#prompt from anzelsilver

[artiststarme]

Based on this post by @anzelsilver. Thanks for letting me write this prompt and I hope I did it justice!

~*~*~*~

Eddie had no idea what was happening. Don’t get him wrong, the last several months have been great following his horrific encounter with the Upside Down, nearly dying, and then having to clear his name from a series of murders he didn’t commit. But other than his absolute shitshow of a Spring Break, ‘86 truly was his year. He had graduated and become friends with an entire group of outcasts ranging from D&D nerds, a band kid, and a jock. He had never imagined that he would become friends with Steve “the Hair'' Harrington but here he was. But that’s what led to his inordinate confusion. 

Being friends with Steve Harrington was confusing and unlike any other friendship he’d had before. They’d gone from hating each other from afar before their experience with Vecna to hanging out everyday afterwards. Steve would show up to the new Munson trailer with carry-out food from the diner and a blinding smile on his face. At movie nights, Steve would sit closely to Eddie with an arm around his shoulder and would hide his face in his neck at scary parts. He kept suggesting new plans or restaurants to try and would discretely hold Eddie’s hands out of view of everyone else. And when he got particularly excited about something, Steve would even kiss the corner of Eddie’s mouth! 

Now, Eddie had never been friends with a jock before. So he assumes that Steve’s touchiness is due to trauma bonding and jock culture and he doesn’t question it. He continues to hang out with Steve without limitation but all of the touching and everything with a straight guy is confusing for Eddie. Then, a nice guy approaches him at the Hideout after a set and Eddie really has no reason not to agree to go on a date. The fleeting touches from Steve and all around “good guy-ness” has been leaving Eddie feeling unfulfilled and frankly pathetic. He vowed not to crush on another straight guy after what happened last time yet here he was. So, what better way to get over his unrequited crush on Steve than to go out with another guy?

It’s at another Party movie night at Steve’s house that Eddie tells the group. “Look guys, I’m sorry but I’m going to have to postpone Hellfire this week.”

There was a moment of calmness before the kids erupted. 

“Postpone? POSTPONE?!” Mike screams, being the indignant little shit that he is. 

“Eddie, you can’t postpone! You didn’t even postpone for Lucas when he had his basketball game!” Dustin tries, aiming a well-aimed punch at Eddie’s guilt for that particular past decision. Lesson learned, Henderson. 

“Yeah, you said you never postponed! What’s so important that you’re going to postpone the best part of the campaign?” Lucas asked, offended at the mere idea. 

“Well my little sheep, if you must know, I have been courted by a fine bard to be taken on a date. It’s non negotiable, Hellfire will be postponed to next Friday,” Eddie said theatrically. He was laser focused on the reactions of the kids and thus missed the questioning glance Robin threw to a rapidly paling Steve. 

“There’s no way. Steve said he’d sit in on the session on Friday. You’re not going on a date. You almost got us there,” Dustin chuckled. 

“What does that have to do with anything, Henderson? I am going on the date! Tony asked me after my set and I didn’t have any reason to say no! And because you can’t have a campaign without the DM, Hellfire is postponed. End of discussion!”

The room went absolutely silent, enough to hear a pin drop. Eddie didn’t know what he said wrong, everyone here already knew he was gay so they wouldn’t have an issue with that. But as he looked around and saw everyone staring- no glaring, at him, he knew he fucked something up. He whipped around to stare at Steve when he heard him mutter, “oh… fuck, I’m so stupid.”

Eddie’s eyes widened when he saw Steve roughly wipe at his eyes in an attempt to obscure the falling tears. “What the- Stevie?”

Steve just made his way to the back door leading to the patio and muttered, “I hope you have a good date, Eddie.”

Robin shook her head in disbelief. “What the hell, Eddie? I trusted you with him.” 

She looks worriedly in the direction Steve ran but looks back at Eddie with murderous intent in her eyes. She seems torn between wanting to stay and tear Eddie a new one or run after her platonic soulmate. 

“Go Robin, I’ve got this handled,” Nancy says like that’s not the scariest sentence he’s ever heard. She says it in a voice that makes Eddie want to run home and hide under his covers. With one more scathing glare to Eddie in parting, Robin takes off after Steve. 

Eddie was left standing confused in the middle of the Harrington living room, staring at where Steve once stood. The rest of the Party immediately started berating him once the sliding door closed behind Steve and Robin. 

“What are you doing, Eddie?” Lucas, ever the diplomat, asked in bewilderment. 

“You’re a coward, what the fuck is the matter with you?” Max spit at him, her eyes glaring into his very soul. 

“Eddie, you just really hurt Steve. Why would you do that?” Will asked, his eyes open wide in shock. 

“You’re literally the scum of the earth, Eddie. What in the literal hell gives you the right?” Dustin said, really going for his throat. 

“Eddie,” Nancy starts and immediately the rest of the room falls silent. “I cannot believe that you would do something like this. After everything we’ve done for you, everything Steve has done for you, you’re going to mess it all up for what? A date with some stranger? I thought you were better than that but I guess you were right. You really are just a coward that runs away from anything important. I hope you’re happy with yourself, Munson.”

Eddie’s heart dropped at her words. He thought they were all cool with him and Robin being gay but maybe they weren’t. But going after all of his insecurities so viscerally? It made him wonder if they had ever been his friends at all. 

“I thought you guys would be happy for me. I don’t know what I did but I’m really sorry. I didn’t know that you would react like this.” He whispered, his arms coming up to hug himself self-soothingly. 

Whether it was the tears in his eyes or the sincerity of his words, Nancy’s intimidating posture becomes contemplative. Then, realization hits her. “Eddie, you do know that you and Steve are dating… right? And you just stomped all over his feelings in front of all of his friends?”

Eddie feels ice pour through his veins. That would explain the cuddling on the couch during movies, the sleepovers in the same bed, and the chaste kisses on the edge of his lips. Oh fuck. They were dating. And he just fucked it all up by agreeing to go out on a date with another guy… some, some schmuck!

Oh no, Eddie’s eyes widened even further. Steve thinks he just broke up with him and left his own house! Oh no! 

“Jesus H. Christ! Why didn’t anyone fucking tell me that we were dating? You expect me to just know these things? Fuck! I have to go after him, right? Goddamn it, you all fucking suck. No one thought to fucking tell me the cuddling and goddamn kisses were him wooing me? Fucking shit!” Eddie screamed at the group before turning and sprinting after Steve, his apparent boyfriend. What the literal fuck was he supposed to do about that?

He caught up to them quickly, Steve and Robin were sitting on the edge of the pool with their feet in the water. They both turned around at the sound of the sliding door slamming open against the jam. Eddie burst through panting and keeling over. Jesus Christ, he had to cut down on the smoking. Poor Steve had tear tracks running down his cheeks and Robin had a wet stain on the shoulder of her shirt. She glared at him menacingly from her perch. 

“Steve, I’m sorry! I didn’t know we were dating, I’m so sorry.” Eddie pled through his pants.

Steve’s eyebrows crinkled in confusion. “How the hell did you not know we were dating? I literally just took you to Indy on a date last weekend and was holding your hand. We’ve kissed!”

Eddie let out a manic laugh. “I know! I know we’ve kissed and I know it sounds stupid. I thought it was you being really touchy with your friends or like jock behavior or something. Steve, I swear to you, I had no idea that we were dating.”

Robin’s eyes were squinted and she asked incredulously, “how many guys are you kissing that you think kissing people on the lips is ‘jock behavior’? Do you know how stupid that sounds?”

“Yes, I know how stupid that sounds! And guess what, I’m stupid! You think you can be a senior in high school for three fucking years without being stupid?! No! But I swear, I didn’t know.”

Steve shook his head, “no, you’re not stupid. This is my fault. I know you wouldn’t want to date me and I misunderstood-”

“Steve, of course I want to date you! You’re perfect and I love you, why wouldn’t I want to be your boyfriend? I’m just really fucking dumb and didn’t realize. I am so sorry.”

Robin was watching the two of them talk like a tennis match. She had no idea what was happening but holy shit, it felt like she was in a sitcom. Steve stood from his position at the pool and took a step towards Eddie. “You would date me?”

Eddie nodded vigorously, “of fucking course, Steve! The only reason I agreed to go on a date with Tony in the first place is because I wanted to get over you. All of the touching and flirting had me out of my mind because I thought I couldn’t have you, man. I was going crazy.”

Steve moved closer so they were nose to nose and glanced down at his lips. “Don’t call me ‘man’.” 

Eddie licked his lips and watched Steve’s eyes track the movement. “What’re you going to do about it, big boy?”

Steve’s lips surged forward to meet his own, fully this time in a way the chaste kisses in the past hadn’t before. Eddie felt butterflies in his stomach and electricity down to his toes. He was flying on cloud nine and he had never felt such happiness, such contentment and-

“Eh em, excuse me. Hey, be respectful of the lesbian eyes over here! I don’t need to see any of this. Eddie, stop with the tongue!” Robin shrieked, breaking his haze of Steve Harrington-induced bliss. 

Steve pulled back enough to murmur against his lips, “Eddie, would you go on a date with me?”

Eddie smirked and with his eyes still closed, he whispered, “I thought you’d never ask, Stevie.”

[strangersteddierthings]

Dialogue tag

Prompt: share a section of dialogue that we like from our own work! It can be funny, sad, ridiculous, mysterious, plot-centric or just characters shooting the breeze…anything! And it can be from a WIP or a posted fic! It can be short or long! Let’s celebrate our beloveds having a chat.

Thank you @mcneen for tagging me :D

This is a snippet from Save Max that I've always adored, with Eddie scared of telling their friends that he's queer and in a relationship with Steve.

"Steve," Eddie whispers as they sit on the couch, movie playing but Eddie's not watching. "I'm scared."

"What?" Steve sounds so confused, and he quickly looks between Eddie and the movie. It's so enduring that Eddie must laugh about it, just a little.

"Not of Footloose. Of telling people. About us."

Steve's face softens and he looks so fond that Eddie aches. "That's okay, Eddie. You don't have to."

"But what if...."

"If?" Steve prompts.

"What if I'm never ready to come out? What if I- if we can't- What does it mean for us, if I never get there?"

"Oh," Steve says, like the thought that Eddie would never come out hadn't ever occurred to him. "Well, then I'll just be the bisexual who never dates again and lives with his best guy friend for the rest of his life."

That's like a gut punch in the best way. That Steve says it so easily, like he plans to stay with Eddie until he dies. Eddie can't fathom that. "Careful, Stevie. With words like that I might get ideas about you."

Steve looks serious now, but with a little upturn to his mouth. A small, secret smile. "Ideas, hmm. What sort?"

"That you might adore me."

"Well, I do adore you," Steve says simply, easily, "I love you, Eddie."

Tagging people whose dialogue I love to read, so hopefully it lets them brag about some of their own fav dialogue: @inklessletter @nburkhardt @steddierthings @afewproblems @ladykailitha @anzelsilver

[artiststarme]

Steve Has a Minor Fear of Spiders

Steve wasn’t afraid of much. He would drop everything to hit a demogorgon with a nail-studded bat and he’d face up against an evil wizard guy that could murder people through their minds any day. He would square up to bullies and deal with anything that came at him. What he wouldn’t do however, is deal with spiders. He didn’t care if the thing was huge, small, poisonous, or not. 

Steve Harrington did not fuck with spiders. 

He thought that everyone was made aware of his little aversion to anything with eight legs. Lord only knows he freaked out in front of the party enough times. Eddie, though, was not notified of his predicament and he learned about Steve’s arachnophobia the hard way. 

~*~*~*~

It was a peaceful day for Eddie and Steve. They were lounging around the trailer, cuddling in Eddie’s bed, and listening to the dulcet tones of Ozzy screaming his head off through the cassette player. Both of them had the day off with nowhere to be and they were planning on making the most of their free time while they had it. 

First on the list was a nap. Eddie was half asleep, comfortable in Steve’s arms and basking in the heat from his personal heater. Out of nowhere, Steve screamed in his ear and leapt off the bed like it was on fire. Eddie’s eyes shot open and he scrambled to sit up from his comfy cocoon of blankets. 

“Dude, what the fuck,” his voice was hoarse and irritation swam in his eyes. Steve better have a good excuse to give him for ruining his naptime. Jesus Christ, he’d waited all week to cuddle this guy and now he was playing games? Eddie was not in the mood to say the least.

“There’s a fucking spider! Oh my god, it’s on your chest! Holy Shit, Eddie!” Steve screamed. His arms flailed and his skin paled ever further. Eddie was still waking up, his brain hardly understanding Steve’s words. 

“A spider? What-”

“Duck!”

“Now there’s a duck?” And then he got hit in the face by a flying combat boot. 

“Did I get it?” Steve asked hesitantly. 

“No! You got me! Why would you throw a boot at my face?!” Eddie yelled at him. 

“To kill the spider! Oh my god, it’s still there.” His voice shook with a fear so potent that Eddie looked down at his chest to see what was causing it. He didn’t see any creepy-crawlies besides the spider tattoo just under his collarbone. Wait a minute…

“This? It’s a fucking tattoo! I’ve had this black widow tattoo since I was 16!” Eddie yelled. 

“Why would you get a tattoo of a spider?” Steve asked in horrified confusion. 

“Because I like it! Why would you throw a combat boot at someone’s face?” 

“To kill the spider!”

They both stared at each other in silence for a moment, some more mad than others. Steve cleared his throat and scratched the back of his neck in embarrassment. 

“I’m sorry, man. But uh, could you put a shirt on?” 

“Unbelievable,” Eddie muttered. He did slip a metal concert tee on but glared at Steve all the while. He stuck his tongue out at Steve and stalked from his room, his naptime ruined by the boyfriend that was supposed to act as a pillow. 

He forgave him eventually, like two hours later, when Steve made him Kraft Mac and Cheese and kissed the bruise on his forehead with soft tenderness. Eddie couldn’t stay mad at the guy when it was his spider tattoo that prompted such a reaction. 

And if he got the tattoo covered up a few weeks later with an image of his Sweetheart (his Warlock), well, it probably had nothing to do with Steve’s fear of spiders.

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