Imagine
Steve felt it the instant they stepped into the house.
He felt them. And it had him shooting up from the bed faster than his body could handle.
Eddie was there to catch him when he stumbled. An arm wrapped around his waist, the other holding him up under his armpit.
For a moment, he felt a little delirious. His head swam with new auras and dizziness from getting up too fast.
"Easy there, big boy," Eddie crooned in his ear.
Steve took a deep breath. His knees were shaking, threatening to buckle. But he was determined to get downstairs.
"Downstairs," he breathed, eyes flicking up to meet Eddie's. "Please?"
Eddie smiled softly. Steve found himself being sat back down onto the bed, as Eddie grabbed for the shirt he had abandoned hours earlier.
Then, he adjusted himself under Steve's arm, and they slowly made their way towards the stairs.
Their journey down to the entryway felt like it took a thousand years. Steve was shaking even harder by the time they reached the tiled ground floor.
Then he saw them, and his worries about his body dissolved.
He saw Murray first. Steve didn't know the man well, but it was a relief to see him, regardless. But then his gaze moved onto Joyce, and he was feeling everything at once.
Steve tried to keep it inside. He really did. But he couldn't.
He'd later blame it on the fact that he'd just woken up. Or that he was still working on understanding his powers.
But that didn't excuse the fact that his own aura was swirling through the entryway, reaching out to them.
Joyce had gathered him into her arms before he could even think about how unsettling it probably was for them.
Her hug was desperate, a lifeline.
Eddie was still there, a hand settled on his lower back. But Joyce held him tight. Even after they'd sunk to the floor; Steve no longer able to hold himself up.
And he felt safe. With Eddie's hand on his back, wrapped up in Joyce's arms, Hopper just a few steps away... Steve felt safe.
"Oh, honey... you should have told us how bad it was!" She said into his hair, a hand cradling the back of his head.
"I didn't have time," he lied, wetly. "It's good to see you."
Steve was blinking back tears. His eyes met Hopper's over Joyce's shoulder, and he couldn't help but reach out to the man with his uninjured hand.
The chief hesitated for about half a second, before stepping quietly over to them.
The hand that grabbed Steve's was rough with callouses, but warm, and alive.
"What the hell happened, kid?"
Steve shook his head minutely. "I can't. Not right now."
Hopper looked like he wanted to argue, but Steve's aura shifted and the man stayed quiet.
They stayed like that for a while. Steve wrapped up in Joyce's arms, holding onto Hopper's hand like he'd disappear - again - if he let go.
Eventually, Steve felt Eddie stand from his crouch with a grunt.
"I'm gonna grab some coffee, okay sweetheart?"
Eddie didn't wait for a response. He smoothed Steve's hair back from his forehead, placing a gentle kiss on his hairline, before disappearing in the direction of the kitchen.
Steve followed him with his eyes. And when he was out of sight, his gaze snapped back to look at Hopper.
The man was smiling fondly, if not a little confused. But Steve felt no disgust, no anger, no outrage.
"When the other kids get here, I'll tell you everything. Okay?"
Joyce nodded against him, but Hopper looked like he wanted to argue.
"Can you at least tell me why I feel like I'm hallucinating... rainbow mist, right now?"
Steve drew in a sharp breath. Which quickly sent him into a coughing fit. Joyce held him at arms length, while Steve coughed and hacked hard enough for his eyes to water.
Breaths between coughs were those same wheezes. It had him doubling over. Pain wracked through his body. There were hands on his back, hands in his hair.
The fit felt like it lasted an hour, before it finally subsided. Joyce pulled him upright, and Steve realised the hand on his back was Lucas's dad, not Eddie.
"How we doing?"
Steve nodded, swallowing hard. His throat was aching and his head felt fuzzy. His chest was sharp with strain.
"I'm okay," he croaked in a volume no louder than a whisper.
Charlie ducked down, inspecting his bruised neck. "Vecna did a number on you. You're lucky it's just bruised, kid. Deep, slow breaths from now on, and you should be okay."
Steve moved to stand, accepting the offered help from the doctor. Joyce was looking at him with concern, uncertainty swirled around her. He took a deep breath and tried to reign his aura back in.
It must have worked, somewhat. Because the other occupants of the room were looking around in confusion, as though something had disappeared. Steve could still see it, but it was contained. And that's all he'd asked for.
Something wet dribbled down to his upper lip, and he quickly wiped it with the back of his bandaged wrist.
Yep, blood.
He really wasn't surprised anymore.
But Hopper's alarm was thick in the air around them.
"What was that, kid?" He demanded, stepping into Steve's space. "Don't tell me the Upside Down has given you freaky powers?"
Hop felt so unsure, scared. But the way he'd said it had been all threat. Like he expected Steve to fight him.
"Hop..." Joyce warned quietly.
"No, I've had them since I was little. Just didn't remember. Blocked it out, or something..."
That didn't seem to calm them.
"But... you weren't at the lab... Were you?"
Steve shrugged, which was probably a bad idea with a broken arm, but it was all he could manage.
"The hell is that supposed to mean?" Hopper growled.
Steve kept his eyes on the ground between himself and Joyce. They walked him over to the couch, and Hopper trailed after them with a frown fixed on his face.
He hoped to use Eddie's approach as a distraction from the current line of questioning. His love sank into the couch, next to him, and carefully handed him a cup of water. It was bright pink and plastic, probably from when Erica was little.
It felt wrong, accepting help from them. But Steve figured it'd be a better idea to accept it, than to suffer in silence. Or hurt himself while trying to do it on his own.
Eddie's hands hovered over his while he drank. Like, even though it was a plastic cup, he might break it or spill it.
Once he'd mostly emptied the cup, he handed it back to Eddie. His love smiled at him softly, dabbing a tissue into the water at the bottom of the cup, and tilting Steve's chin up so he could gently wipe away the dried smear of blood he could feel on his cupid's bow.
Eddie was completely engrossed in the task, but Steve couldn't help but listen to the reunion happening in the kitchen. It appeared the kids had noticed Joyce and Hopper's arrival. He could hear Dustin interrogating Joyce about where the others were, and her adamant replies that she didn't know.
Erica was grilling Murray with a similar ferocity. It made Steve smile. Because, despite the shit-show of a week the kids had had, they were still themselves.
Robin soon joined them in the living room. She'd said her greetings to Joyce and Hopper when they arrived. She’d let them in.
She said it was hard for her to really empathise with the kids, because she'd barely known Hopper before he 'died'.
She told them she'd just gotten off the phone with Nancy, who was headed out grocery shopping with her mom and little sister.
Steve wasn't sure how to feel about it all. Eddie had hesitantly told him about the argument back at the Wheeler's house.
He wished he was surprised.
But, he'd begun to have his doubts about Nancy's motives a while ago.
He still loved her; she was one of his closest friends. She was smart, and determined, and passionate, and beautiful.
But she had no idea what she wanted, and that was becoming glaringly clear, now that he'd witnessed those sides of her.
Steve could imagine what had driven her to lashing out at Eddie. Betrayal, shock, maybe even jealousy. Fear?
But, without seeing her - without reading her - he wouldn't know.
He leaned against Eddie's side, aching but safe. Eddie had his arm wrapped firmly around Steve's shoulders, holding him close.
His hair was still up in that braid. It was starting to fall out; his wild curls beginning their escape. But Steve thought it was cute. It made him look softer, gentler. And like him having his arm around Steve wasn't an unusual thing.
It wasn't, but Steve could imagine that the kids walking in and seeing them huddled close in a way that spoke of an intimacy more than friendship... it'd be a lot for them. Especially coming off the back end of another apocalypse.
He just hoped they could adjust, because Steve didn't want to move.
He sat there for a long time. Enveloped in Eddie's aura. Warm, comfortable, protected.
Right up until the moment Mrs Wheeler walked through the front door, with Holly and Nancy in tow.
He could feel it in the air, the instant they stepped inside.
Steve squeezed his eyes shut, drawing in a slow deep breath. Eddie's arm tightened around him, ever so slightly.
Steve felt Nancy pause at the sight of them on the couch together. But, she didn't say anything. And she quickly made her way into the kitchen, where her palpable disdain turned to relief at the sight of Hopper and Joyce.
It was like a shard if ice piercing his heart.
He knew, now.
She really... really didn't like him and Eddie being together.
And it went deeper than just homophobia. So deep, that Steve wasn't sure where to start.
He was snapped out of his distress by a shift next to him.
Steve's eyes locked onto Eddie. He was looking down at Steve with worry written in the lines of his face. His love shifted again, gently guiding Steve to move until they were facing each other.
Eddie's hands were light on his shoulders, sliding down his arms and over his cast, to grip the backs of his hands.
"What's wrong?"
His voice was barely above a whisper. Just loud enough for Steve to hear. Robin perked up from where she was sat on the floor in front of the couch.
Steve shook his head at Eddie. He wasn't sure how to answer that. Words were escaping him.
The way Nancy had felt...
The way she made him feel...
It wasn't natural, anymore.
It held a potency that was so foreign, it made him sick.
"Is it Nancy?" Robin whispered, her hand gripping his knee in a way that was almost grounding.
Steve nodded jerkily.
"We should talk to her about it." Robin sounded oddly unsure.
Steve scowled at her. Surely, confronting her about it would only make it worse. That's what usually happened. Nancy would immediately go on the defensive. That's when she said things that really hurt. When the truth came out. When relationships dissolved. Like an Alka-Seltzer tablet in water.
Angry, hurtful words.
"No."
Steve felt Eddie's flinch at the harsh word, even though he was still looking at Robin.
Robin sighed, rolling onto her knees so she could come in close. "What do you mean, Steve? Is this something to do with these wack-ass powers you've developed practically overnight? Because, if it is, maybe you should tone it down? I mean, you've had a rough few days, and you should really be resting. You're right, we should leave this all until you're better. The last thing we need is for you guys to get in an argument."
She was almost out of breath. Steve laid his cast clad hand on top of hers. It was sandwiched between Robin's and Eddie's, now. Where it was supposed to be.
He shook his head again, keeping his voice low. "No, I need to check on her. I wish I knew what her aura looked like before. It'd be great to have something to compare it to, you know?"
They looked a little confused, but Steve knew what he had to do.
He needed to figure this out. He needed to figure her out.
His eyes slid closed. Breathing slowed, his heartbeat thumping, dull in his own ears.
Steve searched the house for her, hopping from aura to aura. Until he found that tendril. Reaching out for him.
He extended his senses, reaching out in turn.
And the moment he made contact, his entire being was ripped apart.
His physical body jerked violently, startling Eddie and Robin enough to fill the air with anxiety.
Pain and darkness tore through his soul. Despair; a pit under his feet, sucking him into the depths of Nancy's anger. Her sadness. Her agony.
"Something's wrong."