Steve didn't get the chance to visit Eddie during the day. After his little escapade into the Upside Down, he had to return to the military compound so they could run more tests. They hadn't connected the dots yet, that Steve was causing the things happening to Eddie. Hopper had been right about that, they would never let him go if they found out.
He was refused clearance to see Eddie.
"Why?" He demanded as an armed guard escorted him from the building.
General Campbell was walking alongside them and he sighed at Steve's question. "No one is allowed in to see Mr Munson. Not after the contamination breach yesterday. We can't risk anyone coming into contact with the wisps."
"They're not hurting Eddie!"
"Doesn't mean it's safe for everyone else." Campbell stopped at the entrance and frowned at Steve. "You seem well-informed about this phenomenon."
"He was covered in the stuff in the Upside Down. It didn't hurt me to remove it." Steve replied stubbornly. He still wasn't convinced he was the cause of the strange wrappings but he wasn't going to reveal that information. Besides, it was healing Eddie not hurting him. "You can't just lock him away in a lab forever."
"Until it's proven safe otherwise, Mr Munson will stay where he is," Campbell replied coolly. "You on the other hand are free to leave. There's no contamination we can detect. If you feel any changes, don't hesitate to come back."
"So you can lock me in a room?"
"If we have to."
Steve wrenched his arm free and glared at the General. "You can't keep Eddie."
"Goodbye, Mr Harrington. Stay away from the gates." And with that warning, he was left alone.
Steve got in his car and groaned, raking his hands through his hair. Even if he could convince Eddie to leave his house and get him back to his body, then what? He'd be stuck in that building for the foreseeable future. Was that worse than his current predicament?
He started the car with a sigh and left the compound. As the gates shut behind him, Steve glanced back at the fortified building. How could he break Eddie out of there without help? First things first, wake Eddie up. Rescuing him could come after.
As he collected more fuel, Steve thought over what he'd say to Eddie that night. He'd been pretty convinced before about his fate. How was Steve supposed to change his mind? What had Dustin said, that Eddie trusted him?
"Harrington!" He jumped, cursing as fuel spilt onto the floor and quickly placed the nozzle in the holder. Of all people crossing the road, Tommy was the last person he'd expected. Tommy eyed the containers in the back of Steve's car curiously. "Planning some arson?"
"Something like that." He screwed the cap on the last container and hefted it into the trunk. "Surprised you're still in town. What about your parents and Carol?"
"Carol's gone, went right after the earthquake. My parents weren't convinced. They think the government is trying to get everyone to leave so they can level the town. They won't leave their precious house so I stayed." Tommy shrugged and kicked a stone. Both of them watched it skitter away. "What have you been doing? Haven't seen you around in forever."
Steve shut the trunk and sighed. "You should've left, Tommy. Hawkins isn't safe anymore."
"Safe?" Tommy asked dubiously. "Dude, there's barely anyone left. What's there to be scared of?"
Monsters. The smoking gateways around town. Their impending apocalypse.
Steve just shrugged. "Got a bad feeling. Things are gonna go to shit. Get somewhere safe, Tommy, you and your parents. Grab supplies, weapons, protection-"
"Shit, you serious?"
"Dead serious. I can't explain it, there's too much going on now. Just trust me and get ready."
Tommy searched his face and then laughed. "You've been hanging around those Hellfire kids too much. I mean, look what happened to Munson- a murderer and leader of a satanic cult. You hear they still haven't found his body? Dude's still in town somewhere now that's a threat."
"Shut up, Tommy." Steve hissed as he headed into the store to pay and Tommy followed after him. "Eddie didn't do anything wrong, it's all bullshit."
"Whoa, you're defending the Freak? Christ, Steve, what happened to you?"
"Go home, Tommy." Steve grabbed a bag of sour patch kids for Robin and paid. There was no queue, not here, not anywhere in Hawkins. He was one of the few people left with money to spare. "Because when shit hits the fan I won't be able to protect you."
"Right."
Steve got in his car and glanced back at his old friend's bewildered face before driving off. He couldn't protect everyone and he hoped Tommy took his warning to heart.
Robin had been joined by Nancy and Jonathan when Steve got home. She grinned like a kid on Christmas morning when he tossed her the sweets. "You're the best!"
"I know." He gave her a wink before turning to the other two. "What's happening?"
"We stopped by to check up on you. Did the doctors give you the all-clear?" Nancy asked, visibly relaxing when he nodded. "Good, that's good. And they don't know about...?"
"My apparent superpowers? No."
Jonathan sat down next to him and grinned. "So can you do stuff?"
"Dunno. Haven't tried yet."
Steve frowned as he placed a cereal box on the table. "Try."
"Uh?"
"Eleven said it's easier to visualise," Nancy told him encouragingly. "What did she say? Picture a wave hitting the box, knocking it over."
"Right." Steve stared at the box dubiously. He tried to concentrate but no matter how much he pictured the cereal falling over the box didn't so much as twitch. "No, this is stupid."
"Use your hand?" Jonathan imitated Eleven holding her hand out, palm facing the box. "Maybe the wave leaving your hand and hitting it?"
"This is ridiculous," Steve muttered but he did as suggested. He focused on the cereal and tried to imagine a... force?
Nothing happened.
"Okay, let's try again later." Nancy grabbed his hand and pulled it away. "We'll try something else because this isn't working."
"No shit," Robin deadpanned. "Steve, no offence, but you look ridiculous. Whenever you've done something it's because you're emotional. Maybe that's how you tap into your powers."
Anger, fear, desperation...
Eddie.
"You're defending the Freak?" Tommy's earlier words, his disdain for Eddie clear with each word. Steve felt the anger bubbling up inside him.
"That's it, Steve," Robin encouraged. "Um... Eddie, right!" She snapped her fingers, bouncing upright. "Everyone thinks he's a Freak, a murderer, a Satanist. Nobody believes he's innocent, even if we get him back, he'll never be free."
"Stop it!" He slammed a hand on the table and the cereal box went flying across the room, showering them in Cheerios.
"There!" Robin grabbed him, laughing wildly. "Emotional responses!"
"Holy shit," Jonathan muttered as he looked around at the mess. Nancy grabbed a cloth to wipe the blood off Steve's face. "So how do we channel that to conscious actions? I don't think insulting Eddie will work against Vecna."
"Um, I don't know." Robin shrugged. "But we're a step in the right direction!"
"Okay, enough experimenting." Steve got to his feet and grabbed a brush to clean up. "We're done making progress with me exploding things."
"Unless it's Venca's head." Nancy shrugged as they all looked at her. "What, it would make things easy."
"Aside from Vecna's head, no more explosions," Steve said decidedly. "I don't have time to be cleaning up the house there's so much to do still. Speaking of, the fence needs reinforcing. You guys want to help out?"
"Do we have a choice?"
"No. You want to experiment with me, you've gotta pay the price."
By the time Steve was satisfied, Nancy and Jonathan were quick to leave. "We promised to stop by Mrs Henderson's on our way back," Nancy explained as they grabbed their coats. "We'll see you tomorrow?"
"Drive safe." Steve hugged them both, watching the car down the street before going back inside. Robin was waiting anxiously in the kitchen for his return. "Something wrong?"
"Are you going to speak to Eddie tonight?"
He sighed. "Yeah, I should."
Robin grabbed his hands and smiled encouragingly. "He'll listen to you. Remember, he's only pushing you away because he's scared. Don't let him."
"Thanks, Rob." Steve squeezed back and managed a smile. "Wanna eat before I take you home?"
"I'm starving."
Later that night, Steve sat on the edge of his bed, holding Eddie's necklace and vest. What if Robin was wrong and Eddie didn't want to see him anymore? Was Steve supposed to let him just die? No, he couldn't do that. Even if Eddie hated him and never wanted to see him again, Steve would bring him back. After that... well he could live with the rest knowing Eddie was alive.
Not exactly comforting but reassured all the same, Steve got into bed. He didn't change since he planned to make the trip across Hawkins again, something he didn't want to do in his sleep pants. When he next opened his eyes it was to find himself in total darkness instead of the dull glow of security lights.
"Eddie?" He called as he sat up.
No response.
"Eddie!" He yelled, hurrying downstairs only to find the house empty. Panicking, he opened the front door and was about to search the street but he almost tripped over Eddie sitting on the doorstep. "Why didn't you call back? I thought you were gone!"
Any annoyance he felt quickly vanished at the sight of Eddie's tear-stained face. He crouched down next to him and hesitated before putting a hand on his shoulder. Eddie turned into the touch, hugging Steve close and burying his face in his shirt.
"Eds? Hey, what's wrong?"
"You came back?"
"Well, yeah..." Steve smiled and rubbed his back. "'Course I did. I wasn't about to leave you here forever."
It took a while for Eddie to calm down but slowly he relaxed, turning so Steve could see his face properly. "People don't bother. Once you tell them to go away... they don't come back. You get kinda used to it."
"I was never good at following orders." Steve kissed the top of his head and sighed. "No matter how many times you tell me to leave, I won't. I made you a promise and I intend to keep it."
"Promising to bring the dead back to life is a bit of a stretch, Steve."
"You're not dead. You're just... separated."
"Figured out how to put me back together then?"
"Maybe, we've been brainstorming." Steve got up, pulling Eddie to his feet. "Let's get you back to your body."
"I'm not-"
"You have to. I can't bring your body here so this is the only way." Steve stepped down from the alcove and held out his hand. "Please, trust me. I won't let anything bad happen."
Eddie hesitated, searching Steve's face. After a moment he nodded, stooping to grab his flashlight. "Okay, I trust you."
He held Steve's hand tightly as they walked down the street. "Can you see anything?"
"No."
"Sorry, that's probably my fault. I guess I didn't want you to leave the house so I made it difficult."
"I wasn't afraid of the dark before." Eddie chuckled, shaking his head. "But I am now, thanks."
"Don't worry, I can see." Steve paused at the intersection and looked around. Even if they were - what was the word Dustin used, incorporeal? - did that mean the monsters couldn't see them either? He didn't want to test the theory. Not with Eddie blind and unable to run or fight. "Let's go carefully."
"You mean, let's not get eaten?"
"Something like that."
"Steve-"
"We'll be fine, Eds." Steve squeezed his hand and took off down the road, careful of cars and debris. "Nothing's gonna hurt us, we're incorporeal."
"Incorporeal?" Eddie spluttered. "Where did you learn that word? No- let me guess... Dustin?"
"So?"
"Nothing." Steve could see Eddie trying not to smile and glared at him. "Don't be mad." Apparently, Eddie could see his face in the torchlight. "Just doesn't sound like a Steve word."
"Fine, we're ghosts." He rolled his eyes. "Better?"
"Yep, that's the Stevie I know."
"Alright, ghost boy, let's get to the gate already. They moved you to their base in the town so we gotta go quietly. The main gate is bound to be swarming with those things."
"Not really selling me on the whole go-to-your-body thing here." Eddie paused, looking uncertain. "Will this work?"
"Yes," Steve hoped it would but he didn't want to show doubt now. "Come on, one step at a time."
They fell silent as the town rose around them. It was slow progress since he had to help Eddie not bump into anything but after what felt like hours, they reached the gate. Steve breathed a sigh of relief when he saw it was not only unguarded but no monsters in sight. He paused in front of the portal, bringing Eddie to a halt.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing, we're at the gate."
"Cool." Eddie looked anything but cool as he glanced around. "Can we go, this is giving me the creeps."
"Yeah. Don't let go of my hand." Steve put one foot through but froze as a sudden chill went up his spine. Reacting on instinct he grabbed Eddie and threw him through the gate.
"Steve!" His cry of surprise was cut off as he disappeared but Steve didn't get the chance to follow him.
A vine caught his leg, throwing him to the floor and Steve hit the ground hard, all the breath knocked out of him. He kicked at the vie but it held on tighter, refusing to let go as it wound around his leg, moving up his torso to his neck. Choking, he tugged fruitlessly at the thick appendage.
"Alpha..."
Eddie...
Eddie was safe. Steve had got him out. Hopefully, he'd find his body and wake up. He tried himself but as soon as he closed his eyes all he could see was Vecna.
"Did you think I wouldn't notice you in my world? Even in your current state, you're... unmistakable."
Steve gasped, hand wrapping around the vine. "Get outta my head!"
"You wish to keep that boy safe?" Vecna got closer and Steve could smell the rotten decay as he choked for air. "I will destroy him... to destroy you."
"I won't- won't let you!" Steve yelled and his hand burned as the vine blazed with fire, releasing its hold on him. Scrambling back, Steve watched with wide eyes as it burned to ash and looked down at his shaking hands. "Holy fuck..."
He jumped as someone seized his shoulder, struggling for a moment before Eddie yelled, "Steve, it's me!" He was pulled back into his chest and Eddie stared as the last of the vine was blown away. "What the fuck? What happened?!"
"Go, go, Vecna knows..." Steve got out in a raspy voice and he shoved Eddie weakly towards the gate. "Eddie, he's coming!"
"Shit, shit, shit." Eddie got his arms under Steve and dragged him to his feet. "Don't you dare do that again! Christ, Steve, you could've died!"
"Yell at me later!" Because Steve could feel Vecna. That sensation of unbridled fear was consuming him and they had maybe seconds left. They both looked up as screeching filled the air, bats swarming in the sky seemingly from nowhere and everywhere. "Eddie!"
"Oh, fuck!" Eddie yanked him through the gate and they stumbled into the brightly lit lawn in front of Hawkins Library. Soldiers were patrolling the area but none of them reacted to the sudden appearance of two men coming through the gate. "Ghosts!" Eddie laughed, collapsing back on the grass. "Oh, I've never been so glad to be dead."
Steve took in several, deep lungfuls of air before sitting up with a groan. His throat was aching and he didn't want to think about the bruising when he woke up. He'd only just gotten over the last set, left with a fine scar around his neck. Another one to add to the collection. He coughed, hand coming up to his throat as Eddie knelt beside him.
"Steve?"
"I'm good, gimme a second." After a couple more deep breaths he felt better and nodded. "Alright, let's move. I don't know if the bags will follow us or not but we should get you back in your body ASAP."
"Right." Eddie helped him to his feet and looked around in confusion. "Uh, you know where to go?"
"Labs." Steve pointed at the building on the right. "You're in quarantine somewhere." As they started towards the doors he realised Eddie was guiding them. "You can see?"
"Yeah, soon as you pushed me through. Let me tell you, almost blinding me again with those damn lights." he pointed at the bright spotlights with a grin. "Could see back in the Upside Down too, kinda glad I couldn't before."
"Right, cool, one problem solved."
"Next step?"
"Find your body."
They paused outside the doors and Eddie hummed. "So... how do we get inside? Dunno about you but I don't know the code. Would we even be able to open the doors?" He knocked on the door but it made no sound. "Just your house then. I wonder why?"
"Technically you weren't in my house. I think it was a replica I made for you." Steve shrugged and leaned against the wall, eyeing the gate but nothing had come through yet. "And the darkness thing to keep you there."
"Full of surprises, Stevie. Oh, hey!" He grabbed his arm as the doors opened and they slipped passed the group leaving the building. "Okay, let's find someone going to me and follow them."
Steve glanced in the rooms as they walked down the main corridor. Most looked like the labs at school, clean and with nothing too weird going on. One had what looked like a demodog mid-dissection on a table surrounded by scientists and it made his stomach turn.
"Gnarly." Eddie stopped to watch as they pulled something wet and slimy from its stomach. "Wonder what its last meal was."
"Eddie, come on."
He laughed at Steve's queasy face. "Oh, that's too much? Not bashing them about with your bat or... setting things on fire?"
"I didn't go digging around in their stomachs!"
"...Munson..."
His head whipped around at Eddie's name and to his delight he saw Campbell coming towards them, looking down at some paperwork a doctor was holding. Steve recognised her too, the same one who had told him and Hopper about Eddie's condition.
"There." Steve tugged on Eddie's hand and they followed the two through the labyrinth of corridors until finally, they reached a set of doors being guarded. "This has gotta be the place."
Eddie followed him inside but halted outside the plastic curtains. "Steve..."
"It's alright, I'm right here with you." Eddie took his hand and they moved into the room. Despite being moved, he looked remarkably the same. Still on an examination table and attached to several machines. It was a little weird, watching Eddie move around his body, seeing both of them like this. "So... hop on in?"
Eddie snorted. "Think it'll work?" His eyes slid to the heart rate monitor and he traced the peaked line. "At least my heart is working."
"We gotta try." Steve came up next to him and took his hand again. "If it doesn't work, we'll have to think of something else."
"Oh, I'm so going home with you and haunting your ass." Eddie frowned and touched the silken wrappings around his arm. "What's this?"
"Uh, yeah, that's my bad." Steve rubbed the back of his head and smiled sheepishly. "Not on purpose of course. It protects you, heals you too. Look at your wounds." Nothing more than pink scars now, better healed than Steve's even.
Eddie traced one but quickly withdrew. "That's freaky. So Vecna uses vines and you use... silk?"
"Maybe, I don't know."
"You're weird, Steve." Eddie flashed him a smile. "Good thing I like you."
He felt his cheeks flood with colour and hastily looked away. "Get on with it, Eds."
"One more thing." Eddie kissed him hard. "For good luck." And grabbing Steve's hand he got up on the table, kneeling over his body. When he pressed a hand to his chest, nothing happened. "Don't think this is gonna work."
Steve had an idea though. He touched the real Eddie, gripping both in his hands. "Kiss me again?" He smiled as their lips met, the warmth of contact chasing away the lingering pain. Guiding Eddie's hand down to press to his body again, Steve felt the moment he disappeared and opened his eyes.
Eddie was gone.
"Eds?" He whispered, touching his cheek.
The monitor beeped as his heart rate spiked and Steve felt momentary panic that quickly melted to relief as Eddie's eyes opened. The doctors surrounded him, pulling out a tube from his throat and the sound of Eddie choking and gasping was the most wonderful thing Steve had ever heard.
He smiled and Eddie looked over at him but frowned when his gaze only slid past him, searching around wildly. "S-Steve?"
Eddie couldn't see him anymore.
It didn't really matter, Steve was already waking up back in his room and stumbling down the stairs.
