steddie microfic

Written for @steddiemicrofic.

make it official

July Prompt: Steady | Word Count: 666 | Rating: T | CW: Language, Period Typical Internalized Homophobia | POV: Eddie | Tags: Post S4, Not-So-Secret Relationship, They Can't Both Be Runners, Good Uncle Wayne, Boys in Love

"Ahem."

Eddie pulls back, lips leaving Steve's, his tongue back in his own mouth. Steve's tense. So, Eddie slides his hand down Steve's forearm. Squeezing. Trying to stop him from fleeing.

It doesn't work. 

Steve darts off the couch, right past Wayne, and down the dirt road to where he'd left his car parked. Eddie's isn't sure this level of subterfuge is required.

Eddie's the runner in any other situation, but with this? Steve's fucking goosey, no matter how much Eddie's reassured him that it's all good.

"Did you really have to do that?" Eddie asks, giving Wayne a staredown.

"Have you asked him to go steady yet?" Wayne counters, and Eddie rolls his eyes.

"Nobody asks anybody to go steady. Do you see us at a malt shop? I sure as shit don't," Eddie says, standing at the screen door. He should be able to see Steve kick up dust as he leaves Forest Hills like a bat out of hell.

Sure enough, he catches the glow of his taillights as he bails, turning and gunning it onto the pavement.

Eddie sighs. 

"You don't have to keep scaring him off, you know?" Eddie says.

"I keep thinking eventually he won't be so dang scared of his own shadow," Wayne counters, and it's so absurd. Steve Harrington is the bravest person Eddie knows. About everything.

Except this.

Written for the fourth @steddiemicrofic 3rd year anniversary celebration prompt, steady | WC: 666 | Rating: E | CW: 18+ SMUT MDNI romance, explicit sexual content, orgasm control | Tags: gay!Eddie Munson, newly bi!Steve Harrington, developing relationship, Steve's a fast learner

Steddie masterlist | General masterlist

“Don't worry sweetheart, we'll take it steady, okay?”

Steve's never had a relationship with a guy before, so Eddie’s taking the lead. Not that Eddie's exactly had a relationship with anyone, but he's certainly hooked up with more dudes than Steve has, so he thinks it makes sense. 

He takes him on burger dates and day trips, plays him songs, and buys him flowers. Steve didn't even realise that could be a thing, and Eddie loves how it always makes him turn adorably pink.

Eddie takes their physical relationship slowly too, first holding hands, letting Steve get used to the closeness, going at his pace. Then sitting closer, stroking Steve's leg, holding each other and cuddling. 

They aren't part of each other's lives in any significant way. Steve can't even remember the first time he saw Eddie, but he can remember the thousandth of times that followed.

A flash of denim at the end of the hallway. The echo of a laugh that carried just a bit too far. The way Eddie would cut across the parking lot instead of using the sidewalk, like the rules were nothing but a suggestion made for others.

They never really talked.

A sarcastic comment here or there, sure. Even an absent “Move, Harrington,” whenever Steve stood in his way. There was even one time when Eddie kept the school door open for Steve with the toe of his boot; he didn't look back, probably didn’t even realize he was doing it or for whom. But it happened and Steve mumbled a small thanks before disappearing into the sea of students.

That has been the extent of their relationship for years.

Eddie had become part of the scenery. Something familiar for Steve to hang on to when all he had ever known got turned upside down. 

Steve would catch himself looking for that familiar leather jacket between classes. He would hear someone playing the guitar behind the gym and think, “There he is”, without even walking over. He would walk the school grounds trying to calm his mind before Biology started and he’d have to spend the hour in a dark classroom watching whichever video the teacher had deemed important, when he would catch a glimpse of Eddie sitting on one of the picnic tables with the rest of Hellfire, and all of a sudden everything would finally quiet down.

He had even spotted Eddie in the library once — face down on a textbook, hair spilling over the table — he probably hadn’t even bothered to read the book, only needing something to substitute as a pillow while he napped. 

Eddie was always just there. Familiar enough that Steve had stopped noticing he was noticing.

Until Eddie wasn’t there anymore. 

Until Steve could no longer notice him.

The first day, Steve didn't even notice, too busy dealing with the aftermath of their final Upside Down encounter or earthquake the government had dubbed it. So, no, he didn’t notice, not at first.

It was just one of those mornings where everything feels just a bit off. Nothing new. Steve has had many of those ever since his first encounter with the Upside Down.

But that’s the thing right? Absence is strange. It doesn’t come knocking on your door to announce itself, but it isn’t always present either, or at least we like to think so. 

The only thing it does is settle in the cracks we leave unattended thinking what’s the harm? It will hold, but behind those cracked walls a flood is slowly building and when the pressure finally becomes too much and the walls give in, grief comes down on us in waves, drowning us in what we so desperately tried to ignore. 

Steve eventually learns this in the way his eyes scan every crowd he passes, searching for that leather jacket he just can’t seem to find. In the way he freezes whenever black curls pass him by. How, whenever he hears the playing of a guitar he thinks of him, but by the sound of the notes he knows that it isn’t Eddie who’s playing. 

It will never be Eddie, not anymore.

He knows this, but habits linger. Like reality hasn’t caught up yet and sometimes Steve wonders if it ever will.

That’s the cruelest part; the way the heart lingers behind the mind when it comes to loss. 

In his head he knows Eddie is dead.

written for @steddiemicrofic prompt ‘steady’ rated e | 666 words | no cw | tags: established relationship, Eddie Munson has ADHD, bottom Steve Harrington, anal fingering, they're just so love

The thing is he can’t stay still. It’s like there’s so many thoughts buzzing out of his head and through to his veins demanding his attention at all times. He can’t read one chapter for an English class but he can devour whole books in one sitting or accidentally stay up half the night planning a campaign if he gets an idea he has to follow through. The point is his brain isn’t wired the same as other peoples and that’s fine. It may not have helped him get through high school but he’s finally out of there now. It only took him three tries, one man hunt and a very aggressive study group but he got there.

Actually the point is that for all he took the nickname they gave him and made it into a coat of armour to get through that hell, there isn’t anything wrong with him. He’s different, but it’s a good different as his boyfriend is constantly reminding him.

That’s the other thing. Boyfriend.

A boyfriend who loves all his quirks, who smiles fondly when he goes on tangents or forgets what he was doing and has to be gently redirected, who never makes him feel like a burden or like he’s broken.

Said boyfriend who was definitely the feature of one or two daydreams in class, something better to focus on than teachers giving the same lecture year after year.

Said boyfriend who is right now blowing every single one of said fantasies out of the water.

Usually he’s so wired and trying to filter through a hundred thoughts all vying for immediate attention but now there’s only one thought.

Maybe the only thought that will ever matter.

Steve.

Beautiful, ridiculous, wondrous Steve who’s laid out naked in his bed like a cross between a Greek god and wet dream. Eddie would pinch himself to prove he’s not dreaming but he did that after their first kiss and nothing happened so he’s going to focus on something more important.

He starts by kissing a trail over the freckles, across Steve’s shoulders and down his spine, biting at the curve of his hip which earns him a little moan. He hides his grin into the curve of Steve’s ass, presses another kiss there because that’s a thing he can do now before reluctantly sitting back up again.

His thoughts must derail somewhere in all the hypotheticals because Steve just wiggles enough to bring him back to this moment.

He kind of wants to bottle this moment up somehow, find a way to freeze it so he can keep it forever. He might just have to settle for keeping Steve forever instead.

His hands, constantly fidgeting, are completely steady, free of his usual rings. Bare but for the lube coating them. He kisses Steve’s shoulders again, feels him relax around the sweet words he leaves with each kiss. He keeps one hand on Steve’s hip, a focal point for both of them and lets his other hand slowly come up to claim what’s apparently his.

They both know this is new and different, but Steve melts around the intrusion, sighing like he’s found god from a singular finger in his ass.

Eddie might not be able to do a lot of things but he can do this.

Keeps up a steady stream of praise that’s not hard to come by, not with how perfect Steve is, keeps up a steady rhythm until Steve’s gone past panting and moaning and is just begging for more, more, more.

It’s easy to focus on that plea until another idea filters through. He groans and briefly knocks his head against Steve’s shoulders before he lifts himself off, gently soothing Steve’s protests by shuffling them around. His fingers find home again as he leans in to kiss Steve and it’s overwhelming this way, drinking the moans directly from Steve but it’s also so much better.

for @steddiemicrofic july week 4 prompt 'steady'

written with @griefabyss69 for @wynnyfryd

rated e | 666 words | no cw | tags: ghost eddie munson, crack fic, ghost sex, bisexual steve harrington, blow jobs, anal sex, teabagging, yearning longing and pining, dick slapping, steve harrington's heaving bosom

also on ao3

👻👻👻👻👻👻👻👻👻👻👻👻👻👻👻

Written for week four of the @steddiemicrofic three-year anniversary challenge.

Prompt: steady, 666 words

Rated: E

Tags: Modern AU; Rockstar Eddie; Regular Guy Steve; Voice Kink; Masturbation; Sexual Fantasy

Steve isn't a podcast fan at all, but Dustin was excited about this interview. So, when he gets home and finds that the kid sent the link, he hits play and puts the phone down on the sink before hopping in the shower.

“I'm thrilled to have today's guest here. Eddie Munson isn't just the frontman of my favorite band - his new autobiography is a must read, by the way - but also a major DnD nerd. Eddie, how did you get into the game?”

Written for the third of the @steddiemicrofic 3rd year anniversary celebration prompts, micro | WC: 555 | Rating: E | CW: 18+ SMUT MDNI insecure!Eddie, body worship, mention of scars, oral sex, cum eating | Tags: Post-S4, semi-established relationship

Steddie masterlist | General masterlist

Eddie feels like he's under a microscope. It's a sunny afternoon, and he's never been examined in such detail before. Ordinarily he'd be uncomfortable, squirming under such close scrutiny. What if they dislike his body? What if the more they see the less they want? What if they somehow uncover his true self? What if they run…? 

But today, Steve's inspecting every curve of muscle, every crease, every inch of skin, every freckle, inked line and perceived imperfection. And all Eddie can do is lie there and take it. 

Written for @steddiemicrofic.

for good measure

July Prompt: Micro | Word Count: 555 | Rating: T | CW: Language, Minor Injury, Feet | POV: Eddie | Tags: Future Fic, Established Relationship, Slice of Life, Steve Should Know Better Than To Enter His Lair

"Godamnit, Jesus Christ, what the fuck?!" 

Eddie jolts up straight, only to find that there's a paper stuck to face. He grasps at it, batting it away, trying to assess the situation. 

"What? What's wrong?" Eddie asks. Alarmed.

Steve's hopping around the spare bedroom, the one where Eddie does his hobby shit. 

"I stepped on a Lego!" Steve hollers, voice incredibly bitchy.

Eddie doesn't have any Lego in here, so that seems rather unlikely. But he's not about to tell Steve that. No use poking the bear with a stick.

"Sit down, let me see," Eddie says, heart hammering in his chest. Steve scared the fucking shit out of him. He doesn't usually bulldoze his way into a room, making a ruckus. That's Eddie's schtick. Not Steve's.

For @steddiemicrofic July Week 3 prompt: Micro WC: 555 | Rating: E | Tags: Bossy Steve, Microphilia fantasy, Handjob, LOTS of dirty talk, Steve indulging in Eddie's weird horny fantasies

"What's something you're into?"

Eddie blinks, barely able to register the question with how Steve is straddling his lap, his hand expertly stroking Eddie's dick.

"You know what I'm into," he says after a moment, and Steve hums.

"Yeah, but— I feel like there's more. I mean, you're a freak, baby. Surely there's more than just 'act like a brat and let me spank you for it'."

"I mean… There's is, but it's weird. Like, actually weird."

"Well it's a good thing I actually like you. Tell me."

Eddie takes a breath and screws his eyes shut, unable to even look at Steve as he says "Microphilia."

Steve makes a curious noise as he thumbs at the head of Eddie's dick, and Eddie knows he wants him to explain.

"It's like… Being attracted to creatures— people— that are smaller than you. Much smaller."

"How small?" Steve asks, and Eddie shudders, in disbelief that they're even talking about this.

"Like… Tinkerbell size."

Steve's hand pauses for just a second before it continues. "Mm, I think I get it. Let's say you… find an injured fairy. Nurse him back to health. He asks what he can do to repay you, but all you can think about is his tiny little body, so… You ask if you can taste him."

Eddie's eyes snap open to find Steve looking down at him, smug as hell.

"Steve, what the fuck," he wheezes, his dick rock hard in his boyfriend's grip. He often forgets that, while Steve may not be a total nerd like Eddie is, he's an absolute menace in bed. A talented, passionate menace.

"He lays out in your palm," Steve continues, "completely naked, and you lick over him. You can feel his wings beating against your hand as you soak him in your spit. His little dick is hard against your tongue as you lick him over and over, and then you taste something sweet as he finally comes against you."

Eddie claws at Steve's thighs, thankful that his sweats keep him from doing any real damage to the other boy.

"Steve—"

"He says that he wants to make you feel good too, so you lay back just like this and push your pants down. He's about as tall as your dick, and he wraps his arms around it as he grinds against it."

"Baby, please—"

Eddie doesn't even know what he's begging for, and Steve doesn't seem to care regardless, barelling forward in his erotic tale.

"You watch him press a kiss to the hole, then see him stick his tongue into it to lick up your precum. His arms squeeze you before he reaches up and sticks a tiny finger in, then his whole little hand—"

Steve digs his thumbnail into the tip of Eddie's dick, and that's as far as he gets before Eddie is coming with a shout, spilling hot and messy over Steve's hand. Steve looks like a proud bastard as he strokes Eddie though it until he's a panting puddle.

"Steve," Eddie gasps after a moment, finally finding his breath. "What—?"

For @steddiemicrofic third anniversary! Someone had to do it 🫠

prompt: micro & word count: 555 • Rated E

Eddie clenched his eyes shut as he finally allowed Steve to yank his boxers off.

The sharp intake of breath had him bracing himself, waiting for the dismissal, the laugh. Someone had helpfully informed him there was a word for it — micropenis. Any of that coming from Steve would be soul crushing. Absolutely devastating.

Written for @steddiemicrofic!

[ AO3 ]

'MICRO' wc: 555 | rated: E | cw: N/A | Tags: Small Penis Appreciation, Fighting as Foreplay, Bullying, Blowjobs, Oral Sex, don't bully me you'll cum

Steve likes it when Eddie pushes him around, and this time he makes a discovery he likes even more.

All Steve thinks to do when Eddie shoves him to the ground is to knee-walk back to him. He raises his eyebrows up at him, grabs his hips, and pretends it didn’t hurt.

“What’re you doing?” Eddie asks, lightly pushing at Steve’s forehead.

“Don’t be stupid,” Steve says, ducking away from it.

“Uh—”

Smugness settles in Steve’s chest as he wiggles Eddie’s hips back and forth.

“If you want to push me around, you’ll have to deal with the consequences,” he says, then starts to unbuckle Eddie’s belt.

“Uh—” Eddie says again, putting his palm back on Steve’s forehead. He just rests it there. “Yeah. I know. Like... like anger. Or retaliation.”

“This is retaliation,” Steve says, pulling his belt out. Eddie just stares, so he pops the button of his jeans, pulls down the zipper, and opens them up.

“Steve—” Eddie croaks. “What—I don’t get it. We were just fighting.”

“Yeah, you were being a real bully,” Steve smirks, then presses his face between his legs, against his boxers. Eddie gasps. “You know that gets me hot.”

“Does it?”

Steve nods, finding his dick with his nose, realizing with a mix of shock and interest that it’s pretty small—he doesn’t mean to moan. He feels Eddie’s hips jerk back and he grabs them again, holding him in place as he opens his mouth around him, using his spit to get his boxers all wet.

“Wait, wait, I—”

Steve pulls back, disappointed, and meets Eddie’s eyes.

“You don’t want me to blow you?” he asks, point blank, watching Eddie’s mouth open and close.

“That’s... well,” Eddie says, swallowing. “I guess you already—I guess...”

“C’mon man, go back to bullying me,” Steve scoffs.

Eddie’s teeth click shut and he nods. Steve gives him a moment to get over himself, then tugs Eddie’s boxers down. Eddie’s fingers grip Steve’s hair while he gets a good look at him. He was right. Eddie’s dick is really small—it suits him, but not in the way that people laugh about. He’s not sure how to make micro sound like a compliment, so he just leans forward and gets it in his mouth.

“Fuck,” Eddie groans, pulling hard on Steve’s hair.

Steve rubs his tongue against the underside of his dick—feeling it jerk inside his mouth makes him squeeze himself through his pants. Later on he’ll get Eddie to be mean to him about it, make him take it, to grind against his face and cum all over him. For now he traces his tongue along the edge of his foreskin, feeling Eddie’s whole body jerk.

“Watch out,” Eddie gasps.

Steve doesn’t know what that means—is he going to come? Did that hurt?—so he continues doing it, trying to goad him into being rougher. He thinks he could do this all day—kneel here with his lips pressed to his pubes for hours. Eddie’s balls tighten against his chin and finally he shoves his hips forward, throbbing hard before exploding in Steve’s mouth.

When he’s done and he slumps back against the wall, and Steve doesn’t want to leave, so he follows, still sucking; swallowing his cum, pulling gasps of pain out of him, until Eddie forces him to stop.

“Okay—Okay okay,” Eddie says, pushing him back hard enough to make him land on his ass. “Okay. Fuck.”

written for @steddiemicrofic prompt ‘micro’ rated g | 555 words | no cw | tags: pre-relationship, feelings realisation, Eddie has a crush on Steve, Steve POV

There is something about him. About Eddie. Maybe it’s because the kids had put the seed of the idea in his head long before everything happened, or maybe it was just everything that had happened. In the wake of it, he has a tendency to be over protective but this feels different somehow. Different than adopting a group of pre-teens, different than being forever soul forged with Robin. 

Not that he’s figured out exactly how it’s different yet. It just is. 

Maybe it’s the circumstances of it all. The kids happened because he’d stepped in to take a beating for them and that somehow translated to this one is our babysitter now but only when it’s convenient for us. Robin was a slow burn of a confusing crush turned torture survival turned truth serum induced confessions turned other half of his heart capital P platonic soulmates. 

They survived something together and then they had the after. 

But this time, it’s the after and he’s still surviving. 

At first it was the weeks in the hospital, the constant vigils to make sure that no one could get in until the worst of the manhunt stopped. Not that Steve’s thankful for the earthquakes, but at least it kept most of the town occupied. 

Then the weird government people stepped in and on top of making them all sign their usual round of NDAs, did at least cover the destruction of the trailer. So that was something. 

Only on leaving the hospital, Eddie didn’t exactly go home to somewhere new and unfamiliar. He’d decided to spend all his time with Steve at his house instead. 

Which was another thing. 

It was nice having a friend who was something. Different. Not a child or a Robin but a third thing. 

Maybe it had been too long since he’d had actual friends but he didn’t remember it feeling like this. 

They’re surviving. He’s just not sure why that needs to be said though. Why it still feels like his heart hasn’t settled, why he’s so on edge all the time, why he can’t calm down if he doesn’t know where Eddie is and why having him in front of his eyes doesn’t make the feeling any better. 

It’s like he’s still in the fight, only he doesn’t know what he’s fighting against or why he’s even in the fight in the first place. 

Because what else would explain the panic of not knowing what Eddie is doing. It isn't like he’s micromanaging him, he is just concerned?

Or something.

He knows where Eddie is right now. Sitting on the same bed looking apprehensive. Nervous even. 

It's one of those things in the time after in their new friendship or whatever. Steve's learned to catalogue every single micro expression Eddie has. 

This one is new but it's also not. He's realising he's seen it before without actually realising what it is. But he recognises the look now: the microcosm of emotions in the quirk of a smile, the duck of a head, the soft eyes and fidgeting. 

He lets the fight go out of him between breaths. He realises what he was fighting against, the unnameable telltale feeling his heart came to before his brain could catch up. 

for @steddiemicrofic week 3 prompt 'micro'

rated e | 555 words | no cw | tags: secret steddie, established steddie, anal sex, eddie has a big dick

📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖

"I heard he has a small dick."

"I heard it's like a...what do they call it...micropenis?"

Eddie smirks to himself, trying to hide it behind his hand as he looks down at his textbook.

"Maybe that's why he doesn't even try to flirt with girls."

"I heard it's because he's gay."

First thing they've gotten right yet, Eddie thinks to himself.

Written for the @steddiemicrofic July 17-24 prompt ‘micro’

rated E | 555 words | tags:  established relationship, BDSM, sub!Eddie Munson, dom!Steve Harrington, overstimumlation

"You're doing so good, baby." Steve paused to card a hand through Eddie's sweat-soaked curls. "How many have you given me?"

"T-two, Sir," Eddie answered.

Steve hummed and ran his hands over Eddie's body - from Eddie's wrists bound above his head, down Eddie's chest decorated with red flogger lines, to Eddie's wide spread thighs where Steve could feel the micro muscle spasms under his hands to where Eddie's heels sat at the edge of the table.

"Can you give me one more?" Steve asked as he ran his hands back up and massaged Eddie's thighs.

"Sir?" Eddie whispered.

"I think you can give me one more," Steve murmured, leaning in and pressing a couple of kisses to Eddie's thighs, nipping gently.

"S-sir," Eddie keened.

"Your pleasure is my pleasure," Steve said. "I love watching you come apart under my hands, love every orgasm you give me, love seeing you writhe in pleasure."

"S-sir, I-I don't know," Eddie whispered.

Steve hummed and rested his cheek against Eddie's thigh, smiling as he felt another one of those micro muscle spasms.

"One more? One more for me, baby."

"Yes, Sir," Eddie whispered.

"That's it."

Steve wrapped one hand around Eddie's cock, cooing softly when Eddie whimpered at the touch, while his other hand played with the clamps on Eddie's nipples. Steve stroked Eddie's for a few moments, slow and languid strokes to get Eddie nice and hard for him.

"I'm going to fuck you," Steve breathed, pausing his sexual torture of his partner so he could unlace his leather pants and free his own aching cock. "I've been hard all night, wanting to fuck you."

"Sir," Eddie whimpered. "Please?"

"Listen to that, begging so sweetly for me." Steve reached for the lube and coated his own cock before toying with the plug in Eddie's ass. "Are you going to give me another one?"

"Please," Eddie begged. "Please?"

"So pretty." Steve gave Eddie's thigh a pinch before he removed the plug and pushed forward.

"Sir!" Eddie cried out, tugging at the arm restraints.

"That's it," Steve praised. "Feels so good, baby."

Steve gave a few languid thrusts while stroking Eddie's cock - he was holding his own orgasm until Eddie came one more time. Thrust and stroke, thrust and stroke, Steve worked Eddie until he was just on the edge of orgasm, then removed the clamps from Eddie's nipples.

"Sir!" Eddie screamed as he came.

"That's my good boy."

Steve gave a another few thrusts before he came; he glanced at Eddie and smiled - his boy was completely blissed out. Steve slipped out of Eddie, quickly cleaned and tucked himself away and then started taking care of Eddie. He untied Eddie's arms and gently massaged them, then wrapped Eddie in a soft blanket and carried him over to couch next to the table where he sat down and cradled Eddie in his lap.

"Water, baby," Steve whispered, putting a straw in Eddie's mouth. "Drink."

"Mmmm."

Steve watched Eddie drink the whole bottle of water before setting the bottle aside and pressing a kiss to Eddie's forehead.

"'s good," Eddie mumbled. "Floaty."

"That's the point," Steve said with a soft smile. "Any pain?"

"Little," Eddie breathed. "Good pain, though."

"Good," Steve whispered. "What do you need, baby? What can I get you?"

"You, just you," Eddie whispered back.

written for ‘micro' | wc: 555 | rated: t | cw: no archive warnings apply | tags: pre-relationship, post-s4, eddie's scars, pining, soft boys being soft

@steddiemicrofic

Everybody thought he was okay. The kids, his uncle.

He’d been out of the hospital for months now, and most of the aches had faded—though not disappeared—from the physical therapy.

His scars were pink and silvery, and even the ones that had totally fucked a few of his tattoos he’d come to terms with. Had overpowered the voices in his head to instead embody them as metal and sick as the originals.

Except...except one.

One he couldn’t help but stare at in the mirror. That he couldn’t hide away on the shitty days. One that people’s eyes couldn’t help but steal glances of.

“Eddie?”

He startled, smacking his knee into the cabinet as he turned to find Steve hovering in the open doorway. Because Eddie was an idiot who didn’t remember to close doors all the way.

With a furrowed brow, Steve scanned the bathroom. “What are you doing?”

Well, shit. Eddie’d gotten so caught up in his own misery, he’d completely left Steve waiting on him in the living room.

“Sorry. Got distracted.” Eddie cleared his throat, trying to slip past.

But Steve, hands planted on the doorframe, didn’t move.

Eddie dug his nails into his palm. “Let’s go watch the movie, yeah?”

Steve refused, scowling now. “No, seriously. If something’s wrong, I—somebody needs to know before you keel over on the drive home.”

Shame crept up Eddie throat.

Steve had carried Eddie out of that hellhole, and held the pieces of him together with his bare hands. The little Eddie remembered was punctuated with Steve’s voice, over and over, Don’t you dare fucking die, Munson.

“It’s so stupid...”Eddie touched the corner of his mouth, at the textured patch of skin.”I already had fucking dimples, and now it’s three times worse. On only one side of my face.”

Steve shifted in the doorway, quiet for a moment.

“It’s not the worst thing ever,” he offered. “Small, really. Tiny. Minuscule. Micro.”

“Micro?”

“It means small.’

Steve only thought he was helping, ever the baby-sitter, soothing where his charges need him. With the best of intentions, but Eddie had never been one to believe a sugar-coated lie told right to his face.

“It’s not, though.”

The thing existed, always. Pulled at his mouth when he spoke, when he tried to smile in the way he used to.

And, like, Steve didn’t get it. Even that damn scar around his throat had healed better than most of Eddie’s, visible only in specific lighting. And he was...Steve Harrington. A few scars weren’t exactly tanking his chances in the dating pool.

“You’re not the same.”

Eddie froze. Stared at Steve, unsure whether to be more insulted or shocked.

“Your body moves in ways it didn’t before. To keep from hurting, even though it still hurts. They’re always there, and it’s like everyone can always see them.” Steve’s hand dropped to his throat, then his sides. “They’ll never go away.”

Fuck.

He was always wrong about Steve. Who saw more of Eddie than he thought possible.

“Steve—”

And then Steve was in the cramped space of the bathroom, his face so close to Eddie’s before his lips pressed to the marred skin at the corner of his mouth.

Gentle. Soft, and careful.

Eddie couldn’t breathe.

“You didn’t fucking die, Munson,” Steve said, pulling away. “And that’s all I care about.”