Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The earth is one big dusty storybook that sits on the highest shelf, just waiting eagerly to be picked up and have someone crack the spine open, to finally delve into the untouched pages.

It starts at the top layer: the cover.

Digging and removing debris from the surface methodically until you find something more than just your standard soil and rocks. It’s a laborious, and sometimes thankless process, but if you keep going deeper into the ground, you’ll get to the bulk of the information.

There you can find the real plot. Those pieces hold the real story of the world— they are the real story.

Artifacts, bones, fossils.

These lost things trapped in the ground are eventually released by careful hands and brought back to the surface where someone knowledgeable can study them, measure them, analyze them, and figure out exactly what they mean to us in the present.

There was a time (their own time), when they were just trinkets. Useless and commonplace, nothing extraordinary or unusual within the context of their own history.

Ordinary items from the past become treasures to the future though, their value determined only by the ones who find them outside of their time and see their truth for what's left behind and what they can tell us.

They’re cataloged and preserved and displayed so that their stories can be told again and again.

Some may believe those scholars are the storytellers themselves with the way they translate raw information into meaning, but it’s the callused hands in the ground that get to touch history and know its worth even as it’s being unearthed. With their knees pressed into the dirt and their hearts pumping adrenaline throughout their bodies, they are the ones who search and dig and anticipate what they might find beneath the surface.

They happily sift through the soil and minerals, hands stained by the soft red clay of the earth, in the hopes that today will be the day they find a new tale of the past to share with the here and now.

That’s what Steve Harrington does.

Or, at least, that’s what Steve is trying to establish for himself. He’s still in the process of proving himself as an archeologist who’s worthy of actual decent funding and a real title, still working underneath an expert partner who has been doing this for much longer than him.

Robin’s already paid her dues in this field though. She’s more in the scouting and documenting stage of her career now, but happy to let an omega in the early years of his research tag along and get more experience as her assistant.

Some beginners hate this stage of their career and are eager to shed their cocoon and soar with fresh wings, but Steve takes it all in stride. He loves getting to work with Robin, someone he respects and loves in equal parts.

It doesn’t hurt that the two of them are the best of friends.

They’d met when Steve was just finishing his undergrad program and she came to lecture at one of his courses about a recent dig she’d led. A spontaneous exchange of email addresses that day had resulted in an ongoing half-decade friendship and eventually a work relationship as well when Robin asked him to accompany her on a year long excavation of untouched Grecian ruins as soon as he obtained his doctorate.

After eleven months of finding next to nothing of significance, they’re at the end of their ropes.

Supposedly, there’s a coveted artifact that’s been lost for quite a while that’s been rumored to add cultural context to the history of the new area they’ve arrived in. It might even lend explanation to some of the undecipherable engravings that were found in nearby ruins.

Robin and Steve had poured over the accumulated info sent to them before arriving and determined that they were missing something big. Likely a treasure tied to a scandalous romantic tryst, if the translations could be trusted.

If there’s one thing Steve has learned, it’s that the rich people who write the checks for their funding love anecdotal flashy pieces of history that attract attention.

While none of the texts they’d studied could say for sure what the artifact was exactly, the discovery of an object as ancient as this one would guarantee Robin her research funding for the next decade (as well as help to get Steve’s own name established enough to bear some weight amongst their fellow archaeologists).

So, as they prepare to join an already in-progress dig, the importance of this work is not lost on Steve. He always enjoys getting down into the dirt, but this time it’s especially crucial to both their careers.

They can’t leave empty handed.

“Listen, Stevie, you know how much I appreciate you, right? Like, I know that I tell you all the time that you’re the best assistant I could ever have and I’m endlessly grateful for our friendship, but I want you to hear it again because I really mean it and I feel like you’re gonna need a reminder,” Robin blurts out suddenly.

They’re almost at the dig site, so close that Steve can actually see someone waving at them excitedly from near the roped off entrance.

Which makes him question why Robin’s declaration sounds so very out of place. They’re naturally both a bit stressed, but it’s almost like she’s nervous about something other than their funding predicament.

An insane thought considering she’s normally only comfortable in situations where she’s an expert, such as at a dig site. Take the girl to a packed bar full of pretty women and she’s a total shit show, but never on the job. Never when she’s in her element and in control.

“What’s up, Robs?”

He shoots her a concerned glance, trying not to make a big deal out of this in case he’s mistaken.

She stops completely though, leaving him to copy the action and wait. Without her credentials and introduction, Steve wouldn’t even be permitted to proceed onward and join the dig.

“So— so the thing is— uh, well… you know how I used to have that on-again, off-again super hot girlfriend who made me lose my entire mind and also maybe— uh, most of my research funding because she was a distraction and stole one of my discoveries out from under me and took credit for it back in Cairo?” Robin manages all of this in one breath, but the last few words come out as more of a squeak than recognizable words.

Steve gets the gist of it though.

He’s vaguely familiar with the events that happened a few years before Steve became Robin’s assistant. As he recalls, the whole thing devastated her and is a large contributing factor to her dead love life. A traitorous ex can do that to a person.

Another reason he knows love isn’t worth the hassle.

Not that he can really judge her though. Steve hasn’t dated anyone before.

Perhaps it’s his high standards and need for compatibility, having already found his platonic soulmate in Robin. Could even be his devout commitment to his academics (and now his career) that took up too much time and attention. His off-putting scent of pure dirt doesn’t exactly entice alphas either (he knows because they’ve told him so).

Or just maybe it’s the gaping hole inside of him that’s existed as long as he can remember. Its presence has ensured that not a single person has ever given Steve butterflies or even interested him enough to want a first date, let alone a second, or third.

There’s something missing from all of them— the very same thing that’s missing from him. He just hasn’t found a name for it yet.

So call him picky, but Steve’s not concerned with being in a relationship when he has other things to occupy his mind. He is fascinated by human relationships, to be clear. Connections between individuals and their cultures, the flow of life and stories from the past to the present.

All interesting from an outside perspective.

Steve’s not a heartless monster though. He understands that Robin’s ex fucked her up pretty good and that it’s had a lasting impact on his best friend.

Which means they both hate Chrissy.

“Sure, you told me she was a menace with perfect legs and killer tits, but you swore you’d never so much as give her the time of day ever again so long as you lived,” he recalls. “Or something like that, anyway.”

Robin winces at the bluntness of his statement.

“Maybe I was being dramatic.”

He blinks.

“She broke your heart and tried to ruin your career. I think you were justified.”

She looks far too guilty for him to believe that she’s going to say something reassuring about staying away from her ex.

“Right... Well, I’m about to break that oath for entirely professional reasons and I need you not to judge me, okay? I have no intention of letting Chrissy manipulate me like that again, but apparently we’re sharing a dig site and I’m not very good at giving her the cold shoulder when she bats her big blue eyes at me,” Robin whispers hurriedly, her own eyes locked straight ahead now and even wider than usual.

Steve looks back in that direction, startled to see a short strawberry blonde woman approaching them at a quick pace and still waving frantically like there’s a chance they haven’t seen her yet.

“Oh, shit.”

It’s not hard for him to guess the identity of the woman, considering Steve has to hear about “the stupidly gorgeous little goddess of an omega who broke my fucking heart” every time Robin gets drunk off her ass and wants to rehash things to him.

“Robin! Oh my goodness, Birdie baby, I had no clue you would be here too! How are you? It’s been forever!” Chrissy giggles sweetly, slowly pulling off a pair of pristine baby pink work gloves and tucking them into her khaki shirt pocket in a way that feels sexual somehow.

Even putting aside her blatant flirting, she is admittedly very pretty and charming. Steve feels for his best friend immensely. This omega is a targeted weapon that Robin is ill-prepared for and there’s not much he can do about it, aside from keeping her head in the right place.

As much as he feels like an intruder here, it’s his job as her best friend to intervene.

“It’s nice to finally meet you, Dr. Cunningham. I’m Dr. Steven Harrington, Dr. Buckley’s assistant,” he interrupts bluntly, holding out his free hand between the two women and getting the other omega’s attention immediately.

She blinks at him for a moment before her smile changes from bright to more calculated and forced. It’s hard to tell if she wants to claw his eyes out or simply smother his face into the hard ground beneath them.

Still, she shakes his hand politely and her grip is appropriately firm, if a little tight.

“Charmed, Steven. I’m surprised Robbie has talked about me. I didn’t think she and I were on good terms these days,” Chrissy admits with another little giggle.

He sneaks a glance at Robin, unsure what he’s supposed to say at this point. Confessing that his partner regularly waxes over ‘the one who got away after stabbing her in the back’ doesn’t seem helpful to the situation. Still, he has to do something.

Robin is staring right at the ground, pointedly avoiding both their stares.

Steve makes a decision.

“Oh, no. I’m terribly sorry about the confusion. I didn’t actually know you two were well acquainted. I’ve just read about some of your work— I think it was a golden scarab necklace in Cairo a few years back. Fascinating stuff, really. You said that you found it without any prior markings to indicate its location? What a miraculous find that must have been for you,” he spits out with as much venom as can be hidden in a backhanded compliment.

They both know that the necklace was Robin’s find and that Chrissy was more than happy to slap her name on it and take the credit. The fact that Robin hadn’t pursued the issue further and reported her for theft was pure mercy.

So he’s fully expecting her to return with her own nasty remark for the low blow, but instead she looks like he struck her clear across the face.

It would almost be enough for Steve to feel bad if he didn’t know exactly how much this particular wolf in sheep’s clothing had destroyed his best friend’s heart. She can kick rocks for all he cares.

Robin deserves only the best.

“That was… that was a long time ago. A lot has happened since then,” she whispers. Her eyes are glassy, like she might actually cry. No matter how much she looks at Robin though, the alpha doesn’t look up at her. “If you two will excuse me, I’ve got some work to do. Robin, I’d love to catch up while you’re in town and maybe clear the air a little. I’m staying at the local hotel if you— if you change your mind. Room 116.”

Chrissy doesn’t wait for a response, moving past them to continue back towards town. There’s not much in terms of transport from the main road to this part of the plains, but the walk by foot isn’t bad either.

Steve has walked miles each way with arms full of heavy equipment to get to a dig site before. Ten minutes is nothing.

“Robs?”

His partner snaps to attention, her smile a bit unsteady, but still present despite her clear pain. She’s always been strong that way, smiling through the storms. It’s something Steve truly admires about her.

“I’m good. Thanks, Stevie. For— uh, yeah, for all of that. Now, why don’t we go get set up. If she’s done for the day, then we should have the place to ourselves. They don’t usually let more than a couple groups excavate at once.”

“Here’s hoping.”

He follows her lead, continuing on the last stretch until they find themselves at the entrance to the roped off area. It’s been completely gridded already, sectioned into smaller areas in order to track the dig’s progress and assist with the documentation of any discoveries.

And either Robin has miscalculated their odds of having the site to themselves or the man crouched in the dirt with his back to them is a figment of both their imaginations, a vision produced entirely from heatstroke and dehydration.

They’re well rested and stocked up on water, so Steve’s inclined to think he’s unfortunately very real.

Robin drops her heavy sack of tools to the ground with no semblance of grace, clearly tired of carrying them on her back. Even after years in this field, she’s kind of a wimp about exercise of any sort. Any time Steve suggests they workout, she whines so loudly that he gives up and goes by himself.

The clank of metal on metal inside her bag is loud enough to alert the stranger to their presence though.

He throws a casual glance over his shoulder, as if only to make sure he’s not about to be stabbed to death by a criminal, but then he freezes entirely. The man’s expression is one of pure shock, like he’s the one seeing things. And then it turns into an unbridled expression of happiness as he stares at Steve, evidently pleased by their arrival.

It’s unnerving. Steve almost asks him if he’s been out in the sun too long.

“Steve?”

Steve does not know this guy.

He’s never seen him before in his entire life as far as he can tell at a glance. Without a doubt, he’s sure he’d remember someone like this.

Long curly hair is piled haphazardly into a lopsided bun on his head, unsecured strands hanging out in random spots and sand dusted throughout from the rough terrain around them, making it appear almost gray.

Steve’s own hair is tucked under an ugly hat that keeps the sand out. It may smoosh his ‘do, but it prevents UV damage and keeps it cleaner.

Unlike Robin and Steve’s protective (and relatively conservative) outfits, this man’s wearing a torn and faded muscle tee that shows off numerous tattoos of various styles. Steve’s pretty sure he can spot at least a Grecian-esque vase, a bat-like creature, and a framed portrait of a waterfall on one arm alone.

There’s absolutely no cohesiveness to the mish-mash of subjects for his bodily artwork whatsoever. Baffling, to say the least. The guy doesn’t seem to have much of an eye for style.

Amongst everything else that makes him appear more like some unqualified delinquent picking up trash on the side of the road than an educated professional, his headphones are plugged into only one ear with the other end frayed off and damaged beyond any hope of repair.

Steve briefly wonders why he wouldn’t just throw them away and buy a new pair.

Still, he looks nothing like the other straight-laced professionals who frequent Steve’s field of study. Nothing about him screams ‘archeologist,’ but the way he’s knee deep in the earth with a trowel in hand and a heavy tome on the ground next to him strongly suggests otherwise.

“Do we know each other?” Steve asks, despite his brain being sure of the answer already.

The man’s bright smile visibly wanes. He’s not sure why it makes him feel bad when Steve couldn’t have actually done anything to cause it, but he does.

Maybe it was his tone. Robin’s always telling him to be friendlier to strangers.

“No— uh, sorry. I guess not. That’s my bad. You just… you looked really familiar. Like someone I knew a long time ago. Y’know, in another lifetime or something,” he explains in a rush, removing his gloves and standing to greet them properly. After hastily wiping his hands on his ripped jeans, he offers one to Steve. It’s still covered in dirt. “I’m Dr. Edward Munson, but ‘Eddie’ is good enough for me. I work alongside Chrissy— er, I mean Dr. Cunningham.”

Ah. Well, that explains a lot actually.

Against his better judgment, Steve shakes Eddie’s hand.

It’s warm and a little sweaty from being stuffed inside heavy duty work gloves. He attempts to keep the touch brief, not wanting to be so close to this man for longer than necessary. Something about him is making Steve feel completely off kilter.

Despite his confidence on the subject, the nagging feeling that they have met before is pulling at the back of his head in the same spot his migraines tend to hit when the weather is particularly rainy outside. It’s unpleasant and Steve takes a deep and focused breath, trying to push the pressure down before it can get worse and he has to take medication.

All that seems to accomplish is giving him a mouthful of Eddie’s scent though.

Even being an omega, Steve’s never been a natural at figuring out designations from scent alone. Stereotyping isn’t always correct anyway since he knows half a dozen alphas with floral scents and at least twice that in omegas with scents like spices or metal.

But just like he knows Eddie is familiar to him in his unfamiliarity, Steve also knows that Eddie is an alpha. Knows it like he knows the back of his hand and like he knows Robin’s list of favorite movies off the top of his head. It’s ingrained into his mind, but more importantly— his heart.

Eddie is an alpha and Robin loves ‘Pride and Prejudice,’ but only the 2005 version.

Eddie smells distinctly like the lingering scent left behind after rain has just passed. Petrichor, he recalls. Of dampened earth and freshly watered plants, ready to sprout up from the ground and reach for the skies above. It’s musky, but not overly so, not in the way that many alphas smell too heavy and cloying. Light and simple, yet full of so many things that make Steve want to lay down and rest for a while in it. A moss blanket of carefully composed warmth and comfort, all contained in a single scent from a single alpha.

Steve knows that Robin will watch ‘The Notebook’ every single day and cry about it if he lets her, but he doesn’t know why Eddie’s scent sort of makes him want to cry too.

“Are you okay there, puddles?”

“Huh?”

Steve snaps out of it abruptly, shocked to find that for all his intentions of keeping their handshake short, he never actually let go of Eddie’s hand because he was distracted by his scent.

He steps away finally, breaking their physical connection rather impolitely and putting enough space between them that Eddie’s scent doesn’t immediately follow where he goes.

“Steve?” Robin asks, a questioning hand on his shoulder now.

It’s too much. There’s too much going on and his head is pounding now, beating against the sensitive place just above his neck.

Steve gently shrugs off his friend’s attempt at comfort, not wanting to snap at her while he’s feeling raw and sensitive. He redirects his attention back to the strange alpha instead— the actual source of his sudden migraine.

“What— what did you just call me?”

It’s a rhetorical question, a chance for Eddie to correct himself and take it back.

He distinctly heard Eddie say ‘puddles,’ but since that means fuck-all to him, he thinks an explanation (and probably an apology) is more than deserved. Steve doesn’t even know this weirdo and he’s already giving flirty nicknames? Did Chrissy teach him to take advantage of other archeologists, to borrow a page out of her own book and use sex appeal as a means to get ahead?

Just because Steve thinks Eddie is attractive doesn’t mean that he’s willing to let his guard down and throw away what could possibly be the last shot at securing research funding for them.

“Oh— uh, nothing. Just an inside joke, I guess?” Eddie replies cryptically. A hint of a smile pulls at his lips once more, like he’s secretly amused by this whole thing and unwilling to share what’s so funny. “Don’t worry your pretty little head about it.”

Between the rising heat and the throbbing of his 'pretty little head,’ Steve is not feeling very patient.

“Keep your jokes to yourself then. We have work to do here, if you don’t mind. And by the way… I’m not interested, so save your breath and keep your hands to yourself,” Steve states boldly, making an assumption about Eddie’s intentions.

He could be wrong, but the way the alpha lets out an obnoxious snort, he’s sure that he’s not off the mark. It’s not the first time someone has made unwanted advances towards Steve and it wouldn’t be the last.

They all give up pretty quickly though once they catch his unpleasant scent or encounter his less than friendly attitude.

“Easy now, tiger. That hardly seems fair when I’ve not said more than a few words to you, Steve… and I mean, you do know what they say about archeologists, don’t you?”

Steve feels like he’s walking into a trap, but he’s not going to be intimidated by this alpha, no matter how uneasy his presence makes Steve.

“No, I don’t know what they say.”

Robin groans, pinching the bridge of her nose.

“Please don’t say they’ll d–”

Eddie jumps right in with confidence, not allowing her to finish her sentence, “They’ll date any old thing!”

Jesus. Christ.

It’s arguably one of the worst jokes Steve’s ever heard and the guy is just grinning from ear-to-ear like he’s really proud of it. The secondhand embarrassment is borderline physically painful.

“Seriously?”

“Do you get it? It’s actually pretty clever. You see, we—” Eddie gestures in a circle to all three of them with his pointer finger, “—are archeologists… so, our job is literally ‘dating old things’ and then it’s— it’s funny because it’s like a double entendre, right? Because we also apparently have low standards for dating, I guess. Actually, maybe that’s not the point of the joke, but carbon dating is incredibly helpful for determining chronological timelines.”

Okay then. The guy’s maybe got more than a few screws loose. And definitely some uncontrolled ADHD that should probably have been addressed before now in his life.

Eddie looks disappointed by his lack of a reaction, so he repeats the punchline, “We’ll date any old thing,” once more with a strained smile, his voice noticeably less enthusiastic this time.

Steve grimaces, silently praying that a sinkhole opens up and saves him from this interaction. Death might be preferable to listening to Eddie explain the joke for a third time.

Apparently also rattled, the alpha finally yanks the remaining earbud out of his ear and tucks it back into his pocket for something to do with his hands.

“Okay. Um, if that’s all then… I really do need to get started on my work here,” Steve announces, attempting to move past this with as little additional awkwardness as possible.

Any remaining light in Eddie’s expression seems to crumble in front of him, his mouth unable to keep up the weight of his pained frown and his eyes giving away how upset he is at being shut down.

“Ah. Right, sorry.”

For some inexplicable reason, Steve feels a powerful urge to comfort the guy. They don’t know each other. They’ve never met before now, but it’s like his inner omega is crying out to tell him that Eddie needs to be hugged and scented by him— and maybe more. Maybe they could even just curl up together in his makeshift nest back at the hotel and he could hold Eddie close until he feels better, purring soothingly to tell him that it’s gonna be okay? That would help his alpha.

Which begs the pressing question of whether Steve has lost his whole entire goddamn mind in the last hour? He does not have an alpha. Eddie is not his alpha. They’re just two strangers sharing a dig site.

He owes him nothing. This whole thing is absurd.

“No, I’m sorry,” Steve blurts out, grasping for some sense of control over his own instincts. “The joke was— uh, I mean— I get it, but I’m just not interested. Still.”

He always has impeccable self control and this is not like him. The stumbling over words and grasping for restraint. Something is wrong, even if he can’t put his finger on the exact problem. Eddie is the source, but there has to be more going on here.

A gas leak? Poison in the air? Heatstroke?

The corners of Eddie’s lips twitch upward. Almost a smile. Almost.

“That’s alright. Certainly not the first time I’ve been rejected. Probably won’t even be the last either. Suppose I’ll have to keep working on my pick-up lines for the future. Admittedly, I was excited to use that one considering the unique circumstances we’ve found ourselves in, but I guess I’ll live.”

“Maybe next time,” he agrees with a nod, hoping it’s mutually understood that ‘next time’ will not be with him.

Eddie’s actual small smile in response to that is cute, maybe even a little shy. He’s a lot more attractive when his mouth is silent and he’s not spouting absolute nonsense from it.

Robin clears her throat loudly, directing his attention back to her.

Steve honestly forgot she was there too.

“I think I’m gonna head back to the hotel, Stevie. I’ve got something I need to do. I trust you can gather some information and figure out which part of the grid looks the most promising for us to start with.”

She won’t meet his eyes. He knows exactly what she’s planning to do at the hotel and exactly why she doesn’t want to tell him outright. It’s going to make a bigger mess of things, but he can’t find it in himself to begrudge her the chance to set things right.

Maybe love exists. It’s just not for him.

“Room 116,” Steve reminds her quietly.

Robin looks surprised, but she covers it well.

They don’t need more words between them than that. She nods her appreciation and gathers up her things, giving Eddie an awkward goodbye nod as well as she leaves.

Part of him worries about her making the trek back to the hotel alone, but he imagines that she’ll probably run into Chrissy before she makes it that far anyway. It’s not late enough in the day for him to stress about this. He really does have work to do.

They’re alone now.

Steve kneels on the ground, unzipping his backpack and rummaging around to find the items he needs to get started. Gloves, a trowel, chisel, dusting brush, and a magnifying glass. Tools of the trade.

He glances back to see that Eddie is still staring at him, not having returned to his own designated spot yet to continue.

It seems too much to hope that maybe the alpha is done for the day and ready to head back to town as well.

The silence is unnerving though.

“You knew my name before I introduced myself,” Steve states, breaking it from sheer curiosity. “You called me ‘Steve’ and you sounded very sure of yourself.”

It’s been bothering him from the moment Eddie first greeted him and he’s sure there has to be a logical reason for it, but it will drive him insane if he doesn't find out and put his roaming thoughts to bed.

Eddie looks equal parts relieved at being addressed and flighty about the accusation, fiddling with something in his pocket instead of meeting Steve’s eyes.

“Lucky guess.”

That’s a blatant lie.

Why is he lying? He couldn’t get Eddie to shut up a minute ago and now he’s holding back information. For what? They’re the only two around anyway.

Steve finds a spot a few feet away from where Eddie was digging. The ground is mostly intact there and looks undisturbed enough to potentially have what he’s searching for. Not that he even knows what he’s looking for.

“Hell of a guess…”

Eddie finally returns to the ground, replacing his gloves and starting to chisel away at a rather large chunk of hardened soil in front of him without answering Steve’s questioning glances.

“I suppose so. Maybe you just happen to really look like a ‘Steve.’ Some people look destined for their names. Have you ever thought about that, puddles?” Eddie teases him lightly.

There’s that goofy nickname again. It still makes no sense to Steve, but it’s not like he has a plethora of choices for companions at the moment and his head is feeling a little better.

He can humor the strange man with his strange mannerisms. If nothing else, it will pass the time since Robin isn’t around.

“Are you hitting on me again? You’re insatiable. I thought we both agreed that it was a waste of your time, Eddie. Did you get amnesia or something, or am I just that irresistible?”

Steve wants to take back his words the second they fly out of his mouth unfiltered and far too flirty to pass off as friendliness. It’s like he has no sense of self-preservation around this guy. His brain is deep fried and being served up on a platter for Eddie to pick at freely.

The alpha turns away from his work to flash Steve a playful grin, his jovial mood evidently restored now by Steve’s own stupidity. Walking into traps seems to be his specialty today.

“Well, I never actually said that I was going to give up on you. I told you that I was used to rejection, not that I was a quitter. In fact, I’ve been told that I’m a bit of a stubborn ass when I want something badly enough,” Eddie confesses in an excited whisper, like it’s a secret between just the two of them. “As it happens, I don’t see myself losing interest in you any time soon, Stevie.”

And why does that idea send a tiny flutter of excitement to his belly?

This might be dangerous.

His face feels hot in a way that’s unrelated to the rising temperatures outside. It's possible that Eddie’s compliments are affecting him regardless of Steve having zero intentions of returning the sentiments.

But when’s the last time an alpha continued to try and charm him even after picking up his unusual smell? Other omegas tend to smell floral or sweet— enticing and mouthwatering to potential mates. It’s in their nature to attract alphas by scenting of pleasant things.

Steve smells distinctly of dirt. Mud. Silt and sand and clay.

And yet… and yet Eddie is still flirting with him. His eyes haven’t left Steve’s, as if he’s waiting on his every word. As if Steve is important enough to listen to. Beyond that, he’s openly declaring his intent to pursue the omega.

“You’re an odd man, Eddie. Has anyone ever told you that before?”

He cackles.

“Some might even go so far as to call me a freak.”

Yeah, that seems accurate. Not that Steve would ever call anyone names, but Eddie is rather unusual, even for being in a field full of antisocial academics. Most archeologists he meets aren’t exactly charismatic, but they also aren’t quite so unhinged or forward about their interest.

“Your words, not mine,” he shoots back.

This is going to be a long month.

Despite the bumpy start they’d had with miscommunications and unwarranted flirting, Steve gets along with Eddie about as well as he does with Robin.

It truly makes no sense to him still.

They have very little in common. Both well educated and studied in their field, but that seems to be where the similarities stop. Their taste in music, their clothing styles, even their motivations for working in the field are entirely opposite.

When Steve had asked why Eddie chose to become an archeologist, all the alpha could really say was, “I was looking for something. Well— someone.”

He’d pointed out that any people they’d find would be long past their point of expiration, but Eddie had only laughed and made some remark about how some things worth finding aren’t buried in the ground anyway.

It had felt like another come-on, so Steve had ignored it and the subsequent wink that was thrown his way. He’s become used to the alpha’s advances and their familiarity is almost comforting now.

Steve may not fully understand the alpha’s reasons for it, but he thinks the flirting is mostly harmless.

Eddie had, however, listened when he explained his own reasons in return.

“I’ve always dreamed of uncovering the stories and secrets of those who came before us. I want to know who they were— what made their lives meaningful. Anything and everything that I can dig my hands into and touch. I want it all to be real, for it to tell me what’s happened and bring me into the past,” Steve had confessed, feeling vulnerable for sharing all of that so candidly.

Typically, he gave the polished academic version of his answer about preserving history and documenting the past, but Eddie seemed genuinely interested in hearing what Steve had to say.

Aside from Robin, no one else ever really paid him that much attention.

“Earth to Steve,” Eddie says into his ear, causing Steve to jump a little. “You spacing out there?”

He had been.

The combination of heat and long hours have been weighing down on him, truthfully. They’ve only got about another week to come up with something truly spectacular and worthy of funding or else he and Robin would be doomed to return to the boring world of research or worse— academia.

God knows that neither of them would make a very good professor. They’re too scatterbrained. And ultimately, it would pull Steve entirely out of the hands-on part of his career that he truly loves. If he can’t be in the dirt, then he doesn’t want to call himself an archeologist.

“Uh, yeah. I’m good,” he mumbles. “Just a little tired today.”

Eddie frowns at that, reaching out an ungloved hand to touch his forehead briefly. He lets out a small noise of sympathy, searching Steve’s face for something else.

“You feel hot, puddles.”

Steve doesn’t even have the energy to tell Eddie off for still using the dumbass nickname again. There’s been no explanation since the first time they met and Steve’s mostly used to it amongst the other strange things Eddie calls him.

It would be nice to understand it though.

“I’m fine. We’re working out in the blistering sun, Eddie. I’m gonna be hot. I have water,” he argues, gesturing to his mostly untouched bottle next to him on the ground.

Admittedly, he hasn’t been the best about actually consuming his water today. Robin reminded Steve about their nearing deadline that morning and it had sort of lit a fire under his ass in terms of sparking his determination.

And yes, of course Steve has been told repeatedly to be careful out in the field. He’s heard a thousand and one lectures about staying hydrated, applying sunscreen, taking breaks, etc. blah, blah, blah.

All fine and dandy and even easy to follow when you have the luxury of time and funding at your disposal!

Just add a metric ton of pressure, a best friend counting on Steve to find a once-in-a-lifetime discovery while she’s busy reconciling with a past fling, and a guy who won’t stop flirting with him, and it’s a little trickier to stay on task whilst also remembering to take care of his body too.

“-eve? Steve? Hey, I really think maybe we should head back to town for the evening. You’ve been more intense than usual today and a good dinner might be in order for us to refuel,” Eddie suggests softly, grabbing Steve’s water and attempting to give it to him. “We can try again tomorrow, alright?”

He bats the alpha’s hand away, not wanting to stop long enough to even take his gloves off.

“I said I’m fine, Eddie. If you want to leave, then go, but I’m not moving from this site until I have something worthwhile to bring back with me. This is important to me. I have to do this.”

Eddie purses his lips and his eyebrows furrow like he might actually yell.

“Seriously, Steve? You’re seriously going to keep digging despite the fact that we’ve not seen a single thing of note in weeks? You look like shit. Let’s go back to the hotel and get some rest before you really are hurt. I’m not gonna let you injure yourself over some silly artifact that may or may not be here, sweetheart.”

Steve’s never seen him mad before.

He's looked sad and somewhat disappointed before, particularly when Steve has spurned his advances. Other than that, Eddie’s typically smiling and cracking jokes. The life of the party on all occasions. The guy treats their job like it’s just a summer camp or something.

No matter how bad of a day it is, he manages to let it all roll off him.

It makes no sense. If he cares about archeology, if he cares about the past cultures they’re working so tirelessly to preserve and archive in the annals of history, then Eddie, by all means, should be as stressed as him! He should give a shit that they’ve found damn near next to nothing in the past month!

There’s no funding for people who are bad at their jobs.

Why isn’t he worried too? What trick does he have up his sleeve?

A sudden and awful thought strikes Steve like a blow to the stomach and the moment he thinks it, he can’t simply brush it away without considering whether there might be some amount of truth to it.

What if Eddie is only here to do what Chrissy did to Robin?

Oh god. His chest hurts at the very idea.

Robin was young and naive when it happened to her. She’d never make that mistake again. But if she’s distracted with her ex and Steve is left alone with a charming alpha prepared to steal his work…

What if Eddie learned from his research partner and is waiting for Steve to uncover a career-establishing artifact so he can snatch it away, slap his own name on it, and sweep up all the glory for the discovery for himself?

It would explain so much. Why Eddie knew his name before he came, why he’s been so keen on getting close to Steve. It would also lend credibility to the idea that Eddie’s relentless flirting has an ulterior motive. His jokes and nicknames have all been a concentrated effort to get Steve to let his guard down and slip up like Robin did.

Why else would he tolerate Steve’s repulsive scent? He knew it was too good to be true.

Maybe Eddie would even take it as far as Chrissy did, would make a move on Steve and promise him the world only to snatch it from his hands the second they held something of value to him.

What a piece of shit.

“Fuck off! Just leave me alone, Eddie. Go away and stop bothering me, you asshole!”

Steve continues to dig into the earth, going faster than he normally would in his anger. Slow and steady may win the race, but quick and frantic is what might save his ass— and Robin’s.

His trowel sinks into the ground over and over, as fast as he can manage with his fatigued muscles, hardly paying attention to where Eddie is as he makes the hole deeper.

“Jesus, baby, this is not healthy. C’mon, let’s at least talk about this,” Eddie pleads, getting down next to him on the ground, his voice considerably more gentle than his previous attempts to dissuade Steve. “How about we take a water break for a few minutes and then we can see how you’re feeling? We can just pause and make sure you’re not gonna faint out here.”

He ignores him.

The words are lies. Eddie doesn’t care.

His heart is racing now. Partially from adrenaline and partially from anger. Anger and outrage that Eddie would spend weeks befriending him and making it seem like he was genuinely interested in Steve just to betray him.

No matter how much he tried to keep some emotional distance between them, Steve knew he was beginning to fall headfirst for the guy. One can only handle so much flirting and affection before it starts to mean something.

Before Eddie started to work his way into Steve’s heart.

Trowel hits dirt over and over, scooping away and into a bucket nearby to keep it out of his work area. It comes easily, giving way to his tool and not resisting as he shovels and shovels, clearing the way with ease.

Until it hits something harder.

It could just be a rock. They find those a lot.

But something in Steve just knows it’s more. He can feel it in his bones. Rocks are normally small and they either shatter or get dislodged by their digging. The very sound of the trowel hitting them is different. Whatever he hit was large. Now that he’s not frantically digging, he can see that there’s a patch of wood peaking out beneath the surface.

He drops the trowel, beginning to work at the dirt with his gloves instead. This is the delicate part. Removing an object without damaging it.

“Puddles, did— did you find something?”

Eddie is over his shoulder now, peering into the hole with unhidden curiosity.

Steve has to get it out and get himself away as soon as possible or he risks losing all of his work to the alpha. If he’s truly as bad as Steve thinks he might be, Eddie could even use his alpha voice and command him to hand it over.

“Don’t you dare try to take it from me,” he snarls, meaner than he can ever recall being in his life.

Eddie is silent, so it seems to work.

His fingertips burn from how frantically he scrapes away the dirt, even with the protection of his gloves. It hurts, but he pushes it down. Steve is strong. He can handle a little pain. He has to do this.

It’s calling to him.

It makes no sense, but he can feel the presence of what’s being unearthed. It wants to be found. It wants Steve to find it.

“Feel and remember,” it croons into his ear.

“Release me from the ground and back to where I belong,” it begs him.

“Free me,” it demands.

Steve removes it from the hole in the earth with shaking hands, lifting the wooden box up and holding it in front of his face to get a better look. Beneath the layer of dirt, he can make out some carvings. Runes of some sort. They seem so familiar— reminiscent of the ones he’d seen photographed in nearby areas.

Why would there be writing on— well, whatever this is? They’re not Grecian runes. At least not any that he can recognize or decipher.

The part of him that’s trained says he should photograph and document this box thoroughly before attempting to open it, but the part of Steve that feels completely under the spell of something stronger than him beckons him to do it anyway.

There’s no lock, just a simple latch that comes undone fairly easily after the dirt clinging to it is brushed away. From within the box comes something beautiful though. Something he knows instinctively is the artifact they’ve been searching for.

He can’t quite figure out what he’s holding exactly. Maybe an urn or a piece of pottery with an unknown purpose? It’s shaped like a vase, but that’s presumptive. Function isn’t always related to shape. Steve knows that.

Red clay with more unidentifiable ruins etched into it.

Despite how old it must be, it looks immaculate. It should be impossible for the pottery and its container to appear this well preserved. What was keeping them safe?

“Steve, let’s get these secured in something protective…” Eddie suggests slowly. “We’ll get them packed away and then we can leave. That’s enough for today.”

He chokes on a bitter laugh.

“I’m sure you’d— you'd love that,” Steve rasps, not looking away from the entrancing object.

As insane as he’d felt hearing it call to him, he knows the heartbeat pumping beneath his fingertips is just as impossible. And yet. He feels it. Like a living creature begging to be touched, this pottery is alive.

It compels him to remove his gloves and feel it with his bare skin. He has to know that it’s not the heat or the pounding of his own heart causing him to mistake this. All his education says he shouldn’t be handling this without gloves, but Steve has to.

“Feel and remember,” it beckons once more.

Steve places it back into the box next to him ever so carefully in order to whip off his gloves and toss them aside. Before he can reach for the vase again, Eddie’s own bare hands are grabbing his face. Cradling it.

The touch is gentle, but unwanted to say the least.

“I told you to leave me alone—”

One hand moves to his forehead, the touch ice cold. He flinches away, almost losing his balance in the process.

“Fuck, baby, you’re burning up. Let’s stash these and get you back to town. We can deal with them later, okay?” Eddie pleads seriously. “Please listen to me, Steve. I’m really worried about you.”

He sounds sincere, but Steve is no fool.

Robin believed Chrissy too. She’d played right into that trap and he wasn’t going to learn the lesson firsthand. Whatever he’s discovered could be the answer to all his problems.

“Just stop, Eddie!”

Steve tries to shake off the touch, but his head spins and the earth isn’t staying in one spot anymore. The pounding of his heart gets faster and sudden awareness of his shaking form surprises him.

Fuck.

Ignoring the signs from his own body may result in him losing all his work anyway. If Eddie snags the vase, Steve will be too weak to do anything about it.

He does a bad thing.

He dives for the vase, grabbing the handles with both his ungloved hands and holding it tight against his chest, praying with all that’s in him for the pottery to stay in his grasp. If he doesn’t let go, then Eddie can’t take it. If he doesn’t give up, he can’t lose it and Robin can’t lose her funding.

The moment his skin brushes the cool material of the vase, his headache seems to explode into something ten thousand times worse. It pounds the back of his head like a steel baseball bat straight to the skull, pain heating and blooming from the point of impact and spreading throughout his entire being.

It hurts.

It all hurts.

He’s never been in this much pain in his entire life. Immeasurable agony.

Everything goes black before his eyes as his body finally releases the last of his strength. He becomes light then, held by something— or someone else.

“Shhhhh, you’re okay, sweetheart. Hold on.” A gentle hand runs through his sweaty hair, smoothing it away from his face. He leans into the touch this time, the soothing coolness of it against his own burning skin is the only thing he can process. “I will take care of you just like I always do. You’re safe and I’m not letting go of you ever again, Stevie. Never again, baby. I love you, my little puddle… I always do. Just rest now.”

Eddie smells like the storm is finally over.

His familiar scent washes over Steve and leaves renewal and rebirth behind in its wake. An early morning, a blank slate, a new beginning of sorts.

Clean. Fresh. Safe.

It’s more than that though. It’s not just a scent but a bone-deep feeling. Security and safety— the sure confidence that Steve can let go and be vulnerable here with Eddie and nothing bad will happen under his watch. He's protected.

Home. Love. Mate.

“My alpha,” Steve mumbles, confident in his assertion now.

Eddie gasps sharply, but his exhale trails off into a small, pleased laugh. His scent turns tangibly brighter, happier. Steve knows without being able to open his eyes and check that he must be smiling.

"My omega," he confirms with the gentlest lips pressed to Steve's forehead.

The world fades away, but that loving touch lingers in the darkness of his mind.

Chapter Text

Steve’s not in the desert anymore.

It’s not even a place he really recognizes until he suddenly does. This too is his life… was his life. He knows it without actually knowing it, an innate feeling that this is where he’s meant to be.

Just as an actor performs from a script, he follows a pre-planned path laid before him so clearly. The words have been given to him and his stage directions are clear. A marionette on a string being controlled by something persuasive, yet gentle. It feels natural. No decisions to be made, just a scene to be experienced again from Steve’s unlocked memories.

He knows what to do. He’s done this before.

All at once, he’s not ‘Steve the archeologist’ anymore. He’s a scared teenage boy full of visceral pain and fear. Steve ‘The Hair’ Harrington, fallen from grace atop Hawkins High and into a nightmare of his own past.

“Eddie! Eddie, Dustin, where are you guys?” Steve screams hoarsely, his boot-clad feet pounding the dirt of the upside down as he leads Robin and Nancy away from the Creel House and towards the other version of Eddie’s trailer.

If their plans all worked, then they should be back on the surface already. Phase four was complete and they watched Vecna burn up before their eyes.

But Steve knows Dustin and Eddie too.

He knows that there were some hitches in how everything played out and he can only pray that Vecna was too occupied with them to be everywhere at once. The demobat distraction was supposed to be the easy part. It was supposed to be comparatively safe.

He scans the area furiously, the hairs on the back of his neck standing up in warning. His omega instincts for danger haven’t been wrong before and they’re screaming at him that something horrible is happening here.

For once in his life, he wants to be wrong.

“Steve, we should go back through the gate. They should have already gone back through and we need to find out—”

“Steve? Steve, help! Help us, please!”

Dustin.

The pup comes out of nowhere, an obvious limp in his step while he waves his hands like a madman and beckons them to an open area away from the trailer. The young teen shouldn’t even be here at this point and it turns Steve’s stomach when he realizes.

The plan failed.

He doesn’t need to ask to know that with certainty when he finally spots Eddie on the ground, blood trickling from his mouth as he groans in pain. His shirt is ripped in multiple spots, the alpha not even bothering to put pressure on his own wounds.

Dead demobats surround him, likely put out of commission when Vecna disappeared. Their mouths are stained red with blood, just like Eddie’s.

“He— he wouldn’t leave with me. I came back, but they got him. Steve, please, save him. Save Eddie! He needs a hospital or— or a doctor or something,” Dustin pleads, choking on his sobs and making it difficult to understand him at all above the pounding in Steve’s own head.

Eddie’s blood pools on the ground around him, soaking into Steve’s pants when he drops to his knees beside the older boy to check his injuries up close. It’s even worse, feeling the warmth of the alpha’s blood beneath him.

The sheer amount that’s already left his body is absurd. Eddie shouldn’t be conscious.

Jesus Christ.

The thought makes Steve sick to his stomach, but it also makes his mind race. He has to think. He has to get Eddie back alive. He promised. Keeping everyone safe was his job and this wasn’t part of the plan. They were supposed to return to Hawkins as a group— in one piece and unharmed.

Eddie was going to be a free man with a clear name. He was going to see his uncle again and leave this nightmare behind him. He was so young. They all are. Too young for these horrors.

This shouldn’t be happening.

“Hi there, Harrington,” Eddie coughs out.

Another slow trickle of blood drips from between his blue lips.

He’s so goddamn pale.

Steve’s hands uncontrollably shake as they hover over him in the air, searching for something to do— something he can fix. But he’s beyond repair, the boy getting even whiter by the second.

There’s so much blood.

“Munson— Ed— Eddie…” Steve chokes out, fighting back his own tears in order to stay strong for everyone else. If he loses it, so will Dustin, Nancy, and Robin. “We're— we’re gonna get you out of here, alright? I think I can carry you and then we just— we— we gotta—”

He can’t finish the sentence.

His heartbeat pounds rapidly in his own ears, drowning out anything else but fear and panic. Helplessness.

Eddie’s going to die.

What can be done? What can he do? Why wasn’t he born an alpha— someone strong enough to protect them all?

“Steve, you don’t need to lie to me,” Eddie chuckles weakly, the noise painful and wet. Every word speaks of agony, no matter how hard the alpha is trying to hide it. “I thought it might end like this. My only regret is not getting to ask you out for milkshakes, big boy. I… I think we would’ve had fun together.”

He turns his head, coughing out a large chunk of something red that Steve tries not to look too closely at. Throwing up is already a very real possibility.

Nancy lets out an anguished sob, but Robin rushes to comfort her, pulling her close and sending Steve a pleading look. It’s one that says she knows they’ve already lost this battle.

Anyone with eyes can see that this is beyond fixing.

Steve’s throat still burns from the vines, but the effort it takes to look Eddie in the eye hurts so much more. He hardly knows the guy, hardly said more than a few words in passing when they were in school together, but the last couple days they’d spoken and shared secrets like old friends, pulled into the same unfair circumstances by fate and poor luck alone.

Part of Steve feels like they could even be more. Maybe in another lifetime it would be different. If high school hadn’t put them on such different sides of the fence, there could’ve been potential.

He doesn’t want to give up on this life yet though.

“If— if you stick around, I’ll even pay for the milkshakes, Eddie,” Steve tries with a quivering lip. He wants to cry. He wants to scream, to beg for forgiveness from all of them for his many inadequacies. He should’ve done more. He should’ve been stronger. “We can get burgers too. And fries. I— I know this great place. You’d probably hate the music, b-but the shakes are good. They’re really good, Eddie.”

Eddie smiles wider, the action showing off his bloody teeth.

“That sounds perfect, Stevie.” Steve almost smiles back, thinking Eddie’s agreed to fight a little longer, but then comes, “We can’t work it out in every lifetime though, sweetheart.”

It’s like Eddie can read his mind. Like he knows that Steve wants another chance. The kind understanding in his eyes hurts more than anything. It says that Steve’s done all he can and he’s forgiven.

He hates it.

Eddie should be mad at Steve. He should blame him for his imminent death.

“I’m so sorry,” is all he can say back as he takes one of Eddie’s hands in his own and squeezes lightly, offering up comfort the only way he knows how. “I fucked up and I’m so sorry. You weren’t supposed to—”

Die.

The last word doesn’t escape his trembling lips. It would make this real and give permission for Eddie to leave.

His cheeks feel wet, but he can’t bring himself to wipe the tears away. This is the least of his punishments for what he’s done. Steve deserves every bit of suffering he experiences. The fresh wounds on his side are only a start.

They’ll stitch back together in time, but Eddie won’t.

“You and Dustin are both hurt,” Eddie points out with a frown, evidently smelling Steve’s pain. “You need to get out of here.”

His breathing is more labored now, harsher wheezing to try and draw breath in. It makes Steve’s own lungs burn in sympathy.

Steve shakes his head, trying to brush off the ridiculous concern from a dying boy. His own wounds are manageable and Dustin is standing upright at least.

“I’m fine. And we’ll get Dustin patched up as soon as you—”

No. Don’t say it.

“You’re—” Eddie coughs up more blood and Steve thumbs over the back of his hand to try to keep him calm. It won’t be much longer now. That much is clear. “You’re injured, Stevie. You gotta take care of yourself since I won’t be here to do it, okay? Be safe for me?”

As far as he’s aware, Eddie has never taken care of him, but he chalks it up to blood loss. Whatever he needs to hear, Steve will say. Comfort is the least of what Eddie deserves for his heroism.

“I will. I swear I will.”

Eddie takes his hand and pulls it closer to his face, right up against his nose. It takes him a second to realize Eddie is inhaling the scent from his scent gland on his wrist, smelling him and treating his scent like an anesthetic. Steve didn’t know that his scent was pleasant enough for anyone to want that. It’s a little startling, but he doesn’t dare to move and take it from him.

The alpha hums, his eyes closing slowly, peacefully.

A bloody kiss is pressed to the skin of his wrist, sending a tingle of something undefinable racing straight to Steve’s breaking heart.

“This is the best way to go. My omega with me… just us and our dirt.”

Eddie’s omega.

An alpha he hardly knows, but Steve believes it— no, he feels it. Not the lack of a mating bite nor exchanged vows is enough to tell his heart otherwise. Eddie’s his mate. Maybe not in the eyes of the law or anyone else, but the way Eddie’s usually calming scent is dimming right before Steve makes him want to lay down and die with him.

It can’t end like this.

“This isn’t right. You— you shouldn’t have to die here. You deserve so much better than this,” Steve pleads. One last attempt to sway Eddie, to sway even death itself to make things fair for once.

Eddie just hums softly, an acknowledgement of his words.

“It’s okay, sweetheart. This is where I feel safest. In the dirt with you... feels just like home to me. I think— I think it’s… it's time now.”

Steve can smell death approaching fast from a mile away. It’s bitter and sharp, an offense to his sensitive omega nose.

He wants to puke.

“Please don’t go,” he begs instead.

“I’ll catch you in the next one, splashzone,” the alpha whispers in parting. “I always do.”

There’s no mating bond between them to break when Eddie finally stops breathing, but Steve feels it just the same as a phantom limb being ripped off with no sedative— its pain is so real to him that he could scream in agony. Steve’s being gutted from the inside out. Utterly empty where his heart used to be.

Like… like he’ll never be whole again without Eddie there.

They were just two kids.

This wasn’t supposed to happen to them.

There should’ve been more time.

“Wait for me...”

“Wait for me!”

Eddie glances back over his shoulder and throws Steve a subtle wink as he holds the door open for the omega behind him. It’s the least he can do as a supposed gentleman who’s planning on mating with him today, but Steve still appreciates the chivalry nonetheless.

There’s not many places where he’d refer to his alpha as a gentleman, but the way he treats Steve is never anything but respectful.

“Of course, pozza,” Eddie practically purrs. “After you, my dear.”

Always the charmer, even when both their eyes and ears should be focused elsewhere. They have important business to handle here. Flirting can wait until later when they’re home and free.

Steve still blows a quick air kiss as he passes him through the doorway and into the bank, unable to resist cheekily acknowledging his alpha’s manners.

He glances around, happy to confirm their inside information about the lack of guards at this particular time of day for whatever reason. The bank’s loss is their gain, just like always.

Without another moment of hesitation, Steve pulls his mask down over his head, concealing his face from anyone who dares to tell the tale of this day.

Eddie’s scent gets stronger behind him and Steve knows that his partner is in position and ready to keep things controlled while he handles the money aspect. They’ve done this a time or two before and they operate like a well-oiled machine.

“Fire away, darlin’ boy,” Eddie encourages him.

Steve pulls a gun from his thigh holster beneath his peacoat. He switches off the safety, aims it up, and pulls the trigger, firing two bullets off into the ceiling to draw everyone’s attention.

Dozens of fearful eyes are instantly on him, but it’s completely silent in the bank. This should be easy. No one looks eager to play the hero and try to stop them. It’s easiest for everyone that way.

“Everyone on the floor now! This here is a stick-up!”

No matter how many times his alpha says those same words, it never fails to send a rush of electricity throughout Steve’s body. Who knew a life of crime could be thrilling? It started purely out of a need to finance their life through the hard times, but times have only gotten harder and it’s brought them together in a way that nothing else can.

Does Steve have a blooming garden to tend to at home? Sure, but his daffodils don’t smell half as good as the green of fresh dollar bills from a tightly guarded safe. And flowers are expensive, just like everything else these days.

“You heard him! Everyone out from behind the counter, get on the floor, and nobody gets hurt!” Steve reiterates with another shot at the ceiling.

The customers and tellers scramble to the ground after that, covering their heads with their hands and shaking like they’ve anything to really fear here— aside from the state of the bank’s dirty floors.

It’s almost laughable to him.

Steve has never shot at a living human being and neither has Eddie. They’re not those kinds of criminals. Murdering in cold blood isn’t their thing. Too messy, too violent. A waste. Not the goal in their little crime spree.

Hell, they don’t even take anything from the bank hostages.

This is entirely about the cash.

But robbing a bank without a gun is pretty difficult to do, so they have to sell their willingness to kill if they want any sort of cooperation out of these people.

Steve takes a few steps forward, not even glancing back to make sure Eddie’s got his back covered as he heads to the tellers’ counter. This is all a tightly choreographed dance that they do with ease. Eddie will get the witnesses corralled in a corner while Steve executes the rest of the plan.

Weeks of research, planning, and figuring out all the details first ensure their success every single time.

He approaches a teller shaking on the ground, standing right in front of her to make it clear he’s speaking to her.

“Ma’am, kindly empty the contents of your drawer and the safe into this here bag for me. Please,” Steve says, handing the nervous middle-aged woman his trusty grain sack to fill once she’s stood up. “We’re not plannin’ to shoot anyone, but I need full cooperation on your part in order for that to happen.”

She nods jerkily, taking the makeshift bag and rushing around the counter to quickly sweep the money out of her stash and into it.

Poor thing.

As exciting as this all has been, there’s a reason Steve has been looking forward to this specific job. It’s set to be their final robbery. After this, their debts will be paid off and Eddie’s been offered a steady position on a farm near their place. They’ll be able to make clean money without fear of anyone showing up to collect on the loans they borrowed just to make ends meet.

Eddie also promised to finally let them mate and make an honest omega out of Steve once this part of their life is over.

It’s a bit delayed really, considering they've been together for a while. But Eddie wasn’t willing to risk any identifying marks that would tie them to their crimes. After all, if one of them was caught, the other would be charged as well.

Come tonight, they’re free to do what they like though.

Which means bonding… and babies. Steve has been promised as many pups as he wants and that was worth robbing as many banks as necessary. He’d do anything to fill their cozy little farmhouse with the sound of tiny feet and laughing pups.

A happy life waits for them on the other side of this bank.

One free of any more guns or elaborate planning.

When the sun rises again, Steve will be a bonded omega with an alpha who loves him. For the first time, they’ll have enough. They’ll be ready to move forward and leave this violence behind once and for all.

“That— that should be all of it,” the teller announces as she closes the safe and hands him back his bag with a noticeable addition of weight to it.

He gives her a nod of thanks, unable to shirk off his good manners. No matter what he might have become, Steve was raised right and he knows how to be civil. This woman may be particularly afraid of him, but she’s done what was asked of her and that’s worth recognition.

“Perfect, thank you kindly.”

Steve turns around to ensure that Eddie’s side of things is going off without a hitch, but he freezes as he takes in the scene waiting beyond the glass windows of the bank. There’s no mistaking the police cars for anything but what they are: an omen.

It’s the first time Steve has seen them without hearing them first. No sirens, no flashing lights. No warning of their presence.

“Alpha?” Steve asks with a rasp, doing his best to remember not to use Eddie’s name in front of any witnesses.

Eddie whips back, the small amount of his face uncovered by the mask showing enough emotion for Steve to dread what he’s going to say next. The world slows down a bit at that moment.

“Pozza…”

No. Not like this.

They’d worked so hard for their life. They’d busted and struggled and starved— all for what? Surely not for it to end like this.

“The back door,” Steve recalls suddenly.

In their efforts to be prepared, they’d studied the floor plan and layout of the entire bank over and over. He could probably walk the whole thing blindfolded and still walk out with a hefty bag of cash.

There’s a second exit through the offices. It’s not accessible from the outside, but it’s unlocked from the inside and the alleyway it leads through is easy to navigate away from.

A clean break if they move fast.

From outside the bank, a staticky voice comes through a megaphone to reach their ears, “We’ve finally caught you, sticky-fingered lovebirds! Come out now with your hands up and we might be able to work somethin' out. Otherwise we’re comin’ in!”

Eddie’s eyes lock on his.

“Sweetheart, this one’s a hangin’ case. You know they’re bluffin’ and there’s no negotiations for people like us.”

Steve knows he’s right, but he wants him to be wrong so badly. He wants Eddie to agree to put their weapons on the ground and walk out hand-in-hand because a life in prison together would still be a life. There must be at least a chance that they can still be together.

“Ed—”

Eddie shakes his head slowly, a sad smile playing on his lips.

“I can’t do that to you, baby. I won’t tie you to any of this. I told you that when we started. Remember why I wouldn’t bond with you until we were done? Well, now it’s gonna come in handy. Time to go our separate ways, my love.”

Steve's hands begin to shake and the bag feels like it weighs twice as much now. It’s too heavy, or maybe that’s the grief rising in his soul at the mere suggestion of what Eddie is telling him to do.

To run away.

To leave Eddie behind to fend for himself.

“I can’t,” he pleads brokenly.

Eddie rips his mask off, his unruly hair flying all over the place in the process. Any other time, Steve would laugh at him for looking like such a mess in public. He can’t bring himself to laugh about any of this right now though.

Taking off his mask is a clear sign that he’s given up. It doesn’t matter if there are witnesses because Eddie isn’t counting on making it out of here. No identity to protect for a dead man.

His alpha’s eyes are full of tears and it brings water to his own.

“You have to, pozza. It’ll be fine. Take the car and go home where it’s safe,” he instructs him calmly.

Nothing about his scent is calm, but Eddie does a damn good job of faking it in the face of Steve’s own panic. He knows it’s meant to make him believe that this isn’t goodbye, but he doesn’t see how else this is going to end.

“What if we just surrender? I’ll take prison with you over any life without you.”

Eddie laughs, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. He’s not even considering it.

“Baby… you know we’re not mated. They’d have no obligation to keep us together in there. Even if we’re not swingin’ side-by-side at sunset, I’d never see your beautiful face again. Listen to me now and get yourself as far from here as you can. I’m not askin’ you, I’m tellin’ as your alpha this time.”

Oh god. He’s right.

Steve wasn’t even thinking. They’re not a mated couple and the authorities would separate them immediately. No need to provide them a shared cell in order to be humane.

Their time is up. Still, he protests, desperate for any other solution.

“But— but we do this together. We can’t—”

Shots ring out in the bank and one of the front windows shatters from the impact, glass fragments crashing into the lobby and startling him. Eddie gives him a serious look now, no more amusement in his hard stare.

His alpha means business.

“Not this time. This time you run and you don’t look back,” Eddie tells Steve. “I love you more than anything. Take care of yourself for me.”

“Come home to me,” he begs in return.

Eddie surges forward, tugging the bottom of Steve’s mask up just enough to press a firm kiss to his lips before turning back and raising his gun towards the police men headed for the door now. For the first time, he’s planning to actually fire that weapon in order to keep Steve safe.

“I always do.”

Steve bites back a sob and runs as fast as his legs can carry him, through the office nearby and out the backdoor without ever looking back, just like Eddie told him to. As he reaches the alley, there’s no sign of anyone waiting for him.

He can only distantly hear the mass firing of bullets ring out from the bank until the door fully shuts behind him and closes him out from that scene. From that part of his life completely.

As much as he wants to deny it, he already knows.

Steve knows damn well that despite Eddie’s promise, there’s no way that he survived the onslaught of gunfire aimed his way. The alpha would rather go out in a blaze of glory than at the gallows, but Steve’s the one who feels like he’s been shot.

It hurts, but it spurs him forward like a shock of electricity straight through his veins.

His jolt of adrenaline takes him as far as their car parked a street away and then he’s empty, completely drained. He whips off his mask and jacket, stashing them in the backseat, along with the sack of cash, and starting the car as quickly as he can manage.

Eddie’s the one who normally drives and his hands won’t stop shaking, but he’s determined not to crash. That would be a waste of his alpha’s sacrifice.

Silent tears stream down his face as he navigates the streets with a clenched jaw.

The drive home is anticlimactic. No one is even there to arrest him when he returns like a part of Steve was maybe secretly still hoping for.

Just their sweet tabby cat waiting by the front door to greet Steve with quiet mewls. He bends down and picks her up, pulling her into his arms and letting her soft fur dry his tears as they come endlessly.

He’s had her for longer than he’s even known— knew, Eddie. She was there before and she’s still here.

“Eddie…” he sobs, falling to his knees on the front porch and tucking himself and his precious pet into a shaded corner, holding on tightly to his best friend and immensely grateful for her presence. “What am I going to do without him, Robin?”

She’s the only family he has left now.

Robin rubs her head against his hand and he feels a little less alone from the comforting action. The love of his life is probably dead and he’s definitely going to have to either sell the house or hide his designation in order to get a job to pay the mortgage.

A quick fall from paradise.

All his hopes and dreams were lost in a single afternoon, leaving him with a profound emptiness behind. It hurts more than he could even believe possible. More than anything has ever affected him before.

Eddie isn’t coming home.

Steve looks to the sky and wishes for one more day where he could be happy. He thinks he would have cherished it more if he had known it wouldn’t last forever.

“Come back to me…”

“Come back to me this instant, Eddie. I thought you said you’d be here when I woke, especially after my bed was so cold yesterday morning without your presence in it,” Steve whines, rolling over to find the alpha already crawling back under the covers.

Eddie rolls his eyes affectionately, reaching out to cup the back of Steve’s neck and pull him into a chaste kiss. There will be plenty of time for unchaste ones as soon as Steve convinces him to stay a little longer.

“Oh, my sweet puiz… I told you that your father had invited me on a hunt at dawn. How would it look were I to refuse the king’s order just to secretly bed his beautiful temptress of a son?” Eddie teases softly, pressing more slow kisses to his neck to make his point. “You know I can’t stay much longer this morning either.”

“To hell with the king,” Steve moans, stretching out his unblemished neck further in an invitation of his own. “You are my knight, not his. I don’t care whose royal seal you bear. You are my alpha. You stay as long as I wish for you to stay.”

The knight pulls back enough to raise an eyebrow in a manner that says perhaps Steve has pushed the limits of his power too far with his demands.

Eddie rarely gives into his temper tantrums. A pity because Steve is quite used to getting his way from everyone else.

“My goodness, my darling prince, I can never stay again if this is the greeting I am owed upon my return. Not a single word of adoration or love, just a spoiled brat who wishes to have me to himself like a prized possession,” he muses softly, the hint of an amused smile creeping onto his face.

“Not a prized possession… the prized possession. I want for nothing else when you are mine, Eddie. What could I possibly ask for that brings me more joy than you?”

He earns a burst of heavy alpha scent flooding the room for that, confirming his suspicions that it won’t take much to convince his alpha to stay a while more.

Steve is too eager to wait until later tonight and he’s done pretending otherwise, so he wraps his own arms around the alpha’s neck and pulls him back down. Another kiss, this one deeper and full of more longing than before. Bruising lips and bumping teeth in their eagerness to claim one another.

The quiet of the morning is filled with soft moans and sharp gasps, a symphony of love composed by two unlikely musicians.

It’s no secret that their shared nights have been farther and fewer between lately, resorting to any time of day they can find instead.

Even with the assistance of his handmaid and closest friend, Robin, It’s not easy to sneak around in a well-guarded castle when you are of noble blood. Especially when Steve is expected to stay a pure virgin until he’s wed off to an alpha of royal heritage from a neighboring kingdom. His father has been looking tirelessly as of late and Steve fears his time is almost up before he must make a choice between his kingdom and his love.

A little late for him to be a virgin bride, but they’re not exactly going around advertising their torrid affair either.

The potential consequences for their actions are not a mystery to them.

“You speak too much, dear knight. I do believe those chattering lips of yours would be put to far better use elsewhere,” he suggests with a giggle between kisses.

Eddie pecks the tip of his nose sweetly in return.

“Is that so, my puiz? You think I’d be serving my prince better by drinking from his well instead? I couldn’t possibly disobey such a command from my beloved omega,” he purrs out slowly, moving to grip Steve’s wrists in one hand and pin them above him on the bed.

His strength is unyielding, yet gentle in a way that will cause no bruises. They don’t leave marks behind.

Then his other hand travels, ghosting along the expensive but thin material of the nightshirt covering Steve’s body until he finds an edge and raises the fabric up to his chest, exposing his stomach and bare thighs completely.

The wetness between his legs is open to the air, the heavy smell of his desire permeating into the air between them and making Steve more desperate than ever to be touched the way Eddie always does.

With affection and care.

Expertise and reverence.

From the first time they’d slept together, Eddie had known every inch of his body with a sort of familiarity that scared him a little. He’d hardly had a clue of his own form, no detailed knowledge of the carnal sins he’d been warned of, but this alpha mapped his being and could navigate his plains without guidance.

Their love and their acts of love always made Steve wonder what he’d done to deserve any of it.

“Maybe you were right, Steve. Your poor little cunt appears to be begging for attention. Perhaps you’ve been neglected in my absence, your well filling without relief,” Eddie coos. “Practically overflowing without the proper attendant.”

He squirms, thighs rubbing together impatiently to get friction to the place he craves Eddie’s touch. The slick flowing from within his core pools beneath him, soaking the bedspread and making a shameful mess that the maids will have to clean.

It brings heat to Steve’s face, knowing he can’t control himself around his alpha, but it only succeeds in making Eddie bare his teeth in hunger.

“Please, Eddie. I need you.”

The alpha kisses his bare thigh, more affectionate than teasing for once.

“Anything for you, my beautiful omega,” Eddie declares with another peck, his breath hot where he noses along Steve’s skin. “I’m at your service.”

He drags his face lightly until he’s fully pressed to the omega’s drenched cunt. His tongue darts out to press firmly from clenching hole to stiff cocklette, tasting his fill and moaning into the action to show his own pleasure at the flavor he finds there.

“Oh,” Steve squeaks, his thighs shaking as he tries not to crush his knight’s head between them in an effort to demand more.

It’s unbelievable how nothing else makes him feel so good, so treasured.

Eddie only chuckles at his eagerness. The added vibration has Steve whining louder in pleasure, his hands breaking from the alpha’s hold to find their grip in his mane of curls instead. His generous knight allows far more control to Steve than others would tolerate from an omega, but he shoots him a silent look to warn about tugging.

The alpha resumes his eager licking, his mouth sealing over his wet pussy and making terribly rude noises from the sound of slick being slurped. He eats like a starving man at a feast.

Steve can only take so much of that before impatience takes hold though. This isn’t how he wants things to end.

“Eddie, please. I beg you, don’t make me wait. It’s been days since you’ve properly fucked me. I might perish if you leave before you do,” Steves whimpers out between breathy moans.

His lover gives in to his pleading, giving one last suck to his throbbing cocklette, the action making his hips twitch from their effort not to thrust into his mouth. It seems impossible that his genitals somehow feel even more drenched than they were to begin with.

“As if I could resist the whims of my dear prince when he begs so sweetly. Puiz, you are a treasure of your own. I won’t make you wait for your alpha any longer,” Eddie coos, dropping his own trousers to reveal his swelling cock.

Not that Steve has seen any other than his own smaller omegan one, but Eddie’s is simply perfect. Thick and long, with a bulging knot at the base that shall someday fill him. Despite their willingness to sneak around, they can’t possibly risk any illegitimate pups. Knotting is the one thing they cannot tempt fate with (no matter how much Steve would like to).

Eddie pumps his cock a few times, making sure that it’s ready for his omega.

Steve only has to spread his legs to tempt him, to invite him into a place he’s more than familiar with by now.

“I’ll never tire of this, sweetheart,” the alpha announces softly as he carefully lines himself with Steve’s slicked hole and allows just the tip to push in first, barely stretching him open. “But if I were a good knight, I’d stop here. I’d never breach you like a husband should. I’d protect your virtue with my life and kill anyone who dared to put their unworthy cock in my prince like this.”

Steve wraps his arms around Eddie’s shoulders, pressing his mouth to the alpha’s to snag a deep kiss.

Without warning, the alpha takes the opportunity to slide forward the rest of the way inside at once, stealing all the air from Steve’s lungs in the process and not stopping until the start of his knot is right up against his aching entrance.

He lets out a shaky gasp at the sudden feeling of being stretched to fullness.

It’s really been too long since he was taken completely in this manner.

Eddie gives him a questioning look, silently asking if he can move or if Steve needs a moment to adjust to the girth inside of his tight omegan body. It’s always a snug fit, but he’s wet enough to not worry about any lingering discomfort.

If there’s one thing Steve does know it’s that he can’t stay dry or decent around his alpha. A few sweet words or gentle touches and he becomes nothing but a strumpet ready to open his legs for Eddie.

Steve kisses his alpha’s cheek before whispering in his ear, “You may very well be my worst knight, but you are by far the most devoted servant to my personal happiness.”

His lover does not share in the amusement of his joke, but he does reward him with starting up a brutal pace- slamming his cock into Steve’s cunt. Just the way he likes it, Eddie makes sure to take him as quick and rough as he would demand were his words readily available to him.

Only whines and chirps come out of Steve now though.

“Shhhh, darling. Much as I love to hear your pleasure, you must quiet yourself. It is early and the castle is far too silent for you to make such noises so freely,” Eddie mumbles into his neck, punctuating the point with open mouth kisses that only make the task more difficult.

Steve bites his lip in obedience, his nails digging harshly into the alpha’s back for something to keep him focused.

This seems to only provoke Eddie further, making him move faster and deeper into his wetness with no restraint. With the way it’s been so long, Steve is sure neither of them will make it much longer. Their stamina is tested by sheer longing and need between them.

“So close,” he warns softly, his voice coming out breathy and strained.

“I know, puiz, I can tell.”

Every thrust hits a place in Steve that makes his head light and fuzzy, completely undone and powerless but to feel all of it. To feel the way Eddie takes control of his body so easily.

Eddie kisses him fiercely once more, locking their mouths together and allowing him to make as much noise as he wants by muffling the sound between them.

It comes in use when Steve shrieks at the feeling of a swelling knot just starting to open his cunt further. Not enough to slip inside completely, but enough to ache with the stretch he’s never had.

“Knot me, Eddie,” he whimpers. “Please knot me.”

Eddie doesn’t make fun of him for his desperation. He only smiles sadly as reaches between them to rub at the omega’s cocklette with quick, practiced motions.

“Not today, my prince. Not yet.”

Steve doesn’t get another chance to plead his case, his body tumbling over the edge of orgasm and squirting messily onto Eddie’s hand as the alpha pulls out. He takes the omega’s slick and begins to stroke his own cock until he’s adding his load of cum to Steve’s heaving stomach while he tries to catch his breath from such overwhelming pleasure.

Being scent-marked by one another, even temporarily, makes his inner omega chirp with satisfaction.

There’s hardly time for his heart to slow before Eddie has Steve hastily cleaned with a cloth and laying on his warm chest, arms wrapping him into a secure hold that makes the rest of the world feel small in comparison.

It’s safe and quiet here.

No worries about the fate of the kingdom or any expectations put on him as the prince, only an alpha who lavishes him in love and attention.

“What’s wrong, my beautiful love? Why do you cry?”

Steve sniffs, pressing his wet cheeks onto Eddie’s firm chest to try and hide his face. In truth, he’s not entirely sure why he’s crying. All he knows is that he’s sad. There’s a feeling deep in his soul that something bad is going to happen and he’s not sure what to do about that.

“I— I don’t know. I just… I have a feeling. An ominous feeling.”

Eddie hums softly, pressing a quick to the top of his head, but otherwise not reacting to Steve’s declaration of fear.

“I see.”

He lets out a shaky breath, his lungs struggling to pull in air as the dread gets worse. There’s no proof of his belief that a tragedy is going to occur, but that makes it only more terrifying.

“Tell me again, Eddie,” Steve whispers to his chest, lips brushing his alpha’s sweaty skin. “Tell me how it will be when we’re free of this kingdom.”

Eddie’s chest stops rising beneath his head momentarily and Steve almost apologizes for misstepping in his needy request. They talk about the future often, but it’s been a while since they’ve truly dreamed together… since they’ve made plans to run away and start anew in a place far from this castle and the kingdom entirely.

“One day, I will take you to a land where your name means nothing, my prince. I’ll build you a sturdy house with my own two hands and keep you in as much as comfort as any alpha can give his wife. A home filled with laughter and warmth, nothing like this castle of luxury and wealth. We’ll raise animals and grow our own food in a garden. And of course the children. As many pups as you like, Steve. Our life will be simple, but it will be full of love and it will be ours,” Eddie promises, lifting the omega’s chin so he can look him in the eyes as he declares it.

It sounds perfect.

It sounds like a fairytale.

“And… and you will love me, even if I am but a penniless farmer’s wife? Even when the winters will be hard and our bellies will be empty? You would still love me then, brave knight?”

Steve thinks Eddie’s leaning down to kiss his lips, but the alpha turns his head and finds his neck instead. He kisses the omega’s unbroken bonding gland softly, mindful of how sensitive an area it is.

He melts at the touch, his heart settling at the knowledge that Eddie loves him.

“I always do.”

No sooner have the words left his mouth than the doors to Steve’s quarters are busted open by a group of armed men, their swords pointed at the lovers still wrapped up together in the sheets on the ornate bed.

Steve’s blood runs cold.

It’s his worst nightmare come true and yet he cannot speak. He cannot move but to cling to his alpha and hope that none of it is real, that it will go away if he closes his eyes and wills it to.

“Sir Edward Munson, you have been accused of the highest treason: defiling royal property, by His Majesty, King Richard Harrington II, and sentenced to beheading as punishment,” a herald announces with disgust.

The other knights don’t move from their position, but it’s clear to Steve that they are attempting to respect the prince’s space by allowing Eddie the chance to disentangle himself from such a precarious position.

It’s not as if Eddie could escape anyway. They’re completely surrounded. Only a fool would even try.

The thought of Eddie being taken from him makes Steve feel foolish enough to try anyway though.

“Leave my chambers immediately! This is an insult to the crown. If you stay, I will have every last one of you executed by sundown!”

They don’t flinch.

He changes tactics, trying to scream and protest and beg to be taken instead, but Eddie only silences him with a single kiss to the forehead before removing the sheets from himself to cover Steve completely in order to prioritize the omega’s modesty.

Steve hates it.

“I accept full responsibility for this act of treason. Prince Steven had no part in this and should be treated as such. He was an unwilling participant in this affair. Do not blame him for my actions.”

“Eddie, please! Don’t do this. Fight them, my knight! We cannot accept this as fate,” Steve sobs, grabbing at the alpha as he puts on his trousers in order to face his execution squad.

There must be another solution. Perhaps if Steve were to pardon him! If Eddie would simply deny the accusation and demand a hearing from the king himself, then they could fight or bargain for a banishment instead!

Eddie pulls free of his grip easily and gives him a sad smile, a single tear falling down his cheek as the only sign that he is not as composed as he appears to be. Steve’s heart aches at the sight.

“My beloved, Prince Steven… I bid you well until our paths cross once more.”

He chokes on the air around him as Eddie is taken into shackles and led from the quarters at sword point. A single knight remains behind to guard his door, crushing any hope of him following.

Steve buries his face in Eddie’s pillow and mourns for the death of his love that hasn’t even happened yet. But it’s out of his hands now and they knew the risks.

It’s utterly hopeless.

There will be no other life away from the palace. No better future where Steve isn’t forced into a loveless marriage for the sake of his kingdom. No pups with a mate who would die for him.

No Eddie.

“I don’t want to be alone again…”

“I don’t want to be alone again. Did you get your affairs in order?”

“Of course, dear heart. I’m home now and I have no intention of leaving you again. It will be dark soon and I suspect our time together is drawing to a close,” Eddie explains slowly, wrapping his arms around Steve’s waist where he’s sat at their table studying his freshly completed piece.

It’s the last vase he’ll be able to finish before tonight. Likely the last piece he’ll ever create and put his name on. There’s some weight to that thought.

“What do you think of it? I know it’s quite plain, but I wanted it to be something solid. A piece that would represent us well,” Steve muses, turning it over in his hands to show his mate every angle of the simple pottery.

Eddie kisses the side of his neck lightly, humming in agreement.

“It’s beautiful, just like you, sweetheart. A true work of art… I almost hesitate to ask you to consider letting me add something of my own to it, puddles.”

Steve pauses at that. What could his alpha possibly want to add to his vase? Eddie has his own form of art, so to speak, but he’s certainly not the type to do more than admire his omega’s creations.

“Add something? What might that something be, my fishlet?”

Eddie chuckles at that, nosing along Steve’s neck until he finds his bonding bite and plants his lips firmly in the spot. A reminder of why he won’t be running away from fate, regardless of the inevitable consequences.

“I went to visit Chrissy earlier,” he explains. “To say goodbye.”

Steve sighs.

“How are her and Robin taking things? Have they decided to try and flee?”

Eddie shakes his head slowly.

He figured as much, but it still hurts to know their closest friends will be suffering the same fate as them. Witch hunts are a rather unpleasant thing and they’re rarely isolated to a single witch. It just so happens that both Eddie and Chrissy have inconveniently become the village’s targets. As such, neither household will be spared in the reckoning tonight.

There are only so many options now and it seems they’ve all decided upon the same one.

“No, they— uh, they’re getting their affairs in order too. However, Chrissy found a spell that she thought I’d be interested in. It was a rather complex one that hasn’t been attempted before and I’m a little nervous to give it a try myself, but it seemed… promising, I suppose.”

It’s hard not to be intrigued by that.

Eddie has been a practicing witch as long as Steve has been in love with him, but it’s always been rather simple magic. A couple enchantments to make their lives easier or ease minor maladies. Never anything to attract attention or gain unfair advantage in life. Nothing flashy or overly impressive.

Just an earthen witch and his potter wife on their quiet little cottage atop a hill.

At least until the town descends upon them at nightfall. Steve doubts anything will be left unburned in the conquest to rid themselves of the misunderstood.

“Promising, you say? I thought we agreed not to fight this, husband.”

Eddie chuckles.

“Not that sort of spell, puddles. It won’t protect us, at least not in that way. I promised that no harm would come to this village or its people and I meant it,” he tells Steve, tucking a lock of hair behind the omega’s ear so he can plant a kiss there too.

Always full of love and affection, his mate. The best man he’s ever known.

“What then, my fishlet? What spell could be worth discussing in the last of our time together?”

Eddie releases him and reaches for the pot. Steve hands it over without question. He would give his alpha anything he asked for. There are no secrets, but endless trust between them.

“Immortality.”

This time, Steve is the one laughing.

“You lie. Such a thing does not exist.”

The alpha shrugs, setting the vase on the table and pulling out a piece of parchment from his garments to show Steve. It all looks like indecipherable runes to him, but that’s the beauty of witchcraft. None of Eddie’s spells ever look like much to his eyes.

“Not immortality in the manner you might think. There’s no spell to give a person everlasting life, not one that I’ve ever heard of anyway. However, eternal love is supposedly a very real possibility, at least from what Chrissy managed to find.”

“And you truly believe in all of that? Eternal love and such?”

Eddie cups his face carefully, bringing their foreheads together in a way that says he’s entirely serious about this endeavor of his. Steve listens, giving him the benefit of the doubt.

“One of us has to believe in it, baby. This spell simply ties a string of fate between soulmates so that they may find one another again in their next lives. My only apprehension is that it will cost you this vase. I’d need to carve some runes into it to perform the spell.”

Steve holds his mate’s gaze, studying him to try and figure out what exactly Eddie is suggesting here. It seems straightforward enough, but not all magic is tangible and he tends to stay out of Eddie’s witchcraft.

“I dug our plots down in the garden today, Eddie. I… I wanted to bury the vase with us.”

His mate pulls back, tears in his eyes now. The smile remains though.

“Then we can bury it with us… But it's not too late for you to run still, Steve. You’re not the one they want dead. You and Robin could flee Greece entirely. Neither Chrissy nor I would blame you both for wanting to live.”

Steve shakes his head, trying to hold back his own tears now.

He’s been trying so hard to be brave for his alpha, but maybe it’s better to be honest about his fear that’s clearly shared. There isn’t much time left for anything other than honesty.

“A life without you isn't one worth living. If you want the vase, then it’s yours… along with my heart and my love. Anything and everything I have is yours, Eddie. I don’t know about spells of eternal love, but if there’s another life beyond this, then I know that I want to be yours in that one too,” Steve declares as calmly as he can.

Eddie wraps him in his arms, pulling the omega tightly to his chest and peppering kisses all over his forehead. It’s almost hard to remember why they’re not rolling in their bed together except that it’s getting darker outside.

If his alpha wants to cast any last spells, he’ll have to do it soon. Daylight is fading as fast as the end of their lives will be shortly.

“My heart beats only for yours, sweetheart. My soul wishes only to be with yours too. I will find you in the next life,” Eddie whispers into the top of his head. He presses another kiss there. “And the next.” A kiss. “And… every one thereafter.”

Steve chirps happily, feeling abundantly loved by his mate. It’s all he’s ever wanted.

“I may not put my faith in magic the way you do, my alpha, but I’ve never doubted you or your love once. My only regret about all of this is that my poor garden will die without me to tend to it. Everything else is temporary. Unimportant.”

Eddie rocks them back and forth slowly, almost as if they’re dancing. The lack of any music doesn’t deter either of them from moving as one.

Steve has never been more in love.

“Will you marry me? Will you be my mate, my beautiful little puddle?”

He giggles at the absurdity of the question, looking up at his alpha with a pout until Eddie takes the hint and kisses him sweetly. Steve hopes that any future lives are as full of happiness as this one.

“Did you forget about our bonding ceremony already, Eddie? Was it that forgettable to you?” he jokes.

Eddie gives him an uncharacteristically serious look and replies solemnly, “Of course not, my beloved. Best day of my life without question. But I’m not asking about just this lifetime. I want to be your mate in all of them. We agreed 'till do us part' and I'm asking for an extension.”

The alpha releases him, dropping to one knee in the middle of their kitchen and looking up at Steve with the humbleness of the scrawny boy he was back when they courted and fell in love.

He takes the omega’s left hand, pressing it to his lips.

“I love you with everything that I am and everything within me. Do you, Steve, take this poor excuse for a witch to be your mate in this life and every other one we get, from now until forever?”

Forever.

His heart completely melts at the sentiment and the tears finally fall as he considers the power of that statement. Steve never believed he would be wanted or loved, let alone have a mate who would dare to defy even death’s clutches to stay with him.

So whether he truly believes that the spell will work, his answer is the same.

He falls to his knees, throwing himself into Eddie’s arms once more, and sobbing into his chest as he replies, “Of course I do. I always do.”

Things get fuzzier beyond that moment. An old reel of film tapering off into burnt edges and scattered holes that make it harder to clearly experience the events that took place back then on the hilltop where they lived once, but Steve remembers watching as Eddie worked furiously to carve the spell into the vase and the box that would hold it for extra protection. They buried it near their grave plots, putting it in the ground together.

Then there was fire.

He recalls a blazing inferno of flames surrounding their home and the agony of his body being burned as he was held by his mate the entire time.

He remembers Eddie declaring his endless love through all of it. Gentle reassurances that this part wouldn’t last forever. The constant peace and affection that flowed through them and their bond until the very end, bringing comfort to him through the pain.

Amongst the many things he cannot recall anymore, there is one thing he knows with absolute certainty above all else.

Steve was buried in the ground with his love that night.

Chapter Text

A shock of sudden cold to his forehead brings Steve firmly back to the present, away from the pain and burning of his past.

It’s a far contrast to that of the scorching fire that seemed to engulf his entire being just moments prior, an agony so vivid that he fears for the charred flesh he might be left with afterwards.

Or maybe that happened a fair several centuries ago. It’s not entirely clear what’s real and what’s… other.

Eddie’s familiar voice and soothing touch are definitely real though. They pierce through the thick fog and confusion of old memories with surprising ease to guide Steve back where he belongs, the only place he’s ever felt truly safe: at his alpha’s side.

What a wonder to be loved so deeply. To be cherished across many lifetimes, tracked down over and over just to spend a little more time together.

Gentle fingers ghost along his heated cheek, the minute action full of affection, even as brief as the contact may be.

His mate adores him endlessly. How could he possibly forget that?

“Stevie, baby, I swear that I’ll never let you do anything so reckless again. Putting yourself in danger like that over just a silly old vase... We've faced real challenges before, but I— I can’t keep losing you, puddles.”

Laughter bubbles up inside of him at the ridiculous declaration. As if Eddie can control Steve any more than Steve can control the stupid shit Eddie does. Their fate has always been out of their hands, despite their best efforts to grasp at the threads of destiny.

God, they really are a mess.

“To be fair… it’s a pretty nice vase,” he chimes in groggily.

The light touch on his face freezes for a second before Eddie’s other hand cups the opposite cheek, cradling him entirely now with a subtle shaking that could only be his worried mate’s attempts to check him over.

“Steve? Puddles?”

The omega hums in agreement, trying to gather his strength enough to actually open his eyes.

His whole body feels heavier than it’s ever been before. Tired. Well, drained, really. It’s a bone-deep ache of exhaustion. Every bit of him screams in protest as he tries to stretch his muscles out.

It’s not completely surprising, considering he’s just been mentally saddled with enough lifetimes to fill an entire library twice over from all the stories buzzing around in his throbbing head. His body can’t keep up with this any more than his brain can handle all the unexpected new information.

“Yeah. At least, I think so,” Steve mumbles, forcing one eye open so he can see for himself just how worried Eddie really is.

Oof.

His alpha looks like a fucking mess. Damp hair somehow even more askew than usual, his hair tie holding on by a thread and a hope. Sweat smudged across his creased forehead and heavy bags under his eyes that say he didn’t get much more rest than Steve.

But it’s his Eddie, which makes him utterly perfect to Steve.

“Hi there, fishie,” he greets with a bright smile that couldn’t be held back for the world or anything that’s come before it.

Oh.

That makes Eddie cry.

His strong mate begins to openly sob without ever letting go of him, coming even closer as he lays his head on the omega’s chest now. From this distance, he can see that Eddie’s hair is truly doing a bang-up impersonation of a rat’s nest and it looks like he got sunburned on his cheeks from their long day in the field. Still, he recognizes the face of the man who’s loved him over and over, even if he’s a little worse for wear at the moment.

Steve uses the strength he has to wrap his arms around Eddie in return, surrounding him with all the love he has in his aching body. It seems like forever since he’s been able to hold his alpha like this.

Maybe it really has been.

“Steve?” Eddie asks again, his voice cracking in the process.

The question sounds different this time. He’s not just asking if Steve is okay or if he’s awake. He’s asking if this version of Steve is his Steve. If he’s the same omega who Eddie has been faithfully waiting for through so many painful and lonely lives.

Steve’s never been so happy to have the correct answer to a question.

“My loyal alpha waited a long time for his omega,” Steve praises him softly. “What a good mate you are to care for me like that. I must be so loved.”

Eddie’s lip wobbles dangerously and his eyes clench shut. Steve can tell that he’s trying so hard not to cry again, to not ruin their long-awaited happy reunion with more needless tears.

He hates it, but Steve understands it nonetheless.

They’ve been mourning for ages.

Every time it didn’t work out. Every time Eddie couldn't stay and Steve couldn’t remember. Every time Eddie sacrificed his own life in order to prolong his own omega’s... Those days were awful, but they can grieve the time they lost later. They’ve suffered and have more than earned a little bit of relief.

This is the day they’ve waited for.

A reunion of a lifetime (or several dozen of them).

“I didn’t think I’d ever find you again,” Eddie finally admits in a pained whisper. “I thought— I thought that you’d never come home to me, Steve. Every lifetime we shared ended in tragedy and I began to think that it was us. That the universe deemed our fate as a lost cause or— or—”

His soulmate’s pain hurts them both.

Steve holds him a little tighter, interrupts his spiral of agony with, “That’s not true, Ed. If you really thought I was gone forever, you would’ve given up by now. I know that you came here to find it.”

“I missed you,” Eddie blurts out, insistent and unwavering. “Stevie, I missed you so much that I was willing to defy the universe if it meant I could have you again. I would’ve dug up this entire country with a teaspoon if it meant that there was a chance it might bring my omega back.”

Jesus Christ.

Yeah, Steve is the one crying this time.

“How could you know that it would work? That me touching the vase again would even fix things?”

Eddie gives him a smile that reminds Steve why he fell in love the first time.

“I didn’t. Not entirely.”

“Huh? But— but you became an archeologist, Eddie, and you dedicated your entire life, this one anyway, to finding it. You made a name for yourself and did everything you could to make sure we met again at just the right time and place,” Steve points out.

This lifetime only makes sense if Eddie planned it all. He had to somehow know that Steve was becoming an archeologist and he had to line up all the dominos and make them fall in just the right way that they’d bump into one another and correct the lingering effects of their spell together.

There’s no other explanation for how it all happened.

Eddie’s smile doesn’t waver, but the pointed look he gives Steve says that he’s waiting for him to figure something out. Something important. Steve hasn’t a clue what it might be.

“I didn’t orchestrate our meeting, baby. I never have before.”

Nope. That doesn’t add up.

“No, you knew who I was before I introduced myself at the digsite. You said I was familiar to you when we first met. So your memory wasn’t affected?” Steve hedges, making sure he’s on the right track with his understanding.

His alpha nods patiently, as if he’s got all the time in the world now to do so.

“Like the heart inside my chest, I know your every beat. You’ve always been my other half, Steve. In every lifetime. Of course I knew who you were. I just didn’t recognize you until I saw your face again.”

His own heart skips a beat at that.

“Do you always know?”

Eddie hums thoughtfully.

He gets the feeling the answer isn’t a straight ‘yes’ or ‘no’ situation.

“Not right away. I’m not just born knowing I have another half of my soul that’s missing from me. My memories come back to me over a period of time, depending on how old I am and whether we’ve met before. Usually around the age that I present as an alpha, I understand what my purpose in life is, even if I haven’t seen your face yet.”

“Your purpose in life?” he questions.

The alpha removes a cold compress from Steve’s forehead to press a quick peck there instead. Eddie’s lips decide to linger there afterwards, as if he can’t bear to part from the omega.

“You, of course.”

“Me?” Steve whispers.

“I've never known a greater purpose for myself than to love you and be loved by you, puddles.”

It’s not as if these are sentiments that Eddie has never expressed towards him, but hearing it now, after such a length apart, Steve can’t imagine how he went for so long without them.

“And that’s why you kept sacrificing your life for mine.”

It’s a statement, not a question.

Eddie’s grip on him tightens just a hair. Steve’s not sure it’s being done on purpose.

“Many, many, many years ago, a beautiful omega was willing to die with his strange mate atop that little hill ablaze with hate. Our love survived that night, even if we didn’t. How could I ever ask you for more, Steve? How could I let you die in my place again after you did it even once? Is an alpha’s job not to protect their omega at any cost? What kind of a mate would I be if I couldn’t give you all that you deserve, sweetheart?”

Steve cuddles even closer to Eddie, burying his nose in the alpha’s warm neck and inhaling slowly until his lungs feel fit to burst. His scent— petrichor and love, repair all the brokenness in his heart.

Their shared past is starting to make a lot more sense.

Every death, every hurt, every lifetime of longing melts into this pool of gold. Into warmth and happiness that he can touch. Someone to hold Steve and remind him that the jagged edges can fit back together even better than where they started.

In this lifetime, Steve studied a vast variety of cultures and their artforms. Archaeology requires a thorough understanding of more than just western culture and he took his studies very seriously, wanting to know about the beauty that exists elsewhere.

Distantly, he recalls a lecture from grad school about kintsugi: the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with gold embellishments.

Its focus was on taking something previously considered to be worthless and adding to its value and beauty without intending to fully return it to its original state.

The art of finding beauty in imperfections and overcoming adversity to produce a masterpiece.

Is that what’s happened here? Were he and Eddie broken apart for a greater good? For the universe to knit them back together with the intention of making them a treasure beyond measurement? For their hearts to return and fit so snuggly that nothing would be able to pull them apart again?

“You are the bravest alpha I've known and you’ve suffered more than enough,” Steve states simply, hoping that Eddie understands all the feelings of thankfulness and love that he can’t quite manage. “I won’t leave you alone again.”

Eddie's breathing seems to relax infinitesimally. It’s enough.

“I called for a doctor to check you over, but they’re probably not going to make it to town until the morning. How are you feeling?”

He chirps noncommittally.

Steve’s probably dehydrated and could use some fluids. Other than that, it’s just a matter of resting both his mind and body until they catch up with the present.

“Why? Are you worried about me?” he teases lightly.

Eddie’s pinched face says that he’s hit a sore spot.

“Oh no, you really are! Why are you so worried? I’m right here. I’m mostly fine, see?”

His alpha’s face flushes even deeper than the mild redness of his sunburn at the omega’s reassurances and it suddenly occurs to Steve exactly why Eddie is clinging to him so tightly.

“You’ve never had to live without me...”

Eddie huffs, burying his face in Steve’s neck, breathing hotly over his sensitive untouched bonding gland. It’s so strange to go from feeling their pulsing bond in a lifetime where they were mated, to the present one where their bodies don’t match their minds.

These bodies have hardly touched before, let alone known the love of a mating bite or the pleasure of a knot.

“Yes, and I’m not going to start now. I’ve been looking for my missing piece for too long to give up now that I’ve found him. The universe can pry you from my cold dead hands or not at all.”

Steve laughs.

Stubborn alpha.

“Well, if you’re going to defy the universe, what’s the plan with my vase then? Should we preserve it?”

Eddie freezes like he hadn’t thought of it yet. They don’t necessarily need to decide this right away, but considering their dig focused on finding the artifact, it may cause more problems to conceal what they’ve unearthed.

“You told me that you wanted to put it on the mantle,” Eddie reminds him quietly.

It’s sweet of him to remember that, even if Steve only vaguely recalls any details of their first life together, let alone all the specifics of that last night they shared.

“I did,” he agrees, unsure if that’s still the best plan. “A museum may be safer, but it will have others digging into our past as well… Wait, I know you carved a spell into my pottery, but the box had some carvings as well. I couldn’t read them though,” Steve suddenly remembers, hoping Eddie will tell him.

He’d never bothered to ask before. It hadn’t seemed important at the time, when they were preparing for death, but now it is.

“To my puddle, from your fishlet.”

The terms of endearment are so old, yet still so special to him. A way to simplify the connection and yearning they hold for one another. Eddie’s drawn to Steve like a fish to water and Steve never feels complete without the beloved occupant of his heart inside of him like a home.

“Gods above, we’re just two old hopeless romantics, aren’t we?” Steve muses softly. “The historians will have a field day with us.”

He presses his lips to the top of Eddie’s head. It’s obvious that he showered upon their return to the hotel because he smells clean and fresh, despite his disheveled appearance. It’s still a far cry from their filth out on the digsite.

Steve himself has been at least washed up, from what he can see and feel. That would’ve been a lot more concerning if Eddie wasn’t his soulmate.

“Do we know if the spell will continue on past this lifetime?” he asks curiously.

Eddie stiffens up, but Steve runs a soothing hand down his back to settle him once more.

“I truly haven’t a clue,” Eddie confesses. “The reason I was so determined to find the vase now is that our endings have been getting more… tragic. I fear that the spell is growing weaker over time. You see, I’ve always gone looking for you, Steve, but our circumstances haven’t always been the best. I know that and I know how to pine from afar, how to devote myself to loving you without confusing you too. But this last time… In Hawkins, we never even got to speak for more than a few days. I didn’t even really get to know you. I couldn’t stand the thought of that being our new normal.”

Hawkins. The Lab. Demogorgons. The Upside-Down. Vecna.

Bits and pieces of a lifetime he knows he lived once, but still feels hazy at best. All of his past memories are a bit like looking through a foggy window. They exist and he can see them, just not clearly.

And the harder he tries to focus on the details, the stronger his migraine grows.

Steve winces with a groan of pain, which prompts Eddie to get up. Instead of lying on the omega, he positions himself to sit up against the headboard and pull his mate into his loving arms.

Eddie presses kisses against his temple, his lips lingering there affectionately.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart. I know it must be a lot for you to remember all at once. Fate has never been so cruel as to cram everything into my head in such a short period of time. I can’t imagine how you’re feeling.”

He hums in agreement.

Still, there are things bothering him.

“What happened in Hawkins, Eddie? I know you died and then… It's fuzzy. Did we defeat Vecna? Were the kids alright?”

It’s been nearly forty years since then, but he has to know. They could still be alive. His pups might’ve made it out of there!

Eddie sighs, running gentle hands through Steve’s hair.

“Honestly, baby, I was hoping you’d tell me. All the records are sealed airtight. I can see when you died the year after I did, but that’s all the information that’s publicly available. No cause of death, no record of the lab or anything else strange occurring there in the 80’s. Even with my access to historical archives, some things are off limits. Whatever happened, it was well covered-up by the government.”

Oh. Damn.

Steve was distantly aware that he must've died again, considering he’s here in another lifetime and his own current birthdate isn’t too many years later, but hearing it aloud is sort of sad.

“I died?”

Eddie looks down at him with eyes full of empathy. He knows what it’s like to die young. He’s done it many more times than Steve has.

“Yeah. You and Robin went on the same day, if it helps? You two have always had that freaky soulmate bond thing going on that didn’t even require a spell to bring the two of you together over and over. Obviously Chrissy and I died around the same time too, so that was kind of nice in a way,” Eddie points out, trying to lighten the mood.

Steve had nearly forgotten about Chrissy and Robin in all of this. Their lives had been just about as tangled up as Steve and Eddie’s own romance.

But then why had Chrissy been so awful to Robin in this lifetime? Had she not remembered or simply not cared for her to do such an awful thing as steal her big discovery?

“I’m going to fight Chrissy.”

Eddie lets out a strangled laugh.

“Hold on there, puddles. You know there's always more to the story and she’s a good person, even if she did a relatively bad thing to your other soulmate.”

“You took the blame for her murder,” Steve reminds him bluntly. “It’s actually the entire reason you died last time. Why are you defending her?”

Eddie winces and Steve apologizes quietly.

He hadn’t meant for the words to come out quite so harshly. It’s difficult to find the line of what’s a healed wound and which ones are still fresh in a way. Eddie’s had much more time to let the memories settle into his head and sort through them.

“Right. Well, at the time, I didn’t know who she was anyway. I didn’t even remember you were my soulmate until we were saying our goodbyes… But Chrissy’s motivations in this lifetime aren’t as awful as they may seem, assuming we’re speaking of the infamous Cairo incident?”

Maybe it’s because Steve’s carrying the hurt on behalf of Robin and not himself, but he feels owed an explanation. Robin may have forgiven Chrissy already, but he hasn’t.

He’s been glaring at the woman for the past month since they arrived at the digsite, even after Robin claimed that they reconciled and were in love. She’d suggested that maybe Steve give Eddie a chance too, which had made no sense either.

Although, now he’s beginning to wonder.

“Of course we are. Robin said Chrissy stole a once-in-a-career discovery from her and took credit for it. I get that they’re soulmates like us, Eddie, but I’m having a hard time understanding what part of that you’re justifying.”

Eddie takes one of Steve’s hands in his own, bringing it to his lips to kiss.

The casual affection forces the omega to untense his body slightly. It might even help him listen with an open mind.

“Chrissy was worried that Robin would stop looking for their artifact if she found something good enough to make her name… So she stole the necklace to spur Robin forward.” Steve opens his mouth to interrupt, but Eddie continues on before he can speak. “She realized later on that this was probably a bad idea and that she should’ve accepted the love she had with Robin in this lifetime, but you know love makes us do crazy things, puddles.”

Steve takes a deep breath, allowing Eddie’s explanation to sink in fully. He doesn’t entirely approve of Chrissy’s behavior, but if she feels even a fraction of the love Steve does for Eddie… he can understand it.

“We robbed banks,” Steve states with a giggle.

He’s still a little bit in disbelief at the faint memories of the strange lives they lived together. He also knows there were many others that he can't recall just yet.

Eddie snickers at the reminder, seemingly just as amused by the concept.

“We did. I would’ve robbed as many banks as it took to give you the life you deserved, sweetheart. Chrissy happened to rob her own soulmate, but she did find their artifact at least.”

That makes him sit up in full attention.

“Wait, she did?”

Eddie smiles wide, clearly pleased at Steve’s reaction.

“Yeah, the day you guys arrived at the digsite, Chrissy and I found— ironically enough— the enchanted necklace they bound their souls to. It’s why she was racing away from the digsite when you two arrived. She was going to smuggle it back to the hotel and find a way to get Robin here, but fate intervened again.”

“So Robin knows about all of this? She knows who we are too? That’s why she pretty much bailed on me for this dig and made us spend time together?” Steve clarifies.

Eddie snorts.

“You make it sound like being around me was torture or something.”

Steve gives him a pointed accusatory look, which Eddie reacts to by clutching his chest and pretending he’s been shot in the heart. He fakes a spasm on the bed like a fish out of water.

Dramatic weirdo. God, he truly adores Eddie.

“You were relentlessly hitting on me!” Steve defends himself, shoving Eddie away affectionately. “I’ve never even kissed anyone before and you were acting like you wanted to mate with me the day we met. It was a lot. I just knew I was waiting for someone, Eddie. I didn’t know it was you.”

Eddie goes from faux-heartbreak to eager puppy in about two seconds, dropping his bit entirely to sit up once more and eye Steve with curiosity.

“You’ve never kissed anyone?”

His cheeks heat up.

Of course that would be the point his alpha would find interesting.

“First of all, you know that isn’t entirely true because I’ve kissed you in damn near every lifetime. Secondly, I’ve kissed other people, just not in this life. I’m sure you’ve kissed other people before too,” he argues.

Eddie shakes his head once, not losing his overly-excited puppy appearance in the process.

“Nope. Not in any of my lifetimes. I’ve never been attracted to anyone else and once I know I have a soulmate, even kissing someone other than you would feel like cheating to me,” Eddie casually explains, as if it’s not the most romantic thing Steve’s ever heard.

“Oh. Well, you should probably kiss me then,” he giggles out. “And maybe we can find some other firsts to cross off the list too...”

The alpha visibly perks up even more at the invitation, leaning down to cage Steve against the bed.

Eddie’s scent and body surrounding his own sets off Steve’s dormant omega instincts and he can feel himself slicking up already. It won’t take much to convince his mate when they’re both so pent up like this.

“Can I? Stevie, I’ve been waiting so long for you, but I can wait a little longer until you feel better. I don’t want to hurt you. If this is the life where we finally get it right, I want it to be special.”

Steve leans up to nuzzle his nose against Eddie’s neck. He can feel and hear the hitch in his alpha’s breathing.

“Hand me that water bottle on the nightstand please.”

Eddie rushes to follow the order, even removing the cap before he gives it to Steve.

The omega sits up for just a moment, chugging down a few big gulps of water. It probably isn’t enough, but there will be time to hydrate more later on. Reconsummating their bond takes precedent over all other needs.

He hands the water bottle back to Eddie. The moment it’s safely on the nightstand, he pulls the alpha back on top of him.

Their lips are so close. So close that Steve has to force himself to barely move his mouth to speak, lest he accidentally kiss Eddie before the alpha can indulge them both.

“Now… ask me to marry you. You want this to be special? Then tell me that you love me, kiss me, knot me, bite me, and pup me like you promised. Be my mate again, Eddie. Remind me why you waited so long for me.”

It appears that Eddie needs no further invitation.

“Steve, puddles, love of all my lives,” Eddie starts with a soft look, “I’ve loved you, I love you, and I will keep loving you until we’re buried in the ground together once more. Will you accept my mating proposal… again?”

Steve can’t help but smile at the add-on.

“I always do, Eddie.”

They seal their promise with a kiss. The first one they’ve shared in longer than either of them can remember, the first one these bodies have experienced together at all.

It’s light and sweet, enough to feel connected just like they used to be.

Even the brief kiss has Steve worked up and reaching for his alpha’s shirt, tugging at the garment to make his wishes clear. Eddie understands him without words and removes both their shirts, tossing them in the corner of the hotel room far away from them.

“Sweetheart, I’m going to put a whole litter in you. I know I’ve promised you a family and the one thing we’ve never had is pups of our own,” Eddie murmurs into Steve’s jawline. “I won’t stop until I know you’re full of my babies.”

He squeezes his thighs together, trying to stop the heavy flow of slick that seems to be gushing from within him. It doesn’t take a lot from his alpha to make him so eager and ready for a knot.

“Please, alpha,” Steve whines.

Eddie’s hand slips beneath the waistband of his sweatpants, not pretending to do anything other than seek out the wetness of Steve’s drenched cunt. Two fingers slide into him with no preamble.

He gasps at the sudden stretch, arms flying up to wrap around Eddie’s shoulders for support.

“Fuck, baby, you're ridiculously tight. It’s a good thing you always get so wet for me or you’d never be able to take my knot like this, puddles,” Eddie comments with a small laugh, adding another finger and continuing to rhythmically finger open the omega.

That motherfucker.

Steve lightly smacks the back of Eddie’s neck, getting his attention quickly. The alpha looks shocked by his outburst, but continues his ministrations like he’s hardly affected.

“You’ve been calling me easy this whole time?” Steve pauses to let out a soft moan of pleasure as he rocks into his alpha’s palm where it rubs against his leaking cocklette on every thrust. “Puddles was my— ah, fuck— my nickname because you knew how slick I got and you were joking about it without me knowing? We just met, you pervert.”

Eddie looks mildly apologetic now, leaning in to kiss the pout off Steve’s mouth at least.

“I’m sorry that my teasing hurt your feelings, my darling. It was only ever said in love. And in my small defense, you found that nickname a lot funnier the first go ‘round we had.”

It’s not like Steve can truly stay mad at his alpha, but his ego is a bit chaffed by being the butt of a joke he wasn’t filled in on yet.

He rolls his eyes and kisses Eddie’s cheek in a silent act of forgiveness.

“You can make it better by fucking me now. I’m ready enough.”

Eddie hums at that, removing his hand from Steve’s pants and licking off the copious amount of slick clinging stubbornly to his long fingers. He moans at the taste, his eyes closing as he savors it.

“Forgot how sweet you are,” Eddie states in explanation. “If I wasn’t already worried about how dehydrated you are, I’d have you riding my face tonight so I could drown in your slick.”

Steve squirms at the reminder of the many things he and Eddie have done together. There will be plenty of time to relive the past and explore more possibilities in the future.

Tonight, however, he will be satisfied with a knot, a bite, and a good pupping. That is, if Eddie ever actually moves on with it already.

“Eddie?”

The alpha freezes at his tone, giving Steve wide eyes that say he’s got his undivided attention.

“Yes, dear?”

Steve grabs his face, pulling him down until their foreheads are resting against one another. Every bit of intimacy fills him with more adoration for his beloved alpha.

“Love me now or lose me forever.”

Eddie surges forward to close the gap between them, accepting his challenge and practically swallowing Steve whole as he kisses him enthusiastically. The delicious way he responds to the omega’s threat has Steve yanking at Eddie’s waistband.

They’re both hungry for this. Starving, in fact.

Eddie breaks the kiss with an amused chuckle, reaching down to help Steve pull his pants off. He’s not wearing anything underneath them, which means his impressive cock ends up pressed right against Steve’s thigh.

Steve rocks his hips up against it, grinding his covered pussy wantonly.

“So eager, baby.”

He punishes the comment with a nip to the alpha’s jaw.

“Says the one not wearing any underwear. Shut up and get me naked already, Munson.”

Eddie obeys once more, practically ripping his omega’s sweatpants and slick-soaked underwear off him. It’s hard not to be grateful for the help when Steve’s still so exhausted.

The alpha seems to realize this as he doesn’t make fun of Steve for letting him rearrange them both on the bed, propping the omega’s legs open and situating himself between them so his dick can slide along his wet cunt.

Steve whines desperately when Eddie’s massive alpha cock glides over his own smaller cocklette, rutting against him, and coaxing more slick from within him in anticipation.

There’s no good reason to extend their foreplay like this and neither one of them has the patience for it at the moment.

“Alpha, please. I need you to fuck me and mark me again. Need to be yours,” he begs, purposely letting his distressed omegan lilt color his request in order to compel his alpha.

Eddie reacts exactly as he hoped. An alpha’s instincts to please their omega gives them little choice but to comply with their voiced needs.

Even as he softly replies, “Be patient, puddles. You may be familiar with my knot, but this gorgeous new body of yours isn’t,” Eddie is lining himself up with Steve’s entrance and letting the head of his cock just push in and out.

Steve finds Eddie’s free hand on the bed and laces their fingers together, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

They’re on uneven footing in a way. What they’re doing is a familiar dance between well-coordinated partners, but the music is new and it changes all the steps.

He knows why Eddie’s hesitating and it’s more than just concerns for his body.

Steve takes in the pinched expression of his soulmate and he simply speaks from the heart, sure that it will put his Eddie’s mind at ease once and for all.

“I don’t know if we’ll get another lifetime after this and I don’t care. If fate doesn’t bring us together, we’ll do it ourselves. I love you beyond anything, so don’t waste another minute worrying about the future and be here with me in the present. Make me yours again, Eddie.”

His alpha kisses him sweetly, but it’s wet with tears of happiness. It’s hard to tell which of them is crying, but Steve is fairly sure it’s both of them.

Eddie carefully eases himself all the way inside Steve with gentle thrusts that allow his formerly untouched pussy to accommodate easily to the size of his alpha’s cock. It’s still a stretch, but between the kissing and the soft words of love, there’s nothing but pleasure.

Despite the lack of an existing mating bond in this life, Steve swears he can almost feel the tug of something warm and loving connecting him with Eddie.

He doesn’t question it, allowing himself to fully relax and sink into the plush bed beneath him as his alpha fucks him with all the care and attention of an experienced mate.

“Feels so good, alpha,” he praises Eddie.

Steve moans loudly into the quiet room when his alpha takes that as permission to go faster, speeding up the deep thrusts that are keeping the omega pinned into the soaking wet sheets.

“My beautiful omega,” Eddie compliments him in return. “So beautiful like this, Stevie. You’re tight and wet and perfect for me, sweetheart. When I’ve bred you full of my pups and marked your neck once more, I will have everything I’ve ever needed. I’ve seen the whole world and you’re still the only thing worth seeing, my love.”

To emphasize this, Eddie has attached his mouth just on the edge of Steve’s mating gland, sucking and nipping so close that it makes the omega clench on his cock in anticipation.

It doesn’t help when the alpha drops a hand to his lower belly, cupping the spot as if he’s already pregnant with Eddie’s baby. To think, this could be the night they start their family.

“Eddie, I need to— I can’t—”

He’s so close, his pleasure building and refusing to stay under control any longer.

Eddie growls low in his ear. It’s a rumble of approval that says Steve’s orgasm would be an honor for him to achieve.

The alpha’s knot slips inside, but it’s not quite big enough yet and slips out when Eddie pulls back. Steve tries to lock onto it again in a fruitless endeavor that just makes Eddie fuck him deeper as he attempts to let his swelling knot find a home inside of the omega.

“Fuck, baby.”

Once more, Steve mentally curses this body’s newness as he coaxes his weak internal knotting muscles to clamp onto the full knot that pops inside him. He doesn’t allow Eddie to draw back, locking down and milking the large intrusion, causing the alpha to spill his seed as Steve’s own body releases a gush of slick in response.

“Eddie!” he squeaks, grasping for any bit of flesh he can grab onto as waves of pleasure rock through him.

His nails find the alpha’s shoulders and he holds on tightly.

In the midst of this, Eddie’s mouth finds his neck and he gives no warning before his teeth sink right into Steve’s mating gland, connecting them once more and renewing their bond. The familiar flood of love that rushes between them is like greeting an old friend.

This isn’t the first time his alpha’s bitten him like this, but it may be the last.

Steve doesn’t find that idea as scary as it should be.

This is the life they were supposed to have all along. Finally, they’re somewhere they can be together with no obstacles. Not witch-hunters, nor kings, nor the law, nor interdimensional monsters can tear them apart this time.

No, this time they will get their happy ending.

It’s one for the history books. A story of heartbreak and anguish and pain, but most importantly: love. The deepest of loves that could endure a thousand more lifetimes and guide them home to one another in the end.

They’re both the storytellers and the story this time. They wrote this into existence.

Steve quickly finds himself dozing off in the face of sheer exhaustion and satisfaction, happy beyond belief, but he can still hear clearly as Eddie whispers soft words in his ear.

“In every universe, in every lifetime, in every way I can possibly fall in love with you… Always and forever, I will be yours, Steve.”