Archive of Our Own

Steve Harrington was getting tired of this fucked up routine; that is, of settling back into normal life just for it to be destroyed by monsters threatening to take over the world. They’d hurt Vecna, lit him up like a humanoid torch, but Steve knew it wasn’t over. The relief that washed over him, though, as he, Robin, and Nancy walked out of the Creel House in what felt like slow motion was overwhelming. He was covered in dirt, blood, and whatever other shit the Upside Down had to offer, his hair stuck to his forehead and  blood caked under his nails. He was exhausted and aching, emotionally and physically, but for a brief moment, he’d thought maybe, just maybe, the universe had granted them a decent win.

That is, until he saw Dustin off in the distance, limping towards them and…crying. He felt his stomach drop, a creeping feeling that something was wrong surrounding him and filling him with dread. He hadn’t even noticed he’d started running until he crashed into Dustin with a violent thump, wrapping him up in his arms. The moment he saw Dustin’s face, he knew what was wrong. He could feel it. He held Dustin for a moment, muttering comforting words as he patted his back and rubbed his shoulder.

Dustin explained what happened through tears and gasping breaths, sounding so desperate for air that Steve was almost worried he was going to faint. Steve tried hard to take in and process Dustin’s words, but he felt too sick to listen. He felt like he was going to throw up, maybe scream. He was angry. Devastated. He wanted Eddie to live. He’d told him not to be a hero, to play it safe, but of course he wouldn’t listen, that’s just how Eddie was. He rebelled.

Steve felt nearly numb as they walked together in silence back to Eddie’s trailer, ready to leave the Upside Down-- leave Eddie. Steve was hit with a wave of nausea as he practically dragged Dustin along, the boy still limping, still crying, still weak. Steve didn't feel like he was all there, like his brain had completely abandoned his body. He helped Robin and Nancy over the gate on autopilot in silence, not knowing what to say to the heartbroken boy beside him. Steve was battling his own emotions in that moment, too– he’d only known Eddie for a short time, but had grown particularly fond of him. He learned a lot of things in a small amount of time, about Eddie and about himself. But he couldn’t make this about him, not when Dustin was falling apart right next to him, tears beginning to dry on his cheeks. He’d been silent the whole way back, sticking especially close to Steve and Nancy for comfort, for any sense of normalcy. Steve and Dustin watched as Nancy and Robin went through the rift, landing on Eddie’s mattress on the other side.

 “My turn next?” Dustin uttered, forcing away any thought of Eddie being ripped to pieces by the bats.

Steve nodded and Dustin went up to the rope, grabbing it weakly and almost debating whether or not he’d have the strength to pull himself through, when suddenly they both heard a loud crash outside. Dustin froze. Steve immediately tensed up, fight or flight kicking in violently as he searched out the windows for the culprit of noise, but he spotted nothing. He relaxed only slightly, keeping his guard up, and Dustin grabbed the rope again.

***

Eddie Munson certainly hadn’t expected a normal day to turn into the most terrifying few days of his life. Who knew meeting Chrissy Cunningham would change his life for the worst? He’d been framed for murder, and now he’d been running around another dimension on a wild goose chase to get back at the real culprit behind her death. He felt an odd sense of responsibility even though it wasn’t really his fault— he felt he owed it to her, and to everyone else. He felt like maybe it was his fault another dimension could even exist, how eerily similar it was to the game he dedicated all of his time and interest to. He certainly wouldn’t be able to look at it the same after everything. 

Eddie had always made brash decisions and acted without thinking, and this newfound sense of responsibility made it a lot worse. He decided on a whim to risk his entire life for a town that didn’t even want him around, though that may be a part of why he did it, too. He needed to prove himself to Hawkins. To Chrissy, to Dustin, to his new friends. To Robin, to Nancy… to Steve. So when he was lying on the ground, clothes and flesh being torn apart, at first he was going to let himself lay there and die. He spewed off at the mouth to Dustin, about graduating, how it was finally his year, and about those stupid lost sheep, feeling as though it were over— and he blacked out. He thought he was a goner. But a while later, what he wasn’t sure were minutes or years, he gasped awake, bleeding, painful, and alone. He didn’t want to die, didn’t want to give himself up for Hawkins, a town that wanted him dead. He couldn’t give them that satisfaction. As soon as his consciousness found him, adrenaline spiked through his body, enough to get him up and moving, slowly but surely, back towards the door of the trailer. He clutched at his stomach where he was oozing blood, but he couldn’t bear to look. He nearly tripped over himself, but the closer he got to the door, the more he could feel in him to keep moving.

He finally reached the door and barrelled against it without meaning to and it made a loud noise. Eddie gasped for air at the impact before taking a moment to retain his composure. When he felt enough energy return to his arms, he wretched at the handle of the door and finally flung himself inside, tripping over a tentacle on the stair. He landed on his hands and knees, and looked up, met with the surprised faces of none other than Dustin and Steve. He groaned and tried to stand, but ultimately failed and fell back to the floor, eyes slamming shut as pain pulsed through his entire body.

***

Dustin’s eyes widened as he watched a bleeding, painful looking Eddie Munson crash into the trailer. For a brief moment he wondered if Vecna had come back, deciding that Dustin was his next victim, the vision of Eddie really just a sick trick. But then he met Eddie’s eyes and knew instantly that it was really him.

“Eddie!” Dustin’s voice broke as he cried out and rushed to his side, helping him stand. Eddie groaned and leaned into him, hardly able to hold himself up.

Steve was just as horrified and surprised as Dustin, but he rushed over to help support Eddie’s other side nonetheless. “Holy shit, Munson,” he breathed.

“I-I’m okay— shit. Sorry for scaring you, Henderson… didn’t mean to black out on you. I th-thought I was a goner.”

Dustin was eerily silent for a moment, his grip around Eddie tightening. “I thought you were dead,” he murmured, voice quivering. “I’m…I’m so glad you’re alive.” Dustin bit back tears, and it didn’t go unnoticed by Steve, who frowned. Talk about an emotional roller coaster.

“Okay yep,” Steve interrupted, “I’m really glad he’s alive too, but let’s worry about getting him medical help, Henderson. This– this is a lot, I know. But we can’t have him dying.”

“I’m alright—” Eddie exasperated. “Just hurry up, I need to get the fuck out of this place, I’ve seen enough of Hell for one day," he grimaced through his teeth.

“Dustin, you go up first,” Steve started, "get Nancy and Robin to grab some shit to try and minimize the bleeding until we can get help, I’ll get Eddie through the gate.” Dustin opened his mouth to protest, but he was shut down by the look on Steve’s face. “You know I’m right, now go.” Steve shifted to carry more of Eddie’s weight as Dustin let go and walked up to the rope to.

Eddie winced and leaned heavily into Steve, his head starting to feel light. He began to worry he would faint again. He fought to stay alert, and watched as Dustin went to the rope, starting to wonder how he’d get through. “Thanks, Harrington,” he breathed, words easily taking his breath as he tried to remain upright. “I… I owe you.”

Steve stayed silent and they slowly made their way closer to the rope, he was careful not to cause Eddie any unnecessary pain, but that was almost unavoidable. He watched the ground as they moved before he finally mustered up a reply. “Don’t thank me, I’m just... glad you’re alive.”

“Shiit, shit- stop for a second," Eddie gasped. He swallowed thickly and slowly moved his hand off his stomach, glancing down at the damage. He was immediately hit with nausea, the queasiness making him feel dizzy and weak, and he leaned more heavily into Steve so as to not drop to the ground. “I-I’m not sure how long that’ll last if we don’t get my ass some help. Drag me if you have to, I don’t mind a little rough housing, just throw me through at this point."

Steve averted his eyes from Eddie’s injuries. They’d been much worse than his own and it was hard to look. “Throw you? I’m trying to keep you in one piece, Munson, I can’t just throw you.”

“Steve, I need you to listen. I'm feeling pretty f-fucking light headed right now so either get me through that damn gate or I’m gonna pass out and I don’t know if I’ll wake up this time—“ Eddie spoke through gritted teeth, meeting Steve’s eyes the best he could.

“Jesus fucking Christ, Eddie, you are not dying on me,” Steve mumbled, his heart racing. He’d been devastated when he thought Eddie was dead, then so relieved when he found out he was alive- he couldn’t lose him a second time. “Okay, okay, uh… this is what we’re going to do, I’m gonna carry you on my back, alright? Do you have enough strength to hold on?”

Eddie would normally have some sort of snide remark, but he could feel the weakness seeping into his bones, his eyes growing heavier by the second. He knew he could trust Steve— that’s all he needed. He nodded. He managed to cling onto  Steve’s back and could only pray he had the strength to hold on.

Steve’s muscles ached, they protested with every step, and now he was adding 190 pounds on his back. He pushed through the pain and the exhaustion because he knew this was life or death, and today he was choosing life. Eddie Munson would not die today, not again. He grabbed onto the rope, breath uneven and nearly wheezing as he climbed high enough until they flipped through the rift, the center of gravity shifting and stealing away his air. Steve turned to shield Eddie from the fall onto the mattress, risking nothing, not even a boxspring mattress. 

Eddie groaned as they landed, barely registering the quiet noise of conversation between Dustin and the girls across the room. The shift of gravity made his brain pound against his skull, his vision whiting out for a moment. He blinked against the light, it was harsh and made his head hurt, so he closed them again. “Thanks Steve,” he breathed hoarsely, unable to project his voice any louder.

“I gotcha Munson, you’re gonna be okay,” Steve said to him, the worry visible on his brow. He felt like he needed to stay close, to keep him safe, but he convinced himself to move out of the way so Nancy could start wrapping him up. He glanced across the room and Dustin was already on the phone.

“Don’t get all soft on me now,” Steve heard suddenly, a mumble. He looked over, and Eddie was squinting his eyes open to give him a mischievous look.

“Can anything sincere come out of your mouth or are you just incapable?” Steve huffed, a small grin on his face. He sat on the ground beside the mattress, watching him as Nancy tended to his wounds.

“Was my pep talk before about you being metal not sincere enough for you?”

“I’d give it like, uhh, a 7 out of 10 for sincerity?” Steve grinned.

“Asshole.”

Steve and Eddie shared a look, and then a smile.

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A few weeks passed, and Eddie made a full recovery. He was also miraculously dismissed from being a suspect in Chrissy’s death, and he was finally able to go back to a somewhat normal routine. He certainly had his days— it was all so traumatic, it was hard to try not to think about it, but he had almost died, so he was more than grateful to still be here. Eddie had fallen into a habit of pestering Robin and Steve at work when he had nothing better to do, needing company to avoid getting in his head, so now he found himself strolling into Family Video yet again. It wasn’t like he was entirely wasting their time, he’d been renting out different movies to watch with his uncle, one movie every two weeks. Currently he was returning Poltergeist. He set it down on the counter.

“Why, if it isn’t my two favorite movie nerds.”

Steve was stocking shelves with tapes that had been recently returned, he had to admit his job was pretty boring and he would hate it if it weren’t for Robin being there, though thankfully he wouldn’t have to worry about it for much longer as Family Video was going to be shut down soon with the military rebuilding parts of Hawkins. It had been a slow day, not much foot traffic in or outside of the shop, so he welcomed the distraction. 

“Robin is technically the only movie nerd here, I'm just doing my job.” He peered over at Robin where she sat at the front desk before looking over at Eddie. “Which is… playing tetris with these tapes.”

“Is it not a part of your job to be a movie nerd? How else do you recommend people anything?” Eddie leaned his back against the counter where Robin was and crossed his arms.

“Steve doesn’t know anything about movies,” Robin butted in, “so I do all the customer service while he just stands and looks pretty for the cute girls.” She scoffed. “He hadn’t even heard of Footloose before.”

“To be fair, Footloose is a yawner, Buckley. Can’t blame him there," Eddie shrugged.

Steve set one of the tapes back on his cart, his hand coming to park on his hip as he turned to face the other two. “Okay, well I finally watched Footloose and Kevin Bacon is a national treasure, so back off.” He pointed at Eddie. “Plus I do do actual work, like I’m doing right now while Robin takes her 3rd fifteen minute break.”

“Well there’s nothing to do, my dear Steven.” Robin complained. “You can’t harp on me for not doing anything when you’re doing the only task that needs done.”

Eddie snorted at their bickering and walked over to Steve to pluck one of the tapes off the cart. “What do you think would pique my old uncle Wayne's interest this week?”

Steve’s eyes watched Eddie as he walked over and entered his space, subconsciously noting how close he was. He quickly dismissed how easy it was to stare at him. He'd found himself doing that quite a lot ever since he'd dragged him out of the Upside Down. “Well that depends if you’re still on that mission to scare him with a good horror movie.”

Eddie's face suddenly faltered for just a moment. “Ya know Poltergeist wasn’t too bad, but uhh… I don’t think I wanna watch anything scary this month, I need some recovery time, ya know?”

Steve simply nodded, running a hand through his hair. It was a habit he’d picked up when he felt nervous or awkward– though, there was nothing to feel nervous or awkward about right now…right? “I get it– hey, how about something with action? Action movies are my personal favorite.”

“Of course you like action— why wouldn’t you?” Eddie scoffed. “Well Wayne might like it, so I guess that works. Not totally metal but I’ll accept.”

“Hey, action movies are good, don’t stereotype it,” Steve scolded, raising an eyebrow at him. He headed into the aisle, walking towards the action section. “Any type of action movie in particular you want, Munson?”

“Nope, you work here, not me. Recommend me something good, Harrington.”

Steve turned back to look at Eddie, a suspicious grin on his face. “I’m surprised that you trust me with that.”

“What can I say? I kinda have to after you saved my life, huh?” Eddie lightly punched his shoulder. Robin rolled her eyes from where she watched them from behind the counter.

“Well Henderson talked me into it,” Steve deflected, and leaned against the shelf, a small grin still lingering on his lips.

“I don’t think he did, but whatever makes you feel better about yourself, Harrington…”

Steve paused. What was that supposed to mean? He shook his head. “Yeah whatever, let’s get back to the matter at hand.” Steve looked at the shelf and pointed at a cover. “Now for most people who come in here looking for an action movie, I recommend Rambo, 1982, Sylvester Stallone, and overall just a great cast, but you, Eddie Munson, are not most people.” Steve averted his attention to another row. “For you, I’d have to recommend either Top Gun- which we just got in and I thought was a blast- or one of my personal favorites, Indiana Jones Temple of Doom, which is better than the first one in my opinion.”

“Of course you like Indiana Jones, Christ,” Eddie laughed. “That doesn’t surprise me one bit. And anyway, this is for Wayne, not me. Top Gun sounds fine, but I appreciate the very…. affectionate rundown. I thought you weren’t a movie nerd? Lots of media jargon you just hit me with.”

“I like watching Harrison Ford punch Nazis, sue me!” Steve picked up Top Gun off the shelf and handed it to Eddie. “But I know you’re going to be watching this movie just as much as Wayne is, and if you hate it I’ll never hear the end of it.”

“Well of course not, when have I ever been easy on you?” Eddie elbowed him, winked, and took the tape before walking over to the counter where Robin was, shaking his head to himself at Steve’s utter stupidity.

Steve blinked as Eddie walked away and furrowed his brows. He stood there for a moment, slightly confused and taken aback by the way his face flushed in response to Eddie’s teasing. That was certainly new. He shook his head slightly to shake it off, sighing to himself, and he walked over to help Robin behind the counter...not that she needed it.

Robin raised an eyebrow at Eddie as she took the tape from him to scan it. “Alright, you know the drill, Munson. Return it by-“

“I know, I know, 30 days to start it, 48 hours once I hit play. I know. When have I ever let you down?” Robin just smiled and handed it back to him.

“You know I’m pretty sure you still haven’t returned our copy of Space Invaders from 2 months ago,” Steve challenged.

“Teeeeeechnicallyyy, that’s under Wayne’s account, not mine. Nice try, Harrington.”

Steve rolled his eyes, and crossed his arms over his chest. “Don’t you have something you could be doing right now?”

“Little old me? What could Eddie Munson possibly have going on right now, huh? Well if you want me to kick me out, I guess I’ll bid my goodbye. I got what I came for.” He waved the tape up in the air.

Steve huffed through his nose again, but couldn’t fight a small grin as he watched Eddie walk towards the door. “And hey! Make sure Henderson gets home at a reasonable hour, he doesn’t need to be playing your dragon game past midnight, alright?”

“He can do what he wants, I’m not his dad, dude. And you’re not either, Steve." He pushed open the door. "I’ll see you guys later!” 

And then he left.

Robin turned to Steve and raised an eyebrow at him. She’d noticed they had become particularly friendly ever since the events of the Upside Down. “So what was all that about?”

Steve quickly turned his head to look at her. “What was what about?”

“What ever happened to Eddie being a freak?”

Steve scratched the back of his neck. “I mean…that’s just what everyone calls him, right? He’s….cool.”

“Cool?”

“Yeah.”

Robin shook her head and turned to watch the TV again, and Steve’s gaze fell unfocused on the floor.

***

Later that evening when they finally closed up shop and Steve dropped Robin off home, he found himself still sitting in his car in his driveway. He found that he’d been…thinking. Quite a bit. About Eddie.

He was more particularly thinking about the talk Eddie had given him in the Upside Down, how he’d called him metal; but what really got him was what Eddie had said about him, how he, of all people, was "actually a good dude." That had made Steve really reflect– especially after his stupid, brash confession to Nancy about the six little nuggets and all of that fairy-tale bullshit. He cringed thinking back on it, and Steve thought that honestly...he probably wouldn’t have said anything if it weren’t for Eddie telling him he should, like he had an obligation. Things between him and Nancy had been fine. They were finally somewhat friends, but Steve went and pretty much fucked it up by acting like a total ass, rambling about a useless dream fantasy that he wasn’t even sure he meant.

It’d been plaguing Steve for days, something he couldn’t exactly put his finger on, but he felt a little different around Eddie. Not in a bad way, necessarily, it was almost like there was a side to himself he was unsure of. Like his whole life he’d been putting on this facade, and who he thought he was, a jackass jock, relying on popularity, good looks, and girls, wasn’t actually him. Like a stable life and a huge family, with Nancy in particular, wasn’t actually something he could be sure he wanted. Not when life– especially interdimensional monsters– kept getting in the way of him growing up. He still wasn’t sure what he was doing about college, about a job or a career, or about his parents– how could he be sure about anything in that case? 

Steve only really had one good friend, not counting Dustin. Robin was kind of all he had, though she was certainly someone he hadn’t expected to become friends with, and now Eddie had been hanging around, too. And if Steve was being honest with himself, he liked Eddie a lot more than he’d anticipated, just like he had with Robin. After witnessing first hand everything Eddie had to deal with in the last few weeks, he couldn’t deny that he felt guilty about how he’d acted in high school. He’d essentially bullied people just like Eddie, or at least watched it happen and did nothing about it, and now that he felt so himself around them, he felt wracked with guilt. It’d been a long time since he was friends with people like Tommy, people he thought he resonated with, but spending time around Robin and especially Eddie really changed his perspective- really got to him. Eddie also had one thing Steve didn’t, and that was confidence. Eddie knew who he was, for a long time at that, and Steve was still stumbling around like a rooster with its head cut off, trying to find somewhere that he really fit in.

Steve finally got out of his car with a sigh. He slammed the door, the keys jingling in his hand sounding louder than they really were. He headed inside and shut the door, like it was a barrier between here and in the car, a cutoff, bringing an abrupt stop to his thoughts.

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Days passed by, and Steve couldn’t seem to stop thinking about Eddie, or really, about himself. It was something that just lingered at the base of his skull, lurking, ready to jump whenever he wasn’t distracted enough to ignore it, and it didn’t get any easier when Eddie invited Nancy, Robin, and Steve to his concert in a venue right on the outskirts of Hawkins.

Steve had only been to one concert in his life, two if you counted Robin’s winter band concert. When Eddie invited them to his show, Steve had only said yes because he knew he’d have back up with him. However, it was only his luck that Robin and Nancy would both cancel on him two days before the show, both of them claiming something had “come up.”

Steve didn’t want Eddie to be totally abandoned and have nobody show, so he decided to go alone. As soon as he entered the venue, he felt severely out of place. He had no clue where the crowd had come from, but most of them definitely weren’t from Hawkins; though, if they were, he wouldn’t know, anyway. Everyone was dressed in all black, with chunky accessories, wild haircuts, and makeup. Steve could swear most of the men were wearing eyeliner, which was something he only ever saw rock stars do. It wasn’t a bad thing, just new- very new to small town Steve Harrington who never really went outside his inner circle, let alone Hawkins. Luckily, he found a good spot in the back, leaning against the wall. A few people had given him looks- one girl had even winked at him, but other than that, he hung low, almost embarrassed of his polo and freshly pressed jeans. He checked his watch, hoping the show would soon start and free him of any unnecessary attention, but at the same time, he had no idea what he was expecting.

The chatter of the crowd was loud enough that it took a few flickers of the light before it entirely dimmed for a hush to fall over the audience. Eddie walked out onto stage a few moments later, grinning wildly as a few people whistled. He wore some scrappy t-shirt with the sleeves cut off, which showed a few of his tattoos off. His hair was down and looked just as wild as usual, if not moreso— and eyeliner darkened his eyes. He walked up to the mic and adjusted it.

“How’s everyone doing tonight?” The crowd wooed and whistled and cheered, and Eddie nodded approvingly, still smiling. He looked thrilled, and Steve immediately noticed it was the happiest he'd ever seen him. “I love to hear it! I won’t keep you waiting, thank you guys so much for coming out tonight, this is Corroded Coffin.” Eddie stepped back from the mic and the drummer clicked his drumsticks together a few times before they started playing, and Eddie showed off on his guitar almost instantaneously. Everyone in the crowd was stunned- cheering, jumping, screaming. It was a lot— it was exhiliterating and Eddie loved it.

Steve smiled at the sight of Eddie in his element. His energy was electric and it was obvious how much the crowd enjoyed it. In fact, there wasn’t one person in the room that Steve could observe that wasn’t dancing and cheering wildly. Honestly, Steve should’ve hated it, the venue was too small and the music was too loud, vibrating through his ears, the beat shooting through the floor at his feet all the way into his chest. He’d never dream of choosing to listen to metal willingly, but for some reason he found that he liked it… or maybe he just liked that Eddie was the one playing it. People around him were dancing, screaming, and shoving, but Steve couldn’t look away from the stage. Eddie looked so Eddie. It was nice, seeing him so free up on stage instead of the kicked down man hiding in a boat shed he’d met all those weeks ago. Eddie was alluring, grabbing at his attention and holding onto it with a tight fist. He looked amazing up on stage, dazzling, even. Steve hadn’t paid this much attention to one particular person in… well, who knows how long.

Eddie always had the time of his life while on stage, jumping around to the drums and dancing, badly at that, singing along when he was meant to, and mouthing along when he wasn’t. He’d destroy dramatic solos where got down on his knees and hit a riff all sexy-like, because that’s just what he did (and if he put on extra of a performance in this night in particular, that was his business), like he was a real performer. Towards the end he walked back up to the microphone, out of breath from all the energy he put into his performance. 

“I just wanna say I can’t thank you all enough for being here tonight." The crowd softened a bit as Eddie paused, taking a moment. "I've been through a fuckton of shit the last few weeks I never could've imagined dealing with before. I almost died- you know, there was a really big earth quake, but... you all being here to support us, it means a lot to me. Every single one of you here tonight–” Eddie had become aware of Steve lurking in the back of the venue about midway through the concert. He smiled and met his eyes from across the stage. “-I couldn’t be doing this without you.” He was still talking to the crowd… wasn’t he? “This last song is dedicated to each and every single one of you as a huge thanks from us. Thank you again. We’ve been Corroded Coffin.” 

With that, the last song started and Eddie kept glancing towards the back of the room, slightly distracted, only until it was his time to show off (as it always was). He killed yet another solo, hyped up his band mates, because truly, they made Eddie feel like Eddie and they deserved the praise, and he put on the show of a lifetime. The song hit its climax, the breakdown intense and emotional, and the chorus ran through one more time before they finished off with extremities— the drummer slamming his sticks so hard against rims that they splintered, the cymbal crashing so loud it made Eddie’s ears ring. He sunk to the floor, going so hard on his guitar he almost worried the strings would snap. And that was it. Eddie’s veins were still buzzing as they walked off stage.

Steve and the rest of the crowd erupted into applause and cheers, people begging for an encore, but it never came. Steve nudged the person beside him, “I know him, the guitarist,” he said proudly, a small smile on his face as he continued to clap. The other person gave him a puzzled look, but Steve didn’t seem to notice. Finally the applause died down and the crowd started to disperse. While most people headed for the exit, Steve found himself heading for backstage, pushing his way through the crowd.

Eddie carefully set his guitar on its stand and immediately grabbed a bottle of water, downing half of it in one go. His band mates were doing just about the same. Post performance they didn’t really talk. They all needed to take it in, Eddie most of all. It never got old, the adrenaline of being on stage, the thrill of hearing people call his name. Here, he wasn’t an outcast and it felt good to belong. He sat down in a chair and sighed, glancing back over towards the small stage, peering through the curtain and watching as people dispersed slowly. Some waited as usually a few liked to chat with the band afterwards, but he suddenly noticed a slightly familiar figure and sat up a little straighter before standing when he realized it was Steve sneaking past the curtain towards him. “Harrington.”

“Munson.” Steve walked up to Eddie, crossing his arms over his chest, a small grin still on his lips. “Surprised to see you actually know how to play.”

Eddie stood up. “I’ve only been bragging about it since the day I was born.”

Steve chuckled, running a hand through his hair. “Well I guess it’s good to see you aren’t all talk.”

“Are you saying you enjoyed yourself, Harrington?” Eddie leaned close, talking right next to Steve’s ear. “I’m surprised.”

“Eh, maybe a little bit.” Steve raised a hand up defensively. “Don’t flatter yourself”

“I flatter myself all the time, Harrington, don’t take it personal.”

“Yeah uh-huh, is that right?” Steve gave him a small grin, tilting his head.

“It sure is. I thought you’d have picked up on that by now. I mean sure, you met me at a bad time, was having a bit of a crisis, but I’m Eddie the freak Munson, I mean, I’ve got a name for myself. Good or bad, how could I not have an ego?” he teased.

“Yeah, you surely have a name for yourself in this place.” Steve looked over his shoulder at the dissipating crowd. “Y’know, I’ve never seen so many people wearing all black in one place, you look like you’re going to a funeral.”

“I sure do. This is where I belong. Not Hawkins.” He laughed at the funeral statement. “That’s kinda the point, Steve.” Eddie sipped at his water, then offered the bottle to Steve. “I’m surprised you came.”

Steve took it, quickly taking a sip. “Yeah sure, sorry Rob and Nance bailed.”

“Yet you still showed? How come?”

Steve shrugged, “It was your big show, I wanted someone to be there.”

“Wow, Harrington has a heart? I’m surprised.”

“Yeah, maybe I’m not so bad.” Steve nudged his shoulder.

“I might have to agree.” Eddie grinned and elbowed him back.

“So what do you and your band mates do after shows? Light shit on fire? Drugs? Vandalism?” He teased.

“Are you stereotyping? I thought we were past that, Steve. I’m disappointed.” Eddie scoffed playfully and walked over to grab his jacket off a coat hanger. “I do what any normal person would do and go home and smoke. No arson or vandalism, you dick.”

Steve held up his hands in defense “Woah, woah, it was just a guess, can you blame me?”

“Yeah I can! That’s rude. How’d you feel if I asked you if you go home and throw a football at the side of your house and get drunk, huh? You throw house parties with the basketball team?”

Steve hesitated for a moment. “Well one of those I’ve actually done.”

“I’m not surprised.”

“Oh, shut up.” Steve shoved him, walking past him towards the exit. “Wanna walk me to my car? Since I did come all this way for your show, and all, only seems fair.”

“Hey, don’t act like I owe you anything, you came at your own will and enjoyed it.”

“Enjoy is a pretty bold word.” Steve walked over to the door, holding it open and quirking his head to gesture for Eddie to come on.

“Am I wrong?” Eddie shrugged his jacket on and followed. “You wanting to smoke or something?”

Steve hummed in though. “Sure, one couldn’t hurt.”

Eddie grinned and pulled a box of cigarettes from his pocket as they headed out the door. He leaned against the wall outside, sticking one between his lips and handing one to Steve. He pulled a lighter out of the other pocket, cupping his hand around the end and lighting his own before leaning over to light Steve’s. It was a comfortable gesture, silent but not awkward. 

Steve leaned up against the wall beside Eddie. “Thanks,” he said, before taking a slow drag, watching the smoke dissipate into the air as he exhaled. It had been awhile since he’d done this, he was more of a drinker. They stood closely, shoulders just hardly touching, enough for Eddie to notice, but little enough that it was easy to ignore, to push down.

He'd been doing that a lot lately.

Eddie took a slow, deep inhale before breathing it out slowly, watching the smoke billow away into the night. This moment felt maybe a little… intimate. He shrugged it off. “You really enjoy my show, Harrington?”

Steve was still for a moment, he really did like Eddie’s show. Huh. “Yeah, I thought you were great.”

“Yeah? Am I slowly turning Steve Harrington into a metal head? This is something for the books.” Despite his teasing, Eddie’s words were soft, quiet. Almost hesitant. He kicked himself. “Be normal, Munson,” he thought, “This is Steve Harrington— he’s the straightest of straight.”

Steve scoffed, his voice also quiet. “I think your music’s the only metal music I’m ever gonna like, Munson.” He said as he took another drag of his cigarette. Something pulsed in his chest, odd and familiar, but something he couldn’t quite name.

“And you tell me not to flatter myself,” Eddie chuckled, taking another deep inhale of his cigarette. He held it- felt it burn. Let it sting. And let it out. “You make that kinda hard.”

Steve let out a weak chuckle “Well maybe Henderson’s rubbing off on me.”

Eddie blamed the sudden confidence on the adrenaline from stage, on the smoke in his lungs. “You sure it’s Henderson?”

Steve dropped his cigarette onto the pavement and snuffed it out with his shoe. “Yeah, I mean unless you think Robin is a bigger fan of yours than Dustin.”

Eddie kicked himself again— of course Steve was too stupid to pick up on any kind of flirting Eddie attempted. Wasn’t he used to being let down by now? Eddie scoffed and simply took another drag of his cigarette, playfully turning and blowing it back out at Steve.

Steve quickly swatted the smoke away. “Asshole.”

“Deserved.” Eddie smiled.

“Oh we’re playing that game? Well your eyeliner’s smudged.”

“Well I did just give a performance of a lifetime and sweat my ass off, so…”

“Wow, performance of a lifetime is a little egocentric, don’t you think?” Steve snorted, putting his hands on his pockets.

“But it’s true and you know it,” Eddie purred, elbowing him.

“I almost feel bad for Robin and Nancy missing it.”

“I’ll make 'em come some other time. I’m just glad you showed tonight.”

“I’m glad I was invited, even if you didn’t warn me how out of place I’d look.” Steve gestured to himself, he was wearing a pair of jeans like he usually did, a form fitting blue polo shirt and a jacket.

“Steve, you're missing the whole point. Who cares if you look out of place? There’s no fitting in here. You do what you want, dress how you want… be what you want. You can’t be out of place somewhere that’s already meant for people who are out of place.” Eddie took one more drag of his cigarette before dropping it onto the ground and stomping it out, watching the light die away. Huh. Depressing.

Steve snorted, shaking his head. “Seems a hell of a lot different then most places in Hawkins.”

“That’s exactly it, Steve.”

Steve stared at him for a moment, another realization passing through his mind. About Eddie, how Eddie had been making him feel. About how he felt out of place- not just here, but especially in Hawkins- and unsure of himself. He looked back towards the venue, watching a few concert goers linger at the entrance. Men with hands thrown over each other’s shoulders, women touching each other a little more intimately than Steve had considered. He blinked. "Be what you want," Eddie said just a moment ago. It was suddenly clear to Steve that when Eddie said that this was a place for outsiders, he meant it. It was so different from what he was used to, seeing people being authentic instead of the cookie cutter mold that he’d been forcing himself to conform to by peers, teachers, even his parents for years. How could he not have noticed it before?

Eddie suddenly interrupted his thoughts. “Well, guess I should go in and pack up with the band before I head home. It’s late, you need to get home too, yeah?” 

Steve shook his head, snapping out of his thoughts “...yeah, yeah I need to head back.”

“Well, I’ll see you…?”

“Yeah, ‘course, thanks for inviting me, man, it was fun.” Steve gave him a small wave, starting to walk backwards awkwardly. 

Eddie scoffed at him before heading back inside, and then Steve turned and started walking to his car, mumbling to himself when he was out of ear shot. “Thanks for inviting me, man? What the hell was that? Christ, Harrington, get it together.”

He wouldn’t get it together.

─────────── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───────────

Things did not get easier for Steve Harrington– in fact, the more days that passed, the more conflicted he felt. He hardly understood what was going on with himself let alone with Eddie. He couldn’t place a finger on what he’d been feeling and it was starting to make himself feel frantic, like a bird in a cage. And sure, his chat with Eddie made it a little easier– Steve didn’t have to be that copy and paste jock he’d always been. Eddie made that clear. But that didn’t magically solve his internal conflict or help him figure out where he did fit in.

Trying to work was a complete and utter fail, considering he was so distracted, so Steve took to making a list of movie recommendations for Eddie that he’d asked for the other day, and made some remark about how Steve really was a movie nerd.

Robin leaned against the register counter, messing with the slinky they kept there as she blankly watched the TV. She’d notice Steve seemed a little bit… off, today. Not as chatty, maybe a little moody, so Robin was doing her absolute best to behave, to not ramble about pointless things or talk about Vickie…or Nancy. She had yet to mention that. But a fast tongue was still only natural to her, something she couldn’t entirely control. 

“Of all movies, why’d you pick Indiana Jones again? You watch this like once a week. Why again?”

“Cause the action is great and Harrison Ford is an amazing actor,” Steve proclaimed proudly, writing a few things down on a clipboard.

“What’re you writing down over there, professor?”

“Eddie asked for a list of movie suggestions, so I thought I’d write them out now since there seems to be zero customers.”

“You’re making Eddie a list of movie suggestions? I think maybe I’m more of a pro in that category- and anyway-“ Robin stood up from where she leaned on the counter and walked to the other side, closer to where Steve was standing. “-how come you’ve been spending so much time around him lately, anyway? Isn’t he like, totally the opposite to the kind of friends you’d normally have?”

Steve glanced up at her for a moment before looking back down at his list. “Well I mean, we kinda did indoctrinate him into our group, what am I supposed to do? Ghost the guy now that a crazy monster isn’t after him? Plus, I’m friends with you even though you're also the total opposite of friends I used to have."

“No, I think you’re actually starting to like him— did hanging around me change you for the better?“

“Oh yeah, I let one nerd into my life, and boom, all of a sudden I’ve befriended all the weirdos in town.” Steve snorted.

“Well you were hanging out with children before me and Eddie, so….” Robin walked over to him to lean over his shoulder and look at his list. “Did you ever stop to think maybe you were also a nerd? Us band geeks aren’t so bad, you know.”

“Pfft, please, Robin, I’m one of the most basic people in Hawkins, I’m not a nerd,” he said, almost…bitterly.

“You are so difficult, Steve. Let me see that.” Robin grabbed the clipboard from him. “Let’s see- Indiana Jones, of course, Back to the Future? Didn’t we just see that awhile ago? Uh, not to alarm you, Stevie, but that’s a nerd movie. And the Shining? What are you, a horror geek? I never expected you to even know the Shining, let alone recommend it to someone.” Robin handed him the clipboard back. “Steve, you might be a lot more similar to me or... or Dustin, or Eddie Munson than you think you are. You don’t have to be keep seeing yourself as the same basketball captain and popular douchebag you were in high school. I think there’s more to you than that.”

Steve sighed. “Well not to point out the obvious, but that’s how most of Hawkins sees me, especially girls I try to date.”

“It doesn’t matter how people see you, Steve. And maybe that’s your problem— you’re seeking out girls who see you that way. You’re not actually looking for what you want, and you’ve told me that before! You told me you’re tired of pointless relationships and pointless sex. Maybe you should stop looking for what you’re comfortable with and let something new find you.”

“Something new? Like what Robin?” Steve furrowed his brows. “How do I let something new find me?”

“Steve just stop trying so hard. You know, coming from someone who has been- conforming my whole life, trying to fit in and be normal so I could… fly under the radar— just stop trying so hard to fit into these standards you set for yourself when you know better than anyone they’re not even you. You liked me and you’re my best friend, of all people, Steve- me. And now, whether you admit it or not, you actually enjoy Eddie’s company, and you told me yourself you enjoyed his show. So… stop trying to be someone you aren’t, stop trying to date girls who only want you for what they think you are. Just let who you are come naturally to you.”

Steve hummed, mind swimming as Robin’s words burned into his frontal lobe. “Okay maybe you’re right…. but don’t act like your love life is great either.” He grinned, nudging her with his shoulder, brushing off her words because they almost…scared him.

“That wasn’t even my main point, dingus!”

“What would I do without you, Robin?”

“You wouldn’t be able to do anything.”

“Hey, give me a little credit, I survived 19 years without you.”

“Yeah, barely. But I’m serious, Steve, please just think about what I said, ‘kay?”

“I will, promise.” And Steve meant it. He’d already been thinking about it. For days, actually. Robin just...put it into words better then he did.

“Good.”

“Okay, what do we think about Ferris’s Bueller’s Day Off? Would Eddie like that?”

Robin rolled her eyes and walked back over to the counter. “You’re on your own, Steve— take your nerdy, nerdy picks.”

“You are no help. No help, you know that?”

“You’re supposed to think about it!”

“Okay, alright, fine! I’m thinking about it, I am.”

“You better be.”

Steve tapped his pen against his clipboard as he thought about Robin's points. He wasn’t seeking out people who wanted him to fit a certain mold, it’s just... what he attracted. And open? He’d been open to new things… he went on dates with many types of women.

None of them were like Eddie though. Steve sighed. Of course that's what his mind resorted to. Eddie was different. He was shiny and new and went against literally everything Steve had been raised to know. The idea that Eddie wasn’t necessarily...off limits was enough to make him spiral. He liked girls, plenty of girls. Nancy included, and for a brief moment Robin. So why was he feeling this way towards Eddie? What way was he even feeling? Did that even matter? A plethora of thoughts that Steve had kept forced down in his subconscious suddenly resurfaced with Robin's words on his mind- Sure he found Eddie attractive, but that didn’t mean he was attracted to him, right? This entire ordain started to delve deeper then just who Steve was. How did he actually feel about Eddie? He couldn’t put his finger on it, his feelings were too overwhelming and maybe suppressed to sort through them, especially not here at work.

Robin interrupted Steve’s thoughts after a few moments of watching the movie boredly and noting the absence of any people inside, or out. “Y'know what, there has only been one singular customer today, Keith can get mad all he wants, but I’m closing up shop and going home. Whaddaya say, Stevie?”

“Well…” He checked his watch. “Not like we’d get much business anyway, let’s go.”

Robin smiled and shut off the TV, locked the register, and grabbed her jacket. “Free day!”

“Free day? It’s almost 5 o’clock.” Steve snorted, walking over and grabbing his jacket off the counter.

“Yeah but I get to actually do stuff tonight instead of being here for three more hours!” Robin walked with Steve outside.

“Yeah, like what stuff?” Steve slid on his jacket, fiddling with his work keys before managing to lock it.

“Uh, nothing, just… goin' to Nance’s. What about you, huh? You gonna go see Eddie again?” She skipped over to the passenger side door.

Steve shrugged, “I dunno, he probably has plans or something.”

“Ya never know until you ask.” Robin obnoxiously yanked on Steve’s door handle waiting for him to unlock it.

“You’re gonna break something doing that one day,” Steve scolded as he walked over and unlocked the door for her.

“So are you gonna call him? I mean you could always come hang out with me and Nancy if you’re bored.

Steve ran a hand through his hair. “I should probably go home first, I have a few things to do, my parents are gone…again, but I’ll give Eddie a call and let you know my plans, alright?”

“Okay, alright. Take me home, nerd.”

“Please never call me that in front of Henderson.”

Robin laughed and kicked her feet up on the dash. “Oh, you know I will.”

***

Steve finally got back to his own place after dropping Robin off home, and the drive from her house back to his was full of what could be considered self-pitying. Steve had never felt so confused in his life– he used to be so certain, and now it’s like the whole life he’d built for himself had come crashing down around him. All because he befriended Eddie Munson.

Steve scrambled with his keys to unlock the front door before pushing inside and closing it behind him with his foot. With a sigh, he took off his coat and hung it up on the empty coat rack. He stood there for a moment, looking into the emptiness of his house before sighing again. He was used to being home alone, he had more memories as a kid of being all alone than being around his parents. As he’d gotten older, the time between their trips got shorter while the trips themselves got longer. He sifted through the mail he’d grabbed on his way in as he wandered through the house before setting it down on the kitchen counter, his mind replaying his and Robin's conversation on loop. He looked over at the landline attached to the wall, biting at his lip as he thought over her words. After a moment of hesitation he walked over and dialed the Munson's number, one he’d memorized a while ago without intention. He leaned forward and pressed his head against the wall, antsy as he listened to the dial tone.

Eddie was lounging on his couch smoking, Wayne was working another late shift, so he was taking advantage of the emptiness. He loved his uncle, but sometimes it was nice to be alone, it gave him time to think and reflect and to… well, smoke in a room that wasn’t his own. He nearly fell asleep with a cigarette in his hand before the phone started to ring. Eddie grunted in protest before getting up, snuffing out his cigarette in an ash tray on the counter before grabbing the phone off the wall. 

“Munson household, Edward speaking!”

Steve held back a scoff. “Hello Edward, it’s Steve,” he said, his voice carrying his smugness through the line.

”Steven? Calling at this hour? What time is it—“ Eddie checked his watch. “6 PM! How late. What brings you to the phone, huh?”

“I uh, just wanted to ask if you had plans tonight?” Steve fiddled with the cord, Christ he was pathetically nervous, and for what?

Eddie’s heart stuttered for a moment. Steve asking if he was free— it was totally normal, casual even. No reason to get excited. “Uh, plans? Well I mean, unless smoking on the couch all night counts, then no plans here, Harrington, just me, myself, and a pack of cigarettes.”

“You got enough cigarettes for one more?” Steve glanced around his kitchen before leaning his head back against the wall. “It’s… stupid but I don’t really feel like being alone.”

Eddie grinned to himself, let that giddy feeling consume him, if just for a moment. “Well I wasn’t really planning on leaving the Munson fortress today, but you’ve got a car. Why don’t you come over? You can finally get a, uh. Normal tour of my place and not some… creepy, interdimensional one.”

Steve chuckled. “Yeah that might be nice, maybe I’ll even have time to judge your interior decorating.”

”Hey, you can take that up with my ol’ Uncle Wayne, not me.”

“Oh yeah, cause I bet Uncle Wayne had a lot to do with the inside of your room.”

”He did! He helped me find my style, you could say. Helped me decorate and everything. Where do you think I get all my badassery from? And anyway, who are you to judge? I’ve seen your room. That wallpaper? Ouch.”

“Okay, well you’re not one to talk, and I actually have the excuse that my parents did most of my room.”

”Yeah, sure, sure, whatever. Are you gonna stand and talk on the phone all night or are you gonna get your ass over here? I can’t hike up Wayne’s phone bill, ya know.”

“Yeah sure, asshole, I’ll be over soon.“

”Good. See ya, Harrington.”

Steve fought back a grin as he hung the phone back on the wall. He made his way out of the kitchen and checked his hair in a mirror in the hallway (not for any particular reason) before grabbing his keys and his jacket again. He rushed outside and into his car before peeling out of the drive way, maybe a little too enthusiastically.

Eddie, on the other hand, hung up the phone and went into the kitchen to grab a drink from the fridge. He leaned against the counter as he cracked it open and took a sip, making sure his pack of cigarettes wasn’t too empty. He set them on the counter and walked back into the living room, turning on the TV to something random. He didn’t want it to look like he was a total bum, laying around doing nothing but smoking, not even watching the TV. In fact, Eddie was struck with an idea, and went over to the TV and put in the tape of Top Gun instead. He and Wayne had already watched it, in fact Wayne loved it, but Eddie figured… Well, Steve thought he’d like it. He had to make it seem that way to rub up on his ego. Normally Eddie wouldn’t recommend inflating Steve’s already elevated ego but… well, he couldn’t help himself. He slumped back down onto the sofa after hitting play on the VHS and sipped at his drink. It wouldn’t take too long for Steve to arrive, not with the way he drove.

A bit later, Steve slowly pulled up into Eddie's driveway, parking his car next to Eddie’s van. He took a deep breath, Robin’s words still floating around his head like an ear worm, and after a moment he headed up to the trailer, giving a sturdy knock on the door before stuffing his hands into his jacket pockets. 

Eddie set his drink down and walked over to the door, unlocking it and opening it. “Welcome to la casa Munson.”

Steve snorted. “Didn’t you tell me you flunked Spanish sophomore year?”

“Indeed I did.” Eddie moved out of the way and motioned for Steve to come in, almost theatrically.

Steve made his way inside, looking around the trailer. He noticed a few things had changed since he’d been in here last, such as a metal sheet on the ceiling placed over where the gate was, and a new, not blood stained, carpet.

“Yeah, it’s fantastic, right?”

“It’s got a lot of character, that’s for sure,” Steve said, gaze inspecting the interior before he turned around to face Eddie. “It’s uh...charming.”

Eddie scoffed, trying not to feel a little offended. “Yeah, thanks.”

“Alright, well the most important thing is where a guy can get a drink around here.”

“Fridge, help yourself.” Eddie pointed to the kitchen. “And uh, take your shoes off. New carpet, ya know?”

“Oh yeah ‘course.” Steve toed off his shoes and left them by the door before heading into the kitchen and grabbing a beer from the fridge. He leaned against the counter, looking into the living room. A slow smile quirked at the corner of his mouth. “Holy shit. Are you watching Top Gun?”

“Yeah, but it’s pretty boring to be honest. Wayne liked it though”

“If it's so boring, why are you watching it again?” Steve took a sip of his drink, raising an eyebrow.

“I had to pique your interest somehow.”

Steve chuckled. “I’m not five, dude, you don’t have to keep me entertained with a movie, even if it’s undoubtedly an amazing one.”

“Well then what’re you interested in doing, huh? I don’t exactly have the, uh, most interesting place.”

“Well shit, I didn’t really think that far.” Steve scratched the back of his head and left the kitchen. He went around to the other side of the counter, leaning against it. “You could show me your music collection? Or we could watch Top Gun and I explain why it’s one of the best movies ever?”

“God, I think I’d die of boredom if I let you do that. And anyway, you’re too lame to find any of my music interesting.”

“Well what would you like to do?” Steve raised a brow. “You wanna go outside and smoke?”

“Outside? Why outside? I don’t live in a prissy mansion, so my room is where I smoke. C’mon.” Eddie grabbed the cigarettes off the counter and headed to his room, glancing over his shoulder to make sure Steve was following.

Steve quirked his head to the side, a small grin forming on his face before he decided to grab his drink and follow Eddie. He slowly walked into his room, eyes trailing over every detail. He approached Eddie’s guitar on the wall, strumming it once with his fingers before turning his attention to some photographs on Eddie’s dresser.

“Your uncle lets you smoke in your room?”

“Don’t touch that. Your prized possessions might be old medals and trophies, but mine? Mine is her. That’s my baby. Don’t touch. And have you seen Wayne? He smokes in the kitchen while he cooks. He couldn’t care less where I smoke. Plus, he only knows about the cigarettes, not anything else.” Eddie shrugged off his jacket and tossed it over his desk chair.

Steve turned to face him, brows furrowed. “‘Anything else?’”

Eddie turned to Steve, quirking an eyebrow. “Am I hearing judgement?”

Steve raised his hands defensively. “No, nope, I just didn’t realize you were so secretive about your side hustle.”

“Secretive? I’m not being ‘secretive about my side hustle,’ I’m just being honest. Plus I don’t smoke it that much myself. And cut the attitude,” Eddie teased. “You might be my guest but you’re also in my room. Oh, and by the way, my guitar is too precious for your rich boy hands, Harrington.” 

“Rich boy hands? The hell does that even mean?” Steve snorted, raising his own eyebrow, though a smile tugged at his lips.

“You don’t know how to appreciate her beauty.” Eddie started to dig around in his desk drawer for a lighter.

Steve scoffed. “I can appreciate her beauty.” He gestured to the guitar. “Even though I’m mostly sure that amazing playing the other night wasn’t all her.”

“Well of course some of it was me. You know how I like to play- but I can’t take all the credit.” Eddie tossed the pack of cigarettes to Steve and finally fished out the lighter, clicking it a few times to make sure it worked.

“I’m inclined to give you more credit than the guitar.” Steve caught the box of cigarettes and took one out, leaning against Eddie’s dresser. “Thanks.”

Eddie just rolled his eyes, almost playfully. “Sit your ass down and stop being so modest.” Eddie sat on the bed and lit his own cigarette that he’d grabbed before giving Steve the box, and patted the spot next to him.

“Woah, Munson, after all these years I never thought someone would call me modest.” He briefly scratched the side of his face before walking over and sitting down beside Eddie.

“You’re sure as hell acting like it.” Eddie leaned over and lit Steve’s cigarette.

“Is that supposed to be a compliment?” He slowly brought the cigarette between his lips and took a long drag before exhaling, glancing at Eddie.

“No, absolutely not, it’s annoying.” Eddie teased.

Steve chuckled around his cigarette. “Thanks, Eddie.”

Eddie’s chest fluttered, and he couldn’t explain it, how stupid it was to get giddy over Steve simply saying his name. But it was Eddie this time, not just Munson. Eddie quickly shut down the idiocy. “My pleasure.”

Steve exhaled another cloud of smoke, almost cringing at the fact it was just freely dissipating in Eddie’s room. “Thanks for letting me come over.”

“Not like I had anything better to do. Kinda wish I just went to yours though, huh? It’s not as… nice here.”

Steve scoffed. “Are you kidding? Your place is so much more lived in than mine…but if you wanna come to mine, you can whenever you want... I know what it’s like wanting to get away.” He took another long drag of his cigarette, exhaling and coughing a little. “It’s just me most of the time, anyway.”

“Sure, but it’s also… kinda falling apart at this point. I mean you saw the ceiling…. Wayne and I just can’t really afford anything else right now. Plus, sometimes it’s hard coming in here after what happened. And I mean, now that I hang out with you guys- y'know, you, Wheeler, and Buckley? I can’t help but prefer to be somewhere else. Don’t be too serious about that offer Steve, I’ll move in.” Eddie snorted, breathing out a large cloud of smoke.

“I can’t blame you, I’d probably feel the same way. I mean, I know what it’s like…I’ve had more than one encounter with all the weird shit that goes on.” Steve leaned back on Eddie’s bed on his elbows, being careful not to let his cigarette touch the bed. “But seriously man, anytime you wanna get away from this place, you’re welcome at mine, my parents won’t even notice.”

Eddie just nodded, trying not to get too wrapped up in his own feelings. He simply took another deep inhale of his cigarette, so much so until it made him light headed, and he shut his eyes. “It’s still hard— ya know. All this shit after… after Vecna. People still come knocking at the door threatening me, vandalizing the trailer. And what’s worse is it makes my Uncle Wayne even angrier than it makes me. He’s dealing with enough as it is… working two jobs and having to worry about me, worrying whether or not I’ll get caught up in fighting with people again. I don’t want him to worry about me, ya know? I can’t really go anywhere, and I can’t really work cause nobody’ll hire me. So I’m stuck here, being of no help to Wayne. I wish I could help, I mean, I feel more like a burden to him than anything, so… I try to get out. With Buckley, or you, hell even Nancy. You guys… you’re kinda all I’ve got right now.” Eddie sighed. He hadn’t meant to rant like that. But sometimes, when he was nervous, his mouth just went too quickly. It was a trait he and Robin shared, something he didn’t have to be embarrassed of around her, but this was Steve, so the embarrassment creeped in. He smoked more of his cigarette, watching the end of it glow, bits of ash floating down to the carpet. He’d have to vacuum again later. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to load off on you.”

Steve sat up, extinguishing his cigarette in a nearby ashtray. He turned and then placed a solid hand on Eddie’s shoulder. “Eddie, you know you’re not a burden, right? Wayne doesn’t think so, and neither do any of us–”

Eddie gently rolled his shoulder back, shrugging Steve’s hand off, not with any bitterness. “No, don’t do that, Steve, it’s alright.”

“Don’t do what? Be honest? I mean hell, Munson, Dustin looks up to you like you invented being cool, Robin thinks you’re the funniest guy alive, and even Nancy likes having you around, and she’s hard to get to. None of this bullshit was your fault, you don’t need to carry the blame.” Steve leaned forward, searching for his eyes despite Eddie clearly avoiding them.

“I’m not— I’m not carrying blame.” Eddie knew that Steve was being sincere, of course he was. Steve was a lot of things, but a liar wasn’t one. In fact, Steve was too honest sometimes. “I’m just not like you guys, that’s all. And I know that’s not a bad thing, I like who I am, I wouldn’t change it— it just… it gets me into trouble sometimes. I uh. I know you knew this, but Chrissy….. when she… well, I was selling her drugs. And god knows I haven’t done that since then… but I was just trying to help out Wayne, ya know, I’m not- I’m not this… satanist druggie everyone likes to say that I am. But the way I act, the way I dress, where I come from, it feeds into this… stereotype that people don’t like. Hell, Steve, even you didn’t like me in high school. And Robin, Nancy… they’re both such good people and I’m just not that. That’s all. It’s not my fault, I know that, I can’t change who I am, and I won’t do that. Never. But it makes it a little hard.” Eddie continued to avoid Steve’s eyes, his heart feeling too tight in his chest. Eddie didn’t wanna keep rambling— but fuck, Steve was listening. He cared. Eddie needed that. It meant so much more coming from someone like Steve. Eddie needed Steve.

“Well I was a fucking asshole in high school, dude, I wish I’d gotten my head out of my ass way before then… Maybe we could’ve been friends. I don’t care that you’re different, Eddie, or that everyone thinks you’re a bad guy. Maybe I would’ve a couple years ago, but now I just see a guy who did the best with what he was given.”

Eddie’s gaze steadied on the floor, he flicked at his cigarette nervously. He tried to ignore the swell in his chest, the churn of his stomach. Steve’s words were honest, deeper than Eddie had expected from him. “Yeah, thanks Steve,” he sighed.

“I’m sorry I’m not great at this,” he chuckled weakly, almost awkwardly. “I just don’t want my favorite musician going around picking on himself when he’s actually a pretty good dude.”

Eddie couldn’t help but laugh a little at Steve’s words that he’d stolen right from Eddie’s own mouth. “No, it’s not… you’re not bad at this, Steve, I’m just bad at… accepting it I guess.” Eddie snuffed out his cigarette, too distracted and bored of it. He ignored the way Steve calling him his favorite musician made his heart ache and he finally turned to look at him, if not shyly. “I mean it… when I say thanks. It’s just embarrassing, I guess. I’m not a meek person… or, I didn’t used to be, not before... ya know..”

“I get it.” Steve met his eyes, offering him a feeble grin. Eddie smiled back sheepishly. He wasn’t used to feeling so awkward, so…. Giddy. Shy. Embarrassed. He wasn’t sure if it was just him, or if it was Steve. He thought maybe he hated it, but he couldn’t tell.

Steve snorted, rubbing his face over his hand. “God, we’re horrible at this.”

“What, I’m horrible at talking about my feelings? Yeah I know.”

“It’s not like I’m any better,” Steve said, halfheartedly.

“I already told you you’re fine, Steve, and I already told you to cut the modest shit. You helped… trust me.”

“If you say so.”

“Do I need to give you more than just a cigarette to loosen up or something? Weed? You’re getting on my nerves acting humble. God, how many times am I gonna say humble tonight?”

“What, do you like me better when I brag about myself?” Steve tilted his head. “Cause I dunno if I’ve mentioned it, but I do have excellent hair and I’m a great listener.”

Eddie laughed, and Steve could see it in his eyes. “That’s what I’m used to isn’t it? I think I prefer it that way, because at least then I agree,” Eddie replied.

Steve looked at him for a moment, blinking, a smile on his lips. “You like my hair?”

“Steve, look at my hair. ‘Course I like it, it’s metal.”

Steve laughed. “I dunno, I guess I thought mine was too ‘douchey’ for you, but now that you’ve admitted you think it’s amazing...”

“Well now you’re putting words in my mouth because I never said it was amazing.”

“It was pretty heavily implied,” Steve grinned.

“No, I think you’re just bad at social cues.”

“I’m pretty sure you admitted to loving my hair, that wasn’t a social cue.”

“Well, Steve. I never explicitly said that. You’re just putting words into my mouth. Plus… you use an awful lot of product for such little hair… I mean, once you grow luscious locks like mine…”

Steve nodded, a small grin on his face as he watched Eddie. His eyes trailed down to his lips before focusing back on his eyes, his very brown eyes. “Yeah, whatever you say Munson.” 

“Oh, I’m serious. All it takes with this baby is some shampoo, conditioner, and mousse— you heard of mousse? It’s a new thing.”

“Yes, I’ve heard of mousse, Eddie.” Steve ran his hand through his hair, eyes still trained on Eddie. Their closeness felt all too familiar, like that night in the Upside Down when Eddie was trying to pep-talk him about Nancy– the night that little flutter in Steve’s chest first came to be and Steve remembered staring at Eddie and hardly registering his words– much like he was right now.

“I’ll call your hair amazing when I see you try some of that for a change. I mean really, I have some I’d be willing to let you borrow— just a little though, you don’t have as much hair as I do. Actually, I wanna see one of the girls try to french braid your hair like they did with mine-”

Steve was sure he’d lost track of Eddie’s words by now. Had his eyes always been this brown? The dim lighting in Eddie’s room had only brought out the depth of them. He was easier to see now, this close, compared to that night in the Upside Down. He watched as Eddie’s eyes wandered as he talked, finding it incredibly endearing. Steve couldn’t help but notice the way Eddie’s hair framed his face, he’d always thought it was sort of messy, but this close he could see it was styled that way with intent. He looked... beautiful. The thought nearly scared him, he kept thinking back to Robin's words, urging him to try something new. God, did he want to try something new. He was right on the brink of realization, now. “Eddie, shut up.”

Eddie furrowed his brows, a bit taken aback. “We’re a little rude aren’t we, Harrington—“

Steve leaned in and softly pressed his lips against Eddie’s. He immediately felt every nerve in his body spring to life like electricity. It felt different from when he’d kissed girls, Eddie’s lips were rougher and chapped, but overwhelmingly sweet.  He tasted like cigarettes and smelled like hairspray and leather and it only made Steve’s heart beat faster in his chest.

Eddie was quite rudely cut off by Steve’s lips suddenly pressing against his own, so sudden, in fact, that an awkward sound came from Eddie’s throat. Eddie’s brain had processed what was going to happen only half a second before it did, so it still surprised him, if only slightly, and naturally, he kissed back like it were an instinct. But it was all without registering, it all happened too quickly, and suddenly Eddie was pulling away, though grieving the feeling of Steve’s lips on his own. It had set off fireworks in the stems of his brain, he swore he could physically feel it– he had no other way of describing how it felt. He stared at Steve wide-eyed, lips slightly agape. He just looked at him for a second, but before Eddie could think about it again or even say anything, his eyes were easing closed and he leaned back in, finding Steve’s lips again, needing to feel them against his own once more to actually process it this time. His hands found Steve’s waist, almost hesitant like he subconsciously wondered if it was alright, if it was too intimate of a placement, or if Steve was even thinking straight. Because hell, if Eddie actually let himself think about it, he’d argue that Steve wasn’t. But Eddie didn’t care, not yet.

“Fuck.” repeated over again in Steve’s mind. He felt like he’d been jumpstarted with 1000 volts of electricity, Eddie’s hands on him were almost enough for Steve to realize he might– he might like men. Whatever Eddie was doing felt right, and that alone was enough to make him spiral, for all of the feelings building up since they’d first talked alone in the Upside Down, his head was suddenly heavy, like all the blood in his body rushed to his brain at once. He tried to ignore the warning signs blaring in his mind as he tilted his head to kiss Eddie deeper, his hands finding themselves planted on the sides of Eddie’s face.

Eddie, on the other hand, could feel himself trembling— not quite enough for it to be noticeable to anyone else, but he could feel it, and feel how weak his muscles suddenly became. Eddie had kissed a couple guys before, but none of them were… well, none of them were all that important to him. Moreso something for him to settle on, considering he had such slim pickings. Eddie wasn’t thinking, clearly he wasn’t thinking, he'd been telling himself for weeks not to get hellbent over Steve Harrington. The moment he’d heard all about what a good guy he was from Dustin, the moment Steve was there, willing to help with proving Eddie’s innocence from the start, Eddie had told himself not to get any ideas. But he couldn’t help it. He knew damn well he would if it were possible. Right now he had every ounce of control over his actions, but his brain just felt so good, it felt so satisfying, touching Steve and kissing him, eating him up right there in Eddie’s own bed, that he couldn’t pull himself away. Eddie knew at the least he couldn’t get carried away, as desperate as he was feeling and as badly as he wanted to sit here like this for hours, all night, kissing Steve Harrington. He kept it mild. He pulled Steve closer gently, and leaned closer at the same time, keeping minimal distance between them. The kiss hardly lasted all that long, maybe 30 seconds, but it felt like years. Eddie’s eyes unwillingly peered open when he felt Steve pull back.

Steve drew in a sharp breath, feeling his heart racing so quickly it was hard to breathe in. He stared at Eddie with wide eyes, his brain suddenly processing everything all at once and screaming at him, telling him how stupid he was. He looked like a deer in headlights as he leaned back, putting a bit of space between them.

Eddie furrowed his brows and blinked once, then twice, before he gave Steve a once over. Was he alright? He seemed horrified, and Eddie suddenly felt insecure- had that been too much? Was Steve unsure of him? Had Eddie taken Steve’s first move as too much of an invitation? 

“Steve?” Eddie’s voice was low, quiet as though he were too afraid to speak any louder, but nothing short of curious.

“I- holy shit. I’m sorry I wasn’t thinking and I just grabbed you-“ Steve suddenly shot up from the bed, distancing himself from Eddie, backing up towards the door and staring at Eddie with wide eyes.

Eddie raised his eyebrows with surprise and he sat up a little straighter. “What-? Harrington, relax—“

“Relax? I just kissed you, man! Without warning or thinking it over, shit.” Steve pinched the bridge of his nose, other hand firmly planting on his hip.

Eddie’s nerves spiked with his anxiety and he gazed at Steve anxiously— he wasn’t foreign to getting socked in the face after being kissed by a guy, demanded that he tell no one, and suddenly he was fearful. He trusted Steve, but the way he'd shot up and put distance between them- He stood slowly, cautiously like Steve was a wild animal. “Steve… it’s okay-“

“I have to go.” Steve decided, grabbed his keys from his pocket and starting out of Eddie’s room.

“Wh-what? Steve— Steve please don’t, I’m sorry man—“ Eddie nearly tripped over himself following Steve out of his room, but Steve was pacing quickly towards the door.

“Look Eddie I’ll- I’ll see you around, okay? I gotta go.” Steve grabbed his coat and pulled open the door, hurrying down the steps and to his car.

Eddie ran to the door and watched, gripping onto the doorframe with one hand as Steve got in his car and peeled out of the park. “Shit… shit!” Eddie practically collapsed down onto the doorstep, letting his head fall into his hands. He felt as though he needed a rebrand– he wasn’t just Eddie the Freak anymore, he was Eddie the Screwup.

Steve looked back in the rear view mirror, watching Eddie slump down on the stairs, defeated, feeling pathetic as Eddie’s trailer got father and father away in the rear-view mirror. His heart pounded in his chest as a sick feeling curdled in his gut, and he knew he fucked up.

─────────── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───────────

It’d been a week since Steve had stormed out of Eddie’s trailer without an explanation, and Eddie hadn’t heard so much of a peep out of him. It wasn’t until Robin had called to tell him that her and Nancy were going to Steve’s and that he was welcome to join them. Eddie wanted to say no. But Eddie knew Robin, and if he said no, she’d press and ask why, and Eddie couldn’t bear to explain himself. He only prayed that Steve knew he’d be there. When Eddie pulled onto the Harrington lawn on his bike, he braked so hard that he nearly toppled over the front of it. He rode his bike so that it would take him longer to get there, and so the cold chill of the air would keep him out of his head. He let his bike fall into the grass, and recognized Nancy’s car in the driveway, meaning her and Robin were both already there. He sighed with a bit of relief. He was late, the last one to arrive as usual. He wasn’t sure if he should knock— he’d been to Steve’s plenty of times, but he wasn’t exactly sure what was going on with them right now. He decided to just walk in, toeing off his shoes in the front door and heading down the hall past the staircase to find his friends.

“Nance…? Robin..?”

“We’re in here, Eddie!” Eddie heard Nancy’s voice echo down the hallway from the kitchen.

Eddie clenched his fists to keep his hands from shaking as he walked into the room. He awkwardly raised his hand up in a wave-like gesture, clearly too stiff. 

“Hey guys.” Eddie noticed Steve, turned away from him in the fridge, but did not notice the way Steve tensed at Eddie’s voice. He smiled nervously at Robin and Nancy. Robin raised an eyebrow at his demeanor but smiled back.

“Hey, Eddie.” Nancy greeted warmly, sitting on the counter next to where Robin stood with a small smile on her face.

Steve slowly turned, balancing drinks in his hands. “Okay, we’ve got a Coke for Nance and a Sprite for Robin.” He handed them both their drinks, looking over at Eddie before his eyes averted. His stomach had been churning with nerves the moment Robin had hung up his phone and announced that Eddie was coming. What the hell was he supposed to do? “Uh… you want something to drink, Munson?”

Eddie swallowed thickly. “Coke’s fine.”

Steve grabbed a can from the fridge, turning around and tossing it to Eddie before leaning against the fridge, his eyes glued to the floor.

Even Nancy noticed how Steve’s eyes averted Eddie’s, but she decided to brush it off. “Hey!  Eddie… I wanted to apologize for not being able to make it to your show, Steve said it was great, so I’m sad we missed it.” She gave him an apologetic smile.

“Oh hey, don’t worry about it, Wheeler.” Eddie cracked open his Coke. “You know I’ll give you ladies a free show anytime,” he smiled and winked playfully.

They both knew he was just teasing, Robin laughed and shook her head and Nancy just grinned amusedly. “Well I'm looking forward to it, and I bet Steve would enjoy an encore too.” Nancy motioned towards Steve and looked over at him, almost suspiciously.

“Oh, uh, yeah..! Could be fun…” He trailed off, taking a sip of his drink and letting his eyes wander around the kitchen, anywhere but his friends. Anywhere but Eddie.

Eddie tried not to feel a little resentful towards Steve— he ran off, not Eddie, so why was he acting all weird and pitiful? “Well he’s not a pretty lady so unfortunately he’ll have to pay,” Eddie teased, though coldly.

“Bummer.” Steve replied flatly.

Nancy shot a look at Robin, a confused, sort of, "What's up with them?” look, to which Robin shrugged. Robin glanced back at Eddie who was staring down at the Coke in his hand, and she knew for sure something was going on.

“For being the party house, this is pretty boring,” Eddie mumbled.

“Well, what’re our options? I brought some games–” Nancy perked up. “I stole some from Mike and Holly, but I found some of my own, too. Or we could always watch a movie?”

“Well, we could—“ Robin started.

Eddie interrupted her. “I’d say we get drunk and skinny dip if we wanna have any fun?”

Robin sighed at Eddie’s crude joke and side eyed Nancy, her annoyance with Eddie’s sarcasm clear.

“I’m here for watching a movie or something,” Steve butted in, scratching his arm awkwardly.

“I think a movie sounds great!” Robin blurted. “In fact, me and Nancy will go pick one out while you two get some snacks ready!” Robin rushed over to Nancy while she spoke and grabbed her hands, hurriedly leading her away to the den.

“Hey! No running! I don’t want to drag your ass to the hospital because you busted your head open!” Steve called after them, sighing when they disappeared from view and feeling his stomach tighten with nerves yet again, now abandoned and alone with Eddie.

Eddie said nothing and leaned against the wall, looking down at the ground while he boredly swirled the Coke around in its can, waiting to see if Steve would say something.

Steve stupidly decided on the casual route. “Sooo, snacks, huh?” He walked over to the pantry. “What would you want? I mean we have popcorn and chips, maybe some candy–”

Eddie huffed. “Cut the shit, Steve. If you’re not gonna talk to me, I’ll just go now," he grumbled.

Steve turned around, sucking in a deep breath and feeling his heart in his stomach. “Okay, I know you’re angry with me-“

Eddie looked up, brows furrowed. “Angry? Angry is- is an understatement Steve. The only reason I’m even here is because of Robin. I’m not gonna stand here and let you pretend, not after what happened last week. Fuck that. I thought—“ Eddie swallowed thickly, feeling a lump form in his throat. “I thought you’d be different but I was wrong.”

Eddie’s words stung slightly and Steve straightened up. “I promise I wasn’t trying to hurt you Eddie, I just– Everything happened so fast and two weeks ago I didn’t even consider that I..that I had options like that.”

“So you storm out of my house and don’t say a word? You don’t call me? Nothing? I’ve never let anyone get to me, Harrington, but this past week has been hell, especially after everything else I've been dealing with. You’re one of the first people I’ve really liked. You have no idea what’s been running through my head and how scared I’ve been—“

Steve took a step closer to him. “You don’t think I’ve been scared too? Spending my entire life thinking I was one way, making myself one way, just for you to walk into my life and throw all that out the window? I’ve been- I’ve been confused about everything for weeks. I promise I wasn’t just never gonna bring it up, I just- I needed time to process.”

“Oh so it’s my fault? You needed time?” Eddie bit back tears, he refused to let Steve see how much it got to him. “Steve, you are exactly the type of guy I’ve been beat up by over a kiss like that— you know how I mentioned that Wayne worries about me, about me getting into fights? Well it’s not just over Hellfire or my attitude. The moment a guy regrets kissing me, regrets even thinking about it, it’s suddenly my fault. I was afraid you hated me, afraid you’d come around and take it out on me.”

“No! I couldn’t hate you, Eddie, and I wouldn’t blame you for my stupid choice. I’m sorry for hurting you, I mean it. But I really wanted to do it, I couldn’t stop myself– and you know what? I’m not sorry for kissing you, because it felt like you wanted me to.”

Eddie squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head “I did Steve, that’s what you don’t get. Why do you think I kissed you a second time?” He spoke through gritted teeth, now desperate to keep himself from tearing up.

“Then if we both wanted to, what's the problem? Why are we fighting?”

“Because, Steve, you ran, and I don’t know what this is or what this means for you. I don’t wanna let my guard down just to end up with another black eye after a blow job.” Eddie looked away, not that he’d been particularly looking in Steve's direction anyways.

Steve’s voice wavered and fell soft. “I’m sorry, Eddie. Okay? I’m sorry, but I promise I’m not one of those assholes who would hurt you like that. That’s not my intention and it never was, I know it was a douche move."

Steve was being honest. Eddie knew that. He knew Steve, and even if he didn’t, he could hear in his voice, anyways. But that didn’t stop him from being nervous, maybe even a little afraid... but he didn’t wanna run. He was tired of running.

“I know,” he murmured.

Steve finally, though with some hesitation, closed the last bit of space between them, stepping into Eddie’s space, though giving him time to back away. When Eddie stayed where he was, Steve wrapped his arms around him, pulling him into a loose hug.

“I’m sorry for freaking out about kissing you…It was a lot but I shouldn’t have just left," Steve sighed.

Eddie stopped avoiding Steve’s eyes and finally looked at him. “Do you normally ditch girls after kissing them?”

“Not ones as good looking as you,” Steve offered and smiled slightly, like an apology, and met Eddie’s gaze.

“I don’t believe that for even a second, Steve.”

Steve let out a weak chuckle. “Okay, okay, that’s fair…. listen, this is kinda new to me, but obviously something is going on between us…something maybe worth exploring..?”

Eddie wrinkled his nose. “You’re so awful at this it’s making me cringe, Christ.” He just shook his head and let out an amused huff. “I mean yeah. Something’s going on between us— but in case you’re unaware, Steve, I don’t need to do any…exploring. I’m prettttyyyyy solid on where I stand and what I am, so I guess it’s your call. I’m not a stranger to being an experiment.”

“Yeesh, Munson, experiment seems pretty harsh, it’s more like… something easy. No labels and no stress…so in case it doesn’t work out, it’s okay.”

“It’s not harsh, Steve, it’s the truth. But... yeah, sure, no labels, no stress.” Eddie repeated in a breath of air, still feeling a little uneasy. Eddie couldn’t deny it ached a little, the idea of it not working out, but he also couldn’t be disappointed when it was always something he expected. Something he was used to. Eddie leaned a little closer into Steve’s halfhearted embrace, he wasn’t exactly a sappy guy, but he’d be damned if he didn’t need a hug.

“Also, for your information, I’m not cringe, I’m romantic.”

“Yeah maybe to the ladies, Steve, but this is Eddie Munson you’re talking to.”

“What? Just cause you’re a guy doesn’t mean I can’t swoon you?” Steve snorted. “Mark my words, Munson, at some point soon, I’ll sweep you off your feet.”

Eddie scoffed, but not with any heat behind it. “Well unfortunately for me, you don’t have to work too hard to meet that goal.”

“Is that right?” Steve smiled and leaned in closer to Eddie before being interrupted by a loud thud in the other room, Robin’s voice carrying through the house. “Well shit, I should probably go help them pick a movie, Robin’s probably making a mess as we speak.” Steve let go of Eddie and took a few strides towards the door before he turned to face him. “We’ll talk later?”

“Uh, yeah, I mean— yeah...”

Steve gave him a small smile before disappearing from the room to go find Robin and Nancy in the den. A few silent moments passed, Eddie alone in the kitchen. The air felt still and somewhat heavy, before Nancy entered the kitchen, an amused look on her face.

“Those two seemed to be handling things… even if it is with more insults than necessary. I thought I’d keep you company.” Nancy leaned back against the counter. 

“I suppose I need it, huh? We’re in charge of the snacks now, I guess.”

“I’ll start the popcorn if you grab the bowl?” Her eyes twinkled as she smiled at Eddie, and a warm feeling pulsed through him. 

Eddie started looking through the cabinets for a decently sized bowl, but it seemed as though they were never ending. Halfway through his search, he found himself a little distracted by Nancy’s presence. From the moment he’d met Nancy, she seemed to have this warmth about her that she carried wherever she went. She felt almost sisterly, and maybe that was a strange thought, but Eddie felt at ease when she was around. She was strong and endearing, there was something about Nancy Wheeler’s presence that was soothing to him, like she was some sort of rock that kept him grounded. Maybe it was that she was the oldest sibling out of three, but even so, she seemed to naturally have this sense to protect the people she loved. Eddie could feel it. He finally found a good bowl and set it on the counter as slow realization came to him. Nancy and Steve… They’d dated. They dated way before Eddie knew either of them, but he knew it had happened. Maybe Nancy had the answers he was desperately searching for. 

“Hey, uh… Nance…”

Nancy slid a bag of popcorn into the microwave, and pressed it on before turning to face him. “Yeah?”

“You… you and Harrington. You dated before, right?”

Nancy quirked an eyebrow and crossed her arms over her chest. “Yeah…we did, but that was a long time ago.”

“Well forgive me if it’s a, uh… sensitive topic, but. Was Steve… was he, you know.. serious about it? Why’d you break up, did he... do something?”

Nancy let out a light huff at the irony in Eddie’s question. She also couldn’t help but grow suspicious of Eddie’s question. “Well yes…he was serious about us. Why we broke up? It was just…complicated. We sorta grew apart. Steve….he was still sort of a jerk back then. And don’t get me wrong, deep down he's always been a good guy, but he’d been hanging around the wrong people and he just wasn’t what I wanted. And to be honest, I don’t think I could be what he wanted either, whether or not he agrees.”

Eddie furrowed his brows and sort of glanced away. “What does he want?”

Nancy looked Eddie up and down suspiciously. “Steve doesn’t know what he wants, that’s sort of his problem. For a while he kept trying to convince himself what he wanted was me, but I think he just wants someone who understands him- That was never going to be me.”

Eddie swallowed thickly and leaned back against the counter behind him, anchoring his palms to the edge. He felt doubt about this whole no labels-thing starting to creep into his mind. “But how can anyone understand him if he doesn’t even understand himself? What if he just continues to make the wrong choice?”

Nancy scoffed and the microwave beeped. She turned back around to open it. “I would hope by now that he knows himself well enough to not make the wrong choice about things like that. I think Robin has been a pretty good influence on him.”

“It’s certainly a friendship I never expected. I mean, Robin? She hung out around nerds and geeks like me, in high school, Steve would never have even considered that.”

“Exactly.” Nancy pulled the bag open and poured it into the bowl before she walked over to the trash can to toss it. “I think that alone proves how much he’s grown since graduation. And now, look at him. He hangs around you just as much– I’d say he’s making some pretty solid choices in friends, so I would hope he can decide what it is he wants in a girl.”

Eddie chewed at the inside of his cheek, hesitated for a moment. Yeah, a girl. “Well how do I even know if he’s making the right choice about being friends with me? Just because he seems happy? I mean, he was happy with you once–” Eddie quickly back tracked, shaking his head and realizing how that sounded. “I mean with you and- and his popular friends. But that ended up not being what he wanted, right? So how do I know that won’t happen again, that he won’t change his mind?”

“You don’t, but what if it doesn’t? Isn’t it a risk worthy of taking? I promise you losing Steve as a friend isn’t as terrible as it sounds,” she teased, not seeming to realize how seriously Eddie was taking this conversation.

“I don’t know, Nancy. Living here in Hawkins— taking a risk like that often times isn’t worth taking. They… I mean.. Jason and his thugs, they wanted to kill me just over Hellfire, and that was a group Steve used to be a part of–” Eddie swallowed. “I... I know Steve’s not like that, and even back then he wasn’t that extreme, it’s just… I don’t wanna disappoint myself.”

Nancy quirked her head to the side, crossing her arms as her hip jutted out. “Eddie, you realize Steve’s not… a violent guy, right? And Jason? He was going psycho, I mean, his girlfriend was murdered. It’s unlucky that he thought it was you that did it, but anyway, Steve isn’t like that. Steve used to be an asshole, Eddie, I know. But you’re failing to realize that Steve…? He really has grown up. A lot. And he willingly chose to go out and fight for your sake. If he’s hanging around you on his own accord, then I can only imagine it’s something he really wants.”

Eddie let out a sigh, almost relieved. “Yeah... yeah, you're right. Sorry, I’m kinda freaking out, aren’t I?”

Nancy grabbed the bowl of popcorn before walking up to Eddie to put her hand on his shoulder. “I think you should do what feels right to you, Eddie. I can’t promise that you and Steve are gonna be best friends or something, or that it’ll last now that we’re over Vecna for now, but I can promise that you’ll have me and Robin no matter what happens, alright? If you wanna keep hanging around Steve then go for it, but if you’re weary about it, then don’t.” She smiled reassuringly.

Eddie smiled sheepishly and nodded. “So if he turns out to be a total douche that means we’ll ditch him, right?” 

Nancy laughed, “Of course.”

“Well thanks, Nance… I guess I feel a little bit better. I need to stop being so god damn scared of everything.”

“I can’t blame you for being scared, Eddie, deep down everyone is. Some people are just… better at hiding it.”  She gave a halfhearted, close mouthed smile.

“Nancy Wheeler, scared? I don’t believe it. You’re the bravest person I know. The way you dove into that lake and shot Vecna with a shotgun? Christ.”

“Like I said. Good at hiding it." She nodded her head towards the counter. "You wanna grab those chips and head downstairs?”

Eddie hummed and nodded, he appreciated Nancy. A lot. He grabbed the chips off the counter and then walked over the fridge to grab a six pack of sodas to bring with them as well.

“You think they finally picked a movie?”

“If they were able to stop bickering long enough to decide on one.”

Nancy and Eddie headed downstairs together, chatting lightly.

For the first time in awhile, Eddie felt at ease.

***

The group managed to sit through a movie Robin had picked, Sweet Dreams with Jessica Lange, with minimal bickering. Eddie had managed to score a spot next to Nancy, Robin on her other side, and they actually talked quite a bit throughout the film, discussing predictions, complimenting the things they liked, and criticizing what they didn’t. Steve, who sat next to Robin, occasionally glanced over at Eddie who was on the opposite end of the sofa. His mind was more occupied with thoughts about Eddie than the movie itself, despite the other three having a vibrant discussion about it. He waited what felt like two grueling hours until Robin and Nancy finally mentioned something about heading home. He and Eddie walked them to the door, telling them to drive safe and have a good night, to which Nancy had a smart remark about her driving being better than Steve’s. Steve finally closed the door behind them, which left him and Eddie completely alone for the first time since they’d kissed. Steve turned around to face Eddie, not knowing where to start. Eddie met his gaze almost nervously, he’d been anticipating what would happen once Nancy and Robin left and almost debated on leaving with them… but he told Nancy he would stop being scared, whether or not she realized it had meant something deeper than it seemed to at surface level. So here he stood in front of Steve Harrington. He wasn’t sure what to do. Say something? Crack a joke? Kiss him? Nothing felt appropriate, he was still unsure of what Steve was aiming for. 

He decided on saying something, but all that came out was– “Uh…”

“So...did you think about what I said?” Steve had a hopeful look on his face.

“I mean yeah… kinda hard not to?” Eddie started toying with a strand of his own hair, curling it around his finger, but he didn’t avert his gaze, trying to push down the anxiety. “I guess I just need to know what you’re aiming for, here, Harrington. Easy, no labels? What does that mean, exactly?”

“Just to explore whatever this is, ya know? Keep it casual, no pressure.” Steve met his eyes briefly, offering a reassuring smile. “Have fun.”

Eddie scratched at the nape of his neck and nodded hesitantly. “Yeah, casual… I can do casual.” Eddie had done it plenty of times before, so why did he feel so unsure this time?

“I just didn’t want it to be stressful, and, y’know we should probably go slow since I’ve never… been with a guy, yeah?”

“No, yeah, I get it.. I understand.” Eddie kicked himself for being so awkward, Eddie was never awkward. He was confident and loud, so why was he acting so meek? He cleared his throat. “Well, Harrington, now that it’s just us we can take it as slow as you want, maybe put on another movie, how about the one you picked and lost to Robin hm? And we can be chill. Like you said.”

Steve approached him slowly. This was his idea, he just needed to relax. “Yup...chill.” He entered Eddie’s space, gaze averting down to meet Eddie’s. His fingers twitched at his side, wanting to reach forward and grab Eddie’s hands, just mere inches from his own. Steve squinted his eyes teasingly. “I should probably warn you now that I’ve been told that I’m apparently very... very easy to fall in love with.” Steve's voice was low and a smile quirked at his lips. “Just to let you know what you’re getting yourself into.”

Eddie scoffed slightly. Steve Harrington had no idea, not a clue in the world how very opposite of casual this whole ordeal was to Eddie, and he was standing there making jokes like that. “I would believe that, buuttt unfortunately I’ve heard all about the failures in your attempts to find dates from Robin, so…” Eddie elbowed him before grabbing his hand. “Stop being such a dumbass, come on. There’s still some leftover snacks.”

“Hey, I’m warning you for your own sake.” Steve gave his hand a gentle squeeze, ignoring the way it made his heart race. “But yeah, we can be slow, take things one at a time… chill.”

“Well that’s what you wanted, Harrington.” Eddie headed back down to the den, pulling Steve along. It was mostly dark, only lit dimly by a lamp, and of course the TV screen. They sat down, side by side, Eddie relaxing as much as his body would let him. “You gonna stop staring like an idiot and hit play on the movie?” Eddie was grinning at him, but whether or not Steve could even see it, he didn’t know, considering the room was so dim. “That’s what we’re down here for, right? Which one did you pick?”

“The movie, right.” Steve got up to grab a tape off the shelf and put it into the VHS player. “Return of The Jedi.”

“Star Wars? Wasn’t expecting that out of you. I can’t believe you even know the actual name of the film. You keep saying you aren’t a movie nerd yet you keep proving yourself wrong.” Eddie shook his head.

“Well it’s the movie that got me hired at Family Video, so I kinda have to know it by now, huh?” Steve looked over at Eddie, meeting his eyes in the dimly lit room.

“Well you’re about 3 years late.”

“I’m surprised you know it, too. I didn’t think sci-fi was your thing, I thought it was that fantasy stuff. Pop culture seems like a foreign subject to you.” Steve grinned, sat back down on the couch and grabbed the remote to press play.

“Steve, if anyone doesn’t know shit about pop culture it’s you. And, for your information, Dungeons and Dragons is just as much sci-fi as it is fantasy. Those two genres go hand and hand. You hadn’t even actually seen Return of the Jedi when you got hired, according to Robin. And, you didn’t know Ozzy Osbourne, and the only movies you do know are action. My whole life is about culture, Steve.” Eddie’s eyebrow raised at him. “You’re new to it.”

“Well I know all the popular stuff! Henderson and I have had multiple Star Wars marathons since then, and Ozzy Osbourne isn’t as cool as you think he is.” Steve gently nudged Eddie’s arm with his elbow, knowingly pushing his buttons.

“Are you purposely trying to piss me off?”

“Maybe,” Steve grinned.

Eddie glared at Steve without amusement. “Well you better cut it out.”

“What? You can’t handle a little teasing, Munson? Have I bruised your ego?” Steve tilted his head, eyes fixed on Eddie’s.

“Oh, I can handle it perfectly fine, but you’re not teasing, you’re harking on what may quite possibly be my favorite thing. That’s just cruel, Harrington. You can’t bruise my ego.”

“Ozzy Osbourne is your favorite thing? I’m telling Henderson and the entirety of your DnD campaign.” 

“I need a break from DnD when it was part of the reason I almost died, thank you very much– and anyway, the kids all took it over. I don’t know if I wanna play with that little Applejack chick again, she’s kinda mean.”

“We both know you won’t stop playing it.”

“Oh my God, you’re so annoying.”

“Just watch the movie Munson, you’re gonna miss the good part.” Steve gestured to the TV, glancing over at it before looking back at Eddie.

“Telling me to shut up when you’re being the antagonizer, dammit,” Eddie murmured, glaring at him.

“Just stop being so easy to antagonize.”

“You’re pretty mouthy for someone who wants to be chill.”

“I’m chilling! I’m being perfectly chill.”

“No, no you’re not, you’re being an asshat, actually, but that’s classic for you, isn’t it?”

“Now that’s just rude.” 

“Well you said Ozzy Osbourne isn’t good, so it’s deserved.”

“Okay, now you’re putting words in my mouth! I didn’t say he wasn’t good, I just said he wasn’t as cool as you think he is!

“Sometimes you need to learn to keep your mouth shut, Harrington.” Eddie met Steve’s eyes and raised an eyebrow. “Or do I gotta do it for you?”

Steve looked slightly taken aback, not quite picking up on what Eddie meant. “What, are you threatening me? Gonna fight me off with your dice and figuri–“

Eddie scoffed before leaning in and kissing him, for the first time since it had initially happened. It startled Steve slightly, and his wide eyes flickered across Eddie’s face before they fluttered shut as he kissed back. Eddie’s hand moved from where it laid at his own side to rest on Steve’s hip. He pulled back slightly and, again, raised an eyebrow at Steve. “Are you gonna shut up now?”

“Uh, yeah,” Steve said, looking a little star struck.

“That’s what I thought,” Eddie snorted, amused, and tugged Steve closer. “You’re a lot more tolerable when you’re quiet instead of loud and wrong.”

“Shut up, dude,” Steve scoffed, a smile pulling at his lips, before he pulled Eddie in for another kiss. He brought a hand up to Eddie’s cheek, the tips of his fingers pushing gently into the hair by his ear.

Eddie snickered as Steve kissed him again, and moved his other hand to Steve’s knee, rubbing his thumb across it. Maybe this wasn’t such a bad idea after all— I mean, Steve hadn’t punched him yet, so that had to count for something, right? 

Steve smiled again and leaned closer to Eddie, contentment pulsing through him. This was light, easy, just like he’d said; however, he couldn’t deny was a bit nervous to touch him, worried he’d get it wrong or make Eddie uncomfortable. He wasn’t sure if Eddie would wanna be touched like a girl would– though Eddie seemed perfectly fine where his own hand rested on Steve’s hip and his knee. 

Eddie couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed, even if it went unnoticed by Steve. He hadn’t really been kissed back like this before, like Steve genuinely wanted to, not like it was just something to do and he wasn’t grossed out by it. He couldn’t let the guise he’d created thus far, that he was overly confident and secure, be broken, so he tried not to get too giddy. Eddie could tell Steve was just as nervous as he was, except he wasn’t as good at hiding it as Eddie was. Eddie knew, this time, though, that it wasn’t because Steve was unsure of Eddie, but unsure of what he was supposed to do. It almost made Eddie wanna laugh— nothing changed just because he was a guy, you still kiss the same. Eddie pulled back enough to speak, just slightly, and was practically talking into Steve’s lips as their noses brushed.

“I make you nervous or something, Harrington?” he murmured, grinning.

“Maybe a little,” Steve breathed. “Anyone ever told you you’re intimidating?”

“You don’t even wanna know how many times. Am I big and scary or something? I won’t bite, Steve,” Eddie chuckled, “not unless you want me to.”

“Oh I’m sure you would,” Steve snorted. “I’m just new to this is all."

“Except you’re not, Steve… just because I’m not a girl doesn’t mean this is any different.” He pressed a kiss to the corner of Steve’s mouth, and Steve’s eyes fell shut again.

“I just don’t wanna make you uncomfortable.”

“Steve,” Eddie laughed. “You’re not gonna make me uncomfortable, I’m not fragile. Chill, remember?”

“Yeah, chill, sorry, I’m overthinking this,” Steve sighed. “Can I make the excuse that you’re a much better kisser than I’m used to?”

“Is it an excuse or is it the truth?”

“You can decide on that.” Steve grinned and stroked his thumb across Eddie’s cheek, and their eyes met.

Eddie just huffed and shook his head as he pressed their lips together again, hoping maybe he’d loosened Steve up a bit so he’d stop being so nervous. He was just Eddie, after all.

Steve hummed against his lips. “Where do you want my hands?” He asked between kisses.

“Don’t ask, just do,” Eddie chuckled. “You’re so weird.”

“Well screw me for being nervous,” Steve professed and ran a hand through Eddie’s hair.

Eddie laughed again, he couldn’t help it, “Yeah, screw you.” Eddie squeezed Steve’s knee, grinning stupidly.

Steve grinned back. He couldn’t seem to get enough of him. He pushed his hand through Eddie’s hair as their lips met yet again, slow and tender, his fingers getting tangled in the curls as he tried to comb them through the strands. His hand then found Eddie’s jaw again, feeling the warmth of Eddie's skin against his palm.

Eddie couldn’t contain the excitement thrumming through his bones, unable to stop the stupid smile on his face between every little kiss. He paused for a moment, moving his hand from where it rested on Steve’s knee to comb through Steve’s hair, too, before settling on his shoulder. “See, not so scary, huh?”

“I disagree, you’re terrifying,” Steve teased, and they kissed again.

─────────── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───────────

Eddie and Steve’s… casual exploration, according to Steve, had naturally become a little secret between them. It had to be, in a place like Hawkins, but Steve hadn’t even told Robin despite her being the only person who would understand.  It’d been two weeks since they’d agreed to see each other, to take things slow and be casual. With each time they met, it became easier and less foreign, less hesitant. They’d done a good job of successfully hiding it from their friends and the rest of Hawkins, meeting at each other’s places, sometimes in the back room at Family Video on a slow Tuesday afternoon, or desperately in Steve’s car parked at the quarry well past midnight on a Friday. The closest they’d been to getting caught was when Dustin randomly dropped by Eddie’s trailer while Steve was over, but they’d forced themselves apart before Dustin had the chance to notice. Right now, they were in the Wheeler’s basement playing Uno. Steve and Eddie were sat next to one another, unable to resist an occasional brush of the hand under the table or the knocking of knees.

“Okay, I’m over it!” Robin cried. “It needs to be a rule that you can’t keep throwing down pick-up cards! Three in a row is brutal, I’m not picking up 12 cards!”

“You’re technically allowed to put down as many draw cards as you want Robin, you’re just being a sore loser,” Nancy soothed, taking a few cards from the pile and handing them to Robin.

“But I always lose! It’s unfair! I have no benefit!”

Steve snorted. “Maybe you’d stop losing if you didn’t show everyone your cards!”

“I don’t!” 

“You totally do!” Steve looked over at Eddie. “Robin is terrible at showing her cards, right?”

“I’m on the opposite side of the table, how would I know? Don’t drag me into this.” He elbowed Steve.

“I hate to agree, but Robin, you are bad with hiding your cards,” Nancy admitted, a teasing smile on her face.

“Then why do you guys keep picking card games?”

“Cause we like beating you?” Steve shrugged and placed a card down before reaching into the chip bowl, only to find it empty. “Ugh, who ate the last of the chips?”

“That would’ve been Mr. Munson,” Robin pointed.

Eddie protested. “I did not!”

Steve groaned, “Well come on and help me get another bag then, Munson.”

“It’s a two man job for one bag of chips?” Eddie raised an eyebrow, but he knew damn well what Steve’s goal was.

“It is right now, come on.” Steve stood up and waited, followed by Eddie, who got up and stretched dramatically before heading up the stairs. Steve followed behind, and when the basement door shut, Robin turned to look at Nancy.

“They’ve grown awfully close ever since Vecna disappeared, wouldn’t you say?” Robin inquired, glancing up at the basement door before back at Nancy.

“Yeah, but I think it’s a good thing.” Nancy set her cards down. “I think it’s good for Steve.”

“You think?”

“Yeah. He’s really branching out with who he talks to, now… he needs that.”

Robin smiled. “It still surprises me that he considers me his best friend, I hated him in high school. But he really has changed, hasn’t he?”

Nancy nodded. “You know, Eddie and I actually talked a few weeks ago– that night at Steves? Once I went back upstairs he was asking me all about Steve… about whether or not being friends with him was a good idea.”

“Well, what’d you say?”

“I just told him that Steve’s changed and that he probably wouldn’t hang around him if he didn’t want to. I can’t promise anything, of course, I’m not Steve, but I really do think Steve likes having him around around.”

“Yeah. Yeah, I agree,” Robin smiled.

***

When Steve reached the top of the stairs, he shut the basement door behind him and Eddie. “So...chips?”

“Yeah, sure, chips,” Eddie snorted.

Steve walked over to him, a devilish smile at his lips as he leaned over him. “How long until they notice we’re gone?” Steve grabbed the ends of Eddie’s jacket and toyed with the zipper.

“I give it, ehhh, ten minutes?”

“Better be quick then, yeah?” Steve grabbed Eddie’s hand, leading him into the hallway before glancing around. “Nobody else is here, right?”

“No, nobody’s here,” Eddie reassured. This wasn’t the riskiest thing they’d done- it was definitely when Eddie would show up at Family Video and Steve would sneak him into the back room. Nancy’s family were all gone. Mike was likely at a friend's house, and he didn’t care to guess where her parents and little sister were, so it wasn’t like they’d get caught unless it were Nancy and Robin. Eddie chuckled at Steve’s enthusiasm, following him.

“Good.” Steve gently pressed Eddie up against the wall, going straight for a kiss.

Eddie just laughed and kissed back, draping his arms over Steve’s shoulders and toying with the hair at the nape of his neck. Steve had grown particularly confident lately– something that surprised Eddie quite a bit, considering how uneasy he’d been at the start of it all. Eddie had expected himself to be the one leading. “You’re getting better at kissing every time, Harrington,” Eddie teased

“I’m great at kissing, I always have been.” Steve’s hand smoothed down Eddie’s side.

”Oh sure, but you seem to be extra cocky lately,” Eddie hummed, still smiling despite himself, welcoming Steve as closely as he wanted to be. One of Eddie’s guilty pleasures as of late was when he messed with Steve’s hair and it got caught in his rings every so often— not stuck, just caught for a moment, so that he had to tug his fingers away. Eddie had become particularly infatuated with Steve’s hair, maybe because he was likely the only person allowed to touch it, at least for right now. He loved combing his fingers through it and getting it all messy and unkempt— which is what he found himself doing now.

Steve kissed across his jaw. “Did I mention you look good today?”

“Well, Steve, I’d like to think I look nice every day considering how much thought I put into my style— but no.”

Steve scoffed. “You’re farming for compliments. You look nice every day, including today. You drive me crazy.”

Eddie rolled his eyes but smiled despite himself. “I think I like this side of you, it’s new. I always thought I was the ravenous one.”

“What can I say? You’ve boosted my ego.” Steve smiled and planted a kiss on his neck, just under his hairline.

“Woah, Harrington, easy boy,” Eddie let out an airy laugh, an intense shiver raking up his spine. “Don’t get overly excited, Steve, this isn’t your house,” Eddie teased, despite his face fading pink.

Steve pulled away, just enough to meet Eddie’s eyes. “That hasn’t seemed to bother you before, you know, when you show up at my job because you miss me?”

“Nobody lives there,” Eddie laughed, a short, brief, breathless chuckle. “I said don’t get overly excited. This is chill, remember?” Eddie grinned.

Steve raised an eyebrow, a thought coming to mind. “Was it chill yesterday when you-“

“When I what? When you came to my place and barely said a word to me, so I sucked a hickey into your neck because you practically begged me to? You can’t use that against me, Steve, I have no shame.”

Steve flushed red, not expecting to point it out so explicitly. “You’re the worst,” Steve uttered. He leaned in, kissing Eddie again.

Eddie laughed, “You asked for it,” and kissed back, gently pulling Steve in closer. The kiss was fervent but not exactly desperate, as Eddie had Steve right where he wanted him. It almost surprised Eddie how easily Steve gave in and how it usually was Steve to give in. “You think Nance would strike us down if she knew we were doing this in her house?”

“Oh for sure.”  Steve planted a few kisses on Eddie’s jaw, moving a hand to rest on his lower back as he tugged him closer.

“You think they’re getting suspicious yet?”

Steve sighed and pulled away. “Yeah probably.” He let go of Eddie entirely and walked into the kitchen, grabbing chips from the pantry. “Did you eat the last chips on purpose?”

“Of course I didn’t eat them on purpose, you think I was scheming or something?”

“Of course I did! You’ve been giving me looks since I got here.”

“I’ve been giving you looks? Nice try, Harrington, but you’ve been eye-fucking me the entirety of Uno! Not to mention you were just about ready to get on your knees just now—“

Steve threw the bag of chips at him. “Will you hush? Nancy and Robin are gonna hear you!”

Eddie shrugged, smiling at him innocently. “You started it.” He winked and turned to head back downstairs before pausing and turning back to Steve “Don’t be such a tease next time, Harrington.”

Steve scoffed and followed him.

Eddie wasn’t wrong.

─────────── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───────────

About three days had passed since the events at Nancy’s house, and Steve and Eddie hadn’t seen each other. They’d talked over the phone for a bit just the day prior, not about anything in particular. Eddie had been surprised when Steve admitted to missing him. Eddie was always careful about what he said over the phone, paranoid of being listened to. Apparently that’d been a quite common thing in Hawkins, and because Eddie was still a target of harassment… Well, he couldn’t be too careful.

Since their phone call, Eddie’d been reflecting a bit. He’d been telling himself for a few months now not to get hung up on Steve Harrington, and even now, was still telling himself that, because there was still a chance this wouldn’t work out in the long run. At this point, he was still only really an experiment to Steve, whether or not Steve would admit that. He seemed to merely be having fun with the whole ordeal, keeping Eddie a secret; though, it wasn’t like Eddie necessarily wanted to not be one, he couldn’t risk anything and preferred to keep it the way it was. But in the end, he couldn’t deny that, on days like this when he was alone and not distracted, he couldn’t help but wonder how long it would last. He continually reminded himself that all good things would come to an end, and undoubtedly, his time with Steve would, too, when he was bored of it or decided it wasn’t for him.

Eddie wouldn’t hold that against him, he could never hold it against him. He knew it was confusing, and knew there weren’t a lot of options to figure yourself out in a place like Hawkins, or really anywhere for that matter, so it wouldn’t be fair for Eddie to treat Steve any differently, even if that meant sparing his own feelings. Steve just wanted to know. Who would Eddie be to judge him for that? In the end, Eddie was still getting something out of it, too, the opportunity to get his hands and lips on the guy that’d been making his heart thump harder than usual ever since they’d really talked for the first time. Steve was different, anyway. He still treated Eddie like a human being instead of an object for his own benefit, still liked him. Steve actually wanted to hang around him, wanted to kiss him. But all the same, that’s what made the idea of letting go harder for Eddie.

These thoughts were simmering in his brain while he laid on his bed, flat on his back, smoking a cigarette while he listened to some of his tapes. Wayne was cooking lunch in the kitchen, he could smell it from his room, and he’d been doing next to nothing the entire day; though, he had practice with his bandmates in the next hour or so. He sat up and snuffed out his cigarette in an ash tray, standing with a groan. He padded out into the kitchen and nodded a greeting to his uncle before walking over to the phone. He dialed Steve’s landline– a number he now had memorized– and tapped his finger against the wall while he listened to the dial tone. After a minute, the phone picked up. To no surprise, it was Steve.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Steve. It’s me.”

Eddie could practically hear Steve smile. “Hey, Eddie.”

“You got plans tonight?”

“Nope.” 

Eddie glanced over his shoulder at Wayne before turning back to the phone. “Can I come over after practice?”

“Yeah, man, always. I’m sure you could’ve guessed, but my parents aren’t home, so... We can do whatever you want.”

Eddie grinned. “Sweet. I’ll be over after. See you then.”

“See ya, Munson.”

Eddie hung up the phone, listening to it click, before he walked over to Wayne. “You mind being alone for the night?”

Wayne glanced at him from where he stood at the stove. “Nope. What’re you up to, now?”

“Nothing, just going over to Harrington’s after practicing with the band.”

Wayne just nodded and turned back to his pot. “Glad you’re getting out of the house, just be safe, a’right?”

“Yeah, I know. I will.” Eddie smiled and Wayne clicked off the coils. 

“Grab a bowl, help yourself. You gonna be back tonight or tomorrow?”

“Hard to say.”

“Well…. Call me when you get to that boy's house. Gotta make sure I know where you’re at.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know.” 

***

Practice had been just as exhausted as he expected it to be, and he was ready to relax for the rest of the night. Eddie walked into Steve’s house, by now he’d surpassed knocking, and took off his shoes. For whatever particular reason, if there was one, Eddie was dressed a little differently today. He’d had practice with his band mates, so his hair was pulled up, he was wearing a pair of ratty, ripped jeans, and a t-shirt. He had smudged eyeliner on his face, he didn’t stop home before coming over, so he hadn’t freshened up. 

“Steeeeeeeve I’m here,” he called from the bottom of the stairs.

“I’m upstairs in my room!” Steve called back.

Eddie hummed before he headed up the stairs. He dragged his hand along the wall as he walked down the hallway before he pushed open Steve’s door the rest of the way and walked in. They instantly met eyes and smiled almost simultaneously.

“Miss me?” Eddie cooed.

“Oh you bet.” Steve was sitting on his bed, wearing blue sweat pants and a t-shirt. He stood up, looking Eddie up and down. “I like what you did with your hair.”

“It’s just pulled back cause I had practice, that’s all.” Eddie shrugged.

“Well I like it, it’s…it’s nice.” Steve walked up to him, pushing a stray curl behind his ear before gently cupping Eddie’s jaw in his palm and pressing a soft kiss to his lips. 

Eddie shuddered and immediately the hair on his arms stood on end. He felt his skin grow hot, something about the gesture was too intimate, more than anything casual. Like a boyfriend greeting him after they hadn’t seen each other all day. Eddie shook it off.

“Noted.” He pulled away from Steve and sighed, sat down on the edge of the bed and leaned back on his elbows. “God, I’m exhausted.”

“Apparently not exhausted enough to go home.”

“Your beds comfier than mine.”

“You think so?” Steve tilted his head to the side and raised an eyebrow, grinning at him.

“I mean it’s a lot bigger than mine, I like all the space.”

“That's it, huh? Nothing else?”

“What, you want me to say I like it cuz it smells like you or some corny shit like that?”

Steve snorted. “No, Eddie, you’re supposed to say you like being here because of me, obviously.

“I’m not cheesy, Harrington, gross.” 

“You could’ve at least lied.” Steve crossed his arms against his chest.

“Well, Steve, I’m a lot of things, but a liar isn’t one.”

“No, no way, there’s no way you’ve never lied, get your head out of your ass.”

“Nope, not once.” Eddie smiled. “Unless it was about liking your hair.”

“Don’t even try that, Munson, I know you love my hair.”

“I might need to reevaluate, let me touch it.”

“Let you touch it?”

“Oh don’t even get prissy, you let me do it all the time when my tongues down your throat—“

“Okay, Christ, you can touch it, no need to be so vulgar.”

“Well I can’t touch it if you’re over there so you have to come over here.”

“You’re the worst.”

“Then get your ass over here and do something about it.”

Steve scoffed, “Fine.” He walked over to the bed, sitting down next to Eddie and looking at him with an unamused expression.

“Not so hard, now was it?” Eddie grinned, glancing up at him.

“Asshole.” 

“Your insults wound me, Steve,” Eddie sighed.

“You asked me over here for a reason, did you not?”

“Oh, so you do want me to touch your hair?”

Steve rolled his eyes. “I can never win with you, can I?”

“Nope.” Eddie sat up and shifted closer to him, knocking his knee against Steve’s.

“You have eyeliner everywhere.” Steve reached out, using the tip of his finger to wipe some of the smudged eyeliner off of Eddie’s face. It only smeared more.

“Well we practiced for like three hours. I can’t look perfect all the time.”

“Yeah, I can tell,” Steve scoffed. He licked the tip of his thumb, wiping his thumb along the underside of Eddie’s eye in an attempt to wipe off some of the liner. “How the hell do you manage to get it everywhere?” He asked, pretending to be annoyed.

“God, you’re so gross, don’t rub your spit all over my face, Christ!” Eddie pushed his hand away.

“I’m wiping it off!”

“That’s gross!”

“I’ve done way grosser things, Munson.” 

“Oh yeah, like what?”

“I was trying to make a sex joke,” Steve snorted.

“Yeah and I was trying to get you to say it.” Eddie leaned closer to him and carded his fingers through Steve’s hair.

“You love hearing me talk dirty, I bet.”

“Oh totally, gets me going,” Eddie scoffed, words oozing with sarcasm.

“What about dirty jokes? Do those work?”

“You’re the least sexy when you’re purposely trying to be sexy, you know. It hurts.”

Steve took Eddie’s hand, kissing his knuckles. “I try very hard, for your information. When am I sexy, then?”

“When you’re being quiet.”

“Haha, very funny,” Steve deadpanned.

Eddie, still combing his fingers through Steve’s hair, smiled when one of his rings got slightly caught and he tugged it out.

“You really gotta take off your rings when you mess with my hair,” Steve fussed.

“Nah, I like it.”

Steve was silent for a moment, taking in the feeling of Eddie’s hands in his hair. It relaxed him, it felt nice, felt affectionate. 

“Hey, Harrington.”

Steve opened his eyes. “What?”

Eddie turned to face him better and placed a hand on Steve’s hip, the other on his knee. “Nothin, I just wanna kiss you.”

Steve’s breath hitched for a moment because his heart stuttered, stealing his breath. He felt particularly fond lately, like Eddie was something more than just someone who was offering to let him figure himself out– like when he told him he missed him over the phone, or now, feeling utterly weakened. “You look really handsome right now,” he blurted softly, leaning closer to him, wanting so badly to kiss him, feeling the need pulsing through him.

Eddie just smiled and shook his head, he still had a hard time accepting Steve’s compliments— he wasn’t used to corny. He leaned in and kissed him, and Steve kissed back, soft and intimate, a kiss that bordered on romantic rather than just something for fun.

Eddie couldn’t help but notice Steve’s change in demeanor. Something about this time was different, like Steve had been aching. He could tell Steve just wanted, and Eddie knew all too well how that felt, but this time he didn’t have to hide it away. He didn’t have to be secretive of his own feelings for Steve’s sake, because it almost felt like maybe instead of just casual, this was becoming something more to Steve, too, like it had always been for Eddie. Steve hummed softly, and the soft sound made Eddie’s stomach flutter. He wanted to cringe at himself for feeling that way, but he couldn’t help it, or even care to. Steve pressed a hand against Eddie’s lower back and pulled him closer with it. His other hand found itself on the side of Eddie’s face, cradling his jaw, his fingers mingling with the hair behind his ear. Eddie could feel Steve smile against his lips, and couldn’t help but smile between kisses, too. He scooted closer, and Steve moved his hand from Eddie’s back to his waist, being careful to keep his hand placement modest. Eddie picked up on that; typically, Steve was handsy and didn’t care where his hands were because Eddie had told him he didn’t mind, but this time, Steve was being careful. He was being gentle. 

Kissing Steve in particular was different than anyone else Eddie had kissed before. Obviously, he knew that things with Steve ran a little deeper. It was more than a one time thing, and it was mutual, Eddie had already established that; but every time their lips met, it made Eddie feel dizzy, almost light headed, like when he’d suck in as much smoke from a blunt as he could before he couldn’t inhale anymore and had to let it out. He loved it so much that he couldn’t put it to words or even thoughts, like his brain turned to static. Eddie pulled away momentarily, opening his eyes only halfway to look at Steve. 

Steve opened his eyes, too, the moment Eddie pulled back and met his gaze. Their eyes locked, and it felt eerily familiar, like Steve was having deja-vu. That first memory of feeling something new he couldn’t place came flooding back to him, that moment in the Upside Down when Eddie gave Steve that stupid pep talk, tjat one that Steve had only half listened to, because he was too busy staring, too busy taking in the man in front of him. Steve smiled and brushed his thumb across Eddie’s cheek.

“You know, this… I’ve been thinking about this. For months, ever since that whole thing in the Upside Down, about you being jealous of me and talking to me about Nancy... but... I realize now I never cared about that,” he whispered. “That was the first night you had me second-guessing everything I thought I knew about myself.” Steve spoke so quietly that his voice threatened to break and fall off with every other word, but he wouldn’t dare project his voice any louder and threaten to shatter the moment, shatter the thin air around them. He surprised even himself with his sudden profession.

Eddie furrowed his brows as he listened to Steve’s words. He hadn’t been expecting such an intimate confession, he hadn’t realized just how long Steve had been struggling with trying to figure out what he wanted, only for it to have been Eddie this entire time. So many feelings overwhelmed Eddie’s head and chest at once that he couldn’t find words to reply, his brain blanking on a response. Eddie took Steve’s face in both hands and pressed a gentle kiss to his lips before crawling into his lap and pushing his fingers through his stupid, stupid hair, pressing his lips desperately to Steve's yet again.

Steve raised an eyebrow but didn’t want to risk scaring Eddie off, so he said nothing and just smiled at him, a soft, honest smile that made Eddie want to cry as Steve ,kissed back. Eddie draped one arm over Steve’s shoulder, and Steve attempted to run his hand through Eddie’s hair in return, but forgot it was pulled back. He huffed, annoyed. “I’m taking this out.”

Eddie leaned back to look at him. “What? No, I didn’t wash today, and I was sweating during practice, leave it up—“

“We both know you’re staying the night here, man, if you really care that much you can use my shower.” Steve tugged out Eddie’s hair tie, brushing some of his hair behind his ear.

“You’re an ass.”

“I’m practical.”

“Sure, practical,” Eddie scoffed, kissing the corner of Steve’s mouth.

“You enjoying your new seat? That’s new.” Steve wrapped his arms loosely around Eddie’s torso.

“I wanted to be closer, it’s easier to kiss you this way,” Eddie defended. 

“Sure it is,” Steve teased disbelievingly. He peppered a few soft kisses down Eddie’s neck, and planted a few on the edge of his jaw. “I’m assuming you’re not sleeping in those clothes, right?”

“Well clearly not, I was gonna ask to borrow some sweats or PJ pants or something after that shower you offered.”

“Well I suggest doing that now, because soon I won’t wanna let you go,” Steve purred, but his voice was genuine instead of deriding.

“Alright, alright, don’t miss me too much.” Eddie pecked his lips once, and then kissed him a second time, one that lingered for a moment before he finally pulled away and got up.

“You sure you don’t want me to join?” Steve suddenly said, leaning back on the bed, a mischievous smile on his face.

Eddie turned to Steve and raised an eyebrow. “I haven’t even seen you with your pants off and suddenly you’re suggesting we shower together?”

“I was kidding,” Steve laughed.

“You better have been kidding… But if you want a show before I leave I can strip for you,” Eddie chaffed.

“Haha, very funny.” Steve rolled his eyes.

Eddie winked at him, grinning. “Can you at least grab me a towel and some clothes?”’

“Yup, can do.” Steve got up from his bed and walked over to the dresser, nudging Eddie as he walked past him. He grabbed some clothes out of the drawer and handed them to Eddie. “Towels are in the cabinet in the bathroom.”

“Thank you, my good sire. I’ll be back in a jiffy, you won’t even know I’m gone.”

“You’re such a nerd,” Steve scoffed.

Eddie stuck his tongue out at Steve before leaving the room and Steve couldn’t stop smiling to himself like a lovesick dickhead.

Steve peeled off his shirt because he usually slept without it, and laid down on the bed as he sighed. He could hear the shower running from down the hall and almost wished he didn’t admit to his proposal being a joke. He felt particularly needy tonight, he wanted Eddie, all of him, wanted them to be raw and honest about everything about themselves, and he was suddenly yearning for him so intensely that he wished he’d never mentioned the shower at all so that Eddie didn’t leave. Steve was feeling a lot of things at once, and he thought he’d wrapped up his inner confusion when he and Eddie had gotten on the same page with this whole friends-with-benefits situation, but he was suddenly unsure if it were enough. He wanted Eddie all the time, not just whenever they felt like they wanted a good makeout session, or to fuck around, but he wanted to lay in bed with him while the radio played, to take Eddie to basketball games and explain every move, or go and watch another one of Eddie’s shows. He wanted it all. He wanted moments that were meaningless, but really meant everything to him in secret. Steve rolled onto his back, anxiety creeping up his spine. That’s what he thought he’d wanted with Nancy. What he tried to want with Nancy, until Eddie showed up and it all blew up in Steve’s face. Steve groaned to himself and scrubbed his hands over his face. He wished Robin were here so he could talk to her, open the floodgates and tell her everything. He knew that out of everyone, she’d be able to understand and help it all make sense.  He realized right then he wanted to be Eddie’s boyfriend, whatever that meant for Eddie. Is this what Robin felt when she realized she liked girls? Was Eddie his Tammy Thompson? Of course the scenarios were drastically different, but Steve was having too many realizations all at once and it was the only thing he could find to relate to and cling onto to help him feel even a smidge better about himself.

The next thing Steve knew, the bed was shifting beneath him and he shot up. Eddie was suddenly there next to him, freshly showered, and “Oh my God, he smells like my shampoo,” and that was enough to make Steve want to cry.

“Where the hell's your shirt?”

Steve snapped out of his delusion and furrowed his brows. “Oh I’m sorry, does me being shirtless bother you? I just assumed since you’ve seen me shirtless in the Upside Down covered in blood, you’d be cool with it. I sleep without one.”

“Yeah, no, sure whatever, I’m cool.”

Steve brushed aside Eddie’s hair, planting a kiss on the side of his neck. “Tell me about practice.”

Eddie fought a shiver. “Not much to talk about to be honest… we just play. We don’t talk too much, unless it’s about something we wanna change about whatever we’re practicing.” Eddie felt a knot in his stomach— he’d noticed it earlier, but even moreso now, how domestic Steve was being. He was sitting in bed with Steve, Steve asking about his day— he couldn’t tell if this felt too casual… or not casual at all. “We practiced for like five hours.”

“Jesus, how do you have the stamina for that?”

“I mean I’ve been doing this since like, middle school?”

Steve snorted. “Didn’t you tell us you had a buzzcut back then? Can you imagine if you had one now?”

“Don’t even remind me of that, I wouldn’t ever do that to my gorgeous hair again.”

“Good,” Steve laughed, “I like your hair like this.”

“Yeah I know, you’re totally jealous of it, huh?”

“Woah, hey, I wouldn’t go that fair, I like my hair as it is.”

Eddie chuckled. “Yeah, yeah- now what’re the plans for tonight, huh?”

“We could watch a movie, continue making out…whatever you want.”

“Both of those sound fine to me,” Eddie hummed.

“Yeah, I thought so” Steve cupped Eddie’s cheek and pecked his lips.

“Don’t act like you’re not the one always fiending for a damn kiss,” Eddie snorted. 

“Hey, you’re touchier than me when you want to be.”

“I never denied anything, but you’ve been awfully affectionate today so you can’t even say anything.”

“Yeah, whatever, you wanna watch a movie? I’ll let you pick.”

“Steve, you know damn well you’re not gonna pay attention, how about just some music?”

“I can do that.” Steve got up and walked over to his desk to turn on his radio. He adjusted the volume and changed it to a station that would play music he knew Eddie liked.

“I see you’ve been doing your homework.”

“Can’t have you complaining about the music the entire time.” Steve walked back over to the bed and crawled over to Eddie.

“Well of course we can’t have that.”

“We both know you would.” Steve raised a brow.

“Yeah, so I’m glad you studied. Didn’t think you were keen on studying.”

“I can be convinced if there’s good rewards.”

Eddie couldn’t help but grin with amusement. “Like what?”

“I think you know.” Steve rested a hand on Eddie’s leg.

Eddie let out an amused huff. “Just come here you big dope.”

Steve scooted closer and leaned in for a kiss, his stomach immediately doing a flip as his lips met Eddie’s.

Eddie’s mind was racing with a lot of thoughts he’d rather not dwell on— about how too casual/definitely not casual (he still wasn’t sure) this whole evening had been, about how he was wearing Steve’s clothes and smelled like Steve’s soap right now, about how Steve wanted to be kissing him (n fact that’s all Steve wanted), or about how Steve was playing music he knew Eddie liked. Eddie was swimming in second guesses, but it stopped mattering when Steve kissed him again and he wasn’t able to think at all. Eddie pulled him closer immediately, tilting his head and leaning into him all at once.

Steve smiled against Eddie’s lips and put his hand on his lower back, sending sparks up Eddie’s spine. Eddie’s mind didn’t think twice about all the touching, but it was without much intent compared to how careful and calculated Steve’s hand placement had been earlier. But Eddie didn’t care, he’d been all tensed up since practice, all of the energy he’d burned had exhausted him, and a slow, steady night like this with Steve was exactly what he needed. He hummed softly and relaxed, not even realizing he’d still been sitting so tensely until now. Steve kissed him slow and tender, relishing in the heat that radiated from Eddie’s skin from his shower.

“Jesus, Eddie,” Steve breathed.

“Is my name Jesus or is it Eddie?” he teased, snickering against Steve’s lips.

“Haha, you’re hilarious.” Steve scoffed and playfully pushed him down.

“You’re frisky, Harrington,” Eddie chuckled, a little surprised at his confidence, considering how starkly different Steve had been acting earlier.

“Just tryna get a better angle to kiss you, Munson.” Steve ran his hands through Eddie’s hair and leaned down to kiss him.

“Oh I’m sure that’s it,” Eddie murmured, tugging Steve closer by his arm.

Steve kissed Eddie’s forehead and slid his hands underneath his shirt, pushing it up and then pausing for a moment. He looked down at where his hands laid.

Eddie quirked an eyebrow. “Acting surprised like you’re not doing that yourself?”

Steve snorted. “No, I know, I just…” He pulled Eddie's shirt up a little more, fingertips trailing the scars that patterned Eddie’s abdomen. “Forgot we’re marked up the same.”

Eddie’s slight grin faltered as he glanced down. “Oh. Right. They’re badass, huh…?”

“Oh yeah, they complete your look. They look good on you.” 

“Come on, don’t be sappy, just be quiet and kiss me again.” Normally Eddie’s words had some humor behind them, but this time he sounded… awkward, like he was trying to change the subject.

“What, you don’t like talking about them?”

“I mean not really, I kinda associate them with a traumatic memory where I almost died so…” 

“Yeah, yeah… I get it, sorry,” Steve sighed

“Nah it’s okay.. don’t worry about it.” Eddie cleared his throat and leaned up to kiss him again. “Proceed, my good sire.”

“Whatever, you dope,” Steve laughed lightly, and leaned down to meet Eddie’s lips, this time a little softer than the last, much like earlier.

“Don’t get all soft and cheesy on me now, Harrington,” Eddie murmured playfully.

“You are fully capable of changing that,” Steve teased, tilting his head.

Eddie couldn’t help but laugh at Steve’s words, not laughing at him, but laughing because he was so charmed by him that he just couldn’t help it. His joke wasn’t even that funny, but Eddie laughed all the same. “Remind me again why you couldn’t get a girl?” Eddie kissed him again, still laughing slightly, if not to himself.

“Maybe cause they’re all boring.” Steve said between kisses. “But not you.”

“Yeah?” Eddie ran a hand down Steve’s chest and he could almost already hear Steve complaining about his rings because he was annoying like that.

“Mhm, I dunno if you’ve noticed but… you’re different, ya know, from everyone else in Hawkins…”

“Steve, people beat my ass for being different, I think I’ve noticed,” Eddie scoffed.

“I think it’s sorta charming.”

“Charming that I get my ass beat?”

“Charming that you’re different, man.” Steve smiled, his eyes gleaming with humor.

Eddie simply huffed with amusement before pushing Steve off of him. When he had enough room, he sat up and then pushed Steve again to make him sit instead, and Eddie settled himself in Steve’s lap like before. “You’re really bad at flirting sometimes.”

“Well you’re still here, aren't you ?”

Eddie grinned. “Touché, Harrington.” He carded his fingers through Steve’s hair from his forehead, back, tilting Steve’s head back slightly in the process. He leaned down and pecked his lips, admiring his face from up close.

“What are you doing?” Steve grinned, looking up at him with slightly furrowed brows.

“Admiring the fact that I bagged the prettiest guy in Hawkins, maybe?”

“Prettiest guy in Hawkins? That’s a hell of a big claim.”

“Don’t act like you don’t think of yourself that way, big boy.” Eddie traced his thumb along Steve’s lower lip, an intimate gesture he didn’t dare do before today. Something about their demeanor had shifted tonight.

“You're really trying to get in my pants right now, huh?” Steve’s slight grin split into a smile, teasing him.

“Me? Harrington you’ve got it twisted, that’s been all you, I would never do such a thing.” Eddie smiled warmly at him.

“Yeah, sure you wouldn’t.”

“Says the one who’s been feeling me up all night and making boner jokes.“

Steve scoffed, “When did I make a boner joke?”

“Does ‘you can change that’ not ring a bell?”

“Oh come on, that wasn’t a boner joke!”

“You know damn well it was!”

“I didn’t mean it as a dick joke! I didn’t even realize how bad it sounded until just now, Steve laughed.

“God, I’m glad your looks make up for your smarts, how ‘bout you just stop talking now, yeah?” Eddie kissed Steve’s cheek, then his jaw.

“Well okay that’s just rude..” Steve trailed off, getting a little distracted.

Eddie hummed in reply, kissing the side of his face just next to his ear. Steve’s hand trailed up Eddie’s side and stilled at his waist. Eddie still couldn’t shake off the feeling that Steve had been acting particularly affectionate, and he couldn’t place his finger on it, if there was a reason behind it. Eddie wasn’t foreign to this kind of interaction, he’d made out with a few dudes before (even if it didn’t typically end well), it was just that he wasn’t used to a sense of reciprocation, that Steve actually enjoyed it and wanted as much as he did. Like Eddie wasn’t just an object to Steve for his leisure, like he wanted Eddie, not just what Eddie had to offer. To feel wanted— well, that was foreign to Eddie Munson. Sure, it helped that Eddie generally had a big ego, and when it came to doing favors for jocks for a buck, he knew that he was better than them, didn’t let it get to him. But with Steve, it was different. Eddie’s hands smoothed softly across Steve’s skin, just taking it in and feeling, maybe with a little hesitation. Eddie kissed the corner of Steve’s mouth and his jaw, then back towards his ear, and then his chin. He was having fun with just this. He was perfectly fine with just this. He had to pull back to look at Steve, noting his momentary silence. 

Steve had been savoring the feeling of Eddie’s lips against his skin, and despite how soft they were, they still lingered, leaving his skin buzzing. He hadn’t even realized his eyes had fluttered shut until he was opening them again when Eddie stopped. Steve met Eddie’s eyes, and the direct eye contact was so heavy that it made Steve feel momentarily light-headed.

“You still in there, Harrington?” Eddie chuckled, combing his fingers through Steve’s hair.

“Yup, still here.” Steve’s hand squeezed at Eddie’s hip.

“You’re awfully quiet.” Eddie draped his arms over Steve’s shoulders.

“I‘m just enjoying it, is that so bad?”

“No, no it’s not,” Eddie laughed. “You’re just quiet, usually it’s a struggle to get you to stop talking,” Eddie teased.

“Yeah, sorry,” Steve huffed humorously. “Really, I’m just enjoying this… y'know, with you.” Their eyes met again, and Steve didn’t dare break away from Eddie’s gaze. He couldn’t, even if he wanted to.

“Yeah…me too,” Eddie whispered. He spoke before he could stop himself. “I like you– a lot, Steve.” 

The sudden confession caused Steve’s heart rate to spark. He wasn’t sure what to say, or what that meant, exactly. He just swallowed nervously and nodded, speaking softly. If it meant anything to Eddie the way it did to Steve… 

“Yeah, me too.”

Eddie stared at Steve for a few moments before he moved off of Steve’s lap and sat next to him, leaning back against the headboard. Eddie wasn’t sure what kind of reply he had been expecting, but he wasn’t entirely disappointed with it, so he didn’t complain; however, he wasn’t sure how much more of this…tension, you could call it, he could handle. There was something heavier between them, now, something that was starting to frighten him. He wasn’t sure why Steve had been acting differently, what it was, or what it meant, but he almost didn’t want to find out. Was Steve going to drop on him soon that he was done with this… casual arrangement? Is that why he’d been acting so sweet? The thought made Eddie’s heart ache dully in his chest.

“I think I’m ready to go the fuck to bed,” Eddie sighed. “Been a long day.”

Steve, who had been a little confused and alarmed by Eddie suddenly pulling away from him, sat up straighter. “Yeah, no, of course.”

Was it something he’d said? Were his feelings suddenly obvious, was he scaring Eddie off? He pushed the anxiety away and got up to click off the lamp on his desk, and Eddie crawled under the covers. When Steve turned back around, Eddie was lying on his side, faced away from where Steve would be laying, and he almost felt disappointed. Steve meekly crawled into his own side of the bed and laid facing away from Eddie, too, his mind swimming with unease and anxiety. They stayed like that for a few minutes, but really, they felt like years, and eventually Steve couldn’t take it any longer. He turned onto his other side, facing Eddie’s back, and with a little hesitation, wrapped his arm around Eddie’s torso and tugged him closer.

“You better not hog my blanket,” Steve tried to tease, desperately wanting this weird air to dissipate.

And thank God it worked. Steve couldn’t see it, but Eddie smiled. 

“No promises.”

When Steve heard the humor in Eddie’s tone, he finally relaxed, laughed a little, and kissed the back of Eddie’s head before closing his eyes.

Eddie, on the other hand, decided to cherish the moment instead of stressing about the inevitable future when things with Steve would come to an end. Why worry when he had everything he wanted, at least for right now? Eddie let out a content sigh, drinking in the warmth of Steve behind him. It was hard to stay awake, and after a few silent moments, Eddie was drifting off.

***

Steve Harrington groaned in protest when sunlight shone through the window and cruelly struck the front of his eyelids. He didn’t wanna be awake, not yet. Steve had never been a morning person, but after a while, his mind finally stirred awake and his eyes fluttered open with a yawn. He blinked and gazed at the ceiling until his vision cleared up, and he looked over to see Eddie sound asleep beside him. Eddie looked peaceful, hair curled unkemptly around his face. Steve couldn’t fight back a smile as he admired him. Eddie was out cold and he almost looked dead. The thought amused Steve, that was fairly fitting for Eddie Munson, wasn’t it? Eddie didn’t snore, but he did drool, which was probably unpleasant, on top of his hair, which he usually tied back to sleep, that was… everywhere. Steve held back an amused huff and leaned over to brush some of Eddie’s hair out of his face. He looked gorgeous, enough to tug on Steve’s heartstrings before the sun fully rose. Eddie furrowed his eyebrows and, in his sleep, swatted at Steve’s hand— to be fair he didn’t know it was Steve, tickling his face and disturbing his rest, but he was protesting consciousness just as much as Steve had been.

For a moment, Eddie’s eyes peered open— but not in such a way where he was waking up, but that kind of moment where the body just needs to adjust, to move, to find a bit of energy to get comfortable again, before dozing back off entirely. Eddie stretched slightly, and then reached out to grab at Steve, draped an arm around his waist and greedily clung onto him as he dozed back off. Steve ran a hand through Eddie’s hair, letting Eddie use him as his personal pillow for the time being, but that’s what did it, and Eddie let out a soft groan of dissatisfaction as his brain finally battled and won at consciousness. He squeezed his eyes tighter as if that would magically bring sleep back to him, but alas, he could see the light of Steve’s room behind his eyelids and could feel the soft disturbance of touch in his hair. Eddie breathed in deep and let it out slow before finally granting his mind permission to be awake, and he opened his eyes. Eddie had an arm around Steve’s torso and, alarmingly when his vision cleared, he realized they were lying awfully close, their noses almost touching. He blinked and furrowed his brows.

“How long have you been staring at me?”

“Just a couple minutes.” 

“Creepo,” Eddie murmured, closing his eyes again and fighting a smile- a fight he was losing.

“You’re kinda cute when you sleep,” Steve teased.

“The fuck?” Eddie's words came out trembling with a laugh and he opened his eyes again. “That somehow makes it worse. I look like a mess.”

“Well, it’s true, I’m no liar,” Steve mocked, before he ran a hand through his hair yet again and yawned.

Eddie just huffed with amusement, tugging Steve a little closer. “I can’t imagine that being true, but whatever you say.”

“How'd you sleep?” Steve asked, trailing a hand up Eddie’s side, glancing down at his hand before meeting Eddie’s eyes again.

“Like a fucking rock, man. Like, best sleep I’ve gotten in months.”

“Let me guess, it was my mattress’s doing and not mine?”

“Ehh, a bit of both?” Eddie grinned.

“Glad to hear I had at least some impact,” Steve huffed amusedly, and then kissed his forehead.

Eddie, despite himself, leaned in and kissed Steve’s lips immediately following Steve kissing his forehead. He wasn’t sure how he managed to get so lucky, waking up in bed next to Steve, and Steve being so normal about it, so warm and domestic, but he knew it likely wouldn’t happen again and he wasn’t gonna take it for granted. Steve smiled and brought a hand up to cradle Eddie’s jaw in his palm, kissing him back just as sweetly.

“You gonna bring me breakfast in bed or something too while you’re at it?” Eddie murmured, smiling.

“That seems a bit far, I’ll make you something though.”

“I’m just teasing.. What time is it? I should… probably get home, anyway.”

Steve furrowed his brows. “Come on, what’s the rush?” Steve kissed across his jaw.

Eddie felt his heart flutter and he glanced away, at anything in the room but Steve. In fact, his eyes landed on the clock, it was only 9:30. “Just didn’t tell Wayne I wouldn’t be home like he asked me to… don’t want him to worry too much, y'know? And I mean you’re probably… busy…”

“Eddie, you’re allowed to stay as long as you want.” Steve kissed his cheek.

“Alright, sure,” Eddie sighed, shutting his eyes as he accepted Steve’s kisses.

Steve pulled away and sighed, rolling on his back. “I mean I don’t have work, Robin’s busy, and Dustin is hanging around the Wheeler’s all day, my plans probably seem sad in comparison.”

“Ah, so I’m a last resort, huh?”

“Who says I wouldn’t rather hang out with you?” Steve turned his head to look at Eddie with a smile, teasing; but he meant it, and he knew that he meant it.

“I mean I’d hope I’m a little more interesting then a kid half your age, but me over Robin? You’re shitting me.”

“I like having you around.” 

Eddie scoffed, wanting so desperately to believe it. “You’re just flattering me.”

“Maybe a little.”

Eddie just snuffled and rolled onto his back. He felt like he couldn’t really look at Steve anymore— he was scared, nervous. How could he know much longer was he gonna have it good? Steve was still for a moment, looking up at the ceiling before he slowly took Eddie’s hand, giving it a small squeeze as if he could feel the nerves radiating off of the both of them.

Eddie sighed and shut his eyes. “You sure you don’t want me to go, Harrington?”

“I’m sure.”

“Okay,” Eddie replied softly

For a few moments they laid there in silence, their feelings eating at each of them- feelings that were on entirely opposite ends of a spectrum– Eddie, horrified this would be the last time, and Steve, desperately wanting it to last forever. Steve thought his heart was going to pound out of his chest, and he knew he couldn’t take it anymore. He couldn’t let Eddie leave today without him knowing, or it was going to eat him alive.  Steve sat up and turned to face Eddie, blankets falling loosely around his waist.

“Eddie-?”

Eddie turned his head to look at him. “What?”

“I just uh...I wanna talk to you about something.”

Eddie felt like a stake had been shoved through his heart. He knew it– this was it. Steve was breaking it off. He didn’t want Steve to see how much it bothered him, how bad it ached, so he played it off.

“Is it my morning breath or my hair? Be brutally honest.”

Steve let out a weak chuckle. “No, it’s not about that.”

Eddie swallowed thickly, nausea hitting him like a train. “Then what?”

Steve ran a hand through his hair nervously. “Just…give me a second, I don’t know how to say this.”

Eddie watched him like a deer in headlights. He was terrified.

“Eddie, I...” Steve shut his eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath. This was all so overwhelming, all these feelings that had surfaced in the past few weeks. He knew they went deeper than what they were calling it, Steve had had a rude wake up call just the night before, but he didn’t know how to say it. He let out a deep breath. “I like men."

Eddie blinked— that certainly wasn’t what he was expecting. I mean… coming out? Eddie knew Steve was… something, considering they’d been kissing and making out, fucking around for the hell of it— no straight guy did shit like that on the regular, that’s for sure. “Uh… yeah, man… makes sense…” What did this have to do with Eddie? What, he was Steve’s gay awakening? What was he supposed to do with that information?

“Well yeah, of course you know that by now– I mean, like. I can love a man, the same way I could with a girl, y'know?”

Eddie blinked again. “…am I supposed to be surprised? Uh... congrats?”

“For fucks sake, I’m awful at this,” Steve breathed. “Look, Eddie…these past few weeks, especially last night– I’ve realized I like you more than I thought I did. I keep looking forward to seeing you and when I do I can barely keep my hands off you,  nothing about how I feel about you is– is easy or chill or casual. Everything I said about this being simple with no labels– this isn’t simple, nothing about this is, nothing about you is.”

Eddie… blinked. Again. And he swallowed. He slowly started putting the pieces together, and he glanced away for a moment and then back again. He’d gotten this all entirely wrong. “Care to elaborate?”

“I like you Eddie, a lot. I‘m sorry for proposing this whole… no label situation just because I couldn’t wake up and accept that I just…want you. So much.”

Eddie smiled, unable to stop himself, staring at Steve like he was stupid— I mean, he was. Steve was… probably the stupidest guy Eddie knew. And, holy shit, how grateful was he that he’d misunderstood it all? “So… let me get this straight- you, Steve Harrington, are saying you want me to be your boyfriend, is that it?”

Steve hesitated, hearing the words out of Eddie’s mouth making it all the more real to him. “I guess? Yeah, that’s…that’s what I mean.”

“You guess?” Eddie laughed, he found Steve’s uncertainty almost endearing.

“No, no, I’m sure- that’s what I want. For me to... be your boyfriend.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah,” Steve breathed, all of the weight in his chest leaving with it, and he smiled stupidly at Eddie.

Eddie scooted over to Steve and pecked his lips, combing his fingers through his hair. “Thank God.”

“You want that too?”

“Why the fuck would I not?”

“Well how the hell should I know, I can’t read your mind.”

“Yeah, Harrington, actually, I’ve been shoving my tongue down your throat for weeks just for shits and giggles.”

“Well I didn’t know if that meant you wanted to date me!”

“God, you’re so stupid, just shut up,” Eddie scoffed and kissed him again, smiling despite himself.

Steve kissed back, a smile stuck on his lips as he pulled Eddie closer.

“Does this mean you actually are gonna make me breakfast in bed now?”

“Don’t push your luck,” Steve scoffed, stroking his thumb across the side of Eddie’s face.

“Oh come on, not even coffee?”

“Alright, maybe coffee, but you have to keep me company while I cook breakfast.”

“I’ll sit on the counter and look pretty?”

“Sounds perfect,” Steve laughed. 

It all felt so stupid. The weeks of yearning and kicking himself down, Eddie felt like he was probably the biggest dumbass on Earth, when it all led to this. All of the pointless masking, pushing his feelings down, scolding himself not to get his hopes up, and now here he was, sitting in bed with Steve, his boyfriend, kissing him like nothing mattered, when only moments ago he was terrified it’d be over.

Eddie was broken out of his train of thought when Steve got up to pull on a shirt, and then stretched. He turned to Eddie, and the look on his face– Eddie would remember that look forever. He really was the prettiest guy in Hawkins, his face beaming, a smile on his face, hair unkempt from sleeping with product in it. Eddie’s heart stuttered and his stomach flipped over itself and he couldn’t help but think, “I might just be the luckiest man alive.”

“Well, you want breakfast, then let’s go,” Steve said, and that was all it took for Eddie to get out of bed.

They headed down the stairs together, fingers brushing and elbows bumping, and neither of them could really believe it was real. When they made it to the kitchen, morning light shone in through the slightly billowing curtains, and a cool breeze blew in from a small gap in the window. It was so scenic, Eddie almost felt as though he were in a movie.

Steve opened the fridge and started digging around for ingredients while Eddie leaned back against the island and watched curiously.

“What do you want for breakfast?” came Steve’s voice from inside the fridge.

“I’ll eat anything.”

“I didn’t ask what you eat, I asked what you wanted.”

Eddie scoffed. “You’re insufferable– remind me why I’m here, again?”

Steve pulled out a carton of eggs and a package of bacon and shut the fridge door with his shoulder. “Because somewhere deep down, you actually like me.” He smiled mischievously, to which Eddie rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, somewhere deep down,” Eddie snorted.

Steve kissed his cheek. “Come on, admit it, you like me.”

“Yeah, maybe a little.”

“Thought so. Now let me get you some coffee.”

“Oh thank God, I need it.” Eddie pushed himself up onto the island, legs hanging over the edge.

Steve set the eggs and bacon on the counter and started a pot of coffee, filling it with water, tediously measuring out the grounds, and turning it on. Eddie watched him with intent, as Steve seemed to have drifted off into another dimension as he got to work. Steve put two pans out on the stove, presumably one for eggs, and one for bacon, and popped open the carton. He turned to glance at Eddie over his shoulder.

“How salty do you like your eggs?”

“Not too salty.”

“What about your coffee?”

“Black.”

Steve chuckled, if only just to himself. “Adds up.”

He cracked a few eggs into a bowl and whisked in some salt and pepper. Eddie watched as Steve seemed to realize something, and then quickly grabbed some milk out of the fridge. He poured a splash into the bowl and then mixed it all together, and Eddie vaguely wondered how Steve knew how to cook like that. “Well how do you drink yours, huh?” Eddie prodded.

Steve poured the eggs into the pan and the sizzle that followed satisfied him– scrambled eggs were one of his favorite things to make, mostly because they were easy, but also because he remembered when he was younger how he would sit and watch his mom make them, much like Eddie was doing now. Steve had to know how to cook– his parents weren’t home to do it for him, so he often had to fend for himself. He placed a few slices of bacon in the other pan, and then turned to grab two mugs out of the cabinet above the sink. He set them on the counter and poured coffee into both. “With milk and sugar.”

He turned and handed Eddie his plain cup and met his eyes. Eddie was smiling at him.

“Of course you’re prissy like that.”

“It’s the best way to drink coffee.”

“That’s debatable. Plain, black coffee is metal.”

Eddie gently grabbed the collar of Steve’s shirt and pulled him in close enough so that he could press a kiss to his lips and Steve laughed.

“Don’t distract me unless you want your eggs burnt.”

“You’re no fun.”

“Boo-hoo.”

Steve patted Eddie’s thigh before turning back to the stove, flipping bacon and stirring eggs, before he finished making his cup of coffee, with milk and sugar, just like he said. He then grabbed plates out of the cabinet and forks out of the drawer, clicking the stove off. Steve carefully portioned out the eggs onto each plate and then set the pan down.

“How much bacon do you want?”

“Like, half the pack?”

“Dude, that’s like 8 pieces of bacon.”

“So?”

Steve laughed and put some bacon onto each plate as well before turning and handing one to Eddie.

“You’re welcome.”

“Thank you, chef,” Eddie teased as he took the plate.

They started to eat in silence, Eddie sipping on his coffee after every bite– and damn, it felt like these eggs were the best thing he’d eaten in ages, no offense to Wayne.

“So…we’re like… officially together, right?” Steve suddenly said.

Eddie looked up at him. Steve was leaning on the counter directly across from him, plate in one hand, fork in the other. Eddie looked just about the same, except he was sitting on the island.

“Well you said you wanted to be my boyfriend so I would hope so.” Eddie grinned.

Steve smiled back, almost looking shy as he averted his eyes to his plate, pushing his food around with his fork. “Yeah, no, of course– boyfriend. That sounds good.”

Eddie smiled harder at Steve’s demeanor. “You’re used to being a boyfriend but not having one, huh?”

“Yeah,” Steve laughed, still avoiding Eddie’s eyes.

Eddie set his plate down next to him. “C’mere.”

Steve looked up at Eddie and stared for a moment, looking like he’d been caught or something, but he set his plate down and walked over to him. Eddie pulled him close, welcoming Steve right into his space, making sure his legs were far apart enough to give Steve some room. He took Steve’s face into his hands and leaned down, pressing a chaste kiss to his lips. Steve smiled and planted his hands just above Eddie’s knees, leaning into him.

“Are we, uh… gonna tell anyone?”

Eddie paused for a moment. “That’s not a good idea, you know.”

“No, I know, but– Robin… she’s my best friend.”

Steve wasn’t sure if Eddie knew, by now, about Robin– and that wasn’t anyone’s business, Steve was pretty sure he might be the only person who knew, but he desperately wanted to talk to her because of that.

“I mean if you really want to I can’t stop you, just– people don’t exactly react the best to something like this…”

“It’s just Robin, Eddie… if you don’t want me saying anything yet, I won’t. But eventually…”

“Yeah, yeah, it’s okay, Steve,” Eddie said softly, pushing his fingers through Steve’s hair. It felt kind of gross, now, but Eddie didn’t totally mind.

He leaned down again, kissing Steve again, but softer, this time, the way Steve had been kissing him yesterday.

This time, however, Eddie knew all too well what it meant for Steve, why he’d been acting the way he was, why he’d been kissing him so sweetly, saying things that bordered on romantic– because they were and Eddie didn’t know until now, until he had Steve right here, in his hands, kissing him because Steve was his boyfriend.

They kissed until their breakfast got cold, and then Eddie remembered his uncle still hadn’t heard from him, so he talked to him over the phone while Steve crowded his space and toyed with the hem of his t-shirt and it all felt too good to be true. They ended up back in Steve’s room, the radio playing on that same station Steve had found for Eddie, late morning light brightening the room. It was about noon when Eddie finally decided he should go, changed back into his clothes from the day before and gave Steve back his, and suddenly they were standing in the doorway saying goodbye. It wasn’t like they wouldn’t see each other, hell, they would probably be together again by tomorrow, but leaving felt a little harder, this time.

“Call me whenever, okay?” Steve said as he smiled, his hand on the side of Eddie’s face where it often was.

“Yeah, yeah, don’t miss me too much, Harrington.”

“No promises.”

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