Strawberry Ice Cream [steddie]

Peanut Butter Cup

CW: canon-typical violence

Thursday, July 4

Everyone rushes down to meet up in the middle.

"Ha! You flung that thing like a Hot Wheel!" Dustin runs up to El to hug her. Steve notices Mike helping her walk, she must be exhausted.

"Lucas?" Erica says when she sees him, walking up with Max and Will.

"What are you doing here?" Lucas asks, just as confused.

Erica points to Steve and Robin. "Ask them, it's their fault."

Steve puts his hands on his hips. "True, yeah. Totally true. It's absolutely our fault."

"I don't understand what happened to that car," Robin says, alarmed. Steve remembers she's still out of the loop.

"El has superpowers," Dustin explains.

"I'm sorry?"

"Superpowers," Steve repeats. "She threw it with her mind. C'mon, catch up."

"That's El?" Erica says, pointing.

"Who's El?" Robin asks.

"I'm sorry, who are you?" Steve looks over to see Nancy, standing next to Jonathan. Gang's really all here.

"I'm Robin, I work with Steve."

"She cracked the top secret code," Dustin says.

Steve nods. "Yeah, which is how we found out about the Russians in the first place."

"Russians?" Jonathan says. "Wait, what Russians?"

"The Russians!" Steve says. Isn't that why they're here?

"Those were Russians?" Max asks.

"Some of them," Erica says.

"What are you talking about?" Lucas asks.

"Didn't you hear our code red?" Dustin asks.

"Yeah, but I couldn't understand what you were saying," Mike says.

"Goddamn low battery," Dustin curses.

"How many times do I have to tell you with the low battery?" Steve says.

"Yeah well everything worked out, didn't it Steve?" Dustin says.

"Worked out? We almost died," Erica says.

"Yeah, but we didn't, did we?"

"It was pretty damn close," Steve says.

"We're lucky you and Robin weren't hurt any worse," Eddie says, speaking for the first time since they reunited with everyone. Steve looks at Eddie, who was just standing behind him and Robin quietly.

"Who are you?" Nancy asks.

"I'm Eddie," Eddie says. "I, uh, I'm friends with Robin. And Steve."

Everyone stares at Eddie, and Steve can practically hear their thoughts, but no one comments further. "He uh, he knows about everything," Steve offers.

"I don't," Robin mutters.

"Okay, Russians?" Lucas asks. "As in, they're working for the Russian government?"

"What are you not comprehending?" Dustin asks. "Am I not speaking English? We have a full-blown Red Dawn situation."

"So this has nothing to do with the gate?" Max asks.

Dustin throws his hands up. "It has everything to do with the gate!"