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atimeofyourlife · 11 months

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@steddie-week day 7 free space

I have chosen alternate meeting/ Eddie gets involved sooner (takes place somewhere between season 2 and season 3) This contains canon-typical violence and injuries.

It was supposed to be easy. Will and El had only felt a slight pull, the barest connection to the Upside Down. So everyone had split up into pairs or small groups. Each younger kid paired with at least one older teen or adult. Searching Hawkins for any sign of a gate. Everyone was to return to the Byers' place after two hours of searching to feedback what, if anything, had been found.

But it couldn't stay that easy. Steve and Dustin had been tasked with searching the woods near the Forest Hills trailer park. It had been slow going, until they heard a harsh screech that could only be that of a Demogorgon. Steve took off running in the direction of the sound, pulling his spiked bat out of his bag and gripping it tightly. Dustin trailed behind him slightly, but Steve didn't care. It would be better for Dustin to stay back, to be further out of reach. He didn't care if he got hurt, but would never forgive himself if one of the kids did.

As soon as he was within reach of the Demogorgon, he swung, catching it deep in the side. As the bat connected, he was aware of a pained cry. He didn't really process the sound until he'd beat the Demogorgon back and away. Stunning it long enough to drop the bat and pull out a can of hairspray and his lighter.

"Now's not the time for doing your hair, Steve," Dustin commented from behind him.

"There's always time to learn the best use of hairspray," Steve replied, and lit the lighter. He aimed the hairspray at the Demogorgon, and sprayed it through the flame, creating a makeshift flamethrower. The Demogorgon recoiled from the fire, pulling back until it disappeared, leaving only a tiny residual gate. Steve then remembered the cry of pain, and turned around, seeing another guy on the ground, bleeding from his thigh.

"Munson? Did it get you?" Steve moved over to him, wanting to check out the injury.

"Of course it fucking got me. But what the hell was that thing, Harrington? Because you obviously saw it to, the way you just went all defender on it. When I first saw it, I just thought I'd smoked too much." Eddie replied, wincing repeatedly because of the pain.

"We shouldn't talk about it here. I'll tell you when I can get you somewhere secure. I just need to check your wound, then I'll get you out of here." Steve checked the gash on Eddie's leg. It didn't look as bad as he was expecting, but would need cleaning up, and maybe some stitches. He pulled his backpack off his back for the small first aid kit he kept in there. He wrapped the wound, and tied a makeshift tourniquet above it. He hated that he wasn't able to give the proper wound care, but knew it was more important to get him out of there before the Demogorgon could be drawn back by the scent of the blood.

"Henderson, grab my bat and call it in. Also, walk ahead so you can unlock the car, have the passenger door open ready for me. I'm gonna get Munson to the car." Steve directed, pulling his car keys out and handing them over to Dustin. He took a minute to decide the best way to move Eddie. He could support him on the side that was injured and walk together. Or he could carry him. He knew which one would be easier, and faster.

"Okay, Munson. I'm going to carry you out of here. I'll get you somewhere safe." Steve said, before lifting Eddie carefully, trying his best not to jostle his leg too much. He moved slowly, being aware of where he was placing his feet, but also staying hypervigilant for any sign that the Demogorgon had come back. He got to the car, where Dustin had done exactly as he asked. He got Eddie situated in the passenger seat, making sure he was buckled in.

"My knight in a shining polo." Eddie joked as Steve moved to shut the door.

Steve ignored the comment, and climbed into the drivers seat, Dustin had got the keys ready in the ignition. He sped away, faster than he would usually drive.

"Where are we going?" Eddie asked after a moment, his voice uncertain. "I just need to know I've not been kidnapped by the golden boy and his sidekick."

"The Byers' house. They all know about this. And I'm not his sidekick." Dustin replied from the backseat, fiddling with his radio.

"And haven't you heard? I've not been the golden boy since Hargrove showed up." Steve added, a slight bitterness to his tone.

"And are either of you going to explain what this is? Or what that fucking thing was." Eddie demanded.

"It's a Demogorgon," Dustin said.

"Demogorgon. Right."

"Long story short, all the weird shit that has happened in the last eighteen months has been connected. The Hawkins Lab is what set it off, and that thing is a result of one of their experiments." Steve explained quickly. "I'll give you a better highlights reel when I'm not driving."

Steve quickly swung off the road into the Byers' drive, taking note of who would be there. Both Joyce and Jonathan's cars were parked outside, but Hopper's wasn't there yet. He climbed out of the car, deciding on the best course of action.

"Henderson, can you grab my duffle bag, and first aid kit from the trunk?" Dustin nodded and moved round to the back of the car. "Now, Munson, do you think you can walk with some help, or do you need me to carry you again?"

"I can walk, I'm not your damsel in distress, Harrington." Eddie spat back.

"Here." Dustin held out the first-aid backpack, large enough that the stock rivalled any EMT's kit. Steve swung it onto his back, before helping Eddie out of the car. He wrapped his arm securely around Eddie's waist and started to guide him into the house.

"Oh, my. What happened?" Joyce rushed over as they entered the house, followed by Jonathan, Nancy, Mike, Lucas, Will, and Max.

"He got clipped by a Demogorgon's claw. I got it off him before it could do any real damage." Steve replied. "I'm going to take over the bathroom to check him out. Can I have a chair in there for him to sit on?"

"Of course," Joyce grabbed a chair from the kitchen table and carried it down the hall.

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Nancy asked as she stepped forward. "I mean, I could-"

"Which one of us has multiple first aid certifications, Nancy?" Steve snapped back as he continued toward the bathroom.

"Do you need anything else? Or are you okay on your own?" Joyce asked as Steve helped Eddie into the bathroom, and sat him down on the chair.

"I've got this. Can you just keep everyone else out? Maybe send Hop in when he gets here?" Steve replied.

"Sure thing, just shout if you change your mind." Joyce patted Steve on the shoulder before leaving the room.

Dustin swung the duffle bag inside the door, and waved before shutting it behind him.

"What was that with Wheeler? Trouble in paradise?" Eddie teased as Steve started to unpack what he knew he would need from the first aid kit.

Steve snorted in response. "I don't know what rock you've been living under, but we've not been together since November. It seemed like it was the hottest gossip in the school when she ran off with Jonathan the moment it was over."

"Damn." Was Eddie's only reply.

Steve worked in silence to start with. Washing his hands thoroughly, before removing the temporary dressing he'd applied. He pulled Eddie's boots off before going for his belt.

"At least buy me dinner first, Harrington." Eddie joked as Steve started to remove his jeans.

"Maybe later," Steve replied as he eased the denim over the cut. Once he was no longer worried about causing further damage, he pulled them right off and dropped them in the bathtub.

"Okay, so I need to clean and disinfect the wound before I can really assess it for what care it needs," Steve explained as he washed his hands again, and pulled on a pair of gloves. He ran through his mental checklist of how to properly clean the wound, knowing it was more important than ever as he didn't know what Upside Down shit could be in it.

"You're the expert, man," Eddie replied, watching as Steve set to work. "Maybe give me that highlights reel while you're doing it? Keep me distracted from the pain."

"Right, yeah, so. The lab basically experimented on kids. Like it took kids with extra abilities, or gave kids extra abilities." Steve started.

"Abilities, like superpowers?" Eddie cut in.

"Pretty much, yeah. We know where one is, and we know the basics about another. There were at least eleven, but we don't know what happened to any of the others." Steve explained.

"How do you know there were so many if you only know about two?"

"Because the one we know is number Eleven. It's tattooed on her wrist. You'll meet her when Hopper shows up, she's staying with him. She's about the same age as the other kids, so like thirteen."

"Jesus." Eddie drew out the word. "And Hopper, as in Chief Hopper?"

"Uh-huh." Steve mumbled as he focused on cleaning around the cut, it was kind of deep, but nowhere near as bad as Steve had feared when he first saw it.

"This isn't some kind of sting operation to get me for dealing, is it Harrington?" Eddie joked, wincing as the skin on his leg moved.

"Yeah, you got me. And Henderson is really a forty-five-year-old secret agent that we brought in specially to throw you off our trail." Steve deadpanned.

Eddie burst out laughing, then winced again. "Okay, don't make me laugh, it makes it feel like my heart is trying to beat out of my leg."

"Sorry." Steve apologized before continuing. "And basically something happened with one of the experiments which opened a gate to this weird, fucked up version of Hawkins. We've been calling it the Upside Down. It's where that monster comes from."

"Demogorgon. As in from D&D?" Eddie asked.

"Yeah, I guess so. The kids are the ones that named it, they play that game." Steve replied. "So, it really kicked off in November '83. Remember when Will Byers went missing? He got taken by the Demogorgon into the Upside Down. Eleven escaped the lab the same night. Joyce and Hopper were searching for him, the lab were searching for El. The other boys found El. Benny was involved somehow, the lab killed him and made it look like suicide."

"What the fuck. How is it not making all the news about this fucked up shit?"

"It's the government. We all had to sign a bunch of NDA's with the understanding that the story got killed or we did. We have to keep it between as few people as possible." Steve's voice was anxious. "I know that everyone involved has had their phone bugged. The kids use walkies because it's harder to trace, they got me one for Christmas."

"Christ, it's no wonder you basically changed over night if you felt like you were looking over your shoulder all the time. But what else happened, how did you get dragged into it?"

"All the weird deaths and disappearances that happened around them were connected. The lab made a fake body for Will. Hopper caught on to the lab, and investigated it. El helped find Will in the Upside Down with her mind powers, Hopper and Joyce went in to get him out. I got pulled in because I came here to apologize to Jonathan after that fight, he and Nancy were here and the thing came through the ceiling. It disappeared and they told me to leave. I was about to get in my car, and the lights went crazy, meaning it came back. I came back in, grabbed the nail bat off the floor and beat it off. That's the major highlights of round one." Steve finished up flushing the cut with saline.

"How many rounds have there been?" Eddie questioned.

"This is going to be number three. Round two was less big, I guess, than round one, like it wasn't catching the attention of the public much, but I was caught in it more. It came to a head in November. A leak from the lab caused tunnels to form under the town. They were like halfway between our world and the Upside Down. And was killing plants and stuff. This thing kept bugging Will, and he got infected by this thing? I don't really understand it but the kids called it a Mind Flayer? The gate had reopened at the lab, and there were these dog things which were basically baby Demogorgons. Henderson dragged me into hunting for them, and I had to protect him and the other kids from it, while Hopper took El to close the gate, and Joyce, Nancy and Jonathan were getting the thing out of Will. Bob from Radio Shack was killed by the dog things. I know there's more to it, but that's the basics." Steve explained, as he disinfected the wound. He was pulled out of the story by a knock at the door.

"You decent in there? Can I come in?" Hopper's gruff voice came.

"Yeah." Steve replied, pulling off his gloves.

Hopper slipped into the bathroom, taking in the scene. "Joyce told me what happened, how's it looking?" He asked.

"Okay. I've got it cleaned and disinfected. I thought it was going to be worse than it is. And Munson hasn't been the nightmare patient I thought he would be." Steve replied.

"Hey, speak for yourself. It's been feeling like my leg was about to fall off. And Harrington has brought me up to speed on this monster hunting thing." Eddie added.

"I don't know if that's going to need stitches, it looks pretty deep." Hopper observed as he inspected the wound. "And I've called Owens, but it's going to be a while before he get here."

"I can do them, I've got a suture kit." Steve started digging in his first aid bag.

"You sure? If you've never done it before, you don't want to make it worse."

"I took an advanced first aid course when I went back to lifeguarding last summer. It included how to do stitches. I've only had to do them on fake skin before, but I can do it. It'll be better than him bleeding with a demogorgon on the loose." Steve replied, more confidently than he felt. "Can you find something he can bite down on? I know it's going to hurt."

"I'll be right back." While Hopper was out of the room, Steve washed his hands again and put on fresh gloves, prepping the suture supplies.

"Here." Hopper came back in with a wooden spoon and handed it to Eddie.

Steve stitched up the wounds carefully, making sure each one was tied off securely. He took his time, checking each one before moving onto the next.

"Okay, that's the last one. I just need to dress it." Steve pulled back after tying off the last one.

"Damn, Harrington, you ever think about going into medicine or healthcare or some shit?" Eddie asked after he spat out the spoon.

Steve snorted. "Munson, you're in like half my classes when you bother to show up. You've seen what my grades are like. A C minus average is going to be enough to get me to graduation, but it won't get me anywhere toward being a doctor."

"Doesn't have to be a doctor. There's other options that don't need the same grades. Kid, I think you'd make a damn good paramedic." Hopper replied, squeezing Steve's shoulder. "Someone like you would be invaluable at some of the emergencies I've attended."

Steve blushed at the praise, and looked down staring at the dressings in the first aid kit. He pulled out what he needed and dressed the wound. "When Dr Owens gets here he'll need to check it out, but I think it'll be okay until he gets here."

"You did good, kid. I'll leave you to finish cleaning up. When you're ready, we need to work out what happens next." Hopper left the room, leaving Steve and Eddie alone.

Steve didn't say anything as he picked up and threw out all the used supplies, before repacking the first aid kit. He grabbed the duffle bag, digging in it until he found a pair of sweats and handed them to Eddie. "Put those on."

"I could just put my jeans back on, I don't need your clothes." Eddie replied as he took them. He then nearly choked on air as Steve started to strip his own shirt off. "Whoa, big boy. What are you doing?"

"The Demogorgon is attracted by blood. I've got your blood all over my clothes, so I need to change. We can get the blood out of everything, but we need to be in clean clothes right now." Steve explained as he took off his jeans, emptying his pockets onto the floor.

Eddie quickly averted his eyes as he slowly moved to pull the sweats on. "Yeah, but haven't you heard? There's a reason why I don't go near the locker rooms at school."

"It's the same reason that I have to be careful not to let my eyes wander or linger in the locker rooms and showers." Steve said softly as he pulled on his clean clothing, a soft Henley and a clean pair of jeans.

"You mean you- you're. You like?" Eddie was stunned at Steve's admission. "But what about?"

"Both. I, uh, like both." Steve whispered, like he was afraid of what Eddie would say.

"Same. I prefer dudes, but why limit yourself." Eddie shot Steve a reassuring smile.

"Yeah." Steve smiled nervously. "Do you need help with anything?"

"Can you help me get my boots on? I don't think I can bend like that right now."

Steve nodded, and got down on his knees to help Eddie with his shoes. When they were ready to move back out, Steve grabbed the duffle bag and first aid kit in one hand, and supported Eddie with the other as they went to join the others for the inevitable fight over who got to go out to deal with the gate. A map was laid out on the table, using the information from Steve, Eddie, and Dustin, the rough area where the Demogorgon had been seen got marked out.

"All kids other than El are staying here." Hopper declared, to immediate protests from all the other kids. "Look, it's not safe. The only ones that should be out there are me, El, and Harrington."

"I can shoot. I could-" Nancy started, only to get cut off by Hopper.

"We know bullets don't work against it. I've got my gun if I need it. But Harrington knows where it happened, and has held his own against these before. He's one of the only ones that can fight them." Hopper shut down the others trying to jump in.

"I want to go with Harrington." Eddie cut in. "Cause I still don't understand what's going on, and I think I trust him the most right now."

"Eddie, no. You're hurt, and you'll make yourself a target, it's too dangerous." Steve replied.

"But-"

"You could be a help by being the distraction."

"Against the monster?"

"Almost. Against the kids, while we get out of here. Do you mind if I throw you under the bus a little?"

"What, I-?"

Steve smirked a little, before sticking his fingers in his mouth and letting out a loud, sharp whistle, which got everyone to stop arguing.

"Asshole." Eddie muttered as he winced away from the sound.

"Hey, dipshits. You know that Munson runs the Dwarves and Dickheads club at Hawkins High, right?" Steve called, which prompted another round of protests, but this time at Steve for messing up the name.

"I was starting to like you, but butchering the name like that hurts, Harrington." Eddie replied quietly.

Steve laughed a little. "I know what it's called. I just like to mess with them. Sorry."

Steve was able to get out with Hopper and El pretty quickly, once the other kids had their attention on Eddie. He felt a little uncomfortable, but was grateful that he wasn't the one stuck trying to keep the other kids out of trouble this time, as it hadn't worked out so well before. He also felt kinda bad for leaving Eddie, and he didn't quite understand why. Maybe because he was the one that was closest when Eddie fell into it. He led the way once they were in the general area, keeping his hands firm on the bat, staying hyper-aware of his surroundings.

"This is where we saw it." Steve stopped, seeing the bloodstain on the ground, as well as the empty hairspray can that he'd thrown aside.

"You sure?" Hopper asked.

"Yeah. The blood is where Eddie was, and I used that as a flamethrower." Steve pointed at the can. "And it disappeared over there."

"Farrah Fawcett, really Harrington?" Hopper asked, amusement clear in his voice.

"Shut up." Steve groaned.

They searched the area, using a compass and a flashlight to track the abnormalities. Both started going wild moments before the Demogorgon burst through a gate near the base of a tree. Steve and Hopper flanked El as she did the work, screams coming both from her and the Demogorgon as she held it off with her powers. Time seemed to freeze for a second before the Demogorgon fell to the ground, unmoving. El stopped for a moment, before throwing both hands out, screaming as the Demogorgon's body was pulled back through the gate, which stitched itself up.

By the time they got back to the Byers', sleek black cars that could only mean the government had started to show up.

After a quick rundown of what had happened, Owens stopped to check over Eddie's leg while everyone else started signing the NDAs. He was happy with the stitches, and the care Steve had taken to clean it up. He would get a course of antibiotics arranged to prevent any Upside Down related infection. And he gave very strict instructions that Eddie was to have an appointment with him after a few days to have the stitches removed, and that he would need frequent blood tests in the following weeks to ensure that there were no residual issues caused by the cut being from an Upside Down creature.

"What's the verdict?" Steve asked as Eddie limped over and dropped into the seat next to him.

"You did a good job, I'm allowed to keep it." Eddie replied as a stack of paper appeared in front of him.

"Great. You might not keep your hand after this, because you have to sign your name so many times it'll feel like it's going to drop off. But it basically sign here, initial there, keep your mouth shut or else, but they do cover any medical expense for any injury directly caused by their shit. Oh, and enjoy the free helping of trauma and nightmare fuel." Steve explained in a false light tone.

"How the hell do they get away with this shit?" Eddie muttered as he scanned the first page.

"That's under the keep your mouth shut or else clause." Steve joked, before taking a more serious tone. "None of us want anyone we care about to get hurt or into trouble. That's why we keep our mouths shut. Since Owens has been in charge, it's not been as bad. But we all know if anyone slips up and anything gets out, Owens could be pushed out, and who knows how bad the next guy will be. At least he kind of works with us."

"Yeah, I guess. But they don't seem that useful, showing up after it's all over."

"Oh, they're not. We do the dirty work, and they handle the cleanup. They'll hang around for a bit, then they'll fuck off again."

Quiet conversations drifted in and out until all the paperwork was collected back in, and they were allowed to leave. Steve made sure he had his bags, and his and Eddie's bloodied clothing in a plastic bag.

"I can take Munson, Max, and Henderson," Steve said as he waited by the door. Max and Dustin rushed out, squabbling over who got the front seat.

"Hey, dipshits. Both of you are in the back. Eddie's injured so he gets the front." Steve directed. He unlocked the car so they could get in, moving around to the back to drop everything in the trunk.

Steve was quiet for the start of the drive, while Eddie flicked through and criticised some of the tapes Steve kept in the car. He dropped off Max first, staying beyond the end of the drive and watching as she made it into the house. He waited until he saw the two flashes of light from her room that she used as a safe signal before pulling away.

"What was that about?" Eddie asked.

"Her stepbrother is Billy Hargrove." Steve gave as the basic explanation, knowing Eddie would understand.

Eddie hummed in understanding, "So he's an asshole to her too?"

Steve nodded, and kept driving. He dropped Dustin off, and got a hug from the kid. He stayed in the driveway until he was inside, waving to Claudia as she came to the door.

Steve drove off, heading straight for Loch Nora. "Do you want to stay at mine tonight? I know how hard it is to be alone after your first encounter with this shit."

"Your parents?" Eddie started to ask.

"Aren't even in the country. It's just me and you."

"Yeah, sure, why not. What will it be, a total rager pool party?"

"I uh. I haven't used my pool since this shit started." Steve admitted quietly.

"Why? I know it's a fancy heated pool, from those times I sold at your parties." Eddie asked, aware of Steve's change in mood.

"Do you remember Barb Holland?"

"Wasn't she the one that died from that-" Eddie's eyes widened in realization, "-the leak from the lab. Supposedly a chemical spill."

"Yeah. The Demogorgon killed her. The last place she was seen alive was in my backyard. She was dragged into Upside Down through the pool." Steve explained.

"Holy shit." Eddie breathed. "And you live knowing that happened right outside your house. I could never fucking deal with that shit."

Steve just shrugged as he kept driving. Once he parked outside his house, he helped Eddie out and inside. He got Eddie situated on the couch, before going out into the kitchen. He returned with two cans of beer, handing one to Eddie.

"Hey Munson, how about I buy you that dinner sometime?"

This ended up with way more dialogue than I intended, and it was more rushed than I would have liked it. One day I may come back to this and polish it but I am pretty happy with it. And I wrote 4.5k words in a day which is way more than I've ever done before. Also on AO3

#steddieweek2023 #steve harrington #eddie munson #steve x eddie #steve harrington x eddie munson #steddie #steddie fic #pre steddie #atimeofyourwrites #I wrote over 12k words for steddie week and i cant quite believe it

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