Random stuff I likes

An assortment of things that catch my eye, current obsessions and gentle attempts at writing occasionally

[ladykailitha]

Socks for Breakfast Part 11

Just two more chapters after this and then it's done! This has been one hell of a ride and I'm glad you've been able to come along with me.

We have good news and some bad... creep!

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 |

~

Steve and Wayne sat on each side of Max as Max’s lawyer explained the benefits of her living with Wayne and watched in stony silence.

Judge Newby had heard testimony from all three of them already and with Susan having signed away her rights, would only be informed after the fact of Max’s placement.

Steve clutched Max’s hand and she leaned into his side.

Judge Newby nodded. “Thank you, Counselor. I have considered all the options and it seems to me that the best option for Max Mayfield is to be placed into the care of Wayne Munson.” They cheered, but the judge held up his hand. “However, there will be regular checks bi-weekly from Social Services to make sure she is safe and adjusted.”

“Those are acceptable terms,” Wayne said gruffly. “I already have a place I’m staying with two bedrooms, and hers is in the front of the house.”

Judge Newby nodded. “A social worker will be by this afternoon to make sure everything is on the up and up. But congratulations, Max. It looks like you have a home at last.”

Max nodded, too afraid to speak otherwise she’d start crying.

Steve and Wayne lead her out to where the remaining members of the house were waiting for her.

“We won!!” Max cried and everyone cheered.

They all piled on to give her hugs.

Chrissy kissed her cheek. “I’m going to miss you, sassy girl!”

“Just wait,” Max said brightly. “Six months and then Steve can adopt me for good. I’ll be back and to stay!”

Steve ruffled her hair. “It might be a little longer than that depending on how quickly things get approved, but yeah. Wayne is your temporary stable home, just until we can get you adopted.”

She hugged Steve tightly. “I’m gonna miss being at the Hope House.”

“Well,” Wayne said with a shrug, “since I work there, you stopping by after school is only proper, after all.”

Max’s face lit up, then she turned to Steve. “Oh god, can I?”

Steve huffed out a laugh. “Yeah of course. Dustin is going to be doing the same thing with Claudia so I see no reason you can’t stick around after school, too.”

She jumped up and down excitedly. Steve scooped her up into a big hug, twirling her around as she laughed.

“I’m free!” she crowed.

“And this calls for ice cream!” Robin shouted and everyone cheered.

~

Eddie was more nervous now. He pretty much had free range of Steve as he was the only person at the halfway house at the moment and being with alone with the guy had one of two reactions: sheer lancing heat that traveled down Eddie’s spine to pool in his gut or bright blushing embarrassment that had him hiding behind his hair every god damn time.

And it did not help that Steve seemed to pick up on the vibe and amplified it.

Then Eddie got hit with a case of double bad news. The diner had hit a rough patch and Benny was having to cut back on staff, which meant that Eddie would have to be let go. The second bit of bad news was that with Max living with Wayne, Eddie wasn’t allowed to move in with them after his parole was done.

All this on top of the fact that Max’s social worker did not like Wayne or Steve being the only adults in Max’s life. And if Eddie’s loved ones are stressed then so is Eddie.

Eddie still had the money from the farm, so he could find his own digs, but he didn’t want to. It felt wrong being by himself.

Then Henry Creel arrived.

He was to be transferred from lockup to a nearby mental hospital, Pennhurst Asylum, but by some mix up Henry was released from the prison three days before the hospital was ready for him, so he was spending the time at Hope House.

The second Eddie laid eyes on him he knew he was creepy little fucker, and vowed to give the guy as wide a berth as possible.

Dr. Kay was accompanying Henry to monitor him even the Hope House had Dr. Clarke on staff for that sort of thing. And it was abundantly clear, she did not think much of him or his abilities. So Eddie gave her a wide berth too.

Dr. Scott as he asked people to call him was kind, jolly fellow who knew his stuff. He had trained as a therapist before switching to medicine, so he was a bit of a two-for-one type deal.

And Eddie was almost 100% percent sure he cheated at cards. Especially Uno.

Eddie was coming out of his room that first day with Henry in the house, having just gotten a shower and was drying his hair with towel when he ran smack into Henry.

He was dressed in the all white getup of the asylum. White pants, shoes, button up shirt. He had a smile that sent a thrill down Eddie’s spine.

Henry tilted his head and licked his bottom lip. “I wonder how red your blood will be once it taste oxygen for the first time.”

Before Eddie could open his mouth to say something, Dr. Kay was grabbing Henry by the arm and hauling him away.

Eddie took a deep breath and put his hand over his heart to try and get his heart to stop jack rabbiting. Jesus H. Christ.

He tossed the towel into his room and hurried down to the canteen for dinner. He absolutely salivated when he saw that it was Steve’s pot roast.

Even though Wayne ruled the roost in the kitchen, the old man had to admit that Steve’s pot roast was divine and would beg Steve to put on rotation at least once a month. An agreement Steve readily agreed to.

He was digging into the roasted red potatoes when Dr. Kay and Henry came down. Henry sat down at a nearby table as Dr. Kay got their dinner.

When she placed his plate in front of him, his nose wrinkled in distaste. He poked at the meat for a moment and then gagged, turning away.

Dr. Kay rolled her eyes. “I’m sorry it’s not up to your sensibilities, your majesty,” she huffed. “Just know that the food is going to be a lot worse at the asylum.”

Henry let out a pain sigh and daintily picked up his cutlery to cut into the food.

Steve snorted at the whole display. “I got the recipe from my mother, who learned it personally from the famous two star Michelin chef, René DuPont. So I’ll be sure to tell him the next we meet up, that some hoity-toity loony thought his recipe was trash.”

“You lie.”

Steve shrugged. “Maybe, maybe not. But I grew up with a silver spoon in my mouth just like you and you know what it got me? An alcoholic mother and a Lothario father. And now I use what I learned from them to keep others from making that mistake.”

Henry glared at him and Steve met him head. It was a battle of wills and everyone in the canteen was watching with great interest.

To Dr. Kay’s shock, but no one else’s surprise Henry broke off first.

“Now eat your damn dinner,” Steve bit out.

Henry chewed on his food, but Eddie was sure he wasn’t even tasting it. But it didn’t matter, Henry was eating and that was the thing that mattered. And the fact that Steve had managed it when Dr. Kay couldn’t made him smile.

Take that, Dr. Fancy-pants!

Eddie happily ate his food and went to go help Wayne clean up the kitchen.

“Thanks for helpin’,” Wayne said as he handed Eddie a towel to dry. They had a dish washer, but there were some things just too big for the beast.

“No problem,” he muttered back as he began drying the pots and pans. “I just needed a break from tall, blond, and creepy.”

“Normally I’d admonish you for that,” Wayne grumbled, “because he can’t help how he was made, but he gives even me the chills.”

“I’ve met guys like him in the slammer,” Eddie explained. “Dudes that absolutely sure have been in the nut house because they were crazy as fuck but didn’t have the money for the fancy-pants lawyer to tell the court that.”

Wayne nodded. “I’m glad he won’t be staying long and that there aren’t any kids with us right now.”

“I think that’s why he’s here and not anywhere else,” Eddie guessed, moving on to the next pan. “He might not have a history of violence, but there is no guarantee that that can’t change from one moment to the next and the last thing they want for collateral damage is a kid. So when Max and Ellie were finally placed elsewhere, they could have Henry here.”

“Sleep with a baseball bat near your bedside, kid,” Wayne growled. “I’d hate to lose ya when I just got you back.”

Eddie saluted with the towel and ended up hitting himself in the face, causing Wayne to burst out laughing. They finished the rest of the dishes in silence and then went their separate ways.

Eddie passed by Henry’s room on the way to his and noticed that the patient wasn’t in it, but the door was wide open. Something itched under Eddie’s skin, making him want to snoop, but he hated that shit when done to him, so he walked away.

But the prickling at the hairs on the back of his neck didn’t go away.

He tossed and turned all night and was grateful for the first time since Benny let him go that he didn’t have to go to work.

He was exhausted. But he got up and shambled down to the canteen for breakfast, lured by the scent of frying scones. He piled his plate with scones and grabbed both honey butter and a tasty looking cinnamon spread.

Eddie turned around and saw Chrissy having breakfast and that’s when he realized that he didn’t normally see her at meal times, so he wandered over to her table and sat himself next to her.

“Hey, stranger,” he muttered bumping into her shoulder. “How come I rarely see you at meal time?”

Chrissy blushed. “I think I look stupid when I eat.”

Eddie blinked at her for a moment. “You seeing a therapist about that? Because, darlin’, even I know that ain’t healthy.”

She ducked her head and nodded. “Going on four years now. I have a healthier relationship with food, but I still have hang ups.”

“If you need someone to talk to,” Eddie said, nodding, “just come talk to me. Sometimes it’s good to get an outside perspective.”

“Thanks,” Chrissy said and returned to eating.

Watching her, he could tell that she was still self-conscious about it, so he decided to distract her by doing what he did best, chatting.

“I have a question that’s been bothering me this whole time I’ve been here,” he said wrinkling his brow. “About something Steve said at the beginning. About how a teenager committed suicide by jumping out of the window. But Steve said there were no kids before him, so that really doesn’t add up.”

She smirked. “So what gives?”

“Yeah.”

“Steve calls her a teenager and she technically was,” Chrissy explained. “She was eighteen when came here to wait out the trial of her rapist. But he had been raping her since she was twelve. So to drive home how messed up the whole thing was, Steve talks about her like she was a kid. Because she was. She never got to have a childhood.”

“Well, shit,” Eddie said sitting back in his chair, his stomach turning. “And he got away with it?”

She snorted and stabbed her scone with a fork. “He was the preacher at her church and putting him away would do more damage to the community then good, according the jury that acquitted him.”

“Eww...” he crowed. “I hate religion for that reason. White picket fence, two point five kids, in church every Sunday but beating the hell out the kids, adultery, getting drunk all the time. It’s like a cult for fuck’s sake.”

She nodded. “My mom was like that. That need to have the perfect outside but the inside was rotten to the core. I was put in ballet, cheer, and color guard. Not allowed sugar or red meat. Every bit of food I ate was carefully monitored. So I ran away from home the second I turned eighteen.”

“Is that how you came here?” Eddie guessed. “Is that how you found Hope House and the love your life, running away from home at eighteen?”

Chrissy smiled. “Yeah. Spotted a brochure at the doctor’s office for eating disorders and while my mom was arguing with my doctor about my caloric intake I slipped into my bra and used it to make my escape.”

“Good for you,” Eddie said with a smile.

When he looked up, he saw Henry standing close by and that shiver rushed down his spine again. He shook it off. He’d have to tell Steve about what he was feeling though.

Something was seriously wrong.

~

Tag List: SIX TAG SLOTS REMAINING

1- @after-the-end-times @lost-andstill-lost @zerokrox-blog @gregre369 @rubyfirepanda

2- @yikes-a-bee @swimmingbirdrunningrock @sadisticaltarts @gloomysoup @mrsjellymunson

3- @wonderland-girl143-blog @kultiras @val-from-lawrence @dolphincliffs @dust-in-the-internet

4- @bookworm0690 @emeraldzephyr @dreamercec @awkwardgravity1 @micheledawn1975

5- @stedestielfrattficlover @useless-nb-bisexual @rina777 @mentallyundone @kroymu09

6- @counting-dollars-counting-stars @ravenfrog @steddieislife @stripey82 @saint-of-roses

7- @beelze-the-bubkiss @samsoble @mensch-anthropos-human @ollieolive @blackpanzy

8- @blisschaoss @carlyv @ellietheasexylibrarian @disrespectedgoatman @warlordess

9- @iivyconfessional @dragon-on-main @this-whining-mongoose @maya-custodios-dionach

[pusheen]

[nancywheelesbian]

Eddie: Okay kids, first rule. If you see something, say something

Max: I saw a frog on the sidewalk the other day

Eddie, with the tone of someone who is used to Max: Awesome. This is what I’m talking about, people

[oftlunarialmoon]

[morganbritton132]

Fic where Steve convinces his dad to send Robin a stipend while she's in college so once a month she gets a check sent to her dorm from Richard C Harrington.

She is just now learning that the other girls on her floor think that she's getting money from her sugar daddy.

[skelotan]

All of y’alls support helped boost my confidence right before a very important call. Thank you <3

PATREON

[morganbritton132]

AU where Steve's parents want to get rid of him as quickly as possible so he starts school as soon as the could convince the school board to allow it.

Steve starts school early. He graduates early. Everyone is under the impression that he's older than he is and he never fixed this misconception because, really. How often does your age come up?

All to say that Robin is kinda shocked when she's getting cash out of Steve's wallet and, "We're the same age."

"Yeah."

"Actually," She says, staring at Steve's unfairly photogenic driver's license photo. "I’m older than you."

She lets that sit before, "Oh my god! You're just a baby."

"Um, no?"

"You're just a little itty-bitty child and everyone lets you put yourself in danger first because they thought you were the oldest," She laments dramatically. "Next time, I will be the one who is in danger."

"There is not going to be a next time!"

[morganbritton132]

Robin is at school fighting demons (the rumor that she's dating Steve) whole Steve is at work casting spells (responding the questions asking if Robin is his girlfriend with 'huh, I suppose she is my only girl friend, yeah.')

[fieldexplores]

I Swear - Gator Days

[ladykailitha]

Powered Steve please!

WIP Wednesday! Make me write!

Snippet

Sept 1975

First day of high school and Tommy was already about get his teeth knocked in. He had accidentally bumped into a couple of seniors and they were about to throw hands.

He could feel the hostility coming off these two dudes like a tidal wave. He put his hands up and shook his head. “Hey, man. It was just an accident. First day of school bullshit is all.”

The two seniors looked at each other and the one Tommy ran into pushed him out of the way. “I’m letting you go this time, because your little friend here is smarter than you are. But next time stay the fuck out of my way.”

The two seniors walked off, joking about clumsy freshmen and Steve let out a deep sigh of relief.

[morganbritton132]

Eddie came out to Steve and Robin so now he can openly admit when a guy is hot to people. Unfortunately the first time he does this, the guy he's talking about is Steve's dad.

[morganbritton132]

Robin has taken it upon herself to get Steve a girlfriend because she's going to lose her mind if she had to hear about another awful date. Steve deserves someone that loves him and he's clearly incapable of finding them so-"

"Babe alert," She whispers when Steve comes back from his break. "In the documentary section. She's older than what you go for but if you want a mature relationship, you need a mature woman. Check her out, be subtle.."

Steve grabs a couple movies that need to be shelved, walks towards documentaries, and pauses, "Hi, Mom."

[morganbritton132]

Dustin: Not gonna lie, your sister is a babe. I wish your sister still lived here.

Steve: ...my sister?

Dustin: Yeah, I was going through your stuff and found this picture of your sister. She's cute. I wish she lived here. I could date her,l and then I would be your brother-in-law

Steve: This picture. This picture right here is my sister?

Dustin: Obviously.

Steve: That's me.

Steve: That's me in a wig for Spirit Week like three years ago.

Dustin:

Steve:

Dustin: We never talk about this again

Steve: Agreed

- ten minutes later -

Steve: What do you mean you were going through my stuff?

Dustin: We're not talking about it!!

[the-inspector-jones]

Eddie had promised that it would only be a last resort. They weren't exactly overflowing with an abundance of good parents around them as examples, and frankly, Eddie wasn't sure he counted her among them. Still, they'd never tried to keep a very tiny human being alive, and he'd pinned her number to the corkboard with a sigh. Teenagers, he told Steve repeatedly, were not the same as infants. And although he understood arguments that their teenagers were a special kind of stupid, who had actually been very hard to keep alive, Eddie maintained they should have a backup plan available in case something got tricky when the baby arrived. He was, after all, only three months old. They might need help.

And here they were. At last resort. And earlier than he'd expected.

He sighed and dialed, hoping that Steve wouldn't hear the phone from the other room where he was in the rocking chair beside the crib.

"Help," he said.

"I'll be there in six minutes."

When Joyce arrived, she shoved a glass casserole dish into his hands and immediately went to the kitchen to wash her hands. She looked at Eddie expectantly.

"He won't sleep," Eddie said simply.

She smiled. "Well, babies not sleeping is—"

"No. The baby sleeps fine. It's Steve. Steve won't sleep."

Confusingly, Joyce smiled wider and patted him on the shoulder. "Ah," she said. "The firstborn problem. Where is he?"

"Nursery," Eddie sighed.

"On it. Why don't you go grab a shower?"

The suggestion was gentle, but Eddie still chuckled. He definitely needed that, even he could admit it. When he reemerged from the bathroom in a waft of cinnamon-scented soap, he found Steve, sprawled fully clothed on top of the duvet.

"Joyce said she'll watch him," Steve murmured, exhausted.

Eddie frowned. He moved to Steve and started pulling layers of clothing off of him. He offered Steve the soft grey tee he preferred to sleep in, but let him keep his boxers. It felt like more work than it was worth to get him into different pants. He was disappointed; he'd been hoping that Joyce would offer a better solution than someone else pointlessly watching the baby, but. Still. Sleep was sleep.

They both fell asleep immediately; Eddie dreamed of a unicorn that fed off the native honeysuckle in their yard. Just as the Protect Unicorns Society was telling him the house was going to be taken over by the government, Eddie awoke to a sharp cry, followed by the sound of Steve bolting out of bed.

Eddie followed at a more sedate pace, curious and also alarmed by Steve's movement. In the nursery, Joyce stood in the middle of the room, holding the baby, a bottle of formula in one hand as she rocked.

"Oh, look at that. Less than two minutes and you're both here," she teased with a grin. "It's almost like you're going to hear your child no matter how tired you are. Eddie, I declare you on shift. Steve, go back to bed. He's safe. He's got two great dads. Shifts, boys. You'll survive this." Eddie took the baby and smiled at Steve. Joyce put both her hands on Steve's shoulders and squeezed.

"It's hard. It's scary. It never gets less hard or less scary," she said gently. "But you've got this. Don't make Eddie call me again. He hated it."

Steve looked at Eddie over Joyce's head and gave him a small smile at the sight of the baby, curled into his chest, quietly calming down. She patted him once more and left.

"We've got this?" Steve asked quietly.

Eddie grinned. "We've got this.”

He shifted the baby to a more comfortable position. The tiny weight in his arms felt both impossibly fragile and remarkably sturdy. He watched Steve's shoulders drop, the tension visibly draining away.

"Joyce is right about shifts, you know," Eddie continued, keeping his voice low and soothing as much for Steve as for the baby.

Steve ran a hand through his disheveled hair. "But you have that commission due next week. You need sleep, too."

"Hey, I've pulled all-nighters for way less important reasons." Eddie smiled, carefully settling into the rocking chair. "Remember when I stayed up three nights straight to finish that D&D campaign for the kids?"

"That was different. This is…" Steve gestured vaguely at the baby, who had started to drift off again, tiny fingers curling around Eddie's shirt.

"This is everything," Eddie finished for him. “This is everything."

[oneheadtoanother]

idk anything about this but I love it

[lynati]

If any competition needed to be on Tumblr, it's this one.

[agoldenplum]

Thanks @slightlylightly founded by Sunny Somrat, This is  SSFood Challenge

The players in and around Bangladesh play and are rewarded with food even losers get food. The combination of colorful games and the feel-good factor of nobody going home empty-handed has given Somrat a genuine hit.

[dailycatsblog]

[only-tiktoks]

[britney-j-christ]

[softservecanine]

You’re completely correct. Out of my way, able-bodied losers. Fuck you.

[aetherograph]

It's called an EZRide+ and you can learn where to find them here. They're about $1100 US as of June 2026, but you might need to buy additional parts to attach them to your chair, depending on the style of chair.

Remember to put links to products like this, they're usually hard to find and a lot of people need to know they exist.

[dailycatsblog]

[zakkura]

Dreams Are Meant To Be Broken

Pairing: Steddie Warnings: Violence, Disabilities

Growing up, Eddie had always believed he knew what he was destined to become.

A rockstar, with hordes of screaming fans that would headbang to whatever music he put out and then chase him and his bandmates to the tour bus when the concert was over.

He believed this all the way through his school life, constantly penning songs and practising his guitar to such an extent that Uncle Wayne had given in and bought some soundproofing for Eddie’s room because he was getting on in years and would rather not have to suffer with headaches for the rest of them.

Eddie loved playing his guitar, loved putting the music together and creating songs, showing them to his bandmates to see their excited faces as they heard their hard work finally pay off.

Playing in front of the drunks in the different clubs and pubs in Hawkins was fun, regardless of how small their audience was.

He just never thought that his last ever concert would be the biggest one he’d ever have, and most of the audience wasn’t even human.

DemoBats and Dustin Henderson were his audience.

He’d played his heart out, making sure that Steve, Nancy and Robin would be able to do their thing safely.

However, after he’d finished and he had cut his rope back to the Rightside Up, Eddie had unknowingly chosen the worst time to make a stand, even if he believed that he was saving Dustin from having DemoBats swarm through the gate in his trailer.

It’s how he found himself on the ground screaming in agony as the DemoBats bit into his sides, ripping his flesh and strangling him.

He yelled out in anger as he grabbed up at one of the bats, his hands instantly impaled on a barbed wire tail, causing the bat to screech in annoyance and instantly clamp its jaws down on his fingers, blood trickling down his arm as he yanked it back to his chest, panicking as he began to cry.

He could see the colours of death creeping in on his vision, blues and purples as if to try and blend in with the Upside Down itself.

“Oh my god!”

Eddie felt his body jerk slightly and heard loud thumps and yelling, but he was too weak to react, his eyes already heavy and half closed.

“Eddie!” Dustin was by his side, his small hands practically cradling Eddie’s arm to his chest

“Dustin, let go of him, I got him,”

Steve?

It was then that he felt himself become lighter than air, his eyes fully shut now, and even though he was sure he was going to die, his heart would still do that stupid teenage thing whenever Steve was near him.

“We have to get him to the hospital,” Steve added

“Steve…” Robin’s voice was thick with worry and shock

“What?” Steve huffed

“His hand,”

  ~*~

  “He’s waking up!”

“Don’t yell, Henderson,”

“Steve, he’s waking up!”

“I know, stop yelling!”

“How ‘bout you both…stop yelling?” Eddie mumbled weakly, a small smirk trying to appear on his face, but it just looked painful to Steve.

“How’re you feeling?” Dustin asked, a little quieter, thankfully.

Eddie slowly opened his eyes to finally look at them, the world suddenly turning on its side, and he quickly shut his eyes again.

“Like my head is in a washing machine,” he muttered, missing the small smile appearing on Steve’s face.

“Yeah, that’ll happen when you try to stop a horde of bats on your own,” Dustin sounded hurt and annoyed, something that made Eddie want to be sick, because regardless of their age difference, he really did adore the kid.

“I’m sorry man,” he whispered, trying to move his hand to touch Dustin’s arm, letting out an almighty yelp at the incredible pain his hand was in.

His eyes opened again, and he regretted it immediately, spotting the worried expression on Steve’s face.

“Why does my hand hurt?” he asked, too frightened to actually look for himself.

Steve slowly met his gaze, hazel meeting chocolate.

“Dustin, could you wait outside for a sec?” Steve asked, trying to keep his voice calm, rolling his eyes a bit when Dustin let out a whine and went to argue, “please?” he added quickly.

Dustin puffed out his cheeks in annoyance, turning to Eddie and carefully hugging him.

“See you in a minute,” he then left them alone.

“Steve,” Eddie cleared his throat, “why…does my hand hurt?”

Steve watched as Eddie, battered, bruised and bloody Eddie, tried to sit up.

Failing, thankfully.

“The bats took some of your fingers,” Steve informed him, his hand running through his hair as he tried to ignore the images of the fresh wound he’d seen when he’d carried Eddie out of the Upside Down.

Eddie let out a cry, knowing deep down that it had happened; that sort of pain didn’t come from anything else other than a loss.

“No, no man I can’t…” he struggled for a second, before his voice cracked again, a sob leaving his lips.

Steve reached his side, his hand resting on Eddie’s arm.

“I’m sorry, I don’t…I don’t know what…to say,”

Oh, Eddie hated that look on Steve’s face; even through his tears, he could see and tell that Steve already blamed himself for allowing Eddie to be brought into the Upside Down.

“Fuck man,” his other hand came up to run through his hair, freezing when he felt that half of his head had been shaved, “why am I shaved?”

Steve guided his hand to the stitches on the side of Eddie’s head.

“Needed to get to your head,” Steve mumbled, visibly distressed upon seeing Eddie distressed.

“Steve, I don’t like my hair short,” Eddie was panicking a little, “I-I don’t, it…my childhood-“

“I know,” Steve quickly interrupted him, “I know, Eddie,”

  ~*~

  Steve was over at Eddie’s trailer, one they had all gathered the money for to get him out of Hawkins to protect him from people that would hunt him, still thinking him guilty for Chrissy’s death.

He had been in the kitchen for about an hour now, staring out the window as he listened to Eddie practically weeping at the fact that he could not play his guitar.

Missing his middle and ring finger from his right hand had been devastating; no longer able to play chords correctly, something that used to be as easy as breathing for Eddie.

Steve had watched him fall apart the first time he’d tried to play his guitar earlier that morning; three hours later, and he was still trying through sheer stubbornness and heartbreak to play the guitar.

“Jesus H Christ!” A loud clang came from the bedroom, and Steve rushed in, his eyes watching a distraught Eddie as he knocked over his bedside table, the lightbulb in the lamp shattering.

“Ed!” Steve grabbed his arm, but Eddie quickly shrugged it away, “Eddie, please,”

“Don’t!” Eddie looked down at his hand, his sob getting stuck in his throat, “this is…” he gave up on his sentence, dropping back onto his bed, his other hand rubbing against his stitches, his hair a little spikey now.

Steve fell quiet, settling down on Eddie’s bed, on his back next to him as they both stayed in silence, gazing up at the dirty ceiling.

“Are you going to leave?” Eddie whispered.

“What?” Steve frowned

“Me,”

Steve was confused, “What the hell are you talking about?”

“Are you going to leave…me?” Eddie’s voice was so quiet, and it hurt to hear him so different from his usual theatrical and playful self.

“Why would I leave you?” Steve asked, sitting up on his elbows to look down at Eddie’s face, still heavily bruised and now scarred.

Eddie let out a humourless laugh.

“Please, man, I have seen what I look like now!” he choked out, his foot kicking out at his table again.

Steve swallowed the lump in his throat, blinking away his tears.

“I’m not leaving you,”

Eddie was about to lash out again, and Steve could see it, so he quickly and very carefully swung his leg over Eddie’s waist, lightly sitting on him.

“You argue with me, Munson, and I swear, I’ll bring in all six kids; you’ll have to hear all about the newest shit you don’t care about,” he threatened, his eyes clearly showing he was also trying to make Eddie laugh, which made the metalhead almost weep once more.

“I can’t even hold you like before,” Eddie whimpered, his injured hand trying to hold Steve’s waist, but it now just felt so unnatural, “I’m not-“

“Not what?!” Steve exclaimed, his hands now either side of Eddie’s head, “Not brave? Not talented? Not just as much of a man as you were with your fingers still intact?” he was now hovering right above Eddie’s face.

“You think that?” Eddie whispered, feeling as if he was about to start crying all over again.

“Eddie,” Steve licked his lips nervously as he gently touched the side of Eddie’s face, “I love you,” he confessed, feeling the most vulnerable that he’d ever been in his life.

Eddie’s eyes widened, his lips parting in stunned silence.

“You love me?” he smiled a little

“Oh my god, if it’s gonna go to your head, maybe I don’t,” Steve huffed, his eyes rolling.

“No, no, don’t…don’t take it back,” Eddie winced a bit as he sat up on his elbows, his mouth meeting Steve’s, “don’t,” he begged weakly.

Steve squeezed his eyes shut as he quickly captured Eddie’s lips once again, this being the second kiss they had shared since he woke up in the hospital.

“I won’t,” he promised between kisses.

“Good,” Eddie pulled back, “because I love you too,”