Someone was knocking on the door. Steve dragged himself up off the couch and peered through the peephole.
Gareth was standing on his porch. That could only mean—
Steve yanked the door open.
“Tell Eddie I'm not fucking interested,” he snapped, and tried to shut the door in his face. He didn't succeed, because Gareth stuck out his foot and wedged it in the gap, wincing when the door smacked full-force into it.
“Eddie doesn't know I'm here.”
“So, what? You came over here to tell me I'm overreacting and Eddie's a nice guy, really, and I should suck it up and take him back because you're tired of watching him mope around and skip out on band practice? Guess what. Still not interested. Fuck off.”
Gareth looked taken aback by the force of Steve's anger. Well, tough. Steve was allowed to be angry, if he wanted.
“That's not what this is,” Gareth said, shoving his hands in his pockets and shifting his weight from one leg to the other. “Eddie's my best friend, but he can be a real asshole sometimes, you know? He was a fucking dick to you, man. And yeah, he is acting pretty pathetic and he's barely made it to a single practice since you dumped him, but that's not your fault and I'm not gonna tell you to forgive him.”
“Then why are you here?” Steve said. It sounded rude even to his own ears, but he'd had a long fucking week and he wanted to proceed with his plan of getting wasted by himself and watching crappy movies until he passed out.
Gareth shrugged. “I guess I just wanted to see how you are? And to tell you that, like, we can still be friends. If you want.”
Steve sighed and swung the door open wider.
***
“He thought everything I liked was stupid,” Steve complained an hour later, pleasantly buzzed. Well, it would be pleasant, if it weren't for the whole Eddie thing. “And he wouldn't shut up about it! We had to listen to his music and watch the movies he liked and if I ever suggested anything he was all some of us have taste, Steve. Fucking asshole.”
“He sucks,” Gareth agreed from his spot on the couch next to Steve. “You're better off without him.”
“I played DnD for him,” Steve continued. “And he wouldn't even watch a baseball game with me.”
That had been the final straw. And Eddie had had the gall to look bewildered when Steve had dumped him later that night. Asked if they could talk about it. Steve had said sure, let's talk, and run through a list of every time he could remember that Eddie had mocked him or laughed at him or otherwise made him feel like crap just because he had interests that weren't Eddie's nerdy shit.
He'd been avoiding Eddie's calls ever since, and refusing to open the door for him when he came around. Because Steve missed him so fucking much and he absolutely did want Eddie back, even knowing that Eddie would go right back to making Steve feel shitty about himself.
He'd talked to Robin and they’d agreed: Steve had to stay away from Eddie until he could be trusted not to forgive him in a moment of weakness. Robin wasn't picking up Eddie's calls either, in solidarity.
Gareth patted him tentatively on the shoulder.
“If it helps, I think he's really sorry.”
“Yeah, sorry that he's not getting his dick sucked any more,” Steve said without thinking, and had to pound Gareth on the back when he started choking on his beer. “Sorry. Too much?”
Gareth waved a hand at him, coughing. “All good,” he wheezed. “Just caught me off guard.”
***
The phone was ringing.
“It's probably Eddie,” Steve said morosely, now solidly drunk. “He's been calling every night.”
“Want me to tell him to fuck off?” Gareth offered.
Steve burped. “Be my guest.”
Gareth grabbed the handset. “Hello?”
They were sitting close enough together that Steve could hear Eddie's tinny “Gareth?” over the line.
“Yep,” Gareth said.
“What are you—nevermind. Can I talk to Steve?”
“Oh!” Gareth said, apparently having remembered why he answered the phone. “No. Fuck off.”
Eddie started to say something, but Gareth hung up on him before he could finish. They both stared at the phone.
They were still staring at it thirty seconds later when it rang again.
Gareth picked up. “We don't wanna talk to you,” he said, and promptly hung up again.
“Was that even him?”
“Dunno,” Gareth said. “Probably?”
When it rang a third time they both jumped.
“Should I?” Gareth asked, then answered anyway without waiting for Steve to make a decision.
“Yeah?”
“Please let me talk to Steve.”
Gareth eyed Steve. Steve shook his head.
“He says no,” he reported.
“Gareth, man, c’mon. I thought we were friends.”
“Steve's my friend too,” Gareth said. “And you were a dick to him.”
“Yeah, I know, I—can he hear me right now? Steve, baby, if you're listening…I'm so fucking sorry, okay? I was an idiot and I'm sorry. I had my head so far up my own ass I didn't realize how much I was hurting you. I miss you so much. I want you back.”
“Eddie,” Steve blurted out. Fuck, his fucking heart hurt.
“Steve? Gareth, give the phone to Steve.”
Gareth offered the phone to Steve, who said a silent apology to Robin, grabbed it, and curled up with his back to Gareth.
“Eddie,” he said again.
“Thank fuck,” Eddie said. “I thought you were never gonna talk to me again.”
“Wasn't gonna,” Steve said. “You made me feel like shit.”
“I know and I'm sorry. Wayne about bit my head off when I told him what happened. Said he raised me better than that. And he's right.”
Steve should’ve hung up. Steve definitely should've hung up.
He didn't.
Instead he said quietly, “I miss you too.”
There was an audible sigh of relief.
“Give me another chance,” Eddie said. “Baby, please. I'll do better, I promise.”
Steve was not strong enough for this.
“One date,” he said, clutching the phone so hard his hand hurt. “Then we'll see.”
“This Saturday,” Eddie said quickly, like Steve might change his mind. “I'll pick you up.”
“Okay,” Steve agreed, and hung up before Eddie could get the chance to talk him into anything else.
Gareth was staring at him with wide eyes.
“He's gonna take me on a date,” Steve said. He was still holding the phone, pressing it to his chest like it was something precious.
“You sure that's a good idea?”
“No,” Steve said. He was fairly certain it was, in fact, a terrible idea. But he was going to do it anyway.
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Steve has spent weeks complaining about the godawful music Dustin keeps playing in his car until one day. He seems the album cover and is just like, “…That’s my boyfriend.”
“Yeah, sure,” Dustin rolls his eyes. “Sure, your mysterious boyfriend that is always conveniently busy and definitely real is the lead guitarist of my favorite band and you never mentioned it.”
“I told you he was in a band, I didn’t know they were pop - what do you mean ‘definitely real?’ He is real!
“Sure,” Dustin says. “You’ve been dating for months and no one has ever met him. Sure.”
“Everyone thought Susie was fake.”
“Susie is-“
They mutually agreed to stop arguing about it and maybe even forget the conversation happened, and then one day, Dustin bikes over to Steve’s.
He used his key, lets himself in, and sitting in his underwear on the kitchen counter is - “Eddie Munson? That’s Eddie Munson.”
“Oh, is it?” Steve asks. “I thought he was just my pretend boyfriend.”
#Steve: why would I lie and say I was dating someone from the awful band you listen to#Dustin upon meeting Eddie: he doesn’t like your music#Eddie: I know. its great
Steve, upon falling in love with Eddie, almost immediately becomes Wayne's emergency contact. It's not that Wayne doesn't trust Eddie. He does. He's a great kid, an excellent person. He just also has a tendency to...not be where you need him. And that's fine most of the time. Kid gets stuff done, always helps pay the rent, does his chores all that.
But. Wayne's not getting any younger and he's still working despite Steve's attempts to get him to hang up the old toolbelt. He's probably right but Wayne isn't ready. Can't imagine all that empty time.
And his Harrington boy? He's there every weekend, checking fixtures and changing lightbulbs. Cooking meals to store in Wayne's freezer even though he insists he's got enough food in there to last him through the apocalypse. He mother hen's over Eddie too, making sure he sleeps enough, eats a vegetable or two. So it feels like the right choice to just switch over the name on all his forms.
When he asks Steve, though, the boy's face goes ashen. He has to sit down. He tears up and won't look at Wayne. Eddie sees him, sighs, and comes to the rescue, standing between Steve's legs and pulling his head against his chest. Embracing him hard, making soothing noises.
Wayne waits silently for a moment then apologizes. He's screwed up somewhere and he feels pretty bad about it.
"Oh, no," Eddie laughs when he sees Wayne's face. "This is a happy freak out. Steve's not used to having family. Sometimes it takes him a moment when he remembers."
And suddenly, Wayne has to stand up and take a moment outside. Smoke half a cigarette with his boot kicked up against the side of the trailer. Wouldn't do to make the boys see him cry, too.
So. Yeah. Steve is his emergency contact. But both his sons always show up when anything happens.
I would like to put a little disclaimer here that I am not a medical professional, having only ever gone to the school of Grey's Anatomy, and I am not going for medical accuracy. I am doing the Hollywood thing where the injuries look horrifying and brutal and the protagonist will be "better" in 3-5 business days.
Robin wipes her hands on her jeans for what is probably the seventh time in just as many minutes. She's not even sweating; the airplane is pretty cold, actually. She's just nervous.
She's the closest she's been to Steve in years, and she's still on the plane in the air. They've just announced that everyone needs to be in their seats and buckled up. She's so close.
It's the only thing repeating in her mind.
She's so close.
It's the only thing she can allow herself to think about because all her other thoughts drift into mild violence. Like how she can't wait to hug Steve, followed by punching his arm until it's numb.
He was her soulmate, her worse half, her partner in crime! They'd talked about getting married for the tax benefits and to be able to buy a house together. How could he just leave her like that?
Not that she can ask him right away. When Dustin had called and given her Steve's location, he'd said something about Jane saying that Steve might be experiencing memory loss. It's concerning, for sure. It means a brain injury, right? She's not a doctor but she thinks Steve hitting his head really hard could cause memory loss.
She hopes it's temporary. Like when she had to have her wisdom teeth removed and forgot she'd already graduated high school; she'd been panicking about a test she needed to study for, her mom told her.
The plane lands, and she exits quickly. She packed light, and by light, she means her purse as a carry-on. She'd shoved three pairs of underwear and socks in it before bolting out the door. Nothing else was as important as catching the nearest flight. Bethany had driven her to the nearest airport with minimal questions asked, and Robin is so thankful.
Bethany knows about Steve. Kind of. Well, not really, but she knows about a family member who up and vanished from Robin's life. Knows that Robin was very close with him and very hurt by the loss, but nothing else.
It's strange to think about, now. Bethany and her have been together for three years, now. Robin hadn't thought about Steve in a real way in almost all that time. Yet, here she was, dropping everything and rushing to his side like he was still the most important person in her life.
Was he?
Her hand clenches hard on her purse strap.
She certainly jumped into action like he was. Years without thinking about Steve Harrington and one mention sends her moving. She doesn't regret it, though. She hopes she won't come to regret it.
It's been seven years. Who is Steve now? Will she- will they even get along as the people they are now? Has she made a mistake in getting here so quickly; in not waiting for Dustin and Jane? Too late to worry about that now.
Despite the Hilton being so close, Robin still hails a taxi to take her to it.
She enters like she belongs and no one questions her. If she happens to time it when the person at the counter was busy with someone, that's her secret to keep.
Finding room 314 is easy enough.
Gathering the willpower to knock is entirely different.
It's finally settling in her mind that she halted her entire life to go chase a ghost.
She should have waited for Jane and Dustin. Their flight is supposed to arrive in four hours. Or, well, four hours after Robin's flight was scheduled to land. But Robin's flight was delayed leaving, so it might be sooner. Or, later, if their flight is also delayed.
She forces herself to take in a deep breath, releasing the air in her lungs slowly. It's not often these days that she starts to spiral like this; like she used to as an awkward teenager who was unsure of her place in the world.
"Okay," she whispers to herself before quickly rapping on the door. It's either now, or hours from now when Dustin and Jane finally arrive.
The time between knocking and the door opening is infinite and filled with anxiety, but also not long enough. Once the door is open, Robin doesn't think that any amount of time could truly have prepared her for seeing Steve Harrington again.
He looks terrible.
She's seen him beaten and blooded before -walking the halls of Hawkins high after Billy Hargrove got him, from Russians because he egged them on so they'd leave her alone, when he was almost eaten alive by demobats beneath Lovers Lake, the battle against Vecna- but he's never looked this haunted before.
His hair, what remains of it, is longer then she'd ever seen it on him but that fact is quickly overshadowed by the shaved portion of his head, where she can see the evidence of stitches recently removed. There are healing bruises along his jaw, above his eye, peeking out beneath the sleeves of his ill-fitting shirt.
There is a scar along his jaw, older and more healed than the rest of him, but he didn't have that scar the last time she saw him. He's got facial hair grown in awkward patches around the scar tissue. The tip of his left ear is gone. His nose is noticeably different, crooked like it's healed wrong.
He's gone through a lot these last seven years, by the look of it.
"Robin," Steve warbles her name out. Robin may still be in shock at seeing him for the first time in years, but that shock doesn't go both ways, she realizes. Steve just looks relieved, even as his face crumples up and his eyes fill with tears, and then she can't see anymore because he's hunching in on himself to pull her into a hug. His arms go under hers and he shoves his bruised and battered face into her neck and he lets out a sob that rips out her heart.
"Oh, dingus," Robin breaths out as she returns the hug. Too harshly, given the pained noise that Steve squeaks out when she squeezes him in her arms. She loosens her hold immediately but that just makes Steve hold her tighter, like he's afraid she'll let go.
She lets him cling to her. Lets him decide how long this hug will go. She's surprised to find that it never reaches the point of awkward. She kind of expected it to. It's certainly a longer hug than she would entertain for anyone, even her mom. Eventually Steve does pull back, stepping back into his hotel room and pulling her in after him.
"Thanks for coming," Steve says. He's not looking at her now. Instead, he stands before her with his head tilted slightly to the side, hand lifted but frozen in mid-air. He looks a little surprised for a moment before dropping his hand back down.
"Uh, you're welcome," Robin says. She's fairly certain he was about to run his hands through his hair - a nervous habit, she remembers- but there is no hair on that side of his head.
A silence falls, and this is awkward. Neither of them seem to know how to proceed, what should come next. Should she find somewhere to sit? There's a desk with a chair at it. She could turn that around to face towards the room and sit there. The other option is plopping down on the edge of the bed, but as she eyes it, it becomes clear it's not really an option. The pillows and blanket of the bed have been arranged to what must be the most comfortable position for Steve to sit in. And sit it must be, because the pillows are stacked far too high for any sort of laying down to be taking place.
"Um, sorry for the mess," Steve says, which pulls Robin's attention from scrutinizing his bed and back to him.
"No, no, nothing to be sorry for," Robin flaps her hand in the air, a poor attempt at waving off his apology.
"Still, I should," he says, gesturing towards the rumpled bedding and then immediately wincing.
"You should get back into the bed and stop hurting yourself? Yeah, sounds like a good idea. Glad to see you're capable of those," Robin snarks, surprising herself after the words have already left her mouth. It sounds so harsh and rude, speaking to a near stranger that way.
But Steve huffs a soft laugh, and even softer smile pulling at his lips. "Yeah, yeah. You wanna pull up the chair, then?"
Something loosens in Robin, then. She hasn't offended him. Of course, she hadn't. This man, however older and different he might look, was still Steve Harrington. That had to mean something for them.
Steve settles himself back into the bed with several pained noises that Robin pretends she didn't hear. Once he's settled, she does as he suggested and pulls the desk chair over to his bedside.
The blink at one another before Robin decides one of them needs to take a step, so she asks, "What happened?"
He looks guilty when he answers, "I don't know. Not- not really. I was caught in a fire, I guess. Or, well, they guess. The paramedics and the doctors and the police. Said they found me in the stairwell, couple floors down from fire; the best guess is I tripped or fell or- something while trying to get down. Got trampled by everyone else trying to escape."
"And this?" Robin asks, fingers already reaching out to run along the shaved bit of his head.
"Brain was swelling. They couldn't- doc said it was a long shot, a risk, but they had to try. Cut out a piece of my skull to make room from my brain or something. Guess it worked."
Robin swallows thickly. It worked. Thank fucking God it worked. It's settling in now, what all this really means. All his injuries. Steve could have died. Steve could have died, and they would never have know.
She's realizing, now, that Steve could have been dead for years by now, and they would never have known. They stopped looking. They moved on.
"Thank for coming, by the way," Steve continues the conversation, oblivious to the epiphany happening inside Robin's mind right now. "I- when El, sorry, when Jane talked to me, she said- she implied- that we don't talk much, anymore. So. I guess... well, she said you guys would come. That I should stay here because you'd come, but I guess a part of me wasn't sure. So, thanks."
"Steve," Robin's heart is breaking, and she's sure that he can hear it happening in her voice. "Of course I'd come."
Steve doesn't look like he believes her. She can see the doubt clearly on his face.
"Dustin and Jane will be here soon, too," she goes on, wanting to convince him. "Or, well, as soon as one can dependably get here when relying on an airline to keep their schedule," -Steve snorts at that and she counts the win- "but they're coming. And we- well, we haven't really told much of the rest of the gang. We started to, a whole phone call chain, but we, um, we didn't know how this would go."
Steve nods and then his face quickly crumples. He's not crying and his voice isn't watery, but he's clearly upset when he says, "I- I'm sorry, Robbie. I don't even- I don't know where to start. I don't even- I don't remember."
"Hey, it's- we'll figure it out, okay? Whatever you're missing, we'll figure it out," she tries to sooth but she can't tell if it lands. She's not sure she even believe it, so how can Steve? Still, she reaches out and takes one of his hands into her. It's scarred and rough beneath her own smooth hands. "There's nothing we haven't been able to overcome together, right?"
Steve squeezes her hand as an answer but doesn't agree verbally. Which is fair. There was something, seven years ago, that happened. Something that Steve must have been sure they couldn't overcome together.
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based on this ficlet by @novacorpsrecruit which is in turn based on a post. inspo-caption lol
So, Steve came to the show. Early, earplugs in, and, just to shock Eddie’s system, in an outfit that was the opposite of his usual preppy polos.
He took the “metal show” description to heart, and must have really wanted to fit in—cut off jeans, an oversized band t-shirt, and, fuck, eyeliner. If he wanted to make himself even hotter, mission accomplished.
Gareth’s eyes narrowed when he caught sight of Steve, not trusting it, but Jeff leaned over Eddie’s shoulder and giggled. “Awww, guys! Eddie’s boyfriend wants to impress him!"
“He isn’t my boyfriend,” Eddie grumbled, even though he was becoming less and less sure. He didn’t know what he’d done during that hookup which had made Steve so eager to stick around, but every theory swirling around his head about some long con was starting to make less and less sense with each passing day. Surely the golden boy of Hawkins wouldn’t slum it at a dive bar all for the sake of a joke.
Eddie barely remembered the show. His eyes were fixed on Steve the whole time, who seemed to actually be enjoying himself. It was a relief when the set ended, until he realized he’d need to think of something to say to Steve.
He opted for keeping his cheesy, performer smile on as he strode over, ignoring the way his heart flipped when Steve saw him and beamed back.
“Hey!” Steve was running up to him, throwing arms around his neck excitedly, “that was awesome! You’re….you’re amazing.”
That glow in Steve’s eyes….Eddie had never been looked at that way before. He couldn’t help but blush. “Thanks for coming. You look *really* good.”
He hoped that wasn’t crossing a line, but it needed to be said.
Steve honest-to-goodness giggled “really? I wanted to fit in, so my friends helped me put this together, but I wasn’t sure if it looked stupid—“
“Wait, really? Tommy helped you with this?”
“Not exactly,” Steve stared at the floor, “uh, there’s these kids. That I babysit. And they’re way better at this kind of thing than me, actually, so I kinda recruited them. I think I’ll be buying them ice cream until I’m forty, honestly, but if you like it—“
Steve couldn’t seem to stop shocking him—the hottest guy in Hawkins, not only wanting to date the school freak, but good with children? Enough that he had a band of them who would get him ready for a date?
“Wanna get out of here?” he was asking before he had time to think about it, and Steve took his hand immediately, already moving to the exit.
"Thought you’d never ask.”
—
That Monday, Jeff was waiting for him by the doors of school.
“Ducked out pretty early after the show,” he said with a knowing smile, “still sure he’s not your boyfriend?”
“We went back to my place,” Eddie whispered under his breath, “we made out, he stayed the night and made breakfast in the morning. I don’t know anything anymore.”
“Do you even like him?” Jeff suddenly got serious, “because we’re having fun laughing at you and all, but you might really hurt him if you aren’t careful.”
Of course Eddie liked Steve—who wouldn’t? But having his image of the man go from untouchable straight jock who’s probably a bit of a dickhead, to the guy who sits at his lunch table and gives him heart eyes at his shows was a bit of an adjustment, okay?
Before Eddie could voice any of that, he felt a tap on his arm.
He turned around, and saw some kids coming from the direction of the middle school. A curly haired boy, a girl on a skateboard who could probably kill him with the look she gave him, and another boy whose hand she was holding, and who looked like he’d rather be anywhere else.
“Eddie?” the curly haired kid asked, and Eddie raised his hand as if he were in trouble. Maybe he was, these kids looked like they didn’t fuck around.
“That’s me.”
“I’m Dustin. Steve’s friend?”
Eddie wasn’t as shocked as he should have been, but this wasn’t what he’d expected when he heard about the kids Steve watched. The kid was cute, but he was clearly more comfortable in Eddie’s social sphere than Steve’s. Not only did Steve have a small army of children, but he’d taken people no one would ever expect him to notice under his wing.
Lost sheepies, Eddie’s mind supplied.
No matter how cute, though, they were still kids, and Eddie wasn’t going to give anything away. “What’s up?”
“Steve told us about his date at a metal bar, and he was cagey with details. We did some investigating and worked backwards.”
Shit, shit. A chill went down Eddie’s spine—were these kids here to threaten him with blackmail, to leave their friend alone.
“You don’t have to admit anything!” the other boy spoke up, clearly sensing the tension. “We don’t want to tell anyone, or get you guys in trouble! It’s just that Steve was so nervous the other night, and he really is a good guy. He doesn’t have anyone else to do this, so we thought—"
“This is a threat,” Eddie laughed, catching on. It was actually adorable, that they cared about Steve so much they’d track down his date and make sure he was a good guy.
“This is us sizing you up,” the girl corrected, “if we wanted to scare you, we’d have brought Mike. Don’t make me do that.”
Damn, this kid was a firecracker. Eddie was impressed and scared of her in equal measure.
With that, she turned on her skateboard and waited for the boys to follow her.
When Eddie recovered his senses, he turned around to see Jeff laughing. “What was that?”
Little things I see in Steddie fics that I adore and never tire of seeing:
1. Mike Wheeler shouting a variation of 'Ew' or 'Gross' or 'NO!!!' when he learns Steve and Eddie are dating, then he quickly has to clarify that it's not because they're both dudes, it's because it's Steve. (Bonus points if Mike grumbles about how Steve is stealing the people in his life. First his sister, then Dustin, now Eddie, will it ever end??)
2. Robin makes a comment/mention of Eddie once stepping on her lunch during a cafeteria rant.
3. Robin, Steve, and Eddie all being best friends/sharing an apartment/being codependent on each other.
4. Steve speed-running his sexual identity crisis so that takes less than a paragraph of fic time. (Internalized homophobia who?)
5. "I canNOT believe you kissed a boy before I kissed a girl!!" - Robin
6. "Eds." "Stevie."
7. Eddie loitering at whatever job Steve&Robin have, being nothing but a distraction.
8. Eddie using every pet name under the sun and Steve is a sucker for them all.
After putting a lot of hard work into making it big in the music industry on their own terms, Eddie and his band are very proudly anti-record label. Steve on the other hand is a rising pop star under a huge label and is also managed by his rich parents all seemingly without having to put in much work for it.
Eddie hates the concept of Steve and everything he stands for. He thinks that his admittedly beautiful singing voice is wasted on a music industry puppet who doesn't seem to have his own personality beyond being handsome and selling things to the uninformed masses.
However, when they have to be in the same space for a few days' work on a charity single with a bunch of other artists, Eddie's eyes are suddenly opened to just how little he really knows about Steve. How much of his life is relentlessly controlled by his parents and the people he works for.
Steve is such a sweetheart, he's so kind to the staff and supportive of the other artists. He’s also extremely dedicated. He does take after take at his bosses' requests without a single complaint, even when Eddie fails to see anything wrong with his previous ones. There’s this little notebook he always has with him where he meticulously writes down every single miniscule thing he needs to work on.
Eddie doesn’t think Steve’s gone home at the same time as the rest of them a single day this week; he always stays to listen to everyone else, then moves to one of the rehearsal rooms to go over some tracks for an album he’s due to start recording. He had no idea so much work went into making cookie-cutter pop music.
Something in Eddie's chest pangs when he sees the look on Steve's face as he finishes a perfect take only for his dad to frown and say, “He was pitchy. Have him do it again.”
He experiences the same feeling as he watches Mrs. Harrington literally slap an item from the snack table out of Steve’s hand. Steve picking it up from the floor and disposing of it with a frown a few seconds later so the cleaning staff don’t have to do it.
Something surprisingly like anger on Steve's behalf is bubbling under the surface like water about to boil over. And Eddie has never been the best at minding his own business when something he believes is unjust is happening. So, Eddie waits until Steve’s parents have stepped out for a while, sets a few of the pastries from the snack table onto a plate and cautiously approaches an unsuspecting Steve, who’s got his head buried in that notebook again.
He taps him on the shoulder and says, "Hey! Wanna sneak off somewhere and split these with me?"
To his astonishment, Steve doesn't look at him weird or tell him to fuck off and mind his own business. Instead, a conspiratorial grin spreads across his face.
"You're on." He says, slamming the book shut and setting it aside.
Good. Eddie kind of wants to throw the thing into an incinerator at this point.
Five minutes later they're sitting in the nearest stairwell, slouched across the steps and breaking pieces of pastry off as they get to know each other. Eddie makes sure Steve gets most of it, noticing how he eyes the baked goods with all the desperation of a thirsty man in the desert gazing upon an oasis.
"Never thought I'd see the Steve Harrington, prince of pop, sitting with bad posture. It's almost uncanny valley." Eddie teases. "Think I'm gonna have nightmares later about you slouching."
"Shut up," Steve laughs, playfully shoving him.
And that’s the thing, he thought talking to Steve was going to be like trying to squeeze blood out of a stone, but they have this natural banter right from the jump that has Eddie completely blindsided.
"Seriously though, Harrington," Eddie says, shifting his tone to one of sincerity and looking Steve straight in the eyes. "It's so much better seeing you like this than seeing you all polished and perfect. It's good to know you're a real human being."
"Thanks," Steve says, then sighs. He fidgets with a chunk of glazed dough absentmindedly before popping it in his mouth and chewing as he processes his thoughts. "I would be like this more often, but perfect and polished is what sells apparently."
Eddie sits up a little at that, intrigued by the bitter tone in his voice and the little eye roll he follows up his statement with.
“You say that like you hate it.”
“I do hate it,” Steve admits. “I don’t want to be used to push a standard that even I can’t live up to. But that’s what you get when you're handed a contract as a child, don’t bother to read it and you have asshole parents who only care about money.”
“Damn,” Eddie whistles low. “And there’s nothing you can do about it?”
“Not for now,” Steve says. “But lucky for me I have a cool uncle who’s a lawyer and hates my dad as much as I do. He’s looking over it all for me. So maybe things will be different soon.”
Well shit. Now Eddie feels like a bit of an asshole for making assumptions.
“If it’s any consolation, I also have a very cool uncle and an asshole dad. So you aren’t alone in that department,” he offers. “Seems like we have all kinds of things in common.”
“Yeah,” Steve agrees with a little smile that causes his nose to scrunch ever so slightly. “Seems like we do.”
Suddenly Eddie is acutely aware of how hundreds of thousands of pop fans all over the world feel when they look at this man. Particularly when they turn on the music channel and Steve’s there singing about some romance or another. Eddie’s sure it's entirely fictional because practically everyone in the industry knows Steve’s label enforces dating bans and other such bullshit.
Feeling the urge to swoon over a random cute thing Steve Harington did is not one of Eddie’s proudest moments, but he’s chalking it up to Steve being a master manipulator who knows how to make an audience feel things for him.
He needs to change the subject. Fast.
“So, what got you into all this in the first place?”
“I just love performing,” Steve answers simply, honestly. “The stage, the lights, the adrenaline, taking everything I feel and putting it into that one moment. It just feels like I’m untouchable when I’m in it, you know?”
“I do know,” Eddie confirms. It’s one of his favourite parts of the job too.
“I also like creating songs,” Steve continues. “It’s nice to hear the finished product for the first time and think ‘I made that’, even if a lot of the ones I write end up as B-sides or get sold to someone else.”
Eddie hums thoughtfully for a second then says, “Why don’t you sing about it, sweetheart?”
Steve pauses, frowning in confusion. “What?”
“What you’re feeling about all these shitty adults around you and the role they’re making you play. Why not try writing some songs about that?”
Steve seems to be deep in thought, so Eddie continues.
“Your contract probably includes something about having to produce a certain number of singles or albums, so you can’t just stop and wait it out. Am I right?”
Steve nods, a crease appearing between his eyebrows that makes Eddie want to reach out for him.
“So, make the music they want so desperately, but use it to expose instead of comply,” Eddie explains. “Make everyone else see what you’re seeing and do it right under the noses of the people who’re exploiting you. Make them applaud you for it without even realising they’re applauding you showing the world their poison.”
“That’s an interesting idea,” Steve muses, “but they’d never let me release songs like that.”
“So, wrap it up in a nice package. Make it catchy and just vague enough that they’ll never know any better, but people will theorise and figure it out. They’ll know what you’re trying to warn them about. There are a lot of scumbags in this industry. You could destroy all of yours with that pretty voice if you wanted to.”
Eddie’s train of thought is suddenly captured, derailed and held hostage by wide brown eyes and a slow growing smile.
“You think my voice is pretty?”
There are these tiny dimples that materialise at the corners of Steve’s mouth for the sole purpose of being Eddie’s personal undoing. Unable to look away, Eddie can only nod in response.
"Yeah. I do."
Steve leans in ever so slightly, his captivating stare flitting to Eddie’s lips.
Eddie’s drawn closer like a moth to a flame.
The door to the stairwell slams open, forcing them to pull back.
“Steve! Eddie! There you are.” A rather frantic looking PA says. “They need you both back in the studio.”
They give the woman an awkward nod and rise from their seated position. As Steve dusts off his jeans, Eddie grabs the now empty plate that was perched on the step between them like a bridge, a successful olive branch.
Eddie’s heart sinks when he sees the way Steve’s posture straightens up, his shoulders settling into their usual down and slightly back position as his expression switches from relaxed to practiced and professional.
He reaches out and touches Steve’s arm gently before he can get too far out of reach.
Steve casts a curious glance back at him.
“Just think about it. What I said,” he says softly. “You have more power than they realize.”
“I will,” Steve promises, the real him bleeding through in his body language again just enough to give Eddie hope.
Later, Steve calls out to him as he’s leaving.
“Hey! Eddie!” He shouts, voice wavering ever so slightly from constant use.
The sound snatches Eddie’s attention away from thoughts of dinner and a warm, comfortable bed.
Steve parents are standing nearby, confused and judging stares equipped. Eddie pays them zero attention.
“Thanks for today.” Steve says with the same arresting smile from earlier. “I mean it.”
This time, Eddie’s ready for it, having already been exposed to the intensity of it once.
“No problem,” he says with a slow grin. “Just mention me in the next album.”
A few months later, a signed copy of Steve’s new album comes in the mail. It’s clever and emotional and thought provoking. And more importantly, Steve has written a lengthy thank you message on the cover of Eddie’s copy in gold permanent marker, followed by his phone number and a small heart.
It sits proudly in the collection of his most prized albums on his shelf as Steve kisses him on his doorstep after their third date.
It's the only pop album Eddie would ever go to war over.
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Kas!Eddie AU where Kas and Eddie are two different consciousnesses trapped in Eddie's body, one which Vecna planted and the other which is still a clinging mind attached to the brain inside the body which is only half-awake at the best of times.
Kas starts off exactly as the other creatures of the Upside Down, but he's smarter. He stalks the military and the strange car that carries an unfamiliar (familiar?) man who's attempting to map out his dimension. Kas chuckles as the man runs from his swarms of bats, his underlings who follow his beckoning call. (Eddie shrieks from inside, as much as he and Hopper don't get along he still knows the chief, knows that the others had mentioned him in their nightmare realm stories. He hates watching him scramble away from Kas's musings. Hates submitting to Vecna.)
It's only during a patrol around the strange radio building that something inside Kas twists, feels something detangle from his mess of self control and ability to freely think. There's a signal that relays through his mind - where his Master's call should reside - that sounds comforting. It's a warm voice, faintly audible beyond static. Then it plays this overwhelmingly wonderful music straight into his head and Eddie twists to grasp some control over his own body as large wings flutter gently to have them land within the radio station. The sounds get louder and they sit there for a good hour just listening to Metallica in their mind. (Kas purrs at the warm voice that breaks in between songs, so much friendlier than his Master's demands. Eddie gags and has half the mind to think some awful retort about the name of Vecna right back at Kas. Kas finds this confusing.)
Later, Kas gets to meet the source of that voice. Steve smells of a beautiful thrumming iron beneath his skin and flesh, and there's a strangely safe aura that surrounds the human who set foot into his realm. Eddie beams happily at the familiar face (and the others, too. Despite how horrified Dustin looks at what they've become. Despite the lack of control and the blinding press of Vecna into their skull which wants them to killkillkill). They can only spend a few fleeting moments before skittering off, Kas taking to the skies and pulling his winged army away with him. Theres a sadness that aches in unison with the hurt looks on the groups' faces, but they can't stay with them. Not yet.
Eddie wakes up more as they talk. Kas isn't much for human words but their thoughts can still be mutually understood inside their mind. Eddie tells him about how awful it is what Vecna (not a "master" of anything, who has no control over Kas) is trying to do to everyone, to Steve. (Something hisses possessively in his chest, and Eddie nods in a disdained agreement. How strange it is, to fall so fast.)
((How strange it is, as well, to find something like that in each other. Familiarity and protectiveness, even if they only exist within the other's head. It's them, after all, they will always have each other at the end of the day. Kas sometimes wishes he could curl around Eddie and hold him safely beneath his wings like he might be able to do with anyone else, but he can't, so instead he curls up in his nest around the body they share while Eddies assures him that they'll figure something out.))
Kas figures out how to let Eddie have control the second time they come across the group, letting his body go loose as the other conscious makes decisions instead. It feels weird, but Kas doesn't mind it. It feels less demanding than Vecna's orders, more like taking a rest back in his nest after a long patrol. Eddie catches up with the others and explains their situation, Dustin in particular lighting up with curiosity about their body-mind situation. Begrudgingly, as Vecna begins to press at the corners of their mind, they hug and say their parting words before heading separate ways. (The party no longer has to be concerned with the bats, They agree. If They can help with anything, it's that.)
There's planning, lots of it. And stolen kisses, as Kas possessively curls around Steve and drags him away from the others where They have the chance. He turns to goo with the human's affection, and Eddie seems equally happy with Their arrangement. Kas thinks them something like the mates he sees amongst his bats, but Eddie chokes out something about phrasing with the term and requests They use the term "partners" instead. Kas accepts this term, as long as it means They both get to protect and love the human as much as They like.
They manage to help defeat Vecna, Kas's trusted right hand position letting Them give the others a head start. (Eddie muses something about Kas the Betrayer in their mind as They take out an eye and an arm. Kas doesn't understand, but he preens under the praise from the party when everyone regroups.)
Kas is afraid he'll disappear in the after, scared he'll vanish with the rest of his realm. Everyone comforts him in the moments it takes for El to close the gate and seal away his world (and potentially him) for forever. He doesn't, though, instead opening Their squeezed shut eyes to the same image that met Them before. There is both celebration and sadness that he feels from Eddie, and Kas understands. This isn't his body, this is Eddie's body where Vecna put him. But Eddie reassures him that it would most likely be even more weird if Kas vanished, so they make do. (The wings get smaller, as do the claws and tails. More manageable, slightly more human. They can no longer fly, wingspan too weak. But that's okay. They're still here, that's all that matters.)
Steve happily accepts both of Them. Loves Them equally. He falls harder every day for Eddie's fun charms and they share their human affections. The human also indulges Kas, lets him curl up around him and kiss him till neither of them can breathe and shadows them in the darkness of Their wings. He says that there are subtle ways to tell the difference between Them before any real confirmation is made. Kas's eyes constrict differently to create a slight murky red, pupils always dilated and facial expressions more subtle. The way Kas holds Their body is apparently different too, more loose and fluid, less fidgety. ("Animalistic, but not in a bad way." Steve says to him one night. Kas understands, and then wraps himself around Steve so he can bury his face in the other's neck. It earns him a chuckle and a delicate hand in his hair.)
All the kids are a hard adjustment. At first, some of them poke and prod and question now that the fighting is over. But then it settles, and they settle into a flow of accommodation for Kas's slightly different needs and Eddie's lack of constance presence around them. (Sometimes, They slip during one of the kid's games, and it causes a funny moment between them all.) At one point, Mike tries to make the connection that Kas is something like a pet, but that word gets Eddie, Steve, and Dustin all equally riled up about his intelligence. Kas doesn't understand what it means, but Eddie and Steve assure him later on that they think of him just as equally as they do of each other. He preens with that notion, loving them both the same.
This one is a little on the heavy side talking about Max and Dustin's tragic backstories. Death mention and abuse mention for trigger warning.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 |
~
Steve knew the first week with any of his tenants was the most precarious. It was a difficult tightrope to walk, and while he couldn’t count on a 100% success right, he’s never completely fucked any of them up.
And things were going well this time. He was surprised that Eddie had joined them at dinner. He had been expecting Dustin and maybe Max joining them the next day. But they all joined Steve at his center table.
No, Robin, he did not in fact miss Eddie’s blush when Steve smiled at him. She had come in at that moment and he been pestering him about it all night.
“He’s totally got a crush on you!” Robin crowed as they washed dishes.
“Or maybe he was embarrassed,” Steve pointed out. “He’s not used to not having to play politics just picking out a place to eat. So let’s not embarrass him further by saying he’s got a crush on me.”
“One doesn’t not necessarily preclude the other,” she huffed, bumping into his shoulder.
Chrissy came in and knocked on the kitchen doorway. “Hey, I convinced Max and Dustin to a couple of rounds of UNO, join us when you’re done, yeah?”
Robin turned around and smiled at her. “Sure thing, babe. We’re almost here.”
Chrissy nodded and then turned around to go wrangle the kids.
Steve bumped Robin’s shoulder back. “I know you and Chrissy are happy together and I love that for you, but I am not going to find love with someone who after his probation is over with is absolutely going to book it back to Kentucky to live with his uncle.”
She winced. “Oof, yeah. I forgot about that part. Maybe you should think about getting out more...”
He shook his head. “Not until I know for sure that Max isn’t going to fall into Neil’s hands.”
“Steve...” Robin said, letting out a pained sigh. “And then it’ll be something else. Someone else. You can’t live your life with your head buried into work. Even the Whitfords had each other. Who will you have in twenty years?”
He kissed her cheek. “You and Chrissy. Now stop being a worrywart and let’s get these dishes done before the love of your life obliterates two preteens at UNO.”
She blinked at him for a moment. “Oooh. Right. I forgot how ruthless Chrissy could be at that game.” And she picked up speed to get the chore done as quickly as possible.
They made it out just as Chrissy was dealing out the second hand.
She looked up at them and smiled brightly. “You’re just in time! Dustin won that one!”
Robin and Steve grinned at each other and then sat down at the table.
“Did anyone ask, Eddie if he wanted to join?” Steve asked, pulling his cards to him and picking them up.
“I called up at his room and didn’t get an answer,” Chrissy said, looking at her own cards. “And when I checked, his van was gone.”
Steve shrugged. “His loss. All righty, I’m guessing since Dustin won the last one he goes first. Show us whatcha got, Dusty.”
Dustin had to draw, but as the game went on, Steve could tell that Chrissy wasn’t the only ruthless player at that table, both kids were brutal.
By the end of the night, Chrissy had won once, Dustin three times, Max three times, Robin twice and Steve none. But that’s okay he didn’t mind it.
As they were packing up the game the bell over the front door sounded and when Steve looked over his shoulder, he saw Eddie dragging himself in.
Eddie shuffled past the door to the canteen and then paused, before shuffling back.
“I got a job at Benny’s Diner,” he said tiredly. “I went in for a busing position and accidentally landed myself a line cook position. But hey I made twenty bucks.”
Steve stared at him for a moment in utter shock. No one but Benny was allowed anywhere near the food at the diner.
“How’d that happen?” he asked, trying to hide his disbelief.
Eddie frowned and Steve knew he’d failed.
“It’s just that Benny is notoriously territorial of his kitchen,” Chrissy soothed.
Eddie’s eyes lit up. “Ohhh... yeah. Some dude was harassing one of the waitresses and Benny went out there on a tear and while I was standing there in the kitchen waiting for him to come back, the steak he was cooking needed to be flipped, so I looked at the ticket and saw that it was for medium well. And if I waited until he came that steak would have been a brick, so I tossed in some butter and started basting it to keep it from burning. Then I plated it and set on the window to be collected.”
“Oh my god,” Robin crowed. “That’s fantastic! How did Benny react?”
“He made me do it again,” Eddie said, coming into the room. “Just to prove it wasn’t a fluke. Like I don’t have professional training or anything like that but, my uncle was a damn fine cook and he taught me his Jedi ways.”
“So you now are working as line cook for one of the best, if not the best burger joints in all of Hawkins,” Steve said cocking his head, “congrats, man. You’ll do fantastic.”
“I’ll be making nearly three times the amount I thought I would be so...” Eddie said bashfully, pulling up a strand of his hair to hide face.
“So when your year is up,” Chrissy said brightly, “you’ll be able to afford a place of your own.”
How Steve managed to keep his face neutral, he doesn’t know but he absolutely thanked every deity he could find later for it.
“That’s the hope,” Eddie sighed wistfully. “I’d love to see Wayne again. I miss the old bastard.”
“You could call him,” Robin suggested. “The phone in your room does have long distance. You’d have to pay for the charges of course, but you could if you wanted to.”
Eddie’s eyes went wide. “I can? Holy shit! That would be awesome! I mean I wouldn’t do it now, because it’s so late and he’ll have already gone to bed, but fu–” He stopped mid-sentence when he saw Max and Dustin watching him with great interest.
Steve snorted. “These two have the worst potty mouths of any kids I’ve housed and I’ve had juvenile delinquents here so if you are censoring yourself for them, don’t.”
Eddie looked down at the two kids who were looking up at him with innocent, doe-eyed expressions in skepticism, but Steve had told him to be free with his language, soooo...
“Right,” he said nodding. “Well I’m off to crash for the night, I have my first full shift at Benny’s at 11am, so night all.” And then turned around to do just that.
“Awww...” Dustin said brightly. “I was hoping to surprise him with that later...”
“Absolutely not!” Steve said firmly. “Both of you need to come with a warning. Maybe I’ll have t-shirts made.”
“That’s fair!” Dustin said at the same time Max cried, “Rude!”
Steve snapped his fingers. “That’s exactly the word I’d use for you, Max.”
Her jaw dropped as Robin and Chrissy tried to keep their laughter behind their hands. They’re weren’t entirely successful.
Max folded her arms and then stomped off angrily.
“I’ll check in on her later,” Chrissy said finally letting her hand drop. “After she’s had plenty of time to cool off.”
Dustin turned to Steve. “Hey is okay if Lucas comes over tomorrow? We’re going to be making a couple of characters together.”
“If his mom is okay with it,” Steve said with a shrug. “Then I’m sure it’ll be fine.”
Dustin let out a long, drawn out sigh. “She’s coming over tomorrow to give Max and me our MMR shots for school, so she’ll be here anyway...”
“Then sure,” Steve said, ruffling Dustin’s hair. “Maybe if you’re good I’ll call Joyce and have her bring her Will tomorrow too. Will plays D&D too.”
Dustin cocked his head to side. “The welfare lady has a son who plays D&D?”
“Yep!” Steve said popping the ‘P’. “And his best friend plays too.”
“That’s soo cool!” he cried. “I mean if you can invite them that would be great. But I’ll understand if they can’t because like she’s busy or whatever.”
“We’ll see,” Steve replied. “To bed with you.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah...” he groused and wandered off the direction Max fled in.
Once he was out of sight, Robin let out a pained sigh. “He’s doing so well, but his dad is on life support and the hospital is basically waiting for his mom to wake up to authorize the removal to let him pass.”
“That poor kiddo,” Chrissy murmured. “He’s about to go through a really rough time.”
“I’ll talk to Joyce tomorrow and see what she thinks about Dustin spending time with Will and Mike,” Steve said running his fingers through his hair. “She’ll have more insight on how to handle this.”
“And I’ll make a call to Dr. Kelly,” Robin said. “Let her know he’s going to need grief counseling in the worst ways.”
“Maybe she can also give you ideas on when to broach the subject of Dustin’s parents,” Chrissy agreed. “Until then, we’ll just be there for him.”
They all agreed that was for the best.
~
Steve face planted into his bed with all his clothes and shoes still on. He loved his job. It was was more than just a paycheck. He loved helping people, the kids especially. He loved the looks on their faces when they are placed in a loving home and all the weight that was on their shoulders gets lifted.
He also loved seeing former convicts turning their life around. And it looked like Eddie was going to be another success story.
He rolled over on his back and let out a heavy sigh. What was the hardest was dealing with getting attached to the people who came through his door.
And sure Eddie and he got off to a rough start, but the cantankerous man was starting to warm up to life at the Hawkins Hope House. He just wished that Eddie leaving didn’t feel so damn much like a stab in the heart.
All right so he had to admit that he was falling fast for the guy and despite being known for that sort of thing, the fact of it still galled.
There was a knock on his door and he sighed.
“Come in!”
He was a little surprised to see Chrissy standing there instead of Robin. “Oh hey. What’s up?”
Chrissy came over and sat cross-legged on his bed and Steve sat up to face her.
“You falling for Mr. Three-Time Drug Dealer?” she asked bluntly. “Robin said you’ve been ogling him.”
“I have not!” Steve protested. “If any lingering looks have been cast Eddie’s way, they have been completely respectful!”
Chrissy cackled. “Of course they have. But seriously Steve I don’t get it and I’m bi. He looks like a wet rat and bad tempered even for the freshly freed.”
He burst out laughing. “It’s like you’re talking about an adopted pet, not a fully fledged human being.”
“Good,” she said nodding her head curtly. “Because he looks like a Muppet from Sesame Street teaching kids about the different kinds of music.”
“He does not!” he growled. “He’s hot, Chris! Come on! Those big brown chocolate eyes, his dimples! His dimples has dimples!”
Chrissy smiled at him. “I know! I was only making fun your crush choices to get back at you for making fun of Robin for Tammy.”
Steve stuck his tongue out at her. “At least I never insulted her looks. Just highly doubted her talent in singing.”
She cocked her head to the side. “That’s true. And she wasn’t very good was she?” she replied with a wince.
“See!” he said waving at her. “He’s very good looking and it’s making it very hard to interact with him without making an absolute ass of myself.”
“You’ll survive,” she said rolling her eyes.
“Probably,” Steve huffed. “Is the only reason you’re here is to annoy me about my life choices or was there something else you needed?”
“I got word from Dr. Kelly today,” she said softly. “Max wants her mom to sign away her parents rights.”
“Oh my god,” he breathed. “Is the court even going to let her request that? She’s not twelve yet.”
“It’s going to be Robin and Dr. Kelly are going to recommend at her next hearing,” Chrissy said with a sigh. “Hopefully Judge Murray will see reason this time and not place her with Neil again.”
Steve rolled his eyes. “If he does, I’ll beat him as badly as Neil beat Billy for thinking of moving back to California after graduation.”
“Which is where he totally isn’t right now,” she nodded sagely.
Steve nodded back. “Of course not. There is no way that poor Billy would ever have enough money for a Greyhound bus for the West Coast. Or a place he could stay until he found a job.”
“He still writes Max, you know,” she said softly. “They always come here because he can’t trust his dad not to find them. But despite everything, he still cares.”
He breathed out through his nose, not quite a huff or a sigh but somewhere in between. “I know he does and if he wasn’t so young himself, I’d send Max to join him. But he needs to find his own path without having to worry about a little girl he only has a connection to because their parents are both toxic pieces of shit.”
“I’ll drink to that,” she said sardonically. Then she patted his knee. “We’ll figure something out for our girl. The right opportunity just hasn’t shown itself yet.”
Then she bade him good night, leaving him to his thoughts.
There was a solution to be had, he just needed to find it. But he fell asleep before he could think of a single thing.
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Hello, my darlings! We are back with more of this delightful tale!
In this we have Eddie getting the low down on the Upside Down care of the Wonder Twins. And Steve has feelings about "The Last Unicorn".
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 |
~
Eddie showed up at Steve’s house, booze and weed in hand. He was a little surprised to see El and Will sitting on the throwing popcorn at each other’s mouths and laughing when El would miss even with her powers.
“Uh...hello children I did not know was going to be here...” he said coming to an abrupt stop.
“Oh hi, Eddie!” Steve said coming out of the kitchen, wiping his hands on a dish towel. “Sorry about that. But there is stuff that I did sign an NDA on after being an adult so we figured it was best to let the two with the most experience fill you in on the stuff I can’t tell you.”
Eddie rushed to hide the beer behind his back. “Ah!”
Will rolled his eyes. “Dude, Steve told us you two were going to be drinking and shit later. We aren’t staying, my brother is going to pick us up at nine to take us to Mike’s house for a sleepover.”
Eddie blinked at him for a moment. “The Chief of Police is letting his daughter sleep over at her boyfriend’s house?”
El grinned. “Erica and Max will be there as well.”
“Don’t forget Mike’s two sisters, Nancy and Holly,” Will agreed. “It’s something we all do once and while, just get together and sleep in huge piles.”
“Steve calls them them puppy piles,” El said with a tilt of her head. “I think it’s cute.”
Eddie burst out laughing. “Yeah, I can see that actually.”
“Robin would usually be joining them,” Steve said with a shrug. “But she has a date tonight, so...”
Will and El exchanged a glance that was at once secretive and knowing, but also a little... well salacious.
“They’re hoping she gets laid tonight,” Steve said dryly. “Absolute heathens the pair of them!”
The two teenagers burst out laughing.
“I’ll take the beers and put them in the fridge while Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum get started with story time,” Steve said, reaching out for the six pack Eddie brought.
Eddie handed it over and set the tapes on the coffee table. A coffee table stacked with goodies. Popcorn, licorice, candies, and sodas for the kids. It was quite the spread.
Will dug into the Twizzlers and bit into the first of three he had pulled out.
“So it starts with Henry Creel twenty-seven years ago,” El said, cocking her head to the side.
“I’m familiar with the name,” Eddie said solemnly. “My uncle talked about the killings of almost the entire Creel family by the dad Victor.”
El shook her head. “The government covered up the fact that it was the son, Henry who killed his mom and sister. Because he did it with his mind.”
“Well that’s fucked up,” Eddie said eyes wide.
El nodded and continued the story all the way up to her escaping from the lab and that was when Will took over tell his story and the story of his friends.
“Then my party happened,” Steve said quietly. “I think Nancy assumed it was going to be a rager like I was known for because she insisted her friend Barb come with. But it was more like a double date with Tommy H. and Carol and that made Barb the fifth wheel.”
“Steve it’s not your fault,” Will said sternly. “She made her own decisions. Jonathan said that he overheard you guys talking and you were being a hell of a lot nicer to Barb than Nancy was and they were supposed to be best friends.”
He flushed and shook his head. “I should have made sure she got home okay.”
Eddie took Steve’s hand. “Just tell me the story, just what happened, leave out your emotions the best you can.”
Steve let out a shuddering breath and proceeded to do just that.
“Okay,” Eddie said, giving his hand a squeeze. “But I’m with Will on this one. It seems like Nancy was aiming to misbehave and wasn’t going to let anything or anyone stop her. That’s between Nancy and whatever higher power she subscribes to and the grief for that rest solely on her shoulders. No matter else what might have happened since.”
Steve looked over at Will for a moment and then ducked his head. Eddie frowned and looked between the two of them. Steve ducked his head and turned a bright shade of red.
Will snorted. “What Steve is trying not say because I’m here is that my brother had a HUGE lapse of judgment where he decided to be a perv and take pictures of Nancy and Steve while they were having sex for the first time. And yes this was while I was missing but before I was presumed dead.”
Steve coughed as Eddie’s eyes nearly popped out of his head.
“That’s why you two fought!” Eddie crowed. “That’s all sorts of fucked up.”
Steve nodded. “All though, admittedly, I said some fucked up things about Will and his sexuality which I’m not proud of.”
“Why is it bad?” El asked. “I mean I know you shouldn’t do, but no one has explained why, only that it was was wrong to do so.”
“Which part?” Will asked. “The homophobic slurs, the fighting, or the picture taking?”
“The picture taking,” El admitted. “I thought taking pictures was a good thing.”
“Ah,” Eddie said with a grimace. “Only if people know you’re doing it. If the people you are taking pictures of don’t know you’re doing it especially if they’re in a compromising position. Now there are excepts like if the people in question are doing something illegal, then getting evidence they were doing something bad will need to be done without their consent, but for everything else, you need their consent.”
El blinked at him for a moment and then nodded. “Thank you for explaining that to me.”
“My pleasure, Super Girl.”
She blushed and Steve rushed into the resulting silence with Heather finding the pictures, the fight between Jonathan and him, and the series of events that left Steve running for his life to his car.
“I ran like a fucking coward,” he hissed.
“But you went back in,” Eddie murmured. “That took even more courage then if you had stayed. You ran back in when you could have got in your car and left them to their fate.”
“Thanks,” Steve said looking up at him through his eyelashes, his face flushing.
Between the three of them they told Eddie the whole story and far too soon they were all done. Vecna dead, the Upside Down destroyed, and every gate sealed.
“Holy fucking shit,” Eddie said with a whistle. “Like, I always said that Hawkins was Hell on Earth, but damn, I didn’t know it was so literal.”
“Yeah,” Will said with a grimace. “But in other news...” he cocked his head to the side, and reached out with his hand and brought the Twizzlers bag to him. He pulled out two twists and held the bag out to Eddie.
“Want one?”
Eddie’s eyebrows shot up. “Holy shit!” He reached out a tentatively pulled out a twist and took a bite. “How long have you been able to do that?”
“It’s new,” Steve said. “Apparently the kidnapping three years ago was to make Will his...Kas?”
Will nodded. “Yeah, that’s a good analogy. And like Kas, I stabbed the bastard in the back. Then my mom cut his head off!”
“Three cheers for Mrs. B. Damn,” Eddie said shaking his head.
“Yeah,” Will said cocking his head. “My mom is pretty badass. But there you have it. Hawkins’ very bad, no good, horrible three years.”
“That is a shit ton of trauma,” Eddie agreed. “But you both are the only ones with parents in the know as it were, how did you two get out of the NDA bullshit?”
Will and El looked at each other and grinned.
“Because they were too stupid to make sure they were present when we signed it?” Will said with a grin.
Eddie blinked at them for a moment. “And these are the assholes running our country. Satan save us all.”
Steve snorted. “Met him, wasn’t impressed.” He winked at Eddie.
Eddie burst out laughing. “That was a devil, not the Devil, sweetheart. But I’m glad everyone made it out alive.”
“Me too,” Will whispered.
Just then a car horn blared outside.
“And that’s us,” he said getting to his feet. He helped El stand too.
Then Eddie hauled both of them into a big hug. “I’m sorry you two kiddos had to go through so much so young. I know what that’s like. I might have not had to save the world, but I understand what it’s like to have to grow up too soon.”
“Thank you,” El said softly, leaning into the hug.
Then they gave Steve a hug goodbye, leaving the two older teens allow.
“Jonathan not coming in?” Eddie asked cocking his head to the side.
Steve snorted and walked off to the kitchen, Eddie hot on his heel. “No. He knows that I had to tell you about the pictures because it’s the reason for pretty much everything that happens to him, me, and Nancy after that. I think he’d thought you’d pop him for being a creep.”
Eddie stopped dead in his tracks and then burst out laughing. “Yeah, that tracks. Didn’t realize the older Byers boy had any sense at all.”
Steve burst out laughing. “He has his moments. Not a lot of them, but he does have them.”
He opened the fridge and pulled out the six pack Eddie hand brought, as well as another one Steve had bought.
“I have no intention of ending tonight sober,” he said when Eddie raised an eyebrow at the second six pack.
“Right. Trauma dumping can only be cathartic if it’s meant to be healing,” Eddie said with a grimace. “Otherwise it’s just reliving the ordeal.”
Steve let out a relieved sigh. “Yeah exactly that. Thanks.”
They sat down on the sofa and Eddie pulled out the tapes he brought. “Now I figured horror was off the table as well as ‘Legend’, ‘Dark Crystal’, and ‘Wizards’. All fine films on their own, but with monsters that might hit a little too close to home.”
“Yeah,” Steve admitted. “So what did you bring instead?”
“I’ve got ‘The Last Unicorn’ and ‘Krull’,” Eddie said, handing them to him.
Steve took them and looked at the back of each one. “Uhhh...let’s do the cartoon one first.”
“Good choice, good choice!” Eddie said cheerily. He leapt to his feet and put the tape into Steve’s VHS machine.
He turned on the TV and then pressed play.
“I think you’ll really like this one,” Eddie said as he flopped next to Steve on the sofa. “It’s got it all. Wizards and princes, evil kings and a great cast of characters.”
They sat through the whole movie and by the end Steve had tears streaming down his face.
“It’s sad that the prince couldn’t be with Lady Amalthea,” he said, sniffling. “They could have lived happily ever after.”
“But she was a unicorn,” Eddie reminded him. “She deserved to be with her own kind instead of living a mortal life.”
“Didn’t she love Prince Lir?” Steve asked. “Didn’t she love him?”
“Of course she did,” Eddie said gently. “But forcing her to be someone she’s not, would only hurt them long term.”
Steve was quiet for a moment and then he looked up at Eddie, tears still streaming down his face. “Is that what I did to Nancy? Force her to stay with me against her will?”
Eddie closed his eyes and then opened them slowly. “No, I don’t think it’s the same thing. She made her choice. She chose to come back to you instead of waiting for Jonathan. The anger and the resentment were all on her. She made those choices. You did everything you could and to her it wasn’t enough.”
Steve let out a shuddering breath. And then another. “Okay.”
They drank all the beer and smoked a couple of the joints as they watched ‘Krull’. Which it has to be said could only improve that movie. It was bad. But Steve enjoyed the moving castle.
“You should make that Vec-Venk-Lick thingy’s castle in the thingy!” Steve said, raising his can of beer in the air.
Eddie cackled. “Hell yeah! And then they have to figure out how to predict where it will show up!”
“You can also add the older star cosh lovers too!”
“Yes!” Eddie cried.
Steve wasn’t a hundred percent sure they would remember in the morning but for that moment, it didn’t matter.
They fell asleep, curled up around each other on the sofa. Steve drifting off to a dreamless sleep for the first time in far, far too long.
