Chapter Text
El was waiting in the front yard when the four pulled up. Almost as soon as they cut the engine Stephanie hopped out of the car and ran up to her. Steve watched the two hug with a smile as he unbuckled his seat belt. They were sisters in a way, united both by their connection to this other world and more importantly by choice.
Steve knew that there was a risk to this, but there was more of a risk to leaving the gate wide open. It would be so easy to lose one of them, or even both of them, to some monster that wormed it's way through to this world. He opened the door and stepped out feeling the same way he had when he had first joined the swim team and had a real meet. Overly exposed. He wasn’t wearing gloves so his claw-like nails were on full display. A small part of him screamed to put his hands in his pockets but he knew that if he did he’d never be able to feel comfortable like this. He waved to El and her eyes paused at his hands but she said nothing.
“So what was this about shrinking the gate?” He asked, not wanting to allow himself to chicken out. If he didn't lead with that he'd spend the entire day talking about anything else.
“Dustin and I have been looking at it. We should be able to move it, sort of. Attach it to a thing rather than just have it sitting out.” She held up an old metal key. “It’s like sewing but not?”
If Steve focused to the point that it made his head ache he could see what seemed like red threads wrapped around the key. “You’re tying the gate to the key and then shutting it.”
“Yes!” El’s face lit up. “But the threads are small and can slip through to the other side without leaving a big enough hole for something to get through. Hopefully.”
“Can it…” He makes the motion of turning a key. “Open things back up?”
“I hope so. That way you’d be able to go back and forth.” She pressed the key into his hand. “But when I close this there’s a risk they could sever.”
“Killing me.” He filled in as he examined the old ornate key; it was probably the key to the original cabin. The very one he lived in back in the upside down. “Hey,” He laid his hand on El’s shoulder. “If I drop dead you didn’t do it okay? It just means I was already gone. A zombie.”
“Should we wait for the others to get back?” El asked. “They’ll be mad if we don’t.”
He shook his head. “Nothing they’d be able to change if they were here, they’d just have to watch me die.” Steve wrapped his arms around El. “I’m proud of you. And them. Every single one of you. I can go happy knowing you all will be okay.”
“Knock that shit off!” Eddie griped as he walked up to Steve. “You keep tempting shit.” He waved at the air around him as if there was a mysterious force that could decide to kill Steve just because it would be poetic and thematic.
“Sorry.” Steve presses a kiss to Eddie’s cheek. “Where do you need me?” Steve asked El.
El positioned Eddie, Robin, and Stephanie on the porch and Steve between her and the gate. Steve held out the key for her to focus on and did his absolute best not to be any kind of distraction.
She stared, visually straining as she worked on the key. Her nose started to bleed, first one nostril then the other. When the tiniest droplet of blood slipped out of the corner of her eye like a tear Steve moved to stop her, but he never finished his movement. Everything went black.
It was dark and cold for what felt like ages. What could have easily been months or years were spent floating in a red and black abyss with dust particles floating around. When he reached out the abyss pulled away. When he pulled back it slowly started to bend and move. As his panic and confusion faded he reached out into the nothing, creating ripples and soon an entire world until he was standing in his cabin again. He was leaning against the harsh wooden walls of the cabin trying to process what was real and what was a creation of his own as he realized the walls were breathing.
The slow rise and fall of the walls was oddly comfortable, like being held by someone. The radio was on but it wasn’t playing music. Instead it was playing his name. Over and over. Louder and louder.
He couldn’t place the voices until the door opened, letting in a truly painful amount of light and forcing him to shut his eyes.
When he opened them again he was outside of Hopper’s cabin. At first he thought he was on the ground but the wood behind him shifted. Daisy held him up and peered down at his face with what Steve assumed to be worry. The flowers that dotted her scalp seemed to be wilted until she noticed he was awake. He could hear multiple people shouting his name and Daisy looked around in a bit of a panic before laying him on the ground gently and taking off for the woods.
El’s hands were on him first, nervously asking if he was okay and apologizing far too many times. Eddie followed soon after having jumped over the railing.
“Steve?!” Eddie had a hand on his face. “Steve you can’t do this a second time, you’ll actually kill me.” His voice wavered as he pressed kisses into Steve's skin.
“I’m fine.” He wasn’t, but he wasn’t dead. His whole body ached from the inside out and his limbs felt heavier than they ever had until his hand brushed over the dropped key. Grabbing it felt like he was a puppet holding onto his own strings. El seemed to notice a difference as well.
“You start to die without it. You need to keep it with you.” El said.
Stephanie and Robin caught up to the three and Stephanie threw her arms around Steve’s neck.
“He needs what?” Robin asked quickly, ready to give Steve whatever it was.
“The key,” Steve sat up as best he could. “I’m not strong enough on my own.”
El frowned at that. “You’re strong. Just not healthy.”
“Okay, not healthy.” Steve relented, he couldn’t really argue with someone who knew so much more about all this.
“Here!” Stephanie shoved a bright pink shoelace in his face, freshly salvaged from her small boot. “You can tie it to you.”
He’s not sure why a tiny shoelace made Steve wanted to break down into ugly tears but he had to hold his breath as he threaded the key onto it and tied the shoelace around his neck. “Thank you, sweetheart.” He held Stephanie tightly, hoping her jacket would hide any stray tears, as he heard a car approach.
Before the car had fully stopped rolling Dustin hopped out yelling. “You did it before I got here!”
“Steve said to.” El threw him under the bus with an apologetic glance. He couldn't blame her, Dustin looked furious.
“What the fuck?” Dustin stalked over as a flustered Jonathan brought the car to an actual park.
“You didn’t miss anything, just a new near-death experience.” Robin joked and wiped at her eyes.
"I'll make it up to you." Steve promised. He didn't know how he would, but the thought of Dustin holding his still corpse had been something he couldn't risk. Was it cowardly? Probably. But he'd earned the right to be a little bit of a coward.
“Cool light show.” Argyle commented as he got out of Jonathan’s car, he waved at Steve. “Hey man! I brought more pizza. Got freaky with it this time, I think you’ll be able to eat it.”
Steve scowled at Dustin. “I specifically told you not to tell.” He hissed.
Dustin flipped him off. “Yeah well you tried to die without me.”
Steve stood with the help of Eddie and Robin. “If it makes me sick I’m throwing up on you.” He made his way into the cabin with Stephanie holding on tightly to his hand.
As he walked he could feel the metal against his chest acting as an anchor for both worlds. He'd been home physically since the day Eddie found him in his cabin but as he climbed up the steps with his family around him he finally felt like the rest of him had followed. It wasn't easy, and it may never be, but he knew he wouldn't be alone at any step of this.
Yes the gate was closed, but he had the key in case he needed it and a home to come back to.