#robin buckly

[stevieschrodinger]

"Robs I've got to stop staring. Make me look away."

"Errr...no. I'm staring too."

"But why?"

"Trying to work out what the fascination is. He looks like the love child of Ozzy Osbourne and an Ann Rice vampire."

Steve sips his drink, "he's not even that good looking," he says, distressed, "I just can't look away...there's just...something."

"Is it how pathetic he is?"

"He does walk like a baby deer on ice." And it's true, the guy is so uncoordinated. He clearly doesn't know how long his arms are, and keeps nearly taking people out by accident. There's just something... fascinating about it. "Oh my god Rob, make me look away, I'm being a creeper. This is so inappropriate, he must be about twelve years old."

"Steve. He's holding a beer, so even if he is just 21, that actually means there's only ten years between you."

"Only," Steve snorts with derision, "only she says. Who is he anyway."

"Wayne Munson's plus one."

"Wayne Munson the engineer guy?"

"Yeah."

"Didn't know he swung that way-"

Robin hits him with her purse, "it's his nephew you fucking dingus. Didn't you pay any attention?"

"No. Not really, you know I hate this shit."

"You can get through one company BBQ Steve, you won't die. Maybe you'll get introduced to him."

Steve makes a noise. A noise he really shouldn't make and definitely not in public. Because he wants to do mean, awful, terrible things to that boy. He wants to make him come until it hurts. Until he's sore and red and begging and trying to cry but he can't because there's nothing left because Steve has removed every drop of moisture from the boys body via his dick and he has got to stop staring.

"Robin, walk me to the bar. Walk me to the bathroom. Walk me to my car. Walk me to the ornamental fucking fountain so I can ornamentally fucking drown myself but please I am begging you. I have got to stop staring."

"Okay," Robin grabs him by his arm and turns them fully in a circle, and then starts marching him across the lawn towards the Munson's.

"Robin. Please. No."

"Shut up you big baby. Besides, he needs help, there might be things living in his hair."

"I can definitely fix him."

"That's the spirit."

Part Two

Read what happened next on AO3

[stevieschrodinger]

Everyone is stoned. Just. So stoned. Eddie brought over the good stuff. The TV's been stuck on static for like, forty minutes, but no one can be bothered to move.

"You shut up Steven, you've practically dated everyone in the room."

"Robs. Robs. We never. Not even prac-ti-cly."

"Yeap, yeap, you asked me-"

Steve huffs, "we were drugged and in a bathroom, and doesn't count. Said no."

"But I nearly said yes. So you've nearly dated everyone," Robin tells him confidently.

Steve's vaguely aware of either Nancy or Eddie making a noise at that revelation, but he's not looking at where they're lying on the floor, so he doesn't know which of them it was.

And for a split second, Steve's back there. Drugged, confused, sitting in a bathroom and absolutely certain that he's in love with Robin, "you never told me that."

She shrugs, she shrugs like it's nothing, like she hasn't just turned Steve upside down a little bit, "I only figured it for a second, but I thought, if there was someone I could...fake it with. It would be you."

And there's just so many things she's not saying there. That don't need to be said. About the world and why she would consider that. Too many things for Steve to process. And Steve's crying, he doesn't even know why really, just big feelings that he can't define. A life they nearly had that would have been a lie, but still a forever with Robin. He's got a lapful of Rob now, and he holds her so tight, so so tight. And he knows Eddie is there, rubbing his back, and Nancy is doing the same for Robin.

And he kind of thinks that things do just work out.

[stevieschrodinger]

Because of the law changing Eddie/Steve and Robin/Nancy get married on the same day.

The news breaks that it's official, and all four of them look at each other and they just know. They hardly even speak as they're all pilling into Steve's car, heading to find out what they need, what paperwork there is, when the next available appointments are at the courthouse.

Because of this, it's an ongoing thing that if it ever comes up in conversation, just a casual, 'oh, how long have you been married?' Eddie will always, always, look at Nancy and say, "when did we get married?"

And every single time, without fail, Nancy will explain, "oh, I'm not married to him we just got married on the same day."

To which Eddie will always get so so offended, " why are you so quick to point that out, huh? What would be so bad about being married to me? Steven! Defend my honor!"

And they fight about it every time, and Robin and Steve love it.

[stevieschrodinger]

Part One Two Three

Robin sucks on her drink through her straw, “why, exactly, are we here?”

Steve sighs into his own drink.

Robin looks around the yard from her perch on a lawn chair, “I can’t help but notice, Steven, that we are very clearly the oldest people here.”

Steve watches Eddie balefully. He’s trying and failing to light the grill. It’s almost embarrassing to watch; Steve can’t seem to look away.

“Steven, I am drinking something that was mixed together in bowl. I’m drinking it out of a red solo cup. I haven’t touched one of these in a decade. I require an explanation.”

“I don’t have one.”

“That is a lie. Your pants will catch fire and then you can use them to help that moron to light the grill.”

They watch for a little longer.

“Fucks sake Steve just go and do it for him. This tastes like paint thinner; I’ll need to eat some bread at some point or I’ll go into kidney failure.”

Steve gets up and lights the grill for Eddie. He’s wearing another butchered tee shirt and some black board shorts. He’s so pale, and all of his bony bits are on show. Elbows. Wrists. Ankles.

His hair is gathered up into a messy bun on top of his head.

He still has a smear of make up on one eyelid where it hasn’t washed off properly.

Steve knows exactly what he sounds like when he comes.

“Thanks man,” Eddie’s blushing. He’s rubbing the back of his neck. It reveals Eddie’s pale ribs. His dark hairy armpit-

Steve runs away before he does something stupid.

“Okay, so, step by step, no gory details please, what exactly happened last night, because I know damn well you didn’t spend the entire forty five minutes I was waiting hanging around in a gross bathroom.”

Steve sighs, rubs his forehead, then goes and gets them both refills.

“Coward,” Robin calls after his retreating back.

He’s refilling their cups with an honest to fucking god soup ladle out of the kitchen – avoiding the fly that has met it’s sticky end in what is, no doubt, highly toxic punch – when it happens.

“Hey man,” Steve is being addressed by an actual pimply teenager.

“Hey.”

“Nice car,” he sounds weirdly angry about it.

“Uhhh...thanks,” because Steve doesn’t know what the fuck else to say to a dude wearing a dungeons and dragons tee shirt over flaming basketball shorts. He has nothing on his feet. Outside. Steve represses a shudder.

“Look, you clearly have money, or whatever, and probably a fancy job and you’re like, forty-”

“Hey-”

“- or whatever, but this thing with Eddie, can you make it fast please? Dragging it out isn’t fair on him.”

Steve blinks. He’s getting a shovel talk from someone who probably doesn’t know what a VHS is.

Steve can remember playing video games with no save; if you were going to do it, you had to play the whole damn thing in one go. Steve didn’t have a mobile phone until he was fifteen. Steve is not going to take this.

“This ‘thing’ I have with Eddie is none of your business. Eddie can speak for himself-”

“No Eddie cannot speak for himself, because Eddie is the nicest guy I know and Eddie already thinks he’s in love. Don’t think I don’t see what this is for you, Eddie’s just another thing to play with until you get bored. Look at this place, look at us. Now look at you and you’re fancy friend over there,” the kid gestures and, yeah, alright, the difference is pretty obvious, “you wouldn’t be caught dead here, slumming it, if you weren't getting something out of it. Now hurry it along, Eddie only writes good stuff when he’s heartbroken. Which is a lot, by the way. We all know how this goes.”

“What’s wrong with your face?”

“I just got a shovel talk from a kid who probably shouldn’t even be drinking yet.”

“Ouch,” Robin takes her drink back, “how does that feel?”

Steve shrugs, “not sure, actually.”

Across the yard, Steve watches as Eddie gesticulates wildly and hisses angrily at the pimply face DnDer. He catches Steve watching. Eddie grabs the kid by the arm and drags him away.

“The burgers are burning,” Robin idly points out.

Steve sighs, he loves this polo, grease stains are a bastard, and the chances of finding an apron in this place are none existent.

At least Robin comes with him. She half unwraps some cheese and generally pretends to busy herself, slicing buns and stacking paper plates.

“So, last night?”

“Right,” Steve sighs through his nose, shuffling some onions around on the flat plate. “So I was just going to you know, get him.”

“Get your man tiger,” Robin purrs.

It shouldn’t be funny, but it kind of is. Steve laughs.

“But he just...grabbed my hand. And he said ‘Steve! Come and meet the guys!’ So I...did.”

“He introduced you to his friends,” Robin raises that lethal eyebrow.

“Yeah.”

“And you went along with it?”

“Well I kind of...he didn’t let go of my hand so I kind of…”

Both of Robins eyebrows are now in the stratosphere. She appears to spend a few minutes digesting that, “and then you got invited to...this.”

Steve’s already dug half a hole, and he still apparently has the shovel in his hand, so he keeps going, “he was just so happy to see me,” Steve admits, quietly.

“Who is that?”

“Who?”

Robin grabs Steve by the hair and forcibly turns his whole head, “that.”

There’s a blonde girl talking to Eddie. She’s wearing a white tank top and daisy dukes, “no idea.”

“Come on, high time you introduced me.”

Steve really tries, but he cant hide the fact that he is delighted by this turn of events, “why, Robin Buckley! Oh how the tables have turned-”

“Shut the fuck up. I’m going to make her cry.”

Part Five

[stevieschrodinger]

Part One Two Three Four

Steve sits with his head pressed against the steering wheel.

In the passenger seat, Robin’s doing her make up.

“What are we doing here, Rob?”

“You mean like, in the cosmic soul searching sense, or here specifically?”

“Here. Specifically.”

“Well, your beautiful brunette boyfriend-”

“You don’t score points for alliteration. And he’s not my boyfriend.”

“All right then, the man who is under the distinct impression that he’s your boyfriend, suggested we all hang out together. So we are here. At the place I suggested.”

“Because you know I hate it here.”

Robin makes a non committal noise, Steve looks, she’s pulling the horrendous mascara face. He goes back to resting his forehead on the steering wheel.

Steve does hate it here. Reminds him of...fucking work brunches with his father and Sunday lunches with his mother and he just. Hates it.

Steve sighs like a Victorian maid who’s betrothed has not yet returned from sea. He’s certain he’ll die from consumption at any minute.

“Shut up you big baby,” Robin tells him as she fluffs her hair, “all I want is to finger bang this chick in the bathroom and then rub my cunt on her face, is that too much to ask?”

And Robin has been wholly supportive of Steve so far, so, “no, I suppose-what the fuck Robin? Did you choose this place because-”

“I like the bathrooms-”

“-the bathrooms are nice-”

“What?-”

“Oh you fucking-”

“They’re romantic kinda’.”

“They’re bathrooms, Robin!”

“The lighting is good. I like the vibe.”

“Oh my god.”

Steve’s stares mournfully after his best friend. She’s at the bar with Chrissy, because Chrissy wanted to watch the guy make their cocktails, look he does tricks with the thing, like in that old movie with Tom Cruise.

Steve could physically feel himself ageing as she spoke.

“It’s so cool they’re dating.” Steve does not point out that whatever Robin's about to do to Chrissy, it will be a four letter word, but that four letter word is not ‘date’.

“You think?”

Eddie smiles big. The dimples come out. Huge happy brown fucking cow eyes. He’s not attractive Steve reminds himself viciously. He’s playing with his cutlery because he can’t sit still and...his chins too pointy. Or something. “Well yeah. It’d be so cool if they get married.”

Steve nearly chokes on his drink.

“Hey man, you okay?”

“Fine, fine,” Steve’s nose is burning from the bubbles going up there, “what makes you think they’ll get married?”

“Well...why would you date someone if you can’t see it going somewhere?” Steve hopes this is going somewhere; like to a bed, specifically, “so there’s a chance, right? I can tell Chris really likes her. I hope it’s like, a long term thing.”

Steve feels himself slow blink. He doesn’t explain to Eddie that you date someone because you want to stick your penis in them. Eddie turns to watch the girls again, they laugh, and Eddie grins at them, all happy and fond.

Steve sighs.

“You okay?”

“Sorry?”

“You just...you don’t seem so happy to be here man. Kind of tense.”

Steve has no idea how Eddie even noticed, usually people don’t notice. Or usually people don’t care, but it amounts to the same thing because coming to somewhere like this is just the step you take before you step into a bedroom.

“I...I actually don’t really like it here much.”

Eddie looks at him, leans close. He’s ready to really listen. He...cares. About Steve. Steve wonders if he’s going to come up in a rash; it feels like the sort of thing he should be allergic too. He wonders vaguely if there’s antihistamines in the glove box.

“Why?”

“Well...I.” Steve pulls a face. He doesn’t talk about...meaningful things, but he figures it can’t hurt this once, he can be vague. Especially if it increases the chance of doing the no pants dance with Eddie, “I don’t have the best relationship with my parents. I mean, they’re good parents, I had really good nannies growing up, had a great education, the best boarding school, they funded my degree, gave me a solid start at work, so they are great...we just don’t exactly get on all the time. We used to come here for pretty much every family meal.”

Eddie’s frown deepens the more Steve talks, “how often were the...family meals?”

“I don’t know,” Steve hums, “holidays I guess, when I was away, and then...maybe fortnightly? We don’t do it now, obviously.”

“Oh. Me and uncle Wayne had one meal a day together, at least, when I lived there. It was like, a house rule.”

“Oh that’s...you’re close?” To Steve that already sounds like something out of the fucking Brady Bunch.

“Yeah. Speaking of which, he’s invited you to dinner.”

“Dinner?” Steve asks weakly.

“Yeah, since you’re courting that boy, he said.” Eddie puts his hands up to do the air quotes. And then he grins. That big stupid grin. He looks so happy. So genuinely happy to see Steve. So happy about the prospect of just...seeing him again.

Steve does not point out that a blow job at a garden party, humping each other in a public bathroom, and one co ed BBQ does not courting make.

“Right.”

“Awesome, I’ll let you know when,” Eddie drums two forks on the edge of the table. Steve stares at his bony wrists. His mind suggests phrases like, ���slender’ and ‘delicate’ and Steve ignores those and thinks about how he could very easily hold both of those wrists in one hand. “listen, do you want to get out of here?”

“Sorry?”

“Well, the girls won’t care,” and he’s probably right there, “and you don’t like it here, and I don’t care where I am as long as it’s with you.”

Steve riffles through his internal Rolodex and comes up blank; no one has ever said anything that sincere to him in his life. And Eddie means it too; he means everything he says in a completely unguarded way Steve has literally never encountered before. It’s like meeting an alien. Steve wants to put him under a microscope.

“I just want you to have a nice time, you know. I want you to be happy.”

Eddie reaches out and takes Steve’s hand.

Steve lets him.

Part Six

[stevieschrodinger]

Part One

“I need you to find out everything you can about him.”

“Well hello to you too.”

“I brought coffee,” Steve pushes the coffee cup across the desk at her.

“What happened to ‘one and done. Got it out of my system. Eddie Munson? Never even heard of him-’” Robin mimics in what is, unfortunately, quite an accurate caricature of Steve.

“Robin,” Steve hisses, “for the love of fucking god shut up and tell me you will help me find him.”

Robin looks at him, Eyebrows raised, her best 'who the fuck do you think you're speaking too’ look on her face.

“Fine, sorry, don’t shut the fuck up obviously-”

“Oh well, thank you so very much-” the sarcasm is actually palpable in the air.

“- just please!”

“Tell me why.”

“I can’t. I really can’t. I have no logical or meaningful or emotional or reasonable or ideological or – fucking – astrological reason for this.”

Robin sighs, Rubbing at the bridge of her nose, “thought you fucked him in the pool house?”

“I- I did.”

“What was that,” she points right in Steve’s face.

“What.”

“That,” she waves her hand, indicating Steve’s face. “Something happened.”

“Robin, please don’t make me.”

She just stares at him. For ages. For a millennia. Steve feels like his flesh melts of and he turns to bones and then to dust, just like the guy with the wrong cup out of the Indiana Jones movie.

“Okay, so I sucked him off and then jerked off into his mouth but after we…talked.”

“Talked?” Robin raises an eyebrow that could devastate universes.

“And cuddled,” Steve mumbles behind his coffee cup.

The second eyebrow lifts to join the first, “and you...liked it?”

“God no,” Steve snorts, “he’s got like one percent body fat, it was like cuddling a sack of small power tools.”

“Right...so you want to do it again because..?”

“I don’t know I just...I think it was a fluke. Lets go again. I’m sure I’ll hate it the second time.”

“What did you even talk about?”

“Dumb shit. He’s a dumb kid. Nothing worth repeating, now, Robin, please, for fucks sake-”

“He’s in a band, they’re playing on Friday at some dive bar-”

“How the fuck do you already know this-”

“Someone!” Robin cuts across him, clearly pissed off, “had to entertain Wayne Munson while you were off giving Eddie a ‘tour of the grounds’ with your dick.”

“Oh. Right. Sorry, Robbie. Uhm-”

“Tell me I’m the greatest thing that’s ever happened to you and buy me all my drinks on Friday night and I might consider calling us even.”

Part Three

[stevieschrodinger]

Everything is going slowly foggy. The fear is fading. Eddie's vaguely aware that it's probably because he's dying. What was terrifying a couple of minutes ago, is only vaguely of interest now. An ephemeral pressure on the back of his brain. Present, yet easy to ignore.

All he can taste is his own blood, but it's not so bad. At least he can tell Dustin how much he loves him. And Steve's there. Steve Harrington. Who knew he would turn out to be such a great guy? So, yeah. It all feels alright.

Eddie feels sleepy, vaguely aware that he's, actually, probably dying.

He closes his eyes.

There's a strange sense of vertigo, strange enough that Eddie notices he's standing up before he notices that someone's kissing him. It's a soft press of lips. It's wonderful.

Eddie blinks his eyes open, and from an inch away, he's looking at Steve Harrington.

He's standing in a kitchen. it's nice. Eddie's clean; he's wearing sweats and a tee. Barefoot. The kitchen smells like coffee, and sun is shining in through the window.

Somewhere in the house, a child sequels; Eddie startles. "Steve?" He asks, carefully. "I mean...not that it isn't-"

The child comes barreling into the room. It's a little girl. She's wearing the smallest Dio shirt Eddie's ever seen. She throws herself at Eddie's legs, screaming "Papa!"

Eddie has no idea what his face is doing as he looks down at this little girl, but Steve is taking his hand, tugging it, Eddie looks up, "it happened again, didn't it? You forgot again?"

"I...what?"

Steve scoops up the little girl, throwing her over his shoulder, she squeals again, laughing like this is the best thing ever, "come on pumpkin patch, Papa's not feeling so hot today and auntie Robin's going to be here in two whole minutes."

He looks back to Eddie, mouthing 'just wait, okay?'

Eddie, at a loss, just nods.

He creeps to the doorway, watching, fascinated, as Steve Harrington fixes the little girls hair into pig tails. Helps her get her socks straight. Helps her tie the laces on her sneakers. Gets her back pack on her, "eat your carrot sticks today, okay Ronnie?"

'Ronnie,' Eddie mouths to himself.

Watches as Steve puts her little hand into Robin's, standing on the front porch. Robin looks different. Older. She's smartly dressed.

Steve whispers something to her, and she looks at Eddie. Smiles a sad smile. They leave.

Steve stands there for a moment, waves them off, then closes the door. He seems to steal himself, and then he turns and comes back to Eddie, "I have to go to work, but, come on, let me show you something."

Eddie follows Steve into an office, there's shit everywhere, "I don't come in here often, your mess drives me fucking batshit," Steve digs into a desk drawer, brings out a notebook. "I have no idea what's in here, I've never read it. Something about...what happened. You did die. You were oxygen deprived long enough to cause a brain injury, so sometimes you...forget everything. After the second time it happened, you started writing letters to yourself. So, yeah...you call it your instruction manual, I get it for you when this happens."

It takes Eddie what feels like a really fucking long time to process this, and he can't help but notice that Steve's eyes are wet, Eddie feels crushingly guilty about it.

"Okay so what do I...do?"

Steve shrugs, "read it, I guess. You add to it whenever anything important happens...Eddie...just, the bats, they did a number on you...when you, when you look at the scars, the first time, just, brace yourself, okay and...don't forget that I love you, no matter what, I love you."

And Steve just...leaves the house. Leaves Eddie in this absolute disaster of an office. Leaves him holding a notebook that's ratty and untidy and feels like it's bursting at the seams.

Eddie reads.

So, I'm going to try and keep this simple, but I'm you, from the past, and our dumb ass has fucking brain damage...

You're not going to fucking believe this...we bagged Steve Harrington...

Hold on to your hat big boy, but we got fucking published! And if you're reading this, then you are in for a treat, because it means you get to read our genius for the first time all over again...

Okay, so this one was a bad one, we initially, didn't react so well, so, here's what I was worried about, and I'll talk you through it...

So, I need you to not fuck this up for us, okay? So, this is the Steve Harrington play book. The man is romantic, buy flowers, do nice shit. I cannot stress this enough - just pick up your crap man, he hates it when the place is messy. Now, we have to get it right so here's everything I know, I'll start at the top and work down. He loves having his hair played with, and tugged, but not too hard, gentle but firm, there's a sweet spot. The neck, the whole thing is an erogenous zone, I really can't downplay the importance of the neck...

We bought a fucking house! Look at it! Just look at it! And Eddie does, because there's a Polaroid stuck to the page.

So, this might sound dumb, and I probably should have written to you sooner, but...Steve jizzed in a cup for Robs, and Nancy turkey basted it, you know. Anyway, the point is...Rob's pregnant. With our baby. And then me and Nance got drunk, like, to celebrate, and she got all sad that her and Robin weren't having a baby, stay with me, I know this is mad as shit, but Nancy wanted our kid and their kid to grow up together....

Look, I don't know if it's the stress of like, imminent fatherhood, but we've been forgetting a lot lately, so, here's the plan for when Rob's in labor, and everything you've talked to Steve about when it comes to being the stay at home parent, okay...

The next page is just a Polaroid, a little scrunched up face. A little pink potato swaddled in blankets, and underneath it says 'Ronnie Jamie Harrington'...

And the next page, another Polaroid, another scrunched up face, another little pink potato swaddled in blankets, and underneath it says 'Stephanie Edwina Wheeler'...

Steve comes home. He looks exhausted. Like, drained. And, worried and scared and pale and lots of other things Eddie can't even begin to imagine. Eddie holds his arms out and Steve practically throws himself into them, "how long does it take, for me to get back to normal?"

Steve shrugs, "it's different every time, but it's a good sign you're still here, sometimes you run. Those times are the worst ones."

Six weeks later, Eddie writes to himself, "do not, under any circumstances, run away..."

Eddie thinks he's seeing things. Thinks maybe he's going senile. But he hasn't forgotten for...well, it's been years now. At least seven or eight. And yeah, Ronnie might be about to finish high school and Steve might be stressed to fuck over her college applications, but...Eddie's glad. He's glad she's spreading her wings. He's glad they managed to produce a stand up human being.

He's really glad her and Steph are trying for the same colleges, they're always going to have each other.

But yea...he's worried his mind is kind of...slipping. Hasn't told Steve. Doesn't want to worry him. They're both sprouting a few gray hairs, no need to add to those.

But sometimes. Sometimes when Eddie looks out of the window, he thinks, for a moment, that the sky is dark and...it looks like snow?

And sometimes, Eddie catches himself in the mirror, and he's sure he's dirty. A mess. Covered in blood but...no. He walks back a step, checks again. Everything is fine.

Sometimes he's sees movement out of the corner of his eye.

Sometimes, in the beat of the music or the rumble of the car engine, he swears he hears things. Sometimes a voice. Sometimes it sounds like they're yelling.

Sometimes it sounds like Steve.

And once, he blinked awake, Steve bringing him a coffee. But it wasn't Steve, for the time between startled, half asleep blinks, it was Vecna.

It gets worse.

Something isn't right. The house is empty, and it shouldn't be.

He can hear Steve, but he can't find him. And that's silly because the house isn't that big. He searches and searches, growing more frantic. He calls back to Steve, but Steve...doesn't seem to hear him.

There's something dim about the light, but the light has always been that way, hasn't it? Something...dusty, in the air. Eddie feels like he's dreaming. He has to be dreaming; there's a crack in the living room wall. A crack that spreads and lengthens until the whole house is crumbling and Eddie can see clearly now that the sky here flashes red.

That it's always been flashing red.

How did he not see before? The dust on every surface? The pages of his notebook are blank. Eddie knows. He's always known.

Steve.

Steve is here. He's hanging from Eddie's fist, bruised and bloodied and begging Eddie. Begging Eddie to stop this, to hear him, to see him. It's Steve.

It's Eddie's Steve.

Next to him, Vecna says, "finish it."

Eddie has something in his hand, the hilt of something he's sure of, long and sharp and dependable.

Eddie doesn't think, he just moves.

He drops Steve.

He doesn't need to look. Eddie turns, and he swings.

Part Two

[stevieschrodinger]

Part One TwentyFive

“What is that?” Eddie asks, leaning forward in his seat, trying to see where the noise is coming from.

“Oh, it’s an ambulance, probably.”

“Am-bu-lance,” Eddie sounds out carefully, “like on TV. Why?”

“Oh they’re...if someone is sick, or has an emergency, and they need to get the hospital really fast, you can call an ambulance on the phone and they come and save you.”

“Oh. People be okay?”

“Uhm. I don’t know, but I hope they’re okay.”

“I hope they’re okay,” Eddie repeats absently, then Eddie’s mouth pops open a little as he stares out of the window, “Stevie love?” he asks, pointing.

“Oh, that’s a florists, you want to go and look?” Steve figures that the weather is finally warm enough to display flowers outside again.

Steve pulls in when he can, and they walk the half block back to where the buckets of brightly colored flowers are in a neat line outside the store front; Steve has a dollar in change loose in his pocket, and he can see that the individual flowers start at a few cents, “here, you want to get something?”

Eddie takes the money, but then grips Steve’s arm, carefully he sounds out the, “help wan-ted,” sign displayed in the window, “work?” he asks quizzically.

“I-” and Steve really has run out of reasons to protest. Eddie never goes anywhere without Steve. The most he ever does is get to go to the grocery store and, sometimes, Hopper and Joyce’s places. Plus he sits in Family Video for some of Steve’s shifts and it just...Steve knows it isn’t fair. Eddie’s getting bored, Steve can tell. Eddie does more than his fair share of the housework now, simply because he gets left alone at home so much. His driving is getting way better, and he’s mastered a lot of kitchen skills and can produce some simple meals.

Steve can’t keep him caged up forever. Besides, Eddie probably wouldn’t even get the job, so there’s no harm in just asking, “okay. Lets try, at least.”

The little bell tinkles cheerily over the door as they go in, making Eddie smile up at it.

It smells almost sickly sweet inside the store, but there are a lot of flowers packed into the small space. And holy shit, Steve actually recognizes the girl behind the counter from school, “Chrissy?”

“Oh. Oh hey Steve,” she isn’t cold, but she’s not exactly warm either, “can I help?”

“I can help,” Eddie butts in, pointing at the sign in the window.

“Oh, well. Do you have any experience working in a florist?” She eyes Eddie not unkindly, but definitely a little bit dubiously.

Eddie looks at Steve, unsure, “no, he doesn’t. And English isn’t his first language, he’s over here learning so…”

“Oh. Right. Well I mean, it’s only a few hours a week on delivery days, or when there's something on...I just need an extra pair of hands.”

“Pair of hands,” Eddie holds his up to show her.

Chrissy laughs, and Steve can already tell she’s softening to Eddie, he really does seem to have that effect on people. And Steve figures...it’s just a few hours. He knows that Chrissy is good people, or at least, he’s pretty sure she’s nice; she was always kind at school. If Eddie’s going to start somewhere…Steve comes to a decision, “how about he comes and tries it one time, his English isn’t perfect yet, but honestly he picks stuff up really fast, you’ll only have to show him once.”

“Uhm...you know, okay, lets do a trial. I haven’t had any other interest any ways, just a couple hours at a time on random days is inconvenient for people I guess, but unpacking everything can get tricky if you also get customers, you know?”

Steve nods, he can see that, “sure.”

“Sure,” Eddie parrots.

“So…do you want to stay for a couple of hours now? I can show you the ropes.”

“It’s an expression, there’s no actual rope,” Steve tells Eddie before he even has a chance to be confused over that, “you want to try?”

Eddie nods, “I’ll try.”

Steve has to stop himself from taking a deep fortifying breath, because that would be weird, “okay, Eddie come and get your jacket from the car.”

“But-”

Steve shuffles Eddie out of the store before he can protest any further, smiling at Chrissy, even as she frowns at him.

Once safely inside the car, Steve checks, “okay, what’s your secret?”

“Must not tell about The Upside Down. Must not tell that I’m different. Keep hidden my not belly button and not nipples. Definitely keep my pants pulled up.”

“Okay, why?”

“People will...take me away. Lock me in tank, like Starcourt. I maybe get El in trouble.”

“And what’s our secret?”

“Not boyfriend. Good friend. People don’t like two boys...they think it wrong. But it not wrong.”

“Okay...okay. You’re sure about this?”

“I’ll try,” Eddie nods.

“Okay, so, I’ll come back around three?” Steve confirms, before leaving his phone number just in case.

And then he...leaves. He leaves Eddie with Chrissy Cunningham. Which is just...weird. Eddie. Alone, kind of, and out in public. And Steve...well. He holds it together pretty well, he thinks. Or at least, he tries too. It’s just...weird. And unexpected.

Going home to an empty house is even stranger, but realistically he can’t just sit in the car outside. As much as he would have rather done that, it is a bit weird and...well. Chrissy can’t exactly phone him if he’s not there to answer the phone.

Steve forces himself to be normal about this, even if on the inside he isn’t being at all normal. Not at all. Not even remotely. He spends two hours coming up with increasingly ridiculous and increasingly catastrophic scenarios that Eddie could be involved in, right this second.

By the time Steve can legitimately leave, he’s still going to be early, and the house is way cleaner and there’s a lasagna on the side, ready to go in the oven later.

Steve fully expects there to be ambulance, fire and police vehicles clustered around the florist. The army maybe. Navy seals. News crews with helicopters circling overhead. Steve has no idea, but he is incredibly relieved when there are none of those things.

He hops out of the beemer and heads in, only to find Chrissy behind the register, a customer just finishing up and paying, and in amongst the buckets of blooms, is Eddie, holding a broom. He looks up at the sign of the bell, smiling when he sees it’s Steve. He’s wearing a green apron with the store branding on the middle of the chest, “hello Stevie.”

Eddie finishes what he’s doing, carefully nudging a bucket into place with his toe and sweeping his little pile of leaves and dust to the doorway out to the back, where he gets it up with a little pan and brush. Steve holds the door for the customer, an older lady, and after she’s gone he asks, “how did that go?”

Eddie looks to Chrissy to answer, “yeah. Yeah he did really good, Eddie, you want to come back on Friday?” Eddie nods, “okay, go hang your apron where I showed you.”

Eddie disappears out the back, “really? All okay?” Steve checks.

“Yeah,” Chrissy smiles brightly, “I think he’s a good fit. Eddie says that you’re his ride, so Friday, midday would be ideal until… lets say three again?”

“Yeah. Yeah, no problem. I’m working a close so he can walk down to Family Video after.”

Before they leave, Chrissy pays Eddie seven dollars straight from the register, and Eddie holds it tight, like it’s precious cargo.

The second the car door closes Eddie is like an unleashed ball of energy, “Stevie? People in the moon?? The moon in the sky? People! In rock-ets!”

Steve snorts a laugh, “yeah, yeah that’s right. People have been to the moon. I think a dog and monkeys and stuff have been to space.”

“Space,” Eddie echoes, quietly astounded.

“We could get a book about it.”

“Yes. Book about it...that’s good.”

“Okay. I probably should have done this ages ago, but lets go get you a library card.”

Eddie stands next to Steve at the desk, and Steve has to nudge him to get him to shut his mouth. Eddie’s eyes are huge, and he stares around the room like he’s just found all the treasures of the world, hiding all along in Hawkins Public Library. “Right, sir,” says the very sensibly cardiganed and bespectacled lady from behind the desk, “there’s your identification back, and your library card. No more than six books at a time, and three weeks per book or you’ll incur a charge, okay?”

“Okay. Thank you,” Eddie says, taking his card and peering at where the lady has written his name out.

“Come on then, you want to get some books?”

It’s not long before they have an issue. Eddie’s first two slots are filled with books about NASA and space from the kids non fiction section. Three and four very quickly go to sciency looking books about animals that came from a shelf near the space bit, but then Eddie can’t seem to choose, overwhelmed with all the books.

“Okay...it’s not far to the library, just take those four, and then when you’ve read them, we can get more okay?”

Eddie frowns, mouth scrunching a little, but he agrees.

He watches carefully over the counter as the lady stamps the borrow date inside the covers, reminding Eddie of when they’re due back, “I’ll write on the calendar,” he tells her. Steve suppresses a smile.

Eddie gets into the car holding a bunch of flowers; he immediately presents them to Steve. They’re held together with a bit of twine, and they’re all varying shades of red and orange, “Chrissy says it’s too late to sell them. All open too long. Ger-be-ra.”

“I-oh. For me?”

“Yes.”

“I-thank you. No one’s ever got me flowers before.”

Eddie beams hugely, and then holds them for Steve while he’s driving, “practice later?”

“Yeah, want to go to the mall lot? You're really close, but you have to get this reversing thing down before you go on the road.”

Eddie nods, “I try.”

“I will try. I’ll try,” Steve reminds him gently; Eddie does know, he just forgets when he gets all excited.

“I’ll try.”

When they get home, Eddie stashes his crumpled dollar bills in a jar that he keeps on the top shelf of a kitchen cupboard.

“Here’s another one,” Steve calls. They’re just, well, saplings, Steve guesses. Glorified twigs with a couple of leaves on, but some of them come up as far as Steve’s knee. They only found one, at first, but the further they went, the easier it became to spot them. And then suddenly...Steve was finding them everywhere.

Eddie comes over to inspect it, clearly pleased, “small pear tree.”

“Yeah, how many does that make?”

“Twenty two,” Eddie says proudly.

Steve looks around, “we’re going to find loads aren’t we?”

Eddie nods, “tent now?”

Steve snorts a laugh, “you horn dog, but, yeah, sure, we can get that set back up, you done tree hunting?” Eddie nods again, “do you ever miss it?” Steve asks as they walk back through the trees and to the yard, “having a tail, I mean? Being in the pool?”

“No,” Eddie starts slow, “I don’t...think on tail? Very few time I remember.”

“Oh right,” Steve thinks for a second, about what El said, about Eddie living so much in the moment. It must still apply.

“Maybe...maybe little,” Eddie puts his finger and thumb close together, for little, “more good than The Upside Down, and found Stee,” Eddie grins.

“Yeah. Yeah you did.”

Eddie appears in the doorway of Family Video five minutes before Steve’s shift is due to finish. Steve is not at all surprised to note that Keith is not here yet. “Hello Stevie. Hello Robin.”

“Hey, Eddie,” they both chorus.

Eddie comes up to the counter, giving Steve the little bouquet of blue and white flowers he’s holding, “awwwwww,” Robin sinks to her elbows on the counter, “that’s so sweet. You two are sickening, really.”

Eddie frowns at her, so Steve tells him, “ignore her, I like them.”

Eddie nods, “I tell Chrissy you like them. She said,” Eddie looks around the store, clearly checking for people. He goes up on his toes to see over the shelves, “she definitely, definitely knows we not boyfriends. She promises. Also, she likes my en-gage-ment ring.”

Steve just stares at Eddie, blinking slowly as he processes that. Next to him, Robin Starts braying like a donkey. Eddie grins big, pleased with himself. “She said...she definitely knows that we’re not boyfriends?” Steve repeats slowly.

“Yeah. She say she definitely knows we’re not boyfriends. She promises, she said she definitely doesn’t like girls, too.” Eddie speaks in that slow, sure way he does when he’s repeating something exactly.

“Right.” Steve says, “right. Okay. Did she say anything...else?”

“She think you are a prick, before.” Robin had just about regained her composure, only to completely loose it again, folding to the ground, crying with laughter, “but now she say you’re nice,” Eddie frowns, looking at the ceiling for a second as he concentrates, “Chrissy...think you have good taste in not boyfriends.”

“Oh.” Steve sighs, “okay. At least there’s that.”

“I can’t believe Chrissy Cunnigham likes girls,” Robin sighs from somewhere down on the floor.

“No,” Eddie corrects, “she doesn’t. She said she doesn’t.”

Steve can, vaguely, feel a headache forming, “no. Eddie she says she doesn’t like girls. The way that you don’t like guys.”

“But I don’t like guys, I like Stevie- ooooohhhhh,” Eddie’s face dawns with understanding, “secret lie?”

“Secret lie,” Steve confirms.

“Do you think she’s single?” Robin asks weakly from behind the counter.

“Single?” Eddie asks.

“Does she have a girlfriend? Is she with someone, like we are?”

Eddie shakes his head, “no girlfriend. Chrissy says that she a bit sad...but better than Tommy. Steaming turd.”

Robin cackles.

“Stevie, what is ‘steaming turd’?”

Steve rubs his forehead, breathing deeply though his nose.

From the floor Robin asks, “I wonder if she still has the cheerleader outfit?”

“Eddie, do not repeat that to Chrissy.”

Eddie frowns, “why? Chrissy says it’s girl talk?” Eddie asks, clearly uncertain over the concept of ‘girl talk.’

“Since when are you a girl?” Robin finally clambers back up with the rest of them.

“Chrissy say I hon-or-rary girl. I bagged King Steve.”

Steve’s never been happier to see Keith walk into the store.

Part TwentySeven

[stevieschrodinger]

Part One TwentySix

Eddie climbs into the beemer, looking as hang dog as Steve has ever seen him, “what’s wrong?”

Eddie fiddles with his sweater cuffs, plucking at them with his finger nails, frowning, “we...speak English?”

“Yeah, that’s right. That’s what the language is called, English.”

“And...many more? Languages? Lots and lots, right?”

“Yeah baby, that’s right, what’s wrong?” Steve grows increasingly more alarmed, Eddie actually looks like he might cry.

“I have to learn more? Learn all?”

“Oh! Oh no, not if you don’t want to. You could learn another one one day, but only if you want to.”

“Sure? Do you promise?”

“Yeah. Yes, baby, I promise. Just this one.”

Eddie sags in his seat, whole body crumpling with relief. Steve can’t help but laugh, but he does give Eddie’s hand a comforting squeeze.

Eddie gets into the beemer holding one massive fucking sunflower. Like, the head of the thing is just. Huge.

“Too big. Too different,” Eddie elaborates, “can’t sell it.”

“Well, that’s okay, it’ll fit in perfect on the coffee table,” Eddie nods affably at Steve’s suggestion.

“Stevie?” Steve hums to show he’s listening, checking his mirrors as he pulls out of the car parking space. “Should we go to church?”

“Church?”

“Mrs. Vanderbilt,” Eddie sounds the name carefully, “say she’s worried about my immortal soul.”

“Does she now. And who is Mrs. Vanderbilt?”

“She makes flower arrangements for church. Stevie? What’s an immortal soul?”

Steve snorts a laugh, “well. Uhm. So there’s...some people believe that there’s God, and heaven and hell and stuff like that. And there’s loads of religions, like with languages, lots of places have different ones and...God is kind of like...do you remember El explaining about Santa at Christmas?”

“Yes. He has a beard and reindeer and choose if you’re good, then gifts. Not real though, fun for kids believe.”

“Yeah. Yeah God is like that, but for grown-ups. And instead of gifts you get into heaven when you die.” Steve sees Eddie’s face crinkle up in his peripheral vision, “actually, you know what, I bet there’s a book about this, library detour?”

Eddie nods, humming agreeably.

The book on religions they find at the library is probably, now, a little below Eddie’s reading level, but it seemed like the best option at the time. When Eddie looks up from it and asks, “think The Upside Down is hell?” Steve sort of regrets the idea of a book.

“No. No I don’t.”

“Sure?”

“Yeah. Hell's probably more like, fire. And brimstone. And I never once saw a little demon with a pitchfork. Also, and I know this for absolute certain, there’s no way someone as good as you comes from Hell.”

“Oh.”

“I think...it’s up to you want you want to decide baby, you read as much as you like, and you think about it, but I think it’s made up, like a-” Steve hesitates over actually saying 'fairy tale', since he’s talking to a guy who, literally, is like a character from one of those stories, “like something that’s made up," He finishes lamely. "Anyway, forget the book, come up here, I haven’t won the kissing game for a couple of days and I’m feeling lucky.”

Eddie leaves the book, forgotten for a while, and Steve decides the first chance he gets he’s taking that one back.

“Stevie!” Eddie bursts through the door of family video, luckily it’s the middle of the day and the place is dead. He breezes straight past Steve and presents four pink roses to Robin, “from Chrissy,” he tells her, causing a spectacular blush to form on Robins cheeks before she sinks down behind the counter.

Eddie completely ignores her. “Knock knock.”

“Who's there?” Steve asks reflexively.

“Eddie with some flowers,” Eddie says proudly, and then promptly bursts out laughing.

“Uhm...Eddie with some flowers who?”

“What?” Eddie looks confused.

“...what?” Steve asks, feeling as confused as Eddie looks.

Eddie brightens again a second later, “knock knock.”

“Who’s there?” Steve asks again, cautious this time.

“Family Video.”

“Family video...who?”

“Family video not house!” Eddie declares, and then laughs uproariously.

From behind the counter, Robin Whispers, “what is happening?”

“I have...absolutely no idea,” Steve answers, right before Eddie starts again on another nonsensical knock knock joke.

There isn’t much that Eddie does that annoys Steve, to be fair, there’s not really anything. But this. By the time he gets home he’s had enough of Eddie’s one man comedy act. “Joyce,” he hisses down the phone desperately, “you don’t understand how shit they are; they don’t even mean anything.”

She has the audacity to laugh at him, “I remember the boys going through that phase. They both did it when they were...four? Maybe Jon was five.”

“How long does it last???”

“Oh, I don’t know, few months maybe, off and on?”

Steve, very gently, bangs his forehead against the wall.

Eddie’s holding a bunch of something pink and only, maybe, a tiny bit wilted. He’s bright eyed as he gets into the car, “Stevie, Chrissy say at me about a new thing. We can try?”

“Sure, baby, what is it?” Steve has the car in reverse, checking his mirrors as he pulls out of the spot.

“Blowjobs.”

Steve’s really pleased with how well he just...doesn’t react to that. Because, truthfully, he’s thought about it. He has. Really. But...well. Eddie’s teeth are sharp. And it’s not that Steve thinks Eddie would ever, ever hurt him on purpose, but that doesn’t mean Steve doesn’t have some, potentially, unresolved toe loss related trauma. And then there’s Eddie’s dick, and how...wriggly it is. How the end opens up and the...well. Just the whole thing, really.

“Stevie?”

“Why...are you and Chrissy talking about blowjobs?”

Eddie shrugs, “Chrissy not really like them, she ask if I liked them. I say I not try them. She said…” Eddie frowns, thinking, “she said, ‘you never get a blowjob?’ and got...angry sad? At Stevie?”

“Oh, she thought I was getting blowjobs but never giving you blowjobs?” Steve can, vaguely, feel his eye starting to twitch. He also can’t help but be fucking irritated with Chrissy, not only is it not her business, but he also can’t really be annoyed with her because...really if that’s what she was worried about, she is only sticking up for Eddie. He’s so naive, there’s no way Chrissy hasn’t picked up on just how innocent Eddie is, so Steve can't really blame her for thinking that anyone could take advantage of Eddie.

Even if it is fucking annoying.

“Yes, but I tell her no blow jobs at all. But we can try now, right?”

“Right. Right. Yeah. Sure. Uh hu.”

Eddie nods, “when we get home.”

“Right,” Steve says, with far more confidence than he feels.

“Stevie? Why not tell about blowjobs before?”

Steve hums, “just kind of...was saving it for a special occasion?” He tries desperately, he can’t look at Eddie as he speaks, keeping his eyes on the road, “didn’t want to go through all the good stuff too fast, you know?”

“Oh okay.”

Eddie limpets himself to Steve the second they’re over the threshold, demanding kisses, his fingers already exploring around Steve’s jeans button, “hang on hang on, couch or bed?”

“Couch,” Eddie answers easily, still kissing Steve as they walk awkwardly though the house. Steve sits, letting Eddie kneel between his legs, fumbling with his zipper.

And, the thing is, Steve really, genuinely believed he could do this. He trusts Eddie, he does. He loves Eddie, really, but he’s not even half hard when Eddie gets him out. And like Eddie...is, he tends to just go for things. Steve catches sight of the teeth and just...can’t. His hands are in Eddie’s way and he’s tucking himself away again before he can really think about it, “could we, maybe, leave this until...later?”

Eddie pouts, “want to try.”

“I just, I don’t want to do this right now, okay?” And the guilt Steve feels is a live thing. He remembers so clearly when he’d been frightened of Eddie’s dick, and how upset Eddie had been. That same fear raises it’s ugly head.

“But why? Chrissy tell me boys really like it-”

“I mean, I do. Kind of. But I just think we could...not do this.”

“But Chrissy say-”

“Jesus Christ Eddie.” Steve snaps, getting angry now. He’s not going to be prodded into doing something he just doesn’t want to do. Especially not by Chrissy Cunningham. “Since you’ve been working with her it’s been Chrissy this and Chrissy that, can’t you just, leave it? For once?” Steve gets up, needing to be away from this conversation.

“But why?”

“Because I just don’t want to, okay? Why don’t you go and ask Chrissy since she knows everything,” Steve snaps again, he knows he’s snapping, and it’s just making him angrier at himself for reacting this way, but he can’t seem to stop himself, defensiveness fueled by the guilt eating at him.

“Maybe,” Eddie says, hands on hips, frowning from the doorway.

“Go then. Go ask her what I should do about it.”

Eddie’s frown is nuclear now as he faces Steve across the kitchen, he tries to speak, half formed words at first, Eddie clearly struggling as he gets upset, “you think? You think?? You promise forever! Stee scared of Eddidie more! Eddidie different! Stee tell away!”

“You are though, you are different!” Steve knows he's wrong the second he says it. He knows Eddie well enough that saying that in anger is a cheap shot, and unforgivable low blow.

Eddie’s mouth pops open, shocked and affronted. He goes to speak but just...doesn’t. He turns and leaves...Steve hears the front door go.

“For fucks sake,” he sighs to himself, angry and upset with himself, the fight goes out of him as he’s swamped by guilt. Steve makes himself move to follow Eddie out. He opens the door just in time to watch Eddie pull the beemer out of the driveway, “oh fuck.”

“There’s pretty much only one place he would go, I think.” Steve tells Hopper, “so I’m pretty sure he will be there.”

Hopper hums from the drivers seat, “and what exactly did you two fight about?”

“I...well. I think this is one of those times where you don’t ask unless you’re really sure you want to know.”

“I don’t want to know.”

“Yeah, there it is,” Steve breathes a massive sigh of relief, the beemer is parked near the florist. Tight to the curb too, a good parking job, and there’s not a single mark on her. The florists however, is shut for the day.

Steve bangs on the door, peering through the glass. It’s dark inside, but there’s some light shining through that little door in the back. Steve knocks on the glass again, and eventually Chrissy appears. She unlocks the door, immediately telling Steve, “he doesn’t want to see you.”

“Kid, can I go?” Hopper calls from where he’s half tucked the truck out of the way.

“Yeah,” Steve waves him off, turning back to Chrissy, “I need to apologize to him. Please.”

She scowls and makes a vague humphing noise at him, “fine,” Steve slips awkwardly through the gap Chrissy allows him, and once in she locks the door behind him. Steve follows her into the shop, “Eddie, I’m putting some stuff in the car out back, you come get me if you need me, okay?”

Steve comes around the doorway to see Eddie nodding sadly, he’s sitting in what must be their tiny break room. There’s two chairs and a beat up Formica top table, a little electric kettle on top of a under counter refrigerator. Eddie’s got a scrunched up wad of tissues in his hand where he’s clearly been crying.

“Hi Eddie,” Eddie fiddles with his tissues and keeps his eyes on his knees, not looking at Steve, so he pulls up the other chair, “I’m really sorry.” Eddie nods, but doesn’t say anything.

“I just,” Steve sighs, rubbing at his face roughly, “I did get scared okay? But I shouldn’t have...I should have just explained, I shouldn’t have shouted.”

Eddie nods, shredding the tissue, “I sorry too.”

“It’s...not you're fault. Not really. I just...Eddie, your teeth are really sharp you know, and my dick is...my dick. I know you’d never hurt me on purpose, okay, I know that but…”

“Chri-” Eddie bites it back, and stops speaking again.

“Yeah. I’m sorry about that too. It’s good you have a friend okay? It’s good she’s...teaching you things I haven’t thought of. It’s…you can talk about Chrissy, it’s fine.”

“Chrissy say...no people should do anything they don’t want to. Especially with sex stuff...so Eddie a bit wrong,” he sniffles, “but she help me dig hole anyway.”

“What hole?”

“For your body. Dead soon, but that...kind of funny joke?”

Eddie says it in a way that means he did not find it funny at all, and Steve snorts a laugh, “yeah. Yeah, she’s a good friend.”

They sit in silence for another minute before Steve offers, “you did a really good job of parking the car...do you want to drive me home?”

“Yeah,” Eddie stands, and so does Steve, and then they both move in for a hug at the same time, Eddie desperately throwing his arms around Steve's shoulders and holding him as tight as he can.

Steve swears to himself he’s going to do better with this stuff, and lets himself nose at Eddie’s ear, his skin tickled by Eddie’s new curls.

Eddie answers the phone, “Harrington residence,” he says carefully.

Steve watches him frown for a second, before he says, “yes, wait please,” and then offers the phone to Steve, “doctors.”

“Oh, right, yeah,” Steve takes the phone, confirming his address and date of birth, before the lady tells him his test results are ready to pick up.

He hangs up, and Eddie’s there, offering him a pen, “that your birthday?”

“I- yeah. Yeah it was.”

Eddie nods, “should be on calendar before, Stevie,” Eddie admonishes gently.

“Okay, I’ll do it now, and then we can go get my results, okay?”

Eddie nods, “no more condoms,” he says solemnly.

Steve snorts a startled laugh.

There’s a frantic banging on the front door, then the bell rings. The bell rings again before Steve can even clamber up off the couch. It’s Eddie and Chrissy, and they hustle into the house before Steve even has the door all the way open.

Steve’s already alarmed, he isn’t due to pick Eddie up for another hour at least, and Chrissy wouldn’t just close the store unless it was an emergency.

“What happened?”

“There was a man,” Chrissy explains a little breathless, “Eddie hid behind the counter the second he saw him, and I’m sure he didn’t see Eddie, I’m sure. But he was asking questions. If a young man worked at the store, weird things about Starcourt. I just kept telling him no Steve but- he’s definitely looking for Eddie.”

Steve feels a mounting sense of dread as she speaks, “Eddie, did you know him?”

Eddie nods, looking frightened, “Starcourt. When I was in tank.”

“Tank?” Chrissy pulls a face, “what tank?”

“Uhm,” Steve suddenly realizes that Chrissy maybe shouldn’t be here for this part, Steve definitely needs to call Hopper, “Chrissy, thank you, but maybe you should go-”

“Absolutely not. Not if Eddie’s in trouble-”

“Okay, but the thing is-”

“Steve.” Chrissy huffs, “I know, okay?”

“You know...what?”

“I don’t know!” She flails a little, “I don’t know what I don’t know! But I do know that Eddie had never heard of the moon landing! He didn’t know that the guy on the five dollars is Abraham Lincoln! He didn’t know that other languages exist and he certainly can’t speak anything other than English even though, according to you,” she pokes Steve in the chest, “he should be able to speak Finnish! And he can’t!”

She’s getting worked up now, and Steve finds himself taking a step back, his hands up in defeat. For a tiny cheerleader, Chrissy’s kind of scary.

“He can find one bug in a delivery of a hundred stems Steve! And do you know how, he told me he can hear them! Hear them! I’ve watched him trim anything from daises to roses to full on sunflowers with his thumbnails Steve! He can cut baler twine with them. And don’t get me started on the florist wire, do you know what he does with that? He just straight up fucking bites through it!” Chrissy gets louder and pinker the longer she rants.

“He came to work with a mashed potato sandwich, like that's normal!! His tears are fucking brown! Brown! Those fingernails, that’s not polish, they’ve never been chipped, not once, they just grow that way, right? And I might be a blonde cheerleader but I am not stupid. So no. Okay, no. I don’t know what Eddie is. But I do know he’s my godamn best friend and if he’s in trouble, I want to help, okay?”

She’s all bright eyed and kind of breathless, and just a little terrifying. Eddie’s got his hands up in front of himself, nervously pulling at the threads of his cuffs, eyes big and worried as they slide back and forth between Steve and Chrissy.

Steve sighs, “okay. Okay. We can explain, but I just...I need to make a call first.”

Part TwentyEight

[stevieschrodinger]

Part One TwentyNine

Steve strokes Eddie’s back slowly, firmly, trying to work out the last of his shivers. He’d downed the hot milk pretty much in one go and then clambered straight onto Steve to snuggle on the couch. The first record off the stack is playing, Led Zeppelin.

By the time the final strains of Stairway to Heaven fade out, Eddie feels much more settled under Steve’s hands, his breathing slow and even, his body more relaxed, “want me to flip it?”

Eddie shakes his head, hair tickling Steve’s chin, “no, again?”

“You like that huh?”

Eddie nods, shifting so Steve can stand and swing the needle back out to start the record again.

“You want to talk about it?” Steve asks as they're getting into bed. He’s pretty sure Eddie now knows all the words to Stairway to Heaven.

“The shower?” Steve nods, “I was...in the tank. For little bit. I don’t know,” Eddie shrugs, like that’s all there is to it.

“And you feel okay again now?”

“Yeah...just...tired,” Eddie gives Steve a smile, but it looks kind of sad to Steve.

The turbulent grey sky flashes red, but there’s no thunder. It’s silent here, but for the creak of wood under Steve’s feet. He lets them carry him forward, the mirror reflection on the lake almost blending with the sky in the distance, the horizon a confusion of swirling clouds.

The dock ends, Steve’s toes wriggling on the edge, he stares at his left foot; lets all five toes curl over the edge of the rough wood. His eyes are drawn to movement, emerging from the reflection of the sky, coalescing from the swirls and flashes of red; a face. Eddie’s pale face.

It takes a moment for him to break the surface tension of the water, it clings for a second, like a film before it breaks and flows away. Steve doesn’t startle, it’s just Eddie. He looks...more Eddie though, somehow. His eyes bigger, darker, like they take up half his face. Cheekbones too sharp, black hair slicked back by the water, accenting the...odd shape of his head.

Long pale fingers break the surface of the water, black curved claws trail across the top of Steve’s foot, the cold wet grip tightening on Steve’s ankle.

Steve takes a deep slow breath, unable to look away from Eddie’s eyes and the red flashes reflected in their dark depths.

Steve’s ready when Eddie yanks.

Steve thrashes when he wakes up, just for a second. He never hit the water in his dream, but he drags in a deep desperate breath anyway. He feels for Eddie, but finds nothing. Stretching further, he confirms the bed is empty. Empty and cold.

Steve gets up, socked feet quiet on the floor boards. He walks through the cabin, flicking on a couple of lights as he goes. There’s not exactly much to look at, the cabin only really has the bedroom, the bathroom, and the lounge and kitchen open together. Eddie isn’t anywhere obvious. Steve tries the door; it’s locked, and the key still dangles there, confirming Eddie must still be inside somewhere.

“Eddie?” Nothing.

Steve walks back through, this time really looking, checking the other side of the couch, behind the counter, inside of the shower cubicle. The only place left is the little coat cupboard where he found the rotary sweeper.

Eddie is there, curled up as small as he can. He’s twisted into an odd position, like he’s trying to do something he used to do when he had a tail. He full body twitches as the door opens, “Eddie?”

Big eyes blink up at Steve as he crouches, half crawling into the cupboard on his hands and knees, he rubs Eddie’s shoulder, “you okay?”

Eddie nods then, untangling himself and throwing himself into Steve’s lap. Steve goes with it, sitting back on his haunches. Eddie’s breath comes in a huge shudder, his chest hitching under Steve’s hands. Steve’s pretty sure he’s crying, “it’s okay, it’s okay,” Steve comforts him, “I had a bad dream, did you? You want to come back to bed?”

They stand together, Eddie saying “I dreamed about the Upside Down,” as he sniffles and wipes his snotty nose with his wrist.

“Oh. Is that why you were hiding?”

“Yes,” Eddie’s frowning in the lamplight as he climbs back into bed, “got...confused. I was still there.”

“Well, you’re not, you’re here with me, okay?”

“I know I...dreamed about the tank. I think I remember something. Something about the man.”

“The man who’s looking for you?” Steve’s heart feels like it’s creeping up his throat with the horror of it all.

Eddie nods slowly, “yes I think...I think he touched me.”

“Touched you...how?” Steve tries to stay calm, forcing himself not to just to any conclusions about what Eddie means, unable to completely extinguish the possibilities of the...pain Eddie had been put through. They never talk about this, Steve’s never asked and Eddie’s never tried to speak about it. Steve has always kind of assumed that Eddie never dwells on it, and maybe that’s wrong.

Steve’s asked before about other things, if Eddie misses his tail or if Eddie ever thinks much about The Upside Down, but Eddie’s never responded with anything much more than a shrug and a smile, telling Steve he doesn’t think about it very much. That along with the fact that El has told Steve that Eddie’s thoughts are very immediate and in the present...well, Steve’s always figured it isn’t a worry.

Maybe it is.

Eddie frowns, thinking, before slowly lifting a hand and rubbing gently at the top of Steve’s arm to demonstrate.

“That’s all he did?”

Eddie nods, “the other’s...I was...stuck, on a table.” Eddie holds his own wrist tight to demonstrate, “the other people...needles. Take blood, I think.”

“Oh.”

“I think...I think he tell me ‘sorry?”

Eddie looks up at Steve again, a question in his eyes, but Steve has no idea what to make of it.

“Trex,” Eddie sounds out carefully, frowning.

“T Rex,” Steve corrects.

It makes Eddie’s frown deepen, “no small letters?”

Steve holds the record, “yeah, it’s...a stylistic choice, I guess.”

“Good record?”

Steve frowns at the track list on the back, “I mean, ‘Ride a White Swan’ is pretty cool?”

“I like it,” he takes the record back, turning it to hold it up to show Steve the picture on the front, “me and you,” he grins.

“Oh, so you get to be Marc Bolan and I’m...whoever that dude is.”

“This is my hair,” Eddie points and, yeah, alright, Steve hasn’t got an argument because Eddie is right, Steve shakes his head as Eddie puts the record under his arm, along with his new Led Zep record; he was insistent on getting his own copy of ‘Four Symbols’ to take home with them, “all done.”

Eddie kind of has his mouth open a little as he approaches the register, and Steve has to nudge him so that he stops staring up at the girls very pointy, very green, Mohawk. She’s got a fair few piercings, and her arms are littered with tattoos.

“Cool choice,” the girl behind the counter tells Eddie, bringing his attention back down, “you into Lord of the rings?”

“Lord of the rings?” Eddie asks, carefully counting out the right notes, Steve half watching to make sure he’s okay.

“Yeah, it’s a book. Both of these records were influenced by it, kind of. I think the guy who wrote it actually spoke to Led Zep guys and like, encouraged them or whatever. Kind of long though, maybe start with The Hobbit?”

“The Hobbit at the library?”

She shrugs, “I don’t know man, probably?”

“Nice...hair,” Eddie frowns back up at it, but he’s also smiling a little. He’s kind of wide eyed, and it reminds Steve of when he was trying to parse out the tree-in-the-house conundrum at Christmas. Confused awe.

But that also reminds Steve of Eddie getting sick, and sicker, and then everything that came after.

“Thanks man, love your nails. They’re metal.”

“Metal,” Eddie nods.

“You in town long?”

Eddie shrugs, “maybe?”

“No plans huh? That’s cool. A free spirit,” she leans on the counter, resting her chin on her hand and blinking up at Eddie, “well, you should definitely stop by the bar on Friday, it’s the only one in town, you can’t miss it. There’s live music, we could get a drink?”

“Beer?” Eddie asks, and Steve knows that tone.

She smiles at him, “sure thing sweetheart, whatever you like-”

“So, Eddie, lets go to the library?” Steve cuts her off, moving forward to stand just a little too close to Eddie. She looks between them, standing straight again, she frowns but doesn’t say anything when Eddie easily ignores her for Steve, “don’t forget your records.”

“Stevie love?” Eddie asks on their way to find the library.

The town’s bigger than Hawkins, but everything is pretty well signposted, Steve figures because of all the tourists. “Yeah?”

“She had...things.”

Steve looks over real fast, then back at the road, to see Eddie kind of playing with the middle bit of his nose, “yeah, piercings. They’re made of metal, they do it with a big needle.”

“And the pictures? On her arms?”

“Tattoos. They do that with a needle too, and ink. They’re permanent, they stay forever.”

Eddie nods, humming, then frowning, “do I like it?”

Steve laughs, “I don’t know, do you?”

“Do you?”

“Maybe, on other people? I mean, yeah, you see some really cool tattoos and...I did kind of think about getting my ear pierced maybe, but I never did it. Don’t think I want to.”

“Ear?” Eddie questions, tugging on his own, “ohhh,” he says, clearly putting something together, “like Birdie and Nancy? But...more bigger?”

“Yup.”

Eddie nods, “maybe.”

Steve smiles again, “sure, whatever you want. It’ll hurt though.”

Eddie shrugs, “it goes away.”

They’re silent for a short time, Steve following the signs to the library, “Stevie, she was going to...tell something? But you...not?”

Eddie doesn’t quite have the words, “I interrupted her yeah I was...well, I was rude. On purpose.”

“Why?”

“She was flirting with you Eds, she was going to ask you out.”

“I...oh,” then he grins big, “she likes me? I’m her sweetheart.”

“Yeah, I mean, probably.”

“Not like Stevie likes me.”

“No, but she would have, given half the chance.”

Eddie’s frowning again now, “you mean...sex?”

“Yeah.”

Eddie cogitates on this while Steve parks the car up outside the library. He’s frowning his working something out frown.

“If not tell people about us...then why...why tell no?”

“Well...you mean how do you say no, if someone asks you out?”

“Yes. How. How to say no?”

“Well...I mean. You could just say no, you know? Thank you, but no. Or you could say you’re...flattered?”

“Flattered called?”

“Oh it’s...it’s like…Okay, so you know I like you?” Eddie nods, “do you like that, that I like you?”

Eddie grins big, “yeah. That the best.”

Steve grins back, “right...so...if someone else likes you, that’s flattering, you know? They think you’re cool or you look hot or whatever.”

“So I can say...no thank you. Flattered. But no thank you?”

“Yeah. You can.”

Eddies goes to get out of the car, but then turns back, “you...say that? Thank you, but no thank you?”

“Yeah, yeah baby, of course. It’s just me and you, yeah?”

“Me and you,” Eddie repeats, nodding.

Eddie goes to get out of the car again, but Steve stops him, grabbing his arm. “Eddie...if you’re ever...not happy. You have to tell me, right? I mean we kind of live together already and you can’t really tell people about...you know, you. It would be kind of hard for you to date anyone else-”

“Not want anyone else-”

“No. No I know, but that’s what I mean...if something is ever, ever wrong, you have to tell me, understand? If I ever do anything to upset you, you have to promise to tell me okay?”

“Okay,” Eddie says, and then, very suspiciously, looks at his own knees for a moment, frowning, before he goes to get out of the car.

Steve’s heart sinks so low, guilt ready to consume him. He’s already doing something to upset Eddie, “wait. Wait wait wait. What was that?”

“Stevie...sometimes with the gum.”

“Gum?” Steve asks, perplexed.

Eddie nods. “Pop. Pop pop. All the time. Pop.”

“Oh,” Steve sits back again, relieved, “kind of thought it might be something more serious than that. Anything else?”

“No,” Eddie grins big, then frowns, “yes. The milk, very small, but back in the fridge. Why?”

“Okay I’ll...not pop gum so much. And I’ll...not do that with the milk. Anything else?”

“No,” Eddie says, smiling, “pretty sure.”

“Ow,” Steve says, pulling his leg back to rub at it, “jeez your toe nails are long.”

Eddie wriggles around, lifting his leg. He quickly realizes he can’t lift his leg far enough to look at his foot with the comforter in the way, so Steve sits up, reaching under the covers for Eddie’s toes, “long?”

“Yeah...we haven’t cut them yet, right? Why have they suddenly started growing?” The sun is up enough to shine through the blinds, so Steve figures it’s not too early.

“Stevie...do I have stubble?”

Steve lies down again, reaching to rub Eddie’s cheek, “huh, yeah, a little.”

“Rough,” Eddie tells him with a disgruntled wrinkle of his nose.

“Well...I guess we can teach you to shave today, hows that? I wonder why this is all starting up now.”

“I can do it, I see you do it many times now,” Eddie tells him, taking the can of shaving foam, “I know it tastes horrible, so not in mouth.”

“How...how do you know it tastes horrible?” Steve watches as Eddie does a pretty good job of spreading the shaving foam over his face.

“I...do,” Eddie answers vague and evasive.

“Eddie...did you try and eat the shaving foam?”

“No. Maybe.” Eddie unsheathes the razor, “carefully, sharp,” he tells himself quietly.

“Why…?”

“Think like whizzy cream,” Eddie admits sheepishly.

Steve snorts a laugh, “okay, go with the grain so like...downwards, yeah?”

Eddie nods, leaning close to the mirror.

“Okay, don’t cut them too short, just take off a little bit at a time.”

“Little,” Eddie is sitting on the toilet lid, one knee bent, thigh against his chest as he squints down at the clippers and his toes.

He startles when a slither of nail flies off.

“It’s okay, we can get the sweeper after.”

[stevieschrodinger]

Part One TwentyEight

This chapter in NSFW

TW panic attack

Eddie waits, fiddling with the cuffs of his pull over, “where?”

“I…” Steve casts around, he doesn’t really want to kneel on the floor, “bed? We can listen to a record after?”

Eddie nods, going into the bedroom. Steve follows, taking a big, fortifying breath. He can totally do this. It’s just Eddie, and he knows Eddie’s dick won’t hurt him. Eddie doesn’t even pee out of it, well, Steve’s...pretty sure he doesn’t, since he still sits to pee, so, in theory, it should be better than a regular dick?

Maybe?

And he definitely doesn’t come out of it, so Steve doesn’t even have to worry about...that part.

Steve has no idea, because he’s never done this, “Eddie,” Steve starts, watching as Eddie strips off and lays his clothes, well, Steve’s clothes that they’ve been sharing, over the chair. He climbs into bed, Steve’s soft bedding having been transferred to here.

At least it’s familiar, and smells like home, “Eddie, you know I’ve never done this before, right? I’ve only ever been with girls before. And they don’t...they don’t have dicks.”

“I know it. Pictures in my book.”

“Oh...is there?”

“Yeah, and of...feet– feeetuuus- tadpole? Inside?”

“Oh,” Steve gets undressed, following Eddie into bed, “a pregnant lady? With a baby inside?”

“Yeah.”

“Huh.”

It’s easy enough to reach between Eddie’s legs now, rubbing until Eddie’s dick slides out to meet his fingers. Twisting around them to greet Steve, familiar now. Steve rubs and tickles the head under the covers, Eddie shifting and making a soft sound of pleasure as the petals open. Steve rubs the pad of his thumb across the top, feeling the soft drag of all those little nobbles, following the dip and the petals, “ready?”

Eddie nods, blinking up at Steve with liquid brown eyes.

Steve takes another deep breath before he shuffles down the bed, half pulling off the covers so he doesn’t suffocate down there as he gets himself situated between Eddie’s thighs. He starts off kneeling, but then lies down. It’s not like he hasn’t been sucked off before so he’s...seen the mechanics of it quite a few times.

Eddie’s dick is upright, even without Steve holding it, the thickness of it...wriggling, but slowly. Swaying. Kind of.

Like a snake from a snake charmers basket…an image Steve does his best to dismiss.

The rest of Eddie’s anatomy isn’t anywhere near as intimidating. Despite there not being a single hair on Eddie’s pale skin, the slit is near enough what Steve’s familiar with that it seems like the safest way to start.

He feels fucking awkward, figuring out where to rest his arm on Eddie’s thigh as he takes hold of his dick again, his nose pumping clumsily against Eddie on the first try, but Eddie doesn’t seem to mind at all. He’s still reclined, but up on his elbows so that he can watch. He’s frowning, “okay, Stevie love?”

“Yeah. Yeah I just...you’ll tell me, if I get it wrong, okay?”

“Yeah. I...Stevie, you like this? You sure?”

“I...I mean I want to try.” Which isn’t a lie. Steve wants to try this so Eddie can try it, and it certainly isn’t fair to deny Eddie because of Steve’s own hang ups. Eddie’s body being...different...certainly is not Eddie’s fault.

He can’t sound very sure though, because Eddie’s frowning, lifting a leg to shift Steve away, trying to shield himself, “Stevie.”

Steve pins Eddie’s thigh, “no. Look, let me try, okay. I might really like it, but I won’t know unless I try, right?”

Eddie frowns, “promise it’s okay?”

“Yeah, yeah I promise. If you don’t like it, you say, and if I don’t like it, I say, deal?”

Eddie nods, relaxing again, “deal.”

Steve holds Eddie’s dick gently, brushing the tips of the open petals with his thumb. It’s like Eddie’s dick...leans into it, brushing up against Steve’s fingers like a friendly cat would.

“Okay,” Steve tells himself, “okay.” He leans down again, this time heading for the safe, familiar bit first, and with a flattened tongue he licks a stripe up the length of Eddie’s slit. He tastes like clean skin. Steve lets his tongue trace the place where Eddie’s dick emerges, prodding gently at the little gap there, between Eddie’s dick and the place it comes out.

Steve leans back again, “was that okay?”

Eddie nods frantically, shifting his legs further apart to give Steve better access, “good.”

Steve slides his free arm under Eddie’s other leg, rather than having it half trapped beneath him. It lets him settle right down against the mattress, before he goes in for another lick. Eddie hisses out a noise, clearly liking it, “warm,” he tells Steve, “feels warm.”

“Uh hu,” Steve makes an affirmative noise, pressing the tip of his tongue between Eddie’s folds, and trailing it downwards. There is a taste now, just a vague one. Nothing like what Steve is used to, but not bad. Maybe because Eddie doesn’t get at all that wet until he comes.

Steve flicks his eyes up to Eddie’s face when he’s at the top of a lick, checking they’re still good. Eddie’s eyes are wide and his cheeks are a little pink, and his tummy muscles give a little twitch and shiver when Steve licks again at the base of his cock. Steve takes the encouragement, cradling the back of Eddie’s length to keep it vaguely in the right place, Steve licks a thick stripe right up the length, getting close up to the nearest petals before backing off a little.

Eddie’s hips lift with a groan, trying to chase Steve’s mouth. It doesn’t work at all, because his dick stubbornly nestles itself against Steve’s palm. The head waves a little as Eddie’s hips relax, the petals pulsing and grasping at nothing, and Steve figures, he might as well just go for it.

He times his moment, waiting for the petals to be fully open so he can lick across the top, letting spit gather in his mouth before he leans in. The head tilts towards him, petals stretched fully, like this is exactly what it wants. Steve has an intrusive, and a little insane thought, that Eddie’s dick is watching him...that it knows exactly what it’s doing. Steve does his best to ignore it.

Steve opens his mouth wide, intending to lick right across the top and take Eddie into his mouth at the same time.

Spit pools on Steve’s tongue as he dips it into the shallow indent in the middle of the black petals, and immediately Eddie huffs out a shocked noise. His arms give way, his head hitting the pillow as his hips buck upward, and Steve does his best not to panic as Eddie’s dick latches to his tongue.

It’s probably only the familiarity of it that saves him from a knee jerk reaction to pull away, he’s felt this same thing, the soft, suckling grip of Eddie’s cock on his thumb many times now. It’s the same thing, Eddie’s body rolling and bucking, Steve sort of letting his head bob with the movement, following the shifting of Eddie’s cock.

Eddie comes so hard Steve hears it, a wet squelch as Eddie’s jelly like come gets forcibly ejected from...wherever it is it comes from.

He’s pretty sure he could pull away, once he’s had a second to think, Eddie’s dick doesn’t have that strong of a grip, but he can feel the pulsing far more acutely now. Eddie’s dick giving Steve’s tongue almost a suckling kiss, which Steve can feel much more thoroughly on his tongue than he ever, ever has on his thumb.

He watches, only feeling a little silly with his mouth hanging open and Eddie’s dick attached to his tongue. He wonders what it looks like, easily able to imagine the stark black skin of the head of Eddie’s cock bright against the pink skin of his own tongue.

Steve has a good view, holding on as best he can while Eddie’s body writhes and twitches through it’s orgasm. After all the stress, the whole thing was probably over in less than a minute.

Steve can feel the pulses lessen, the petals releasing their grip, and Eddie’s cock detaches. It sinks halfway back inside, the remainder just sort of hanging out, loose and relaxed. It never really goes flaccid, Eddie’s dick, even when he’s come, it still maintains the thick girth of a good sized dick.

Steve wonders vaguely where it goes and what it does when it’s back inside, if it tucks itself around into a little sleepy doughnut or something. It makes him smile. And then stop again, because smiling over Eddie’s dick being cute is kind of weird. Steve distracts himself by rubbing at Eddie’s thigh instead. He’s still now, flushed and kind of sweaty looking, just panting a little.

“Was that okay?”

Eddie swallows thickly once, then twice, before he finally says, “good bad?”

“Oh,” Steve says, uncertain what to do with that. He pulls the covers back up, taking them with him as he climbs up to settle next to Eddie, covering them both. He’s half hard, despite his initially ambivalent feelings about blow jobs, it was...kind of fun. Steve rationalizes that it’s more a fear of the unknown and...it was fine. Good even, he did kind of enjoy it. And now he’s done it once, he really would be happy to do it again now that he knows what to expect, as long as Eddie doesn’t object.

Which he might, ‘good bad,’ isn’t exactly a ringing endorsement of success. Eddie holds Steve’s hand under the covers, “was it okay though?” Steve asks again, uncertain now.

“Come...good. Really good,” Eddie says after a moments thought.

“But..?”

Eddie frowns, “sharp,” he finally says, and then with much more confidence, “fast.”

“It was...you came too fast? And that made it...not as good?”

“I...it hurt? But...good hurt?” Eddie tries, a little confused, a little desperate to get Steve to understand, “Stevie good. Perfect good.”

“Huh. Maybe just a little more foreplay then, next time. So it...happened suddenly then? Like coming was a surprise?”

“Like...braking too hard in the car? Everything-” Eddie pulls his arm out from under the covers to make a sharp jerking motion with his hand.

“Oh. Oh yeah, I think I get you. Yeah so...you just need a little more build up then?”

Eddie shrugs, “maybe?”

“You willing to try again?”

“Yeah,” Eddie nods enthusiastically, so it can’t have been all bad.

“I have been wondering...when I touch you...you usually come when I get the end wet, right, and that’s always with my spit? And then then...my, well, my tongue has spit on it, and you came like, straight away so...do you think it’s actually like, my spit that’s making you come, or do you think it would work with anything?”

Eddie shrugs, “you want...try water?”

“I mean, could, yeah. Could buy some lube. Milk?” Eddie’s nose wrinkles, “tomato ketchup?” He actually scowls, a little disgusted at the thought, “orange juice?”

Eddie smacks him playfully, smiling now, “Stevie.”

“What, you know what Dustin says about experiments or whatever, as long as we record our findings,” Steve recites dutifully.

“Whizzy cream?”

“What, so you can eat half the can again?” Eddie grins, and Steve knows he’s right.

“We try sex with no condom now?” Eddie asks. He has such an earnest innocence about him, something about the question, the keen way Eddie asks it, makes Steve stomach fill with butterflies and his dick feel all twitchy.

“Yeah...yeah, okay. If you’re still sure you want to?”

“Doctor said it’s fine? The results say you’re all clean,” Eddie repeats the second part carefully, he’s probably only heard Steve say it that one time.

“Yeah. That’s right.”

Eddie shrugs then, “I trust you.”

Steve has no idea when Eddie picked that one up, but it makes something warm pulse in his chest.

“I love you, you know that right? Like, I really love you. It would...hurt me, if you went away or…”

“I know Stevie. I love you too. Many lots. The most.”

Steve leans down for a tender kiss, soft and careful before he pulls away again, “how do you want to do this?”

“The first way,” Eddie tells him, “I stay here.”

Steve leans down for more kisses as he climbs back over Eddie, Eddie’s hands rubbing at Steve’s back and ruffling up through his hair before sliding back down. Eddie bends his knees a little as Steve fully settles against him, cock hardening reflexively.

Eddie lifts his legs more, letting them wrap around the back of Steve’s legs as Steve uses one hand to notch the head of his dick at Eddie’s opening. He pushes in carefully, mindful of how tight Eddie can be at first. He’s so warm inside, and now, without the condom, Steve can really feel the wetness slicking his cock. The drag of Eddie’s walls against his flesh is more acute, little differences, but still noticeable.

Steve’s all the way in, Eddie’s legs and arms wrapped tight around him when he stops to check in, “all good?”

“Yeah. You can go.”

“Oh, thank you, very kind,” it gets a small, chuffing laugh out of Eddie, which in turn makes him clench, and Steve may go a little cross-eyed at the sensation of it.

Steve starts rocking his hips, closing the scant distance, kissing Eddie carefully. Eddie returns them with more fervor, licking deep into Steve’s mouth when he has the opportunity, sucking without Steve feeling his teeth at all.

Steve vaguely wonders if Eddie’s trying to prove a point, but the thought is fleeting. Steve starts drawing out further, thrusting harder, kissing Eddie and then trailing sucking kisses along his jaw and town his throat.

Eddie arches into it, and Steve is vaguely aware of the head of Eddie’s cock burrowing against him; it’s the first time he remembers that happening after Eddie’s already come. Steve doesn’t stop, but he does lift a little, putting his weight up onto his forearms to create a little space between their bodies.

Sure enough, Eddie dick is awake again, nuzzling into Steve’s pubes before the head opens and it grasps at Steve’s tummy. Steve keeps thrusting, keeps moving, neither Eddie nor his dick seem to mind. When Eddie’s dick releases, latching on again an inch further down, Eddie groans.

“Baby, you want to come again?” They don’t usually do this, but then Eddie’s cock is usually floppy and sleepy looking once Eddie’s come, not usually interested in the proceedings once Eddie’s gotten his. This is new.

Eddie shifts, gripping at Steve’s sides with his knees, “yes?” he sounds unsure, but Steve sits back on his knees, hooking his elbows under Eddie’s thighs to pull him down and up, so Eddie’s nestled still against Steve’s body. Steve manages it without his dick slipping free.

Eddie’s dick seems to roll with the punches, keeping it’s purchase on the skin of Steve’s lover stomach.

Eddie’s goes easily when Steve moves him, ending up with Eddie’s knees hooked over his shoulders. Steve rolls his hips, keeping his thrusts long, slow and deep, holding for a second every time he bottoms out. He has to slow down, now he knows Eddie wants to come again he can’t come too fast. He doesn’t want Eddie coming too quick either, clearly that was what was unsatisfying about the blow job but...a thought occurs to Steve. If he gets this right, and if he is right about the spit thing...they could come at the same time.

He holds Eddie’s thighs flush to his body with one hand, keeping him nice and close so Steve can make his thrusts short, and with the other he reaches around for Eddie’s dick, teasing it off his skin with gentle fingers. It accepts the distraction of Steve’s thumb, Eddie huffing out a pleasured moan as Steve starts rubbing, holding Eddie’s dick firmly in his hand, it leaves his thumb free to work.

“Good?”

Eddie’s tugging at the covers, bunching them so he has something to hold onto. He’s watching Steve through half lidded eyes, “yes. Like you in when you touch me.”

“Good,” Steve makes his thrusts short and sharp now, getting a little warm with exertion and his brewing orgasm, his hips smack quietly against Eddie’s ass, “gonna’ come soon, you ready now?”

“Yes, yes Stevie love, in me, please. I want come in me,” Steve holds Eddie’s dick, letting a blob of spit land on his thumb and the head of Eddie’s cock as his own balls go tight, his cock hardening and beginning to twitch.

Steve rubs the spit across the head of Eddie’s cock, and sure enough Eddie’s eyes slide shut as he cries out, his back arching, but his hips held firm by Steve as Steve drives into him. There’s another flood of hot wetness across Steve’s cock, enough that some feels like it’s sliding slowly down onto Steve’s balls from the bottom of Eddie’s slit, forced out by the movement. Eddie’s insides pulse and shiver with his orgasm. It’s enough to push Steve over the edge into his own release, head thrown back and eyes closed as he comes, drawn out by Eddie’s pulsing wet grip on his cock.

They come down slowly, Steve holding Eddie’s thighs close until Eddie finally blinks up at him, smiling, “I feel it. Your come. Warm inside. Feels good to come with you in.”

“Good then?”

“Best come ever.”

Steve snorts a laugh, “good.”

The waters warm enough as to be perfectly adequate, but no where near as hot as Steve likes it. Still, it’s fine, it’s not cold or anything, “you getting in with me?” He calls, vaguely aware of Eddie shuffling around outside the stall.

“Brushing my teeth, then yes.”

“Okay,” Steve wets his hair, and then nearly screams a second after Eddie runs the faucet, “shit fuck,” he hisses, plastering himself against the door, “Eddie turn the water off,” Eddie does.

“Okay?”

“Okay new rule, no running any water anywhere in here when someone's already in the shower, okay? It makes the water go hot. Like burning hot.”

“Okay...sorry. Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” Steve tentatively slides back under the water, “yeah, brush your teeth after, okay?”

Steve wets his hair again, idly running his hands down his body, rinsing the worst of Eddie’s sticky come off his cock. There’s one of those dark lumps clinging stubbornly to Steve’s foreskin, and it takes a bit of rubbing with his thumb to dislodge it. It washes down the drain. Steve’s reaching for the shampoo just as Eddie opens the door. The glass stall is going to be tight with two grown adults, but they can make it work.

Eddie ends up shuffling in backwards, pulling the glass door closed behind him. It’s a snug fit, Steve forced completely under the spray, almost touching the back wall, “want me to get your hair?” Steve has to do a weird maneuver to get at the shampoo, but he manages, “Eddie babe? Your hair?”

Eddie doesn’t answer though, he’s still where he’s pressed up against Steve. Steve watches as Eddie reaches up with one hand, making a tinking noise with the tips of his nails against the glass wall of the stall.

“Eddie?” Steve reaches up to squeeze Eddies arm, and all of a sudden Eddie jerks to life, flailing and panicking, he slams the shower door open, stumbling out. Steve reaches back to flick the water off again as he follows. He grabs a towel to get the water out of his eyes, so he can see to turn Eddie. Eddie’s breathing way too fast, his hands shaking, his muscles twitching. He’s mumbling under his breath, eyes wide and terrified, darting everywhere. He backs himself against the wall, Steve following, dripping and naked, “Eddie?”

Steve gets a towel around Eddie easily, Eddie not really reacting, it’s kind of like Steve isn’t even there. Steve gets a towel for himself, haphazardly fixing it around his middle, “Eddie,” Steve risks rubbing at Eddie’s arms, but again, nothing. Eddie’s teeth are chattering now, but he’s blinking slowly, eyes starting to focus.

“Stee?”

“Yeah, yeah I’m here, are you okay? What happened baby?”

Eddie swallows thickly, once, then again, before he gathers himself to speak. He wraps his own towel more tightly around himself, “tank,” is all he says.

“I...oh,” Steve turns to look at the two glass walls of the shower cubicle, “yeah. Okay yeah, I can see that. Lets get you dry, okay?” Steve breathes a sigh of relief, a little unsettled himself. As fast as that happened, Eddie seems to have calmed again just as quickly.

Eddie lets Steve dry the worst of the water off his back, before setting one foot on the toilet lid so Steve can get between his legs with a flannel. It just takes a minute and Eddie’s clean enough for now, “you want to go sit on the bed a second?”

Eddie shakes his head, choosing to sit on the lid of the toilet instead, wrapped in two towels, waiting, “okay, I’ll be two minutes,” Steve kisses Eddie’s forehead before he gets back in the shower, washing his hair and then soaping himself down as fast as he can. It’s a half assed job but it’ll do for now.

“Come on, lets get dressed, I can make hot milk and we can listen to that record, okay?”

Part Thirty

[stevieschrodinger]

Part One TwentySeven

Chrissy has her hands over her mouth. Her eyes are wide and suspiciously wet looking, and Steve cannot read her expression at all, “you let him eat your toes?” She mumbles through her fingers.

“Yeah,” and Steve’s geared up to...something. Defend himself maybe? Defend Eddie? He doesn’t know, but she cuts him off anyway.

“I think that’s the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard,” she sighs.

“It...is?”

“Steve, you literally sacrificed a part of yourself to save your one true love,” Chrissy sighs again, one hand supporting her chin now as she stares at them, “Jason wouldn’t even miss a TV football game,” she frowns.

“Steaming turd,” Eddie say solemnly, and then they share a look, and both of them start laughing.

Steve looks between them, frowning, “yeah, well-”

“Oh! Is that why he won’t let me do anything with his hair?”

“I-” Steve starts, then stalls, “what?”

“Well, in school your hair was like...ninety percent of your personality-”

“What-?”

“And, genetically, this makes Eddie part you, right?”

Steve frowns, that thought had never actually occurred to him, “I...guess?”

“And he really doesn’t like being different-” Chrissy gestures vaguely.

“Not different,” Eddie scowls, “little different,” he then immediately concedes.

“I know, I don’t mean it in a bad way honey, you know that right? You’re really cool different, really good different,” Chrissy reassures Eddie immediately, “but in school, Steve’s one job was like...being king of fitting in. Fitting in and having good hair was like, all he had-”

“Hey!”

“Sorry,” she shrugs, “kind of true though. And now Eddie like, has a big thing about both of those things so do you think he like, inherited them from you?”

“No!” Steve crosses his arms, “no I do not think that at all.” Except, now that she’s said it, Steve’s kind of thinking it a little bit. “He just wants to fit in, that’s to be expected considering what he’s been through, don’t you think? Plus, when he came out of the pool all his hair was gone so it’s totally understandable-”

There’s a knocking on the front door, but Steve hears it open before he can get up and Joyce calls, “hello,” through the house. Hopper follows her into the lounge, “we thought better to bring my car than Hoppers truck in case someone is watching,” she shrugs, “don’t want to spook them if they think the laws involved,” she tells them in a conspiratorial whisper.

Hopper rolls his eyes, “she thinks she’s Jessica Fletcher. Kid, you got any beers?”

Steve says, “in the fridge,” at the same time as Eddie says, “no.”

Hopper goes and helps himself, and next to Steve, Eddie grumbles under his breath.

Steve nudges him, “Hopper’s helping us, and we can always get more beer. You only ever drink one at a time anyway.”

Eddie nods, but looks grumpy about it, making Chrissy giggle.

“So, new kid, you all caught up?” Hopper comes back in, bottle in hand.

“There’s an alternate dimension filled with monsters you can reach by opening gates, that’s where Will Byers went missing – that’s your son?” Joyce nods, “but he’s fine now?” Joyce nods again, “okay, good. And your daughter is from a secret government science experiment that was hidden in Hawkins, and she can move stuff with her mind. Eddie is from the upside down and used to be a mermaid.”

Hopper sighs, “close enough, now, what can you tell me about this guy?”

“Uhm...well, he was white. An older guy? Maybe in his sixties, so grey hair?”

“That really narrows it down for me kid.”

Joyce elbows him, “Hop.”

“Did he have an accent?” Steve asks, “like, a Russian accent?”

“Oh, oh no not at all. He was American.”

“Huh.”

“He...all the time wear a shirt, most time a tie and...sometimes…” Eddie mimes doing buttons up the front.

“A coat?”

“No, not coat. Make like Christmas sweater.”

“Oh, a cardigan.”

Eddie nods, “yes.”

Hopper sighs, “an old white guy in a cardigan. How hard could it be,” Joyce elbows him again, “woman!”

“Well...wouldn’t it be safer for Eddie to go away for a little bit?” Joyce suggests.

“No,” Eddie says, frowning and grabbing on to Steve’s elbow, “not the cabin.”

“Oh...oh no honey. I meant further than that, and with Steve. Like a...like a little holiday.”

“Yeah, I don’t want Steve coming back and forth to the cabin, this guy could easily be looking El too,” Hopper adds.

“So where do you-” the front door crashes open, interrupting Steve.

Robin stumbles into the lounge, pink, sweaty, and gasping for breath, “I got here. As fast. As I. Could.”

“Jesus Birdie, did you just ride your bike the whole way here?”

“Yeah,” she caves in, bending to rest her hands on her knees, chest heaving.

Eddie nods, eyeing the state of Robin, “bikes are dangerous,” he points out sagely.

Steve shakes his head, watching as Robin regains her composure enough to share a quick smile with Chrissy. They do an awkward little finger wave at each other across the four feet of lounge they’re separated by. Steve’s going to have to grill her at some point.

“How did you even know?” Steve asks her.

“Oh, well El was there when you called Hopper, and she walkied Max-”

“Right. Right. Never mind I get it,” Steve stops her before she relays the entire chain of events.

Robin slides onto the couch, a very proper foot of space between her and Chrissy. Steve raises an eyebrow. Well? Robin glares at him. Fuck off.

“How about Ray’s place?” Joyce asks.

“Yeah, yeah,” Hopper agrees, like he was already considering it, “I’ll go call him.”

Hopper shuffles into the hall, “fishing Buddy,” Joyce elaborates, “Hopper uses his cabin all the time, it’s right on a lake.”

“It is not ‘all the time’,” Hopper grumbles from out in the hall.

“Feels like it,” Joyce whispers.

“You going into hiding?” Robin asks, excited.

“Yeah...I mean...maybe?” Steve hedges.

“On holiday,” Eddie adds, before frowning, “Chrissy? Can I have holiday? From work?”

Chrissy snorts a laugh, but then very seriously adds, “I think under the circumstances I can excuse the short notice.”

“I could help!” Robin starts eagerly, before she dials down her excitement, “I mean. I could help out, with the flowers, as long as I’m not at Family Video. Oh! Maybe the guy will come in and-!”

“And you could nothing,” Steve tells her, “Robs, seriously, leave it to Hopper, please?”

“Fine,” Robin grumbles.

“I’ll be really glad of your help though,” Chrissy smiles at her, which seems to perk Robin right back up again.

“Oh shit.” Steve sighs, “Keith.”

“Well, you know that elderly aunt you’re really close to? She was super sick over Christmas and you had to help her out?”

“Sure..?” Steve answers vaguely.

“I think she finally just died,” Robin grins.

“Great.”

Eddie has his nose practically pressed to the window glass, “cows!”

“Yeah,” Steve smiles, “yep. Real life cows.”

“Different colors?”

“Yeah, you get chocolate milk from the brown ones.”

Eddie’s head snaps round so fast Steve’s surprised he didn’t hear his neck crack, “really?? The cows in my book are black and white.”

“Yeap, black and white ones make regular milk,” and Steve almost, almost pulls it off, but Eddie starts to frown as he thinks about it, and Steve can’t hide his smile any more.

“Lie,” Eddie says, grinning happily before he goes back to looking out of the window, “funny lie Stevie.”

The town is pretty much exactly as Hopper described; a little touristy, a little kitschy. Bigger than Hawkins. There’s a good will and a record store, and Hopper said that there’s a library in town somewhere. They drive past a busy looking diner and a fair sized grocery store. The gas station is exactly where Hopper said it would be.

It’s busy enough, but clearly filled with a lot of visitors; there’s three outdoor supply stores pretty much on the same block, which figures considering what Hopper said about people passing through, visiting the lakes or going hiking. There’s one store that seems to cater exclusively to merchandise for tourists if the rack of hats and shirts outside is anything to go by.

Once out the far side of town, Steve figures then they’ve driven the mile and a half Hopper directed before finding the turning, and then another mile later finding the over grown, rutted drive that leads up to the cabin. It’s real quiet, the road clearly not used often, and there’s plenty of ‘Private Road – No Entry’ signs at the turning of the lane.

The cabin is nestled amongst the trees, a long, squat thing with a shingled roof and peeling white window frames. There’s a screen door set in the middle and not much else to look at on this side. Steve can already see the little lean too built on the end though, just poking out; it has it’s own vents and chimney and houses the generator. There’s another, open sided shelter next to that, stacked with firewood. Steve figures they won’t need to light the fire much, unless it gets chilly in the evenings. It might, he figures, this close to the water.

Eddie hops out immediately, heading to the cabin and opening the squeaky screen door before letting himself in with the key Hopper gave them.

‘Keep the cans for the generator topped up, if you use anything from the pantry replace it, and for the love of god take your own bedding and towels. Trust me. There’s a coffee can on top of the fridge, I usually shove a few dollars in there as a thank you, oh, and you'll have to go into town if you need to do laundry.’ They were pretty much the only other instructions Hopper had given, but so far everything seems to be exactly as Hopper said it would be.

Steve’s gathering things from the car when Eddie comes back out again to help, “hows the inside?”

Eddie wrinkles his nose, “dusty.”

“Well...we can soon fix that.”

They get unpacked. Eddie dusts and packs things away while Steve tops off the generator and gets it started. He puts the now empty gas can in the trunk, ready for when they go into town. He goes inside the check the fridge is running, then raids the pantry. Some of the cans in there don’t even have labels on, a few even rusting a little, and Steve doesn’t really feel like pot luck or food poisoning for dinner, “want to get groceries?”

“Yeah. I can’t find the vacuum.”

“Oh…” Steve comes and looks, checking in all the likely places, before he finds a little rotary carpet sweeper, showing Eddie how to use it.

Eddie does the whole cabin in less than ten minutes, carefully knocking the dust outside after, “trash bags?” he asks on his way past, and Steve adds them to the grocery list.

The cabin is comfortable inside, if a little lived in. All the furniture looks, at the very least, older than Steve.

Some of it might give Hopper a run for his money.

But, yeah, it’s a tidy little space, and the couch in front of the fire is nice. “Listen later?” Eddie asks when he dusts off the record collection.

“Sure, ready to go now? The fridge should be cold enough by the time we get back.”

Eddie nods, retrieving his jar of cash and shoving some in his wallet, “ready.”

They squeeze into the phone box together; there’s no phone line at the cabin, and Hopper did warn them about that.

Eddie huddles close, Steve holding the receiver so they can both hear it ring, loose change in his pocket at the ready. Steve speaks to Robin’s mother very briefly, and then Robin and Chrissy are both on the line. Steve can imagine it in his head, cord stretched at it’s max to reach inside the door of Robins room, both of them standing close so they can hear, the same as Steve as Eddie are now.

“What’s it like?” Chrissy asks.

“Nice,” Eddie tells her, “I cleaned the dust.”

“Good job, and is the lake pretty?”

“Yeah. Lots of trees.”

“Steve,” Robin cuts across, “is it like, actually alright?”

“Yeah,” Steve reassures her, “it’s pretty good actually, the couch is comfy and the dock looks nice. Generator started up fine. We’ll be okay. Just gonna’ go get some groceries and settle in for the night. Eddie found a record player and there’s a bunch of movies.”

“Library?” Eddie asks.

“Sure, we can find that tomorrow maybe.”

The last thing they did as they were leaving Hawkins was to return Eddie’s books, he was worried they would overrun if they were gone too long.

They wrap up their short check in, the girls promising to let everyone else they arrived fine. Steve also makes Robin promise not to do anything stupid, which, she does promise, but Steve is absolutely certain she has her fingers crossed as she says it.

They carry a bag each into the cabin, Eddie immediately opening the fridge and declaring it cold inside. The groceries get unpacked, and Steve finishes unpacking and making up the bed while Eddie unpacks his pencils and notebooks.

With that done, Steve makes them both coffee, “come on, lets go and look at the lake.”

Hopper warned them there was no outdoor furniture and he always brings his own folding chair, but Steve and Eddie are content to sit on the planks of the short dock and watch the water, “the sun set is so pretty.” And it is, dusky oranges and pinks reflected on the water, the sky going dark at the edges.

It’s kind of romantic, sitting here. There’s just the very quiet lap of the water to listen to, the occasional soft sound of the breeze through the trees. It’s...quiet. Soothing. Steve lets go of the breath he’s been half holding since Chrissy and Eddie piled through the front door yesterday afternoon. There’s no mystery old dude here. Whoever is looking for Eddie, he won’t have a clue where they’ve gone.

Eddie’s safe again, right now. Steve’s fairly confident Hopper will find the guy, Hawkins isn’t that big, and if he’s brazen enough to outright be asking questions about Starcourt, surely he will be easy enough to turn up.

Steve hopes so, anyway.

They’ve finished their coffees, the sun slowly setting. The temperature has dropped a little, while they’ve been sitting watching the colors on the water, and Eddie snuggles into Steve’s side, resting his head on Steve’s shoulder, absently dragging his nails lightly on the material of Steve’s jeans.

He’s always fiddling with something, Steve thinks vaguely. He wonders absently if it’s just because everything is still so new, Eddie always chasing sensations. Steve can't blame him for wanting to try things, for wanting to try everything.

“Dark here, at night?” Eddie asks, shaking Steve from his thoughts.

“Yeah. Really dark I think. No lights from other houses or street lights or anything.”

Eddie hums, “see the stars?”

“Oh...oh yeah, they’re going to be super bright here. You...I don’t suppose you ever saw them, in the Upside Down?”

“No...first time here,” Eddie lifts a hand, flashing his fingers open and closed at the sky, “many pretty.”

It’s not fair of Steve to deny Eddie anything, especially not because of his own hang ups. And he promised himself he would be better about all this.

And it is romantic, sitting here on the deck, the sun just a hint of light on the horizon now, mostly hidden by the forest.

Eddie hugs his mug to his chest, perking up when the breeze rustles the trees, louder now, “the trees are different.”

Steve looks around, “yeah, I guess. They’re...older than at home. Wild. Kind of.” They are closer together, and a lot bigger than the ones at home. It highlights that the trees at the bottom of the yard were probably carefully curated and deliberately planted at some point. Comparatively the trees here are...huge. Much more established.

A bird screeches, and Eddie startles, leaning more firmly into Steve’s side. Steve puts an arm around him. “Called?”

“Oh...it was just a bird. Probably different to the kind we get at home, that’s all. You want to go in and listen to a record?” Eddie nods, “and maybe...we could try me giving you a blowjob?”

Part TwentyNine

[stevieschrodinger]

Part One Five

“Robs!” Steve shouts through the apartment, toeing his shoes off at the door.

“Kitchen!”

Steve heads through, and he can’t help but notice something looks kind of off. It looks different in here but he can’t quite put his finger on it, “Robs, did you do something to your apartment?”

“Yeah, I cleaned it.”

“Oooh. Yeah,” Steve looks back through the kitchen doorway, “yeah, that’s what’s different.”

“What are you doing here?”

“Nice to see you too, bitch.”

“Fuckface.”

Steve frowns, there’s a cookbook propped open and actual like, fresh ingredients on the chopping board, “what are you doing?”

“Is that a rhetorical question because-”

“Robs, I have literally never seen you cook anything more complicated than eggs and toaster waffles, what is this,” Steve goes over to be nosy, “chicken satay skewers and bang bang cauliflower- what the actual fuck. I didn’t even know you knew what recipe books were.”

“Fuck off. And it’s for Chrissy, she said it’s her favorite-”

“Oh my god. I’m dead. I’m dead aren’t I. I got into a crash on the way-”

“Steve.”

“Alternate dimension-”

“Jesus Christ-”

“Abducted by aliens?”

“Steve, I can cook a nice meal for my girlfriend, alright, it’s not, like, illegal-”

“Your what?!”

She stops and actually turns to look at him, she’s wearing her absolute dead serious face, “Steve. I like her. A lot.”

“So now you’re what, fucking pregnant and barefoot in the kitchen-”

“Steve! Look. She’s clever. She’s funny. She’s kind. She calls me out on my bullshit and she is extremely hot doing it. She plays volleyball Steve. Volleyball. Have you ever seen girls play volleyball? Not only is it insanely aggressive but the shorts are so tiny they’re on the verge of disappearing up her crack and it’s socially acceptable for me to go out and watch that Steve.”

“Yeah but- you don’t have to like, date her to get all of that-”

“I do. I do Steve. Because I want to. We can’t just do,” she gestures vaguely, “this for our entire lives.”

“But whyyyyy?” Steve whines.

“Because we have to grow up at some point.”

“Yeah but...now?” Steve knows he’s pouting.

“Good a time as any, anyway, aren’t you literally about to go to dinner at Eddie’s uncles place? Literally the only notable family member that he has? His only parental figure and therefore the most important person in his life-”

“You can stop now.”

“I’m just saying that sounds kind of serious-”

“I will throw myself off the roof to get out of this dinner. Don’t test me.”

Robin completely ignores him, “I’ve seen how Eddie looks at you,” Steve scoffs, rolling his eyes, “Steve, that boy looks at you like he’d crawl a mile over broken glass to sniff your farts. Could you just like, appreciate that about him for thirty god damn seconds.”

Steve has a range of acceptable beer. He has picked up a six pack of something from uncomfortably near the bottom of that range. He takes a deep breath as he grabs it off the passenger seat.

Steve’s pretty sure he’s never been inside a trailer once in his damned life, and he has absolutely no idea what to expect. From the outside it looks...cramped. Steve’s certain his entire bedroom is bigger than this whole place.

Steve prepares himself to be polite about whatever he’s about to walk into.

Eddie fucking lights up when he opens the door, it makes Steve skin itchy while simultaneously something flaps about in his stomach, “oh wow, you bought the good beer!” Eddie looks thrilled as he takes it to put in the fridge.

Which he makes it to in about four steps because the kitchen is like, right there. And Steve’s taken one step in through the door and he’s already in the middle of the lounge, which is, efficient, he guesses.

“Here, come sit at the table, Wayne’s about done with dinner.”

“Errr...thanks.” Eddie indicates a place at a cramped little built in breakfast nook type thing, and Steve slides in just as Wayne appears from down the hall.

It was fucking awkward getting in, it’s even more awkward getting straight back out again so he can shake Wayne’s hand, “good to see you again Sir.”

Steve gets a firm handshake, and then not two minutes later he’s eating the first bite of what might be the best thing he’s ever put in his mouth. Wayne Muson makes a pot roast that should win a Michelin Star. Who could have fucking predicted that.

[stevieschrodinger]

part One Two

“Steve, I really need to you reconsider this. I mean your life choices, your education, your past relationships, religious beliefs, sexuality, upbringing, political views. Everything that makes you, you, as a person. The very atoms that make up your body, the millennia of evolution. You need to question everything. Because all those choices have brought you here, to this moment...which is fundamentally a fucking mistake.”

“That was strangely beautiful Robs.”

“Unlike the creature feature up on stage there, who is just...strange.”

“He does look like he let a toddler do his makeup.”

“Surely...I mean it kind of looks like it’s done in sharpie, you don’t think it is though, do you?”

Steve sips his drink, “at this point…” Steve just trails off, because really, at this point, anything is possible.

“Are we sure they are all even playing the same song?”

“I think they’re...trying to?” Steve hedges, “but I’m not like, one hundred percent I mean...they are enthusiastic, you’ve got to give them that.”

“Oh, yeah, they have like that, teenage energy vibe you know. I can vaguely remember being really, you know, invested in stuff.”

“You can remember having fucks to give.”

Robin clicks her fingers at him, “yes. Yeah that. I remember having the energy to care.”

“Yeah.” Robin finishes her drink and shoves her empty glass at him. Steve sighs and goes to the bar. Again. He gets himself a coke. Again.

Steve brings Robin her drink, and they sit in silence watching the show. It is loud. And it is enthusiastic. Steve figures it’s some sort of...heavy ish rock? That they’re trying to reproduce up there. Sometimes the front man even introduces songs when he remembers that’s part of his job. Apparently some of them the band wrote themselves. It’s unfortunate.

“God they’re so shit. Harrington I better be your maid of honor when you marry that...that...whatever that thing is up there.”

Steve doesn’t care though. He doesn’t know enough about music to know if Eddie is any good on guitar, but he, specifically, doesn’t sound bad exactly...but he is quick. It’s pretty dead in here, and they aren’t seated that far away from the stage, so Steve can see just how quickly those nimble fingers dance across the strings.

He’s a sweaty mess. His make up definitely isn’t sharpie, because half of it has sweated down his face. His hair is half sticking up everywhere, and half plastered to him with sweat. Whats left of his hacked up tee shirt is sticking too him with sweat.

“Did he just trip over that guitar cable, again?” Robin slurrs at him.

“Yeah.”

“So not only is he fucking useless, but he also cannot be taught.”

“Yeah,” Steve sighs hopelessly.

He’s just so...earnest. So keen. Eddie clearly fucking loves being up there. It’s like...it’s like watching a kids talent show. Objectively shit but so fucking cute.

The audience gets informed that the band will be playing one final song, there’s a smattering of applause and a few woops from the minimal patrons. Steve’s pretty sure they’re cheering because the show is finally about to end, not because they’ve enjoyed any part of it.

“What you going to do?”

Steve climbs off his chair, downing the dregs of his coke, “I am going to fuck that man in a public bathroom.”

Robin huffs, “you’re so fucking vile.”

Part Four

What happens next on AO3

[stevieschrodinger]

Nancy, drunk, 100% done with men : My place would stay so fucking clean if I just dated a woman *gestures wildly* and another thing! *hic* unwashed dick tastes absolutely vile

Robin, drunk and in love : *is seeing her chance*

Eddie, also drunk : I feel that

Steve, absolutely lost : wait...what?

And that's how everyone found out that Eddie's gay

[stevieschrodinger]

Walk Me to the Fountain

Want to know what actually happened in the pool house? Read it on AO3

"Robin, walk me to the bar. Walk me to the bathroom. Walk me to my car. Walk me to the ornamental fucking fountain so I can ornamentally fucking drown myself but please I am begging you. I have got to stop staring." "Okay," Robin grabs him by his arm and turns them fully in a circle, and then starts marching him across the lawn towards the Munsons.

"Robin. Please. No." "Shut up you big baby. Besides, he needs help, there might be things living in his hair." "I can definitely fix him." "That's the spirit."

Based on this series.