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ihni · 1 year

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Where do we go from here

For @mungroveweek, day 2: "touch".

(Read on AO3)

~~~

Billy can’t sleep, after coming back from Darktown. It’s a problem.

It’s not surprising, that he can’t sleep. He’s being kept in a lab he doesn’t know the whereabouts of, having samples taken with or without his consent, and having to submit to various testing on the daily. All of those are perfectly good reasons for a person not to be able to sleep. But Billy has slept next to monsters. Next to certain death. The lab is not the reason why he can’t sleep.

No, the reason why he can’t sleep – and the reason why it’s a problem – is Eddie.

Over the course of the last couple of months, ever since he found the other boy in Darktown, he’s managed to get used to lying next to Eddie. It was a struggle, at first, to let someone that close – even someone who was barely conscious during that first time, and who was not in the state of being able to hurt a fly for a long while after. But Billy gritted his teeth and stayed close, even though the sound of someone else’s breaths so close to him and the feeling of someone else’s warmth leaking into his own skin made his skin crawl, because he had to be close in order to protect him. Had to stay close enough to be able to reach out and touch, to make sure he was still alive.

He’d been alone so long, by then, that he wouldn’t even let himself consider that this guy – the first other human he’d seen since he ended up in this place – could die.

Billy refused to let it happen. Not on his watch.

So he stayed close. And then he got used to it. And, when Eddie was coherent enough to start to talk to him, and started engaging Billy in conversation, he found that it was more than getting used to it; he craved it. Was starved for it.

He never initiated anything on his own, but that meant next to nothing when it came to Eddie. Because Eddie was the most tactile person Billy had ever known. Couldn’t spot a boundary until he tripped over it and fell flat on his face.

And that was another thing. Perhaps it was the fact that Billy had seen Eddie on the verge of death, or that he’d helped the guy back to health – but Eddie just didn’t register as a threat on Billy’s radar. Which most people did.

But not Eddie.

He never planned on letting his guard down around him. Never planned on letting Eddie get under his skin like that. But in his defense, he thought they were stuck in that dark place forever; never even considered the fact that they could get out, or that someone would come back for them. In the end, of course, no one did. They made their own way back, thank you – and by then, it was too late. Billy’s guard was down around one person, and one person only.

A clink in the armor is weakness, and weakness gets you killed. Billy knows that. But he’s also not willing to give if up, this new thing, the way that he can allow himself to relax a fraction when he’s with Eddie and know that both of them are okay for the moment.

They’ve saved each other’s lives several times, and up until now they’ve slept curled up next to each other in whatever semi-safe place they could find in the dark and dangerous world they’d both gotten lost in. Here, in the lab? In this strange new place that is too bright and clean, where Darktown was too dark and dirty? Everything feels just as wrong, and nowhere feels safe.

So he doesn’t sleep. It seems to bother the white coats, because eventually they insist on giving him an injection to help put him under, claiming his body needs rest to heal properly.

Billy’s been healing on his own for over a year even before Eddie showed up, with or without proper sleep. But Eddie stands right there in the background when they say this, looking worried at all the medical mumbo-jumbo they throw at him, so Billy lets them put the needle in the crook of his arm.

He shouldn’t have.

His dreams are full of monsters and death – other people’s deaths, never his own – and when he finally surfaces, he wakes up swinging. Breaks someone’s nose, pushes someone else away so hard that they fall over a cart, spreading metal items everywhere with a loud clatter he barely hears in his panic. He ends up pinned to the linoleum floor by several people, screaming hoarsely at the feeling of unwanted hands on his body. There’s a sharp prick in his ass cheek, and the world goes fuzzy. Just before he’s pulled under again, the hands – and with them, the feeling of wrongness – disappear. Someone’s shouting, and then there are hands rubbing circles into his back – familiar hands, Eddie’s hands – and soothing words that Billy can’t make sense of.

He goes under again.

This time, there are no dreams that he remembers.

When he wakes, it’s to a quiet room with the lights off and curtains drawn. He’s in a bed, without any beeping machines nearby, and Eddie is lying in the bed with him. The bed is not made for two people, but they’ve shared smaller spaces before, in Darktown.

Eddie’s asleep, snoring softly against Billy’s shoulder. Billy gives the room a cursory glance to make sure there are no threats, and when he’s satisfied that there aren’t any – and that no one else is there – he allows himself to relax. He doesn’t fall back asleep, but he … rests.

~~~

He’s a legal adult, so they don’t have to let anyone know he’s back. There’s no one to tell, anyway: his dad apparently fucked off a year ago, and Susan moved to New York to be closer to Max, who’s in a facility there, receiving specialist care on the government’s dime after what happened to her in the summer. Billy hasn’t let himself think too much about it. Tries really hard not to, actually, because he’s already got so many other things to worry about.

Like where he’ll go when he gets out of here. Which they assure him he will, eventually. The doctors who are monitoring both him and Eddie are running out of excuses to keep them here. They’ve already officially released Eddie, but he has opted to sticking around. The doctors let him, simply because Eddie is the only one who Billy trusts.

And isn’t that a novelty? Trust.

But what else can it be? He is tense at all times, except when he’s with Eddie. He’s always looking for danger, always on his guard – except when he’s with Eddie. He knows Eddie’s got his back, hasn’t ever doubted him. The guy proved himself over and over back in Darktown, and then again here, with the doctors.

They’re sitting in the bed in what he’s started to think of as his and Eddie’s room. Eddie’s reading a book, and Billy’s reading over his shoulder. It’s some random sci-fi book. The cheap kind sold in paperbacks at gas stations – someone probably grabbed it for them as an afterthought. These people have probably learned enough by now to not want either Billy or Eddie to be bored.

They’re pressed up close together, and Eddie’s rubbing idle circles over Billy’s knuckles with the thumb of the hand that’s not holding the book, only pausing when he has to use it to turn the page. It’s calming like nothing else is. Which is … unusual, for Billy.

Because he isn’t used to kind touches. Hasn’t really experienced them since he was a kid. Everyone who has touched him, after, has either wanted to hurt him somehow, or wanted to use him in some way. His dad was more likely to slap him in the face than give him a pat on the shoulder, his classmates only wanted to leech off his popularity and all their touches felt fake, and the only boy he ever got intimate with before the whole Darktown thing – the only one he willingly lowered his walls for – well … apparently that had only been a convoluted way to get revenge. Billy still gets choked up when he thinks about it, so he tries not to.

Anyway. All that adds up to not a whole lot of kind touching. And then of course he spent a year in another dimension where every living thing wanted to eat him, which didn’t exactly give him ample opportunity to get used to being touched. At least in a way that won’t get him killed.

And then he found Eddie, quite literally stumbled over him. Eddie, who barged through Billy’s defenses with his entire being. Who didn’t even seem to notice all the instances in which he touched Billy without even thinking of it; an approving hand on a shoulder, a friendly clap on the back, even the occasional pinched cheek when he’d made Billy the butt of a joke. And Billy got used to it; to Eddie’s touch, Eddie’s presence, Eddie.

What he can’t figure out, is –

“Why are you still here?”

He hasn’t meant to say it out loud. It’s just. Eddie can leave. His uncle knows that Eddie’s alive. They’ve spoken on the phone and Billy knows that Eddie’s expected to come and live with him in Pennsylvania, where he moved to get away from the shitstorm in Hawkins.

“Uh,” Eddie says, turning his head and glancing up at Billy. Face open, like always. “Because they haven’t given me my own room, and you haven’t told me to fuck off yet.”

“No,” Billy says, shaking his head. “I mean … here. In this place. Why haven’t you left yet?”

Eddie’s technically dead, and also technically still a wanted man, so there’s nothing for him left in Indiana. Yet here he is, in this undisclosed location in a state that has brought the both of them so much pain and sorrow. Why hasn’t Eddie left yet, to go live with his uncle?

Something in Eddie’s face softens at the question, and Billy hates the way his heart skips a beat at the sight of it. He’s seen it before, on Eddie’s face. It’s not pity, which Billy used to believe; it’s compassion, mixed with something else. Something that makes something like hope build in Billy’s chest without his permission.

“Because they haven’t released you yet.”

“Me?”

“Yeah, you. You think I’m letting you out of my sight after everything we’ve been through? I saw you punch a monster dog in the face with your fist, Bills. You’d just get in trouble without me.”

There is warmth spreading from somewhere inside Billy. It feels like a leak of something corrosive, something that erodes the walls he’s put up from the inside.

Damn it. No walls he tries to build last long around Eddie Munson.

“Says the guy who tried to fight the bats with a tennis racket.”

“Hey, that worked! … once.”

Unbidden, Billy’s lips twitch into a smile. “If only there hadn’t been like fifty of them.”

Eddie grins at the familiar argument and puts the book down. Gets comfortable against Billy’s side. “One out of fifty, that’s still progress. The first step to success.”

Billy puts his arm around his shoulder, tentatively. He might be getting used to Eddie’s touch, but he’s still not used to taking those steps himself. Eddie rewards him with a brilliant smile, though, and pulls his arm down so they’re closer. Almost cuddling.

“Admit it, tough guy. You’d be lost without me.”

Opening his mouth to reply, Billy can’t get the words out. He can’t say yes, even though it would be the truth. But he can’t lie, either, even if Eddie is no doubt expecting a quip or for them to continue their banter like they usually do. He doesn’t want to lie to Eddie. So he just opens and closes his mouth, without any words coming out. Eddie watches him, and there is something knowing in his dark eyes. In the end, he takes pity on him.

“Anyway, I don’t know if you remember, but I’m a wanted man out there. Which is pretty badass, but like, I probably have a bounty on my head, still. So maybe I need a big strong man such as yourself to protect me, huh? Ever think of that?”

“I’m not –“ Strong. Capable of protecting anyone. Good for you.

A man.

Eddie waves it away. “You punched a monster dog. In its non-existent face. With your fist. I’m thinking, that’s exactly the kind of guy I want by my side.”

And Billy wants to. He will walk through fire for Eddie. Will get in between him and anything that wants to do him harm for the rest of his life, if Eddie lets him. That seems like somewhat of a heavy thing to say now, though. So instead he says, “I suppose I can stick around for a while.”

Beaming – and probably seeing right through him – Eddie pats Billy’s cheek. Like he’s proud, or happy. Billy’s skin burns where Eddie touched him, but he doesn’t mind it. Burning is better than freezing, and Billy’s been cold for so long.

“Good boy.”

Ignoring the way his whole face flushes at that, Billy clears his throat and voices the question he’s been mulling on for some time now. “Where will I– we go, then?”

The grin is still on Eddie’s face as he says, simply. “The very nice people from the government has promised to reimburse us for our troubles as thanks for all the samples we have so generously provided them with. And since we’re both, you know, technically dead, they said they were going to give us new names, as well.” He raises an eyebrow. “Now, we obviously can’t stick around in Indiana. And I really want to see Uncle Wayne for a bit, so I figure we’ll pop by Pennsylvania first. But after that?” He leans his head on Billy’s shoulder, and Billy is so warm it feels like his limbs are melting. “We can go anywhere we want.”

Billy closes his eyes and exhales. Feels all the tension he didn’t even know he still carried around seep out of him. And allows himself, for the first time in many years, to hope for a better future.

#mungrove #mungrove fic #kinda pre-relationship though #mungroveweek2023 #ihni writes #first mungrove-ish fic wooo #listen i have been told that 'hot and cold' needed some closure and i don't see a happy harringrove ending with that one #so you get this instead

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camaro-and-smokes · 8 months

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Eve

Chapter 1: LV-444

Summary of the fic: Billy Hargrove and Steve Harrington were well known xeno hunters. Well, in their respective circles, of course. That weren't military or huge galaxy-sized tech businesses. Or even closely legal entities. Okay, they were doing what they did when the money was right, no questions asked. And they were good in what they did. They got even better when Eddie Munson, a crazy scientist, joined them. They had the gear, the knowledge, everything. All was going smooth, smoother than it had for a long while. So, they docked on Space Station U.D. on the orbit of planet LV-444. It was supposed to be a short, a few days long maintenance stop on their way to do some client work. Unfortunately, the client work seemed to have found them a bit sooner than expected...

MIND THE TAGS - S E R I O U S L Y. This is a horror/scifi/creature movie crossover and loyal to the film. If the image below makes you queezy, this is not for you. Unless you like that queezy feeling, then, happy reading :)

Rating: Explicit Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Categories: M/M/M Relationship: Billy Hargrove/Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson Tags: MetalSandwich Movie Mania, Movie: Aliens (1986), Aliens AU, Horror, Body Horror, Blood, Blood and Gore, Gore, Xenomorphs, Aliens, Metalsandwich, Mungrove, Harringrove, Science Fiction, Military Science Fiction, Crossover

Chapters: [CH01] [CH02] / ?

Read on AO3 >>

Notes: This fic hits more than one of the @now-showing-at-the-hawk-events Metalsandwich Movie Mania 2023 categories: Scifi film, Action film, Horror/creature feature film and iconic movie - since Aliens is THE scifi film of the 80s and still one of the best horror/military scifi films ever made. I tried to fit in some romance too, but if you know the film, space for romance is, uh, limited. I'm a huge fan of space opera because of this film, so it's been an absolute joy to write this.

::::::::::

Billy held the long, pointy head in front of Eddie’s face and nudged him until he awoke. “Argh!” Eddie screamed in horror, scrambling away when the first thing he saw was an eyeless stare and the row of pin sharp teeth of the deadliest creature he’d ever come across. When he realised it was Adam’s head, he hit it hard enough it fell off of Billy’s hand. “Jesus H. Christ, Hargrove! Get that fucking thing off my face!” he shouted.

The long, pointy skull flew on the floor with a hollow clank and continued its way skidding over the cabin floor and lodged itself under a bunk on the other side of the room, its deadly grimace shining under the bunk like a...well, like a monster under the bed.

Billy flopped on his bunk, cackling. “You should’ve seen your face! We’ve been hunting these bastards for years and you still get scared when you see one. And besides, it was Adam. You should’ve recognised it.” “I wouldn’t have wanted to have Adam an inch away from my face even when it was alive, you asshole! I almost shat my pants,” Eddie exasperated. Billy grinned. “Nah, you weren’t even close. And if you would’ve, we still would’ve remained as your family.” Eddie couldn’t hide a small smile. “Fuck you,” he muttered as he got up, throwing his t-shirt on Billy and going to the head.

Steve walked into the cabin. “Okay, I see that you both my darlings are awake, so allow me to finally get some shuteye, will you?” he said and flopped next to Billy, rubbing his eyes with his fingers. “Mother can take care of the flying for now, since all she needs to do is to follow the beacon of the space station. But as I already told you, she’s not working as she should. Somebody needs to take a look at her.” Billy wrapped his arm around Steve’s shoulders and placed a kiss on his temple. “I’ll make sure she’s taken care of when we get to LV-444.” “The ship needs to be docked manually,” Steve said with a wide yawn. “I’ll take care of that, too. You just have your beauty sleep, princess,” Billy said and stood up. Steve grabbed his hand and pulled him back down. “I didn’t get my goodnight kiss,” he said. Billy smirked and leaned down to kiss him. “Sleep. Me and Eddie take care of the docking.”

A few hours later Billy sat down on the pilot’s seat of their ship, commercial assault vessel Petrini, and put his headset on when the space station on the orbit of LV-444 hailed them. “This is Space Station U.D. LV-444 actual. Please confirm your status and state your business.” “U.D. actual, this is Executive Officer Hargrove of the Commercial Attack Vessel Petrini. Our Mother has been misbehaving and someone needs to inspect her. We’ve understood that your station has someone who knows how to do that on an ex-military vessel. Sending you our initials now.” After a moment of silence, the U.D. LV-444 actual replied, “Petrini, your initials have expired. Please send us updated ones.” “Shit,” Billy muttered. He searched a file on his screen and looked at the first ones on the list. He quickly typed the initial codes on the field where he could send them to the space station. “Sorry for the confusion. Here are the updated ones.” After a moment of silence, the space station returned on the line. “Your initials check out. Please, for the future, keep the initials updated for a smooth transition to station space.” “Yes, ma’am,” he acknowledged the request. No way was he telling that they didn’t actually have initials of their own but a list stolen from a vessel that probably would never set foot in space this far out and that he had to type the initials by hand to the required field. A proper hailing system would naturally give up-to-date initials automatically. But some things they had weren't actually legally acquired, so... “Our station maintenance crew can do the work for you. However, the next available time slot for commercial vessels is in two days from now.” Billy muted the mic to groan. Then he unmuted it. “Acknowledged. That works for us.” “Docking permission granted. You may proceed to dock O-7. Please note that U.D. is a military station with limited civilian access.” “Acknowledged. Proceeding to dock O-7. Petrini out.”

Eddie slumped to the second pilot’s seat next to Billy. “Do I have to stay on the ship the whole time again?” he asked. “They said the civilian access is limited, not forbidden. Besides, none of us could really access any military stations unless we were 'subcontractors'. But it doesn’t hurt that I’m ex-marines with Harrington.” “Yeah, I’m just the monster geek,” Eddie scoffed, and readied systems into docking position on his side of the dashboard. Billy looked at him and interrupted his own preparations to reach his hand out to Eddie. “Hey, I didn’t mean it like that. You’re the reason we’re out here. You’re precious cargo. For a lot of reasons.” Eddie glanced at him, not convinced. “Right. And it’s not even really me. It’s just what I can do.” “Come on, Eddie. Don’t make me get up and cuddle with you to assure you’re important while we’re in the middle of docking. You’re the sole reason we are on this mission. You’re actually important.” “Well, you shouldn’t have woken me up with Adam in my face. It made me grumpy,” Eddie said. Then he pointed a finger at Billy. “And by the way, if it broke when it hit the floor, it’s on you and you’re going to catch a new one for me.” Billy’s eyes grew wide, and he turned slowly to look at Eddie. “You’re kidding? Right?” “Messing with the one who handles the monsters has dire consequences.” Billy swallowed and returned to his task in guiding the Petrini into the correct docking ring. Not that he wasn't experienced with the xenos. Eddie just had ways to make him do what he told him to do. After a while, Billy reached his hand out again, this time squeezing Eddie’s arm gently. “Hey, I’m sorry. I really am.” When Eddie didn’t reply, Billy let go and returned to doing his own check-ups. He’d have to come up with a way to do something nice for Eddie.

The space station grew larger on the screens that displayed the view from outside sensors. It was a ring that had several other rings around it, each a dock. They were assigned to dock on O-7, which meant that they were going to dock on the other side of the station.

Billy activated the docking systems. “Unable to engage the automatic docking sequence,” Mother, the ship's AI, said. “Yes, Mother, I know,” Billy replied to the AI. “Manually overriding the docking sequence." “Affirmative. Manual docking sequence activated," Mother confirmed. “Okay, let’s go,” Billy said and guided the ship towards the correct docking ring.

While they flew over the station towards their dock, they had the time to admire the view of the planet LV-444. It was magnificent. The station was a mere speck in the orbit of the gas giant and it filled all of their screens almost in full. The surface of the planet was in a never-ending turmoil, dark clouds swirling on its surface, forever changing their patterns. The planet was called a planetary gas station: it had high levels of helium, neon, and other gasses in its atmosphere that were needed either in production of fuel for ships - or weapons. Which was why the military station was located here.

Once the ship was docked, Eddie went to wake up Steve. He sat next to Steve on the bunk and brushed his hair gently with his hand. “Hey, Steve, pumpkin, wake up. We’re here.” Steve let out a deep sigh and turned on his side, wrapping an arm around Eddie’s waist. “Come to bed,” he whispered. Eddie smirked. “Would love to. Can’t. We just docked. I need to find those new batteries for my hunting suit.” Steve rolled on his back on the bunk and let out a breath. “I had already forgotten the whole battery thing. I’ll come with you.” Eddie grinned. “Does Billy know you just assigned him to be in charge of Eve?” Steve chuckled. “He’s going to be so pissed when he hears about it.”

Billy walked into the cabin. “I’m going to be pissed about what?” His jaw went slack when he saw both Steve and Eddie grinning at him. “No. Fuck no. I’m not going to...Shit. You’re both going?” Billy’s voice went from groan to whine, “Eddie, you can’t leave me alone with her!” He looked at Eddie deadly serious. Eddie chuckled. “You’re supposed to be the ex-marine who fears nothing, yet...” “Hey, any marine, active or not, who has even a sliver of self-preservation skills left, agrees with me. Eve is fucking huge, all teeth, and she hates me with vengeance. I can't handle her.” Billy glared at Eddie and wrapped his arms around himself. Eddie got up and walked to Billy, hugging him. Billy wouldn’t look at him. “There’s no need for you to go down there," Eddie assured Billy, "and she doesn’t want to leave her habitat. Neither of you want to interact with each other. You’ll be fine.” “You better come be quick about it," Billy mumbled.

-oOo-

Eddie and Steve exited their ship and started to walk towards the commercial section of the space station. “Why did you need the new batteries for the hunter suits again?” Steve asked. “Weren't they supposed to be self-charging?” Eddie looked to his feet for a moment. “Uh...that might have not been the whole truth.” Steve stopped. “What do you mean?” When Eddie noticed that Steve wasn't by his side any more, he turned around. “I gathered parts from wherever I found them. Yes, some of them are self-charging. One in your and one in Billy's suit. The ones in my suit are not.” Steve tilted his head and smiled a sad smile at Eddie. “Why didn't you say so?” “Well, I did now, didn't I?” “I mean,” Steve said and walked to Eddie, wrapping an arm around his shoulders, “that if you'd told me that sooner, we could've snatched some of them on the last gig. There were plenty of them in that warehouse and we didn't take them with us since I and Billy thought we wouldn't have needed them. You need to talk to us.” “I know,” Eddie groaned. “But it's not easy. I've been doing this stuff alone for so long and...” Steve interrupted him. “I know. But you have to start trusting us more. Especially since we have Eve. We need to work as a team with her. It means trust. Right?” Eddie nodded as they started to walk again.

They arrived at the commercial section and started to look for a electrical part dealer. They knew there was one on all space stations, but they were the legal ones. Now, finding one that wasn't so strict about registering the sale to the legal systems was another thing. And as sure as there was a legal dealer, there was always one of the later too—especially on a space station this big. Luckily Eddie knew all the tricks to find one. He'd been doing the crazy scientist stuff by himself for a decade and it had taught him more than any schooling ever. And ever since giving birth to Eve he'd ascended to a whole new level. Except that while he was the one who could control her, he himself sucked at shootings and booby trappings and making safe spaces on an enemy ground – stuff he should've known how to handle. But he was a scientist, not a marine. That's why he had Billy and Steve. They had gotten a bit over halfway of the commercial section when an alert started sounding from all the speakers around the area with the pleasant voice of Mother: “This is not a drill. Containment breached. Please proceed to the closest escape pod.” Steve and Eddie looked at each other. Eddie frowned. “A breach that's severe enough for us to escape the station? This station has parted structure, right?” he asked Steve. “Yeah. That doesn't sound right. They should be able to seal just the breached part.” The alert sounded again. “This is not a drill. Containment breached. Please proceed to the closest escape pod.” Steve's brows knitted together. Then he glanced at Eddie, worried. “This is also a research station. New fuel solutions.” He paused. “And weapons.” Eddie bit his lip. “Could they have...” “Fuck. Anything is possible.” Eddie looked at Steve for a while before speaking, “You've seen this before, haven't you?” Steve sighed. “I hope not. On the last station like this—part military, part research, part commercial—the bastards were all over. The shit had already hit the fan.” “This is not a drill. Containment breached. Please proceed to the closest escape pod.” “Should we get going then?” Eddie asked and started to run back towards the dock where they'd docked Petrini.

-oOo-

After Eddie and Steve left to find the parts Eddie needed, Billy spent the first hour dozing off on the pilot's seat and listening to the radio chatter of the space station - illegally, of course. When the chatter suddenly became irregular, accompanied by calls for help that stopped in the middle of the call, Billy perked up. Icy coldness spread into his stomach and he hailed his companions through their scrambled team radios. "Eddie, Steve, please come in." No reply, only radio static that crackled a little from time to time. "Eddie? Steve? Please come in. It's Billy." Still nothing. Shit, Billy thought, this is bad. He turned the space station radio frequency back on. It was still all screams and irregular calls for help. He squeezed his eyes closed. "This isn't happening", he groaned. "This ain't fucking happening". He once more tried to hail Eddie and Steve on their private radio. He listened to the radio static for a while, when he recognized a familiar set of clicks. Three short ones, three long ones, three short ones. His stomach dropped. Eddie and Steve were in trouble. And since they used morse code, they most likely were hiding and couldn't speak. He'd seen this before. Only, he'd been the first one to come to the scene when the shit had already hit the fan and the results were running rampant. Though this probably wasn't far from that situation. They were here probably just a few days earlier than back then on that other station. He took a deep breath. He would have to find them.

Then a realization dawned on Billy. He buried his face in his hands and cursed. “Ffffffffffuck.” The only way he’d have any chance of finding Eddie and Steve quickly was to take Eve out for a walk.

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mamakitty187 · 10 months

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Road to Nowhere (Leads to Me)

So after a long... long... hiatus, I've finally posted the 2nd chapter of my dad!eddie, tattoo artist!eddie, mechanic!billy, post-s5 mungrove fic! This one is from Billy's POV (it's gonna switch back and forth), and god I forgot how much fun it is being in his head... Anywho, I hope yall enjoy it!

#mungrove #mungrove fic #stranger things #stranger things fanfic #billy hargrove #eddie munson #eddie x billy #billy x eddie

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torimwrites · 3 months

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Writing Patterns (tag game)

Rules: list the first line of your last 10 (posted) fics and see if there's a pattern!

I was tagged by: @applewillowstone Funny enough, the pattern is that these are literally all of the Stranger Things fics that I have written. I have 30 Marvel ones before these, but these were my last posted. Haha. 1. The week of Valentine’s day was always something that brought the cynic in Eddie out even more than usual. [Are you fa-fa-fa-fa-fallin' for me? - Mungrove] 2. It was the 3rd of December, Monday, and a week and three days since Steve showed up at Eddie’s to establish that they both liked each other. [I Will Dare - Steddie Part 4 in series] 3. When he finally graduated, nearly having to do senior year for a third time—thanks to Nancy Wheeler for tutoring him at the last minute—Eddie knew that he had to get serious and find a job that wasn’t selling drugs to the residents of Hawkins. [Talk Dirty To Me - Steddie *WIP*] 4. Eddie didn’t know what he expected, but it wasn’t Steve Harrington at his doorstep on Thanksgiving… [Dare Me - Steddie Part 3 in series] 5. Hawkins was in full Thanksgiving preparation with last minute grocery shopping, washing sheets at the laundromat for guests, running around and practically hitting Eddie’s van… [I Dare You - Steddie Part 2 in series] 6. Eddie went through the back entrance to the male strip club, making his way down the onyx and charcoal, mylar wallpapered hallway, past Murray’s office and staff bathroom, and into the dressing room. [A new religion that'll bring you to your knees - Steddie] 7. Eddie showed up at Tina’s ‘Halloween Bash’, holding onto his lunchbox of drugs, ready to sell and barter—decline anything less than the price he tells them, or raise it if they are being assholes—all while his ears suffered in ‘the realm of the cliques’ as they listened to music he did not fancy. [Dare - Steddie Part 1 in series] 8. Eddie was there to support Jeff, who was DJing that night; who was by no means gay, but had gotten the gig because Eddie was friends with the bartender that used to sell Eddie stock, back when Reefer Rick had been in jail. [Gimme, Gimme, Gimme (A Man After Midnight) - Steddie] 9. It wasn’t often that he went to an actual party, but, then again, it wasn’t often that he got invited. [No matter who's in the room (touch me in the way that you do) - MetalSandwich] 10. Eddie bounced and jangled into the video store in Hawkins. [Even in a crowded room (baby, it's just me and you) - Steddie]

#eddie munson #billy hargrove #steve harrington #stranger things #steddie #mungrove #metalsandwich #steddie fic #mungrove fic #metalsandwich fic #don't like don't interact #don't like don't read #ao3 writer #ao3 fanfic

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larilarry · 10 months

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Just thinking about it since i read this fanfic...

The Addams Family reference scene

#mungrove #eddie x billy #billy x eddie #eddie munson #billy hargrove #stranger things fanart #mungrove fic #mungrove fanfic

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biillyhargroves · 2 years

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“He’s gonna find out.” Billy says this casually. It’s not a warning nor a threat; to him, it is simply a fact. “You should just tell him. Rip the bandaid off, or whatever.” Billy swipes at his arm, tearing off an imaginary bandage to prove his point. He’s sitting on Eddie’s bed, back against the wall, shirt undone and a little crooked on his shoulders, toying absently with Eddie’s hair as Eddie lounges against him, his head in Billy’s lap, blunt pinched between his fingers.

Eddie breathes a plume of smoke at the ceiling, shakes his head, “Nope. No.” He holds up a stern finger, pokes it in Billy’s face. “No.”

Billy scowls, snatches the joint from Eddie’s hand, takes a puff. Earthy smoke spills from his lips as he teases, “What? You afraid of some thirteen year-old little punk?”

“He’s fifteen.” Eddie snaps at Billy’s hand, but Billy holds the joint out of his reach, takes another pull with his head titled towards the ceiling, breathes out a hazy mist. He makes a big show of it, smirking at Eddie’s frown, a soft chuckle escaping when Eddie huffs at him. He leans down, stamps a smoky kiss to Eddie’s lips, smirk turning to a soft smile as Eddie deepens in.

“I’m serious, though,” Billy says, finally relenting, passing the blunt back to Eddie. He presses his back against the cool wall, tilts his face down to Eddie, fingertips lightly tracing Eddie’s jaw, thumb smoothing over his lips. “We’re not exactly hiding anything here.” Eddie smokes. Billy blinks against the haze filling up the room. “Max knows,” he offers. “El knows. Will.” He ticks them off on his fingers. “Hell, even Sinclair knows. Both Sinclairs.” He thinks for a moment, adds, “Wheeler’s oblivious, but that’s his problem.”Eddie says nothing, just quietly passes the blunt. Billy accepts, and he raises it to his mouth he asks, “That’s ninety-eight percent of your rugrats. What’s the big deal?”

“First of all,” Eddie says, swiping the joint from Billy’s mouth. “Max and El are yours.”

“We can talk custody later,” Billy counters, not waiting for Eddie to finish his drag before he snatches the joint back from him, leaving Eddie with a shallow cough. He glowers up at Billy, but his features are too soft, too delicate in the low light of the bedroom, golden beams of late-afternoon sun slanted across his cheeks, he looks young, boyish, almost cartoonish — not threatening in the slightest. “Tell me what you’re so scared of.”

“I’m not scared.” Eddie pouts, only making him look younger. Billy nudges him, dangles the joint just out of reach. Still, Eddie lifts his hand for it, only to have Billy pull it away.

“Tell me.” Billy’s words are firm but his tone is low, almost gentle. Eddie sighs. He nestles closer to Billy, but does not speak, does not answer him. “You embarrassed of me or something?” It’s not accusation, but Eddie leaps to his own defense.

“No! No.” He speaks too quickly, too loudly. Eddie takes a breath, shakes his head, reaches one hand up to gently cup Billy’s cheek. “No,” he says, softer. “Never.”

Billy covers Eddie’s hand with his own, strong and warm, and he turns his face to kiss Eddie’s palm. “Tell me,” he says again, and Eddie sighs.

“I just…” His voice trails off. He sits up, disentangling himself from Billy, settles cross-legged on the bed to face him. Billy’s free hand, the one not playing keep-away with the joint, catches Eddie’s and Eddie can’t help it, the way their fingers lace together is second nature by now. “Dustin’s— he’s…protective. Like, how Red is with you. Only…he doesn’t have her…tact. Does that make sense?”

Billy scoffs. “Maxine just loves to threaten people. It’s, like, her thing.”

“She lectured me, Bills,” Eddie says plainly. “For an hour. And a good portion of that lecture focused very heavily on how she’d, and this is a direct quote, ‘castrate me with a wooden spoon’ if I ever did anything to hurt you.”

Billy considers this, shrugs. “She must trust you.” Eddie quirks a brow. Billy laughs. “I’ve heard worse from her. Trust me. If you got that lecture, it means she likes you.”

“My point is,” Eddie sighs, grateful when Billy offers the blunt. He takes a pull, pauses to savor it. “My point is,” he repeats, “that Max wants to protect you. And Dustin wants to protect me.”

“What do you think he’s gonna do to me, huh?” Billy’s tone is light, teasing. He nudges Eddie and Eddie only shakes his head, takes another drag. “He gonna go all mad scientist? Poison me?”

“He’s very buddy-buddy with the science teachers,” Eddie muses. Then he shakes his head, refocuses. “I’m just— I don’t know. I want you guys to get along? And I don’t want him to be mean to you. Or about you. Or me. I don’t want him to try and break us up. He’s always playing matchmaker, you know? He gets his sights on some chick and tries to shove us together. He doesn’t…he doesn’t know that…”

“Eds,” Billy says, and Eddie’s eyes snap to his. Billy rests a hand on Eddie’s shoulder, squeezes gently. “Babe,” Billy says gently. “Do you really think that Dustin Henderson, the president of the Eddie Munson fan club, is going to turn his back on you because you’re gay?” Eddie sheepishly looks down, tugging at a loose thread on his comforter. He shrugs, peers shyly back up at Billy. “Babe, that kid worships you. If he had his way he’d build fucking statutes in your goddamn honor. He’s rename this town Munsonville or some shit. He’s about two seconds away from forming a cult around you.”

When Eddie averts his gaze, Billy slides closer, one hand soft and gentle at the back of Eddie’s neck. He tugs Eddie closer to him, kisses his forehead. They part, and Eddie holds Billy’s gaze. There is a beat silence, and then two.

“I thought you were the president of the Eddie Munson fan club.”

This earns Eddie a laugh, and Billy playfully shoves at him, tells him to, “Shut the fuck up.” Eddie laughs, too, shakes his head.

“I hear you, though,” he says, accepting the joint when Billy offers it. It’s nearly burnt down, the heat smarting against his calloused fingertips. He sighs as he smokes, then quietly says, “I still don’t want him to be mean to you. He can be a real dick when he wants to be.”

“Baby,” Billy says seriously. “I think I can take him.”

“I know,” Eddie assures. “I know. I just— I just don’t want you to have to, y’know? I don’t want him to try to fuck with you— to fuck with us.”

“He can’t,” Billy promises. When Eddie doesn’t respond, Billy puts his fingers to Eddie’s chin, raises Eddie’s gaze. “He can’t,” Billy repeats. “I promise I’ll sit through as many stupid lectures as he wants to dish out. And I promise I’ll go easy if I have to put him in his place.” Eddie nods along. “Hell, Maxine likes us together. Henderson gives you trouble, we can sic her on ‘im.” Billy tucks Eddie’s hair behind his ear, his thumb lingering on Eddie’s cheek. “You don’t have to tell him now,” Billy says. “Do it when you’re ready. And I’ll take whatever the kid dishes out. Okay?”

Eddie leans forward, resting his forehead against Billy’s. He closes his eyes, breathes in the earthy smell of the weed, the musky scent of Billy’s cologne, the tinge of salty sweat in the warm room. He sighs. He nods. “Okay.”

#mungrove #mungrove fic #eddie munson x billy hargrove #mungrove fanfiction #i present to you: babies #lex writes fics

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usersirius · 2 years

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— Three's a Party

Rated Explicit | 2.7k+ words

"... Billy’s not really sure he wants it to ever end - And judging by the way Eddie and Chrissy are with him - he doesn't think they’d be able to lose him either."

AO3 Link

#hellcheer #hellcheer fic #chrissy x eddie #mungrove #mungrove fic #billy x eddie #eddie x billy #calicheer #calicheer fic #chrissy x billy #billy x chrissy #chrissy cunningham #eddie munson #billy hargrove #stranger things #my fic

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suspiciouslackofclowns · 1 year

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All Bark, Some Bite

A Mungrove fic based on a series of posts that you can find here

* * *

People have always been afraid of Eddie on a very superficial level. Jumping back when he yells or waves his arms like he’s fixing to strike at any moment, like his very skin is poisonous to the touch. He doesn’t mind the stigma too much. It works as a buffer, weeds out the undesirables, so to speak. The people who choose to look beyond the surface and see the kindness within are keepers.

The rest happens to be the majority of people.

He revels in the effects that his intimidating image has, knowing that he’s less likely to get picked on or brutalized if he makes it seem like a bad idea altogether. This, unfortunately, has also led to somewhat of a problem in and of its own.

“Next time I tell you to keep your mouth shut, you do it, you hear me?” Hargrove barks.

His jaw is set, sharp teeth clenched tight as he glares down at where Eddie sits helplessly in the dirt. His chest is heaving and his nose is bloody, but he doesn’t really seem to care. Just stares expectantly until Eddie nods, which seems to satisfy him well enough because he pulls his pack of Reds out of his pocket and knocks one out into his hand.

“They bother you a lot?”

“Hmm?” Eddie hums, raising his eyebrows. He’s met with those mean blues again and quickly shoves himself up to standing, dusting the seat of his pants off and clearing his throat. “Uh, sometimes. Guess it depends on if they lose or not.” Through the trees, he catches a flash of green and yellow, and he presses his lips together. “Aren’t you on the team?”

“Didn’t pass the physical this year,” Billy says, flicking his lighter open thoughtlessly. Then promptly snaps it shut.

He stares into the woods, almost like he’s daring anything else to emerge from the treeline to quench his thirst for blood. Eddie gets to work picking his stuff up off the ground.

“Sure seem physically capable.”

“Appearances ain’t everything, Munson.” The unlit cigarette gets perched between Billy’s lips, and his mouth pinches into a smirk around it as he shoves his lighter back into his pocket. “You know a little something about that, don’t you, freak?”

* * *

You can continue reading here :D

#mungrove #mungrove fic #billy hargrove #eddie munson #billy x eddie #fluff and angst #chubby billy hargrove #friends to lovers #keg gang #my writing #I made this post a couple days ago but I hated the formatting #bc turns out I do crap work when it’s like 2am #so here it is again but better :D

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eddiebillysteve · 2 years

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cat and mouse

(( harringroveson prison au ))

chapter ten | find the rest here

pairing | billy hargrove/eddie munson/steve harrington

summary | the aftermath of creel's wrath + a sweet steddie moment

a/n | @leticheecopae is forever helping me with this and i am so grateful!! she is the mastermind behind max's letter and is writing a companion fic that is going to be actually ICONIC !! a huge thank you to everyone who reads, comments and supports!! Find it on ao3 here !!

warnings | mention of suicide/child murder, billy is recovering in the infirmary, dom/sub themes, possessiveness, steve being a gay panicked confused mess (this is a permanent tag), general prison talk, stuff like that !!

tag list | @whoringrove @darkandstormyslash @devotionsofmaryoliver - let me know if you'd like to be tagged in future updates !!

“Woah. What the hell? Get out of here, man. Wrong cell.”

Eddie stared at the man currently making the top bunk of his cell. He looked like the stereotypical jock, even in a prison uniform, and it put a bad taste in Eddie’s mouth. The guy looked like every guy that had shoved him into lockers in school, the ones that called him down to the dirt and laughed as they walked away.

Billy hadn’t looked like that. He hadn’t thought the same thing when he’d first arrived in prison. He figured it was because Billy was too pretty, with the curls framing his face and gorgeous eyes.

“Actually, this is my cell,” The man gave a grin, glancing Eddie up and down. “And you must be my new bunkie. Name’s Carver.” He held his hand out, but Eds didn’t take it. “Just got transferred here. Something about overpopulation in my old place. Didn’t think you’d mind me having the top bunk since you seem so comfortable on the bottom.”

Eddie took a step back. He didn’t mind his old cellmate, the one that he’d lived with since getting moved away from Billy. The guy was rough to live with whenever he was going through withdrawals, but they left each other alone and it worked. Eddie had never felt threatened by him, had never had to do anything to or for him. They sometimes listened to the radio together, shared bags of candies.

But now he’d vanished as if he’d never existed at all.

“Listen, Carver. You’re new here, you don’t know how things work yet,” Eddie started, trying his best to sound cool and confident. “I don’t want any trouble. You can have the top bunk but I’ve already got someone looking after me. You want anything, you have to go through him.”

“Oh?” Jason raised his eyebrows a bit, taking a glance around the cell. “I don’t see anyone else here.”

“He’s my old cellie. We haven’t lived together for a while. But he’s still in charge of me. Ask anyone.”

Jason let out a gentle laugh, like Eddie had said something absolutely hilarious. “ Right. Let me just go ask half the prison if you’re spoken for, while you wait here in my cell. To me, anything in my cell is mine. Including my cellmate.”

Eddie swallowed. Billy was in solitary, probably half dead, and he’d have to come out and beat the shit out of some asshole that was transferred into Eddie’s cell.

If he would even care.

The thought made Eddie’s stomach churn. He tried to remind himself that of course he would care – even if they had a little spat, even if Eddie said some things he regretted, Billy had still moved to protect him from Creel. They were still each others, no matter what bullshit they spewed at one another.

Silence settled between them as they stared at each other, until the alarm signaling the cell doors were shutting and locking went off and made Eddie jump.

At least Steve was safe in his cell for the night. He’d stayed with him until he physically couldn’t anymore and would be there as soon as the cells unlocked in the morning to do the showers, breakfast, and work shift with him. Billy had told him to stay with him, look after him, so it was what he was going to do even if he was fairly certain no one would mess with Steve after seeing the H burned into his arse during their time in the showers.

He’d asked a lot of questions about Billy and Creel after Hargrove had been dragged off and Eddie had been as vague as he possibly could have been. It wasn’t up to him what Billy wanted Steve to know, and he didn’t want to get in trouble for saying something he wasn’t allowed to again.

“Look, man. I’ve had a long day,” Eddie sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. “A really long day. I don’t want any trouble. What’s it gonna take for you to just… let me have tonight to myself? I don’t want to play any games and do the back-and-forth bullshit. I’m really fucking exhausted.” Jason seemed surprised by his question, like he was expecting more of a fight. “What? Just say it. Do you want a blowjob? Or do you want to fuck me? Don’t think I’m going to play the pretty victim and drag it out and beg you to stop. I’m not into it. Let’s just get this over with.”

“Well, that’s a buzzkill,” Carver raised his eyebrows. “What’s got you so… upset?” He wasn’t sure what the right word was, and he tipped his head to the side. “Have you prayed about it?”

“Prayed about it?” Eddie stared at him like he had three heads and purple horns growing from each one. “Oh, shit. Don’t tell me you’re one of those religious fanatics.”

Jason laughed again. “I’m not a religious fanatic. But I do believe in God and his love. I take it you’re not.”

“Fuck no. If there’s a God, he’s a real fucking asshole for the shit he’s done to me and the people I care about,” But he shut himself up when he saw how Jason stiffened, how his jaw tightened. He knew his type and how they could get so fucking angry, do the most horrific things and then repent and be an angel again. “Sorry. Don’t mean to offend you, dude. Just not into that religious stuff. Cool if you are, but don’t push it on me.”

Eddie moved around him to get out some clothes to wear as pyjamas. When he’d bunked with Billy, he’d wear nothing, and with his old cellie he’d stripped down to his underwear, but he was staying fully clothed until he knew if Carver was alright or not. At the moment, he had a horrible feeling about him. He had a feeling Billy would get into a fight with him two seconds after meeting him, too.

***

Billy had no idea how long it’d been since Creel had left him alone. Everything was a blur for the first little while, the nurse’s voice telling him that he was going to be fine far away and somewhere in the clouds. It took two or three times of trying before he was properly conscious, and every inch of him hurt.

At least he was alone, just like he always was when he woke up in the infirmary. The room was familiar, the same one he’d woken up in a year ago when Creel had nearly ended him. It was one of the select few private ones, usually reserved for the patients that couldn’t be trusted around others.

His first search was for water, and he turned his head to look at the bedside table. There was a glass of water, as well as some pills in a tiny cup, but what caught his attention was an envelope. Just a single one, torn across the top, addressed to him.

Normally he didn’t mind if his mail arrived already open. They did check randomly, had to make sure there wasn’t any contraband going in and out, but what pissed him off was that he knew it wasn’t a random check.

Creel had opened it, read through it, and decided to have it waiting for him once he woke up. He already knew it. It was a shitty little game that was right up Creel’s alley.

He groaned when he reached for it, the tiniest stretch hurting like a bitch. He was hot, his skin burning up, and he was sore. Everything hurt. He wanted some of the painkillers he had hidden in his cell, not the pathetically weak ones they gave out here.

Hey Billiam, I swear to god, if one more pup gets hookworms I’m going to lose it. Some mental woman decided to bring her infected dog in. Claimed it got them from a ‘cat house’. Why the fuck would you leave a dog at a cat house? The dog doesn’t even like cats! Honestly, I don’t think it likes anyone. Heard it got pretty violent with one of the vet techs. We’re gonna have to transfer it immediately before it infects any more of the other animals. Wish that bitch had given the shelter more warning. But no, of course not, we got a surprise. Is there actually a word for a bad surprise? We should make one up. Anyways. Besides the scare with the dogs, the kittens have been doing okay. Red keeps getting into fights with Hissy, it’s annoying, but Hissy just keeps starting shit. Mom and I are doing fine. No sign of the step-monster in months. Maybe he’s actually staying away this time. Mom still has the restraining order in place, so that helps. Stay safe, bro. Like, seriously Billy, don’t go picking fights. I know you’re all big and bad, but you’re always going to be my dumbass brother. Love, your shitty little sister, Maxine

Billy read the letter over once, twice, three times, before scrunching it up in his hand. It made his chest heave with anger. It had surely been sent weeks ago, a warning that Creel was being transferred back, but they’d intercepted it, held it. Wanted it to be a surprise.

The games Creel liked to play pissed him off like nothing else because he couldn’t control them. He had no choice in the matter; he had to play to survive and it drove him insane.

It took a few minutes for him to calm down enough to unwrinkle it to read for a fourth time. They had their own language, he and Chrissy, that they’d taught Max enough of that she could rewrite them and forward them on. The second he’d read Billiam, he knew it’d be about Creel.

He hadn’t gotten a Billiam letter in forever. To the outside world, it would have looked like his dumb sister was teasing him, but in reality it was warning, a way to tell him to take the letter seriously, and he would have if he’d of gotten it earlier.

There was a bit that made him smile, at least.

Red keeps getting into fights with Hissy, it’s annoying, but Hissy just keeps starting shit.

He hadn’t met any of the girls, but he still felt like he knew them from all the letters Chrissy had sent over the years. Of course, Carol, who he only knew as Hissy, was starting shit. From what he knew it was all she ever did. And Red, who was actually a girl named Robin, was batshit crazy. He’d gathered that she’d done something at an ice cream shop that landed her on the inside. He could only imagine what.

It was torture that they couldn’t speak on the phone or talk normally in their letters. He could to Max, to some degree, and she’d translate them properly, but he wished they could kick back in his Camaro and properly talk like they’d used to.

There was a special place in his heart for Chrissy. Not only did she know about his father, how abusive and monstrous he was, but she’d been willing to do something about it.

She was the only person ever willing to do something about it, to help free him.

Sometimes he liked to think that one day they’d all be free again, and he could meet the people she spoke about – Red, Jitters, Butter, Hissy – and she could meet his people. He’d told her as much as he could about Eddie and about how he maintained order, but it wasn’t easy. Sometimes things got lost in translation and it made him so frustrated that he wanted to tear his hair out.

His eyes were still gliding over the words when the door to his room opened. It made him jolt, ready to throw his body out of the bed and tear out the stitches he undoubtedly had should the person have been Creel ready for round two. It wouldn’t have surprised him if the officer made an appearance to fuck his mouth while he was still in the hospital bed.

“How bad is it?” He croaked. The nurse very gently took the paper away from him to give him some water to soothe his throat.

“It’s… not great,” She sighed softly, looking over his face. “You want to tell me what happened? Who did this to you?”

Billy paused, looking over her face. Her eyes were big and filled with pity and she knew. All the staff knew. It happened the same day Creel had his first shift and Billy had been involved in the assault that wound up getting Creel transferred so long ago. But no one could prove it. Not unless he spoke up. And probably not even then.

He’d just wind up in the exact same position as he had been a few hours – or days – ago.

“Don’t remember,” He muttered, accepting the water into his mouth. It felt good, too good. Got the horrible taste out of his mouth a little. “Byers alright?”

The nurse sighed, soft and sweet. “You know I can’t talk to you about other inmates.” But when she reached over to ‘check’ his IV, he heard a few words mutter out of her. “He’s on watch.”

The words weren’t unexpected but he still hated to hear it. It wouldn’t have taken much for Creel to push Byers over the edge, to drive him to want to end his life, and it had been one of his favourite games back in the beginning. He thought of Argyle, how distraught and helpless he must have felt, and then his mind wandered to Eddie.

I’ve arranged for him to be moved into his cell, as well.

“How long have I been out?” He asked next. His voice was still hoarse, but not as raw.

“You’ve been in and out for a few days. You’ve had a high temperature, your body’s battling a really bad infection. The officers aren’t sure how long you were laying there before they found you but they think it was at least overnight,” Her voice was gentle. “You’re not in great shape, Billy. You’re covered in bruises. You needed stitches in–”

“I get it. Don’t need to hear it,” he muttered. But then he sighed. He’d promised himself he’d be nice if he’d survived. “Sorry. Just…” He sighed heavily. “Embarrassing shit.”

“Hey. Listen,” The woman forced his eyes onto hers. “Nothing about this is embarrassing and it’s not your fault. I know about your reputation, Billy. Everyone does. But you don’t deserve this. What happened to you was torture . The person that did it deserves to rot in here himself.”

There was a lump in his throat the next time Billy swallowed.

***

“Hey. You alright? I thought maybe we could have a picnic tonight, get to know each other a bit better,” Eddie gave Steve a crooked smile, arms full of items in the doorway of his old cell. “I’ve got noodles, pringles, cereal, twinkies – do you like twinkies? Everyone likes twinkies.” He knelt down and started to drop everything to the floor.

“What do I have to do for it?” Steve’s voice was soft and Eddie looked up at him, slight confusion creeping over his face. “Hargrove said everything comes at a price.”

“Maybe with everyone else, but not me. I don’t mind sharing with you. I’ve got some gummy bears, too. I bet you’re a candy kinda boy.” He hauled them out of his pocket and added them to the pile. “Maybe tomorrow night we can drop by the commissary after work. You can pick out any food that you like. Don’t worry about paying me back. Might be a while before your money comes through. Just don’t tell Hargrove when he gets out, he’ll make a fuss about it.”

Billy had told him to look after Steve, and it was exactly what he’d been doing. Every second he could be with Steve, he was, and the few hours he wasn’t, he had to deal with his new bunkmate. He was dreading telling Billy about it once he was released; he’d undoubtedly be in a foul mood after everything and Jason was going to regret ever laying a hand on him.

“But why? ” Steve looked over the pile. Eddie shouldn’t have been kind to him “You don’t have to be nice to me, you know. All you’ve done is look out for me even after I said you were acting like Hargrove. You don’t even know me.”

One hand reaching for the packets of noodles, Eddie stilled to look at Steve instead. “I don’t need to know you to know that you don’t deserve the shit Billy dishes out before you know him. I also don’t need to know you to know you don’t deserve to be here. Very few of us do.” He scooped up the two cup noodles and stood up straight. “Just going to pop to the cafeteria to get some hot water for these. I’ll be just a few minutes. No touching the gummy bears, they’re for dessert,” He put on a fake stern voice, pointing a finger at Steve.

His cheeks turned red and he didn’t know why. Eddie seemed to notice, too, and his features softened, head tilting slightly to the side. Maybe Steve was more into being told what to do than he’d thought. After a few more seconds of staring, he slipped back out the door. By the time he’d returned, Steve had taken one of the blankets off his bed and had spread it over the cold floor. Eddie’s face spread into a big grin at the sight.

“You said we’re having a picnic, right? So we need a blanket. Can’t have a picnic on the bare floor,” Steve smiled a bit for what felt like the first time in ages.

“That would just be barbaric,” Eddie joked, carefully putting the noodles down before sitting himself on the floor. “Me and Billy used to do this a lot when we were cellies. We’d always listen to the radio and get high, too. I know he must still have it around here somewhere.” He was up again to try to track down Billy’s radio.

“You’re allowed to go through his stuff?” Steve asked with raised eyebrows, reaching for his noodle cup.

“Well, no. But he’s not here. I don’t think he’d mind us using the radio. I’d always do it before,” Eddie’s voice was soft. “A-ha. Got it.” Eddie returned with a pocket radio, pulling the antenna up before getting comfortable again. He messed around with the stations until he found a station playing some rock music. It was a safer bet than finding some metal, he figured.

“How do you think he’s doing in there?” Steve grabbed a fork to spin his noodles around in their little cup. “Must be pretty miserable to be in isolation like that.”

Eddie opened his mouth to say something and then closed it again.

“What?” Steve asked. “You can tell me.”

“No offense, dude, but right after I told you not to say something, you said it. You’ve not got a good track record with secret keeping right now,” Eddie couldn’t help but laugh. “I don’t think I’ll be telling you anything serious for a long time.”

“Oh, come on,” Steve rolled his eyes a bit. “I think I’ve learned my lesson. My ass is still burning.”

“You should let me have a look after,” Eddie said, quite casually, and reached out for his own noodles. “If it doesn’t heal properly, it’ll look really messy. I might be able to get Argyle to get some cream for you to put on it or something.”

“I’ll let you have a look if you tell me what the hell that was all about. The guard that came in. It’s been two days and no one’s told me anything,” Steve tried. “All I know is he’s in solitary confinement.”

Eddie sighed softly. “Look, that guard is bad news, okay? Don’t go anywhere near him. Don’t look at him. Don’t let him notice you. Just stay away from him. He has this weird thing for Billy. Likes messing with him. He might tell you about it when he gets out, I don’t know. But don’t bring it up around him, alright? Just… stay quiet. If he tells you to do something, do it. He’ll probably be in a horrible mood for a few days. Especially once he finds out I’ve got a new bunkie.”

“You’ve got a new bunkmate?” Steve asked, taking his first bite. The noodles were, surprisingly, not too bad. “What’s he like?”

“He’s a dickwad with a capital D. He fucked me last night and then tried to get me to pray afterwards,” Eddie snorted.

“Wait, what?” Steve swallowed what was in his mouth and put the cup back down. “Jesus. Are you okay? Did he just… Did he make you? I thought–”

“Steve, you really have to learn how it goes in here. As long as you’re in a cell with Hargrove, you’re fine. You’ll only have to be intimate with him and whoever else he says. But I’m not in here anymore. When he gets out, Carver’ll have to pay for his sins but until then, I’ve just gotta do what I have to do. It’s easier to just do it and enjoy it than try to stop it from happening. It’s not like he’s bad looking or anything. He’s definitely not as handsome as Billy, but he’s not hard on the eyes.”

“But won’t he freak out? Hargrove, I mean. He thinks we’re his… property, or something. And you didn’t ask permission,” Steve tried to piece together how everything worked.

“Oh, he’ll freak out alright,” Eddie took in a mouthful of noodles. “But not at me. Carver could have just signed his death certificate the second he stuck his dick in me, but I won’t be in trouble. It would have happened no matter how I reacted. It’s not like I was begging for it and calling him Daddy.”

Steve’s cheeks reddened all over again. Just the word made something stirrup in his belly and he didn’t know why. Or maybe he did, and he just didn’t want to admit it.

“Are you into that?” Eddie prodded a little, watching Steve’s eyes land anywhere but on him. “It’s okay, you know. It’s cool. I’m into it. Hargrove’s into it. Half the prison’s into it.”

“I’m not gay,” Steve immediately said with a shake of his head.

“You can not be gay and still be into it. You can be bisexual or something,” Eddie offered. “Or you can just not have any label at all. That’s cool too. I didn’t come in here thinking I was gay. I was straight on the outside. But sometimes you find things out about yourself that you don’t expect.” He shrugged his shoulders. “I didn’t fight when I first came in. At all. My Pops is in prison. He’d tell me what it was like when I was a little kid. You have to focus on survival when you first get inside, then you might be able to work your way up a bit.”

“Your dad’s inside?”

Steve figured switching the subject was a safe bet. He didn’t want to talk about his sexual identity and the butterflies that always seemed to spring up.

“Yeah. He’s got life. Was arrested when I was a kid,” Eddie told him. “What about you? You have a good relationship with your parents?”

A soft sigh came before Steve spoke again. “Not really. They both work a lot. Sort of had to raise myself. My dad was pissed when I didn’t get into college and took away my allowance so I had to get a shitty job. He refuses to get me a lawyer, too. I bet they’re both just happy to have me out of their hair.”

Eddie was surprised by the sudden urge to wrap Steve up in his arms that hit him. He needed a soft daddy to look after him, spoil him, help him let go of some of his responsibilities. It was easy to do in prison in comparison to the outside world; Steve wouldn’t have to worry about anything if Billy could be who he didn’t know he needed.

But Eddie wasn’t so sure Billy would be able to handle the task. He could be soft, had his soft moments that were good for Eddie, but Steve seemed to be more delicate. He needed a different approach, a different type of man to look after him.

“Well, I’m glad to have you in my hair. You’re a good guy, Steve. It’s shit that you’re in here, but we’ll get on well, I can tell,” Eddie gave him a grin and finished off the last of his noodles.

The last thing he would ever do would be to force someone to do something. He’d tried getting Steve’s clothes off of him to spare him the branding, but Steve had told him to stop, and he had. He wasn’t like Billy, who would take and take as his own means of survival.

His brain wandered to Billy. He could remember how broken he’d come back from Creel the last time, how he’d flinch whenever Eddie even reached for his hand. He wondered if it’d be the same this time – except he wasn’t the one that was going to be there to bring him back to life.

He opened the can of pringles once his noodles were demolished, stuffing some in his mouth before offering them out to Steve. “Thanks, man. You’re good, too. I didn’t mean it when I said you were acting like him. I was just overwhelmed,” Steve muttered, accepting the pringles can. “I know you’re not like that.”

“It did hurt a bit. I won’t lie. I know what it feels like to be forced to do shit you don’t want to do. I’d never intentionally do that for anyone,” Eddie told him, flipping two of the pringles around so they formed a bit of a duck beak shape when he put them in his mouth.

“Are you five years old?” Steve asked, but he was grinning.

Eddie chomped down on them, swallowing before replying. “Maybe. Try it.”

After rolling his eyes, Steve did give in and made a little pringle beak to pop into his mouth. It was stupid, but it was silly, and it felt good to just be dumb and not so serious again. It had been a long time.

“There you go!” Eddie grinned, reaching out to tear open the gummy bears and take out a single one. “A gummy bear for the job well done.”

“Only one?” Steve laughed, but he accepted it and popped it into his mouth once the pringles were swallowed.

“Only one,” Eddie confirmed. “You have to earn them by having fun and acting stupid. You can’t live in misery in here, dude. It’ll kill you. You have to find joy in dumb shit,” Eddie was grinning. “Like the showers. Splash around and sit over the drain so it fills up a bit. We can take however long we want in there on the weekends. Billy clears it out for us. Me and Jonathan have tried to see who can make the bigger bubble and shit like that before.”

“What’s up with him, anyway?” Steve popped another pringle into his mouth. “He wasn’t at breakfast. Argyle looked distraught.”

Eddie sighed, deflating a bit. “Byers… He has a sad story. Did you ever hear on the news that story about the ten-year-old kid that went missing one night? He was on his bike coming home and he just vanished?” Steve tried to remember but was drawing a blank. “Well, they found his body a few days later. The poor kid was just…” Eddie shook his head. “It was really bad. Really, really bad. And Jonathan was the suspect. He’d done a few petty things as a teenager and that made him into a convicted child rapist and murderer, apparently.”

Steve was wide eyed as he listened.

“Before your mind goes crazy, he didn’t do it. He’ll talk about his brother to anyone who’ll listen. He was framed for it. And the person who did it?” He leaned in a bit to drop his voice to a whisper. “That guard that took Hargrove, Creel. He told Billy himself. And he likes to torture Jonathan with it.”

“What?” Steve’s voice broke.

“I know. It’s fucked up. We’ve tried telling the warden but he says there’s no proof. Argyle said Creel showed up at their cell last night and said a few things and Jonathan lost it. Anyone would, but Jonathan’s a little more delicate to begin with. They took him to psych. I reckon he’s on suicide watch for awhile,” Eddie sighed softly. “I don’t mind Byers. He’s pretty cool. Listens to a lot of good music and is wicked at card games. But I think most of him died when his brother’s body was found and Creel is slowly chewing away at the rest.”

“Can’t anything be done?” Steve tried. “Can’t the warden–”

“Steve. We’ve tried everything. Trust me. Argyle and Billy have tried everything. The only thing they can do is have Billy distract Creel and take his attention away from Jonathan when he comes around.”

For a moment, Steve was stunned into silence. “So… Billy does that even though it means he’ll go to solitary?”

“Even though it means he’ll get a whole lot worse than solitary. You have no idea what Creel does to him, dude. I barely do, but I saw a little bit of the aftermath the last time,” He sighed. “I told you, Billy isn’t all bad. He’s not evil. He protects the people he cares about, he just… He’s alright if you listen. What he did to you was fucked up but you put him at risk by saying his name. A lot of people heard it.”

“How? It’s just a name. Argyle goes by his first name,” Steve genuinely didn’t understand.

“That’s different. It’s a respect thing. He’ll be able to explain it better to you than I can,” Eddie shook his head a bit, reaching out for a twinkie. “I miss being his cellie. It fucked me up for a bit when I was moved out.”

Steve watched Eddie undo the wrapper, his fingers twiddling a little too hard with it. “Do you love him?” He asked then, and the fingers stilled, but just for a moment.

“Yeah. Think so. He has this soft side that’s just for me and that’s the side I love. I’m usually pretty good at calming him down and bringing it out when we’re in private,” Eddie’s voice was quieter then. “We had a fight the other night. I said I hated him and shit. I wish I didn’t. We didn’t get to talk about it before he was taken away. I didn’t get to apologize. And now he’s probably half dead in the infirmary thinking about how I said I hate him when I don’t. I was just…” He sighed. He didn’t want to say the word. Steve wouldn’t get it.

“Well, why don’t you go and see him now? Or after lights out?” Steve asked.

“He’s in the infirmary. You can’t just go there and visit the patients,” Eddie raised his eyebrows a bit, taking a bite of the twinkie.

“Can’t you just say you’re not feeling well and you have to see one of the nurses and then talk to him once you get there?” Steve mimicked Eddie’s look and raised his eyebrows in return. “They can’t really say you can’t go if you say you have chest pains or something, can they?”

“Harrington, you fucking genius. I could kiss you,” He grinned, and even though he said it teasingly, Steve could feel his blush spread to his ears.

#harringrove #steddie #harringroveson #mungrove #harringrove fic #harringrove au #steddie fic #steddie au #mungrove fic #mungrove au #my writing #prison au #cat and mouse

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