#max and eddie

[hazardworld]

Dustin's a Damn Good Ally (Original) Pt. 5

CONTAINS DESCRIPTION OF *POTENTIAL* SEXY STUFF (NOTHING ACTUALLY HAPPENS). READ AT OWN RISK (OF WHICH THERE ISN'T MUCH TBH)

Chapter 5— Regret (followed by not-regret)

Ao3 Link

Originally Posted 1.1.23/Edited 9.2.23

Summary: This was a bad plan. It ended in a good thing! Still a bad plan.

(Queer author saying queer is used both positive and negative here)

———

Steve was off his game.

Obviously, Robin was off the list after October ’85, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t still pick up hot babes from behind the counter of Family Video.

Right?

Right.

Obviously, Dustin teased him about it, as a little brother would, because when you see your older brother falling into a slump of what he once was, you grow equally concerned and mocking.

The problem was, Steve didn’t even seem all that interested himself!

Throughout that summer and even into October, Dustin would hear endless complaints about how he couldn’t get a single girl, but November rolled around, and then nothing!

Dustin came to one conclusion: Steve Harrington had given up.

Well, he came to a lot of conclusions, but that one seemed the most plausible.

One of his conclusions involved a convoluted plot about Steve’s secret flirty love affair with Eddie Munson, but not only was that too good to be true, but it was obviously not plausible: Steve was the straightest guy in Hawkins!

Right?

Right.

Well, maybe Jason Carver was straighter, but he was an asshole who liked to harass Eddie, so Jason could burn in hell for all Dustin cared.

And there was also that telltale way Steve flustered up at Eddie’s flirting, or the quick little touches Eddie gave him, or the quick tensing when Eddie would sit or even exist near Steve.

It was mid-November when Dustin had been in Family Video, Steve and Robin behind the counter, him long forgotten in the aisles of tapes as Eddie strutted in, and Dustin overheard the weirdest conversation he’d ever had.

"Munson? Fancy seeing you here, what brings you in?" Steve’s voice, sultry. Like how he’d welcome a girl into Scoops the previous summer.

"Mmm…you, maybe? Or is that not in stock?" Eddie’s voice, also flirtatious, though that wasn’t abnormal. This was followed by a gag, probably from Robin, and a laugh from Steve.

"Sorry Munson, but we have a bit of a shortage right now, you’ll have to swing by later. Let’s say, 11?"

"Perfect. Catch you later, Harrington, Buckley." Eddie walked out of the store, and Dustin had to think:

Okay.

What in the actual fuck was that exchange??

Eddie flirting with Steve was one thing, but Steve flirting back???

Maybe Steve wasn’t the second straightest guy in Hawkins after all.

Dustin still doesn’t know how he made it out the store without getting spotted, but he did, and he didn’t really think about it too much. He had a mission, and that involved pedaling as fast as possible back home, because Ma only let him sleep over places if he was already there, or if he asked before 7, and according to his watch, it was already 6:30.

His thighs burned, but he made it back in time, and quickly connected the last strings of his plan as he packed his overnight bag.

First step was requesting everyone off walkie channel 9, which he did from his house.

Second was biking over, and filling Max in, because she’d love every part of this convoluted scheme as much as him.

Step number 3? Making sure to place a constantly on walkie on channel 9 in the living room, so by the time Steve got home, Dustin and Max would be able to hear when and if Eddie came over, and possibly, kisses and love confessions.

Easy peasy lemon squeezy!

Steps 1 and 2 went fine, but step three was the kicker, because Steve noticed the damn walkie, and turned it all the way off, which forced Max and Dustin to actually go downstairs and see for themselves the kissing and cuddling and love confessions.

Yeah, turns out they were doing a little more than kissing.

Max and Dustin screamed when they fully got a glimpse of Eddie half pinned down onto the kitchen island by Steve, pants strewn to the side, and both in boxers.

They both looked at the pair with equally wide eyes and equally crimson blushes, but whether that was from their…actions…or from embarrassment, neither freshman wanted to know.

"Dustin, Max, go back up to your room, please." Steve said cooly, not changing his position, "Me and Eds are putting on pants, and then we’re having a talk." Both teens nodded vigorously, and ran back up to their room, and promptly had a freak out, until Steve and Eddie knocked and came in a few minutes later.

"Ok. So. You walked in on us." Steve said simply, no malice, but no joy, either. Both he and Eddie stood in front and in between the two twin beds—jade green on one side for Dustin, sky blue on the other for Max. "Why."

"Dustin’s idea!" Max quickly pointed to Dustin, who scoffed and raised his hands.

"It’s not my fault Steve shut off the walkie!" Steve raised an eyebrow. 

"What were you going to do with the walkie, Dustin?" Dustin dramatically crossed his arms.

"The plan was for me and Max to listen in on you kiss and confess your undying love or whatever. You turned off the walkie, though, and after awhile we wanted to see if anything happened." Steve blinked, and pinched the bridge of his nose, while Eddie slowly started to nod, seemingly impressed.

"You obviously weren’t just kissing, though…" Max muttered, though loud enough to hear.

"No shit, guys." Eddie chuckled, "How did you even know about tonight?"

"I heard you both flirting in Family Video." At that, Steve and Eddie went beet red. "I wanted to see if it was real or fake, and I knew Max would, too."

"I thought you’d already left!" Steve exclaimed, and Dustin shook his head.

"I was back in the shelves, Steve-o." Steve quickly muttered 'fuck' under his breath, and Eddie laughed.

"Look, I’m glad it’s you two who found out first, after Robin, of course. Besides, it’s not like it’d stay a secret for long, since all three of us would be here so often." Steve sighed, calming at Eddie’s words, and also by how Eddie’s hand had looped into Steve’s, giving it a squeeze.

"Yeah, but next time, please just ask before you walk in on us. It’s not like you’re going to judge, but it’d be nice to have some privacy?" Max and Dustin looked at each other and giggled, nodding. The young adults smiled, looking at the kids, and then each other, and then bid the two goodnight.

Before they left though, Max made sure to ask a question:

"Steve, what…are you?" Steve blinked, and smiled.

"Bisexual." Max grinned.

"Me too."

———

And now you see why the fic has a Mature rating.

Also, Steddie are switches. Eddie prefers dom and Steve prefers sub, but they're def switches.

Chapter 4/6———Chapter 6/6

[lottmatthews]

@stardust-walker

teacher steve harrington

[igotthejob]

this is every fanfic i read

[lavenderstobins]

stranger tweets part 14

[previous] [next]

all previous parts: [part 1] [part 2] [part 3] [part 4] [part 5] [part 5.5] [part 6] [part 7] [part 8] [part 9] [part 10] [part 11] [part 12]

[morganbritton132]

I don’t think anybody has ever explained the Upside Down to Steve so he came up with his own explanations for what happens and then spreads that misinformation around to the new members of The Party.

Like, turns out Eddie didn’t die and Steve’s just like, “Yeah, that happens. Will died and came back. Hopper…Dustin’s cat. Only seems to work with guys though. The girls never come back.”

Robin, who knows this too, “The Upside Down is sexist.”

“Yeah, exactly.”

[rana030]

When your favorite writer hasn't updated since 2020

[maxanor]

911 | Season 2, Episode 1, "Under Pressure" Doctor Odyssey | Season 1, Episode 1, "Pilot"

[changenamelater]

Give me good at math Steve. Maybe he’s dyslexic and words never made sense and always swam away from him, but numbers? He can memorize formulas, he can recognize patterns.

I feel like it would add so much dimension to his character. I always like it in fic when they write Steve knowing a second language, or playing an instrument because I feel like the fandom has taken this idea that Steve is incompetent and ran with it. He’s incredibly clever, and sarcastic (a sign of intelligence btw), and snarky. He thinks quickly, is it well thought out? Not always, but that’s just his lack of self preservation skills. People can be smart and idiots at the same time, they can have their strengths and I wish that was portrayed more in fic and fandom.

So let him be good at math. Let him just be able to make sense of it. Show him tutoring El and assisting Lucas and Max when Mike and Dustin seem too condescending or intimidating or bitchy.

He’ll be bitchy too, but in an understanding way, because he knows what it’s like to struggle with something others find simple.

Also give us a scene where Mike or Dustin find out and flip their lids PLEASE

[kennahjune]

Having thoughts of The Party being touchy as all fuck after everything.

Like you cannot enter nor leave any kind of hang out without a hug, high-five, pat, or anything from everyone you were hanging out with.

And then, suddenly, you aren’t able to leave without a kiss or hug of some kind from Steve.

It started after the bullshit that was the Starcourt Mall. The kids were leaving Steve’s house from a DnD session maybe 2 months before the Byers left for Cali.

Dustin was taking forever to pull his shoes on and get out the house to his moms car and everyone was complaining. It was one of those rare times where Steve wasn’t the one carting them all around— they all had their own rides.

Dustin got his shoes on and Steve handed him his bag and— without thinking— pressed a kiss to the top of his hat before waving him out the door.

The rest of the kids are silent until Mike speaks up bitchily “what about us, asshole?”

Steve has no idea what they mean until El points to her head with a grin. Steve deals out head and forehead kisses for everyone and waves them off to their respective rides.

And then it just— sticks. At first it’s with just the kids whenever he sees them. He’ll usually greet them with a hug or an exasperated sigh and then say goodbye with a kiss to their foreheads.

Not even Mike complains. This is the kind of shit he never got while growing up— might as well make the best of it.

And then it migrates to Robin as well, and the Nancy is joining in on the hugs (they’re still too awkward for the kisses but the hugs are enough for now).

And Steve never holds back, not even in public. Again, no one complains.

And that’s how Hellfire finds out about the kissing arrangement (that might be the title of this if I make it an actual fic). They watch as Steve presses a forehead kiss to Mike, Lucas, and Dustin before waving them off and then presses a kiss to Max’s head and giving her a tight hug.

The guys try to make fun of the kids for it but none of them are embarrassed.

“It’s Steve, dude. He’s like a mom.”

“The kisses are actually really comforting.”

“It’s a Party thing.”

And then the fuckery of 1986 and Vecna happens and suddenly Eddie’s in on the hugs and pats and high-fives.

And then.

And then.

He’s in on the kisses.

Steve doles out the kisses like usual one night after Hellfire and gives one to everyone— including Eddie.

And Eddie panics and gives Steve one right back.

And then the kids are going feral about wanting to give Steve a kiss too.

And Eddie leaves during the chaos.

And then they don’t talk about it.

Until Steve and Eddie do it again.

And the kids accept is as the new normal; you have to give Steve a kiss back.

And then Steve and Eddie have an excuse to kiss each other on the foreheads and cheeks and noses.

One night they’re hanging out, just the two of them at the trailer after Wayne left for work.

Steve had greeted Eddie with a tight hug the moment he’d gotten in the trailer. Eddie had squeezed back just as tight if not tighter.

Steve was getting ready to leave, and on instinct leant in to kiss Eddie, but Eddie was also leaning in to kiss Steve. So they meet in the middle and accidentally kiss on the lips.

And then the new normal for Steve and Eddie is kissing on the lips goodbye.

Idk, just Steve being a very touchy feely person makes me so happy

[runraerun]

Hopper: Are any of you straight?

Will:

Robin:

Max:

Steve:

Steve: [Raises hand slowly]

Eddie: [Grabs Steve's hand, interlocks their fingers, and brings it back down]

[lokischocolatefountain]

Pedro Pascal choosing roles

[paperbackribs]

Steve, taking on the big brother/parental role with Max: "Blue balls is just a manipulative tactic."

Max, nodding fiercely while trying to remember what Steve had said before: "If it's so bad, then he can take care of it himself. He's a--"

Steve (so freaking proud of her): "That's right, he's a big boy, so he can damn well take care of it hims--"

Eddie yelling across the house: "That's not what you said last night, big boy."

[eddiediazsource]

EDDIE DIAZ + FUNNY MOMENTS 5/ ⋯ ▸4x01, the new abnormal

[hairmetal666]

It's 3am. It's pouring down rain. Steve's soaked to the skin, been wandering the city for most of the night, hasn't slept in almost 24 hours, thinks maybe he's on the brink of delirium, and then a truck hits a pool of ponded water, sending a muddy wave cascading over him.

He just wants to go home but Dustin lost his dog and he can't leave a puppy out in this weather.

Steve steps off the curb, and what looks like a shallow puddle turns out to be a water-filled hole. He crashes towards the pavement, nothing he can do to stop it. As fast he's falling, he's miraculously not, arms wrapped around his waist. It takes a second for his brain to catch up, to understand that he's being held upright in an old-fashioned, romantic dip.

"Careful, sweetheart," a deep and smoke raspy voice says from above him.

it sends chills down his spine, the good kind, and warmth slips through him. His rescuer is a solid 10 knockout. Long, curly hair; eyeliner; decked out in leather and studs and chains. He smells like booze and cigarettes and weed, and it's intoxicating. Steve has to fight the instinct to nuzzle the guy's leather jacket. He's beautiful, holds Steve with the swagger only a guy with rings on every finger could pull off.

And Steve is a mud soaked mess in sweatpants and a threadbare Hawkins High tee. But the guy holding him isn't letting go. He stares down at Steve, brown eyes wide.

"Steve!" A voice calls over the patter of the rain.

"Dustin?" He says at the same time that the man holding him says, "Henderson?"

"Eddie?" Dustin asks.

"Wait, dnd Eddie?" Steve gets his feet under him, but Eddie's arms don't drop.

"You're the famous babysitter Steve I've been hearing all about?"

They gape at each other until Dustin reaches them.

"What are you still doing out here?" Dustin shouts. "We found Dart hours ago."

"Dustin!" He thinks he might cry. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"You weren't answering your walkie!"

"Fuck." Steve drops his face to his hand. The walkie. Which is on the table by the front door where he and Robin leave their keys.

Steve swallows his frustration, the misery of waterlogged shoes, having to be up to open the store in a few hours, meeting the hottest guy he's ever seen when he looks like a drowned rat.

"I promised I'd find Dart, didn't I? Now what the hell are you doing out so late?"

"Mom and I were looking for you!"

"Let's get you back to the car, man, okay?" Steve says to Dustin. He wants to end this weird, terrible, embarrassing night before it gets even more humiliating.

"I can give you a ride home," Eddie says. He's got this weird, intense look on his face, staring at Steve.

"I'm only a few blocks away. I'll be fine. C'mon, Henderson."

"Oh, I can walk him. You head home."

He nods, starts towards his apartment, but turns back just in time to see Eddie and Dustin share a look he can't parse.

---

A few days later, Dustin's following him around at work, chattering about dnd as Steve shelves books, and without taking a breath during a soliloquy about owl bears, says, "Eddie's running a one-shot for us next week. You should come! It's a great way to get into the game."

"I'm not playing dnd," Steve answers. He slides a book onto the shelf. "I've told you this."

"Yeah, but you liked Eddie, right? He'd help you out!"

Steve squints at the kid. "I didn't really meet Eddie to know. Anyway, I'm sure he doesn't want a newbie crashing."

Steve is pretty sure Eddie doesn't like him, based on their short introduction, so he's not interested in forcing himself into the guy's dnd club. The night they met was humiliating enough, Steve in all his dorky glory.

"No, he totally wouldn't care. C'mon, Steve!"

"No can do." He ruffles Dustin's hair as he walks away.

He thinks that'll be the end of it, but every few days, for weeks Dustin and all the rest of the kids stop at the store to beg him to join their dnd club.

---

Steve is working the register and he hears the shuffling clank of a customer, looks up and finds Eddie. He's staring at Steve with that same look from the night they met, intense and piercing, cutting straight through the heart of him. He feels himself start to blush.

The first thing out of Eddie's mouth is, "Wait, this is your store?"

"Yeah?" Steve asks. "Is that--is that weird?"

"No! Not at all. It's a good store. Cute." His nose wrinkles when he says it and Steve's blush grows hotter. He knew Eddie thought he was a dork.

"Cute. Yeah. Right. Can I help you with something?"

Eddie rocks back on his heels, hands going to the pockets of his leather jacket, sending his chains jingling. "Oh, so, actually I wanted to see if you were busy?"

"Yeah, man. I'm busy." He laughs, doesn't intend to be mean about it, but he and Robin only opened the store six months ago and both take night classes at the local community college. Plus, everything he does with the kids.

Eddie's face flushes bright. "Oh, sure, of course. Yeah, I--I'll see you around."

The door thunks to a close behind him, and a voice immediately pops up to ask, "What the hell was that?"

He turns to find Max Mayfield hands on hips, glaring up at him, Robin close behind.

"Shouldn't you be in school?"

Max rolls her eyes and strides up to the counter. "Why were you an asshole to Eddie?"

"He started it!"

"I highly doubt that."

"Okay, Ms. Know-it-all, why don't you tell me what happened?"

"I know for a fact that Eddie came in today to ask you out. So, tell me, Steve Harrington, why he rushed out of here looking like a kicked puppy?"

"What?" He yelps. "Eddie doesn't even like me!"

She glares. "Doesn't like you? He's been pathetic about you since you met."

He gapes at Robin. "Don't look at me," she shrugs. "But that guy was definitely here to ask you out."

"Fix it." Max commands as she stomps out the door. "He bar tends at that metal place on 68th."

---

It's just after 9pm and he's at the metal bar on 68th, decidedly out of place in the yellow t-shirt and jeans he wore to his business accounting class.

It's fairly busy for a weeknight, but Eddie's not hard to find. He's obviously in his element, bobbing his head to a song Steve's never heard as he mixes a drink.

With a hard swallow and a healthy dose of humility, he walks up to the bar.

"Be right--" Eddie starts, balking when he notices Steve.

"Can we talk?" he shouts over the music.

Eddie's eyes widen a little, but he nods, slips out from behind the bar to guide him to an employee exit.

"What's up, Steve?" Eddie asks. His hands are in his pockets, shoulders bowed in.

"I wanted to apologize."

"What for?"

"Earlier, I--when you said the store was cute I thought you were making fun of me."

"But--why?"

"I thought you didn't like me." Steve cringes at the admission.

"What?" He laughs.

"I don't know. We met in the middle of the night and I was covered in mud looking for a dog that wasn't lost anymore."

"Steve. Holy shit." Eddie shakes his head. "You looked gorgeous that night. The way your clothes were sticking--you know what? Never mind. Did you think I wanted you to come to dnd because I hated you?"

"You wanted me to come?"

"Dustin didn't..."

"No! And he's been asking me to play dnd weekly for the past five years."

"Jesus Christ," Eddie slumps agains the brick wall at his back. "No wonder you turned me down today."

"To be fair," Steve slumps next to him. "If I had realized you were asking me out, I wouldn't have turned you down."

"No?" Eddie asks. His brown eyes gleam.

"Definitely not. I've had a crush on you since that night. Sort of devastating since I thought you didn't like me." Steve runs his hand through his hair, watches Eddie track the movement.

"The store is cute, Steve. I--uh--I've been a few times. Back before I knew you were the owner! I just kept seeing a hot employee with great hair and a perfect ass, and the vaguely mean lesbian barista gives me free drinks."

"That's Robin," Steve says. He's smiling so hard.

"I know that now," Eddie smiles back. "Sorry for being an idiot."

"Me too." Steve nods. "Do you--could I still come to dnd? Or take you out sometime?"

"Why not both?" Dimples pop on Eddie's cheeks, and Steve's heart flips.

"I like both." They're still against the wall, but drifting into each other's space.

"So Dustin said."

It surprises a laugh out of Steve. "I'm gonna kill him."

"Too bad. He's a nice kid."

"Eh, we've got six more to choose from."

"I have a few more hours here, but there's a diner down the street that does some of the most mediocre pancakes I've ever tasted. Meet me there? Around 2?"

"A thousand lost puppies wouldn't make me miss it."

The next time Steve is out at 3am he's pressed against a building, Eddie kissing him so thoroughly he knows he's never recovering from this one.

[lavenderstobins]

stranger tweets part 12

[previous] [next]

all previous parts: [part 1] [part 2] [part 3] [part 4] [part 5] [part 5.5] [part 6] [part 7] [part 8] [part 9] [part 10]

[morganbritton132]

Steve drives out to Forest Hills to help Max move into her new place. He sees a bunch of bikes laying all over the place, parks, walks into the trailer and is immediately accosted by Max’s mom’s…new boyfriend?

Meanwhile, Wayne looks up from the toaster oven he’s taken apart and sees one of Eddie’s friends. He tells the kid, “Come over here an’ give me a hand with this.”

“Yeah, yeah. Wow, there’s a lot of stuff in here,” Steve says, looking around as he goes to help. He looks at the closed bedroom door like, “Is everybody…”

“Ran to the store to get supper.”

“Cool.”

Eddie comes home with a six pack of beer and stuff to make spaghetti, and walks into his house to see his uncle and Steve “The Hair” Harrington fussing with their broken toaster and talking about football.