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Steve was sure Robin was onto him.
It’s not like she can do anything about it, he thinks. Nobody can. And it’s not like it’d be news to her. She knows him. She knows there’s no other reason for the bruises, the new bandages, the tiredness, the bags under his eyes, him coming into work with messy hair. No, not normal behavior for Steve Harrington.
But what else is he supposed to do? His life is empty now. He can’t go back to how it was. And no matter how many little comments everyone makes about Nancy and him, he and her know that it’s all just… Baseless anyway. She saw his face, his fondness for Eddie, the way he stopped everything to listen to Eddie. She also walked in when Eddie was on his knees for Steve, but they don’t talk about that.
Either way, he could tell by the way Robin kept glancing at him with expectant eyes that she was itching to ask about the new bandage in his face. He was ready to lie to her, even if he knew she knew the truth. Plausible deniability was the best course here. She couldn’t do anything, but she could tell the Byers-Hopper and Jonathan would forcibly drag him out of it and Hopper would be giving him the lecture of a lifetime. As if he was a child, as if he hadn’t done the same thing before. Whatever, he thinks. He has more work to do.
Robin opens her mouth to ask, but a customer walks in. They are 15 minutes to closing. This should keep the conversation from happening today.
At least, Steve hoped so.
⛧⛧
He could already hear the gossip. Why would Steve Harrington be driving to the trailer park so often? Was he on drugs? Did he have a girlfriend there? 16 year old Steve would break in hives just thinking about all the bad things people would be talking about him, but 18 year old Steve just wanted to do what he had to. He barely pays attention as he breezes past the front door straight to Eddie’s room to get his equipment.
It’s his ritual. Putting on the flannel over his mouth. The goggles. Putting on the belt with the molotovs. The backpack with all the medical supplies, food, water. And Eddie’s vest, for good luck. And there he goes, straight to the gate, climbing at the rope and dropping down in the Upside Down. At this point, he doesn’t even look down while walking. He knows the vines like the back of his hand. He tries not to look up to the trailer as he walks away, but the memories of the first time, when he climbed and Eddie’s body was gone , will never stop harassing him. He knows what he’s doing is most likely just reckless and useless. But if Eddie is truly dead, he deserves an actual burial. And if he’s not…
Steve runs into the forest. It’s the only place he hasn’t looked in yet.
⛧⛧
Another day without any results. He knows that he needs to go home. He needs to rest. But as he gets into the trailer, and he sees Eddie’s guitar there, he just stops himself. He knows he’s making the same mistake as Eddie. He knows that he shouldn’t pick it up. He does.
Plugging in the amp, he closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. He needs this. He needs to feel close to him.
He walks outside with Eddie’s sweetheart, playing the opening to Just The Two of Us. He belts out the lyrics, hoping that someone, something, Eddie or his soul or Vecna or the bats that killed his (boyfriend? lover? partner?) Eddie hear him. He wants to be heard. He wants his anguish to be listened to by someone.
He can’t mourn Eddie publicly. He can’t mourn him at home. He can’t mourn him with their friends. Nobody but Nancy knows about Steve and Eddie, and he refuses to out him. He knows that he’s alone in his pain and sadness. The Upside Down is the only safe place for him to mourn properly, and the irony is slowly killing him. This fucking place, taking his love from him, but being a safe space. The audacity.
He considers for a moment giving up. Staying there and letting the demobats attack him. Being reunited with Eddie in the most literal sense. But he knows he can’t. He owes Dustin that at least one of his older friends and role models still sticks around. But as he is having his own music moment in the Upside Down, it would be so easy to just… Let the bats take him.
He looked up, looking for the swarm, but to his surprise, there’s not a single bat. He scouts the area, stopping the music for a second. That’s when he hears it. Twack. The sound of a demobat being thrown in the floor. And a very familiar “oh shit, oh shit, oh fuck, goddammit”. Steve drops the guitar and runs for his life, grabbing the bat off its holder, just to find a bloody, skinny, pale Eddie Munson with a shiev fighting a horde of bats all by himself.
“HARRINGTON! Should’ve known it was you! Help me out here, I am not looking to be eaten alive again”, he quips, but the panic in his eyes is real.
Steve doesn’t hesitate. He’s been waiting for this moment for so long, so he immediately flanks Eddie around, making sure to push Eddie towards the door of the trailer. Eddie seems to be talking, babbling, but Steve cannot hear him over the sound of the flesh being cut as he hits the bats repeatedly. He pushes Eddie inside, closing the door aggressively, destroying the amp cable.
“You gotta be more careful with my equipment, dude. That’s not so cheap! Honestly, from how you were playing, one would think you’d–” Eddie starts, but Steve just grabs him by his waist and kisses him deeply. Pulling him close, trying to make sure he’s real, he’s alive, he’s there.
Eddie puts his hands over Steve’s shoulders and kisses him back, just as enthusiastically. The little humming he does, the way his hair tickles Steve’s face, the warmth of his skin, it all just felt… Like home. Steve felt complete. He could stand there for hours, days, weeks, just kissing Eddie and–
Eddie stumbled.
“Shit, Munson. Show me your injuries. Let me see.”
“Oh, I’m fine. Just got all bitten up by the bats. Nothing you haven’t done before, really, you little–” Eddie starts, but Steve cuts him out immediately.
“Show. Now.”
The twinkle in Eddie’s eyes makes Steve wanna groan. Of course he’d take it with second intentions.
“Yes sir, right away~”
“Keep it in your pants, Munson. I need to make sure you’re not gonna drop on me.”
Eddie is giggling as he shows all the bites. They’re all caked in blood and mud, looking like a perfect place for an infection. Time to clean it out. Steve unloads the backpack, and Eddie immediately takes some pringles.
“I am so fucking hungry. Water is easy, there’s plenty here, but food? I was so close to cooking a bat to eat.”
“Don’t worry. When I get you out, I’ll give you an actual meal. How does pizza sound? Extra cheese, pepperoni?”, Steve smiles up at Eddie while cleaning out his skin. He just needs to bandage enough to get him home, he thinks.
“God, I could eat two whole pies by myself. And a six pack. And then I am gonna take the nap of the century. Hope you don’t have to work tomorrow. And we can catch up, too. I have a Harrington craving, and I need to relieve it before I start getting withdrawals!” He grins up to Steve.
Fuck, this bastard is covered in dirt and blood, and he still manages to make Steve blush.
“Yeah, yeah. You can think of eating me all up when you’re not smelling like Satan’s asshole.”
“Will you shower with me? Woe is me, I am so weak, I am gonna need help cleaning up.”
Eddie is wiggling his eyebrows. At this point, Steve feels like hauling his ass up to the trailer and leaving him there.
“Edward Munson, behave yourself or I am stealing your sweetheart for myself.”
Eddie puts his hands on his chest and falls to the ground, taking all the gauze with him. He dramatically screams, then throws his arms up.
“You may not take my lady from me! No matter how well you have played her, her heart belongs to me, Harrington. You will never tame her like I do!”
“I might. Keep testing me, and you’ll see”, Steve pokes his tongue at Eddie, putting the supplies back in the backpack. “Let’s go, sunshine. I’ll help you out.”
Eddie gets on his feet quickly, but he wobbles again. At this point, Steve knows he won't be able to climb out.
“Do you trust me?” Steve asks, already formulating a solution.
“With my whole heart. What are you thinking?”
Steve throws the backpack up, letting it fall back in Hawkins. Then he takes a deep breath and picks up Eddie. “Hold tight. I am taking you home.”
Eddie squeals and grips Steve.
“Oh my. My big, brave hero”, he teases, but Steve can tell that, for once, Eddie is the flustered one.
Good.
⛧⛧
With Eddie cleaned out and bandaged out, packing his things up to leave the trailer, Steve sat outside for a second. The dark streets would help him out, for sure, but he wasn’t ready to face anyone and explain how he found Eddie.
He knew everyone would give him grief for coming back to the Upside Down. He knew that what he did was reckless. He knew it was just a deathwish. And he knew he’d have to explain why he couldn’t let go.
Eddie steps out, his hair wet from his shower, a backpack and his guitar. The fond eyes he’s giving Steve, the way his skin shines in the moonlight, the little lines by his mouth when he smiles, his little button nose, the way he’s all giddy…
“Ready to head out, big boy?”
Steve is ready to take all the yelling and fighting. Anything is worth it, if it’s for Eddie Munson.