David Bowie plays on the radio and Steve drums his fingers along the steering wheel of his car as he contemplates. He is truly too good for this world. Now he is running errands for Dustin like some common soccer mom. The kid only had to give him one pout – one! – and Steve felt all his resistance crumbling. So, there he is on a Friday evening, seated in his still-running car in a Hawkin’s trailer park.
He stops his car in front of Eddie’s trailer and listens to the music as he gathers the willpower to leave the car.
Laughed at his long black hair, his animal grace, Bowie sings on the radio.
How fitting
Outside, dusk is setting in and the world colors purple. Closing up Family Video had taken longer than he anticipated due to a difficult customer who couldn’t decide between The Thing and The Nightmare on Elm Street and had asked Steve extensive questions to make up his mind.
Steve used to be fine with horror movies, but given recent developments (give or take his life the past few years), he isn’t into horror anymore. Out of the two, The Thing is probably the worst offender. Those crazy fleshy monsters hit a bit too close to home. Although, Freddie Krueger does have some vague Vecna vibes to him.
Steve is so lost in thought he doesn't notice the door of the trailer open until Eddie knocks on his window with his knuckle. With a jolt, Steve turns to roll his car window down. Once it is fully open, Eddie leans forward, his arms resting on the car.
“Sup Harrington.” Eddie’s hair falls forward and the low-cut tank top reveals his chest, framed by the silver chain of a guitar-pick necklace.
Shaved, Steve notes. Then, realizing he is staring, he tears his eyes away, coming face to face with Eddie Munson who gives him an amused look.
“Oh uh, right” – Steve coughs nervously – “Dustin asked me to give you this…” he unbuckles his seatbelt and leans over to the passenger seat where he grabs the cardboard box of some nerdy game.
“Here–” He hands the box to Eddie’s outstretched hands.
“Hell yeah, Talisman. Took Henderson long enough.” Eddie pushes himself away from the car and inspects the box for a moment. When he turns back to Steve, his eyes move towards the car radio.
“I didn’t take you for a Bowie fan.”
“Oh, I’m not really … Robin must have left it in. It’s … alright, I suppose.”
“And what type of music does Steve find more than alright?”
Eddie flashes him a cheeky smile and Steve finds himself somewhat intimidated. Whatever his answer, someone like Eddie will probably find it lame. Steve isn’t all that passionate about music anyway and mostly listens to whatever is on the radio.
“Maybe Queen, The Bee Gees…” he lists in no particular order.
Eddie tuts. “Such a proper boy.”
Although he expects it, Steve still winces.
“I should introduce you to some real music,” Eddie says thoughtfully, then – “Wanna come in?”
Steve takes a moment to think. His parents are out, so it isn’t like he’s expected at home. He has nothing to do tonight except watch some movies (perks of the job). Although the prospect of hanging out with Eddie doesn’t thrill him, it might be the more interesting option.
“Sure,” Steve turns his car off, rolls the window back up and opens the car door. Eddie takes a step back, giving Steve some room to get out.
Eddie’s eyes move to his chest and Steve realizes he is still wearing the stupid Family Video vest. He quickly takes it off, crumples it and unceremoniously throws it in his car before shutting the door again. With a quick turn of his key, the car is locked.
Steve follows Eddie towards the trailer. It is a warm summer’s night and the shadows of the trees grow long under the purple sky. The trailer park is surrounded by ample woods and fields from which the sound of crickets flares up.
“You coming?” Eddie waits for him at the door. Steve doesn’t realize he stopped moving and quickly makes his way to where Eddie is standing.
“After you, King Steve,” Eddie says, holding open the door with a dramatic bow.
Damn, Eddie is kind of annoying, isn’t he? No wonder Dustin gets on so well with him. Two peas in a pod. Steve lets out an unamused scoff.
Once inside, Steve stands in the middle of the…living room? Kitchen? He isn’t sure what to call such multifunctional rooms. He crosses his arms and shifts his weight from one leg to the other as he waits for Eddie to put the game away.
The main room is crowded and messy. It is the complete opposite of his parents’ living room, which is kept meticulously clean and organized – with the help of their cleaning lady of course. The coffee table is stained with water circles from mugs and the like. Something unthinkable to Steve. If he ever puts a glass down without a coaster, he will face his mother’s wrath.
“Beer?” Eddie calls from the kitchen. He already turned his back to him to make his way to the under-table fridge.
“Sure.”
Steve is getting sick of standing around and decides to move to the small beige sofa. It is littered with clothes and after a moment of hesitation, he shoves them aside and sits down.
“You’re fucking tense,” Eddie says as he hands Steve a can of beer. He looks down at the pile of clothes and without hesitation grabs them and throws them in a different corner of the room. Then he lets himself fall onto the sofa next to Steve, which objects with a loud creak.
The sofa really is quite small and granted, a bigger one probably wouldn’t fit. The middle of it sagged considerably too, dragging its occupants to the center.
Steve feels the warmth of Eddie’s jeans-clad legs against his own. They are probably sitting a bit too close and Steve shifts uncomfortably in his seat.
The can lets out an audible hiss as Eddie opens it and takes a quick sip from his beer. Then, he puts it down on the table and jumps up again.
“Fuck, I was gonna play you some music.” He hurries past the kitchen into a separate room.
Steve opens his own can – cheap store-brand beer – and takes a nervous gulp as he waits for Eddie to return.
He is starting to reconsider his choices this evening. Perhaps he should just have watched Back to the Future again. Instead, he is in the trailer of some guy he kinda-sorta knows because they have shared custody of some annoying kid (one of Steve’s best friends).
“Oh yes, this will be good.” Eddie re-emerges cradling a few cassettes in his arms like he is holding a baby. He squats in front of the coffee table and releases the collection of plastic cases on top of it. Steve eyes the contents, but he recognises none of it. Then he looks over at Eddie – the flesh of his knee peeks through the hole of his jeans and Steve wonders if Eddie made it himself or if it had naturally torn by use.
Eddie shifts through the cassettes with ring-clad fingers, picking a few up and turning them around to look at the back of the plastic cases.
“Let’s start with Rainbow,” he mumbles to himself, grabbing the cassette (a hand holding a rainbow over mountains on its front). He walks over to a small side table next to the front door where an old-school cassette player stands.
With a loud click, the front of the cassette player opens and Eddie puts the cassette in and closes it again. Immediately, music starts playing.
“Fuck, hold on.”
Eddie rushes over to the kitchen, rummaging through some drawers until he finds what he is looking for.
Victoriously, he holds up a pencil to Steve and clicks his tongue. Steve takes another gulp of his beer as he watches Eddie move through the trailer with a skip in his step. He is actually excited to let Steve hear his music. Steve feels strangely flattered and he lets himself fall back on the sofa.
The music stops and Eddie takes the cassette out. Using the back of the pencil, he rewinds the tape. Steve looks at Eddie’s hands as he works. The rings are kinda cool. Maybe he should let Robin pick out a ring for him too. Although perhaps not with skulls and crosses like Eddie wears. Maybe something more simple, like a signet ring or something.
Steve is pulled from his thoughts when he hears the cassette player click shut again.
“Your player doesn’t rewind?” Steve asks.
“Steve” – Eddie puts the pencil behind his ear and turns to look at him – “I live in a trailer…”
Steve feels heat rise to his cheeks.
Shit, sometimes he forgets his parents are very well off and some things are considered luxuries instead of the default. He made the same mistake with Robin too – multiple times – but it was hard to prevent. He thinks back on his car – not particularly expensive, but also not as beat-up as Jonathan’s. Does Eddie think he is some spoiled rich boy?
“Right, sorry.” Steve takes another mouthful of beer. Eddie turns around again to put the cassette in the cassette player.
A song begins to play, the sound reminds Steve of something alien – not really like music at all. Once the drums kicks in Eddie begins to bob his head on the beat, his hands hitting an invisible drum. He dances across the room, drumming his invisible drumsticks along the wall before falling back onto the sofa, stringing his fingers as if playing a guitar.
“Shit, I should really learn this on the guitar.” He leans forward to grab his can of beer. Condensation forms on the outside and when he picks it up, a wet circle is left on the table.
Eddie kicks his feet up, white sneakers hitting the wood of the coffee table and the cassettes rattle. He takes a deep swig of his beer and audibly sighs.
Steve leans forward, arms resting on his thighs and can between his knees. Once the music actually began, it wasn’t too bad. He didn’t understand the long intros though, and preferred it if music would just start.
“So, what do you think?” Eddie asks.
“Not bad.”
“Not bad” – Eddie scoffs – “You, my friend, have not been exposed to nearly enough good music.”
Steve chuckles. “I thought Bowie was pretty acceptable by –” he looks Eddie up and down demonstratively, “ – your kind.”
“My kind, huh?” a smile plays at the corners of Eddie’s lips. “And what would that be, exactly?”
Well, shit. Steve drove himself straight into possible-insult town. Eddie eyes him curiously, one elbow resting on the sofa’s backrest and his hands holding his can in a way Steve could only describe as cool.
“Well, you know…” he trails off.
“I know…?”
“Eh, metalheads, I guess?”
“Ziggy Stardust isn’t metal, you know that right?”
Steve sighs exasperatedly. “I know, ugh. I mean he’s–”
“Weird?” Eddie finishes.
Steve takes another gulp of beer, desperate to compose himself. “Yeah,” he answers lamely.
“I suppose he’s pretty weird, huh?” Eddie eyes the ceiling of the trailer while taking a lazy sip from his beer. “Did you know he used to be gay?”
Steve looks to Eddie, who is still eying the ceiling, head lying back against the sofa’s backrest.
“Used to be?” If Steve is to believe Robin, there is no ‘used to be ’ when it comes to being gay. You either are or you aren’t. Now he thinks about it, Bowie seems somewhat queer with his tight suits and styled hair, but that is what girls dig, isn't it? He has heard countless girls swoon over men just like that.
“You never had a gay phase, Harrington?”
Steve nearly drops his can.
“Gay….phase?”
“You know, live a little, try some shit, see what sticks –”
“I can’t say I have,” Steve mumbles, his eyes now firmly fixed on the can in his hands. He plays nervously with the lip, pulling it in tandem with the music before taking another sip.
“With a pretty face like yours, you might actually get some good ones.”
Steve chokes on his beer. Actually chokes, and he hits his chest with a fist to get himself to breathe again.
“W-what?”
“How can you know what you like when you never tried it?” Eddie sits up straight, pulling one leg to his chest as he turns to Steve. His dark eyes seem like a bottomless lake and Steve feels small under his gaze.
“H-have you?” Steve stutters and it is utterly embarrassing. Why is he so rattled by some stupid revelation?
Wait, did Eddie just call him pretty?
Eddie smirks at him like they are sharing in a secret, and perhaps they are.
“Fuck yes, if someone tells me not to do something you can bet your ass I will do it. Besides, humans are humans, big fucking deal.”
“So – was it a phase? In your case?” Steve asks carefully. He isn’t really sure why he asks. Maybe it is part curiosity. He never seriously considered relationships with men. Some are nice enough to look at, sure, but marriage, a house, children – that is only meant for a man and a woman right? A world in which someone just casually tries homosexuality seems…foreign.
“Hm, I guess so … Wow, don’t look at me like that Harrington. Are you disappointed?”
“W-what, no!” Steve really doesn’t know why he is getting so flustered. He suddenly feels self-conscious under Eddie’s piercing eyes and runs a hand through his hair – a nervous habit.
“Fuck, you are – well, alright, maybe for you I can arrange an encore.”
Before Steve has time to respond, Eddie pushes himself upright and leans one knee on the sofa between Steve’s legs. He feels the cold metal of Eddie’s rings under his chin as he lays a sprawled hand on his throat and tilts his head.
Steve freezes, air caught in his chest as Eddie leans over his face, his breath hot on his lips. Steve’s right hand uselessly holds on to the near-empty can – afraid to spill it – while his left hand digs into the sofa next to his thighs. Then, Eddie leans down, capturing his lips with practiced ease. Steve feels his long hair tickle his cheeks and the scruff of a five-o-clock shadow grace his chin.
Eddie’s lips move over his, slightly chapped and rough in a way that couldn’t possibly be a girl. Without meaning to, Steve feels his own lips move against Eddie’s.
Well, now he couldn't pretend it was just something happening to him. He had graduated to an active participant.
Kissing Eddie Munson. Eddie freaking Munson.
Robin was going to have a field day.
Perhaps the most surprising part is how he doesn’t hate it. He likes the feeling of stubble on his chin, the hard corners of Eddie’s jaw, the way Eddie pushes him back onto the sofa and he wills Steve’s mouth open with a sweep of a thumb and the cold metal of rings on his face. A hot tongue explores his mouth, stroking it against Steve’s in a way that makes him gasp.
Steve has never experienced anything like it. Usually with the girls he dated, he took the lead. Kisses were usually shy and timid. Eddie is completely different. He knows what he wants and he isn’t afraid to get it. Steve feels something stir in him as he presses back.
Eddie bites his bottom lip, taking it between his lips, and breaks away from him. Steve feels breathless and blinks up at Eddie. His hand reaches over to Steve’s right side, gently taking the can from his hand and setting it away on the coffee table. He turns back, eyes dark and Steve wills his mouth close as he regards him.
Was he gay? Shit, he doesn’t really want to think about it now. Humans are humans was what Eddie had said right?
Steve reaches out, sliding his hands behind Eddie’s neck, and pulls him back. Eddie moves himself into a more comfortable position, placing a knee on either side of Steve’s thighs and straddling him. Eddie’s hands reach for Steve’s temples, threading themselves through Steve’s hair – rings catch on the strands but Steve doesn’t mind the painful sting as it pulls. He just wants to get Eddie’s lips back on his – and so he does.
Their lips meet, fiery and hot. Open-mouthed Steve explores every corner of Eddie. He lowers his hands to Eddie’s back, playing on the edge of his tanktop and the hot skin underneath. If it works for girls, surely it works for guys too right?
He runs his hands up the side of Eddie’s chest, a thumb over a nipple, and Eddie gasps into his mouth. Steve feels heat settle in his crotch and he is glad he chose to wear jeans made of thick fabric rather than thin trousers. Steve’s hands move over Eddie’s chest, feeling the smooth muscle of it and the roughness of regrowing chest hair.
Eddie’s fingers reach the hair on the back of Steve’s head and yank it back, exposing Steve’s throat. He lets out a surprised yelp when he feels Eddie’s mouth latch to the delicate bow of his neck and suck.
Steve is learning a lot about himself in the span of less than an hour. The way Eddie tugs his hair, and has his way with him is sending a pleasant jolt straight to his cock. And Steve can’t help but moan under the ministrations of Eddie’s mouth as he sucks and bites.
“Y-you’re gonna leave a mark,” Steve breathes.
“That’s the plan,” Eddie mouths against his neck. Then, he licks his way up into Steve’s mouth again.
Shit, he is kinda into this. Steve isn’t sure how he could ever go back to girls now he knows what it feels like to be touched by calloused fingers and kissed with such force.
Eddie’s hand leaves his hair and travels down to the rim of his jeans, pulling out his shirt in the process. Steve feels the ghost of fingers running along its edge and the muscles in his stomach tense pleasantly in response.
Eddie breaks away from him, his breath ghosting over his lips as he searches Steve’s eyes.
“You wanna take this further?” Eddie asks, his eyes flitting over Steve’s face.
Steve feels drunk, even though half a can of beer isn’t nearly enough to even get him close to being buzzed. He is also turned on. Ridiculously so. But fuck, what does taking it further even mean in this context. Steve feels like a virgin all over again and shifts uncomfortably in his seat, trying to hide his arousal from Eddie.
Not that they are not actively engaged anymore, anxiety hits Steve like a bag of bricks.
“Uhh…” is all Steve manages to utter.
Eddie throws himself off Steve’s lap onto the empty spot next to him on the sofa. He puts his feet on the table again, hands behind his head.
“You’re right, maybe that’s enough for tonight.”
It doesn’t escape Steve that Eddie’s jeans look a little tighter than usual.
They sit in silence for a moment, only the voice of Rainbow’s singer cutting through the tension.
“I thought you said it was a phase,” Steve asks after he finally gets his breathing under control.
“Oh right, I should have clarified” – Eddie grins up at the ceiling – “The gay thing was a phase. I figured I was into both.”
Both? Wasn’t that something only hippies preached with their free love? Somewhere, Steve feels a wave of relief washes over him. He never seriously considered someone could like both. He has some serious soul-searching to do once he gets home.
“Huh,” is all Steve replies. Eddie’s eyebrow quirks in interest as he side-eyes Steve.
“I, uh…probably should get going.” Steve puts his hands on his thighs and pushes himself up. Eddie doesn’t move from his position, but his eyes follow him with interest.
“If you’re ever in the mood for a sequel, you know where to find me.”
Steve nods, because what else can you do in reply to such a comment? He is baffled at the ease with which the words escape Eddie. There is no shame or self-doubt.
As he lays his hand on the door handle, Steve looks back one final time. Eddie’s feet are bouncing in tandem with the beat of the drums and his eyes are closed. He looks so absolutely unshaken by their encounter that Steve feels almost jealous.
Steve is anything but unshaken.
“See you around,” he offers.
“See you, Harrington,” Eddie’s voice is playful, even though he doesn’t move.
When Steve is safe and sound in the driver’s seat of his car, he leans his head against the steering wheel and stays there for a moment.
What the hell just happened?
He turns his mirror to his neck and traces the hickey that Eddie left on his throat with a finger. He would have to ask Robin for some make-up to cover that up.
She is going to love this story.
Steve sighs and pushes the mirror back into its original position. When he starts the car, Bowie continues to sing like nothing happened.
Yes, he was alright, his song went on forever, Bowie sings and Steve groans as he hits the gas.
***
It is Saturday morning when Steve walks up to the Buckley residence. He passes the garden fence and walks around the house to the backdoor.
Hawkins was struck by the beginning of a heatwave and at this point, the temperature was bearable as long as one didn't move too much. The perfect day for a visit to the pool, but too hot for videos.
Which is why Steve is sure today won’t be too busy at Family Video. Fine by him.
The quiet days he works with Robin are always his favorite. Sometimes Henderson comes over – either with his friends or alone – and they mess around with the cardboard cut-outs or watch a movie on the little TV screen hanging from the ceiling. Steve has zero regrets about missing out on college. Everything he loves is right here in Hawkins.
He pulls at the red handkerchief around his neck. It is against company policy to wear scarves (and probably too hot too) but Steve needs something to cover up the damage of his little adventure with Eddie. At least, until he gets his hands on some skin paint stuff – or whatever girls call that type of make-up.
He enters through the backdoor straight into the kitchen, where he finds Robin’s mother clearing the table of breakfast plates. The room smells faintly like toast.
“Morning, Ms. Buckley!” he calls, already moving towards the hallway. Steve hears her respond, but he's halfway up the stairs by then.
“Rob!”
“Just a second!” Her voice is muffled. She opens her door, fixing an earring. Her eyes flick to his scarf before meeting his gaze.
“Geez, you’re early.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Steve walks straight past her and throws himself on her unmade bed. Robin pays him no mind and she walks over to her dresser again. From his spot on the bed, Steve can see Robin's face reflected in the mirror as she fusses with her hair. When she reaches for a pouch, Steve is suddenly reminded of why he is early to begin with.
“Do you have that face-stuff?” he asks as he sees Robin pull a pencil from the pouch.
“I’m afraid you’ll have to be more specific than ‘face stuff’.”
“You know, the skin-colored goo.” Steve makes motions over his face as if he’s painting.
“Concealer?” Robin’s mouth is open in concentration as she lines her waterline with black.
“That’s it!” Steve throws himself off the bed and walks over to Robin.
“Sure, I’ve got some,” Robin puts down her pencil and rummages through the pouch again. She pulls out a small beige bottle and holds it up for Steve. He reaches for it, but Robin pulls away.
“Does this have anything to do with your avant-garde fashion statement today?” She looks at his scarf again.
Steve laughs sheepishly and pulls his scarf aside. Robin’s eyes widen at the dark hickey on his neck.
“Jesus, Steve! It’s massive” – she leans in closer – “Was it Rebecca? Never thought she’d be the type...” Robin reaches for his neck but Steve pulls away.
“What? No!” – Steve lets go of the scarf – “I stopped seeing her like five weeks ago. Get with the times, Rob.”
“Well, sorry I can’t keep up with your busy love life.” Robin turns back to the mirror. She definitely isn’t sorry and Steve wouldn’t exactly call the origin of the hickey ‘love’. A lapse of judgment, maybe, or something uniquely in the corner of Eddie ‘the freak’ Munson.
“Can I get the stuff now?”
“Fine,” she says and she pushes the bottle in his hands.
***
Outside the car, the world passes in a flash of yellow fields. The windows are down and the scent of drying grass fills the air. Steve turns the music up to drown out the thundering sound of the wind as it enters the car and drums his fingers on the steering wheel while he uselessly mouths along with the music. He doesn’t know the lyrics, but that can’t stop him. The fact it annoys Robin when he does so makes it even more fun in his opinion.
“You’re in a good mood,” Robin remarks while she digs through her bag.
“It’s a beautiful day and I’m working with my best friend,” Steve chirps.
“Uhuh, right,” she replies skeptically. She puts her bag back between her legs on the car floor and fiddles with something in her hands.
Steve’s eyes are focused on the road before him when the music suddenly stops.
“Hey! I was listening to that!”
“I thought you said Bowie was ‘overrated trash’” Robin says while opening the case to another cassette.
“I didn’t,”
“You so did, and you called his pants too tight,”
“Whatever, driver decides,”
Robin sighs and pushes the cassette back in. “When I get my license, it will be Blondie all day every day. You better prepare yourself, dingus!”
Steve hums in satisfaction as the music comes back on. Maybe he found it somewhat grating in the beginning, but it was growing on him now. That, of course, had nothing to do with Eddie Munson.
“Did you know he used to be gay?” Steve suddenly says.
“Bisexual, Steve, and of course I know that. The question is, why do you?” From his periphery, he can see Robin staring at him.
“I just heard it somewhere,”
“Somewhere…” Robin repeated. She leans over to put the other cassette back in her bag.
Steve is relieved when he sees Family Video come into view. It’s not like Robin will forget their conversation, she is far too smart for that. And he really does plan on telling her about what happened yesterday, he just has to find the right moment. Hell, maybe it wouldn’t even be today.
Steve pulls into the parking space and hops out of the car. He locks his door and throws the keys over the car to Robin. She fumbles in her attempt to catch it and Steve is once again reminded that Robin is a band dweeb and not an athlete.
“Let’s open this baby up,” he says as he tosses the store keys into the air and catches them overhand.
“You’re such a show-off” – she walks past Steve into the store and continues without looking back – “For your information, there are no girls around…”
“Yet,” Steve finishes and Robin groans in response.
There wouldn’t be any girls around for most of the day as it turned out.
As Steve expected, it was a slow day. The only people who visited were those who probably wouldn’t be found dead sunbathing, nerds who never stepped outside (except to rent a video, apparently), and old people looking for something nice to watch with their grandkids.
Somewhere between the shelves, Robin is putting returned VHS tapes into their rightful place. Meanwhile, Steve sorts through new arrivals and adds them to the computer system. In the back of the shop, a guy has been staring at some science fiction movies for probably half an hour by now. Category basement nerd, Steve decides.
They had been working in relative solitude. Steve looks up as he hears the bell signal someone’s entrance. He is greeted with a curly head of hair.
“Henderson!” Steve stands up and throws himself over the counter. The secret handshake is a must and cannot be skipped.
Shake, box, Star Wars sword thing, guts.
Dustin smiles wildly at him.
Just as Steve is spilling his guts, the bell chimes again. He looks up, readying himself to apologize to the poor customer he has no doubt scared off with his wild gestures when he comes face to face with dark bottomless eyes.
“Munson,” Steve is probably gawking, at least a little and Eddie looks amused at the scene in front of him.
Dustin, oblivious to it all, immediately starts talking.
“I was just about to grab my bike when I ran into Eddie. He offered me a ride in his van. Mom’s at the pool today, says it’s too hot to stay indoors; she practically kicked me out of the house,”
“Right,” Steve wasn’t even looking at Dustin as he yapped on. He somehow couldn’t tear his eyes away from Eddie’s. It was strange seeing him in daylight now. The darkness of dusk had made their whole interaction the night prior seem like a dream. Now, face to face with Eddie, Steve was hit by the reality of what had transpired. He felt profoundly awkward.
“ – You should totally get a van, Steve!” Dustin’s voice pulls Steve from his thoughts and he tears his eyes away.
“Y-yeah, probably not. I like my car,” he composed himself, deciding to focus his attention on Dustin rather than Eddie.
“Hey Dustin” – Robin walks from behind the shelves, carrying a now-empty crate. Her eyes land on Eddie with a hint of surprise – “Hey Eddie,”
“Got anything good yet?” Dustin asks Robin eagerly.
“You’re in luck–” Robin says as she puts the crate away, “We just added The Dark Crystal to our collection,”
“Sweet!” He hears Dustin call when Robin leads him away to one of the shelves in the back.
Steve is left alone with Eddie and doesn’t know how to compose himself. A part of him feels nervous under Eddie’s dark gaze.
Eddie walks over to the counter and leans against it.
“Cool gig,” Eddie says as he looks around the store. “Do you ever get to keep the cardboard cut-outs?” Eddie points his finger at a life-size cut-out of Indiana Jones that stands proudly at the front of the store. Steve’s eyes involuntary drift back to his fingers again and he really ought to stop that. Sooner or later, Eddie will catch him staring.
“I don’t, but Keith does sometimes,”
“Sweet,”
A silence falls between them and Eddie kicks his feet. The guy in the back still hasn’t made up his mind and a little distance away Dustin is eagerly explaining something about the ‘Gelflings’ to Robin.
“Hey, uh, are you doing anything next Friday?” Eddie asks suddenly.
“Nothing yet,” Steve is desperately trying to stop his heart from beating at such an insistent pace and he hopes his voice comes out as nonchalant as he intends it to.
“You wanna…I don’t know…hang out or something?”
‘ Or something’. What does ‘or something’ mean ?
“Yeah, I– …yeah, sure” Steve fumbles a bit, but Eddie doesn’t seem to notice, or maybe he doesn’t care. A smile grows on his face.
“Cool,” Eddie says.
He pushes himself away from the counter and walks up to a shelf to inspect some of the movies. He leans forward, shifting his weight to the balls of his feet, and hums a song that sounds vaguely familiar. Steve stares at the interlaced fingers behind his back – adorned with silver rings – and shivers at the memory of their coolness against his neck.
“Cool,” Steve echoes.
***
The whole week, Steve had thought of countless excuses to cancel hanging out with Eddie on Friday, but in the end, none of them carried any weight. He couldn’t get Eddie of his freaking mind and the sappy romance movies that played on the television screen at work didn’t help either.
Eddie had visited Family Video again – once – with Dustin to return a movie. Apparently, they regularly hung out when Steve was busy at work and he felt something akin to jealousy. He had always been Dustin’s role model. Heck, the kid even started wearing his hair like him (thank you, Farrah Fawcett). That was until Eddie somehow inserted himself into the equation. Now, Dustin had grown out his hair and was wearing that ridiculous Hellfire shirt religiously; so often, Steve sometimes wondered if it was ever washed at all.
Eddie had corrupted him, and maybe he had corrupted Steve a little bit as well.
“You seem nervous,” Robin remarks as she flips through a folder, biting in the back of a ballpen.
“Well, I’m no–” Before Steve can finish his sentence, Robin continues.
“I haven’t heard you talk about your dates the whole week. Whoever gave you that ridiculous hickey has some serious hold over you –”
Steve feels his shoulders tense. The idea of Eddie having any kind of hold over him was crazy. Steve is cool, Steve is casual. Steve is definitely not nervous about his casual hangout with Eddie tonight.
“ –It’s Friday, aren’t you supposed to be on like three different dates tonight?” she continues.
“Uhm, well–”
“And you’ve been acting weird all week. Things are adding up to a very weird sum. The ‘buying thirty watermelons’ kind of weird sum.”
“You have such a way with words,” Steve rolls his eyes as he finally regains his composure.
“Steve!” Robin throws her pen at his head. He ducks, but the pen hits him anyway.
“Robin!” he mimics her tone.
“It’s someone’s mom, isn’t it? God, Steve–” Robin pulls a face in disgust.
“It’s not someone’s mom! Geez, Rob, what kind of person do you take me for?”
“The kind that acts all mysterious and weird, and suddenly listens to music he hates!”
Maybe going out of his way to buy a Rainbow cassette had been somewhat uncharacteristic. Of course, Robin would pick up on that.
“A guy can expand his tastes…” he trails, hit by the ambiguity of his statement.
Robin sighs, picks up her pen from the floor and gives him an irritated glance.
Steve hears the bell chime just as he closes the door to the vault in which they store cash overnight. It is only a couple of minutes before closing time and Steve grunts audibly as he raises himself into a standing position. Entering a shop this close to closing time is a certified dick move and Steve is not above sending whoever entered away, customer service be damned.
“We’re closed!” he yells as he walks back into the shop from the backroom.
“Eddie’s here for you,” Robin calls without looking back at Steve.
Sure enough, Eddie is standing at the counter. He is wearing a tank top and his hair is pulled up into a messy bun; his skin gleams with sweat from the heat outside and around his neck hangs a wiry set of headphones. Wind from the air conditioner pulls at his hair. When their eyes meet, a smile creeps on his face.
“Sup, Harrington…I’ve brought the van.” He holds the keys up demonstratively, dangling them from his index finger.
"He brought the van!" Robin exclaims looking back at Steve, her eyebrows raised and a sly smile playing on her lips. Steve can almost see the moment of realization dawn upon her as if a lightbulb had been switched on in her mind.
Steve scratches the back of his head. “I promised Robin a ride back–”
“No problem, We’ll drop her off. I’ll bring you back to pick up your car later.”
Steve casts Robin a quick glance and she shrugs in response.
“If Robin’s fine with it…” he trails.
“A van,” Robin whispers as Steve joins her at the counter and elbows him in his arm.
Steve rolls his eyes at her, but still can’t fight the smile that tugs at the corners of his mouth.
***
Twigs crack under Steve’s shoes as he follows Eddie through the forest. The canopy of the trees offers ample shadow and Steve finds the heat more bearable here than when they had been walking alongside the road. Still, his shirt clings to his back and sweat is slicking his hair as Steve runs a hand through it.
When Eddie asked him to hang out, he didn’t expect they would be hiking through the forest behind the trailer park during a freaking heatwave.
He looks over to Eddie. His bangs cling to his forehead and the veins on his arms are thick as his body fights to keep cool. Despite the oppressive heat, there's a glint of excitement in Eddie's eyes.
“There it is.” Eddie stops and looks somewhere in the distance. Steve squints and follows Eddie’s gaze. Between the trees, he can see the shimmer of water, and he realizes Eddie has taken them to Lover’s lake.
When they near the water, Eddie ups his pace, stepping around some of the bigger rocks and boulders near the lake’s edge like he has done it a thousand times before. Steve tries to keep up, but his unfamiliarity with the landscape slows him down.
At last, he is standing on the pebbled lakeside. The sun is already lowering itself into the embrace of dusk and Steve thinks they have maybe two hours of light left before sundown. He looks to his right where he sees Eddie standing above a pile of wood. When he gets closer, Steve realizes it is actually an old stranded fisher’s boat.
“Pretty cool, huh?” Eddie remarks.
Steve looks the boat over. It’s medium sized and some of its wood has rotted away. A good portion of it is covered in graffiti, and half of it sits in the water. It has probably been there for years.
“You bring all your conquests here?” Steve asks as he watches Eddie climb onto the boat. The question is mostly meant to be lighthearted, yet he feels a sense of anticipation as he waits for Eddie to reach the deck.
Eddie squats and looks down on him. “Nah, just you.”
Somehow, those words make Steve’s heart flutter and his cheeks heat up. He quickly looks away, pretending to search for footing to scale the boat.
When Steve reaches the deck, Eddie is sitting cross-legged facing the lake.
“This is a nice place,” Steve says, sitting next to Eddie. He lets his feet dangle from the side and follows Eddie’s gaze. Across the lake, some people linger, cooling down before heading back to their hot homes. Some children are playing in the shallows and their joyful screams carry over the water.
“Your work?” Steve asks as he gestures to some of the writing on the boat. The wood is covered in crude phrases, names, and dates – some of them are carved, but most look to be written with a sharpie.
“Some of it is.” Eddie pulls out a pocket knife from his jeans and hands it to Steve. “You can add to it if you want.”
Steve turns the knife in his hand. It is a classic red Swiss knife and it lays heavy in his hand.
“Here–” Eddie twists around and Steve follows suit. Eddie’s fingers are tracing the wood behind them, running them over the carvings in the wood. “– I think I did this about a year ago.”
Eddie removes his hands and Steve can finally get a good look. It’s nothing crazy, just a simple ‘Eddie was here’ carved in crude scratches – eternalised in some rotting wood in a town no one cares about.
Eddie holds up his hand to Steve and he realizes he is asking for his knife back. Steve hands it over.
Eddie flips out the knife and bends himself over the carving. Steve turns back around, looking over the lake again as the sound of scratching fills his ears.
“All done!” Eddie says after a while.
When Steve turns back, he sees his name freshly carved into the wood, right above Eddie’s original carving.
Steve + Eddie was here
“You wanted to immortalize this?” Steve asks amused.
Eddie flips the knife closed again and shoves it into his pocket. “A year ago, I’d never thought I’d be sitting here with Steve ‘the hair’ Harrington. Guess that’s pretty fucking special.” Eddie casts him a toothy grin.
Steve had to agree though. If someone had told him a year ago he would be hanging out with Eddie ‘the freak’ Munson on a Friday evening – rather than spend his night on a date or at a party – he would have declared them crazy.
“I suppose so,” Steve replies.
All is quiet for a moment, save the sound of leaves rustling by a welcome breeze. Steve closes his eyes as the wind kisses his sweaty skin.
“I got you something,” Eddie says, breaking the silence and he stands up. Steve’s gaze follows him and his eyes widen when he sees Eddie move his hands over his head to pull his tank top off.
“But let's take a dip first…it’s hot as balls.” He throws the sweaty tank top at Steve, who slaps it out of the air before it can hit him. The fabric lands heavily on the wooden deck.
“I didn’t bring my trunks,”
“You don’t need those here.” Eddie gives him a knowing smile as he kicks on his shoes.
Eddie is lean and he has a nice back, Steve thinks. Not particularly broad like some of his former teammates on the swimming team, but not bad for a guy who spends his time playing board games. His torso is littered with fading scars from the Upside Down and Steve has a fair amount of those himself.
“Get on with it, Harrington!” Eddie is already stripped to his underwear when Steve tears his eyes away and finally tugs his own shirt over his head.
A dip in the lake was a fantastic idea and Steve felt himself relax now that he was slowly but surely cooling down to more humane temperatures.
Steve tries to keep his eyes away from Eddie as they make their way back to the boat. The fabric of his boxers is clinging to his skin.
Eddie lays himself down on the deck, using his jeans as a pillow while he fiddles with his headphones.
“C’mere Steve.” Eddie pats the space next to him and Steve reluctantly seats himself. Eddie is working the buttons of a walkman.
“Remember when I said I got you something?”
“That was like twenty minutes ago,” Steve feels borderline offended at the implication.
Eddie gestures for Steve to lay down as well and Steve complies begrudgingly, resting his head next to Eddie’s on his crumpled jeans while he stares up at the blue sky. He feels exposed in just his boxers and now Eddie wants them to lay side by side.
“Here.” Eddie hands him one half of the headphones while holding the other side to his own ears. Suddenly it dawns on Steve why they’re lying as they are. Eddie wants to let him listen to music. Steve moves half of the headphones to his ear and sure enough music starts playing.
“I put some things together I thought you might like.” Steve can see Eddie turn his head towards him from his periphery and study his face.
“You made me a mixtape?” Steve asks. The idea of Eddie putting together a mixtape for him was…well, really thoughtful.
“Now you say it out loud it sounds kinda lame,” Eddie laughs.
“No, it– it’s really nice.” Steve offers.
He closes his eyes and listens to the unfamiliar tunes. Eddie did quite a good job at picking music that he might like. It is definitely less intense than Rainbow – the voices are less shrill, the guitar less cutting, and the drums beat at a lower frequency. It’s nice, ridiculously nice, and Steve can’t think of an instance when someone has ever taken the time to put something together for him like this – not even his ex-girlfriends.
They lay there for a while, each holding one end of the headphone. The people on the other side of the lake must have left by now because the only things Steve can hear are birdsong, the sound of rustling leaves, and the music that comes from the walkman. The breeze feels cool against his damp body, and he wonders why he had never done this before – stay at the lake until the sun went down.
Steve can almost feel himself drift asleep when Eddie nudges him.
“Steve.” Eddie shakes him gently by his shoulder.
“Hm, lemme be…” he whines without opening his eyes.
“You’re gonna be mosquito food.” Beside him, he hears Eddie getting up and when Steve finally opens his eyes, Eddie is already wearing his tank top.
Steve hadn’t realized how long they had laid there. Only a small line of sun was visible in the distance and Eddie’s figure was dark against the pastel sky.
“I’m afraid I’m gonna need my pants,” Eddie says as he points at Steve’s head.
“Oh right.” Steve finally sits up, handing Eddie the makeshift pillow of his jeans.
Once they’re both dressed, Eddie leads them back through the forest. The sky is pink and the trees form black outlines against it. Steve walks after Eddie, who points out when to be mindful of a hidden boulder or a sudden dip in the forest floor.
They take Eddie’s van back to Family Video so Steve can get his car. The whole car ride, Steve can’t help the feeling of nervousness that sits in his stomach.
Today kinda felt like a date.
Normally he would be on the other end of it – driving a girl home after a movie or something. And then, once he stops the car in front of her house, the girl would fidget and Steve would place his arm on the back of her car seat, confident and reassuring. He would tell her he had a good time and if she did as well, he would seal the deal with a kiss.
But this was Eddie, and they had been just two guys hanging out.
Two guys that had made out a week ago.
But that didn’t mean anything. It had just been Steve’s one-day gay phase and he got it out of his system now, hadn’t he? Eddie had only offered out of a misunderstanding, or maybe some weird kindness.
Shit, this train of thought was not helping Steve whatsoever. If anything, it had just made the nervous flutter in his stomach worse.
Eddie stops the van and the red neon light of Family Video plays with the curves of his face.
“There we are.” Eddie pushes himself back into his seat with his arms stretched on the steering wheel. Steve makes no movement to get out. They sit in silence for a while.
“About last week–” Steve starts. If he doesn’t acknowledge it now, he feels like he might go crazy. Besides, he doesn’t know when or if they’ll have another moment alone.
“Don’t worry, I didn’t tell anyone. We can forget about it if you want…” Eddie says without looking at him. His shoulders are tense and his grip on the steering wheels seems to harden.
“No…it’s not–” Steve tries, but Eddie cuts him off.
“Don’t worry Steve, I get it. I know what people say about me –”
“But–”
“ –and it doesn’t have to mean anything. People make out all the time–”
Steve unbuckles his seatbelt. He’s kind of sick of Eddie not letting him finish his sentences and is ready to return the favor.
He leans over, turning Eddie’s head towards him and kisses him. Hard.
Eddie’s mouth is parted, mid-sentence, and Steve feels teeth beneath his lips. By all accounts, it’s a shoddy kiss – not his best work – but it seems to do the trick.
Eddie loses his grip on the steering wheel, hands moving to Steve’s shoulders instead as he eagerly returns the sentiment.
“Fuck, Harrington, aren’t you full of surprises,” Eddie breaths against his lips.
Steve leans back into his chair and runs a hand through his hair.
“You talk too much,” he says as he opens the door of the van.
By the time he hears Eddie get out of his van, Steve is already opening the door to his BMW.
“Wait, Steve,” Eddie calls as he jogs over. When he’s standing in front of Steve, he pulls at Steve’s arm, running his hand down and urging Steve’s palm up. He shoves something square in his hand and closes Steve’s fingers around it.
“Next Friday, same time?” Eddie asks him, searching his eyes.
Steve nods silently. He stares after Eddie as he walks back to his van. He opens the door and turns one last time, giving Steve a two-fingered salute before getting in.
Steve hears the sound of the motor swinging on and looks at his hand. In the dim neon light, he stares down at a small cassette. Steve can hardly read the black letters in the red light, but he realizes Eddie has written something on its white label.
Hua cheng's music is passionate, ethereal, enchanting. He never details who or what inspires him but it's evident that the emotion is real and that he's hurting. People love the music but nobody knows Hua cheng. He doesn't give interviews. He doesn't meet his fans. It's as if he lives in a realm of his own and working on a mission nobody knows.
Xie Lian used to be in a band with Mu Qing and Feng Xin but it all fell through in a terrible terrible way. He didn't mind quitting music. He hated the one he was performing anyway. But he didn't hate music. So he eventually gets a job working in a small music studio and occasionally records his own stuff and posts it online for the fun of it. It's nothing like what you'd expect from him. It's punk and angry and it's clear ge has and is suffering and is in pain and people can relate.
And then Hua cheng finds Xie lian's music and shows up at the studio under the guise of wanting to record with them. And-- well, I'll write the rest if anyone is interested hshshshs
Thinking about kaveh’s newly found confidence in his relationship with alhaitham, in that he can openly talk about things with ease, such as seemingly mundane things such as his day, while previously personal information was not been shared between them due to their strained rapport and kaveh’s unease with how he fits into alhaitham’s life, such as kaveh going to the desert during the archon quest and not telling alhaitham. Previously viewing himself as a hindrance in alhaitham’s space, taking on all the household chores out of guilt, now kaveh actively takes up the space, both in the house and in alhaitham’s day.
Kaveh sits on the table in the living room because he feels comfortable in their living space, he feels comfortable to do so, as well as sharing wine, and snacks, because he knows alhaitham won’t reject him. they share their evenings together, kaveh buys coffee beans for the two to try together, kaveh buys wine for them to drink together at home, kaveh talks about things of interest in his day, which alhaitham shows active interest in – which is such a contrast to their previous rapport, in which kaveh avoided being upfront with alhaitham due to his perception of alhaitham as critical or judgemental and ultimately misunderstanding him
kaveh doesn’t think twice about picking up research on the temple of silence with alhaitham, despite how it mirrors their past thesis of king deshret and how it manifested in their differences pushing them apart, he openly offers to help alhaitham – in fact, he doesn’t even ask, he hears alhaitham’s unspoken request and responds to it in kind, agreeing to combine their efforts where they had previously rejected each other
when alhaitham excuses himself from the gathering at puspa’s café, saying that it’s him ‘done for the day’, kaveh follows this up with asking alhaitham if they should head to the house of daena before returning home. Kaveh is confident in his position as a priority in alhaitham’s life, whereas before, he couldn’t understand what alhaitham wanted from him, but here, kaveh understands that alhaitham simply wants kaveh’s presence – kaveh is assured enough in this to separate himself from alhaitham’s excuse to leave the gathering, he states ‘should we’, coupling himself with alhaitham, as he knows alhaitham won’t reject him – and alhaitham doesn’t reject him at all, in fact he shares the same mind as kaveh, stating ‘my thoughts exactly’ in the two leaving the company of the party, and heading home together. The two now have shared, aligned priorities – each other, and this is known between them
kaveh is all too aware of their differences, believing them to be mirror opposites, but, unlike alhaitham, he previously believed them to be ultimately misaligned – having opposing views to never intersect, whereas alhaitham believed that kaveh, as his mirror, was integral to the enhancement of his world and of his character. Now, kaveh has not only accepted himself as alhaitham’s mirror, seeing the benefit in the two of them finally working together once more, but also is comfortable with this, with this importance that he has in alhaitham’s life. rather than being guilt ridden about the burden he perceives he places on alhaitham, he accepts and enjoys alhaitham’s regard of him, as now this is an expressly mutual sentiment.
Kaveh is now confident in alhaitham’s esteem of him, his care, his intentions. he knows how tenuous their relationship was and the harm they caused each other, and he’s accepted this, and he’s moved on, alongside alhaitham, and together they’re building something familiar, and completely new, for themselves. Rather than rejecting alhaitham out of pride for his scholarly principles and any lingering hurt, he has accepted alhaitham, the other side of the mirror, and in this, he has accepted himself, and now, he can finally make steps to move on, to better himself, alongside alhaitham
Not exactly in love with this one but I just needed to move past it at this point RIP
“Jonathan, how are you so bad at this? It’s literally impossible that you are this bad at decorating.” Nancy proclaimed exasperatedly as the two of them watched the garland slip away from her boyfriend and fall to the ground for the fourth time in a row.
Steve snorted at Nancy’s loud declaration, hiding the bright smile on his face behind a hand. The couple had come early to help him set up for the party, but most of their time had been spent choosing various records to listen to throughout the night and making fun of Jonathan’s absolutely abysmal decorating skills.
“I’m Jewish!” Jonathan protested, his cheeks burning a soft red as he began to climb down the ladder once more, “I don’t know how this works!”
“You guys celebrate Christmas too,” Nancy shot back, walking over to grab the garland from the ground and hand it up to him so he didn’t have to come all the way down again.
“Will and my mom do,” Jonathan argued, gearing up for round five with the decorations, “I refuse on principle,”
“Principle,” Nancy huffed, rolling her eyes and turning to Steve with a look. It was a look he knew well, the one that said ‘can you believe him?’.
It was fun to be on the other side of that look
Steve shrugged at her silent question, staying out of the debate as he reached for another glass bauble. His mother was very particular about where on the tree each ornament had to go, and even if she wasn’t going to see it this year, Steve still wanted it to look perfect.
He had no idea why he cared when she obviously didn’t anymore, but maybe Jonathan was right. Sometimes it was about the principle of things.
Speaking of Jonathan, Steve looked away from the tree just in time to see the garland slip out of his hands for a record fifth time. There was no hiding his laughter this time, and Nancy joined Steve in unstoppable giggles as Jonathan gave them both a spiteful scowl.
“Okay, I give up. Decorations are stupid, and impossible, and not worth the effort,” Jonathan grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest and pushing out a short irritated sigh.
“Byers, the night we became friends your house was literally covered in Christmas lights,” Steve joked, scooping up the garland and hopping up onto the other side of the ladder, “I think you can handle it.”
Steve held the decoration up in place, raising his eyebrows and briefly making eye contact before looking at the hammer in Jonathan’s hands.
”Yeah, and do you remember how the house looked, Harrington?” Jonathan asked rhetorically, a wry grin overtaking the grumpy look as he picked up the hammer and began to position the first nail.
“That was the night you guys became friends?” Nancy interjected before Steve could reply.
Steve hummed in consideration, turning his head down to look at her. She was standing just below them, arms crossed as she raised one slim brow in their direction.
“Sure. Why not?” Jonathan shrugged, smacking the nail right on the head.
“Yeah, Nance. Everyone knows that the best way to make friends is killing interdimensional monsters together,” Steve announced, like that was completely common knowledge that she obviously should have known.
There was a brief silence as Nancy and Steve stared each other down, and then she cracked, snorting out a soft huff of laughter and shaking her head. Jonathan snickered from the other side of the ladder, and Steve indulged himself in a slightly cheesy grin.
It was nice, the easy way of things now that they had finally talked. There was nothing hanging over the three of them-
Well, there was nothing hanging over them that they had created. Sure, Steve, Nancy, and Jonathan still had secrets, but they were shared secrets, and that made the weight all the lighter.
“I didn’t know you were Jewish,” Steve said idly as they went back to focusing on the garland.
“On my mom’s side,”Jonathan explained, grabbing the last nail, reaching into Steve’s space to hammer it in, “Now that my dad finally took off for good we can actually talk about it without it starting a fight,”’
Yet another reason to hate Lonnie Byers. Steve didn’t really understand being Jewish or anything, but this obviously mattered to Jonathan, and it didn’t seem like it would be that hard to include some Hanukkah things in with Christmas.
Wait.
“Should I have gotten like a menorah too? Or some kind of special food?” Steve asked as they began to climb down, suddenly worried that he might be acting just like Lonnie by not including something special for their holiday too.
“Hanukkah was almost two weeks ago, Steve,” Jonathan deadpanned, “Don’t worry, all the being Jewish is done for the year,”
Shit. He didn’t even know that. Here he was trying to claim that they were spontaneously friends now, but this was just another reminder of how little Steve actually understood about Jonathan.
He knew Nancy as much as Nancy let anyone know her, but Jonathan was still an X factor. Even after their moment in the Wheeler’s basement, it still felt like there was this fortress around him, a big heavy wall built by years of being jaded and fearful of the way the rest of the world treated him. Jonathan’s mindset seemed to be permanently stuck in hurt before you get hurt- a spikey, reactionary way of living that made him use his words as weapons
Steve understood it, but he wanted to be able to find a way to get around it.
He didn’t want walls. Not with them. Not anymore. He just didn’t know how to start climbing. But apparently Jonathan was going to throw him down a rope.
“But…I appreciate the thought,” Jonathan added in a softer tone when he saw Steve’s wince, awkward and unsure as he carefully avoided eye contact, “It’s nice. That you care. You know?”
Steve didn’t reply because he wasn’t exactly sure what to say, but he gently bumped his shoulder against Jonathan’s, hoping that would say everything he wanted to. Judging by the blush on Jonathan’s cheeks, it had at least had some effect.
Progress was progress. Steve would take it.
He walked back over to the tree, both of the others following him like ducklings, looking slightly lost now that most of the other decorations were up. Steve had smoothly avoided having them by the tree, but now there was no way to keep them back without it seeming weird.
“Okay,” Steve sighed, hating the way his shoulders were automatically starting to tense up, “So Nancy if you want to do the blue ones, they go in a full circle at the bottom, and then a clockwise diagonal spiral up to the top. Clockwise like to the left and up. Jonathan there should be two red ones on every level, so you can do those. Well, up until you get to the last five, then it’s just one red one on every level, because there isn’t enough space. Make sure you space them out enough to leave room, but not spaced out in the same places. When we’re done with the basic ones, we can add the special ones.”
It was the instructions his mother gave him every year, the ones Steve knew by heart. He was an expert in tree decorating by now, and he was used to directing whoever was helping him with a deadly efficiency.
But instead of just starting the way Tommy and Carol might have, Jonathan and Nancy gave Steve a shared look of confusion.
“They’re ornaments, Steve,” Nancy said, slowly, like she was talking to one of the kids, “Wherever we put them should be fine, right?”
No. It wasn’t.
This was the way the tree was supposed to look, the way Steve had decorated it every single year of his life. His mother would get upset if the tree looked wrong, and then his dad would be irritated that she was in a mood, and it would be all Steve’s fault for just not making the tree look the way it was supposed to.
But…
“Hello darling! I guess you’re out with Tommy and Carol right now, but I hope you get home soon. Even when we aren’t there your curfew is still midnight. You know I worry if I don’t know where you are.”
But did she still worry about him? Did his mother know that Steve hadn’t paid attention to curfew since he was about fifteen? She didn’t know he hadn’t spoken to Tommy and Carol in almost a year.
“Listen, Steven, I’m so sorry, but there’s been a slight change of plans. Your father and I were supposed to be home on Christmas Eve, but one of his partners invited us to a Christmas party in New York. We really can’t miss this, not when they’re still considering that merger with Smith and Kinsey. I know you understand.”
But he didn’t. Not really. He understood his father, but why did she have to go with him? Why couldn’t just his mom come back home?
“We’re going to try and come back for a few days between Christmas and New Years. I’ll try to call in the morning on Christmas.”
But she wouldn’t be able to come back. They would find some excuse. Some party, some work event, some reason to not have to be here. They always did.
Ah! Alright, Richard, I’m coming! Sorry, your father brought the car around and he’s honking up a storm. I love you Steven!”
But…
But his mother wasn’t going to see the tree this year.
“Yeah,” Steve agreed, knowing that he had already waited too long to reply and they had caught on that something deeper was at play, “I guess it doesn’t matter.”
Ring. Ring.
Saved by the bell.
“I’ll get the door,” Steve said, relieved for a reason to take away the ornaments. He carefully covered the box and placed it on the table, watching to make sure not a single bauble was jostled out of place. When they were safe, he turned to Nancy and Jonathan, shooting them a winning KingSteve smile.
It was fine. He was fine.
“Nancy, put on some music and Jonathan… you make us some Hanukkah decorations to add in here,” Steve directed, giving them jobs that were far away from the tree.
Rinnnnnnnnng. Ring. Ring. Ring. Ring.
“How am I supposed to-“
“I believe in you!” Steve called out behind him, already walking away before Jonathan could finish his questions. Steve had no idea what a Hanukkah decoration would be, but if it mattered to the Byers, then it mattered to him.
Plus this would be a great distraction from the tree, and the ornaments, and all of the stupid emotions that came with them.
Ring. Ring. Ring. Ring.
“I’m coming!” Steve yelled as the doorbell continued to obnoxiously chime. Someone was pressing on it over and over, and he had a pretty good idea of who was waiting for him on the other side.
Ring. Ring. Ring. Ring. Ring. Ring. Ri-
“Do you know how annoying that is?” Steve said as he opened the door, looking down at Eddie who was bent at the waist, staring at the bell with laser-like intensity as he pressed it as quickly as he could over and over.
Eddie popped up, giving Steve a gremlin smirk and scrunching up his nose in an oddly adorable way.
“We’ve been waiting out here for ages,” Eddie replied, dragging out the word as he tilted his head back and groaned, “I thought you would have the butler standing at attendance waiting for our arrival, Sweetheart.”
“Gave him the week off for the holiday. Sorry, Babydoll,” Steve shot back, rolling his eyes as he looked at the rest of the group waiting on his doorstep and waved them in.
It wasn’t the entirety of Hellfire, not even by half. Jeff and Frank were standing behind Eddie, and no one else. They were bundled up in coats and hats and scarves, a stark contrast to Eddie who was wearing only a long sleeve shirt and a beanie on top of his mountain of curls.
“Just you guys?” Steve asked, trying and failing to hide some of his disappointment. He knew that asking them this late would probably mean that most of them had plans, but it was still a little bit of a let down that they couldn’t even find time to stop by.
“Uh yeah,” Jeff said as he walked past Steve, taking off his scarf as he did and launching into explanations for everyone’s absences. Janet was in Chicago visiting family, Kaiden’s whole clan was out ice fishing for the week, and Rocky was semi-permanently grounded and thus unable to find a way to sneak out with his parents both home from work for the holidays.
“And Gareth?” Steve asked, trying to ignore the way all three of them immediately winced.
“He wasn’t feeling great,” Eddie replied, just a shade too fast.
It was a lie, a really obvious lie, but Steve didn’t call him out on it. Truthfully he hadn’t really expected Gareth to make it anyway. Steve wasn’t the brightest when it came to school, but he was pretty great at reading people, and he knew well enough how Gareth felt about him.
“Are we…early?” Frank asked hesitantly, looking around at the mostly empty house, deftly changing the subject.
Steve furrowed his brow, taking a cursory glance at the clock on the wall just to be sure that he was right.
“Uh yeah? It’s only five?” Steve questioned back, quirking his head to the side, not quite connecting the dots.
Jeff and Frank immediately began to groan, and Eddie ducked his head, hiding his face behind his hair as his cheeks immediately darkened to a deep rouge.
“I told you he said it started at seven!” Jeff shouted, throwing up his hands.
“Dude, you never listen,” Frank snapped, shooting Eddie a fairly severe glare.
“Sorry! I’m sorry,” Eddie sighed, pulling on his curls and giving Steve a sheepish little look, “We can come back later if you want?”
“No, it’s totally fine,” Steve quickly replied, wanting to erase the sadness from Eddie’s eyes as fast as he could. Something about seeing him this way was setting off every one of Steve’s instincts and that just couldn’t stand, “You guys can help us finish setting up,”
“Us?”
“Jonathan and Nancy came early too,” Steve said with a grin.
He was going to make a joke about the fact that they had been invited to come early, unlike the boys, but he hesitated when he saw the instant stormy look that had appeared on Eddie’s face the second he heard their names. His jaw was set tight, and there was a tightness in his shoulders that looked almost painful.
Huh.
“If you guys wanna go through, we’re almost done. Just the tree and a few other things left,” Steve instructed. Jeff and Frank went in past him, but Steve caught Eddie’s sleeve as he walked by, pulling him into a short stop.
“Everything okay?” Steve asked, pitching his voice softer so no one else would catch the question. He wasn’t exactly sure what had happened, but it felt important enough to mention.
Eddie paused for a second before doing a complete one eighty. His eyes got big and wide, far too innocent to be real, and he pulled a thin smile that looked completely wrong.
“All good,” Eddie chirped.
Another way too fast response. Eddie’s tells were so easy. Steve raised a single brow, waiting and seeing if Eddie would crack under the pressure and fess up to the lie.
No dice. Eddie was good at putting up his walls when he needed to be, even if he was crap at lying.
“Seriously, Steve, I’m fine,” Eddie insisted, holding out his hand. Steve sighed, taking it and immediately gasping at the sensation.
It was like touching pure ice.
“Eddie!” Steve exclaimed, reaching out and taking Eddie’s other hand, holding them both tightly in his own. He leaned his head down low, blowing hot air on the two frozen popsicles in his clutches, rubbing Eddie’s fingers to try and get some more blood flowing.
“You need to wear gloves,” Steve lectured, continuing to warm Eddie’s hands, “Frostbite sucks, and it’s like negative two with wind chill! You need a coat to wear your coat too. I know you have one, so where is it? Huh? Just because you like to go against ‘the man’ doesn't mean you get to act dumb. Do you want to get sick? Because this is how you get sick, Eds. If you need gloves, I can lend you a pair. You at least need…”
Steve trailed off after a quick glance upward, his heart stuttering in his chest.
Eddie was staring down at him, his eyes wide with something new that Steve couldn’t quite identify. He almost looked scared, but he wasn’t pulling away. The red was back in his cheeks, but there was no shame on his face, no guilt.
Steve slowly straightened up, still holding Eddie’s hands tightly, his thumb continuing to worry against Eddie’s slightly thawed out palm. Steve’s stomach was doing weird somersaults and when he tried to speak, no words seemed to want to come.
“Um-”
“HEY GUYS!”
Frank’s shout startled them both into action. Eddie ripped his hands away, pulling them in close towards his chest, and Steve jumped about a foot in the air, knocking his shoulder painfully against the wall as he did. He dragged a sharp breath in, eyes scrunching up as a wave of hurt washed down his arm.
“Coming!” Eddie yelped, and Steve opened his eyes just in time to see Eddie hurrying away from him and into the hallway.
His heart lurched again, more painful this time than nervous. Eddie hadn’t even done anything, he had just walked away, but something about it hurt, and it hurt badly. Steve wasn’t sure why he couldn’t stand people walking away from him anymore, but it was even worse when it was Eddie.
Then right at the entrance of the living room, Eddie paused, turning around and facing Steve.
Another long look. Another silence that Steve didn’t know how to break. Even the ache in his shoulder had vanished in the pressure of the moment
But then Eddie held out his hand, a tiny little grin overtaking his features as his eyes went soft and warm.
“You comin’ Sweetheart?”
The tension slid away from Steve’s body at the question, and he nodded. His anxiety melted away, and Steve walked forward, interlocking their fingers and dragging Eddie into the living room.
One of the things I don't see a lot around online is the talk about the frustration that comes with being disabled. It seems to easy to make your peace with the fact that you're disabled, that your body just has new limitations. I'm only talking from personal perspective here, naturally.
But then you get slapped in the face with new limits, new struggles, and problems. You realise you can't be like your peers. You can't be like everyone else. And you never will. And as someone with great ambition who is hard working and creative and who thrives from creating and showing people their art and work - it sucks. It sucks so much. It sucks to be given the time off of work you earned so hard only to be faced by the limitations your body and existence now have. To struggle with brain fog, fatigue, lethargy, aches and pains.
If anyone else is struggling with this and feeling frustrated with conditions out of their control, I see you and hear you. I may not be able to help but you're not alone. There's at least this one person out there who struggles too and who curses their existence every day alongside you. And ya know what? We'll figure it out somehow. And until then, we can be frustrated and angry and use that anger as fuel for our fight against the unjust universe.
diluc dedicating his life to mondstadt… diluc dedicating his life to his god… venti never really asking for anything… diluc giving anyway… do you understand????? here is a man and his god. here is a man who has almost lost his faith… and the god who never truly left…
tags and trigger warnings:
mafia; gangs and clans; injured mc; blood and injuries; graphic depiction of heavy injuries; mentions of abuse and physical harm against female character; strong language; out of context; oneshot
this is a oneshot about my OC's, a scene I had in mind for who knows how long and finally managed to write it out!
here's some short background info for context:
Hana and Davey are in the same mafia clan; Davey is the son and successor of the current boss and Hana his assigned bodyguard as well as an undercover FBI agent (she's trying to take down Davey's clan)
Hana and Davey kinda have a fwb thing going but not really, let's just say it's complicated
Ryuu is the boss' right-hand man of the rivaling clan but Davey decided to collaborate with him, having a higher motive in mind
Ryuu is fed up with how things are going in general for longer already and finds interest in Davey, so he decides to go with Davey's idea
Hana and Ryuu can't stand each other in the current timeline
She was desperate.
For once in a very long time, Hana was truly desperate.
She’d never thought these assholes would manage to corner her and especially not to actually beat her up. But here she was; battered, blood dripping down her right temple, and with a dislocated shoulder as she was running through narrow and abandoned streets. And all that with mentioned assholes still hot on her heels.
She’d managed to make an escape by feigning to cry her heart out and begging for mercy, which only caused the thugs to laugh but it was enough of a distraction for her to slip away.
Hana was panting hard, the wheezing sound of her lungs with every breath she took signalizing her that she wouldn’t make it much longer and needed help.
Asap.
Or the guys would finally get what they wanted.
Which was her head on a silver platter.
Their words, not her thoughts.
Usually, three or four guys wouldn’t pose much of a problem for Hana. Everyone knew that she was tough and strong, her fighting skills being the talk of the town, and causing many to pay her respect or to keep their distance. But these guys were really out for blood.
Literally.
They’ve made it clear that she wasn’t just any random victim but a specifically chosen target and therefore must’ve planned this attack meticulously beforehand. Seeing that they still hadn’t given up on her, she knew she couldn’t escape them alone, especially not in her current condition.
There was only one person she could think of that could help her in this situation, without thinking much or asking too many questions. Thankfully, she wasn’t far from the club where she and said person were regulars, and considering that it was a Friday night, she was sure he would be there.
With her mind set on Davey, Hana gritted her teeth as she sped up and hauled ass. She suppressed a groan while tightening the grip on her left arm to keep it from moving much. The pain was almost unbearable but she simply kept going.
“Oh, sweetheart! You don’t need to run, we will get you anyway now that you’re unable to go against us,” one of her pursuers called in a singsong and the realization of how close they actually were, sent a fresh wave of adrenaline surging through her veins. It spurred her on and she ran even faster, ignoring the threat that was hunting her down.
Taking the next turn, the bright and flashy lights of the club greeted her and for the first time in a very long time, the overwhelming urge to cry overcame Hana. But this was not the right situation for it, nor did she have the time for it, so she simply kept going.
Hana’s steps echoed through the empty street as she closed the distance between her and the safety-promising door of the club. For a brief moment, she wondered why the bouncer was missing. But she had more important problems at hand right now, so she pushed the thought away just as fast.
The moment she reached out with her right hand and closed it around the cool metal handle, a voice boomed behind her. “Don’t even try to hide! We’ll catch you anywhere and then you’re done for, oh mighty Lioness.”
Hana didn’t look back.
His raspy voice uttering those threats, accompanied by the stupid nickname people on the streets had given her, sent an unpleasant shiver down her spine. The finality of his words left no room for speculation.
She didn’t need to see his face to know that he meant it.
Hana opened the door, the muffled sound of the music becoming clearer the moment she stepped inside the hallway that led directly to the main room. She didn’t waste any time, making her way through the scattered crowd, and eyes scanning the area for Davey’s familiar green-brown and light blue gaze.
The longer she searched, the more noticeable the ache in her left shoulder became, considering that the adrenaline was slowly seeping out of her blood system again. But Hana once again braced herself against the excruciating pain as she made a beeline for the bar. She hoped to find Davey there.
With a quick glance over her shoulder, she noticed that her pursuers had just entered the club and were now trying to make out her position among all the people. She ducked slightly, grimacing as another flash of pain shot through her.
She searched the bar area for him, double-checked, even triple-checked her surroundings— but Davey was nowhere to be found. Assuming he was in the back, in one of the VIP rooms for work matters, she decided to ask the bartender. Leaning heavily against the counter and snapping her fingers, she tried to get his attention.
It took a few tries but eventually, the familiar guy, Rhody, turned around and gasped as his gaze fell on her.
“Hana… What happened to you? Do you need help?”
Hana took a deep breath.
“Where’s Davey?” was all she asked, voice hoarse from exertion.
Rhody was still taken aback, yet soon enough he seemed to understand that the situation was urgent.
“Uh… I-I haven’t seen him yet tonight, I don’t think he’s here…” he answered truthfully.
Hana tipped her head back and closed her eyes in search of patience.
How much bad luck can one person have, especially when in need of help?
Obviously, a whole lot of it, taking into account what happened next.
“You look pretty rough, pipsqueak. Someone finally managed to beat you up?” a deep and way too familiar voice rasped right beside Hana’s left ear.
Out of all the people she wanted to see or ask for help right now— he was surely the very last.
Seems like her luck had definitely failed her tonight.
She looked back down, forest green eyes zeroing in on dark gray ones. Hana tried putting on her best deadpan look but the ache in her shoulder was too overwhelming and she felt close to fainting.
Ryuu, the man sitting right next to her and who had just asked the most unnecessary question regarding her situation, simply stared blankly at her.
Considering that he was, first and foremost, the right-hand man of their enemy gang, she couldn’t simply trust him. But on the other hand, Davey did, and Hana trusted Davey and his judgment. So she could at least try to tell him what was happening and maybe hope for his help. But Hana also knew that they both didn’t like each other much, so her chances were close to none.
She decided it was needless to even ask.
“I was looking for— ugh…” Hana almost choked on her words as a wave of pain washed over her. “...for Davey. Do you happen to know where he is, dimwit?”
No matter the situation she was in, she simply couldn’t just take his snarky nickname for her without at least returning the favor.
Raising an eyebrow at her, Ryuu answered after a few moments of silence. “He’s not here tonight, said something about his dad calling him over on short notice for a business appointment. He also said he didn’t reach ya and to tell ya exactly that if I saw you.”
Ryuu gave Hana a disapproving side glance before adding. “So, mission accomplished, I’d say.”
Looking back at her pursuers, Hana’s heart skipped a beat and she once again ducked her head so that they wouldn’t notice her. She tapped the bartender Rhody’s hand and asked him if he could let her out the backdoor. He nodded and beckoned her to follow him to one of the doors that led to the backrooms.
Before she could actually take a step, a big hand wrapped around her left arm. The moment Ryuu tried to pull her back, Hana cried out loud but immediately covered her mouth to not attract any attention.
Tears involuntarily streamed down her face as she glared back at Ryuu, who instantly let go of her again, gaze horror-stricken.
The black-haired man was taken aback, wide eyes staring at her but soon after a terrifying expression spread on his face. His eyes turned dark, almost black as he narrowed his gaze.
His deep voice was eerily calm as he asked. “Who did this to you?”
Hana didn’t know what to say or how to react, the menacing aura radiating off of his body sending shivers through her body and setting off her fight or flight senses. Her mind was literally screaming at her to act fast and bring as much distance between her and the predator sitting before her.
She knew she could never last against him, even if she tried.
Not in her top condition and especially not in her current condition.
But despite her senses being on high alert, she soon realized that his anger wasn’t directed at her.
Ryuu had always been the quiet type, only speaking up when really needed or to utter last warnings before he acted. But she’d only seen him once in a similar state like tonight. It wasn’t a pleasant sight and she remembered being glad about the fact that she wasn’t his opponent at that moment.
Hana still faltered, her tongue feeling heavy and refusing to work. She opened her mouth a few times, hope lingering somewhere at the back of her mind but reality soon enough caught up with her again.
She knew he would never help her. He’d rather make fun of her, Hana was pretty sure of that. With this in mind, she took a deep breath, her head hung low as she wiped away some of the tears.
“You don’t need to feign interest, yanno? I’ll just disappear from here and tend to my wounds at home myself. I’m just really not in need of any teasing from you tonight, Ryuu,” Hana said, calling him by his actual name for maybe the third time since they’d gotten to know each other.
Hana lifted her head and glanced at him, the same relentless expression still lingering on his face, hardening his features, and she could see his jaw working. A movement right behind him caught her attention and her eyes grew wide with horror.
Besides being the right-hand man of the enemy clan’s boss, Ryuu had a lot of tactically enriching skills, which also included a sharp sense of perception. So, of course, Hana’s reaction to seeing the thugs that had brought her into this situation didn’t go unnoticed.
From the corner of her eye, she saw Ryuu turning around and eyeing the men wading through the crowd, still in search of their target. Ryuu then turned back to her and his gaze seemed even darker, determination settling on his features.
“It was them, right?” he asked, not even waiting for her to answer. Instead, he turned to Rhody and gave him instructions, voice low and grim. “Bring her to one of the backrooms.”
Rhody simply nodded and glanced over to Hana.
She was still taken aback at the turn of events until Ryuu once again looked at her and said. “I’ll take care of this matter. You go and rest in the backroom until I come to get you. Understood?”
Hana was caught between feeling relief and anger; relief because someone, even if it was Ryuu, was actually willing to help her and anger because it was Ryuu and she didn’t like him bossing her around.
But she was also very well aware of the fact that her options were limited and Ryuu was the only one at hand and offering his help.
Hana nodded and gave him a thankful gaze.
Without another word, he turned around, making his way towards her pursuers with his footmen following quietly. Hana didn’t need to see it to know that none of the thugs would make it out on their own two feet tonight, so she turned around as Rhody gently squeezed her right shoulder, insinuating her to follow him.
A few minutes passed, in which Rhody brought her water and a soft towel so that she could clean herself up, at least from the worst. She didn’t know how long she had been sitting inside the wide room, nicely done up with expensive-looking furniture and specially set up for business meetings— or whatever other things people did in here. Considering that she had almost emptied the small bottle of water, it must’ve been some time and after another few minutes, the door eventually opened with a soft click.
Her head snapped up, eyes immediately finding Ryuu’s as he stared back at her. He didn’t have a single scratch on him, though his clothes looked a bit ruffled. Hana got up from the couch but a flash of pain immediately shot through the left half of her body and she involuntarily collapsed on the couch again.
In the blink of an eye, Ryuu was beside her and held her, more gently than she would’ve expected from this brute of a man. He didn’t say a word, nor did he do anything else. They just sat there for a few moments while Hana tried to calm down again, her breathing still heavy from the lingering ache in her left shoulder.
After another minute, Ryuu shifted slightly beside her and leaned back to take a look at Hana. He grunted quietly.
“Dislocated shoulder?” he asked.
Hana nodded weakly. She’d clearly reached her limits tonight.
“Want me to set it?”
The fear of it was almost overwhelming and Hana faltered for a brief moment, even whining quietly as she pondered her options and stared at him with panic in her eyes.
“It’ll hurt like a bitch but only for a moment,” Ryuu stated, matter-of-factly. “But it’ll be easier for ya after.”
And Hana knew he was right. She knew that she would need a few tries to set her arm herself and that it would only hurt a lot more.
But could she really trust him?
Again; he was the right-hand man of the enemy clan and therefore her natural enemy in the first place. But considering that Davey, the son and successor of the clan she was a member of, her best friend and the one she was assigned to guard and protect, had bonded with Ryuu and trusted him— she probably had no other choice.
Still very much reluctant but willing to sacrifice her principles, she eventually nodded and hummed in agreement.
Ryuu acknowledged her trust, eyes turning a notch softer and Hana would’ve probably missed it if she hadn’t been studying his face for any signs of malice right at that moment. But there were none and so she tried to empty her mind and brace herself for the worst as Ryuu put his hands in place.
With one hand pressing gently against the front of her left shoulder joint and the other holding onto her forearm, Ryuu took a deep breath. He inhaled loudly through his nose and Hana thought it was to signalize her that he would act on the exhale. She steeled her nerves and closed her eyes, waiting for the moment he’d exhale through his mouth— but things took an unexpected turn.
Instead, the moment he held his breath, Ryuu pushed hard against Hana’s shoulder, and with a muffled sound the joint popped into place. Right after, Ryuu released the breath he’d been holding in.
A jolt of excruciating pain shot through her arm and Hana couldn’t help but cry out in agony. Adrenaline flooded her system and her fight or flight senses once again came alive that night.
She jumped up from the couch and took a few steps back, a fresh wave of tears running down her face and staining her already bloodied shirt even more. Ryuu also got up and tried his best to not startle her even more.
“It’s okay. You did it, okay?” he said, voice deep and calm. “It’s over now, you can relax.”
And for whatever reason, his words actually helped and slowly soothed her panic. She tried to calm down fully but the pain and events from earlier had taken a heavy toll on her. She lowered her head as a heart-shattering sob ripped through the wide room.
Hana had seldom cried in her life.
Crying was a display of weakness, so being raised on the streets and as a mafia clan member, showing weakness was equal to offering yourself to the enemy without resistance. But at that moment, she simply wasn’t in the condition to keep her defense up anymore.
Hana was so out of it that she didn’t even notice the door opening and Davey barging in. Without hesitating, he walked over to her and wrapped his strong arms around her usually sturdy body. But tonight, Hana felt as fragile as a twig.
Any more pressure on her body and mind and they would snap just as easily.
She could hear both men talking but didn’t understand a single word. The soothing sound of Davey’s familiar voice reverberated through every fiber of her body and she slowly but surely came down again until her sobs stopped and tears dried.
It wasn’t until Davey leaned back a bit that Hana came back to her senses and noticed Ryuu staring at her with a mix of concern and curiosity in his dark gray eyes.
She’d always been fascinated by them.
“You okay there, shorty?” he rasped and Hana’s mind was way too foggy for her to recognize that he’d called her an endearing nickname this time instead of a snarky one. She just nodded once, burying her face in Davey’s broad chest again.
Davey chuckled quietly and answered in her stead.
“I think she’s ready to go home for now. Thanks once again for taking care of her,” Davey said. Hana couldn’t see his face but she was sure Davey was giving Ryuu one of his trademark adorable smiles. “I actually didn’t think you’d protect her, considering that you two literally hate each other.”
Davey laughed and Hana dared to take a peek at Ryuu who was slightly irritated, turning his face away from her and Davey.
“It wasn’t because of her. These guys were just annoying me on my night out at the club. You know I hate when I get interrupted by dimwits like them. They were asking for it.”
Another fit of laughter shook Davey’s body and Hana grinned to herself at the odd situation. After a few moments, Davey calmed down again.
“Well, then! Thanks for… keeping the peace of your night out and accidentally protecting my bodyguard in the process.” Davey smiled gently. “She’s very important to me, you know?”
Ryuu grunted, still very much grumpy about Davey implying that he had only protected Hana but soon enough they said their goodbyes to each other and Davey brought Hana home.
Davey took care of Hana’s wounds after they took a hot and calming bath together. Before she could dwell on what exactly everything that had happened tonight could mean for their future, she fell soundly asleep in Davey’s king-size bed.
"There you are!" Eddie says, like he's been looking for him everywhere, his face even lighting up as he enters the kitchen.
"Here I am." Steve shoots back.
Steve's sure that he's wearing a similar expression. He missed him.
After Eddie and Robin graduated, Eddie took a job at a local auto shop while Robin and Steve took jobs at the library and filled out college applications.
During that time the three of them had gotten really close, talking each other through tough times and celebrating what they achieved together.
Steve moved with Robin to start school at the beginning of this year and Eddie stayed with his uncle, still figuring out what he wanted to do with his future.
So, this is the first time they've been apart for months since they met, and Steve did not anticipate how much he would need to see him, to hear him.
The phone doesn't do his voice justice.
Steve puts the dough down to wipe the flour off his hands, but his eyes never leave Eddie as he drops his tote bag on a stool across from Steve.
"Can't believe they left you here with all the work, man" Eddie laments, shaking his head and walking around the kitchen island to where Steve is.
Steve's heart beats oddly fast in his chest as he huffs a small laugh and tries to figure out if a hug is okay in the split second before Eddie pulls him into his arms.
Steve wraps his arms around him and rests his chin on Eddie's shoulder, relieved.
"I don't mind" Steve murmurs, about making the pizza while the kids catch up with Robin and Nancy in the living room.
Eddie chuckles, softly claps his back and pulls away to grab Steve's shoulders instead
"Of course you don't" he says, with mirth in his eyes "How are you, Stevie?" he asks, his head tilting to the side and his dimples showing.
"Hi" Steve says to those dimples he hadn't seen in so long "I mean- good. I'm good" Steve smiles, genuinely delighted. "How are you? How was the drive?" Steve asks
"Ugh, it was hell!" Eddie slumps a little when he says it, his exhaustion evident "but I'm good!" he assures, "you know what I need?"
Steve shakes his head no "What?"
"To help you make like seven pizzas right now," Eddie answers, squeezing Steve's shoulders before letting go. "Where do you need me?"
That's a question.
It's not like Steve hadn't notice his crush on Eddie before he moved away, but he was kind of ignoring it, or at least trying to for the sake of their friendship.
Clicking with someone the way he did with Eddie was rare for him, he didn't wanna risk losing that, especially after so many failed dates; Steve was just kinda over the whole thing.
And Eddie never showed anything more than friendly affection so, really, it was the right thing to do to just, pretend like Eddie's eyes weren't the only thing he could think of when the sun first filtered through his windows.
And he'd thought it would go away in time, and then with so many miles between them.
But here he is again, asking how he can help Steve cook pizza for their friends and Steve kinda wants to cry a bit, because no, of course it wouldn't go away.
If anything it seems distance has made it worse, Steve feels intoxicated by the smell of cigarettes and pine trees.
"Um, there's two in the oven" Steve points out, "and everything's already chopped up, I guess you can help me put the toppings on these next two?" Steve suggests, going back to knead two more bases out of the dough he left on the island countertop.
"Yessir!" Eddie salutes, walking back to rummage in his tote. "I brought brownies for dessert," Eddie offers, bringing out the container "totally safe." he assures.
"I have ice cream too, which I assume im putting there?" Eddie asks, pointing to the refrigerator behind Steve, Steve nods.
Eddie brings out the tub of ice cream and spots something else in his bag "oh and I had olives!" he places an olives jar on the table before walking towards the fridge.
"I thought you didn't like olives" Steve comments
Eddie sticks his head in their freezer and answers "oh, I don't mind them"
Steve fully turns to him with a confused frown "no, i remember you specifically requesting no olives in our pizza for the past, like, year"
Eddie's making space in their freezer, moving things around. He casually says "that's because you don't like them, Stevie" and continues his task like what he just said has no significance at all.
Steve blinks, feels stuck to where he's standing.
Steve had mentioned he doesn't like olives maybe a week after the whole upside down business, when the kids had been at Dustin's and Claudia had offered him salad during dinner, which he politely refused, because it had olives.
Eddie was there, they had all been working on characters for their next campaign and stayed for dinner. Steve had only dropped by to deliver a book Dustin left in his car, and Claudia invited him to stay.
Come to think of it, Eddie had enjoyed that salad just fine.
Steve never mentioned olives again.
And it wouldn't be until a month later that Eddie would first order pizza for them making that specific request.
For Steve.
And it's so silly, it's such a small thing, but all of a sudden a myriad of small things are thrust in Steve's face.
Eddie watching Grease with him, Eddie always knowing how he takes his coffee, Eddie singing along to ABBA in Steve's car, Eddie complimenting the jacket everyone said made him look dorky, Eddie keeping a Tears For Fears tape in his car, Eddie using one of his sick days to help him pack the stuff in his room, Eddie memorizing his schedule and calling him multiple times a week for the past few months exactly when he knew Steve would be home and bored without Robin.
It's like someone lifts a veil off his eyes.
Steve's watched Friday the 13th five times and would watch it again if it was with Eddie, he knows Eddie takes his coffee with a frankly concerning amount of sugar, there's a Black Sabbath record in his room right now!
He's never put in this type of effort with friends before! They either have similar tastes already or Steve doesn't feel the need to match them anyways.
It's different with Eddie, it's like he wants to be connected to him somehow, make sure they're close.
He didn't know Robin liked tea until they moved in together! He knows Eddie categorically refuses to try tea in any form. And actually, his uncle got him thinking about it and he's considering to change that, Eddie told him about it last Thursday while Robin was at band practice.
He's never tried somebody else's music without them asking for it, he's never volunteered to watch a horror movie, he's never worn clothes he thought wouldn't fit his style, he's only ever done that with
"Eddie" he says out loud, it comes out a little breathless but Eddie doesn't seem to notice.
"Hmm?" he acknowledges, finally placing the ice cream in the freezer and Steve catches a glimpse of it as Eddie shuts the freezer door.
He turns to Steve and raises his eyebrows.
"Was that cookies and cream?" Steve asks
"Mhm. Yep" Eddie confirms
"Why'd you buy that one?" Steve wants to know.
Eddie shrugs " 'Cause it's your favorite" he answers, easy.
So easy. Like he didn't even consider any other flavor.
"Why did you buy my favorite ice cream, Eddie?" Steve insists,
Eddie splutters "I- I um, I mean do you not-?" he trails off and looks at Steve's posture, the way he hasn't moved a hair in the last couple of moments must click then. His eyes trail up to meet Steve's again and realization dawns on his face.
"Holy shit, Steve. You didn't know?"
"What?! What do you mean I didn't know? Who knew?!"
"I-! um, everyone? I'm not exactly subt-"
"oh my god!"
Steve can feel the blood warming his face and ears and it seems to spring Eddie back into action.
"I mean! Clearly not everyone knew! You didn't know!" he says walking over to him and running his hands up and down Steve's arms "pfft, practically no one knew!"
"Eddie" Steve wants to laugh but he's afraid he might burst into tears.
"I thought you knew" Eddie says in the smallest voice he's used so far, his hands stilling.
"I'm sorry" Steve says,
"No!" Eddie protests, his hands coming up to grab Steve's face "No, sweetheart, you have nothing to be sorry about"
Steve scoffs,
"Of course you didn't know!" Eddie continues "I never told you!" his hands caress Steve's cheeks and Steve thinks his knees might give out.
"So, I'm telling you now" Eddie says, determined. He takes a deep breath.
He looks into Steve's eyes and says "Steve, I am crazy about you. Not a day has gone by since the eighth fucking grade where I haven't thought about you. And since last year, it has been nothing but good things. I promise"
Steve snorts a laugh at that, his hands coming up to hold on to Eddie's wrists as they both shake with soft laughter.
"You have the most beautiful smile i have ever seen in my life" Eddie goes on. "You are the bravest, kindest, most badass person I know, your hair is a fucking miracle and your eyes. god, your eyes. i have tried to find something that even remotely gets close to the color of your eyes and I can't, and I've resigned myself to never finding it because even an exact match would not make me feel the way your eyes do. Because they're very pretty, but it's not about the color. It's just the fact that you're looking at me"
"God, Eddie" Steve sniffles, not sure what to even do with all the happiness inside of him.
Eddie scoffs a soft laugh "Seeing you happy makes me very happy." he explains "So i try to do little things that'll help that happen. That's why I bought your favorite ice cream, Stevie"
Steve smiles at him and rubs circles against his wrists.
Eddie, seemingly unable to stop talking says "it's selfish really, if you think abo-"
"I'm gonna kiss you now" Steve tells him
"Oh, oka-mmph"
Eddie's lips are soft and gentle and Steve has to coax him into being less tentative but once he does, Eddie kisses him insistently, never letting Steve get too far away, like he can't get enough of Steve. It makes Steve's heart flutter in his chest.
When they finally come up for breath Steve tells him "I can't believe you like olives" trailing his hands down his sides.
Eddie laughs, Steve loves that sound.
"I can stop" Eddie reminds him, placing a peck against Steve's smile.
"And I don't like them" he continues "i just don't mind 'em"
Steve hums a disapproving tone but still leans in for another small kiss.
"I only brought them in case anyone wanted them! they were left over I swear" Eddie excuses against his lips. Steve giggles, his hands now on Eddie's waist, toying with his chains.
"You look good today" Steve tells him
"Oh?"
"Smell good too." Steve says, nosing his cheek. Eddie shivers.
"Always do" Steve clarifies, his mouth coming back to kiss Eddie softly as his hands trail up to play with strands of his hair.
"Your hair's so soft" Steve continues "and pretty. You're pretty"
It makes Eddie blush and Steve grins, delighted by what he achieved.
"And you're brave too Eds, and badass, and cool and fun" Steve smiles when Eddie scoffs but once he sobers up he continues "And I think your eyes are prettier than rays of sunshine." Steve tells him "And I think I'd do anything for you" he adds.
Before he can register the way Eddie's looking at him, Steve's being kissed again with an assuredness that makes him sigh.
The only thing that parts them is the oven timer dinging and even then, Steve has to threaten Eddie with no pizza if he doesn't let Steve go.
Steve calling Robin "Robert" as a nickname and her retaliating by calling him "Stephanie" is one of my personal favorite headcanons and I'll never let anyone take them away from me. Eddie rolls with it and wants to be included which gets him an honorary "Teddy" from Robin and Steve *loves* and uses it all of the time. It helps that its gender neutral bc he gets to talk about his Teddy Bear all the time
Some trans Eddie soft Steddie pre-relationship fluff for your Sunday. Modern au, college-aged, no kids, no upside down. Warning for blood and periods. Enjoy.
Blood pooled underneath Eddie where he sat.
His mind was working a mile a minute, trying to figure out how to get out of here.
Everyone else around him seemed blissfully unaware of his predicament. No one knew he was staining Steve Harrington’s mother’s white fucking couch a shiny crimson just by existing on top of it.
Eddie’s heart was pounding. He couldn’t move. Of course not. No one knew. He wasn’t out. He had to leave though, he had to figure out a way to run straight through the door without drawing attention to himself and never come back. And he had to do it fast, too, because if the sticky feeling between his legs was anything to go by, the leak would soon creep out from under him and then everyone would be able to see.
Eddie’s eyes started to sting. How could he have been so stupid? All it would have taken was a quick glance at the calendar but nooooo. He read online that six months of treatments would stop his period so he stopped even marking it. Idiot.
“Hey man, you ok?”
Fuck.
Steve was standing in front of him, looking genuinely concerned.
“I, uh, yeah, just…”
Eddie stuttered as he tried to think of an excuse as to why he was the only one left in the living room when everyone else had long since moved to the kitchen.
Steve’s brow furrowed and his eyes trailed down to the fabric of the seat. His eyebrows raised and nononono fuck no.
“Is that-?”
“Steve I can explain I-“
“Don’t move, okay?” said Steve gently. “Just stay there,”
“What?”
“Everybody out,” Steve yelled, walking back to the kitchen. “Someone broke a vase, no second chances, everybody out!”
Eddie watched as the rest of the party goers quickly vacated the house. Steve’s parents were famous for flying off the handle if something got so much as scratched after Steve had friends over, so no one wanted to hang around to get the blame pinned on them.
People shot glances through the living room door at Eddie as they left. Some laughed, some gave looks of sympathy. They all assumed he was the one who broke the non-existant vase.
When everyone was gone, Steve returned to the living room. He was holding a damp towel in one hand and a pair of shorts in the other. He took a small package out of his pocket and handed it to Eddie.
“Dunno if you can use it though, I know some people don’t like them… Robin leaves a stash here so thats all I have, sorry,”
Eddie stared at the tampon in his hand.
“You can change in the bathroom, I’ll wash your stuff for you,” said Steve, holding out the other items for Eddie to take. “You were planning on staying over with everyone else after the party, right?”
Eddie nodded, dumbfounded and still sitting on the wet seat.
“Cool, there’ll be time for it to dry overnight too then,” said Steve, stepping back so Eddie could stand. “There’s still a ton of pizza in the kitchen. Wanna watch a movie?”
Steve waited expectantly for Eddie to answer, his expression open and light. Eddie wasn’t sure what to do, or say.
“Yeah, uh, I guess?” he said after a pause. “I can just go though, you don’t need to like, do anything for me. I think I ruined your party, right?”
Steve scoffed.
“Ten people who were only here for free beer doesn’t exactly scream best friday night ever,” said Steve. “Eating pizza in peace with a movie sounds way better,”
Eddie clutched the wet towel and shorts. He and Steve were barely friends. Their social circles overlapped in certain places. Met a few times on campus, flirted at the bar, almost kissed one night before Eddie pulled away, too afraid of what might happen if he didn’t.
“We should probably watch it in the other room though,” added Steve, teasing gently.
“I’m sorry,” Eddie rushed to say. “I didn’t mean to… I’ll pay for it to be cleaned I swear,”
Steve waved a hand.
“I’ll tell my parents I had a nosebleed, it’s fine,” said Steve easily. “Go change, I’ll be in the kitchen,”
Eddie hesitated.
“Why are you being so nice about this?” he asked quietly.
Steve just shrugged.
“It’s not a big deal,” said Steve airily. “I mean it, people get periods, doesn’t bother me. You don’t need to be embarrassed about it,”
Eddie bit his lip, his eyes threatening him with tears again.
“Thanks, Steve,” he said, holding in a sob.
“No problem, man,” said Steve with another shrug.
Eddie started to make his way towards the bathroom as Steve returned to the kitchen.
“Oh, Eddie?” called Steve. Eddie turned and seen him standing with his hands in his back pockets. “Is it… Is it cool if I keep flirting with you though?”
Eddie’s jaw dropped.
“You can say no!” Steve hurried to add. “Totally okay if you do, nothing’s changed, pizza and a movie are still like, totally happening, just wanted to ask,”
Eddie couldn’t help but let a small smile break out.
“You can do that,” said Eddie shyly.
“Cool, cool,” said Steve, rocking onto his heels. “I was, hah, I was kind of planning on trying to kiss you tonight too, you know, since we didn’t at the bar that time, but uh, if you don’t want that either then-“
“You can do that too,” said Eddie, cutting him off. “If you’re, you know, cool about… everything…”
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