This was written in snippets on a discord server, thought Iād clean it up and slap it here! Havenāt been able to stop thinking about roadie Steve š Thereās a lil bit of spice in here, just to keep things fun :)
Steve, after everything that happens, doesnāt really know what he wants to do. Working at Family Video is⦠fine, but Robin is finished with her gap year and now sheās getting acceptance letters and scholarship offers from colleges and trying to decide where to go.
She keeps asking him if heāll be okay and Steve tells her to go because heās excited for her! Sheās excited too! And yeah, theyāve had nights where she stays over with him and they cry about how they wonāt get to be attached at the hip, but they canāt stay in Hawkins, itās not realistic. Theyāll never be⦠okay, if they stay.
She goes off to college and absolutely loves it, she thrives there, and theyāre in constant touch, but Steve feels like heās lost a part of himself. His platonic soulmate, the woman heās so used to just⦠being there, is gone. So when heās invited to a Corroded Coffin gig, he jumps in, thinking that if nothing else, itāll be a solid distraction from his wallowing.
Theyāve played a few cities in Indiana, a frontman accused of satanic murders is pretty great for their image surprisingly enough, theyāre just waiting for Gareth to finish school before they jump in fully. The show is pretty local, just barely outside of Hawkins city limits, but itās refreshing for Steve to be⦠somewhere else, just for a night. And the gig is fun! Steve canāt hear the words to the songs too well, canāt keep up with the music so great, but he can feel it in his chest. And he loves the energy of it.
Partway through, something goes wrong with one of the amps and theyāre trying to get it fixed. Steve offers to give them a hand, and in just a few minutes and some tinkering he has it working again. And the pats on the back from the guys and the bright smile from Eddie sparks something in Steve.
The next day, he finds himself in the library, checking out books on electrical equipment and instruments and anything he can think of, and starts reading up. By the time Gareth graduates and CC has a few shows set up, Steve comes along. Heās able to handle any technical difficulty they come across, heās the guy making sure it all goes smoothly.
And suddenly theyāre recording their first album and blowing up and Steve is their go to guy for live shows, heās the first person on their payroll. For awhile, heās the only one, he runs everything that isnāt playing music, but eventually, a few more hands are needed.
Eddie makes it clear that Steve is in charge, naturally trusting him to be the head of the road team.
The band is doing great and soon enough theyāve upgraded from Eddieās van and Jeffās station wagon to an actual tour bus. Eddie is so amped about it and itās hard not to let his energy be infectious.
Of course, driving across hours of plains dims some of the excitement, but Eddie and Steve start to come up with⦠interesting ways to pass the time. Ever since they left Hawkins, Steveās eyes have been wandering a bit. Turns out metal heads are his type, who couldāve guessed?
At first it was making out in an alley in Indy with a girl who had shaved hair and piercings shoving him against the wall and making him beg to eat her out. Then it was the boy in a leather jacket in the mosh pit in the middle of summer, sweat slick skin covered in ink and a gentle hand but commanding voice in a motel room. And then it was his own fantasies, covering his mouth as he touched himself in a shared hotel room bathroom thinking about Eddie, who else?
So thereās an ongoing game of gay chicken and Eddie hasnāt been quiet about his own conquests along the way. Itās little things, Steve shifting a little closer to Eddie on the bus, a hand on the thigh that creeps upwards, whispering in hushed tones just a little too close.
It finally snaps in California, a sold out show attended by Argyle and Jonathan (who moved back out west a few months after the world didnāt end). Theyāre slipped a few āparty favorsā before heading off to a motel for the night, a reprieve from the rumbling, uncomfortable mattresses on the bus. One of the rooms only has one bed because of a booking issue and before anyone can complain, Eddie snatches the key and declares that āStevieās with meā.
So the band splits up to go to the rooms, Eddie has to wait while Steve inspects the bed closely to make sure thereās nothing gross, and then they settle in, still sticky with sweat and buzzing with adrenaline. Eddie lights a joint and teases Steve a little with the way he groans and sighs as he takes a hit, but Steve gives as good as he gets
He straddles Eddieās lap and asks to shotgun in this pretty, lilting voice, cocking his head in a way that makes his eyes, sparkling with mischief, catch the light just so. And Eddie isnāt going to deny a pretty boy on his lap, not when heās seen Steve in those tight jeans. He takes another hit and tugs him in by the shirt collar, breathing out the thick smoke into Steveās waiting, parted lips. And Eddie is treated to the sight of thick eyelashes fanned against freckles cheeks, the expanse of pale skin on Steveās neck as he tilts his head back to avoid blowing the smoke back in Eddieās face.
And Eddie can only restrain himself so much as he leans in and kisses the faded scar that cuts across Steveās adams apple. Steve licks his lips and is looking at Eddieās mouth when he opens his eyes and something between them snaps. He leans in and whispers, ākick me if Iām misreading thisā before kissing Eddie on the lips. Itās firm, but not messy, charged and searching. Eddie has to take a second to remember how to move his limbs, holding Steve tight around the waist, careful not to bump the lit joint against his shirt.
He kisses back, but itās not enough, he needs more, wants to ride out the low thrum of the coming high with Steve. He pulls back just long enough to take another hit and lifts a hand to cup Steveās jaw. He breathes the smoke out, letting his tongue trace Steveās lip as he takes it. Steve holds the smoke like a fucking expert, tangling his tongue with Eddieās as he lets the smoke back out from the corner of his mouth. Eddie distantly wonders if he looks like a dragon like that, a thought that has him giggling. And then itās really hitting him that heās 1) a rockstar 2) making out with his high school crush Steve Harrington and 3) absolutely rock hard.
Judging by the pleased expression on Steveās face when they part for air and the way he grinds his hips down slow and teasing, he definitely noticed that last part.



















