#past steddie

[scoops-aboy86]

wc: 647 | Rating: T | CW: mentions of infidelity, technically hurt no comfort because I haven’t written the part where they make up | Additional Tags: future fic, famous Eddie Munson, past Steddie

Okay, look. The tv was on in the background, and Ross and Rachel were breaking up, and this happened in my head. I’m posting it for Fuck It Friday because fuck it. The only thing getting me through life right now is cough drops.

part 2

Hell of a Time at the Wake

“Yeah, haven’t had a drink or touched any drugs in five years, as of last month.”

“Oh wow, so that’s from before Corroded Coffin made it big.” The interviewer chuckles. “Usually it’s the fame and rehab that come first.”

“I prefer to think of myself more as regionally notorious, but sure. Never did the rehab thing, though.”

“Well, what’s the story there?”

Behind their frontman, the rest of the band shares a look. “Oh, we don't need to—” 

“Nah, Jeff, it’s okay man.” Eddie waves them off, then turns back to the interviewer. “Back before we hit the road to make a name for ourselves, I was seeing someone back home. I mean, the someone. The one. But we kept having this same… not really a fight, just this thing: I wanted to leave town, they didn’t. And then finally we had this huge blowout about it that started as something else and somehow turned into that again, which turned into both of us storming off. They went home, and I went out and got completely shitfaced, and in the morning I woke up with someone whose name I didn’t even know in bed with me.”

The interviewer winces. 

“Yeah. And when you do something shitty like that, it’s going to come out sooner or later. Or pretty much immediately, in this case, which.” Eddie grimaces and shrugs. “Well, it gave us something else to fight about, that’s for sure. I knew I’d fucked up bad, but it took hours of back and forth before I realized that we were done done. Trust completely obliterated, no way to come back or move on from that, just… over.”

There’s a pause where he stares off into space for a moment, stuck on a memory. Then he shakes himself and refocuses. 

“Anyway, at some point during my doomed attempt to salvage things, I swore I’d never have another drink ever again. Which, the being drunk of it all wasn’t really the problem, so saying that didn’t buy me anything, but… even after it ended, I didn’t. I’d been so fucked up that night, and it wasn’t the booze so much as the fear of it being over that made me a one man self-fulfilling prophecy—but I hurt someone I loved more than anything, and I never wanted let myself get that fucking stupid again, so. I haven’t. And honestly, I sleep better knowing that.”

“Wow.” The interviewer is staring at him, stunned. Probably doesn’t get a lot of this sort of thing, not just because of all the wild rockstars and other celebrities that come on the show with stories about trashed hotel rooms and wild parties, but because Eddie is being honest. 

It’s not something he talks about… ever, really. Not even with the guys. But, after five years, it doesn’t hurt the same. It’s not even for St—

It’s not for his ex anymore, if it ever was. 

“Why would it be weird?” Gareth is saying. “We have a built in DD, that’s always great. And Eddie doesn’t give us shit for anything, he’s just honest when we ask if anything was too out of hand. It’s a good reality check.”

“And like,” Doug adds, “he’ll still come out with us to clubs and shit to hang out. But if he says he doesn’t want to drive us to a bar it’s not some passive aggressive or superiority thing because we drink and he doesn’t; he’d really just rather fuck off and do something else.”

“Gee, thanks,” Eddie says dryly, but he’s smirking. 

Doug flashes him finger guns, the fucking dork. “You’re welcome, asshole.”

And the interview moves on. These guys have been Eddie’s friends even longer than they’ve been his bandmates, and the four of them are solid. If the gossip vultures out there want something to pick at, they’ll have to find a different target. 

part 2

Permanent tag list (ask to be added/removed):

@hotluncheddie @hiei-harringtonmunson @sofadofax @hickeysgodcomplex @oatmilk-vampire

@wheneverfeasible @hamiltonswiftie @grtwdsmwhr @yesdangerpls @theseaofdespair

And then someone shows Steve the interview and he asks Robin for Eddie’s number, and they talk for the first time in years and end up falling back in love, but that’s the hard to write part so this is what you get. Xoxo

[atimeofyourlife]

Whumptober day 10

rated: t | wc: 719 | prompt: Broken Phone | Stranded | “You said you'd never leave.”

It had been totally out of the blue. One day the relationship seemed perfect, that they could be together forever. The next, Eddie said he was leaving. Leaving Hawkins. Leaving Indiana. Leaving Steve. That he was heading out west, alone, to try and make a name for himself in the metal music scene.

It broke Steve. Eddie was the first relationship he'd had since Nancy that felt serious. They had been planning their future together, talking about moving together. Just the week before Eddie left, they'd been looking at apartments in Indianapolis. Somewhere they were close enough to visit the kids regularly, and would be available if something went wrong, but far enough out of Hawkins that Eddie wouldn't always be instantly recognized as the drug dealing murder suspect. But apparently that was just what Steve wanted, not what Eddie did.

Steve spent two days curled up in bed, bouncing between crying and feeling too numb to cry. Feeling lost without Eddie there beside him. When she could, Robin would be there to talk him through it, to comfort him in any way possible. Reassuring him that it wasn't his fault, that he hadn't done anything wrong.

He couldn't believe that he wasn't to blame for Eddie leaving. Not when Eddie had promised, repeatedly, that he would never leave. If Eddie had promised that, and then left anyway, Steve felt that he had done something to push Eddie away. Maybe he'd been too clingy. Maybe he'd been too uptight about a clean and tidy space, and had nagged Eddie too much about not leaving stuff everywhere and picking up after himself. Maybe he'd been too picky when they'd been looking at apartments, not wanting to settle for the cheaper options because of the lack of space, or the lack of amenities. Maybe he'd been too high maintenance, caring too much about his hair care and skincare and his clothes. There had to have been something he'd done wrong, or maybe there was just something so deeply wrong with him that made the people he loved not want to stay for him.

It took weeks for Steve to start to feel some sense of normal, to make more of an effort to be social and make plans with people, instead of just going to work and then going home, or just showing his face at a group thing before escaping at the first possible opportunity. Steve had found it difficult to be around the kids. Not wanting them to blame him for Eddie leaving the way he blamed himself. They never did, but the sadness was evident in their eyes and voices if Eddie was ever mentioned or if anything reminded them of him. But Steve started to push himself to be around more, and slowly everyone started to feel better about it. He spent as much time with all the kids as possible, they started bothering him and Robin at work more. It was starting to feel more like the summer when they'd worked at Scoops, or after the demodogs, with the way the kids started flocking to him like ducklings again. It was a new normal, but it felt like life was on the up. That life after Eddie would be possible.

Until a little over three months after Eddie left. Steve woke up to the phone ringing at three in the morning. He tried to ignore it, leaving it to ring until the answering machine kicked in. But it started ringing again just a few seconds later.

"Hello?" He answered, his voice thick with sleep.

"Stevie." Came Eddie's voice in a whisper.

"What do you want, Eddie?" Steve asked, trying to keep his tone harsh. Not wanting his emotion to show through, that hearing Eddies voice for the first time after months without any contact was still like a knife to his heart.

"It's just I. I love you, Steve. I miss you so much."

"No. No. You can't. You left. You can't say that to me when you said you'd never leave." Steve said, tears breaking through and streaming down his face. Without letting Eddie get another word in, he hung up, then took the phone off the hook so Eddie wouldn't be able to call back. Maybe it was time to get a new number.

[gloomysoup]

Number 13 for the Spotify fics!

this is a little shorter than i wanted these to be, however i didn't wanna add more and risk taking away from the feeling i was aiming to portray here so this is what you get :)

13. My Therapist Told Me by Xana

-

“Eddie, you can’t keep doing this to yourself.”

He refuses to look up at the woman sitting across from him, in her nice chair with her clipboard and the pen that keeps writing every time he opens his mouth. She’s a good therapist. She’s helped him with a lot of stuff. That doesn’t mean he likes what she's saying.

“You don’t get it,” he says softly.

His phone buzzes in his pocket. He hopes it is him. He starts to reach for it, on impulse, but he can feel her eyes on him. Judgmental. Disappointed. He lets his hand drop back into his lap.

“This isn’t good for you, Eddie. You know that.” He eyes the framed diplomas on her wall like he always does when this comes up in their sessions. “Are you still drinking?”

His blunt nails dig into his palm. The sting is grounding. “That has nothing to do with Steve.”

“Doesn’t it, though?”

She’s right. It has almost everything to do with Steve. Eddie hates it. He hates when she’s right, which is often.

“We’re just friends.”

“Are you?”

“What’s with all the goddamn questions today?” Eddie snaps, finally directing his attention to her. “You don’t know what it’s like.”

She takes a breath and nods. “We’ve talked about this before, Eddie. You know that whatever is going on between the two of you is not good for you. I’m only trying to help you.”

“Well, maybe I don’t need your help with this.”

He stands up and leaves the office, slamming the door behind him. She doesn’t protest. He storms out of the building, throwing his car door open and slamming it shut. His phone buzzes again. He doesn’t stop himself this time. He pulls it from his pocket and looks at the screen. Two texts from Steve. One from Chrissy. Another from Gareth. He opens Steve’s, ignoring the others.

[ Steve 🥵 ] : thinking of you 😉

There’s a photo attached. Steve, laying in bed, shirtless. There’s a telltale tint of pink on his cheeks, bringing out some of Eddie’s favorite freckles. His hair is a little messy. Eddie knows, just out of frame, he’s got a hand around himself.

“Fuck!” Eddie groans, hitting his forehead on his steering wheel.

He can’t keep doing this. He can't.

But Eddie is nothing if not a weak man for Steve Harrington.

[ Eddie ] : I’ll be there in five.

Eddie doesn’t know why he keeps doing this. His therapist is right. His friends are right. This isn’t good for him. But then he has Steve in his bed, arching beneath him and making those sounds, and he knows he can’t get away. He’ll always fall back into the same cycles.

Hot breath. Tan skin. He maps Steve’s body with his hands, dragging fingertips over the contours he knows so well. Charting constellations between his freckles and moles. Plush lips brushing his, swallowing every noise this beautiful creature gives him. He revels in dragging that gorgeous shade of pink to the surface of Steve’s skin.

It never matters if he leaves marks.

Eddie isn’t the only one who gets to have him.

He wishes he was the only one.

Then it all ends. Fantasy melts away, leaving only reality. Steve isn’t his anymore.

“This doesn’t mean we’re getting back together,” Steve whispers between them in the hazy afterglow. “We’re just friends.”

"I know," Eddie responds, just as quiet.

It’s always the same routine.

They’re just friends.

Eddie hates it. He’s always fucking himself over. Even with all the games he plays, the space he constantly takes up in Eddie’s brain, Steve knows good and well Eddie can’t get away from this. He always comes back. He always leaves alone. The cycle repeats itself.

He goes to the bar, orders a whiskey, then another and another. He knows it’s a bad idea. That doesn’t stop him. He can’t keep getting sober just to fall apart again, just to want Steve more. So he drinks. Distracts himself from the truth with every burning swallow of amber liquid. Pretends to be okay.

His therapist is right. Again. His friends are right. Again. That doesn’t mean he can stop.

Three days later, his phone pings with a text.

[ Steve 🥵 ] : thinking of you <3

A photo attached.

And once again….

[ Eddie ] : See you in ten.

[lingeringmirth]

what never should've been broken

Written for @whumpril day 19. "I need you."

Stranger Things | Eddie Munson centric, past steddie| Rating: G | Words: 10 | Drabble, Angst, post-breakup, Corroded Coffin makes it big, Musician Eddie, Hurt Steve Harrington.

Also here on AO3.

-

Eddie Munson hasn’t been back to Hawkins in ten years. A decade has passed since he left it behind for fame and fortune, thinking it would be better that way.

It hadn’t been better that way.

Then, when ten years have passed, after Corroded Coffin has become world-famous and they have three albums under their belt, he gets the call.

‘I need you.’

It immediately disconnects and they don’t even say their name but he knows. It’s time to go back and try to patch up what never should have been broken, he just hopes that he can.

For Steve.

[metalscoops]

Somebody That I Used to Know is the new song taking the world by storm and it's surprisingly from former frontman of Corroded Coffin Eddie Munson. It tells the story of his turbulent and well-publicised break-up with fellow musician Steve Harrington (who surprisingly agreed to appear in the track and music video). Harrington has been happily married to fan favorite and beloved model Billy Hargrove for five years…

[nburkhardt]

His body is protesting him waking up. His head is pounding and his legs feel like jello. Somehow he manages to get up right and blindly grabs his phone. It’s only then does he remember the night before.

Of sad drinking, sitting in silence that he actually hates. And posting a video to his TikTok that only has two followers. As he flips his phone on he notices the number of notifications and missed calls.

There’s several missed calls from Robin alone and two from Dustin.

It’s the notifications from texts that really wake him up. His hands are shaking as he taps open the first one from Nancy of all people, ‘what is going on? Was that about us?’

He scrolls the other ten messages from the kids all with various questions and concerns. Then he reaches down to Robin’s message and all it says is, ‘oh Dingus’

Right underneath her message is the seemingly endless notifications from TikTok. Usernames he doesn’t recognize having liked the video of his, then some with comments. Tapping on one notification that says ‘that was heartbreaking’ and his heart nearly shatters when it opens to the video he started weeks ago and finally posted.

Of a song he’s been working on for the last two months, that makes him break the more he thinks about it.

As he reads through the comments, all with various ways of the first heartbreaking one. Questions of who the song could be about and if the singer was okay and who he was. The number of likes is making his head spin, the number of followers is making his head spin.

Last night he only had Robin and Dustin as followers. Now he has a number he didn’t think possible for him, especially when he made the profile just because Robin bugged him into making it. Even then, she’s the one who came up with his username and the description/bio that says nothing but his pronouns with a rainbow. He hasn’t gotten around to changing it to anything else relating to himself, doesn’t even know where to even start.

As he’s staring at his page, his phone dims and immediately lights back up when his phone rings with another call from Robin.

~~~~

Welcome back to the sad modern au I’ve got going on. Just know that I wrote this at the same time I wrote the first part and I haven’t really touched it since. Just not in the mind set, ya know? I’ll get there I want all the angst from this just as much as anyone else, even though I KNOW it hurts. Picture is not mine btw, @i-less-than-three-you helped me with that. Found it on google lol.

[frankenstein-ate-my-left-shoe]

what if the first time steve and eddie actually meet is when steve picks up dustin, mike, and lucas from hellfire a month or so into their freshman year.

and when steve starts dicking around and roughhousing with dustin a bit.. thats when eddie sees him

him.

steve harrington.

king steve harrington.

king steve harrington, jock extraordinaire fucking with his new (pretty brittle, he got told off for the same thing at the beginning of the year by mike and lucas) sheepie

Eddie’s at the car in next to no time at all, tears steve off henderson, and punches him square in the face

edit: full thing here

[hairmetal666]

"But why is he here all the time," he whines to Robin. She doesn't like him much, but Scoops is empty, and what else is he supposed to do? Not speak to her at all?

"Why do you care what Eddie Munson is doing at the mall."

"I don't care." He scoffs, rolls his eyes. "He's just always here. Doesn't he have anything better to do?"

"Do you?"

"He doesn't work here."

"Haven't seen you doing a lot of work here, Steve."

"You spent forty minutes yesterday drawing on your sneakers."

She shakes her head, but doesn't say anything because he's right and she knows it.

He goes back to staring at Munson, sitting on the edge of the fountain. He's relaxed back, legs spread, looking like he owns the place. The way he's leaning, his t-shirt rides up, showing a tantalizing glimpse of pale skin and the lightest dusting of hair. He doesn't remember his mouth being so dry before.

"You're such an idiot." Robin smacks herself down beside him. "Eddie's a good guy. Is this just because he's the freak and you're King Steve?"

"No!" He says it too loud, a few people in the foodcourt turn to stare. "I'm not that guy anymore. That's all just--" he flaps his hand, can't find the words.

She makes a disbelieving noise, eyes narrow. "I'll never forgive you if you hurt him."

Robin stomps off to the backroom before he can stop her, tell her he doesn't want to hurt Munson.

One of Eddie's friends says something that has Eddie stretching back to hear, pulling his shirt higher, flashing the dark line of a tattoo, and that's too much, that has him slamming his eyes closed, rubbing at his brow but all he can think is--

cold cinder block at his back, hot mouths and fumbling hands and long, deft fingers; desperate, bitten off moans; hands fisted into long curls; the hot, bittersweet taste of him

It was only a handful of times, quick encounters in the locker room, once under the bleachers in the gym. And Steve, he'd never--it didn't mean anything, but it meant everything, and Eddie's been all he can think of for months.

A group of middle school girls comes in, then, and he forgets about Munson as he scoops ice cream and blends milkshakes. The next time he looks to the fountain, Eddie is gone

---

Steve cleans up the remnants of a dropped milkshake at the store entrance, and his shorts are a little too tight, okay, he can feel the way they pull around his hips when he bends too much, but he has to clean the tile before the rush starts and customers complain. There's one spot, though, it's already dried, has to really put his back into it.

The food court is crowded by the time he finishes, bustling with customers. He turns to grab the bucket, and stops dead in his tracks. Munson sits on one of the built-in planters directly behind him. He was staring at Steve's polyester clad ass, but now his eyes travel up Steve's body, getting darker with desire as they go.

He's trapped in place by the force of Eddie's gaze, by the want there. They stare at each other in silence, Steve's blood thumping a vigorous rhythm.

The moment breaks when Robin's voice, calling his name, catches his attention. He turns back to his work without a word, but inside he's reeling.

---

Steve's opening alone, comes out from the back, and there Eddie is, lounging on the fountain rim with a magazine in hand. It's been a couple of days since he's been around, not since the incident. He watches as Munson languidly flips through the pages, seeming not to have a care in the world, and he--

Well, he's never really had to wait around for something he wants.

He stalks over to the fountain, stops when the tips of his sneakers touch the toes of Eddie's boots. And, yeah, he's in his dorky sailor outfit, but Munson didn't seem to mind the other day. Steve thinks maybe he likes it.

"Munson," he says. His hands are on his hips.

Eddie looks up, slow, taking Steve in. He leans back further, crosses his legs at the ankle. "Harrington."

They stare at each other. Steve starts biting his lip. Not as a move--he's nervous, suddenly, that all of this is a waste and Eddie isn't interested--but Munson's gaze hooks on his mouth, lingers, like a warm caress.

Steve's never initiated things between them before, isn't sure if it's working. He takes the chance, though, starts walking away.

He crosses through the seating area, past the counter, into the back, doesn't know for sure if Eddie is following until the door doesn't close right away behind him.

There's a single beat of a second where they watch each other and neither moves, before Eddie is on him, grabbing his shoulders and pushing him into the wall.

"What the fuck is this, Harrington, huh?" They're close enough for their noses to touch. "You ignore me for months and now--"

"You're here all the fucking time," he snaps back. "Sitting in the same spot like you own the place."

"So, I'm not allowed to be at the mall now?" Eddie sneers. "God forbid I'm in sight of the king."

Steve tries to pull away. "That's not what this is, and you know it."

"Then what is it, Stevie? Spell it out for me real slow to make sure I understand." He leans in, a little, and Steve stops breathing.

Eddie's lips brush his, a gentle press that isn't quite a kiss, not yet. His knees go weak, the wall at his back the only thing holding him up, but the kiss doesn't deepen. Instead, Eddie steps back, laughs. "You think I'm this easy, sweetheart? That you can lure me with your little sailor costume and I'll come without a fight?"

"Am I wrong?"

Eddie scoffs, turns his head, and Steve thinks he overplayed it, that his misread everything.

"Fuck you, Harrington." Eddie grabs him, then, hands fisting into his sailor shirt. "Fuck you and this stupid, sexy outfit. Fuck you for knowing this would work on me."

His mouth presses against Steve's throat, and he moans, clinging to Eddie's jacket.

"Listen to you, sweetheart," Eddie murmurs. "Making all those desperate, pathetic sounds for me. Almost like you missed me or something."

"I did." He groans as Eddie's mouth moves along his jaw. "Missed you so much, haven't been able to stop thinking about you."

Eddie sinks his teeth into Steve's cheek, and he has to stifle his shout. He's harder than he can remember ever being before, thinks he could come just from the feel of Eddie's teeth in his skin.

"That's not what you told Billy," Eddie says. "When he almost caught us."

"I didn't want him to hurt you," he gasps. "I--I didn't want him to have a reason."

Eddie pulls away, Steve grasping after him. "I can handle Hargrove."

"He hit me in the head with a plate." Steve points to the small scar on his forehead. "That's how I got that concussion last year."

"Oh," Eddie blinks. He cards his fingers through Steve's hair, pulling it out of the way to see the scar better. "Sweetheart. I thought--" he swallows, throat working. "I--I keep coming here to see you. I wanted--"

His hand falls to Steve's neck, drawing him in. For a second, Steve thinks it's another tease, but Eddie does kiss him this time. It's deep, desperate, so thorough he thinks Eddie's memorizing the taste of him. He doesn't want it to ever stop, not for a second.

Outside, someone starts hammering on the counter bell, shouting for service.

They slip apart, Eddie still gently cradling the back of Steve's neck. "Come over tonight?" Eddie's eyes are so dark, wanting, he could drown in them.

"Yes." Because there is no other answer.

He lets Eddie out the back door just as Robin yells from the front, "Harrington! We have a customer! I haven't clocked in yet!"

"Be right there," he yells back, but not fast enough that she doesn't catch a glimpse of Eddie slipping out.

She whirls to him, brow in an angry furrow. "Steve! I told you not to hurt him!"

He can't stop his smile. "Buckley, I promise you, Munson can take care of himself."

[solarmorrigan]

So "Uptown Girl" released in 1983, and I feel like Steve would have sung it to Nancy sometimes, and she would humor him, because it was sweet, and he actually sounded pretty good when he wasn't doing it just to be goofy

Fast forward a few years, Eddie and Steve are dating, and they're sitting on the couch at Eddie's place one evening, comfortably high, Eddie noodling around on his acoustic and Steve just kinda vibing. And Eddie knows Steve likes Billy Joel, so he starts up with the tune of the first one he can think of: "Uptown Girl." And suddenly Steve's mouth is dropping open like he's just had some great realization

Eddie: What is it?

Steve, in a hushed voice: I'm the uptown girl

Eddie laughs so hard he falls off the couch

[wheneverfeasible]

Bullshit (part 1/3)

Now on ao3

He should probably get a new car.

He didn’t want to. He loved his car, but it wasn’t really cool, was it? Preppy cool, maybe, but not my-boyfriend-is-in-a-metal-band cool. It had certainly seen better days too.

He’d used to reprimand the kids whenever they trailed in dirt and food crumbs or spilled their milkshakes or whatever, but after he stopped doing the same to Eddie, he couldn’t really do it to them either. Besides, he didn’t want to be a stick in the mud.

It was why he’d thrown out all his Wham! and Tears for Fears cassettes, threw out anything that wasn’t Judas Priest or Iron Maiden or whatever else Eddie liked. It was why he boxed away all his brightly colored polos and now just wore the band tees that Eddie let him borrow, why he’d bought some of his own, as well as skinnier dark jeans that he knew Eddie liked the look of his ass in. He even got some bracelets like Eddie’s, and now he actually looked the part of Eddie’s boyfriend and not so much like a sore thumb when he went to all of Eddie’s shows.

The only thing he needed to change, besides his car, was his hair. He’d been putting it off the longest. He loved his car, but he loved his hair more. He didn’t make it quite as styled nowadays, but it was the last part of him that spoke of his former personality. Because he had to change, didn’t he? He knew what happened when you didn’t make your partner happy. Knew what happened when your love was bullshit and he never wanted Eddie to find him unworthy.

So he liked the things Eddie liked now, he dressed the way Eddie dressed, and he did what Eddie did. If he made Eddie happy, if he didn’t make Eddie do anything he didn’t want to do, then Eddie wouldn’t find fault in Steve. It was simple as that. He knew better now. Because Nancy had broke his heart, but losing Eddie? It would break his soul.

So he needed a new car. Maybe a van like Eddie’s, or would that be too much? A BMW was hardly metal, after all. He needed something cooler. And then…then he would change his hair.

He would need to figure out what Eddie thought was cool. Needed to figure out what Eddie liked. Should he buzz it? Should he grow it out? He didn’t know. Eddie had never brought up hair before. He didn’t know what Eddie would prefer. Maybe he could ask Jeff. He’d known Eddie the longest, after all.

Maybe he should dye it. That would look cool, right?

The others had noticed, of course. They’d commented on his new attire, the fact that he didn’t listen to his favorite music anymore, that he only seemed to be doing what Eddie wanted to do nowadays. But Eddie just looked happy whenever Steve agreed to whatever movie Eddie wanted to watch, or what to have for dinner, or what to do on Steve’s days off. That was the important part: making Eddie happy.

So Steve just brushed off their concerns, explained it away as saying that he was growing up and his interests were growing. He even played stupid Dungeons and Dragons now, always making certain he got the names correct, always doing his best to play it how Eddie would want him to play it, even if it always gave him a headache afterwards with all the numbers and words and strategizing.

He always put Eddie’s needs first, be it physically, emotionally, or even just recreationally. If Steve did that, if he was good enough, if he became exactly what his partner wanted, maybe he wouldn’t lose this. Wouldn’t lose Eddie.

Maybe, if Steve made his love good enough, Eddie wouldn’t ever say it was bullshit.

-

Now with a part two

[nerdnameddinkey]

decided to redraw @melonalemonade’s dtiys piece they did back in 2022

[scoops-aboy86]

wc: 1034 | Rating: T | CW: mentions of infidelity | Additional Tags: future fic, famous Eddie Munson, school counselor Steve Harrington, past Steddie, reconnecting, olive branches, second chances, hopeful ending

I got wailed at a lot for part 1, lol, so here’s this to start making it better. Thanks for the comments about Eddie’s characterization though, I’m glad all the growing up he’s done since the breakup came through.

Now also on ao3

Hell of a Time at the Wake, part 2

The thing is, Eddie never fell out of love. He’s just grown past wondering if they’ll ever cross paths again, given up hoping because that way lies just going through the motions instead of living. 

So he’s completely blindsided when, months later, he answers the phone without bothering to check caller ID and hears a voice he hasn’t heard in over five years. 

“Did you do that interview to get my attention?”

Not just blindsided, but speechless. Him. Eddie Munson. Completely struck dumb. He opens his mouth and all that falls out is a strangled, “Steve?”

There’s a scoff down the line. “No, it’s Entertainment Tonight.”

It brings a faint smile to Eddie’s face despite the shock; he’d always loved Steve’s bitchy side. “Uh, hey. Sorry, I wasn’t expecting—No, absolutely no, to that question. How did you…?”

“Dustin taped it and mailed it to Robin, who showed it to me after being really, really weird for a couple of weeks,” Steve admits, with what sounds like a grudging sigh. But then, it’s been so long, who’s to say that Eddie even knows how to read the man’s tone anymore. “Apparently they talk about me behind my back. I’m thinking of pressing charges.”

Eddie snorts. “That tracks. Sorry again, for… that. I would’ve gone out of my way to tell Dustin not to, but all that would’ve done was speed things up, probably. And I really… I mean, it wasn’t that I wasn’t thinking about you when I said it, but…”

“You didn’t expect me to see it.”

“Well,” he hedges—but yeah, he hadn’t. “It’s not like I expect you to keep tabs on me. I fucked that up a long time ago, I know you don’t owe me any of your time or anything. Just, they asked why I don’t drink and I figured I’d give the real answer for once, get it off my chest. For me, you know?”

There’s a pause, and then, “Yeah, I get that.”

The words are quiet. Eddie doesn’t know what to make of them, so he doesn’t particularly try. He leans his hip against his kitchen counter, picking up the mug he’d set down in his haste to catch the ringing phone. Takes a sip. Clears his throat. 

“So,” he prompts finally into the awkward silence. 

“So,” Steve agrees. “Um, is it stupid to admit that I called all indignant because I was sure—But, I get it. And I appreciate that you were… discrete, I guess is the word. You could’ve said a lot worse about how I handled things back then.”

“Gonna be honest, I have a lot clearer memories of how badly I handled it,” Eddie says, staring down into his mug. His face peers back up at him from the dark, steaming surface of the liquid, and man, the number of times he’s wanted to punch the guys he’s looking at for some of that shit. “At the risk of sounding dismissive, people in their early twenties are a lot stupider than they think.”

“That’s hindsight for you.” Another pause. “We don’t have to talk about it. I don’t think I want to open up that can of worms. But… I was surprised to hear that you’re a teetotaler now. Not even weed?”

Eddie laughs. “Hey man, I smoked enough of that while I was still dealing to last a lifetime.”

“You’re not wrong,” Steve shoots back, and maybe, just maybe, he’s smiling when he says it. “I don’t anymore either. Smoke, I mean. I could say I grew out of it, but the smell was…”

He trails off, and Eddie lets him, nodding to himself. Too many memories, the scent of reefer permeating his old jackets that Steve had liked to steal whenever they’d spent a night apart. It’s why he doesn’t wear those anymore either.

“Yeah,” Eddie says softly. “It got me through some shit. I’ve got different shit now, though. Better, uh…”

“Coping mechanisms?”

“Sure. And a busier schedule, too. Not a lot of time to sit around and just be stoned, which was half the fun of it anyway.” It had always made Eddie somewhere in the crux between annoyed and anxious if he had to get up and Do Something when he’d been smoking. Spoiled the ambiance, the boneless indulgence of a good high. That attitude had led to more than a few arguments when they’d been together, and with Uncle Wayne before that—but Eddie had always preferred to finish things up and then smoke up, as a reward. 

Working on DnD campaigns hadn’t counted as doing something. Music either, back before he’d made a career of it. 

“Same here. Did Dustin tell you I’m a middle school counselor now?”

Eddie sees the smile in his reflection before he realizes he’s doing it, and covers his completely unnecessary embarrassment by taking a sip, which Steve also can’t see. “He didn’t, but that’s great. Just like you wanted, huh?”

“Yeah. Keeps me pretty busy, the kids these days man, you wouldn’t fucking believe… I mean, nothing as off the wall as some of the shit the Party got up to, obviously, but these kids, jesus. But yeah, I love it.” Steve hesitates. “How about you? How’s the, uh, music industry treating you?”

Once upon a time, Steve had spat in his face that Eddie only wanted to be a rockstar for the sex, drugs, and groupies, and Eddie had snarled back that it’s supposed to be sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll, asshole, I know you don’t take me seriously as a musician but come the fuck on.

“Can’t complain,” Eddie replies easily, because that was a long time ago, in the heat of an otherwise long forgotten moment. They were different people. “Our last album just went gold. The last tour was wild, but too long. Jeff’s got a baby on the way so we’re taking it easy for a while.”

“That’s great, man. Breaks are good. It sounds like you’ve really earned it.” 

And the thing is, Eddie never fell out of love. 

They keep talking, sometimes stalling out but always picking up the threads to keep going eventually, and it feels a little bit like coming home. 

Permanent tag list (ask to be added/removed):

@hotluncheddie @hiei-harringtonmunson @sofadofax @hickeysgodcomplex @oatmilk-vampire

@wheneverfeasible @hamiltonswiftie @grtwdsmwhr @yesdangerpls @theseaofdespair

[dwobbitfromtheshire]

A few years after Spring Break, in Steve and Robin's new apartment. . .

Steve: After dating Nancy and Jonathan, which it did not end badly, we just wanted different things, and it only bought us closer together as friends, I have decided that I will only be dating couples from now.

Robin: Yeah, that actually makes sense for you. Didn't you date Tommy and Carol?

Steve: It was a one night stand.

Eddie burst into the apartment, holding Chrissy's hand.

Eddie: *grinning* We're here. The party can start!

Chrissy: Hi, Robin, Hi Steve! . . . Robin, why is he smiling at us like that?

Steve: You two come here often?

Robin slapped her palm to her forehead.

Eddie: *blinking* Yeah, you gave us a key, man.

[steddiealltheway]

When Eddie gets excited, he gets a bit overwhelmed. At least, that’s what Steve has noticed, with the way Eddie has to take a quick running lap, bounce up and down, etc. whenever he gets too happy.

Steve secretly thinks it’s adorable and tries his best to induce these little happy zoomies.

It doesn’t take much. Sometimes it’s just a small compliment such as, “That shirt looks nice on you,” that has Eddie bouncing on his heels and fidgeting with his rings with a smile on his face. Sometimes, Steve tries to notice something new like when Eddie trims his bangs or paints his nails, that makes Eddie flush red and mumble, “Yeah, I did,” before taking a quick walk around Family Video before making his way back to him.

This time, Steve isn’t really trying to get a reaction out of Eddie who is angrily storming around the break room of Family Video after Steve had seen his face upon entering the store and ushered him to the back.

“I can’t believe this is happening,” Eddie mutters out, running a hand over his face. Steve sits back quietly, letting Eddie go on a little rant. “He said, we were allowed to have the basement for our campaign. All of it. Then, Ted Wheeler in all his glory suddenly says that we’re too loud, and we can’t do the campaign at their house anymore. I mean… it’s one more session! He could’ve sat in that damn recliner and shut him mouth for one more session! Fuck.”

Eddie groans dramatically and sits on the ground, head in his hands. “I don’t know what to do. It’s summer so we don’t have access to the school. And I can’t risk breaking in and having them take away my well earned diploma. Plus, my trailer is too small, and no one else has the privacy of Mike’s basement. We’re done for!”

Steve shrugs, seeing a clear answer to the problem. “You can do it at my house. My parents are never home, and I can stay in my room for as long as you need.”

Eddie’s head snaps up. “Are you serious?”

“Yeah,” Steve says, not really sure why he’s so shocked.

Eddie stands up quickly. “You’re positive you can deal with all the Hellfire members in your house?”

Steve nods. “I’ll even buy you guys pizza if you want.”

“Buy us pizza…” Eddie mumbles under his breath in disbelief. “Steve Harrington, are you granting me permission to use your house for Hellfire Club meaning hours of us yelling maybe even late into the night while we play our nerdy game?”

Steve nods and shrugs again. “Yeah. It’s not that big of a deal.”

“Not that big of a deal?” Eddie repeats, once again in disbelief. He slightly smiles. “We’re going to be able to complete the campaign.” He bounces on his heels excitedly. “We’re going to complete the campaign!” He runs up to Steve and hugs him tightly, jumping up and down, successfully jostling a laughing Steve in his arms. “We have a place to complete the campaign!!”

Eddie puts him down and pulls back with a big smiles. “Thank you! Seriously thank you. This means so much I could just-”

Before Steve can react, Eddie is leaning forward and pressing his mouth against his in an enthusiastic kiss.

Eddie pulls back quickly and puts his hands over his mouth in horror. “Oh my gosh. I’m so- fuck. I’m so fucking sorry. I just got uh…”

Steve waves him off as Eddie backs as far away from him as possible. “You just got excited. It’s okay.”

It’s okay as it can be considering that Steve really wants to kiss Eddie again although he’s not sure what that really means. But suddenly the urge to make Eddie happy makes a whole lot of sense.

Shit. Okay. He can work with this.

He glances up at Eddie who looks petrified in fear. “I just got excited…” he whispers out.

Steve slowly makes his way to him and puts his hands on his shoulders. “It’s okay, Eddie. Really. I uh, enjoyed it.”

“You enjoyed it?” Eddie echoes uncertainly.

“Yes. But if it was just an excitement thing, I understand.”

Eddie breathes out, “And what if it was more than an excitement thing?”

Steve takes a step further into Eddie’s space and tilts his head. “Then I’d ask if I could kiss you.”

Eddie swallows harshly and leans forward. “It was definitely more than an excitement thing.”

Steve smiles softly and asks, “Can I kiss you?”

“Yes,” Eddie says, slipping his hands into Steve’s hair as he moves forward again.

This time, Steve knows to respond, moving his lips against Eddie’s gently before tracing his tongue against the seam of his lips, exploring the inside of his mouth when Eddie lets him in.

When Steve reluctantly pulls away from the kiss to check on Eddie, he gets a quick nip to the lip.

Eddie flushes red. “So, I sometimes bite when I’m happy.”

Steve leans in again and whispers against his lips, “Thank god I’m into that.”

And he’s going to make sure to learn all the ways to elicit these responses from Eddie, but first, he’s going to learn all the ways Eddie likes to be kissed.

[qprstobin]

I want a Steve who genuinely doesn't want to play DnD because it's just not his thing! He enjoys watching and thinks some of it seems fun, but just isn't interested in the time commitment, or the math, or various other parts of it.

HOWEVER he does demand, like a child when they find out someone is writing a book, to be put in every single campaign as a random npc. He doesn't want to sit down for hours roleplaying, but he does want that seductress in the tavern to have good hair and be named Stevana.

And this isn't like, something the others don't know about, it's very obvious who it is each campaign. Sometimes Eddie even convinces Steve to do the voice for the character if it's a fun one and Steve isn't at work. Steve enjoys how much it both amuses and gets on various Hellfire members nerves, especially because his characters are always... Pretty out there.

Gareth and Jeff tend to be amused by Steve's characters, unless they are actively getting in their way and even then Jeff at least normally just finds them hilarious. Freak continues to want to study Steve like a bug. A crowd favorite for the CC members but a point of annoyance for the Party was the character that Steve pitched that was infatuated with that quest's main villain and would appear randomly just to say something really suggestive about the big bad, inconvenience them somehow even in a really minor way, and then dip. They were definitely supposed to be rescuing Stefano at one point but he was basically kidnapping himself at several points. Dustin is perpetually annoyed because Steve won't play with them for real, but he WILL play a random bimbo that starts them on a quest and enjoys flirting with the older members characters.

(Will and Lucas are... Maybe a little disappointed he's never flirted with their characters but also, Steve would never do that lol.)

Eddie is fine with it, he thinks this is a great compromise. He gets that Steve doesn't want to do hours long storytelling sessions, but this way he still gets to enjoy time with Steve doing one of his favorite things - creating characters and writing the most annoying stories possible. He loves that Steve is participating in even just a small way, and honestly only having him participate for a little bit at a time is better for Eddie's ability to stay on task anyway. He knows Steve wouldn't have fun being a player but he also knows Steve loves being a problem.

[piratefishmama]

Just ONE chance

Stephanie Harrington never intended to be a whole presence online.

She hadn’t even really understood the whole thing at first, it didn’t exist when she was a kid! An if it did it sure as hell wasn’t in every nook and cranny of the globe like it now seemed to be. Kids with iPads, hands glued to phones, six year olds who simply had to have the latest Apple thing.

It was all Dustin’s idea. King of the Gadget. Overseer of all things technology. Gargantuan nerd. Stevie’s little brother.

Not biologically, Claudia, Dustin’s mother had basically adopted Stevie when her own parents had tragically lost control of the wheel during a storm and wrapped their car around a tree back when Stevie was still a teenager. Back when Stevie was still Dustin’s regular babysitter and very suddenly found herself alone having been babysitting when the news reached her.

They’d been coming back from a business trip that she hadn’t been able to go with them on because of school. They’d been so close to home. She’d heard the sirens. They’d been that close.

It was fine though, in one fell swoop, yes she lost her parents, but she gained Claudia, and Dustin, and that was enough, because she sure as hell didn’t get anything else from them. It was all swallowed up, snatched away by her parents business partners because people are sharks and she just… wasn’t prepared to fight them on any of it, especially not when her parents had stupidly left her without a will.

Apparently they believed they’d live forever! The money vanished, the house was sold, she was left with nothing.

With growing up in the Henderson house, came choices, some great, some really stupid, and some that’d led to the very happy accident of Rosie.

To be fair to herself, she’d been in quite a long term relationship at that point! It was a happy one too! She’d thought he’d be it. Sure he’d been a lot rough around the edges, at the start, it’d been a shame cycle at the beginning since he was in fact, a colossal prick, but he was also the hottest guy she’d ever seen. Like, unfairly attractive considering his personality, and he knew exactly how to touch her to melt her icy resolve into a watery mess.

But once he’d gotten away from his dipshit of a father, his step mother dragging him with her when she escaped the man too, once Stevie had laid down the law of how little of the bullshit he’d learned from said father she’d personally tolerate before he’d get a boot out the door, he’d come around.

The racism had stopped immediately. The attitude had ebbed bit by bit as feelings set in, and he’d become a regular ol handsome teddy bear, he’d allowed himself to soften after he’d escaped the only reason he’d had to protect himself.

He’d even started getting along with his step sister, one of Dustin’s friends.

Then stupidity happened when they ran out of condoms, her cycles stopped, and three months in, two drunk idiots in a pickup ran a stoplight while he was getting her some ice cream. Doctors said he probably hadn’t felt a thing.

Rosie came along, a beautiful little thing, had her dad’s soft cheeks, his stormy eyes, thick dark lashes and soft curls, but she took after Stevie in everything else.

Stevie didn’t date after that. A personal choice really. She’d lost her parents, lost her love, and now she had a little girl to focus on, she was done. She felt herself complete! So what if she was still in her mid-twenties. Life had dealt her a hand, she was going to run with it.

Rosie would always come first, and she didn’t like explaining where Rosies father was, she didn’t like the look of pity on people’s faces, the apologies, the rinse and repeat cycle, and so she just. Didn’t bother!

It was easier! She had Rosie, she had her adoptive mother, she had Dustin, she had Billy’s sister Max and her other half Lucas, she had Susan, she had Robin, her co-worker and platonic soulmate from that dumb job at the mall she’d picked up to help Claudia with the bills, she had a whole support network, and she was fine.

Soon Rosie was in preschool, and then middle school, and the internet became a household thing, houses had computers, kids had phones, then smartphones, laptops, tablets, and suddenly the internet was everywhere and everyone had to be on it.

So there she was now. Mid-thirties, with a little girl, and a house paid for by her little brother.

Dustin had struck gold with a job at NASA, he’d put the downpayment on a little two bed house with a cute picket fence lined garden for her when Rosie was born without consulting her, just did it and “SURPRISE STEVIE, now get the hell out of mom’s basement, Jesus Christ.” Kept paying until it was all hers, and that was that… until he came round with computers and gadgets and then she had the internet because Rosie would need it for school because while libraries were awesome he’d had to suffer the five books at a time, Dustin rule one too many times and the internet had UNLIMITED books.

And now Stevie had a smart phone, and apps, and Instagram was fun! Doomscrolling the FYP took up chunks of her days off work while Rosie was at school! She never intended to be a name on there. She’d heard that people could become known for stuff, go viral or whatever.

She never intended to do that. She was a mother. Not even a hot young mom either. She was in her thirties! She remembered when the world didn’t have internet, she was there.

She posted work out videos, never having lost the competitive streak she’d always had as a teenager, sports were her thing back in high school, Gymnastics specifically, which led into cheering. She’d done some competition once with the team but nothing huge, she was fit, healthy, and the subject of many a thirst comment that she pointedly ignored.

She’d posted the occasional rant about Sally the PTA bitch with the self-proclaimed “best potato salad in the State” while doing her morning makeup, still never paying much mind to the comments section, the little rapidly climbing number that signalled followers, or the occasional DM from brands wanting to ‘collab’.

She didn’t care for that, she just wanted to post her little videos in peace. In retrospect, if peace was what she wanted, the lunch trend… probably wasn’t the best one to pick up. It was just a trend though! She’d seen a few moms doing it! Just posting little harmless videos online of what they’d pack their kids for lunch every day!

Harmless, fun! She loved making Rosies lunches, she saw no harm in sharing the fun!

They were always affordable, packed with healthy options, and creative too! She tried her hand at sushi, Rosie hated it, Robin loved it, so Robin got the sushi rolls in her lunches instead, picked up every morning when she grabbed Rosie on the way into work, they were both going to the same place after all, Robin taking on the music teacher role at the Middle school Rosie attended.

She tried noodle jars, cool wraps, made shapes and fun little animals out of fruit, she got creative, but they were all very cookie cutter videos, they all had the same vibe, similar content, it was something to fill her free time that she enjoyed so never in a million years would she have ever predicted that ONE of them, would cause so much chaos.

It started with the beeping.

The incessant pings sometime in the early hours of the morning. Notifications on her phone going off one after the other until she was forced to sit up, bleary eyed, and stare with squinted eyes at the far too bright screen of her phone, then she silenced it and went back to sleep.

With the chaos of the morning routines, getting Rosie up, washed, dressed, packed up for school, and out the door, she didn’t think about the incessant little beeping she’d silenced. It was a distant memory buried under the fog of a heavy sleep and continued to be a distant memory right up until Dustin appeared at her doorstep at around one in the afternoon midway through her afternoon workout, ruffled, stressed, flustered, and frankly just a little too sweaty.

He bypassed all niceties, as usual, bulldozing straight to the point, he pinpointed her phone, which sat comfortably on the countertop, seemingly oh so innocent, grabbed it, brandished it up as if to highlight its very existence and just “Woman, do you LOOK, AT YOUR PHONE?!”

Now, Stevie was not in the business of accepting a tone like that, especially not from her little brother. No matter how much he’d shelled out for the house, the attitude had to go. “Tone problem you little shit, fix it now or get the fuck out of this house and try again later.”

To his credit, he took a breath, and fixed it “Sorry, I’m sorry, but—look! Look at it, please, for the love of Christ, the internet is freaking out.”

“What?”

“Your video yesterday! The one with the like… teddy bear thing you did? With the rice an the—”

“Rosies lunch?”

“Yeah! Have you seen the comments on it?” Stevie rolled her eyes and went about picking up her things, workout sufficiently disrupted, she wouldn’t be able to pick that pace back up now. “Stevie?”

“You know I don’t look at those, people get weird on the internet, it’s like it gives weirdos the perfect place to be their weirdest selves and not in a good way.” She’d looked at them once, curiosity had gotten the better of her once upon a time and wound up having to ask Max what ‘OF?’ meant. She’d taken the win, let it momentarily boost her self-confidence, and decided to never look again. She was done with all that.

“Stevie, this time… one of those weirdos, is famous.” Since it was the age of the internet, Stevie regarded him with a look of disinterest, ‘famous’ could be anything, it could be some dweeb behind a computer screaming obscenities at a mic hooked up to some ridiculously overpriced gaming PC for likes. It could be a podcast bro with half a brain cell kicking its long since dead other half, it could be—“rockstar famous.” Dustin clarified. “One of the guys from that band I like? Corroded Coffin, they just—” he swiped the phone, letting out a soft scoff as the screen just flicked to life, no security pin to be seen of course, no matter, he’d probably berate later, he had a video to find and—“Ah-hah! Look!” and a phone to once again shove into his big sister’s face.

“That’s not even my video!”

“I know! They took the comment down already, but it’s EVERYWHERE, look!” Someone had screenshots. It wasn’t just one video covering it, Dustin scrolled, another popped up soon after, someone getting a little too excited about what was probably the most unfortunate of accidents.

“Don’t they have like… I dunno, people running their accounts? A person? Maybe their internet person just forgot to log out of that account?”

“No! Eddie runs it! The guitarist? Eddie Munson, he usually runs it all himself so everyone thinks it’s him, AND—AND LOOK!” Dustin clicked on the Corroded Coffin’s account, then tapped on the most recent post. Just a big black square, with the word ‘Whoops’ in big bold white lettering, captioned ‘I regret nothing. Just ONE chance, sweetheart, just one.’ With a little prayer hands emoji. “He’s ASKING you out!”

“He’s being a freak on the internet” hands found her hips, the classic mom pose. Immovable, stubborn.

“He’s always a freak! But he’s really cool! He does like, Make A Wish stuff, and—and visits children’s hospitals dressed up like fantasy characters, and he runs DnD things on the account every few months an he’s just REALLY cool, I mean they’re all really cool but Eddie is really cool maybe—maybe you could—”

“Upend my life, Rosie’s life, for a guy I don’t know, who has a job that takes him all over the world, who probably has his pick of whoever the hell he wants so what exactly could I bring to the table to keep him around? I’m done with all that shit, Dusty… I had my time, I have Rosie, I have everything I need. What makes you think I’d even like him?”

“You liked Billy.”

“Get out.”

“No, wait, not like that, I mean, they’re the same! Well, okay, not the same, Eddie didn’t start out a giant prick an he’s never been racist, but they’re sorta similar, similar music tastes, shit fathers, he’s rough round the edges, lil scary looking sometimes but he’s just a big softie when you get past the whole, scary dog thing. Eddie’s like… if Billy never had a shit dad. I just think that maybe… if you looked him up, maybe you’d… I dunno, you’d like him… maybe he’d be your kind of guy… maybe you could finally find someone who appreciates you… you’re not supposed to be on your own, Stevie.”

“Yeah well, I’m not. I have Rosie, and Robin, an you guys… an y’know. Bob.”

“Bob?” One of her patented looks told him all he needed to know, he jerked back in revulsion “ew! God! Fine, could you just! I dunno, look him up or something? Just think about it, I swear he’s really cool an I’d—”

“You’d love free tickets to their next concert.”

“Well, yes, but—”

“Alright then, nice to see you Dustin. Always a pleasure to have you round, please get the hell out of my house.” 

“UggGGGGGHHHHH, STEVIIIIEEE!!!”

“Uggghh, DUSTIIIIN! You interrupted my work out for internet pervert nonsense.” She began shooing him toward the door “Shoo, shoo. I have a family sized bar of chocolate to work off my hips before it gets stuck there.”

“He’d love your hips! With the addition of chocolate bars or not!”

“Weird! Out!” Out the door he went, it closed behind him.

That of course didn’t stop him from yelling through the door, “Just look him up!! I promise you won’t regret it!” But she mostly ignored him, until he went away.

Mostly because… Dustin never spoke up in favour of men before. He’d even gone through a period of hinting at maybe just switching sides and dating Robin when he found out Robin was a lesbian, but both women had promptly shut that down every single time he tried bringing it up.

He wasn’t a huge fan of men.

He’d been raised by a strong independent woman, he’d had a strong female role model in Stevie who’d pushed through every trauma life had thrown at her, he had Robin, he had Max, Jane, Erica, he had Nancy his friend Mike’s older sister, one of his friends had also been raised by a strong independent woman, he’d been surrounded by strong women his entire life with only one real solid male figure.

And that was his middle school science teacher, Scott Clarke. Which was kind of sad when you thought about it.

For him to really vouch for a man, it meant something! It wasn’t something to ignore, even if every instinct Stevie had told her to just. Leave it. What kind of man could a rockstar lifestyle have created. What kind of red flags could Eddie Munson be hiding that Dustin couldn’t (or didn’t want to) see.

Did he really even mean it?

Was it actually Eddie, and not someone else from the band? Would she be seen as foolish for even entertaining the thought? It wasn’t like she’d ever paid attention to the bands Dustin liked, so surely nobody would see her as a weird fan for thinking about it, right? She didn’t even approach him!

He approached her!

Shit like that didn’t just happen though. Or did it? Could it? Was she stupid to even entertain the thought?

Before she knew it, it was time to pick Rosie up, and she hadn’t even finished her work out. it was fine, her hips could handle a chocolate bar. For now. Its days were numbered.