TW for horror ish elements but uh, AU where supernatural creatures exist and the world knows about them so they don't have to hide.
Steve is one of the prestigious Harrington Werewolves, large mansion backed onto the woods for full moons. People always respected or feared his father - a werewolf like him - and so his teachers at school would let him have the day of the full moon off. Where Steve would end up alone in his mausoleum of a house, pacing and trying not to scratch and pull at his hair or punch walls as he got more and more tense as he can start to feel the pull of the full moon. He's angry and hungry and so so lonely. He knows it would be easier with someone else there with him - with pack - werewolves are social creatures except his parents are never home, he doesn't trust Tommy or Carol not to poke and prod, and set him off in a violent rage. So he goes it alone, and it fucking sucks.
The full moon rises, he takes his clothes off, and Steve walks alone into the woods. He can feel it pulling inside him, the call of the moon or the wolf or whatever you want to fucking call it. It has gotten to the point where he can't ignore it anymore. He drops to the ground and screams. Hands grasping at the dirt beneath him, body convulsing as he changes. His bones snap. His muscles tear. Fur sprouts. His muzzle grows. It looks and feels like he is being torn apart. Steve is human and Steve is a wolf and he is both and he is neither and he can hear the moon calling and he wants to rip and tear and hunt and feed and he has no one to calm him down.
He awakens alone and naked in the middle of the woods, covered in dirt and what he hopes is dried animal blood. So he goes home, showers, crawls into bed and tries not to think about going to school tomorrow.
And then he meets Nancy and he's dating Nancy and he can feel the wolf in him getting possessive so he tries to hold back. Except he can smell her perfume from across the room and hear her heart beat all the way across school and he loves her. He wants her near, but he doesn't want to hurt her. And then Barb dies in his pool and Nancy blames them both and he can hear the rumours that he killed her and its eating himself up inside.
The Demogorgan dies and he tries to be better. Nancy says he's bullshit, their love is bullshit, and Steve can hear his own heart breaking.
Then he meets Dustin and the little shit worms his way into his heart, talking about a fucked up dog that ate his cat and asking for tips about how to talk to girls. He fights Billy and is winning until Billy fights dirty and pulls out the silver tipped knife and smashes a plate on his head. He saves their lives and can slowly feel Dustin becoming one of his. He goes round to the Henderson's place for dinner and finds that actually eating a large home cooked meal before the full moon makes the anger and the hunger not as bad. He can pick Dustin's heartbeat out of a crowded room and would recognize his scent anywhere. Steve's reluctant to mention it, maybe it's too much, but he lets it slip once and Dustin thinks it's AWESOME.
Robin starts out as just a coworker, then they get locked in a Russian base together with two kids who they both agreed to protect. And Steve gets tortured to protect Robin because he can take more hits than her. And he does and she thinks they killed him. But he's alive and they're drugged and they're in the mall spilling their guts on a bathroom floor and Steve can hear her heart rabbitting in her chest and can smell the panic rolling off her. Then he makes a joke about Tammy Thompson being a Muppet and it goes away and he knows that Robin is becoming one of his. His platonic soulmate. And she starts coming round to his place after the full moon with breakfast to share. Where she holds him and helps clean him and make sure he comes back to himself. He is not alone.
Next Dustin won't stop talking about Eddie, and Steve can feel the jealously rising in his gut like a horrid sickly thing. He knows that being a werewolf can make his emotions more intense, and he knows that Dustin still loves him but he can't help but worry that he's being replaced. Then Vecna happens and Eddie's wanted for murder and he's meeting Eddie and he can smell the sheer terror rolling off the guy. And then the confusion and relief when they believe him. Next thing they're on the lake and they're in the upside down facing down bats and Steve gives into the wolf as he bites down into it. Lets his eyes glow and his teeth sharpen as he growls when he slams that fucking bat into the ground. Then he talks with Eddie and he's actually kind of cool and really fucking pretty and Steve knows enough about his emotions to know that this could be the start of an all encompassing crush and he's trying hard not to focus on the fact that the vest smells like Eddie and therefore HE smells like Eddie.
Then they're facing Vecna and Steve can't help but extend his werewolf hearing, and he hears Dustin screaming his name, calling for him to come help, it's Eddie. So Steve fucking sprints back to the trailer as fast as he can only to find Eddie bleeding out in Dustin's arms. He knows first aid from his time as a life guard, he can hear his heart still beating, so Steve buckles down and tries to save Eddie's life.
And he does and theyre in the hospital and he's not healing the way a werewolf should and he can't help but focus on the sounds of everyone's heartbeat to ground him. Listening to the sounds of Eddie's surgery through the walls. Trying to push down the overwhelming hospital smell of blood and emotion and medicine and it's all too much and he's hurt and Eddie's hurt.
And that's all I got for right now lmao
(Sorry I keep throwing these aus at you, I don't have any Stranger Things friends and my brain will not stop throwing ideas out)
Oh my sweet christ. Listen I saw this in my inbox and KNEW it was going to be good so I saved it so I could savour every single word and fuck it was worth it
Steve so used to waking up the morning after a full moon with dried tears and dirty sheets, ready to start the clean up routine but Robin let herself and Dustin in. Both sleeping in the spare room. Robin hears Steve waking up and pads through to his room, sees the mess and goes to him, holds him. Tells him it’s okay, he’s okay. Dustin comes in with fresh sheets and kind eyes, dropping the sheets on the floor to crowd around steve. To let him feel that he’s cared for. And he does. For the first time in his life he does.
——
Steve watches Eddie in the hospital. As soon as he gets discharged Steve does a patrol of the new trailer every night. Making sure he can hear Eddie’s heartbeat, forcing himself not to climb through the window when he can hear him tossing and turning, unable to sleep. He never gets close, doesn’t watch him sleep or anything, he’s not like that, Steve just wants to protect and this is the only way he knows how without telling Eddie exactly how he feels.
It’s worse when he’s in wolf form, can feel the pull of Eddie, wants to be with him, wants to keep him safe. Steve wants to talk to Robin and Dustin about this whole body need but can’t. He can’t let them know that the wolf is winning. Can’t risk them looking at him with wary eyes. So he keeps himself quiet and he does his best to protect his friends.
That is until one full moon night one of Eddie’s ‘business meetings’ goes wrong and suddenly Hawkins own Steve Harrington is bounding through town in wolf form because Eddie is in danger.
