Out from ruins once possessed

[the_freak]

Who: Eddie Munson, Steve Harrington, Albert Wesker
What: Collecting Radioactive Samples for Wesker
Where: Temba Green 22 ✧ Laboratories
When: Early/Mid Month
Warnings: TBD



"So- when he gives me my shit, I say we hike out to some clearing and smoke under the stars," Eddie mused as they walked, though hiking didn't seem so appealing in the moment. Why'd this place have to be so far away? "You know, that way we don't have to worry about Max walking in on us or anything?" Not 'cause he thinks she has a delicate constitution or anything, but because he's not sure he trusts his non-sober self to refuse her if she asked to join. And he had a feeling Harrington would object to any of his nuggets seeing him messed up.

He pulled up the map again, attempting to orient them and make sure they were still heading the right way. "Should be just around here if I'm reading this right."

Comments

[farrahfawcetts]

Steve's head is killing him. He falls next to Eddie, panting himself but mostly from the sudden and stabbing pain. Definitely an eight on the headache scale. Whether that was from the weird thing he took a picture of or from the whole fucking mess they just went through, anyone's guess.

After a second or so, he was able to push it away and choke out a laugh. Even had a smile that wasn't 100% grimace.

"If you went to gym class instead of wherever the fuck you went, you could run like that too." He ignores the question of how he is and shifts closer to Eddie, hand going for his chin so he can inspect the scratch on his face. "Are you okay? Jesus..."

[the_freak]

Eddie's brow furrows in sympathy, and he half swears he can feel an echo of that pain. Maybe he should be drinking more too.

"...I went to smoke," Eddie supplies to help distract him with a laugh. Definitely not helping with the running. He stills at the touch, cheeks a bit pink under the direct observation, and he moves easily when prompted. "M'fine. Missed my eyes. We can handle a few scrapes and bruises by now, right?"

[farrahfawcetts]

Steve laughs and the sound echoes against his temples like a fucking gong was rung. Yeah, he was gonna get a migraine. It was just a matter of time. Fuck. He should have some time before it sets in though. Priorities.

He frowns at the scratch and prods it a bit with his thumb. "It looks a little red already." He glances at his own wrist and it looks the same. "We should probably wash it out or something. You get hit anywhere else?"

[the_freak]

Honestly, he wants to itch at it, but that's probably not going to help matters. Eddie looks himself over uncertainly. He knows he got smacked by those things a ton, but he's not sure how many managed to get him with their thorns that he might have missed.

"I don't see any...?" he shifts to try and see if any jump out to Steve, taking a cursory glance over him while he's at it. "What about you?"

[farrahfawcetts]

Steve looks down at himself. The wrist that got him first was the most obvious. The one that got his side seems to have only gotten the shirt, really. There's an itch on his ankle that makes him check there to see another shallow scratch. Nothing too bad though. Nothing that is gonna kill him anytime soon.

"Nah, I am good. Only looks like they got two good hits. At least with the thorns."

He smirks up at Eddie. "You're not too bad with that bat..."

[the_freak]

"Yeah we'll see if we bruise up," Eddie shares a small laugh, "We're going to look like we had a very good time or a very bad one."

He gets a bit bashful then and shrugs, "You just got here man, you can go running off and dying on me yet."

[farrahfawcetts]

It's a mirror of the conversation they had just recently. Steve telling Eddie that he just got him back and didn't want to lose him again. The idea that Eddie could be seeing him the same way is like a shock to the system. For a moment Steve doesn't even know what to do with it except feel vaguely warm. Cared for, maybe.

It's nice.

"I'm not going anywhere, Eddie. If the Upside Down didn't take me out, plants aren't gonna."

lol, *can't* go running off, pretend I said *can't*

[the_freak]

"You better not." He fixes Steve with a faux hard look, but doesn't last long before breaking into a small, absently shooing the creepy little creatures away. "M'getting used to having you around. Let's get you home and get some water in you before your head gets any worse. Then I can pick up our payment."

LOL I read it right in my head

[farrahfawcetts]

"Yeah?" Steve snorts a laugh and gets to his feet so he can extend a hand to Eddie. "It's been barely a week. Give it a month or so and get back to me. I promise, two migraines and you're gonna be looking for a new roommate."

Speaking of, he needs that water an hour ago.

"Lead the way. If I have to think about directions, I might just start steaming from the ears."

[the_freak]

"Doubtful."

Taking the hand up, Eddie gives Steve's back a tired pat once he's upright, turning them in the right direction.

"Just think about how good that weed's going to be," he encourages, moving to take the lead. He takes them at a slow pace to avoid straining Harrington any more than they have to.

"Maybe we should invest in some sunglasses for you or something. Those help sometimes, right?"

[farrahfawcetts]

"Mmhmm..." He squints as the lights start to hurt but it's no worse than before. Just a new thing to avoid if he wants to not camp out here all night. But something tells him Eddie wouldn't allow that. Probably would carry him back at that point which... Yeah. It's nice to have a friend who cares like that.

"They kind of come out of nowhere. Usually I can tell when it's starting and just stay in a dark room or something till its over. This one... I don't know. It seems like it came out of nowhere."

[the_freak]

Eddie nods, slowing up a little more as make it out where the air feels a little fresher, breathing it in deep, and hoping it helps Steve in the meantime, 'cause he's not sure what he can do.

"We could blindfold you," he offers, mostly teasing, holding up his bandana with a smirk, "But then you'd have to trust me to actually guide you back and not drop you in a hole somewhere. Or you know...I could shut up. That'd probably help."

[farrahfawcetts]

"Nah, you're distracting, actually. In a good way."

He looks at the blindfold and his stomach flips for a second. Nausea, probably. He shakes his head. "I don't think I want to put all that work on you. I can still see alright. No auras or tunneling yet. If either of those happen, I might just take you up on it."

He breathes deep and walks quietly for a moment before:

"What was that thing we saw, there? The big thing?"

[the_freak]

"Never heard that before," Eddie laugh, grinning and thinking back on how many times in his life he's been called a distraction- and not in the good way. Who would have thought Steve Harrington was the kind of dude Eddie could be himself around?

"It's here if you want it," he promises.

There's silence for a beat before Eddie answers honestly. "...I dunno. But I didn't like it. It didn't feel...right?" His nose wrinkles. It's the best way he can think to describe it. "...you think he'll give me a hard time for not collecting a bit of it too?"

[farrahfawcetts]

"If he wants a sample of that thing, he can get it himself. Not even for truck of weed would I get near it close enough to touch. Especially with the vines."

He pulls up his tablet and looks at the picture he took of it. It looks a little distorted from the shot which is annoying but still, you can see what it is. Steve passes it over to Eddie.

"Honestly, I don't think it's organic. It looks...I don't know. Not that."

[the_freak]

Eddie frowns at the picture and rubs at the bridge of his nose with a sigh. He's clearly too tense, he's giving himself a damn headache to match Steve's.

"You think it's dangerous?" It felt dangerous.

[farrahfawcetts]

"I think that it was probably the reason that dickhead sent us to get flowers instead of going himself." Steve increasingly is feeling like they were set up. And, worst of all, Eddie was supposed to go by himself. He could have fucking died.

"Did you piss him off or something? Because that was seriously fucking dangerous and you would have walked in without even a weapon."

[the_freak]

Given his tendency to piss people off, Eddie has to think for a second, reflecting back on his interactions with the guy before shaking his head, not looking entirely sure.

"I don't think so? Haven't really had the chance to..." he says, handing Steve's device back with a frown.

[farrahfawcetts]

Steve takes it back and frowns deeper. "So he just decided you were expendable then. Awesome. What was his name again?"

Steve can't help but think about what would have happened if Eddie had been on his own. Grabbing a flower before a vine smacked him. The thorns maybe cutting him up. Jesus. Who sent someone into a situation like that without warning?

"You're not doing favors for him again. I don't care if he's got a fully grown pot plant and the cure for cancer."

[the_freak]

Yeah, well...he's not wrong there. Eddie's generally been viewed as pretty expendable; enough that he's internalized the feeling quite a bit. "Wesker."

He wonders if the guy knew what he was sending him into or really was just too busy and important to go look at some plants.

"Mmm," Eddie nods, but doesn't quite promise.

[farrahfawcetts]

Steve cuts a sharp look at Eddie's non-committal response. It's a mistake because the quick motion makes his vision swim enough that he stumbles. "God...ground is...super uneven," he grumbles in a weak excuse.

"I'll talk to Wesker. See what his deal was," Steve says firmly. "He owes us a lot more than just something that was originally yours anyways. At the very least an explanation."

[the_freak]

Eddie slows up and without acknowledging it grabs Steve's arm to sling over his shoulder so he can help support him, brow furrowed with concern.

"I can talk to him," he insists, less worried about that at the moment that he is about Steve.

[farrahfawcetts]

Steve would normally complain or maybe even push Eddie off. It says something about his current state that he instead leans into Eddie without even token hesitation. He even closes his eyes for a second, just to give himself a break as he lets Eddie maneuver them both.

"We can both do it," he concedes uncharacteristically. Another glaring sign. "Either way, he can't just get away with this shit."

[the_freak]

Eddie seems to know it's best not to draw attention to it, there's no teasing for once, he just keeps on walking.

"Both works," Eddie concedes, "Dude better pay up, I am noooot in the mood to deal with that shit."

[farrahfawcetts]

"He's paying up," Steve says as firmly as he can manage. "There is no way that he is getting away with sending us there and just patting us on the head. I'll eat the flowers before I hand them over to him without our payment."

He groans a little. "We can do that tomorrow. Today I think I am gonna...Just sleep this off."