May 25: Familiar / Hurt/comfort / Here Come the Tears by Judas Priest
Rating: Teen and Up
Relationship: Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson
WT: shooting guns, violence, hospitals
WC: 2064
Steve’s life has been full of fear since he was a child.
Since the first time his parents left him at home alone and he almost set fire to the entire house trying to cook some pasta.
He learned to lie, to cover his fear, and to show the world another face.
A strong one.
The one he showed Nancy.
And Dustin.
And Eddie.
But deep inside him there is the fear that is devouring him.
Being left alone.
That’s why he hasn’t put a name on the relationship that he has with Eddie.
They bonded deeply after their adventure in the Upside Down.
After Steve saved his life.
After he told the hospital staff that they were brothers.
After he hid him under his own name.
After he took Eddie and Wayne to his house.
They are close friends.
The kind of friends who can find each other in a crowdy room.
The Corroded Coffin just finished their last tour concert and they are going back to the tour bus.
Gareth and Jeff hop on the bus, laughing, Eddie is smoking a cigarette. He always says that he will quit but he never does.
Steve is waiting for him a few feet away, looking at the back of the concert hall.
There are still a few fans and he knows that Eddie will go to sign some autographs. He always does.
He loves his fans and his fans love him.
But there is a guy.
Steve saw him in the crowd during the concert.
There is something familiar about him but he can’t really point out what.
He is not very tall, and he is dressed all in black. It’s not that that attracted his attention, almost everyone is dressed in black, but the man has a hat.
He had a hat inside the concert hall too.
That’s peculiar. Isn’t it?
Steve keeps his eyes fixed on him.
It’s just a stupid feeling but he really can’t stop looking at him.
It’s the voice that finally makes something in his memory click when he calls “Hey, Munson!”
Steve runs toward Eddie, running faster than he ever did.
“Do you remember Chrissy?”
The man takes off his hat and points a gun at Eddie, is fucking Jason Carver.
The few people still there scream and try to escape.
Steve is the only one running toward the gun.
Jason shoots two gunshots one after the other until someone pushes him to the ground.
Steve holds Eddie tight, screaming his name.
He feels the hot blood and searches Eddie's body for injuries but he is dressed in black, like everyone else, and he can’t see where the blood comes from.
He has a buzz in his ears. He can’t breathe.
“Steve?!” Eddie calls panicking.
“Oh my god, Eddie, are you ok?” he asks still looking at him.
“Am I ok?” he asks astonished, and then Steve finally notices it: the blood is not coming from Eddie. It’s coming from him.
He suddenly collapses on the ground, like a puppet whit no strings, while he hears the sound of sirens.
“Are you ok?” Steve asks again, trying to talk it’s so hard.
Eddie has his head in his lap while he tries to push on the wounds.
“Am I ok? Am I ok? You are the one that is bleeding fucking moron!”
Eddie is insulting him.
He is ok.
There are people around them but he can see only Eddie’s big eyes looking at him with worry.
He would like to tell him that he is ok. That everything is going to be ok. But he is short of breath, so he said the only thing that really matters “I love you.”
“What? No! Don't even try this shit, Steve! You are not going to say it first! Not like this! It's not fair! Do you hear me?! It's not fair! Steve! Steve!”
They have been together for almost a year, never putting a label on their relationship but now that it could be the last time...
“I love you...” he repeats, his voice so small that he is not sure that Eddie heard him.
After that there are voices, people, and lights... and then nothing.
***
Eddie is waiting in a fucking waiting room. Ha has still blood on his hands but I can bring himself to wash them.
Gareth and Jeff are at his side, trying to comfort him, but all he can see it’s Steve blood on the ground. The blood pool that he left.
A human body contains five liters of blood... how much blood did he lose? Did they give him a transfusion? Of course, they did. But will be enough?
They have the same blood type.
He should ask them if they need his blood.
He could give it to him.
At his side, Gareth tries to get his attention but Eddie is lost in his own world.
He is still kneeling on the ground of a fucking parking lot, where the man of his dreams confessed his love for him, and then he fainted.
“He is going to be ok.” Jeff tries to comfort him, but the truth is that they don’t know.
He couldn’t get in the ambulance with Steve and he couldn’t follow him on a band bus, so they had to wait for a taxi and they lost precious minutes.
And Steve was alone. Eddie was not at his side when he needed it.
“He told me that he loves him...” Eddie says “You can’t do something like that to the person you love. You don’t say this shit when you think that you are dying! You fucking don’t!” he cries.
Gareth hugs him tightly.
“You will make him a declaration even bigger. I’m sure you will. We can start planning it out right now!”
But Eddie’s mind is blank. His eyes are glued to the door, waiting for a doctor.
When finally a doctor comes out, his scrub is full of blood.
“Are you related to Steve Harrington?” he asks.
Eddie jumps up “I’m his brother.” that’s their cover. They made it almost official thanks to the government's help. It was meant to protect Eddie’s identity, but Eddie did it because he knew that Steve had none who would have taken care of him.
“One of the bullets punctures his lung. He lost a lot of blood and the lung collapsed. It was a long surgery but we were able to bring him back.”
“Bring him back?” Eddie asks scared.
“He died on the table. For a couple of minutes.”
He died.
Steve died and he wasn’t with him.
He wasn’t holding his hand.
He probably was in a stupid taxi.
“But now he is stable. The nurses are going to bring him to his room if you want to see him.”
Eddie has no words, so Gareth and Jeff thank the doctor and ask him where Steve’s room is.
They accompany him, like a kid, and he seats on the plastic chair next to Steve’s bed for hours.
Doctors and nurses come and go but Eddie never leaves the room, not even when they ask him to, and he is in such distress that they do not insist.
Eddie is drowning in his worries, his eyes fixed on the unconscious boy.
“Hey, kid.”
For the first time in what feels like days, Eddie moves his eyes and sees his uncle.
“Wayne...” he whispers, and then he starts to cry like a baby.
“I’m here kid. Everything is going to be ok.”
“How...?”
“Gareth called me and I got here as soon as possible.”
Thank god for Gareth. He didn’t even think about calling Wayne but now that he is here, he understands how deeply he needed him.
“Jason shot him.”
“I know.”
“He died on the table.”
Wayne nods “But now he is alive.” he says, looking at the stable rhythm of Steve’s heartbeat.
Eddie knows it but he can’t get over the idea that, even for a moment, Steve was dead. On a surgery table. Without his friend. Without him.
He died and Eddie never got the opportunity to tell him how much he loves him.
Wayne brings him some horrible coffee and some cookies that they eat in silence, holding each other tight.
When, finally, Steve opens his eyes Eddie has to fight the instinct to punch him.
“You, fucking moron! You died! You said that you loved me and you died!” he screams at him.
It's not the best way of waking up after being shot but Eddie needs to say it.
Steve can’t answer, he has a tube down his throat, but he stretches his arms toward him and pushes Eddie’s ear against his chest, where the steady heartbeat sounds like a lullaby.
“I fucking love you Steve. I do, I did, and I always will. Please never do something like that to me again!”
Steve’s grips get tightest.
Wayne gives them a moment before calling for a doctor.
They leave the room for a couple of minutes, and when they come back Steve is sitting in his bed with no fucking tube and a glass of water in his hand.
“How do you feel?” Eddie asks him, smelling the faint odor of the cologne that still lies in the crock of Steve’s neck.
If a home has a smell, that’s it.
“I’m fine.”
“I’m serious.”
“Maybe it hurts a little bit.”
Stupid Steve. Always pretending that everything is fine.
“Lucky you, our tour ended last night, so I’m going to take good care of you Harrington.”
“Did you already buy a nice nurse’s outfit?” he asks joking.
Eddie shakes his head “No, but I will. And you are not allowed to leave the bed until I say that you can!”
“That doesn’t sound so bad...” Steve says teasingly.
Eddie sighs.
“You told me that you loved me. And I didn’t get the chance to answer you...”
“You know me. I don’t take well rejection.”
“Did you really think that I was going to reject you?”
Steve doesn’t answer but he stiffens.
“Didn’t I show how much I love you? Do I have to do better?”
“We never put a label on our... arrangement.”
“It’s not a fucking arrangement to me! It's a relationship! I love you and you love me. Isn’t it?”
Steve nods.
“I’m sorry I... was worried.”
Eddie takes Steve’s face into his hands “You don’t have to worry about anything sweetheart. I know that your stupid parents made you feel unloved, maybe even unlovable, but I love you so much and I’m going to show you how much I love you every fucking day! Would you like to be my boyfriend?”
Steve has tears in his eyes while he nods happily.
“Oh, and Wayne loves you too by the way.” Eddie adds inclining his head towards the old man in the corner.
Steve blushes a little, he hasn’t noticed Wayne who comes closer.
“Glad to see you are feeling better, kid.”
Steve smiles a little “Thank you for taking care of the little psycho. I imagine he was trouble.”
“Nothing that I’m not used to.” the old man responds with a shy smile “Now get some rest, I’m going to bring our rockstar home.” Eddie tries to protest but Wayne is adamant “You’ll be back after you take a shower and sleep a little. Steve is not going anywhere. Are you, kid?”
Steve lifts the arm with the IV “I don’t think I can.”
“I can stay... if you need something...”
“No, Eddie, you need some rest. I’m good and if I need anything, I’m sure that some kind nurse will help me.”
Eddie looks at him worriedly.
“I’ll be home in no time and you’ll be so pissed when I’ll make you see all the action movies that I like! So go home, rest a little, and come back during the visiting hours. Ok?”
“Can I kiss you?”
“You really have to ask?”
It’s just a soft kiss, a simple touch between lips but it’s enough to make them shiver.
When Eddie leaves the room he knows that something has definitely shifted in their relationship.
He would have preferred that he didn’t take a fucking bullet, but they have finally a label for their relationship.
Remington 870 Forend Materials: Polymer vs Wood vs Hybrid Designs
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Wood Forends for Classic Feel
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Advantages of wood
Warm, natural feel in the hand, especially in cold weather
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Considerations
Requires basic care to protect the finish, especially in harsh climates
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Considerations
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Some designs can feel hollow or strictly utilitarian
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Considerations
More complex construction can carry a higher price point
Slightly heavier than the most minimal polymer-only designs, though still practical
For shooters who want a defensive or field shotgun that blends performance with style, hybrid forends offer a compelling middle ground.
Matching Material to Your Use Case
Home defense and tactical use
Prioritize durability, traction, and accessory mounting
Polymer or hybrid remington 870 forend designs with textured surfaces and light-mount options excel
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Hunting and field work
Comfort and classic styling often take the lead
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Ensure the finish is sealed well enough to handle rain, mud, and brush
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Balance aesthetics with function for long practice sessions and serious drills
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Matching wood or hybrid furniture creates a cohesive, high-end look
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By selecting a remington 870 forend material that fits your mission—wood, polymer, or hybrid—and pairing it with a complementary Woox stock, you can build a shotgun that is durable, comfortable, and unmistakably your style.
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Only once, many years ago, before elves had entirely severed our contact with humans - though the contact we did have was incognito at the time. It was a case of the elf in question being in the wrong place at the wrong time rather than any kind of targeted attack, and scored them a rather sizeable hole in their abdominal cavity that really ought not to have been there.
I treated another elf and two human children for shrapnel wounds on the same day, resulting from inadvertent activation of a buried explosive device in a field.
I did save them all (not that the humans know that - I left the two children healed but unconscious on the outskirts of their village, never knowing how they’d survived), but it made me so sad to see how far humans had fallen from the respect for life that we’d tried to instil in them back in the days before the treaties were broken.
I do worry that I may see more of these kinds of injuries as the instability within and between all of the intelligent species increases.
