buckle up dear friends, it's time for a werewolf steddie au, brought to you by my brain bc it is obsessed and so am i.

werewolf steve, whose family disowned him as soon as they found out he hadn't skipped the curse like his dad did. werewolf steve, who loves and hates the moon, who loves to run wild but always runs alone. werewolf steve who owns a tiny cabin on the edge of hawkins.+

he and the whole party go to see teen wolf (1985) when it comes out and steve finds it so funny bc it's so ABSURD. the actor's final form isn't anything close to his. no, he's big, like wolf-dog sort of big, with floppy ears and a floppy tongue and he runs on all four paws.+

robin (the one other person outside of his parents who knows) calls him clifford which is not funny and no, she's never seen him outside of his human form except that one time. when it's his time of the month (very funny, robs) it's just him and the pretty moon.+

which is sad, right, cause wolves are pack animals. but his parents said if he ever told anyone, or if he was ever discovered, he'd probably be shot. so, there's that. but steve still wants someone to run with, no matter how many times he tells himself he can't.+

so when dustin asks, so eddie, would you date a werewolf? and eddie slams his hand down on the table and says ABSOLUTELY! steve gets giddy in his tummy and giggles. eddie says, freaks gotta stick together, right? and d&d has some great lycanthropy storylines, ugh, so COOL.

max says, well, since werewolves aren't reAL i guess you'll have to date a guy that's just like, really really really really hairy. and eddie nods knowingly, like he's already figured this out and everyone sputters laughter and says gross and mike steals one of dustin's fries+

and they have to leave the diner because they're too loud and too rowdy and robin asks, so, are you okay? steve says, i'm fine. and she says, i'm just asking 'cause that was a lot of like, wolf stuff. so. he says, i'm fine. and he's tense because his loneliness runs so deep

it aches. which is precisely how wolf steve ends up pacing the grounds outside eddie's trailer in the middle of the night. he pees on some trees (for protection, ok?) and doesn't expect eddie to be up. but he is, banging his head to music, thrashing around like a restless boy+

steve doesn't let him know he's there. he just watches. listens to the metal through his delicate ears. he watches eddie ply his trade. he's too close to humans and he knows it. the gravel of eddie's voice feels so familiar, so friendly. he can't help it.

next month, wolf steve walks by eddie's trailer again (just to check, wolves roam a lot, ok?) and there's shouting, swearing. steve tucks himself into the darkness and watches as jason carver and his friends surround eddie, accusing him of a bad batch (not true, but that doesn't+

matter). eddie's shoved to the ground and wolf steve leaps out of his vantage point. he growls, snarls, all teeth and threat. ears pinned down, he barks, deep and loud till the little dog behind eddie's trailer is roused from its bed. let's just fucking go, andy says and they+

take off running, shouting threats from their car. eddie breathes hard, backing away on his hands, reddened from his fall. wolf steve turns around and eddie's wide-eyed with fear. steve backs up and waits, listening to eddie's heart thump wildly in his chest.+

and eddie says, alright, big boy, let's... be easy now, okay? and he holds out his hand for steve to sniff. he sniffs it, smelling the familiar scents of weed, leather and shampoo. he licks his hand and eddie laughs in disbelief. well, you're my guardian angel i guess. and+

my hellhound. you got a name? i dont think i've ever seen you here before. c'mere. and he comes closer, lets eddie look for a collar, but he doesn't have one. who do you belong to? eddie asks, getting to his feet. no one, would be steve's reply, except he can't speak.

maybe you're like, lost, huh? eddie says, brushing the dirt off his clothes and stepping inside his trailer. c'mon, c'mere. he makes little kissy sounds and steve can't help but follow. this is so wrong on so many levels. he shouldn't be here. he can't be here. and yet he+

can't move away. eddie cleans up and says, you hungry? he feeds him little slices of bacon (!) which are delicious and he rests his head on eddie's knee, licking his fingers. you are so big. you're like a...hybrid or something. a wild clifford. fuck clifford, thinks wolf steve

well, eddie says, while he pets steve's head. you've been someone's...guard dog or something. you're a good boy, hm? and steve wags his tail bc yes, yes he is a good boy, hes the best boy. and eddie rubs his face and kisses his forehead and invites him up on the couch.

and promises to find him his home in the morning. take him to a vet or something. but when he wakes up from where he slept, he can't see the dog anywhere. he spends an embarrassing amount of time looking for it, whistling for it, calling to it. nothing. Mystery Dog's just. gone.

meanwhile, steve wakes up completely naked in his little cabin and has to continue to be Normal after that. like he has to go back to work and robin and his life and say, hi, yes, i'm a normal human male and not thinking about eddie calling me a good boy or sweetheart or

anything. and he's certainly not thinking about eddie's hands, and how he scratched his chin and behind his ears so perfectly his leg thumped against the floor. or how eddie kissed the slope of his canine head like it was nothing, while some james bond film played on TV.

and he certainly most definitely doesn't think about the fact that when eddie stopped petting him steve would whine, literally whine, whimper until eddie apologised and started up again with a "oh, how rude of me to stop, i'm sorry" and a laugh. not thinking about that at all.

it's annoying, actually, how easy it is to ask for touch when he's a wolf. he just makes big puppy eyes and nudges his nose into the person's hand and then they just ... pet him, even though he's a werewolf, an abomination, a beast. and what makes it worse is that eddie asks+

about him. says, hey guys, have any of you seen like a big brown wolf dog around? he's huge, you'd probably know it if you saw him. everyone shakes their head except robin. wait, did it have rabies? my like no. 1 fear in the world is rabies. and eddie says, relax, buckley+

no rabies. i just was hoping i'd see it again. make sure it's okay. steve was worried, for a moment, that she'd give up his secret, but she's kept secrets like that for a long time from the people she loved the most. so he should trust her more. you'll see it again, steve+

says, y'know, they have like their, territory and everything. eddie says yeah, territory. right. and the moon calls to him again and he takes off running to find eddie. he's there, smoking on his porch at 12:30AM. steve howls long and hard and watches eddie startle, stand up

and move toward the sound. he makes those kissy sounds again and steve struggles not to go to him, dancing on his paws. he makes more noise, though, gets eddie to follow him deeper into the forest, where it's safer for him. he tackles him to the ground and loves eddie's laugh

you dick! where've you been? i've been looking everywhere for you. steve play bows, tail high in the air, and eddie says okay, gimme a minute. christ. and then he gets up and they run. he chases eddie and eddie chases him and its wild and perfect and steve can finally play.

so i don't know if i even wanna graduate, because, like, what's the point, yknow? they're in the forest, eddie lying on his back, looking at the stars. steve's canine head is on his stomach, listening, licking eddie's finger when he taps his nose. i dont know why i'm telling you+

all this. you're a dog. steve whines and paws his thigh. because i'm your friend, he wants to say. yeah, you're my good boy, huh? my hellhound and steve barks in agreement. they spend the rest of the night doing tricks, eddie amazed at how smart this fucking dog is, for real.

i gotta get back, big boy. you gonna come with me? eddie asks. steve snuffs air hard through his nose, no. aw, c'mon, come back with me. it's not safe out here for you. steve stands as tall as he can, broad-chested and powerful. ok, sure, you're big but still. i'm worried for you

steve walks himself to the highest vantage point closest to them. eddie admires him from down below and concedes. alright forest king. you'll come back though, yeah? and steve wags his tail yes. they part and steve howls, only a little, but it hurts so much to say goodbye.

for dustin's birthday, he begs steve plan d&d with them. so, reluctantly, he does. he plays a werewolf guy called Wolfgang Baskerville and uses his exceptional nose to sniff out the fact that their newest and coolest party member has been replaced by an evil shapeshifter.

and eddie's quietly astonished that steve figured it out. steve doesn't say that his wolf ears overheard him practicing the campaign weeks ago. he also spends all night watching eddie's hands, longing for them, wishing he could ask to be touched, but he can't. he doesn't know how

at least, not in this form. and his problem with touch gets worse. robin can barely touch him without him grimacing at her, even though all he wants is to be held, be hugged, be kissed on the forehead. so he ends up surrounded by those he loves, but sitting on his own, always

given his space. the only time he's touched is when eddie finds him in the forest, grinning wildly. steve sticks his nose up his crotch and inhales (it's not like that, okay?) and almost lifts eddie off the ground with his enthusiasm. woah there, big boy, ease up. no, steve+

thinks. i don't wanna ease up. and eddie laughs and strokes him and kisses his ears and his head and rubs his belly. they talk for a little, eddie praising him all the while because nothing's ever loved on him like this, nothing's ever been so attentive to him. of course my+

best friend who i tell everything to is a giant stray dog i see once a month, eddie thinks, smoking, with wolf steve lying down between his legs. so there's this guy, right? steve wags his tail encouragingly. he's...he's so lovely, but, i mean he's fucking beautiful first+

of all. that's beside the point. he won't...let anyone near him. like, physically. nobody can touch him. he recoils and it just looks...so painful. but he needs companionship, i just know it! if i could introduce the two of you-! steve hides his face in eddie's thigh,

sneezes a no through his nose. eddie whines, actually whines, aw, c'mon, big boy. please? for me? you'll like him, he's sweet. and...good-looking, and annoyingly kind. and steve whines right back, unable to do his bidding. i can't, i'm sorry eddie. eddie sighs,+

and smokes for a little while, thinking about everything. oh hey, big boy, before i forget. eddie produces a white bandana from his back pocket, unfolding it. ta da! it's got the hellfire logo. 'cause you're my hellhound, right? and steve sits up, sits so pretty+

vibrating as eddie ties it on. there! now everyone will know you're one of mine, right? and steve thumps his tail, yoursyoursyours. eddie pets his head, but it's not enough, steve spins in circles around him, overcome with the emotion that he, foul mutt that he is, belongs+

to someone, to something. he's finally not alone. he leaps into eddie's arms and of course, knocks him over with his sheer size. eddie just giggles, winded while he picks the leaf litter out of his hair. he licks eddie's face until eddie pushes him away. but then eddie+

dives for him and they frolic (that's the best way to describe it, anyway) underneath the moonlight, steve letting himself be caught to spring away, eddie wheezing from running so hard. he leans up against a tree, light-headed and reeling. steve nudges him in the hip

more, more, more, c'mon, again and eddie swats him away while he catches his breath. steve growls, barks, asks him again. eddie rolls his eyes and yelps when steve mounts his leg, driving into it. oh, c'mon big boy. put it away. down. and steve? steve is mortified. he just+

humped eddie's leg. oh god. he'll have to move continents. change his name. his hair colour. steve harrington, resident hawkins werewolf and cursed being will have to die, disappear right here. he takes off, bandana and all, while eddie calls after him for hours.

where does he go? eddie thinks, on the walk back to his trailer. can't be far, can it? he guesses it could be. wolves travel a lot (he read about wolves) but still. something tells him big boy can't be too far off. steve wakes up in his cabin, worn out and starving. he touches

the fabric around his neck and he almost cries out in pain. it hurts to be loved so much and yet for it still to be not enough. hey wayne? eddie asks, over lasagne one night. yeah? what do i do if i have a friend and he looks like he needs a hug, but he'd never say so. well,+

wayne chews his food, you ever ask him? kinda, yeah. i mean if i try he just goes so rigid it's like i've hurt him. i knew men like that, in a way, wayne says, vietnam vets. all that pain made them numb even though inside, they were crying out for help. so what should i do?

wayne considers, thinks. you can ask him. don't force it on him. just ask. wait a while. he might need time to say yes. maybe he doesn't know how to ask. eddie thinks. then wayne says, oh, yeah, i got somethin for you. wait there. and when he comes back he's holding this book.

it's worn, it's old, well-thumbed around the edges. what is it? eddie asks. wayne shrugs his shoulders. no clue, but it belonged to marianne, your mom. she inherited it from her mom and backaways, i think. i got a whole stack of 'em. where were they? eddie asks.+

oh, in an old box in that storage shed we've been emptying. if i find anything else of hers, i'll give it to you. thank you, eddie says, tenderly opening the pages. so this isn't her writing or anything? no, but she read through it all the time. i've no idea what's in it.

well, thank you. this means a lot. 'course, i'll leave you to it, wayne says. eddie reads through it carefully, taking his time with the long, sloping hand. it's a notebook. no, not a notebook. it's a grimoire. eddie grins. his mom, sweet marianne munson? she was a witch.

and this was her inheritance, passed down from matriarch to matriarch. this is some straight up lord of the rings shit. but it's perfect and it's so her and he loves her so much he cries. wayne leaves the box in his room and he pours over them. some of them are notebooks+

but some of them are actual books, with some notes written in the margins. he finds a page on familiars and thinks about big boy, out there in the backwoods of hawkins somewhere. there's notes about spells, hexes and potions. there's notes about lycanthropy and in a hand+

he's seen on birthday and christmas cards, he reads [harrington curse?] and he blinks. harrington like... like steve? like steve's family? what the fuck, eddie says aloud. the perfect harringtons, with their money and their white picket fence and their yacht, they were cursed?

eddie goes over to steve and robin's apartment the next day. robin's at work, so it's just the two of them. they watch a movie, and the whole time eddie wants to ask him about his family curse, if he knows anything about it, but he never musters up the courage. besides,

his family seems to be a sore point for steve. no use hurting him like that. but still. he wonders. he stays later than he means to, and pulls on his jacket and stands in steve's doorway. he says, you want a hug? and holds his arms out, like wayne told him to. just ask, he said.

he feels like an idiot for how long he stands there, but he doesn't move. steve gives the tiniest nod he's ever seen and eddie steps forward and embraces him. steve goes rigid, fists clenched and jaw closed so tight it has to hurt his teeth. eddie doesn't move though.

don't- steve says, don't- you want to stop? eddie asks, moving away. steve grips his arm and pulls him back in hard. don't let go, he whispers. don't let go. okay, i won't. i'm right here, stevie. and eddie feels him breathe out like it hurts him. that's robin, steve says+

when he hears footsteps on the stairs. okay, you wanna go to your room? yeah, but i don't wanna- okay, says eddie, okay, hold onto me. he grasps him on the underside of his thighs and carries him to his room, slotting him on the bed. they listen to some of steve's+

mixtapes and eddie reads from an old, worn paperback. they touch the whole time, slotted together like two spoons in a drawer. eddie combs his fingers through steve's hair and speaks to him softly until he can get out of his shoes and his jacket again. steve relaxes, but+

tw: ptsd seems to go somewhere else. he mumbles something in russian. eddie calls for robin to come in, and she wraps steve up tight, sitting him up, as if she's done this before. she makes them all hot dogs and eddie feeds steve his piece by piece. hey buckley, you ever heard

of the harrington curse? robin pauses, shakes her head. no, other than they're all asshole real estate developers. steve snorts laughter. the curse is 'cause i'm bi. m'cursed. hi steve, robin says. you feel okay? steve shrugs, blanket and all and turns his face towards eddie

who embraces him again. they stay like that for a little while longer, all 3 of them. eddie leaves when steve's asleep, curls made all the wilder by his rest. he goes home to read over his mom's books, which, he supposes, are now his books. he stays up all night reading them.

the next full moon, he meets his big red wolf as usual, grinning and giggling and slapping his thighs and welcoming him into his arms. steve gives him this big, open-mouthed grin, wearing his bandana as they strut through the fog. they go down to a lake, swim in it+

as if the night was theirs and this time eddie gives thanks to the moon, the way his mom taught him to. he stays with steve for hours this time, weaving in and out through the trees, howling alongside him. it's almost perfect. but steve has to go. if he doesn't, he'll transform+

out in the open. he whines, pitiful and long, i'm sorry. but he makes it back to the cabin just as the dawn kisses the sky. when he wakes, naked except for his bandana, he realises he's not alone. jeSUS christ! eddie! what the f- he scrambles to cover himself but+

he's already covered by a blanket. relax, says eddie, your modesty's perfectly in tact. his tone is dry but even. i was going to tell you, steve says, mournfully, then he says, no, you know what, fuck you. i never want anyone to see me like this, not even robin.

eddie says, fuck me? you were the one that ran up to me, buddy. i followed you to make sure you were okay. steve dresses quickly in a pair of sweatpants and a yellow sweater. yeah, well, that was my dumb hindbrain so now i'll ask you to kindly leave me alone.

eddie says, what, so you can wallow in your shame in this shed full of stale cereal and sadness? no, i'm staying, steve, i've run from shit my whole life but i'm not running from you. wow, says steve, you are so annoying. this isn't some d&d quest, or some fantasy novel+

okay, eddie? this is my LIFE. every month for the past 7 years. every halloween, every new years, every birthday 'cause i was born on the 30th. i'm out there! alone! running around avoiding people so i don't fucking hurt anyone. till me, says eddie, tilting his head.

YES, says steve, till you because you said you liked really hairy men and you liked werewolves and i wanted to pretend for just once that i wasn't afflicted with something i can never tell anyone about. you know what my parents said when they found out? they said+

i'd be shot dead or turned into some kind of government experiment and when starcourt happened i thought they almost had me-- eddie puts a pin in starcourt, but listens. this isn't some cool superpower i have, okay? it's a curse and nothing or no one will ever make me better.

the fact that you know doesn't make me feel better, eddie. this isn't some cool secret we can just share. this is dangerous. okay? anyone who knows this shit is at risk. at risk of what? eddie asks, being licked to death? oh my god are you even listening, eds? i turn into a beast

a literal giant feral animal, and if i get rabies i turn into my best friend's greatest fear, okay? i dont think werewolves get rabies, eddie mutters and steve rolls his eyes. you have to stay away from me, eddie, from this. it's to keep you safe, okay? eddie laughs, oh, steve.

i'm a munson, you think i've ever cared for safe my entire life? c'mon, what's around your neck? steve reaches up to touch the bandana instinctively, and even though he thinks he should take it off, he can't. what'd i say when i gave you that? that i belonged to hellfire, steve+

says, under his breath. that's right. you're one of mine. now, while you slept i was awake, thinking of how i could help you. i already knew about your curse eddie says. my mom told me. he takes a worn green book out of his jacket pocket and hands it to steve, watches+

as his mouth moves over the words. i think there's gotta be something, a potion, a spell, something that can make this easier for you, okay? tell me to fuck off if you want, but i'm not leaving. i'm not gonna let you hurt yourself like this anymore. steve says, you're really+

not gonna leave? eddie shakes his head and steve swears under his breath. i'm gonna make some coffee, eddie says. steve says, you are just so annoying i cannot even begin to explain. eddie says i think i preferred you more when you were a dog. i was a fucking werewolf, eddie.+

although there was that one time you humped my leg- PLEASE, never mention that aGAIN steve says, smothering his own face with a pillow. eddie cackles, delighted. it's okay! i thought it was kinda cute! CUTE? eddie you are deranged. eddie says, thought you already knew that.

so they sit, and they have coffee and they talk. and it feels so good to talk about it, like, irritatingly good to talk about it. no, steve's never transformed outside of the full moon, but he thinks he could if he ran really fast. then he turns to eddie and asks, wait+

why are you doing this? and eddie says, that'd be because i'm in love with you. steve says, oh, shit. eddie says, it's okay, i'm used to it. you were in your sailor boy ice cream uniform and someone called you a faggot. and you said yeah and i'm beautiful so fuck you and steve+

nods, remembering. you can't be in love with me, he says, despairing. it's a little late for that, eddie says with a click of his tongue. sorry, baby. i'm gone for you. and steve says no this is not how i wanted-fuck, eddie. i l- i love you. so much. you smell like home.

and eddie says, oh, baby, c'mere, and they hold each other fast, and steve says don't let go. and eddie promises that he won't. the phone rings and eddie and steve jump apart with a squeal. it's robin checking in. yeah, m'fine, steve says. eddie's here. robin squeaks. have you+

guys kissed yet? and steve flushes pink and says he's hanging up the phone. eddie pulls him in by the waist and kisses him. did you know they called steve harrington the make out king in high school? eddie believes this was not without precedent. and eddie calls steve puppy+

and big boy and baby and stevie and sweetheart and steve wants to hear them all over his skin, all the time. and eddie lets him be a puppy even when he's not a puppy. it's hard to explain, but maybe already knows. knows there's some leftover wolf in him, big boy who wants his+

belly rubbed and his forehead kissed. he can eat whatever he wants and eddie just makes him more food bc transforming's really hard on the body, yknow? and steve feels like he's floating with how light he feels. nothing holds him down anymore. well, one thing, but we'll get+

to that. eddie grows stronger in his craft, more confident, easier. he soaks it up like a sponge, like he was born to it, and he was. he studies the moon. talks to her. says hello. says, is there any way you know of to undo the curse on my beloved? she doesn't say anything back.

which is fine, y'know, she's the moon. she's got bigger things to worry about than two boys in hawkins. except he can tell steve is restless. he wants an answer to a question he thought was unanswerable. can eddie undo his curse? oh, absolutely. but not without killing him.

he could do it with silver, he could do it with herbs, he could break enough of his bones. but he would die. and then there'd be no steve. and that, eddie tells himself, that won't do at all. he flips to the page with the werewolf's curse and he laughs. oh, it's so simple.

so simple he doesn't know how it hadn't occurred to him before. he gathers his supplies and works fast, carving into the earth, making offerings, sealing the circle. calling to the four corners. as above, so below. threefold law. steve appears, whines, paces the circle.

i know it's scary, baby, i know, but trust me. it'll be fine. you can't come in, though, okay? and steve cries and barks like he's in pain. and eddie munson? he curses himself. he starts to sink into darkness and then he thinks, oh shit, what if i die?

but he doesn't die. he doesn't remember his first transformation, or his second. steve says that's normal. (to be fair he didn't speak to him at all for a while, that was hard). but the moon pulls them back to each other, irresistibly, irrevocably, irrepressibly back.

you ready, baby? eddie asks. ready for what? says steve. y'know, for-? eddie, that is not a wolf face that is a baby cow face. and eddie says, do you get more horny towards the full moon or is that just me? i think that's just you, steve says, except he's always been this way so+

how would he know? they do fuck a lot, though. eddie tops him when they're human, he tops eddie when they're wolves. he can't explain it, but eddie gets it. eddie gets everything now. and maybe the curse wasn't the wolf part, thinks steve. it was the loneliness. the not-telling

anyone, the isolation, waking up naked and alone. that was the curse. but being a wolf, steve decides, is not so bad. as long as you have someone to run with. /fin

holy shit everyone it is TWELVE whole hours later. thank u for all the love, comments and support on this thread. i love you all <3