Archive of Our Own ^beta

Summary:

After an altercation with his dad, Steve hides away in the pantry in his kitchen and calls for help on the walkie-talkie. Luckily, Eddie is awake and comes to the rescue, stealing Steve away to stay at the Munsons’ until it’s safe for Steve to go back. Steve hates when either of his parents come home to visit, especially when it’s his dad. It feels ridiculous to say but Steve thinks he’d rather face another Demogorgon.

A Demogorgon will smell blood in the water and kill on sight, but Mr. Harrington has a habit of dragging it out and making sure his prey knows they’re bleeding. The monsters under the bed are nothing compared to the monsters down the hall, Steve’s an expert. He’s known for a long time now how messed up it all is, he knows he needs out, needs help, but it feels impossibly hard. It’s normal for him and he’s dealt with it this long, he just needs to tough it out until he can afford his own place.

It doesn’t occur to Steve that he has a plethora of people willing to fight monsters at his side, whether the monsters are from the Upside Down or his own home. With the help of his monster hunting crew, Steve escapes his parents and learns what love is really supposed to be.

[podfic]