#lotr reference

And no one can STOP ME! Mwahahahahahahahpower! POWER!

Excuse me a cruel chuckle! Power mmhmmhmmyes-Prince John, probably

"The only reason I came in here was ’cause those ladies came in straight after you," Eddie says, and it feel like this is the most honest he's ever been. "Now, I was too ashamed to be the one who stayed behind - but Wheeler right there, she didn’t waste a second. Not one second. She just dove right in."

Harrington's still looking at him like he wants to protest, all scowly and determined. It's cute. Defending Eddie's honour to Eddie himself in the middle of a hellscape. Steve Harrington, surprise paladin.

He keeps talking, because if he stops now he's pretty sure he'll scream. "Now, I don’t know what happened between you two," he says, "but if I were you -"

Eddie doesn't know what does it. Harrington's expression changes, maybe, or his shoulders stiffen, or something. He can't pinpoint it in the whirl of his thoughts and maybe he's just imagining things, but the words stall on his tongue. "- I would get her back," he was going to say. "As unambiguous a sign of true love as these cynical eyes have ever seen," he was going to say.

Except something about Harrington shifts and something in Eddie responds, and "- if I were you, I'd thank her for having my back," his mouth says almost without his permission, "'Cause that's true friendship, Harrington - real Fellowship sort of stuff."

"Steve," Harrington says, after a moment.

"Huh?"

"Call me Steve," he says. "You're part of this, uh, fellowship too, right?"

Eddie shrugs, can't help smiling a little at Steve's willingness to play along. "Always thought of myself as something of an Aragorn," he says, modestly.

Steve's brow furrows with confusion. "What's an Aragon?"

...and then the earthquake interrupts them the end :P