#steddie drabble

[paceprompting]

An Unexpected Gift

written for ‘alone’ | wc: 999 # | steddie | rated: t | cw: no archive warnings apply | tags: pre-season four, pre-relationship, fluff, steve has a crush on eddie, eddie has no clue

@steddieholidaydrabbles

Part One Part Two

Winter break was in full force in Hawkins, complete with a post-Christmas Day bash at the Harrington residence. And after a full day or more stuck with their extended families, the student body was desperate to let loose.

Cue Eddie and his little black lunchbox.

The timing was perfect. His usual customers would have run through their stashes from before school let out, and he could even up charge a little extra when people tried to give him shit. Even then, he was still their cheapest option.

The extra cash would be worth having to convince Wayne to drop him off, still without his van. If he played his cards right, his haul from the party might be enough that he could finally take his van into the shop and stop having to share the pickup with his uncle.

So, perched on his usual armchair and nursing a watered-down rum and coke, Eddie pilfered out the goods. Only a few people noticed the lightly higher prices Eddie asked for, and even then, they wanted their weed more than they wanted to argue.

The house wasn’t decorated very extravagantly, so most everyone looked like everyone else in the dim light of the living room. A customer was a customer, and hard cash was hard cash.

He cleared his lunchbox just about halfway through the party, though he wasn’t sure just how much he’d made in profit. He made a point not to whip out the cash from the pocket inside his jacket with so many people around.

After that, Eddie didn’t exactly need to lurk around. He pulled out his backpack for the lunchbox, and the heavier coat he’d laid on the chair’s arm next to him.

One last unlucky customer sidled up to him.

“Hey, Munson,” Steve said, standing there in a trademark striped polo and dark jeans.

“Hey,” Eddie said back, settling his jacket over his front. He gave a strained smile. “Uh, I’m all out for the night. Sorry.”

Steve hadn’t always bought from Eddie, and he never seemed to mind when Eddie sold at his parties. But he rarely bought by himself, usually serving as the bank from which his friends funded their drug habits.

“No, I was actually wondering if I could ask you something.” Steve rubbed a hand at the back of his neck, unable to meet Eddie’s gaze. “Upstairs, if that’s alright? Alone?”

This was a bad idea. It was one thing for Steve to associate with him in the anonymity of the crowded mall, but there were only certain thoughts that went through people’s minds when Steve Harrington took people upstairs toward his bedroom.

And Eddie was not one of those people.

More like the opposite.

“Five minutes,” Steve promised. “I’ll even walk you out.”

“Not necessary, Harrington.” Eddie rolled his eyes and stepped past Steve, his beeline for the stairs serving as his answer to Steve.

They weaved past the drunk and/or high partygoers lining the stairs. With Eddie going first, he assumed that the strange looks he was getting was less than he if he’d been following Steve.

Who knew who had seen him go straight into the King’s bedroom.

He took a place in the center of the room, hands tucked firmly in his jacket pockets and backpack on his shoulder. Steve closed the door behind him, but he didn’t notice Eddie’s highly-raised brows, instead heading straight for his dresser.

Steve picked up a wide, white box and turned, holding it straight out toward Eddie.

“I didn’t know we were doing a gift exchange,” Eddie said.

“It’s just…something I thought you’d like.” Steve shrugged one shoulder, still holding the box. “I don’t expect, like, reciprocation or anything.”

Eddie peered at the top of the box, where a line of blue text spelled out ‘Bloomingdale’s.’ Eddie leveled his gaze at Steve, but all he got in return was seeing Steve nervously bite at his lower lip.

Eddie took the box.

He heard Steve swallow hard as Eddie worked off the fitted cardboard lid, taking it before Eddie had to ask. Letting Eddie see the garment inside in all its surprising glory.

“It’s—”

“They had one in black, like you’d said.” Steve pointed to the gift, as if Eddie couldn’t see exactly what he was holding.

It was the jacket from that day at the mall. Stiff, because it was new, but clean denim with bright silver buttons on the breast pockets and down the front. The only difference: black, instead of blue.

Eddie dragged his hand across the fabric, remembering how warm the one he’d tried on had been. The warmth that came from nicely made stuff.

“You actually remembered that?” he said.

Steve fucking shrugged again, like he just went around remembering random bits of trivia from people he should never be associating with, much less buying Christmas presents.

The worst thing? Eddie wanted to keep it.

It would be a lot harder for Steve to try and take the gift back if Eddie had it safely in his own closet. Refusing the gift meant Steve could just return it.

Was Eddie supposed to refuse it?

He knew one thing for sure.

Steve Harrington was confusing the hell out of him.

“I’m planning another party. For New Year’s,” Steve said, breaking up the silence of Eddie’s indecision. His hand still on the jacket, Eddie looked him, mouth surely hanging open. Steve pursed his mouth, seemingly unsure of his own words. “If you want to plan…to be there.”

Eddie would have been there regardless. Didn’t usually get an invite to these things.

He narrowed his eyes toward Steve, who he was sure hadn’t not looked nervous since he first walked up to Eddie in the living room.

“I’ll think about it,” he said slowly. He lifted the jacket from the box, officially accepting the gift and tossed the bottom part onto Steve’s bed. As he headed for the door, he added, “And, thank you. For the jacket.”

“Don’t mention it."

[yours-etc]

12 Days of Steddie-Mas

Day 6:

Forget it, It’s cold, It’s getting late

Part 1 out of 2

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Steve never thought he would be one of the few unfortunate souls that had to stay over break. But, here he is, an official Holdover. It was embarrassing to say the least. He couldn’t let Tommy or Charol know. They would never let him hear the end of it. “Poor little Steve, Mommy and Daddy couldn’t even care enough to leave him alone at home, had to leave him at school.”

It’s bullshit.

He knew his parents were going on some important business trip that he wasn’t allowed to join in on, but he never thought they would just leave him here.

Steve jumped at the sound of the classroom door opening. He was the first to arrive at the expectations meeting, not having anything else to do anyway. Mr. Hopper walked in wearing a brown suit that was just slightly too big for him. He made his way to the front of the room to the podium to look at who was all there. It was just Steve and him.

”Where are the others?” He asked Steve, as if he even knew who else was supposed to be here.

“No clue, Sir,” Steve supplies, returning to flipping through his book.

Mr. Hopper grunted before leaving the room. It was just a minute before his voice rang out over the intercom.

“Mr. Munson, Mrs. Buckley, and Mrs. Mayfield, Please make your way to room 243.”

Steve heard frantic footsteps running down the hall before two girls stormed through the door. They looked at him, then to the empty room.

“Um, this is 243 right?” Said the redhead.

Steve looked up from his book, “Yep,” is all he said.

The brunette sat down in a chair, right next to him, clearly not understanding personal space, “Well they told us that we were supposed to go to 125 yesterday, we’ve been in there waiting until that announcement.”

The redhead sat on the other side of him, “No one is surprised at the lack of organization in this place.”

Steve nods along, pretending to care about the conversation. He just needed to make it through these next few weeks, and then he can go on pretending everything is back to normal.

Mr. Hopper reappears in the room and looks to the three of them, “Where’s the last one?”

“Behind you, Hop,” came a voice from the hallway.

Hopper jumped at the sound and turned to face the last of them, shaking his head in disapproval, “Mr. Munson, the meeting was to start at 9am, it is now 9:30.”

“I overslept,” said Munson, squeezing past him to enter the room.

Steve looked the boy up and down, lingering on his scuffed boots and five metal rings on his fingers. He looked for a little too long, but no one should guess that Steve Harrington the Ladies Man was actually— secretly— gay, he ensured his reputation was ironclad. So sue him for checking out an attractive guy, who he’s pretty sure he has never seen before, which is such a shame.

Munson sat next to the brunette, “Well isn’t this cozy,” he said, “as sitting all in a line, boy girl boy girl.”

Steve snorted a laugh. But before he can respond, Mr. Hopper starts his lecture. Which felt more like a drill sergeant yelling at officers.

“While you are here under the care of Hawkins Academy, you will follow a simple set of rules and schedule,” handed each of them a pice of paper that read:

SCHEDULE:

9 AM - BREAKFAST

11 AM - DAILY WALK

1 PM - LUNCH

2 PM - STUDY HALL

4 PM - FREE TIME

6 PM - DINER

7 PM - FREE TIME

10 PM - LIGHTS OUT

RULES:

1 - YOU MUST FOLLOW THE SCHEDULE

2 - YOU MUST BE IN UNIFORM

3 - MR. HOPPER AND COOK BYERS ARE THE ULTIMATE AUTHORITY WHILE HERE

4 - YOU MAY NOT LEAVE CAMPUS

5 - YOU WILL BE MOVED TO TEMPORARY GIRL/BOY DORMS FOR THE DURATION OF BREAK

6 - ALL REGULAR RULES AND REGULATIONS STILL APPLY

Steve looked up and raised his hand.

“Yes Mr. Harrington?” Mr. Hopper said in acknowledgment.

“We have to take a daily walk? Outside? There is two feet of snow out there and temperatures haven’t gotten above 20 degrees in weeks,” He said desperately trying to get that striked from the list.

Hopper shook his head, “Fresh air and a bit of cold will do you all good.”

All four of them looked at each other in shock and horror. It was bad enough they had to stay here all break, but these rules and schedule might actually kill them.

The redhead raised her hand, “There’s a Study Hall on here, what homework are we expected to do?”

“I have your syllabus for next semester here,” he said holding up a stack of papers, “You can get a head start on your required reading and assignments, Ms. Mayfield.”

The stunned silence must have been enough for him to know it was time to move on, “Well if that's all the questions you have, let's show you to your rooms.

——

The first few days went by without too much happening. He and Munson— Eddie as he now knows— share a small room, while the girls are down the hall, with Hopper’s room in the middle of the two. In the few days him and Eddie have been bunking he has learned several key things about him:

First, Eddie hums and sings to fill the silence, and he’s quite good at it.

Second, Eddie cannot sit still to save his life.

Third, he snores very softly.

Fourth, he’s a chronic oversleeper

And lastly, Eddie sleeps with only his boxers on, which made Steve’s brain short circuit the first night, making it almost impossible to sleep.

Altogether Eddie was a fine roommate and his long wild hair, metal rings, and constant flirting for fun only added to his charm— unfortunately.

The four of them, all the holdovers, seemed to be getting on well. Steve, Eddie, Max, and Robin seemed to be growing in a small friendship of sorts. It made it a bit easier to forget their parents left them there.

They all had their own sob stories.

Max chose to stay to avoid her Mom and whatever drama she had going on this month.

Robin’s Mom was on her third marriage and chose to schedule her honeymoon this month.

Steve’s parents are too busy with work to care.

Eddie’s Uncle Wayne couldn’t afford to get him a bus ticket home this time around.

They were in Study Hall and Steve was trying to make sense of some equations when a folded up slip of paper landed on top of his scrap paper. He looked to his side where Eddie was sitting. The other boy wouldn’t make eye contact with him, but had a knowing smile on his face. Curious, Steve opened the paper to see a game of hangman drawn out. The dashes let him know that there were three words— 4, 2, and 6 letters respectively. Steve wrote an A on the side of the paper and slided it back over. A moment later and the note came back with a slash through the A and a circle drawn on the post. Steve wrote an E and slid it back, only for it to return with a body now added.

He looked over to Eddie, but the boy refused to make eye contact. He wrote I on the paper and slid it over. It returned with three Is filled in. Score, Steve thought to himself before writing a S next and returning it to Eddie. Two Ss got filled in the paper reading:

_ _ I S I S _ _ _ I _ _

Steve wrote “this” under the first word and a B as his next guess. Eddie scribbled something on the paper before passing it back. There was a check mark next to “this” and he has filled it in. B had also been a correct guess and he smiled looking down at the paper.

T H I S I S B_ _ _ I _ _

He wrote down “this is boring” as his last guess and also wrote a small note in the corner.

Boredom is the lack of imagination to entertain oneself.

When Eddie got the paper back he scrunched his eyebrows before finally turning to look at Steve. He just smiled at the curly haired boy before returning to his work, thinking that was the end of the game.

The paper was slid over again with a note added next to his own.

It’s not a lack of imagination Harrington, it’s the fact that school sucks.

Steve wrote back, Aren’t nerds like you supposed to like school?

Eddie shook his head reading it and scribbled, Aren’t jocks like you supposed to be bad at school?

A small laugh escaped from Steve, that he covered up with a cough trying not to attract the attention of Mr. Hopper.

Guess we’re both filled with surprises and secrets.

Eddie wrote back a final note, Sounds like a challenge, Harrington.

To which Steve just shrugged and tossed the paper into the trash bin like a basketball, turning to Eddie when it went in with a smug grin. Eddie just rolled his eyes and finally flipped open his chemistry text book.

——

The next day on their walk that Hopper lead them through, Steve felt a tug on his jacket arm. He turned to see Eddie holding up a cigarette and lighter. The boy lit one, taking a drag and passing it over to Steve. He took it with a smile. Steve had run out of his stash about a week before break and was desperate for anything he could get. He closed his eyes at the rush of smoke, holding it in for a few moments before passing it back over to Eddie. Their fingers brushing slightly— Steve tried not to linger on it.

Max turned around suddenly making eye contact with the two of them. She raised an eyebrow before sticking out two fingers for them to pass it to her. Eddie does so without complaint. Max takes a small drag and tugs on Robin’s arm. She holds up the cigarette to her in an offering. Robin turns to the tree of them and mimes throwing up before shaking her head no. The other three laugh silently, and take note that Robin is not in support of their habits.

They all shared the cigarette quietly, passing it back and forth. Once they finished the first one, Eddie lit another, and they continued their routine. Half way through the second cigarette, Hopper stopped in his tracks.

“Now I won't turn around to see who is supplying the smokes, although I have a feeling I could take a guess and be correct. However, I’ll let it slide if you pass me one and we do not talk about it. Cook Byers made me quit and I just need one.”

Max and Steve turned to Eddie who looked like a deer caught in headlights. He took out a single cigarette and lit it, before slowly passing it forward to Hopper, who took it silently and took in a deep breath before continuing with leading the walk.

All four of them turn to each other in disbelief, unsure if they were being pranked or not. But Hopper continued to walk on and the four of them were not about to take the chance of getting into more trouble with not continuing the walk.

——

That night was not a good night. Steve hadn’t had nightmares in a while, so this one felt extra… not nice, to put it kindly. He never remembers much from the nightmares, just that he’s running and scared and terrified. He must have been screaming and thrashing around in his bed.

Steve felt hands on him first before anything else. He shot up in his bed as he heard his name being said over and over again and a banging on the door.

“Steve? Steve, hey! Hey it’s okay! You’re okay!” He recognized Eddie’s voice.

He looked at Eddie, his eyes must not be focused because Eddie waves his hand in front of him, “Steve? Hey, you’re okay, it’s okay, you’re not alone.”

He doesn’t know what the phrase hits him hard at that moment, but it does. Tears well in his eyes.

The banging on the door gets louder, making him jump. Eddie puts his hands on Steve’s face to make him focus, “I’m not letting them in, but I have to let them know you’re okay. I figure you don’t want them to see you like this?”

The thought of three more practical strangers to him seeing him like this made his breathing speed up and eyes water more, “Please— please don’t let them in Eddie, god this is so— so embarrassing, you can't let them see me like this. Hopper will call my parents and they’ll make me go back on the meds and I can’t do that again Eddie! Oh they were awful and made me feel like I was fucking underwater— I’m not crazy I promise, I promise Eddie, please—“

Eddie cuts him off, “Shhh, Steve please stop talking, I got it, I got you. Let me get rid of them and I’ll be right back, okay.”

Steve gripped Eddie’s wrist in fear. Scared to let Eddie go, scared he’ll tell everyone, scared he’ll use this against him. He stuck between pushing the boy away and crawling into his arms to sob. He nods his head okay to tell Eddie to get rid of the group pounding on the door to get in.

When the boy gets up to get the door, Steve goes cold. He wrapped the blanket around him tighter, yet no warmth returned. Steve couldn’t hear what Eddie was telling them at the door, whatever it was was enough to get them to leave.

He tried to focus on evening out his breathing.

In 5

Hold 5

Out 5

Again

In 5

Hold 5

Out 5

Again

Eddie returned to the bed, placing a delicate hand on Steve's shoulder. He leaned into it. The other boy noticed how he relaxed, and started rubbing circles on his back. The gentleness Eddie was treating him with was almost too much. Steve had never been taken care of. He had always dealt with this alone. Eddie’s simple presence was grounding for him.

Steve laid back on the bed, leaving room for Eddie to join, which he did. They laid there facing each other, squeezing into a twin sized bed. Their legs got tangled together, but neither of them seemed to care. Steve noticed that Eddie must have thrown on a shirt during all this. He took a finger and outlined the band name written across the chest.

“Dio?” He asked softly.

“My favorite band,” Eddie replied.

“Never heard of them,” Steve said, continuing to trace the word.

Eddie laughed and grabbed his hand, stilling it on his chest— Steve could feel his heartbeat under his fingers— “Yeah, you wouldn’t know them. I bet your favorite band is WHAM or ABBA or something like that.”

Steve pouted, “What’s wrong with WHAM and ABBA?”

Eddie shook his head, “Nothing is wrong with them, it was just a guess.”

“Well I do like them, but they're not my favorite.”

Eddie scooted closer, their noses brushing, and Steve thanked god that it was too dark for Eddie to see his blush, “Who is then?” He asked.

“Queen,” Steve answered.

A smile appeared on Eddie’s face, “Yeah?”

Steve just nodded, feeling a bit embarrassed. He had just had a major freak out in front of Eddie and here he was acting like nothing happened. Steve was thankful for the distraction.

“Good pick,” Eddie said, “Queen is totally metal.”

This made Steve laugh, “Yeah, I’m metal as fuck,” he said sarcastically.

Eddie’s hand reached up and brushed some hair back from Steve’s face. Steve froze at this. Eddie’s hand rested on the side of his face, his thumb gliding over the skin of his cheek back and forth, “Yeah Stevie, you are metal as fuck.”

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Day: 1 2 3 4 5 6 ao3

THATS RIGHT! A TWO PARTER!

I started writing and about half way through I hit 3k and decided to spilt it up 🙂‍↕️ Part 2 coming tomorrow!! The holdovers is just too good, it’s truly on one my favorite films of all time!! Maybe one day I’ll turn this into a whole fic 👀

Thank you all for reading, hope you are all having just as much fun as I am <3 (also check out the ao3 link!!! all the silly drabbles in one place!)

[undreaming-fanfiction]

Eddie goes to a very interactive and scary haunted house with CC. They get separated, one thing leads to another, and Eddie finds himself crouched behind a dusty curtain, trying to evade a masked killer with a spiked bat.

But then his smart watch lights up, and he realizes that he needs to turn it off.

Except his shaking fingers accidentally press the "find your phone" function. One moment, Eddie is suppressing his labored breathing. Now, he's scrambling to turn off his phone as it keeps screeching "I'M HEEEREEEE!" in an obnoxious voice.

The curtain opens and the killer stares at him from above. Even with the mask on, he seems disappointed.

Eddie just stares at him.

The killer stares back.

Then, as an act of mercy, he takes Eddie's phone and turns off the noise. He returns the phone and uses his bat to give the gentlest bonk to Eddie's head.

Eddie still stares and isn't moving.

The killer sighs, removes his mask - and wow. Maybe fear scrambled Eddie's brain, but the guy's so cute!

"Oh wow," he whispers. "If I knew you were so pretty, I would have let you catch me sooner."

He half expects the guy to be disgusted, but he just snorts. "That can still be arranged. But now," he lowers his mask back, "you have five seconds to start running. And if I catch you, you don't get to ask for my number."

Eddie runs like hell. He makes it past the exit gate, he rolls on the floor, wheezing and sweating. But he still finds the words. "Your...oh fuck, my ribs...your name...big boy? And number?"

The guy didn't even break a sweat. He walks up to Eddie, takes his phone and types in a number, plus a name - Steve.

He cocks his head to the side. "My shift ends in three hours. Try not to disappoint me again, hm?"

And then he leaves.

Eddie's friends stare at him, having witnessed the whole scene. But Eddie doesn't explain anything, he just clutches the phone close to his chest and says: "I'm gonna marry that guy."

And surprisingly, he ends up being right.

[steddiealltheway]

Eddie chronically leaves his rings at Steve’s place to the point that Steve checks the bathroom and kitchen sink every time after he leaves, only to find one of them there every time.

Not that Steve is entirely complaining since this means he gets to call him and Eddie gets to stop by on his own to pick them up.

But when they’re at the Wheeler’s place, and Eddie says he’s going to the bathroom, Steve says, “Be careful not to leave one of your rings behind,” with a wink that has the kids exchanging confused looks. But Steve doesn’t notice because he’s too distracted by the light blush coloring Eddie’s cheeks.

“Why would Eddie leave one of his rings behind?” Dustin asks Steve when Eddie’s out of earshot.

Steve laughs. “He leaves one behind every time he washes his hands I swear. I don’t know how he hasn’t lost one at this point.” But his amusement is quick to die down when he realizes the kids are staring at him as if he’s absolutely insane. “What?”

They all glance at each other, and Steve is surprised when Mike is the first to pipe in, “He never leaves them anywhere. They’re like his prized possession. I’ve never even seen him take them off.”

Steve frowns and glances around at everyone, sensing that there’s definitely something he’s missing, so he’s quick to lie, “Well, I guess it was only once or twice that it happened. Maybe it was my fancy soap. Made things too… slippery.”

He gets a few eye rolls at the comment, but the group is quick to move on especially when Eddie comes back a few moments later with all his rings on his hands.

Steve gives him a quick smile, and Eddie is quick to return it, eyes lingering on him for a few seconds longer than necessary and the same blush from earlier returning.

It hits Steve very suddenly.

The rings are an excuse to come back.

And with this knowledge, Steve’s let’s his own gaze linger on Eddie longer than he usually allows, moving into his space more often than not, and carefully keeping track of time, waiting for the hang out to end.

When it finally comes to a halt, Steve is quick to say his goodbyes, hoping that Eddie will join and let the kids have their unnecessarily prolonged goodbyes in private. And luckily, Eddie is quick to move out of the basement, following after Steve in a way that’s supposed to look causal but is anything but casual now that Steve knows to look for the signs.

When he and Eddie silently go out the front door, Steve is quick to turn to him and hold out his hand. Eddie gives him a confused look but offers his hand which Steve takes and slides one of the rings off of.

Eddie stares at it for a moment, looking slightly frightened, as if he’s been caught doing something he isn’t supposed to.

Steve is quick to soothe the fear as he pockets the ring and says, “Just so you’ll have an excuse to stop by later tonight.”

Eddie’s cheeks flush bright red and he runs a hand over his face. “Shit.”

Steve laughs, “So it has been on purpose?”

“No,” Eddie clearly lies, pulling a strand of hair in front of his face.

“And what if I told you I wanted it to be on purpose?” Steve asks.

Eddie freezes for a moment as if he’s waiting for Steve to tell him that he’s joking, but Steve sits in the silence, letting the question settle between them.

“Then,” Eddie starts, taking a small step forward into Steve’s space, “I would-”

The door behind them bursts open and Dustin yells, “Hurry up I have a curfew!” as he races off to Steve’s car.

Steve rolls his eyes at the kid and takes a step back as everyone else makes their way out the door to the cars or their bikes.

Steve and Eddie linger behind for a moment, which Steve uses to quietly ask, “I’ll see you tonight?”

Eddie gives him a bashful smile in return and nods. “Yeah, I’ll see you tonight.”

Steve resists the urge to celebrate in any way in front of the kids and instead puts his hand in his pocket, fingers curling around Eddie’s ring.

As he gets into his car, ignoring Dustin bitching and complaining, he slips the ring over his finger and smiles at it.

He notices the car go quiet and he nearly groans at his mistake.

“Is that Eddie’s ring?” Dustin screeches.

It’s going to be a long drive home, but Steve doesn’t mind when he has Eddie to look forward to.

[asexualasshat]

Anyone else Thinkin about how Steve was 100% the subject of Eddie cafeteria rants during Steve’s senior year?? Maybe a jibe about how Nancy was right to leave him? She’s too good for him??

And it hurts cause he’s a lil raw but it’s mostly like “yeah I know” so it mostly brushes past him. He’s doing his best to be a decent person.

And so now after seeing Steve bite the head off a bat and also be kind and respectable? He’s like “woah. Steve is good. So good. Maybe the best. Deserves so much love.” And obviously that’s rapidly growing crush. But he doesn’t quite pick up on it so he’s like “this surely means he’s at least good enough for Nancy. I need to encourage them to get together because Steve is so good and deserves the best”

So he encourages it and Steve kinda explores it and he’s quickly like “hmmm no. She’s the best and we’re buds and will never kiss again.”

And Eddie is a lil crushed that Steve isn’t happy and in love. No he’s fr feeling very sad for Steve.

It’s like a month later, with Steve leaning against him while they watch a movie, that Eddie’s like “hold the phone! I don’t just want him to be happy and in love! I want him to be happy and in love with ME!”

Thus followed by Eddie’s bumbling attempts because he doesn’t really think he’s good enough for steve

But what he doesn’t know is that Steve sped through a sexuality crisis and had been ranting to Robin about how Eddie wasn’t picking up on his flirting (Robin says he’s too subtle) so he doesn’t know what to do. But oh man, he recognizes flirting coming at him with no question. Even if it’s so deeply awkward. So once he sees Eddie flirting??? Game on. Come to Stevie

End rant

[rottenaero]

They were gonna put Eddie down like a damn dog.

The group had insisted that Steve visit the hospital today, one year and two months after the incident. It was a random day, and he thought, ‘ why the hell not?’

Family Video had been closed for months, doing ‘ repairs’, so he really didn’t have much else to do.

He thought it was weird, the way the group was as far away from the bed as possible, and how when he entered the room, Hopper almost blocked the exit.

He doesn’t question it though, sidling up to the open chair beside Eddie, who was still asleep after all this time, and punching his shoulder lightly.

“ Hey, Hero.”

He’d taken to calling it sleeping instead of what it was, a coma. Sleeping sounded more peaceful, because with sleeping came dreams and relaxation.

Eddie doesn’t respond, doesn’t react. Steve didn’t expect him to.

He turns his head to Dustin, the one who’d called him in the first place. “ So, why’re we gathered here today? Any updates?” He asks, addressing the whole room.

The boy swallows, and something tells him something’s wrong. Really wrong.

“ Yeah, actually. Uhm, since it’s been so long, we were thinking-“ He cuts himself off, crosses his arms and starts tapping his foot. Thinking, probably.

Hopper glances to him, and sighs, deciding to lead. “ We’re gonna have to let Munson go.” He states.

Steve takes a sharp breath.

“ What?”

‘ Let him go’ like this is a job. Like this isn’t him losing his life. He wonders when they decided to do this, in the hospital room for the ten minutes they were waiting.

Eddie doesn’t give any indication he hears what’s being said, the beeps from the heart monitor still steady and even as ever. A constant metronome of the exact same sound on the exact say beat, all the time, always.

Except maybe not always.

Dustin takes over again, arms placating. “ It’s been a really long time, Steve. We’ve come to terms that he probably won’t wake up, and it’s doesn’t have to be sad-“

“ You’re killing him.” He hisses, “ You’re killing him and it’s not meant to be sad?”

Nancy steps forward, seeing it as her time to speak. “ Steve. You barely knew the guy, and you spend all your time here, it’s not good for you.”

“ There’s been no good signs, no nothing, not even when El looks into his brain.” Dustin nods at the girl across the room, who’s fiddling with her fingers.

Steve furrows his brow, “ Oh, so I guess you’re gonna pull the plug on Max too?”

Lucas’s eyes widen, mouth dropping open, and Nancy glares. “ That is not fair, Steve.”

“ This whole situations pretty fucking unfair, so I guess you’re gonna have to explain to me how this is different from Max.” He stands, stance wide as he points to the man in the hospital bed.

“ Max is making progress.” Lucas says weakly, and El sets a hand on his shoulder. The boy deflates.

He turns toward Hopper and Joyce, the latter still not having spoken. The Byers family had moved back to Indiana for God knows what reason, and Steve knows that if he had the money, that he could’ve moved somewhere else long ago.

“ Does Wayne know you’re killing his kid?” He asks.

He’d met the man while visiting, and they’d usually sit in silence and watch baseball or whatever was on. He never questioned why Steve was there, or why he was holding a limp body’s hand and taking off it’s rings and putting them back on.

When they did speak, it was stories he had from Eddie’s childhood, about how he buzzed his head because a spider crawled on him and he was convinced it was hidden in his hair, making babies.

Hopper pinched his nose, like he was being a pest. “ Stop using words like killing, and yes. He said he didn’t want Eddie to have to suffer, and his bills are getting expensive.”

And he blinks, realization dawning.

This hadn’t just been decided, had it? This wasn’t a ten minute decision while Steve was getting ready to come here.

He speaks, his voice low and keeping even through each word, “ You guys had a meeting.” The ‘ without me’ goes unsaid, but still echoes throughout the room like if would’ve if he shouted it.

They’d decided this whole thing beforehand, somehow knowing that Steve would hang on. And he would, will. He can’t let him die, he can’t lose.

Will nods, and next to him Mike and Dustin look ashamed. He would’ve thought they’d hold out more.

He racks his brain for any reason they should keep alive, can’t find one. Somehow, even without one for them, he has a million for himself.

“ If the bills are the reason, I’ll pay the damn bills. He’s fucking alive.” He tries.

“ You don’t have a job, Family Video is closed. Just let it be, Steve. Please.” Robin had been eerily quiet during this entire conversation, and it brings him chills him when she speaks.

His best friend had been in on it.

He crosses his arms, “ I’ll get a job. Listen, I’ve been having dreams,-“ He lies. He lies because there’s nothing true to prove Eddie is getting better. “-dreams that he’s alive in like a dark space, I don’t know- his mind maybe? I just- I really think he’s in there.”

The hope Dustin gets on his face hurts, but he doesn’t care. The guy will wake up and it won’t matter that the ‘ dreams’ never existed.

Maybe it’s because he’s an optimist, and that’s why he’s trying so hard, as pessimistic as he can be sometimes.

“ Why didn’t you tell us?” Dustin asks and Steve licks his lips.

Why didn’t he tell them? “ Despite all this crazy shit, me having dreams that he’s alive still sounds crazy.” He doesn’t look at the boy as he says this, eyes roaming over Eddie’s face.

He looks serene, the bat bite on his face as healed as it can get. The doctors had mentioned swelling on his back shoulder blades, but Steve thinks his would be swollen too if he sat on them for a year.

‘ A year and two months.’ He corrects himself.

He stares at the hair that, occasionally when it got matted, Steve would go through and brush it, not wanting him to wake up to being bald because a doctor seemed it necessary.

Wayne mentioned how much he hated the shaved head, and he wouldn’t put him through that again.

As he looks at him, he thinks ‘ I’m doing this for you, so you better wake up, asshole.’

Dustin’s eyes are wide, staring at the members of Hellfire. Steve could only describe the look as ecstatic.

“ Holy shit, I mean, holy shit!” He laughs, and Mike breaks into his own grin.

Jonathan chimes in, disbelief sketched into the lines all over his face. “ Sorry, but doesn’t that seem too convenient? I’m not saying you’re lying Steve, just… If El didn’t find anything, that’s pretty much it.”

His lips form into a line, determined. “ I told you, I’ll be paying for whatever. It’s no skin off your back, or money out of Wayne’s pockets.”

Joyce nudges Hopper when he goes to speak, and nods at Steve. “ If you wanna try, sweetheart, you can. But I don’t want you visiting too much, it’s doing you more harm than good.” She wraps him in a hug, before leading the ex-chief of police out of the room.

Slowly, everyone vacates, until it’s just Steve, Eddie, and El.

She doesn’t make a move toward the door, eyes locked onto his face.

“ You’re lying.” She whispers like a secret.

He nods.

She looks toward Eddie, nervous, and she messes with the hem of her shirt when she starts to speak again. “ I lied too.”

She doesn’t elaborate, walking out of the room without anymore information, and Steve blinks.

The hospital has to call Wayne to confirm the transfer, that's how he learns of the circumstances. He doesn't say much of anything, aside from a promise of a visit on Tuesday before he hangs up.

That night, that same fucking night, he gets a call.

It's the front desk lady, voice distressed rushing through an explanation.

" Eddies gone...Only blood in his bed...We don't know where he is."

Steve stares at the wall, the rest of the words falling upon deaf ears.

Someone had probably found out where he was being held, murdered him a year later for his crimes, and stashed the body away.

He sets the phone back in its holster without saying anything to the other line. Not even a goodbye, or a thanks.

He thinks, it only for a second, that he should've let them just pull the plug, it would've been far less painful.

A creaking brings him out of it, and his eyes dart to his door.

It's dark, too dark, and Steve's aware the Upside Down fucked him up in incomprehensible ways, and now every shadow looks like something,

But there was definitely someone in his house.

He keeps slumped on his bed, the same position as when he'd answered the call. He doesn't flinch when the door pushes open enough for a body to slip in.

There's the sound of something dragging along the carpet as they come closer, probably a shotgun, or maybe they're gonna beat him with his own nail-bat.

He doesn't care to decipher the shape, instead shutting his eyes.

A hand grabs his, sets it on dry skin. His thumb touches a rough patch, a scar like feeling.

One his hands had roamed over while patching up his stomach, refusing to get looked at. That concave patch of scratchy skin that they tell you eventually will just be soft, scarred, but normal.

The skin stretches, and he feels a cheek.

Somehow, he thinks if he keeps his eyes shut, he doesn't have to face the thing in front of him, that it somehow isn't real.

A scratchy, disused, and croaky voice sounds out.

" ' Hey, Hero.' "

[leeloooonfire]

based on this post about Steve's internalized bi-phobia:

Steve has known for years.

And how could he not when Tommy's freckles come back tenfold each spring like a flower peaking it's head through the last layer of snow? Or when Matthew Carver's hair have a reddish brown tone that turns blond after they spent the last days before summer break practising outside and remind Steve of liquid gold? Or when he watches Star Wars and Harrison Ford, rugged and witty, comes into view and twists his stomach in knots? How could he not know?!

Steve knows he finds guys as attractive as girls, known for many, many years. But.

But he can't. Not when Tommy sneers at that boy in their literature class who likes flamboyant clothes and wants to be an actor on Broadway. Not when the people they meet in Indi who are like Robin and Eddie 'fully queer' and talk about people like Steve as if they're traitors and scams. Not when he reads the newspaper and is assaulted by Reagan and his folk preaching about the 'fag pandemic' or how his father nods in approval and mutters 'another sinner gone for good' when the news play on TV and they occasionally mention the crisis that kills people like Robin and Eddie and him.

Like him....

It doesn't matter how much he loves sleeping with his nose pressed against Eddie's collarbone or that he thinks he'd like to kiss Eddie and hold his hands and wake up beside him until they're old and wrinkly and complain about bad knees.

He is, but he cannot be a queer, half a fairy '50% like me, 50% like Eddie' as Robin jokes.

He will not be a bisexual, he can keep it inside, keep it hidden, buried deep inside him no matter how much it pains him. He can be the straight friend who goes to pride and bakes rainbow cakes and marries a woman even though his heart screams in an ear ringing cacophony, 'Eddie, Eddie Eddie Eddie!'

This is how his 20s go: loud and hurting and yearning and hiding and more noticeably being disgusted and ashamed of himself for simply being able to love men the way he can love women.

He's 29 when his wife, Becky, leaves him. It's not just Eddie and this shameful secret that weights heavy on their relationship, but the scars and all the other secrets he is unable to explain to her that drive Becky finally away - back to Boston. She leaves him alone in that tiny house they bought three years ago with their Saint Bernard puppy they lovingly named Bernadette.

He's 30 when he goes to a coffee meeting of the bisexual group meeting in Chicago, nearly turning the car multiple times, hands and knees sweaty with fear that they won't want him there. They do want him there, welcome him with open arms, and talk about things Steve knows all too well: 'When I fell in love with the first girl, I ran. I like men just fine, so I hid my crush. It's just easier, when your parents hate gays, when the world is shaming our community, when we're dying.' He finds a second home there, and learns - learns about queerness and bisexuality, about trans and gender non conforming people and physical attraction versus emotional attraction. He learns about his past and present and about his future, about their history and where they want to go, how they want to mold their world to fit people like them into it without the pain and the hiding.

Steve is 33 when he finally comes out to everyone dear to him. To the kids who aren't kids anymore and to Joyce and Hopper, and then his parents. this does not go well, but Steve doesn't want, doesn't need their validation anymore. He has his family, his friends, his support system who love him not regardless of his sexuality but because of it, love him because it's part of him. He comes out to Becky, too and that goes much better. they want to be friends, in the future. She's also met Gary who works the the NY Times and wants her to follow him into the big city. So Steve is looking forward how that goes, their tentative friendship.

He is 34 when Eddie comes back from his latest world tour and wants to take a break to rekindle with his uncle, to write new songs, to take a breather. It's only natural that Eddie moves into Steve's guest room and takes over his space on the couch where he cuddles Bernadette while Steve is in the kitchen and makes them grilled cheese and tomato soup for dinner.

Its even more natural when their feet meet while watching a movie and they lean into each other in the kitchen, dawn barely there, while they wait for the coffee maker to finish.

Steve's 35 when Eddie finally kisses him and he kisses back. No hurt, no shame, no guilt gnawing on him, Steve finally allows himself to be with the person he truly wants - regardless of their gender.

[cringevalue]

eddie asks if steve would still love him if he was a worm, to which steve obviously says yes, because steve would still love eddie if eddie were a sweet gum ball stuck in steve’s big toe.

anyway, steve wakes up the next morning to a worm wiggling across his chest. at first, he almost screams, but then he remembers eddie’s question from yesterday.

oh shit...

did eddie turn into a fucking worm??

after a few seconds of contemplating, steve carefully picks the worm up. “eddie? is that you?”

unfortunately for steve’s ego, the real eddie can’t control the volume of his laughter from outside the bedroom door, and steve’s face is redder than red when eddie stumbles into the room.

now steve wants to know why the fuck eddie put a worm on his chest.

[spicycinnabun]

“What?” Eddie asked. Steve was laughing his ass off at him for no apparent reason. Eddie narrowed his eyes. “What is it? Steven, you better tell me—or are you such a lightweight that you’re already wasted?”

They were sitting on a blanket in the grass. Around them in the open field, people danced to the music, drank by the fire, smoked, and yelled nonsense.

Steve was only on his first beer, as far as Eddie knew. Hardly seemed enough to get the Keg King tipsy, let alone drunk. No, Steve seemed sober except for the sudden giggle fit at Eddie’s expense.

“Wish I could take a picture of you right now,” Steve said once he calmed down, which wasn’t an answer that made sense at all.

“What the fuck. Why?”

Steve grinned. “Besides the fact that you’re cute as hell—”

Eddie choked on his spit, blushing suddenly and furiously.

“—you’ve got a bunch of fireflies in your hair.”

Unbeknownst to Eddie, several of them had landed on him and nested in his curls, blinking light at odd intervals and making him look like a human Christmas tree.

pt. 2 🔥🪰

[starrystevie]

“i must have been real sweet on you,” eddie murmurs as he runs his fingers over his husband’s cheek, sleepy and sated, warm in their bed. 

steve chuckles, twisting his head to catch the tips of eddie’s fingers with a kiss. “why are you talking past tense? you’re not sweet on me now?”

the room is peacefully still. years of baby monitors are long gone only to inevitably give way to their daughter’s teenage years of slamming doors and too loud stereo speakers. but in this moment, with the pale moonlight streaming in through the windows and crickets chirping in the distance, the room is peaceful, thick with love. 

“quit your pouting, ‘course i’m sweet on you now.” eddie wipes away steve’s fake frown with a kiss, turning it into a sticky sweet grin. “it’s just something my mom used to tell me. that freckles are all the places your soulmate in a past life kissed you.”

eddie pushes steve back so he’s laying flat on the mattress and dips his head to press featherlight kisses on the side of his neck. across his shoulders. over his cheeks. his fingertips flutter over the spots afterwards, leaving goosebumps in their wake despite the heat radiating between them. 

“must have loved you a whole lot in our last lives to leave so many on you now,” eddie whispers, pulling back to stroke the back of his hand over steve’s face once more, letting his lips curl up in a dopey half smile that only steve ever gets to see. 

it doesn’t take long for steve to tilt his head up and press kisses of his own where he can; under eddie’s eye, the bottom of his chin, right over his heart. it doesn’t take long for eddie to giggle as his sensitive spots are found and attacked with ticklish kisses and fluttering eyelashes. it doesn’t take long for their legs to tangle together underneath the sheets and their breaths to get caught in their chests and their hearts to start beating a beautiful melody of their own making. 

steve lays a firm kiss to the side of eddie’s chest, over jagged white scarring and half bitten away tattoos. over memories that somehow don’t haunt them as much anymore. 

“what was that one for?” eddie asks, eyes half lidded, the adoration in his voice loud across the quiet room. 

another kiss on another scar. “wanna give you some freckles. for your next life and for this one, too. so you know just how sweet on you I am-” kiss, “ -and was-” kiss, “- and forever will be.”

they won’t know for however many more years if it worked or not. but here in this lifetime, they have all the time in the world to try their damndest to make sure it does. in this lifetime, they don’t have to worry, because they know they’ll  find each other in the next one. 

[hello-sweetheart]

You know that trope where Person A thinks Person B is just being nice but they’re actually flirting. What about the opposite? Person A misreading their behavior and being the only one falling impossibly in love.

Clumsy in Love Part 2

It’s hard to listen to Eddie talk about this guy the same way Steve wished he did about him. Eddie, already so full of life and words, doesn’t seem to need to take a breather between his praises.

“Can’t believe this guy is actually into me, did you see him? Oh my god!” He groans and smacks his palms against the steering wheel, literally bouncing in his seat.

The van swerves a bit to the left.

“He’s just my type, too. Those eyes, prettiest eyes that have ever graced human existence, and they were looking at me. Me! Wow! The darkest green— I don’t think there’s any precious stone that can compare actually.”

He beams at him and Steve’s traitorous heart still flutters like a wounded bird helplessly flapping its broken wing. Eddie is smiling so hard his cheeks must hurt, eyes crinkled at the corners and teeth on full display.

Steve will close his eyes at night and replay these words, pretending that this excitement and instant adoration is about him. That Eddie’s love-struck smile is for him.

“And, to top it off, he’s a geek. A fucking nerd. He actually knows DnD! What are the chances, Stevie? I’m no religious man, but an angel must have heard mine desperate pleas.”

His name is Adiel, Eddie’s perfect guy.

Steve spends that night feeling the need to cry, the hurt is right there at the base of his throat refusing to spill.

Steve kind of wishes he did, maybe letting everything out would leave him feeling empty instead impossibly full of heartache.

Adiel is blond, a dirty blonde that means he must’ve had light locks as a kid. Face slim and cheek bones prominent, but his features are soften by button nose. Maybe Eddie is right, he looks like the angels depicted in stained church windows, but whereas angels are depicted in white, Adiel wore exclusively black.

He wasn’t decorated in rings and chains like Ed, only a few silver piercings in his ears and a couple on his lips. But it was evident they had much in common, even just by looks. More than Steve could ever say about him and Eddie.

Over the next couple of weeks they share their music, intrinsically understanding what it means to one another.

Getting it.

Getting it the way that Steve never could, even with hours of Eddie breaking it down for him. Maybe Steve never understood, but he loved those moments shared between them. Wonders if Adiel cherishes those moments too. If he takes it for granted.

They share everything with each other and Steve hears every little detail gushed between sickly sweet sighs. He’s trying to be a good friend, to listen and share Eddie’s happiness, but something inside him grows bitter. Angry. He hates feeling this way.

“I met his friends already, they’re a really cool bunch. I really think you guys would get along. They know all the best spots for people like us. There’s a whole world out there, Stevie—“

Stevie. His breath stutters.

“Of people like us with places for us. We could take Robin and Vicky and be surrounded by people that won’t, that won’t think we’re… wrong. And who knows,” he nudges Steve’s side with a suggestive smile, “maybe you’ll meet the one there, huh Stevie?”

“Stop. Just, just stop!”

Steve doesn’t mean to yell. He just can’t take it anymore. Everything that has been building up inside him has reached a point where he just can’t. He pushes Eddie away from him who looks startled. Offended and bothered and confused.

“I don’t want to meet his friends, or least of all him. I don’t get it, okay! I thought—“

What did he think? That one day he would confess to Eddie or vice versa? That they’d kiss and go on double dates with Robin and Vicky? That he would fall asleep each night in love and loved? It seemed plausible at some point. That’s what hurts the most.

“Hey, Stevie—“

“Don’t call me that! You don’t get to call me that anymore.”

“What? Your name? You don’t want me to call you by your name?”

A bitter laugh, “yeah. My name from your mouth.”

“I, You’re not making any sense!”

Steve knows. He knows. But Stevie, Big boy, Ozzy… even his own name, can’t bear to hear them. Not from him. Can’t bare the way his heart squeezes.

Eddie’s looking at Steve with furrowed brows and down turned lips, standing still. Has Eddie ever been still before in his life?

Once. When he was still and pale and red. His chest gone quiet for the most terrifying seconds of Steve’s life.

Steve looks at him, his eyes burn. Steve’s breath from his own chest brought Eddie back to them. Eddie’s lungs still carry his desperation. His ribs healed but the cracks must still be there from the palm of his hands. He’s tasted Eddie’s blood before from his mouth—

He’s kissing him. Steve, dumb stupid in-love Steve, has his lips on Eddie’s once more, but this time they’re warm and full of life and his ringed hands are on him and,

They’re pushing him. Away.

“Eddie,” his sight is blurry, eyes hot, and breath stuttered. “I, it hurts. You with him. I can’t—I just can’t.

And Eddie looks, terrified, dark eyes searching Steve’s face. For what, he does not know. Sincerity, maybe. Truth. Maybe looking to see if he’s really shattered inside.

“I’m sorry, I… I didn’t…I don’t…”

And Steve?

Steve smiles. It’s watery and his lips quiver.

“I know.” And that’s the problem, isn’t it. It’s always the problem. “I know, Eddie. I’m sorry. It’s, it’s okay.”

Eddie leaves Steve there in the living room.

There’s still two cans of Coke half full on the coffee table but only one person left in the room.

Part one < 💛 > Part 3

Tagged: @bananahoneycomb @margaglitterdeath

[paceprompting]

the gingerbread incident

written for ‘dessert’ and ‘baking’ | wc: 993 # | steddie | rated: t | cw: no archive warnings apply | tags: post season 4, established relationship, cute fluff, eddie's chaos baking

@steddieholidaydrabbles & @steddiemas

Eddie was a disaster. He knew this.

His brain fired on all cylinders constantly and his mouth was hardly able to keep up, the residual energy coming out in gesturing with everything that he said. He bumped into everything, even in the trailer where he’d lived most of his life.

And, even with the best intentions, most areas he spent an extended amount of time in were usually left in chaos.

Especially with flour involved.

It’s not his fault he was left alone in Steve’s kitchen. There was supposed to be at least two gremlin children in there with him—he was only supposed to be supervising since it was their bake sale they were making gingerbread what-ever-the-hells for.

But the kids were still rough and tumbling outside in the first snow of the season, annihilating the older not-so-kids-anymore in a snowball fight.

Steve had already picked out a recipe from Joyce’s and Claudia’s cookbooks, opened and ready on the counter. He’d presumably bought anything he didn’t have, because gingerbread was apparently slightly more complex than Eddie would have expected.

So, Eddie took his best shot.

And now, everything was…everywhere.

But there was something that resembled dough, as far as Eddie could tell, in the mixer. It smelled like ginger, or maybe that was the molasses (and who knew there was fucking molasses in gingerbread). And there was supposed to be flour on the counter anyway when he “rolled the dough out,” so really he’s just ahead of the game.

Take that, Directions.

Eddie clapped his hands together, and a cloud of flour into the air, readying to lift his doughy child from the bowl with both hands.

“Holy shit.”

Steve had stopped just short of coming into the kitchen, his discarded gloves held in one hand. His nose and cheeks were still pink from being outside in the cold, but the warmth of his brown eyes were fixed directly on Eddie, standing half-covered in flour in the middle of his kitchen.

“Hey, Stevie,” Eddie said pleasantly, standing up straight. He brushed a stray one of his curls away from his face, definitely getting flour where his fingers grazed his cheek and temple. “I, uh, decided to make the kids’ gingerbread.”

“And there was enough flour left over after you dumped it on the floor?” Steve said, tentatively stepping onto the tile floor, leaving bootprints in places where, sure, there was a considerable amount of flour where Eddie had knocked a full measuring cup off the counter with his hand.

But that would have happened to anyone.

“I was left unsupervised,” he defended. “While you were all gallivanting outside.”

Steve had the decency to look somewhat chastized, as he set his gloves on a miraculously saved counter near the fridge and joined Eddie on his side of chaos.

“Sorry we left you alone, babe,” he murmured, pressing a kiss to Eddie’s cheek. He wiped flour off his lips, eyeing the dough in the mixer. “Can I try?”

“I suppose an integral part of the baking process is taste testing as you go.” Eddie gestured to his masterpiece. “Knock yourself out.”

Steve chuckled, stepping close into Eddie’s space to reach past him into the silver mixing bowl. He pinched off some of the raw dough between two fingers and his thumb, raising his brows as he popped it into his mouth.

“Yeah,” Steve said, poorly holding back a puckered expression as he forced down the piece of Eddie’s dough. “You need to start over. Immediately.”

Eddie’s mouth dropped open. “But I followed the recipe! I read it three times.”

Steve sucked on his teeth, trying to work whatever the taste was of Eddie’s cookie dough out of his mouth. “My best guess, you switched something with salt.”

“What are you talking about?”

Steve pointed his chin toward the mixing bowl, an unspoken, See for yourself.

And Eddie did. Just to prove Steve’ tastebuds, as much as he adored the rest of the man, irrevocably broken, Eddie tore off an even larger piece of his dough. And, purposefully holding Steve’s eyeline, put the dough into his mouth.

And…oh boy.

Barely two chews into it, the main flavor Eddie was getting was indeed what some people might call…salty.

“You might have a point,” he said, words muffled.

He couldn’t bring himself to swallow. He had to turn sharply toward the trash can and spit out the horrible, horrible crime against baking that he had created.

Good fucking Lord, what had he done?

He went next to the sink, sinking his head under the running faucet to wash the rest of the taste out of his mouth. He heard the thump of the rest of the dough following its comrade into the trash, courtesy of Steve.

Satisfied enough that he’d gotten the salt taste out, Eddie shut off the water and turned to face Steve, holding a hand over his mouth as though he could actually hide his smile at his own boyfriend’s suffering.

He should have just waited. Then he could have laughed at Henderson for inevitably making the same, or an even worse, mistake than Eddie had.

Eddie sighed.

“Will you help me with the second batch? So I don’t poison all the kids?” he asked, glancing mournfully at the mess that was going to get a whole lot worse now that Eddie had to start all over.

“Tell you what,” Steve said, opening a nearby drawer and pulling out a blue plaid apron. Eddie watched with widened eyes as he tied it on—looking way too fantasy-like for how many people were around to walk in on them. Steve bumped him out of it with his hip. “You can be my handsome helper. I’ll tell you exactly what I need, and all you have to do is hand it to me. Sound good?”

A front-row seat to Steve Harrington baking in an too-sexy apron? And he wasn’t in charge of the end result?

Sign. Him. Up.

[starryeyedjanai]

“Jesus fucking Christ,” Steve says as he collides with someone as he’s turning the corner. There’s a split second where it’s just that— just two bodies colliding. And then the iced coffee the man is holding is dumped all over him.

“Shit, shit, shit. I’m so sorry,” the guy says, using the one singular napkin in his hand to try and mop up the freezing liquid from Steve's shirt.

It’s winter. It’s cold out. “Who the hell gets an iced coffee in the winter?” he asks, pulling his wet shirt away from his skin.

The one day he doesn't zip his jacket up because it’s not as frigid as it was yesterday is the day this happens of course.

“Gay people,” the guy says, deadpan.

Steve looks up and—

“Oh,” he says.

He’s cute. And almost exactly Steve's type— curly brown hair, eyes large and dark.

Steve’s still chilled to the fucking bone because of the coffee spilled on him, but he still has to shoot his shot.

“I’m bi.”

The guy’s mouth stretches into a wide grin. “Well, hi Bi. I’m Eddie,” he says and Steve knows it’s over for him, there’s no way he stands a chance now.

[undreaming-fanfiction]

What if Steve is a famous model and Eddie is a rockstar, both still pretty down to earth that they move around without bodyguards...

They bump into each other at a corner, and literally bump into each other - Steve somehow lost his contact lenses and he's half-blind without them, his agent Robin is traveling, he'd rather lose both of his eyes than to call his parents, and so he's trying to get to a pharmacy/optometrist/somewhere else just based on memory and touch.

Eddie is walking, not paying much attention and listening to music, when he's knocked back by a very apologetic squinting guy who might as well be very pretty, if he looked straight at Eddie - which is very much not possible, as Steve later explains, Eddie is a very blurry blob to him, although a very kind blob. Also a really nice sounding blob.

When Eddie collects his things and his heart off the streetwalk, he offers to walk Steve to the pharmacy. After asking if it's okay, he offers Steve his arm and leads him carefully to his destination. Steve is still mostly staring at the ground, trying to fight blurry nausea, so Eddie doesn't really know what he looks like, except that his hair is magnificent.

They reach the pharmacy, Steve is so thankful that he wants to invite Eddie for coffee, but before he can do that, Eddie receives an urgent call from his agent and needs to leave.

They both - not without a tinge sadness - think they won't see each other again.

Except the next day there's a wave of tabloid headlines: "CORRODED COFFIN'S EDDIE MUNSON FINALLY SETTLES DOWN?! THE ROCKSTAR SEEN WITH REDKEN'S MODEL STEVE HARRINGTON!" and there are pictures of Steve and Eddie, side by side, and it really looks like a romantic walk rather than what it was.

When Eddie's agent Chrissy calls, half-amused, half-concerned, Eddie stops her with a single sentence: "Can you get me his number?!"

Chrissy snorts in the phone. "Give me an hour."

It takes her 33 minutes in total, and she secures a date with Robin for herself as a bonus.

And as for Eddie? He opens his message with "Hey Steve, how come you never told me it was a date? I would have brought flowers!" and gets an immediate response of "You would have, huh? Then bring some today at seven, the pizzeria next to the pharmacy. I like sunflowers. See you there, Eddie. And this time, I mean really see you."

The "see you" jokes stay with them for the rest of their lives.

[wynnyfryd]

Steve’s drunk and sad at a party and doom-swiping through Tinder when he comes across this profile:

Eddie, 21

guitarist, dm, dipshit, six time ass eating world champ 💪 🌎 my friends call me Eds, but you can call me Daddy

“What the fuck?” Steve laughs to himself. First time he’s really laughed all night, actually; this party kinda blows.

He slinks down further into the couch, takes another sip of hunch punch and tilts his phone so no one sees him swiping right on this shit. It’s obnoxious. Like, objectively. He’s just…

Bored.

And curious. Surely that bio has never actually worked for the guy, right?

Steve swipes.

It’s a match.

He snorts to himself again, sends a message before he can overthink it.

Steve: Hey, Eds. That’s kind of a bold move, isn’t it?

Message sent, he goes to back out of the app; doesn’t really expect an answer this close to midnight on a Saturday night — only losers use Tinder at this time of night, and what the fuck does that make him? — but then Eddie starts typing.

Eddie: hey, cutie :) what is?

Steve: Uhh…

Jesus. Why is he blushing? He’s not the one who wrote a wildly aggressive hookup bio. Guy might as well have sharpied DTF on his forehead.

Steve: Your bio? 🫣

Eddie: huh?

Eddie: i mean, dnd can get a little spicy on occasion but i’d hardly call it scandalous

Steve: What’s that?

Is it a sex thing? It’s probably a sex thing.

Eddie: okay, what?

Steve: What? I’m so confused lol

Eddie must be, too, because it takes him a few seconds to answer, and when he does he just says:

Eddie: hold pls

Steve holds. Takes a big gulp of his drink and winces; pretty much all vodka at the bottom.

Eddie is typing and then he isn’t, then he is again and then he’s not, and Steve frowns at his empty cup and wonders if he’s already fucked up the one interesting thing that’s happened to him all night.

Finally, finally, a new message pops up.

Eddie: ………god. DAMN it, Gareth 😤😤😤😤

[hotwritergf]

Imagine Steve finding out Eddie’s birth name is actually Theodore and he insists on calling him Theodore for a week straight as revenge for the many times Eddie has called him Steven.

Theodore turns to ‘Theodorable’ just to make Eddie roll his eyes, but then he just calls him Theo for a while and Eddie is really growing sick of it. To the point where he’s got Steve pinned to the wall growling in his ear about how “pretty boys usually have manners.”

Steve feeling as bratty as ever responds with “Yes Theodore anything for you Theodore.” <3