i'm gloomysoup :) i thought it was about time i officially introduced myself and started a masterlist, so here's some things about me:
💜 this is essentially an 18+ blog, bc i am an adult who occasionally reposts adult content so please be wary of that. some of my content is minor-friendly, but not everything i post is/will be
💜 i go by they/she pronouns most of the time but i'm not particular (any will do)
💜 feel free to call me by whatever you want :) the general consensus seems to be 'soup' but i really don't mind either way
💜 i'm a raging lesbian, and also neurodivergent (likely autism but undiagnosed bc that shits expensive)
💜 my asks are always open! i love hearing from people and discussing my work/getting ideas! i'll happily try to answer any prompts or questions given!
💜 i will delete hate. this is a hate free zone! i want everyone to feel welcome. my blog is a safe space, and i intend on keeping it that way. hate to my inbox will be ignored and promptly deleted.
💜 i haven't been on tumblr very long, so i'm not very well established. i love making new friends (even if i'm a little awkward at times), so feel free to reach out and message me any time! i also love participating in tag games!
below the cut, you can find my masterlist :)
tumblr masterlist:
when the world stops turning (my heart stops beating) - part 1 part 2 part 3 part 4
the nickelback chronicles - song on fire leader of men must be nice far away
spotify wrapped series - 13 33
steddie week 2024 - day 1 day 2 day 3 day 4
before we get too old
home is where you are (series masterpost)
getting back up (it's not always easy)
a secret worth keeping
lightning cracks and thunder rolls
ao3 links:
when the world stops turning (my heart stops beating)
Heeyyyy…so after my rant, I pulled out this quick little one one-shot based on those feelings I had earlier. It’s not quite idea @xenon-demon had in their tags as that would be a full fic’s worth and I have so many WIPs running right now, so I don’t have time to do the full idea justice, but I hope this conveys my thoughts well enough.
***
Eddie walked into a disaster. He wasn’t even sure what was going if he was honest.
Steve’s clothes were strewn all over his room, with him sitting dejected on his bed in a black t-shirt, black acid washed jeans, and his white Nike’s.
Running around the room was Dustin, Nancy, and Robin all arguing on the top of their lungs what Steve should wear.
“Hey, guys,” Eddie greeted them a lilt of confusion coloring his tone. “Wha’cha doing?”
The screaming match stopped and everyone turned to look at him in shock.
“Shit!” Nancy said. “Is it already that late?” She glanced at her watch. “Shit.”
“This is why you should have called us sooner,” Dustin said, rounding on Steve. “We would have been able to find you something acceptable before it was too late.”
“But I didn’t–” Steve protested.
“So we’re agreed,” Robin said interrupting, “the black slacks and jacket no shirt?”
But that only started the fight all over again.
Eddie tilted his head. “What’s wrong with what he’s currently wearing?”
Steve’s jaw dropped as everyone else turned to Eddie with such lightning speed that he was sure that they were going to get whiplash.
“It’s just normal,” Dustin said, smugly. “It’s not metal.”
“We don’t want him standing out,” Robin said. “He could get hurt.”
“Only,” Nancy said, glaring at Steve like it was all his fault, “he doesn’t have anything close to what you would wear.”
“Black jeans and band t-shirt?” Eddie asked confused. “I mean, yeah, he doesn’t have a Metallica or Dio shirt, but his shirt is what anyone else would wear to their first metal concert.”
“What?” Robin said, dumbly.
“No it isn’t,” Dustin said with a sneer. “When I went to my first concert I had all the right clothes and shit.”
Eddie raised an eyebrow. “Who took you to a metal concert?”
Dustin shrugged. “That is not what is important here. I had a master teach me the ways before I went.”
Eddie tucked his chin to his chest. “Okay…I’m still not seeing how black jeans and t-shirt aren’t metal, though.”
Steve had been staring up at Eddie this whole time like he had hung the moon. He finally spoke. “I based my outfit off what Eddie wears all the time.”
Eddie beamed at him. “And you look amazing, Stevie. Now, I would have liked to have seen you in that tight navy blue polo personally. But needs must, I suppose.”
“His what?” Nancy asked, her eyes wide.
Eddie pursed his lips and began rooting around in the stacks of clothes. After a few moments he abruptly stood up. “Tada!”
Nancy and Robin looked at each other in shock.
“But that’s shirt he was wearing when Max gave us her letters,” Dustin said in confusion.
Eddie grinned. “Yeah, he looks hot in it.”
Steve blushed. “We should probably get going.”
Eddie nodded. “Come on, then.”
As the reached the bottom of the stairs the two men heard Robin exclaim, “Hey, did Eddie take the polo with him?!”
Steve looked over at Eddie, who sure enough still had the shirt.
“Oh,” he said, quietly. “If you forgot to put it back before we left you can just leave it on the side table by the front door. I’ll put it back when I get home.”
Eddie just smiled fondly as he sailed out the front door and to his van. He held the door open for Steve and Steve slid in. Eddie tossed him the shirt.
“I’ll leave up to you, darlin’,” he said, climbing into the driver’s side of the van, “which shirt you want to wear, but just know this: you don’t have to change your style for anyone. Least of all me. Because what our friends fail to realize is that I fell in love with the polo wearing prep Stevie. That’s the one I thought was taking out tonight.”
Steve rubbed the polo shirt between his two thumbs. “You mean that?”
Eddie leaned over and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Sure do, sweetheart. But I’ll get if you want to wear the t-shirt to the concert. But just so we’re clear on this, don’t think you have to change to fit me. Any part of me. If you start liking the same music I do, great! Just another thing we have in common. Just like when I said I enjoyed going to that baseball game with you.”
Steve blinked. “I thought you were bored.”
Eddie laughed. “I’m pretty sure that seventh inning stretch is for all the fans and not just newbies like me.”
Steve smiled for the first time since Eddie came to pick him up. “Fair enough, but you had fun?”
Eddie nodded, pulling out of the driveway. “Sure did. I can’t watch it on that terrible black and white TV that Uncle Wayne has, but going out and being with the other fans? That was fun.”
Steve’s smile grew bigger. “Just wait until you go to hockey match.”
Eddie’s face lit up with a feral grin. “I like the way you think, babe.”
Steve shucked off his t-shirt and pulled on the polo. Eddie glanced over at him, a fond smile on his face.
Just on my Steve is smooth operator when he sets his mind on someone agenda. Because remember even Robin thinks he’s striking out because he doesn’t know what he wants. Cue him deciding he wants Eddie and cranking that charm up to eleven.
***
Steve took a deep breath. He was good at this. Just because he had struck out with girls lately didn’t mean he didn’t know how to come on to someone.
He waited until he had a handful of witnesses that wouldn’t hate crime him for this.
Eddie came into Family Video with Dustin, Lucas, and Mike to rent a movie. Will and the rest of Byers family were in the process of moving back to Indiana, so it was just the three boys today.
Steve had sent Robin to make sure there weren’t any other customers before he made his move. He walked up to the metalhead and stepped into his space until their bodies were almost touching.
Eddie is just trying to cash his first real paycheck. He just wants to get in and get out with that sweet sweet money.
It does not go that way at all as suddenly all the security gates drop and the alarms go off and standing there in the middle of the bank holding a gun telling everyone to shut up
Eddie does the most Eddie thing possible and goes up the guy and is like dude you are freaking everyone out, just chill.
The guy tells him to sit down and shut up.
So Eddie goes back to the line and is told that he was lucky that he was even alive after that stunt as the guy is known murderer Steve Harrington who had spent the last fire years in a psych hospital so that he wouldn't go to jail for the murder of his friends Tommy and Carol.
The cops show up and Hopper is frustrated to hell because apparently what happened according the bank teller who had told Eddie about Steve saw the gun in Steve's belt loop, saw how agitated he is and when he asks to see a certain box she triggers the alarm.
Only it's his box. But his parents flagged it in case he ever tried to open it.
Steve knows he's in trouble, he's not stupid but the alarms are hurting his head and he just wants them to stop.
Hopper offers to cut the alarm for one hostage.
Steve sends them all out all but Eddie. He likes Eddie's voice. It's calming.
Eddie doesn't protest because even he can see that this is all a great big misunderstanding.
Outside Dr. Owens comes up to Hopper and tells him he's Steve's doctor and that Steve is NOT insane. But it took him five years to convince a board of doctors to let Steve out.
Steve is looking for evidence that he didn't kill his best friends.
And Eddie accidentally puts his foot on a landmine when asks Steve where he got the gun. Because apparently it was in a box of his stuff that they gave back to him when he got out. Only it shouldn't have been there and since Steve picked it up all the other prints on it are now covered with his.
And he just melts down thinking that all is lost, that he ruined his chances at being cleared.
That's when Eddie remembers his late night TV watching and asks Hopper if it's true they can get prints off of the bullets?
Steve lets out a gasp of surprise when Hop says that they can.
Eddie asks if Steve touched the bullets and Steve says no he didn't even eject the clip at all. So Eddie sends out the gun in a box and it's still just him and Steve.
They go to the box that's in Steve's name and there is another key. And it's to another box right there in the bank. Eddie goes to look up who's box it is while Steve hunts it down.
Turns out Tommy and Carol stumbled on Tommy's dad and Steve's mom going at on the sofa and they killed them together.
Steve doesn't know who killed them and the event of finding them breaks something in his mind.
Only mommy Harrington lies to her husband and says that Steve killed them in a fit of rage when he learned they were going to runaway together without Steve.
So Daddy Harrington tries to make it like Steve went crazy to get him off a double murder charge. Only the evidence shows that Steve couldn't have done it because only the tips of his shoes and his knees ever touched the blood and the blood on his hands is from him trying to resuscitate them.
Dr. Owens is out there with Hopper trying to keep Steve calm because he knows that even though he's not crazy being called that for 5 years has done some major damage.
tagged by @steviewashere :) sorry i've been very MIA lately 💀
Reading: i just started For Whom The Belles Toll by Jaysea Lynn but i literally like.. JUST finished the Game Changers Series by Rachel Reid (i am deeply DEEPLY obsessed i fear. i read 6 books +reread 2 of them within like 2 weeks 😭)
Last TV Series: i've been watching Heated Rivalry on LOOP for the last month 😭 it consumes me. there is no escape.
Last Film: genuinely cannot remember. the only pieces of media i've consumed in the last like... couple of months has been game changers/heated rivalry, the pitt, and actual hockey games 🫠 not a movie in sight i fear
Last Song: Confidential by Xana has been on repeat today
Sweet/Salty: uhhh i've had a lot of sweets lately tbh but i normally crave salty more
Coffee/Tea: both. religiously. but i fear i cannot function at all without coffee
Working On: uhhhhhh honestly i have not touched a fic of mine in a HOT minute and i feel bad about it 💀 i fell so deep down the heated rivalry rabbit hole at the beginning of december and haven't touched any of my stranger things stuff since before thanksgiving... but i am teaching myself how to make edits rn so i can make a heated rivalry edit 😭
i fear my answers to this were probably incredibly boring bc i have done nothing with my life except go to work and consume hockey-related things since hockey season started in october 😭 so my apologies for that, but with the way 2025 went for me, that is all the brain capacity i've had 🥲
open tags bc i've been out of the game too long; if you wanna do it feel free please 🫶
I finished it!!! Okay so I was up super late last night to finish it, but it got done. It is also four chapters. Three chapters longer than it should be. So there will be a schedule update for posting in the month of January. That will be coming later in the week.
Summary: New rink master Wayne thinks Steve is hogging the prime practice time and gives it away to Eddie and his hockey team. Starting Eddie and Steve off to a bad start. But over the next part of the year they grow to appreciate and care for each other. Christmas confession in their most self way possible.
~
June
Steve was just tightening the laces on his skates when he heard a loud whistle.
Oh no. No, no, no. Not again!
He hurried to tie his laces and remove the blade protectors to dash out onto the ice.
“Absolutely not!” he cried, waving his hands wildly. “I just had the ice resurfaced! For me! Not for you and your friends!”
There were about six guys out on the ice all kitted out in their hockey gear. Their ring leader already had his shin pads and face mask on and he lifted it up to glare at Steve.
“I scheduled the time,” the goalie sneered. “So you wait your turn, pretty boy.”
That brought Steve up short. He had had the 4-6pm slot since he was twelve. There was no way they had the ice scheduled.
“Not from 4-6 you haven’t,” he huffed. “That’s my time!”
The beefy kid on the far right snorted. “You don’t own a time asshole.”
Just then the new rink master came out and skidded to a stop.
“Oh, Steve,” he said with a grimace. “You’re early. I was hoping to catch you before you came in.”
Steve turned to him in dawning horror. “No... come on.” But the expression on the rink master’s face said it all. “That’s not fair! You can’t just give up my time, I’m paying for it!”
“Look,” the rink master said, “as Brian said, you don’t own a time and 4-6 is the best time for them to practice.”
“But I can’t do it later!” Steve protested. “I have dance from 7-9 and the rink closes at 8pm.”
The rink master just shook his head. “Then you’ll just have to come first thing in the morning.”
“No.” Steve stomped his foot, sending ice spraying everywhere.
“Excuse me?” he said, looking Steve in the eye, raising an eyebrow.
Steve put his hands hips and stared him down. “I don’t know who you are and I don’t give a fuck. You cannot come in here and throw your weight around just because you’re the new rink master. I pay for this slot. Do they?”
A couple of the other hockey players twisted nervously.
He raised an eyebrow back at the rink master. “Well, do they?”
“No.”
“Yeah, I thought not,” Steve bit out. “So until they do, as you know, six people paying for a slot would be more than one person playing for the slot, the time from 4-6 is mine.”
Steve stared down the rink master until the man folded.
“The ice is yours,” he bit out and then called out to the hockey players, “Come on, dinner’s on me.” He gave Steve a frosty glare as they all skated off the ice.
Once they were off, Steve almost cried. They had messed up the ice and resurfacing it again would take too long.
He let out a pained sigh and knew he had to just be careful. So he free skated for the first half of the time, doing the stuff he wanted to work on like nailing that triple Axle.
He sailed into the air and as he landed he was so sure he got it, but suddenly he was off kilter and he was falling to the ice on his ass.
“I can’t believe you’re still working on that,” a gruff voice came from the audience seats. “You know you’re not going to get it before the season starts.”
Steve shielded his eyes and then grinned. His coach and former police chief of Hawkins, Jim Hopper was sitting up there with Steve’s doubles partner, Robin Buckley.
“I will as long as I don’t get new rink masters trying to give up my time slot away,” he huffed.
Robin waddled over to the side of the rink and out onto the ice, sliding gracefully on the ice.
“Yeah,” Hopper growled. “I had a word with Wayne about that. He didn’t think it was fair that one person was hogging the prime skating time.”
Steve put his hands on his hips. “I don’t care about fair. My dad paying for that slot is what keeps this rundown hell hole from closing all together.”
Hopper raised his hands in the air. “I’m on your side, kid. But we’ve run into another snag.”
Steve frowned and tilted his head. “What’s up?”
Robin looked down at her feet and kicked the ice with her toe pick. “It’s my mom. She wants me in marching band this year and guess when practices are?”
Steve crumpled. “No, no, no. This was going to be our year. We actually have a shot at nationals,” he whined.
“I know!” she cried. “That’s what I told her. But she doesn’t care, because she’s not the one spending money on it, so...”
Steve buried his head in his hands. “Fuck! That’s why, isn’t it? She doesn’t like the fact that I’m paying for your lessons so she wants to cut down how much she owes me by cutting down your rink time.”
She grimaced and didn’t reply. But she didn’t need to. That was the real answer right there.
“Since even I think this is bullshit, on Mel’s part,” Hopper snarled, “You’ll still have your hour on the rink five days a week, but on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, we’ll cut down on the second hour, then have your dad pay for three hours on Sunday to make up for it.”
“Are you sure he’s going to be willing to do that?” Steve whispered. “I mean it was hard enough getting him to pay for the five days a week.”
Hopper nodded. “I’ve already spoken to him. He balked originally but your mom convinced him it was a good investment.”
He let out a shuddering breath. “Okay. If he’s going to then that’s what we’ll do.”
Hopper clapped his hands. “Come on, let’s get to practicing.”
~
July
Steve had been practicing the same routine over and over again so much that he was starting to hate his song choice. Everybody Wants to Rule the World had seemed like a solid choice weeks ago, but now he wanted to tear his hair out if he heard it one more time.
Suddenly there was an ear piercing whistle and it brought him up short.
“Hey!” the ring leader yelled. “You’re past time on the ice!”
Steve looked up at the clock and it read: 5:13.
“Oh shit!” he called and shielded his eyes so he could see into the stands. “I’m usually gone before you get here, sorry!”
He hurried off the ice and over to the seats to start unraveling his laces. A shadow pasted over him and he looked up to see their ring leader standing above him.
“Look,” he huffed. “I usually leave five minutes before you guys get here. I just lost track of time. I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”
“Oh no, no,” the guy said waving his heads back and forth. “I get it. Well, not the whole ice skating thing, but uh the need to practice until you get it right.”
Steve blinked at him for a moment. “Oh. That’s good then.” He stuck out his hand. “I’m Steve.”
The man chuckled. “I know who you are, Harrington. We go to the same school. You’re pretty hard to miss.”
“Well,” Steve said with an eye roll. “You’re on up on me. Considering I’ve never seen you without all the...” he pointed at his face and made a circle with his finger.
The man blinked at him for a moment. “Oh! The mask!” He pulled it off and a cascade of dark brown ringlets spilled out. “Sorry about that! I always forget I have it on.”
“Eddie Munson, right?” Steve said eyeing him sidelong. “You’re pretty famous yourself.”
Eddie pulled a hair in front of his face to hide his blush. “Aw shucks!”
“Something I can help you with...” Steve asked as he just stood there while Steve pulled off his skates.
“Oh!” Eddie said with a darkening of his blush. “Right. So I have to ask. You played the same song over and over again is that something you have to do in ice skating? It’s just that it was driving me crazy after the third time and you’ve got to have been playing it more than that.”
“Yeah,” he agreed. “There are the short and compulsory program that have to be to classical music, but the free skate can be anything. Though seriously I’m regretting my choice of music.”
Eddie wrinkled his nose in distaste. “Why did you pick it in the first place?”
“Because I thought I could handle listening to it for three months straight,” Steve said with a smirk. “I completely miscalculated.”
“Just so I have this right,” Eddie tilting his head to the side, “you have to ice skate to music, but only once can it be something palpable?”
Steve shrugged. “Something like that. It’s like dance or gym routines, it has to be set to music and it has to include certain elements.”
Eddie opened his mouth to ask another question but was cut off by “Ed!” one of the guys yelled. “Get your ass out here! We can’t practice without our goalie!”
He grimaced. “Sorry, gotta go.” He jutted his thumb behind him and then dashed out onto the ice, yelling at his team to keep their pants on.
Steve was more than little confused about the interaction, considering the reason he left at 4:55 on the dot was because the hockey players would make sneering remarks about fairies and fragile egos.
He shook his head and practically sprinted for the locker room for a shower and his shoes.
~
Eddie wasn’t sure what possessed him to ask Harrington about all that stuff. He had originally intended to mock the guy about his taste in music, but he found himself fascinated instead.
Of course that meant that they only had forty minutes on the ice, but Eddie was fine with that. It was a miracle they were given time on the ice at all after that fiasco with Wayne and Steve that first day.
Because Wayne had left out the part that Harrington did in fact pay for that time. One of the few people who did. It wouldn’t be too off base to say that it was that money that kept the lights on at all.
He had also tried to stop the gay comments about figure skating too. Because, who boy. He did not want to explain to his friends that it wasn’t the figure skater who was the fairy, it was their goalie.
Wayne knew of course. That was a given. He had an idea that Jeff knew, but he wasn’t a hundred percent sure. But the rest of them? They wouldn’t be making those kind of remarks if they knew about Eddie liking men.
Anyway, he was getting off the topic. And that was the problem of him suddenly being interested in figure skating. A thing that should not be happening. And it wasn’t like he could ask anyone about it, because the only two he knew would flip him off and rightly so.
He buried his head in his hands.
This was ridiculous. He should leave it all alone. But watching Harrington try the same move over and over trying to get it right, just did something to him.
Then he got an idea. He raised his head and slapped his hands over his mouth to stop the giggle that came unbidden to lips.
No. He couldn’t do that. There was no way that Harrington would even appreciate it.
But the idea wouldn’t leave his head every Monday, Wednesday and Friday would have Eddie up in the stands watching Steve work so hard on his routine. He would slip out before Steve finished, but he couldn’t help but watch.
Finally at the end of July, he got up the courage to make the mix tape and leave it in Steve’s locker. He just hoped it didn’t blow up in his face.
Whew! We are soooo close to the end! But! If I get this Christmas story done in time, we will be skipping next week for it. But if I don't you'll get the last chapter for Christmas!
In this the heist wraps up and the extra players are revealed.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10
~
Eddie and Steve walked into the safe house to see that Vickie, Robin and Chrissy were already there. But Nancy et al weren’t.
“Where are we?” Steve asked, pulling up a chair next to Vickie.
Robin turned around and squealed. “Brian!! What are you doing here, you sly dog?”
She ran up and gave him a huge hug, one that he gladly returned. “Steve needed an extra hand and gave me a call. I was on the next flight over.”
Vickie smiled up at them and then turned to Steve. “Nancy and Jonathan got pulled over and they weren’t happy to see her diplomatic plates.”
Eddie chuckled. “That was one of Chrissy’s better finds, that’s for damn sure. Who knew Sabrina’s mother was a French diplomat to the US?”
“What are you going to do with your little pouch?” Steve asked Chrissy, jutting his chin to the black velvet bag on her work table.
“I’m going in the morning and turning them in,” Chrissy said sweetly. “Full on tears and all about how I didn’t even know how they got in my purse.” She started to tear up and clutched her chest. “I’m so sorry officer, I found these this morning! I don’t know how they got there!”
Robin giggled. “It’s going to really put the nail in the coffin for your parents and that stupid git, Henry Creel.”
“Good,” Steve said with a grin. “The fire marshals are up.”
There was a little wee-whoop! outside the safe house. Eddie and Steve turned to each other and grinned as the four fire marshals entered through the back door.
One by one they each took off their helmets, revealing....
“Mike! Lucas!” Steve cried at the same time Eddie cried out, “Jeff! Gareth!”
~
After some cheerful greeting, Robin put her arms around Eddie and Steve’s shoulders. “Wasn’t that a fun little surprise? You add in Brian being the third driver and it’s like the entire crew is back together again.” Then she cocked her head to the side. “Well, almost...”
Then she pointed at the door and out walked Will and Dustin, talking to each other and then they looked up. Steve’s eyes welled up.
“Guys?!” he whispered. “How? Why? Oh my god, I’m so glad to see you both.”
“Dustin called me after you called him and asked for a favor,” Eddie said with a fond smile. “He said that he needed to get the old crew back together because they needed to help you. So I crashed each of their colleges’ grading systems. Because yeah, I was still pissed at you at the time, but I’m all for getting people to get out of taking tests.” He half shrugged.
Will and Dustin ran up and gave Steve a great big hug.
“Thank you, all of you,” Steve whispered under the now swarm of bodies as Lucas, Mike, Jeff, Gareth, and Brian all joined in on the hug.
“My British accent is a little better than Dustin’s,” Will said with a grin. “So he routed all calls from the museum to me.”
“And then I made sure to clear the traffic to make sure people got caught at a certain time,” Dustin added. “But the cops following Vickie were so fucking stupid that they still managed to get away!”
Robin put him in a headlock and pulled him a little bit away from the group. “Don’t sweat it, squirt, all Chrissy has to do is go to the police tomorrow when everyone else is out of the country or back to their homes, and the last nail in the coffin gets hammered home.”
Mike scoffed. “I really don’t believe that all it’s going to take is the water works. Like that will never work.”
Chrissy giggled. “Oh it wouldn’t work for you, maybe. Dustin, sure. Gareth, no doubt. Steve? Steve would even look beautiful doing it. If it was you going into the police with the jewels, I’d say play up being clumsy and stammering and they wouldn’t believe you could do anything maliciously.”
Mike cocked his head to the side and nodded. “So it’s about playing up to your weaknesses to make them believe that you wouldn’t do that very thing you’re about or have already done?”
“Ding, ding, ding!” Chrissy said with all the flair of a game show host, waving her arm at him. “Give the man a cookie!”
Eddie handed him one of the shortbread triangles that was passed around at the gala. “You’ll get there, dude.”
Mike absently took a bite. “Oh that is good.” Then he paused for a moment. “Wait, where did you stash these?”
Eddie just winked. Just then, Nancy’s car arrived and burst through the door. They all skidded to a stop when they saw everyone had already assembled.
“Mike!” Nancy cried and they came and gave each other hugs. “I didn’t know you were on this job! I thought you were still at Oxford.” She held him at arm length. “Is everything okay? You aren’t in trouble, are you?”
Mike laughed. “No, Dustin called us in to help Steve and Eddie made sure to cover our asses.”
She hugged him again. “This is so awesome!” She turned to Steve. “Is everyone in the clear?”
“All but Chrissy,” Steve replied. “But she’ll be in the clear by tomorrow afternoon. Henry Creel was caught at the airport trying to make off with some very important Ming Dynasty vases. That plus all the stuff that Eddie and Chrissy were able to dig up, he’s going to go away for a very long time.”
Will shook his head. “I couldn’t believe all the stuff he was doing when I saw the evidence against him. How do people live like that?”
Steve shrugged. “It’s rich people, man. They think that because they’re rich they’re above the law. It’s why I got into helping people get their stuff back. Because all my life I saw my parents and all their friends doing the shadiest of shit and getting away with it. I didn’t want to live like that.” He shrugged again. “So yeah.”
Jeff held up a bag. “So who wants to see the pretty loot?”
It was like a gang of meerkats, all heads popped up and turned to him. Everyone thundered over to him, causing Steve to burst out laughing.
Jeff, Gareth, Mike, and Lucas picked up their bags and carried them over to Chrissy’s work table where she began unpacking each of their bags.
She started with Jeff’s. “This is from the Kincade collection. Also stolen, but sadly the last known family member died in 1986.” She took out a sparkling white gold tiara with white diamonds of various sizes into each of the seven spires. “This tiara was one of the few pieces that made it off the Titanic. Brought across the Atlantic ocean by Josephine Quinn who would later marry Thomas Kincade in 1921.”
Chrissy set gently on a velvet cloth she had laid out for just this purpose.
“Next we have the necklace Thomas bought for her for their wedding day...” she pulled out a beautiful piece where it was different sizes of sapphires arranged on strings of antique silver.
She went through all three bags going over all the collections that were shown next to Steve’s grandmother’s jewels.
Steve didn’t speak the whole time he laid out his grandmother’s jewels. He got to the bottom and slipped something into a waiting black velvet ring box and pocketed it, before he brought out the last thing. The tiara that Chrissy had used for her performance.
“There is no doubt that Eudora’s collection outshines everyone else,” Nancy purred. “I can see why
you wanted to keep your mother’s paws off of it. She didn’t deserve to even be in the same room as them.”
“Seriously,” Jeff said, cocking his head. “Like the other stuff is fine, some of it is even striking but there is a quality to the Farnsworth/Harrington collection.”
“I’m glad that they’re safe, now,” Eddie murmured. “I know a lot of this is going to be going into private collections or back to their owners, but I don’t think I’ve seen so much ice this close up.”
“Welcome to the ultra rich and super stupid,” Chrissy huffed, rolling her eye. “The worth they put on stones that we pull from the ground is fucking ridiculous.”
Robin cocked her head to the side. “But you’re still going to take your cut through, right?”
Chrissy laughed. “Yes, I will still take my cut. Steve has already promised me the tiara I got to have histrionics over.”
Nancy nodded approvingly. “That’s fair, that’s more than fair.”
Steve let everyone pick the piece they wanted; some of the men chose rings or single gemstone solitaire necklaces that Chrissy would put into the setting of their choice. The women, Nancy, Robin, and Vickie all got to choose what they wanted of some of the more detailed and exquisite pieces, but while they were looking things over Steve pulled Brian aside.
He placed something in his front pocket on his suit jacket. “This isn’t part of your cut, just something I wanted to give as one friend to another.”
Brian dug the box out of his pocket and opened the jewelry box. “Steve...I can’t take this, man. I can afford something good.”
Steve shook his head. “I want you two to have these. These belonged to my grandmother’s brother and his wife, she had them made for them so in their will they made sure it went back to her. Look, even the initials are the same.” He pulled out one of the two rings, the man’s, and showed him the engraving. B+V FOREVER LOVE.
“How did you know?” Brian whispered, taking the ring from him. “I don’t think even the guys know I was dating, let alone that I was serious about it.”
Steve chuckled. “The way either of you would light up when the other was mentioned reminded me of how I was with Eddie.”
Brian let out a shuddering breath. “He never blamed you. Not really. I think he was only vocal about it because if he admitted it was no one’s fault then he would have to take the blame for how your relationship blew up.”
“Yeah,” Steve murmured, his hand drifting to the box in his pocket.
Brian side eyed the movement. “Don’t think I didn’t notice the palming of that little trinket in your pocket.”
“God,” Steve huffed. “I hope you’re the only one, because otherwise I’ll never hear the end of it from...” he gestured wildly at the room behind him, “everyone.”
Brian huffed out a laugh. “No doubt about that.” He lifted the box. “Thanks for this, man. I think she’ll really love it.”
Just that moment Vickie bounced up to them. “Who will love what?” She looked back and forth between them, but neither man so much as twitched. “Because you’re thinking of going for any of the ladies, they’re all taken.”
Steve frowned. “Like I know you and Nancy are taken, but I didn’t know about Rob and Chris.” He cocked his head to the side like a confused puppy.
“Oh, yeah!” Vickie said brightly, missing the first part entirely. “I saw Robin do the walk of shame in just a long button up shirt and holding the rest of her clothes over her arm and her boots in her other hand. I don’t think she saw me though!”
“V...” Brian said, pinching his nose as he waited for her brain to catch up to EVERYTHING Steve just said. He counted down from five and then pointed at her.
“Oh!” she gasped and grabbed the sides of her face. “Um... like I was totally going to tell you, but I didn’t want you to think that Big Man recommended me because he’s my boyfriend or anything.”
Steve burst out laughing. “Nepotism is literally the name of this game, V. Mike recommended his sister and her boyfriends. Like knowing you’re a couple actually made it easier to trust you, not less.”
Then he leaned forward and whispered in Brian’s ear. “You better tell your friends you’re dating, sooner rather than later, yeah?”
Brian flushed a bright pink and then looked over at Eddie and Jeff and Gareth all laughing together and having a go at each other. He turned back to Steve and nodded. He took Vickie’s hand and led her back over to the group where Steve could see them talking, then the other three were suddenly cheering and hugging them both. Glad that was settled and settled well. He didn’t feel right knowing Brian was going to propose to Vickie before Eddie did. It made his skin itch.
He walked over to Robin and Chrissy and put his arms around their shoulders. “So... Vickie tells me that there’s been some tonsil hockey between you that you neglected to tell your best friend about.”
Both Chrissy and Robin turned to him slowly.
“Um...” Robin began, red as a beet. “It has progressed much farther than that...” She grimaced.
“And to be fair, it only got that far last night,” Chrissy hedged. “So we were going to tell you, just after everyone was in the clear.”
He gave each of them a kiss on the cheek. “I’m just glad you’re both happy.”
Robin pushed him off of her. “Don’t think I didn’t hear that little exchange over the comms, you slut.”
Steve cackled as both women turned on him. “I was only going to fake out make out with him to piss my parents off, and well...” he shrugged with a shit-eating grin, “it didn’t stay fake.”
“So I can accept all the love and attention from both my boys without feeling guilty?” Chrissy asked hopefully, her hands clasped together in earnest.
Eddie chose that moment to lope over. “Yeah... I do feel bad about that. Trying to pit Chrissy against Steve. Not that she would ever.” He amended, holding his hands up. “But I was in a dark place. I’m not excusing, I’m just explaining.”
“Well, while there will obviously be conversations about all that later,” Steve said seriously, “right now let’s just concentrate on celebrating a job well done.
"hollander" (this doesn't have to change, we can go back, we can just be hollander and rozanov and ignore the strings, we can pretend it's nothing more and never talk about it and I'll never say shane again, I'll never ask for more if this is all i can get) "hollander" (there's nothing I can say to keep this from crumbling but i'm begging you)
Hey guys, we are back! I am absolutely living for the response this story has gotten! Keep it up!
Here we have competent Steve and a little bit of rubbing that in the faces of people who doubt him.
Part 1 | Part 2 |
~
Eddie never wanted to punch so many people in such a short amount of time. His list was getting longer by the hour, he swore to Satan.
“You can’t just show up with some guy and expect us to treat him like your manager!” the festival stage manager growled. “I don’t care if you guys outsold Metallica and the next five top metal bands, I wouldn’t fucking give a damn if you were fucking God!”
“You would be dealing with this shit of not knowing what is going on with a manager sent by the label,” Eddie replied pinching the bridge of his nose, “you know that right?”
“He doesn’t know anything about anything!” the stage manager hissed.
“Hey, Ronnie,” Steve said coming up from behind them. “Gethin is saying that Gareth is missing a China cymbal and wanted to know if you would ask around the other bands to see if they had one he could borrow for the set.”
Ronnie, as apparently the stage manager was called, turned around slowly. “Isn’t it Geth’s job to keep track of all that?”
Steve smiled wanly. “Geth is pretty sure the new roadie, Micky bent it and didn’t want to own up to it. Probably did something with it. Now, I’ve talked to Micky and he claims he wasn’t anywhere near Gareth’s drum kit. But Jerry said that he had told Micky to handle it. So Jerry ended up firing him anyway, because either he did his job and bent the cymbal or he didn’t do his job and made someone else do it. Probably someone from another band’s team.”
Ronnie blinked at him for a moment. “Or maybe they just don’t want to tell you shit because you’re just some newbie ass piece of shit who wouldn’t know China from a trash cymbal.”
Steve raised an eyebrow. “Trash cymbals have the holes in them dude. I know that much. Also, I can name off all the main people in charge of their stuff. I don’t know individual names yet. But Jerry is charge of their roadies, Geth is Gareth’s drum tech and older twin brother. Geth is also in charge of the photography for the band. Then you have Kerry and Quinn. Both first named Joe and Kerry is Eddie’s guitar tech and Quinn is Jeff’s. Brian’s bass tech changes every time, but this time it’s a girl named Candy, who really knows her shit. You have Mindy on lights, and Rosie on pyrotechnics.” He snapped his fingers. “And I can’t forget Darrel, their head of security. He’s got a grumpy face.” Then he pouted.
Ronnie just stared at him in opened mouth shock.
“Also, I checked Gareth’s EpiPen and found that it was expired so I called the doctor’s office in LA and got them rush one over to the Walgreen’s nearby so he could have it,” Steve continued. “I restocked the tour buses for bottled water and their favorite snacks and confirmed the hotel for their next city which is in Kansas City, by they way.”
Steve turned to Eddie. “I read over your rider and I think that you should ask for an even harder to find water. Most of the places in the Midwest keep that brand on hand anyway.”
The stage manager turned back to Eddie. “What the fuck is that about?”
“It’s something the label recommended to make sure places read the rider about weight and height requirements for our shows,” Eddie said with a shrug. “If we had things warm brownies or fancy bottled water and they are there then we know that either they didn’t read it or worse didn’t fucking care. And we know to avoid them in the future.”
“And I’m saying the water isn’t fancy enough,” Steve said with a grin. “Though, fuck yeah. Warm brownies should totally be a thing.”
Ronnie looked between the two of them and threw his hands in the air. “Whatever. If he fucks shit up, I wash my hands of it.”
He turned on his heel and stormed off.
Steve jutted his thumb at him. “What the fuck is his problem?”
“Oh he’s just another in the long list of people who think you can’t hack it,” Eddie said with a shrug. “And until you prove you can’t, fuck them. You’re doing fine, better than the last guy for sure.”
“Ah,” Steve said. Then he cocked his head to the side. “Like, I’ve been talking to other band’s managers and asking what they handle and to give me pointers and so far they’ve all been really nice about it.”
Eddie grinned. “I’m glad! I bet they remember when they were just starting out and wished they had someone there to help figure it all out.”
Steve opened his mouth to reply but someone came running up to Eddie with a big boxy mobile phone. “Hey, some kid called your emergency line... do you have time to take it?”
“Yeah, of course,” Eddie said taking the phone from the poor frazzled volunteer. “Hello?”
“Eddie!” Dustin cried. “I’ve been calling Steve’s number and he hasn’t been picking up. So I called his work but they said he quit this morning and I’m freaking out!”
Eddie raised an eyebrow at Steve. “Was there someone you forgot to tell you ran away to join the circus?”
“No.” Steve grabbed the phone and sighed. “Hey, Dustin.”
“Steve?!” Dustin shrieked. “What are you doing with Eddie? Why did you quit your job? What about your apartment? What’s going on?”
“Dustin...” Steve said pinching the bridge of nose, pushing his glasses up. “I’m guessing you haven’t been back to your dorm yet or even called your mom?”
There was silence on the line for a moment or two before Dustin said meekly. “No...”
“Yeah...” Steve said with a grin. “You really should have at least called your mom before freaking out because I tell her everything. Especially when I know it was super late at night or you were in your classes.”
“...” Dustin huffed out a sigh. “Fine. You win. So tell me all about it.”
So Steve did and five minutes later a very happy Dustin rang off, now with a brand new thing to brag to all his friends about.
“Butthead,” Eddie said fondly. “It’s nice that he was concerned about you though...”
Steve snorted. “He was the one who decided he wanted to move to Boston and then freaked out when he realized he couldn’t Cerebro the whole Party while they all went to different colleges.”
“Sounds about right,” Eddie said with a cock of his head. “He makes me call him first thing when I arrive at each new town. He’s dorm resident still doesn’t think I’m who’s calling.”
“Can’t believe famous Eddie Munson would deign to call a college freshman every two or three days?”
“Pretty much!”
Steve looked at his watch. “All right, it’s time to rock out in front of thousands of people too drunk or too high to even recognize the music they’re slurring to.”
Eddie burst out laughing. “You say that like that’s not every night.”
Steve blinked at him for a moment or two and then nodded. “Right what was I thinking?”
“You weren’t!” he replied gleefully. He put his arm around his shoulder and led him back to the main stage. “I’m really happy you decided to join us on this crazy tour and help us out.”
“It’s been fun so far,” Steve admitted. “Plus going on this tour will help shortcut some of the harder aspects of getting into managing a band. Getting to know people in the industry, especially venue managers and owners.”
“Sounds like you’re getting quite the education on this trip,” Eddie said. “And after the tour is over, we’ll see about getting you some proper classes on it.”
Steve snorted. “Like any college is gonna want me.”
Eddie grabbed him by his shoulders. “Sweetheart, you are forgetting the power of money. Maybe your parents couldn’t see the potential in you to splash that kind of money around, but we do. Okay? And if having a degree will help you thrive as our manager, you can bet we’re going to do it.”
Steve blinked at him for a moment and then threw himself into Eddie’s arms, letting out a small sob as he did so. “No one has ever had faith in before. Thank you.”
Eddie lifted Steve’s chin gently. “Have faith in us that we’ll have faith in you, okay?”
Steve nodded, but didn’t let go. They stayed like that for another moment or two before they broke apart and walked to where the rest of the band was waiting for them.
The boys rocked their hearts out and Steve was there every step of the way to make it as smooth as possible. After the festival was over and they went out for drinks, making sure to go back to that bar.
Steve and the band walked into the bar, Steve at the lead. He scanned the room and noted with satisfaction that the owner, Chris had taken up Steve’s place at the bar.
The moment Chris spotted him, he threw down his towel and stormed up to him, nostrils flaring. “What is the meaning of this? You telling me you’re quitting without notice and dare show up here, bold as brass.”
Steve snorted. “The boys had such fun yesterday they wanted to come back and I needed to get my last check, so I figured it was win/win for all of us.”
Chris frowned and realized who was behind Steve. All four members of Corroded Coffin stared him down, daring him to say the wrong thing so they could throw hands.
He gulped. “Gentlemen!” he said with false cheer, clapping his hands together and rubbing. “Let’s get you settled into the VIP lounge, shall we?”
Eddie smirked and licked the corner of his mouth. “That sounds great. Any of the crew from last night here?”
Chris frowned. “Just Lance...”
Steve snapped his fingers. “Ah darn... oh well, Lance will be good enough.” He turned back to the guys. “I’ll meet you up there in a bit, yeah?”
Once they were gone, Chris’s frown deepened. “Denise was spinning some story that they asked you to be their manager or some shit. You couldn’t manage to get into college, what would you know about managing one of the biggest bands in history?”
Steve barked out a laugh. “You’ll find out soon enough, Chris. I managed this bar while you were getting high off the toilet tank in men’s bathroom and Charlie fucked around doing nothing. And as for college...we’ll just have to see, won’t we?”
Chris glared at him, but turned on his heel and stalked off to his office, Steve hot on his heels. He went through the log books and did the math on a calculator. Then he signed the check and handed it to Steve all without a single word uttered between them.
“Thanks!” Steve said brightly and turned on his heel, making his way out of the office. He headed straight for the stairs leading up to the VIP lounge.
“Hey!” Chris called out. “The long haired one, Eddie was it?”
Steve’s step paused halfway up the third step. He set it down deliberately and turned around. “Yeah. Eddie Munson, lead singer and frontman of Corroded Coffin. What of it?”
Chris jutted his chin up at the lounge. “They know you’re a fag that’s been panting after their frontman for years?”
Steve turned around slowly and faced him directly. “They’ve known me for longer then you’ve had this bar, Chris. They don’t care about who I’m swapping spit with as long as I get the job done.”
“Well, the last manager they had was a kiddie diddler,” Chris said with a shrug. “I figured they’d want to know their new one was, too.”
Steve descended the last two steps to get in his face. “The last time my dick was in anyone under eighteen, I was seventeen. You know, I minor myself. I don’t diddle kids. I don’t do drugs. And I don’t fuck either gender without a condom. And if you open your mouth to slander me like that, Vice will be swarming this joint faster than your payment for the scoop would hit your account.”
Chris’s eyes went wide.
“You got it?” Steve snarled.
He nodded and Steve turned up the stairs, running the rest of the way up them.
Eddie was immediately by his side. “Hey, you okay? I could tell that was pretty tense from up here.”
“Oh I’m fine,” Steve said with a smirk, slipping a hand on Eddie’s waist. “He was going to try and blackmail me because I’m bi.”
Gareth snorted. “Like we haven’t known that for years.”
“That’s what I told him,” Steve said cocking his head to the side. “Like he’s done more illegal shit in this last week then I have my whole life.”
“Why is it always the stupid ones who try to blackmail people over the dumbest shit,” Jeff said shaking his head.
“Let’s party!” Brian howled. “I’ve invited a few friends from the festival and they should be arriving at any moment.”
Steve turned to him. “Who have you got watching the door? I know Chris won’t assign anyone because he’s pissed at me.”
Eddie pointed at the door. “We couldn’t bear the thought that you would be without Bruno, so we hired him as security.”
This story is so back! And for all of you who guessed it right? Gold star for all of you!
And you'll have to forgive Steve's idiocy in this one, he's not used to be being loved unconditionally for all of him.
Part 1 |
~
When Steve left the VIP lounge, Bruno stopped him. “For the record, they don’t invite me either.”
That brought Steve up short. His spine straightened and he furrowed his brow. “They don’t? I mean I sort of get me. I’m not from Chicago, I’m Indiana born and bred.”
Bruno snorted. “I’m from Arizona, Steve-o. That’s why. We’re outsiders. We will always be othered in their eyes.”
“Well, maybe you and I should do something fun and thumb our noses at them,” Steve said with a chuckle.
“Yeah,” Bruno said with a soft smile. “I’d like that.”
Steve clapped him on the shoulder and thundered down the stairs to get back to work. Not like it was a busy night. Not anymore. Once Bruno made it clear that no one was getting to Corroded Coffin 90% of the crowd vanished.
Lance came up to him after dropping off an order from table five. “Did you really save Eddie Munson’s life?”
Steve huffed out a laugh. “Yeah, man. I really fucking did. Palled around with them while they were trying to get big, too. They went to LA and I came here.”
“How much of that first order was guess work?” Lance sneered, raising his head up. “Like there is no way you remember what they liked from five years ago.”
Steve just rolled his eyes and started making the drinks, not even bothering to justify that question with a response. He knew what they thought of him. That he only got this because Robin insisted on it and not because he was good at this job.
When Lance realized that Steve wasn’t going to answer him, he took the drinks that his table had ordered and tray’ed them up to take out the costumers with a huff of annoyance.
Steve licked the corner of his mouth and shook his head. Bullies never did like it when their victims refused to rise to the bait.
Soon enough it was closing time and everyone was fighting over the $1000 tip the band dropped. Steve took the tip and gave everyone including Bruno, $200.
Leonita and Lance glared at Steve for that, but couldn’t deny that Steve and Bruno had as much to play in how much they tipped as the wait staff had. Even more so for Steve.
“God, I can’t believe not a single one of them went for me,” Leonita bitched as they cleaned up the bar. “If I unbuttoned anymore buttons, my breasts would have gone ‘Free Willy’ all over the place.”
“Maybe they just don’t date whores,” Denise replied with a sneer.
Steve but his lip as he tried not to laugh. He wasn’t a hundred percent sure about Brian and Jeff, but Gareth and Eddie were gay, no amount of boobies was going to make them bat an eye.
They finished cleaning up and they all walked out together.
Steve stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Eddie and Jeff, leaning up against the prettiest car he had ever seen. It was probably a rental as they were to be playing a festival in two days, but god it almost looked as good as Eddie did standing next to it.
“I’ll see you guys tomorrow,” Steve said waving two fingers before jogging over to the two rockstars.
“Hey,” he greeted. “I thought you guys already said goodnight. What’s up?”
Jeff puffed out his cheeks and said in faux New York accent, “We’re here to make you an offer you can’t refuse.”
“What? Huh?”
Eddie pulled out an envelope and handed it to Steve. “We want you to be our manager.”
Steve stared at the envelope in shock. “But why?”
“Steve...” Jeff said pained, “we had the best time tonight because you managed the band, the wait staff, and the security. Like effortlessly.”
“God, Stevie,” Eddie replied, chewing on his bottom lip. “It was so smooth it could have been lubed.”
Jeff made a face. “Never said that again.”
Steve burst out laughing. “What about Gareth and Brian? Are they on board with this?”
“They’re the ones that suggested it,” Jeff promised.
“We’re here for a few days,” Eddie said with a cock of his head, “we could help you clear out your apartment, pay to store it until you can move out to Cali with us, and the lease breaking fee.”
Steve looked back and forth between them and he raised a questioning eyebrow. “You guys are actually serious about this?”
“As serious as my love for Metallica,” Eddie said simply.
Both of Steve’s eyebrows shot up to his hair line. That was pretty damn serious. “So you’re just going to kidnap me?”
Eddie grinned. “That was the plan yes.”
“Okay.”
Jeff and and Eddie shared a glance.
“Okay?” Jeff asked, eyes wide. “As in yes, you’ll be our manager?”
“Sure,” Steve said with a shrug. “I always wanted to join the circus.”
Jeff and Eddie burst out laughing.
“That works for me,” Jeff said shaking his head. “Just as long as you are our manager for the festival.”
Steve tilted his head to the side. “Why’s that so important?”
“Because it’s not just us playing,” Jeff said solemnly. “There are a lot of different people handling our equipment and has to be taken down and setup as fast as possible. We didn’t have a manager our first couple of festivals, and it was nightmare, man.”
“Gareth is still pissed that they dented his china cymbal and kicked in his bass drum,” Eddie added. “Like we’re weren’t making a lot of money at the time and it took a lot of begging and offering to do a shit ton of chores for his parents to buy him new ones.”
Steve reared his head back. “Why? It’s not like it was Gareth’s fault.”
“Yeah...” Eddie said with a grimace, “they didn’t believe that and thought he was just trying to get a new set.”
“It didn’t help that Gareth had been whining a few weeks before about wanting to expand his kit,” Jeff said with a half shrug.”
“Yikes,” Steve said. “Yeah, that would do it. But sure, I’ll be there. While your guys pack up my place, you can fill me in on all my duties and help me get a feel for the job.”
Eddie jumped up and down. “Yes! Yes! Yes!”
~
Steve went back to his apartment and began packing a bag. He looked around and actually felt a sense of relief. He had been stagnating in Chicago. He couldn’t go back to Hawkins and prove everybody right that he was a failure, but he didn’t know where else to go.
And now he was getting an opportunity of a lifetime and he wasn’t going to waste it.
After he grabbed three pants, five shirts, and weeks worth of underwear and socks, he raided the bathroom for his toiletries. His shaving kit, the shampoo, conditioner, body wash and moisturizer followed his clothes into the bag. He grabbed his favorite sneakers and tossed them in there too.
He still had on his work shoes on.
Steve stopped and looked around. Was there anything that he wanted to take with him. He grabbed a couple of pictures he couldn’t do without. Pictures of him and the kids. The picture of Robin and him in their Scoops Ahoy uniforms in front of the cash register.
He stopped and snapped his fingers. He ran over to the phone.
He dialed a number and prayed it went to voicemail.
“Ewo?” a scraggly voice answered.
“Rob?” Steve asked. “Shouldn’t you be in your first class already?”
“Stevie!” Robin cried a little more awake. “It’s a holiday here across the Pond. No classes today.”
“Then really is my lucky day,” he replied happily.
“Oh?”
Steve could imagine her sitting up straight, ready for the juiciest gossip. And he was more happy to indulge.
“So you’re running away to join the circus, huh?” Robin said when he was done.
He burst out laughing. “Yep! That’s exactly what I told Eddie and Jeff when they asked why I was so willing to leave Chicago behind.”
“Hell yeah!” She cackled with him.
After they stopped laughing Robin murmured. “I’m really happy for you, dingus. I think you’re going to do amazing. You better get me good tickets the next time they perform anywhere near me, you hear me?”
“You bet, Robbie!” Steve agreed brightly.
He hung up with her and then called the dorm resident at MIT and then one more number to cover all his bases. He knew she would get the message to everyone else and he could relax.
Steve threw his bag over his shoulder and worked the keys to this apartment off of his key ring.
He looked around one more time and then closed and locked the door behind him for the last time.
~
“You can’t just hire some schlub off the street and call him your manager, Eddie!” the label rep screamed.
“Well then you should have sent one out before now!” Eddie yelled back. “We’re about to headline one of the biggest metal festivals in the Midwest and we still don’t have a manager.”
“No one wants to manage you,” the rep growled. “You are notoriously picky.”
“Then all the more reason to hire Steve,” he pointed out. “Like everyone in the band wants him to manage us.”
There was silence on the line.
“Even Gareth?”
Eddie snorted. Gareth was the pickiest of them all because of the incident with his drum kit that first year. Hell, he even hired his own twin brother as his drum tech.
“Guess who suggested it,” he replied with shit eating grin.
“There is no way...” the rep growled.
Gareth ripped the phone out of Eddie’s hand. “If you don’t hire Steve Harrington, I will make sure every day of life is as miserable as you are making us by not having him, do I make myself clear?”
“Crystal,” the rep huffed. “Fine, you’ll get your country bumpkin as manager, but don’t come crying to me when this inevitably blows up in your face.”
“Fuck off,” Gareth growled and hung up the phone. He turned to everyone else. “Steve is our manager.”
The other three cheered.
“Hell, yeah!” Jeff cried. “I can already see our lives getting easier.”
Just then Steve walked in with a clipboard and stacks and stacks of papers. But more importantly, sporting a pair of black rimmed glasses. “So if I have this correct...sound check on Friday 1pm, setup at 5:30 and you go on at 6:15. Then you play for forty-five minutes and then your crew has thirty minutes to take everything down. I’ve been talking to Jerry who is the roadie foremen and he says it’ll be a breeze for him and the other roadies...” He paused when he realized they weren’t listening to him. “What?”
“Dude!” Brian cried. “What is that on your face?”
Steve frowned and his hand moved up to touch his cheek. “Do I have food or something on it?”
Eddie jumped up and carefully removed the glasses, “Where did you get these, Stevie? I don’t remember you having glasses in high school.”
“Oh!” he exclaimed. “My glasses? One too many hits to the head and I get blurry vision out of my left eye. I usually wear contacts, but if I’m tired or I’m going to be doing a lot of reading I pull them out.”
Eddie eyed him suspiciously, but said nothing. “Well, you look hot in them so maybe you should wear them more often.”
The other three readily agreed. All of them nodding and cheering and complementing how good he looked in them.
Steve blushed deeply. “Oh. You really think they look good? Robin and Dustin called them my nerd glasses.”
Eddie blinked at him for a moment and then put the glasses back on. “I’m afraid there may be some ass kicking the next time I see your besties, Stevie.”
“I’mma start a line,” Brian growled. “Fucking hell. You don’t look like a nerd in them. You look like you can fucking see, dude.”
“Seriously,” Jeff agreed. “Anyone who makes fun of you for being able to see just send them to us.” He pointed at himself with his thumb.
“Thanks, guys,” Steve said meekly. He cleared his throat. “Right so back to the reason I’m here?”
They all settled down and let Steve work his magic. When all was said and done, Steve could see that they really were grateful to have him there. For how much longer, he didn’t know. But he was going to soak up all the attention he could.
Thinking about maybe Steve adopting/taking care of his sister. Like.
Steve’s mom has always been good in his eyes. She did pay attention to him and she always tried to come to his games when they were in town. He knows his dad is a shit husband, not that hard when you’re already a shit father.
So one day his mom calls him from a hospital in *insert random city* and asks if he can fly out to her if she pays the ticket. Steve, who was gonna have datenight with his alpha, immediately says yes cause now he’s worried. So a!eddie drives him to the airport and scents him before kissing him and sending him off.
He gets to the hospital and finds his moms room. He did not expect to see a baby in her arms.
She explains that she’s had an affair for the last year (Steve doesn’t blame her, god knows how many affairs his dad has had) and she accidentally got pregnant, she didn’t even realise until 6 months in. She explains that Richard doesn’t know and that the other guy broke it off with her a month before.
Steve is immediately in love, she’s the cutest little thing and he can’t help smiling down at her the whole time. The following conversation happens:
”I really don’t want to put this on you, but do you think that you could look after her? I don’t want her around Richard, she doesn’t deserve that”
”Look after her?”
” you’ve always been good with kids Steven and I know you want some of your own. Well maybe not in this way but…”
”So she would be mine? My kid?”
”If you want. I don’t mind you telling her I’m her mother but I want her to be raised and loved by all her parents and that wouldn’t happen if your dad knew she was mine. He’s spend the rest of his life sneering at her. She deserves better than that. Than what I can give her.”
(At this point they’re both crying and hugging each other)
”So I’ll take her home with me? Will you come visit?”
” I’ll visit as soon and as often as I can.”
I love you’s and goodbyes are exchanged after a while and Steve leaves with his newly acquired baby(sister).
And that is how Eddie Munson ends up looking shell shocked in the airport because why does his boyfriend have a baby? He failed health class twice but he’s pretty sure you can’t do 9 months worth of babygrowing in 3 days.
Steve (too be a little cheeky) just. Doesn’t. explain. where he got the baby and just tells Eddie to drive them to his house (his mom said she’d try to get Richard to sign it over to Steve, he was never there anyway). They walk in and Steve gives the baby to Eddie without saying anything (at this point he’s almost sure he’s having a stroke) and goes to check something.
When he comes back Eddie is panicking cause babygirl is starting to squirm and Steve just laughs at the look on his face before sitting down and explaining while giving her a bottle. Steve tells him that he doesn’t expect Eddie to stick around if he’s not ready and so on but Eddie just kisses him and is like
”I will NEVER turn down a chance to see you look all hot with a baby in your arms. Your gonna be the best mama in the world and I can’t wait to see it”
At which point Steve blushes and hides his face in eddies neck to scent him.
And then they live happily ever after raising Steve’s sister as their own kid. Or something like that.
(I wrote this while slightly car sick so hopefully everything makes sense)
we all need more accidental baby acquisition in our lives 💕
Prompts: Hawkins Library on the main card and Pastel on the Hop into Spring bonus card
Rated: T
Words: 1,301 [also on AO3]
Tags: Pre-S1; Pre-Steddie; Eddie Munson has a crush on Steve Harrington; Jealous Eddie; Eddie Munson is a little shit
There's a cardigan draped over the backrest of Eddie’s favorite chair. It's pastel purple, with a shiny row of mother-of-pearl buttons and a delicate satin bow on the collar.
“Huh,” says Frank, putting his books down on the table and looking around the empty library. “Looks like someone forgot their jacket.”
“Not someone,” Eddie mutters, lifting a soft, knitted sleeve between two fingers, as if the frills on the hems might turn into fangs any second. “Nancy Wheeler.”
Jeff, who just slid into the remaining chair, stops rifling through his backpack and frowns up at him.
“Nancy who now?”
Eddie rolls his eyes. “Wheeler. From freshman year? Little Miss Goodie Two Shoes with the perfect brunette locks and large baby blues. Aspiring new member of the newspaper club. Best friends with Holland from band. Looks a little like a sad baby deer most of the time, if baby deer wore stockings and hair barrettes. C’mon Jeff, show a bit of an interest in our fellow students.”
Jeff gives him a look.
“Maybe if you showed a little less interest in our fellow students and a little more interest in your books, we wouldn’t be stuck here, having to redo this report. What’s the matter with you? Where does this sudden obsession with random freshmen come from?”
“It's not an obsession,” Eddie claims. This is ridiculous. Why would he be obsessed with little Nancy Wheeler and her perfect hair and her perfect smile and her perfect pastel atrocity of a purple cardigan? “I am merely trying to stay up to date on the social ecosystem of-”
“She’s dating Harrington,” Frank says from behind his book. Jeff’s eyebrows shoot up.
“What, really? Since when?”
They both turn to face Eddie.
“How am I supposed to know?” he snaps, as if he has no idea. As if he doesn't know that it's been two weeks and three-and-a-half days since Harrington and Wheeler arrived at Karen Friedman's birthday party together. As if he isn't aware that Wheeler was wearing this exact cardigan when they snuck out to kiss between the rose bushes in the backyard. As if he wasn't there, lurking in the shadow of the garden wall like some hideous, voyeuristic goblin with a lunchbox full of weed.
Jeff's eyes go soft.
“Shit, man. That blows, I'm sorry.”
“Sorry?” Eddie paces in a circle in front of the stupid chair with Nancy Wheeler’s stupid cardigan, gesturing wildly at nothing in particular. “What are you sorry for? The way our peers keep mindlessly reenacting the same hollow clichés of mediocre small town life over and over again, not knowing that this is the very thing that's trapping them in this capitalist hellscape of a society? Because you're right, that totally blows.”
“Okay,” Frank says. “No more Mountain Dew for you. Now how about we all calm down and start working on this-”
But Eddie isn't done.
“Oh, look at me, I'm Nancy Wheeler,” he says, yanking the cardigan from the chair and draping it over his shoulders, letting the empty sleeves dangle by his sides. “I'm pretty and polite and smart. I study for fun. I've never had to redo a report in my life. I'm gonna pass high school with flying colors and maybe even go to college, and then I'll throw it all away to become a perfect little housewife and raise some airheaded jock’s brats.”
Jeff snorts a laugh. “Oh my God, you do look a bit like her. You should keep that thing, maybe you'll get Harrington fooled.”
Frank raises his book again, doing his best impression of a guy who just wandered in by accident and has never seen these lunatics in his life.
“Maybe on a moonless, cloudy night,” he says. “If we get him drugged and concussed first.”
Eddie snatches the book from his hand. Frank curses and tries to grab him, but he lets out a high-pitched giggle and dances out of reach.
“What was that, Steve?” he chirps, leaning his back against the nearest shelf and clutching the book to his chest, fluttering his lashes up at an invisible conversation partner. “You want to go to prom with me? Little old me? Oh, I'd love to!”
“Quit that, you moron,” Frank hisses. Jeff, meanwhile, has collapsed on the table and is desperately trying to stifle his laughter. “If one of Harrington’s entourage catches you, they'll kick your ass.”
Eddie gasps.
“What did you say, Steve? You think I'm the prettiest girl in school? Oh, gee, you're awfully handsome, too.”
“I give up,” Frank groans. “I don't know why I put up with you.”
Eddie twirls a lock of hair between his fingers.
“No, really, Steve,” he sing-songs. “I think you're, like, sooo dreamy with your broad shoulders and your muscles and that smile, and all of daddy’s money. Did you do something to your hair, Steve? It's so floofy. I wanna run my fingers through it while you shove your tongue down my-”
“I've been trying out a new hairspray,” says a voice. “Thanks for noticing.”
The world stops. Eddie stares at Jeff and Frank, hoping against hope that one of them has secretly been working on one killer of an impersonation number, but they've both gone still as statues, gawking at something to his left with wide, horrified eyes.
Eddie turns.
Steve Harrington is looking back at him from where he materialized between the shelves, like a malicious demonic entity summoned by calling its name thrice. If malicious demonic entities wore varsity jackets and polo shirts, that is.
“Hi,” he says. “Munson, right?”
Eddie chokes on his own spit. A sound leaves his mouth. It sounds like “hurghlflugh.”
Harrington wrinkles his brow and comes closer. Eddie tries to back away, but the shelves behind him refuse to open and swallow him whole, and where the hell is that goddamn portal to Narnia when you need it? He opts for screwing his eyes shut and raising the book that’s still clutched to his chest like a shield, waiting for the punch.
Except the punch doesn’t come.
“I’ll need that back.”
Eddie opens one eye. Harrington has extended one hand and is watching him with his head tilted to the side, mouth twitching and eyes sparkling with what looks an awful lot like reluctant amusement.
“I know you guys are into roleplaying or something,” he says, “and I’m not judging. Whatever floats your boat, right? But Nancy is waiting in the car, and we have movie tickets, so I just wanted to hop in and get her jacket.”
He wiggles his fingers and gives an impatient little nod at the cardigan. The very cardigan that is still draped loosely over Eddie’s shoulders.
Eddie has never stripped out of a garment as quickly in his life. He wishes the circumstances were sexier, but here they are. Harrington’s fingers brush his as he takes the jacket.
“Thank you,” he says politely. “Purple looks good on you, by the way. If you ever feel like adding a bit more color to your wardrobe.”
Eddie watches how he turns, tossing a wave and nod at Jeff and Frank before he disappears between the shelves again. Somewhere at the other end of the library, the door clicks shut.
Eddie’s legs give out.
“Holy shit,” he breathes, landing ass-first on the library floor. “What the fuck just happened?”
Frank sighs and rises from his chair.
“I’m not sure. But I know two things. One: I’m not doing any study groups with you ever again.” He bends and extends a hand, but instead of pulling Eddie to his feet, he just picks up the fallen book. As he turns to walk back to his seat, he gently pats Eddie on the head. “And two: You might wanna invest in a nice cardigan or three.”
The man is stunning. Eddie is fully engrossed in his dating profile, is burning every photo into his memory and absorbing every detail about this Steve guy that's available.
He's 25, just a year younger than Eddie, with an athlete build that speaks to years of some kind of sports training. Eddie wants to climb him like a tree, wants to leave bite marks all over that tan skin, wants to spit in Steve's mouth and see if he would thank him for it.
That's getting ahead of himself, though.
Eddie keeps scrolling his profile, trying to learn a little more before he actually makes a move. Steve has answered some of the icebreaker questions the app encourages people to do, and Eddie stops on a specific one.
This man has taken the suggestion 'Dating me is like...' and finished it with the phrase "Having your own golden retriever 🐶" and something about that makes Eddie's skin itch in the best way.
He hits the button to start a chat using the icebreaker, and sends a message.
Eddie M: Like having my own golden retriever, huh? Sounds fun. Do you know any tricks, puppydog?
Eddie doesn't expect a quick response, or any response if he's being honest. It's definitely a bit heavy-handed for an opening line, but Eddie's learned that sometimes it's better to hit hard and weed out the people that prefer a more vanilla experience.
So color him surprised when a gets a message back a couple of hours later.
Steve H: I know a few tricks, but I'm always willing to learn more.
Eddie grins and throws himself down on his couch, wiggling a bit to get comfortable.
Eddie M: Oh yeah? Are you easy to train? Or are you a stubborn puppy?
He watches the three dots pop up and disappear a couple of times.
Steve H: Easy to train, promise.
Steve H: I'm a good boy.
Oh, Eddie's in love.
Well, that might be too much too soon, but he definitely knows that he needs to get this man into his bed ASAP.
He's always had, even when he was a kid, and this doesn't change once he grows up.
If anything, it gets worse.
He never tells anyone when he's not okay. He always smiles, and brushes his friends' worries off because he doesn't want to bother anyone; his friends have better things to do than worry about him, they have more important things to deal with like school and college and work.
Steve can work his shit out on his own, he's fine.
Until he isn't.
Until they defeat Vecna and Eddie almost dies. Until the nightmares get so bad Steve wakes up screaming himself hoarse every fucking night.
Until he can't sleep anymore because he fears what's awaiting him when he does.
When he finally breaks, he goes to Eddie.
Eddie's a safe choice. He's still recovering from his injuries and hardly goes to bed before almost dawn. He doesn't have work, like Robin, or school like Dustin.
But Steve also goes to Eddie because he's the protagonist of most of Steve's nightmares and Steve needs to know he's okay if he wants to get any sleep at all.
When he knocks on the trailer door and Eddie opens it, the first thing that leaves Steve's lips is, "Sorry to bother you this late, I-"
But Eddie doesn't let him finish.
He sighs, both exasperated and fond as he pulls Steve inside. "I already told you, man, you can come here any time. It's not a bother."
Eddie says it with such conviction that Steve almost believes him.
Eddie coming out to Steve and Robin doesn't go exactly as he had expected it to go. He didn't know what he expected, but it was definitely not Steve going,
"Yeah, I know."
"You... know."
"Yeah man, you returned youngblood paused at 14:20, only people who like dicks and butts do that. It's almost at the start of the movie too, and I know you don't like hockey."
"I could have rented it for my uncle!"
Steve doesn't say anything.
"Do you always pay that much attention to where people pause their moves or are you stalking me specifically?"
Steve shrugs, "working gets boring, and it was important information about you specifically."
"why"
"I wanted to check if you would consider dating me, like I did with Vicky for Robin."
Eddie is grateful for Robin's gasp because he can't react to those words himself. This whole conversation had him completely out of the loop and now Steve wants to date him???
"You never told me you liked Eddie!" Robin exclaims. At least someone is as lost in this conversation as him.
"I did tell you," Steve answers matter of factly.
"When?"
"When I said 'those metallica guys are hot' and you said 'ew, they look like Eddie' and I said 'yeah'" Steve throws his hand up, like that's obvious.
"That's not saying anything!"
"Well, you said that you were jealous Tommy Thomson was looking at me and I got it from there, I thought this was the same."
Robin opens her mouth, closes it, embarrassed.
"Can we go back to you wanting to date me?" Eddie asks.
"Sure, now that it's out, do you want to come to mine tomorrow? If we count this as our first date we can make out tomorrow."
thinking about corroded coffin starting to really get somewhere, eddie's infamous now with the satanic murder allegations but metalheads eat that shit up, and before they know it they're playing their first real show with like, tickets and an opening act and they have merch now and people want to buy it and it's all so surreal. there were people lined up outside the venue two hours before the doors opened.
thinking about steve being the supportive boyfriend that he is, standing in the crowd off to the side but still near the front. eddie looks at him when the sheer amount of people gets to him, it's only a couple hundred but he's used to about a dozen, it's intimidating. but when he looks at steve and sees his smile as he sings along to the songs eddie wrote about monsters and heroes and finding love in a parallel world (it's all so sappy but covered well with some truly nasty guitar riffs so it's fine), it's like everything else falls away. he's back in gareth's garage and they're playing for an audience of steve and steve alone.
and after the show maybe they do that thing where they pretend to not actually know each other, but they're flirting and steve's pretending to be a groupie or something. it makes the rest of corroded coffin roll their eyes and it makes the actual groupies seethe with jealousy because eddie's giving all his attention to some fucking normie in a striped polo and pretending they don't even exist.
