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One day Steve would figure out why Dustin made connections with rope; He was sure there had to be a cause for it.
Currently wasn’t the time to question it though since he was trying to follow the rope connecting Dustin to Eddie Munson. He’d never tried following a connection before, but given there’d been a death and Munson had gone missing, now seemed like the time.
Steve was listening to the directions Robin was saying as he drove, frowning each time they diverged from the rope and relaxing when it matched up again. After parking, he didn’t look at the house at all, only looking at the rope and following it silently, letting the three behind him yell.
Inside the boathouse he rolled his eyes, seeing the rope going through a boat covering and pulling it back, looking down a little judgementally, “You can’t be comfortable like that.”
Eddie floundered at him, gesturing from Steve to the door where they could still hear Robin, Dustin and Max yelling for both of them. “How?”
“Not explaining until I know you better. Dustin wants to help you. We all do.” He stated, catching one of the still waving hands and tugging Eddie upright and out of the boat before calling over his shoulder, “Guys, in here.”
~
Max had asked for privacy, so he’d let her visit the grave alone, but Steve wasn’t looking away from her connections to them. He’d do all he could to keep his kids safe and that meant jumping into action the second they tightened and changed.
“Get her walkman! She needs music! NOW!” He called, already racing to her, hoping there was something he could do without music to help.
There were too many weds to just cut them away from Max without risking destroying her friendships. They cocooned her, pushing her into the air and pulling her to the ground simultaneously.
While he could hear Dustin and Lucas approaching he searched the bushes for plants that would work in weakening or cleansing charms, talking all the time in the hopes it would bring her down.
“I can’t reach her! Steve, help!” Lucas called, glaring at him for the search but focusing as soon as Steve knelt to boost him up. Jumping wasn’t good for putting headphones on someone so it was needed.
They were all pleading for her to come back to them, but Steve was also morbidly entranced as he saw Max’s connection to her favourite song and to Lucas pulse brighter, the string thickening to push away the webs. He sent all he could down the string connecting them to help further, carrying on even as she dropped to the ground, the group catching her before she could hit it.
The relief flooding them all was strong but not enough to distract Steve from noticing the web hadn’t gone far and still gripped Max more than he liked. He just wasn’t sure that cutting it away would be the positive thins he’d hope for.
“How’d you know Max was in trouble? Why were you looking in the bushes?” Dustin demanded after the shock of the moments had passed.
“Instinct and I saw something move, hoped I could fight something to get her down.” Steve tried, knowing the explanation was lacking. “There’s always been something physical to fight before. I don’t like this.”
“None of us do.”
~
They were planning, looking for something that stood a chance of success when Steve looked at Dustin and froze. The connection to El had drastically changed from his last look at it.
“Lucas, Max, come over here for a moment.” He called, turning to them now. The same change had happened and for Max it was practically thrumming with protectiveness. He grinned broadly. “We can’t fight this guys powers. Only El can do that, but I bet hurting his body will weaken them and if we manage to kill him, even better.”
“El lost her powers.” Lucas tried to point out, a little despairingly.
Steve shook his head. “She’s got them back. I think shits going down with them too.”
“You’re certain?” Erica said as dubiously as everyone else looked.
“Yes.”
~
They’d made a plan, and even if Steve wanted to argue with it, it seemed like the best chance they had with the people currently in Hawkins and the little they knew.
Even so as the ones going into the Upside Down gathered there, he looked around, looking over the web surrounding them now and wondered if witchcraft or his powers could be more help than the few charms he’d been able to surreptitiously place. “We are thinking it’s a hive mind, right?” He asked, spying a lone bat flying some way off and keeping an eye on it, even though it showed no sign of noticing them.
“Yes Steve, keep-” Dustin rolled his eyes, but found his words cut of by Robin’s hand on his face.
“Shut up Dingus Child. Steve, why do you look like you’re about to bitch a customer out of the store?”
He smirked over at her, looking back at the bat, “Cause I might. Sorry if this goes wrong.”
Focusing on the bat’s place in the web he sheared it, connections falling away easier than a spiders web could be dusted. He didn’t focus on what was being said around him as he did so, watching the bat still, and the area around it closely, for any connections forming in the webs place.
“What do you-” Nancy had started to demand.
Robin had been grinning at him, looking around and pointing at the bat he’d been focused on already, “Try a bat first. They’re smallest.”
“Why are you two talking nonsense? We’ve got our plan.” Nancy spoke louder annoyance at being cut off distracting her from the need to keep quiet.
Steve relaxed, seeing the bat turn away from them even as a new connection, similar to ones he’d seen people with pets get, start reaching straight towards him. He focused as it formed on the bat needing to keep the rest of the bats away from them as much as it could, smiling at the noise that broke out heading further from their group.
“What just happened?” Eddie asked hesitantly, looking around everyone until he focused on Robin doing a silent celebratory dance.
Turning back to them, Steve shrugged, trying to appear equally confused, “No clue. You wanted us to focus on our plan, right Nance?”
She nodded, still watching the commotion before focusing again, just in time to see Robin throw herself on Steve in a hug.
“You are the best bitch, truly, a king.” Robin raved, voice louder than anyone had allowed since realising they were tracked using sound.
“I hate you.” Steve replied, quietly snickering.
“Love you too.”
~
Nobody looked different if Steve focused on their connections. Sure, some people had more or less, but they didn’t look different. Even knowing that, he’d expected Vecna to be an exception to the rule, to look like the spider of the web or something.
By the time they stood before Vecna, only the vines hadn’t had any connections move, or numbers weakened and Steve was squinting from focusing on both the web and keeping his footing as they hurried through the Upside Down. That division of focus was the reasoning he’d give for his first words upon seeing Vecna weren’t last minute fight plans, or an insult, but “Oh? You’re not a spider?”
“Dingus, focus! Can you separate Max? Weaken him more, before we throw these?” Robin snapped, glaring and shaking her head at Nancy who looked ready to question Steve’s abilities because of his comment.
He nodded at her, looking over the web surrounding him as much to aim the molotov as to identify where Max connected to it. “I’ll try both at once. No time to delay now we’re here.”
~
Everyone had ropes of varying thicknesses now, and Steve would have loved feeling so connected. The only reason he wasn’t was the amount of pain he knew his friends were in. That was what made him return to Jemima’s shop, with a list in hand and hoping it would be a visit where she didn’t push him to find the items himself.
“Steve, it’s been a while since you’ve visited.” The greeting was cheerfully called as soon as Jemima looked up. The bell on the door was an actual bell and Steve was glad there wasn’t one in Family Video since it would get aggravating during busy times he was sure. Although a witchcraft shop in Hawkins likely didn’t get too busy ever.
He barely raised his hand to wave, having learnt that pushing through his hair as he usually would wasn’t a good idea with the stitches and injuries he had. “Yeah, became a babysitter and I’m growing the herbs I need most now. Glad this place survived the earthquakes.”
She smiled in pride at him, agreeing, “Me too. What can I do you for?”
“These.” Steve held out the list he’d made instead of reciting the charm ingredients he wanted. “My friends need a lot of healing, especially two still in hospital.”
“I’m sorry they got hurt.” Jemima fell serious, reading through the ingredients before pushing the stall she kept behind the counter around to him. “I’ll have these gathered in two minutes.”
“Thank you.” He sat on it gratefully, wondering if he should listen to all the doctors telling him to rest.
She looked him over too, before turning to the shelves, commenting, “Mind you make a charm for yourself too.”
“What?” He froze, avoiding tensing but still watching her warily.
“It’d take a blind idiot to miss that you’re quite badly injured and I’m neither. Look after yourself, not just everyone else, Steve.” Her tone was chiding but as she came back with a few of the items he needed she only looked concerned.
He wanted to argue that Eddie and Max needed it more, but noticed something he was sure he should have before; a thread connecting him to the woman who’d introduced him to witchcraft all those years ago. It was shining with sorry of the same colour that flooded a lot of his connections from him currently, except coming from her.
“I will.” He promised simply.
~
Everyone had priorities while they were healing from everything the Upside Down had done. They were focusing on their most injured fighters and despite trying to keep everyone in the know talking, things weren’t mentioned, even the biggest shocks some of the group encountered.
Steve assumed that was the reason why he was never told that Hopper was alive and back in Hawkins until the week Max was discharged from hospital when everyone was gathering at his home to ensure it was equipped for Eddie and Max to carry on healing and resting without worrying about where to stay since the trailer park was basically destroyed. He had seen the colours of the connections to Hopper all brighten though so had figured out the man was safe and in Hawkins.
He was still surprised to open the door and see him though, “Hopper! You got back!”
“Nice change from the comments on being alive, but where do you think I’ve been, Harrington?” Hopper eyed him warily, glancing at Robin who looked just as cheerful to see him rather than the stunned reactions he had been getting.
“Ah, well,” Steve pushed a hand through his hair, glancing around at the teens already there before asking, “Can I explain that privately? Without listeners in?”
Murray cleared his throat, stating, “Joyce and I want to know too.”
“And I’m staying to support you, Steve.” Robin reassured, glaring as the younger group started all trying to claim they got told what Steve knew themselves.
At Steve’s nod agreeing to explain to the three adults, she turned a grin that was all teeth on the children, waving at the door. “Great, Shitheads, get out of here! El and Will also leave please.”
“And-” Before the complaints started, Nancy started to call her reasoning on needing to stay but was cut off by a clap.
“You two are shitheads as well, I think.” Eddie called in amusement, getting up from where he had been sat talking DnD with Will and clapping again, “Come on Wheeler, Byers, random guy and children, let Steve keep his privacy.”
~
Explaining to Robin had been easy. Every time before that that Steve had tried explaining what he could see had been difficult and ended up getting dismissed as a joke or a story, except for Jemima. He didn’t expect the chief of police to be easy to explain to but at least hoped he would be believed given everything else they gone through.
“You’re a witch who can see connections between people items and jobs?” Hopper asked, brow furrowed and watching Steve carefully.
He nodded easily, “Yes.”
“Sure, why not?” He rolled his eyes before narrowing them again, “You knew I was alive because of the connections people have to me?”
“Yes, cause they didn’t change like the ones to the dead do.” Steve expanded how he’d said it earlier, hoping that would help.
Joyce leant over to place a hand on his knee, looking comforting and concerned, “Why didn’t you tell us?”
He wasn’t sure if she was asking about all his powers or about Hopper being alive but decided to answer as if she’d asked the second, “Cause, like we said, either Hopper was trapped in the Upside Down and El would beat herself up trying to get her powers again, or he was captured by Russians and we had no way of locating or saving him. I did do a few spells trying to help him though.”
Hopper straightened then, looking down at himself as if something he’d decided not to question suddenly made sense. “Is that why I kept healing as if I was healthy and allowed to rest?”
“One of them should have worked like that.” Steve agreed, thinking of how many times he’d done that charm recently, “Never done it on someone closer to know for sure though, well, until the last fights.”
Murray had been quiet through Steve’s explanation and watching Joyce and Hopper since it had ended, though he had been taking notes on some of it. It felt unusual for someone Steve had known to always have something to say, so he was glad when he finally spoke up, “What can you teach us to do and what’s something only you can do? Sounds like the witch you learnt from can’t see connections the way you can.”
“He’s not a teacher!” Robin protested for him. “Even I haven’t asked to learn it because this is something special to him.”
“And I mostly learnt from books. Pick up a book on herbs, learn what home remedies they’ve been used in and then I might lend you one on charms because they build from that.” Steve agreed. He was not going to accidentally make a coven of witches when all the books spoke of those attracting power hungry people if they grew too strong. Hawkins did not need more people like that and Jemima had agreed the one time she’d asked if he’d thought about it.
Murray started to say something more but Joyce spoke over him, “Why aren’t you telling the kids, Steve? They’d love to know about this?”
“Because they managed to find monsters in Hawkins when nobody knew about them. I’m worried about what they might uncover if they learnt about magic. Also, I really don’t need more insults to my intelligence when sharing something that’s special to me. Most of the kids are utter brats.”
“You’re right there, especially Wheeler.” Hopper grumbled, getting a laugh from everyone. “But if stuff happens again, or you need to use it more often, you’ll probably need to tell at least El.”
Steve smiled, “I’ve always been pretty sure that she’ll be the one I tell first out of the kids.”
“But not until he’s ready.” Robin insisted, a hard stare directed at the adults to ensure they knew they shouldn’t push.
The three nodded back at her in understanding.