#niko's notes

He got to Steve’s place last after he hit up the liquor store, the three bottles of the cheapest sparkling wine in his arms bought with their pooled funds. They nearly smashed on the Harrington stoop when Steve opened the front door he’d obnoxiously kicked looking like… well.

Steve owned a suit, apparently. A nice one. God, it must be tailored or some shit with how well it fit. His shoulders were so broad in the suit jacket, the black tie looking at home around Steve’s throat under the pressed white collar. Black dress pants made his legs long. Even that signature swoop in his hair was perfectly coiffed. Eddie’s eyes devoured the sight before him, and the first and foremost thought in his mind was that he wanted to get Steve out of that suit as soon as goddamn possible. Especially when Steve began to smirk at him knowingly.

His second thought was that he was so screwed.

They’d been hooking up for a bit now, was the thing. It was new. They hadn’t told anyone yet because they wanted to keep it to themselves, figure it out a little, have fun before the kids learned about it and got nosy. When they’d started talking about going on dates, though—and if his past self knew he’d be planning a date with Steve Harrington he’d blow a gasket—they’d agreed to say something once New Years was over. But how the hell was Eddie going to keep his mouth shut, not to mention his hands to himself, when Steve looked like that!?

“You’re wearing that?” he hissed. “This is cruel and unusual, Steve. This is torture. Why are you dressed like that when I can’t do anything about it!”

Shrugging, Steve whispered, “It’s my only suit, it’s all I had to wear.”

Eddie felt he was being too nonchalant about this and narrowed his eyes. He opened his mouth to complain more but then he heard Nancy’s voice from inside. “What are you guys doing? It’s cold out!” she said with a laugh, and Steve cocked an eyebrow and stepped aside so Eddie could come in.

Steve took the bottles so Eddie could get out of his coat, and he did notice, with no small amount of satisfaction, that Steve’s eyes were on him too. Eddie might not have a tailored suit, but his black dress shirt and slacks fit him pretty damn well, he figured, and the way Steve was looking at him made it clear he thought the same. Eddie stuck his tongue out between his teeth and wiggled his eyebrows at Steve suggestively and earned a dark, desirous look from him that promised later and sent a thrill down Eddie’s spine.

But later was getting harder and harder to wait for. As their little party went on, Steve found more ways to drive Eddie up the fucking wall, when he’d rather be pushed into the wall, secrecy be damned.

It was all the little touches, the fleeting looks. Steve developed a habit of tugging on Eddie’s belt loops when no one was looking, or the sleeve of his shirt; something that would grab Eddie’s attention and pull him just a smidge closer. When they’d ended up sitting next to each other on the couch Steve gradually shifted into Eddie’s space and their thighs kept touching, and Eddie couldn’t stop thinking about how it felt to have his legs tangled with Steve’s in his bed. And then, when their eyes met, Eddie swore Steve would check him out. It was always quick, but he could practically feel it when Steve looked at his lips, or where his shirt collar was undone. Eddie went red every time.

Eventually Eddie decided to give as good as he got, though that may have also been fueled by the cheap wine. He’d watch Steve over the rim of his glass until Steve caught on and licked his lips when Steve’s eyes flicked downward, only glancing away after a few seconds of holding his gaze. Letting his arm drape casually over the back of the couch so he could brush his fingers down the nape of Steve’s neck was absolutely a risk, but it was worth it when Steve’s breath hitched and he stumbled over his words. He was talking to Jonathan, though, who was high as a kite and didn’t notice. Hopefully.

They kept upping the ante all night and Eddie was a stiff breeze away from getting hard from all the tension by the time midnight crept up on the group. Five minutes before the countdown, Nancy herded them all out to Steve’s backyard in a rush. The town stretched out in the distance, lights glittering in the dark winter night. An occasional screech and flash of colour from premature fireworks interrupted the anticipatory silence that hung over Hawkins. Vickie helped Robin uncork the last bottle of champagne, and the teens passed it around, refilling their glasses as they huddled close to fend off the cold.

“Did we really have to stand outside for this?” Steve grumbled. He stood between Eddie and Robin and kept bumping shoulders with both of them.

“Duh, we can’t see the fireworks from inside, dingus,” Robin said, even though she shivered the hardest out of all of them. Vickie was tucked into her side and had her arms wrapped around Robin’s waist to try to keep warm.

Steve crossed his arms and glared out across the snowy lawn. “We could’ve grabbed our coats at least.”

“I did mean to give us more time to get ready, but it’s too late now.” Nancy looked at her watch. “Two minutes until midnight.”

When Eddie shoved his free hand in his pocket and shivered extra hard, Steve leaned into him, and it took every bit of willpower to not give in to the urge to rest his head on Steve’s shoulder. Or kiss him. The idea of being openly affectionate with Steve made Eddie feel all fizzy inside in the best way. He was glad they were going to tell everyone after this. As fun as it had been, keeping this between themselves, he was getting tired of having to hide how he felt. He wanted their friends to know, wanted to touch and kiss his boyfrie—Steve without having to sneak around.

“Anyone got a wish they wanna make?” Argyle asked, and everyone else shot him confused looks.

“I don’t think people make wishes on New Years,” Jonathan said haltingly. “Do you mean resolutions?”

“Nah dude, I think wishes are better. Less pressure, y’know?”

Eddie tipped his head thoughtfully. “That’s a good point,” he said, and Argyle beamed at him.

“Yeah, that sounds like a nice idea.” Vickie agreed. “We should all think of a wish!”

“Just don’t say what it is or it won’t come true. Told my sister that I wished on a dandelion that my skateboard would never break but the next day it snapped like–” Argyle mimed breaking something over his knee, complete with sound effects. “It was a total bummer, man.”

“Wasn’t that the one you cracked and duct taped over?” Jonathan asked, bloodshot eyes narrowed as he tried to remember.

“Yeah, but like, with the good tape.”

Nancy gave an amused, but pinched, smile when she said, “Half a minute.”

Steve shuffled and Eddie looked over at him. He was so unfairly handsome tonight, freckled cheeks and nose flushed from the chill, and though his hair wasn’t quite as perfect anymore it just made him look roguish. Eddie wanted to get his hands in it. He wanted to kiss Steve so much it hurt. Subtly, Eddie slipped his hand from his pocket and wiggled the tips of his fingers in-between Steve’s, and Steve looked down at his feet to hide his smile, giving Eddie’s fingers a brief squeeze.

His heart beat a rapid staccato in his chest and Eddie knew right then what he was going to wish for.

“Ten seconds!” Nancy announced, then counted down, and everyone joined in, grinning at each other excitedly. Five seconds, three, one, and–

A whole chorus of screeching, banging fireworks from the town almost drowned out their cheers of Happy New Year! A riot of colours burst across the sky, spilling over the untouched snow and lighting up their faces, and Eddie silently sent his wish up into the sky with them.

Steve didn’t look at anyone but him, his face soft with affection. And Eddie couldn’t take his eyes off Steve. The fireworks looked better reflected in his eyes anyway.

“Hey, can you help me grab something from inside?” Steve asked, and Eddie nodded frantically.

Robin snorted when Steve and Eddie scampered off, but Eddie paid her no mind. He was too busy following Steve through the house filled with the loud music they’d forgotten to turn off. When he realised they were heading upstairs, heat began to burn low in his belly and anticipation buzzed under his skin. He wasn’t sure if they were out of view yet, but he didn’t care, giving Steve’s ass a light smack and smirking when Steve shot a glare over his shoulder. How could he be expected to resist? It was right in front of him!

They hurried down the hallway to Steve’s room, and Eddie was barely through the doorway when Steve shut it and crowded him up against it to kiss him. Eddie groaned hungrily and parted his lips for Steve’s tongue, the kiss turning messy with their enthusiasm. He felt Steve yanking his shirt out of his slacks and flinched, gasping, when Steve’s cold fingers touched his scarred sides.

“Been driving me nuts all night, Eds,” Steve muttered against Eddie’s lips, his hands inching up Eddie’s shirt. “You look so good all dressed up, god. When you touched my neck I almost caved and pinned you to the couch.”

Eddie laughed. “I couldn’t help myself,” he purred.

“Yeah well, it was a dick move.” Steve reached Eddie’s chest and swiped his chilly thumb over Eddie’s hardened nipple before pinching and rolling it, making him whimper. “Kinda think I should get some payback for it.”

“Don’t be mean to me, Stevie,” Eddie said, but his tone was deliberately teasing even as he squirmed a bit under Steve’s hands. He loved pressing his luck with Steve, pushing his buttons and seeing what it got him.

Steve arched an eyebrow, then shoved his knee between Eddie’s thighs, pressing into Eddie’s rapidly hardening cock. His mouth fell open and he rocked into the pressure. But then Steve’s hands grabbed him by the hips and held him still, pinned to the door, and Eddie whined.

“You teased me all night, and you think I’ll make it easy for you?” Steve smirked before he leaned down to kiss Eddie’s collarbones, nipping at Eddie’s skin to make him twitch ineffectually in his grip. All the while, he kept lightly grinding his thigh against Eddie’s dick, barely enough movement to taunt him.

Eddie groaned. “You teased me too!”

Steve slapped Eddie’s thigh and the shock of it, more than the light sting of it, made Eddie bite his lip to muffle a moan. “You made it worse,” Steve whispered into his ear as he soothed the spot he’d slapped with a gentle touch. “So yeah, I’m gonna be a little mean.”

Teeth caught his earlobe and Eddie shuddered, unable to contain a triumphant grin. Holy shit, he was excited for this. He fucking loved it when this side of Steve came out to play.

Straightening up, Steve let go of Eddie’s hips to work at the knot in his tie. “Ride my thigh,” he said as the knot came free and he whipped the tie off, flinging it somewhere into the room. Eddie nodded and started rolling his hips. The relief at being able to move was almost as powerful as the surge of arousal he felt at the command. His slacks were tight over his cock but the friction was so delicious. Steve’s strong thigh kept Eddie’s legs apart enough that he had to brace himself on Steve’s shoulders. It gave him enough stability to really grind, and jesus christ, between all the flirting and teasing and touching all night, and this, Eddie could already feel his orgasm building. Shit.

And the way Steve looked wasn’t helping anything. A lock of hair had come free over his forehead, making him look more artfully dishevelled, and Steve had unbuttoned the first few buttons of his shirt, dark curls of hair peeking out. Eddie wanted to eat him, be eaten by him. He dug his fingers into Steve’s shoulders and pulled him into a demanding kiss, licking into his mouth and swallowing his low moan.

While they kissed, Steve made quick work of Eddie’s shirt, and as soon as it was gone Steve’s hands were on him again, greedy and grasping. One wide palm held the back of his head, tugging lightly at his hair, and the other guided Eddie’s hips faster. Heat blazed in his gut and Eddie’s desperate grinding was starting to lose its tempo.

“S-Steve, oh fuck, gonna come in my pants i-if I keep going,” Eddie rasped.

“You can keep going a little longer,” Steve replied, no, insisted.

“I can’t,” Eddie whined. Steve slapped his thigh again, harder this time, and Eddie’s whine went embarrassingly high and reedy.

“Might have to be a little mean if you can’t keep going. Do you want that, baby?”

Oh yes he fucking did. “Yes, yes, fuck, Steve, yes I do,” he babbled, and Steve clicked his tongue like he was disappointed. But all Eddie saw in his face was devoted hunger, hazel eyes intense with it, making something swoop in Eddie’s gut.

“Your choice,” Steve said casually. Then he slapped him again, on the same, still stinging spot, and Eddie threw his head back as he came soundlessly, making a mess of his boxers, immediately feeling warm and sticky as he gasped for air and clung to Steve.

Steve held him through it, made sure his head didn’t smash into the door, muttering, “So pretty when you come, Eddie. Couldn’t help it, could you? S’okay. You’ll make it up to me.”

“I will, I will Steve, whatever you want.”

“Good boy,” Steve said, low and confident. Eddie shivered at the words and his eager groan was silenced when Steve kissed him, taking him by the hand and leading him with teasing, bitey kisses to the bed.

Eddie’s knees hit the bed and he let himself fall, bouncing on the eyesore of a duvet and quickly scrambling to get his slacks off, cringing at the way his cum made his boxers stick to him. At least he had a spare pair here. Steve grabbed the lube from his nightstand and chucked it onto the bed, then stood between Eddie’s legs and stared, swallowing at the sight of Eddie sprawled out on his bed. Smirking, Eddie spread his legs further, tilting his chin back as he tossed his hair. Seeing Steve still fully clothed, in a suit no less, hard cock bulging in his dress pants while Eddie was bare fucking naked below him made Eddie feel electric. He wiggled a little just to ease the frisson skittering along his nerves.

“Like what you see?” he asked.

Reaching out, Steve trailed his big fingers along the sensitive skin of Eddie’s inner thigh reverently, goosebumps rising in his wake. “Always do.” 

How Steve managed to sound turned on and sincere, Eddie had no idea, but it made his heart do flips in his chest.

Steve started slowly undoing the buttons of his shirt as his eyes lingered over Eddie’s body. “Turn over for me,” he said, and Eddie obeyed quickly, getting on his knees and elbows. Stretching out across the blankets, he looked over his shoulder at Steve and wiggled his ass in the air.

“C’mon Stevie,” he urged, drawing out the syllables, “I wanna know what you’re planning in that pretty head of yours.”

“Jesus, you’re impatient.” Steve shook his head, but there was a fond smile tugging at his lips and he did speed up. Once undressed—and Eddie would never get over the sight of Steve naked, or the sheer size of his cock, jesus christ—he stepped closer to the bed and yanked Eddie in by his hips, making him yelp. “Maybe you should ask me politely,” he said.

“Pretty please, Stevie, with a cherry on t—aah!”

The slap to his asscheek rang out in the room, the sting radiating out all warm and tingly. Eddie made a short, whiny noise as his dick gave a valiant twitch. There was a click from behind him and Eddie jumped when he felt cold lube drip over his hole, then down his taint. Steve dragged his thumb through it, then rubbed soothingly over the ring of muscle.

“Count them for me.”

Eddie nodded and counted that first slap, then the next two, alternating sides each time. Steve kept massaging his hole, then pressing in gently when Eddie relaxed between each smack. By the fifth slap Eddie’s cheeks were prickling painfully, and his cock started to fill out again, hanging heavy between his legs and twitching almost painfully at every slap. He knew his pale skin must be so red.

Steve paused and brushed his free hand over Eddie’s heated, sore skin. “You doing okay, Eds?”

“Yep, oh yeah, so fucking okay,” he breathed, “green, golden, whatever. I’m so good.”

Laughing, Steve bent over and kissed the small of Eddie’ back. “Such a good boy for me, baby. Now keep counting.”

With each smack, Eddie felt his belly tighten further and further. He was so fucking aroused he’d began to writhe and rock back onto Steve’s thumb, then his fingers when he started stretching Eddie, prepping him. By the time they got to nine, Eddie was shaking, tears gathering in the corners of his eyes.

“Oh god, Steve, please, I want you to fuck me already, please please please,” he begged.

“I dunno. You think you’ve made it up to me yet?”

Another slap, and Eddie sobbed out, “Ten! Yes, please Stevie, I’ve been good!”

Steve’s fingers pulled out of Eddie’s hole and he sobbed again, clenching around nothing. “You’re okay, Eds, you have been good, I’ve got you,” Steve reassured. There was a wet sound, and soon enough the blunt head of Steve’s slicked-up cock pressed against Eddie’s stretched hole. He rubbed his clean hand down along the curve of Eddie’s spine, the tender touch almost overwhelming in comparison to the hot pain in his cheeks. “Ready?” Steve asked.

“God yes.”

Eddie muffled his guttural moan in the covers as Steve pushed in, also groaning in relief. And he didn’t waste much time. Eddie was loose enough that Steve’s short, sharp thrusts brought them flush together with little effort, though Eddie still felt stretched out and so fucking full. They stayed like that for a moment, adjusting to the feeling together. The way Steve breathed, heavy and quick, told Eddie that he was getting control of himself. That Steve was close to coming just from slapping him around made him grin and squeeze around his cock like a tease.

“Eddie, that’s unfair,” Steve grunted and grabbed a small handful of ass in retaliation. Pain burned deliciously under his hand.

“Sorry, sweetheart,” Eddie said only a tiny bit insincerely. He felt Steve laugh more than he heard it.

Then Steve started to move again. The slow drag of his cock made Eddie shudder, able to feel every vein before he plunged back in again. Groaning low in his throat, Steve said, “Fuck, Eddie, wish you could see yourself.” Both his hands grabbed at Eddie’s ass, and he jerked and whimpered at the pain. “So pretty and red.”

Eddie just whined wordlessly, and Steve’s thrusts sped up. Fists white-knuckled in the covers, he rocked back eagerly, desperate for the feeling rising like a tide about to crash over him. Steve’s cock felt so fucking good, but then Steve got a knee up on the mattress and he draped himself over Eddie’s back and the angle drove him right into Eddie’s prostate, over and over. Eddie couldn’t help the sweet, needy cries that tumbled out of his mouth as his pleasure mounted.

Fingers entwined with his. It was Steve’s favourite thing to do during sex and it’d quickly become Eddie’s too. One more point of connection, a soft gesture no matter how hard they were fucking each other, and it made Eddie melt every time. He squeezed Steve’s fingers, maybe a little too hard, but Steve just fucked him faster, the sound of skin slapping against sweaty skin mingling with their moaning.

“Steve, gonna come, soon, holy shit. T-touch me? Please, want you to touch me,” Eddie said.

“Me too, god, I’ve got you.”

Reaching down, Steve wrapped his hand around Eddie’s aching, dripping cock and jerked him in time with his thrusts. Eddie was fucking overwhelmed. Steve’s hand, Steve’s cock, he didn’t know which feeling to chase, couldn’t tell the difference as he sped towards the crest of his climax. Fresh tears sprang to his eyes, his legs shook, the only anchor he had was Steve’s hand in his and he clung to it as he moaned Steve’s name.

“I’m so close, wanna come with you,” Steve begged raggedly. “Come for me, Eddie, please baby.”

The urgency in his voice and the way Steve’s rhythm grew sloppy and rough pushed Eddie over the edge finally, gloriously. His orgasm crashed over him and he came with a choked cry, rutting into Steve’s grip as he spilled on the duvet. Steve’s forehead dropped onto Eddie’s back and with a few hard pumps of his hips he came too, warm and deep inside Eddie.

Eddie’s legs gave out and he collapsed on the bed, grunting when Steve came down with him. They both laughed breathlessly, and Steve rolled off him, lazily scooting up the bed and trying to pull Eddie along too. Though he felt like a limp noodle, Eddie gave in and fumbled his way up and into Steve’s sweaty arms. Head resting on his chest, Eddie could hear how Steve’s heartbeat steadily slowed to something calm, and could feel his own slow to match.

Music was still blasting downstairs, and fireworks were still going off here and there outside. One flashed close to Steve’s window, a shower of green and gold that lit up Steve’s gorgeous eyes.

“Happy New Year, Steve,” he whispered.

Smiling, Steve kissed Eddie sweet and slow, then said, “Happy New Year, Eddie.”

Eddie returned the smile, but it grew into something cheeky when he got an awful idea. He saw the suspicion grow across Steve’s face. “I guess we, uh… really started the year off with a bang,” he said, and Steve’s head fell back onto his pillow with a pained groan.

When they both woke up, Steve eventually managed to coax Eddie out of bed so they could get breakfast started for everyone. It didn’t take much coaxing when he reminded Eddie that he planned to make french toast just for him. Dressed in Steve’s borrowed pyjamas, Eddie blearily trudged downstairs with him.

Their friends must have found their ways to the various guest rooms, because the living room and kitchen were empty. It looked like half of the mess from last night had been tidied, and Eddie shook his head with a smile when he imagined Nancy trying to clean before being convinced to go to bed.

Eddie took up his usual spot, seated on the counter—despite the soreness from last night—and mostly out of the way while Steve got everything together. He looked so soft in the light and his old, worn Hawkins High Basketball shirt, his hair ravaged by sleep. Sighing, Eddie propped his chin in his hand as he watched him move around the kitchen.

Steve caught him staring and put his hands on his hips. “What?”

“You’re just sooo handsome,” Eddie cooed, “I’d eat you for breakfast instead.” He snapped his teeth and Steve snorted and rolled his eyes as he closed the distance between them.

“Probably healthier to eat french toast,” he said. Hands on the counter at either side of Eddie’s knees, Steve looked up at Eddie. “And Robin would kill you for killing me.”

Clicking his tongue, Eddie tilted his head in agreement. “Yep. Probably. She’d have to enact some sort of best friend revenge clause if I murdered you and I don’t think I want to incur the Wrath of Buckley.”

“I don’t recommend it. She’s clumsy but if she does manage to land a hit she can kinda pack a punch.”

Eddie leaned in and wiggled his eyebrows, letting out a low, suggestive hum. “So do you,” he said, and even though Steve rolled his eyes again he also smiled. He barely had to tip his chin up to reach Eddie’s lips, and they traded a few kisses in the quiet morning sunlight. Eddie wrapped his arms around Steve’s neck, his hands inevitably finding their way into Steve’s hair.

They were both so distracted that they didn’t notice someone walk into the kitchen.

“Morning, brochachos,” Argyle said cheerily, and Steve and Eddie jumped away from each other, red faced and wide eyed. “Oh shit, sorry, didn’t mean to interrupt the love fest!”

“Wh-huh?” Eddie said eloquently.

“It’s—uh,” Steve followed up.

Robin peered around the doorway next. “You two done or are you gonna burn breakfast?”

“It’s not gonna burn, Robs,” Steve frowned, but then said, “wait. Why aren’t you freaking out?”

The flat look Robin gave him made Eddie snort, even if it was kind of about him, too. “You’re kidding, right? I had my suspicions, Steve, but last night confirmed everything. You couldn’t keep your eyes off each other all night, it was ridiculous. And then the whole, ‘can you help me grab something from inside’ thing was the most obvious excuse ever.”

“And you didn’t come back down after that,” Nancy said as she and Jonathan walked in. “Morning, Eddie.”

“Uh. Uh-huh. Good morning. So, hold on, none of you care?” Eddie asked.

“Like I said, kind of already knew. We were just waiting for you to tell us,” Robin said as she poured coffee into two mugs. “I gotta tell Vickie exactly how right I was, be right back. And the french toast is burning, Steve.” Steve swore and jogged over to the stove.

Jonathan pulled a mug out of the cupboard as he spoke next. “I think it’s great you guys are boyfriends. It’s a good fit, y’know?”

Eddie’s heart thumped and he looked at Steve, who turned around from trying to save the first batch of breakfast from incendiary doom. Steve’s cheeks were a little red, and he was smiling shyly. Shrugged a bit, like a question. Beaming at him, Eddie said, “Yeah. Boyfriends. I think it’s great too.”

Steve craned his neck to look at Eddie, who was frowning up at the ceiling. His bangs had gone a little stringy. “Huh?” Steve said.

“This heat, it fucking sucks dude. This isn’t hanging out.” His arm raised to lazily flail between them both then flopped loudly to the floor again. A different kind of warmth sparked up Steve’s arm when their pinkies touched, and Steve concentrated very hard on not flinching or hooking their fingers together. “This is dying. Slowly. Uneventfully. I feel like a slow roasted chicken.”

Humming, Steve said, “Yeah.”

Finally Eddie’s head tilted to the side, facing Steve. An amused smile tugged the corner of his lips down and now Steve had to concentrate on not looking. “Sounds like the heat’s melted your brains, big boy. I can see ‘em leaking out your ears.”

It’s more than just the heat, Steve wanted to say, opened his mouth and nearly let the words escape, but he caught himself with a breathy laugh. “I think you’re right,” he replied instead.

“‘Cause I’m always right.”

Steve just raised a doubtful eyebrow. It climbed higher when Eddie stuck his tongue out.

“Well I’m right about this sucking. C’mon, I’ve got an idea.” Eddie slapped his thighs and bolted upright, rolling to his feet with surprising ease while Steve peeled himself off the carpet with much less gusto and a lot more complaining.

“You’re seriously making us move right now?” he grumbled as he stood. But he heard Eddie groan and before he realised, Steve’s hands shot out to stabilise him as he wobbled.

“Shouldn’t’ve got up so fast,” he said sheepishly.

Still holding Eddie by the shoulders, Steve snorted. “You think?” He held onto Eddie just shy of too long before letting his hands drop. “Alright, you made me get up, this better be worth it.”

“Oh it’s worth it.” Eddie winked, then led them out of the trailer–only pausing to lock up–and instead of heading to one of their vehicles he started down the road towards the dead end.

While the heat out here wasn’t as stale, it almost felt worse, the sun bearing down on them directly. The road behind them shimmered with that faint heat mirage and Steve could feel it through the soles of his sneakers. “Pretty sure this sucks worse, Eddie.”

Eddie spun on his heel and started walking backwards. “Don’t you trust me?” he asked, a coy tip to his chin.

With his life. But Steve wouldn’t say that, either. “I dunno, Munson. You’re leading me into the woods, alone, no witnesses? Kinda suspicious of you.”

“I am offended, Steve, how could you say such a thing to me, of all people?” He clutched his chest and dramatically threw his head back, only to stumble when the asphalt gave way to dirt and sparse grass. Steve jolted to try and catch him, but Eddie recovered quickly, grinning widely. “See, could a suspicious guy do that?”

Steve laughed, a little baffled. “Nah, now you’re just a klutz.”

“At least I can trust you to try and catch me, Stevie.”

The fondness Steve thought he heard in Eddie’ voice would’ve made him blush if the heat hadn’t done that already. They held each other’s gaze, standing close, just a moment in time that stretched out like a plucked guitar string left to ring. Eddie cut it off with a nod to the woods. Steve was helpless, and couldn't do anything but follow.

Grasshoppers lived up to their name, hopping through the brittle, sun bleached grass as they avoided the boys’ careless feet. Steve watched a few cling to Eddie’s bare calves before he shook them off. When they’d gotten a few feet into the treeline, the leaves above sheltered them on their walk. The shade was desperately needed. He felt like he could breathe again, even if it wasn’t all that much cooler, but he still took a moment to stretch his arms up over his head and inhale the greenness of sun-warmed leaves. Steve let his arms fall again with a small, satisfied groan, pulling the hem of his shirt back into place, and saw Eddie staring. “What?”

Eddie swallowed, then shrugged. “Told you it’d be better.”

“I know, I trusted you,” Steve teased and bumped their shoulders together. Though Eddie tried to hide his shy smile behind a lock of hair, Steve still saw it, matched it with his own. There was a certain type of gleaming pride he felt when he managed to get Eddie to smile like that. “Are we going somewhere, though, or are we just on a walk in the woods?”

“We’re goin’ somewhere. Just don’t laugh when we get there.”

“No promises,” Steve said, teasing again, and Eddie half-heartedly shoved him for it.

“Now I don’t know if I wanna show you,” Eddie said with a miffed tone. He started walking again, though, so Steve kept pace.

“Why, is this some kind of secret nerd lair? Superman’s Cave of Loneliness?”

The sheer amount of disbelief and dismay in Eddie’s face when he whirled to face him made Steve howl with laughter. “I’m sorry, ‘Cave of Loneliness!?’ I don’t even read Superman and I know it’s the Fortress of Solitude, man. It’s in the movies!” Eddie squawked.

“How is Fortress of Solitude any different from Cave of Loneliness, huh?” Eddie’s mouth opened and shut once, then again, and Steve knew he’d won. “Yeah, you can’t say shit, Eddie, you know I’m right.”

Eddie glared so venomously that Steve almost missed the charmed smile he was poorly fighting off. “Fuck you, Harrington,” he said, though his lips pursed trying to keep from laughing.

“You wish.” Steve winked, then started walking in the direction Eddie had been leading them in. When Eddie lagged behind, face frozen in shock, Steve fixed him with an expectant look until the lights came back on behind Eddie’s eyes and he scrambled forward.

The trees grew taller, wider, and more gnarled the further they walked, and the shade grew deeper. Sunshine flecked the forest floor, showing the way between the trunks and glancing off still-green foliage untouched by the summer heat. It was beautiful, but Steve kept getting distracted by the way the light caught in Eddie’s hair; the dappling made the strands of dark brown flash with vibrant reds and richer browns, and danced over his cheekbones like golden kisses. Steve wanted to replace them with his own, his chest aching sweetly with desire, but he wasn’t brave enough yet.

He could still wish for it, though. Eddie’s skin would probably feel soft under Steve’s lips. He’d take his time, too, placing one languid, deliberate kiss after the other, tracing the path the sun had left.

The bubble of his daydream popped when Eddie came to a halt in front of a massive old oak and spread his arms upwards with a, “Ta-dah!” Following his wiggling fingers, Steve saw the structure sitting snugly in the tree’s sturdy, sprawling branches.

A treehouse. The foundation of it seemed to be built from old railroad ties, bolted into the trunk, while the rest of it looked a little newer. Big, childishly menacing eyes were painted around the windows, and below those and slashed across the door was a mouth full of triangle-shaped teeth; in the middle of the mouth, on the door, a red tongue lolled out. The rest of the rounded walls looked like they’d been black once, but had now faded away to a mottled, chipped grey. A fake chimney sprouted from the roof, which was shaped like a cone and covered with mismatched shingles. While the base still seemed sturdy, the house itself was starting to look a little rickety.

“What do you think?”

“That’s the most elaborate treehouse I’ve ever seen.” That wasn’t even a lie. Steve had said it genuinely, and with a fair bit of surprise. He would’ve been over the moon if he’d seen this as a kid.

Eddie beamed at the praise. “Ain’t it? Wayne and I built it ourselves. Well, we had a bit of help from one of his buddies from the plant who does carpentry on the side, but still. Took a whole summer to build too.” He walked to the trunk and that’s when Steve spotted the rusty ladder rungs drilled into the tree. His ringed hand closed around a rung with a clicking sound.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Eddie,” Steve warned.

Rolling his eyes so hard his whole head followed, Eddie said, “Live a little, Stevie!” Hoisting himself up, Eddie began to scale the ladder easily, his hands and feet finding each placement like it was habitual. It probably was. Steve watched him climb the ten-ish feet up–and absolutely appreciated the view–until Eddie landed on the narrow space between the edge of the foundation and the door and pushed the door open on its squeaky hinges. “See, nothing to worry about. Hurry up, you’re missing the party!” he shouted over the edge before ducking into the treehouse.

Huffing, Steve shook his head and followed Eddie up at a much more cautious pace. Not a single rung was loose, thankfully. At the top, he clambered onto the foundation and found the house was a little smaller than it seemed from the ground, but Eddie had wedged himself inside against the left side, still smiling, legs folded in so that Steve could crouch his way inside.

“This is, uh, a tight fit,” he grunted, smacking the back of his head on the doorway.

“Be careful,” Eddie said, and Steve glared without any heat.

“Bit late for that.”

Some shuffling, arguing, and contorted limbs later, and Steve was settled inside the treehouse. His and Eddie’s legs were practically intertwined as they sat across from each other, but it wasn’t too uncomfortable; the curve of the rounded walls was pretty nice to rest against, actually.

“This is great,” he said as he inspected the place. Cobwebs hung everywhere, and he was sure a racoon had slept in the leaves and fur piled next to him. There was a dusty red plastic kid’s chair tucked under a piece of plywood jutting from the wall that must’ve been a desk, but now held an abandoned bird’s nest. The walls were covered in crayon drawings: stick figures with swords and guns acting out grand battles against monsters, a big castle that had a flag with an ‘M’ on it, a red dragon shooting laser beams instead of fire from its mouth. Steve nodded at the dragon with his chin. “That’s different.”

Eddie snorted. “Yeah, that and the dudes with guns started when my dad let me watch Wizards way too young.” At Steve’s quizzical expression, he continued, “Animated movie from ‘77. I dunno, you might like it. It’s not your typical fantasy stuff.”

“I like fantasy sometimes, just not when Dustin keeps ragging on me to watch or read or play it all the damn time.”

“Fair,” Eddie laughed.

“Maybe we could watch it sometime, together?”

He looked pleasantly surprised. “You’d wanna watch a weird fantasy movie with me?” Steve shrugged. “Alright man, it’s a date. Just tell me when and where and I’ll procure the goods.”

Something fluttered in Steve’s belly when Eddie said ‘it’s a date,’ even though he hadn’t meant it like that. Still, that genuine little smile that lingered on Eddie's face gave him just the tiniest glint of unwanted hope.

“When did you and your uncle build this?” he asked to distract himself from the small riot happening inside himself.

“When I was eleven. I’d been living with Wayne for about a year, and he wanted to do something for me to celebrate even though I’d spent most of that year being a little shit. His friend Dale had gotten ahold of the wood for free, and Wayne had known about this old treehouse foundation,” Eddie knocked on the floor, “for a while. So during the summer he took some time off from work and we built it with Dale’s help in a week. Definitely stabbed my foot with a nail once.”

Steve looked at the construction with a new appreciation, and also a little bit of old, selfish longing. But he pushed that down. “That sounds nice.”

“You ever have a treehouse built around Harrington Manor?”

“Nah.” Steve wrapped his arms around his knees and rested his chin where they crossed. “I tried to convince my dad once when I was little. He even bought the stuff for it. Mom told him it’d be an eyesore in the yard, though, and I was too young to take it all into the woods and build it by myself. It just sat around until my dad got rid of it.”

Eddie hummed, a bitter twist to his mouth. It was a look he always got on the rare times Steve talked about his parents. “Wouldn’t it be kinda funny if that treehouse stuff you dad got rid of was the wood Dale found? This shit was all pre-cut and everything, I think.”

Chuckling a bit, Steve said, “Yeah, maybe.”

“I choose to believe it, and therefore I decree it to be True.” Head held high, Eddie smacked his fist into the floor like a gavel. Steve didn’t bother hiding the grin that crept up on him. “Twas yours once, King Steve, then passed on to become Fort Munson so that you may in the future visit the bounty you bestowed upon the Kingdom of Munson as a sign of peace and goodwill.”

“I would’ve thought this’d be Castle Munson.”

“Nope, that’s the trailer, Steve. Get it right.”

Steve laughed hard enough to knock his head against the wall. Eddie was too good at that, making Steve’s gloomy moments brighter with his nerdy antics, and while Steve figured it was the crush making everything Eddie did that much more, he hoped it wouldn’t fade. Even if it also made his chest hurt.

“Would’ve been nice if we’d built it together, as kids. If we’d been friends then, y’know?” He sighed and turned away from Eddie, not that it was easy to hide in the tight space they’d jammed themselves into. “Maybe I’d–maybe things would’ve turned out differently.”

A clean white Reebok knocked into Steve’s dirty Nike. A scolding. “ Stop beating yourself up over there or I’m gonna start doing it for you. I don’t want different, Stevie. Don’t want you any different.”

Steve hid cheek against his arms when he felt it grow red, hoped Eddie wouldn’t notice it travelling up to the tip of his ear. “I don’t think beating me up for beating myself up is helpful,” he huffed.

“Well I’m gonna. Don’t test me. I’ll use percussive maintenance on your ass.”

Steve frowned, but not at the nonsense words that came out of Eddie’s mouth. “What’s that?” he asked.

“What, percussive maintenance? It’s like when you hit the TV to make the signal come through, or–oh. Uh.”

There was a drawing next to Steve’s head, a stick figure knight kneeling and kissing the hand of another stick figure that wore a crown. He traced a curious finger over the crown and the short hair of the drawing, the yellow and black crayon still waxy after a decade of weathering. “Aren’t princesses supposed to have long hair or something?”

Eddie’s feet shuffled away from Steve’s. His heart plummeted in his chest, a drop from a rollercoaster, and he watched Eddie’s face turn inscrutable, his eyes fixed downward. Shit. What had he done wrong? The humourless laugh that followed made Steve feel even worse.

“Eddie, I’m sorry, I–”

“Sure, when you’re a kid princesses have long hair,” Eddie interrupted. His hands were locked together, almost white-knuckle tight, twitching up and down with a nervous tick Steve knew well, and a muscle jumped in his jaw. It looked like he was fighting something, whether to say something or not. All Steve wanted to do was reach out, pry his hands apart and take them into his own, but he wasn’t sure if that would even be welcome now or not.

“You don’t have to tell me, whatever it is. I put my foot in my mouth all the time, man, you can just tell me to fuck off.”

“No, I. I–I gotta. Robin said I should just, just do it, you know? Just gimmie a second.”

Steve frowned, concerned, but kept quiet, even as Eddie ran his now shaking hands through his hair. A curl got caught in one of his rings and Eddie cursed, but Steve darted forward to gently untangle it before Eddie just ripped it out. He tucked the soft strand back amongst the rest with care and met Eddie’s dark, wide, longing eyes.

Eddie groaned and hid his face in his hands. “See, Steve, you go and do shit like that and sometimes I think I can do this, but. Fuck.”

Heart hammering in his chest, Steve asked, urged, “What, Eddie?”

“That’s a prince, Steve.” The words came out as a shaky whisper and hung in the small space between them, caught in the air like dust motes.

It took Steve much less time to connect the dots this time than the last time someone came out to him. “So… you’re gay?”

A shuddering sigh escaped Eddie’s chest and his shoulders slumped. He still didn’t look up. “Yeah. I mean, I’ve had a crush on girls once or twice, but. Mostly just guys.”

Steve didn’t know it was possible to feel like this, this jumble of calm and relief and so hopeful and happy he could dance or shout or shake something. Fireworks over a still lake. He balled his fists just to keep from grabbing Eddie and yanking him closer.

“That’s cool. Good, actually.”

Eddie snorted and started to lift his head. “‘Good?’ What do you mean, good?”

While Eddie spoke, Steve quickly shuffled to his knees–staying hunched over so he didn’t bump his head again–and leaned into Eddie’s space a fraction more, hands braced by Eddie’s hips to keep from flopping into his lap. Eddie stared up at him, awed, slack-jawed, and Steve could feel his warm breath ghost across his cheeks, could see the way the summer had intensified the faint freckles that dusted the bridge of Eddie’s nose. They stood out more as the blush in his cheeks darkened.

“I like both,” Steve shared quietly, earnestly. “I like you, Eddie.”

“You… you like me?”

Steve grinned, wide and goofy but he couldn’t care less. “Yeah. I like you a lot.”

“Holy shit. Holy shit–”

“Eddie,” Steve laughed and cupped his warm, scarred cheek in his palm. He’d meant to pull Eddie in for a kiss, to finally make all those daydreams come true, but instead Eddie’s hand wrapped around his. Gently, Eddie brought it away from his face, his grasp sliding down to the tips of Steve’s fingers as he arched Steve’s hand. Then he brought it to his lips, gaze set meaningfully on Steve’s. Pressed his lips to the back of Steve’s hand in a kiss so reverent it had goosebumps breaking out over Steve’s skin, making his breath catch around the sudden lump in his throat.

“I like you a lot too, Steve,” Eddie said, still quiet, as if speaking any louder would burst the fragile and pearlescent bubble of joy around their puzzle-pieced bodies. Steve touched his forehead to Eddie’s with a watery laugh. He couldn’t help it, pulled there by a tug on his heartstrings, and his grin grew almost painful when Eddie nuzzled their noses together.

All it took was the slightest movement. Neither boy could tell who did it first; both of them met in the middle. Steve felt Eddie’s bottom lip press between his, cradled it there softly, pouring every bit of yearning and desire he’d been feeling for months into this one simple touch. When they parted with that delicate sound of a broken kiss, Steve’s eyes fluttered open to see Eddie’s still closed. A slow, satisfied smile grew, making those dimples Steve loved so much appear in Eddie’s cheeks.

And Eddie giggled. Steve hadn’t ever heard him giggle before and it made him feel like a shaken up can of soda. Quickly he ducked in and kissed him again, and again, desperate to release the pressure and hoping to coax more of that laugh from Eddie.

They kissed and laughed and held each other in the treehouse until they lost track of time, until their lips were redder than their faces and their stubble had rubbed a few spots just a little raw. When they finally came up for air, the sun was lower in the sky, painting the forest outside the open door in golden hour hues.

“I guess there’s more than peace between our kingdoms,” Eddie said, and Steve snorted into his shoulder.

“Good thing I trusted you, then.”

Eddie wound his arms around Steve and held him close enough that Steve could hear his heartbeat through the soft fabric of his old band tee. In the midst of their kissing he’d ended up sprawled between Eddie’s knees, and they’d both sunk down onto the cramped, dusty floor.

“Real good thing, Stevie.”

By the shed, though, two figures caught Steve's eye. A girl with a high, bouncy, blonde ponytail and Carver's letterman – Chrissy Cunningham. He often wondered why such a sweet girl was with Jason, she was always friendly with the basketball team and managed Jason's mood swings with ease, not that she should've had to. But beside her, half hidden in shadow, stood her total opposite.

Eddie Munson flicked the ash from his joint and laughed at something Chrissy said while he leaned against the metal shed with her. The distant fire caught, just barely, on the shine of his dark eyes and the curls of his hair. Steve wondered how he wasn't cold. Chrissy clutched her jacket close while Eddie's leather jacket and denim vest fell open to the cold autumn air, revealing some tee for a band Steve didn't know. He hadn't seen Eddie around since midway through his own senior year, Eddie's second attempt. But he hadn't come back to school after winter break.

The rumour mill churned out every kind of story about it – that he'd dropped out or gotten sick, or he'd died, or he stole a car and ran to the coast (whichever one seemed more dramatic). Seeing him here at Penny's party was surprising, either way. Must be back to dealing.

Steve's gaze lingered. He looked pale, but… good, smiling fondly at Chrissy as she kept speaking, something about the newest cheerleader. He had a dimple in his left cheek when he grinned, just above some intense scarring on his jaw Steve didn’t remember from school, but there was something with his teeth– 

"You're so gorgeous down there on your knees for me, baby," Steve breathed, an admiring smirk parting his lips in a way that made Eddie shiver.

The jingle of steel on steel was loud in his ears as Steve gently pulled on the leash hooked into a sturdy D-ring, shifting the wide leather collar secured around Eddie's long throat. The soft rasp of the leather on his skin, the tug of it, had his eyes fluttering shut.

"Ah-ah." Steve jerked the leash. "Eyes on me, Eddie."

He obeyed instantly, gazing up at Steve even though his vision was going hazy with desire and that floaty feeling he sank into when they had a scene like this, that thrum of heat and trust and need building through his whole body. The need to obey, to please, to be–

"You wanna be good for me?" Steve asked, his thick fingers weaving their way into Eddie's curls, and he whimpered in response, nodding and pressing up into the soft touch.

"Yes. Yes, please Stevie, wanna be good for you, please lemmie be good," he begged, so fervently he nearly lost balance on his knees. With his hands bound behind his back by cuffs that matched his collar, Eddie had to brace himself with his head on Steve's bare, hairy thigh, unable to reign in the desire to press messy, open mouthed kisses to his mole-graced skin, keeping his eyes locked on Steve's.

Steve let out a deep, pleased hum and spread his legs open further, giving Eddie a peek at the birthmark at the inner apex of Steve’s right thigh. Eddie’s eyes followed the long planes of Steve's naked, flushed chest, wishing he could worship every mole and freckle with his lips like kissing the stars in the sky. He stopped at the pink and glistening head of Steve’s cock standing proud amongst his pubic hair. Eddie’s cunt throbbed at the sight. Taking his hand from Eddie's hair, Steve began lazily stroking himself, spreading precome down his shaft.

Then, Steve shifted the leg Eddie was leaning on, forcing it between his knees instead. The coolness of the smooth black leather boot against the heat of his crotch made Eddie flinch.

"Then be good for me."

Steve yanked on the collar. 

Unbalanced, Eddie fell into Steve’s shin, but quickly shuffled forward so his bare cunt rested on Steve’s boot. The rough texture of the laces against his dick made him pant where he was curled over Steve’s bent knee and his legs trembled with the effort of keeping himself from humping it. Not without permission.

“Please, Steve? I wanna–” Eddie cut himself off with a shocked groan when Steve wiggled his foot, the toe now wedged between his slick folds.

“Sorry,” Steve said, sounding only partially genuine and mostly smug. “Ask me again, Eddie, you sounded so good.”

“P-please may I use your boot, Steve?” he asked breathlessly, pleading with his eyes, watching as Steve tilted his head in consideration. Eddie’s stomach tensed with the effort it took to keep his hips from twitching even slightly. “Please, sir,” he whispered.

“Alright, since you asked so pretty. Go ahead.”

Eddie whined, loud and needy and relieved, finally giving in to the animalistic desire to grind into the boot, splaying his knees wider to get lower, to feel more.

The drag of his dick along the laces was too much and fucking delicious, already wound up from Steve teasing him all day. Little words or touches or just a goddamn look all designed to turn Eddie on, because they’d planned this scene a week ago and today was the day and it was all either man could think about.

Soft leather glided through his wet cunt easily, blunt and wide, growing slicker and teasing his hole at each pass and Eddie thought drunkenly that if Steve’s cock were this wide he’d still take it all, to the hilt, fuck bodily limitations. He’d take anything Steve wanted, deigned to give him.

“So fucking hot, Eddie, fucking yourself with my boot,” Steve groaned. Through the pleasant, floaty haze settling into Eddie’s mind he heard each stroke of Steve’s hand on his cock getting wetter. “How does it feel, baby? Tell me.”

“Perfect,” Eddie gasped.

“Yeah? You needed this, didn’t you?”

“Fuck, yes, needed it so bad, sir. I, I love—fuck!”

Steve angled his foot up, the sudden press of the boot’s toe a ruthless pressure on Eddie’s dick on next grind down and Eddie’s jaw snapped shut in a hiss at the pain that sent sparks flying to feed the fire of his pleasure. Back arching, he let out a stuttering moan, his shoulders aching at the stretch brought on by the cuffs. Eddie panted, hips rocking faster, digging his toes into the carpet to gain more traction and more delicious pressure. But Steve tugged on the leash again.

“Focus, Eddie. What do you love?”

Eddie grit his teeth and forced himself to look at Steve, a monumental feat when all he wanted was to shut his eyes and feel, revel in harsh, hedonistic, filthy delight.

“Love being on my knees for you, s-sir. God, I’m–I’m meant for it. Wanna make a mess, come all–uh–all over the leather.”

He was so glad he’d looked at Steve, because he saw his jaw go slack around a shaky exhale, watched his fist stop pumping to grip his cock around the base, firm like just Eddie’s words were enough to make Steve come.

Two people approached the bar, just one stool’s distance away, and Eddie’s eyes flicked up from his screen on instinct. The one furthest from him, with a dirty blonde bob, wore a bright patterned shirt and suspenders combo that screamed lesbian, to which he gave an internal nod of approval and solidarity, but then her friend pulled up beside her. And oh. Oh, her friend.

In the dim lighting of the room he still somehow shone just a little golden. Mole-flecked, with a strong nose and wide, easy smile. Warm eyes that sloped in a graceful downturn made him look a little soulful. And his swooping brown hair that fell with a touch of deliberate unkemptness that made Eddie want to mess it up, see if it was as soft as it looked, dig his fingers in and pull. He can’t look at the guy’s lips too long or he’ll start imagining things he really ought not to do outside the privacy of his own bedroom.

Unfortunately he also wore the straightest outfit he’d seen all night: khaki shorts and a white and blue striped polo. He would’ve looked right at home at a frat party, even ordered a bland pale ale those types chug right from the keg. Sighing, Eddie returned to his phone. There was no way he’d waste any more energy mooning over a straight man. Of course, that doesn’t mean he won’t eavesdrop.

Settling in, the pair leaned against the bar and surveyed the crowd. They started to catch up and the woman–Robin, he learns–went on a rambling rant about a needy client at what sounds like her translator job. Apparently the friend’s name was Steve, if Robin’s shouted, “Twenty-five pages in two hours. Two hours, Steve!” was anything to go by. He just listened with encouraging head-nods and appropriately offended gasps as he drank, sometimes surveying the other people mingling or dancing. Eventually, he stopped her with a smack to her shoulder, and pointed with the hand holding the bottle off in a corner.

“What about her?” he asked with an eyebrow wiggle, and Eddie narrowed his eyes as he stared at this guy.

“God, no. She’s way out of my league,” Robin says. Eddie relaxes, glad he’s not about to listen to some dude creep on someone.

“Are you crazy? Robs, leagues don’t exist, for one-”

She cut him off, claiming, “That’s what hot, confident people say to make us awkward ducklings feel better.”

“You’re not an awkward duckling, you’re a very majestic full-grown lady duck. And I bet you twenty bucks that lady duck over there would be thrilled if you crossed this pond to talk to her.”

“Please, for the love of god, never call me or another woman ducks ever again. That’s just weird.”

Sputtering, Steve said, “I was just following the- the metaphor!”

Eddie valiantly contained a snort while Robin rolled her eyes so hard her head rolled back with them. He appreciated the dramatics. But, looking at the woman Steve referred to, Eddie saw his point. He kept it to himself, but he believed in Robin.

Steve levelled a determined look at Robin. “Listen, I’m a phys ed and history teacher, not english, you get what I mean. You could absolutely sweep her off her feet.”

Frowning, with only a tiny bit of a stubborn pout, Robin fussed with the curling corners of the label of her own beer. “Well, what happened to this being girl’s night, huh? If I go home with someone–which I’m not saying I will, dingus– then you’re probably gonna have to hang around the bar all sad and alone and stuff.”

“Honestly, I’d probably go back and watch a movie with Roommate Greg.”

Robin made a face. “Not Greg. I can’t wait until he moves out.” Sighing, she finished her drink, left the bottle on the counter and asked the bartender for another. “I’d feel better if you’d be able to find your own lady duck here, but I think you’d be out of luck. If only you liked kissing dudes too.”

Eddie gave a silent, slightly ironic amen to that statement. But then, as if the gods themselves heard his plea, Steve said something that nearly had Eddie spitting out his drink.

“I mean, I have kissed dudes before.”

Robin went silent as Steve’s head turned to face her, her eyes wide, mouth open. Eddie’s phone screen had enough time to go black as he waited, on the edge of his stool, to learn more about this very handsome Steve kissing dudes sometimes.

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve told you this before, Robs, it’s not that shocking.”

“Apparently you haven’t! I definitely would have remembered if my very straight male friend suddenly confessed to me that he’s ‘kissed dudes,’ plural, to my face,” she said, both hands gesturing wildly. She almost knocked over her refill.

God, Eddie wished he could see Steve’s face now, but he refused to move much in case they both realise he’s desperate to hear what comes next. He couldn’t even look away, he just stared like a weirdo, but he couldn't help it. This was juicier than killer emus. Eddie flat-out refused to acknowledge why, despite the tiny thrum of excitement in his chest.

Shoulders falling with a heavy sigh, Steve shook his head and leaned further into the bar, all too casual for this conversation in Eddie’s opinion. “It’s not that big a deal, jeez. Sometimes, with my old friends-”

“You do not mean Tommy and Carol.” Steve was quiet and Robin’s eyes got even wider. “You do not mean Tommy and Carol!”

“Well, yeah, it’s just. Y’know, when you’re hanging out at a bar and you’re at that happy tipsy point, not drunk, like, you’ve still got all your awareness or whatever, sometimes you just wanna show your friends you’re happy they’re around.”

“By… kissing them.”

“Uh-huh.”

“On the lips?”

The shrug Eddie witnesses is surprisingly easy for the sheer amount of obliviousness Steve was clearly carrying. “Sure. I won’t do it with someone who wouldn’t want it, of course, and after Carol saw me and Tommy do it a few times she’d asked him to stop, so we did, but if you’re confident in your sexuality it shouldn’t be a problem, right?”

“Steve. You are like my platonic soulmate and brother wrapped into one, and I mean this with all the love in my heart, but you are, on some occasions, extremely dense.”

“Hey,” Steve said, sounding offended, and Robin placed a hand on his shoulder.

“I’m sorry. I don’t mean you’re stupid. But sometimes it takes some time for things to click, my guy, and this might be one of them.”

Eddie couldn’t help but agree at least a little, having struggled with his own comphet demons, but even as an out and proud bisexual he certainly never kissed his friends unless he was trying to annoy the shit out of them or they were in a “with-benefits” situation. There were so many more ways to show appreciation than to tenderly kiss your buddies on the mouth.

As Steve started to speak again, someone walked up to the stool between Eddie and Steve, his eyes on Eddie. With a slightly mean grin, swung his foot up onto the stool with a clang and said, “Sorry, waiting for a friend.” The guy left with a judgemental side-eye but Eddie couldn’t care less. When he glanced back at Steve, Robin caught his eye with a confused look, and Eddie quickly unlocked his phone to pretend to be busy, hoping the low lights hid the slight flush in his face. It’s not like he hasn’t been caught doing this before, but in this case Eddie really, really wanted to hear the conclusion to this conversation.

“Let me get this ‘straight,’” Robin began, “you’ve kissed Tommy, on the mouth, multiple times.” Steve nodded. “In front of his girlfriend.” Another nod. “With tongue?”

“No, never with tongue.”

“But like, softly. You’re not mashing your faces together.”

Steve sounded annoyed when he stated, “I know how to kiss, Robin.”

“Humour me.”

“Yes, it was soft.” He’d crossed his arms now, and Eddie had to force his eyes away from Steve’s biceps.

“Did you… enjoy it?” Robin asked, much more gently than the rest of her inquisition. 

“I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t like it.”

“I know I’m thoroughly a lesbian but I cannot fathom enjoying kissing Tommy Hagan even if I wasn’t.”

Steve snorts at that and some of the tension leaves his shoulders at the joke. “It’s not just Tommy, though, like I’ve done it with Jonathan, so it’s not just one person.”

Robin’s lips curled inwards like she was biting back something she desperately wanted to say, but wouldn’t. With one long breath in, then out, she said instead, “Okay. So. Two guys you’ve enjoyed kissing.”

“And Argyle. He’s great about it, actually, we kiss all the time.”

“Three. Guys.”

“Guy friends,” Steve clarified, as if that helped anything.

“That’s like this far away from being boy friends.” She held up two fingers that were basically touching, right in Steve’s face, and he swatted her away with a laugh. Taking her hand back, she leaned forward instead, asking, “Have you ever, I dunno, tried kissing a guy who isn’t a friend?”

Something in Eddie’s gut dropped at the question, making room for butterflies that had absolutely no right to be there and needed to vacate immediately. At the same time, a tiny, loud, selfish part of him wanted to raise his hand and yell, “pick me! Please, for the love of everything holy, unholy, and in between, fucking pick me!”

“What? No. That’s rude, I’m not just gonna walk up and kiss a stranger, I’d either be a massive creep or get punched.”

“Not if you ask, and especially not in this bar. You’re allowed to experiment, if you’re open about that.”

Silence lay thickly between them as Eddie watched Steve tilt his head to the side. Like he was actually considering it. He even let out a small “huh” and Eddie felt the seconds slide by like molasses, his own head tilted down at his phone but his eyes fixed on that perfect head of hair just a few feet away. Slowly, Steve turned so his back was to the bar again, and Eddie saw those puppy dog eyes glancing over the other patrons.

“Have you even seen anyone checking me out, though?” Steve asked.

Robin stared right at Eddie, and he swore his heart stopped. Oh fuck. “Probably the guy who’s been looking at you like you’re his last meal on death row all night.”

Oh fuck.

Twisting, Steve finally noticed Eddie. If his heart had stopped when Robin completely caught him out, it started back up again at a rabbit-fast pace, blood rushing straight to Eddie’s cheeks and ears, staining them bright red. Having the full force of Steve’s gaze on him was equal parts awful and wonderful and deeply fucking embarrassing. It was worse when Steve started looking him up and down, eyes tracing a languid path down Eddie’s body and along the leg still resting on the spare stool.

He knows what he looks like, and it’s nothing like Steve. Lankier, dressed in all black and ripped denim. Eddie had just enough self-esteem to acknowledge he could attract a few people with his long curls and dark, intense eyes, but not enough to think that this guy right here, seemingly checking him out, would find anything all that appealing. And yet.

“Hey,” Steve said when he got back to Eddie’s face, all calm confidence.

“H-howdy,” Eddie squeaked, zero charm to be found.

“I’m Steve.”

“I’m Eddie,” he said with slightly more vocal control, and the slight smile that brought to Steve’s face could spawn entire hair metal ballads.

Steve readjusted so he actually faced Eddie, and Robin leaned on his back, peering over it with a conniving little smirk. “So I guess you heard all that,” he said, and Eddie nodded.

“Yeah, uh, sorry about that, I didn’t mean to-”

“Oh you totally did,” Robin said, grinning.

Eddie’s mouth pressed into a thin line, but all that did was make Steve chuckle. It wasn’t even a mean chuckle, he sounded amused, like they were all in on a joke instead of justifiably pissed that a stranger had heard their entire private conversation. Robin, also laughing, pushed off of Steve with a pat to the back and a “good luck,” walked off towards the dance floor. Eddie watched her leave with only a little bit of malice.

“So what do you think?”

His head whipped back to Steve, who’d stepped a bit closer. One of the track lights above highlighted the natural tan to Steve’s skin. Eddie bet he’d look stunning with a bit of glitter on his cheeks. “What?”

“About experimenting, dude,” Steve laughed, “you don’t have to if you don’t want to, I won’t push. I’m not a shitty person.”

“And you’re just. Okay with this.” He couldn’t help waving a hand between them with a disbelieving shake of his head.

“Wouldn’t ask if I wasn’t.” Steve’s arms were crossed again, making some frayed wires spark in Eddie’s poor, overwhelmed brain as he took in Steve’s patient, friendly smile. His lips made this adorable wide v-shape like that, and whatever remaining restraints held Eddie back from this idea swiftly dissolved at the idea that he could kiss that smile away, even if only for a moment. Even if he knew he’d probably think about it for a year, or, likely, more.

With a sharp exhale, Eddie said, “Fuck it. Yeah. Let’s do it.” He stood, finding he was more or less as tall as Steve, and dredged up every ounce of bravado he could manage. “Any time you wanna stop, you stop, ‘kay? I’ll back off.” He paused to lean closer, glanced down at Steve’s lips with all the hunger he’d been fighting off all night, then back up for effect. “But don’t blame me if I rock your world.”

“You’re a dork,” Steve teased but, if Eddie wasn’t imagining things, he sounded just a little breathless.

Eddie closed the distance. Instead of getting right to kissing, he gently nudged Steve’s nose with his own, ghosting his full lips over Steve’s and earning a tiny, frustrated huff, and finally, with a smile, Eddie dove in for a kiss. It was soft, like he imagined Steve giving all those other guys, and intentionally short. Eddie pulled away a smidge, only to find Steve chasing after him, his broad hands grasping Eddie’s belt loops and yanking their hips closer.

Their kisses grew more fervent. Hands roaming, Eddie got his wish and buried his fingers into that silky soft hair, his other hand cupping the small of Steve’s back and bringing them flush together. He could feel the small groan in Steve’s chest when Eddie pulled his hair just the right side of too hard and gave a short laugh. Steve swallowed it, drew his tongue over Eddie’s lips in a question Eddie answered by letting him lick his way inside. Fuck, Steve really did know how to kiss.

A push, and Steve was pressed into the bartop, his hands slipping to Eddie’s ass and kneading while Eddie had him pinned. He could feel Steve getting hard in his preppy little shorts, felt it against his own hardness and couldn’t help but grind into it, both of them moaning low into each other’s mouths as their kisses grew hungrier, sloppier. 

Neither of them remembered where they were until hands slapped both of their shoulders and they jolted apart, pupil blown and lips pink.

“Welp, looks like you figured your shit out, dingus. I’m heading home with Chrissy here,” Robin wiggled her and the woman that was apparently Chrissy’s hands in the air between them all, Chrissy giving a little giggle.

“Hey, I knew I was right about the lady duck!” Steve said, still clinging to Eddie, and Robin groaned.

“Yeah, and I was right that it’s not straight to enjoy kissing your guy friends. Have fun, be safe, make good choices, give me the address of wherever you’re going,” she said, turning to leave, but glanced back. “Also, nice to meet you Eddie. I’ll probably see you around.”

Eddie snorted but waved goodbye before turning his attention to the handsome man he still had trapped against the bar. Steve was already looking at him with a mix of heated desire and genuine interest that bolstered Eddie’s ego considerably. “How would you say your experiment went, big boy?” he asked despite still being able to feel the results between them.

“Pretty good I think.” Steve’s hands wandered up under the hem of Eddie’s shirt, making his shiver. Shit. He wanted those hands everywhere immediately. “Wouldn’t mind a few more test runs though. Gotta follow the, uh, scientific method.”

“Of course, of course. We definitely need to see if the results can be replicated.” As he spoke, Eddie started to trail light kisses along Steve’s jaw, then down his neck.

“Fuck yes.”

They'd meandered around Capitol Hill so Eddie could show off the first place he'd ever felt safe enough to be queer and loud about it, unable to look too long at Steve's expression of relieved pride in him. He let Eddie drag him to a few bars, introduced him to some new friends who welcomed him with open arms and pointed, knowing stares in Eddie's direction. They'd walked along the pier, doing the touristy shit, ate greasy fish and chips wrapped in newspaper and watched seals play and beg for food in the harbour. 

Hell, Eddie even let Steve drag him up to the Space Needle. It was something Eddie had refused to do when he first moved, not wanting to do something so mundane and cliché when he was trying to become a local. But of course as soon as Steve insisted he folded like wet tissue.

Now Eddie knew he'd be cursed with the image of Steve, his hair windswept, gazing out at the city with wide-eyed wonder at the sparkling sprawl of buildings as the sunset painted him in pink and golden hues.

Eddie didn't even bother looking at the city, the ocean. They couldn't ever compare.

Not for the first time that night, Eddie hung his head and rubbed at his eye with the heel of his palm, wishing the image would stop fucking tormenting him. He was so fucking hopeless.

Raising his head again, he took another drag and stared up at the moon. Light pollution blotted out everything but the moon and Venus. It was the one thing he missed about Hawkins (that was a lie, always a lie), seeing the stars appear in the deep, dark blue above like all the gods took a needle to the fabric of the sky. Here, Eddie's only two stellar companions danced around each other every night. Sometimes closer, nearly touching it seemed, other times further away, locked in an eternal game of will-they-won't-they.

Tonight he only saw the lonely moon through the gap in the buildings. A waning crescent that shone bright enough that it lit up the darkness of Eddie's silent kitchen with a silvery glow. It was silly, but he held a tiny wish that Venus wouldn't be too far behind so at least Eddie would be the only lonely sad sack tonight. At least the thought made him chuckle at himself slightly.

Seeing Steve off at the airport that morning felt like Eddie was about to rip himself in two. If it weren't so public, if it weren't so risky, he might've confessed to Steve right then and there in some desperate attempt to get him to stay just a few days, hours, seconds longer. He'd dig his own heart out of his chest and offer it up on a silver platter; anything for the man that carried him out of hell. But Eddie was nothing if not a coward. They'd hugged each other tightly, just shy of too long, and Steve waved goodbye with a bittersweet smile and something shining in his eyes.

Eddie'd had to wait an hour in the airport parking lot before he was stable enough to drive back home.

Thing was, he was so fucking lonely out here. He'd moved to get away from the pitchfork-wielding, grudge-carrying people that never bought the government's cover story, to stop the vitriolic graffiti that had kept getting sprayed on Wayne's new trailer. The kids would get caught up in it too if they were caught hanging around The Freak. Eddie couldn't fucking go anywhere without keeping his head on a swivel, and it was so exhausting. He'd needed to leave. Even if it meant having to leave his family, the only people who knew the real story behind his scars and nightmares–even if it meant leaving Steve. So, it was hard, having Steve–a piece of his home, maybe even his heart–come visit and then leave after just a handful of days. Great days, but still. 

Choking out a bitter laugh, Eddie scrubbed at the tears starting to trail down his cheeks. Stupid, he was so stupid. His throat closed up around another laugh, turning it into a silent sob, a frustrated growl as he begged his stupid heart to just let it fucking go, to stop hurting, stop tantruming pathetically inside his ribcage about a man he could never have.

Just as another sob threatened to claw its way out of his chest, the phone rang. The shrill sound made him jump, nearly dropping his cigarette out the window. Swearing, he reached and pulled it over, answering.

"H'lo?" he rasped.

"Jesus, Munson, you sound rough," Steve's tinny voice replied, amused, "did I wake you up?"

The tightness in Eddie's chest burst into butterflies and he couldn't help but laugh around a sniffle. "Nah man, I was up. Shouldn't you be asleep, though? Isn't it 3am there or something?"

"Yeah, or something. Just got home though."

"Wait, what? The fuck are you calling me for, then?"

Steve chuckled. Christ, it was a great sound, filtered through endless miles of telephone lines though it was. "You told me to call when I got home safe, remember?"

"After you'd slept or something, dude, jesus christ. You didn't have to call at the ass crack of dawn."

"Well I wanted to."

Eddie mentally started stomping out the fresh butterfly swarm fluttering around in his guts. Unfortunately, he couldn't hold back the smile on his lips, wide enough that he knew Steve could hear it in his voice. So he teased, "Wow, Harrington, it's almost like you miss me or something." There was a pause.

"I do."

Sincerity weighed down Steve's words, two syllables dropping into the well of silence left in their wake. Eddie felt the ripples through his whole body, leaving stillness behind.

"Really?" Eddie whispered. He heard Steve inhale shakily and ached to be beside him again, to have him near, pull him close, feel him again.

"Yeah, Eddie. I miss you so much, it– god, it hurts," Steve said with a tiny, heartbreaking laugh.

"Fuck. I– same, Steve, I've been bawling my eyes out since this morning." His words were thick with even more tears threatening to spill but he blinked them back.

"I'm sorry."

Eddie snorted, though regretted it immediately and swiped at his nose with his sleeve. "Why're you apologising?"

"Hate knowing you're hurting too."

"Can't be helped, I'm afraid," Eddie sighed, then added quietly, nervously, "not like you could stay."

Speaking just as quietly, Steve said, "Maybe… maybe I could."

"Huh?"

"I've just, I've been thinking," Steve started, gathering steam, "for a while now but also on the flights home. It sucks that you're out there by yourself. And the kids are all graduated and leaving, and Robin and Nancy are planning on moving, and-"

Eddie's unable to help it, interrupting Steve's rambling that he definitely picked up from Robin, but he can't hold it back, hope forcing the words out. "Stevie, are you saying–?"

"UW accepted my application," Steve said. "I could move out there, get my teaching degree."

"Why?" 

The question hung in the air, all of Eddie's breathless wishes clinging to it. Steve took a steadying breath on the other end of the line.

"I have feelings for you Eddie. Might be kind of in love with you, and I really don't think it's one-sided. Should've told you at the airport."

"How did you know?" 

Chuckling, Steve said, "You're not subtle, but when I said the view from the Space Needle was beautiful, you agreed even though you never took your eyes off me."

"I wanted to tell you," Eddie said in a rush, heart in his throat, "all fucking week. I'm kind of in love with you too."

Steve laughed, full and warm, and Eddie might've collapsed with relief if he weren't leaning on the counter still. "We're idiots, huh?" Steve asked.

"Massive idiots. Complete morons. Absolute buffoons. You're telling me that we could've been kissing all week if one of us had just gotten the balls to confess?"

"Well, maybe more than just kissing." Steve's voice dropped suggestively and Eddie grinned at the bloom of desire that grew in his chest.

"A gentleman never assumes, big boy, but good to know."

A yawn echoed through the phone and the heat Eddie felt morphed into depthless fondness. "You should go sleep, Stevie."

"Probably. Gonna be wrecked for my shift tomorrow." He sighed softly. "Worth it, though."

"Worth having to pry your eyelids open while Marge berates you for letting her kid watch movies her husband rented?"

Steve snorted. "Yeah. Worth packing my bags and running off to the coast, too."

"Christ." Shaking a little, Eddie asked, "Are you sure?"

"Never been more sure of anything." He yawned again, hard enough Eddie could hear the receiver shudder in his hand. "I wanna keep talking to you but I'm dead on my feet. Can I call you tomorrow? Please?"

"You don't have to ask, sweetheart," Eddie said, pouring his fondness into every word to make up for the fact that he couldn't be there to see Steve's gorgeous, sleepy face, to fall into bed with him and wrap him in his arms. "Hell, call me when you wake up, before you go to work. You gotta tell me how your flights went anyway."

"Uhg, right. Ask me about the lady who scoffed at me reading The Hobbit."

He scoffed. "She dares to look down upon one of the great works of literature? I don't know her but she has made a mortal enemy on this day." The tired giggle Eddie heard made him smile so wide it almost hurt.

"You're so dramatic."

"You love it."

With a contented sigh, Steve said, "Yeah, I do." Another yawn, loud this time, and Steve continued, "Good night, Eddie. I'll call tomorrow. I miss you."

"Can't wait. Miss you too, Stevie."

Eddie hung up, the receiver settling in with a click. It felt like his body was made of bubbles, or fireworks. He almost couldn't believe it, that his hopes actually came true. Steve loves him, wants to move to Seattle for him. What!?

He let out a long, loud whoop that echoed in the alleyway. A distant neighbour yelled at him to shut the fuck up, but Eddie couldn't care less. He loved Steve, who loved him back.

Grinning, he looked up at the sky again. The moon had moved on, but there, creeping over the roof of the apartments next door, Venus finally made an appearance. Laye, but still there, still following. A beautiful, shining pinprick of light, trailing in the moon's wake.

Welcome to my new tag list! @steves-strapcollection, @ghost--enthusiast, @inairbinad, @rhaenyyras, @chocolate-fishy, @lovelyscot, @little-trash-ghost

“Don’t say that, Eddie. You’re a catch, that asshole wasn’t worth your time.” Chrissy took his hand in hers, her Christmas-themed manicure sparkling in contrast to his usual chipped black polish. Every time he looked at their hands together he was amazed at how small Chrissy’s were.

While what she said might’ve been true, it gets pretty fucking demoralizing when each and every person before him hadn’t been “worth his time” either. Eddie couldn’t seem to get past a second date, unless they were hitting him up for a booty call, and god, he was tired of that too. He was craving more. Something like this, but–

But not like this this. He told himself the answer didn’t lie in Chrissy’s soft hand in his and Steve’s thigh warm along his own. Or in the way Chrissy relaxed across both their laps while Steve stretched his arm across the back of the couch to touch Eddie’s shoulder. No matter what his stupid, traitorous little heart thought. Because they were friends.

“You’re a catch too, Chris,” Eddie said instead of what was actually on his mind. Her shy smile in reply made his heart skip.

“Exactly,” Steve said definitively, “you’re both great. Gorgeous, funny, smart. I don’t understand why neither of you are taken yet.”

Chrissy raised a teasing eyebrow at him. “Says the guy who’s also currently single.”

“Yeah, well.” His fingers fidgeted with a loose thread on their shared couch. Eddie remembered the day he and Steve hauled it home from the thrift store because Robin took the old one when she moved in with Vickie. Turns out, moving furniture in the middle of summer was hell, and not at all because seeing Steve’s hair fall into his face and stick to his sweaty forehead drove Eddie a bit insane. Not at all.

“I’m not looking right now, I think,” Steve finished.

Taking a hit from his joint, Eddie let his thoughts collect while the smoke sat in his lungs. On the exhale, he said through the smoke, “Maybe Chris and I should stop looking too. Don’t they say something about that?” The two confused expressions levelled at him made Eddie shrug. “I dunno, something about love happening when you’re not looking for it or least expect it or some shit.”

Steve’s lips pursed in a thoughtful–or possibly a more confused–frown as he nodded slowly. “Sure…”

“That’d be nice,” Chrissy sighed wistfully. Her head tilted, landing on Steve’s shoulder, and he squeezed her closer.

Eddie watched as two of his best friends and the most gorgeous people he knew curled up into each other. They looked so good together it was almost unfair, like the sun and the stars, and Eddie’s chest ached like a greedy black hole. He saw how they looked at each other sometimes. Glances taken when they thought no one was watching. Eddie watched, though, even when he didn’t want to, often didn’t realise when he did. Maybe now that they were both single they’d finally get together like he always thought they would. The thought left a sour swirling in Eddie’s gut that he mentally berated himself for.

He would be happy for them if they became a couple. Truly, he would. That churning jealousy could go fuck itself. In an effort to smoke it out, Eddie took another hit.

Fingers tapped on his shoulder, so Eddie passed the joint to Steve at his wordless demand. Chrissy nicked it from Steve’s fingers after he was done and wrapped her pretty lips around the filter. Quietly they sat in their collective haze of smoke and sluggish thoughts while sinking further into the couch. Until Steve took a deep breath, then giggled.

“I could help, y’know. With your dry spells.” He stared at Chrissy, then Eddie, then wiggled his brows twice with a dopey smirk.

Eddie barked a laugh while Chrissy giggled, but Eddie couldn’t deny that the idea was tempting. He didn’t have the mental fortitude to shove those not-exactly-friend-shaped feelings away like usual, blooming in his chest when he couldn’t bury it. Fuck. The images were… sexy, all the ones that he tried to ignore late at night with his fingers on or in himself. He coughed to hide the rising flush in his face.

“You’re funny, man,” Eddie said, rolling his eyes and hoping the butterflies died an inglorious death.

“Hey, I mean it. Come knock on my door if you guys get desperate enough.” Steve had a clearly fake salacious look on his face, sending them all into fits of laughter again until Chrissy started talking about their Christmas plans, the previous topic all but forgotten.

Or that’s what Eddie thought.

The next few weeks were, well, interesting. Eddie kept catching himself looking more often, watching Steve and Chrissy. Whether they went out in a rush to find last minute presents or try to scrounge up party decorations for the New Years bash they’d been strong-armed into hosting, Eddie couldn’t stop being drawn to his friends more than usual. Like that black hole in his chest had a gravitational pull. 

He bumped shoulders with Steve more, or whacked him with the back of his hand; really, Eddie found any excuse he could to just touch him more. Or make him laugh.

Eddie told a joke–a pun awful enough that it’d make even Dustin groan–and Steve laughed, a full on head-tilting-back, echoing guffaw that made Eddie’s insides light up like fireworks with delight. Time felt like it slowed down. He could see the snowflakes catching on Steve’s long lashes, the rosiness on his cheeks that was probably just from the chill in the air all while bundled up in a soft, navy blue scarf Eddie had given him a few years ago. It was devastating.

He flitted around Chrissy like a moth to a flame–or, more like a gentle bedside lamp. Darted in to sweep her up in a big hug and spin her around, or made funny faces that made her let out  those chime-like giggles of hers.

When they’d wandered through Millenium Park, Chrissy gasped at the giant glimmering tree that they set up every year, her awed “Wow” so precious he ached with the need to wrap her in his arms and bury his face in her neck. Eddie hated the holidays, but her wonder and joy at every single part of it made him want to be less of a Grinch. It didn’t hurt that she looked so beautiful with the lights sparkling in her blue eyes and her hair a little mussed from the wind.

God, Eddie wanted them so badly. It was like Steve’s words had turned Eddie’s guilty, furtive desires up to eleven.

And while he noticed all of that, he also saw that Steve and Chrissy were watching each other as well.

It makes sense. Steve has mentioned a few times how pretty he thinks Chrissy is, and she’d joked with Eddie about how hot Steve looks at the gym. They yell about their sports, and work out together while bitching about their least favourite professors, and rave about the same music; so, of course, they’d be a great couple. Eddie’s the odd one out, as is his niche.  Though the growing jealousy gnaws at his bones, he’s determined to face their inevitable getting-together with endless support and happiness. He’ll get over the dark, selfish parts of himself eventually.

What Eddie doesn’t notice, amongst all his observations, is that sights have been set on him, too.

The holidays came and went in a blur. Eddie visited Wayne over Christmas, a quiet affair with just the two of them. Like every year they gave each other weird novelty mugs–Eddie’s, a bat hanging upside down that says I’m Fruity; Wayne’s, a remix of Women Want Me, Fish Fear Me so ridiculous Wayne nearly dropped it while cackling–and a few other gifts. He practically lived in the soft, deep green sweater Wayne gave him, and that Steve and Chrissy gushed over when he sent a selfie to their group chat. The pics he got in return, of Steve beaming with Robin, and Chrissy equally happy with her grandparents’ ancient dog, made Eddie grin so wide Wayne shook his head with an all too knowing roll of his eyes.

Steve stayed with Vickie and Robin at the Buckley’s house, and Chrissy visited her grandparents down south, so they all got some distance. Breathing room. It wasn’t like Steve’s offer was serious. They were all high, and lonely during one of those times of year when anyone who’s single feels at least a twinge of yearning. Eddie, personally, blames the Hallmark shit that gets shovelled down their throats, even though Chrissy and Steve both glare at him when he rants about it.

He knew he was right, anyway.

By the time Eddie got home he figured he’d gotten over the feelings that had been winding their sticky tendrils throughout his rib cage. He dragged his luggage and weary feet up the narrow stairs of their third-floor walk up, looking forward to collapsing on his bed after a seemingly endless flight, and let himself in with a grateful sigh.

“Honey, I’m home!” he warbled. Soft laughter from the living room greeted him, and when he glanced over he saw Chrissy and Steve cuddled up on the couch.

“Which one of us is honey?” Steve asked with a wink that made Eddie’s face heat and his heart sink to his toes. So it happened. They were together. Cool. Shit. Great. He could improv when D&D went off plan, he could handle this.

“Whichever one of you is sweeter,” he replied, though even Eddie could tell his heart wasn’t in it.

“I think you’re both pretty sweet.”

Chrissy’s tone made Eddie pause. She said it slowly, syrupy, and just suggestively enough to make his face blush even more. Fumbling through getting his boots off, Eddie let out a reedy laugh. “Well shucks, Chris,” was all he could think to reply with.

“How was your flight?” Steve asked.

“Oh, y’know, nothing more luxurious than economy seats on a Delta flight. Really the pinnacle of air travel. I could write a song to the beat of the kid kicking my seat.” Eddie flung his keys into the bowl by the door and started for his room.

They both laughed with sympathetic smiles. “Sorry man.” Steve nodded at the TV, before looking back to Eddie. “Do you wanna watch a movie with us, celebrate being home?”

Chrissy nodded encouragingly. “Please, Eddie? We missed you.”

The way they looked at him made something ping in the back of Eddie’s mind, something that had him wanting to run. “Uhh, nah, I think I’m gonna hit the hay. Really tuckered out. Enjoy the movie though, don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!” He winced internally at his stupid choice of words and scurried off to his room without another glance at the couple. 

Shutting the door with a sigh, he leaned against it and wished he could let his head thunk on the wood. Maybe a few times, just to knock the irritating turmoil out of his brain. Lacking that option, he chose to unpack, giving his nervous energy something to do while he corralled his stupid pining. Through the slamming of his dresser drawers and the woosh of clothes slammed into his laundry basket, Eddie didn’t hear the discussion going on in the living room, nor the pair of footsteps approaching his door until a polite knock sounded.

He paused. Waited. Worried. Then, through the door:

“Eddie? Sorry, we just. Um. We wanna talk to you?”

While Eddie could be a stubborn bastard at times, he could never resist Chrissy when she sounded like that, concerned and hopeful. He could imagine her puppy dog eyes, pretty and pleading, after years of them being wielded against him for the last of whatever treat they’d been sharing. Swallowing, he walked over and opened the door.

Their relief was obvious. Steve’s shoulders lowered and Chrissy beamed. “Hey,” she said softly.

“What can I do for you fine folks?” he replied.

Steve looked at Chrissy for a moment, then back to Eddie when she nodded. This was it. Eddie braced himself for the news of a happy new couple, drew up the remains of his energy and prepared to shower them in excitement and encouragement while trying to desperately hold the leash of the snapping, ravenous maw of jealousy inside him.

“Do you remember my offer?”

Eddie frowned. Huh? Steve had texted him about getting take-out before Eddie got home, but he’d slammed back a sandwich before the flight. That couldn’t be–

Oh.

Sputtering, Eddie said, “Wait, y-you mean that offer?” They nodded, and Eddie could only blink.

“You don’t have to, of course. Chrissy and I talked yesterday, though, and–”

“And you’re including me?!”

Chrissy giggled. “Of course we are. Steve did proposition both of us. And…” She turned shy, fidgeting with her nails. She’d gotten them re-done for New Years in black and gold and, Eddie noticed with a flash of heat, the nails of her index and middle fingers were both left short. “We both want you to join us if you’re comfortable. We wanted to ease you into it I guess, but you just looked kinda…”

“Bummed out.”

She snorted and gave Steve’s chest a very light smack. “Steve.”

“What?” he complained.

Struggling a little, Eddie blurted out the first thing that came to mind. “I thought you’d already started fucking.”

They both blushed a little, while Steve rubbed the back of his neck. “No, we waited for you.”

Eddie mouthed the word waited. They waited for Eddie to get home so he and Chrissy could take Steve up on his offer and, and–fuck each other? Had he entered the horniest Twilight Zone ever? Had the plane crashed and he’d landed in a coma with his best wet dream playing? On a whim, Eddie pinched himself and hissed when it hurt. Steve took Eddie’s hand away from his arm with a roll of his eyes.

“You’re not dreaming.” He said it so evenly, confidently, that Eddie had no choice but to believe him. Then Steve wound their fingers together and started tracing his free hand up Eddie’s arm, leaving sparks in his wake. “We want this, with you. I haven’t stopped thinking about it since I offered, honestly.”

Chrissy took Eddie’s other hand, turned it over in her delicate grip and brushed her fingertips along the sensitive skin of his palm. His knees, surprisingly, didn’t buckle when she gazed at him through her lashes. His knees deserved a fucking trophy. “I haven’t either,” she said.

“Holy shit,” Eddie mumbled eloquently. How else was he expected to respond when his two absolutely fucking stunning friends just told him they wanted to have sex with him? Every bit of tiredness left his body at the thought. He felt like he might vibrate so hard he’d go into a quantum state and fall through the floor. 

When he took too long to respond, they started pulling their hands away, but Eddie stopped them with a fumbling grasp. “No, no wait. Holy shit. You’re serious.”

Steve’s hopeful smile turned leisurely sinful. Stepping closer, he replied in a low tone Eddie had heard snatches of through their shared, thin wall, “Dead serious, baby,” and Eddie shivered.

“We can talk more about it, if you want,” Chrissy said as she laid a demure hand on Eddie’s chest. “There’s no rush.”

He shook his head fast enough to send his curls flying. “God no. Fuck, I haven’t stopped thinking about it either. It’s been driving me up the wall. Like, you can’t just go and waggle your eyebrows at us like you did and say that shit and then do nothing about it for weeks and then expect me to wait–”

“Eddie. Shh.” Slowly, Chrissy’s hand slid up to Eddie’s neck, her fingers curling around the back of it while she stared at him with a desire he’d never seen directed at him before. His mouth snapped shut. “I don’t want to wait either. I want to kiss you.”

“Fuck yes,” he breathed, then ducked down to capture her lips in a heated kiss. Freeing the hand she held, Eddie wrapped it around her waist and pulled her close, earning a small sound of surprise. She tasted sweet, like lingering hot chocolate, the softness of her lips addicting.

She was so small compared to Eddie. If it weren’t for the steely command in her voice when she told him she wanted to kiss, he’d almost be tempted to wrap her up and worship her like the princess she deserved to be. The way she gripped his sweater and yanked him closer, though, told him he was in for a very different ride.

There was a slight tickle at the hem of Eddie’s sweater. Steve’s hand started to sneak under the soft wool, his blunt nails scratching softly along Eddie’s pale skin and making him shudder deliciously at the feeling. Steve was a solid presence beside them. Drawn to him, Eddie leaned a little of his weight against Steve’s body, delighted in the way Steve returned the gesture, holding Eddie up as he began to nuzzle Eddie’s hair.

“Missed you so much,” Steve rumbled as Chrissy broke away from Eddie with a soft moan. From that point on Eddie refused to give his doubts any more room. Even if this was the one and only chance he got, he’d take it now and leave the consequences for later, no matter how risky. Without hesitation, he turned and met Steve’s waiting lips and revelled in the hum he pulled from Steve’s chest. It wasn’t long at all before Eddie felt Steve’s tongue against the seam of his lips, and hungrily he parted them, letting their tongues slide together in a way that turned filthy so quickly.

Eddie wanted to float away on cloud nine and drag them both into his bed immediately. Given that only one of these things was even possible, the decision was easily made. Groaning, Eddie pulled back and said, “If I don’t get you both in bed right the fuck now, I’m throwing a tantrum.”

“Then move, you goof,” Chrissy said, shoving him, and Eddie grinned wolfishly as he guided them both further into the mess that was his bedroom.

Stepping right on his clothes without a care, Eddie, Steve, and Chrissy all pushed and pulled each other to Eddie’s bed. Laughter and kisses followed as they couldn’t keep their hands off one another. Chrissy tripped on a hidden shoe and ended up against Steve’s chest, and he swooped in to pepper messy kisses to her cheeks before licking into her mouth. And fuck, wasn’t that a sight.

Eddie needed them all to get naked, and he needed it now. He started tugging at their shirts to distract them, or grab their attention, anything to get this started. When they looked up, he wiggled his eyebrows like Steve had all those weeks ago and whipped off his shirt. “C’mon, let’s go!” he said at the sight of their slightly dazed expressions. 

From there it was a whirlwind of clothes flying. Belts flopped to the floor, zippers unzipped, and underwear was lost amongst the mess as it was flung away in their enthusiasm. Eddie flopped across his bed, panting after having Steve’s greedy hands all over him as soon as Eddie had shed his jeans. To either side, Chrissy and Steve descended, hands pawing and limbs tangling. Eddie was overwhelmed in the best, most exquisite way. Steve had a possessive arm around his waist while Chrissy’s thighs wrapped around one of Eddie’s. Steve delved down to Eddie’s mouth, devouring the whine that escaped his lips as Chrissy’s teeth grazed one of his nipples.

He tried to keep up, he really did. Eddie wedged his free thigh between Steve’s and ground it upwards, smirking when he heard Steve’s breath hitch and felt how wet and hot his cunt was against his leg.

“You’re so fucking hot,” Eddie groaned. “How the hell are you both here?”

“Someday we’re going to make you see yourself how we do,” Chrissy threatened.

Honestly, Eddie believed in this moment that they could convince him that the sky was purple. Having them in his arms, naked, kissing him, kissing each other, felt like a fucking miracle. He’d believe anything they told him right then.

After some moments of slowly, deliciously rocking together, starting to learn each other’s tells and buttons, biting gently at newly discovered freckles and supple swells of skin, Steve guided them to lie on the bed properly.

“What do you need tonight?” he asked them both.

“I, um,” Chrissy looked down at one of Eddie’s tattoos. She’d been tracing it with the tip of her finger and making Eddie shiver under her touch. “I’ve always fantasised about riding one of you.”

Both men’s breath hitched as the words registered.

“Do you want me to grab my strap?” Steve offered.

“Do you want to get up?” she asked, and he shook his head ruefully.

“Don’t wanna miss anything, honestly. But I’ve got an idea.”

Following Steve’s direction, Chrissy stood up while Eddie stretched out along the messed up sheets, taking a few deep breaths in the hopes of controlling himself. If he came before Chrissy and Steve did he’d never let himself live it down. But, fuck, it was hard when they were so fucking hot, climbing into position over him.

Steve let Chrissy go first with a gentlemanly hand gesture. Giggling, she swung up onto Eddie’s hips and hovered over his leaking cock. The mischievous grin that graced her lips was all the warning he got before she took him in hand and slid his head between her folds. Eddie whined at her teasing.

“Chris, please, wanna be inside you, please,” he babbled, his hips jolting when he felt his dick nearly slip into her alluring heat. “C’mon, c’mon.”

“He’s so pretty when he begs,” Steve mused. He tilted his head as he looked down at them, reaching out to trail his fingers down Eddie’s tense, twitching stomach.

“He is,” she agreed. “Maybe next time we could explore it more.”

Eddie inhaled sharply, his eyes flying open. “Next time?”

“Yeah, of course.” Chrissy stopped her teasing and sat down on Eddie’s thighs. “You–did you think this was a one-time thing?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I kinda did. I thought this was just, like, getting it out of our systems. Clearing the air.”

Steve tucked a strand of curls back behind Eddie’s ear, his expression closed off despite the tender touch. “Is that what you want?”

Anxiety made his heart clench, but he figured this was as good a time as any to admit to the bullshit that had been driving him insane, and not just in the weeks leading up to this.

“Fuck no. I want more. If, if you want that, too. I think it’d kill me if this was it for us. A-and not just sex.” Eddie propped himself up on his elbows, nervously chewing on his bottom lip. “I wanna go on dates. I want picnics in the park where people wonder what we’ve got, and fancy dinner dates, all that romantic shit because I’ve turned into a sap in my old age.”

Twin gleaming, relieved smiles shone down at him. Chrissy squeezed his hip, and Steve pulled Eddie in for the softest kiss any of them had shared that night. When he pulled away, Steve said, “You know I’m the king of romantic shit. I can’t wait to wine and dine you.” He took Chrissy’s hand in his. “Both of you. I’m gonna show you off, make people so jealous.”

Steve leaned over and kissed Chrissy softly too, and Eddie’s heart swelled at the sight. How he’d gotten so fucking lucky he’d never know. He already loved them both as friends, and the shift into something else was as earth-shattering as it was perfectly natural. Judging by the heartbreakingly tender expressions Chrissy and Steve wore when they parted and faced him, they seemed to feel the same way. Desire surged and burned like a bonfire in Eddie, for both of them. He needed them both. Now.

“Chrissy. Please,” he begged breathlessly. With a frantic nod, she sat up again, lined up Eddie’s cock, and sank down slowly with a delicious gasp. Eddie hissed, eyes screwed shut, as each rock of her hips brought him deeper into her heat.

“Open your eyes, Eddie,” Steve said, but Eddie shook his head. He couldn’t, if he watched her he might blow his load too early. But then Steve wove his fingers into Eddie’s sweat-damp hair and tugged, making Eddie buck up into Chrissy and whine. “Watch her. Like you have been for weeks. See how beautiful she is sitting on your cock.”

Swallowing, Eddie opened his eyes, and god, she was fucking perfect. Chrissy’s hair was wild, swept away from her flushed face. Lips parted, she moaned as she finally sank all the way down onto Eddie, clenching around his length as she adjusted to the size of him. Her breasts heaved as she breathed deep and Eddie craved touching them again, wanting to know if she’d squeeze his cock if he pinched and caressed her dusky pink nipples.

“See?” Steve asked. He sounded winded. “Beautiful.”

“Amazing,” Eddie panted.

For a moment Chrissy ducked her head, shy, but took a steadying breath before saying to Steve, “Now you, baby.” Steve climbed up over Eddie’s face, bracing himself on the headboard, and the fucking glorious view that greeted him made his dick twitch. “Oh, he’s excited,” Chrissy giggled.

“He better be,” Steve responded with a smug look down at Eddie.

“Of fucking course I am, I’m about to get ridden within an inch of my life! This is the best goddamn present I could ever ask for.”

“Good answer.”

Eddie watched hungrily as Steve’s cunt came closer. As soon as Eddie could reach, he dove in, dragging his tongue over Steve’s dick and moaning at the taste of his slick. He could feel the groan vibrate through Steve’s body as he licked between his folds, dipping into his hole before going back to his cock, latching on, and sucking.

“Oh fuck.” Steve gripped Eddie’s hair again. “It’s like you’re starved for it. Already pussy drunk, huh, good boy?”

Whimpering, high and desperate, he nodded against Steve’s cunt. He was fucking ravenous. If he could, he’d have his face buried between Steve or Chrissy’s legs for hours, until his lips were raw and his jaw was sore.

Chrissy began to move too, slowly at first, circling her hips in a way that made Eddie’s stomach clench and tremble. When she finally rose up, then down, he met her with a thrust that punched out a high, lovely whimper.

Not wanting to shift Steve, Eddie wrapped his arms around his thighs and held tight as Chrissy picked up her pace. Sheer, hedonistic pleasure surged through Eddie’s body, setting his nerves alight. The tight, slick feeling of fucking into Chrissy, while Steve ground down on Eddie’s clever tongue, the wet sounds of sex filling the room; Eddie wanted to bottle it all up, live in the moment forever, record it on video and watch back the first time he got to feel and taste and savour these two perfectly imperfect people he loved.

Fuck, he loved them. Was in love with them. That, though, was something he’d face later. He was busy right now.

Steve’s hips sped up, moaning as Eddie simply opened his mouth and let Steve ride his tongue, his cock rubbing Eddie’s nose. The hand in his hair tightened, held Eddie in place, and he had never been happier being used for someone else’s pleasure. Chrissy fucked him faster too. It was maddening. He could die here, happily.

The angle of Steve’s hips changed and Eddie opened his eyes to see Chrissy wrapping her arms around Steve’s chest, her fingers skimming his top surgery scars reverently.

They both admired the sight between Steve’s legs. Eddie wondered if what they saw was as mind-blowingly hot as what he saw as he watched one of Chrissy’s hands trail through Steve’s chest hair and downward, until she could get her knuckles around Steve’s dick.

“Look at him watching us,” she said, her voice thin and unsteady.

“He’s so happy being used, isn’t he?” Steve replied. Being talked about like he wasn’t there made the coil of bliss in Eddie’s stomach tighten. Steve also sounded shaky, and Eddie, determined to make it good, memorable, pointed and curled his tongue inside Steve’s cunt while he renewed his thrusts. The desperate sounds he wrung from them both boosted Eddie’s ego, and his efforts. He’d be good for them, make them both crave this again, so next time he could see just how condescending they could be while they railed him until his brains melted.

Chrissy’s moans grew quieter, choked off, her pace starting to falter. Thank fuck, she must be close. And judging by the way Steve was getting louder and louder, his groans and gasps and the desperate way he was bucking down on Eddie's face with more and more slick and spit smeared on Eddie's mouth, he must be too. Their sounds were fucking divine, pushing Eddie to the edge. He dug his nails into Steve’s thighs, hoping they’d leave marks. The hand that had been in Eddie’s hair flew to where Eddie was holding onto Steve possessively. Eddie grasped it back in a bruising grip, his heart soaring when Chrissy’s free hand joined them.

“Chrissy, oh god, mnh, Eddie!” Steve’s thighs started to shake and clench around Eddie’s ears. Tilting his chin, Eddie let Steve take and take and take until he shouted and shook apart on Eddie’s tongue, slick gushing and dripping down Eddie’s chin. Like a good boy, Eddie stayed put, kept his sore and aching tongue in its proper place so Steve could ride out the rest of his orgasm until he was truly satisfied.

When Steve moved away, Eddie drew in desperate gulps of air, taking one more worshipping lick that made Steve gasp thickly before, wobbly, he flopped onto the narrow space between the edge of the bed and his lovers.

Free to move fully now, Eddie’s hands flew down to Chrissy’s hips to hold her in place. She keened when Eddie pistoned into her, her nails pinpoints of delicious pain in his arms.

“E-Eddie, Steve,” she moaned, over and over and slurring together. “Fuck, oh, please, please!”

Steve reached between them and got his fingers on her clit, rubbing expert circles in time with Eddie’s thrusts. “Come for us, Chrissy, c’mon sweetheart.”

With a surprisingly quiet cry, Chrissy clenched around Eddie’s cock, her whole body shuddering as she came, her face falling into bliss when Eddie followed her right over the edge.

His orgasm ripped through him like lightning, so intense he barely heard his own needy whimper. Fuck, fuck.

He slumped into the mattress with a hollow groan, finding his hands once again clasped by Steve and Chrissy. All he could hear was their ragged breathing, until Chrissy shifted and he slipped out of her with a hiss. She hummed, then, a curious sound, and Eddie opened his eyes to see her dip her fingers into her pussy, drawing them out to see them coated in his come.

Steve leaned forward. Taking her hand gently, he closed his lips around her fingers and sucked them clean, moaning quietly at the taste.

“Holy shit,” Eddie said with wonder. Giving Eddie a sly side-eye, Steve pulled Chrissy in for an open mouthed kiss they both groaned into, and if it were possible for Eddie to get hard again right there and then, he would’ve.

But, regrettably, he was only human. All he could do was watch in awe as his lovers made out before they joined him in lying on the bed. Like vines their limbs twisted together again, unable to resist the need for contact that drove them close. Their bodies were cooling with sweat, but they cared little when there was so much warmth between them.

After a few minutes where they simply enjoyed existing in the same space, letting their mutual, sated exhaustion wash over them, Eddie finally broke the silence.

“I’m so glad we got high.”

The resulting cackling made Eddie grin. He loved making them laugh.

“Me too,” Steve said, nuzzling into the crook of Chrissy’s neck while he reached across her to hold Eddie’s hip.

Chrissy hummed. “Mm. Me three.”

Eddie and Steve groaned despite their begrudging smiles.

“I am glad, though,” Eddie continued. “I don’t know if I would’ve ever thought I could have you both. Still feels like a fucking dream.”

Steve’s hand traced along Eddie’s slender waist. “It’s real.” He repeated the words with tired wonder. “It’s real.”

Curled up together in the same bed for the first time, Eddie smiled and wrapped his arms around Chrissy and Steve, his stars and sun, orbited by the moon.