“I’d die for you,” Eddie whispers in the dark. They’re at his trailer. Metal music is playing at a low level. It’s the day before Dustin comes back from his nerd camp. Steve’s already planning on coming out to the kid that might as well be his brother.
“I’d live for you,” Steve whispers back. Eddie doesn’t know the truth about the Upside Down. Will never know if Steve has any say. But he knows about the dark moods that Steve suffers because of them.
It’ll be a mantra he repeats later. ‘You promised to live’. As punches rain and meat monsters roar. He promised.
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Alex plucks at a flower. Eyes shimmering and leaking. Fingers trembling.
“He loves me.”
Pluck.
“He loves me not”
Pluck. Pluck. Pluck.
“He loves me.”
“He loves me not.”
There’s a pile of floral corpses at his feet. Petals in his hair. Pluck. Pluck. Pluck.
“He loves me not.”
He drops the flower, chest hitches as he fights back tears. He’s never been one to give up before. But this feels like a loosing game. He just needs a sign. Something to bolster his confidence.
"I wanted to dance," Tank says softly to Ripp. He doesn't look away from where their father is yelling at their youngest brother.
"I wanted to be a swan. Light and pretty and strong in ways people refused to see."
Ripp almost doesn't want to ask the question lodged in his throat. Burning and scalding and refusing calm. What did he do? The light he always thought was worship, that had him snearing and tearing. That light that made him whisper behind his hands to Johnny and Ophelia has his stomach turning. It's not worsip. It's not fear. It's burning hatred.
"He made me run the obesticle course until I could barely walk, when I stumbled more than I waled he had me climb the wall. Left me in the dirt after I had fallen."
"No. No, I would have noticed. Mom would have noticed."
Tank still isn't looking at him
"You did. When you got home from where you snuck off too. I lied. Said it happened just before you came home."
"Why, for Watcher's sake, why!?"
Tank smiles at him sadly.
"Would you have believed me? You were eight and already hated me as much as you hated father. What good could have come from it?"
"You were nine! Barely that."
He remembers that morning. He had felt elated that he managed to spend a whole night with Johnny even if little Jill was just annoying as Buck. Toddlers are terrors. Remembers how pale Tank was. How his big brother leaned into him, quivering and shaking. Remembers thinking about how his brother wasn't as tough as father said he was. Considered laughing at his brother. Only father had come storming out of the house. Mom at his back with a sleepy Buck in her arms. He remembers how Tank had lied for him.
"Dad knew," he breathes out, "he knew that we didn't go out to train together."
"He did. But he was proud that we stuck together. It's the only reason he didnt make me train while the cast was on. But the damage fucked up my knee."
The realization is horrible when it hits.
"You can't dance anymore."
Tank shrugs.
"Not like I want to at least. Technically I think I could still do ballet just not… definitely not professionally but not communally either."
Dad's yelling is getting louder and Tank sighs.
"Time to go distract dad."
Ripp grabs his arm.
"Tank-"
"It was either me or you, Ripp. Even back then. Someone had to follow in his footsteps. To be his mini me. Mom tried to stop until she couldn't."
Mom died a year later after that fall. Mysteriously.
"Even at eight you were sneaking out. Running away. I was so scarred for you."
"Watcher, Tank. I-"
"It doesn't matter. Two years and you'll get to leave for good. You and Ophelia can get married and forget about me. I'll stick around to keep Buck safe."
And with that Tank jogs up to their father, making sure General Buzz Grunt's anger is directed at him.
Robin glares at Steve, a little more heat in her gaze than there normally is. They’ve managed to escape Hawkins and the Upside Down bullshit. The kids are grown and safe. College and rock stardom. She’s finally gotten Steve somewhere safe. But that safe has a caveat.
“You cannot flirt with him,” she tells him seriously.
Steve is her and she is Steve and if Steve flirts with her cousin she will puke.
“I’m not going to flirt with your cousin.”
She squints at him. Buck is exactly his type. A nerd. A dweeb. Big eyes and square shoulders perfect for holding. Well… she’s not sure about the shoulders but he’s built a bit like Eddie and Steve sang songs about his shoulders so she’s assuming. Still squinting at Steve she raises her hand and knocks.
Evan “Buck” Buckley opens the door not expecting to see his cousin Robin on the other side with a man. He knew that she was like Hen, and god she cannot wait for Hen and Karen to meet Robin, for Robin to have the community she was denied in Hawkins, so he feels no shame is flashing her friend a smile. Robin gags. And the friend? He blushes looks at Robin in panic and tries to whisper:
“Oh no, he’s hot.”
Buck has always been more into older lovers, but it probably won’t hurt-
“No! Nope. No flirting. No play flirting. I will puke. And I will puke on your shoes. Steven Marie Harrington don’t you dare.”
Steve leans into Robin’s space. Neither agreeing to the terms nor disagreeing. This is going to be fun.
Steve rams against the invisible barrier of the cage he’s been put in. His shoulder hurts and around him other mers tell him to stop. But they don’t understand. Those two legged bastards stole his kids. They’re his and he had made promises. SNAP! He ignores the pain. Ignores the scent of blood that is his wounds reopening. They took his fry. His babies. They took them. He pounds on the barrier, wailing warbles coming from his mouth. Two legged beings gather. They point and their odd language is muffled. He just wants his fry. Please. Please he can’t lose anymore pod members. He can’t be alone.
\\=\\=\\
Eddie watches as the newest “rescue” beats himself against the glass. Listens to his wailing. Flinching at each thud. No on goes up to the Alpha and it’s not just because he’s an Alpha. He’s a Lionfish. Sharp barbs fanned out and dangerous. His tan skin, what isn’t covered in bandages tell a story of pain. Eddie was born in this tank, one of the few fins folded in such a way that if he were released like his father was he’d be dead. Wayne had fought like hell- oh shit.
Hesitantly, slowly, he approaches. A raging Alpha doesn’t typically like it when another one approaches. Especially if the other Alpha is a shark.
“Please. Please, I can’t lose them too. Please.”
Eddie hadn’t seen his arrival. Adult mers were dumped into the enclosure, wounds and temperament be damned, pups usually went to the smaller pool up front until the humans were comfortable they wouldn’t be eaten alive.
“If you keep doing that the humans are going to think you’re dangerous,” he says softly.
The mer turns, teeth flashing in threat, head held high like Poseidon before his court.
“I am.”
“If you’re dangerous they won’t introduce any pups.”
The Alpha shrinks on himself. Like he’s approaching one of the actual sharks in the tank, ones he can see hovering held back by other mers, Eddie reaches out. Places a hand on the other Alpha’s shoulder. Draws him in for a hug.
“If they aren’t returned to you by tomorrow, I’ll bug my favorite human.”
He doesn’t know this mers name. Just knows that he smells of the ocean, of salt and freedom and things Eddie has only dreamed of. He knows that despite being dangerous and deadly he curls up in Eddie’s embrace. Mate. Eddie’s never been good at this. Tends to run when he can, not that he’s fast. Amphitrite don’t let him mess this up.
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Eddie stares at Steve, his stomach churning, the thrown together breakfast concoction of random leftover meats and toast is bubbling, looks down at the stick in Steve’s hands. Five minutes into the ten minute wait and Eddie’s having second thoughts.
They’ve talked about this. About kids. He knew they were important to Steve. Hell, everyone knows they’re important and not just those who heard his six nugget speech. A small smile twitches his lips as he remembers Erica’s snooty little “Mike better be the one boy you dropped. Three boys, god Steve, you have four.” that had even Nancy smothering a laugh.
So they’ve talked about it. They’ve talked about the dangers and the worries. An Alpha and a Beta getting together is, while not the norm, not unheard of. The Alpha bearing the kids however? In Hawkins? Unheard of. Blasphemy. And yet, here Steve is with one hand resting on his stomach the other holding the pregnancy test. They’ve talked about this. They’ve talked and they’ve talked and they’ve fucked. And Eddie’s always said he’s open to the idea of kids.
It’s getting real now. Two minutes now. He can hear his father’s voice in the back of his head. Can feel his hands on his shoulders. He doesn’t want to be a dad. He can’t be a dad. Corroded Coffin is finally moving up in the music scene. He’ll fuck the kids up like his dad fucked him up. Only they won’t have a Wayne.
He should say something. Needs to say something before-
The sour scent of disappointment yanks Eddie out of his spiraling thoughts. Negative. The test is negative.
“Thank fuck.”
Fuck. He hadn’t meant to say that out loud. Steve’s hands are shaking. The bathroom smells like someone broke a whole shelf of snow globes. Steve’s hands are shaking and the toss to the toilet side trash can misses by a mile.
“Yeah,” Steve whispers sadly, “thank fuck.”
“Stevie-“
“I need to go. Pulling a double with Robin today and if I don’t leave now we’ll be late.”
His darling Alpha mate is out the bathroom, out the apartment before Eddie can fucking blink. Fuck. Fuck. Triple fuck.
Not me sitting here, with zero plans on writing anything for this fandom, figuring out what secondary each Vulture is.
Whispers:
Logan and Leon are definitely Omegas. I don’t make the rules. Keyes is an Alpha along with Sofia. Everyone else is Betas though the brass often mistake Xavier and Baker are A4A.
