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wrestlingwiththoughts · 22 days ago

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GCW You Wouldn't Understand 2024 Live Impressions

If we accept professional wrestling as a form of pantomime, then it certainly makes sense that you can feel the emotions of professional wrestling more directly live and in person than by watching on television. So, though GCW is not my preferred professional wrestling company, I went to their latest show at Brooklyn's Roulette Intermedium, You Wouldn't Understand, since it was a fairly affordable ticket ($54 for first row balcony reserved) and accessible (close to the Atlantic Avenue-Barclays Center hub).

Credit goes to GCW for cultivating an atmosphere that 1. replicates the atmosphere from old Chikara shows that I attended, where fans would wave to other fans that they had seen at other shows 2. is decidedly closer to 50/50 between men and women attendees 3. had a surprising number of young fans in attendance despite the flying profanity and the violence inherent to the show.

Independent wrestling merchandise, as always, remains a mixed bag at best. I was hopeful that UltraMantis Black and the Spectral Envoy might have apparel that I wouldn't be too embarrassed to wear, but I couldn't even find their stand before or after the show.

1. Brandon Kirk d. Bam Sullivan

Right off the bat, we are treated to plunder and excess as Bam Sullivan tries to prove his mettle to the GCW locker room by resurrecting Joey Ryan's groin-based offense. At least Sullivan is assaulting his opponent's groin and not forcing his opponents to touch his groin; nonetheless, I didn't think groin-based gimmicks, especially in a company that is open to intergender matches, survived Speaking Out. Bam Sullivan proved me wrong on that. Sullivan is a local act, so the obnoxiously loud fans to my right were happy to riff about Sullivan's mustache (another echo of Joey Ryan). To prove that he is a worthwhile addition to the GCW roster, Sullivan summoned chairs and doors from under the ring because that's what GCW's and Sullivan's limited definition of hardcore wrestling is. I wonder if the two deathmatch veterans used chairs and doors so early to compensate for the blood ban in New York.

Sullivan and Kirk started with a lot of energy, and things were fine until Sullivan either tired or lost focus and was slightly off his timing on some of the sequences with Kirk. Kirk beat Sullivan with a Psycho Driver and then indeed endorsed Sullivan as a worthy member of the roster. I wish someone had jumped Sullivan after that, but I suppose GCW has time later to tell the story that not everyone agrees that Sullivan belongs in GCW. For what it's worth, Sullivan fits the aesthetic and the working standard in GCW about as well as Kirk.

2. Brooke Havok d. Zayda Steel

Havok is 25 years old and has wrestled 136 matches in 3 years. Steel is 21 years old and has 113 matches in 2 years. With those caveats, I am willing to grade this on a curve because this was a mess. Havok struggled to lift Steel at various points during the match and had to repeat two spots twice. Havok and Steel couldn't quite rotate fully on a poisonrana, and they landed awkwardly. Their strikes looked unconvincing, and Steel's lungblower on Havok, who was suspended on the middle rope, makes no sense as a move in an ostensible fight. Steel, the WWE ID signee, seems more polished than Havok, even though her character is fairly shallow. Steel set up Havok for an Unprettier that looked tentative, but Havok squirmed free and pinned Steel to end the match. I suppose that means that being a WWE ID signee doesn't restrict you from losing matches, for now.

At this point, I was not impressed by the show or the fact that the venue was, at best, 2/3 full.

3. Tony Deppen d. Man Like DeReiss

I had last seen DeReiss at DEFY Can't Deny It, where he teamed with Michael Oku against the Bollywood Boyz, so I was looking forward to seeing how much he had progressed in those seven intervening months. He's certainly still energetic and charismatic, which made for an interesting contrast with Deppen, who has a deceptively dirtbag charm to his character and his wrestling style. Watching this, I felt like both Deppen and DeReiss could do better than wrestling undercard matches in a small GCW show in Brooklyn. Deppen should be able to reach at least the heights that Jimmy Rave reached at his peak in ROH.

DeReiss, the younger of the two, has more time to put it together. His sequence of rapping on the mic while hitting Deppen with shoulder tackle, chops, and clotheslines was fun if incomprehensible. It seemed like his focus during this match was to sell the arm that Deppen targeted and to find a way to channel the crowd's sympathy. On the first count, DeReiss was mostly successful; I don't understand why he would try to force Deppen to submit to a Stepover Toehold Facelock and not have his damaged arm come into play there or how his hurt arm slowed his climb to the top rope for a double stomp, but I appreciate how he would grimace and shake his arm every now and then. I'm not sure how well DeReiss succeeded on the second front; the crowd seemed to be more against Deppen, and eventually Griffin McCoy, than for DeReiss. I chalk that up to how the GCW crowd seems to go to shows to see GCW wrestlers, not to see wrestling in general, which I'll explore more later.

I hate the wrestling trope that a match's babyface must be completely flustered when someone appears ringside. DeReiss was set to finish Deppen with his 450 splash when Griffin McCoy appeared and taunted DeReiss from the stage. It's contrived nonsense.

After the match, Deppen pretended he had nothing to do with McCoy and left the ringside area. McCoy and DeReiss traded blows, and McCoy disabled DeReiss with a lowblow that looked like it took two attempts to hit. McCoy's opponent this evening, Grim Reefer, emerged to confront McCoy to let DeReiss leave.

4. Griffin McCoy d. Grim Reefer

I enjoyed Grim Reefer's work the last time I saw him live, which was 16 years ago at Jersey All Pro Wrestling's Reclaiming Hudson show on January 19, 2008. Reefer's gained some weight, slowed down a little, and doesn't fly from the top rope as much now, but he still seemed like a solid pro. The crowd, as it is wont to do, had fun punning off of Reefer's name with "Reefer's gonna smoke you" and "Light him up" chants to taunt McCoy. Reefer lit his joint and started smoking it while fighting McCoy, and the scent of weed wafted to the balcony. The crowd, of course, then chanted "Pass that shit."

McCoy's own scumbag charm was also great, and he reminded me of Austin Theory from Theory's Evolve run. I think there's potential there as a braggadocious heel who talks too much during the match but has the mettle to back it up when he's forced to do so. He doesn't have Theory's athleticism, but he's more entertaining and less off-putting than Theory was. It makes a ton of sense that McCoy was trained by the aforementioned Jimmy Rave at one point.

After the match, which McCoy won with a cheap pin, McCoy and Deppen beat up Reefer. DeReiss saved Reefer and called for Reefer to help hit Deppen with a 3-D for some reason. McCoy pulled Deppen to safety.

At this point, I felt like the show had gotten its feet under it after an uninspired start.

5. Matt Tremont d. Lou Nixon

In this match, the show lost whatever momentum it had been able to build. Tremont and Nixon decided to pay homage to Don Frye and Yoshihiro Takayama and missed the reason why Frye and Takayama's fight is so memorable: the respect that Frye and Takayama had, the position that they were in (as the last fight in a show that had largely underwhelmed, Frye and Takayama wanted to give the crowd a show), and the intensity of their violence (Frye and Takayama exchanged 137 punches in about 90 seconds). Instead, Tremont and Nixon exchanged some light punches, brawled to the floor, had Nixon hit Tremont with some kicks, and then Tremont hit a Death Valley Driver to win the match. An utterly pointless match that could have been replaced with a match featuring wrestlers from DEFY and PROGRESS's afternoon show. Tremont then told everyone that he and Nixon were paying homage to Frye and Takayama (poorly).

6. Allie Katch d. Microman

Katch and GCW promoter Brett Lauderdale clearly don't believe in wasting a crisis since they had Katch address how Effy's comments about Shad and Tony Khan likely caused AEW to pull Ricky Starks from all future GCW shows. I had said earlier that GCW fans attend GCW shows to see GCW wrestlers, but I'm not convinced that they care about the top level story that GCW is trying to tell with Katch, Effy, and Mance Warner. It didn't help that Katch talked for longer than she needed to for her point to be made. (I accept the irony in my writing this.)

On the other hand, the crowd loved Microman. So, when Katch gets booed for throwing Microman around, she can claim that the crowd is booing her character and the character's role in the story they're trying to weave. I don't think the investment was there from tonight's crowd; instead, I think the sentiment is for Microman more than it's against her. Using power wrestler moves like Mark Henry's World Strongest Slam and Yokozuna's corner Bonzai drop against Microman is a nice touch.

It was amusing when Katch tried to hit Microman with a running butt splash in the corner but missed him completely because he was too short.

For some reason, Blake Christian came out from under the ring and threatened Microman before deciding to leave him alone.

7. Megan Bayne vs. Parrow - No contest

I hadn't seen Parrow since he invaded Evolve with his partner in The End, Odinson, and forced us to listen to atrocious heavy metal music for minutes at a time while they fought the WorkHorsemen, Catch Point, and the Skulk. I guess he's a creep who likes to beat up women now in GCW. Bayne, after finishing her tour in Stardom, has been working primarily in Limitless, GCW, and Beyond, and it's a mystery why she's there instead of elsewhere. Bayne struggled to lift Parrow for the F-5 and messily dropped him in the execution. Parrow used a variety of power moves against her, which made sense since he dwarfed Bayne. Parrow was about to finish Bayne with a chokeslam, but the lights went out, and the supposedly criminally insane Charles Mason replaced Bayne in the chokeslam hold. I don't understand how that makes sense, where Bayne went, and what the deal with Bayne is.

8. Luke Jacobs d. 1 Called Manders

The show needed a good match after the stretch from Tremont vs. Nixon to Bayne vs. Parrow, and luckily Jacobs and Manders were able to deliver a thrilling fight to save the show for me. It was also apparent that no one knew who Luke Jacobs was; I was the only person cheering for him, and the crowd was oddly silent even though Manders and Jacobs worked very hard to get the crowd to notice. Manders and Jacobs had extended chop, forearm, lariat, and headbutt exchanges. It's not as if the crowd booed Jacobs and cheered Manders; they simply didn't seem to care about this unannounced match. I also don't understand the business logic of not announcing this match; given the 1/3 empty seats at the Roulette Intermedium on this Black Friday show, one could reasonably conclude that the announced matches weren't enough to entice potential attendees. Jacobs and Manders traded one-counts after lariats because they're both tough bastards; I enjoyed Jacobs calling Manders "a big bastard" while fighting to lift him up for a German suplex. They were tough bastards to the end as Manders refused to give up in Jacobs's rear-naked choke, raised a middle finger in defiance, and passed out to give Jacobs the win.

GCW, meanwhile, can claim that they held this match first even though it was not announced for the advertised card and DEADLOCK Pro Wrestling had announced on November 27 that they had booked Jacobs vs. Manders for their 3rd Anniversary Show on December 8. So much for GCW's hypocritical indignation about other companies breaking the unwritten rules of promoting professional wrestling.

9. Los Desperados (Gringo Loco, Arez & Azrieal) d. The Spectral Envoy (Frightmare, Hallowicked & UltraMantis Black)

This was my main event of the show and the reason I decided to attend; I have fond memories of the Spectral Envoy and was looking forward to seeing UltraMantis Black, in particular, again. Frightmare has entered his fat luchador phase, and Hallowicked looks unchanged; it was nice to see Hallowicked hit the Go to Sleepy Hollow combo with Frightmare and UMB again. They played for comedy at first that felt like a throwback to Chikara trios matches. Frightmare and Arez missed their timing on an armdrag, but it wasn't as noticeable as the confusion later when the Envoy were supposed to run at the Desperados. Once they had the match back under control, the offense looked good. Arez, in particular, looked really impressive here and was the standout in the match.

While this wasn't one of the best matches of the year that I've seen, I think it's still worth checking out because it's a lesson in how comedy can be seamlessly incorporated into a wrestling match's action. For all that can be said about Chikara, I think that is its lasting legacy: to show that you can combine action and comedy and that you can escalate from humor to high drama in a single match.

10. Mance Warner d. Homicide

My expectations for the match were low, and I still felt underwhelmed. Warner threw a fan's phone to the hard camera operator in the balcony during his entrance. Worse, Warner decided to give a monologue in the middle of the match about how the fans believed in Homicide (the chants of "New champ" at the match's start notwithstanding, nobody believed that Homicide would dethrone Warner this night), and so on, and so on. I paid for action and fake fighting, not poorly acted skits. Frankly, I tuned out of the match the moment Warner picked up a microphone, and there was no way they could win me back. Add yet another outside interference spot (Jimmy Lloyd appeared to pull the referee out of the ring during a Homicide pin) to the show's count.

I can forgive Tremont and Nixon for their utterly pointless match. I can forgive Havok and Steel's sloppiness. However, this is the show's main event, the headline of the show, and it was melodramatic, plodding slop.

If not for the fact that live wrestling in New York City is not frequent or the fact that the Spectral Envoy were a special attraction for this show, I would have written the show off altogether based on what they had announced for it. This show did GCW no favors in convincing me to return for another show; given the attendance at this show, I'm not sure GCW would have much appetite for running the venue again.

One last note: I'm glad at least that wrestlers have moved away from using just heavy metal for their entrance themes. There was a diversity of music among the entrances, from classic rock to pop to Homicide's classic "The Truth" remix.

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steddiealltheway · 1 year ago

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Steve lays in his bed with thoughts of Eddie in the boathouse. For some reason, he wants to go to him. Hell, he knows he probably can't sleep, and they need him as well rested as they can so he can stay on alert through this whole hunt the freak thing.

Plus, a small part of him knows what it's like to be stuck with your thoughts late at night after dealing with the Upside Down shit. And it's not pleasant. Especially alone.

Another part of him knows that Dustin would never be okay if something happened to Eddie after they told him things would be fine.

But things will be fine. Especially if Steve goes to the boathouse and keeps watch for part of the night.

He throws on some more layers and grabs a protein bar for Eddie before driving that way, trying not to get too weirded out by the concept of him hanging out with Eddie "The Freak" Munson.

Hopefully this time he won't be threatened with that damn broken bottle.

He pulls up a little ways away from Reefer Rick's place and parks before grabbing his nail bat and creeping his way to the shed. He rounds the side toward the door and knocks lightly, whisper yelling, "Eddie! It's Steve! Open up!"

He waits a few moments before sighing and raising his voice. "I'm opening the door. Just don't kill me."

He slowly opens the door, glancing around the boathouse and finding it empty. He glances at the tarp over the boat and sighs, "Eddie, I know you're under there. It's just me."

The tarp shifts slightly, and Steve stares up at the ceiling in annoyance. "Okay, I get it. You don't trust me, and you have no reason to really. But we both know Dustin would kill me if I ever attempted to hurt you or turn you in. Plus, I know you're innocent, so I'm just going to stay here until you come out." He pauses before adding on, "I'll even hum so you know where I am."

He starts humming the first song that comes to mind which ends up being "Everybody Wants to Rule the World."

The tarp shifts and Steve watches as Eddie slowly reveals himself, bottle in hand, pointed at Steve. His eyes flicker to the bat in Steve's hand.

Steve stops humming. "It's for your safety," he says, lifting it up a little.

Eddie raises his eyebrows, and Steve gets the message before he drops the bat and raises his hands in surrender.

Eddie nods at him. "What's in your hand?"

Steve glances up and tosses the protein bar at Eddie. "Food," he says as Eddie curses, failing to catch the bar.

Steve takes a step closer but Eddie holds out the bottle to him and stands up. "Why are you here?"

"To make sure you're safe."

He looks unconvinced.

Steve shrugs and crosses his arms. "Okay, I know what it's like trying to process all this shit on your own, and it sucks, man. I didn't have anyone with me the first night after everything went down, and I didn't think I would make it through the night without that thing coming back."

"So what? You're here to help the freak with no ulterior motive, and I'm supposed to believe that?"

"You can tell me to leave, but I don't really want to spend the night alone either," Steve confesses, hoping that it will help Eddie trust him a bit.

Eddie only stares at him for a few moments before leaning out of the boat to pick up the bat before sitting down and picking up the protein bar. He unwraps it and bites off half of it before asking, "Tears for Fears, really?"

It takes a second for Steve to really understand what Eddie's asking before he smiles slightly. "That's what you're worried about?"

Eddie shrugs, taking around his mouthful, "I was just wondering if you really thought that's the type of music I'm into."

"It's the first song that came to mind. But no. I know you're into that metal stuff that Mike's been going on about." Steve takes a tentative step forward, watching the way Eddie's eyes follow the step.

He raises his eyebrows when Eddie glances up at him and shifts a bit before gesturing to the spot in front of him. Steve takes the invitation and sits in front of him, shifting a bit around the boat before grimacing.

"I bet you're missing your bed," Eddie comments as he finishes off the bar, dropping the wrapper in the boat before grabbing his broken bottle again. Luckily this time, he doesn't point it in Steve's direction.

"A bit," Steve confesses as he fails to get comfortable. He wishes he could take Eddie back to his home and maybe even give him the guest bedroom so he doesn't have to stay here.

Wait.

Steve glances up to where Eddie is tightly gripping the handle of his bat and the neck of the broken bottle and slowly reaches out his hand, asking for the bat. As Eddie hands it over reluctantly, Steve says, "Why don't you stay at my house for now? No one would guess you would be there."

Eddie snorts and shakes his head. "I'm not risking you getting caught with me."

"Well, it's too late for that." Steve says before circling back a bit to ask, "Why?"

Eddie shrugs and glances down at the bottle. "Because Dustin would kill me."

Steve sighs and lays the bat on the side of the boat. "You can hide in the back of my car on the drive there. It'll be easy to sneak you in."

"And your parents?"

"Gone for the foreseeable future. And even if they do come back, I can hide you in my closet or something."

Eddie shoots him a look. "Comfortable."

"Do you have a better idea?"

Eddie glances around the boathouse. "I don't mind staying here at the moment."

Steve's not sure why he wants to fight him on it so bad, but he gives in and says, "Just consider it after we've killed Vecna and we're going through the whole clearing your name process, okay?"

"Why?"

The question takes Steve off guard, but he easily deflects saying, "Because Dustin would kill me."

Eddie nods and looks off, getting that same far-off haunted look on his face. Before Steve can attempt to distract him Eddie snaps out of it asking, "And if someone comes here now, how will you explain why you're here?"

Steve glances around and looks at the windows and door. "Okay, maybe we should get under the tarp before that happens."

Eddie stares at him. "You want to get cozy with me in this boat?"

"I want to save both of our asses for now. If we hear something, we stay hidden, and if they come inside, we grab the bat and bottle and we attack." Get cozy with him?

Eddie sighs, "Can't wait," before shifting to sit next to Steve, placing his bottle carefully down toward the end of the boat before grabbing the tarp.

Steve shifts the bat, nails side at the end of the boat and shifts to lay back.

Eddie glances down at him and asks, "Ready?"

Steve nods as Eddie pulls the tarp over them and lays back. In the process, he ends up jostling Steve and shifting him to the side, almost getting his leg stabbed by the bat as Eddie curses about the bottle. They both shift to face each other, quickly noticing that they're around the same height with the way their feet are knocking into each other their breath is mingling together.

It is very weirdly intimate.

"Steve?" Eddie asks.

Steve hums in response.

"Maybe we should pull the tarp back until we hear something."

"Great plan," Steve says quickly, reaching up to pull the tarp back a bit.

There's a bit of moonlight shining through the windows which illuminates Eddie's face enough for Steve to be able to admire him. Steve blames the intimate position for his thoughts about how Eddie "The Freak" Munson is kind of beautiful.

Eddie's eyebrows furrow. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Steve quickly looks away and lies, "Just thinking."

"About?"

Steve takes a moment and readjusts a bit. "Just never thought I would be hanging out with you."

Eddie shifts as well, accidentally brushing his hand against where Steve's own hand lies between them. Eddie's hand shoots back to his chest. "if it makes you feel better, I wouldn't call this hanging out. We're just two people who are linked through some supernatural shit with parallel worlds and are trying to keep each other alive so Dustin doesn't kill us." He lets out a slow deep breath through his nose and glances away. "It doesn't have to mean anything. Trust me, I know you wouldn't be here unless you had to be."

Steve lets the feeling of regret run through him. "That's not what I meant."

"No?" Eddie challenges him.

"No," Steve confesses. "Dustin didn't ask me to come here, you know."

"So, you're doing this out of the goodness of your heart?" Eddie asks, tone dripping with disbelief.

"I didn't want you to be alone."

"Yeah, you said that before."

Steve's eyebrows furrow. "And?"

"And I'm sorry if I have trouble believing it."

Steve just blinks at him, unsure what to say other than his usual apology for being an asshole in high school.

Eddie beats him to it and sighs, "You're just... Steve Harrington. And I'm 'The Freak.'"

Steve can't help but snarkily reply, "I didn't realize that was your legal name."

Eddie narrows his eyes at him. "You know what I mean."

As much as he hates it, Steve does understand what he means. He looks him in the eye and says, "You know if I could go back and change how I was in high school, I would. Because, trust me, being 'King Steve' was not all that it was chalked up to be. And everyone I love still sees me that way. It's like they're waiting for that guy to come back or something because they're always in disbelief that I've changed or whatever. It's all just... bullshit." He sighs out the word, trying not to think too hard about understanding what Nancy meant when she called him it.

Eddie continues to stare at him, eyes wandering over his face as if he's trying to make his own assessment of him. Or as if he's waiting for the real Steve to pop out, the inevitable asshole. Instead, he just says, "You're different than I imagined."

"Is that a good thing?" Steve can't help but ask.

"Give me a business day or two, and I'll get back to you about it," Eddie says with a smile.

The response startles a laugh out of Steve which he quickly covers with his hand before he rests it in the space between them. "Maybe you're different, too."

"Yeah?" Eddie asks.

"I thought you'd be way less willing to accept my presence here."

Eddie shrugs the shoulder he isn't laying on. "Well, being alone seemed to be slightly more appalling than spending time with you." He smiles and nudges him with his foot. "I'm joking. At least, now I'm joking."

Steve rolls his eyes and nudges Eddie with a little too much force, sending them both off balance and causing Steve to end up a bit sprawled out on top of Eddie who stares up at him with wide eyes.

For some reason, the new angle really does something for Steve who can only think of kissing Eddie. He leans back and takes a deep breath before an idea strikes him. He blames his tired, anxiety-ridden mind on the reason for voicing his thought, "You know, I can think of a better way to explain why I'm here if someone comes in."

"Yeah?" Eddie asks, face carefully blank but a heavy swallow gives him away.

Steve shrugs. "Who is to question King Steve hooking up with some random girl in Reefer Rick's empty boathouse?"

"Christ," Eddie mumbles out, eyes flicking down to Steve's lips. "Are you suggesting we...?"

Steve looks down at him innocently. "I mean, if it comes down to it, I would be down to kiss you. Your hair is long enough to hide your face," he turns to the door and windows, "And from this angle, they would barely catch a glimpse of you."

Eddie swallows again and breathes out, "You're definitely not what I thought you'd be like."

"And is that-"

"A good thing?" Eddie finishes for him. "Yeah, I would say it is definitely a good thing."

Steve smiles down at him and is about to shift off of him when there's a sudden noise outside of the boathouse. He feels Eddie freeze beneath him.

"Steve... I know it was probably a joke, but either cover us with the tarp or kiss me," Eddie whispers quickly.

Steve reaches out for the tarp and pulls it over their heads, noticing the slight look of disappointment on Eddie's face before the tarp blocks out the light. His hands reach out, landing on Eddie's chest before trailing up to cup his jaw.

"What are you doing?" Eddie whispers. Steve can feel his heart thudding in his chest impossibly faster at the sensation.

"Why not do both?" Steve whispers into the air between them.

He waits as Eddie's own hands come up to his shoulders, tracing their way into Steve's hair. "Both. Yeah. Both are good."

Steve's not sure who moves first, but their kiss is frenzied, filled with the anxiety of Hawkins crumbling around them along with the possibility of Eddie being caught, mixed with the fact that they're "The Hair" and "The Freak." And this is not supposed to be happening.

But Steve doesn't care. He deepens the kiss, groaning when Eddie tugs at his hair and pulls him closer. God, Steve can practically feel the kiss go through his full body, and he can't remember the last time a kiss made him feel like this.

The air around them under the tarp gets warmer as the kiss goes on, and Steve finds himself breaking away for air only to chase Eddie's lips again. It's all intoxicating. And the warm air makes it feel like he isn't getting enough air as Eddie practically sucks it out of him.

He breaks away and gasps, "God, I want to lift the tarp, but I can't risk anyone seeing you."

Eddie doesn't answer, he just pulls the tarp slightly off them before pulling Steve into another kiss. Steve can barely register the relief of the cool air hitting the back of his damp neck as he gets lost in Eddie.

"Can't see me remember?" Eddie says against Steve's lips.

"They can- mmm. See the rings," Steve manages to get out.

Eddie's hands slowly drift down Steve's back, resting on the dip of his spine that's still under the tarp. "Better?"

Steve pulls back and looks down at Eddie, his mouth pink and damp, cheeks flushed red, pupils blown wide. "God, you're beautiful," Steve says without thinking.

Eddie stares at him for a moment, face carefully blank before he glances at the window. "Do you think they're still here?"

Steve glances out the window and debates what to say next. He settles with the truth. "I'm pretty sure it was just a branch that hit the window."

Eddie nods and worries his bottom lip, not looking at Steve. He's still struggling to catch his breath, but Steve can't say much when he is equally as winded.

Steve pauses and says, "But maybe someone's out there. Or..." He shakes his head, trying not to finish the thought out loud.

"Or what?" Eddie asks.

"Or maybe I just want to kiss you again," Steve confesses.

Eddie looks up at him and pauses, eyes searching Steve's face for something. He glances toward the window and says, "I can't exactly be on high alert if you kiss me again, but..." he glances at Steve and finishes his thought, "I think it's worth the risk."

"If you really think about it, it's more risky if I stop kissing you."

Eddie tilts his head in confusion. "And why's that?"

"Because I'll only be able to think about kissing you again and won't be on high alert," Steve flirts easily. "And really, it's a great cover."

Eddie smiles and even momentarily laughs. "You're so full of shit," he says, but pulls Steve down to him, kissing him again with the same frenzied energy.

Only, Steve pulls away and winks at him. "We've got all night. We can take it slow."

"I think you're going to kill me."

Steve brushes a strand of hair out of his face. "And is that-"

"A good thing?" Eddie finishes for him again. "Yes," he answers, kissing Steve again but slowly, taking his time with him.

It's fair to say that Steve's original plan of keeping watch and letting Eddie sleep goes out the window, but he's pretty sure it's worth it.

It's definitely worth it.

#steddie #eddie munson #steve harrington #steddie ficlet #all of this to explain steve's little finger waggle wave at Eddie the next morning

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