He has bewitched me body and hole

One minute Steve’s bitching about hauling amps, the next he’s on the rug in the middle of the living room, dropping into a backbend that looks exactly like something out of a black-and-white training photo. His ribs stand out, his hair brushes the air, one hand wrapped around the heel of his opposite foot like it’s nothing.

Eddie is quite literally in shock at this.

“What on earth are you doing, Harrington?” Eddie manages, voice strangled.

“My back hurts,” Steve says, like that explains anything. “I’m stretching.”

“I’ve never seen someone bend that way, man,” Eddie says, because holy shit. “That’s not stretching, that’s… something else”

Steve blinks up at him from upside down. “Huh? We used to do this in class all the time.”

“Class?” Eddie echoes.

“Yeah, ballet?” Steve says it so casually Eddie almost misses it. “Danced for like eight years. Stopped before high school.”

There’s a ringing in Eddie’s ears. “You did what?” he says, strangled, because Steve Harrington, secret ballerina apparently, is already more than his crush-riddled brain can handle, and now all he can think is: if he can bend like that, what else can he do?

He drags his gaze away before he gives himself away completely, shoves his hands in his pockets and tries, desperately, to sound normal. “Cool, yeah.”

Steve’s sitting up now, looking at him with this curious little squint. Eddie squirms. “What?”

Steve huffs, rolls his eyes, and pushes to his feet. “Don’t be weird about it, Munson.”

“No, yeah, I’m not, I’m just— y’know.” He shrugs, hears himself babbling. “Ballerina Steve. Whatever.” He can feel the heat in his cheeks and turns away so Steve can’t see his face hiding under his hair.

From behind him, Steve lets out this half-laugh. “Wanna see something else cool?”

Eddie’s mind trips over itself. What else could he *possibly* have up his sleeve? “Uh. Okay. Yeah. Sure.”

He turns back around—

and Steve’s already moving, spotting some invisible point on the wall and snapping into a clean fourth position before Eddie can even process it. Then he’s turning, fast, tight pirouettes one after another, the kind of spin that should belong on a stage, not in the middle of a dingy living room. His shoulders stay level, his chin locked, feet whispering against the rug in quick, sure steps until he snaps to a stop like someone hit pause.

He’s a little breathless, hair mussed, wearing this self-satisfied smirk that hits Eddie like a truck. “Still just ‘whatever,’ or did I earn an upgrade?”

Eddie’s jaw works uselessly. Words have apparently left the building. All he manages, wide-eyed and bright red, is a breathy, “…cool.”

Steve laughs like that’s the funniest thing he’s heard all week, shakes his head, and claps Eddie on the shoulder as he walks past. “Knew you’d be into that,” he says, halfway under his breath.

He ends up snickering at something Scoops says that isn't even that funny, dude definitely doesn't seem to be talking to him half the time, but he is talking, and Eddie is a simple creature who giggles at dick jokes.

"Ohhh, you must be the roommate, that explains the skill drop." Scoops sounds a little bitchy, but it's playful enough,

"My shooting skills definitely do not pay the shooting bills," Eddie confirms, "I'd apologise, but I don't want to."

"That's fine, I'll just continue to carry your ass," Scoops proceeds to carry him to victory or top 5 for a few hours, calls him Roommate the whole time, Eddie never bothers correcting him.

It's about 5 hours later that Eddie is sobering up a little too much and turning kind of sleepy and quiet (for him), he genuinely doesn't think he's gamed this long before, but Scoops just goes "Going again, Roommate?" and he just... agrees.

The guy's got a voice like honey, Eddie could listen to him talk about dirt. "Well I don't know much about dirt, but I can talk about my sponsor if you want?"

"Egh, I didn't mean to say that out loud... fuck my ass..." that gets a pretty laugh from Scoops that almost has a pathetic noise slipping out of Eddie, his filter is shot.

Scoops does actually go into some preamble about something random like hair product whilst Eddie listens way too intently but takes in nothing outside of "Use Code SCOOPSAHOY to get your discount, guys."

"Ready up, Roommate." Scoops prompts after,

"I might be done, dude..." Eddie admits, and he realises he sounds like the saddest wet dog on the planet at the prospect of not being able to listen to Scoops talk to whoever the fuck else he's talking to about all kinds of shit (their days, movies, games, some babysitter meme, the guy sounds like he knows a thousand people Personally, it's endearing).

"Aw... you sure?" Scoops sounds pouty,

"I hate that I can hear the puppy dog eyes." Eddie feels weak.

"I have great puppy dog eyes, you'd love them." Scoops laughs,

"I would." Misery, except Scoops convinces Eddie to go for one final round but asks for him to hold on two minutes and mutes.

Eddie notices an immediate tone shift when Scoops comes back, he isn't as loud and cocksure, he's not responding to random shit anymore, he's asking Eddie questions, flirting, to be fair he has been flirting lightly all night, but there's a nice little rumble to him that gets Eddie weak as fuck.

There's definitely a point where Eddie watches Scoops tactically obliterate like 3 teams in rapid succession, with Eddie only just contributing, and Eddie sighs "that's so fucking hot dude..." which earns him a startled, embarrassed laugh.

"No seriously, I'm rock hard, I swear," Eddie assures him, which is so dumb, he doesn't even know this guy, "Christ shit, dude I'm sorry, what is wrong with me?"

"Don't apologise, I like it," Scoops chuckles, which is insane, because Eddie is actually turned on by this guy's voice and his fucking videogame skill. "I don't get people being super genuine with me like this, it's fun."

"No? You must be real fuckin' pretty," Eddie says it without thinking, "or rich."

"Something like that." Scoops laughs, they manage to claim one final victory (though Eddie valiantly self-sacrifices with a cooked grenade at the end), but end up hanging out in the between games lobby, just the two of them talking and flirting without readying up for the next game.

Eventually Scoops says he has to call it, "But I've really enjoyed hanging out, do you have your own tag?"

"Nope, I just steal Jeff's, ruin his KDR a little so he has something to strive for." Eddie sounds so proud of this it's unreal,

"Well, gotta say I'm not impressed, you didn't do much damage to it tonight."

"No, this dude kept saving me and getting me assists, really rude stuff."

They banter a little more but Eddie insists on letting Scoops go, throws out a sweet big boy in his goodbye before Scoops finally, reluctantly disconnects.

Eddie barely manages to quit the game before slouching off to bed, it's only in the morning when he finds out he's got about 30 messages from his young friend Dustin.

"ARE YOU GAMING WITH KINGSCOOPS?!"

"HOW DO YOU KNOW KINGSCOOPS?!"

"WHAT THE FUCK EDDIE???? THAT'S DEFINITELY YOU TALKING TO KINGSCOOPS I KNOW YOUR VOICE I KNOW THAT LAUGH!"

"STOP HITTING ON HIM OH MY GOD"

and many more, he also has two other messages, one from Jeff, one from an unknown number.

"Gave Steve your number, also told him your name, you're welcome, dumbass."

"Hi Eddie, Steve here, KingScoops. Got your number from Jeff. I had fun tonight, I'd love to hang out on purpose some time xx"

~

KingScoops, AKA Steve, is in fact quite famous online, but he met Jeff at a car show (Jeff went for fun, Steve went for a gig, something abt a realistic racing game, no brainer gig because he loves cars).

They hit it off talking about cars and gaming, Steve asks if Jeff is any good with games, Jeff proudly shows off that he is with some ranked something or other, so Steve is like "Nice! What's your tag? I'll add you. I need someone to game with who isn't up my ass."

They've been gaming together for a while now, Jeff is Steve's go-to duos guy, Jeff doesn't mind that he's on streams when they game, he's very laid back and he likes Steve, so he's just there to have fun and get some dubs.

Jeff had a slew of messages from Steve when he was finishing up at work that night:

"Hey Jeffster, I played duos with your roommate tonight, he's something else. xx"

"Is he a flirt with everyone or do I have a chance? xx"

"Kind of want to shoot my shot, is that okay? Y/Y? xx"

"jk Y/N? If Y can you pass my digits on to him? tyvm xx"

"Also here's a crazy question, lmao, what's his name? xx"

"I just spent 6 hours calling him Roommate. FML I'm such an asshole. xx"

Steve sends kisses to everyone because he had an ex (nobody named) who would get pissy and think he was being Weird with them if he forgot (which he oft did), so on the advice of his best friend (Robin, of course), he started sending them to everyone to make a habit. He has sent kisses to his dad, his legal team, and someone who rearended his car once. Guess which was the most awkward.

Not that Steve minded. He already had to stop by Forest Hills to pick up Max. What was one more? Eddie and Robin could make all the soccer mom, car pool jokes they liked, but he hadn’t exactly seen either of them turn down the offer to get driven around.  

Steve reached up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes…and a long, dark curl fell forward, tickling his skin as it brushed against his cheek. Now fully awake, he yanked his hand back, wide-eyed as he finally registered the silver rings on his fingers, the tattooed cluster of bats flying across his pale forearm. 

Realization hit him like a mack truck.

“Oh, God,” Steve groaned, collapsing back onto Eddie’s worn mattress and throwing an arm over his eyes, pressing that black inked skin close and flattening Eddie’s bangs to his forehead in the process. “Come on, seriously? It’s not over yet?”

He had totally been hoping he and Eddie would wake up this morning and everything would be back to normal. Like suffering through a–obviously pretty bizarre–24 hour head cold that ran its course, came and quickly went. 

So much for positive thinking. Steve should have known better, after dealing with whatever fresh hell the Upside Down had thrown their way year after year. 

Resigned to another day of Hawkins’ weirdness, he sat up and started climbing out of bed. The sudden movement made Eddie’s abdomen twinge, clearly still agitated from yesterday’s basketball game. 

Steve gritted his teeth, that stinging pain stirring up visions dripping with the vivid, sticky red of Eddie’s exposed blood and bone and muscle, an aching souvenir for all the gaping wounds that the doctors had to stitch back together later.

Grimacing, he pressed a firm, soothing hand to his stomach, like he could make up for all the times he’d missed out on offering that kind of touch to Eddie himself. 

You're still here, Steve thought forcefully, patting Eddie’s side. The same words Steve had comforted himself with night after night sitting by Eddie's hospital bed, waiting for him to wake up. He felt a little strange thinking them when Eddie wasn't actually in the room with him…not exactly. The scars still felt like a reminder, though. 

You're still here.

That was one upside to this whole thing–Steve getting the chance to put up with the pain in Eddie’s place. It was the least he could do, really, after Eddie had sacrificed his body to protect them all. 

As he stepped up to the dresser, the ache beginning to ebb away, he found himself caught up by something else entirely–the reflection of Eddie’s bare chest in the mirror. Steve couldn’t quite keep himself from staring, lips parting involuntarily. 

Thanks to that shower at his place yesterday, it wasn’t like this was the first time he’d gotten up close and personal with his crush’s body since this whole thing started. Hell, before that even, given the weeks he’d spent helping Eddie out after the hospital released him. 

Still, there was a luxury in being able to just…look. More than the fleeting glances he did his best to avoid. Like back when he’d often found himself on shower duty, standing just outside to make sure Eddie didn’t slip before helping him wrestle into his favorite Black Sabbath shirt, lifting his arms over his head still a struggle. And way longer than the peeks Steve currently stole any time Eddie’s shirt rode up while they sprawled out together in his bed, the metalhead’s tongue sticking out of the corner of his mouth in concentration as he rolled them a joint to share.

The truth was, Steve had always been into it, watching his crushes. Not in, like, a creepy way–he wasn’t out here peeking through girls’ bedroom windows or anything, thank you very much. Even if Nancy had teased him mercilessly back when they were together, just because one time he mentioned she looked cute when she was sleeping.

He just…really liked feeling close to the people he cared about. Girlfriends, teammates, the munchkins he babysat for, his platonic soulmate of a lesbian best friend. 

I mean, of course he did–who wouldn’t? 

But this…this was closeness on a whole other level. Like Eddie, however unknowingly, had opened up his ribcage and let Steve crawl inside, tucked him away safe and sound beneath his skin. And Steve had done the same.

As much as it might have annoyed him that they were still stuck in Hawkins’ latest whacky predicament, Steve could admit, at least here alone in Eddie’s bedroom…a part of him liked it, too. At least a little bit. 

So he let himself enjoy the opportunities their newfound intimacy opened up while he had the chance. Like being able to stare, uninterrupted, and map the dark lines of the tattoos on Eddie’s skin he’d only ever glimpsed before. 

Eddie was usually so covered up in his layers upon layers, getting to see that much bare skin? Well, that was a rare treat.

So first, Steve brushed a thumb over the creepy puppet guy on the inside of Eddie’s arm, before dragging his gaze up to the spider crawling along his chest. His eyes dipped lower, then, taking in the torn impressions of some kind of demon thing–Steve only recognized the shape for what it was because Eddie had mourned its loss in the aftermath. 

Eddie’s scars broke up everything, lighter than even the pale skin that surrounded, raised slightly to the touch. They matched the patches up Steve's own sides and back except tenfold, spreading across the entirety of Eddie’s stomach and chest. 

Steve knew the metalhead had been shy about letting him see them, but he’d meant what he said. All the sight did was remind him how brave Eddie had been–stupidly, stubbornly, painfully brave–and, just like the twinge in his side, how lucky they were he’d made it back to them in one piece. 

But Steve found himself soon distracted from the scars by the glittering nipple ring winking up at him. 

The fact that he could actually feel the weight of that silver piercing, the gravity of it, as it tugged on Eddie’s remaining nipple? Was seriously trippy. The sensation alone had Steve licking at his bottom lip, fingers itching to touch it all over again. 

He held off, though. It didn’t feel right, not without Eddie there. Even if they had agreed to…scratch all each other’s itches, Steve was pretty sure that wasn’t code for ‘go wild and fulfill all your secret dirty fantasies.’ 

But…man. He gave himself a mental pat on the back for not giving in when it was right there, tempting him like crazy. 

Steve shook his head, determined to stop checking Eddie out and finally focus. “Get it together, Harrington. Jesus.”

After all…he needed to get ready for school. How Steve felt about the idea of that was pretty obvious–his annoyance written all over Eddie’s face in the mirror, nose crinkled in disgust.

Letting out a long sigh, he squared his shoulders. 

As much as he dreaded sitting through another boring, endless day at Hawkins High–an experience Steve thought he had finally put in the rearview mirror for good–it was important.

Because Eddie was going to graduate this year, and there was no way in hell Steve would do anything to mess that up. 

So, he got to work.

First things first–hair. While a few long strands had already wriggled out of the loose bun Steve slept in overnight, he was careful as he freed the rest of Eddie’s usually unruly locks.

Steve couldn’t help but let out a pleased giggle at the dark curls that cascaded down around him, shaking his head and making them bounce. 

Apart from the face mask, the shower he’d taken at his own house yesterday had been (mostly) quick and routine. After all, with years playing sports under his belt, Steve was well-practiced at hopping in and out just long enough to get the grime and sweat off.

But once Eddie had dropped him off at the trailer last night, Steve relished the opportunity afforded to him. He’d headed straight to the bathroom to give Eddie’s hair the time and attention it really deserved–treating it to the expensive conditioner and curl defining cream he’d smuggled out of his own stash, his touch delicate as he dried each lock with an old t-shirt and not a towel. 

Just that tiny bit of TLC had done the trick–Eddie’s curls were looking fuller and healthier already. 

And Steve wasn’t done there. 

Picking up the water bottle he’d stashed on Eddie’s dresser, he gave his hair a quick spritz. Next came the mousse, which Steve applied liberally. Honestly, it felt nice, working his fingers carefully through those long tresses, helping to shape it. 

For the finishing touch, he whipped out another can of his trusty Farrah Fawcett hairspray, a foolproof method to make sure Eddie’s bangs held. 

Finally flipping Eddie’s hair back into place, Steve turned his head back and forth, admiring every angle of those dark, shiny waves. Eddie would be shampoo commercial ready in no time, if Steve did say so himself. 

“All they needed was the Harrington magic touch–and I’ve still got it.” 

Congratulating himself on a job well done, Steve turned to the closet.

Although this was the first chance he’d had to actually dress Eddie, he still stuck pretty close to the metalhead’s signature style. Not that the messily folded stacks of concert t-shirts in various shades of black really left him that much of a choice. 

Still, the dark denim jeans he pulled on were a tiny bit tighter than Eddie usually wore them. Steve recognized the pair immediately, the same ones the metalhead threw on every laundry day. He had long ago noticed they perfectly clung to what little ass Eddie had.

The Iron Maiden shirt he’d picked out was so worn, it felt ridiculously soft between his fingertips. But the way it stretched across Eddie’s chest, plus the fact the sleeves had been ripped off at the shoulders, had way more to do with Steve’s choice than anything else. 

Steve pulled it over his head in a slow slide, careful not to wrench Eddie’s side or muss up his curls in the process. 

Once the makeshift muscle shirt was in place, he flexed impulsively, curiosity getting the better of him. The movement made the weird little dragon dude on Eddie’s upper arm ripple in the mirror. 

Steve gave Eddie’s bicep a squeeze. “Huh.”

For a guy who flailed around like such a noodle man most of the time, he was surprisingly toned. 

Now dressed the part, Steve grabbed Eddie’s leather jacket and battle vest. Despite the fact that the layers were going to cover up the gun show, he shrugged both on, committed to completing the look. 

The weight of the denim draped over him felt comfortingly familiar from Steve’s time tromping through the Upside Down in it, the vest his only shield. 

Steve had returned it–with a tinge of reluctance, not that he was ever gonna mention that part out loud to anyone but Robin–back when Eddie got out of his stint in the hospital. A homecoming present he handed over on the drive to Eddie and his uncle’s newly commissioned trailer. 

Slung over his shoulders now, the fabric still smelled so strongly of Eddie. Not that everything didn’t for Steve at the moment, what with their whole…situation. 

But the mixture of Old Spice and weed smoke wafting up to his nose was practically Pavelow–Paylo–that little guy with the dog and the bell that Dustin was always going on about. It helped, basically, having it wrapped around him again. Made Steve feel…safe, if he was being totally honest. 

So he kind of got it, the title it had earned, in that moment. 

Battle vest. 

Wearing it, Steve felt like maybe he could pull this off, get through a whole day of school as Eddie. 

After snapping the last of the metalhead’s accessories into place, Steve gave himself one final once over in the mirror, smoothing down some of Eddie’s errant flyaways. The conditioner and hairspray certainly helped, but hair care and maintenance wasn’t an overnight kinda thing. It took effort, not to mention patience. 

At least, Steve guessed, if they ended up stuck like this for a while, he’d have plenty of time to keep working on that. 

He tried to squelch the anxiety that flared in his chest at the thought. 

“Brace yourself, Harrington,” he muttered to himself, “it’s just like a big game. You just gotta…keep your head in it. At least until the clock counts down, and that final buzzer sounds.”

Steve could just imagine how annoyed his favorite metalhead would be if he could hear him. 

Tainting the sound of my very own voice with sports metaphors again, Harrington!

Steve shook his head, a peel of laughter bursting out of him at the image. The force of it was so strong, Eddie’s teeth briefly flashed at him in the mirror, his dimple peeking out. It wasn’t quite Eddie’s usual cackle, but close, and, even though he hadn’t managed to get it out of his actual crush this time, the sound was still enough to send warmth spreading through him.

He seriously needed to get ahold of Dustin’s camcorder before everything was said and done. Record some of this for leverage, to tease Eddie with after the fact. 

Shooting Eddie’s reflection one parting wink and a finger gun, Steve grabbed that famous lunchbox of his and went out into the hall. 

As he stepped into the living room, voices pulled his attention to the kitchen.

Eddie was there already, talking animatedly with Mr. Munson as they waited for his “nephew” to join them. The older man looked on in amusement while Eddie chattered away, his gestures broad and theatrical in a way Steve’s never were. 

…Well. Except for when he was majorly pissed about something, or trying his damnedest to get a point across to Robin or Dustin. 

Lucky for them, Mr. Munson didn’t know Steve that well. Sure, they were friendly enough when they ran into each other at the trailer, and the way Steve’d helped out during Eddie’s recovery seemed to shake off any suspicions the older man initially seemed to have about the Harrington name. But while Eddie’s uncle had never been anything but kind to him since, they weren’t exactly buddies or anything, not close enough for him to notice if something about “Steve” seemed slightly off. 

He did catch the sound of Eddie’s Reeboks, however, and turned to Steve as he crossed the small space towards them.

Mr. Munson gave him a nod, voice gruff but warm, “Mornin’, son.”

And even though the words weren’t meant for him, not really, the open, fatherly affection in them was enough to throw Steve. He was struck by the simultaneous, conflicting need to straighten up proudly and duck his head, uncharacteristically embarrassed. 

That confused feeling only grew stronger when Steve saw the way Eddie’s expression faltered as his uncle’s gaze slipped away, something that had to be homesickness briefly crumpling his borrowed features. 

The look made Steve’s chest ache, like Eddie’s longing was echoing inside him. He felt a flash of guilt that he’d enjoyed how warm and parental Mr. Munson sounded, even for just a second.

“Uh, yeah. Hey, Uncle Wayne,” Steve greeted awkwardly, crowding into the cramped space with them. The smile he gave Eddie came way easier. “Stevie.”

With him now in arm’s reach, Mr. Munson gave Steve’s back a warm pat. Steve stiffened, shooting Eddie a pleading look he hoped screamed, Help me out here, man! For a second, he almost wished swapping bodies had come with a bonus side effect of being able to read each other’s minds.

…Almost. Robin would probably kill him if he “combined” like that with someone other than her. 

Fortunately, Eddie could read him well enough even without superpowers. 

Dropping into a bow, he loudly declared, “And my greetings to you, good sir!”

Steve suppressed the urge to shake his head. Now if Eddie could just work on being subtle, they might actually get somewhere.

Mr. Munson darted a narrow-eyed look at “Steve.” 

“You been hangin’ around here entirely too much.”

Steve felt as though Eddie’s heart had sunk into his stomach, choked by sudden fear. Maybe Mr. Munson hadn’t been as cool having a Harrington in his home as he’d thought.  

“Been spending so much time with Ed’s startin’ to rub off on you. Spittin’ image of him, just then.”

As Wayne went to refill his coffee mug, turning away from them, Steve shot Eddie a pointed look. 

Sheesh. I hope you’re happy with yourself. 

He could practically hear the, Lighten up, Harrington, no need to get your undies in a twist. The old man barely even noticed, that came along with the metalhead’s answering shrug. 

Maybe Steve hadn’t been that far off the mark with the whole mental link thing.

But he was quickly distracted from the thought as, now that he was closer, he fully registered what Eddie was wearing where he slouched against the Munsons’ counter.

A black polo–the darkest Steve owned, no contest, and one he had honestly completely forgotten about–with the leather bomber jacket he’d gotten at The War Zone slung over it, and a pair of dark wash jeans to tie it all together.

Steve gave Eddie a pointed once over, raising an eyebrow. “That’s…new. You, uh…definitely look a little bit different, Harrington.” 

Unable to help himself, he reached forward, curling his fingers into the collar of the dark polo. 

“Jesus, man, where’d you even find this?”

“Oh, what, this old thing? Ya like?” Eddie grinned, all teeth, clearly enjoying the fact that Steve couldn’t exactly call him out on it in front of his uncle. “Just a little something I dug out of the back of my closet. You know, there’s all kinds of interesting shit back there.” 

He’d already had to put up with Eddie finding that stupid ass Scoops uniform. God, Steve could only imagine what other embarrassing stuff he’d dig up, snooping around his room unsupervised.

What was next? His porn stash? 

Sure, he knew under his mattress wasn’t the most creative place to hide it. But Steve hadn’t exactly planned for the possibility his crush would wind up basically living in his house totally alone. 

All the leather and chains in those skin mags he’d picked up on his and Robin’s gay little excursion to Indie were bound to raise a couple questions. The tips of Steve’s ears burned just picturing it. 

And the devilish smirk Eddie was still sending his way? Didn’t exactly help, when it came to pumping the brakes on his runaway thoughts. 

“You know, just thought I’d, uh–take a page out of your book.” Cocking his head and rocking forward on his heels, the metalhead swayed close to Steve, shooting him a wink. “What, man, don’t tell me you don’t think tall, dark, and handsome works for me?” 

Steve really thought he should have been immune to Eddie invading his space, especially when he looked just like him–but the way he flustered automatically proved that wasn’t true. 

“Oh, is that what you’ve been doing, boy?” Mr. Munson directed the question to Steve, looking slyly amused–probably, Steve thought, at his “nephew’s” speechlessness. “Coulda fooled me.” 

Fortunately, before Steve was forced to respond–he didn’t think he had it in him to try and good-naturedly bicker with Eddie’s uncle the way the metalhead always did–Eddie offered a much needed distraction.

Because being up close and personal was clearly bringing certain things to his attention, too. In an abrupt, cartoonish show of shock, Eddie widened Steve’s eyes, the pair of them going big and round and so, so hazel in the early morning light. 

He still looks like a total Bambi, Steve thought affectionately. 

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Eddie flailed, arms pinwheeling through the air before he finally pointed an accusatory finger at the top of Steve’s head, “What the hell’d you do to m–to your hair?”

It was Steve’s turn to preen, his smile smug. Fluffing the curls with one hand, he tossed Eddie’s hair back and forth, biting back a giggle while the metalhead gaped at him in horror. 

Man, that really was as fun as girls always made it look. 

“What do you think? Cuz, I gotta say…personally, I think your advice worked like a charm. I mean,” his grin turned cocky, “you are the hair care master, after all.” 

Eddie spluttered in disbelief. “Christ alive, man! Like that, I–you look like some kind of uh, uh–well-groomed, yappy little lap dog!”

Mr. Munson snorted, covering up the sound quickly with a cough–although, given the coffee he’d been sipping, maybe it was only partially an act. 

This time, Steve was the one gasping in outrage. “Uh, I so do not! The curls totally look pretty like this!”

Eddie’s borrowed cheeks flushed a deep crimson–whether from anger, or embarrassment, or even bashfulness, it was hard to say. 

But, well…he always did say flattery worked on him. So, Steve bet on the latter and hoped for the best. 

“Come onnnnn, you know you like them,” he needled, sing-song. Then, Steve hit Eddie with a lethal combination–a pout and a heavy dose of those doe brown eyes of his, well aware how irresistible they were. 

Eddie barked out a disbelieving laugh. “Rest assured I know no such thing, man.”

“Seriously? You can’t pay me even one tiny little compliment after all my hard work?” He pinched his fingers together in demonstration. “I mean, I thought you, you know, gave up all that mean, high school shit and were working on being super nice now.”

Though he was partially teasing, saying the words still made Steve swallow hard. 

He knew he could be plenty bitchy when he wanted to be–Robin and the kids reminded him often enough. But the truth was, Steve really was trying to do better. And–however accidental it might be on Eddie’s part–he didn’t want to leave Mr. Munson with a bad impression, end up risking the older man’s hesitant tolerance of him.

In spite of Steve’s pleading, Eddie still looked seconds from throwing a bombastic Munson tantrum–flailing arms, stomping feet, the works. 

But instead, he shut his eyes tight for a brief moment, shook his head, and sucked in a deep breath. 

“Yeah, well, first of all–I wasn’t that much of a dick in high school. Absolutely not so much I’ve gotta run around, constantly trying to atone for my wicked ways,” Eddie insisted, eyes blinking open to catch Steve’s, hazel meeting brown. And, like the night before when he’d said Steve didn’t compare to the Billy Hargroves and Tommy H.’s of the world, some small part of Steve, grateful and relieved, gave a flutter. “And second–you can do whatever you want with your hair, Eddie boy. No need to consult little ole me.” 

Even Steve could read between those lines–Eddie’s words said one thing, but his emphasis spoke for him, loud and clear. 

Mr. Munson gave a contemplative hum, expression considering. “Definitely different, son. But, s’pose you gotta try new tricks every once in a blue moon.” 

The older man reached out, giving Eddie’s newly defined curls a fond ruffle. Steve managed not to dodge his hand, still feeling a swell of pride at such open, paternal support...even as his inner voice shrieked about Eddie’s uncle mussing up all his hard work. 

“See?” Steve shot Eddie a pointed look. “M-my Uncle Wayne likes it.” 

“So he says. But I’m pretty sure you once told me he complimented your sixth grade buzzcut, too, and we’ve all seen how that turned out. Yearbook photos tell no lies, Eds.”

“No way, it wasn’t that bad,” Steve argued, remembering the picture well. “I was a totally adorable kid, all big ears and chocolate button eyes.”

Eddie sputtered, actually rendered speechless this time. Steve watched him silently mouth chocolate button eyes, his current, far lighter eyes wide with disbelief. Mr. Munson looked between the pair of them, amusement plain on his face.

“But, uh, speaking of school…” Steve shoved up the sleeve of Eddie's leather jacket, letting out a frustrated huff when he registered that the Casio watch he’d thoughtlessly slapped on wasn’t working. Still busted, no doubt, from the involuntary dip Eddie had taken in Lover’s Lake. 

Reaching out, he tugged Eddie’s arm towards him instead and checked the time. 

“That’s what I thought.” Steve gave him a quick pat on the shoulder. “We better get a move on. Don’t wanna risk any of us being late.” 

Wayne let out an amused huff. “‘Spect that’s the first time you’ve worried ‘bout being punctual in your whole damn life, boy.” 

Finally recovered, Eddie simpered, looking like a cat who’d just caught the fattest, juiciest bird. 

“All my good influence, sir.” He laid a hand over his chest in mocking sincerity. “A regular Boy Scout, me.” 

“Yeah, yeah,” Steve rolled his eyes, steering the smirking metalhead out of the kitchen. “Let’s go, Harrington!”

But that strong, now increasingly familiar hand clapped down on his shoulder, stopping him in his tracks. 

“Hold your horses there, boy,” Mr. Munson said, quiet but firm. “Lemme talk to ya for a second.” 

Steve shot Eddie a panicked look, but the expression Eddie sent back was equally as helpless. Still, he took his final, reluctant steps out onto the porch, having been plainly dismissed from whatever private father-son chat Eddie’s uncle had in mind. 

Only years of practice kept Steve from shifting on his feet uncomfortably under Mr. Munson’s careful, measured stare, the older man looking him over from head to toe. Countless memories washed over him, the many times he’d been called into his father’s office for a reprimanding just out of the sight of his friends playing through his mind on a loop. 

“Now, son, I’ve never said nothin’ about how you fix your hair, and I don’t intend to start. But…” Mr. Munson cast a quick glance toward the trailer’s closed front door, “don’t go changin’ to suit somebody else, ya hear? Just keep on bein’ you. For the right sorta person–that’ll be plenty enough.”

Steve got it, better than he ever had before. Why Eddie had always marched to the beat of his own drum–why he felt like he could. Having somebody else in your corner, ready to defend your choices, no matter what the outside world might say or think? It felt…really nice, even if he was just borrowing the feeling for a while. After all, Mr. Munson’s pep talk was for Eddie, not him.

“No, no way I will,” Steve hurriedly assured him. “I promise.” 

And that was a promise he felt sure of making, even if he was doing it on the other boy’s behalf. After all, who could Eddie even want to change for? Nobody came to mind.

“Good man.” With a nod, Mr. Munson gently herded Steve out onto the porch. “Now go on, git. And take care, boys. Try not to land in any hot water.”

Eddie threw an arm around Steve’s shoulders, grin shit-eating. “I’ll keep an eye on him for you, Mr. Munson. As the golden boy of Hawkins, I consider it my sworn duty to help a citizen in need.” 

“Oh my God, dude, shut up,” Steve complained, giving him a shove.

Shaking his head at their antics, Mr. Munson gave the pair a final wave, then let the door shut behind him.

Taglist below! As always, if you’d liked to be added or removed, please just let me know:

@tinytalkingtina @eriquin @spectrum-spectre @grimweathers @highkingpenny

@yesdangerpls @vthx @queenie-ofthe-void @pearynice @felixir-of-moths

@stevesworldxx @themellowyellowmomma @xxfiction-is-my-realityxx @anne-bennett-cosplayer

@sidekick-hero @thefreakandthehair @hbyrde36 @lingeringmirth @too-efn-old-to-be-here

He's shirtless. Dozing in the morning light, eyes closed. Skin gold and radiant in the sun, spattered with moles. His waist lean, his shoulders broad, his chest covered in a layer of hair.

Against the railing, Eddie's hand squeezes. Hard.

There's only one person on board that he hasn't met yet.

Which means this man, the most attractive man Eddie has ever seen, the man that's got him frozen and sweating and listening to his own heartbeat thud in his ears, is his captain.

Steve.

Dumbly, he takes a few steps towards him.

And promptly kicks over the tray of dishes he'd deposited by his feet.

Glass clunks and something shatters, and Eddie curses, dropping to his knees and trying to brush it up. What a fucking great first impression, he curses in his head. That glass was probably worth more than a month's salary, you fucking idiot.

There's footsteps. Eddie feels a bead of sweat roll down the back of his neck. Great, he's probably coming over here to yell, to tell me I'm fired on day fucking two of this job, to tell me I'm a useless -

"Hey, careful, don't cut yourself on that."

Oh, his voice is soft.

Eddie pauses in his efforts to sweep up the glass in his hands. Swallows thickly, then looks up.

Fuck.

Close up, Steve is even hotter than Eddie had first thought.

Honey-brown eyes, thick tousled hair, jaw square and strong and - and he's squatting down in front of him, gently batting Eddie's hands away from the glass with his much larger ones. "This shit is sharp, we should get some gloves or something."

"Sorry," Eddie splutters. "I kicked it, sort of…forgot I put it there, I was looking at - at the view, at…" He flaps a hand towards the sea. "You can take it out of my wages to replace it, or whatever -"

Steve shakes his head. "No, that's ok. Don't worry, it was just an accident. You're Eddie, right? I'm sorry, I should've come and found you and introduced myself, I figured I'd let you settle in a little first. I'm Steve. Steve Harrington."

A little shakily, Eddie takes the hand offered to him.

It's warm, grip firm but gentle.

"Um….hi," Eddie croaks, kicks himself internally, remembers to snap his mouth closed again.

"Hi," Steve says with a soft chuckle.

Unbidden, Eddie's eyes flick to his.

Steve's eyes are kind, but despite the small smile tugging on his lips, Eddie can see the sadness there.

The captain lets go of his hand and pushes himself to his feet again. "There, think that's most of it. I'll get Lucas to bring the broom up here and make sure there's nothing left. I'll see you around, Eddie." With that, he turns back to the net at the bow, walking away from Eddie.

Eddie's only a man, and apparently a very weak one when it comes to Steve. He can't help but stare at the captain's ass as he walks away - it's not his fault it's hugged so well by his little blue shorts.

Steve's gait is slightly uneven, he notices. A little hitch in his step, like his right leg doesn't quite want to cooperate.

Finally, he drags his attention away. Grabs the rest of the dishes and makes a swift, ungraceful exit from the deck back into the stairwell.