This was written in snippets on a discord server, thought Iâd clean it up and slap it here! Havenât been able to stop thinking about roadie Steve đ Thereâs a lil bit of spice in here, just to keep things fun :)
Steve, after everything that happens, doesnât really know what he wants to do. Working at Family Video is⊠fine, but Robin is finished with her gap year and now sheâs getting acceptance letters and scholarship offers from colleges and trying to decide where to go.
She keeps asking him if heâll be okay and Steve tells her to go because heâs excited for her! Sheâs excited too! And yeah, theyâve had nights where she stays over with him and they cry about how they wonât get to be attached at the hip, but they canât stay in Hawkins, itâs not realistic. Theyâll never be⊠okay, if they stay.
She goes off to college and absolutely loves it, she thrives there, and theyâre in constant touch, but Steve feels like heâs lost a part of himself. His platonic soulmate, the woman heâs so used to just⊠being there, is gone. So when heâs invited to a Corroded Coffin gig, he jumps in, thinking that if nothing else, itâll be a solid distraction from his wallowing.
Theyâve played a few cities in Indiana, a frontman accused of satanic murders is pretty great for their image surprisingly enough, theyâre just waiting for Gareth to finish school before they jump in fully. The show is pretty local, just barely outside of Hawkins city limits, but itâs refreshing for Steve to be⊠somewhere else, just for a night. And the gig is fun! Steve canât hear the words to the songs too well, canât keep up with the music so great, but he can feel it in his chest. And he loves the energy of it.
Partway through, something goes wrong with one of the amps and theyâre trying to get it fixed. Steve offers to give them a hand, and in just a few minutes and some tinkering he has it working again. And the pats on the back from the guys and the bright smile from Eddie sparks something in Steve.
The next day, he finds himself in the library, checking out books on electrical equipment and instruments and anything he can think of, and starts reading up. By the time Gareth graduates and CC has a few shows set up, Steve comes along. Heâs able to handle any technical difficulty they come across, heâs the guy making sure it all goes smoothly.
And suddenly theyâre recording their first album and blowing up and Steve is their go to guy for live shows, heâs the first person on their payroll. For awhile, heâs the only one, he runs everything that isnât playing music, but eventually, a few more hands are needed.
Eddie makes it clear that Steve is in charge, naturally trusting him to be the head of the road team.
The band is doing great and soon enough theyâve upgraded from Eddieâs van and Jeffâs station wagon to an actual tour bus. Eddie is so amped about it and itâs hard not to let his energy be infectious.
Of course, driving across hours of plains dims some of the excitement, but Eddie and Steve start to come up with⊠interesting ways to pass the time. Ever since they left Hawkins, Steveâs eyes have been wandering a bit. Turns out metal heads are his type, who couldâve guessed?
At first it was making out in an alley in Indy with a girl who had shaved hair and piercings shoving him against the wall and making him beg to eat her out. Then it was the boy in a leather jacket in the mosh pit in the middle of summer, sweat slick skin covered in ink and a gentle hand but commanding voice in a motel room. And then it was his own fantasies, covering his mouth as he touched himself in a shared hotel room bathroom thinking about Eddie, who else?
So thereâs an ongoing game of gay chicken and Eddie hasnât been quiet about his own conquests along the way. Itâs little things, Steve shifting a little closer to Eddie on the bus, a hand on the thigh that creeps upwards, whispering in hushed tones just a little too close.
It finally snaps in California, a sold out show attended by Argyle and Jonathan (who moved back out west a few months after the world didnât end). Theyâre slipped a few âparty favorsâ before heading off to a motel for the night, a reprieve from the rumbling, uncomfortable mattresses on the bus. One of the rooms only has one bed because of a booking issue and before anyone can complain, Eddie snatches the key and declares that âStevieâs with meâ.
So the band splits up to go to the rooms, Eddie has to wait while Steve inspects the bed closely to make sure thereâs nothing gross, and then they settle in, still sticky with sweat and buzzing with adrenaline. Eddie lights a joint and teases Steve a little with the way he groans and sighs as he takes a hit, but Steve gives as good as he gets
He straddles Eddieâs lap and asks to shotgun in this pretty, lilting voice, cocking his head in a way that makes his eyes, sparkling with mischief, catch the light just so. And Eddie isnât going to deny a pretty boy on his lap, not when heâs seen Steve in those tight jeans. He takes another hit and tugs him in by the shirt collar, breathing out the thick smoke into Steveâs waiting, parted lips. And Eddie is treated to the sight of thick eyelashes fanned against freckles cheeks, the expanse of pale skin on Steveâs neck as he tilts his head back to avoid blowing the smoke back in Eddieâs face.
And Eddie can only restrain himself so much as he leans in and kisses the faded scar that cuts across Steveâs adams apple. Steve licks his lips and is looking at Eddieâs mouth when he opens his eyes and something between them snaps. He leans in and whispers, âkick me if Iâm misreading thisâ before kissing Eddie on the lips. Itâs firm, but not messy, charged and searching. Eddie has to take a second to remember how to move his limbs, holding Steve tight around the waist, careful not to bump the lit joint against his shirt.
He kisses back, but itâs not enough, he needs more, wants to ride out the low thrum of the coming high with Steve. He pulls back just long enough to take another hit and lifts a hand to cup Steveâs jaw. He breathes the smoke out, letting his tongue trace Steveâs lip as he takes it. Steve holds the smoke like a fucking expert, tangling his tongue with Eddieâs as he lets the smoke back out from the corner of his mouth. Eddie distantly wonders if he looks like a dragon like that, a thought that has him giggling. And then itâs really hitting him that heâs 1) a rockstar 2) making out with his high school crush Steve Harrington and 3) absolutely rock hard.
Judging by the pleased expression on Steveâs face when they part for air and the way he grinds his hips down slow and teasing, he definitely noticed that last part.
