I wrote a fic in another fandom where the character gets kidnapped and replaced by a shapeshifter and their partner and friends fully don’t notice. And I want that to happen to Steve now. He’s so confident that Eddie and Dustin are coming to rescue him but Eddie’s boning the shapeshifter and Dustin’s teasing it
It just takes so long that Steve finally gives up hope…
Alternating chapters of everyone having fun with the impostor and Steve so confident that he’ll be saved any moment now… surely any moment… it sure is taking a while…… oh………..
The shapeshifter likes to come back to where he’s keeping Steve and tell him about alllllll the fun they’re having without him…..they like him MORE now…..oh look at this bite mark Eddie gave me…….
Eddie thinking he only has seven days to live is so funny to me for no reason.
Eddie makes a joke to one of his coworkers— who he has never seen before until that moment, may he add— about how he's had a headache for a while so surely he has a tumor and is dying, thus he has the right to have one of his wishes come true, right?
Eddie is just dramatic but his coworker asks anyway what he wishes. He says he wants to date his exact type. Eddie then proceeds to describe Steve exactly.
His coworker also joking (Eddie thinks) says "done!"
They shake hands.
Next thing he knows Eddie is in the bus when this walking wet dream appears, sits next to him and somehow they ended up talking and laughing. They exchange numbers.
The next day there is no sight of this coworker he talked to yesterday.
Now Eddie thinks he sold his soul to the devil and Steve is his dying wish just like he joked.
Meanwhile Steve is eating ice cream with Robin, glad she made him go to buy it because he got to meet a cute guy.
(Either the coworker was also just joking around and everything was a crazy coincidence, and the reason Eddie doesn't find them is because the schedules are different / they got fired after just one day.
Or
The coworker is Robin and she doesn't work there, she was just messing with Eddie. She plays wingwoman since Eddie is also Steve's type.)
In my head Eddie is going to work just a little high and that really ramps up his imagination. He's like "I've sold my soul at a crossroads and now must choose between giving up my dream man or decaying in my own body as penance for my own hubris."
But really, he just met a cute boy on the bus and his coworker got fired for stealing out of the register.
I like the idea of Robin being very territorial of her friendship with Steve. She's never had a best friend and now she has a soul mate and she is not giving it up. She's deeply insecure and wants to keep Steve in her pocket with her. Steve is all for this (they are codependant your honor).
Tommy comes into Family Video? Robin is intercepting him before he can talk to Steve, rambling at him about their new releases until he loses the war of attrition.
Steve joins a basketball group? Robin comes to all the games in Steve's borrowed basketball shorts to heckle from the sidelines.
When Eddie comes into the picture, he expects Steve to be his biggest obstacle in the party, but Robin is constantly staring at him with these huge, unnerving eyes and asking pointed questions.
Finally he comes out to Robin and admits his crush on Stevebecause maybe they don't get along, but Robin could not be more obviously a lesbian and he needs someone to talk to.
She turns on a dime and all of a sudden she's his greatest ally in the wooing of Steve Harrington.
Eddie thinking he only has seven days to live is so funny to me for no reason.
Eddie makes a joke to one of his coworkers— who he has never seen before until that moment, may he add— about how he's had a headache for a while so surely he has a tumor and is dying, thus he has the right to have one of his wishes come true, right?
Eddie is just dramatic but his coworker asks anyway what he wishes. He says he wants to date his exact type. Eddie then proceeds to describe Steve exactly.
His coworker also joking (Eddie thinks) says "done!"
They shake hands.
Next thing he knows Eddie is in the bus when this walking wet dream appears, sits next to him and somehow they ended up talking and laughing. They exchange numbers.
The next day there is no sight of this coworker he talked to yesterday.
Now Eddie thinks he sold his soul to the devil and Steve is his dying wish just like he joked.
Meanwhile Steve is eating ice cream with Robin, glad she made him go to buy it because he got to meet a cute guy.
(Either the coworker was also just joking around and everything was a crazy coincidence, and the reason Eddie doesn't find them is because the schedules are different / they got fired after just one day.
Or
The coworker is Robin and she doesn't work there, she was just messing with Eddie. She plays wingwoman since Eddie is also Steve's type.)
pairing: pre-relationship steve harrington x eddie munson
summary: eddie comes out to steve and it goes about as well as robin said it would (very well)
aka me writing a coming out fic vs the bat boys wanting to gossip and giggle
word count: 1,563
ao3 link
part 2 :)
—
“Robin told me something yesterday.” Eddie pauses, nerves tickling in his chest as he flips back and forth between following through and backing out.
“Oh?” Steve asks distractedly, focused on the careful unlacing of his shoes. There’s another pause as Eddie dithers once more, and Steve takes the opportunity to fully comprehend the statement. “Oh god, it wasn’t about when I fell asleep at work, was it? Because I swear there were no customers, and I –”
“No, no.” Eddie interrupts, shifting a little to the left as Steve joins him on the bed. He wouldn’t normally, content to press as much of himself against Steve’s side as possible, but tonight is different. Tonight Steve might want the space. “It wasn’t about you. It was… It was about her. About her and… Girls. How she feels about them. And not about guys?”
He feels dumb. In both ways. Like his mouth and his brain have been filled with cotton and it’s left him stumbling over his words in a nigh incoherent babble. He sucks in a stuttered breath - like that’ll help - and continues.
“She said, um… She said you knew? That she’d told you about it?”
“Yeah,” Steve agrees softly, before something seems to occur to him and he frowns a little as he glances at Eddie. “Why? D’you have a problem with it?”
Eddie’s shocked into silence for a second. The idea that he could exist in a world where Steve Harrington would lecture him about homophobia felt so incredibly removed from any reality he’d ever have conceived even six months ago, it takes him a second too long to answer, and Steve’s face morphs from suspicious into a disappointed frown.
“No! No, man, of course I don’t.” The idea is kind of laughable really, but Steve doesn’t know that. He takes him at his word, though, and smiles amiably.
“Good. I’m glad she told you. She’s been thinking about it for a bit. I said I thought you’d be cool about it. That’s like, your whole thing, right? Anti… Anti-estabsh… Whatever. Against the grain and shit. Would’ve sucked to find out you were secretly an asshole.”
Steve flashes him one of those smiles. The ones that say I’m making fun of you but you’re in on the joke and I’m so fond of you together in one. Directed at Eddie, they never fail to make his chest feel warm and he can’t stop the answering grin from spreading over his own face, even in spite of his nerves.
“Yeah. I’m big into all that anti-establishment shit. That’s what metal’s all about, dude! Fighting back against the man - capital T, capital M.”
Eddie relishes in every chuckle his antics pull out of the prettiest boy in the midwest, and he takes an extra second to enjoy this one before he sucks in another breath and continues.
He can be brave. He can.
“But that’s not the only reason I’m, like, totally chill about it.”
There’s another beat of silence but Steve only waits patiently, face open and eyes curious.
“It would be…” Eddie drags out the vowel, tilting his head in Steve's direction to cover up the fact that he just can’t hold eye contact anymore. “Hypocritical of me, to judge Robin. For liking girls. Since I… We’re the same. Or, I guess opposite, when you really think about it. Batting for your own team but we’re on different teams, y’know?”
Another silence. Eddie’s anxious and Steve’s confused. Calculating. Eddie can almost hear the thoughts beating one by one through Steve’s head. The steady way he assesses things.
Liking girls. The same. Liking girls? Opposite. Own team. Oh. Oh. Opposite. Liking boys.
“Oh,” Steve murmurs, proving Eddie’s assessment correct. He usually gets there; you just have to give him a little time sometimes. It’s something the kids aren’t always good at, but Eddie’s a patient man. Sometimes. For Steve. “Oh. You’re… Gay?”
The hesitation is fair, Eddie supposes - he couldn’t bring himself to say the actual word so why should Steve?
He casts a sideways glance towards him as he nods in answer, eyes immediately catching on that immutable gaze. Warm, steady, Steve. Unchanged and unwavering, even through Eddie’s confession. Comforting in its familiarity.
Something washes over Steve’s face then, a flicker of oh shit, like he’s suddenly remembered he’s left the oven on, and Steve is the one close to babbling.
“Oh, uh, thank you for telling me, man, I’m, uh, I’m really glad you felt you could trust me.” He smiles softly, nodding once as if to punctuate his words and then, wonderful, beautiful Steve, he reaches out to grip Eddie’s shoulder with his hand. It’s nothing in the grand scheme of things - Eddie’s always been a touchy guy once given permission and hell if Steve doesn’t love to permit - but it means a lot. It says a lot.
It says I’m not going to treat you any differently. It says I’m still your friend. It says I accept you, even when a lot of people wouldn’t.
“Yeah?” He has to check. He has to.
“Yeah,” Steve says, sure as anything.
There’s a pause as Eddie tells himself he absolutely cannot cry over this.
Flip the script. Humour. Jokes. Teasing. Goodbye genuine emotions.
“Did Robin train you to say that?”
Steve’s earnestness cracks into laughter.
“Yeah. She said I was great when she came out, but also awful. And, y’know, I wanted to be ready if anyone… If one of the kids… I don’t know. I just wanted to get it right.” He shrugs, earnest look back at full blast. “I wanted whoever to know they were safe with me. That it wouldn’t change how I saw them. That it’s okay. Normal. Y’know.”
Another shrug, a little self-deprecating. Eddie’s drowning in affection.
“Yeah. Yeah, I do know.” There’s a beat where the air feels too heavy with emotion for Eddie’s liking so he cracks another grin. “You did great, man. A plus. I’ll tell Robin you’re a great student.”
Steve practically giggles, and Eddie feels brave enough to nudge his shoulder against Steve’s. There’s not even a hint of hesitation as Steve pushes back into the touch.
“But now you absolutely have to tell me what you said that was so awful you needed to learn lines before you were allowed to do this again.”
He’s genuinely curious. All Robin had told him was that Steve had been great. Didn’t even hesitate. Put her at ease immediately and that she had no doubt Eddie’s own secret would be safe with him. She’d pushed that point firmly.
“Oh, I, uh, I made fun of the girl she was crushing on.”
Eddie’s eyebrows raise, eyes widening and lips twitching with laughter.
“What?”
“Yeah, I… Look, y’know what - I stand by it. Total dud. Robbie can absolutely do better. I mean, Tammy Thompson? Really?”
He sounds genuinely outraged. It cracks Eddie up so much he ends up having to use Steve’s arm to hold himself up.
He categorically does not think about how firm said arm feels under his grip. He doesn’t.
“She was crushing on Tammy Thompson?”
“Yeah. Said she had ‘inspirations’ or some shit. I said she wasn’t gonna get anywhere singing like she did.”
“I think you mean aspirations. Like, goals in life? But, yeah, that girl couldn’t hold a tune if you handed one to her.”
Steve laughs again, head thrown back and Eddie has to gulp audibly as he stares at the exposed skin of Steve’s neck.
He is not going to bite it over one of those gorgeous little moles. He’s not.
“I told her she sounded like a muppet.”
Eddie feels like he’s getting whiplash.
“You told Tammy that?”
“What? No! I’m not an entire asshole. I told Robin that while we were crazy high on Russian truth serum so it’s not, like, entirely my fault, I think.”
Eddie practically giggles, smacking both his hands over his face as he does.
His mood has taken such a drastic turn, he can hardly believe it. Trust Steve to take him from a ball of anxiety and turn him into a giddy mess. It’s almost infuriating how Eddie’s crush blooms at every example of Steve just being Steve.
Eddie shakes his head, baffled, amazed, and so utterly fond he feels like his heart is flip-flopping in his chest.
”Thank you, though. Seriously. For trusting me with that. It means a lot.”
The earnest look is back and Eddie can only smile.
”You’re a good guy, Harrington. I never would’ve guessed it a year ago, but it’s true. One of the best, I might argue.”
Steve flushes an endearing pink at that. Eddie’s heart does not stutter in his chest at that visual.
“Right back at you, Munson.”
There’s a beat where they sit together, smiling like idiots, before Eddie claps his hands together and announces that he needs a beer. Steve is all too eager to follow him to the kitchen and the evening is wasted away with cheap beer, a good movie, and better company.
And if Eddie has only confessed one of his tightly-held secrets then he thinks that’s plenty in the grand scheme of things, and he’s certainly not going to push his luck by admitting he’s pretty sure he’s in love with one of his best friends.
Steve didn't (before knowing Eddie) know there was a difference between goths and metalheads and really anyone else that listened to weird music and wore a lot of black. Steve still doesn't (now knowing Eddie) know what the difference is, really.
What Steve does know, is that calling Eddie a goth absolutely infuriates him to such a wild degree that Steve does it at every available opportunity. Pretty much just for his own shits and giggles.
Eddie knows this, but I can't decide if he'd play up his reaction just to make Steve smile, or if he's just genuinely that offended and is incapable of being chill about it even though he knows he's being wound up on purpose.
He (now) knows terms like 'free throw' and 'field goal' belong to basketball, and that it runs in quarters. He knows baseball has innings and uses 'first base' and 'home run' and 'strikeout'. But he mixes them all up on purpose, just to get under Steve's skin.
Unfortunately for Eddie, Steve has been friends with Dustin Henderson (formally titled Most Annoying Person Alive by Stobin on more than one occasion - they made him a paper crown once. he did not like it) for multiple years now, and he's pretty much learnt to roll with the punches.
So when they're watching a basketball game (with Wayne!) and Eddie starts talking about how he's "absolutely certain that should've been a strike", Steve just nods along, saying "Yeah, exactly. And you just know the referee is..." and continues on as if completely unaware of Eddie's misuse of the term.
Somehow Eddie is once again the one left entirely infuriated and no he's not pouting about it, thank you very much.
part one - me, a former goth (with a love of the culture and the music etc still held in my heart): I can write up this hc in no time
part two - me, who has never seen an entire sports game of any kind all the way through: it has taken me 6 working days to research what the guy keeping track of fouls at a basketball game in the US is called, and I'm still not sure
Listen. Nancy is great but the way she was constantly ruining Jonathan’s photos by opening the dark room despite it being not only his passion but his JOB? You can’t tell me she gave a single shit about ANY of Steve’s interests or what he thought was important. But the way Steve was going to dinners with Barbs family? Yeah, that boy definitely gave up A LOT during his relationship with Nancy and it kinda fucked him up. He figured he must not have given up enough.
So when Steve and Eddie start dating? Eddie having previously been so vocal about hating everything Steve liked? Yeah, Steve starts shoving himself into a box and it takes a distressingly long time for Eddie to realize he’s not actually ‘expanding Steve’s horizons’ or whatever he thinks is going on
@morganbritton132 tag preservation squad: #the logic of this rumor is that if Billy beat Steve up that bad than he'd be in jail#Richard Harrington doesn't play about his kid#(he doesn't take care of him either but he doesn't play)#my post-season 2 HC is that Steve straight up lies about where the injuries came from#He tells Hopper that he got them in the tunnel and tells his parents that he crashes his car#I also HC that neither Billy nor Steve really tell anyone what happened#it's hard to brag when you got bested by a little girl and Steve straight up won't talk about nearly getting beat to death#that HC obviously doesbt work here but I think it's interesting if it's obvious that two people fought each other but neither will say why
Steve's baseball team decide that they want to play a prank on their coach.
They get shirts screen-printed with Steve's face on it and something silly he always says, and then they all wear them to practice. They time how long it takes Steve to notice (nine minutes and only because the team had a bad case of giggles).
It's a funny prank.
Steve gets a kick out of it.
Unbeknownst to Steve or the team, the guy who made their shirts is an old friend of Eddie 'left Hawkins and got famous' Munson.
It was a known secret in Hellfire that Eddie was crushing bad on King Steve so he sent Eddie one of the shirts.
Imagine Steve confusion when he flips the tv over to MTV and sees his old classmate being interviewed...wearing a shirt with his face on it.
There's a number at the bottom of the screen that you can call to ask Eddie a question.
Steve calls.
Before the interviewer can finish saying, "We have someone on the line from your homet-"
"Why are you wearing a shirt with my face on it?" Steve asks. "And would it kill you to answer the phone when Dustin calls you? Or call him back? The kid misses you."
Now half of America thinks Eddie is a deadbeat father.
I just know that Steve and Robin are the worst gossips in Hawkins. They learn all of the movie watching habits of the customers of Hawkins Family Video (I mean, come on, they knew when Vickie paused Fast Times, they keep a record of this stuff.)
So it’s not uncommon to overhear them on a slow day like…
Robin: you’ll never guess who checked out Rocky Horror Picture Show
Steve: yeah, I know, Munson checks it out every Friday—
None of the kids believe Steve’s crush has any hope when he tells them. “It’s nothing against you but the chances of Eddie going out with you are. Slim to none.”
Eddie doing too well at pretending he doesn’t have a crush on Steve so when they get together everyone’s like. Uh Steve we love you but we think this might be a little one-sided
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.
@morganbritton132 tag preservation squad: #Steve being like: yeah I know exactly what you're experiencing (he got locked out once and slept on a deck chair)#but what Eddie hears is: yeah I know exactly what you're experiencing (gay)#Eddie got drunk and hooked up with a closeted jock in his van one night#and then the next day an even hotter closeted jock invited him over to hook up? best week of Eddie's life#but also like: Aren't you dating Wheeler?#Steve: Kinda? we're on a break. she won't - she'd actually really like if you came over#Steve also tells Nancy about this interaction and she also thinks Steve invited Eddie over to hook up so: ...good for you?
“Yeah, I mean, there’s a reason I came all the way out to nowhere, Indiana from West Virginia when my aunt Pat and uncle Jimmy lived a town over. Wayne… he’s uh… he’s like us.” Eddie leaned back against the wall, pillow propping him up.
“He is?” Steve perked up from the bed beside him.
“Mhm. That’s how I knew it’d be safe here. All the things my dad had said over the years about him. I knew he’d understand. Took a bus all the way here with a shiner and a split lip. Looked all shades of purple by the time I landed on his doorstep, but he took me in without question. I think he just knew.” Eddie smiled fondly at the memory.
“I’m glad you had him. Someone safe to be… you.” Steve looked up at him, taking in the soft glow of his face in the dim light.
“I wish you’d had that. I know the fancy wallpaper and family portraits make everyone think you had it so good, but I remember how alone you feel.” Eddie’s palm came down to rest on Steve’s cheek, his eyes turning a little somber.
Steve shook his head. “I had my own escapes. The Hagan’s- I know, Tommy’s a piece of shit, but there was a time where him and his family were a lifeline for me.”
“That’s good. Sorry he grew up so shitty.”
“Me too.” Steve settled back against the mattress. He looked up at the ceiling and chewed his lip. “So, has Wayne ever… had anyone around?”
Eddie scrunched his nose. “Gross.”
Steve huffed dramatically, shoving Eddie’s shoulder. “That’s not what I mean- I just, ugh. You know- did he ever find someone else? Like us.”
Eddie hummed, nodding. “Yeah, yeah I know what you mean. It’s just. It’s complicated.”
“Usually is.” Steve took Eddie’s hand in his, turning it over and tracing the scars that trailed up his arm.
“No… this was different. They were… happy. They were. I even knew him. He was around when he could be. We’d have dinner together sometimes, in our own way. Was like that for years. Longer than I’d even been around here. That’s why it’s just… it didn’t make sense.” Eddie frowned, his fingers curling around Steve’s tighter.
“Bad breakup?” Steve noticed Eddie’s face shift, expression tightening. He bumped their shoulders, trying to offer some comfort.
Eddie shook his head, jaw clenched tight. He swallowed, looking away.
Steve rubbed his thumb against Eddie’s hand, pulling him in closer. “Eddie, what happened?”
“He uh… he died. Suddenly. He… killed himself.” Eddie voice was strained.
Steve’s heart sank in his chest down to his gut. “Oh my god. Eddie, I’m so sorry.”
Eddie was already shaking his head, but his hand trembled along with the motion. “Yeah, no it’s fine. It was a few years back now. I just remember the shock of it, and then Wayne being so quiet. He’s already a quiet guy, so this was… deafening. We went to the funeral, but it was weird. He was this big part of our lives, but people didn’t even know. No one called Wayne when it happened. Saw it on the news like everyone else. Can you imagine?”
Steve remembered sitting in the hospital waiting room, not knowing if Eddie had pulled through. The dried blood covered his hands and clothes from when he carried him out of that hell, limp and unconscious. “No.”
“Right, it was so… It felt like being locked out, ya know? Everything’s happening, but you’re being left out. It was so hard on Wayne. Especially cause we didn’t know why. It was out of nowhere. I meant, shit, Benny was not the type. He faced everything head on. He was just that kinda of-”
“Wait, Benny?” Steve tensed. He knew that name. He knew that case.
Eddie cringed. Even dead, outing someone held a certain weight. “Oh shit. I mean, yeah. Benny. He owned the burger place? It’s gone to hell now but-”
“Benny didn’t kill himself.” Steve interrupted.
Eddie froze. “What?”
Steve fully sat up, facing Eddie. His boyfriend looked so lost, eyes searching his own. It made Steve’s stomach twist. “Benny, he… fuck, I’m so sorry, Eddie. Dustin told me about this a while back. I guess El went in there right when she broke out of the lab. I don’t know all the details, but Benny was nice to her. He gave her some food and tried to help. He called CPS or something and the fucking lab pieces of shit showed up. They killed him and covered it up. I’m sorry, is this worse? It’s all so fucked up, and I just… shit, you and Wayne… I had no idea you even knew him.”
Eddie looked down at his lap, fingers still laced with Steve’s. “Huh…”
“Are you okay?” Steve asked quietly.
“Yeah… I’m. I’m alright. I guess… I mean, it’s awful. He was a great guy. He meant a lot to me and to Wayne, obviously. I’ve spent so much time wondering why… I know Wayne has too. It’s… I don’t want to say I’m relieved because that’s sure as shit not it, but the way things went down… never sat right, ya know? Like I said, it just wasn’t like him.” Eddie looked up at the ceiling, eyes wet.
“I’m sorry to just dump that on you.” Steve chewed his lip more, feeling the sharp bite of pain.
Eddie shook his head quickly. “No, don’t worry about that. Never a good time to share that kinda news.”
“Are you gonna tell Wayne?”
“Yeah. I think he deserves the peace of it. It won’t take away the grief, but it will stop the questions. He can finally stop wondering what he missed back then, and Benny can finally get some peace in our memories of him. It’s… it’s nice to know he’s the guy I knew him to be.” He smiled, eyes shining.
Steve nodded, wrapping his arms around Eddie’s waist. “This fucking town…”
“Gave me you, so don’t be disparaging it too much.” Eddie hugged him tightly, burying his face into Steve’s chest.
