Feeling some Steddie angst hours in this house đ¨đ¨đ¨
After they kill Vecna, things go back to normal. Well, as normal as they can be. Whatever brief moment of insanity Steve and Nance had ends about as suddenly as it began, and she canât really meet his eyes once her hand is back in Jonathanâs.
(Itâs a blessing when she leaves for Columbia, Jonathanâs beat-up car following right behind her.)
The least normal thing is probably Eddie Munson, or at least whatever Steveâs relationship is with him now. Itâs - thereâs just something different there, some strange warmth that he feels when he looks at Eddie. And sometimes Steve catches Eddie just looking at him and - well, it gives him that same warm feeling, and maybe that means something? Something that maybe seemed scary before but is nowhere near as scary as Eddie almost bleeding out in Steveâs arms.
Heâs in the midst of talking himself up, of figuring out just what heâs going to say to Eddie, when the Munsons announce theyâre heading out of town and then leave the next day. Steveâs almost paralyzed with anxiety, but heâs gotta say something, right?
Except Eddie cuts him off at the knees with a weak smile, tells him not to be a stranger, to visit him in the city with his kids and a Winnebago once heâs finally gotten that suburban dream, and then heâs gone.
And Steve doesnât hear from him again.
To be fair, no one really hears from Eddie; just Dustin, who will chime in that theyâve chatted every once in a while, that Eddie went to LA for a bit and then Seattle and finally settled in Chicago; that he seems to be really happy, but never gives any information beyond that.
And Steve? He packs up his life and follows Robin to college, and when he accompanies her to their first gay bar and sees two metal heads kissing, something inside him snaps and the pair of them end up drunkenly crying in their tiny apartmentâs bathroom. But it gets better after that, and two years after their move to Indy, Steve meets Sam.
Sam, whoâs got the lightest blonde hair heâs ever seen, cut into a shaggy mullet that perfectly offsets his shiny hazel eyes. Heâs got a bright smile and a pierced eyebrow and too many earrings to count and his laugh is loud and joyous and for whatever reason, he likes Steve as much as Steve likes him.
Robin, of course, is ecstatic and takes all the credit for introducing them, which is technically true seeing as she was the one to spill her drink all over Sam before Steve came to the rescue. (Although she then almost ruined everything by throwing up on both of their shoes, so, Steve only lets her gloat so much.)
Three years after that finds Steve and Robin gainfully employer, as teachers of all things, and Vickie finally succeeds in convincing Robin to move in with her, and, well, it only makes sense that Steve and Sam get their own place too because, well, Steve loves him. Loves his ripped jeans and his skateboard and the fact that heâs cheery no matter the time of day, that he wants to have a family probably even more than Steve does and didnât blink when Steve said he wanted six kids, he only laughed and said âwhy stop there?â And it may not be exactly what Steve was thinking in that Winnebago all those years ago, but thatâs okay, because what he has with Sam? Is way better.
Once Steve and Sam get settled, Sam insists that they have a housewarming party (because Sam makes good money at his tattooing gig, and Steveâs inheritance is nothing to sneeze at, and theyâre actually able to get a house, which feels insane but also just right) and invite all of Steveâs kids, who heâs met a few times but never all at once, and Steve is so whipped he says âyesâ without a second thought.
(Which he really should have had because Henderson was also living in Chicago now.)
So when Henderson wanders in with Eddie as his plus one, and Sam is nowhere in sight, Steve only gives himself a moment to freak out before walking over to greet Eddie.
âSteeevveeeee Harrington,â Eddie purrs with a toothy grin. âGood to see you man. And good to see you finally getting started on that dream of yours,â he says, slapping Steve on the shoulder. âWith Sam, I hear. You two crazy kids getting started on those six kids yet?â
âUh, not - â
âNot quite yet,â Sam cuts in from behind Steve, wrapping an arm around Steveâs waist and tucking Steveâs head under his chin. âI still want a few more years of this guy all to myself. You must be Eddie,â Sam grins, sticking out his hand. âGood to meet you man. Iâve heard all about you.â
Eddie just stares at Sam. Stares and stares until Dustin kicks him in the shin. âRight. Sam. Sam. Good to meet you, man,â Eddie says, but he looks pale and vaguely sick and if Steve didnât know from the few times Dustin had slipped up in the past, heâd think Eddie was homophobic (and he knew that wasnât the case.)
Sam grins. âWell, good to have you here. Steve, babe, Robin wants you in the kitchen, something about the salsa - â
âOh my God,â Steve groans, and then all thoughts of Eddie are forgotten in his rush to make sure Robin doesnât actually poison everyone, and then he gets busy greeting people and saying hi and itâs not until well after midnight, when the remaining guests are smoking up with Argyle and Steve is taking out the trash that he remembers Eddie. Or, more accurately, that he bumps into him.
âSo. Sam,â Eddie says, smoking a cigarette by the garage, gazing off into the distance. âHeâs a good dude. Got shit taste in music, though.â
Steve slams the trash can lid shut a little harder than he needs to. âDude,â he sighs, and Eddie must hear his exhaustion because he doesnât say anything else for a while.
âDid you know?â
âAbout what?â
âAbout you? Back in â86?â
Steve just nods tiredly. âYeah, man. I did.â
Eddie hums nervously. âAnd was there someone - â
âEddie, man, you know there was. You know.â
âYeah,â Eddieâs laugh sounds broken. âYeah, I did. Fuck. Fuck.â
And Steve doesnât know what to say, because what is there to say? He loved Eddie; hell, part of him still loves Eddie. But Eddie ran at the first inkling of there being something between them, and Sam didnât. Heâs never run, not even when Steve gave him so many reasons to. And Steve could tell Eddie that heâs wondered, so many times heâs wondered, what they could have been. If they could be anything.
But Eddie wasnât there to hold out his hand, and Sam was. Sam is, and that makes all the difference.
Steve claps his hand on Eddieâs shoulder, just like Eddie did when he arrived, and then he heads into his house.
(This time, heâs the one to leave Eddie behind.)
I love this development!
To answer the question:
Puss in Boots is original a German Fairytale written down in the collection of the Grimm Brothers. (There seem to be documents that the tale could also be original from France)
In german it is called:
âDer gestiefelte Katerâ
Der is the male article -> the
gestiefelte is an adjective which describes the following noun as somebody/something that wears boots
Kater means Tomcat.
The Tale is about 3 millers sons after the dead of their Father.
The oldest gets the mill.
The middle one gets the donkey
The youngest gets the cat.
The cat can surprisingly speak and tells to the youngest, that if he buys him boots he will help him. The youngest says yes and in the end the cat does a lot of things that end in the youngest marrying the princess and being King.
The one thing I can not explain is why puss was choose instead of cat or Tomcat in the English translation.
I hope this answer the question for all of you reading the post and starting to question the name. (Because you probably only know this character from the Shrek universe)
Why is his name Puss in Boots? It's like calling a rooster wearing socks Cock in Socks
75 prompts to write drabbles or longer stories.
"I didn't ask for your help."
"We're in this together."
"You have to let me go."
"I won't let them take you."
"We need to stay focused."
"All day, every day."
"They underestimated us."
"We have to keep going, no matter what."
"I can't let you go."
"This is our chance to make a difference."
"We need to think outside the box."
"I'm not afraid anymore."
"You can't silence the truth."
"We're stronger together."
"We can't ignore the signs any longer."
"Every decision has a consequence."
"Why did you choose me?"
"I can't pretend everything is okay."
"You're not who I thought you were."
"What happens if we fail?"
"I wish things could be different."
"You need to trust yourself more."
"This isn't just about you and me."
"We have to stop running."
"How can you be so sure?"
"You know what's at stake."
"I can't believe you lied to me."
"It's time to face our fears."
"We have to do what's right."
"I'm not backing down."
"This is our fight."
"You can't control everything."
"We need to take a leap of faith."
"I won't let them break me."
"This is our destiny."
"We have to trust each other."
"I'm not giving up on us."
"We can't let them win."
"I never thought I'd say this, but I need your help."
"We have to stay focused."
"This is our moment to shine."
"I'm not afraid of the truth."
"I can't believe you lied to me."
"We have to make it right."
"What are you willing to sacrifice?"
"You can't change the past."
"We have to face the truth."
"This is our only chance."
"Why didn't you tell me sooner?"
"We can't let them win."
"I never wanted to hurt you."
"You have no idea what you're asking."
"I spent Sunday in bed."
"You have to trust me."
"We can't let them destroy everything."
"I can't do this alone."
"You need to believe in yourself."
"This isn't just about survival."
"We have to keep moving forward."
"I never meant to hurt you."
"You can't keep running away."
"We need to think clearly."
"I can't let you go."
"You know what you did."
"You have to see it for yourself."
"This is our destiny."
"We need to find a way out."
"I can't let them hurt you."
"You have to make a decision."
"This is just the beginning."
"We need to hold on to hope."
"I can't believe it's come to this."
"You have to be strong."
"Want to hear my alibi?"
"This isn't just a story."
Drabble Masterlist
Have fun creating and writing!
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Itâs ladies night at the gay bar Eddie works at which means no men allowed, which means, âhow the hell did this dork in a polo make it pass the bouncer and how the hell has no one complained about him yet?â
Eddie watches the admittedly gorgeous guy approach the bar and ask for a drink. Eddie responds with, âHow did you get past Frank?â
âThe bouncer?â Pretty boy asks. âOh, I asked if I could come in.â
âYou asked?â
âYeah?â
âAnd he let you?â
âYeahhh?â
âNone of these girls are going to go for you,â Eddie tells him in case he somehow missed that this was the queerest bar in town. âTheyâre lesbians. They like women.â
âI know!â The guy - Steve, Eddie will find out later - smiles, bright and big. âIsnât that great?!â
Something in Eddie curdles with disgust because, âNice try, buddy. Youâre not going to âturnâ a lesbian.â
âHope not,â Steve laughs and then pulls a stack of Polaroids out of his pocket. âLook at this.â
He holds one out to Eddie, showing him the image of a girl looking done-as-shit with the camera in her face. Thereâs a phone number written at the bottom.
âThis is Robin," Steve says fondly. âShes my best friend, and a lesbian, and the best person Iâve ever met, and I love herâŚshe deserves a girlfriend so Iâm-â
âAdvertising her?â
âHelping get her a date,â Steve finishes. âThis will make a great story at their wedding.â
âThatâs insaneâŚand strangely endearing.â
âYeah, Iâm like that,â Steve says, sliding over a Polaroid of Robin giving the camera the bird. âThatâs my phone number too. Just so you know.â
This is gold.
I would love to read more about it.
Maybe, I can write myself more. If I am allowed I can share itâŚ
Steve, who is born into a long line of shifters, but unlike the magnificent creatures his parents and grandparents before him became when they turned, he turns into an ordinary house cat.
Steve, who is an embarrassment to the Harrington name amongst the secretive society of shifters and so is essentially abandoned in Hawkins to fend for himself.
Steve, who is deeply ashamed that his shifting animal is a fucking cat until he meets a Demogorgon and then suddenly, being a cat - aka, the perfect bear trap bait - is the best animal he could have asked Magick to become.
Steve, who quickly becomes the Party's self-appointed emotional support person (cough cough, cat) and makes sure that he checks on his kids and is there to provide snuggles when needed.
Steve, who is really nervous about his kids starting high school - especially El and Will - and who sneaks his way into the school when he's not working and hides out in the drama room.
Steve, who is caught off guard when he bumps into Eddie Munson in his cat form, and then keeps bumping into Eddie Munson in his cat form, and pretty soon he can't keep pretending like it's not intentional but he likes listening to the guy when they're both hiding out in the drama room, and it doesn't hurt that he has excellent hands that give excellent tummy rubs -
Steve, who is present at the kids' first Hellfire Club meeting, and who is caught off guard by the disdain in Eddie Munson's voice when he talks about "King Steve."
Steve, who hops onto the game table, makes eye contact with Eddie Munson, and shoves his DM screen onto the floor with a loud crash.
Steve, who spends the rest of that session (and the next) on Jeff's lap, because Jeff's tummy rubs are pretty damn good and Jeff has only ever had nice things to say about Steve Harrington. (Take that, Eddie.)
(Eddie, who pouts the entire time and shows up at their third session with some catnip toys and an apology, even though he really doesn't understand why he has to apologize to this cat about Steve Harrington or why his new sheepies think this whole thing is hilarious.)
Ohhh noooo
I should feel sooooo ashamed of myself.. -.-
(FYI my dear neurodivergent humans: his is sarcasm)
must a fictional relationship be âhealthyâ or âfunctionalâ? is it not enough to simply watch two made up people destroy each other, hand in unlovable hand???
If you see this on your dashboard, reblog this, NO MATTER WHAT and all your dreams and wishes will come true.
I don't know when I'll have the time to write this, but:
CW: Minor Mentions of Blood, Character Illness (Hanahaki), Use of Queer as a Slur
Hanahaki AU. Steve develops hanahaki over Eddie. It's not because, oh, Eddie's probably straight and doesn't know I'm into guys...
No, it's because, oh, Eddie doesn't want to be very close to me due to previous hangups he has.
Cut to Steve coughing up dark purple, almost black petals. Soft and wet and sticky to his fingers. Then, after some time, they become small buds. Small black rose buds with gentle, prickly thorns sprouting in his throat.
People around them find out quickly, very quickly, that Steve is experiencing Hanahaki. Everybody, sans Eddie himself, finds out they're related to Eddieâeven as these black roses symbolize hatred, even as they come close to death and mourning in their meaningâthey're still perfectly Eddie in color, shape, and beauty. Obviously, since nobody wants Steve to, y'know, die, they tell him to confess to Eddie.
However, Steve is faced with a secondary option at one of his doctor visits. A surgery. The petals can be removed, the thorns torn out and tossed, his lungs cleared...but his brain shocked empty of all traces of Eddie. All traces. He wouldn't know Eddie as he is now. He wouldn't know Eddie from when Dustin would ramble on and on and on about his new guy best friend. He wouldn't know Eddie as the mischievous troublemaker in high school.
And he especially wouldn't know Eddie as his childhood best friend that he drifted apart from many, many years ago. Nobody but them knows that part.
And soon, through decision, through the fear of death...Steve chooses to forget that part, too. He chooses to remove Eddie from his conscious. Every last part of him. With the decision made, the party members keep Eddie away, Robin goes through Steve's room and hides anything he has of Eddie'sâincluding a little memory box of their childhood photographs, little trinkets he'd receive from Eddie, doodles and crushed flowers...crushed flowers that look similar to the ones Steve coughed up with a note attached to them: "For the prince to my prince. Mama said they're for royal people, and I thought they were beautiful. These are for you, because you're beautiful, too."
Steve kept all of it. Tucked neatly away for nobody but him to see. All these delicate, baby confessions of two queer kids in rural America, waiting for the right moment; though never getting that after a fall out in their relationship.
According to Eddie, the two drifted away due to rhetoric Steve's dad was spouting; rhetoric that was being passed on and spat right at Eddie's face from Steve's mouth. Even if he saw Steve change during and after Vecna, he'll always remember the last big fight in their friendship; the day he was called a queer.
When Eddie finds out, he's beyond devastated that Steve would make the choice to forget him. He gets it, Steve didn't want to die. He knows. But now he doesn't even have a spot in Steve's life? It cuts deep, it hurts.
He knows so much about Steve. Little details. Favorite things. Where his moles are. How he styles his hair. What he looked like before braces, before Tommy, before high school bullshit, before all the traumas. He knows who Steve really is, sweet and nurturing and nearly unbearably kind.
And now Steve doesn't know him. Doesn't love him.
He wishes he knew, because then they wouldn't be in this mess.
But Eddie gets to fall in love with Steve all over again. Shake his hand and introduce himself. Even though he wishes they could meet each other as kids, just like they did. Because Eddie remembers a dorky, geeky, self-conscious, timid little kid quietly asking him if they could play princes on the playground. And Steve remembers Eddie at twenty-one, full grown and stubborn; not the same shy kid, not the bubbly kid...just a man haunted.
But! Plot twist!!!
What if, yeah, Steve does forget Eddie...initially?
He meets Eddie again, for the first time. He gets to know Eddie. He begins a friendship with Eddie.
And then he begins getting these awful...awful migraines being around Eddie. Flashes of fractured, half-formed memories of some kid with big brown eyes and a shaved head, of a kid crouched down in wood chips trying to find a guitar pick he had dropped. Little glimpses of smiles: some with teeth missing, some with teeth growing back in, some with blood-stained lips, some with a blue tint. There's splintering voices, a little boy's and an older man's and a squeaky, pubescent voiceâhe hears his own name crackled around the edges, hears Prince Stevie cooed and King Steve snarled, soft words whispered through choking sobs and whip wild yelling.
He looks Eddie straight on at one point, his face open with concern, but all he sees is an angry, sobbing, red-faced, wet-faced little Eddie talking with Steve, "You think I'm...I'm a dirty queer? Why would you say that to me? No...no, Steve, keep your voice down, keep your voice"âand then, quieter, a whisperâ"I thought I could trust you. I know I like boys, but that was a secret. You're an asshole, Steve. Go fuck yourself."
And when he blinks again, Eddie's concerned face staring back at him, all Steve does is cough and cough and cough. Eventually, he's hunched tight into himself and spitting directly into Eddie's palm. Out comes a fully formed black rose.
A bud that hadn't bloomed, that hadn't been removed. Sharp thorns and wet petals and an eye that swirls and swirls and swirls.
It all comes back to him, then, staring at that flower, floundering backwards, catching Eddie's eyes in a daze.
It all comes back to him.
How much he's always loved Eddie Munson.
Anyway, just like, a hanahaki surgery gone wrong, I guess. Like they all think it works until, y'know, it doesn't. They get close again and it floods back in. The very thing he tried to get away from.
I imagine that after Steve coughs up that fully formed rose, Eddie squishes it in his palm. The thorns cutting up his hand, the petals crushed between his fingers. And then he just...eats it. Like fully puts it on his tongue, chews it up between his teeth, and swallows the whole damn thingâyes, even the thorns. There's blood in his mouth, petals between his teeth, blood and drool on his hand.
And he lunges forward to grab Steve's face, to kiss him so roughly they could be devouring each other. And all they taste in each other are the bittersweet ghosts of black rose petals and the metallic harshness of one another's blood; Steve had hacked up blood, too, from the thorns cutting his throat.
And when they separate?
"You were the first boy I ever fell in love with," Eddie confesses, "you're the only boy I've ever loved. There's been nobody else in that place, Steve. Only you, after everything, have remained."
Okay. Now I'm done. I promise I'm done rambling. Would this be interesting as a fic? I don't know. It's fine.
The Gift the Keeps on Giving - Part 1
Steveâs always been generous with gifts. Growing up, he had access to money that allowed him to dote upon his friends and loved ones. His ex hated it, said he was flaunting his money, but Steve just liked showing people he cared. It wasnât about the price of the gift, it was about how he listened and remembered their interests. It just benefited him that he never had to worry about the cost.Â
Heâs never hesitated to follow through on his gut instinct before, whether something will be too extravagant for the receiving party. Even when he got Jonathan that fancy new camera he wouldnât shut up about, or Nancy that vacation to Singapore for Christmas after two years together. Even when it ended in breakups both times. He still looks back and remembers the appreciative smiles on their faces when they realized he was listening. He may not have been the right person for either of them, but he was still a good boyfriend.Â
Thereâs no way heâs going to let this year be the first year he lets someone down. His current partner is a little eccentric. Steve was going for something different, he never really intended to find a local metalhead that was into his preppy, jock looks, but itâs been nice having so little in common. Every day he learns about something new, some new band or movie that even Robin hasnât heard of before. It keeps things interesting.Â
So when this hot new metal band Corroded Coffin comes onto the scene, itâs all Steve hears about for months. The album is on a constant loop in the car. The lead singerâs face is practically burned into Steveâs eyelids from how many times theyâve watched the music video for their radio single. He knows when they announce their first tour, he absolutely has to get tickets to the show. What are the odds that theyâre playing in Indy and itâs right before Christmas? Itâs perfect timing for Steve to make this the best Christmas ever for his boyfriend, who doesnât have the extra cash lying around for an expense like that.Â
Except, when he went to buy tickets, he got the date wrong. He shouldâve set an alarm, instead of relying on his shitty memory. The presale happened the day prior, and tickets are gone. Resell prices for tickets are astronomical, something even Steve isnât willing to fork out for what might not even be a legitimate ticket. Heâs been burned before with scalpers, he wonât make that mistake again. He starts scouring the internet, trying to find another source for the tickets. Tries calling the venue to see if there are any available if he physically goes down to the ticket office. Nothing works.Â
As the date creeps closer, Steve gets desperate. Robin throws out the idea of messaging the band to see if theyâre sympathetic to his story. He never expects anyone to respond when they drunkenly reach out to the band, but he wakes up groggy to a message sitting in his inbox. He stares at his phone in disbelief when he sees the message came from the official Corroded Coffin account.Â
Steve doesnât even remember what he said in the messages from the night prior. He reads back over them and cringes. A not so coherent ramble about how he couldnât become the worst boyfriend ever at Christmas of all times. Just word vomit everywhere about how this guy might leave him if he doesnât get the tickets. Which is absurd, because his boyfriend doesnât even know heâs trying to do this. Maybe heâs got some insecurities from past relationships. At least he didnât bring up Nancy.Â
The reply simply reads âSlow down there, pretty boy.âÂ
He shakes off the last vestiges of sleep and responds âSorry, I was a little drunk and didnât think anyone was going to see or respond to this.âÂ
The little grey dots pop up right away. âYou werenât the only drunk insomniac last night.âÂ
Steve huffs a laugh. âHow crazy do you think I am?âÂ
He wonders where they are right now, if it even is one of the band members answering. They probably have someone running their social media accounts. He snaps back to reality when he gets another message. âI donât think itâs crazy to want to make your boyfriend happy. I wanna help.â And thatâs how it starts.Â
They trade messages back and forth. He finds out itâs not an intern running their account, that they all have access to it, but only one of them enjoys it. The lead guitarist Eddie Munson is apparently the one responding to him. He sent a picture of his guitar with a hand wrapped around it painted with black nail polish. The same hand that wraps around it in their music video, decked out in a dazzling array of chunky rings.Â
Heâs never talked to a rock star before. Sure, heâs met famous people through his dad, but they were the boring kind of famous, senators and CEOs. Eddie talks about the tour theyâre on. It sounds grueling, like their record took off faster than they expected and now theyâre on this whirlwind tour that they love, but itâs daunting having people clamoring over you just a few months after anonymity.Â
Before long, theyâre talking every day. To the point that Steve feels like he hears more from Eddie Munson than his own boyfriend. He realizes how much of a problem it is when Robin catches him smiling at his phone and makes a joke about being in the honeymoon phase, but heâs not texting his boyfriend. Heâs messaging Eddie. How did he get so wrapped up in all of this that he didnât even see how distant theyâve been? He looks back at the messages with his boyfriend and they havenât text each other in five days. He canât even count how many messages have been shared between his account and Corroded Coffinâs since then. Thereâs too many to go back and tally up.Â
Is it emotional cheating if he didnât realize it was happening? One day he barely knew who Eddie was, the next he was grinning in the car when his music came on, thinking of the silly thing they were messaging about last night. Their messages took a turn from him asking for something to getting to know everything about Eddie Munsonâs life as a guy raised in a small town and catapulted into the spotlight, and Steveâs attempts to claw his way out of his fatherâs grasp and build a family he could call his own. The guilt slaps him in the face. Heâs been messaging with one of his boyfriendâs favorite band members, and he has no idea. Telling Eddie Munson things heâs never admitted to his boyfriend. Laid all his fears, hopes, and dreams out there to the wrong person.Â
Heâs lost sight of what he even started this for, to win over his boyfriend and give him the best Christmas ever. It feels weird to bring it up now in conversation with Eddie. To ask for something like a desperate fan and remind Eddie that heâs a commodity to the public feels cheap. This all spiraled out of control so fast. Thereâs only one thing he can do. End it. Before this gets worse and he falls stupidly in love with some rockstar heâs never seen in person.
TBC
I have no time right now to elaborate too deeply on this thought but I just had a brain worm and I need to write it down before I forget. Who knows, I may elaborate and make this a whole thing with dialogue tonight, weâll see. TW for depictions of Steveâs injuries post s4, vomiting, gore(?)
Steve refuses medical treatment at the end of s4, they drop off Eddie and he hides in plain site until itâs time to take Dustin and Robin home.
They stop at Dustinâs first, both he and Robin getting out to get Claudia Hugs (I just know she gives INCREDIBLE hugs). He drops Robin off at home with her promising to keep her walkie on their frequency. And then he goes home alone.
He tries to shower, it hurts his feet and back too much. He tries to change the âbandageâ but just gently tugging almost makes him black out from pain. So he collapses on his bed and passes out.
Days go by, heâs trying to act normal, like he isnât always running a fever and his sides are itching and starting to smell under the cologne he practically bathes in. It works for a few days at least, but Claudia gets suspicious by day 3 post earthquake when Steve shows up for lunch with flushed cheeks. 2 days later he doesnât show up.
She drives over alone, Dustin is at the Wheelerâs, and she lets herself in with the key Steve gave her and Dustin after last summer. She calls his name, doesnât get an answer but something smells off. Sheâs a nurse, she recognizes the scent of disease.
She hurries upstairs and finds Steve in bed, only wearing boxers and the filthy scrap of cloth wrapped around his stomach. Heâs sweating and has vomited on himself at least twice, recently too. She immediately knows that he is what smells, she can see the pus and blood on his abdomen. Heâs delirious, mumbling to himself and part of her wants to shut down and cry, to go cradle this boy, her son in all ways but blood, but she canât. She steels herself and walks to his bedside to feel his forehead, almost recoiling from how hot his skin is.
As she keeps checking him over, she grabs the phone on his bedside table and calls 911, cradling the phone between her ear and shoulder to keep working. When the operator answers she explains who she is, where she is and whatâs happening.
Itâs a blur after that until sheâs sitting in the hospital waiting room and she realizes that 1. her shirt and her hands reek of Steveâs blood, and 2. sheâs completely alone in the waiting room. Swallowing her tears, Claudia goes over to the payphone and fishes out some coins to call the Buckelyâs. Robinâs father picks up but quickly hands it over when Claudia mentions Steve.
She will never forget the choked off sound of pure distress Robin makes when she hears whatâs happening.
Hours pass, Robin had arrived shortly after the call and her and Claudia have been curled up together in the waiting room every since. They havenât called anyone else, havenât even thought about it, too worried about Steve. Later, Claudia will remember the other kids who adore Steve, Hopper who treats Steve like a son. But in that moment, still not knowing if her boy is okay, she canât.
Finally, a doctor steps out, clearly fresh from surgery, to speak with them. She explains that Steve had a very severe infection in multiple wounds, especially the ones on his side. They had to debride the wounds, which is what took so long. He was lucky that she found him when he did and that he hadnât picked up any truly terrible bacteria. He hadnât gone septic, thankfully, but he was going to be on seriously strong antibiotics for a while. She explained that he was in the ICU and they arenât supposed to let anyone but family see him.
Claudia wanted to scream and sob and go find the Harringtons and get them to come see their son, but before she even says anything Robin explains that Steveâs parents had all but disowned him and her and Claudia were both in his emergency contacts, not his parents.
The doctor lets them see him. They have to wear face masks and gloves, but they can see him. Claudia had never seen him look so small. And there, in that ICU room, her and Robin both broke and started crying. That was how Jim Hopper found them when he arrived shortly after, the nurses having called him. Heâs wearing a mask and gloves but his eyes are wild and scared. He nearly falls over when he sees Steve.
Steve is unconscious for almost two weeks, though the first four or five days or so were due to sedatives - the doctor wanted him to rest and let the antibiotics work. After he was taken off the sedatives he was moved out of the ICU, to a regular room where other people could visit. The kids came and decorated his room, even brought something Eddie had âcommissionedâ from Will (it looked like Steve ripping one of those creepy things from that alien movie apart, which she really didnât get). Joyce brought him the quilt from her couch that he always enjoyed at movie nights and Robin came in every other day with his shampoo and conditioner to wash his hair for him (on days she didnât come to wash his hair, she would come do something else with him. One day Claudia walked in on her painting his nails and her heart felt like it was melting).
The day he finally woke up was the first day Robin hadnât been able to come. Her parents had forced her to take a break and get some sleep, so Claudia was there on her own just reading a book. She was so engrossed in it that she dropped it in shock when she heard the person on the bed in front of her make noise. Her eyes instantly went to Steve and she could see him scrunching up his face and groaning.
Claudia was by his side in a heartbeat, gently grabbing his hand and brushing a hand over his cheek, speaking softly to let him know she was there. His eyes slowly squinted open, clearly struggling to get the energy to move at all. Their eyes locked and his mouth twitched, like he wanted to smile at her. Then, as she was watching him with tears in her eyes, he opened his mouth and spoke for the first time in weeks.
âMomâŚ.â
This is probably not what the first Idea really was about, however this is what i thought about direktly after reading the post.
"Eddie, maybe we should stop." Cautiously, Gareth turned to his friend.
"We can always move on at another time." Jeff put his hand on Eddie's back and handed him a glass of water, which he tried to drink in one gulp.
He shook his head vehemently. With one hand he held the glass tightly and with the other he wiped the coming tears from his eyes.
"Eddie..." "No!" he interrupted Dustin directly. "Nâ His voice broke off.
"Edward Theodor Munson!" Wayne's voice filled the living room. Eddie wiped his eyes again with the back of his hand and stared at the glass. He could hear Wayne come to a stop beside him.
"We've talked about this! Your throat is still hurt." Wayne's voice was stern and he let out a deep sigh before kneeling beside his nephew. He just put a hand on the head full of brown curls and let the boy cry.
Eddie didn't even try to suppress his tears anymore and the looks from the Hellfire troop were no longer important.
"Boy, I know how important this is to you, but please think about your health. We're glad you're still here, that you're alive!" Eddie didn't dare look his uncle in the eye. "We want you to be well, and that includes you healing."
Eddie and Wayne had had this conversation a thousand times in the last two weeks. Eddie wanted to get back to normal and enjoy D&D with his friends. To have the game to himself again and not leave it to the near apocalypse. But Eddie's vocal chords were still damaged from the damage the demobats had done to his throat.
Wayne stroked Eddie's head gently.
"Kids, why don't you get me a chair from the kitchen, I'm too stiff to kneel or sit on the floor. And you boy show me what I have to narrate for you."
somebody write a fic where Eddie has to do something and Wayne needs to sub as dm last minute and knocks it outta the park because where did you think Eddie got his storytelling skills from?