laughed, pushing his shirt up further, about to joke about the dumbass with the car when she brushed against a tan, tight garment halfway up Jude’s back. It looked like spandex on the back, but the front was stiffer. It wasn’t a bra, there were no cups or padding, or wires. With how far up Max had pushed his shirt, she could see a slight curve at the front of his chest.
Jude watched the gears in Max’s brain spin, biting his lip, waiting for her to say something about it. Waiting for her to ask about it, to call him a freak. To out him and cut him out of her life.
Instead, Max took the hem of Jude’s shirt and tucked it into the bottom of his binder so she could use both hands to patch up his back. When she finished, she pulled down his shirt and smiled, then went and got them popsicles.
Jude went home that night with bruises and pain but a red tinted tongue and a warm feeling under his ribs, and he was so excited that he had actually skateboarded that Steve didn’t really get to ask why he was limping.
Steve would find out the real extent of the damage the next day when he found Jude trying to change the bandages on his back in the bathroom, and Steve scolded him for not telling him, but then Jude asked if he could get a skateboard, his face lighting up in a way that it hadn’t in years, and who was Steve to say no?
***
Jude wasn’t the hugest fan of the mall. The only thing there that he consistently liked was Scoops Ahoy, and that was to annoy Steve and add tallies to Robin’s board, which was one of the best things that had ever existed.
He was with Will - not quite as sheltered or monitored, but he was a little tired of only talking about girls all day. He loved El and Max as much as anyone else, but he also missed the days where they would watch movies all day. He even suggested inviting Max and El, but that was shut down hard. And now he was being dragged around by Mike, who was way in over his head.
“Why did you even bring me, dude?” Jude whined, leaning against a pillar in the store.
“Because you know what good things look like!” Mike shook his dollars at him.
Jude raised his eyebrows, unimpressed. “And how expensive nice things are.”
“Come on,” Lucas nudged his shoulder. “If it was for Max you would help, help Mike with El!”
“It’s not about the present for your girlfriend!” Jude thunked his head against the wall, uncrossing his arms. “You lied to her. That’s a big deal to El, you know that! If you wanna buy her something, buy something she’s actually gonna want or use. After you talk to her.”
“What can I buy? All the nice things here are so expensive!” Mike hung his head.
“Flowers,” Jude supplied.
“Candy,” Will added.
“Movies.”
“Comic books.”
“Literally anything else that isn’t made of diamonds.”
“Okay, okay, fine!” Mike threw up his hands. “Let’s just go already.”
Jude had ended up waving awkwardly at Max, who gave him a sideways glance as El dumped Mike. Then he had to deal with a whole new girl problem.
Will glanced over at Jude, catching his eye, and it was clear they were thinking the exact same thing: How is he so dumb?
The girl troubles didn’t last long though, and neither did the mall.
The Mindflayer was terrifying, a mountain of flesh and teeth and death, and at the center of it, was Billy.
And apparently rogue Russians under the mall, which Jude found out about by looking at his swelling brother's face who cracked a smile and then winced. Robin sauntered up to him, promising that his secret was safe as she fiddled with the edge of the top of Jude’s shirt, pulling it over the edge of his binder.
Jude raised his eyes at his brother, who smiled sheepishly and explained the drugs, but not before Robin leaned in and whispered her own secret in Jude’s ear.
And within what seemed like seconds, they all went their separate ways, hurrying to get a plan in place as Jude raided the sports store with Steve.
Steve dumped out a box of soccer balls and started dumping every arrow in the place that he could find as Jude rustled through the back, emerging with a look of awe and a blue and black compact bow.
“I’m so keeping this,” He muttered, running his fingers up the string.
“You are so paying for it,” Steve threw him a three fingered glove under the archery section that looked like his one at home, and Jude slid it on.
It turned out that the Mindflayer in the Starcourt Mall was even more horrific than before, like the bright lights and linoleum angered it.
They all stood on the balcony, waiting for Lucas's signal. Jude stood a few yards away in front of the movie theatre with Will, tying a final firework to an arrow and pulling out a lighter.
He looked over at Lucas, unable to watch the way Billy was grinning with a terrified El at his feet. Lucas nodded, and Will handed Jude an arrow.
Jude notched it, bringing the string up to his cheek, took a deep breath, and sent it flying, imbedding itself into the skin of the Mindflayer, chunks of the monster flying off as it exploded.
The others started throwing fireworks, bringing a surface level annoyance and pain to the monster, but Jude’s arrows went deep into the skin, not bouncing off but digging into it. Based on its screeching and Billy jerks and cries of pain, it wasn’t very happy.
Will darted past Jude as he fired his last firework arrow, to get more from Lucas, because Jude’s seemed to be doing the most damage. As he did, the beast felt a moment of safety as Steve yelled into his walkie that they were out, sweeping a leg under a support pillar of the balcony.
The balcony crumbled under Jude’s feet, leaving him nothing to grab onto as Will screamed his name as he fell with the debris, his left leg shattering into pain as he hit the ground, ripping a scream out of his throat. His bow scattered away, leaving him defenseless from a monster too close, taking an interest.
He tried to drag himself away but soon hit the nearest wall, so he covered his face with his arms, ready for the millions of teeth to dig into him when a guttural yell came out of nowhere, and mere seconds later the beast fell still with an earth shaking collapse.
Jude thought he heard Max crying, but as his vision swam when he tried to shift, and suddenly warm hands were grabbing at his shoulders, asking him where it hurt. All he could do was grit out, “leg” before he blacked out.
The only good part about shattering the bones in his leg and hip is that he didn’t really have to do anything to help the Byers move. It was a good thing, really, because he didn’t want them to leave.
He gave them all a hug goodbye, squeezing El extra tight, promising to call and write.
Will came back for a second hug, whispering in his ear, “Thank you for always being there.”
Jude gave him a wet smile and pushed him towards the car, waving with the others as the Byers drove away.
Steve gave him a minute before coming up behind them and kissing the back of his head. “Come on J, let’s go home.”
So they did.
When he got the first letter from El and Will, he cried on the couch for a half hour before forcing his hand to move across a blank sheet of paper.
He missed them so much, but he knew it was for the best. Will promised that he would find a time for Jude to come visit, once his leg healed.
When it came down to it, Will was his first real friend in the group. He had never questioned his boyhood, even a little bit or unconsciously, and he was the easiest to talk to. When Will went missing, Jude felt like a piece of him was ripped out of his chest.
Steve knew why Jude felt so strongly about Will. Jude didn’t. Steve was going to let him figure it out himself.
***
When Jude got to high school, they were quickly swept up by a dramatic senior who let their Legolas fantasies live longer. Jude loved Eddie, they all did. He trusted Eddie. The bandana hanging from Eddie’s pocket showed him he could. But Jude still didn’t tell him.
And then, in the middle of fifth period, in a boy's bathroom that Jude swore he locked, Eddie walked in on a Hellfire shirt on the floor and Jude swearing at the tape he was trying to cut as it stuck stubbornly to his chest.
Jude’s head shot up and froze, suddenly cemented to the ground with panic as Eddie slowly looked them up and down.
Eddie tsked, sliding his backpack off his and stuffing his hand into it. “Do not use that stuff, it’ll peel your skin off and it hurts like a bitch,” he produced a roll of more fabric-y looking tape, dropping his bag to the ground.
Jude unfroze, slowly, and let Eddie help him peel the tape off his chest and apply strips of the softer tape, Eddie giving him tips on how to get bubbles out. Jude felt like he should have been self concious, being half naked in a bathroom with his tits out, but for some reason he wasn’t. Eddie wasn’t judging him - hell, he had come prepared. He was just helping Jude, nimble fingers guiding his own fingers to press the tape softly into his skin, lecturing Jude on proper care and technique so he didn’t, “rip his nipples off” - which apparenlty, hurt like hell. Not that he was talking from experience, Eddie made that clear, grimacing at a memory as he said it.
Once again, Jude was blown away by him. Eddie never backed down from who he was, at school or outside it, toning his personality up to piss off the popular kids. He was creative and fun and even though his grades didn’t reflect it, smart. And he was standing in a grungy, white tile bathroom with Jude without making any judgement, just helping. Because he could.
Eddie dropped the scissors into the sink, beaming at his work. “All done, my archer,” he said proudly, handing Jude his shirt. Jude blushed slightly, pulling it over his head.
“Thank you,” Jude murmured.
“Of course!” Eddie ruffled Jude’s hair. “We tend to flock together, and I have to pass on my knowledge as well as my club.”
Jude propped his bag up on the sink, dropping the scissors unceremoniously into it. Eddie reached over and dropped his special tape into it as well. Jude looked up with a protest on his lips, but Eddie shushed them with a finger. “Keep it, I have more.” Jude flushed again, looking down at his feet while he zipped up his backpack. Eddie studied him, the tenseness in his shoulders that he saw so often making sense now. Hiding was an exhausting thing. Hiding something like that in this town was even worse.
“How do you know how to do that?” Jude gestured awkwardly at Eddie’s chest, seeming to regret the motion almost immediately.
Eddie smirked and lifted up his shirt, Jude’s face going slack with shock at the action before cockng his head. Jude lifted a hand, glancing at Eddie for confirmation, and Eddie nodded before feeling Jude’s cold hands trace one of his twin scars along his chest.
“Cool,” Jude whispered.
“I know, right?” Eddie dropped his shirt back down. “Very metal.”
Jude giggled, shaking his head. “Where’d you get it done?”
“I’ll give you the info tomorrow, it’s kind of a drive,” Eddie warned.
Jude traced under the curve of his chest, mimicking the placement of Eddie’s scars. “Steve can drive me.”
That gave Eddie pause. Steve ‘The Hair’ Harrington was definitely on Eddie’s shit list. He found it incredibly difficult to believe that the insecure quiet kid in front of him was actually related to the popular prick.
“Does Steve know?”
Jude snorted. “Yeah, he took all my binders last night -”
“He what?!” Eddie’s softness turned into hard rage, and Jude had to fight a smile at his protectiveness.
“ Because ,” Jude drew out the vowels. Eddie’s eyes narrowed but he kept his mouth shut, letting the other explain. “They were getting really sweaty and grimy and gross and so Steve made me wash them last night but none of them were dry this morning and I don’t want to shrink it in a dryer or have a wet shirt and it’s a whole thing so I tried tape.”
Eddie took a deep breath, leaning against the sink. “Please never bind with duct tape, or gaff tape again.”
Jude nodded a promise. “Dustin’s right,” He poked Eddie’s arm, which were crossed tightly over his chest. “He’s better now.” Eddie rolled his eyes. “He used to be an asshole to everyone but me, and now he’s not an asshole to anyone.” Jude laughed quietly. “He works at Family Video and his best friend is band nerd Robin Buckley.” Eddie sat up slightly, an image of the senior flashing in his mind. He liked Robin. She was nice, and also, if Eddie was right, and he was normally right about these things, very gay. Plus she was a nerd. A different genre of nerd, but all nerds had a mutual respect for each other. “Once the popularity left, so did that part of him.”
“Does anyone else know?” Eddie stood up, shouldering his bag.
Jude slipped his arms through the straps of his backpack. “The Hellfire freshman, our friend Will, Steve, Nancy Wheeler, Max -”
“Mayfield?” Eddie interrupted, furrowing his brows. Nancy Wheeler knew too?
“Yeah. Why?”
“I live across from her.”
“Oh, right,” Jude rubbed the back of his neck. “And Joyce Byers, Jonathan Byers and Robin. And maybe my friend El. It’s kinda unclear but I really doubt she’d care anyway. And now you.”
“I’m glad you got good people,” Eddie smiled, putting a hand on Jude’s shoulder, before trusting his gut and leaning forward to place a kiss on their forehead. When he pulled away, Jude looked surprised, but not disgusted, excited, like Eddie had just unlocked a piece of his personality. “Come on, you’re missing math, and I am making sure all of you little shits graduate on time.”
***
This was the worst one yet.
Somehow, Jude almost missed the Demogorgon.
Jude hated this. He hated it when Max kept pulling away from him and he couldn’t figure out why or how to make her feel better. He hated it when Eddie, the sweet, goofy dumbass, was being witch hunted by the town and Jason. He hated it when the older kids sidelined him and they all went missing for days, AND Steve was injured (plus he got caught by the cops and followed Max’s lead by telling them a very barebones version before they sent him off to spend the night with Dustin, since neither Steve nor his parents were picking up the phone). He hated it when they couldn’t reach the Byers. He hated it when Max started fucking floating. He hated all of it.
Steve hated it too. He saw Max float, and they barely got her out. He saw Nancy freeze, vacancy filling her features like she didn’t exist. Vecna targeted pain, it was easy to see. And he knew that Jude had a shit ton of that. Between having to raise him because their own parents were too abusive or gone, from living in Hawkins when everyone knew him as a girl, a tomboy, never actually seeing him for what he was.
Steve didn’t mind meeting Eddie though. He was funny, and smart, and cared about the kids, just like Steve did. It was nice to meet the person Dustin and Jude wouldn’t shut up about. Eddie mentioned the bathroom incident, and Steve had furrowed his brow, so Eddie had awkwardly explained it, surprised Jude hadn’t told Steve - he was Jude's first cheerleader. As Eddie explained it, Steve’s face and body language softened. Eddie decided that Steve wasn’t that bad. And after he jumped into the lake and smashed a demobat into the ground until it died Eddie did have to admit that Steve Harrington wasn’t who he used to be, and was a little bit hot.
And then came, “Don’t be a hero.”
Steve’s words reverberated in Jude’s head as the first note blared from Eddie’s guitar. He understood that Steve was worried, even if it did come off a little asshole-ish. But like any doting younger brother, Jude didn’t totally believe him. If Steve was serious, he wouldn’t have left him with a bow and five quivers of arrows.
“T-minus 60 seconds!” Dustin shouted, cupping his hands around his mouth. Eddie nodded and kept playing, continuing to be the incredible badass he had proven to be. “J!” Jude glanced at him as the shrieks of the bats grew closer. Dustin gave him a thumbs up.
Jude notched an arrow, and let it fly.
One thing about the swarm was that they flew close together. Jude’s smirk grew every time that they hit more than one per arrow.
“10 seconds!” Dustin screamed. Jude let one last arrow fly before following the two other boys, barricading themselves in the trailer after the best metal show ever.
Their celebration was short-lived, because the bats started going through the vents.
Eddie ushered Dustin and Jude through the portal, and in one moment, sunk both their hearts as he cut the sheet.
“Dustin, DUSTIN!” Jude smacked Dustin’s arms, trying to get him to stop screaming.
“WHAT?!”
“THERE’S TWO OF US! BOOST ME UP!”
Dustin froze for a second, then nodded profusely, cupping his hands together, bracing it on his knee.
It took a couple tries to get enough power to get up and grab the edge, tries that wasted precious minutes, but Jude got his hand up over the ledge and swung his legs through it, dropping to the ground. A small ache started in his left leg with the impact. Jude grabbed the straps of the last 3 quivers he had, kicking open the door of the trailer, ignoring Dustin yelling at him. Eddie was gonna die, and Dustin wasn’t a national archery champion.
Jude clambered back up to the top of the trailer. He could see the swarm, and the gut-wrenching screams coming from it. They were swarming Eddie. Jude squinted, seeing the man swinging, the red lightning illuminating the gaps in the swarm.
Jude aimed and fired.
Three bats fell out of the air, but Jude had no time for small victories or pride at his ability, notching another arrow and aiming.
It angered the swarm, that was for sure.
Half of them peeled off and started towards him.
Jude had never reloaded faster. Or hit a bat with a bow before.
They were on him so fast he didn’t have time to reload, but he could grab an arrow and stab, keeping the bats at an arm’s length by swinging his bow.
Jude drove an arrow through a bat he had slammed to his feet, before wrenching it out and firing it at a bat that was fast approaching.
He did this for what felt like hours until the swarm thinned enough he could see Eddie clearly, who was still swinging, but he was on one knee.
Jude winced as he stood, pain shooting up the leg he had shattered not even a year before. He flexed his right hand, the fingers stiff as he reached for an arrow off his hip. He couldn’t stop. With shaking hands, he righted himself and his bow, aiming towards his friend again, his aim worse off when -
When all the bats fell to the ground, littering it like flies on rotting fruit. Jude took a breath, his hearing kicking back in as he heard Dustin screaming for Eddie, limping towards him.
Upon hearing his name, Eddie’s head shot up, and Dustin collapsed to his knees in front of him, grabbing the hero into a fierce hug. Eddie looked exhausted, even from this far away, and he clutched onto Dustin like if he didn’t they may both disappear.
Jude unbuckled his quiver, letting it drop to the top of the trailer, pain pulsing through his cheek and shoulder, where blood started to ooze. Turns out the bats got him after all. He hissed as he tried to take a step, his hip locking up. Jude glanced down, a bat with its teeth sunk into his formerly broken leg, adding to the nerve damage. Jude reached down and pulled it out, throwing it off the side of the trailer. It landed with a thump, and even from so far away, Eddie’s eyes focused in on it, raising his gaze to the archer illuminated by red lightning.
Eddie waved, and Jude waved back. Eddie smiled softly. So metal.
As successful as they were, and as fast as their wounds would heal, they didn’t all win.
Jude had ignored the doctors about tearing his stitches as he raced down the hospital hallway, ignoring how his body protested, skating into a room where a red head looked impossibly small and the broken boy next to the bed looked even smaller.
Jude stood by, afraid to breathe, because it meant this wasn’t a dream.
When the California gang showed up, led by Jonathan, El had taken one look at Jude and given him a tight squeeze. Jude didn’t make a noise when his shoulder protested, just buried his face in her shoulder. El and Jude had never been the closest out of the group, but Jude gave something to El that the others didn’t: he never asked questions. Not about who she was, what her past was like. He waited for her to come to him and when she did, she didn’t feel like a freak, or a special girl with superpowers. She was just El around him. His friend.
Mike gave him a wave after hugging Lucas, and Will took El’s place in Jude’s arms, squeezing him even tighter. Jude didn’t care. They both needed it.
Jude lost the conversation, even when El sat down and closed her eyes, because Will intertwined their fingers and squeezed, holding Jude like he needed something real to remind him that this was real, and not still part of the nightmare.
It was still a nightmare though.
But they would get through it. They always did.
***
A few weeks later, after the gates were finally closed for hopefully the last time - which they said every time but this time was even more final - Steve and Jude were laying in Steve’s bed in their pajamas, the lights turned on again, cassette tapes littering Steve’s bedside table. Just in case.
Jude was lying on his side, leaning his head against Steve’s shoulder, trying to be mindful of his wounds. Steve wasn’t having it, so he wrapped his arm around Jude and pulled him close, his younger brother’s warmth proving he was still alive and he was okay. They were okay.
Steve broke the comfortable silence first, rubbing his thumb over Jude’s shoulder. “How’s Max?”
Jude shrugged. “Not great. But they got her to open her eyes, and got her to sit in a wheelchair today, so that’s something.”
“I’m glad she’s making progress,” Steve murmured, resting his other hand on his stomach.
Jude started playing with his fingers, both clearly too wired to fall asleep. “Are you gonna ask Eddie out?”
If Steve was drinking water, he would have choked.
“What?!” Steve sat up abruptly, knocking Jude off, spluttering. “Why would I, where did you - What?!”
“Oh, so we’re in denial,” Jude raised his eyebrows.
“Why would I ask Eddie out, J?” Steve rubbed his face. Maybe he didn’t want six lil nuggets. This one was plenty enough.
“Cause you look at him the same way you used to look at Nancy,” Jude said smugly, settling back against the pillows. “And he’s flirting with you.”
“He’s not flirting with me,” Steve rolled his eyes. “He’s just really affectionate.”
“He literally does not act that way around anyone else,” Jude crossed his arms. “I have never seen him kiss someone on the cheek like he did today.”
“He’s just spontaneous!”
“Steve. You are constantly with him.”
“He’s my friend and I enjoy his company.”
“Eddie’s gay.”
“So? Robin is too.”
“Yes, but your kind of gay.”
“I’m not gay.”
“You stare at his ass.”
“I do not!”
“He stares at yours too.”
“He does?”
“See! You do care!”
“Jude!”
“Steve!” Jude yelled back at him, grabbing both sides of his face. “He. Likes. You! You. Like. Him! Ask him out!”
“Jude,” Steve pried his hands off his face. “What if -”
“No what ifs,” Jude interrupted, pointing at him. “You just survived literal hell for the fifth fucking time. And he thinks you are straight as fuck, which I can’t blame him, so he will never ask you out because it seems hopeless to him. You need to make the first move.”
Steve sighed, falling back to the pillows with a thump, and Jude followed him. “But it’s different.”
“It’s just a date. You’ve asked tons of people.”
“But they were girls.”
“Eddie is no different,” Jude gazed into his brother’s eyes. “You like him. He likes you, so he’ll say yes. Just like a girl would.”
Steve grumbled. “I will think about it.” Jude threw his fists up towards the ceiling in success. “But you breathe a word of this to anyone and I will run you over with my car.”
“And get it all dirty?” Jude stuck his bottom lip out.
Steve just pushed him out of the bed as he laughed.
***
Later that week, they were all gathered at the Byers, who had finally moved back, for the weekly dinner and check in. Joyce had taken it upon herself to mother ten more children and feed them as much as they could before they passed out on her couch.
After dinner, when Joyce and Hopper were washing the dishes and flicking water at each other, everyone split up into groups. Jonathan was staring at Mike as he talked to Will and Jude. El sat off to the side, looking at a magazine with Nancy. Lucas went back to the hospital, and Erica left with him. Robin was pretending to read a magazine while stealing glances at Nancy and half listening to Dustin.
Eddie was clearing the table, wiping it off with a cloth that Joyce had given him. Steve cleared his throat as he walked up to the table.
“Hey, big boy,” Eddie smirked at Steve, whose heart swelled. The cut on his forehead had healed, Steve noticed, before being drawn back to Eddie’s eyes when he said his name.
“Can I talk to you?” Steve blurted out. Eddie nodded, dropping the rag on the kitchen counter. “Privately?” Eddie’s eyes widened for a fraction of a second before his signature grin was back, bowing dramatically to Steve.
“Lead the way, Your Majesty.”
Steve rolled his eyes and walked into the backyard.
Eddie glanced over at everyone else, finding Jude staring right back. Jude winked, then turned back to Will. Eddie took a deep breath before following Steve, a nervous tremor in his hands.
If Steve and Eddie came back inside with lips redder and plumper than usual, a little winded and cheeks dusted with pink, no one said anything.
Jude bounced up to Steve and smiled at him with his best shit eating grin. “Told you.”
“Fuck off,” Steve whined as Eddie said, “Thank you!”
Eddie and Jude shared a look before dissolving into laughter, leaving Steve a spluttering mess, muttering to himself about, “Now there’s two of them, great.” No one believed his bad mood. Eddie was more than happy to kiss it off his face later.