Recovery - Steddie ♡

Chapter One

              TWO MONTHS LATER

Steve ducked as one of the bats flew at his head. He felt its tail brush his face and then wrap around his neck, cutting off his ability to breathe. He grabbed the tail as best he could and tried to pull it off with all the strength he could gather. As he was struggling he saw another bat flying at him out of the corner of his eye but there was nothing he could do about it. Before Steve knew it the bat swooped in and took a bite out of his stomach and he cried out in pain..

"Steve? STEVE WAKE UP!" Steve jerked awake, arms flailing around before someone grabbed them and pinned them to his sides. His vision was little fuzzy but soon started to clear and he looked up to see Dustin with a worried expression on his face. "Hey buddy. Another nightmare about the bats?"

"Sadly, yeah. Sorry if I woke you," Steve mumbled as he grabbed a nearby t-shirt and wiped the sweat off of his face. "I thought it would get better. It's been 2 months!"

Dustin sat down on the bed next to him and ran his hands through his hair, trying to think of something to say to make his friend feel better. "I don't think something as traumatic as what we went through will go away that easily. Maybe you should start getting therapy?"

"Don't start with that shit. You sound like Nance!" Steve shook his head and stood up. "I'm going to go and shower. Go back to the guest room and try and get some sleep. We have a long day tomorrow, bud."

As he was shutting the bathroom door he heard Dustin mumbling to himself as he left. The only word he could make out was 'dingus'. He chuckled to himself and stepped into the shower, turning it on and letting the warm water wash over him. As he washed the dried sweat off of his body he thought about the day ahead. He was finally moving out of his parents house into a quaint two bedroom cabin just outside of Hawkins. All the hours at the video store had paid off and Steve just needed to get out of Hawkins. Although he didn't want to be too far from Robin, Nancy and the kids so he got lucky to find the place he had.

However, Steve wasn't going to be living there alone. His new housemate was already at the cabin and had been for almost a month slowly recovering. Robin and Nancy had been taking it in turns to stay a couple of nights and keep an eye on their friend while Steve would pop in every now and then but had to mostly stay in Hawkins to keep an eye on things. He sighed as he turned the water off and stepped out of the shower, grabbing his towels and wrapping it round his waist.

After he had gotten out of the bathroom and gotten dressed he put his shoes on and headed towards the stairs, briefly checking in on Dustin who was sound asleep. He smiled to himself and closed the bedroom door quietly before tiptoeing down the stairs. As he entered the kitchen he looked at the clock to see it was 4am meaning he still had a few hours before the others were to arrive and help him move. Steve glanced at the checklist Nancy had made him and saw he still had a few things to pack up so he grabbed the remaining boxes and got to work, trying to be as silent as possible so Dustin wouldn't wake up.

By the time Steve was done it was 6:30 and he was currently frying eggs and bacon in a pan ready for when his friends arrived.

"Aw, Momma Steve, you shouldn't have!" Steve rolled his eyes at the nickname Dustin had given him. He stuck his middle finger up at the younger boy without turning away from the stove.

"Shut it, Henderson, or you won't be getting any breakfast!" Steve said, glancing at Dustin who was now rolling his eyes at Steve.

"I can't wait to see Eddie again! Robin said he is healing nicely and starting to regain some strength."

"That's great to hear, man."

"He asked about you a few times, Steve, and why you haven't been to see him in a little while." Dustin pulled himself up onto the counter top beside Steve and gave him a concerned look.

Steve tried ignore the young boy and kept his eyes on the bacon that was almost ready. He felt a heavy feeling settle in his chest and sighed. He felt terrible for not having visited Eddie for a couple of weeks but he didn't want to tell anyone the truth about why he hadn't. He thought back to the day of the gates opening and spreading throughout the town of Hawkins. He remembered how he, Nancy and Robin had left the Kreel house in the upside down to find Dustin holding a lifeless body in his arms, sobbing loudly. Eddie legs had chunks taken out of them and so did his torso. If it wasn't for the wounds and blood he would have assumed Eddie was just sleeping because his eyes were closed and he looked so peaceful.

"Helloooo, earth to Steve!"

Snapping out of his thoughts Steve looked up to see Dustin waving his hand in his face amd pointing at the stove. Steve quickly took the frying pan off the stove and turn it off. He continued to ignore Dustins looks of concern as he dished up breakfast onto 5 plates. Just as he finished dishing up the front door opened and he watched as Nancy, Robin and Jonathan strolled in.

"Hey guys! Are you ready?" Robin said as she clapped her hands in excitement. She grabbed a plate and sat down at table, immediately shoving a piece of bacon into her mouth. Jonathan and Nancy both said their hellos before also grabbing a plate and joining Robin at the table. Dustin gave Steve one last look before hopping off if the counter and sitting down with his own plate.

"Yeah, all my stuff is packed and I'm ready to go. As soon as we've eaten Jonathan can start helping me load the heavy stuff into the van." He glanced at Jonathan who was quiet as always. "If that's okay with you, man."

"Yeah, of course it's okay. Not like Dustin can carry a wardrobe." Jonathan replied, chuckling to himself while Dustin fake laughed and stuck his tongue out at the older boy.

"Robin and I will start on the boxes and Dustin," Nancy said before turning to Dustin. "You are on washing up duty."

"What?! That's not fair!"

"Hey, you will do what Nance says, Dustybun." Steve said, smirking at the young boy before eating the last of his breakfast.

"Okay MOM!"

They all laughed for what felt like the first time in ages. They made small talk as they finished their food and then got to work on the move. Steve was one step closer to getting out of Hawkins.