Summary: Season 4. You go after Steve through the under water gate and find him pinned down by the demo-bats.

Warnings: Language and gore. 

A/N: Steve was hot in this scene.

Words: 2636

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The second you came up through the Gate, vicious agonized screams pierced your ears. The torturous cold air tears right through your clothes as you stagger to your feet. The nasty goop from the Gate clings to your body. You push back against the urge to scratch the stuff off of your skin as you run towards the screaming. Lightning crackles in the sky. Thunder rumbles. Red, black, orange. Spore-like flakes flit like gentle snowfall through the air, you choke on them as you trip over your feet to get to him.

To Steve.

There's only one person who could scream like that.

"STEVE!"

Oh my gosh.

Lying on his back, three hideous, batlike creatures attack Steve. One has its prehensile tail coiled around his throat. The other two bite his sides relentlessly as he struggles with the noose. You fall to your knees and pick up the closest thing to a stick there is in this God-forsaken reality and charge, shrieking at the top of your lungs. The bats immediately lose interest in Steve and swoop at you. One rips at your hair, the other tries to snatch at your wrist, but you clock it across its face and then jam the whetted end through the dead center of the third's skull. The force of the attack drives the bat into the earth, your weapon like a stake. It stops moving. But the others circle around, ready for a second wave. You whip around to face them, weaponless, and suddenly terrified. Behind you, Steve is moaning, retching. Tears prick in your eyes as you watch the bats close in. What can you do? There's nowhere to run, nowhere to run. The sky is blazing. Blood-red and toxic. Your skin feels hot and cold all at once –

You let out a scream as you trip backwards.

Something bolsters your legs.

"(Y/N) –"

Steve.

You fell over your own boyfriend.

The two of you struggle to sit up. The bats are coming, falling fast in a dive like peregrine falcons-

Out of nowhere, an oar smacks one out of the air.

Nancy!

You shudder a laugh right before something snaps around your throat and you're yanked back. The ground collides with the back of your head and stars dance in your vision, searing yellow. The flesh wrapping your neck burns and your face feels hot. Its as if someone took a pin to your lungs. Pop. They deflate in your chest as you writhe, clawing at your throat, but the rope only tightens and you gag. Saliva clogs your mouth, fear jams the wheels in your head and all you can see is a blinding light swelling in the sky. Pain, pain, pain. No air. Gasp. You can't...gasp, breathe-

Gasp.

"AGHHHHHHH!"

You gasp. A lovely, deep gasp of relief. Air floods your lungs. As your senses slowly come back to you, you recognize the warlike cry as Steve's. Hacking and massaging your tender neck, you sit up and see your boyfriend beating the absolute shit out of one of the demon bats. He has it by the tail. The tail that strangled both of you, and he's throwing it against the ground. Back and forth. One each shoulder. Its skull cracks sickeningly. Nancy, Robin, and Eddie watch dumbfounded as Steve hurls it down one last time, places his foot on its torso and then pulls its tail so hard it rips completely in half. The severed lower portion he tosses aside. A wad of blood hangs from his mouth and he spits it onto the other half of the bat under his foot. It twitches, squealing for 5...4...3...2...

1.

Steve lifts his foot and stumbles back. He drags his wrist over his nose.

Blood lingers on his lips.

Maybe it's your brain.

Afterall, you were just strangled...

But by God that was hot.

"What the actual HELL!" Eddie screams.

"Y-yeah," Robin stutters, "I-I think we are actually in Hell –"

"No no no I meant what the Hell were those bat things!?"

Nancy buries her face in her hands. "I have no idea."

"They...sure know how to knock you breathless..." You joke in a wobbly, hoarse voice. Steve snaps back into focus and his eyes find yours. The intensity in his face is gone in a flash and once again he's the tender, loving boyfriend you know. He leaps over the bat and runs to your side, collapsing on his knees, practically skidding on the dirt.

"Hey hey hey hey," His hands shake, hovering around you, uncertain of where is safe to touch. "Are you ok? Are – did they hurt you – I mean, are you bleeding anywhere, God I should've been quicker —"

"I'm ok," You grab Steve's hands and force them to your chest. "I'm ok, just...gotta sore throat is all..."

Steve blows out a breath of relief and pulls you into his arms. You slump against his bare chest, not giving a damn that he's covered in sweat and blood. You hide your face in his shoulder and hug him tight. Too tight, it would seem. He tries to mask his pain, but you feel how he tenses and the hitch in his breath. You wriggle free of his embrace and glance at the section of his torso that your arms loop loosely around. The usually arousing view is marred by two ugly puncture wounds on either side of his abdomen. Your hand flies to your mouth. A sharp tang startles your tastebuds. Blood. You peel your hand back and turn your palm upwards. Steve's blood coats your palm.

"Steve..."

"It's...not that bad..."

You roll your eyes and pinch his chin between your forefinger and thumb.

"Baby, I don't wanna even know what your idea of bad is because this –" You make a circle in the air with a finger, "is as bad as bad gets."

"Can he walk?" Robin asks.

"I can walk."

You and Steve help each other to your feet. "He needs a doctor," You tell the others, "We've gotta get back through the gate. We can come back with the kids next time, once we have a plan."

Everyone nods in agreement and together you all hobble towards the orange glow of the Gate –

When a flock of bats land in a protective ring around your only exit from the Upside Down.

"You have got to be kidding me."

The arm Steve has draped across your shoulders falls. "We can take them, there's enough of us...we got this."

Another swarm of bats appears on the horizon, headed directly for you.

"We don't got this," Eddie mutters.

Out of the corner of your eye, Robin backs up. "Uhhhhh what do we do?"

"Run."

You don't need to be told twice. And neither, it seems, does everyone else. The five of you flee to the woods. Robin has a head start and she proves to be the fastest – no wait, that's Eddie. The guy takes off like a bullet, beating Robin and claiming the win for first person to break past the treeline. Nancy comes up around you and Steve, who's slow due to his injuries. You can hear his labored breathing as both of you push your bodies to the max, sprinting full speed for the forest. Just as you reach the first tree, Steve drifts close enough for you to reach out and take his hand.

The two of you hold on for dear life.

Crushing each other's hands in a desperate attempt to ground yourselves.

"WHERE ARE WE RUNNING?!" Robin screams.

"SKULL ROCK!" Nancy and Eddie chorus.

Beside you Steve wavers but you squeeze his hand and tug him along.

"C'mon, Stevie, just a little longer, c'mon we're almost there –"

This gives him just enough stamina to survive the rest of the way. Once the oddly shaped rock formation is in sight, everyone puts on a final burst of speed and ducks under the shelter of the 'Skull.' Eddie, the first one in, no surprises there, scoots as far back as possible so everyone else can file in behind him. You shove Steve in before you, despite his protests. Once he's under, you dive in, plopping on your butt and curling into his side. The sky explodes in a terrible cloud of screams. Demonic, ear shattering screams. The bats are so far away, but as they get closer, their sounds get louder. It splits your head in two. Your whole body is quaking. Tears flow from your eyes as you melt into Steve's side. We're going to die, we're going to die. The stench of blood and gore is stuck to the inside of your nostrils. The hairs are dry and caked with who knows what and you can't stop shaking. The screaming is louder and louder and louder and just when you feel you'll start screaming too, it's over. You drop your head into Steve's shoulder and sob.

"They're gone, they're gone – hey, hey it's ok, baby, they're gone now –"

You just cry,

And cry...

And cry.

Steve lets you.

He wraps an arm around you and rests his cheek against the top of your head.

"Shhh it's alright. We're ok, just let it out."

Eventually, you run out of tears to cry.

"Uh, (Y/N)," Robin starts, nervously.

You sniffle and raise your head off Steve's shoulder to meet her fearful eyes. "Yeah?" You croak.

"You maybe might not wanna cry so much because uh...well there's probably no water in the Upside down because the lake was totally drained and um crying will dry you out –"

"Robin!" Everyone snaps.

"What!? I'm sorry ok! I just thought –"

"No, Robin...it's fine..." You mumble, "You're right. I'm done. We're good."

She summons a tight smile and nods once.

Steve massages your back and leans his head against yours. "Hey, you alright?"

You let out a tremulous sigh, "Yeah that was just...it all happened so fast —"

"I know."

You turn your head and kiss Steve on the cheek, "Thank you."

His smile could light the entire Upside Down. "We take care of each other. It's what we do."

This is your pact. An oath, per say. One you and Steve took after the two of you nearly died defending the kids in the scrapyard. The Demodogs, as Dustin dubbed them, had you both surrounded. It was Steve against all of them, armed with only a bat, so you rushed to his aid, taking him to the ground as a Demodog leapt over your heads. The two of you fell to the floor and scrambled to get back up but the monsters closed in and the bat had rolled out of reach. Steve had you in his arms as you both held your breath, anticipating the moment their faces full of teeth punctured your bodies.

But something drew them away before they could touch either of you.

Little did you know it was Will, Mike, Mrs. Byers, Hopper and Bob Newby who saved your lives by putting theirs at risk.

In a terrible attack by the Demodogs that killed Bob Newby at the Hawkins Lab, both you and Steve were inadvertently saved.

When you gathered the kids and made for the woods, following the Demodogs, you and Steve looked at each other and just knew. You knew that this wasn't the end. There were a whole lot more near-death-experiences to survive, and neither of you wanted to be alone in them. He'd just broken up with Nancy, and you had never had anyone care for you or treat you as respectfully as Steve did. In some unspoken way, you both fell for the other. You didn't even have to ask. It just fell into place, like pieces of a puzzle. The beauty of what you and Steve have is not only the instinct to protect the other in the face of danger, but the fun you can have in times of peace. When the monsters are gone and all goes back to normal, you and Steve are still there for each other. You stick together throughout every walk of life. You bring him lunch at the movie store. He walks you to the library where you volunteer. You make time for each other, and make the most of those times you've set aside.

Without Steve, the trauma of what you've had to endure might've killed you.

"What do we do next?"

All eyes go to Eddie.

He's positively shaking. "What do we do? We can't go back and we sure as Hell can't fight more of those demon bats and —"

"We need weapons!" Robin interjects. "Like, better weapons than sticks."

"Like a baseball bat?" You eye Steve.

He smiles, "Or a hockey stick?"

You and your trusty hockey stick.

It was Dustin's, but you claimed it as your own and, can proudly say, beat the shit out of some monsters with it.

"Guns," Nancy mutters. "Guns!" She says, louder this time. "We need guns."

"Where do we find guns, Nance, we're stuck in the Upside Down," Steve replies.

Robin raises a hand, "Ooh! I think she might be onto something! I mean, there's duplicates of stuff here and if there's houses and phones and lights...can't there be weapons and ammunition at the police station?"

You lean forward, "Robin, that's genius!"

She ducks her head bashfully.

"I have guns at my house," Nancy offers. "I've got two. We can start from there."

Eddie chuckles and shakes his head, "Nancy Wheeler...goody-two-shoes, straight A student has guns in her bedroom? You got handcuffs too?"

"I have a knife," You blurt. "A um...a lot of them actually. And a sword."

Everyone looks at you in surprise.

"What the Hell are you doing with a sword?" Steve asks.

Eddie looks mildly impressed.

Robin is awestruck, "A sword! Oh that's so cool!"

"It's a collectors item really but I just love swords and medieval culture so I bought it a long time ago and I learned how to sharpen it after the first time I got dragged into all this monster shit...just in case."

"Damn," Eddie breathes. "Taking nerd to a whole 'nother level there, (Y/L/N)."

"After this is over, I'll come play D&D and bring the sword."

Eddie grins, "The Hellfire Club would be honored to have you, M'lady."

You laugh.

Like, actually laugh for the first time in what feels like forever.

"I say we get moving," Nancy advises. "Before those bat things circle back around again."

As no one objects, you all rise to your feet and move towards the entrance. Some of you have to duck due to height. Steve is the tallest of all of you, and has to squeeze himself all the way to the end of the 'tunnel.' As he comes out and can stand straight, he suddenly loses his balance and cries out in pain.

"Steve!"

You shove past Robin and rush to your boyfriend's side.

His eyes are pressed shut and his hands dig into the ground.

You check his sides.

The bite wounds are large, gaping tears. They've stopped bleeding but the surrounding skin is inflamed. If you can't get back home soon...and infection may set in. The others crowd around as you start tearing around the edge of your shirt. You've always loved crop tops but never had one till now.

Holding out the broad strip of fabric you ask, "Ready?"

Steve grimaces, "Just do it."

Gritting your teeth, you press the cloth to his front and then wrap it all the way around him, making sure to tie it extra tight so the pressure helps stabilize the wounds, at least until you can get him to a hospital.

When he's all bandaged up, he lifts his head and lets out a weary exhale, "Thanks..."

You smile weakly. "That's what we do. Take care of each other."