( it’s as if steve blinked and found himself in hawkins again — actually, no, that’s exactly what happened. one moment he was moping around the ship and the next he was staring down at nancy in his arms as she woke from her vecna trance.
the exact moment he’d left.
he’s lucky no one finds his over-the-top joy at nancy’s return to consciousness odd. to them, he’s appropriately relieved that she’s okay. they have no idea he hasn’t seen any of them for months with no hope of ever seeing them again.
the next moments are a whirlwind. he sits rigidly next to eddie on the couch as nancy recounts her experience with vecna. they steal some poor couple's winnebago. they head to the war zone to buy guns and clothes and whatever else they need for this half-baked plan. steve's thoughts undulate between two things the entire drive — that they have to do better this time, and that he needs to talk to eddie alone. he hasn't picked up on any cues that this is his eddie, but that might not mean anything. or it might mean everything.
when they reach their destination, it occurs to steve that this might be the only chance he really has to be alone with eddie, so when the others try to drag him in, too, he staunchly refuses with a sweeping gesture from his head to his toes. )
You think I can go in there looking like this? Come on. Just grab me some shoes, alright? ( he’s actually pretty sure a place like the war zone doesn’t give two shits if you walk in barefoot and shirtless, but that doesn't matter. he makes sure everyone’s out of the winnebago and the door is shut tight before he finally spins around to face eddie.
he doesn’t say anything at first, not as he slides into one of the seats across from eddie. he doesn’t know what to say. )
Hey. Um. You holding up okay? ( is what he ends up going with, but the look on his face says something more like please say you remember. please tell me you made it back, too. )
steve and eddie - post-sail
the exact moment he’d left.
he’s lucky no one finds his over-the-top joy at nancy’s return to consciousness odd. to them, he’s appropriately relieved that she’s okay. they have no idea he hasn’t seen any of them for months with no hope of ever seeing them again.
the next moments are a whirlwind. he sits rigidly next to eddie on the couch as nancy recounts her experience with vecna. they steal some poor couple's winnebago. they head to the war zone to buy guns and clothes and whatever else they need for this half-baked plan. steve's thoughts undulate between two things the entire drive — that they have to do better this time, and that he needs to talk to eddie alone. he hasn't picked up on any cues that this is his eddie, but that might not mean anything. or it might mean everything.
when they reach their destination, it occurs to steve that this might be the only chance he really has to be alone with eddie, so when the others try to drag him in, too, he staunchly refuses with a sweeping gesture from his head to his toes. )
You think I can go in there looking like this? Come on. Just grab me some shoes, alright? ( he’s actually pretty sure a place like the war zone doesn’t give two shits if you walk in barefoot and shirtless, but that doesn't matter. he makes sure everyone’s out of the winnebago and the door is shut tight before he finally spins around to face eddie.
he doesn’t say anything at first, not as he slides into one of the seats across from eddie. he doesn’t know what to say. )
Hey. Um. You holding up okay? ( is what he ends up going with, but the look on his face says something more like please say you remember. please tell me you made it back, too. )