Chapter Text
There has never been a peaceful day in the town of Hawkins. First Will disappeared, then Will returned, burdened with trauma and a mind-flayer invading and dominating everything, and then he came to the real world, and then there were the Russians, and… well, a lot happened.
When everything seemed peaceful, when they could finally live their lives as normal people in the year 86, things got different again. Strange.
Senseless murders.
Of course, those idiots, all those idiots. The police, the school bullies, the citizens. They all believed that the culprit was Eddie "The Freak" Munson. Just a kid addicted to table games and metal. Which, in other words, to society, this almost certainly meant that the guy was involved in a cult and that the murders were part of some kind of devilish ritual. Satanism and things like that!
Idiots!
Now, once again, the city was in chaos. They needed to understand what this strange thing was, find the real culprit, and stop him. Save Dustin's new older best friend, which is the only reason Dustin comes looking for Steve now. Not that Steve is jealous, or that this is the only reason Dustin comes to him, Steve just… misses his best friend.
With the help of addresses and contacts saved on the video rental store's computer, they find the possible location where Eddie is hiding now that everyone thinks he's guilty. It doesn't take long for them to find the older man in hiding. And then, Eddie joins their quirky group against the forces of evil.
This is how Steve ends up getting close to Eddie.
A few conversations here and there, smiles, glances…
A different feeling gradually emerged.
Something Steve didn't quite understand. Actually, he did understand, he felt all the same symptoms when he was dating Nancy. The racing heart, the anxiety, the desire to be close, to touch, to have attention all to himself.
What he didn't understand was why he felt these things toward Eddie "The Freak" Munson.
At first he thought it was still about Nancy, but he knew something was different, he hadn't felt those things for her in years, and… all he had to do was glance at Eddie, and… yes. It was him. Definitely. But how?! They were two boys. This doesn't make sense.
Nothing against gay people, Steve isn't homophobic at all, he's just not gay. Nancy and all the other girls he's been with are proof of that. So… how?!
He doesn't have time to think about it, the kids discover the possible portal to the Upside Down at the bottom of Lovers' Lake, and of course they're going to investigate. Steve, as always, goes first, if someone has to do something like diving into a lake in the middle of the night, he's the one who'll go. All to protect the others.
To make matters worse, one of the creatures pulls Steve to the other side.
And Nancy, Robin, and Eddie follow him next.
Luckily, they manage to escape the creatures for a brief moment, but the creatures won't give up on them or leave the portal, and all that's left for them is to run into the Hawkins forest and try their luck along the way. If they were in one of Eddie's RPG campaigns, it would be much simpler, just roll a die and that's it. Outside of the RPG, Eddie feels like an idiot, he doesn't have even half the courage of all these people here with him, at least that doesn't seem to matter.
"Hey... That bat thing back there was pretty metal on your part."
"Thanks?!" Steve makes a funny face, a kind of embarrassed smile. Beautiful “It was like Ozzy, wasn't it? The one you told me about the other day, that he bit a bat or something.”
Eddie kind of wants to kiss him right now. Steve Harrington, the popular guy with the perfect hair who gets all the girls he wants, remembers some random fact that the weirdo Munson told him during one of those times they were together helping Eddie hide from the obnoxious athletes.
It's just some random fact that Steve remembers. It shouldn't even be something that bothers Eddie. But… Damn. That's a little too much of Steve.
Just like… everything about him. Damn, Eddie thinks he's going to go crazy if he doesn't stop thinking about it. There's absolutely no chance of them… Harington is clearly another straight guy, not quite as much of a jerk as Eddie thought, but still very straight, the evidence is everywhere, all the girls, his mannerisms, everything screams straight. Besides, well, Eddie is wanted for murder, it's not like… like they could be anything. Not with all this shit going on.
It's just that... It's inevitable to think about it. Steve is… Steve.
Handsome. Hot. Adorable. Kind of a goofball. Intelligent. Crazy. Kind. Protective of the people he likes, especially Dustin and the other kids. Eddie understands why almost all the girls, and those kids, like him so much, because Dustin is always talking about how awesome Steve Harrington is.
They walk to Wheeler's house to pick up the guns she said she has. Things look strange when Nancy looks around and realizes her room is exactly as it was three years ago, meaning she still doesn't have any guns there and they're screwed.
Suddenly, in some crazy way, they manage to communicate with the children in the real world, and Dustin suggests the theory that there are other portals. That's how they all agree to go to the Munson's trailer.
✮
Nancy, Robin, Steve, and Eddie pedal as fast as they can to Forest Hills, where the nearest portal back to the real world is located. On the other side, Dustin and the others are doing the same, they need to be there to help bring them back.
They arrive in a few minutes, run inside the trailer, grab one of Eddie's mattresses and place it on the floor under the portal, the younger ones create a sort of rope with the sheets and pray that the strange gravity of the Upside Down will be enough to hold this thing.
It works.
The weirdest thing about all this is definitely the physics. How physics works in the Upside Down should be studied more, but that's okay, we can leave that for another time, they need to save their friends now.
"Who goes first?"
They all exchange hesitant glances, Robin rolls her eyes and with a "All right" "All right" Repeating this several times, she holds the makeshift rope and climbs to the other side with Steve's help.
The theory of gravity works; as she passes through the portal, she falls safely onto the mattress, and that's it, it'll all work out. They'll manage to get out of this horrible place.
Nancy is next. No one is surprised when she manages to climb up easily without any help. Or is it? To descend? It doesn't matter, what matters is that she's back in the real world, quickly getting up from the mattress to make room for the other two.
And then, Steve turns to Eddie.
"Your time."
Of course, Steve "the hair, not the babysitter" insists that everyone go ahead of him, to ensure everyone is okay, because that's what a guy like him does. Eddie doesn't even care about that, because he's already understood that Steve is like that with everyone.
“See you on the other side.” Eddie grabs the sheet, climbs up, and then falls. But what he feels isn’t the old mattress from his room, no. It’s hard. The fall hurts. What the hell is this? No. No. No.
No. Please. Not now.
“Eddie? Eddie, talk to me!” Steve puts his hands on Eddie’s shoulders and shakes him, trying to wake him from this damn trance. Vecna got him. It has to be that. He realized they’re here and now he’s doing this to stop them, to catch them. Shit.
"Steve?! What happened?" Robin's voice echoes from the other side.
"They got him! Vecna got Eddie."
“Fucking shit!”
"Music! He needs music!"
Steve doesn't pay attention to who's saying those things, he keeps shaking Eddie and calling out to him.
On the other side of the portal, in Eddie's room, Robin, Nancy, Dustin, Max, and Lucas are searching for the music. But which one could it be? There are so many tapes of Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Metallica, Motörhead, Judas Priest…
"How are we supposed to know which song?"
"Any one should do, right? If those are the kinds of music he likes."
"Theoretically, we don't know if she needs to be his favorite, so..."
Dustin grabs a random tape lying on the bed, along with the Walkman. It doesn't matter which tape it is, it'll work, right? It has to work, damn it. He runs to the portal and climbs over the sheet, yelling for Steve to grab the stuff.
“Metallica? Are you sure? He prefers Black Sabbath.” Steve says as he puts the Walkman in Eddie’s hand and turns on the music.
"How do you know he likes Black Sabbath more?" Dustin asks from the other end, and Steve doesn't answer, more concerned about Eddie's condition.
He keeps calling for Eddie, trying everything to bring him back, but nothing happens.
"It's not working!"
"Shit!"
The others continue discussing the music, and Dustin searches for a Black Sabbath song. He tries to remember if Eddie ever told him what his favorite song was, but the only thing Dustin remembers are things about D&D and their campaign. Eddie doesn't usually share much about the music he listens to or other personal things.
Steve looks up, then looks again at Eddie, still in a trance. Then something clicks in his mind.
The Upside Down is the same as Hawkins..
Steve runs to Eddie's room. On the dresser next to the bed, there are some cassette tapes thrown haphazardly, Steve searches for a Black Sabbath tape. A specific song that Eddie had mentioned to him days ago. He finds the tape and runs back to Eddie, quickly switching the tapes in the Walkman, clicking the play button and then…
Please, Eddie.
I can't lose you like this.
Eddie's eyes return to normal and he takes a deep breath as if he hadn't had air for a long time, his legs weaken and luckily, Steve notices and catches him, preventing him from hitting his head on the ground.
“Eddie. Hey… It’s okay. Breathe.” Steve holds him with one hand, while the other goes to Eddie’s face.
“Steve.”
A single tear rolls down his cheek, and Steve wipes it away in the same second, his eyes might also be watery like Eddie's, but nobody needs to know.
"Come on, let's get out of here."
✮
Back in the real world, they meet at Max's house and discuss what they should do. They need to find a way to kill Vecna, that's for sure, but how do you kill someone with superpowers?! It's not exactly a fair fight, and Eleven isn't here either, they don't stand a chance of winning!
"This time we'll go prepared. It'll work, we just need to distract him, and those bats, and then his body will be unprotected and then we attack."
Everyone seems hesitant, this certainly isn't a good idea. Even with all the weapons in the world, it still… it still seems impossible to defeat that… that monster. But… if they don't do it, who will? Besides, Max is marked. That thing will come back for her, and they definitely won't let that happen.
While the group discusses a possible plan to defeat Vecna, Steve looks at Eddie worriedly. Vecna only enters the minds of those who are going through a difficult time. Perhaps this is just a theory, since they were in the Upside Down and who knows, maybe Vecna only caught him to stop them from escaping, or who knows. Something is still wrong. Steve can sense it in the little details, in the way Eddie bites his nails, in his distant gaze, and in the constant movement of his swinging leg. Maybe it's just anxiety. Eddie "The Freak" Munson certainly must have some anxiety issues, that's obvious to everyone who gets close to him.
There's something more... Steve feels so.
“Eddie.” Steve puts his hand on his shoulder and squeezes lightly. Eddie looks him in the eyes, and Steve can see a glint indicating that Eddie is holding back tears. He's not doing well. Vecna did or showed him something bad... like he did with Max. "What happened there? In Vecna's mind."
The house falls silent, everyone's attention focused on the two boys on the sofa. Eddie realizes that all eyes are on him and there's no way to escape. Fuck it.
“Vecna, or whatever his name is. He showed me things. Hawkins was a mess, there were monsters everywhere and…” Eddie looks at each of the people in the room, until his gaze stops on Steve. “You… Damn it, Steve. I saw you. I saw all of us and we were…”
Eddie runs his hands over his face and lowers his head, not wanting the others to see as his tears begin to fall. He feels a comforting hand on his back, trying to console him, he knows it's Steve. This scares him. Eddie saw things between him and Steve that no one in this room, or anyone else, can know. Eddie saw everyone's reaction when they discovered his feelings for the popular boy. It wasn't good. And then Eddie saw death, Steve died, Eddie died, everyone dies.
There's no way to beat Vecna. But they can try. If they do nothing, they're going to die anyway, so… Screw it all.
"There's a gun shop near Hawkins."
That's it. A plan. Weapons.
End Vecna.
With a plan in mind for what they should do next, the group decides to go to the war zone, a gun shop near Hawkins. As they are almost leaving, Eddie notices a pained expression on Harington's face, his gaze falls to his bruised torso and he sees the blood staining Nancy's makeshift bandage.
"Wait here a minute. Come with me, Steve."
Eddie grabs his wrist and leads him out of Max's house.
The two go to the older boy's trailer. Being watched by the children at the window, Eddie can feel them watching them, and doesn't care one bit.
Steve doesn't understand what's happening. Eddie only lets go of him when they enter the small bathroom; he opens the cabinet under the sink and takes out a box containing what appears to be… First aid?!
"Eddie, we don't have time for this."
"If you think you're going to be able to fight Vecna like that, I'm sorry to tell you that you're very mistaken, Steve Harrington."
Idiot. There is no time. They need to save Max. As always, Steve doesn't care about the injuries, no matter how much they hurt and bleed, nothing matters if one of the children he protects so much is dead! All because they stopped for a minute to take care of his injuries.
"Take off your vest."
"Funny you say that when you were the one who told me to wear it and be more modest." Eddie raises an eyebrow, watching Steve do exactly as he was told. So obvious..
So…
Damn.
Eddie shakes his head slightly, trying to focus on what he needs to do, and not on shirtless Steve in a cramped bathroom that forces them to be so close to each other. It needs to be quick. They need to go back to the others. To the plan. Defeat Vecna. Save Max.
There's so much blood that Eddie feels dizzy. He carefully removes the piece of fabric Nancy wrapped around Steve's waist and lets it fall to the floor without a care.
Despite his clumsiness most of the time, Eddie seems to know what he's doing. He cleans the wound slowly, careful not to hurt more than he already is; he hears Steve groan in pain a few times and tries to ignore it for the sake of his sanity.
At some point when he's almost finished putting on a bandage, still somewhat improvised, but definitely better and safer than that piece of fabric, Eddie looks up and finds Steve's dark, enchanting eyes already watching him. Ah. If only he knew. If they weren't in such a hurry, Eddie would surely seize the moment and… But what is he thinking? Steve is straight, and Eddie is just a gay mess compared to him.
The bandage looks good. It's firmer. And now the wound is clean, which means at least it won't get infected, which is already a small victory. Now about those scars… That's another story.
Eddie quickly puts everything away, just so as not to worry his uncle with this bloody mess. He calls Steve to follow him to his room, Eddie grabs some more suitable clothes than the vest and hands them to him. After all, if they're going out, it's better if Steve is properly dressed. Eddie tries to disguise it by looking anywhere else in the room, as if he hadn't already seen him shirtless. It's just that… Damn. Steve is too much for his poor heart.
It's hard for Eddie to say what's worse, Steve Harrington shirtless, or Steve Harrington wearing his clothes, just a random black shirt and a jacket that, wow, isn't the kind of thing you see every day, so Eddie tries to enjoy the sight as much as he can.
Steve approaches him. Too close.
"Hey, Eddie. Thanks."
"You're welcome, Steve." Eddie smiled slightly, trying to ignore how small the distance between them was, one more step and Eddie could breathe the same air as Steve, one more step and he could even see the freckles on his face, one more step and...
Is it my imagination, or did he just see Steve's gaze drop to Eddie's lips? It must be my imagination.
Three knocks on the door and a shout from Dustin remind them they need to go. There's still an evil monster to defeat. Eddie just wanted to understand why the hell they call him by D&D names.