Chapter Text

Epilogue - Pastel

The moment Jonathan stepped out of the van and onto Nancy Wheeler’s driveway, he felt relief flood through him.  Steve was okay.  Nancy too.  With all the destruction they drove through, he was so sure that they wouldn’t have been that lucky.  El’s memory of the psychic battle with ‘Henry’ was spotty at best.  He wasn’t sure what to expect when they got to Hawkins.  

It was surreal, driving through the same town he lived most of his life in, and hardly being able to recognize it.  It left a hollow feeling in the pit of his stomach.  He didn’t miss Hawkins itself, he missed the people–two people specifically.  Still, seeing his hometown in shambles unearthed whatever small shred of fond nostalgia he possessed for this place.

Jonathan wasn’t even able to dwell on the destruction of his hometown.  With each crumbled building, or torn up road they passed, it added to his fear.  He lost Nancy and Steve, and he wasn’t even by their sides when it happened.  So, seeing them in the driveway of Nancy’s still intact home… he was relieved.

His instinct was to run to Steve, but he knew how that would look.  They were out in the open, and while the world might have almost ended, there was no way the people of Hawkins would have turned a blind eye to two men embracing in the middle of the day for anyone to see.  He ran to Nancy instead.  He held her tight, like he was afraid she’d disappear if he loosened his grip.  

Jonathan finally let her go as he met Steve’s eyes.  Nancy followed his line of sight and grabbed Jonathan’s arm, walking him over to Steve.  Jonathan could kiss her; he was so grateful for her quick thinking.  

The moment he was within reach, Steve reached out, gripping Jonathan’s shoulder.  He jostled him a bit harshly.  It was something that would usually be a light teasing moment, but Steve’s face was flooded with emotion.  From the looks of it, he was just as worried about Jonathan as Jonathan had been about Steve.

Jonathan bent his elbow to grip the hand that Steve had on his shoulder, keeping him there. “You’re okay.”  His voice cracked as he said it.  He had been so sure that he had lost Steve.  Steve was always the kind to run into these situations head-first.  He saved Jonathan and Nancy from a demogorgon that way.  Jonathan was so terrified that he’d lost him that way too.

“We tried to call,” Steve said, his voice strained and dying off on the last word.  He cleared his throat and gave Jonathan an apologetic, stern look.

Jonathan exhaled.  “I know, we couldn’t risk contact.”

Steve blinked at him.  “ ‘Risk contact?’  I don’t understand.  What does that mean?”

“It’s a long story,” Jonathan said meekly.

“I’ve got time, Jonathan,” Steve said, his voice sharpening.  “I just… ‘couldn’t risk contact,’ we’re us, Jon.  You call–”

“Hey!” Nancy snapped at them.  “Not now.  Not here.”

Jonathan frowned as he looked down at his feet.  Of course he wanted to call Steve, but the government was listening.  If they found El’s location… things might have ended even worse for Hawkins than it had.  While Jonathan didn’t know all the details of what happened in Hawkins, Steve didn’t know what happened in California.  He didn’t know that he, Will, and Mike had barely escaped the Byers’ house with their lives.  He didn’t know that Jonathan had to bury a man alive in the desert, or that Jonathan had been the one who failed to keep the man alive in the first place.

Steve withdrew his hand from Jonathan’s shoulder and rubbed his forehead in frustration.  He paused, holding said hand out for a moment.  “We need to talk about this, Jon.”

Nancy rolled her eyes.  “Go back to your place, talk.  Will and El can stay here.”

“You’re currently filling my trunk with boxes to donate.  We can’t exactly cut and run without it looking a little suspicious.  Besides, I drove Robin,” Steve said, moving so that his hands were on his hips.

“Argyle,” Jonathan said.  “He can drive us in the van.  Robin can come too.”

Nancy scoffed.  “Robin can stay here.  I can always drive her home if it comes to that.”

Steve sighed looking over his shoulder at where Argyle was awkwardly standing by the van.  “Yeah… that works.”  He looked at Jonathan.  “Make sure it’s okay with your friend?”  He glanced over at Nancy.  “Tell your mom, we’re going to mine to get more stuff to donate?”

Nancy gave him an amused look as she folded her arms.  “Do you think she’s even thinking about that now that Mike’s back safe?  Just go, I’ll cover if anyone asks.”

Jonathan slunk away, walking over to Argyle.  “Hey, do you mind driving us over to Steve’s?  I’ll even drive if you want.”

“As long as no one’s shooting at us, we can drive wherever you want,” Argyle said, an exhausted, stressed expression on his face.

Jonathan gave his shoulder a supportive tap.  “Thanks, man.”

Steve waked over, extending his hand to shake Argyle’s.  “Hey, man.  I’m Steve, Jonathan’s told me a lot about you.”

Argyle shook his hand politely.  “Pleased to meet you, bro.  Byers doesn’t shut up about you.  What’s your hair routine?  I can hook you up with some good quality conditioner, that can take you to the next level–”

“What’s wrong with my–” Steve began, taking his hand away from Argyle’s, to push his hair back from his face.

“Your hair’s perfect,” Jonathan said, shooting Argyle a look that he was not picking up.

Argyle just shrugged.  “Say the word, and I’ll send those products your way.”

Jonathan didn’t say anything, he just got into the driver’s seat.  Argyle followed his lead, getting in the passenger seat.  Steve slid the back door open, getting in the backseat and closing it behind him.

“You’re gonna want to take the back roads,” Steve said as Jonathan pulled away from the curb.  “There’s less… debris.”

Jonathan nodded.  Right.  He still had to consider all the destruction around town.  “Thanks.”

“What was it like, dude?” Argyle asked, looking over the back of the seat at Steve.  “Getting color punched into you… that must have been gnarly.”

“Jon told you about that.”

Jonathan looked in the rearview mirror to see Steve glancing at the back of Jonathan’s head.  “Yeah,” he cleared his throat.  “Argyle knows.”

“Oh, yeah, you don’t have to worry about me,” Argyle said, waving his hand dismissively.  “Finding a soulmate is a beautiful thing, it’s not something to be ashamed of, no matter their gender.  Our souls know no gender, bro.”

Steve blinked, shifting awkwardly in his seat.  “Uh… yeah.  About the… punch… I thought he gave me a concussion at first.  Then the cops showed up and I got out of there before I was able to process what happened.”

Jonathan didn’t pay much attention to the conversation as he drove them carefully to Steve’s place.  This wasn’t how he imagined they’d have their reunion.  Steve was saving up some money to come out to California and stay close by while Jonathan went to the local community college.

He pulled into Steve’s driveway.  The house looked exactly the same as he remembered it.  At least one thing was left unscathed.  That was something. 

Jonathan put the van in park and unhooked his seatbelt.  Argyle and Steve followed suit, as the three of them got out of the van.  Argyle moved toward the back of the van opening the rear doors.

Steve shot Jonathan a confused look.  Jonathan made a smoking gesture with his fingers as he motioned to Steve’s front door.  “We shouldn’t be too long, Argyle.”

“Time is nothing but a construct! Take all the time you need, my dudes!” Argyle called back.

Steve gave a hollow chuckle as he shook his head.  He fished his keys out of his jeans and began unlocking the front door.  “Leave it to you to finally make a friend only for him to be… that guy.”

Jonathan frowned, shrugging.  “I don’t think we would have gotten here alive without him.  He’s… good, just a little eccentric.”

“Him and everyone else in this town,” Steve said, pushing the door open.  He motioned for Jonathan to step inside.

The moment the door closed behind them, Steve was wrapping his arms around Jonathan from behind, holding him tightly.  His head leaned gently against the side of Jonathan’s, he pressed a few sweet kisses to Jonathan’s head as he swayed them slightly.  “I can’t believe you’re really here.  When we couldn’t get ahold of you, I thought—”

“I know,” Jonathan said, covering Steve’s arms with his own.  “I wanted to call but the whole thing got so messed up.  The government came after El and there was no way to reach out without exposing where she was and then this whole thing could have been so much worse.”

Steve let out a surprised noise at that.  “What do you mean ‘worse?’”

Jonathan sighed.  “It’s a long story, but El was able to fight him from where we were using a makeshift sensory deprivation tub.  We almost lost her… a few times actually.  She doesn’t remember much about the fight, just bits and pieces.  We weren’t sure if there was anything left in Hawkins until we got here.”

“Shit,” Steve said, tightening his grip a bit.  “Things got pretty hairy here.”

“I saw,” Jonathan said quietly.  “The town’s almost unrecognizable.”

Steve stiffened, going very still.  “Max is in the hospital.  They don’t know if she’s gonna make it.  I shouldn’t have let them go through with this plan–”

“There’s no ‘letting’ them, Steve,” Jonathan said quietly.  “They’re only a little younger than we were when all this first started.  No one could stop us.  I mean, El fully bolted to train at some military facility while I was trying to get her out of juvie.  They didn’t ask permission when they loaded you into Billy Hargrove’s car a year ago to burn the vines in the Upside Down.  They’re just as much a part of this as we are, and they’re just as aware of the risks as us.  Don’t blame yourself.”

Steve sighed, but didn’t respond.  Jonathan knew better than to push it.  He knew if the roles were reversed, Jonathan would be blaming himself too.  He let it go.

“I missed you,” Steve said as he pressed a few chaste, teasing kisses to Jonathan’s neck.  

Jonathan felt the tension leave his body as Steve continued to press teasing nips across his neck.  Steve was always good at distracting him.  He was just too emotionally exhausted to think of a good reason to stop him.  He’d missed this– he’d missed Steve.  Being back here with him was almost too easy, even with everything else going on.

“We have to… I’ve gotta get to the cabin.  We have to hide El–”

“We will,” Steve said, gently leaning over to capture Jonathan’s lips.  It was a deeper kiss, his tongue licking into Jonathan’s mouth, but it was over much too quickly.  Jonathan chased after Steve’s lips, forgetting what he was saying.

He turned to face Steve, tilting his head up to kiss him tenderly.  He leaned gently against Steve’s chest, earning a low hiss.  His face scrunched up in pain, as he moved back ever so slightly.

Jonathan was off of Steve in an instant.  “You’re hurt?”

Steve shrugged, shaking his head.  “Just a little sore.  It’s no big deal.  Like I said, things got kinda hairy.”

“Let me take a look?” Jonathan said, panic creeping in.  If anyone knew how to take a beating it was his soulmate.  For Steve to be wincing when Jonathan leaned against him, that wasn’t a good sign.

Steve shrugged, scratching the back of his head.  “It’s fine, really.”

Jonathan gave him a disapproving look.  He didn’t believe him for a minute.  “Steve, let me just see.  Unless you’re ending things, I’m going to see you shirtless sooner or later.”

Steve groaned, tossing his head back theatrically.  “By then, they’d be gnarly sexy scars.  Now they’re just… gross.”

“You’re not making me feel any less worried about you,” Jonathan said sternly.  “I’ve got experience with this kind of stuff.  Lonnie used to get into fights with guys down at the bars all the time.  Also… he gave me and mom plenty of wounds to clean out over the years.  Let me just see.”

Steve let out a heavy sigh as he reached back over his head and gripped his shirt, pulling it off in one fluid motion.  Jonathan would have found that inexplicably hot if he wasn’t looking at Steve’s mutilated chest.  His body was covered in deep gashes, some of them yellow, others black and blue.  The most disturbing bit of all was right by his neck.  It looked like he’d been choked.  What the fuck happened in Hawkins?

“ Jesus,” he muttered under his breath.

“It’s not as bad as it looks–” Steve began.

“Don’t do that,” Jonathan said, rubbing his forehead as he took in the sight.  He really did come close to losing Steve.  “Is the first aid kit still upstairs?”

Steve nodded.  “Yeah, but you don’t have to–”

“Some of these might be infected. Let me at least clean them out,” Jonathan said, already walking towards the stairs.  

Steve didn’t bother arguing, he just dragged his feet as he followed behind Jonathan.  “Baby, you really don’t have to.”

Jonathan ignored him, crouching down under the bathroom sink.  He sifted through everything until he found some rubbing alcohol, gauze, and bandages.  He also grabbed a washcloth and applied hand soap and enough water so it was damp.

“Do you want to do this here or….” Jonathan’s voice trailed off. 

“Uh,” Steve’s voice grated as he seemed to consider this.  “Maybe the bedroom.”  He turned to walk out of the room and Jonathan saw it.  Steve’s back was also cut up.  The cuts weren’t as deep as the ones on his chest, but it looked like he’d been dragged across some uneven terrain.  

“Wait,” Jonathan said.  “Let me at least look at these first.”

Steve scoffed, but stopped in his tracks.  “Jon, the back is nothing.  They’re practically healed already.”

Jonathan didn’t pay him any mind, looking them over.  He was right.  Most of the cuts had scabbed over and they looked to be fine.  There didn’t seem to be any sign of infection in these.  There were still black and blue bruises across Steve’s back, but at least the wounds seemed to be healing well.

“Yeah, okay.  Just the chest,” Jonathan said.  He was doing his best not to freak out.  He could only imagine what had happened to Steve for this to be the end result.  

Steve continued walking to the bedroom.  He got himself comfortable on the bed and looked over at Jonathan expectantly.  Jonathan approached the bed, gently placing the bandages, alcohol, and gauze on the bedside table.  He sat on the side of the bed, his legs still on the ground as he began gently pressing the washcloth against Steve’s wounds.  

Steve let out a hiss as Jonathan got to one of the deeper cuts.  It was lower on his chest, closer to his abdomen.  What the fuck had caused these?  

“Sorry,” Jonathan muttered, continuing to give that spot attention.  “I just want to make sure it’s as clean as possible.”

“Yeah,” Steve said through gritted teeth.  He brought both his hands up to his hair, clearly trying to hold back his reaction to the pain.

Jonathan moved to some of his other wounds, and Steve seemed to physically relax the further Jonathan moved away from that problem spot.  He put the washcloth down and grabbed some gauze and the rubbing alcohol.  This was more tense.  

No matter how gently Jonathan would press the alcohol to Steve’s wounds, Steve would hiss or writhe away in pain. 

 “Sorry,” Jonathan said honestly.  The last thing he wanted was to make this harder for Steve.  “Almost done.”

Steve let out a grunt, biting his lip.  “Yeah.  You’re good.”  His voice was strained as he spoke.

Jonathan paused.  The one that had caused Steve so much pain with just soap and water.  He looked up at Steve, meeting his eyes.  Steve gave a curt nod.  Jonathan gently dabbed the gauze against Steve’s wound.

“ Shit! Fuck!” Steve cursed, letting out a pained cry. 

“ Sorry , I’m sorry,” Jonathan repeated.  He moved away from the spot to one of the other wounds and Steve seemed to calm a bit at that.  

Lastly, he brought the gauze up to Steve’s neck.  His hand trembled as he lightly dabbed the long cut.  He tried not to think about just how lucky that whatever caused this didn’t actually take Steve away from him.  

“Hey,” Steve said softly.  He took the gauze from Jonathan’s hand and placed it on the bedside table.  “What’s wrong?”

“How… what did this to you?” Jonathan asked.

Steve took in a breath.  “Oh, right.  Bats… from the Upside Down… with tails.”

Jonathan blinked.  “Holy.”

“I’m okay,” Steve said.  “I’m still here, and it really is better than it was.”

“I thought we were done with all this… El closed the gate.  Mom and Hop stopped the Russians from opening it again.  How does this keep happening?” Jonathan asked, more to the universe than to Steve.

Steve shrugged, bringing up a hand to cup Jonathan’s face.  “It’s Hawkins.  I’m not sure it’ll ever be over.  I thought you’d be safe though… all the way in California.  From what you said though… it doesn’t sound like it.”

“The government raided the house, guns blazing,” Jonathan said quietly.  “I don’t know how we got out of there alive.  Actually… that’s not true.  This agent… he got us out.  He… he didn’t make it.”

“Shit, baby,” Steve said, his voice barely audible.  “Your mom… was she–”

“She’s… in Alaska, or I don’t know.  She said she was going to Alaska, but we couldn’t reach her before the government told us to stay off the phones,” Jonathan said, shaking his head.  “I’m sure she’s involved somehow.  She always is.”

“I’m sure she’s safe,” Steve said.  “Your mom’s smart.  I’m sure she’ll be here soon.  She knows it all goes back to Hawkins.”

Jonathan nodded.  “Yeah.”  He was less certain but with everything that had happened he couldn’t bring himself to imagine that something had happened to her.  If they didn’t hear from her in the next few days, he’d ask El to look for her in the darkness.  For now, he just needed to believe she was okay.

Steve winced as he lifted Jonathan and maneuvered them so he was sitting up more, and Jonathan had his legs on either side of Steve’s.  He was still hovering over Steve, their noses so close they could touch.

“I missed you,” Steve said again.  “These few months apart… they’ve sucked.”

Jonathan nodded.  “Yeah, they have.”

“You made a friend,” Steve said, smiling softly at him.  “I’m proud of you.  He’s a little odd but….”

Jonathan let out a light chuckle.  “Yeah, but he’s… he’s all right, even if a bit out there.  I was so sure I lost you.”

“Me too,” Steve said, cupping Jonathan’s face with his hand.  “We couldn’t reach you and… I thought the worst, but you’re here now.”

Jonathan nodded.  “Yeah, I’m here now.”

Steve closed the gap, meeting Jonathan’s lips with his own.  Jonathan melted into the kiss.  It had been so long– and this certainly wasn’t the way he imagined their reunion, but he was with Steve, and that was all that mattered.  

Steve’s hands moved, running along Jonathan’s ribs.  His tongue licked up into Jonathan’s mouth, dancing with Jonathan’s.  Jonathan’s arms draped themselves around Steve’s neck.  He needed to be closer.  He’d missed him so much, that it felt like he was suffocating, and now he was finally getting oxygen.

Steve’s hands wandered, moving from his ribs to up his back to his shoulder blades.  The movements were so soft it felt more like a caress than anything else.  This was his favorite bit about being with Steve.  Despite how clumsy he may have been in other areas, Steve always treated Jonathan like he was something fragile that needed special care.  It was the gentlest Jonathan had ever been handled.

Steve nipped at Jonathan’s lips before moving his lips to Jonathan's neck.  He was softly, chastely kissing a trail down Jonathan’s neck.  Jonathan felt his eyes flutter shut as Steve continued his motions.  Anyone else would find Steve’s motions teasing and frustrating.  Jonathan cherished how delicately Steve moved.  It made him feel so unbelievably loved.

“I thought I lost you,” Jonathan said, his breath hitching as Steve sucked a bit harshly against his throat.

“I’m right here, baby,” Steve said against his skin.  He kissed Jonathan’s lips again, lightly nipping at them, requesting entry.  Jonathan opened his mouth, letting Steve lightly suck his tongue before flicking his own into Jonathan’s mouth.

Steve’s hands moved to Jonathan’s shirt.  He pushed off the open button down shirt off of Jonathan’s shoulder, tugging it past his arms and tossing it to the corner of his room.  His hands moved back to Jonathan’s ribs, his white t-shirt riding up slightly due to the motions.  

Steve slipped his hands under Jonathan’s shirt, his fingers ghosting over Jonathan’s skin.  Jonathan broke the kiss this time, tearing the white tee off and throwing it in the same vicinity of the button down.  He looked down at Steve, cupping his face as he began peppering kisses across Steve’s face.  This was real.  Steve was here.  He didn’t lose him.  He was really there with him.

“I love you so much,” Steve muttered, capturing Jonathan’s lips with his own.  His hands wandered across Jonathan’s torso, it was like he was afraid that Jonathan would disappear if he stopped touching him.  

One of Steve’s hands moved to his own jeans.  He unbuttoned them, and pushed them down a bit.  He moved his hands to Jonathan’s waist, undoing Jon’s jeans and tugging them off his legs, throwing them aside.

Steve began kissing Jonathan’s chest.  The kisses were chaste, soft, quick, and Jonathan couldn’t get enough of this.  Being with Steve, this was heaven.  He still wasn’t sure if there was a higher power, and even if there were, he wasn’t convinced they liked Jonathan much, but if they brought him to Steve, that was good enough for him.

Jonathan was brought out of his thoughts by the feeling of Steve gently pushing Jonathan’s briefs down so that his cock was free.  Jonathan didn’t have a second to even question it because Steve was freeing his own cock from his boxers.  

“One sec,” Steve muttered, pressing a chaste kiss to Jonathan’s lips.  He reached over to his bedside table and fished his lube out of the drawer.  He poured a bit out onto his palm.  He took both Jonathan and himself in his hand before rubbing them at a painfully slow pace.  

Jonathan let out a low hiss as he leaned his forehead against Steve’s.  He breathed slowly as Steve continued his motions, flicking his wrist and sending jolts of pleasure through his body.  Jonathan kissed Steve deeply, desperately.  He knew there was no chance in hell he’d last long.  It had been so long since they’d been together, his body was practically desperate for it.

“Steve,” Jonathan whimpered.  “I don’t think I’m going to last very long.”

“Me neither,” Steve said, kissing Jonathan sweetly.  “Missed you too much.”

“Missed you more,” he croaked.  He was doing everything in his power to keep from thrusting into Steve’s fist.  The last thing he wanted was to ruin this by cumming even sooner than he anticipated.

Steve continued stroking them together, running his thumb across both of their slits.  Jonathan bit back a moan as he felt Steve’s cock twitch against his own.  His soulmate was going to be the death of him.

“You’re so fucking gorgeous like this,” Steve moaned in his ear.  “You’re always so stoic or reserved.  Not like this though, when you’re like this… about to come apart.  It’s like I can finally see everything in that head of yours.  It’s the prettiest thing in the world.”

Jonathan felt his skin burn at the praise.  He hid his face in the crook of Steve’s neck, trying to just focus on his breathing as pace began to increase.

“Hey,” Steve said, a playfully scolding tone to his voice.  “I haven’t seen that face in months and now you’re hiding from me.  At least let me see you, it’s the polite thing to do since I’ve got your pretty cock in my hand.”

Jonathan let out a choked sound at that, but begrudgingly moved his face back so that Steve could see him.  His own eyes were still shut though, he couldn’t look at him– look at anything.  Jonathan was just lost in the feeling of Steve.

“This okay, baby?  It’s not too much?” Steve asked, his motions slowing. 

Jonathan nodded, blinking his eyes open to reassure him.  “It’s better than okay.  It’s perfect.  It’s just… it’s been a while since we’ve done this.”

Steve grinned, kissing Jonathan lazily as he began to slowly pump their cocks at the same painful pace.  Jonathan didn't mind though.  If it prolonged his time with Steve, he’d wait as long as it took.

“There’s been no one else?” Steve asked, his hot breath tickling Jonathan’s face.  “I was worried, seeing Argyle in person.  He wasn’t what I pictured.”

“Never,” Jonathan gasped.  “You?”

Steve gave him a wicked look as he shook his head.  “There’s never been anyone else for me since your fist collided with my face.”

Jonathan opened his mouth to fire back a witty retort but the only thing that left his lips was a gasp as Steve began stroking them at a fast, unrelenting pace.  Jonathan knew this was it.  It was only a matter of time.

“ Steve,” he whined.  “I’m so close.”

“Me too,” he whispered.  “Think we can come together?”

Jonathan’s breath hitched.  The idea of that was almost too much.  He nodded dumbly, not sure if he trusted himself to speak.

Steve pressed a soft kiss to Jonathan’s forehead as he began stroking even fasted, making sure to apply pressure as he continued his movements.  Jonathan bit his lip.  He couldn’t hold out any longer.

“Steve, I’m gonna–”

“Me too, baby,” Steve said.  “Come with me.”

That was all it took.  Jonathan was spilling into Steve’s hand, and from the looks of it, Steve was too.  Jonathan leaned against him, careful not to apply any pressure to Steve’s chest, as he caught his breath.  He reached over and handed Steve a tissue from the box on the table.

“Thanks,” Steve muttered, using it to clean off his hand as well as both his and Jonathan’s stomachs.  He threw the tissue in the small trash pail beside his bed.  “Shower?”

“ God yes ,” Jonathan said, slowly moving himself off of Steve’s bed and onto the floor.  “After this though, we should head back.  I’m sure El will want to see Max but we’ve also got to work on Hop’s cabin.  We need a place where she can hide out.  I don’t think the government’s privy to that yet.”

“Will do,” Steve said, standing up.  “First, I want to keep you to myself for just a little bit longer.”

“I think that can be arranged,” Jonathan said, pressing one more chaste kiss to Steve’s lips.  Despite everything that was still about to come their way, Jonathan couldn’t help but feel that so long as he was with Steve, it was all going to be all right in the end.  With Steve even the most vivid of colors felt like soft pastels, and that was something Jonathan would always be eternally grateful for.