that's what's killing the kids!

You tried to mitigate the effects. First, it was the travel size bottle of tums that you kept in the glovebox of your car. Next it was the bottle of pepto that you kept in the kitchen, in addition to the one in the medicine cabinet, just in case.

Then, one day, came the end. And, oh boy, did you think it was Capital-The, Capital-End.

Heartburn, the likes of which you'd never experienced before, took you by surprise. You were innocently sitting at your desk at work when it started. A hot sensation in your chest that slowly overtook your abdomen. Just a constant, searing feeling that practically took your breath away after enough time passed. You thought it would just go away; you figured a handful of tums and you'd be fine. Until you weren't. Until you were sitting through a meeting wondering if you were actually having a heart attack. Until you excused yourself and belched obnoxiously as soon as you crossed the threshold into the bathroom.

You could taste the taco pasta bake Eddie insisted on making the night before. Layers of cheese, meat, beans, sour cream and extra, extra pickled jalapeños on top. It was rich and decadent. Delicious.

And it was going to be the thing that killed you.

Your boss, thankfully, saw how miserable you were and sent you home. But home offered no respite.

You dropped your work bag haphazardly by the door, and you stripped down to your underwear; the tight waistband of your pants was doing you no favors. You had the foresight to grab a glass of ice water and place it within arms reach on the edge of the coffee table, before you fell into the squishy cushions of the couch. As you settled into the most comfortable position you could find, the heartburn subsided and the mother of all stomach aches began.

Time passed with only three certain facts: You were gonna puke. You were gonna poop your pants. And then you were going to die.

"Honey, I'm home!" Eddie's voice cut through your agony, and you slowly cracked your eyes open to stare at the ceiling. "I saw your car outside. And your clothes on the floor? You home early as a surprise? Are you naked in bed?"

No, you obviously forgot one certain fact; you were going to kill him.

But as you opened your mouth to yell, your stomach cramped painfully and you let out the most pitiful groan.

"Babe?" The playfulness in his voice was gone, replaced by concern. "You ok?"

"I'm dying," you muttered weakly.

He scoffed immediately, concern vanishing. You both had an understanding: if you were feeling good enough to be dramatic, you were feeling good enough. Typically, it applied to Eddie more than it did to you—he was the biggest baby when he was sick—but you had your moments. Regardless, he took pity on you as he dropped to his knees in front of the couch.

“Alright, the doctor is in,” he joked. “What’s the preliminary diagnosis? Terminal illness? A parasite? Do we need to amputate?”

His fingers reached your bare side and he tickled you gently, wincing as your instinctive laughter turned into another groan.

"Ah, I see." He stroked his invisible beard with one hand and flattened the other so he could rub over your sore belly with the utmost care. "Any other pain? Nausea, heartburn, indigestion, upset stomach, and dare I ask, diarrhea?"

"I took some pepto earlier," you explained. "Didn't help."

"Well of course it didn't." He now put on an invisible stethoscope. "You didn't have a proper examination."

"It's just a stomach ache," you deadpanned as he started to lean down and inspect you. "You put too much sour cream in the taco bake."

“Nonsense, there’s no such thing as too much sour cream!” He curled his fingers into his palm, and then kneaded your belly in a way not unlike a cat. Of course, a little too much pressure caused a very gentle toot to inadvertently escape you. He wrinkled his nose and you covered your face in embarrassment. “Ok, maybe in this case I was a little heavy-handed.”

He went back to gentle rubbing and then adjusted his invisible stethoscope.

“Let’a give it a listen shall we?”

He leaned his head down and gently placed his ear against your abdomen, readjusting his head a few times before he hummed.

“Ah, well well well.” He lifted his head for a moment. “Seems I found an extra terrestrial creature.” You rolled your eyes as he went back down. “Chest burster? Giant worm of some sort? We’ll get you the bottom of this. You’re lucky I’m a xenoglot. I’ll translate.”

Your stomach, clearly working with Eddie on this comedy act, suddenly made the most embarrassing sound. It was wet and bubbly, and you felt it rumble right below his ear. What did he do in return?

“Gur-gur-gur, blblblbl.” You couldn’t help but laugh as he mumbled stomach noises and resumed kneading and rubbing. He looked up at you, utterly serious, and shushed you. “I’ve made contact. I need concentration if I’m gonna make a proper diagnosis.”

Despite your condition, and the fact that said condition was his fault, you couldn’t help but look at him and be overwhelmed by all the love you felt. From the way he dropped everything to check on you as soon as he got home, to now when he couldn’t help but make you smile as you felt miserable. This idiot—your idiot—had charmed you beyond your wildest imagination, and you didn’t want him to stop.

“Alright Dr. McCoy,” you joked and rested a hand atop his head, giving him an appreciative little scratch. “Or are you Uhura? Communications officer?”

“My legs would look good in that dress.” Your stomach grumbled again. “It agrees. Now shut up. I need to do an advanced procedure. Very delicate.”

You thought his kneading was as far as he was gonna take it. But leave it to Eddie to commit to the bit. He straightened up, shook out his arms, cracked his neck. Then he leaned down and blew the biggest raspberry on your stomach, and in turn you couldn’t help but laugh. You also couldn’t help but pass gas through your poor, unsuspecting ass.

Oh, so you were gonna have the hot poops later. Take back everything you thought about loving him, this was not gonna be fun.

"See, gastrilitis superioris." Eddie nodded sagely, still touting some fake-doctor bullshit. "Also known as a stomach ache. Or, as I like to call it, a case of the Gurgles.”

Of course he had a cute little name for it.

“What’s the treatment doc?” You questioned. “Aside from never letting you cook again?”

“The treatment is 50cc’s of ginger ale,” he ignored your comment, “and letting me feed you saltines as I continue rubbing your tummy for the rest of the night. How does that sound?”

It sounded perfect.

“I think you’re missing something,” you lied. Well, it wasn’t really a lie.

“I am?” Eddie frowned, and straightened his spine. He looked around the apartment as though he expected to find the answer lying about. He saw the telltale pink bottle on the counter in the kitchen and his brows jumped. "Pepto? Because babe, I will pour that pink crap down your throat all night if you need it."

You rolled your eyes and forced yourself upright, just so you could gently cup his face in your hands.

"I hate to ask, doc, but I think the usual treatment also includes 10ccs of smooches."

It was a lightbulb moment, and you were sure that you saw hears in his eyes. His arms snaked around you.

"You already have a prescription for that, sweetheart. Endless refills," he muttered and leaned forward to press his lips to yours.

And you melted into him.

Until you felt your esophagus quiver with an impending burp. You pulled away to try and spare him, only to belch loudly right in Eddie's face.

"Ok," he winced. "Now that was pretty gross."

---

But. Dustin had trapped him.

“Okay,” Steve says, rallying. “So not flowers. That’s fine. I can pivot.”

“You can’t pivot into a personality,” Lucas mutters.

“What was that?”

“Nothing.”

Dustin kicks Lucas under the table.

“Look,” Dustin says, leaning in. “The problem is Eddie thinks this is a joke.”

“Because Steve keeps acting like it is,” Lucas says.

Steve straightens. “I do not.”

“You laugh every time he flirts with you.”

“That’s because he’s…he says stuff like ‘my liege’. What am I supposed to do with that?”

Lucas opens his mouth, then closes it again.

Unfortunately Steve has a point.

Eddie flirts like he’s narrating a Shakespearean tragedy performed by a metal band.

Lucas sighs.

“Okay,” he says reluctantly.

Both of them lean forward.

Which is weird. Lucas does not like being the person with the plan.

But the thing is, now that he's paying attention, he knows the problem isn’t Eddie.

The problem is Steve.

Specifically, that Steve Harrington, former king of Hawkins High, cannot seem to believe that Eddie Munson might actually want him back.

Which, Lucas will admit privately, is kind of insane.

Eddie watches Steve like he's the last person on earth who hasn't figured out he's worth something. It's extremely embarrassing to notice and Lucas would really just like it to stop.

He clears his throat.

“You have to stop acting like he’s joking.”

Steve frowns. “But he is joking.”

“No,” Lucas says. “He’s hiding.”

Steve blinks at him like he'd just been handed a puzzle piece he didn’t know he was missing.

Dustin grins.

“Lucas,” he says proudly, “is our resident relationship translator.”

“I am not.”

“You absolutely are.”

Lucas ignores him.

“If Eddie says something weird,” Lucas continues, “you just… respond like it’s normal. Make conversation. Stop laughing."

Steve nods slowly.

“Like if he calls you, I don't know, 'my lord knight Harrington'?” Steve groans. “You say something like ‘Hi Eddie.’”

“That’s it?”

“That’s it.”

Steve considers this with the intensity of someone being given instructions to defuse a bomb. Then he nods again.

“Okay,” he says.

Lucas feels a weird flicker of satisfaction.

This might actually work.

------

It works immediately.

Which is the part Lucas finds most annoying.

Two days later they’re all in the Hellfire room again. Eddie is halfway through explaining some insane trap scenario when Steve walks in late.

Eddie doesn’t even look up.

“Ah,” he says dramatically, “the prodigal Harrington returns to grace us with—”

“Hey Eddie.”

Silence.

Lucas actually hears the moment Eddie’s brain short-circuits.

Slowly, Eddie looks up.

Steve is just standing there. Hands in his jacket pockets. Slightly nervous, maybe, but not laughing. Not brushing it off.

Just looking at Eddie. Eddie stares back.

Lucas feels Dustin vibrate with excitement beside him.

“Okay,” Eddie says finally, voice a little thinner than usual. “Well.”

He clears his throat.

“Take a seat, Harrington.”

Steve does. The campaign continues.

But Eddie keeps getting distracted. His eyes keep drifting back to Steve like he’s trying to solve a problem. Lucas pretends not to notice.

Across the table, Dustin scribbles something on a piece of paper and slides it over. PHASE ONE SUCCESSFUL. Lucas shoves it back.

He is not part of this operation. He is simply…adjacent to it.

Which is why, when Eddie corners him by the lockers looking suspiciously rattled, Lucas absolutely refuses to feel responsible.

“Your jock is acting weird,” Eddie says.

Lucas sighs.

“He’s not my jock.”

“Well, he’s not my jock.”

“Give it time,” Lucas mutters.

Eddie squints at him.

“Out with it, Sinclair. What's he doing?"

Lucas shrugs. Says nothing. Eddie studies him for a long moment. Then, unexpectedly, his shoulders slump.

“He’s gonna change his mind,” Eddie says quietly.

And there it is.

Lucas exhales.

“No,” he says.

Eddie snorts. “You don't know that.”

Lucas thinks about the way Steve’s been hovering around Hellfire for weeks. The way he listens to Eddie, like every word matters. The way he sought out Dustin, pretended he wasn't embarrassed, asked for help.

Lucas meets Eddie’s eyes.

“Yeah,” he says. “I kinda do.”

Eddie goes very still.

Lucas immediately regrets everything.

“Anyway,” he adds quickly. “If you blow this because you can’t stop doing medieval flirting, that’s on you.”

Eddie barks out a laugh.

But he looks a little less scared. He's smiling. It's...kind of nice. He's sad so often. It's nice to see Eddie genuinely enjoying some curiosity.

Lucas walks away before anyone else can ask him for help. He is absolutely not gonna keep running point on Steve Harrington’s love life.

But.

If Steve happens to ask him tomorrow what kind of music Eddie likes…

Lucas might have some thoughts.

Reluctantly.