Steddie with those tap vibration bracelets for couples | Angst with a surprise ending
Eddie had been dead for over a year. After Dustin had to leave him in the Upside Down, they tried to look for him. But Eddieβs body was justβ¦gone. Steve didnβt even get a chance to say goodbye. No one thought he would have a reason to. No one knew what they did behind closed doors, hands under each otherβs shirts, lips moving together.
Steve was the one who had the idea to get tap bracelets in the first place. They were something you could keep hidden, in your pocket or on your wrist under a long sleeve. Whenever they were thinking about each other, they could tap the bracelet and it would vibrate the other personβs. It started as a cute gesture but it soon turned to a feature they used for survival going into the Upside Down.
βTell me when youβre okay. 1 tap for safe, 2 for danger. Okay?β
βSteve, I could do Morse code. I know SOS.β
βEddie, there wonβt be time. Please, just follow the system.β
But Eddie didnβt follow the system. He didnβt fucking follow it, and instead of running he tried to be a goddamn hero. He didnβt tap the bracelet before he went after the bats, didnβt tell Steve he was in danger.
Steve would never forget the scream of absolute anguish as the bats tore into Eddieβs flesh. He knew the sound came from him. He knew his voice backwards and forwards. He would never forget the rapid vibrations on his wrist in the moments before he heard Dustin yell.
In that moment, he knew his Eddie was gone. Eddie had spent his last moments, his last spurts of energy thinking of Steve. Letting Steve know he loved him, that he was always with him.
Steve hadnβt taken off the bracelet ever since, not even to shower. He kept it right on his wrist, covered with saran wrap like youβd bag a cast. He never wanted to be separated from him. He knew that heβd never be able to feel Eddieβs touch again, but braceletβs presence was enough to keep the grief at bay. Every now and then, heβd touch it a few times. Hoping, praying Eddieβs soul could feel it. He never told the party about him and Eddieβs relationship. Never opened up, really, about what they were to each other.
No one understood why he had shut down after Vecna was defeated. They assumed it was because he was mentally and physically exhausted. But it was so much more than that. It was grief. Heβd lost his person, he was sure that Eddie had been the one. And he lost him. The only person he ever told was Robin.
He came out to the party as bisexual about a year after Eddieβs death, but it didnβt ring a bell for any of them still. Not even Dustin, who had always been suspicious of his and Eddieβs closeness.
Years went by and he still hadnβt taken off the bracelet, even though was with someone new. They had only been together a few days before Steve called it off. It had taken so long to get over losing Eddie, but something deep inside of him chewed. And chewed.
Something just didnβt feel right about this new person. It wasnβt her fault, Steve just couldnβt do it.
One night, Steve stayed awake a little longer than he normally did, reading some book series Eddie had left in his room before all the shit went down, Lord of the Rings.
His attention was drawn away by a buzzing feeling against his wrist. He looked down at it to see the gold bracelet lighting up and vibrating. He put the book down and hesitantly tapped back. This couldnβt be happening. Not after all these years. Something in the Upside Down must have gotten ahold of the bracelet. But nothing could have prepared Steve for what he felt next. Sharp, punctuated taps. He focused, hard, trying to figure out what it meant. He eventually made it out. It was Morse code, 3 letters, repeating themselves over and over.
Eddie was alive, and he needed help.
gracieabrams
vaporwave
titsay
s-u-f-j-a-n-s-t-e-v-e-n-s
kianamaiart
areudirty
tangentwithtanner
gummygunk
