lumoschildextra

After Steve dragged saved Eddie from the Upside Down, he wanted to thank him, but he just couldn't figure out how to show his appreciation.

Following Eddie's miraculous survival, he had to deal with physical therapy, learning to walk and to perform basic human feats after the demobats made him their meal. Eddie was in no condition to drive to those appointments, so Steve offered to be his chauffeur.

"It's no big deal," Steve had said. "I'm out of a job and I have nothing better to do."

So for six months, Steve taxi'd Eddie to and from appointments. He took care to go at Eddie's speed, helping him into and out of his new apartment from the government, and had helped him through his journey from a wheelchair, to a walker, and most recently to a cane as of last month.

Steve alternated between his and Eddie's songs during the trips, "I'm the driver, I pick the music", and Eddie began to recognize the songs by name after a couple weeks. He once caught himself humming Talking in Your Sleep while showering and nearly got soap in his eyes when he realized it. He decided that night that his gift to Steve Harrington was going to be a mixtape.

It took him nearly two months to get all of Steve's favorite songs, but he did it. From The Romantics to Tears for Fears and Queen, he even threw in a little Cyndi Lauper for good measure. Eddie hated to admit it, but he started to enjoy some of those songs. And he'd die before he ever admitted to enjoying The Way You Make Me Feel by Michael Jackson. Michael fucking Jackson.

It was like a curse had been placed upon him when he was around Steve, subtle at first but hitting like a truck when Eddie realized it. Only, curse wasn't the right word, more like a charm or a spell. It wasn't evil or terrible, it was lightweight and intoxicating in the best ways, and made him notice more and more things about Steve. The many moles dotted across his face and neck, the way his eyebrows quirked in entertainment when listening to one of Robin's rambles. The shine in his eyes when the kids showed off their achievements, the beautiful way his lips parted when he smiled.

Eddie was abruptly reeled back to the present when he heard quick footsteps down a staircase. He had time to turn tail and get out of their, right? He'd been getting quicker and just got the clearance to drive last week. He could make it to his van and pretend he was never even-

"Oh, hey Eddie."

Eddie met Steve's eyes and realized it was very much too late to turn back.

"H-hey man. What's up?" Eddie nervously smiled.

Steve smiled at him confused, "Nothing much, what's up with you?"

And oh God, Eddie supposed he had to go through with this. "Could I come in for a bit?"

"Sure, yeah man." Steve opened the door wider to let Eddie in and leaned against it once it was shut.

Eddie fiddled with his cane and patted his pocket, trying to stall as long as he could, but he could see Steve was getting a little concerned.

"Are you okay? Was I supposed to pick you up for an appointment? I thought the next one was Thursday."

Steve furrowed his eyebrows and moved to check his calendar, but Eddie failed his arm to stop him. "No! No, I don't have an appointment today, it's just..." Eddie tapped his pocket thrice more for confidence. "Can we sit down?"

Steve nodded and motioned for the couch. Before Eddie sat, he removed a small, poorly wrapped rectangle from the pocket he'd been tapping. He finally sat down and thumbed at the thing.

"I...I wanted to thank you," he started, and Steve quirked an eyebrow.

"For what?"

Here goes nothing.

"For the past six months. For helping me with my pt appointments, for being patient with me. Hell, for saving my life!" Eddie exclaimed, locking eyes with Steve. "I didn't know how to say it and let you know I meant it for a while, but I figured it out."

Eddie held the gift out, letting Steve take it. Steve stared at the newspaper wrapping for a minute before carefully, finally, opening it.

"A cassette?" Steve asked, then turned it over. There, under the case's acrylic cover, "Steve's Mix" was scrawled in Eddie's crooked handwriting with doodles surrounding the words.

Steve opened the case, revealing the song list and the cassette. Steve read over the songs, a smile growing. "Did you make this for me?"

"Nah, I stole it off someone and needed to get rid of the evidence," Eddie smiled, hiding behind his hair.

"Stay here, I'll be right back," Steve said, already at the stairs as Eddie sat in the living room.

He heard a door open and rustling, then another door opening and a faint "fuck" before a faucet started to run. It turned off after a few seconds, and then footsteps were basically running back down the stairs. Steve came back and presented his walkman, grinning, "We're listening to this right now."

Eddie theatrically rolled his eyes and flopped back a little in his seat, "Don't tell me you're going to trap me here with your terrible music."

"Music you provided," Steve reminded him as he clicked the walkman closed and pressed play, the guitar opening of Hammer to Fall by Queen crackling out.

Steve grinned at his walkman on the coffee table, then at Eddie. Eddie'd never seen this man so giddy, but he looked like a kid in a candy store. "This...I can't get over this. Thank you Eds."

And to Eddie's surprise, Steve leaned over and hugged him. Hugged him. It felt like his whole body was crackling, energy bursting at the seems between the two men. Steve leaned back, and Eddie caught a glimmer of a thought in his eyes, before he felt himself get pulled in again.

But this pull was different, because Steve had done something Eddie thought would only happen in his dreams. Steve had kissed Eddie.

Steve pulled back and immediately froze at the shock on Eddie's face. "Oh my God. Oh my God, I'm so sorry Ed, you can forget that ever-"

But Eddie was pulling Steve back in, melding their mouths and kissing Steve with a fervor. His hands went to Steve's hair, fisting the locks as Steve held him again, hands on Eddie's back.

Eddie broke away with a smile, then laughed. "Did you brush when you ran upstairs?"

It was Steve's turn to be sheepish as he admitted, "I had a sandwich with onions earlier and I didn't ruin this with my gross breath."

They laughed and Eddie said, "Good choice, because I would've been long gone if you kissed me with onion breath," And made a face, faux choking at the thought.

Steve laughed at Eddie's theatrics and held his hand, grinning like nothing else mattered.

"Can we take this upstairs? I want you to be comfortable while I kiss you into my mattress," Steve asked.

"To your bed chamber? How scandalous!" Eddie feigned, then grinned. "Let us away!"

Steve grinned and handed Eddie the still-playing walkman and his cane, then scooped the metalhead off the couch and up the stairs, setting him on his bed where they giggled and grinned and kissed for the next couple hours.

Aah, I had so much fun with this! I hope you enjoyed! I got inspiration for the songs from this playlist. As soon as I saw the prompt I could imagine Eddie at Steve's door after ringing the bell and regretting every decision he'd ever made. 😂

Formatting inspired by @thisapplepielife