( steve answers too quickly and glances down at his filthy, bloody bandages with a grimace, so his reassurance probably isn't all that convincing. the pain had been something like background noise this entire time but now that he's actually focusing on the bites, he remembers how bad they actually hurt.
but he devises a plan to suss out whether or not eddie remembers the ship right then and there. it’s messy. it really isn’t all that clever. it’ll be kind of weird to try and explain away if eddie doesn’t know what he’s talking about.
it’s also the best steve’s got right now, so he’s going for it. )
Actually, there's this girl who works at the pharmacy, maybe she can help out. Her name’s Clarke. You know her?
( at first, it doesn't seem like there is any sort of tell that this steve knows everything eddie has been through. he sticks to a neutral expression even though he feels as if he's hanging by a thread.
but then steve mentions clarke and eddie's head snaps to the side, eyes fixed on steve's to try and suss out if he heard that correctly. no fucking way. )
Clarke...Griffin? ( eddie supplies with wide, hopeful yet concerned eyes. he wants to believe that this is his steve, but he's careful not to give himself away, lest he be just making himself look insane, or cursed by vecna. )
( and that's all it takes. the carefully constructed wall steve had built in an attempt to keep up this façade comes crumbling down and he's closing the space between them, moving to join eddie where he sits. )
You remember, ( he manages before he's pulling eddie into a desperate kiss. he'd just spent the last two weeks in a miserable spiral, positive that eddie was lost and suffering and there was nothing he could do to save him. now here they are, with a second chance and no explanation as to why. this shouldn't even be possible.
you can never go home, they'd said. you can never go home because you'd never left it. if you even tried, you'd be obliterated. steve had been filled with a hopelessness like he'd never known these past two weeks. and now...
he breaks the kiss just so he can get a look at eddie properly, his hands cupping either side of eddie's face as he looks him over. they're both filthy. they smell. it's definitely a far cry from their cushy existence on the ship, torture aside.
steve doesn't think he's ever been happier. )
You were gone. I thought he sent you to the Nothing. I thought — ( he stops, too choked up to continue. he doesn't want to cry, not when the others could come bursting back in at any moment, but he'd been so certain he would never see eddie again. this whole thing is a risk they're going to have to get used to but steve can't part from eddie just yet. he wraps his arms around him tight, buries his face in eddie's neck, and allows himself to shed a few tears of relief, just this once. )
( the moment steve pulls him into a kiss, eddie just immediately melts into it. when he realized he was no longer on the cruise ship, he had assumed the worst, that he had lost everything good that hat come out of that. not that he wants to give the captain any credit for what he and steve managed to build during their time together.
now eddie is kissing him back like both their lives depend on it. and while a part of eddie worries this is just his imagination, that he's going to wake up in the nothing or some bullshit, he is going to cling to this while he still can.
and blatantly ignore the fact that they still have to figure out how eddie is going to avoid the whole dying thing.
again. )
I'm here. Steve, I'm here, it's me, I'm real. ( he says it just as much for his own benefit as for steve's. he keeps a tight grip around steve, rocking them both a little bit gently as if that's going to calm them both down from their emotionally charged reunion. )
I can't believe it. How's this even fucking possible?
( steve is so overwhelmed by the rush of emotion he's been bottling up since finding himself back here in hawkins that he doesn't immediately clock what eddie's saying. but as he starts to come back to himself, eddie's words begin to register, and he has to ask himself — how is this possible?
obliterated. that's what they'd said would happen if he ever found his way back to hawkins. he'd be obliterated and that would be that because he isn't really steve harrington anymore. he's a copy set off on a diverging path from the original.
and yet, here he is.)
I don't know, ( he says at last, pulling back and squaring his shoulders as he wipes his eyes with the back of one hand. the others could come bursting back in at any moment, he reminds himself. as difficult as it might be, they have to try to keep it together.
his gaze wanders over eddie as if he might spot something, a clue of some sort of indicate if this is real or just another trick of the ship, but there's nothing. just eddie. )
It has to be real. I talked to Nance on the way here and she was just — ( he shrugs. ) You know, normal. Like, there's no way he could fake this much, right? That would be crazy.
( he feels a little like he's grasping for any shred of proof that this isn't the ship. in reality, he's pretty sure the captain could construct whatever kind of world he wanted only to jerk the rug right out from under them again. )
Maybe he got, like, I don't know, bored or something. Sent everyone back. ( it could happen, he tells himself. no — it did happen. obviously. otherwise they wouldn't be here. ) I mean, think about it. There's no other explanation.
( he states it firmly, with such confidence he almost believes it. )
( all eddie could think of was the possibility that the captain had made a grave error that let them go home. or he was full of shit the whole time. both are preferable to finding out this is just a new hell for them, a new form of torture.
it's still not ideal, though, because they're still faced with the impossible task of dealing with vecna, saving max, saving hawkins, and clearing eddie's name somehow. it's a damn shame he and steve can't just fuck off, but he adores those kids too much to abandon them now just to save his skin. just seeing dustin's face again broke his damn heart as he remembered being held by him in his final moments, before waking on the cruise ship.
and he would do it again. except now he has something to live for, a reason not to give up and sacrifice himself. )
I don't think this his all his doing. Sending us here, it feels like an accident. Do you think...they found a way to free us?
( it's a nice notion, anyway. he hopes everyone else was able to be freed. he might miss some of them, but so long as he's got steve here, that's really the most important thing, right? )
Of course, none of this matters if we don't figure out a way to defeat Vecna that doesn't end in my death.
Yeah, maybe. ( he doesn't sound convinced. it feels odd that the issue would be resolved so abruptly, with no fanfare whatsoever. it feels even odder that eddie would land at an earlier point in his own timeline. what about chrissy? if they'd all been sent back home then, what, she just went back to being dead? that's pretty messed up. unbelievably cruel and tragic, yeah, which falls in line with everything else related to that ship, but still. why would eddie get a second chance, but not her?
it's terrible to think about, so good thing eddie changes the subject... to something just as bad. the color seems to drain from steve's face as he stares at eddie in stunned silence, then shakes his head. )
No, ( he says, voice sharp. ) That's not happening so don't even — ( he cuts himself off with a frustrated sigh as he scrubs both hands over his face, running them up through his hair. ) Look, nobody's dying, got it? We know what to expect, and we've got this asshole exactly where we want him. It'll be easy. In, out, done.
( the upside down will just be one very ugly smudge on the hawkins timeline. gone for good. )
Then you and me? We'll be free. We can do whatever the hell we want.
( eddie doesn't feel very confident, but steve's insistence that they're going to find a way to defeat vecna, and that eddie will live to tell the tale, is almost enough to calm him down. he knows he won't believe it until he sees it, but steve does have a point. they do know what to expect. eddie has been through all of this before.
which means they just have to change things just enough to make sure they all win this time. )
I like the sound of that, free. ( he smiles, though there's still a sense of nervousness to it. still, he knows they have to try to get past all of this. if they do nothing, then the whole world will just end up going to shit. )
Right, well, there's still a bunch of shit that I don't know about. I only know what happened that led to my death, but I have no idea what happened with everyone else. I have no idea if you guys even succeeded in killing Vecna this way. What if we manage...Steve, I can't live in a world where I'm alive but you're not.
Nope. That's not happening either, ( steve insists, just as sharp as before, though he can't help but feel as if he's lying this time. it's not as if he has any intention of dying but if it comes down to it? he'd save any one person on this mission even if it meant sacrificing himself. he has a feeling eddie knows that, too.
still, with any luck it won't come to that, and after all they've been through they deserve one good thing. just one. ) Look, we've got this, man. That asshole thinks he's got Nance running scared, right? He's not gonna see any of this coming. Seriously. We just have to make sure you and Henderson make it out alright and we're golden.
( it's so, so easy to say. far less easy to believe. steve is terrified. )
I swear, Eddie. ( he reaches over to take eddie's hand in his, giving it a reassuring squeeze as much for himself as it is for eddie. ) Vecna's the only creep dying tonight.
( it makes eddie sick, just thinking about it. he knows steve wouldn't hesitate to give himself up if it meant everyone else got to live. and he knows he can't voice that concern in front of the others, because in this reality, he and steve haven't known each other long enough to trust each other that explicitly.
instead, he tries to focus on the positive spin steve is trying to put on this. while he is skeptical this will all work out in the end, he has to hope. he can't have another outcome like with the captain, where no matter what they do the end result is always the same. they have an advantage, and eddie intends to exploit it. )
Well, we know what went wrong with Dustin and me, at least. ( he pauses, as he considers their options. ) What if you stayed back with us at the trailer? Do you think Nancy and Robin would be fine on their own? ( it would certainly be a way to make sure they both lived through this. when steve takes his hand, he smiles down at it, sliding his fingers through steve's and squeezing tightly. )
I'm holding you to that. I will find a way to bring you back just to kill you again if the worst should end up happening. ( or maybe they both would die. at least then they'd be together, hopefully somewhere better than that cruise ship. )
( and so steve finds himself with something of a virmire situation on his hands (not that he knows, or will ever know, what that means) as he considers eddie's idea. he could stay behind at the trailer, make sure eddie and dustin make it out okay, but then what if nancy and robin don't? he couldn't live with himself if something happened to either of them, but he can't let anything happen to eddie or dustin either.
as he thinks about it he's overcome with a strange, terrible feeling. it's like his ribs are squeezing harder and harder, growing so tight it pushes the air right out of his lungs and threatens to stop the hammering of his heart completely.
he doesn't want eddie to know he's going through whatever this is, though, so he does his best to disguise his nervous, shallow breaths as normal ones, and tries to keep a steady hand as eddie laces their fingers together. )
Maybe we can change up the plan, ( he suggests, and his voice sounds strange and thick to his own ears. ) Like, I don't know, maybe you don't have to be the distraction, you know? We can figure it out.
( a beat, then: )
Nobody's going to die.
( he hopes he sounds like he believes it. he's not really sure that he does. )
( eddie senses that something is wrong. he knows steve well enough by now -- or at least he thinks he does -- that something feels off with steve. but what that something is, he cannot put a finger on.
maybe he's just as scared as eddie is, that this won't work out. that this is just another way for the captain to torture them. as if giving them a taste of their world, but reminding them that they'll never be fully free.
to which eddie says fuck that. he will find a way to defy the odds if it's the last thing he does.
the last time they did this, eddie was only worried about giving steve more time, and making sure dustin would make it out alive. now he has more reason than ever for everyone to live, himself included. )
You think Nance will go for that? You know her better than I do, but she seems pretty stubborn.
( still, if anyone could change her mind, he likes to think it's probably steve. )
What if -- ( eddie blinks as he struggles to remember the one thing he had hoped he never would have to remember - that feeling of being torn apart. being torn apart, and then suddenly...nothing. suddenly the bats all dropped dead. ) What if it's not the plan that needs to change, but the timing? I swear, I remember Dustin limping over to me and the bats just falling out of the air like something had killed them.
( steve's only sort of half-listening to eddie, caught up as he is in his own freak out, or whatever the hell is happening to him. he absentmindedly uses his free hand to toy with one of the pins on the vest he's wearing, wondering distantly if the others will think to grab him some actual clothes while they're in there.
he's a million miles away, until something eddie says catches his attention and drags him back to reality with a start. a light frown furrows his brow as he blinks, mouth flattening into a tight line. )
Timing? ( he echoes, thoughtful. eddie could really be onto something with that, but... god. steve feels as if he's been plunked down in the center of a maze in the dead of night, blindfolded. he doesn't know what happens next. he has no idea how a change in timing could or would apply to any of it.
it's still enough to make him feel — well, not good, but better. he feels less like his chest is caving in on itself, anyway. ) Okay. So, like... maybe we took too long at the house, right? If me and Robin and Nancy move a little faster... because if the bats died, Vecna probably did, too. Or we distracted him enough to make him, I don't know, forget about the hivemind or something.
( is that how a hivemind works? he has no idea. )
If whatever we did happens sooner, you and Dustin are home free.
( it's a damn shame eddie doesn't know what happened in that house. he feels like he's missing a piece of the puzzle. while it would have been nice for steve to have that information, he knows deep down he wouldn't change a thing about how this all worked out. if the price to pay for knowing he will live is a different steve who didn't experience what they both went through on the cruise ship...eddie is willing to take this risk, dammit. life just wouldn't be worth living without a steve who knows the hell he went through to get here.
he considers steve's ideas that he's spitballing. )
What if he knows we're coming? Maybe the problem is the hivemind. The distraction didn't work how we wanted it to, the bats started to come in, so Dustin and I aborted, right? But the bats were retreating, so the attention would return to you guys. Maybe...Henderson and I need to reinforce the van better so they can't get in through the vents. We keep all eyes off that house for as long as fucking possible so you guys can finish him off.
( it's probably the best plan they have without knowing all the pieces in play. without knowing what the fuck is going on in russia and california, it's their best chance at getting it right this time. )
( if steve sounds grim it's because he still doesn't love the idea of eddie and dustin being left in a vulnerable spot just waiting for history to repeat itself, but it really is the best they have to work with right now. if they can reinforce the trailer even just a fraction better than whatever they did last time then they might just have a chance at making it out of this shit alive.
the others have been inside long enough now that steve knows they're pushing their luck here. at any moment they'll be bursting back into the winnebago. he and eddie can't be caught holding hands and practically cuddling. even if the others somehow didn't freak out about the, uh, social implications... well, it would be impossible to explain how he and eddie got so close in the span of an hour. )
We should probably... ( he trails off as he shoots a quick glance at the door. when he turns back to eddie, it's with a wry, rueful twist of his lips. he doesn't want to go back up front. ) I mean, the other guys— they'll be back any minute.
( this plan is definitely not foolproof, but what choice do they have? convincing nancy of doing anything else will be impossible without explaining how they know what they know. all eddie can hope for at this point is that they get lucky that this somehow works.
in the meantime, though...
he pulls reluctantly away, a frown forming as he follows steve's gaze toward the door. )
Yeah. You'd better...
( he sighs as he rubs a hand across his face. this will work, he tells himself. and when it does and they're home free, then they can spend as much time together as they want. )
When this is all over, I expect to be wined and dined, Harrington, ( he adds, bouncing back with a cheesy grin. )
( that grin is enough to ease steve into a sort of calm, at least in the moment. his lips curve into a flirtatious smirk and for a moment he just looks like steve harrington, heartbreaker, and not steve harrington, survivor of horrors beyond your wildest imagination. )
Are you kidding me? I can't remember the last time I had a decent date in Hawkins. You'd better believe I'm pulling out all the stops, Munson. ( tick tock, yeah, he knows. he needs to head up front, like, five seconds ago. ) Just tell me what you want and I'll make damn sure it happens.
( eddie might have been on the receiving end of that smirk before, but there was something different about it this time. maybe it's the knowledge that this could be it for them. as much as he wants to be an optimist, this is their only chance, and they could very well blow it.
both of them could end up kicking the bucket, for all he knew. )
I haven't had a decent meal that wasn't cruise food in god knows how long. Hell, I'll even take diner food at this point. Just something so long as it's not... ( he trails off, gesturing wildly as if he expects steve to know what he means. )
Shit, I think they're back -- ( but that doesn't stop eddie from getting in one last kiss before gently nudging steve towards the front. ) Vamos!
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( steve answers too quickly and glances down at his filthy, bloody bandages with a grimace, so his reassurance probably isn't all that convincing. the pain had been something like background noise this entire time but now that he's actually focusing on the bites, he remembers how bad they actually hurt.
but he devises a plan to suss out whether or not eddie remembers the ship right then and there. it’s messy. it really isn’t all that clever. it’ll be kind of weird to try and explain away if eddie doesn’t know what he’s talking about.
it’s also the best steve’s got right now, so he’s going for it. )
Actually, there's this girl who works at the pharmacy, maybe she can help out. Her name’s Clarke. You know her?
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but then steve mentions clarke and eddie's head snaps to the side, eyes fixed on steve's to try and suss out if he heard that correctly. no fucking way. )
Clarke...Griffin? ( eddie supplies with wide, hopeful yet concerned eyes. he wants to believe that this is his steve, but he's careful not to give himself away, lest he be just making himself look insane, or cursed by vecna. )
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You remember, ( he manages before he's pulling eddie into a desperate kiss. he'd just spent the last two weeks in a miserable spiral, positive that eddie was lost and suffering and there was nothing he could do to save him. now here they are, with a second chance and no explanation as to why. this shouldn't even be possible.
you can never go home, they'd said. you can never go home because you'd never left it. if you even tried, you'd be obliterated. steve had been filled with a hopelessness like he'd never known these past two weeks. and now...
he breaks the kiss just so he can get a look at eddie properly, his hands cupping either side of eddie's face as he looks him over. they're both filthy. they smell. it's definitely a far cry from their cushy existence on the ship, torture aside.
steve doesn't think he's ever been happier. )
You were gone. I thought he sent you to the Nothing. I thought — ( he stops, too choked up to continue. he doesn't want to cry, not when the others could come bursting back in at any moment, but he'd been so certain he would never see eddie again. this whole thing is a risk they're going to have to get used to but steve can't part from eddie just yet. he wraps his arms around him tight, buries his face in eddie's neck, and allows himself to shed a few tears of relief, just this once. )
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now eddie is kissing him back like both their lives depend on it. and while a part of eddie worries this is just his imagination, that he's going to wake up in the nothing or some bullshit, he is going to cling to this while he still can.
and blatantly ignore the fact that they still have to figure out how eddie is going to avoid the whole dying thing.
again. )
I'm here. Steve, I'm here, it's me, I'm real. ( he says it just as much for his own benefit as for steve's. he keeps a tight grip around steve, rocking them both a little bit gently as if that's going to calm them both down from their emotionally charged reunion. )
I can't believe it. How's this even fucking possible?
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obliterated. that's what they'd said would happen if he ever found his way back to hawkins. he'd be obliterated and that would be that because he isn't really steve harrington anymore. he's a copy set off on a diverging path from the original.
and yet, here he is.)
I don't know, ( he says at last, pulling back and squaring his shoulders as he wipes his eyes with the back of one hand. the others could come bursting back in at any moment, he reminds himself. as difficult as it might be, they have to try to keep it together.
his gaze wanders over eddie as if he might spot something, a clue of some sort of indicate if this is real or just another trick of the ship, but there's nothing. just eddie. )
It has to be real. I talked to Nance on the way here and she was just — ( he shrugs. ) You know, normal. Like, there's no way he could fake this much, right? That would be crazy.
( he feels a little like he's grasping for any shred of proof that this isn't the ship. in reality, he's pretty sure the captain could construct whatever kind of world he wanted only to jerk the rug right out from under them again. )
Maybe he got, like, I don't know, bored or something. Sent everyone back. ( it could happen, he tells himself. no — it did happen. obviously. otherwise they wouldn't be here. ) I mean, think about it. There's no other explanation.
( he states it firmly, with such confidence he almost believes it. )
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it's still not ideal, though, because they're still faced with the impossible task of dealing with vecna, saving max, saving hawkins, and clearing eddie's name somehow. it's a damn shame he and steve can't just fuck off, but he adores those kids too much to abandon them now just to save his skin. just seeing dustin's face again broke his damn heart as he remembered being held by him in his final moments, before waking on the cruise ship.
and he would do it again. except now he has something to live for, a reason not to give up and sacrifice himself. )
I don't think this his all his doing. Sending us here, it feels like an accident. Do you think...they found a way to free us?
( it's a nice notion, anyway. he hopes everyone else was able to be freed. he might miss some of them, but so long as he's got steve here, that's really the most important thing, right? )
Of course, none of this matters if we don't figure out a way to defeat Vecna that doesn't end in my death.
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it's terrible to think about, so good thing eddie changes the subject... to something just as bad. the color seems to drain from steve's face as he stares at eddie in stunned silence, then shakes his head. )
No, ( he says, voice sharp. ) That's not happening so don't even — ( he cuts himself off with a frustrated sigh as he scrubs both hands over his face, running them up through his hair. ) Look, nobody's dying, got it? We know what to expect, and we've got this asshole exactly where we want him. It'll be easy. In, out, done.
( the upside down will just be one very ugly smudge on the hawkins timeline. gone for good. )
Then you and me? We'll be free. We can do whatever the hell we want.
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which means they just have to change things just enough to make sure they all win this time. )
I like the sound of that, free. ( he smiles, though there's still a sense of nervousness to it. still, he knows they have to try to get past all of this. if they do nothing, then the whole world will just end up going to shit. )
Right, well, there's still a bunch of shit that I don't know about. I only know what happened that led to my death, but I have no idea what happened with everyone else. I have no idea if you guys even succeeded in killing Vecna this way. What if we manage...Steve, I can't live in a world where I'm alive but you're not.
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still, with any luck it won't come to that, and after all they've been through they deserve one good thing. just one. ) Look, we've got this, man. That asshole thinks he's got Nance running scared, right? He's not gonna see any of this coming. Seriously. We just have to make sure you and Henderson make it out alright and we're golden.
( it's so, so easy to say. far less easy to believe. steve is terrified. )
I swear, Eddie. ( he reaches over to take eddie's hand in his, giving it a reassuring squeeze as much for himself as it is for eddie. ) Vecna's the only creep dying tonight.
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instead, he tries to focus on the positive spin steve is trying to put on this. while he is skeptical this will all work out in the end, he has to hope. he can't have another outcome like with the captain, where no matter what they do the end result is always the same. they have an advantage, and eddie intends to exploit it. )
Well, we know what went wrong with Dustin and me, at least. ( he pauses, as he considers their options. ) What if you stayed back with us at the trailer? Do you think Nancy and Robin would be fine on their own? ( it would certainly be a way to make sure they both lived through this. when steve takes his hand, he smiles down at it, sliding his fingers through steve's and squeezing tightly. )
I'm holding you to that. I will find a way to bring you back just to kill you again if the worst should end up happening. ( or maybe they both would die. at least then they'd be together, hopefully somewhere better than that cruise ship. )
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as he thinks about it he's overcome with a strange, terrible feeling. it's like his ribs are squeezing harder and harder, growing so tight it pushes the air right out of his lungs and threatens to stop the hammering of his heart completely.
he doesn't want eddie to know he's going through whatever this is, though, so he does his best to disguise his nervous, shallow breaths as normal ones, and tries to keep a steady hand as eddie laces their fingers together. )
Maybe we can change up the plan, ( he suggests, and his voice sounds strange and thick to his own ears. ) Like, I don't know, maybe you don't have to be the distraction, you know? We can figure it out.
( a beat, then: )
Nobody's going to die.
( he hopes he sounds like he believes it. he's not really sure that he does. )
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maybe he's just as scared as eddie is, that this won't work out. that this is just another way for the captain to torture them. as if giving them a taste of their world, but reminding them that they'll never be fully free.
to which eddie says fuck that. he will find a way to defy the odds if it's the last thing he does.
the last time they did this, eddie was only worried about giving steve more time, and making sure dustin would make it out alive. now he has more reason than ever for everyone to live, himself included. )
You think Nance will go for that? You know her better than I do, but she seems pretty stubborn.
( still, if anyone could change her mind, he likes to think it's probably steve. )
What if -- ( eddie blinks as he struggles to remember the one thing he had hoped he never would have to remember - that feeling of being torn apart. being torn apart, and then suddenly...nothing. suddenly the bats all dropped dead. ) What if it's not the plan that needs to change, but the timing? I swear, I remember Dustin limping over to me and the bats just falling out of the air like something had killed them.
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he's a million miles away, until something eddie says catches his attention and drags him back to reality with a start. a light frown furrows his brow as he blinks, mouth flattening into a tight line. )
Timing? ( he echoes, thoughtful. eddie could really be onto something with that, but... god. steve feels as if he's been plunked down in the center of a maze in the dead of night, blindfolded. he doesn't know what happens next. he has no idea how a change in timing could or would apply to any of it.
it's still enough to make him feel — well, not good, but better. he feels less like his chest is caving in on itself, anyway. ) Okay. So, like... maybe we took too long at the house, right? If me and Robin and Nancy move a little faster... because if the bats died, Vecna probably did, too. Or we distracted him enough to make him, I don't know, forget about the hivemind or something.
( is that how a hivemind works? he has no idea. )
If whatever we did happens sooner, you and Dustin are home free.
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he considers steve's ideas that he's spitballing. )
What if he knows we're coming? Maybe the problem is the hivemind. The distraction didn't work how we wanted it to, the bats started to come in, so Dustin and I aborted, right? But the bats were retreating, so the attention would return to you guys. Maybe...Henderson and I need to reinforce the van better so they can't get in through the vents. We keep all eyes off that house for as long as fucking possible so you guys can finish him off.
( it's probably the best plan they have without knowing all the pieces in play. without knowing what the fuck is going on in russia and california, it's their best chance at getting it right this time. )
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( if steve sounds grim it's because he still doesn't love the idea of eddie and dustin being left in a vulnerable spot just waiting for history to repeat itself, but it really is the best they have to work with right now. if they can reinforce the trailer even just a fraction better than whatever they did last time then they might just have a chance at making it out of this shit alive.
the others have been inside long enough now that steve knows they're pushing their luck here. at any moment they'll be bursting back into the winnebago. he and eddie can't be caught holding hands and practically cuddling. even if the others somehow didn't freak out about the, uh, social implications... well, it would be impossible to explain how he and eddie got so close in the span of an hour. )
We should probably... ( he trails off as he shoots a quick glance at the door. when he turns back to eddie, it's with a wry, rueful twist of his lips. he doesn't want to go back up front. ) I mean, the other guys— they'll be back any minute.
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in the meantime, though...
he pulls reluctantly away, a frown forming as he follows steve's gaze toward the door. )
Yeah. You'd better...
( he sighs as he rubs a hand across his face. this will work, he tells himself. and when it does and they're home free, then they can spend as much time together as they want. )
When this is all over, I expect to be wined and dined, Harrington, ( he adds, bouncing back with a cheesy grin. )
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Are you kidding me? I can't remember the last time I had a decent date in Hawkins. You'd better believe I'm pulling out all the stops, Munson. ( tick tock, yeah, he knows. he needs to head up front, like, five seconds ago. ) Just tell me what you want and I'll make damn sure it happens.
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both of them could end up kicking the bucket, for all he knew. )
I haven't had a decent meal that wasn't cruise food in god knows how long. Hell, I'll even take diner food at this point. Just something so long as it's not... ( he trails off, gesturing wildly as if he expects steve to know what he means. )
Shit, I think they're back -- ( but that doesn't stop eddie from getting in one last kiss before gently nudging steve towards the front. ) Vamos!