Chapter Text
DAY 000
Something is wrong.
When one has gone through a traumatic event, especially more than once, they tend to develop a sixth sense that helps keep them alive. They learn to sense when the danger has passed, when to run and fight, or when they’re in the eye of the storm, just waiting and watching for the other shoe to drop. Steve stands there, staring at the remnants of the glass window trickle down to the muck below, and knows that this is one of those times when the worse has yet to pass.
Sweat pools down the back of Steve’s neck as a familiar chill starts to creep into his bones—one that the lingering flames eating away at the Creel house can’t chase no matter how brightly they burn. This isn’t fair. They’re supposed to feel relief from watching Vecna’s flailing body crash out the window into the forever night sky. There’s supposed to be fanfare and cheering and just—all those other damn happy feelings flooding his systems from winning! Not this damn static buzzing so loud in his skull threatening to swallow him whole.
Sucking in a breath through clenched teeth he turns to lock eyes with Nancy while he bends down towards Robin who’s laying on the floor. Even though they aren’t close anymore, he can still spot the cracks in her mask that give way to her feeling the same fear as him. She’s twitchy in the way that her finger constantly moves on and off the trigger of her shotgun. Wide blue eyes direct their hard gaze every which way—across the room searching for any lingering danger, then going back to stare into his own confused brown hues. Her lips are pressed into that thin line she normally wears when stressed before they part to speak:
“We need to get out of here.”
Scrambling to get his best friend back on her feet, they discover that one of Robin’s ankles had been sprained during the battle. She hisses in pain and nearly falls over again, but Steve is quick to catch her in his arms before her face meets the floor. As he goes on about checking over her now swollen ankle, he watches from the corner of his eye how Nancy is digging through their bags in search of something. A small first aid kit is tossed his way (which he stumbles with catching for a few seconds) followed shortly by their walkie-talkie being pulled out into the open air. Unfortunately, the device is dented and cracked in multiple places that even he can see from the other side of the room—likely due to the vines they had encountered earlier in the hall.
An angry huff is given as Nancy drops the destroyed device back into the bag before turning once more towards him.
“Steve, we have to hurry and check on the others.”
All remaining color drains from Steve’s face as he realizes that none of his kids will be able to contact them. This is what his body was warning him about.
He’s quick to hop onto his feet, pulling a wobbly Buckley up with him. Lucky for them, he’s used to working through his own pain (thank you adrenaline and all those after-school sports practices) and Nancy hadn’t been bruised too badly beyond the vine attack in the hallway. With one of Robins's arms around each of their shoulders and a makeshift splint wrapped around her ankle, they hobble as fast as they can out of the house with hopes of never returning.
Despite the sense of urgency and fear coursing through his veins, each step is carefully taken to make sure that they don’t waste any time tripping over any vines. The slimy bastards aren’t able to alert Vecna anymore but that doesn’t mean that they can’t grab the attention of any other creatures that are close by. Vecna may be down for the count but the Upside Down and its creatures predated him by who knows how long. The last thing they need is for a demogorgon to ambush them in their tired condition. It took all their strength on a good day to take on one of them, in their state now they would undoubtedly lose to a gruesome death.
There’s also the possibility of even more creatures lurking in the woods waiting to strike. One new flying species and an evil wizard were enough for this adventure.
Shuffling around for what felt like hours, the adrenaline coursing through his veins starts to die down, making his movements more sluggish but still careful, when the trailer park finally comes into reach. A sigh of relief is ready to escape his mouth when he sees body after body of demobats knocked out on the ground, but then a noise catches his attention causing him to choke it down.
The most heartbroken noises are coming from an area just beyond the trailer park. A trail of demobat bodies leads the way like a sick bloody trail of breadcrumbs. Static begins to flood Steve’s head once more as the sobbing grows louder and louder with each step taken. Vaguely, he registers Robin telling them to be careful and how this might be a new creature trying to lure them in with false cries. Honestly, he wouldn’t be surprised if her rambles were true at this point, however, there’s some part of his brain urging him to continue on towards the noise.
It’s when the trio finally steps foot into Forest Hills does the voice in all its anguish finally become clear enough to be recognizable.
That’s Dustin’s voice.
Without a second thought, Steve is running at full speed through the clearing. In the back of his head, he recognizes that Nancy had been expecting his reaction upon figuring out whose voice it was and prepared herself, fully ready to shoulder all of Robin’s weight on her own.
He’ll make sure to thank her for that later.
Immediately, the worse is coming to mind as he’s jumping over both sleeping and dead demobats, a new round of adrenaline and anxiety starting to pump through his veins numbing the pain of his torso injuries. He’s absolutely going to feel this in the morning with the way he’s full-on leaping over garbage and corpses like he’s in a goddamn track meet, but none of that matters at this moment.
Right now he needs to get to his nerds and make sure that they’re safe and alive.
Those idiots shouldn’t be this far away from the trailer! Another leap. I specifically told them not to be heroes and to go through the portal at the first sign of danger! He slips on black goo but is quick to correct his footing and carry on at full speed. God, why is Henderson crying? Why is his voice the only one I hear? Paying no mind to the way his breathing becomes labored he leaps over a fallen bike.
Where the hell is Eddie?!
Darting around a corner, he gets his answer when Dustin finally comes into view. The freshman is sitting awkwardly on the ground in the middle of a large circle consisting of purely bats, weeping into the air. Catching the younger one's attention, teary blue eyes finally look up to lock with worried brown ones.
“S-Steve…”
His name is spoken as a broken plea and it awakens some primal instinct within, making Steve push through his limits and move faster.
“I’m coming, Henderson!”
Breaking their stare off he looks down towards Dustin’s lap to finally see what’s occupying it—only to stop dead in his tracks a mere foot away.
It’s Eddie .
Another sob breaks loose from Dustin, kickstarting his brain back into action. Rushing forward he’s quick to drop to his knees, one shaky hand moving to search for a pulse on Eddie’s neck as the other grips Dustin’s shoulder like a lifeline. This isn’t the proper way to find a pulse like he was taught, but there’s a deep urge for him to latch onto the younger one making sure that he is in fact in front of him and safe.
In return, he feels one of Dustin’s shaking hands grab onto his own on top of his shoulder, his sobs coming out louder as fat tears roll down his face, leaving tear streaks through the ash and dirt on his plump cheeks.
“It’s okay, man. I’m here. It’s gonna be okay.” Steve gives his shoulder a squeeze. “We’re all gonna make it out of here just like I promised you guys at the start.”
Despite the determination in his words, there is a hesitance that claws its way up his throat, threatening to pull it shut while he continues to look for a pulse on Eddie’s neck. He needs a pulse. They all need him to have one. Time seems to freeze as bony fingers continue their search for a heartbeat. This isn’t how this was supposed to play out. In his desperation, he feels his fingers slip over a warm and sticky substance that makes a lump form in his throat and a stinging sensation tug at the corner of his eyes.
“We’re gonna be okay. Munson, you’re gonna be ok—“
He looks down only to have his words die on his tongue. Panicking eyes now stare into half-lidded ones gazing off into the distance. The shine of life and mischief that once laced those impossible huge brown hues is now replaced with a cloudy gaze that makes his stomach twist and churn with the urge to puke.
Before he can even register the action, shaky hands begin to dart around as they move to the other side of Eddie’s neck, going down to both wrists and back up again. Nothing. Leaning forward, he presses his ear just a hair-length away from Eddie’s bloody mouth and waits. He’ll take anything at this point—a small gust of air showing that he’s breathing or even a gurgle of air bubbles. Just something!
As he waits for even the faintest breath to leave Munson’s chapped lips, his eyes focus on the leather-clad chest, waiting for it to move just the slightest bit.
Seconds tick by with not a single movement from the body underneath him.
Eddie Munson is dead.
Briefly, he registers two sharp gasps behind him that activate his fight or flight response. But before he can react he sees Robin drop down to her knees beside him while Nancy fishes out the first aid kit beside Dustin.
Steve can feel his eyes starting to gloss over with unshed tears as he moves back to look at the still sobbing boy. Dustin’s falling tears serve as his reminder that he has to be the strong one here.
“What happened?”
“He saved me.” The stinging of unshed tears grows more intense as he feels Robin cling to his side. “The b-bats found a way to get into the house. They were gonna make it to our world and he locked me in the trailer and ran out.” Steve stays silent as he watches the boy clutch Eddie closer to him.
“Eddie ran out and got their attention but I fought to go after him and hurt my foot.” A sob. “He was so brave, Steve. He took out so many of those fuckers before they…b-before they…”
They all watch as Dustin wipes away at his tears only to smear blood along his face. None of them move to say anything about it.
Jumping to his feet he groans as he sways from side to side while his vision swirls with the red and black of his surroundings. The exhaustion of being on the run for a week has finally caught up to him—and at the absolute worst time. But he wouldn’t be Steve Fucking Harrington if he didn’t know how to work through some pain and minor contusions. Taking a moment to roll his shoulders back, Steve bends down, wraps his hands underneath Eddie’s arms, lifts him slightly off the ground, and begins to drag him back towards the mimic of the trailer park. Right now, he may not have enough strength to carry him, but he damn sure can drag Eddie back to the otherside.
“What are you doing?” Robin asks.
“What does it look like I’m doing, Rob?” Looking up, he gives her a pointed stare and a wave of the hand to follow. “I’m bringing Munson home.”
Like hell was he going to leave one of his own in this, well, hell. Not while he’s still able to do something about it. They’re all going to get back to their correct world one way or another, dammit.
“Now move it before the damn portal closes on our asses.” Slowly but surely, he can hear his friends gathering themselves up to follow his lead. Sucking in a deep breath, he continues his plan—only stopping to kick away a bat corpse or some trash—with Nancy shouldering both Dustin and Robin as they hop alongside her towards their destination.
Just as he’s about to (unfortunately) tug Eddie onto the grass marking their halfway point, does a truly terrifying screech break the solemn silence around them. Freezing up, he turns to look at Nancy to see if she has a plan formed. After all, she normally does. But when he sees the hard press set of her lips and follows her gaze moving from Eddie’s body to his own hands and face, he finds he already knows what her next words are before they’re uttered. This pushes him to begin dragging Eddie again with a faster pace just as another, closer screech echos throughout the lot.
“Steve.”
Pointedly ignoring Nancy’s call, he grunts as he pulls Eddie over a dirt mound.
“ Steve .”
“ No .”
God, the grass was making this so much harder than it needed to be! Tugging quicker, he glances up just in time to see Dustin tumble over the dirt mound in his hurry.
“ STEVE !” She’s calling for him again—louder, angrier.
“ NO! ” He can match her energy just fine.
“We don’t have time for this!” This time it’s Robin’s shaky voice speaking out. She’s struggling to walk but she’s doing her best and even managing to get a foot or so ahead of him and away from whatever is stalking them. The amazing power of adrenaline.
Dustin is now clinging to Nancy with desperation as he cries anew, piecing together her plan from their short conversation. “Nancy, we can’t leave him! We can’t leave Eddie with these monsters!” She’s doing her best to drag him along but it’s clear that they’re both struggling to speed up with the way the teenager is thrashing about.
A shadow sluggishly drags itself across the tree line, remaining just out of sight yet near enough to set all the hair on the back of their necks standing. Nerves alit with new energy, he pauses to try and raise Eddie up and onto his shoulders.
“I can carry both him and Dustin!” They all know that he can’t carry both of them at once with the injuries he sustained over their multiple trips into the Upside Down. “I just need a minute to prep myself and then we can go! Nancy, you watch our backs with your shotgun while Robin leads the way!”
At this point, Steve isn’t even sure that he can drag himself towards the trailer, let alone carry both a teenage boy and a grown man. And judging by the pained looks on both Robin and Nancy’s faces they both know that as well. The fatigue is catching up to him again, making the injuries around his neck and sides ache something fierce, but he’ll be damned if he lets the pain stop him now when they’re so close.
“Nancy, it’s fine, I can walk! See—ow, fuck!” The poor boy trips again, but this time he’s caught by Robin who circles back around to help.
They’re making too much noise. More screeching and growls are joining the ones they know about in the tree line. The monsters are waking up. Steve is well aware that they need to leave now, but there is a desperate piece of himself overriding the rational part of his brain, making him hang onto Eddie’s jacket with an iron grip.
“ He’s dead! ”
All eyes snap towards Nancy as she screams, cutting through whatever conversation was going on. To an outsider looking in, it would seem like she’s being heartless—yet they wouldn’t see how her always steady hands now shook and how her eyebrows are knitted together in fear as she stares them all down.
“I’m sorry! But we have to leave him.”
It’s quiet for exactly two heartbeats before all hell breaks loose.
“I can carry them both!”
“You’re the strongest out of all of us! If you can’t pick him up then we have to let him go!”
“Nancy, no! He doesn’t deserve this!”
“I’m with Nance on this, we can't waste any more time…”
“There are monsters out there! He can buy us even more time as another distraction as we run for it!”
A rumble that sounds way too close for comfort makes his attention pull off from Nancy to the trees to the left of them. Steve can hear his own blood rushing in his ears, drowning out the calls of his name as he pulls Eddie’s body across the yard like a madman. They’re so close he can make out the shape of the Munson trailer just a little ways away from them. He just needs some extra time and he can—
There’s something large crawling out of the shadows on all fours.
“Guys, we gotta go like yesterday!”
“Please no!”
“Let me do thi—!”
“I’m sorry.”
The last thing he sees as he turns is the butt of Nancy’s shotgun coming down on his head.
DAY 001
God, that fucking buzzing is back and is driving him absolutely nuts.
A groan works its way out of him as he begins to wake up. A grimace tugs at his features and pain blossoms through his neck and sides from the small movement. He immediately feels gentle, cool hands smoothing down his hair and whispering something sweet.
It hurts but Steve forces himself to crack open an eye and stare at whoever is touching him in a caring manner. Vision still blurry with drowsiness, he looks up just enough to make out the image of a woman standing above him. He can’t make out much aside from basic features— she’s tall, thin, a honey brunette, with lips painted such a specific shade of pomegranate red that it kicks a ball of nostalgia right into his chest.
His mom is here to see him and it brings a bright smile out of him despite the pain. This has to be her. They must have gotten a call about everything going down in town and came back on the first flight. It means so much to him that she came back from her vacation to see him in his time of need. Reaching out with desperation, he places a hand upon her own and pulls it down to lay on his cheek, nuzzling into it. In his childhood, before she grew distant, he could recall many times when he laid on his mother's lap with her soft hands stroking at his hair and face. She once said that it was her favorite thing in the world to do.
Running on pure excitement, Steve fails to take notice of how he slips into his mother's native language.
“ Mamma, sei tu? ”
“I’m sorry, what did you say, sweetie?”
Steve almost gives himself whiplash from how fast he rips his face out of the woman’s hand. Blinking a few times and raising his hands to scrub at his eyes, he squints up at the woman again with more clarity. Even though they share similarities, now that he’s more lucid he can make out just how different this woman—a nurse, judging from her uniform—and his mother truly are. Whereas his mother has soft green eyes that fade around the edges into brown, this woman has baby blue eyes and cheekbones that are much higher than his mother's. He’s pretty sure his face must be completely red in the fluorescent lighting of the hospital from how badly he just embarrassed himself.
“Oh. Um .” A cough. “Sorry, I thought… I thought you were someone else.”
A warm and amused smile is given as the nurse—her name tag says: Brenda—removes her hand from his.
“It’s okay, honey. You’ve been through a lot if your wounds are anything to go by. And your wounds say that you’ve been through hell and back.”
If only she knew how true those words are.
Moving gracefully, she makes quick work of checking his vitals, pausing a few times to jot notes down before returning her attention back to him.
“Everything looks okay so far. Thankfully, you don’t have a concussion, but you do have multiple injuries such as lacerations and puncture wounds on your torso, back, and neck.” While she speaks, she starts walking towards the left side of his bed where he finally takes notice of Robin scrunched up in a ball looking as small as possible while sitting on a chair.
How long has she been there?!
“You’ll have to take some antibiotics and make sure to redress all your wounds at least once a day. Make sure not to take any baths until you start to scab up as well.”
Steve knows that he should be listening to her but his mind is stuck on the fact that Robin just witnessed him calling his nurse mommy.
“I do suggest that you go see an optometrist and get some glasses. Your sight seems to be a little delayed.” God, they should have let the bats choke him when they had the chance.
“Before I go, I’ll show you and your girlfriend how to redress your wounds since you’re due for a change.” Oh great . On top of embarrassing himself in front of his best friend, now the nurse thinks that they’re a couple.
Muttering out a quiet “Okay, thank you,” he focuses all of his attention on watching the nurse unwrap and redo his bandages. When she’s done, he chances a glance to see the look of worried concentration on Robin as her eyes follow after the nurse who’s now prepping to go.
“You’ll be able to leave later today since your injuries are no longer grave.” She smiles at him. “Please make sure to take care of yourself, Mr. Harrington.”
Watching the older woman take her leave, Steve chooses to keep his gaze locked on the door instead of meeting Robin’s own curious one.
“You know… sometimes I forget that you’re Italian. You’ve got to teach me some cuss words next time we hang out.”
She’s given him an out and he’s gonna latch onto it like a fish on a line. A chuckle is given in response as relief floods his system. He finally turns to his best friend to see her drag the plastic hospital chair towards his bedside with little grace.
“Of course that’s the first thing you want me to teach you, Buckley.”
No longer a whole room apart, Steve can feel her take his larger hand into her own and squeeze. From that little movement alone he knows that she has some bad news for him. With the haziness no longer fogging up his brain, he’s pretty sure he knows what she’s going to talk about.
“Do you want the good news or the bad news first?”
The fact that there’s even bad news to tell makes his heart rate spike. “Good news first. I need my mood to be up some before it plummets.”
“Good choice. I can’t have you going back down. But… that does mean that I can see that hot nurse again.” His fingers twitch with the urge to throw his pillow at her grinning face. She’s making jokes to lighten his mood and it’s working.
“Alright. Good news! Here we go.” She takes a deep breath and he knows that he’s in for a ride. “The Byers’ are in town with Mike and some new guy named Argyle? They’re moving back! And guess who Joyce brought along with her? Hopper! Yes, police chief Hopper that was pulling up on his one-year death anniversary! Apparently, he was trapped in Russia and Joyce, with help from Murray, went to save him. God, that woman is so badass, who knew? Also, Nancy’s dream about Vecna destroying the world didn’t come true. The town is still standing… kinda.”
Steve has no idea how to respond so instead he just squeezes her hand. This is enough of a prompt to get Robin to continue.
“I should warn you that there is more bad news than there is good news.”
He braces himself.
“Okay… so… Max is alive but she’s in a coma with both her legs and her left arm broken. Dustin just had a sprained ankle and some bruises like me. Chip off the ol’ block, right? Lucas got beat up pretty badly by Jason, who by the way, is still on his bullshit and running around town doing God knows what. Erica also got roughed up by one of Jason’s goons but she managed to kick his ass and escape.
“Also, an earthquake shook the town while you were knocked out. Turns out all the portals grew unstable and collapsed in on themselves which caused the earthquakes. Mind you, we narrowly escaped the Upside Down because that bad boy closed up on us as soon as we had tumbled through it into Ed’s—“ Her motormouth snaps shut on his name and her expression grows pinched.
“We… we… also had to leave Eddie behind. The thing chasing us stopped to sniff at him which bought us enough time to get to his trailer.”
Steve can feel himself spiraling, and from the panicked look in Robin’s eyes, he knows that she can see it too. Cool hands are placed on either side of his face as an anchor as the room starts to rotate and his breathing grows erratic. His kids are hurt. They got hurt and he wasn’t there to protect any of them. He may not be the best in a fight but he could have taken on Jason and his goons to buy the Sinclair siblings time to get out. All of them will be scarred for life from the events that occurred. For fucks sake—Max, the toughest person he knows, is in a coma. And Eddie… Eddie is gone.
Starting to feel disconnected from his body, Robin pulls him flush against her torso in a tight hug. Her heartbeat does its job of grounding him before he became too far gone.
“Shh Stevie, let it out.”
Wrapped up in her warm embrace, Steve feels a few tears start to roll down his cheeks. Slowly, he places his arms around her waist and buries his face into her shoulder—shaking with held-back tears in his hospital room.
DAY 003
Despite the fact that Steve had been released from the hospital the day he awoke, he actually didn’t end up leaving until a day and a half later. After the conversation with Robin, she helped him gather his few belongings, change into the clean clothes she brought for him, and then together they departed for Max’s room.
The sight of the spitfire that was Max Mayfield laying so still in bed with three of her limbs in casts was absolutely surreal. If it wasn’t for the fact that Lucas (he took notice of the bandages and bruising on the younger teen's face that made his heart clench) was sitting in a chair by her bedside, Steve would have sobbed right then and there.
With each adventure in the Upside Down, there had been casualties that affected each of them greatly. But this time the hellscape had taken too much, preventing them all from bouncing back.
Moving forward with measured steps, Steve placed a comforting hand on Lucas’ shoulder, feeling the boy starting to shake as he clutched at the bedsheets before them. Behind him, he could hear Robin shuffling closer to stand on Max’s other side.
Since he stepped foot into that room, he decided to spend as much time as he possibly could glued to the ginger's side. From there, he was able to check up on each of his kids who came to visit Max throughout the day in a flurry of questions and tight hugs. He was even able to sweet talk the nurses into allowing him and Lucas to stay well into the night, past visiting hours to keep the comatose girl company in case she woke up in the night.
However, there were only so many nurses he could work the ol’ Harrington charm on. Combine that with the worry of the Sinclair parents dragging their son home to eat and bathe and the two boys had thus been kicked out of the hospital room after two days.
And that’s how Steve finds himself on his doorstep with a plastic bag of stuff from the hospital.
Keys already in hand, he unlocks the door and steps through the threshold only to let out a tired sigh. As expected, the Harrington household was left untouched from when he sped out to meet up with Dustin almost two weeks ago. He can tell from the layer of dust settled on the kitchen counter and how his work vest was left carelessly thrown over the couch from his rush. The only signs of disruption in the house would be the few picture frames and expensive decorative bobbles shattered on the floor from the earthquake. His parents would have never tolerated the mess if they were home.
Walking towards the kitchen island, completely ignoring the mess for now, the red plastic bag is placed almost dead center while he shuffles past in favor of grabbing an apple from the fruit bowl next to it. He doesn’t have much of an appetite these days but he needs something in his system to help his body heal quicker. A few bites later, he can’t help but have his attention pulled back towards the bag.
To be quite honest he’s not too sure about what’s in there aside from the stuff he was wearing during the battle, which left him surprised that the hospital didn’t just throw them out after seeing all the foreign ooze and ash. Honestly, he should just trash them himself since he knows firsthand that it takes way too much time scrubbing the black goo out of clothes than they’re worth.
So with another big bite of the apple, his free hand reaches out to grab the bag by its knotted neck. He carries it towards the garbage bin. Yet, just as he’s about to drop it in, a strange sensation to look inside swirls in his chest. It wouldn’t hurt to check and make sure that nothing too valuable is inside like his ID or something.
Backtracking to the granite island, he keeps the apple locked between his teeth while he unties the bag. The continents inside are pretty much what he expected—his clothes from the battle with Vecna, oh, his wallet is actually in the pants pocket, Robin's hat for some reason, a broken walkie-talkie, and—
The apple falls from his mouth as his jaw grows slack from the shock of seeing the last item in the bag. Buried underneath the mess of objects is one piece of clothing the man swore he returned to its owner days ago. Staring right up at Steve from the bag are the words ‘DIO’ in all its colorful and daring charm. It’s Eddie’s denim vest. Scrambling back into action, freckled hands dart into the plastic bag to pull the item out into the open.
Racking his brain for how the damn thing ended up in his care, chocolate hues roam over the vest, taking it in. Steve didn’t have the time to check it out before with everything that was going on, but now he stands there and turns the item over to inspect it. This is Eddie’s vest that he created with messy zig-zag stitches and safety pin pockets. Something he obviously put a lot of work and time in. Even a stranger could look at it without knowing the metalhead and see how much love was put into it.
His grip turns harsh as he sucks in a deep breath to try and calm himself down.
The once-loved vest is now reduced to a nightmare . Blood, both red and black, decorates the denim in sick splashes. In a way, it looks like paint splatters. The metal pins are crusted with equal amounts of blood and dirt, the patches will be forever ruined with splotches of color that don’t belong, and the whole thing smells like the ash that danced in the Upside Down air.
It isn’t worth saving. It’s the most destroyed article of clothing in the bag and should immediately be thrown out. Recalling back to his first escapades with the other world, Steve can remember throwing out every single piece of clothing that was speckled with even the faintest touch of goo after his first jacket got ruined.
However, standing there with the once cherished item in hand, he can’t help but feel his stomach turn and twist from the mere thought of trashing it. To think that he had almost done it moments ago sends Steve into a mood.
Steve still isn’t sure how the thing came into his care after Vecna, but he remembers when Eddie first gave it to him—soaked to the bone with a disgruntled expression plastered on his face that contradicted the worry in those impossibly huge eyes. “For your modesty,” he said. Recalling the interaction brings a clipped laugh out of him.
Eddie had really saved his ass back there from freezing in the tainted air.
And while Steve may not have been able to save him back, he can try and save his jacket.
No longer worried about his own clothes littering the island, he brings the vest close to his chest, uncaring of the grime, before dashing off deeper into his house.
Steve is on a mission.
The vest was left in his care, and since the previous owner (that brings an ache to his chest), could no longer care for it, he will. It’s the least he can do after everything.
Basically throwing himself into his own laundry room, he becomes a blur as he snatches up the needed supplies before darting back into the kitchen.
That’s how Steve Harrington finds himself scrubbing maniacally at the tailored vest with a toothbrush well into the late night.
DAY 004
Every adventure in the Upside Down is paired with the arrival of federal agents at their doors. They’re only ever there for two reasons:
1.) To ask where Eleven is.
2.) To have the party sign NDA’s and drop off what he likes to call ‘hush money,’ stored away in a hidden account for dealing with a problem that the government couldn’t solve.
And now there are two agents currently standing outside his door, both with stacks of papers in hand and an air of annoyance around them.
Steve can’t help the sigh that escapes as he steps back to clear a path for them to enter.
“Let’s get this over with.”
DAY 006
“Thank you for dropping off all these extra clothes, Mr. Harrington! You’ve been a great help.”
“It’s no problem at all, Mrs. Carlson.”
“If you want, you can stay and help me fold them.”
“Actually — ” Offering up a charming smile, he’s quick to slide out of the older woman’s grasp before her perfectly red-manicured hands can sink into his elbow. Again. “I promised Robin I would help her pass out food today, so I’m just gonna go and do that.”
Managing to slip past her, Steve tosses her another fake dazzling smile before dashing off to the other side of the gymnasium.
When the earthquakes hit Hawkins a few days ago, they shook the town both physically and metaphorically. It wasn’t the creature-filled nightmare Nancy described to them but it was still powerful enough to damage a good amount of houses, the ones closer to the portals receiving the worst of it. With the chaos that came from the quake, it was agreed upon by the city council to push back spring break until the populace could get their homes inspected and fixed to be suitable to return to.
Thus making the high school a temporary shelter to keep everyone who currently was out of a home. It was a no-brainer that the group of teens (sans three of them for obvious reasons) had been some of the first to volunteer to help. It was only natural that the older ones followed after them.
Making it halfway across the gym, he stops after spotting Dustin from the corner of his eye. He has the full intention of walking over to scold the boy for walking around without his crutches or boot, but the fire behind his steps goes cold when he spots who Dustin is hobbling towards.
Wayne Munson .
Steve freezes up. It’s something he can’t help due to the fact that none of them have had the time to explain anything to Wayne about what happened to his nephew. And judging from the missing poster the older man just replaced on the bulletin board, he still has hope in his heart. A hope that was going to be destroyed by one injured teen.
Faintly, he notices that the older man shares the same worried face as his nephew.
Bitting at his bottom lip, Steve takes a few careful steps back, making sure that he won’t be spotted by the other two. He must look odd standing still in the middle of the hustle and bustle of the gym, but no one pays him much attention as he watches the two interact. The conversation starts off by the board before it’s moved over to one of the many cots decorating the space. He can’t hear anything spoken between them but judging by Wayne’s expression, he knows that Dustin’s words have made it quite clear that something bad happened to Eddie.
It’s heartbreaking seeing the intimidating man break down into full-on sobs that can be heard from his position across the gym. It makes his heart clench to witness the once proud man become so broken. The pain becomes worse when he sees Dustin holding the man as he sheds his own tears.
Despite the fact that their conversation was held in public, he can tell that this is a very private moment.
Wiping away a stray tear of his own, Steve turns to walk away—but not before hearing Wayne’s broken voice ring out clipped and in pain.
“My boy… please … not my boy…”
DAY 009
“—with the dream of Wonderland of long ago, and how she would feel with all their simple sorrows, and find pleasure in all their simple joys, remembering her own child life, and the happy summer days. The end.”
Gentle hands flip the cover closed on the dog-eared book before placing it on the nightstand next to a vase of flowers.
“Who knew that the sassy and mean-spirited Mayfield was such a huge fan of Alice in Wonderland.”
An amused look is given to the sleeping girl beside him before he moves to fluff up the mountain of pillows surrounding her. Steve knows that if she was awake the teen would have most certainly said something along the lines of: ‘shut it, Steve’ or ‘this coming from the guy who has Disney prince vibes’ before laughing at his expense.
“Now before you curse me out in your head, just know that I didn’t go snooping around in your room. Your mom loaned me a bunch of your books and asked me to read them to you when she couldn’t.”
On the rare chance that Lucas wasn’t here by Max’s side, it was her mother who was here with a new book of fairytales to read to her child. Steve could see the change in Ms. Mayfield—from a drunk recluse to stressed out and somber. She didn’t cut the drinking cold turkey, but she was able to hold a conversation with most people without dozing off anymore.
That was a bonus.
“And don’t worry, I didn’t tell Lucas about your collection of fairytales either.” A smile makes its way onto his face as he sits back down. “But you better wake up soon because I can only hide them behind the sunflowers for so long.”
Steve can feel his smile die down the longer he looks at the teenager unmoving in her bed. The monitors she’s hooked up to beep steadily, filling the silence in the room as he just sits there and stares for a minute that turns into two and then five. Eventually, he sighs before moving to grab another book hidden behind the large bundle of sunflowers beside her bed.
“How about I read you the Frog Prince next?”
DAY 010
In a small place like this, gossip blows through the people like wildfire. So it doesn’t take long for news of Wayne Munson to reach him, especially seeing as how he and his nephew had been the talk of the town for the past month.
Apparently, Wayne packed up his truck, dropped his house keys off with Joyce (that was still a shock that the two knew each other), and left with only the words of needing a vacation down south, back to his hometown in Louisiana.
Steve couldn’t blame him when he felt like doing the same exact thing over the course of three years.
DAY 013
RING! RING!
What the fuck is that noise?
RING! RING!
A deep and extremely annoyed whine is ripped out of Steve’s throat as he’s yanked from the bliss of a dreamless sleep into awareness. He blinks once, then twice, trying to force his eyes to focus while his hands search around for his new glasses. Finding the things trapped in his hair—they aren’t anything too special, just a basic black pair of frames that he refuses to wear whenever he’s not alone—he slowly pulls himself into a sitting position on the couch he once was asleep on.
And if a beer bottle or two rolls off his lap and underneath the coffee table then that’s his business.
RING! RING!
Oh right, the noise is the phone. Getting off the couch with another groan, he takes the few steps needed to get into the kitchen and near the damn thing that woke him up. Still a little groggy, he clears his throat before answering.
“Harrington residence, who’s speaking?”
“It’s about time you picked up, Steve. I wasn’t going to call my own house again.” Hearing the baritone voice of his father causes his body to stand straight, instantly sobering him up on the spot.
“Sorry sir, I just stepped inside.” It’s a lie, but if his father knew that he was asleep on the couch well into the afternoon he’d catch hell.
“Now then. I heard about everything that happened to the town. Was the house damaged at all? Are the cars okay?”
He listens to his father ramble on asking more questions: “Did anything important get damaged?” and “Is the pool okay?” or “How’s the TV in the living room?” Never once does his father stop to ask if his own son was harmed. It’s been two weeks and now he decides to call and ask only about material objects.
There’s a stinging pain coming from how his hand unconsciously grips at one of the wounds on his side, undoubtedly pulling at the dissolvable stitches there. It hurts but it keeps the anger currently boiling away in his chest at bay.
“Nothing important was damaged during the earthquake.” He makes sure to keep his voice steady. “Only a few cups and loose decorations were destroyed.”
“Good, good.” A pause occurs on the other line before the sound of shuffling.
“Now go check the—Aurora, don’t—“
“My love, are you okay?”
Like a flipped switch, Steve can feel the tension leaving his body as his mother’s voice washes over him. It’s a bonus that she chose to speak in Italian instead of English just to block out his father from the conversation. He can feel himself smiling as he slips into the other language.
“Yes mama, I’m fine. I have a few injuries from saving the kids I babysit but nothing major.”
“As long as it’s nothing major. You’re so good for being there with those kids. But did you go to the hospit —Richard, please! I haven’t spoken to him in two mon—“ Muffled voices replace his mother’s for a split second, too quick for him to be able to decipher what they’re saying, but he has a good guess on what’s happening.
“I’m sorry, tesoro mio, but I have to go.” More whispering. “ I don’t know when we’ll be back but know that I love you. ”
Opening up his mouth to reply, he’s cut off by the phone's monotone beeping letting him know that the line is now dead. It fills the chilly air and echoes throughout the empty halls of the house as Steve places the phone back on its receiver.
“ …love you too, mama .”
DAY 017
Slowly, the town of Hawkins is able to piece itself back together.
Roads are opening back up, houses with minor damage are cleared for families to return to, and there hasn’t been a single sighting of an otherworldly creature in days.
The school still remains closed to house the many families still waiting for the all-clear to go back home, but the kids view that as a positive thing. After all, no one wants to do homework while still recovering.
As the town moves on from the incident, it leaves behind the few people who have been scarred and wounded. His friends who can’t even discuss what went down are left in the dust.
But at least they have their families to comfort them.
It’s only Steve who is left to patch up his own wounds like usual.
DAY 020
With the town coming back to life came the reopening of less essential stores, such as Family Video. In all honesty, he was pleasantly surprised that Keith hadn’t fired either him or Robin due to them missing their shifts for a full week before the town shut down. It may have helped that their manager ran into them still bandaged up while volunteering at the high school a few days ago.
Did they keep their jobs out of pity? Yeah. Was he gonna complain about it? Hell no.
It was the first day back for them both and to their surprise, the store was packed from the moment they opened—it was as if half of Hawkins had decided to suddenly expand their movie knowledge on the same day. That, or they were all just looking for distractions while the town was still in the midst of repairs.
The latter sounded the closest to the truth.
And fuck, he was gonna roll with the distraction too.
Steve weaves and ducks around Robin in a weird kind of dance as they pass each other, dealing with customer after customer. It isn’t until the late afternoon that the steady stream of people hits a lull, giving them a chance to finally eat. A firm flip of the open sign to closed, the pair finds themselves leaning on one another on the couch in the back room, picking away at each other's lunches with the radio blasting a Madonna song on the table.
“Ugh, I can’t believe that we actually ran out of copies of the Goonies in one day!” He watches as Robin knocks back the last of her milkshake before continuing. “If we get another rush tonight asking for it they’re gonna burn the store down!”
“They’re not gonna burn the store down, Birdie.”
“They are! I had to deal with Mrs. Jefferson and Mrs. Sanderson fighting over the last copy while you were off flirting with that cheerleader.”
“We were not flirting.”
He vaguely recalls who she’s talking about—a cheerleader with brown hair pulled up into twin tails. There had been no flirting done on his part. But… now that he thinks about it… she did keep touching his arm and standing extremely close.
“Okay, so I wasn’t flirting.” Crushing up his burger wrapper, he tosses it into the bin. “Besides, I’m not exactly in peak condition right now to give her what she wants,” he says while tapping the right side of his shirt where his bandages were hidden.
Meaningless sex isn’t super high up on his list of priorities at the moment anyway. Even if it is fun.
“STEVE! EW! GROSS!”
A fry hits his cheek as his best friend starts breaking down into a fit of laughter beside him. Soon enough, Steve finds his own laugh start to bubble up as he tosses a fry of his own at her. It’s nice to feel so light, Robin truly has a way of bringing the best out of him. Giggling some more, they continue to throw fries at each other as it quickly turns into who can catch the most in their mouth.
“That was Burning Up by the one and only Madonna! Our next song is a little more heavy, a lot of metal, and highly requested! Enjoy listeners!”
All it takes is for the first four notes to ring out to cause every single hair on his body to stand on end.
It’s Master of Puppets.
Instantly, Steve is transported out of the break room and into the musty forest of the Upside Down. Hiding. Waiting. As part of the team tasked with facing Vecna, he hadn’t been able to witness the distraction part of the plan, however, the chords had rang loud and clear enough to capture the attention of anything with ears. Crimson lighting flashes before his eyes, momentarily blinding him as hundreds of screeches meld into the chorus of the song.
Forcing himself to blink, he is no longer in the forest near the Creel house but in the trailer park surrounded by debris and corpses.
Oh god, please not here .
Panic surges through his spine at the sudden change of scenery. It spikes higher when he breathes in the sharp scent of metal mixed in with the tainted air. He’s freaking the fuck out. Unable to understand why he’s back here, he squeezes his hand around whatever the hell he’s holding onto only to hear the creak of leather underneath his grip.
Slowly, he tips his head down to stare at wh— WHAT THE FUCK!
A scream from deep within claws its way out of his chest as he flings himself back, trying to escape the blank stare of doe-like eyes digging into him. Scrambling backward, he watches in horror as sickening crunches and cracks fill his ears as the body begins to sit up and twist towards him in unnatural ways.
It was wrong. This was so wrong .
Steve can feel his breathing starting to speed up but regulating it is the last thing on his mind as the rotting appearance of a man slowly crawls towards him.
“E-Eddie?” he calls out hesitantly, just to watch in horror as the older man’s bloody jaw cracks open.
“…Why did you… leave me?”
At once, he's kicking his legs out and propelling himself backward to get as far away as he can. This is one of those odd moments where Steve’s fight or flight response is stuck flickering between the two options, causing him to break down.
“No, no no no! I didn’t want to leave you!”
His back bumps against something solid blocking his path. Tears are now streaming down his freckled cheeks as he presses himself flat against the object behind him, trying to make himself as small as possible. All of this does nothing to stop the visage of Eddie crawling on all fours across the grass, wide eyes blank and glossy like a doll.
“Why… didn’t you… save me?”
He’s closer now, bloodied face hovering just a few inches away from his own as he speaks.
“I tried to! I tried so hard!”
“Steve?!”
He can’t help the whimper that spills from his lips when clammy hands grasp either side of his face in a tight grip, forcing eye contact.
“It should… have been… you .”
Fat tears roll down his cheeks as he’s full-on sobbing now.
“I’m sorry! I’m so sorry.”
“STEVE!”
A harsh slap across his face breaks him out of the trance. Blinking once, twice, three times, he is no longer staring into Eddie’s murky eyes but into Robin’s soft blue ones. It takes some time, but he soon starts to take in the details around him. The vines and the ash of the Upside Down that filled his vision moments ago are now replaced with the back room of the Family video, reminding him that this is reality that he’s in.
“Oh, Stevie.”
The clammy hands on his face that he thought belonged to Eddie actually belong to Robin. He sees them from the corner of his eyes as they cradle his cheeks. She’s the one kneeling in front of him, not a corpse. Steve can feel himself starting to come back to himself as he melts into her hold, slumping forward to rest his forehead against her shoulder as tears fall freely.
“…We left him…”
“…We had no choice.”
Steve can feel his shoulder positioned underneath Robin’s face grow wet with her own fallen tears. She saw his corpse too, this affected her in some shape or form just like it did him. A gentle kiss is pressed against his temple.
“He would have wanted us to live.”
DAY 021
In the Harrington household, there are many places where one can hide things in. There’s the area behind the lazy Susan that his mother hides her wine in. The old and worn-out coffee ground tin in the garage where his father hides his coke. Or the locked drawer in his father’s study with their billing statements. Another of his father's many hidden stashes can be found in a small steel box in the attic Steve has yet to crack the code to.
As for Steve’s own hidden secret, he has a very special place. Located in the back right corner of his walk-in closet there are exactly four wooden panels that are loose enough to lift up if someone knows what they are doing.
In the hole are very few things—a double ziplock baggie of weed, a roughed up beige plush rabbit toy, a middle school basketball first place ribbon, an old crayon drawing of his family, one of his mother’s lipsticks, and lastly, a circular cookie tin filled with pictures of him and the gang hanging out.
Today, there is a new object being added to the hoard of trinkets. A freshly pressed denim battle vest is folded with gentle hands before being placed right beside the stuffed rabbit toy. It doesn’t feel right to keep it hidden, but Steve knows that it has to be done.
They are all things that his father would deem trash and would toss upon first look if they were left out in the open.
They are all things Steve has deemed irreplaceable and important to his heart.
DAY 024
“No running in the hospital!”
“Sorry, Miss Lucy!”
Despite his words, Steve continues to sprint down the hallway, an apologetic smile thrown over his shoulder at the older woman as he runs. About an hour ago, he received a phone call delivering some of the best news he could have possibly heard all year. It had taken all of Steve’s willpower to stick to the speed limit on his way here.
Buzzing with excitement, he slides past each and every individual who happens to cross his path. Steve’s almost grateful when he hits the less crowded halls of the coma ward. Picking up speed, he lets muscle memory take him to the last room on the right before rounding the doorway into the room.
“Ah!”
Forgetting to slow down, his hand darts out to grip the doorway, forcing his body to stop before he collides with the body a few inches in front of him.
“Look who finally decided to show up.”
Instantly, he lights up with joy at the voice that fills his ears. Peeking around Mr. Sinclair’s taller frame, he first spots Lucas kneeling against the bed with tears streaming down his face and a smile, his hands wrapped around one of Max’s own. Following the arm up, he locks gazes with Max’s own icy blue stare.
Her eyes are a little murkier than he remembers—she’s staring at him but it almost looks as if she can’t see him clearly with the way she squints at him.
Vecna took so much from his kids.
Yet Max is sporting the widest smile he’s ever seen her make while she laughs at her own joke. Steve can’t help the smile that tugs on his mouth.
“Nice to have you back, brat.”
DAY 026
Steve can feel his life flowing into a steady rhythm.
Take the kids to school, go to work, find something to do at home when the kids are busy, go to sleep.
Then wash, rinse, and repeat.
DAY 030
Tonight was an unusually warm night for the beginning of May.
The weather was not yet the sticky heat of summer, but it was also no longer the wet chilly air of spring. It was comfortable enough to warrant Steve being able to sit out near his pool without the need for extra layers, but that didn’t stop him from dragging out a light blanket, just to have something wrapped around his shoulders while he relaxed.
It was nice.
The buzzing in his head wasn’t super loud tonight, his wounds hadn’t ached at all today, and the sky was clear enough to see the stars above. He also had a brand-new portable radio and a six-pack by his side to keep him company.
All in all, it was one of the best nights alone that Steve has had in a very long time.
With a quick stretch of his arms, he’s snuggling back into the pool chair on a pile of pillows, only one arm free from his blanket cocoon to raise his beer up to his mouth every now and then. The radio is on a general station playing a mix of all genres and he finds himself humming along to every other song.
There are no thoughts in his head, it’s just him and the stars and his brain spacing out and enjoying the night.
He’s not exactly sure how long he’s been sitting out here but one can of beer quickly turns into three. The music turns from pop to less kid-friendly as the hours tick by. Right now, some rock song—Death Lion? Death Panther? Some band he’s never heard before—is softly playing from the speakers.
When you make love, do you look in your mirror?
Who do you think of, does he look like me?
It’s not exactly his cup of tea when it comes to music but it has a certain charm that stops Steve from reaching over and changing the station. He’s always been a sucker when it came to good songs.
Do you tell lies, and say that it's forever?
Do you think twice, or just touch and see?
Listening to the slow chords of the song, he can feel his eyelids grow heavy, a yawn escaping while he shuffles to pull his free arm into the warmth of the blanket. This wouldn’t be the first time he’s slept out by the pool and it looks like tonight is going to be one of those nights. Slowly, Steve can feel himself drifting off into a, hopefully, dreamless sleep.
Unfortunately, his peace comes to the end with the sudden sound of branches snapping.
The noise causes his body to shoot up in alertness, all traces of sleep dissipating as eyes dart around the yard trying to find the source of the noise. His eyes end up landing on a bush pressed up against the fence that’s still rattling with whatever is inside it.
It hadn’t even been a month yet and some bullshit is already starting.
He just can’t catch a fucking break.
Thanking his past self for having enough paranoia to bring along a bat with him (a simple metal bat, one of the many he had stashed around the house in various spots) he grips it tight within his hand as he raises out of his seat—stopping only to kick his blanket away before he gets tangled up in it.
Someone was in his backyard and like hell he was gonna let them get the jump on him.