#SO OBVS I MADE MY OWN ENDINF AND OBVS STEVE HAS SOME SERIOUS SUCKING UP TO DO TO MAKE UP FOR BEINF A RAGINF DICK

[steveshairychest]

Been spinning a Maleficent steddie au around in my brain for days now.

Eddie as a fairy in the moors that protects the other smaller fairies because he is the largest and strongest of them all; his wings are so big they drag behind him when he walks through the soft grass. His first time meeting a human should have been the last, but he is unable to resist the human boy's call from the edge of the moors.

His name is Steve, Eddie thinks it's quite an odd name, but he finds it suits the boy with the soft face and freckled cheeks. They meet as often as they can. Eddie takes him by the hand and shows him his world; he shows Steve every fragile piece of himself because he believes he can trust Steve, believes that maybe the human loves him as well.

He is wrong. So very, very wrong.

Eddie never understood the power greed had over humans until the man he thought he loved stole the only thing that mattered to him; his wings. And all so Steve could sit on a throne and call himself 'King Steve'.

Eddie watches from afar as Steve rules from his castle; well, his spy, Gareth, watches the king from a windowsill in the castle. With a wave of his hand, Eddie changes Gareth into whatever beast he needs, whether it be crow or wolf or horse or man, he knows that Gareth will do his bidding. He's quite a loyal bird.

Eddie knows that he's let himself be consumed by rage and revenge. He knows it even as he climbs the steps of King Steve's great castle to meet the newborn prince. "I am quite upset I wasn't invited to the party, Stevie." He peers into the crib to stare at the little face of Prince Dustin and is struck with an idea; a way to get his revenge on Steve.

"I'd like to give him a gift." Eddie says with a cruel smile before bestowing a curse onto the innocent child.

What Eddie doesn't expect is his own inability to leave the child alone as he grows up in a cottage with two fairies that are very unequipped for raising a human child. Robin and Nancy flit about the poor screaming prince and try to feed him carrots and beets from the garden. "Maybe he's a shy eater. We won't look, my prince." Robin yells while shoving Nancy out of the small nursery.

Idiots. Eddie thinks before waving Gareth over to deal with the starving prince. He needs the baby alive to complete the curse, that's all.

But as the prince grows and begins to wander the forest, Eddie finds himself always one step behind, his footsteps completely silent so that he doesn't startle the child. He's not stupid. Eddie knows he's quite frightening with his horns and dark clothes and permanent scowl, even his old fairy friends give him a wide berth as he stalks through the moors.

Except, instead of screaming and running away, when the child finally spots Eddie, he runs up to him and demands to be picked up, his dirty little hands tugging at Eddie's cape. Eddie scowls down at him, his hands shaking slightly as he gives in and scoops the little beast up. "This doesn't mean I like you." He hisses. Dustin just smiles.

They become an unlikely pair. The other fairies watch in awe as Dustin, now 15, weaves flowers into Eddie's long hair and tells him stories about how he wants to be a knight like his dad; his fictional dad that Robin and Nancy said had died in a carriage accident. "I'm sure my dad would have liked you. You're strong and brave like him."

Eddie scowls down at his hands, he's fiddling with a pretty rock Dustin found him outside the moors. "Let's talk about something else." He grumbles as Dustin tugs a little roughly at his hair to thread a daisy. "Your birthday is in a few days." He says quietly, afraid that if he speaks too loud, Dustin will hear the guilt that bleeds into his words. "What have you got planned?"

Dustin instantly lights up at the mention of his birthday. He flails his hands around excitedly and jumps up to his feet to pace around in front of Eddie, who sits under a great tree. "I'm going to tell my aunts that I want to live here with you. In the moors."

"With me?" Eddie asks in disbelief.

"Yes! I've already planned a birthday mud fight with the river fairies and I have my speech for my aunties planned out. It'll be perfect." He flops down into the soft grass next to Eddie and stares up at the clouds, his fingers tracing patterns in the clouds only he can see. "I can't wait to be 16."

Eddie's stays quiet. The curse still lies in wait for Dustin's 16th birthday, Eddie can feel the power of it thrumming in the air around the boy. He's tried many times to lift it, but he fails each time; the words he spoke all those years ago echoing around him, taunting him. He's screamed and cried and hated himself all these years for doing something so evil to someone so pure, so full of life and love.

He can't believe he did this to someone he'd eventually grow to love with all his heart.

A voice Eddie thought he'd never have to hear again calls out for him the day before Dustin's 16th birthday. Eddie hates that he can't resist the pull, hates that he can't ignore it and go about his day.

"Eddie!" Steve shouts from the edge of the wall of thorns Eddie built to protect his people from the king himself. "Eddie! It's Steve!"

With a wave of his hand, Eddie clears a path through the thorns and stalks angrily towards the king; Gareth follows beside him in the form of a wolf, his snarls a clear warning to not make a single move. Eddie is filled with so much rage, his magic hums beneath his skin and begs to be unleashed upon the traitorous king.

"You are not welcome here." He seethes and presses the tip of his staff to the centre of Steve's chest. The king doesn't flinch. He just stands there and continues to stare at Eddie with those sad, hazel eyes; always trying to convey a message Eddie can't read. A quick glance around the area tells him that Steve's come alone, not a single knight stands with him.

He's not wearing his crown either.

"Leave or I will kill you."

"I've come to apologise."

Eddie laughs; it's a loud, hysterical sound that causes Gareth to cower away. The wolf can sense the magic stirring in the air around him, he can feel it crackling around Eddie as he takes a step closer to Steve, his staff now pressed close to Steve's heart. "No words will ever make up for the damage you caused me. You mutilated me for your own gain."

"You tricked me into... into loving you." Eddie spits the words at Steve's feet. He's never let himself dwell on it too much, but having Steve stand before him to 'apologise' makes all those ugly feelings bubble to the surface to choke him. "I trusted you." He jabs a finger behind him towards the moors, towards his people. "I let you into my home. I let you.. know me, and yet that still wasn't enough."

Eddie scowls and turns his back to Steve. "Enjoy your sleeping prince." The words are like daggers in his heart. He wants nothing more than to keep Dustin safe in the moors, but he knows the power of a curse. He knows there's no way he can stop what's already in motion.

He's about to disappear back into the safety of his own kingdom, when Steve calls out, "I brought them back."

Eddie doesn't turn around. He doesn't dare even breathe as he hears Steve lift the blanket off the back of the cart he'd used to get here. (A bit of a downgrade from his royal carriage). "I know it won't fix anything. I know I fucked up and did the worst thing imaginable but I have changed."

Eddie's feels their magic, feels the strength in each feather as Steve unbinds them and let's them soar across the small distance to Eddie. The sensation is overwhelming. He feels as if he's been struck by lightning and welcomed into a warm embrace by a friend all at the same time. He can't help the cry that slips through his lips as he falls to his knees and lets the comforting weight of his wings ground him. He's whole again.

"I'm not the king anymore." Steve says after a moment, his voice barely heard over the thumping in Eddie's ears as he tries to resurface from the pure euphoria swimming through his body. He doesn't want to be on the ground. He needs to be in the sky. He needs to touch the clouds and feel the wind glide through each feather of his wings.

"Eddie." Dark eyes snap over to the king. "I'm here for my son. I need to get him far away from here." The from you goes unsaid.

"Your son can't escape his fate." He hates how his voice cracks, hates how broken he sounds by the truth. Dustin would love Steve, Eddie knows this. Steve has shown every single ugly shade of himself to Eddie, and yet he can't deny the truth he sees before him; Steve's changed. He's let the crown fall from his head and gone out of his way to make some form of peace with Eddie. He's given Eddie back his wings, his life.

"This doesn't mean you're forgiven." Eddie says without meeting Steve's eyes. He once again turns his back on the king and, with a flick of his wrist, turns Gareth into a crow. "Fetch the prince. His father wishes to see him."

Steve bows his head in gratitude. Eddie lifts his own higher. "I will visit him once he falls into his slumber."

And he will find a way to break the curse.

He knows that true loves kiss is foolish, a fairytale, but that doesn't mean he won't round up every girl in the area to kiss Dustin's lips and wake him from his eternal sleep.

But he's not doing this for Steve. No. Eddie needs to do this for himself because Dustin means the world to him. When Eddie thought all was lost, Dustin stumbled into his life and showed him that love could bloom even in the darkest of hearts.

Eddie will do everything in his power to feel the warmth of Dustin's love once again.

#i didnt proof read this #SO OBVS I MADE MY OWN ENDINF AND OBVS STEVE HAS SOME SERIOUS SUCKING UP TO DO TO MAKE UP FOR BEINF A RAGINF DICK #but i probs wont write anothr part lmao this was just a ramble #ANYWAYS BYE #steddie #stranger things #eddie munson #steve harrington #st4 vol2 #steveddie #stranger things s4 #dustin henderson #eddie is dustins real dad