Written for week two of @steddiemicrofic's July challenge
| Prompt: Years | WC: 444 | Rated: Gen | CW: Implied suicidal thoughts, AIDS, death, depression |
| Tags: Aged up AU, passing of time, grief, self sabotaging | Divider by @/saradika-graphics |
It was weird at first. Somehow knowing that things would continue to move forward without him having a say about it. Eddie had always thought, in the dark corners and twists of his mind, that he would die young. Not that he wanted to or that he was afraid, it was just part of the Munson way. A beating gone wrong, something laced in drugs he could have gotten hooked up on. Traffic, shootings, the sickness -when that rolled in over the nation as something sprung up from the dark pits of the upside down nightmare scape.
Because yes, he kept thinking it, holding it in a shrouded chest deep inside still after Steve had, for all the technicalities were worth, had thrown him out of the real Upside Down. It had been a talisman that first period after he came out from the hospital -if not the bats then nothing else could claim him. So he tempted faith, over and over and over again as soon as he had a chance to. As to prove something, until he didnât.Â
Now at the ripe age of 60, he wished that he could say that what happened that made him stop sabotaging was that he grew out of it -all by himself- out of love for his friends, for Wayne, for Steve -his Steve McQueen, Big Boy, darling and love of his life. For love of himself. But, since life just wasnât easy for a Munson he knew to bring honor to the right gal for making him see what he was about to lose.Â
Five years after Vecna, and Lady Applejack had in her own proverbial way both chewed him a new one and spit him out while roasting him so thoroughly that he saw himself like phoenix rising from the ashes that were spread around him.
It had turned into a hell of a metal love song if he said so himself, and the nights after that without spooning Steve had been few. Not that the talisman disappeared, it was still there in the back of his mind. Sometimes like a cursed object seeping out dark goo, sometimes as a reminder of all that hadnât killed him. That he hadnât killed himself.
Now sitting in front of Steve as always on the slow Sunday mornings, itâs there. Telling him that from now on in his adult life, thereâll be more days that he breathed alone, than days that he got to share the morning air with him.Â
âHey there big boy, I got you flowers. I know⊠not very metal. Neither is leaving me behind, making me live all these years without you.âÂ
Steve was listening to Will talk and with each word the lump that started growing in his throat grew, and grew. It's not like he wasn't proud and happy for Will. He was. God, he was so proud and happy for him. Seeing everyone be so supportive and loving him unconditionally, it made Steve jealous. Jealous of what he didn't have. And never will have. His parents disowned him the second they caught him fooling around with a guy. That was 5 years ago and they have not been back to Hawkins or talked to him since. It hurt, it hurt so god damn much.
He felt the tears in his eyes and his vision getting blurry as he watched everyone hug Will. And Steve just stood there, frozen, unmoving. His eyes burned as he tried to hold back the tears, the sadness and anger. Why couldn't that be him right now? Why did his parents have to hate him? Shouldn't they love him unconditionally as well? He's their son for fucks sake. But no. They don't love him, and he's not sure they ever did.
Silently Steve slipped through the door and made his way down to the basement where he could cry in peace. He was gonna talk to Will later, tell him he's proud of him. But right now, he can't.
He sat down on the ground, tucking himself into the corner and making himself as small as possible, hugging his knees to his chest as he finally let the tears fall. And once he let them, the dam broke and there was nothing he could do to stop them. He quietly sobbed into his knees, his entire body shaking.
He startled when he felt a body sitting next to him, going tense at being caught. But he only got scooped up by strong arms and depositited on the persons lap. A hand came to rest at the back of his head, tucking him against the persons neck. Steve immediately calmed down as the unruly curls tickled his nose and he inhaled the smell of leather and cigarettes. Eddie. He pressed closer, wrapping his arm around Eddie's shoulder as he let the last few tears silently roll down his cheeks and onto Eddies shirt.
Eddieâs method of getting over his very inconvenient crush on Steve is to go out and find a hookup every time Steve does something super cute or super hot.
This backfires because his brain associates Steve with sex even MORE now
Steve also wrestled a number out of Eddie and is counting up to the day they have done it more times than Eddie has hooked up with strangers. He plans on being very smug about it.
Prompt #8 - "Where's the Beef?" | Word Count: 1000 | Rating: T | CW: Language | POV: Eddie | Pairing: Steddie | Tags: AU, Office Setting, Meet Cute, Misunderstanding, Free Donuts!
"Eddie, can we chat?"
Eddie looks up from his desk, er, well, the desk he'd commandeered months ago. He nods, wondering if the jig is finally up.
Steve Harrington is standing in the doorway of his office, a tight smile plastered on his face. And oh yeah, Eddie's definitely fucked.
Holding open his arm, Steve gestures towards the chair across from him. Eddie takes it. Steve's face is confused. Kind, too. But mostly confused.
"Eddie," Steve starts, tapping away on his keyboard. Stuttered little henpecks that Eddie finds endearing. "After our audit, I can't seem to find any files submitted by you. Not for a while. Not ever, actually."
Eddie grins, in a way that he hopes looks impish, throwing up his hands in a 'what can you do?' motion.
"And everybody has to pull their weight. I can't have someone on the payroll that isn't contributing. Have you done anything?"
Eddie shakes his head.
"So, um, I'm really sorry to do this. But I'm going to have to let you go."
"You can't," Eddie says plainly.Â
"Eddie, I don't have a choice. There's literally nothing from you! You're doing no work! Where's the beef? Not here, not from you."
Eddie laughs. Steve's funny. In a dorky way.Â
"You can't fire me," Eddie says again, playing with him, just a little. He's gotten to know Steve, and has liked him a lot.
"I am, and I will. You are fired," Steve says, but doesn't seem all that sure about it.
Eddie finally smiles, "Steve. I don't work here. I've never worked here. I'm here for the free cake and good conversation."
Steve's brow creases, confusion coloring his features, "No. That's not. I put you at that desk."
Eddie nods. Yep. He definitely did that.
"You were a temp?" Steve says, voice lilting up as though he's unsure.
"Yeah, just not for you," Eddie answers, pointing to the other side of the building, "I was a temp over there, and you guys were having donuts, and I wanted donuts, and then I had a desk. It's a nice desk."
"Am I even paying you?"
Eddie shakes his head.
"Then, what do you do for work?" Steve asks, "You're here every damn day."
Eddie laughs, "I'm a musician. At night. And I'm not always here. Just Fridays. Some Tuesdays."
Steve laughs at that, running his hand down his face. Clearly exasperated.
Then, he stands, walking towards his office door, closing it with a heavy snick.
Eddie stands, too. It was just a joke. He'll pay for the cake if that's what it takes. As long as Steve doesn't call the cops. As long as he isn't trespassed and arrested.
As long as Steve isn't really mad at him.
"I didn't mean to upset you," Eddie says in a rush. "I'm sorry. I like you. I didn't mean to keep coming in."
Steve stalks towards him. Eddie keeps talking.
"I pretended I worked in the field four days a week. Then, I'd come in here, enjoy casual Friday and eat whatever the employee snack of the week was. Steve. I'm sorry."
Steve places a hand in the center of Eddie's chest. Fisting his casual Friday t-shirt.
"Eddie Munson," Steve says, then furrows his brow, "You are Eddie Munson, right?"
"I am, I've never lied about anything else, and technically I didn't even say that. You did. You gave me a desk and I just took it. I liked you, and you had donuts, so I went along."
Steve laughs, and it sounds a little unhinged.Â
"Do you know that you've driven me crazy?" Steve asks.
"Whatâ?"
He's kissed. Well and fully kissed, and Eddie leans into it. Hands finding Steve's back, pulling him closer. Kissing him, or being kissed, Eddie can't be sure which. But he likes it. He likes Steve. Steve's the reason Eddie kept coming back, because Eddie loves seeing Steve every Friday.
He'd help him run the copier, or volunteer to go with him to pick up the donuts or cake. Pizza. Tacos. Bagels. They've had everything.
And he's had fun. So much fun.Â
Steve pulls back, licking his lips, eyes looking a little wild, "Do you have any idea how long I wanted to do that? But I couldn't. Because you worked here, Eddie."
Eddie gives him a sheepish smile.
But Steve shakes his head, "All this time. All this time I could have asked if you wanted to go out for a drink. Or dinner. Anything. But I didn't. Because it would have been inappropriate."
"I'm sorry," Eddie says, because he never thought Steve liked him like that. Eddie had a crush. But what's new? Eddie always has a crush on people he shouldn't. And sure, Steve was nice and friendly while Eddie flirted shamelessly, but Eddie never thought he had a chance. Not even once, or he'dâŠ
"Just," Steve says, looking exhausted, "Do you want to get a fucking drink?"
Eddie laughs, guffaws actually, nodding. "I'd love that."
"Well, good. Now, are you gonna go with me to pick up the build your own sundae bar?"
"Absolutely," Eddie confirms, bowing, holding out his arm for Steve to go first.
"And then you'll tell all your co-workers what you've been doing?"Â
"Uh," Eddie says, sheepish, "I'm pretty sure they already know."
Steve shakes his head, but huffs out a laugh.
Before
Eddie sees the donuts being carried in. Box after white box.Â
And well, Eddie wants a donut. So, he follows the handsome man in the suit into the meeting room, and takes a seat along the window. Out of the way. Hoping to go unnoticed.
Eddie gets his donut. And then a second, but when he tries to sneak away, he's caught.
"Steve Harrington, CEO," Steve Harrington, CEO says.Â
Eddie nods.
"Eddie. Eddie Munson," Eddie offers.
"Welcome, Eddie. It's always nice to see a new face. Do you have a desk yet?"
Eddie shakes his head. He most certainly does not.
"Well, let me find you one."
If you want to write your own, or see more entries for this challenge, pop on over to @corrodedcoffinfest and follow along with the fun! đŠ
Notes: This was actually inspired by this proverb from Welcome to Nightvale, haha.
Steve sees Eddie sleeping in his van one night and just assumes that he's homeless now.
He doesn't want to embarrass Eddie by calling attention to his situation in front of everyone but also like. Monsters with no faces exist in Hawkins and they can crawl through walls. He cannot handle another Barb situation so...
Steve tries to be subtle when he approaches Eddie at school.
He's being so subtle and so casual when he says without really saying that he saw Eddie in the woods and he understands Eddie's *gestures at him* whole thing and like.
If he wants to come over sometime, Steve wouldn't mind. He'd actually like it (because than he'd know Eddie wasn't demo-food) and also, ""Lots of, uh. Beds. In my house. That's more comfortable than your van, am I right?"
Steve leaves this conversation feeling pretty proud of himself for his good deed.
Eddie - who is neither homeless nor a drunk driver - is pretty sure Steve just invited him over to have sex.
Okay okay so Steddieâs the typical popular guy x nerd ship right. But usually the idea is âpopular guys learns that status isnât everything and that sometimes you find real happiness with people youâd never talk to if you followed the ârulesââ but Steveâs already learned that. By the time they meet heâs basically fixed. So you look closer and itâs actually EDDIE who needs to learn that categories are fake and if you judge someone without getting to know them you might miss out on someone actually perfect for you.
Written for week one of @steddiemicrofic s July challenge
| Prompt: Three | WC: 333 | Rated: Gen | CW: None
Tags: Scoops era; Bisexual Steve; Awkward flirting; The You Rule board; Pre Steddie
âYou sure Munson?â Steve basically felt his stupid sailor hat move with how high his brows were moving. âCones? You should get cups.â
âHarrington. Steve-o.â âMe and the guys will not pay for something to justâŠ. throw it away.â The florescent light made the rings shine as they moved.
âBut you are gonna drop them, or get the different flavor all smooshed upââ
âHey, my hands are capable.â Steve followed the light that kept shifting as Munson wiggled his fingers. Steve knew that, he might have watched him talk with them over the years in school, seen how they moved over guitar strings when he and Tommy had snuck in a dark corner of the Hideout (just to get the thrill according to Tommy, just to see Eddie according to no one else). âIâm capable,â Munson said, making Steveâs ears warm.
Steve relented, and started to scoop, and scoop. âYou do know that I wonât get you a refund if these meet the ground?â And of course one of the metal heads had wanted the almost always empty mint chocolate one in the furthest corner, it was nice though, to cool off while leaning in.
âYou ok there Munson?â Putting the last, stacked high, cone into the awaiting, capable, hand he got a bit worried, Munsonâs facial color matched the Raspberry sorbet.
Munson had never been quiet for as long while here before, not that his tongue wasnât moving as it made those lips even shinier.Â
âI⊠I should have payed before I grabbed these.â Big brown eyes moved down and then up again towards Steveâs, he swallowed.
âRight⊠I could just-â The color deepened as Steve reached over and pulled on the wallet chain. Not letting Munsonâs eyes go as he returned it to the back pocket, tapped over it and then some, three times to be clear.
Watching Munson balance the cones away, glancing back over his shoulder, he heard an enthusiastic;Â
âDingus! You got one in the you rule column!âÂ
Eddie (morose): It's messed up after that all of the shit you've been through, you know how to remove a blood stain so well.
Steve: ...
Steve: This is spaghetti sauce, and the only reason I know how to do this is because one time you walked across my lunch table and kicked Carol's lasagna all over my favorite sweater.
Corroded Coffinâs lead singer Eddie Munson gives MTV a tour of his âluxury mansion.â Everyone expects groupies, jacuzzis, the usual rockstar life. Instead itâs a medieval castle full of nerd stuff.
There is one guy who could be a groupie, but heâs dressed so⊠preppy. Heâs sprawled on one of the many comfy couches and working on a Rubix cube, tongue poking out a little in concentration. Munson doesnât introduce him, just calls out, âHowâs it coming, sweetheart?â The guy doesnât even look up, just flips him off; Eddie laughs and moves the tour along to the next room, which contains a full Olympic sized pool with a Star Wars themed mosaic floor.
What draws all the attention though is a coffee kiosk set up inside Munsonâs home thatâs a clear spoof on Starbucks. Itâs a fully branded and decked out coffee âcompanyâ named Penta-Dollar, with a logo that has a white pentagram etched on a red sand dollar by a black tentacle holding a tattoo gun, curling around from behind the sand dollar. Once the footage airs Starbucks sues, and Munson has good enough lawyers that it basically just becomes a matter of cease and desist.
A few months later Munson launches his own coffee company called Malicious Compliance Coffee Co., with a logo featuring a hand thatâs obviously modeled after Munsonâs giving a thumbs up sign. Of the rings on the hand, two are some of his signature decor: a skull and a cross surrounded by skulls. But the middle ring, instead of his signature pig ring, is an octopus. The branded hot beverage cups feature photocopies of the legal decision from the case with âStarbucksâ and âPenta-Dollarâ blacked out.
Itâs such a big stir that it takes a long time for anyone to comment on the fact that, uh, wasnât that Olympic gold metal swimmer Steve fucking Harrington chilling on Munsonâs couch like he lived there?
And doesnât Harrington have a small sand dollar tramp stamp tattoo??
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The pool was a recent addition, a welcome gift for Steve moving in. The mosaic includes some Ewoks. (Yes, they have already christened the pool by time of filming.)
The Starbucks lawsuit is literally the only reason Eddie starts his own coffee company. He wanted the hand gesture on the logo to be a middle finger instead of a thumb but was talked down. (By Steve. In bed.)
Eddie DID bag the hottest Olympic medal winner, youâre so right. (Steve thinks a few are hotter but heâs not going to say it out loud for fear that Eddie would end up banging down their doors to duel over his affections. He is correct to fear this.)
Five minutes after posting that photo Steve realizes itâs a trick cube that opens once solved. It contains an engagement band. Eddie is already down on one knee.
Steve has been trying to solve that cube for over a year, Robin is going to tease him so much about this.
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Eddie starts flirting with Steve just to get a rise out of him and Steve a competitive idiot that he is like âOh itâs on, Munson.â Now they wonât stop. And itâs driving the party crazy.
Itâs really out of hand. During movies they practically fight over who gets to pull the olâ âyawn and stretchâ technique: Steve accidentally kind of punched Eddie in the side of the head once trying to get to it first, and that devolved into Eddie tackling him off the couch entirely to play wrestle on the floor, delaying the start of the movie by at least another ten minutes. One of them will get out of the pool and try to drip all over the other one, so now theyâre both in the water for the entire pool party and constantly leaping on and trying to drag each other under, and the kids keep betting on whoâs going to lose their swim trunks next; Robin refuses to bring them food while theyâre in their anymore on account of how many times sheâs been splashed trying to do a hotdog hand off. (But on the plus side Jonathanâs getting really good at manning the grill these days with Steve so distracted.) They bicker playfully over which of them gets to pay the bill at diners and for pizza deliveries alike, to the point where Robin and Nancy and Jonathan are going broke trying to speed things along. They have put gum in each others' hair multiple times.
And the pet names, god the pet names. They started at âsweetheartâ and âdear,â and now itâs devolved into shit like âhoneybearâ and âsnookums.â When Eddie whips out âsugarsquirtâ one night Mike actually gags, Dustin looks about ready to start pulling his hair out, Will is laughing to hard and silently to breathe, and Lucas just has his face in both hands, shaking his head. Robin just leaves. (The house. She walks home. Eddie was her ride; she needs at least 12 hours before she can look him in the eye again, and even then she will be grimacing. Just, no.)
They actually started hooking up after the first week of this, but decided to keep the bit going just to mess with everyone. The only one whoâs figured it out so far is El, but thatâs okay because whenever she comments that âEddie and Steve are in loveâ their friends just think sheâs being too naive. They have an arrangement with her to only call the game quits when she stands to win big in the betting pool.
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Steve having a crush on Eddie all throughout high school but he didn't realize it was a crush. He thought he just really, really wanted to be friends with the guy.
Fast forward to Eddie pushing Steve against the wall in the boathouse and Steve has his 'oh' moment.
'Oh, I actually really want to kiss him? I know he has a broken bottle to my neck but his eyes are so pretty. His lips look so soft. He's really close, I can feel his breath on my face. Would he kill me if I kissed him right now?'
Prompt #6 - Family Video | Word Count: 1000 | Rating: T | CW: Recreational Drug Use | POV: Steve | Pairing: Steve & Corroded Coffin, Steddie (If You Squint) | Tags: Pre & Post S4, Family Video, Time Jump, Steve & Eddie Strike a Deal, Open Ending
January 1986
"No, no, no. No way. You already have twenty-two dollars in fees," Steve says, snatching the tape away from Eddie Munson.
"C'mon, man. What's it to you? Is it coming out of your pocket? Did your family buy Family Video?" Eddie asks, planting both of his hands on the counter, leaning towards Steve. Taunting him.
Steve holds his ground, leaning back into his face, "I know you're bootlegging them, Munson."
Eddie bites out a laugh, right in Steve's face, "Yeah right, Harrington. You think I have money for two VCRs?"
"No. I think," Steve says, spinning around, tapping on the keyboard, "Charles Goodwin has two VCR money. He owes me seventeen dollars, by the way."
"Charles? Never heard of him," Eddie says, shifting his weight back and forth. Steve knows he's got him. He's definitely on the right track.
"Oh really?" Steve asks, still tapping away. He'd linked these accounts together months ago. "How about Gareth Jones? He's up to eleven dollars. Or Jeff Williams? Four dollars."
"I'm not sure you should be giving out all this sensitive information about your customers," Eddie says, and Steve rolls his eyes.
"I'm not giving any of you any additional rentals until you pay up."
"Harrington."
Steve isn't moved. "Munson."
"Fine," Eddie huffs, and swishes around, banging the door too hard as he flounces out, in a whirlwind of hair and bad attitude.
"Four dollars," Jeff Williams says, pushing four dollar bills across the counter at Steve. Steve just keeps his arms crossed.Â
Steve can see Eddie Munson's van in the parking lot, and he's not an idiot.
"Where's the rest of it?" Steve demands.
"I owe more than four dollars?" Jeff asks, and Steve tilts his head back, sighing.
"No. They do."
Jeff turns and looks out the plate glass windows.Â
"Uh, I don't know them?" Jeff says, voice lilting up, as if he's not really sure about that statement.
"Sure you don't," Steve answers, finally grabbing the four dollars, and shoving them into the register. Moving over to the computer, and pulling up Jeff's accounting. Marking it as paid in full, begrudgingly.Â
Jeff taps the two tapes on the counter, and Steve rents them to him. Even if he doesn't want to. Even if he knows exactly what they're doing.Â
The note is wedged under the BMW's wiper blade. It's just a crude drawing of a VHS tape and an address. Steve knows it's them. Knows he shouldn't even care what the freaks are up to, but he's curious. Sue him.Â
He parks in front of the house, and Eddie Munson is waiting in front of the garage, smoking. Steve saunters towards him, and Eddie pulls up the garage door, letting Steve duck under. It's all dark, and Steve suddenly feels a gnawing pit in his stomach that he's been set up.Â
Eddie makes no sudden movements though, and just presses his finger to his lips, telling Steve to be quiet.
He opens the back door, and there's an immediate set of stairs leading into the basement. Steve follows him, careful to be light on his feet, and down there are three other guys and a lot of video tapes.
One of them is sitting in front of a double-VCR set-up.
"If you wipe those fees, Goodie said you can borrow anything you want," Eddie says, and Steve scoffs. Who's Goodie? Well, Charles Goodwin, he supposes. Doesn't matter. Steve works at the video store. He can already borrow anything he wants for free, and in better quality than a bootleg.
But he looks closer. And they have things that they didn't get from Family Video. Hardcore things.
"Where'd you even get these?" Steve asks, and Eddie taps a case.
"Indy," he says, "we've got accounts all over."
"And you're selling them?" Steve asks, and Eddie laughs.
"You know how long it'd take to make multiple copies? No way. This is for our own personal enjoyment. And we'd share, if we can strike a deal."
Steve looks at him, studying his face, seeing if he's bullshitting or not. Eddie's a freak, and Steve has no business trusting a word he says.
But.
"You don't want pornos? Fine. Quarter of weed a month," Eddie offers. "You wipe our fees, keep us in tapes, and I'll keep you stocked."
Steve thinks about it. Then, he demands: "Four sleeping pills a week."
Eddie doesn't react for a moment, then says: "Two."
"Three," Steve counters, and Eddie sticks out his hand. Steve shakes it.
Between the headaches and the nightmares, three good nights of sleep a week is well worth making a deal with Eddie Munson.
April 1986
Steve turns the key in the lock. Somehow, Family Video is still standing. He boots up the computer, and slowly types: Eddie Munson.
When Eddie's account comes up, it's mostly squeaky clean. Steve had made sure of it. Their deal really saved his ass over the last few months. There's a lone dollar fee for not rewinding the last tape he'd rented. Steve deletes it. He also marks the two movies that are currently late as returned, before moving the account to inactive.Â
Then, he scrolls through Eddie's account history. Like he's going to learn something new about him from the tapes he'd rented. Unfortunately, he doesn't.
Steve's not sure when, or if, Hawkins is going to be normal enough for renting videos, but if it does bounce back? Well, nobody needs anything else to dig into about Eddie.
"You're here earlier than we planned. Whatcha doin'?" Robin asks, waltzing through the front door.
"Just some housekeeping," Steve says, and clicks back to the main screen. Planting his elbows on the counter, leaning over. He yawns. He's not sleeping well. Again.
"Ready to board this bitch up?" Robins asks. Keith fled or is dead. They don't know which, and Steve nods.
When they leave, Eddie's friends are loitering around Steve's car.
"Here," Gareth says, pressing a baggie into his palm.Â
Three pills.Â
"A deal's a deal."
If you want to write your own, or see more entries for this challenge, pop on over to @corrodedcoffinfest and follow along with the fun! đŠ
Note: Does this follow S4 canon? Or is Eddie just over there healing? Whatever you prefer.
The fee for not rewinding, at least in Chicago, really was $1 in 1985.
Eddie is walking out of gym class, have barely broken a sweat when he hears, "Do you know what an anteater is?"
He pauses. He crosses his feet and turns on his heels towards the freshie thats been making quite a name for himself in these hallow halls. He raises an eyebrow, "One would assume that it's a creature that eats ants."
"Obviously," Steve rolls his eyes. "Do you like, know what they look like?"
"Like a big creature that eats ants."
Steve makes a face and Eddie grins. He's being purposely obtuse but he's pretty sure he's about to be insults so.
"Sometimes when they're threatened, they stand up on their back legs like, you know? With their arms out like," Steve pauses to hold his arms out like, "Jesus, you know?"
He must realize that he looks a little ridiculous because he drops his arms and clears his throat, "Anyways, I saw you run- I mean, walk the mile and like. That's what you look like. You run, or well. You walk like a defensive anteater. It's bad form."
He adds, "Is that how you actually run?"
"I was doing a bit."
"By being an anteater?"
"By being a zombie!" He exclaims. "I was obviously doing a bit where I was a zombie hungry for brains in a class full of no-brain jocks."
"Oh..." Steve makes a face. "Like, no one got that, man. That's weird."
"Would it have been oh so normal if I stood there like an attack anteater? Let me know, Oh Great Decider of Cool. Please let me know."
"Iâm not - Iâm - well, yeah. Anteaters are awesome. Obviously, we all know that," He says. "Iâm just saying that your form sucks and you should fix it. You don't have to be a total freak about it."
"You started this conversation with me, Hair."
"Harrington."
"I don't care."
Steve pressed his lips together and then rolls his eyes, "Whatever, Mundy."
"It's Munson."
"Oh?" Steve says as he walks down the hall. "I don't care."
Oooh this is fun! Have some completely random ones to go wild with:
Steddie+soul mates+too many beds+good friend Carol Perkins?
Yes!
(send me a ship and 3 ao3 tags and Iâll make a little scenario for it)
Okay, soulmates au where you have the first thing you hear your soulmate say (not necessarily to you) written somewhere on your body in their handwriting.
Steve and Carol haven't talked since high school but she's pretty familiar with the scrawl on the back of Steve's wrist that declares something silly but non-identifying. She studied hotel management and hasn't spoken to Tommy H. since she surprise visited him at his college only to catch him in bed with a dude, laughing in his face when he followed her trying to insist that it didn't mean he was gay and that he still wanted to date her. (First of all, no way was she staying involved in that hot mess. Second, she has since discovered how fun it is to fool around with girls and the hearts dotting the i's on her soulmate's handwriting hidden on her inner thigh now makes a lot more sense.)
Anyway, it's been years. So Carol shocked to see Steve one night, checking into her hotel with Eddie the Freak Munsonâwho signs the guestbook in a scrawl she recognizes, holy shit. She makes eye contact with Steve and instinctively gets that he's seen her notice it, that he desperately does not want her to say anything, and that Eddie must have no idea.
An hour or two after they check in, Steve wanders back into the lobby. Carol pulls out the small bottle of liquor she keeps in the desk during slow night shifts and doctors both their coffees and they chat. They exchange their stories of self-discovery like it's hot gossip, and yeah, Eddie has no idea because Steve doesn't want to risk their friendship. But Steve is also completely head over heels.
Carol is very aware that they're in a room with two twin bedsâwhich is obviously one too many for anything to happen. After a while she takes pity on him and passes him a tampon from her purse. "Go back to your room and flush this," she advises with a smirk. "Since you're both guys it'll just get written off as something the previous occupants did. When the toilet overflows, I'll get you a room with just a queen bed so you two can get all cosy. Turn on the charm, cuddle up, and see what happens. And if it doesn't go well, you can always come back out here to the open arms of Jim Beam."
She doesn't know if he'll have the nerve to do it, but she hopes so. One of Eddie's rings had slipped while he was signing the book and she'd caught a peek of Steve's cramped scribble across one of his knuckles. đ
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