[ it does feel a bit ridiculously cinematic, doesn't it? even steve, who doesn't really watch all those super dramatic epics, steve, who can sit through top gun and who might have been awake for like. at least half of the first star wars movie. and steve, who somehow even in spite of all of this, works at a video store and can, in some far away disconnected part of his mind, recognize at least that much.
because the slowed time works in both ways. steve, who feels like he's moving through water, through fog, who snaps his attention directly to eddie and eddie is there. eddie is breathing. eddie is alive. eddie munson, eddie freaking munson, and steve finds he can't really even think. they're both moving, both scrambling to their feet, and then they're there. he has his arms around him, and he's solid and he's breathing and he's-
god damn. he's alive. and he knows he's holding on a little too tightly, knows that it probably hurts, with how eddie's probably still injured. probably still in pieces. but steve does it all the same, and then pulls away with only marginal guilt, his eyes scanning eddie's face first, then down his front. ]
Same, yeah- I didn't. I didn't know if I was hallucinating or what, but- [ eddie's hands are on steve in turn, like a second tether, two points of contact. steve, in turn, just sort of curls his fists into the fabric of eddie's army green vest. tries to remind himself to breathe. they're not out of the woods quite yet, and steve still has to figure out if eddie is even in a state to drag himself back through the portal to hawkins, but for now he just kind of. well, he laughs - just once - a sort of huff of a breath, holding back what is starting to feel like a burning behind his eyes.
( because of course he's thinking of dustin. of course he's think of robin. of how crumpled the two of them have been. how dustin hasn't done much besides cry, and mutter why, eddie, why. how steve had been forced to tear dustin away from eddie's body. and now? now. holy shit. )
there is too much going on behind steve's ribcage to unpack right now, so instead of doing any of that, steve just lets a hand wander from eddie's shoulder to the back of his neck. just for another anchoring point. ]
It's really good to see you, dude. [ a pause, a small smile, and then steve's face is shuddering back into action. into plans. into get this done and get out. his eyes are back on eddie's clothes, on the blood and gunk and whatever else the upside down has left on him. ] Are you going to be able to crawl back through? Or do we need to patch you up first?
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because the slowed time works in both ways. steve, who feels like he's moving through water, through fog, who snaps his attention directly to eddie and eddie is there. eddie is breathing. eddie is alive. eddie munson, eddie freaking munson, and steve finds he can't really even think. they're both moving, both scrambling to their feet, and then they're there. he has his arms around him, and he's solid and he's breathing and he's-
god damn. he's alive. and he knows he's holding on a little too tightly, knows that it probably hurts, with how eddie's probably still injured. probably still in pieces. but steve does it all the same, and then pulls away with only marginal guilt, his eyes scanning eddie's face first, then down his front. ]
Same, yeah- I didn't. I didn't know if I was hallucinating or what, but- [ eddie's hands are on steve in turn, like a second tether, two points of contact. steve, in turn, just sort of curls his fists into the fabric of eddie's army green vest. tries to remind himself to breathe. they're not out of the woods quite yet, and steve still has to figure out if eddie is even in a state to drag himself back through the portal to hawkins, but for now he just kind of. well, he laughs - just once - a sort of huff of a breath, holding back what is starting to feel like a burning behind his eyes.
( because of course he's thinking of dustin. of course he's think of robin. of how crumpled the two of them have been. how dustin hasn't done much besides cry, and mutter why, eddie, why. how steve had been forced to tear dustin away from eddie's body. and now? now. holy shit. )
there is too much going on behind steve's ribcage to unpack right now, so instead of doing any of that, steve just lets a hand wander from eddie's shoulder to the back of his neck. just for another anchoring point. ]
It's really good to see you, dude. [ a pause, a small smile, and then steve's face is shuddering back into action. into plans. into get this done and get out. his eyes are back on eddie's clothes, on the blood and gunk and whatever else the upside down has left on him. ] Are you going to be able to crawl back through? Or do we need to patch you up first?