Days upon days stuck in the crumbling shelter. The cracks were growing larger with each passing shake, and there was no telling when the ceiling would finally give in and bury them alive. Robin and Joyce managed to find some supplies. Some water and cans of food left behind by someone long gone. It had kept them going this long.
Steve was still on bed rest, not that he could get up even if he wanted to. Every spare bit of energy he had was spent searching for the others. Still, nothing. When he pulled his stitches on the third day, Robin had almost slapped him in her rage.
"You barely survived, Steve! What are you trying to do, bleed to death?! Instead of using your powers to search out there, use them to fix yourself so we can go instead!"
She was right, of course. So Steve focused on mending himself. It was strange to see the silk bindings working their way into his body, feeling them repair the broken connections with a curious warmth. He knew by the time it was done, the scarring would be minimal, just like Eddie's.
Thinking about Eddie made his chest ache with a fierce longing.
He'd tried to reach out and find him but to no avail. Steve hadn't mastered that particular skill, and Eleven hadn't thought it urgent enough to teach. He could find her, yes, and feeling her blip close by in the town was comforting. If she was safe, he hoped Eddie was with her. He also hoped she was trying to find them too. He was much a beacon to her as she was to him.
Steve almost fell off the table again when he realised they weren't the only ones with beacons. Robin had to steady him, looking ready for another tirade, but he shushed her. "Kali!"
"Who?"
"Uh, Eight! She can help!"
Robin didn't look convinced. "The girl Eleven ran off to? Isn't she busy murdering scientists?"
"Well, yeah, but if I can contact her, she can help us. Three's better than two, right?"
"Good luck," she snorted. "I'm going to help Joyce with the radio. I'll let her know not to disturb you."
"Thanks."
As soon as the door shut, Steve lay back down and closed his eyes, casting his mind out to find Kali. He felt Eleven but bypassed her, searching further and further for another blip. Finally, he found it and, as he made contact, opened his eyes in the void. Kali wasn't there, but he knew she felt him, so he waited.
How long passed, he didn't know.
It was only when flames rose from the water that he knew it worked. Kali appeared in their midst, looking furious. "Who the hell are you?"
"Alpha. Or Steve, I suppose." He held up his wrist to show her the scarring as the flames grew hotter. He knew it was an illusion, but it didn't stop his heart racing. Kali had always been good with fire.
The flames vanished, but she remained cautious. "I thought you were dead. I tried to contact you after I escaped. You never answered."
"They put something in my head to stop my powers. As you can see, it's gone now."
"So what do you want?"
"We need your help."
She scoffed, eyeing him with obvious suspicion as she got closer. She stopped barely an inch from him and leaned in, making him swallow thickly. "And what does Alpha need my help for? We both know you don't need me."
"One is still alive."
Kali frowned, stepping back to give him breathing room. "How?"
"Trust me. You gotta see it to believe it. Point is, he's destroying Hawkins as we speak. Eleven and I are going in to stop him. We could really use your help."
"In?" She shook her head and laughed in disbelief. "You've gotta be kidding me. Suicidal or what? There's no way you can win!"
"What happened to me being all-powerful or whatever?"
"Yeah, not that powerful."
"Please, Kal."
She considered him again, shifting her weight from foot to foot. "No."
"But-" Steve groaned when she vanished. He waited, but she didn't come back. "So much for backup."
He relayed the conversation to Robin and Joyce. Neither of them looked all that surprised. Steve supposed he wasn't either. He hoped it would be enough with just him and Eleven. But first, they needed to get out.
The threads were doing a good job. Steve could move about on his own and started tearing the place apart to try and find something useful. They were in the basement of The Hawkins Post. Stacks of old newspapers and an old, outdated printing press took up most of the space. The shop above was destroyed, and the stairs were blocked moments after Robin and Joyce carried him down there.
So they were trapped.
Steve stared at the jumble of broken wood and papers, an idea forming. "I think I have a plan…" Robin and Joyce had to do most of the heavy lifting until they had cleared everything but the combustibles. Steve held out his hand, the blue flame appearing, and he gave them a dubious look. "Ready?"
They nodded, and all three covered their faces with makeshift rags. Steve had to concentrate hard to keep the fire under control. The last thing he wanted to do was burn the basement down and suffocate them all. It was slow progress, but he managed to make a path up into the destroyed store.
Robin steadied him when he extinguished the flames and stumbled backwards. He was still healing himself, which was taking a whole lot of energy. Doing anything extra felt like a lot of hard work. He sank into a chair with a sigh. "I'm okay. Just need to rest for a minute."
"Maybe next time you can just burn a hole through the wall."
"Maybe," Steve agreed without much conviction. Then he began to wonder if he could actually do it.
The acrid smell of smoke soon moved them from the building and out onto the street. Steve wondered how long their reprieve would be, so he forced himself to his feet, clutching his stomach to try and ward off the pain. It did little to help.
"We can't stay here. It's too open." Joyce helped Steve down the street as Robin scouted ahead. He hated how far away she was, which only seemed to amuse Joyce. "I would have thought you two would make a great couple once upon a time," she confessed softly. "But then I saw you with Eddie. Now I know why you two are just friends."
"Spoken like everyone else," Steve laughed. "For the record, Robin is a good friend, but we're not like that, never have been. Eddie is… good for me. I'd do anything for him."
"I know the feeling. Just don't let it distract you, okay? You have a big job to do."
"I know." Steve had Eddie's promise, and that was enough. Vecna couldn't use Eddie against him.
Robin came bounding back to them, flushed and excited. "There's a clearing up ahead. I think it's near the warehouse Hopper pointed to before we got separated. With any luck, they're nearby."
It wasn't easy or fun to climb over the abandoned cars to get to the clearing. Steve had never been so grateful to have such a high pain tolerance, but even with it, he was sure a stitch had torn. He tried not to give it away, just zipped up his jacket to hide any blood as they continued on. Hopefully, there were no demogorgans nearby. He just needed a few minutes to deal with it. Unfortunately, he didn't have time to stop and rest.
"Steve, look." Robin helped him through a ripped fence before pointing across the clearing. Steve stumbled to a stop when he saw Dustin climbing into view, holding out a hand for someone else and...
"Eddie," he breathed, taking off without a thought. They met in the centre of the field, crashing together in a way Steve was sure only existed in the movies. Eddie's fingers wound in his hair, pulling him into a fierce kiss that would surely bruise.
"You. Stupid. Fucking. Idiot." Eddie almost growled the words, but Steve could feel his hands trembling. "Stop playing the hero. Stop… sacrificing yourself like that."
"I'm not sorry."
"I know." Eddie smiled, kissing him again, gently this time. "I'm glad you're okay."
"Me too. I was worried about you."
"Me? You're the one who got hurt." Eddie's hands moved to unzip his jacket, but Steve stopped him. Understanding flashed in his eyes, and he gave a slight nod. "Okay. Let's get somewhere safe."
Dustin couldn't stop talking as he led the way. "It's a good thing we had all these safe houses prepared earlier. I mean, did you see how many demodogs there were? Way more than at the house! And Steve, how the hell are you still alive, man? I saw how far you fell. Superpowers!"
"More like pure dumb luck," Robin said with a grin. "Steve's always been good at that."
"I wouldn't call getting impaled lucky."
Joyce hushed them. "How much further, Dustin?"
"About five minutes. We've been going out in groups to search for you."
"Lucky me, I found you," Eddie whispered sweetly in Steve's ear, making him smile wide.
It was a happy reunion when they reached the fortified warehouse. Steve was relieved to find everyone had made it out alive. Jonathan had been bitten on the leg, which sent Joyce into a frenzy. In the chaos following that revelation, Eddie managed to sneak Steve into a supply closet to check him out.
With only a flashlight to work with, it made things feel a lot more risqué than it should have been. Eddie didn't help by smirking as he unzipped Steve's jacket at a torturously slow pace, tongue peeking out ever so slightly in his concentration. "Oh, Stevie," he sighed, helping Steve out of his shirt. "What am I going to do with you?"
"Make me feel better, I hope."
"I suppose that can be arranged." With a push, Steve found himself sitting on a stack of boxes. Eddie knelt between his legs to check his stomach. He looked impressed. "No blood, you're all good. It's mostly covered in your silk stuff, so I think you'll be fine."
"Cool." Steve raised his eyebrow when Eddie's hands slid down his thighs and squeezed. "There's about twenty people just outside that door, and I haven't showered in days."
"Such a killjoy." A knock at the door had Eddie shooting to his feet abruptly. "Coming!"
"I wish."
He laughed, leaning in to kiss Steve before helping him back into his clothes. "Maybe later. After a nice long hot shower."
"It's a date."
