#eddie definitely realizes he screwed up

[afewproblems]

sorry i’m still stuck on cheater eddie, just wondering how you think things would play out after that? like you said, I can’t see steve forgiving eddie after that but personally would love to see eddie realize how much he messed up

(Based on this post)

Oh, I think Eddie would know immediately that he screwed up. He did call the next day with some semblance of a plan to talk to Steve, to try and explain himself, apologize as best as he could.

Unfortunately the internet works just a bit faster than Eddie realized. It's a minor story on the entertainment channels, Corroded Coffin only recently became public figures again for the first time in ten years, but it's still looping every hour on the hour.

The band is upset, obviously; Gareth won't talk to him and Jeff follows Eddie with the stink eye wherever he goes. Grant lectures him for an hour before shaking his head and leaving the room, but he hasn't brought it up since.

Robin calls Eddie almost immediately and tears him a new one, he has to hold the phone away from his ear for most of it. It's harsh, she spews her vitriol and calls him a coward, that he couldn't have loved Steve as much as he claimed to if he went and stuck his dick in someone else.

He wants to argue the latter, but she hangs up on him before he can get the chance.

The home phone in Eddie and Steve's Chicago apartment rings and rings the first three times he calls before finally going directly to voicemail on the fourth.

The worst is Wayne though.

It's a day after Robin's call, he asks about the papers -there's a laugh in his voice as he does. Eddie had been no stranger to tabloid claims before, in fact Eddie kept the National Enquierer Bat Boy clipping and framed it, but there are quite a few articles this time.

All about the same photo.

So Wayne calls, with that gentle, confident, laugh in his voice because they've really done it this time.

"You see The Star Ed? Absolutely ridiculous. Have you kids talked to your agent about all these stories yet?"

"Wayne--"

"I mean this is just silly, I bet your boy found it hilarious!" The words crackle with static as Wayne laughs into the receiver, "is he there? It's spring break for him now right?"

Eddie clutches the phone in sweaty shaking fingers, his heart climbs up his throat as he tries to find his voice.

"Wayne, I," he swallows harshly and scrubs a ringed hand over his face, "I messed up".

There's a pause on the other end of the line, as though the call cut out, but Eddie can still hear his uncle breathing.

"Eddie, you didn't..." Wayne says softly, almost in a whisper, "tell me you didn't..."

"I don't know what to do," Eddie blurts out, his breathing picks up, "he won't talk to me, my band won't talk to me, I fucked up, I just don't know how to fix this".

Wayne sighs, Eddie can hear him pace around the kitchen, "son," he murmurs softly into the receiver, "just take a deep breath, and listen for a second".

Eddie nods, not caring that his uncle can't see him through the phone, he feels like he's sixteen again and waiting for the other shoe to drop when Wayne collects him from the police station for the very first time.

"I'm going to say this once, because I know I raised you better than this and you're probably feeling pretty lousy already," Wayne says slowly before clearing his throat, "if fixing this is just to make you feel better, then it ain't really fixing anything".

"Steve probably doesn't want to hear a thing you have to say right now and you have to give that to him--"

"Wayne--"

"I mean it Eddie, you and Steve went through so much together that I didn't think there was anything that could ruin it, and there you go proving me wrong".

The words are a punch to the gut that immediately bring tears to Eddies eyes. He holds his breath and bites his lip to stop the sob that threatens to wrench itself from his chest.

"I hope you had the decency to come clean," Wayne continues tiredly, he grunts as he sits down, most likely at their old mismatched kitchen table.

"I called him but..."

Wayne hums in understanding before blowing out the words, "well-shit-son," in a single breath.

They talk for a bit longer before Eddie asks Wayne to check on Steve for him, to make sure he's okay.

"If I know my son in-law he's the farthest thing from okay right now Ed, but I'll do my best," Wayne grumbles and Eddie winces, because he's right.

He hangs up with a soft goodbye, closes his eyes and crawls into the hotel room bed.

The thread count is high in the sheets, the fabric soft and rich between his fingers, but it's nothing compared to the well-worn cotton sheets at home. Sleepwarmed and bathed in gold morning light, he can almost feel Steve in his arms.

Eddie opens his eyes.

But he's alone and the bed is cold.

Eddie lays there, allowing himself to finally cry for the first time in days, staring at the empty spot beside him.

[hairmetal666]

Never in a million years did Steve Harrington think he'd be standing in the drama club room in front of Eddie the Freak--who's sitting on a goddamn throne with his full lips pulled into a smug grin--asking to be taught how to play Dorks and Goblins. Yet, here he is, face a burning shade of crimson, as he explains for the sixth time what, exactly, he needs.

"Munson, it's not that hard. Henderson wants me to play in the--the game thingy they're doing when Will is home for a visit."

"Yeah, Harrington, and I stop listening every time you call it a game thingy. You obviously don't care about this at all, so why should I waste my time helping you?"

Steve rolls his eyes. "What if I pay you?"

Munson's face goes through a complicated series of changes before falling into a neutral mask, no smirk or teasing smile to be found. "You'll pay me to teach you dnd? Are you fucking kidding?"

"No?' Steve draws a hand through his hair, watches as Munson's dark eyes track the movement. "I thought you might help me out cause those kids never shut-up about you, but I'm willing to put money on it."

"Huh," Eddie says. He steeples his fingers under his chin. "Maybe I misjudged you, Harrington."

Steve lets himself smile at this. "I don't think you did. I don't give a shit about this game."

"Didn't take you for one to have a bunch of nerdy child friends."

"I'm their babysitter," he says, realizes immediately it was a mistake.

Eddie cackles until it turns into a full-bodied laugh, tears leaking from the corners of his eyes. "You are something else, Harrington," he manages.

For his part, Steve hopes Munson hasn't noticed how bright red his face is. "Does that mean you'll help me?"

"I guess," he rolls his eyes. "But if you're just screwing around, I'm out."

"No, yeah, totally," Steve nods too hard, sends his hair cascading into his face. "Sounds good. How much?"

"Huh?" Eddie tilts his face up, giving Steve a perfect view of the smattering of faint freckles across the bridge of his nose.

"I said I'd pay you. What's the going rate for dnd lessons?"

"Oh, nah, free of charge, Harrington. Henderson would eat me alive if he knew I made you pay."

The smile they share is soft, tentative, and Steve doesn't notice the swathes of pink decorating Eddie's pale cheekbones.

---

They meet up in the drama room after the last bell. Eddie is waiting on the throne with his feet propped on the table, sipping a Mt. Dew. His eyes widen when Steve walks into the room.

"You're on time," he says.

Steve scoffs. "Why wouldn't I be?"

Eddie shrugs, sets his feet on the floor. "Just wasn't aware that the King put a lot of stock in punctuality."

"C'mon, man, I'm trying not to be that guy, and I'm definitely not king of anything. Unless maybe it's Family Video, but even then, that's Robin."

"You're kind of weird, Harrington, you know that?" Eddie's dimples bracket his smile. The sight does weird things in Steve's chest.

"I've been told, yeah." Steve smiles back. "Where do we start?"

They start with dice, with a character sheet.

"Chaotic-good human Paladin?" Eddie asks.

He shrugs. "That's what Dustin keeps screaming at me. I got no idea what any of it means."

"That's not entirely true," Eddie says. "You've kept up with me so far."

"Yeah, that's you. Dustin rambles and then accuses me of not listening when it's over my head. When he goes on long enough, I start to get a headache right here," Steve rubs the spot between his eyes.

"That kid," Eddie says with the right combination of affection and frustration. "I don't know, you seem to have picked up on some of the stuff he said. You have a solid idea on gameplay, at least. I'd say you're doing pretty good."

"Thanks," Steve laughs. "No migraine yet, so that's a point in your favor."

"Migraines?"

"Head trauma."

"Byers?"

"And Hargrove."

"That was Hargrove?" Eddie asks.

"Hit me in the head with a plate."

"What the fuck."

"He was pissed that Max was friends with Lucas. He came after them. I couldn't just let him--I think he would've killed Lucas."

Eddie nods, hands fiddling with a die. "No wonder those kids love you," he says.

"We've been through some shit together."

"Guess it makes more sense why you wanted to learn dnd."

"As much as it pains me to admit," Steve rolls his eyes. "I love to make those little shitheads happy."

"Well, based on the way they talk about you, you succeed."

"You too, you know?" Steve offers. "All I've heard about the last three months is 'Eddie's so cool,' 'Hellfire's so fun.'"

"Jealous?" Eddie laughs.

"Completely," Steve admits.

"Don't worry, Harrington, I'll make a nerd out of you yet."

---

They meetup after school every day they can over the next two weeks. At first, Steve is surprised that he doesn't really mind spending so much time with Munson, that he actually, kind of, has fun. And the more time they spend together, the more Eddie infiltrates his space. Leans into Steve's side as they sit next to each other, brushes their hands together, hovers over his shoulder, faces nearly touching, as he checks stuff on Steve's character sheet.

It makes Steve feel--well, it makes him think of what it would be like to run his fingers through the soft gloss of Eddie's curls; wonders what that plump mouth would be like pressed against his own; can't stop thinking about if Eddie is as vocal in bed as he is everywhere else. He knows he also likes guys, has for a while, but he's never in his life wanted someone this viscerally; so much he can feel the ache of it in his teeth.

It's the last day before the campaign for Will, and Steve is fucking sad. He thinks maybe Eddie is too. He's at least quieter than normal, explanations not at their usual fever pitch. An hour before they usually call it quits, he claps his hands together (too gently, too unlike himself), says, "That's it, Harrington. You're not going to be more ready than this."

"Right," Steve says. Can't help his eyes from darting over Eddie's face, aching to know what he's thinking. "You'll be there tomorrow?"

Eddie bends his head over his notebooks. "Nah, I don't need to intrude."

"But--"

"It's okay, Stevie. I get that it's family only." He looks like he really means it, but his eyes are sad, don't shine like they should.

Steve doesn't know what to say to that, just nods, and then there's nothing else. They stare at each other for a few very long, quiet seconds, before Eddie says, "I'll see you around, Harrington."

"Right, yeah. You too." And he walks out of the drama room with the heaviest heart he thinks he's ever had.

---

Steve thinks he won't miss Eddie. That if he doesn't dwell on those hours spent with Eddie, learning dnd, that the missing will go away.

It doesn't.

Which is how he finds himself back at the high school on Wednesday, standing in front of the drama room door, willing himself to go inside. Eddie's on the throne, the typical notebooks and binders and Mt. Dew cans clustered around him, but he's not engrossed in imagining up a new campaign for Hellfire. No, his head is in his hands, knees drawn up to his chest.

"Eddie?" Steve asks.

His head pops up, and even in the low light, Steve notices the silvery tracks of tears down his cheeks.

"Steve! What are you--" he hastily wipes at his face with his shirt sleeve. "What are you doing here?"

Steve's acting only on instinct, crossing the room and dropping to his knees, taking Eddie's jaw between his palms, thumbing away the wetness on his cheeks.

"Did someone hurt you?" he asks.

Eddie's laugh is wet. "Nah, Harrington. I only have myself to blame for this one."

"Can I do anything?"

"Are you trying to kill me?"

"Sorry?"

"You, Steve Harrington, kind and compassionate? Learn dnd to make your little nerd friends happy? Who are you?"

"I'm just me, man," Steve blushes. "But, uh, I came to thank you." He's still holding Eddie's face in his hands, can't help but notice the way he flushes, how his dark eyes dart away from Steve's.

"I really liked hanging out with you," Steve says. This close to Eddie, his mind doesn't quite feel like his own. All he can think of is big eyes, soft curls, full lips.

"Yo--you did?"

"So much," Steve whispers. He doesn't quite remember moving, but now their foreheads are pressed together, warm breath mingling, lips almost, almost touching.

"I liked it too," Eddie breathes. After a few seconds, he laughs. "Knew I'd make a nerd out of you, Harrington."

"Shut-up," Steve laughs.

"Make me," Eddie says, and it's just that easy. Steve crosses the space still separating them, presses his mouth against Eddie's.

The kiss is slow, exploratory, the gentle discovery of how they fit together, the promise of all the things they can do in the future, all the pleasure they can bring.

"I'm not a nerd," Steve says when they part.

"No, you're right. You're like a nerd by marriage. Nerd-in-law," Eddie giggles. His eyes are bright, face pink, the most beautiful thing Steve has ever seen.

"Shut-up," Steve giggles right back.

Eddie raises an eyebrow, the dare obvious, and Steve doesn't hesitate to kiss him again.

"You wanna get out of here?" Steve asks when they part, significantly more breathless, jeans significantly tighter, than when he arrived.

"You're gonna have to role persuasion for that, Stevie," Eddie smirks.

[eddiemunsons-missingnipple]

Just imagining what it would be like for you and Eddie to both drunk and looking for each other. You don't realize you've been talking to one another the whole time.

Steve's party had been going on now practically all night. You and Eddie arrived hours ago, and now you can't seem to find each other. He went off with his friends, and so did you. You mingled and stayed close together when you first got there. But soon, you unintentionally drifted away the drunker you got.

Your face was tingling, and your head felt so heavy. Your whole body just wasn't corporating. Your limbs felt like they were in a constant battle to keep you standing or even walking straight. You kept calling out for Eddie.

You wanted to go home but knew he wasn't driving. Not in the condition he was probably in. He got drunk way before you did. You saw him throwing back shot after shot. Then chasing it down with his favorite beer, a pbr. The thought of the taste is already making you gag. He was a lightweight no matter how much he tried arguing against it.

You were stumbling and kept calling for your boyfriend. "Eddie!"

You even grabbed some random dude just because he had longish hair. He was definitely not your Eddie. You made a face of diagust and mumbled "ew" under your breath when the guy turned around.

The party kept getting louder the drunker you became. Everyone kinda started looking a like. Your vision was nothing but a blur. You even confused Nancy for Steve at one point. All because she had on his jacket.

The funny thing is that she never even bothered to correct you. If it wasn't for Robin speaking up to tell you, it was actually Nancy you were talking to. You would still be calling her Steve the rest of the time.

The killer hangover you're destined to have in the morning made you wish you never started drinking tonight. Too late. You knew you were screwed by the fifth shot of tequila. You and Eddie were going to be in misery.

You stumble again and flop down on the couch next to someone. A man who you really can't even focus on any distinctive features. He's just there slumped back with his legs spread open holding a candle that he assumed was his beer can.

You may be drunk off your ass but not drunk enough to mistake a candle for a can of beer. You look over, and he's nothing but a blurry figure to you. You blink and blink, trying to figure out who he is. Your drunkened mind comes up with nothing. He is another stranger to you. Little did you know that's actually your boyfriend. Who you have been on the hunt for all night long.

You heard him mumbling something in coherent over and over again.

"What you say?" You slurred.

He burped before repeating. "I said you have seen my girlfriend? She's cute. You can't miss her."

"Oh no havent seen her...m'lookin for my boyfriend actually. He's a nerd you can't miss'em" you giggled and sat up a little.

"Haven't seen any nerds around." Eddie quipped and went to take a drink from the candle.

He made a face when nothing went into his mouth. He still has yet to notice his actual beer is on the table.

"Been lookin' for her all night. I even cried at the beer keg." He sounded like he was about to cry again. "Guys out there forced me to come sit down to calm myself."

You put your hand on his shoulder to comfort him. He sounded so sad you couldn't help but feel bad for him. "She's around here somewhere."

"My boyfriend is missing too, startin' to think he's in a bush passed out." You rubbed your eyes and laid back against the couch.

Eddie snorts and goes in his pocket to grab his pack of cigarettes.

"All I know is when I find that little shit I can pass out in peace." He slurred and practically ripped open his pack of cigarettes to get one out.

"Yeah, me too-- When I find my boyfriend, I'm passing out too." You hiccuped, and your eyes slowly got heavier. The party started to die down a lot. People were falling asleep or walking home.

"When you'd get here?" Eddie turned to face you. "Been lookin' for you all night!"

[wonderlandwalker]

Second Chances | Eddie Munson x Reader

Stranger Things Masterlist / Inbox Summary: Eddie royally screws up your first date (read part 1 here) Content Warnings / Tags: fluff (i think), swearing, the worst luck ever, no use of y/n, henderson!reader, reader is described to have some freckles idk, prolly a lot of spelling errors that I'll fix later read now at your own will Word Count: 1.4k A/N: so I kinda went through some trauma this past month but I just started ADHD meds and surprise surprise they work. Still didn't proofread this and am purely posting it cause I literally just wrote all of it in one go and I have poor impulse control even the meds can't fix that

He was late, and he only knew he was late because Wayne had gotten home and wondered what he was still doing at home. Now normally Wayne wouldn't have bothered grilling the guy, but Eddie hadn't been able to shut up about this for a week. Turns out this day was the day the kitchen clock had decided to stop working, resulting in a TV remote being flung at it the moment Eddie realised, because, of course, it had to be today, of course, his luck would run out again. But Wayne wouldn't let him give up that easily, because as he said it: "fate can go fuck itself, go over there and grovel", which honestly wasn't such a bad idea. So here he was now, definitely speeding, definitely more nervous than he already was, and definitely praying to any god who would listen for help. Because this was your first date, a date he didn't think would happen in the first place and he has already managed to screw it up without even being there. In an after thought he came to the further realization that he definitely did not want to face Dustin any time soon, the boy had become oddly protective of you once his friends actually clued him in on what was happening, which was obvious to everyone -except as established Dustin- with the way Eddie's eyes would trail after you every time he managed to spot you. He was trying to hype himself up, talk some confidence into himself and find a good way to apologize, not that he thought there were any. But just as he turned the corner to your block he heard it, he heard the worst possible sound on earth at this moment, he heard the sirens to Hopper's car. For a sweet small second, he allowed himself to believe Hopper wasn't after him, there was someone else committing a traffic violation on the other side of the street. Yeah, that's exactly what was going on, on the other side of this very much empty street was a car with a bunch of teens hooking up and Hopper had turned on his siren as a warning so he could put his clothes back on. Thinking about it, that wasn't even such a wild idea, like, that has happened to him before, well, except for the empty street anomaly. Right, time to face the music: Eddie came to a stop only about a hundred meters away from your house and rolled down his window as Hopper approached. Eddie shook out face to rid himself of the nerves and turned on his best smile. "So what's your excuse this time?" The Police Chief began to ask. Eddie quirked up at the question "It's not like the other times Jim I promise." Hopper looked him up and down squinted his eyes at him, cocking his head down just the slightest bit "How many warnings have I given you this month kid?" Eddie sighed, he knew where this was going. "Two" "Which makes this?" "The third" Eddie answered, dragging out his words. "Third warning kid, gotta write you up today" Hopper began to grab the police pad in his back pocket to write up the incident report, but Eddie was not above begging, at least not currently. "Listen, Jim-, Mr Hopper-, Sir, you can give me the ticket but can you please give it to me sometime else-" he was frantically moving his hands while talking now "- I'll even come by the station and pick it up myself tomorrow morning first thing but I have to-" And of course, things had to get worse:

The gods hadn't listened to his hasty prayers, because he could see Dustin in your open front door attempting to push you outside while pointing at Eddie's van. And he could tell the moment you spotted him because he could feel a small nerve entering his system, he could feel your presence connecting with his. And Hopper was asking him to please step out of the car right now. So he did, he stepped out and saw you give him a small wave which he tried to return except Hopper was snapping him out of the trance you still had on him from the other side of the street. So Eddie gave it one last-ditch attempt "Hopper please" "Alright let's hear it, what's your excuse?" Eddie's eyes brightened with the bit of hope he had just grabbed. "I have a date" he tried to explain "A date with who?" The chief wasn't gonna admit it, but the kid had grabbed his interest. So Eddie started rambling about how you two had met and how it should be your first date and then he caught your eyes again and he couldn't hear it but his mind filled in the blanks as he watched your soft giggling while looking at the situation unfold and he felt all his tension drop out of his body at once, he felt at ease from the way your eyes searched his, instantaneously so. "Wait a second, Claudia's daughter?" Hopper was looking over at the porch now too as your mother came out of the house as well. "That's not a great first impression" "Tell me about it" Eddie was trying to ignore reality as hard as he could right now. "Alright here's what's gonna happen, giving you one more warning but it's coming out of your tolerance next month" Hopper had assumed his dad stance, a hand on his hip and the other pointed straight at Eddie, and if he hadn't been oh so terribly grateful right now he would have been tempted to make fun of him for it. "Yes, yes! Definitely that please!" Hopper released one last sigh before he spoke back up "Go on over there then" Eddie took the olive branch and ran away with it before he could change his mind. With his van performing some emergency parking down the road he ran over to you just as you shooed off Dustin, and now he stood face to face with you, he stood close enough to count the fading summer freckles on the bridge of your nose and to smell the perfume he had started associating with you, and he wanted more time to admire how well he could see you right now but he had more pressing business. "I'll make this up to you I promise" He knew his promise probably wasn't worth much, but he had to try anyway. He had already started internally debating if it was worth getting down on his knees to beg as a smile cracked on your face. "This is exactly what Dustin predicted would happen" You were full-on grinning now, and it took him a second to comprehend that you weren't upset, you were amused, and he was confused. "He what?" "When he found out we had a date this weekend he tried to convince me you'd be at least an hour late with the Hopper on your ass I'm just stunned at his accuracy" Maybe this really was his year after all "So you're not upset?" "I'm just upset I owe that nosy dipshit money now" And now Eddie was laughing too because you started asking him if he wanted to just skip his reservation which you guys had missed anyway and go to the drive-in because you had heard they were playing Monty Python. So Monty Python it was as he drove there and got both the sweet and the salty popcorn because he wasn't sure which you'd prefer and spent the rest of the evening what he'd say was the perfect time. But he wasn't done yet, he had promised to make things up to you and this was only the beginning for him, a beginning to many good times ahead.

[@saradika-graphics still being my go-to for dividers] Taglist: @vicurious28, @arlxtoa, @em0220, @madyoghurt, @saturnsbxtchx, @maskofmirrors

[imfinereallyy]

Passengers

It took Robin three years to get her license. Which all things considered, the twice apocalyptic experiences, and, ya know, being poor, wasn’t too bad in her opinion.

20 was as good as any age to get behind the wheel of a vehicle.

Okay, if she was honest with herself, really honest, maybe her calculations were off. It wasn’t three years exactly. She could have gotten her license at 16; hell, she could have gotten her permit at 15. So it quite honestly had taken four, five years max to get her license.

But the first two years didn’t count to Robin.

She didn’t even give a thought to driving until she was 17, and Steve was driving her every day without question. She hadn’t thought about it until Steve threw his keys at her, telling her to drive, that Robin realized he was driving her every day because he wanted to, not because she was a license-less loser.

It cracked Robin open when she finally had time to think about it. After all the blood, and gore, and almost losing Steve several times, it hit her that this dingus really wanted her by his side.

So, Steve was really to blame if she ever got into a car accident. Sure, he didn’t push her to get behind the metal contraption, but Robin wanted to pay him back somehow, for all the rides and love over the years.

That was how now, Robin was seething in regret as she drove the rest of the way home, in the dark, from their road trip.

See, when Robin had pictured them doing things like this, it had just been the two of them. Steve in the passenger seat, arguing over music and the best car snacks. Windows down, yelling about who fucking cares, and just laughing their way through different states.

Robin hadn’t taken into account there might be other people involved in her bestie road trip fantasies. No, instead, it wasn’t the terrible two, platonic soulmate extravaganza she pictured. Instead it now involved them, Steve’s ex-turned-best friend, whom Robin had a horrible crush on, Nancy Wheeler, and a sweet metalhead who Robin saw as a brother, and Steve had a huge soul-consuming crush on Eddie Munson.

Robin begrudgingly would admit the additional two had made the trip better, so she didn’t have too many complaints. Actually, in reality, Robin only had one big hang-up about the whole thing.

Steve was in the back seat.

Which would have been fine if Robin had been there too, but she wasn’t. It was her stupid turn to drive in the home stretch of their way home. Instead, Robin had Nancy beside her. Which should have brought her joy but instead made her nervous and clammy and not at all suited to be behind the wheel of the death contraption they called a car. Plus, Nancy was asleep.

Her snores were pretty cute though.

Robin seethed silently; it was Eddie’s fault. He positively insisted on sitting with Steve in the back. Something which Robin would normally tease the both of them for, the oblivious idiots that they were, but Robin was a possessive little creature. It was a trait of hers she tried to bury deep down. She knew people didn’t like that; they didn’t like when people clung. Didn’t like that she felt like baring her teeth, even sometimes wanted to actually bite at people who tried to pry her people away from her.

It was funny, really; the only person who understood that part of her was Steve himself, which made her possessive side come out even more. Like seeks like, and crazy seeks crazy.

God, if she was every lucky enough to get a girlfriend, she was screwed.

Robin had resisted looking in the review mirror for twenty minutes. Probably not safe, but driving angrily wasn’t either, and if she saw the two of them giggling like school girls, she was gonna flip the car.

But Robin was never good at resisting temptation. She was most definitely the child who would touch the plate after someone told her it was too hot. So Robin took a glance, shoulders tense and mouth dry, and saw—

Well, shit. Robin melted. There in the back seat with their heads leaned against each other were Steve and Eddie, sound asleep.

The edges of Robin softened; she remembered Steve pinching his nose earlier, eyes squinting on his turn to drive. She had been in the passenger seat then. She had wanted to ask but instead said nothing, knowing he would wave her off. So she claimed her turn to drive, and then Eddie had been insistent that Steve come in the back with him and—

Robin was getting it now. Although Eddie had a big fat gay crush on Steve. That wasn’t why he wanted to be with Steve in the back. He had noticed, too. The edges of sleep deprivation creeping slowly into an oncoming migraine for Steve. Eddie had seen Steve pushing himself, and somehow also knew that if Steve stayed in the front, he would feel obligated to stay awake.

Robin hadn’t realized that, Eddie didn’t just want Steve; he paid attention to him. Eddie noticed Steve the way Robin noticed him.

Robin spared another glance at the two of them, wrapped around each other like vines snaking up an old oak tree. The last of her anger seemed to fade away. Even after all this time, none of them got a lot of sleep. Steve, most of all, seemed to run on fumes. Robin knew he couldn’t sleep soundly alone, but also couldn’t fall asleep around just anyone. For a long time, Robin had been his only cure for his insomnia. Steve never dared to fall asleep in front of strangers, afraid he’d scare them with his screams.

But here Steve was, in the arms of the man that he loves, not a single worry line on his face as he slept the rest of the trip away.

Robin knew, with certainty, Steve felt safe.

And because of that, Robin thought wistfully to herself, if Eddie Munson ever wants a turn at being a passenger, she wouldn’t mind taking the wheel for him, too.

***

a short lil thing to get me back in my writing grove. Is inspired by a friend of mine who is in her 20s and doesn’t drive. It’s totally okay and everyone moves at their own pace! And also I’m definitely a person who likes to drive others around as a sign of love (I am Steve coded I am beginning to realize)

Sorry if this isn’t any good, or seems rushed. Writers block is a bitch.

[thisapplepielife]

Written for @steddieangstyaugust.

Different Lessons

Day #6: "Who did this?" | Word Count: 3300 | Rating: T | CW: Death of a Parental Figure, Grief & Loss, Language, Smoking | Tags: Future Fic, Established Long-Term Steddie, Hurt/Comfort, Beloved Uncle Wayne, Life Goes On, Even If You Don't Know How

It's all still here. 

Eddie stands there, hand resting on the light switch, and he doesn't know why that surprises him so much. Of course it's all still here. Where else would it go? If he didn't move any of it, and Steve didn't move any of it, well, Wayne definitely didn't. 

Not now. Not ever again. 

Eddie looks around the large shop down the gravel road, beyond the house. He didn't understand why they were building it. Not at first. Wayne worked like a dog for decades in that goddamn factory. Why would he want to continue to work in a shop during retirement? How could that possibly be fun? But Steve assured Eddie that this was different.

Making, creating, building for the love of it, was, in fact, different from manual labor for a paycheck.

They kind of looked the same to Eddie, but if Steve and Wayne both said so, well, who was Eddie to argue?

So, the land was cleared. Leveled. And a quonset building went up. Metal, rounded, and fucking huge. With big, handmade wooden barn doors installed. And a smaller, regular-sized door next to it that Eddie was tasked with painting. He was pretty sure that was just to keep him out of the way, but he chose red and painted it, and standing here looking at it today, he realizes it could use a fresh coat. 

Wayne and Steve built the barn doors themselves. Wayne taught Steve as they worked, patient and willing to answer all of his questions, as Eddie sat on the workbench, taunting them. Being annoying, he's sure. But the doors still got made, and now they're gorgeous, sanded, stained and finished. 

It took all of them to hang them. Wayne and Steve, Eddie. Gareth, Jeff and Goodie. Everybody working together to ease them onto the tracks, hoping like hell that they'd fit and work for fuck's sake once they were up there, after all that trouble.

They did fit. And they still glide like goddamn butter, so much so that Eddie can't believe Wayne and Steve made them with their own hands.

Everything in here has Wayne's fingerprints all over it. The machinery he rigged to work just the way he wanted. The coffee mugs that never seemed to make it back to the house. Now being used as pencil holders, or sorters for nuts, bolts and screws.

It's home, in here. Sure, the house up the road is home, too. But this feels different than that. 

This was Wayne's space. All his own. 

Eddie isn't religious, but this is his sanctuary now.

Because the shop is exactly the same as it was the day Wayne died in it. His last coffee mug is still on the window ledge. Liquid long evaporated, only the dark stains inside the porcelain proving that it was once there, once used. 

That Wayne was once there, using it. 

His cheaters are on the counter. And the bench. And a pair hanging from the coveralls pocket. Cheap drugstore reading glasses he needed to see anything up close. Eddie would tease, and Wayne would reassure Eddie that his day was coming.

It hasn't, not yet, but if it does, apparently he has a stockpile of glasses to choose from.

Eddie looks around, and it looks like Wayne'll be right back. Like he stepped out, just for a minute. 

Not forever. 

Eddie knows he won't be back, he knows, but it still feels like he'll come back any day now. Like it's all just waiting for his inevitable return. 

Like Eddie is still waiting for his return, because anything else is unfathomable. He can't be gone. Not when Wayne's stuff is all right here, just where he left it.

But no. He is gone, and there's not even any ghosts lingering, just his stuff. This is just a shrine that was accidentally left behind in his departure. 

The motor of the bass boat is up on a worktop, half broken down, torn apart. He doesn't know how to fix that, and he supposes Steve doesn't either. Is it destined to just sit there, just like that? In limbo? Forever?

That boat was a splurge, a want, not a need, and Eddie was happy Wayne decided to get something that he wanted, just for himself. 

After a lifetime of sacrificing for Eddie, Eddie just wanted to pay him back in any way he could. 

A boat, a home, anything at all. 

Eddie damn well knows the town likes to whisper behind their backs. Like Eddie is aimless, shiftless. The weird, queer freak that was incapable of flying the coop. Incapable of growing up. 

The one that somehow brought the Harrington boy down with him.

That they were flitting around, no jobs, living off the old man. 

That's not true, of course. 

Yeah, they were traveling around the world, fixing problems that came from beneath. Whispered secrets, unknown horrors, with very few explanations.

Experts in a field Eddie wished they knew nothing about. 

Hawkins has forgotten. Eddie hasn't been allowed to, not ever.

But maybe they were right, in some ways. Eddie still doesn't feel grown up. But they acted like his relationship was somehow less, just because Wayne was living under the same roof. 

But it was more. 

Eddie knows that. Having these extended years with Wayne, extra years that Eddie hadn't been promised, was good for all of them. 

Eddie loved having him here any time they came home. And he thinks Steve did, too. 

Wayne stayed with the house while they worked, sometimes going job to job for months at a time. Living out of suitcases. But he was always waiting here for them to return. Home. 

Wayne was home. 

And now Eddie's home has left him. 

Eddie misses him desperately. There's a gaping, bleeding hole in his heart, and in their home. 

Wayne's last pack of cigarettes sits on the wooden worktop, six of twenty remaining. Eddie has counted, and re-counted, without moving them. They're right next to a notepad and pen, and Eddie wonders if this was the last thing Wayne ever wrote. It means nothing to Eddie, just shorthand chicken scratches, measurements for something, a rough design plan, maybe? It doesn't matter. Except it does matter to Eddie. They're important because they were Wayne's thoughts, put to paper for a later date that would never come.

Eddie reaches up and runs his hands along the worn coveralls, hanging on a hook. One of several identical pairs. He died in another, that and his work boots.

Dying in your work boots and your worn coveralls isn't a bad way to go, all things considered. That's what Wayne always said.

There are worse things in life than death.

And:

I'll die with my boots on.

Both premonitions, it turns out, and painfully true. 

Steve and Eddie on the road, a message from Gareth waiting at the next checkpoint, telling them to come home. Now.

There are worse things in life than sudden, swift death. Here and gone. No suffering. One breath you're fine, and the next you're just not here anymore. Eddie's experienced both. His mother's long, drawn out death. The anticipation, the suffering, the anxiety.

And now, the opposite. 

Even if Eddie wasn't here. Even if he missed it. Even if Wayne died alone, with Eddie and Steve several states away. Eddie'll still take that option, if he gets to choose. He'll go like Wayne. Just blinking out, no fanfare. Wayne's death, exactly how he lived. Quiet, alone, and independent as fuck up until the exact moment he headed off into the sunset.

Eddie doesn't know where Wayne is now. 

Probably nowhere, Eddie thinks. Besides the ground.

Steve thinks otherwise. Steve's an optimist, though. 

Eddie often wonders what the fuck that's like? He's just too self-sabotagin' for that ever to be true for him. They go into jobs the same way, Eddie pessimistic and looking at all the bad. He wants to hear the worst of it. But Steve's beside him, ever optimistic, looking at the good. At the hope.

They make a good team, a good balance. Always have.

This was meant to be their house. Wayne was just keeping it company until they were ready to settle down. That was the excuse to get his stubborn ass into it, anyway. 

Eddie's ready now. There's no place like home is fucking true. The rest of the world holds no luster for him now, not anymore. The shine dulled and tarnished.

But, home?

At home, it's all still here.

And Eddie's just filling the spaces around it all. Around everything Wayne left behind. Absorbing it into himself. Into his bones. Wayne's stuff getting pushed to the back of the medicine cabinet. His clothes shuffled to the back of the closet. 

But still here.

There's room enough for all of it.

The phone rings. The red one. Eddie doesn't answer. He's not leaving home, not yet. Maybe never again. 

He's really sorry that the rest of the world has problems that maybe they could help fix.

Right now, Eddie can only try to fix himself. 

Eddie hears the saw. On, then off, then on again. The high-pitched whine of it.

When he rounds the side of the house, those beautiful barn doors are thrown wide open. Steve's leaning over a table, noting measurements. Scribbling with a pencil, one of the big rectangle ones, that won't roll away.

Referencing back and forth to another set of papers. 

He's got on a backwards cap, one of Wayne's from the wall inside, Eddie's pretty sure. 

Ear protection. Eye protection.

Carhartt overalls, and a plaid shirt, sleeves rolled up to the elbows. Eddie's sure it's one of Wayne's that worked its way up from the back of the closet. 

Things are starting to get moved, here and there. Used again. Time marching on.

If Wayne could see Steve now, he'd be proud. Eddie knows it. Even if once, he was sure Wayne thought Steve was a goddamn yuppie like the rest of Harringtons. But Wayne learned just how goddamn tough Steve is, fast. Eddie slung over a shoulder, Steve marching him back from hell. Alive. Somehow.

And that's all it took. Wayne loved Steve, and over time, loved him just as much as he loved Eddie, Eddie's pretty sure. 

He misses Wayne, and he knows Steve does, too.

They both feel closer to him here.

Eddie thought he'd have more time. A lot more. He should have listened more, learned more. He should have helped build those doors. 

But he didn't. Wayne taught him different lessons. How to play the guitar. How to do the nightly crossword. How to survive.

Wayne taught Steve others. 

And where Eddie's done it in the house, Steve's filled the spaces around the things left behind in the shop. 

Eddie puts down the lemonade, poured into a familiar mug, right next to the pack of cigarettes that are gathering more sawdust, and waits. Doesn't want to startle Steve, though, if Eddie knows Steve, he already knows Eddie's there.

It's his job to not be snuck up on. 

Eddie notices the boat motor has been moved. 

The sawing stops, and Steve comes over to him.

"Who did this?" Eddie asks. "What are you doing with it?"

"I moved it. Goodie's coming tomorrow. Thinks he can fix it," Steve answers, then he's downing a big swallow of lemonade. It's just from the canister, but made extra strong, just like Wayne taught him. 

Goodie is good with motorcycle engines. Eddie doesn't know if that translates to boat motors or not. But what can it hurt to let him try? It's just been sitting here, waiting for Wayne to pick up where he left off, which is never gonna happen.

The next night, Goodie and Steve are leaning over it, heads together. They've been tinkering all day. Thinking they've got it, putting it into a five gallon bucket of water to test run, and then shaking their heads when it refuses to fire up.

Eddie watches it all through the big, open doors. Gareth is poking at the firepit. Jeff cooking on the grill. Kids and spouses hanging out, playing or talking.

His family is here, just. It's not everyone, there's still a missing piece. And there always will be, now. It's a hurt that settles deep in his chest, and he knows he'll have to carry it there forever right next to the loss of his mother.

He hears the motor rev to life and Steve and Goodie are screaming in delight that they finally fucking did it, and Eddie smiles. 

Maybe they'll take the boat out this weekend. 

Eddie uncovers the boat, and it's another time capsule under the tarp, one he hadn't considered existing. Fishing poles, still baited with hooks and lures. Empty cans, dead leaves.

Another pack of cigarettes. He laughs, and pockets them. One shrine is enough. These? Maybe these he'll smoke. 

They take off across the lake, getting up to speed. The wind is rushing through Eddie's hair, and when they slow to turn, Eddie cups his hands, and lights one of Wayne's cigarettes. 

Breathing deep. 

Then, coughing. 

It's stale, and tastes bitter.

Thankfully, Steve and Goodie can't hear him, as he tries to expel it all in an unattractive fashion. 

He hasn't smoked in years, and his lungs are protesting. He laughs, and just holds it in his hand, and enjoys the ride. 

Gareth and Jeff are on the shore, waiting their turn, but are also the rescue crew if the motor fails mid-lake. 

Eddie can swim to shore, has done it once before in this lake, but would really rather not repeat the experience. 

The motor sings, and when they pull up to the dock, Steve and him get out, letting Goodie take the others out on the water. 

"Smoking again, are you?" Steve asks. But there's no judgment. Steve never judges him, somehow. Even Eddie judges himself. That Steve doesn't is a miracle. 

"Not well," he admits, sliding the pack back into his shirt pocket. Where he just might carry them from now on. Over his heart. 

One pack watching over Steve in the shop, one pack watching over him, everywhere else. 

"Boat's running good," Eddie offers and Steve smiles. 

Steve drapes his arms over Eddie's shoulders, leaning up against him, hands resting on Eddie's chest. Over his heart, hugging him from behind. 

Steve tells him all about the motor. What they fixed. What they can still fine-tune. 

Then.

"I miss him," Steve says. 

And yeah. That's the long and short of it. 

"Me too." 

Winter comes, and Eddie glances out the kitchen window, spotting Wayne splitting wood. 

The thought is fleeting, painful, and it sucker punches him when he hadn't seen it coming. He grips the edge of the sink, fingers digging in, as he doubles over, trying not to cry. 

When he looks again, it's not Wayne at all. 

It's Steve. 

Ax in hand, the heavy Carhartt coat on his back. Eddie's not sure if it's actually Wayne's coat, or just something that he associates with Wayne so strongly, that it feels like it's his. 

When Steve hauls the logs in later, Eddie holds the door open for him.

After he's done, Steve shrugs out of the coat, face red from the cold. 

Eddie just stares at him. 

When did Steve grow up? They were just kids a second a go, Eddie's sure of it. But Steve's going gray at his temples, and he's not old, but he is all grown up. 

That means Eddie must be, too. 

Wayne's gone. His mother's gone. Fuck knows about his dad. 

He suddenly realizes he's the older generation, and the thought of that is suffocating. He still feels like he needs to look for real adults, and now there's nobody left to turn to for guidance. 

Steve is an adult. 

So, Eddie pretends he is, too. 

The red phone rings again. And again. 

Steve finally unplugs it from the jack, and unscrews it from the wall, shoving it into the closet, on top of a box of Wayne's old boots. 

They can always plug it back in. 

Just. Not today. 

Today, the guys are coming over to jam. They've been doing that more and more since Eddie's been home. 

They will never be anything except what they are. A middle-aged Midwestern garage band. Comprised of a relucant monster hunter. A lawyer. A mechanic. A loan officer. 

Best friends. Still. All these decades later. 

Steve is in the shop, the heater red hot, and Eddie had dragged down Wayne's easy chair from the house with Gareth's help the other day, so now he can sit in front of the heater and read while Steve works. He rocks gently, his foot pushing off of the dirty floor to keep him in constant motion.

He feels better moving, always has, and this rocking soothes that part of him well. Especially since his whole life has come to a standstill. 

All the noise Steve's making is a comfort, familiar. It's a hug. A hello. 

An echo, still ringing through the night. 

Eddie can dig in the back of the closet, too. Tonight, he's wearing a heavy, buffalo check flannel coat. It's worn on the sleeves and collar, but Eddie swears it still smells of cigarettes and Wayne's cologne. 

His cologne is still in the bathroom in the house, his cigarettes are still on the table, out here. 

Still six in the pack. 

He's everywhere, and nowhere, all at the same time.

Steve comes over holding up a piece of wood, holding it up, showing it off. 

Eddie's not sure what it'll be, but he smiles encouragingly. 

Steve smiles back and then leans down, kissing him. It's quiet, this life they've decided to live. Too quiet, sometimes. But Eddie's happy.

He wasn't sure he would be again, but here he is, with Steve. 

At home.

It's peaceful.

And this becomes their new routine. Eddie sits, Steve works, and the winter wind blows against the shop. 

Tonight, Eddie must have dozed off, because he jumps when Steve touches his arms. 

"C'mere. It's done," Steve says. 

"What's done?" Eddie asks, but he takes Steve's offered hands, getting pulled to standing. 

In the back there's something with a drop cloth thrown over it. 

Steve is giddy, and it's contagious, "What is it?" 

"For you, I think. If you want it," Steve says, as he yanks the sheet off. 

It's a cabinet. A hutch. Like for storing the fancy dishes. 

Okay. 

"It's pretty," Eddie says, because it is. "Who did this? You? Wayne?"

Steve squats down and plugs it in, "Both of us."

When it comes to life, backlit and beautiful, there are heavy hooks inside instead of shelves. 

"For your guitars," Steve says, grinning. "It took me a few tries to decipher his plans. I got some things wrong. And I probably did things differently than he would hav-" 

Eddie cuts him off, kissing him. Hands grasping Steve's back. Holding him tight. 

When Eddie pulls back, he knows he has tears in his eyes. He doesn't care. 

"You really did this?" 

"Well. It was Wayne's idea, I just interpreted the plans I found," Steve says, and Eddie pulls him close again. Clinging to him. 

He loves it. He never expected to get something from both of them, not ever again. 

"Thank you," Eddie says, and he's talking to Steve. 

And to Wayne. 

Wherever he is, or isn't. 

Eddie may never get that answer, despite solving so many mysteries for other people. 

But, right now? It doesn't feel that mysterious at all. 

He's still here. 

In the shop. In all the things that live here in their home. In Steve.

In Eddie's heart. 

In all of it.

Always. 

If you want to write your own, or see more entries for this challenge, pop on over to @steddieangstyaugust and follow along with the fun angst! 😭

Notes: I saw this tiktok the other day and cried. Then it manifested itself here, because the truth of it needed to be jotted down. Also inspired by Bass Boat by Zach Bryan. And his Pink Skies, too. It's been my sad song album this past month.

[oatmilk-vampire]

mdni 18+ part 2(technically prequel)

When Eddie Munson came back from the dead, it didn't phase Robin too much. After all, it wasn’t the first time someone in Hawkins had seemed to come back from the dead. Just look at Will!

It was an accident. She let herself into Steve's place with the spare key he had given her. In her defense he wasn't answering the phone!

She only meant to walk in on Steve, she'd heard running water and didn’t care what she might see in the bathroom. He was practically her brother and she needed to demand ask him to give her a ride to the bookstore, she'd gotten word from Dustin via walkie-talkie that Vicki is there and she thought it'd be a great meet-cute if the two of them reached for the same book, which she would definitely make happen.

But then she walked in on Eddie when he was brushing his teeth, brushing his fangs. Now that wasn’t normal.

She had a momentary freak out while Eddie desperately tried to calm her down with his placating gestures and toothpaste foam dripping down his chin.

Eventually she heard his words and came to the conclusion that if Eddie had been back for a month already and none of their friends were dead, and the news hadn't reported any strange animal attacks, she must be safe. He must not be a bad vampire.

That didn't stop her from pushing her way to Steve's bedroom to find him peacefully napping without a hair out of place.

She closes his door much more carefully than she threw it open.

Steve may be fine but that didn't stop her from threatening Eddie saying she'd find out what exactly would kill a vampire if he even thought of snacking on anyone she cared about. Especially her platonic soulmate Steve.

They'd survived too much just for Steve to die by way of juicebox.

He assured her he'd never hurt anyone, especially Steve.

She thinks she believes him. After all, Steve and Eddie had seemingly gotten closer since Eddie returned from the dead. She wasn't sure if Steve just finally found another friend his own age, or if he may finally be giving into the glaringly obvious bi-tendencies he had. Either way, he hasn't seemed like he's been in any danger lately. He actually seemed the most happiest she's ever seen him. Maybe it's because he hasn't been getting rejected by every young woman in Hawkins? Then again, she hasn't seen him flirt either... Unless it was when Eddie came to the store to pick up a movie... Hmm.

When she realizes Steve won't be able to drive her she leaves in a huff, deciding she'd just ask Nancy to take her to the bookstore. Eddie offered, but she declined.

If Eddie was there while Steve was sleeping, then he must be expecting him to be there when he awakens. Whatever the nature of their relationship may be, she didn’t want to jeopardize Steve finally being happy.

What she didn’t know was Eddie had been snacking on Steve just fifteen minutes before she'd barged in and was washing the evidence from his mouth. He'd been snacking on Steve for just over two weeks now.

That's how their little friends with benefits arrangement began. Eddie got to eat without needing to hunt or steal from the blood blank, and Steve got off.

It's not Steve's fault he liked being drank from, liked the way Eddie’s lips felt on his neck and fangs buried in his skin.

Originally it was an innocent offer on Steve's part. He was more concerned it would hurt the way the truth serum injection did when he was being interrogated by the Russians a few years ago, or like the sharp bite of the demobats themselves; but instead of fainting when Eddie latched on, Steve popped a boner.

Maybe with all of the concussions he's endured he got a couple screws knocked loose, maybe that's why he gets horny just thinking about Eddie drinking from him.

Eddie doesn't mind it one bit. Sure he was worried with that initial gasp Steve let out, but now that he knows it was a good kind of breathlessness he drinks to his heart's content and allows Steve to rut against him to his heart's content. If Steve doesn't finish while Eddie is drinking he'll give him a handjob until he does. It's a pretty good arrangement even if it does leave Eddie hard in his jeans.

It's not that Eddie doesn't want to do more with Steve, he just doesn't trust himself to drink from Steve and be intimate at the same time; and he's too nervous to just try to be intimate with him sans feeding.

What if Steve isn't into Eddie like that? What if he's really just in it for the assisted masturbation and the moment Eddie makes a move this'll all end?

Eddie doesn't want that. He can't. He can't go back to drinking the gamey blood of animals that leaves him feeling more sick than nourished, or acting like a felon to score pints to stock his fridge, which he can't really do either since he refuses to tell Uncle Wayne in fear of sending the poor man into cardiac arrest.

Plus Steve is the best thing he's ever tasted. Better than any sweet, or any food eaten after getting the munchies. Steve is delectable. He's the best high. Plus Eddie likes being able to give Steve his own little high. An orgasm only he could give him. It does wonders for the ego.

Eddie wants more from Steve but he's too selfish to risk losing him for the better of them.

It's okay, though, because he gets a part of Steve no one else will ever have and that's enough for him.

For now.

[ticklishraspberries]

Ren Faire (Eddie/Steve)

Summary: Steve, Eddie, and Robin go to a Renaissance Fair and see some interesting demonstrations. (This fic is for my lovely friend @gigglyrambles!! I literally just pulled this whole plot out of my ass and wrote it in one sitting, so I really hope you like it, LOL. Also, shoutout to @wordstrings because I know she has written something similar for Our Flag Means Death, I hope you don't mind me taking inspiration!!)

Steve isn’t sure how he ended up being dragged along to a Renaissance Fair with none other than Robin and Eddie, but he found it hard to say no to either of their puppy dog eyes and incessant begging.

His outfit is simple, consisting of a white, long-sleeved shirt with laces at the neckline, tight brown pants, and brown boots. He feels only a little bit ridiculous, but after seeing what his friends are wearing, he supposes he isn’t the weirdest looking one.

Eddie is decked out in black, an intricately detailed top with ruffles and buttons. A fake sword sits in a holder on his waist. Robin has gone for a more masculine look, a cloak over her shoulders and a bow and arrow in her hand.

“Screw historical accuracy,” she’d said.

“The fact that you’re a girl isn’t the problem, it’s that you couldn’t hit a moving target with an arrow to save your life,” Eddie had teased, and Robin had elbowed him in the ribs, making Steve laugh.

Now that they’ve arrived, Steve has relaxed a bit. He used to feel out of place whenever he attended events that he wouldn’t have been caught dead at in high school. Corroded Coffin concerts, DnD campaigns, and that one time he drove Eddie and Robin to the nearest gay bar in Indiana. It had definitely been more awkward sober, and before he realized that he’s bisexual, and could have totally had more fun if he’d been aware of and okay with that information at the time.

He’s sort of glad he wasn’t, though, because kissing Eddie Munson during a childish game of truth or dare was a much funnier way to have your queer awakening, and dating Eddie Munson is way more fun than hooking up with random guys in a bar.

“They have really good beer here,” Eddie comments, to which Steve holds up his car keys and jingles them. No medieval mead is going to keep him from being the designated driver.

“I can drive us home,” Robin says, absolutely joking, but Steve still gives her a horrified look and makes a show of sliding his keys back into his pocket, patting the denim for safe keeping. She sticks her tongue out at him, and he flicks her cheek.

Eddie does end up getting some beer, and Steve allows himself a few sips. They’ll be here for at least a few hours, he’ll surely sober up by then. He also samples the gigantic turkey leg that Eddie gets, and Robin wrinkles her nose in disgust at the messy nature of the food.

As they walk around, Steve finds himself getting into the spirit more than he had expected. They eat, watch musical performances, and shop at the little stalls set up by various vendors. Eddie buys a few rings for himself, and buys a handmade mug for Uncle Wayne. Robin indulges in candles and soaps, and even dares to see a fortune teller.

“She said that I’ll meet my future husband soon,” she says, giggling. “Clearly she’s a fraud, or she’d know I’m not interested.”

When Robin runs off to find a bathroom, somehow, Eddie and Steve end up standing around a demonstration about medieval punishments and torture, which Steve expects to be gruesome, and quickly finds he would rather hear gritty, gorey details than stand her and watch this happen.

A pretty girl, probably around their age, is locked into a pair of wooden stocks, and—

“You’ve gotta be kidding me,” Steve mutters, pinching the bridge of his nose between his fingers.

Eddie looks absolutely delighted as he leans in close. “What’s wrong, Stevie? The demonstration isn’t bothering you, is it?” he asks. His cheeks are flushed, too. A few months ago, Eddie would probably be the one stuttering and staring at the ground right now, but ever since he introduced this little world to Steve, he’s gained a confidence about it that only comes out when he gets to tease Steve into oblivion.

“Shut up.”

“You shut up, I’m trying to watch. Maybe I can get some pointers from these guys.”

‘These guys’ refers to the two men who have started tickling the girl’s trapped feet, and frantic giggles fill the air and make Steve’s stomach flip.

“Oh, she’s handling this better than you would,” Eddie continues to tease. “I’d already be called every insult under the sun if you couldn’t kick me instead.”

“I will kick you right now,” Steve threatens. It’s a complete lie. He’s frozen to the spot on the grass, torn between watching and focusing on the grass. Everyone else in the crowd is behaving like this is so normal, no big deal, just a silly show.

One of the men has moved behind the girl to tickle her ribs, her arms secured above her head. Steve crosses his arms over his chest, subconsciously protecting his own sensitive spots, like just watching her could tickle him, too.

“You love that spot,” Eddie coos. “You make the cutest sounds when I tickle you there.”

“I’m gonna fuckin’ kill you,” Steve grits out.

“Sure you will, sweetheart. Can it wait ‘til after I’ve made you cry real pretty for me?”

Just then, Robin appears at his side. “This looks like my worst nightmare,” she says. “I hope this girl is getting paid well.”

Steve makes a noise of agreement, but can’t bring himself to look over. Eddie Munson is going to be the fucking death of him. Thankfully, Robin is immediately bored of the display and drags them off to explore. Eddie subtly gives Steve’s side a quick pinch as he walks past him, and Steve suddenly can’t wait to go home.

***

“You are a fucking menace,” Steve accuses the moment they’ve made it through the door.

His parents aren’t home, Robin was dropped off back at her house, and now, Steve is alone with Eddie for the first time all day, and he refuses to voice how excited he is for whatever Eddie’s got planned.

But Eddie just grins, tugging off the more elaborate pieces of his costume, leaving himself in socks, boxers, and a white t-shirt. He makes his way to the kitchen, comes back with two cans of beer, sits on the couch like he isn’t ignoring the clear tension in the room.

Steve gapes at him for a minute before joining him on the couch, kicking off his boots and taking a beer as well. Maybe Eddie’s changed his mind…Maybe he just isn’t the mood, and Steve isn’t going to pressure him into anything.

But…Well, he has a sneaking suspicion that isn’t the case at all.

“If you’re waiting for me to ask, it’s not gonna happen,” he says.

“Ask for what?” Eddie tilts his head curiously, but there’s a glint in his eye that proves Steve’s theory.

“Nothing,” Steve replies, playing along. “All that talk back there just made me think you had a plan for when we got home. But if you’re not interested, that’s fine too.”

“Did you want me to have a plan?”

Steve huffs. “Maybe. But if you don’t, then let’s forget about it.”

“Oh, c’mon baby,” Eddie says, throwing an arm around Steve’s shoulders and pulling him close. “All you’ve gotta do is ask if you want it so bad.”

His cheeks burn. Stubborn as ever, he shakes his head.

Eddie sighs with exaggerated disappointment. “If you insist. I guess I’ll just keep my hands to myself tonight…”

“Good,” Steve says, and turns the television on.

It takes two beers and a stupid scene in a film to break him. It’s a quick, barely there tickle, but the character’s laugh makes Steve perk up like a dog hearing a doorbell ring.

“Fine,” he says.

“What’s fine?” Eddie asks.

“Just fucking tickle me, you dick.”

Eddie grins and wastes no time, lunging across the couch and pinning Steve to the cushions.

“I knew you’d crack eventually, sweetheart,” he teases. “Sorry we don’t have quite the same set up, but I’ll hold you down real nice, okay?”

Steve is already grinning. He can’t help it, he’s so lovestruck by his boyfriend and desperate to laugh his head off. And laugh he does when Eddie goes straight for his ribs, scratching at the dips between each little bone.

“There’s that pretty sound,” he says, pressing a kiss to Steve’s jaw that is both sweet and ticklish under the current circumstance.

The stupid shirt with the laces is pulled over his head and discarded on the floor, and Eddie pins Steve’s wrists and tells him to stay still before exploring each ticklish spot on his torso, making him shriek and cackle and snort like a fool.

He doesn’t stay still for very long, arms shooting down to his sides when Eddie attacks his belly with blunt fingernails, and Eddie scolds him but doesn’t stop.

As he squirms on the couch, giggling like mad, he wonders if they sell some of those bondage contraptions there. He thinks that they should go back to the Ren Faire sometime. 

[feral-jackdaw]

Hold Me

Steve can't sleep. Sure, he is absolutely exhausted, to the point that he couldn't even be bothered to change into some clean clothes or take a shower. All he did was take off his shoes and collapse onto the bed. And yet he can't sleep. Not after everything that's happened.

Whenever he closes his eyes, he sees it again. The lifeless body of Eddie, surrounded by a pool of blood and a bunch of dead bats. His eyes, still open; cold, absent, with no trace of their usual playful spark...

Screw that, he thinks. Before he knows, he is in his car, with barely any idea what he is doing. But he soon realises he's been subconsciously heading for the trailer park.

He suffers yet another heartbreak after seeing Eddie's trailer; it's nearly completely destroyed, with just a few walls left standing. He can't stop thinking that only recently, this place looked completely different, everything was so much different, so much better. Tears begin to form in his eyes as he just stands there, unable to move... until he notices something.

No, this can't be real. The sight makes him freeze in spot. Inside the walls, curled up in the corner, is no one other than Eddie Munson himself.

This definitely can't be real, Steve thinks. This must be some kind of a trap.

But then, he notices a subtle rise and fall of Eddie's chest. And he loses it completely.

“Munson,” he calls, sprinting forward. If there's any chance that Eddie is really here, alive, then nothing else matters.

“Eddie,” he calls again, dropping to his knees by the boy's side. “Come on, man, wake up,” he pleads.

A quiet groan comes in response. Steve watches in anticipation as Eddie struggles to lift his eyelids, blinking repeatedly. He lets out another groan, as if he was trying to say something.

“It's okay,” Steve soothes, grabbing the boy's hand reassuringly. “I've got you. You're gonna be okay.”

Right now, Steve has no time to wonder how come Eddie is much less dead than a few hours ago; he's more concerned with how cold he is. The prolonged stay in the Upside Down definitely had an affect on him.

After removing his jacket and putting it over Eddie, he grabs the boy's hands to warm them between the two of his own.

“Steve,” Eddie mumbles. “Hold me.”

Steve looks down at him, not sure if he's more surprised by the request or the fact that Eddie actually managed to say it out loud. Regardless, he slides his arms under Eddie's back and carefully scoops him up from the unpleasantly cold floor into the warmth of his embrace.

Eddie just melts into his touch. He lets out out a blissful sigh as he cuddles up as close as possible to Steve. Poor thing, Steve thinks, he must have really been freezing.

“It's okay,” Steve assures, rubbing Eddie's back. “You're safe now.”

Eddie responds with a weak yet beautiful smile.

“We need to get you somewhere safe,” Steve decides, realizing that the demolished trailer is not exactly the best place to stay for an injured, hypothermic person. “Maybe I can take you to my house? I'll give you lots of warm blankets and something hot to drink,” he offers.

“Yes... please,” Eddie replies.

And of course, Steve keeps his promise. Soon, Eddie is happily sipping hot chocolate while wrapped in all of the blankets Steve managed to find in his whole house, with all of his wounds cleaned and patched up. And for now, nothing else matters.

[serenelystrange]

Summary:

“I think maybe I am actually allergic to bee stings,” Eddie says, before collapsing into a heap. In which they've survived the bee-nado, only to feel the sting of the aftermath. Or, how Eddie almost dying (again) dominoes into them finally getting out of their own way, and into happiness!

Rating: G / PG

Post-Season/Series 07, Post-Canon, Near Death Experiences, Fluff, Feelings Realization, Getting Together, First Kiss, Love is stored in the kitchen, Humor

At AO3, or below the cut.

Feedback is love and always appreciated! <3

Notes:

Screw that one NPR dude, bee-nado is freaking delightful.

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Work Text:

“Hey, guys?”

The team turns at the sound of Eddie’s strangled voice, simultaneous expressions of horror dawning as they take in the red welts springing up all over his face.

“I think maybe I am actually allergic to bee stings,” Eddie says, before collapsing into a heap.

“Eddie!” Buck says, darting forward and just barely managing to keep his head from slamming into the concrete. He lowers Eddie down gently and leans in, hearing the raspy wheezing coming from his rapidly closing throat.

“Shit, he can’t breathe. Do we have any Epipens left?”

“On it,” Hen says, crouching down with Buck and pulling the pen from her medic bag.

“Good thing he already lost the turnouts,” Chim says, eyeing Eddie with concern. “I’ll get the stretcher. Come help me, Buck?”

“No,” Buck says quietly but with no room for argument, attention completely focused on Eddie.

“I’ll help,” Bobby says, hurrying off with Chim to get the prepped for the hospital.

“Sorry, bud,” Hen says to Eddie as she slams the pen down into his thigh, holding her breath the whole time she’s holding the plunger down.

“Come on,” Buck whispers urgently, meeting Eddie’s panicked eyes with a matching gaze. “You’re not letting bees take you out after everything you’ve been through.”

Eddie gasps for air as the medicine kicks in, twitching up with the adrenaline roughly.

“Easy,” Buck soothes, cradling the back of Eddie’s head and helping him up into a sitting position slowly. “Just breathe, you’re ok.”

Hen doesn’t even bother trying to get Buck to move, she just works around him, feeling Eddie’s throat and making sure he isn’t going to die en-route to the hospital.

“I’m ok,” Eddie rasps, closing his eyes and leaning back into the hand now cupping his neck for just a moment. “Thanks,” he says to Hen, gratefully. “That would have been such a shitty eulogy.”

“Nobody wants to see Buck cry through a whole speech,” Hen agrees, lightly. “Now up and at ‘em, let’s get you to the hospital.”

Eddie stands shakily as Chim and Bobby wheel up the stretcher, and groans.

“I can walk and sit in the bus,” he protests.

“I will carry you,” Buck warns.

“I’m a dad, too,” Chim adds, “don’t make me pull the dad voice on you.”

“Fine,” Eddie huffs. “But I want it noted that I’m operating under duress.”

“Duly noted,” Bobby says dryly. “Now can we please go to the hospital?”

Eddie rolls his eyes but finally does as he’s told.

“Finally,” Eddie says hours later, when they’ve finally released him to his ride home.

From the driver’s seat of the Jeep, Buck frowns over at him.

“You almost died,” he says. “Again. I’d be upset if they didn’t want to observe you for a while.”

“Sorry,” Eddie says. “I didn’t mean to freak you out.”

“Not your fault,” Buck says, shrugging. “But you couldn’t see your face swelling up, Eds. It was scary as hell.”

“Thanks for stopping me from cracking my head open, by the way,” Eddie says. “I didn’t remember until everything wore off, but I definitely should have hit the ground harder than I did.”

“Just glad I was fast enough,” Buck says, grinning. “Score one for lighting-quick reflexes.”

Eddie just groans.

“See what I did there?” Buck asks, in a much better mood now that Eddie isn’t in anaphylaxis.

Eddie sighs. “Can we please just go home? I need a hot shower and a drink.”

“Can’t get warm?” Buck guesses, already pulling off his soft hoodie before Eddie finishes nodding.

“It’s probably not the freshest,” Buck admits as he hands it over, “but it’s warmer than your t-shirt anyway.”

“You can just put the heat up,” Eddie laughs, “you don’t have to literally give me the clothes off your back for a thirty minute drive.”

“Shut up,” Buck huffs. “I’ll do both. Just wear the hoodie so I’m not worried about you freezing the whole way home.”

“Fine, fine,” Eddie says, pulling it on and snuggling into the cozy material happily before buckling his seatbelt.

“Still warm,” he says, giving Buck a quick thankful look and shoving his hands into the front pocket of the hoodie.

“Good,” Buck says, before finally turning the car on and heading home.

“We didn’t have time to get a whole cake,” Hen says on their next shift. “But that new bakery down the block did have these…”

Eddie groans as she opens the box to reveal a few dozen bee-shaped cake pops.

“No bad puns?” he laughs. “I’m sure there’s a death-by-bee related joke in there somewhere.”

“Buck vetoed it,” Chim says. “Apparently ‘near-death experiences aren’t something to joke about, Howard.’”

“Since when?” Hen says, amused. “That’s kind of our whole thing after these ridiculous situations.”

“You’d be upset if someone joked about Karen almost dying,” Ravi says, joining the conversation and grabbing a cake pop with a happy hum.

“You weren’t even there!” Chim says, rolling his eyes good-naturedly.

“And Karen is my wife,” Hen says. “That’s different.”

“Is it though?” Ravi asks.

His sharp brown eyes look directly into Eddie’s soul for just a moment before he grabs another cake pop and scampers off.

“What the hell,” Eddie says, looking at Hen and Chim’s amused faces with wide eyes.

“Go find Buck before he gets emo,” Chim says, handing him two cake pops. “He probably needs some sugar anyway.”

“And the cake pops,” Hen adds, mildly.

They leave before Eddie can even argue.

“Bzzz, bzzz,” Eddie says in greeting, finding Buck on the little couch they usually play video games on, staring off into space.

“Hilarious,” Buck says, dryly.

“We gotta laugh,” Eddie says, handing Buck one of the cheery yellow cake pops. “Or we’d probably never stop crying.”

“I know,” Buck says, sighing and moving over so that Eddie has room to sit beside him. “I’m just in a mood I guess.”

“It happens,” Eddie says, easily, polishing off the treat in a few bites and putting the stick on the coffee table to deal with later. “That’s actually really good.”

“I’m not hungry,” Buck sighs, offering Eddie the cake pop back.

Eddie takes it and puts it on the table before looking at Buck with concern.

“Not hungry?” he asks, reaching out to touch Buck’s forehead with the back of his hand. “You burn like a million calories a day, you should be starving.”

“I’m not sick,” Buck says, frowning at Eddie’s hand as he pulls it away.

“Then what’s up?” Eddie asks.

“It’s dumb,” Buck says, quietly, looking at the floor in front of them.

Eddie shrugs. “Maybe,” he says. “But you should still tell me.”

“Tommy broke up with me,” Buck says after a long moment of consideration.

Eddie hums in sympathy and gives him an encouraging nod.

“Through text,” Buck adds, and Eddie hisses out a breath.

“Ouch,” he says, “that’s rough.”

“It’s whatever,” Buck says, finally looking up from the floor and over at Eddie. “I mean, we weren’t that serious yet or anything. But it was nice. And turns out, getting dumped by a guy sucks just as much as getting dumped by a girl.”

“Yeah, well,” Eddie says, “he’s an idiot for breaking up with you. It’s his loss.”

“Maybe,” Buck allows, giving Eddie a wry grin. “He probably won’t want to fly you out to super violent half-naked sports now, though. So like, sorry about that.”

“You know,” Eddie muses with an amused grin. “Somehow, I think I’ll survive. As long as I don’t run into another 100 bees.”

“I hate you so much,” Buck says, torn between laughing and groaning.

“Nah,” Eddie says, leaning in until their shoulders are pressed together. “I’m your favorite. At least until Chris comes back. If he comes back.”

“He will,” Buck says, firmly. “If he doesn’t give in by the end of August I’m going to drive out there myself and get him.”

“Please don’t kidnap my son, Buck,” Eddie laughs. “The Texas cops won’t give you as much leeway as Athena.”

“It’s not kidnapping if I’m bringing him back to his father,” Buck huffs. “It’s a rescue mission.”

“He just needs some time,” Eddie says. “Hopefully. I’m trying not to catastrophize here, you’re gonna have to meet me halfway.”

“What’s halfway to El Paso?” Buck asks.

“Somewhere in Arizona, probably,” Eddie says, thoughtfully. “But I meant more emotionally.”

“I can multi-task,” Buck says, before closing his eyes and resting his head on the back out the couch, reaching out and wrapping his hand around Eddie’s wrist.

“I’m really glad you’re ok,” he says, swallowing around the wobble in his voice.

“Me, too,” Eddie says.

He’s surprised to find that he actually means it.

Chris comes home the second week of August, and graciously allows Eddie to hug him for almost an entire minute before squirming away and asking what they’re having for dinner.

“I haven’t gotten groceries this week yet,” Eddie admits, looking around at a whole lot of random ingredients that require too much effort for his currently mental capacity.

“Is Buck ok?” Chris asks, worriedly. “Is that why he’s not here?”

“What?” Eddie asks, before reassuring him. “No, Buck’s fine. He’s just working, he was gonna come by tomorrow after his shift to see you.”

“Oh,” Chris says, sighing in relief. “Good. I thought he stopped getting our groceries cuz he got hurt or something.”

“I buy our groceries, Mijo,” Eddie laughs. “We just shop together sometimes. Buck needs food at his house too, you know.”

“Dad,” Chris says, looking at him with one impressively raised eyebrow. “Do you even know where the waffle mix is?”

“Uhh,” Eddie hedges, eyes landing on the pantry doors. “In the pantry, obviously.”

Chris rolls his eyes.

“We don’t have waffle mix,” he says. “Buck makes the batter with actual ingredients.”

“Waffle mix is ingredients,” Eddie argues lightly, “just all mixed up already.”

“I’m going back to Texas,” Chris drawls, before giving Eddie a sheepish look. “Too soon?”

“You’re a brat,” Eddie says, ruffling his hair. “And I love you more than anything in the world. But yeah, maybe we don’t joke about you running away again for at least a year, ok?”

“Fiiine,” Chris says. “Now about dinner…”

Eddie laughs and pulls up his phone, handing it over to Chris to choose somewhere to order from.

His baby is back, they deserve the treat.

“Chris!” Buck shouts the next evening, letting himself into Eddie’s house and heading straight for the boy, scooping him right off the couch and into a gently bone crushing embrace.

“Buuuuck,” Chris whines as he laughs. “I’m too big to pick up!”

“Never,” Buck says, grinning. “If you ever get as big as me, I’m just gonna have to get stronger so I can keep carrying you.”

“You already bust out of all your sleeves,” Eddie says, watching the scene with soft eyes. “You better just let him love you, Chris. For the sake of t-shirts everywhere.”

“He can love me and put me down,” Chris says.

“If you insist,” Buck says, making a show of dramatically placing him back on the couch. “I just missed you, kid.”

“Missed you, too,” Chris says. “Can I watch TV now?”

“I see how it is,” Buck laughs, shaking his head and following Eddie into the kitchen, leaving Chris to his own devices.

“Teenagers, man. Ouch.”

“Brutal,” Eddie agrees, grinning.

“And yet you look happy as a clam,” Buck laughs.

“Yeah, well,” Eddie says, shrugging minutely.  “My kid is back where he should be. That’s enough happy to last a few weeks at least.”

“Yeah, it is,” Buck says, clinking the beer bottle Eddie had handed him against the one in Eddie’s hand.

They sip their drinks in comfortable silence, and Buck can’t help but think back to that night in his kitchen years ago. It was different then, more frustration than relief, but a thrill all the same. He’d been so sure Eddie was going to hit him, he’d practically begged for it, really.

“I, uh,” Buck says, keeping his voice low so Chris doesn’t eavesdrop. “Remember when you were Mr. super secret fight club, and we were still pissed at each other?”

“In your kitchen?” Eddie asks, already knowing the answer. “I remember, yeah. Why?”

He takes another long sip of his beer, watching with interest as Buck’s eyes follow the movement of his throat as he swallows.

“I think I was flirting with you,” Buck says in a rush. “I just didn’t realize it.”

“Hmm,” Eddie says, nodding and taking one last swallow of his drink before putting it on the counter. “Yeah, that makes sense. You were pretty, uh,” he makes a vague hand gesture, “crotch-forward with the swaggering.”

“Not on purpose,” Buck says, blushing pink. “Sorry.”

“It’s fine,” Eddie says. “Pretty sure I was flirting back.”

Buck freezes, giving Eddie an incredulous look.

“And you didn’t say anything?” he asks. “For five years??”

“Yeah, well,” Eddie says, “it’s been a crazy few years. I couldn’t handle a sexuality crisis on top of it.”

“Oh,” Buck says, before his eyes widen in realization. “But you can now?”

“I think so,” Eddie says, turning to face Buck fully. “The single women of Los Angeles will be relieved.”

“What about the men?” Buck asks, laughing softly at Eddie and his terrible dating history.

“I only care about one of them,” Eddie says. “And he’s standing a foot away from me at the moment, so I guess I should ask him that question.”

“Oh,” Buck says again, before smiling sappily. “I’m also really relieved you’ll no longer be terrorizing the hearts of L.A. women.”

“Just yours?” Eddie asks, dropping his gaze to Buck’s lips. “Do you think it’s worth the risk?”

Buck kisses him instead of answering, pressing him gently against the counter and cages him in with his arms, catching his startled gasp against his lips.

Eddie murmurs something that Buck can’t make out, but it’s not stop, so he doesn’t. Eddie grabs his waist and pulls him closer as he returns the kiss, fingers hooking into the belt loops of Buck’s worn jeans to hold him in place.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” Eddie says when they pull apart, staring at one another and catching their breath.

“You’re always worth the risk,” Buck says, stealing another quick kiss. “Every time.”

Eddie grins bright and joyful, and Buck feels his breath catching at the sight.

“You’re so fucking beautiful,” he says with awe. “But I’m so glad you don’t have that awful mustache anymore.”

“Rude,” Eddie laughs, punching Buck’s shoulder playfully before tugging him into another kiss.

They can argue about facial hair another day.

By the time they make it back to the living room, Chris is scrolling tik-tok, a 70’s show dubbed in Spanish playing on the TV in the background.

“The Incredible Hulk?” Eddie asks, watching the green-painted man with bad hair and cringing. “This does not hold up, yikes.”

“Mark Ruffalo is way better,” Chris agrees. “I thought this one would be fun in Spanish, though.”

“Well,” Buck says, giving the screen a dubious look. “Some things are bad in any language.”

Chris dissolves into giggles at his solemn tone, and that sets Eddie off into laughter, until Buck is left staring between them both and their matching squinty faces, shaking his head with amusement.

He’s never been happier.

The End

Notes:

Hope you like!

[munsonsmixtapes]

Teach Me

Part One Part Two

Steve x bi!fem!reader

summary: you and Steve are forced to share a shift at Family Video the morning after your date

word count: 5k

cw: mention of reader’s rough home life, her mother calls her a “bitch”, mention of both homophobia and biphobia, use of the word “dyke”, make out session between reader and Eddie

Part Three: Lesson Two

You woke up the next morning, grateful to find that everything had just been a dream. You knew it had to have been if you had realized you were having feelings for someone. Especially Steve. Oh, how silly you had been. You rolled out of bed and stood in your doorway, listening for any signs that your parents had been awake. Once you were met with silence, you headed into the kitchen to make some breakfast for you and Callie.

You passed by the answering machine and noticed that the light was blinking, signaling that you had a message. Your curiosity got the best of you and you pressed the play button before heading into the kitchen. There was a beep and you gasped when you heard Steve’s voice.

So it wasn’t a dream. That had actually happened. You had embarrassed yourself by denying his kiss and made him feel like an idiot even though you had wanted it as much as he did. You should have just gone for it despite how scared your were.

He had called you? When? You definitely would have heard it, so it must have been before you had gotten home. Maybe you actually hadn’t blown your chance.

“Hey, y/n,” he sighed. “It’s Steve. You just left and I know it’s a bit early after a date to be calling, but I uh-I just wanted to say that I’m sorry for what happened. I shouldn’t have tried to-you know-” There was a long pause before he spoke up again. “I hope you’re okay. I hope you’re not mad at me. And I want to continue our lessons because I had a lot of fun. Bye.”

There was another beep after the message played out and you stood there, trying to gather your thoughts. You were the one who screwed up and he was the one who was apologizing? Of course he was. He didn’t even have anything to apologize for. What had happened had been all your fault and you were going to make it right.

A door on the other side of the trailer opened and your mother shuffled out of your parents’ room looking like the main character in a movie that has just woken up. Her hair looked perfect and she clearly still had some leftover makeup on her face from the night before.

You always thought your mother was beautiful. You and Callie had clearly gotten your features from her and while it should have been a compliment, it always felt like a slap to the face. She might have been attractive on the outside, but she was so fucking ugly on the inside.

Her and your father had been some of the worst people you had known. They were selfish, awful people with the way they never seemed to think of you unless they wanted something. It was usually money but sometimes they would surprise you by asking for a favor. Since they always seemed to work all the time, you wondered where all their extra money seemed to go after they paid rent and utilities. Neither of them did drugs or drank much so it had to be going somewhere else.

You could tell your mother was in a good mood by the way she walked down the hallway. Maybe you could have actually had a civil conversation with her. It always seemed like you argued over the same thing. You’d always get upset because she was never home and when she was, she wasn’t actually there. At least not mentally. It seemed as if she saved up all her thoughts for her arguments with your father.

“Hey, sweetpea,” she gave your cheek a pat before grabbing a mug from the cabinet and pouring herself some coffee. Yeah, she was definitely in a good mood.

“Morning, mom.” You cracked some eggs into a pan and pushed them around with a spatula before putting some waffles into the toaster.

“You’re up early.” Leave it to her to completely forget that you worked. Maybe she would have if she ever came home after her shifts at Enzo’s. She always seemed to disappear for days on end then would show up out of nowhere in a good mood. You assumed that she was cheating on your father. You should have been upset by that, that your family was broken, but you didn’t have it in you to give a single fuck.

“Have a shift at Family Video.” Sundays always got crowded in the afternoon so you had hoped it would get busy.

“Who’s watching your sister?” It was as if she had forgotten every time. She never remembered anything you told her. You were honestly surprised that she remembered that Callie even existed.

“Wayne.” She had met Wayne multiple times and had even had lengthy conversations with him.

“What about what’s his name?” She snapped her fingers a few times, trying to recall the person she was thinking of. You knew exactly who she was referring to.

“Eddie.” He had only been your best friend for twelve years. God forbid you ask her to remember something about her own daughter.

“Eddie,” she repeated with a nod. “Right.”

“He’s working.” It just so happened that Eddie was working on Wayne’s day off so the man had insisted on watching Callie for a change.

“Why do you even have a job? Your father and I work so we can take care of you.” You let out a laugh at that. You couldn’t even recall the last time they had taken care of you. Your earliest memory was being left home alone when you were around five years old. They had set you in front of the television with a TV dinner and told you to “be safe” before heading out the door. What kind of parent leaves their five year old home alone?

“Right, because you both do so well at that.” You knew that the only reason they had you was because of the societal pressure to have children after getting married. Not only that, but your grandparents had constantly claimed that they wanted grandbabies. Neither of them had the desire to be parents and had even told you that they would have aborted you if they could have afforded it.

“Excuse me?” You had clearly hit a nerve but you didn’t care. She needed to know how you really felt since she always had no problem with telling you that she despised you.

“You haven’t taken care of me since I was a baby. I’m honestly surprised you did that.” Her eyebrows furrowed in anger and she stepped closer to you. You had crossed a line but you didn’t care. You were tired of walking on eggshells around her.

“You’ve always been such an ungrateful bitch.” She pointed her freshly manicured finger directly in front of your face. When had she gotten that done and how could she have afforded it?

“And you’ve always been a terrible mother. What else is new?” You stomped away before she could touch you. She chased after you, trying to grab at your t-shirt but you got out the front door before she could.

You pushed through the door of Eddie’s trailer and made a beeline for his room, knowing that neither him nor Wayne cared if you let yourself in. The place was a wreck as per usual, but that didn’t bother you. They were too busy working to keep the place clean and you were in no place to judge because you knew that oftentimes, a person’s living space reflected what was going on in their head.

Eddie was still in bed when you entered his room and you were honestly surprised that he was alone. If he wasn’t hooking up with you, he usually had someone else to invite over.

You went through the clothes on the floor, looking for your other vest for Family Video that you always seemed to leave there. Once you didn’t see it there, you opened his closet, wondering how the hell he found anything in there. There was clothing shoved into every nook and cranny and the thing was so full that you were surprised that everything hadn’t fallen out.

“Morning sunshine,” Eddie greeted. You pulled out every item and threw them onto the bed behind you, careful not to hit Eddie. “I must be pretty lucky if I get to wake up to this view.” His eyes immediately went to your sleep shorts that had ridden up, giving him a perfect view of your ass.

“Hey, Eds.” You didn’t even bother to turn to look at him. You were on a mission and couldn’t get distracted by him or his body.

“Missed you last night, sweetheart. Think I deserve some sugar for that.” You rolled your eyes at him. The man always seemed to wake up horny.

“Thought I was a taken woman.” He laughed at that, amused that you had thrown his words back at him. He liked when you sassed him like that.

“Oh, don’t give me that.” He threw his blanket off himself and stood from the bed. He stretched with a yawn and made a beeline for you. He didn’t like being far from you for too long. But you liked that he was clingy. At least you were getting attention from someone.

“You said it, not me.” You turned around to face him. He stepped forward and took you into his arms. “Face it, you just miss this ass.”

“You’re so right,” he grabbed onto it and gave it a squeeze, causing you to let out a squeal. “I do love your ass.”

“You know, if anything, you owe me some sugar for leaving me last night.” He was quick to capture your lips between his roughly, his hands gripping your hips.

His tongue slipped into your mouth as his hands moved to the strip of skin between the bottom of your shirt and the top of your shorts. They slowly moved up your shirt, trying to lift it over your head, but you pulled it back down.

“I have to go to work,” you mumbled against his lips.

“So do I.” His hands stayed at your back, keeping you in place. The two of you usually liked to get in a quick fuck before work, but you really didn’t have time.

“So, we don’t have time for this.”

“Are you really denying a fuck? Who are you?” He asked, moving his hands to your hips, wanting to feel your soft skin against his.

“We have to go to work and neither of us can afford to get fired.” He knew you were right, but he really needed your pussy. He supposed he could wait until you came over later.

“Damn, I love when you talk logically to me, baby.” You just rolled your eyes and removed yourself from him.

“Shut up and get dressed.”

“Fine,” he stole one last kiss before grabbing a shirt from the floor and giving it a sniff. It apparently didn’t smell since he replaced it with the one he had worn to bed. He then changed into some new underwear and a pair of jeans while you still looked through his closet for your uniform.

You had thirty minutes before you had to be at work and you were panicking that you were going to get fired. In Keith’s eyes, you had already been late too many times. You only had one more strike and you were out.

You found your vest hanging on Eddie’s door and quickly grabbed it. You pressed a kiss to Eddie’s cheek and rushed out the door back to your trailer. Your parents had left for work so you were able to finish getting ready in peace.

Callie was at the kitchen table eating the breakfast you had made for her and you had hoped that your argument with your mother hadn’t woken her up. She needed rest just as much as you did.

She gave you a warm smile as she bit into her waffle and your heart warmed seeing her sweet smile that consisted of multiple missing teeth she had lost throughout the past few months.

She always seemed to be so happy despite her living situation and you wondered how she was able to stay so positive. She was the one who calmed you down when things got too much. She was the one who would bring you a flower she had picked in the field from behind the trailer park with a wide smile on her face. Whatever the reason, you were grateful that she wasn’t cynical like you.

You entered your room and threw on a bra and some underwear. You then rushed to the bathroom quickly brushed your teeth and hair before throwing on your shoes and letting Wayne know that you were leaving and hurrying to your car.

You got to the store with five minutes to spare which was only because of your speeding. You were just grateful that there weren’t any cops around that would have pulled you over. You couldn’t have risked being late and getting a ticket.

Steve was by the door when you got there and he unlocked it before opening it for you. In all of the chaos with your mother, you had completely forgotten about the message he had left on your machine. You hoped he would have heard you out even if you didn’t think you deserved it.

You headed to the break room and clocked in, taking your time to put on your vest. You wanted to put off seeing Steve as much as possible. The whole thing just made you feel embarrassed, replaying in your head over and over on a torturous loop.

You stood by your locker, staring into the thing while you thought about what had happened the night before. Your date. The way you denied Steve’s kiss. The look on his face when he left. The way you came to the realization that you maybe, sort of liked him as more than a friend.

And that was why you had run. You wanted to tell him that. That everything was your fault and that he wasn’t to blame. You had been such a fucking coward and had lost yet another person because of it. A person that you were really growing to care about. A person that had been nice enough to help you when you had asked and now you had ruined everything.

You let out a long sigh then finally opened the door, the thing swinging wide as you walked through it. You were so in your head that you had barely noticed Steve standing there, holding his nose. You hadn’t even seen him and had hit him with the door when you opened it.

“Steve,” you gasped, rushing over to him. You took him into your arms and helped him into the break room so he could sit. You helped him sit in one of the chairs at the table and sat in the one next to him.

You kept your distance, but your eyes didn’t leave his face. Not only had you hurt him emotionally, you had also now done it physically. You were honestly going to be surprised if he had ever forgiven you. You didn’t think you deserved him. You didn’t blame him if he didn’t want to carry on with the lessons, you didn’t need them anymore, after all. That night with Steve just showed you that you weren’t ready to start dating.

Steve had gone through all the stages of grief the night before. Now he was just bitter. He wasn’t so mad about you not wanting to kiss you, he couldn’t blame you for that. He was more upset about the fact that you had run off with no explanation. He thought he at least deserved that. He had even taken a chance to call you out of desperation only for him to receive nothing back.

“Can I see it?” You asked and he reluctantly pulled his hand away from his nose. You leaned closer to him to get a better look and he let you, staying still. You were grateful to see that it was just red and that there was no actual damage to it. You wouldn’t have been able to live with yourself if you had broken his nose too.

“How is it?” You asked and he just turned away from you.

“Fine,” he grumbled. “I’m fine.”

“Steve, I’m so sorry,” you sighed. “For everything.” He responded by standing up from the table and headed back out to the floor, trying his best to get away from you.

He felt like he had every right to be mad at you even though he could tell that you were overwhelmed. He wasn’t even mad at you for not wanting to kiss him. He wasn’t going to blame you for that. He had been upset because you had never given him an explanation. You just left without a word and had completely ghosted you.

He had even called you afterward to apologize and to make sure that you were okay. But you had just ignored him and now he felt like a fucking idiot. Maybe you hadn’t liked him as much as he thought you did. He could have sworn that the two of you had a connection, but he guessed he was the only one who thought so.

You followed him out onto the floor in silence and you headed to the counter as customers entered the building. It was a couple-a guy and a girl-around your age. They were holding onto each other and giggling as they stepped inside and you couldn’t help but want what they had.

“Hey, welcome in! Is there anything in particular you’re looking for?” You pushed the whole thing with Steve out of your head and tried to focus on the task at hand. For the next eight hours, it was going to be as if nothing had happened.

“Actually,” the girl replied. “We’re looking for a romcom.” Of fucking course. That seemed to be one of the more popular genres among customers. Why anyone would have wanted to subject themselves you didn’t know. Watching two people fall in love sounded so boring to you. You preferred either action or horror. Those always seemed to interest you, keeping you on the edge of your seat.

“Was there one in particular that you were looking for?”

“We’re just browsing,” the guy responded.

“Okay, well, the romcoms are on the very back wall.” You pointed in that direction and watched them head that way. “Let me know if you need anything else!”

You leaned onto the counter, resting your chin into the palm of your hand as you spotted Steve helping the couple find a specific title. You couldn’t help but feel like he was much better at the job than you were. He was always so friendly as if he knew the customers personally. He assisted them with a bright smile on his face, like he couldn’t have been happier to help them.

He always went above and beyond to make sure that everyone was happy and if they weren’t, he’d do whatever he could to appease them. It didn’t matter if it was ordering a movie the store didn’t carry or just straight up giving them a full refund if they weren’t satisfied. He was definitely the best employee and you envied him for it.

You turned to the computer and signed into it to put some returns back into the system. Steve clearly had the floor handled so you figured you’d actually be productive instead of letting your thoughts eat away at you. You also didn’t want to risk Keith coming out of his office and seeing you not working.

You booted up the computer and turned to the door when the bell had chimed, signaling that another customer had entered. She stepped over to the counter, resting her arms on top of it.

“Is Steve working today?” It wasn’t the first time you’d heard that question and it definitely wouldn’t have been the last.

“Romcoms,” you responded, pointing in the general direction. You watched her head that way in the corner of your eye and continued to type away.

Steve had finished with the customers and took to fixing up the section he was in to pass the time. It always seemed super slow in the mornings. He stood up from putting some videos away from the bottom shelf and noticed a girl approaching him.

He recognized her, but felt bad that he had completely forgotten her name. She had come in a few times and had flirted with him every time without fail. He wasn’t interested, though. He only had eyes for one woman even though he knew he’d never be with her.

“Hey, Stevie,” she greeted and he closed his eyes tight at the nickname. He hated it. It was so grating, like nails on a chalkboard.

“Hey,” he turned around with a smile. He didn’t like being mean and felt like it was rude to ignore her. She had come all that way to see him and all.

“How’s it going?” Her tone was a little too flirty for his liking. He was going to let her down easy. If he could ever get the guts.

“Oh, you know,” he chuckled. “Just working.”

“Well, what time do you get off?” He had no idea how he was going to break the news that he wasn’t intrested to the poor girl and he was wracking his brain for an excuse. He needed to wash his hair. He had to walk his dog. He needed to visit a family member in the hospital. Literally anything to get her to leave him alone.

“Oh, I don’t-” his words were caught off by an arm snaking around his waist. He turned to his right to see you and his eyebrows furrowed in confusion but still draped his arm over your shoulders.

“Hey honey,” you smiled at him and you could see him gulp, making his Adam’s apple bob. “Miss me?” You asked and you could see the gears turning in his head as he tried to figure out what was going on.

“So much,” he replied, and for a second, you almost believed it. He had been looking at you with so much love that it almost seemed real.

“I’m sorry, who are you?” She eyed the two of you suspiciously and you couldn’t blame her. It was kind of weird. The two of you definitely didn’t look like you belonged together.

“I’m his girlfriend.” You could see her eyes narrow and you were hoping that she would just let it go, but she seemed pretty determined to prove your relationship to be bullshit.

“I didn’t know you had a girlfriend.” A smirk appeared on her glossy lips and you knew that you weren’t going to like what she was going to say next.

“Well, now you do.” Your grip on Steve’s tightened and he was confused as to why he liked the feeling.

“You never told me that you were seeing someone.” He hadn’t, but he also was unsure of how to tell her didn’t want to go out with her to begin with.

“It’s new and I honestly didn’t know we were exclusive until yesterday.” Steve was mentally high-fiving himself for that one. He had never come up with something that quick in his life.

“Right,” she nodded, crossing her arms over her chest. “You’re y/n.” She turned to you and you didn’t like the tone she was using.

“That’s me,” you nodded. “And you’re Melissa.” Right, that was her name.

“You live in the trailer park, right? Forest Hills?” You knew exactly what she was getting at and had to resist the urge to roll your eyes. People just weren’t original with their insults anymore.

“Why do you care?” You genuinely wanted to know why everyone was so judgmental about where you had lived. As if it had affected them directly that you lived in a trailer park.

“Oh, I don’t. But other people do and what would they say if they found out that King Steve was dating trailer trash?” Steve’s mouth dropped open at her words. No one was going to speak to you that way and get away with it.

“What did you just call her?” His arm dropped from your shoulders and he stepped in front of you as if to act as a human shield to protect you from Melissa’s words.

“Steve-” you rested a hand on his shoulder, wanting to tell him to drop it, but he just shrugged your hand off, stepping closer to the girl.

“I asked you a question.”

“C’mon Steve. We both know you’re out of her league. You could do so much better.” He couldn’t believe that she had insulted you and hyped herself up in the same sentence.

“You’re talking about yourself, right?” He crossed his arms over his chest.

“Of course I am. Isn’t she a dyke anyway?” Steve’s face was rapidly turning red in anger. He balled his fists, knowing that if a man had said that word, he wouldn’t have hesitated to deck him. He knew that you were bisexual, but he didn’t see a single problem with that like other people in town seemed to. He didn’t think that your sexuality was anyone’s business but your own so he was going to let you decide if you wanted to correct Melissa.

“I’m bisexual, actually,” you corrected.

“Not that that’s any of your business,” Steve added. “Get. Out.” He was gritting his teeth so hard that you were sure sure that it was probably causing pain to his jaw.

“Excuse me?” She scoffed. Clearly she needed to be knocked down a peg or two and Steve was more than happy to do so.

“Did you not hear me? I said get the fuck out!” He pointed to the door and Melissa was quick to hurry in that direction.

You heard the bell on the door chime, signaling that she had exited the building and Steve was quick to turn to you to see how you were holding up. Your face hadn’t changed and he assumed that you were just holding in your pain like you always did.

You stood a few feet apart and you didn’t know why you felt the urge to hug him. It was the least he deserved for standing up for you. If it had been Eddie who had done it, you wouldn’t have hesitated. But it was Steve and you and Steve didn’t hug.

“What a fucking bitch,” he muttered under his breath but you still heard it. You were honestly surprised that he had defended you. You were the one who wanted to help him but he had stepped in to protect you once again. He had done it despite being upset with you and you couldn’t have been more grateful and thought he deserved much more than just an apology. What, you didn’t know.

“You didn’t have to do that.”

“Are you kidding? Of course I did.”

“Even after what I did last night? I didn’t deserve your defense.”

“What are you talking about? Just because I’m mad at you doesn’t mean that I’m not going to stand up for you when people are dicks. That’s what friends do, y/n.”

You honestly thought you had blown it so hearing him still refer to you as his friend, made you let out a sigh of relief. A small amount of the pressure on your shoulder released and you gave Steve a small smile

“I owe you an apology for the way I acted,” you looked up at him and there was no trace of anger on his face. He was back to regular old Steve. “I’m sorry. I just-I got scared and I panicked and-”

“Don’t worry about it, okay?” He gave your shoulder a pat. “Consider it water under the bridge.”

“So, do you still want to continue the lessons?” He hadn’t been aware that they had been off the table and felt bad that you actually thought that he would have ended things without discussing it first.

“As long as you do,” he shrugged.

“I do,” you nodded and he smiled in response.

“Great,” he nodded. “It’s a date,” he winked to which you rolled your eyes.

“I'm sorry.”

“You’re forgiven,” he rested his hands on your shoulders, giving them a reassuring squeeze. “Let’s just start all over, alright? Clean slate.”

“Okay,” you agreed, grateful that you had settled your argument.

“Good. Now let’s get back to work before Keith gets here. I’ll take the floor and you sit pretty at the counter alright?” Your cheeks turned pink at the word “pretty” and you resisted the urge to turn away from him so he couldn’t see it.

“Anything you say, Stevie,” you brushed past him to get back to the counter. You then turned back to him and pressed a quick peck to his cheek. “Thanks for defending me.”

“Oh,” he chuckled. “It was nothing.” As soon as your back was turned to him, he reached up and rested his hand on the spot where you had kissed him, staring at you lovingly.

God, he really was in deep, wasn’t he? What had started as a little crush was rapidly turning into full-on love and he was falling deeper and deeper. And with someone who hadn’t felt the same way nor ever could. He was in deep shit, but he didn’t even care. He was going to let himself feel it. He had to. You had reached into his chest and taken his heart and he let you happily.

You got to the counter and turned to Steve who had already been looking at you. If you were already starting to feel a little something for him, you were afraid of what was going to come from the dates you still hadn’t gone on. For once, you wanted to find out even though the thought of actually falling in love terrified you. For once, you wanted to see what all the hype was about. You were fully prepared to dive in head first, knowing that Steve would be right there to catch you.

[acowardinmordor]

Work induced rage has me thinking about Always a Girl Eddie again, with exactly zero personality changes, who can aesthetically appreciate Steve, but genuinely wants nothing to do with him, because she's an absolute closet romantic who definitely hooks up with people at concerts, but only if it has zero romance because thats the only other option for her, no half measures. And she still fails senior year twice and she still gets pulled into the crazy the same way, and who wakes up in a hospital bed with Dustin telling her stories about how Steve saved her and she's a storyteller and a romantic and she knows that if she gives that thought any room to grow, she's screwed, so she's barely even civil to Steve when he comes by to bring some Get Well flowers.

And Steve, who doesn't understand why he is always thinking about that weird girl who insults him all the time in school, and who never denies the rumors that she stabbed a guy who tried to grope her once, and who turns that confusion into frustration into a thin sheet of hatred as Dustin talks about her all the time. And he really thinks she might have killed Chrissy, and he can't manage to smother the part of his brain that meerkat pops up when she says something nice to him, so he utterly panics after they killed Vecna, and just wants to hangout with her long enough that he figures this out, but instead she shuts him out an gets cold and its not until he's complaining about this to Robin that he hears himself and realizes he has a very big, very unreciprocated, crush.

[dwobbitfromtheshire]

Stuck Between a Jock and a Metalhead

Summary: Nancy, on a whim, decides to visit Steve at Scoops Ahoy, which leads to her overhearing confessions from Steve that leads her to think about the decisions she's made. A few days later, she decides to come back. She finds him being hit on by the town freak. What's a girl to do? Oh, get stuck in a freezer with the both of them.

18+ MINORS DNI

A/N: Yeah, when I got the idea to make El genderfuid, I just ran with it. Also, at the end, there's a little bit of smut, which was supposed to be mostly implied, but my fingers ran away from me. Also, there is no teen pregnancy for Nance. They've already got kids to take care of. Just had to put that out there.

@nightmareglitter

Chapter One - Chapter Two - Chapter Three - Chapter Four - Chapter Five - Chapter Six - Chapter Seven - Chapter Eight - Chapter Nine - Chapter Ten - Chapter Eleven - Chapter Twelve - Chapter Thirteen - Chapter Fourteen- Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Steve’s POV

Steve grinned as he watched Eddie score the winning point, and he laughed at Eddie's stunned face.

"Holy shit, I did it," Eddie said. "I won the game! Here I am, Hawkins! Eddie the Freak Munson has conquered the sport of basketball! Fear me!"

Steve laughed again and stared at his raised arms before smirking. He snuck up on Eddie's side. He knelt to pick him up and tossed him over his shoulder. Steve laughed as he spun him around. Lucas and El, who they had been playing against, started giggling.

"I like basketball," El decided.

"Steven! I'm going to toss my fucking cookies. Stop it!" Eddie shrieked.

Steve laughed and lowered him into his arms. Eddie wrapped his legs around him and kissed him deeply.

"So?" Steve asked.

"Okay, so basketball isn't that bad," Eddie said. "I really loved it when you started narrating it like you were a dungeon master."

"Yeah, we call those guys sports announcers or sports casters," Steve said.

"Tomato, potato," Eddie paused. "So, am I forgiven?"

"Definitely," Steve grinned and set Eddie down, slapping him on the ass. "Hit the showers."

"You heard him, lady and gent, hit the showers!" Eddie exclaimed.

"I am one of the boys today," El said seriously.

"Ah, okay. Remind me to make you special pins again," Eddie said.

"You always tell me to remind you. I think you need pins to remind you to make me pins," El replied.

"Oh, very funny! My little brother, the comedian!" Eddie exclaimed and paused. "Although, it's not a bad idea."

"Nancy said that you would forget your head if it was not screwed on," he said.

"Nancy's cute, but yeah, she's usually right," Eddie grinned at his brother.

Surprisingly, it was Steve and Eddie who were out of the showers first. Eddie collapsed on the bench next to Nancy and Robin, laying his head in Nancy's lap.

"What are you ladies doing?" Eddie asked.

"Filling out college applications," Nancy said as she set her notebook aside. "You were really good out there."

"Oh, yeah, how do you think the other jocks would react if I signed up to join the basketball team this year?" Eddie asked.

"Not very well," Nancy giggled.

"I would pay to see that," Steve said.

"I am not looking forward to school tomorrow," Eddie groaned. "Another year of hell, but I am determined to graduate this year. No one can stop me, not even Principal Higgins."

"If I have to threaten him too, I will," Nancy said. "You're walking across that stage with me."

"I love it when you defend my honor. It makes me feel like a princess," Eddie said.

"You are a princess, our princess," Steve teased as he leaned against Nancy's legs to kiss Eddie.

El and Lucas finally came out of the shower, making their way over to the group.

"El had a great idea. Let's grab some dinner," Lucas said, and then he paused. "Hey, I just realized. . . Why aren't Mike and Dustin here?"

"I told them they needed to come up with a really awesome one-shot to audition for Hellfire," Eddie said. "They didn't realize I was fucking with them so they're working on it right now."

"Nice," Steve said, rolling his eyes.

"Hey, I'm actually invested in seeing what they come up with," Eddie said. "Might be fun."

El opened his mouth to suggest what they could possibly eat for dinner, and Eddie immediately sat up to glare at him.

"You can't eat waffles all the time, El," Eddie said. "I love waffles as much as the next person, but we can not have them for dinner for a third day in a row."

"Aww," El said.

"I could definitely use a break from these college applications," Robin said. "My hand hurts."

The group headed out. Eddie and El went to Eddie's van. Lucas, Robin, and Nancy followed Steve to his car. Steve was about to open his car door when he heard the sound of footsteps behind him, and he tensed up immediately when he saw Nancy scowl. Steve whirled around and came face to face with Tommy H.

"And just when I thought the rest of my day was going to keep looking up," Steve sighed. "What do you want, Tommy?"

"Just curious if your daddy knows about how public you are with your affections?" Tommy asked.

When Steve tensed up even further, Lucas and Robin moved to his side.

"You saw me with Eddie," Steve stated.

"Well, he kissed you in the school gym. You guys weren't exactly subtle," Tommy said.

"My dad knows about me, but he doesn't particularly care for others to know," he said and paused. "Are you planning on telling him?"

"You wouldn't like that, would you?" Tommy asked.

"No," Steve scoffed. "What do you want?"

"To warn you to be more careful next time, Harrington," Tommy said.

"Are you threatening him?" Nancy asked, moving in front of Steve protectively.

"What? No!" Tommy exclaimed, his eyes wide.

"Well then, what are you doing? Because you sure sound like you were threatening him," Robin said, scowling at him.

"I, uh, I guess it did sound like that," Tommy said, rubbing the back of his head.

Steve tilted his head to the side as he watched Tommy. He had known him most of his life, considering their fathers worked together. There were only a few times when he had seen Tommy look vulnerable like this.

"What's going on?" Steve asked softly.

"They're okay with you?" Tommy asked.

"Yeah, they're my friends. Of course, they are," Steve said.

It was then that Eddie approached with El, the both of them looking concerned. Tommy stepped back, his hands in his pockets.

"Is something going here?" Eddie asked. "Hayes."

"Uh, actually, it's Hagan. That's the other Tommy H," he replied.

"Right," Eddie said. "He's the asshole who used to come after me and Hellfire. Lot more blond and a lot less freckles. You're Steve’s former friend who swarmed around Hargrove like a pilot fish."

"I was trying to make Steve jealous," Tommy said. "Honestly, kind of hated the guy."

"What?" Steve asked.

"I'm gay, Steve," Tommy replied.

"What? But you and Carol - " Steve said.

"I was the one who made up that rumor about me and Carol having sex in the seventh grade. Honestly, we only did it a couple of times before I realized I was trying to be someone I wasn't. I was an asshole for a long time because of it. You know, just because I was struggling with who I am, though, doesn't exactly give me the right to act like that. I guess, if I seemed miserable, it's because I was. I treated you, Nancy, and Barb like shit. I talked shit about everyone, too. I guess it was easier to do that than to face the truth about myself," Tommy shrugged.

"There he is," Steve grinned. "There's the Tommy that I remember."

"Thanks for allowing us to be there for that, man," Eddie said softly. "I do have a question. You said that you were trying to make Steve jealous?"

"Uh, I was in love with him for a long time," Tommy winced. "That's sort of why I hated you, Nancy, but I'm no longer in love with him. I actually have a boyfriend!"

He pulled out his wallet and pulled out a small photo from the folds. He handed it to Steve.

"Oh, wow, he's cute," Steve said.

"His name is Walter. He just finished his first year at the University of Indianapolis. I'll be going there in a few days," Tommy said proudly. "My mom took that photo."

"Your mom knows?" Steve asked.

"Yeah, I decided to tell both of my parents. Of course, my dad didn't take it too well. Tried to beat it out of me. My mom took my old baseball bat to his head. She actually deafened the bastard. He's in jail now," Tommy shrugged.

"Damn, way to go Carmen," Steve said.

"Yeah, she's more than okay with it. She loves Walter," Tommy said.

"Hey, we were about to grab a bite to eat. Do you want to come with us?" Eddie asked.

"I mean, I was going to shoot hoops in the gym one last time, but if it's alright with Steve and everyone else, I'd like that," Tommy said.

"Of course," Steve said and pulled Tommy into a hug.

After so long, it felt nice to have his old friend back. Robin did make sure that Tommy wasn't just going to slip back into his old role, that the position had been filled. She told him she was a lesbian and then patted his cheek before slipping into the back seat of Steve’s car.

"You should know, though, that I'm not just with Eddie either," Steve said. "I'm back with Nancy."

"And they're both okay with it?" Tommy asked.

"We're all dating each other," Nancy replied.

"Are you happy, Steve?" Tommy asked.

"Happier than ever," Steve shrugged. "I've got an amazing boyfriend and girlfriend as well as an amazing new best friend. Kids who look up to me. . .I have a family who actually cares about me more than my parents ever did."

"Sounds like we both got to a better place," Tommy said. "Somehow."

"Sometimes life surprises you," Steve shrugged.

"You think that there's a spot for me in your better life?" Tommy asked.

"Of course, Tommy," Steve said. "What about me in yours?"

"I kind of always left the door open even if I didn't let you know," Tommy said. "I missed you, man."

"I've been missing you for a long time," Steve said. "It's good to see you again, Tommy."

"It's good to see you, too."

As they sat around the largest table in the restaurant, missing Dustin and Mike, Steve realized that he realized that a part of him had been yearning for Tommy to be a part of his life again. Later that night, he lay in bed in his newly furnished apartment in between Eddie and Nancy, Steve couldn't stop the wide grin from spreading on his face. All the furniture he had taken from his parents' house, jumping the gun on moving into the apartment and so ready to leave his biological parents behind. The only thing he really needed now was a new stove and new supplies for downstairs. His real parents had chipped in for an AC unit as a welcome home present. So, he had packed up all of his things, what little he had there, left a message on his parents' machine about their house getting robbed, and left the house for good.

"Whatcha grinning about, Stevie?" Eddie asked.

"Just thinking about how insanely happy I am right now," Steve said and paused. "Are you alright with Tommy being back in my life, Nancy?"

"Of course, I actually like this Tommy," Nancy grinned.

"Well, this is the Tommy that I befriended when I was younger," Steve said. "I really missed him."

"Then I really glad he's back in your life," Nancy said.

"By the way, Nance, how did you get your mom to let you have a sleepover with your boyfriends on a school night?" Eddie asked.

"She trusts us. I mean, it turns out I wasn't exactly as sneaky as I thought I was when you both snuck into my room. She knew you were there. I think she'd rather I'd be honest with her if I'm just going to do it anyway. She also knows how happy we are together," Nancy said. "And Holly absolutely adores the both of you. As does Mike."

Eddie grinned as he got up and pulled a book out of his overnight bag.

"Okay, so where did we leave off?" He asked.

"Actually, Nancy and I were talking. . .we were hoping to have sex but if you want to read instead. . . " Steve said.

"Okay, Munsons do not throw books," Eddie said and carefully put the book back.

He jumped back into bed, kissing Steve deeply. Steve laughed and broke the kiss.

"So, you don't want to read?" Steve asked.

Nancy laughed and rolled her eyes. She tugged at Eddie's shirt, lifting it above his head.

"Nancy and I say no to that," Eddie said.

Eddie kissed Nancy, leaning over Steve to do it. He tugged at Nancy's shirt and slid his fingers under the material. He continued to kiss Nancy, unbuttoning her sleep shirt and sliding it off her body. He broke the passionate kiss to appreciate the fact that she wasn't wearing a bra. Nancy peered at him, her eyes dark. She tugged at Eddie's pajama pants.

"Off. Now," Nancy demanded.

Eddie was quick to obey, getting rid of his pants and his boxers. Nancy did the same and shed the rest of her clothes. Steve could only watch, mesmerized as they kissed over him again. Eddie broke the kiss with Nancy, chuckling.

"I guess we're the only ones who will be naked, Nancy," Eddie said.

"I guess so," Nancy said in amusement.

"Oh, right!" Steve exclaimed, blushing and quickly stripped.

The three of them fell into bed, laughing, as they pressed themselves together. Their hands and mouths explored every inch of each other as they danced together, rolling around on the bed. They grinded and thrusted in perfect unison but arriving on their own time in perfect ecstasy. It ended with Nancy in between them both as they fucked into her, filling her up from both sides and stuffing her full as she took them in hungrily. Nancy's nails clung to Eddie as Steve spilled into the condom from behind Nancy. Their sweaty naked bodies were spent as they pulled away and collapsed against the sheets. Steve bit his lip and tried not to say it. . .trying not to ruin the moment that was so perfect. He needed to say it.

"I love sex," Nancy gasped and then paused. "What I meant to say was I love you. . .I love you both, and I love having sex with you."

"Honey, there's nothing to be ashamed of. A woman is allowed to have healthy sexual appetite and to enjoy it," Eddie said with a chuckle and ran his fingers across her skin. "It's only been a couple of months but fuck, I love you guys, too."

"I love you too," Steve said. "Both of you."

"Shit. I think my condom broke," Eddie cursed. "Of course, mine is the one that breaks."

"I'm on the pill. Are you clean?" Nancy asked.

"Yeah. Very."

"Then I think we're fine," Nancy chuckled.

After they cleaned each other up, they collapsed back onto the bed again. Nestled safe in their arms, Steve was unbelievably happy, and in that moment, he believed nothing could go wrong. As he drifted off to sleep, he tried not to think about Eddie's dreams and what they might mean for them. No, right now they were together and they were happy. Nothing was going to get in their way, not if Steve could help it.

Chapter Seventeen

[andavs]

Fuck It Friday

Tagged by @kitkatpancakestack so here's part of my AU where Buck's a prince, Eddie's a regent, and they have to marry each other:

“Would you relax? I don’t think I’ve ever danced with anyone as tense as you are,” Buck laughed quietly and Eddie huffed and rolled his eyes at him. "I always sucked at this, and you're not wearing a dress with a big skirt to hide when I screw up." "Shannon did that?" "All the time," he said with a deprecating grin. "The army didn't exactly teach us to waltz. There were a lot of mistakes to cover." His eyes kept darting around the room, checking for anyone watching them. "Nothing too bad though, right?” Buck dipped his head to the side to catch Eddie’s gaze and get it back on him, off of the people occasionally glancing at them. “I mean, I never heard about anything." Eddie tipped his head back and forth, debating. "Depends on what you consider bad." Buck screwed up his face, both pretending to think and actually wincing at the memory he was about to share. "Sleeping with an ambassador's daughter?" Eddie's eyebrows shot up. "And then his son?" He was pretty sure that was the one that got him sent off to do charity abroad the first time, which worked out for him in the end, so he couldn’t feel too bad about it, looking back. They were both lovely people and kept in touch for a while after.  "Definitely nothing like that," Eddie laughed. "I was thinking more along the lines of slipping in my dress shoes.” "Then I think you'll be fine," Buck said through a grin, wishing he could’ve seen that. "And if things really go south, I can always kiss a dutchess." Eddie snorted. "I didn't think I was doing that bad." "You've stepped on my foot three times." "You keep trying to lead!" "That's how I was taught!" "Me too!"

And then I have this...thing? started, but once I got to the arms I realized things fit strangely, so we'll see if it goes anywhere. A downside to not planning anything and starting with faces.

Don't ask me where it's going because I certainly don't know.

Tagging @thekristen999 @eddiediass @like-the-rest-of-la @tawaifeddiediaz @zainclaw @cinematicnomad

[kedreeva]

New chapter of my Sentinel!Steve and Guide!Eddie fic is posted! Here's a little bit of the most recent chapter <3

--------

“Thanks for checking on me.”

Steve nods. He looks like he wants to say something, but he just turns back to Wayne. “And that’s kind of the other thing; if there’s four extra people in the house, someone will have an eye on me even if Eddie’s out. That means Eddie can go out, without worrying.” He straightens like someone shoved a rod up his spine. “I mean, not that- that he’d worry about- I just mean, it seems like Guides worry about their Sentinels and I don’t want Eddie to stop his whole life for this, because that’s what…”

That’s what his mom did.

The words hang unspoken in the air, and Eddie thinks he has definitely underestimated how screwed he is. Steve really is taking this seriously. He really is trying to make this as easy for Eddie as possible, and Eddie’s been squirming about how he’s cornered Steve without realizing that nothing corners Steve. He doesn’t have an axe in his hands this time, but he may as well with the way he’s decided to fight Eddie’s demons.

Steve has decided to care and it’s devastating and Eddie has begun to realize that maybe Steve hadn’t been king at school because of his looks or his money or his attitude. He hadn’t been king because of his moves in sports or the bedroom.

He’d been king because when he looks at a person, it’s hard to look anywhere except right back at him.

When he cares , everything else pales in comparison.

(Read the story on AO3)

[because-magic]

Read it on AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/43436799/chapters/109196823

Beep. Beep. Beep. 

Steve was finding it harder and harder to recover after every rager the jocks threw, but it was what was expected of him right? King Steve was always meant to make an impression. 

Last night’s impression had ended with him falling into the pool and half of the laughter felt like it had been directed at him, rather than with him. He didn’t remember much of how he got out; there had been his jackets and jeans and boots weighing him down in the icy water. But he could recall the scraping of metal against his skin where someone’s hands had roughly dragged him to the shallow end and waded him out. A voice was cursing about it being the middle of winter and who would be lame enough to host a party around a pool and who was rich enough to leave a pool uncovered overwinter. 

He must have just stumbled his way upstairs and fallen into bed at that point, because Steve realized his clothes and sheets still had a dampness to them. He mentally cursed. If he got sick and couldn’t go to school, he’d be screwed; if his teachers didn’t fail him, his dad would certainly yell at him for being a deadbeat. 

As he rolled over, the drum beat against his skull worsened, and he flailed to reach his bedside table. He grabbed the glass of water and ibuprofen there, quickly downing some. He thanked his last night self for leaving it on the nightstand, but he couldn’t remember when he did. 

His alarm was still going off. He reached over to shut it off, groaning with the effort, and managed to drag himself out of bed to start the slow process of getting ready for school. Who threw parties on a  goddamn Sunday?

-----

Eddie Munson had saved Steve Harrington’s life on three separate occasions, and the man had never had the decency to even thank him for it. Granted, each of those times had been while the jock had been either stoned or drunk out of his mind, but some common courtesy was expected. 

In his latest bender, the great King had misstepped into the deep end of a perfectly cleaned pool in the middle of winter. It had definitely been funny, and a little vindicating to see the high and mighty in a state of shambles and fallen grace. But the fun had tapered away when Eddie realized Steve had continued sinking and the rest of the party goers were too wrapped up in their own ridiculing to offer any help. After dragging his ass out of the pool and up the stairs, Eddie had even been kind enough to leave the guy some water and medicine for the next morning. Maybe that would get him a thank you. 

But as he rolled into his Lit 101 class, he knew he wouldn’t be getting that expression of gratitude. To those who only casually watched the King around school, Steve Harrington still looked like an image of perfection, his hair styled high and looking soft, and wearing the perfect set of clothes. He even had an attitude of not giving a fuck with his dark sunglasses resting on the bridge of his nose. 

Eddie Munson was no casual viewer of Steve Harrington. Embarrassingly, he’d come to be able to notice the small changes in Steve’s demeanor and his appearance that indicated the other man had gone through some shit. That shit was most often getting drunk with his friends, but on a few occasions, Eddie had seen the peeking out of a black eye and bruising on the arms of the younger male, suggesting a home life that wasn’t as perfect as everyone else thought. 

Eddie wondered how many teachers had tried and failed to get the King to remove those glasses, and if they’d been persuaded by his charm or his daddy’s money. 

“Good to see you lived, Your Majesty,” Eddie called over with a large sweep of his arm and a deep bow, grinning in Steve’s direction. 

That got him was a shake of the head and a look of disgust on Tommy and Carol’s face, the two assholes Steve always seemed to be hanging around, although Eddie noted the two weren’t even talking to Steve this morning. When was the last time Eddie had seen them at a high school game together? Eddie wasn’t a big fan of sports himself; he only ever went to sell to the band kids and some of the jocks after the games, but he had taken note of the comings and goings of the more popular kids in the school. 

Steve for his part merely glanced in Eddie’s direction, raising an eyebrow up from behind his sunglasses as if asking who Eddie even was, before looking back to the chalkboard as the bell rang and class began. 

“Take your seat, Mr. Munson. The world waits for no man, and I wait for no student,” Mr. Conrad chided before beginning his mind numbing lecture on remorse in literature.

--------

At lunch, Eddie sat with his club mates and band members, picking at the sad excuse for a lunch that the cafeteria offered. Gareth was discussing new weapons and armor that had been introduced to the Dungeons and Dragons game for higher level characters, but Eddie was too preoccupied thinking about the events of the night before and what had happened that morning. With that, he was stuck thinking about the high school hierarchy and how he’d never had a conversation with Steve longer than it took to pass off some little baggies and receive cash in return. And Steve. Now he was thinking about Steve. The jock was infuriating overall, late to his morning classes and almost always eating something and leaving crumbs behind him. Looking up, Eddie was surprised to see how Steve had a full tray of food in front of him even now. They were already halfway through the lunch period, but it looked like Steve hadn’t even touched the food on the tray. The milk carton was still closed. As he watched, Steve started stacking salt packets together to make a tower. 

“Eddie. Hey, Eddie. Dude!” 

Suddenly his shoulder was being roughly shoved, and the trance Eddie was in had been broken. Gareth and his boys were staring at him expectantly. 

“What do you want?” Eddie asked with a frown. The troup rolled their eyes. 

“We asked if you had bought the new companion book yet dude, it's totally gonna sell out in this town,” one of the boys reiterated. Eddie scoffed at the question, rolling his eyes right back at them.

“Do you guys seriously doubt my skills? As much as I value the arcane and anachronistic writings in those books,” Eddie started, sarcasm dripping off every word, “I believe that the best quests are those we develop in our own minds.” He ended the last word with a long hiss, and punctuated it by bringing his hands up to his own head. This comment delved into a debate about the pros and cons of utilizing the books, and the beginnings of where to take their high level characters–retirement or otherwise–that lasted till the end of the lunch period. 

As Eddie walked to throw his trash away, he saw Steve ahead of him walking alone, and still wearing those asshole sunglasses. When God provided an opportunity to annoy, Eddie happily took it, and he hustled to catch up to Steve. And maybe Eddie was hoping this would be the time Steve finally said thank you with none of his other lackeys around. 

“Hey! Mr. Big Shot, just the guy I wanted to see!”A voice behind Steve exclaimed, with a hand clamping down on Steve’s shoulder. Steve jerked to a stop, turning to stare at one Eddie Munson in bewilderment. To Eddie, Steve was just giving him a frown while his eyes were hidden. 

Eddie Munson hesitated. How was he supposed to go about this? He could be smooth, he could be snarky, he could–

“You didn’t eat your lunch,” Eddie said lamely, noticing the still full tray in Steve’s hands. One milk carton unopened. 

The jock shifted from foot to foot, the frown on his face deepening. 

“What’s it matter to you, freak?”

Eddie flinched at the insult. He had heard it enough times to be used to it, even with the sting coming from someone he thought maybe had turned a new leaf. Maybe Eddie was wrong. Or maybe Eddie was right, as the moniker Steve had struck him with seemed to lack malice; it was like Steve had added it on reflex, like that was the only name he knew Eddie by, and he sounded tired when he said it. Eddie stared. Up close, he could see that the curls in Steve's usually perfect hair had more flyaways than usual. He could see the gray shadowing under Steve’s eyes hiding just behind the rim of his glasses. He could see the slight flush on Steve’s nose and upper cheeks, suggesting the other man had the beginnings of a cold. He could see the curve of Steve’s jaw and his mouth and–

“Earth to Munson?” Steve lowered his sunglasses slightly to look at Eddie, once more raising his eyebrow, before he turned away. “Christ, I’ve got to get to history.”

Eddie must have stood there looking dumbfounded long enough for Steve to get bored, and he dumped the food into the trash bin. Eddie continued to stand and watch Steve walk away from him. What a prick.

“Yo man, you good? Steve messing with you?” Gareth asked as he walked up behind Eddie, startling the older man. Eddie tried to play it off with a wide smile and a grandiose turn on his heel.

“Why no, good sir, simply in the same vicinity. No bother here,” He replied, but the beating of his heart betrayed his feelings to himself. “Let’s get to class. We don’t have the same luxury of being late as some of our peers.”

—-----

Eddie Munson was weird. Fact. Eddie Munson was being weird around Steve. Observation. Starting that morning, when Eddie Munson had inexplicably hailed him as a royal and commented on his being at school, and again at lunch. Why had Eddie even come up to him? What did he care if Steve was at school? Steve shrugged it off as being some theatrical nerd shit or reasoning. Maybe it was part of some initiation trials the other guy was engaging in. Or maybe Eddie really was just a ‘freak’. He sighed to himself. That’s what he had called Eddie earlier without even realizing it. The word just rolled off his tongue, but could you blame Steve? The guy wore patches and pins that ripped and had frays, he always talked about fighting dragons and something about an RPG, whatever that was, and regularly could be seen handling drugs. 

Steve winced. Maybe he was a freak, but Steve had learned he couldn’t always judge someone based on their first encounter, or just one bad encounter,  or some outside observation. He wondered how many people had made assumptions about himself. 

As he was getting lost in his own train of thought, passively ignoring the lecture on Egyptian grave robberies Mr. O’Conell was giving, he was startled to focus by the classroom door barging open. 

Speak of the devil. 

Eddie Munson had basically kicked open the door to his history class and sauntered in wearing a lopsided paper crown, a red velvety cape, and was holding up a prop sword that had a divot of a piece missing on one side. 

The classroom erupted into laughter at the scene and at the exasperation on the face of their teacher as one Eddie Munson began to march up and down the aisles, waving his sword excitedly as he spoke. 

“Hear ye, hear ye, good people of this class of Hawkins High, dost thou desire to live deliciously? Do ye crave to rid yourselves of the classist and egotistical box you’ve been so graciously put in by mass media and conformist ideology? Or are you just a sucker for romance? Then go join the drama department's casting call today and try your hand at being our one and only Romeo and Juliet.”

Eddie finished his tirade at the front of the classroom with a sweep of the cape in front of him as he gave a deep bow. The sad crown he wore hit the ground as he dipped too low, but he seemed unfazed as he swept his arm down again to scoop it up and place it back on his head, now tilted to the other side. 

The classroom erupted into laughter once more. 

Eddie didn’t even flinch. There was no rise of red up his neck or his face to show he was embarrassed. Steve almost envied how careless Eddie seemed about his reputation and how everyone perceived him. 

Mr. O’Connell was smiling with gritted teeth. “Thank you, Mr. Munson, for that…informative display. Now, any questions before our visitor departs, class?” 

“Yeah, I got one,” Tommy spoke up, his hand raised in the air, as he began to sneer up at Eddie. “Is it required to be a queer to be in the play, or is that just you, freak?” 

Steve scowled at the question, staring daggers at the back of his ex-best friend’s head while Mr. O'Connell began to tell Tommy to quiet down and not use that kind of language. 

“Don’t even worry about it,” Eddie interrupted them, his mouth plastered into a wide smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “I’m not even going to be in the play. This is just for extra credit.”

Mr. O’Connell cleared his throat. “Thank you again, Mr. Munson, I think that’s all we need from you…”

Eddie took his cue to leave, giving a curt nod to the teacher before turning to go. As he did, his eyes caught Steve’s. Steve had moved his sunglasses onto his head at the start of this class, and he regretted it now as he had been caught staring at Eddie as he walked out. He tried his best to give a sympathetic look, but whatever he gave off, Eddie only scowled at him in return and stalked out of the classroom. 

Shit, maybe Steve had more people he needed to make amends with than he realized. 

It was 6PM. Eddie Munson desperately wanted to be sitting in his throne and yelling at nerds to throw dice better or they were all going to die. Instead, Eddie was sitting in the front row of the school’s theater while amateur after amateur butchered the iambic pentameter of one of Shakespeare’s greatest tragedies. This had been going on for almost an hour, and they still had three more characters to cast for: the friar, the nurse, and Romeo himself. 

Eddie contemplated how hard he would have to hit his forehead on the seat in front of him to get sent home. Would he need a concussion, or to pass out? Another student mispronounced Lammas-eve and Eddie groaned, pressing his forehead to his palms and bending down, trying to hide from his nightmare. 

“I thought you weren’t supposed to be here.” Eddie’s head snapped up as he recognized the voice, the top of his scalp scraping on the seat in front of him as he turned, and he cursed at the pain. Another student hushed him and he frowned, before letting his eyes settle on the man who had just spoken. 

King Steve Harrington, legendary jock and superstar, was standing in the row behind Eddie in their shitty, dusty theater. Steve had his hands on his hips in a sort of superhero pose, or maybe like a dad watching their child with judgment and determination, and his eyes were trained on the student who was reading off a script in the spotlight on stage. 

Eddie swallowed, forgetting how to respond as Steve’s gaze moved to meet his own. The sunglasses were completely gone now, and Eddie could see the rest of the discoloration around Steve’s eyes. 

Steve raised his infuriating eyebrow one more time at Eddie, evidently expecting a response. 

“Extra credit,” Eddie mumbled, then cleared his throat, speaking up. “It’s for extra credit. I'm working my ass off to graduate this year and… “ He gestured vaguely to the stage. “This seemed more like my alley than running laps on the field.”

Steve snorted at him, and Eddie almost took it as an insult until he saw the upturn of Steve’s lips into a smile. “Yeah, I certainly agree. I don’t think I’ve ever even seen you in gym.”

“Ah, well that would be because I keep my exquisite physique at home under the radar, lest I woo and steal all the girls from you and Tommy,” Eddie shot back with a grin, fluttering his eyelashes at Steve. 

The other man rolled his eyes, his jaw set as he stated, “I don’t really know who Tommy wants these days.” 

Eddie wasn’t sure what to make of that, but before he could question it further, a light was shining in their direction. 

“Mr. Munson, I do believe that you are here for extra credit in my literature class, are you not? And yet you have not read for any of these characters so far,” Mr. Conrad called from the stage as he flipped through the pages on the clipboard. 

Eddie grimaced. “I was hoping to just, ah, work set and help paint a tree or something, if that’s cool with you, sir.”

Mr. Conrad looked up at him with narrowed eyes. “Mr. Munson, I’ll have you recall I stated extra credit was for those in the play, not those who sit around it. Now, the only part to read left for is Romeo so that’s who it will have to  be… and ah, Mr. Harrington, how nice of you to join us! Shall you be expanding into the world of arts as well? If so, you failed to sign up on my list but as no others are here to read for this part…why not let you give it a go. Come up here, let’s go. I’d like to get home for supper before the grocery closes.” 

With a clap of his hands, Mr. Conrad moved off the stage and the lights followed Steve Harrington as theater girls crowded around the jock, offering him their scripts as he was shuffled up the stairs and into center stage. A look of horror and confusion crossed his face, furrowing his eyebrows as he stared at the words on the page. Eddie was gripping his own script tight in his hands, staring up at the other man on stage. How had Steve suddenly stolen his thunder, and his extra credit?! Was this his plan? Was he trying to get Eddie held back? He clenched his jaw, silently hoping this farce would end quickly but perhaps painfully for the jock. 

“Any time now, Mr. Harrington, start at the top of the page and I will call out the other lines.”

“Wait, wait, Mr. C I didn’t mean to–”

“Don’t worry about the meter or rhyme, we have rehearsals for that.”

“But I’m really not trying to–I was just watching–”

“Alright, and…begin!”

Steve stared at his teacher, then down to the script. The silence of the theater buzzed in his ears as everyone held their breath, waiting to see if Steve Harrington was not only royalty on the court and in the hierarchy of life, but in the drama scene as well. His insides were squirming. This was nothing like the pressure of basketball. In a game, he could assuage his nerves with knowing that the eyes of the crowd could be watching anyone at any time. But here, he knew everyone was staring at him. Him alone. And waiting. He had to speak. 

“I… am too sore enpierced with his… shaft–” A few giggles from the audience, while Steve scrunched his nose. Eddie snorted at the suggested innuendo.

Slowly, Steve continued, his fleet planted to the spot and no attempt to find any bardic inspiration with his words. “To soar with his light feathers, and so bound,/I cannot bound a pitch above dull woe:/Under love's heavy burden do I sink.” Steve looked up to his teacher, hoping that had been enough, but Mr. Conrad just read the next line “And, to sink in it, should you burden love;/Too great oppression for a tender thing.,” and Steve forced himself to continue. As Eddie watched, he frowned to himself, seeing the way Steve hesitated before long words and even slightly stumbled over some of the simple ones, how his eyes narrowed like he was trying to pin down the words on the page. 

“Is love a tender thing? it is too rough,/Too rude, too …  boisterous, and it pricks like thorn.”

Steve had barely read for the part, but Mr. Conrad must have been overjoyed by the idea of having an overlap in student interests that he stopped there, shouting out bravo. Eddie scowled, thinking it unfair and a farce of an audition. 

“Alright Mr. Munson, please turn to the next scene and begin with ‘O, she doth teach the torches’ if you will,” their teacher called over. 

Grumbling, Eddie grabbed his crumpled pages and stomped up to the stage. Steve quickly moved the opposite direction, finding a seat in a row further back by himself, though a few girls not so discreetly moved to sit near him. Eddie rolled his eyes as he watched from his vantage point, focusing back only when Mr. Conrad cleared his throat. 

“Oh, right, my bad, let’s see where this starts…Here we go!” Eddie took a deep breath in, fluttering his eyes closed a moment before he began in earnest, “O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright!” He tossed his hands in the air, then crossed them over his own chest. “It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night/Like a rich jewel in an Ethiope's ear;

Beauty too rich for use, for earth too dear!” Eddie moved across the stage with confidence, as if he had been there a million times before, but knowing this only came with the many times he had put on a dramatic and brave face on cafeteria tables or in back alleys behind bars. His words rang out, maybe a bit too jarring for a highschool production, but he continued to reach for emotion and to connect with his audience, scanning their gaze. His eyes held Steve’s gaze as he spoke his last lines, “Did my heart love till now? forswear it, sight!

For I ne'er saw true beauty till this night.” 

In the dim light, Eddie thought he saw a blush rise onto Steve’s cheeks, but then he remembered that Steve most likely was still fighting off a cold from his escapade in the pool the night before and that the girls chatting in his ears maybe causing a reaction to. 

Eddie quickly looked away before the shame could heat up his own face, and he mumbled, “How was that?” 

Mr. Conrad hummed approvingly before announcing the final cast list would be posted in a few hours. 

 -----

Outside the school, Steve leaned against his car, smoking a cigarette as he waited for the rest of the audition attendees to filter out. Nothing had gone to plan. 

What Steve had expected was to catch Munson in the parking lot after school, but after seeing his nerd friends leave without their obnoxious leader, Steve had headed back into the school to investigate. Steve couldn’t even remember going to any of the school’s plays, but he remembered hooking up with a drama girl freshman year backstage, so he had found it easily. He had seen Munson’s mess of hair easily and had gone over with the intent to apologize for the shit in history class and then to run home. He had not expected to get called up onto a stage and made to embarrass himself in front of a bunch of his classmates whose names he didn’t even know. 

He also hadn’t expected the way goddamn Eddie Munson had made his heart beat in his chest, spewing romantic Shakespeare and looking at him with those sickeningly adoring eyes. Eddie Munson was just a great actor, he decided, finishing his cigarette and stomping it into the gravel beneath his shoe. It was just supposed to be an apology. He still needed to get said apology out. As if on cue, the chaotic brunette walked out of the double doors following Mr. Conrad, looking like he was pleading for something that only got a head shake No in return and a wave goodbye. Eddie looked disappointed by the outcome, but as he looked across the parking lot to see Steve, his lips moved into an impish grin that had Steve’s insides twisting.

“Well, well, if it isn’t His Majesty. Are you waiting to take home one of these beautiful fair maidens in your chariot?” Eddie teased as he walked over. “Who knew you had an artistic side to you? Do your friends know you’re here?” 

Steve put his hands on his hips, rolling his eyes at the taunts. “Yeah, and when I’m not here I’m designing Gargoyle and Guillotine characters. Whatever, man. Don’t be a dick.”

“...It’s Dungeons and Dragons, actually, so if you’re gonna be an ass, at least be a smart one, okay?” 

Steve was seriously doubting his ability to apologize at this point. “Yeah, okay, well, I hope you get whatever extra credit shit you were trying to do here, and I’m gonna leave now.” 

Now he was mentally kicking himself as he started to turn and unlock his car. Asshole, you were supposed to tell Eddie that Tommy is a shitbag and you hate what he said, sorry I used to be like him, too. 

Unfortunately, Steve had committed to leaving, and soon enough Eddie was left standing in his rear view mirror as he drove away. Maybe tomorrow he would be able to get a handle on his emotions and doubly apologize for that day.

------

Eddie stared at the tail lights of Steve Harrington’s car, wondering what demon he had pissed off enough to torture him like this, teasing him with half-decent conversations with Steve before it ultimately got shut down in insults. 

He shook his head, not quite understanding what he felt, but  trying to focus on more concrete things. Like graduating. Like waiting for Mr. Conrad to post the damn cast list so Eddie would know if he even had a chance at walking in the spring without having to beg for private lessons or extra essay assignments. As badly as Eddie wanted to graduate, it seemed his teachers were just as hoping he would leave them be and stop terrorizing the student body with his wicked outbursts. 

So Eddie got in his van alone, put on some Sabbath, and drove his not-so-happy ass back to the trailer park. He went inside once he got home, smiling to himself at the note on the freezer about microwave dinners Wayne had left him before he went to work. Eddie popped one in the microwave, rolling a joint while he waited, and then sat in his room to eat and smoke. He glanced at the unopened textbooks on the floor by his bed, wondering if they were actually worth the read, but decided against it as he thought about what Mr. Conrad had said. The list would be ready in a few hours, as in that night? Why would the man be so vague and cruel when he could just have said the next day. Why did Eddie want to see if it actually was posted? 

Well, no. He could wait the rest of the agonizing night to see it at school tomorrow. No sense in getting pulled over just because he got a little high. He finished his joint, tossed out his trash from dinner, and finally got into his bed. Maybe tomorrow would bring something better and hope for the future.