fireworks - steve harrington

2.08

FLAME ON

A particularly sharp turn startled Steve enough to wake him. He leaned over to see Dustin on one side of him and Mike on the other, but there was someone else, and he wasn't sure who it was.

"Ren?" he slurred.

"Right here, babe." Oh, okay. I'm in his lap. Okay, that's okay. That's good.

He reached up to his nose, which hurt like a bitch, but Dustin stopped him. "No, don't touch it. It's okay, you put up a good fight. He kicked your ass, but you put up a fight. You're okay."

Steve started to fidget and heard Lucas say, "Okay, you're gonna keep straight for half a mile, then make a left on Mount Sinai."

"What's going on?" He finally focused enough to see Max driving the car. Max. A thirteen-year old. "Oh my god! Ren, why aren't you driving?"

"Just relax," Dustin whispered. "She's driven before."

Mike rolled his eyes. "Yeah, in a parking lot."

"That counts."

"Oh my god. Ren? Ren?"

"Steve. Steve, babe, calm down. I'm right here. Just calm down. Everything's okay."

He calmed down slightly until Max had to make an abrupt turn that almost flipped the car over, during which he gripped Ren's arms as tight as he could and screamed. As they pulled up to a giant hole in the ground, Steve finally stopped screaming only to yell, "Holy shit!"

All the kids jumped out of the car, but it took Ren a minute to get Steve out, and even then, he almost fell over. "You alright, babe?"

Steve nodded. "Yeah. Guys," he said to everyone else. When Mike walked off toward the hole he shouted, "Hey, where do you think you're going? What are you deaf? Hello? We are not going down there right now, I made myself clear."

"Steve."

"What?!" he yelled back at his boyfriend.

"It's fine. I'll go down there with them, and you can stay up here. I'll keep them safe, I promise."

"That's not the problem! We can't keep having this conversation! I know you'll keep them safe. I'm worried about you. There's no way you're going down there. There's no way any of you are going down there."

"Steve!" Dustin shouted. "I know you're upset, but the bottom line is, a party member requires assistance and it is our duty to provide that assistance. Now take the damn bat and let's go."

And so there they were. Steve with his bat, and Ren with two quite large knives, one in front and one in the back, protecting the kids like they said they would. Steve led the way through the underground tunnel and attempted to get them to hurry so they could be in and out of there as quickly as possible. "Guys, come on. Keep moving."

Just then something blasted Dustin in the face. Something with what looked like a shit ton of tiny pieces of confetti. "Shit! Shit! It's in my mouth!" he shrieked. Ren, who was the closest to him, rushed forward in worry only to hear him say, "I'm okay." So he just rolled his eyes and kept walking.

When they reached the biggest part of the tunnel, Steve stopped. "Alright, Wheeler, I think we found the hub."

"Drench it."

They each took a jug of gasoline and started pouring it everywhere. Ren and Steve took the highest places while the other four took the ground, or what looked like the ground. When they finally finished, Steve whispered, "We are in such deep shit," and Ren tossed a lighter into the "hub". The whole thing caught fire and they ran out as fast as they could.

Right by the exit, Mike slipped and fell, and weird tendrils started wrapping around his legs. He couldn't move. Ren was the first to get to him. He took one of his knives and started slicing through all the vines until Mike wriggled out. And then there was Dart. Or at least, Dustin thought he was Dart.

Ren watched as this kid risked his life to save the rest of them. He literally crouched down and talked to a murderous creature while the rest of them ran past. Eventually he caught up to them, and they had to run even faster. The Demo-Dogs were catching up to them.

When they got to the entrance, Steve and Ren helped the kids up, but that meant they were the last ones down in the tunnels. As the Demo-Dogs got closer, Steve turned to Ren and kissed him hard on the lips.

"I love you."

"I love you too."

They stood back to back with their weapons ready, waiting for the creatures to attack them, waiting for death, but they flooded right past them. One almost knocked Ren to the ground, but Steve caught him just in time. Once enough Demo-Dogs had passed, they grabbed the rope still hanging down into the tunnel and quickly climbed up.

The two boys made it up and immediately collapsed on the ground next to each other. Absolutely breathless, Ren reached over to Steve and grabbed his hand. They laid there for a few minutes just holding hands and trying to catch their breath while the kids stood there waiting for something. Then the lights on the car started glowing a bright white, and kept getting brighter, so much so that it was almost blinding.

Ren stood up as soon as the lights went out again, dropping Steve's hand, and leaned over the hole into the tunnel. Everything appeared to be dying really fast.

"She closed it."

"What?" He turned to Mike.

"Eleven closed the gate. It's over."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. It's the only explanation."

Ren breathed a sigh of relief and walked back over to Steve. He helped him up and then hugged him. It took a moment for Steve to notice that Ren was crying a little.

"Hey, baby, are you okay?" He pulled back to look at him.

Ren nodded. "Yeah. This just... God, this had better be the end of it. I can't do this again, Steve. I just can't."

He cried into Steve's shoulder and just let it all out. He cried about Tammy, Barb, and Nancy. And then he cried about Steve. "And if I hadn't gotten Billy off of you earlier, he could've... you could've..." he trailed off. "I don't know. I just can't lose someone else. Please don't make me lose someone else."

Steve pressed a kiss to his boyfriend's hair and rubbed circles on his back. "Baby, I'm not going anywhere. You're not gonna lose me."