Mickala | 32 | she/her | bisexual disaster | #1 PTWH according to sources | 18+ Minors DNI | Follows and asks from @mickalaem | co-mod for @steddiemicrofics, mod for @steddieholidaydrabbles and @steddiesongfics | Requests currently closed icon and header photos by me, surprisingly AO3 | Ko-Fi
99% of my writing is Steddie, 1% is Buckingham, percentages subject to change with little to no notice.
I co-mod for steddiemicrofic (monthly exact word count challenge with a one-word prompt), and run steddiesongfics (a monthly challenge based on random songs), steddieholidaydrabbles (pop-up prompts throughout the year, daily drabble challenges in December), steddiesmuttyseptember (weekly prompts rated M or E for the month of September), steddiesportsau (weekly sports related prompts in April), and strangerthingsocweek (a week-long event centered around original characters in the Stranger Things universe).
This blog is 18+, minors DNI.
AO3 | Ko-Fi
call me sunshine, send me to space - rated e | complete | 89,621 words
the only time i feel human is when i'm in bed with you - rated e | complete | 28,150 words
it led me to you - rated e | complete | 44,219 words
little nuggets series - various ratings | complete | 82,712 words total
this place is such great motivation for anyone trying to move the fuck away from hibernation - rated e | complete | 45,467 words
bear hugs - rated e | complete | 76,351 words
relevé - rated e | complete | 59,993 words
pretty baby, i'm runnin' back home to you - rated e | complete | 24,802 words
Tumblr Drabbles | AO3
Headcanon/Drabble Asks / Headcanon/Drabble Asks Part 2
rated t | 779 words | cw: implied parent death (not any character we know) | tags: established steddie, good parents steddie, adopted children
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Steve didn’t actually think he would ever be a dad. Not with how much responsibility he took on with Dustin and his crew. He joked about it being practice, and still imagined maybe one day having a kid or two, but most of that wasn’t real.
When he and Eddie get together, and stay together, it seals the deal. He didn’t pay much attention in sex ed, but he knows they don’t have the right parts to make it happen and adoption isn’t gonna happen for them. At least not here in Hawkins.
He’s fine with it. He swears he is. And he means it. Maybe sometimes he wonders what it would be like, but he doesn’t regret not having any kids.
But then suddenly, they do.
A baby girl and her four year old brother needed an emergency placement and no one else in Hawkins answered when Hopper called. They didn’t have time to talk about it, Steve looked at Eddie, and Eddie nodded once.
It’ll just be for a few days while we look for their family, Hopper told them.
It may be a bit longer since they don’t seem to have any family in the state, Hopper told them a week later.
That was over a year ago, and since then, they’ve turned their spare room into a bedroom for Alex and converted the office into a bedroom for Sarah. They rearranged their work schedules so they only work when the daycare is open.
Sarah calls them both dada, and Alex has started to come around to the idea that they might be his guardians for the long haul. They never call themselves his parents because they aren’t. He had parents. They died. Steve and Eddie can’t ever be them.
–
“We have meet the teacher tomorrow. Don’t forget,” Eddie finishes folding the last of Sarah’s clothes. “Alex is nervous.”
“About what? We already know who he’s gonna have,” Steve takes the pile of clothes from the bed and turns to the door. “Or did he forget?”
“He knows he has Will. But apparently he’s worried that he’ll accidentally call him Will instead of Mr. Byers,” Eddie gives Steve a small smile. “I told him no McNugget of ours will have to worry about being made fun of by other kids, especially over something so small.”
Steve snorts. “McNugget?”
“Yeah,” Eddie stands and grabs the empty laundry basket. “Like your nuggets, but different. A derivative of chicken nuggets, I guess.”
“Oh my god, you can’t be serious.” Steve nearly drops the clothes on the floor. “You are not calling them that.”
“It’s cute! And Jeff came up with it!” Eddie half-laughs as he leans in to kiss Steve’s cheek. “Alex thinks it’s funny.”
“You called him that to his face?!” Steve sets the clothes back down on the bed and covers his face. “He just started to get comfortable with the idea that maybe he could call us his dads at school.”
Eddie pulls his hands from his face. “You’re being too much about this, Stevie. It’s just a silly thing, and he laughed.”
“But what if he hates it and is just scared to say that?”
Steve might be taking this too seriously. It’s just a little joke. And Alex laughed about it. He wouldn’t have if he didn’t think it was funny. Jeff would have made sure they didn’t ever call either of them that again if Alex was bothered. Sarah is too young to care, but if they put a stop to it now, she’ll never even know.
“Alex isn’t scared to tell us how he feels,” Eddie tells him. And he knows that. “You don’t have to be so overprotective.”
“I know,” Steve sighs. “I just wanna do everything right.”
Eddie pulls him close and Steve lets out another sigh against his neck.
“You want me to make sure no one calls them that?”
“No. If he’s fine with it, it’s fine. I can’t believe that joke stuck for this long,” Steve huffs a laugh against Eddie’s shoulder. “And now it’s evolved.”
“All good jokes have to grow with the group. That’s what keeps them relevant.”
“But at the expense of our kids?”
Eddie kisses his head. “You and I both know that jokes at the expense of someone show how much we love them. Now, I do believe your oldest McNugget needs a bedtime story.”
“I’m going, I’m going.”
“And this time, maybe he can sound out some of the words like we said we wanted him to do?” Eddie points a finger at Steve and raises his brows.
rated e | 555 words | no cw | tags: secret steddie, established steddie, anal sex, eddie has a big dick
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"I heard he has a small dick."
"I heard it's like a...what do they call it...micropenis?"
Eddie smirks to himself, trying to hide it behind his hand as he looks down at his textbook.
"Maybe that's why he doesn't even try to flirt with girls."
"I heard it's because he's gay."
First thing they've gotten right yet, Eddie thinks to himself.
"I don't think any guy would want him either if he had a micropenis."
Eddie snorts. He feels the girls look over at him, but he pretends he's busy reading. He doesn't even know which textbook this is, let alone what he's supposed to be reading.
"My cousin lives in New York and said that they have a bunch of gay guys who are super into that."
"I guess everyone has weird quirks. My boyfriend has no hair down there. It just doesn't grow."
"God, I wish."
A hand covers Eddie's shoulder and he jumps.
"You shouldn't listen in on private conversations, Ed," Steve whispers in his ear before he sits down across from him at the table. "It's rude."
"Well, when they're talking about your dick, it's fun to tune in and see what they have to say," Eddie explains, nudging his knee under the table. "Did you know there's a rumor that I have a micropenis?"
Steve blinks at him, then laughs. "You?"
Eddie nods. "Me."
"I'm still sore from two days ago," Steve's cheeks turn pink at the admission. "They have no idea."
--
"Fuck that's good. Jesus."
"Eddie's fine."
Steve covers his mouth with his hand, rolling his eyes as he rides him faster. "Don't talk. Please."
That's fine with Eddie. Sometimes he doesn't know what to say anyway. Steve's so goddamn perfect, especially when he's like this. Bitchy, needy, desperate. He can't believe Steve even likes him, let alone wants to fuck him.
Or get fucked, he should say. Sure, Steve likes fucking Eddie sometimes.
But the second he saw what Eddie was working with, he said it would be a crime to not have his dick inside him as often as possible. Which is often enough that Steve has a bit of a limp more often than not. It's his own doing.
"You're so fucking big," Steve moans as he leans down. "Feel so full."
Eddie grips his hips tighter, driving his hips up as Steve finds a rhythm for them to follow. He's got stamina that Eddie can't match even on his best days, but damn does he try. He has to get creative sometimes, find things that make Steve feel even better so that he pushes him closer to the edge faster. It's a bit like a competition for them, and Steve lets him win sometimes.
Steve whines and pulls his hand off of Eddie's mouth after a deeper thrust.
"You want me to touch you?" Eddie offers, even though he knows Steve doesn't. He likes when he comes from just this, just Eddie's dick pushing relentlessly against his prostate.
As he expected, Steve shakes his head. He's predictable.
Eddie loves that about him.
Eddie loves a lot of things about him.
"I'm close. You can come now," Steve allows.
--
"You coming over tonight?" Eddie asks as he closes the textbook.
"Is your dick still huge?" Steve winks. "Yeah, I am."
Prompt #20 - McNuggets | Word Count: 1000 | Rating: T | CW: Language | POV: Eddie | Pairing: Steddie | Tags: Established Relationship, A Slice of Life, Set in the Take the Money and Run Universe, The Sex Pumpkin (aka Happy Meal Boo Buckets)
1990
The house is dark when Eddie arrives. Suspiciously dark. Steve never sits around in the pitch black.
Eddie reaches for the hallway light switch, flipping it on. Only, nothing happens. Well, fuck. The power's out. Better not be an electrical problem. They just signed on the dotted line for this house. And all the little issues are definitely making themselves known, one by one.
So, whatever's wrong here, it's their problem now. Great.
With the power out, it's insanely quiet in here. He hears something scrape across the floor, maybe in the kitchen.
And his hackles are immediately raised. Because, what if this isn't a normal problem. What if it's something else? Something from Hawkins.
Eddie reaches for the closest weapon-like item, an umbrella, and grasps it. Then, decides it might be a good idea to just check first before he surprises Steve with anything raised in a threatening way. In the dark. Eddie has no doubts Steve could still wipe the floor with him.
"Steve?" Eddie calls out.
"Kitchen!" Steve answers, and Eddie loosens his grip, letting go of the handle. Letting it thunk back down into the holder. Laughing at himself. Scared of the dark, like a big old chicken shit. He shakes his head. He's never claimed to be brave. That's Steve's thing.
"What's up with the lights?" Eddie calls out, toeing off his boots.
Steve doesn't answer, and when Eddie walks through the kitchen door, Steve's sitting at the table, and dead center on top of it is a glowing pumpkin.
Since when was the sex pumpkin glow-in-the-dark?
He laughs, "What the hell, sweetheart?"
Not that Eddie's opposed to a sex proposition.
Steve leans back in his chair, and flips the light switch. Suddenly the room is filled with light, and Steve looks mighty pleased with himself.
Eddie realizes the sex pumpkin isn't a pumpkin at all. It's a white ghost. That glows.
"They had new ones this year. The sign lured me in. McNuggets might be cold," Steve says, and Eddie doesn't care. Not in the slightest. He knew Steve had to go into town today, but he just didn't expect this. Eddie pulls out a chair, and scoots it closer to Steve. Resting his hand on Steve's knee.
"It's perfect," he says, and pops off the lid of the ghost bucket.
There's actual food inside, enough to eat, not just a happy meal snack, and Eddie spreads it out in front of them.
It is cold. But Eddie doesn't care. He's not too good for a little cold fast food. So, he eats his cold McNuggets, dipping them in sweet and sour sauce, because Steve would never forget that, and tells Steve all about his day.
"I saw a pocket gopher today," Eddie says, looking at Steve. Steve raises an eyebrow.
"Is it called a pocket gopher because it's in your pocket right now?" Steve asks, and Eddie laughs, shaking his head.
"I wish," Eddie answers. He'd love to bring home half the wildlife he encounters on a daily basis. Who wouldn't want an elk or a black bear?
He knows he's a lucky fucker. He's got a job he loves, and he's got Steve. Four years. They're four years in, and Eddie feels like he still doesn't quite believe it. Steve Harrington loves him.
They bought a house together surrounded by the trees that he loves, and it's finally in just their own names. Steve's dad no longer on the mortgage as a co-signer. He never caused them any trouble, but it was a relief when the day came that they could refinance it all on their own.
Just the two of them, still making a whole life together.
"This is great," Eddie says, and Steve scoffs, chewing a mouthful of cold, tough fries.
But it is. Eddie's happy. In a way he never imagined possible. His life has turned out good, and that seemed like something that would never, ever be possible.
Then, Steve happened.
"What's up with the hallway light?" Eddie asks, already imagining having to figure out how to rewire a light. He doesn't mind. Wayne taught him to use the Time Life home repair book series to figure out shit that they couldn't afford to hire professionals to fix.
He can do it.
"I loosened the bulb," Steve says, and Eddie laughs. A little dramatic just for a bit. He's clearly been around Eddie for far too long.
There's a flashlight on the table. Eddie nods towards it.
"I had to keep recharging the ghost. You're late," Steve says, but there's no heat there. Eddie works long hours more often than not. He's trying to claw his way up from the bottom rung.
He wants to do this for a long, long time.
There's whispers of an opportunity for some travel work, a temporary position that would help bolster his standing in the service. He hasn't said anything to Steve yet, because it's not happening until next year, and there's no reason to worry about something that might not even happen.
They might choose somebody else, entirely.
"I bought a couple steaks and threw them in the freezer for our anniversary," Steve says, and Eddie nods.
He's never been really sure when that is. He thinks Steve considers it from their first kiss, but Eddie feels like the day they left on the road trip might be the real date. That was the start of this great, big love they hadn't anticipated.
"I'd take you to a nice restaurant," Eddie offers, and Steve scoffs. They are pinching pennies. The house needs lots of work. More than they realized, Eddie fears.
"Too far into town," Steve says, "Let's eat here, then we can get to bed quicker."
Eddie smiles. That's a perfect plan. Alone, at home with Steve, there's nothing better than that.
"Sold," Eddie answers, and runs his fingers over the edge of the white bucket. "So, what filthy, naughty things are we gonna keep in here, Harrington?"
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! 🦇
Notes: It just felt like the perfect time to revisit these two, and their sex pumpkin. Now, with a sex ghost. 👻
1990 is the year that they introduced the glow in the dark ghost option.
Prompt #19 - Rattail | Word Count: 1000 | Rating: E | CW: Degradation, Hair Pulling/Cutting | POV: Eddie | Pairing: Steddie | Tags: Post S4, 1990s, Fuck Buddies, Lack of Communication, Mutual Pining
This is the third fic set in my haircut series. They can be read separately, but they are building on each other:
Perm | 2. Mullet | 3. Rattail
"Ow," Eddie hisses under his breath.
"What was that?" Steve asks, tugging a little harder.
"I said ow," Eddie complains, then mumbles, "motherfucker."
Steve slides his fingers up the small braid, closer to the scalp, tugging with a little more pressure, pulling Eddie's head backwards as he hammers into him. Eddie wishes he had half the confidence Steve has. Eddie can pretend. Steve just exists.
"It looks fucking stupid," Steve says. "You look like an asshole."
"I am an asshole," Eddie retorts.
"You look like trailer trash."
Eddie's fingers clutch the sheets. Then, he reaches back and taps Steve on the thigh. It's subtle, but Steve will get the message and redirect, just a little.
"Well, if the shoe fits," Eddie says.
Eddie has never found anyone that could make him buzz with desire like Steve does. Eddie asked for this. To feel something. To find a way to feel the roil of desire building anywhere in the way his cock just can't anymore. He feels like he needs his brain stroked. To feel the build-up there instead. He's asked to be put down, to be put in his place, to get off in other ways, and Steve just nodded along like Eddie was asking what the weather was like.
Steve didn't ask questions. He rarely does. He's always just rolled with whatever Eddie throws at him. There's something intoxicating about having Steve Harrington, known bitch, let loose on you while he fucks you good.
To have someone that doesn't give a fuck if Eddie takes an hour to come. Someone that knows it has nothing to do with them, honest.
Someone that doesn't mind his broken parts, inside and out.
It's something Eddie doesn't want to inspect too closely, or he's sure he'd make connections he wouldn't like.
Overall, Steve does great. He's a natural. Coachable. There's just some things that don't scratch the right itch for Eddie. Poking at his tax bracket? That's one of them.
So, yeah, Steve might miss the mark from time to time, but it never takes him long to redirect and get it right.
"You'll never amount to anything. Not looking like this."
That's much better.
Eddie hums in agreement, loosening his jaw to take some of the pressure off that Steve's applying by holding his hair.
"I can't stand looking at it," Steve says, leaning over and grabbing his scissors off the nightstand.
"Steve," Eddie whines.
Then, he hears the metallic snip, before his head falls forward landing on the pillow.
Steve smacks his shoulder with the cut off thin braid, then tosses next to Eddie's face. It tickles his nose.
Then, both of Steve's hands are on Eddie's sides, gripping, pushing him into the mattress.
Fucking him harder. Eddie's just along for the ride.
"This thing was ugly," Steve says, toying with the cut off rattail with one hand. His other, warm and heavy, is hand resting on Eddie's thigh. Grounding.
He's always so grounding that Eddie never wants to be without him.
And that's a dangerous thought.
"You gave it to me," Eddie mumbles around the cigarette in his mouth, and Steve chuckles.
"You let me," Steve says.
"Well, clearly I'll let you do lots of things to me."
Steve scoffs, "Not everything."
It's Eddie's turn to be indignant.
"Like what? Call me trailer trash?"
Steve's grip tightens, "No. You know I don't think that. You told me to talk shit. I was talking shit. I'm not good at this. I'm so sorry that I can't read your mind."
Eddie shakes his head, "Not that. I don't care about that. Just. Nevermind."
"No, not nevermind," Steve says, getting more agitated. Eddie passes him his cigarette, and Steve takes it.
They bicker like this. It's nothing new. They've been in each other's pockets for almost a decade now.
"It's nothing," Eddie says, trying to placate him. Because that's far easier than the truth.
"Eddie," Steve says on an exhale of smoke. Fuck. Even that is somehow smooth. Eddie does not get how Steve is just like this.
Eddie's standard feels like he's a wet cat that's still just standing around in the rain. Broken, and a little unlovable. Steve? Steve's something else entirely.
Eddie shuts this down. It's dangerous. He can't say what he wants. He can't.
If Steve wanted him like that he'd already have him. Steve always goes after what he wants.
"Are you gonna fix my hair?" Eddie asks, changing the direction of the conversation. Steve hums, letting him.
"Yep, I've got just the thing," Steve says, and Eddie should be scared, but he isn't.
The buzz of the clippers should scare him. But it doesn't. Whatever. It's hair. It'll grow back. Eddie's been through too much to worry about what his hair looks like. He likes giving Steve free rein over it.
Steve runs his fingers along Eddie's buzzed scalp, checking for strays, Eddie's sure.
Then, Steve hands him a hand mirror.
A mohawk. Steve gave him a mohawk.
Which, well. It's a definite improvement over the last two haircuts.
"I'll have to trim the sides every week," Steve says, and well, that sounds like a date to Eddie. He's never gonna turn down scheduled time to spend near Steve.
"Maybe you should become a barber," Eddie says, and Steve snorts. "That's gotta be better than retail."
"Eh. I like cutting your hair, I don't give a shit about cutting anybody else's."
Eddie lets those words sink in.
"You do Gareth's," Eddie says.
"An extension of you," Steve answers, fingers still combing through the hair on the top of Eddie's head, trying to get it higher, taller.
"Wonder how tall you could grow it?" Steve ponders, and Eddie will let it grow to a foot tall if Steve keeps doing that.
Eddie leans back, his head resting against Steve's chest. Steve's hands run up and down Eddie's bare arms, and it's too much. Too soft. But Eddie's gonna allow it.
For just a minute more. Maybe two.
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! 🦇
Notes: I've connected all four of the haircut prompts into one universe, and they'll be posted on Sundays this month.
rated t | 633 words | no cw | tags: established steddie (but they were a secret before), friendship, haircuts, gentle bullying from friends
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Of all the things he thought he’d see, Eddie with a rattail is at the bottom of the list, if it’s on it at all.
This has to be an accident. A haircut gone wrong. A dare. A bet. Something.
No one’s saying anything, so maybe he has to be the one.
Good lord. It really does all fall on him sometimes.
“What’s up with the hair?”
Eddie doesn’t seem bothered by his question, but he also doesn’t seem like he plans on answering it. He’s just kind of sitting there, plucking his guitar, pretending he didn’t show up with the oddest look yet. Which is saying a lot for him since he thrives on trying new things.
“Just trying something new.”
Jeff reaches out and touches it. Luckily, he still left it longer than usual everywhere else. Whoever cut this for him knew what they were doing and obviously cares a lot about him. Realistically, they could just cut the rattail off to match if he hates it and he won’t even have to wait very long for his hair to get back to the previous length.
“Is there a reason you wanted the something new to be…this?” Everyone’s looking at them now, probably grateful Jeff was brave.
“Seemed like a good idea?” Eddie shrugs. “I dunno. I didn’t want anything major right now. Steve said he’d fix it if it got fucked up.”
Ah, Steve. Makes sense that he was willing to be the one doing the damage and the one to save the day if it went wrong. Jeff doesn’t know exactly what his deal is or what Eddie’s deal is about him, but he knows there’s something going on there. He’ll figure that out eventually.
For now, he’s worried about the fucking pitiful braid hanging from the back of Eddie’s head.
“Has Wayne seen this?” Jeff twirls it around his finger.
“Not yet. Just did it last night and haven’t been home,” Eddie swats Jeff’s hand away. “But he doesn’t care about what I do with my hair.”
“Yeah, we know,” Gareth says. “He should care more.”
“Shut up. At least he doesn’t try to give me a bowl cut,” Eddie shoves him. “Or convince me to buzz it all right before graduation.”
“And you like it?” Jeff asks.
Really, that’s all that matters. Sure, they make fun of him a lot, but they’ll leave him be if he really likes it. There’s gentle bullying as a friend, and then there’s pushing too far. They won’t cross the line.
“I hate it.”
Everyone blinks at Eddie, glances at Jeff, then looks back to Eddie.
“So why don’t you cut it off?” Jeff asks the obvious question for everyone.
“Because Steve likes it.” Everyone groans. “What?”
“Since when do you do anything to please Steve?” Frankie asks. “Is he, like, your boyfriend or something?”
“Would it be a problem if he is?” Eddie snaps.
“No! The problem is you keeping a hairstyle you hate because Steve says he likes it. And also, are we sure he likes it and this isn’t a test?”
“He-” Eddie cuts himself off. “Well, he would.”
Everyone waits for Eddie to continue. When he doesn’t, Gareth shoves his shoulder.
“You let him do this to your hair, lie to you about liking it, and keep it even though you hate it. Are you in love with the guy?”
Eddie’s face turns bright red. “I mean, I like him a lot. I don’t know if I love him.”
“Oh my god.”
“Dude. You love Steve Harrington. Never saw this coming,” Frankie laughs.
“Happy for you man,” Jeff pats his shoulder. “But can we please cut this fucking thing off?”
Eddie rushes out of the room and comes back with a pair of scissors. “Please do.”
Week three has come and gone! You all did so great, and I appreciate your participation so much! During this third week we covered 7 prompts, and there were 35 total entries: 35 Fics Written, 0 Pieces of Art & 0 Other Works.
Color-Coded Ratings Key: General, Teen, Mature, Explicit, Not Rated.
Day Twelve: Mullet
Salt in the Wound by @thisapplepielife | Word Count: 1000 | Rating: E | CW: Under Negotiated Kink, Breath Play, Restraints, Mention of Erectile Dysfunction | POV: Eddie | Pairing: Steddie | Tags: Post S4, 1990s, Fuck Buddies, Eddie Is Pining, But Knows He's To Blame
No by @glassbxttless | Word Count: 944| Rating: Not Rated | CW: swearing | Pairing: eddie munson x bats (fem!reader) | Tags: Eddie makes a suggestion that Bats definitely does not want to hear.
Corroded Coffin Fest 2026 - Day 12 - Mullet by @jo-harrington | Word Count: 986 | Rating: T | POV: Gareth | Tags: Coming of Age, slight angst, actions and consequences, expectation vs. reality
it'll grow by @steddieas-shegoes | Word Count: 501 | Rating: T | CW: None | POV: Gareth | Pairing: Steddie | Tags: corroded coffin tour, established steddie, steve's a hairstylist in the sense that he is the only one responsible with scissors
Day Thirteen: Atari
My Turn Now by @thisapplepielife | Word Count: 1000 | Rating: E | CW: Mentions of Period Typical Internalized Homophobia, Mentions of Recreational Drugs & Alcohol, Teen Sex | POV: Eddie | Pairing: Steddie | Tags: Blow Jobs, Time Jump, Pre-S1 to S4, Secret Party Hookups
Street Fighter by @glassbxttless | Word Count: 764 | Rating: Not Rated | CW: None | Pairing: eddie munson x bats (fem!reader) | Tags: Bats is off work in time to see her favorite boy— and his best friend— at the arcade.
you run, i run by @steddieas-shegoes | Word Count: 963 | Rating: T | CW: None | POV: Jeff | Tags: chrissy lives, canon divergence, jeff is a good friend, open ending
Prompt: Day 13 - Atari by @dreamwatch | Word Count: 1000 | Rating: T | CW: Implied/Referenced Child Abuse | POV: Eddie | Relationships: Eddie & Jeff | Minor angst, friendship, growing up, disapproving mothers
Corroded Coffin Fest 2026 - Day 13 - Atari by @jo-harrington | Word Count: 953 | Rating: T | POV: Dave (Freak) | Tags: Frustration, Slight Angst, Teenage Procrastination, Humor
Day Fourteen: Garfield
Buy Two, Get One Free by @thisapplepielife | Word Count: 1000 | Rating: T | CW: None | POV: Eddie | Pairing: Steddie, Platonic Stobin, Background Gareth/Di | Tags: Bakery AU, Baker Steve, Eddie's A Smitten Kitten, Fluff
garfield mug by @steddieas-shegoes | Word Count: 665 | Rating: T | CW: coming out gone wrong (background/offscreen) | POV: Jeff | Tags: gay jeff, wayne munson is the best, found family
Father’s Day 1996 by @glassbxttless | Word Count: 852 | Rating: Not Rated | CW: None | Pairing: eddie munson x bats (fem!reader) | Tags: Bats and Alice make Eddie breakfast in bed.
Corroded Coffin Fest 2026 - Day 14 - Garfield by @jo-harrington | Word Count: 997 | Rating: M | Tags: Frustration, Slight Angst, Teenage Procrastination, Humor
Day Fifteen: "Calgon, Take Me Away!"
Can't Roll Back Time by @thisapplepielife | Word Count: 1000 | Rating: T | CW: Chronic (Canon) Injuries | POV: Eddie | Pairing: Eddie & Corroded Coffin | Tags: Post S4, Eddie Munson Lives, And Is Living His Dream, It's Not Easy, But Easier With His Friends
Calgon, Take ME Away by @glassbxttless | Word Count: 489 | Rating: Not Rated | CW: sisterly bickering | Pairing: eddie munson x bats (fem!reader) | Tags: Bats has been locked in a car with her family for six hours and that includes her two bickering teenage daughters.
eddie, take me away by @steddieas-shegoes | Word Count: 764 | Rating: M | CW: implied sexual content | POV: Steve | Tags: established relationship, band manager steve, bathing/washing kind of, on the brink of real fame
Corroded Coffin Fest 2026 - Day 15 - "Calgon, Take Me Away" by @jo-harrington | Word Count: 700 | Rating: T | Tags: Story within a story, Fantasy Universe, Tabaxi!Eddie, slight angst, family, Wayne is a good uncle in every universe
Always the goddamn babysitter… by @literatiruinedme | Word Count: 757 | Rating: T | CW: None | POV: Gareth | Pairing(s): Steve Harrington & Corroded Coffin, Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson | Tags: band manager!Steve Harrington, Famous Corroded Coffin (Stranger Things)
Day Sixteen: Hypercolor
handprints by @lydjah | Word Count: 996 | Rating: T | CW: None | POV: Eddie | Pairing(s): Steddie | Tags: secret relationship, bi4bi steddie (not important to the plot but important to ME hehe), eddie's ill-defined general insecurities, inconvenient handprints (or are they??)
Nothing Else This Could Be by @thisapplepielife | Word Count: 1000 | Rating: E | CW: Sex | POV: Eddie | Pairing: Steddie | Tags: Post S4, Blow Jobs, Secret Relationship, Sneaking Around
cool shit, i mean shirt by @steddieas-shegoes | Word Count: 476 | Rating: T | CW: none | POV: Steve | Tags: band manager steve (yes, again), established steddie, corroded coffin on tour
Hypercolor by @glassbxttless | Word Count: 709 | Rating: Not Rated | CW: mentions boobies and reader having them | Pairing: eddie munson x bats (fem!reader) | Tags: You and Eddie are starving and your brother makes a very unfortunate discovery.
Corroded Coffin Fest 2026 - Day 16 - Hypercolor by @jo-harrington | Word Count: 996 | Rating: T | Tags: Friendship, Humor, Light Angst, Mistakes, Mike and Dustin appearance
Day Seventeen: Answering Machine
leave it at the beep by @lydjah | Word Count: 1000 | Rating: G | CW: None | POV: omniscent | Pairing(s): implied steddie | Tags: told entirely through answering machine messages, corroded coffin love to gossip, steve and eddie meet at the fateful halloween party au
Why Didn't You Tell Me? by @thisapplepielife | Word Count: 1000 | Rating: M | CW: Talk of Sex | POV: Steve | Pairing: Steddie | Tags: Post S4, They're Sick, and What If It's Demorabies?, Silly Fluff, Getting Together, Idiot4Idiot
all the messages i left by @steddieas-shegoes | Word Count: 904 | Rating: M | CW: implied sexual content | POV: Jeff | Tags: miscommunications, second chances, background steddie mentioned, idiots in love, jeff/frankie (unnamed freak who has been given a name by me because i care more than the duffers)
Hey Pen by @glassbxttless | Word Count: 745 | Rating: Not Rated | CW: Gareth’s wife’s a cheateeeer | Pairing: gareth emerson x penny (oc) | Tags: Gareth hears a message he shouldn’t have.
Corroded Coffin Fest 2026 - Day 17 - Answering Machine by @jo-harrington | Word Count: 950 | Rating: T | Pairing: Eddie Munson x Fem!Reader | Tags: Fluff, New Relationships, Romance, Humor, Idiots in Love (emphasis on idiot)
Prompt: Day 17 - Answering Machine by @dreamwatch | Word Count: 1000 | Rating: T | CW: Implied alcoholism | POV: Eddie | Relationships: Background Steddie | Eddie Munson, angst, supernatural happenings?, you decide, ambiguous ending
ccf 2026: day 17 - answering machine by @hullomoon | Word Count: 334 | Rating: G | CW: None | POV: Multi | Pairing(s): Steve/Eddie | Tags: Post Season 3, Post Season 4, Canon Divergence
Day Eighteen: Wood Paneling
wayne would do it better by @steddieas-shegoes | Word Count: 768 | Rating: T | CW: none | POV: Steve | Tags: established steddie, jeff and steve friendship, good uncle wayne munson, slice of life
a divot. by @thisapplepielife | Word Count: 1000 | Rating: M | CW: Character Death (Not Eddie or Steve), Situational Depression | POV: Eddie | Pairing: Steddie, Eddie & Corroded Coffin | Tags: Future Fic, Eddie Loses Someone He Loves, Choose Your Own Devastation, Loss, Grief, Time Moves On, Very Hopeful Ending
This Wall is Ugly by @glassbxttless | Word Count: 1000 | Rating: Not Rated | CW: gareth’s wife’s a cheaaaaater, swearing, a fight | Pairing: gareth emerson x penny (oc) | Tags: A few weeks ago, Gareth heard a message on his answering machine he shouldn’t have. Now his wife is showing up on tour?
Prompt: Day 18 - Wood Panelling by @dreamwatch | Word Count: 1000 | Rating: T | CW: None | POV: Eddie | Relationships: Steddie | Corroded Coffin, Eddie's van RIP, Eddie gets by with a little help from his friends and Steve
gilded cages by @lydjah | Word Count: 1000 | Rating: G | CW: brief mention of substance abuses | POV: Jeff | Pairing(s): established steddie | Tags: Famous Corroded Coffin, the steep price of getting everything you dreamed of, decor faults as a metaphor for a gilded cage, band tension
Prompt #18 - Wood Paneling | Word Count: 1000 | Rating: M | CW: Character Death (Not Eddie or Steve), Situational Depression | POV: Eddie | Pairing: Steddie, Eddie & Corroded Coffin | Tags: Future Fic, Eddie Loses Someone He Loves, Choose Your Own Devastation, Loss, Grief, Time Moves On, Very Hopeful Ending
The edges are flaking.
That's the only thing Eddie can focus on. At some point, someone tried to paint over the wood paneling, a misguided attempt to modernize the place, but now it's sloughing off in tiny chips that looks worse than if they'd just left it alone.
People around him are talking, but they're so far away. Down a deep, dark hole, far from him.
Steve's leg is pressed against his, his warm hand holding Eddie's. Grip firm.
Usually, this would ground Eddie.
But Eddie's already floating, tether cut. Not even Steve can reach him today.
Their voices are muddy. Dampened.
"When did anyone talk to him last?"
"Last summer. Maybe it was the summer before?"
"I never dreamed he'd be capable…"
"Did you know? I didn't know. We should have…"
There's a lot they should have done. Enough blame to go around. They should have gotten together more often. They should have tried to keep the band a thing, even if only for fun.
They should have kept in touch. Checked in more regularly.
They should have still been friends in more than name only.
They should have known.
But they didn't. And now they are stuffed in this back room. Hidden away from the townsfolk all greedily pointing fingers, ready to clutch pearls that they'd attend a service for him. As if they knew him.
As if they ever knew any of them. The freaks. The outsiders.
It's fifteen people, tops. A whole life, and only fifteen people were trusted to attend. Trusted to carry the weight of still loving him, even after.
"That's not the boy I knew."
It's not.
But he wasn't a boy anymore. He was a man that Eddie barely knew.
And now he's nothing at all, and mourning him has been branded an egregious act.
Eddie's depressed.
He's never felt like this in his life. Everything is dulled. The edges of life are far too blunt. Usually, he feels things too much. This is a stark contrast.
He doesn't much care for it.
Wayne died several years ago and it has affected every breath Eddie's taken since.
Every day. Every minute.
But he was never depressed. Not like this.
Because he understood. He knew what happened to Wayne, and why. Eddie knew Wayne's body gave way. Nature took its course.
It happens to everyone.
This is different.
This doesn't happen to everyone.
It won't affect Eddie's daily life, not in the way losing Wayne did.
But it's affecting his spirit in ways he could have never imagined.
Years pass quickly.
They always do.
A decade gone, and Eddie's talked to the rest of them no more than he did before.
Promises easily broken.
Eddie's happy, though. Especially today. It's a big day. People are missing that shouldn't be, but that's just life. Death.
And he's never again felt like he did those first two weeks. He can't even draw up how it really felt. He just knows he felt different. Underwater.
Some days a song still brings unexpected tears to his eyes.
Or he'll look at pictures, at a time capsule of their teenage years, and fixate on his smiling face.
He'll wonder if there were signs. He'll scrutinize every micro expression. Examining the long dead under a microscope. Looking for the clues he missed, for the invisible tells of how this story would end.
If it was always destined.
For the boy he knew.
It doesn't matter. That boy? He was Eddie's. That version of him, laughing.
Not who he was in his final moments, and the series of events that led up to it that Eddie has traced, looking for the out. The gotcha. For the excuse. For the way — any way — he could flip the script on this narrative.
Eddie can craft a story with the best of them. But he can't mold this one. He can't shape it. He can't shine it up, can't make it any more palatable.
You can't polish a turd.
That's what Wayne would've said.
Then, Eddie feels the inevitable guilt, for still not mourning this situation right.
He's sympathizing with the wrong side. Objectively.
But, Eddie's not objective about him. And never claimed to be. He'll always be on his side. Even when he was wrong. So wrong.
Nobody can take any of it back. Flogging him from the edge of his grave, a grave doesn't even have to Eddie's continued dismay, won't do anyone any good.
What happened, happened.
What's done is done.
It is what it is.
What it is, is a divot in Eddie's heart. A black spot, scarred over, but never the same.
He's lucky. Steve understood. Never said a word. Never made him feel bad for mourning someone that should've only been condemned.
He who casts the first stone…
Wayne would've said that, too.
Eddie knows not all the guys were that lucky. Back when their high hopes of reconnecting were still fresh. He knows there were fights with partners, not understanding, and how could yous?
The how's easy: They loved him.
Faults and all. You can't just yank that back. There's no snapping your fingers.
You can be mad.
Eddie's furious.
It simmers under every memory.
You can hurt.
Eddie had part of his heart scraped away against his will.
You can miss the boy, and detest the actions of the man.
Eddie does both. Sometimes at the same time.
You can feel like someone's missing from the universe.
Eddie feels that acutely today.
"You ready to go?"
Steve's voice startles him.
Eddie looks towards him, and Steve's standing in the doorway, smiling.
The world keeps turning, no matter who isn't still on it.
Eddie smiles back.
"Well, look at you," Eddie says, laughing when Steve gives him a twirl. The slick sole of his dress shoe gives him some damn good spin on the hardwood floor.
His suit, tailored.
His love, enduring.
His laugh, infectious.
His wedding band, burning a hole in Eddie's pocket.
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! 🦇
Notes: Who was it? Up to you to decide. What, exactly, did they do? Up to you to decide.
for @corrodedcoffinfest day 18 prompt 'wood paneling'
rated t | 768 words | no cw | tags: established steddie, jeff and steve friendship, good uncle wayne munson, slice of life
🪵🪵🪵🪵🪵🪵🪵🪵🪵🪵🪵🪵🪵🪵
Steve should’ve known better than to expect Eddie to be any help with this. He went into it way too confident.
Neither of them are very handy, but he assumed they could probably figure it out. How hard is nailing some wood paneling to the wall?
Really hard, it turns out.
Which is ridiculous because he has all the tools, and he knows how to use the tools, and he even knows how to nail things to other things. They’re two flat surfaces. He can do it.
He thought.
Eddie hammered his thumb within the first 20 minutes, so he’s been putting ice on it off and on for the last hour while Steve figures out how to make a two person job into a one person job when it already kind of was. He should probably call someone.
–
“This is a situation,” Jeff says with his hands on his hips, a mirror image of Steve next to him. “A bad one.”
They have made very little progress, and the progress they have made is terrible.
He’s starting to wonder why he even wanted wood paneling in the living room.
“Is it okay that a nail is sticking out on…one, two, three, four, five of the pieces?” Jeff asks as he tilts his head to the side. “Like, fully out. Take your eye out, out.”
“Hm. No. I think they’re supposed to be in,” Steve says with a sigh. “What are we doing wrong?”
“All of it from the looks of things,” Gareth laughs from the couch, where he’s decided to keep Eddie company during his “injury.” “You could call someone.”
“I did call someone. I called Jeff,” Steve says with a roll of his eyes. “Which I’m realizing is not enough for this.”
“Hey, I never said I was gonna be the answer to your problem. I was just gonna make it less of a problem.” Jeff stares at the problem. “Well, I tried to make it less of a problem.”
The thing is that if they could figure out the nail thing, the panels themselves would be on straight and even, which is good enough for Steve. The nails just won’t go in all the way. Maybe they aren’t the right size for what they’re doing.
“You could call Wayne.”
Everyone looks over at Frankie.
“What? I’m just sayin’ a guy who had to fix everything at the trailer for 20 years probably knows a thing or two about nailing wood to the wall,” he continues. “If anyone could tell you what you’re doing wrong, it’s Wayne.”
Steve snorts. Yeah, that last part is definitely true. Wayne is a my way or the highway kind of guy. He’ll be the first person to tell you when you’re doing something wrong. He’s too far to help in person, but he’s sure if he explains it over the phone he’ll know exactly what to do.
–
“Wayne called us idiots,” Steve says as soon as he comes back in the living room, where no one has moved even though he’s been gone for nearly 30 minutes talking to Wayne. Jeff’s even standing in the same spot, glaring at the wall they tried to work on. “I agreed.”
“What did he suggest?”
“Well, first he suggested not doing any wood paneling. But then said since we already started, we need shorter nails. And we need to go in straight, not at an angle. Which I guess is easy to do when you aren’t level? So he suggested we remove them all and start over.”
Everyone groans. Jeff groans loudest.
“What if you pay him to come do it?” Jeff asks. “He would. Faster and better than we are.”
Steve knows this. He thought about this while he was on the phone with him. But he’s trying very hard to do things on his own when he can. He wants to know how to do this stuff. He wants to be able to fix up his own house that he pays his own hard-earned money for.
His father’s resolution to everything was always to pay someone to fix it: the house, the pool, the car, his legal problems. Steve doesn’t want to be like that.
“He told me how to do it. I’ll show you,” Steve says instead of explaining any of that to Jeff. “It’ll be easy once we do the first one.”
–
Steve wipes the sweat from his brow and smiles.
“Okay, it definitely looks good now,” Jeff pats him on the shoulder. “We did good.”
“Yeah, we did.” Steve gestures to the kitchen. “Beer?”
Prompt #17 - Answering Machine | Word Count: 1000 | Rating: M | CW: Talk of Sex | POV: Steve | Pairing: Steddie | Tags: Post S4, They're Sick, and What If It's Demorabies?, Silly Fluff, Getting Together, Idiot4Idiot
Steve feels like death. His face feels hot, burning up, but he can't seem to get out of bed to do anything about it. He's naked, no covers anywhere to be found, and he can't seem to care one fucking iota.
The phone keeps ringing, but he's not sure he can even pick up his arm to answer it. The machine will get it. When it clicks over, he hears Eddie's voice echoing from the speaker, "Steve? Steve? Are you there? I think I'm dying."
Well, that makes two of them. Then, Eddie asks:
"Do you think Robin was right about the rabies?"
Well, fuck. Steve hadn't thought about that. He summons all the strength he has, and reaches for the phone, cutting off the answering machine.
Yanking it to his ear, mumbling into the receiver, "If we have demorabies I'm gonna be so mad."
And the noise Eddie makes means he clearly agrees.
It takes Eddie an hour to make what should have been a fifteen minute drive, tops. He's sweaty, face red, when he comes into Steve's bedroom.
"Oh, naked, yes," Eddie says, and starts stripping off his own clothes, before flopping down on the bed next to Steve. He's radiating heat, and Steve leans over and switches the fan beside his bed up to high, even if that makes it rattle.
"Who are we gonna bite first?" Eddie asks, and Steve laughs.
They finally call Robin and demand that she take them to the hospital. Only, Robin still can't drive, so Nancy is the one that is fucking this monkey. Bossing them around, yelling at them for being naked as Robin keeps demanding answers to questions Steve doesn't fully understand.
How long have they been doing what?
Dying?
For a few days. Clearly.
But Nancy's still forcing them to get up out of bed while Robin screeches.
Everything hurts.
Steve can't do this. He can't walk. He'll just die in bed. It's fine.
But no, she's being mean and making him get up.
She's making him put on clothes.
And the fabric feels suffocating against his skin, and he wants to give up and lay back down. Death is fine. He's ready to go. But she won't let him.
He's definitely biting her first.
Steve wakes up, and feels better. Not great. But better. He's hooked up to an IV and Eddie is in the hospital bed next to his. Hey, Eddie's here. His memory is fuzzy. He doesn't remember how he got here. He doesn't even remember being with Eddie.
"Well, look who's finally awake," Robin says, and Steve searches the room for her. His throat feels dry. He needs a drink.
"Do I have rabies?" Steve asks, voice scratchy, and Robin gives him a look like he's an idiot, getting up and holding up the pink mug with the bendy straw. He slurps down the water, and it's the best thing he's ever tasted.
"You have the flu. The man flu. I know. So much worse than the regular flu," Robin chides, and Steve can't even fight with her. He's too sick.
"Not rabies?" Eddie asks, voice just as scratchy. He gets his own turn with the ice water.
"Not rabies," Robin confirms. "You dumbasses really thought you had rabies?"
"You said we did!" Eddie shouts, voice echoing in the hospital room.
"Under duress! In the Upside Down! Months ago!" Robin argues back, and Steve's head is pounding far too much for this. To listen to them fighting.
"Stop," Steve begs, holding his head. It's killing him.
"They gave you fluids, you idiots were both dehydrated," Robin says, and Steve nods. It has helped. He only feels like death warmed over instead of fully dead. It's an improvement, however slight.
"From all the fucking," she adds, lowering her voice, clearly disgusted.
Steve furrows his brow, "From all the what?"
Robin waves her hands around, exasperated. "The fucking!"
"What fucking?" Eddie asks, tracking her movement with his eyes.
"What fucking?" she mocks, then she sounds hurt, "I don't know why you didn't tell me."
Steve holds up his hands, "Rob. Tell you what?"
"That you'd gotten together," she says quietly, as if she has just realized again that they're in public.
"Us?!" Eddie asks, waving his hand between himself and Steve.
She puts her hands on her hips, and Steve smiles. It's like looking in a mirror.
"Yes, you!"
"Why would you think that?" Steve asks.
"Why would I think that? You were both naked in bed together. I'm traumatized, by the way. I had to see two dicks, and one of them belonged to you!" she accuses, pointing at Steve.
"You'd rather see Eddie's dick?"
"Yes!" she shouts, and then corrects, "No! I mean, I don't want to see either of them! But seeing his is better than yours—"
"—gee, thanks," Steve mutters.
"My dick is better than yours, Harrington," Eddie crows from the other bed. Not helping. He's never helping.
"You know what I mean!" she says, getting even more wound up.
Then she takes a deep breath, looking between them, "I just don't know why you didn't tell me. You're my best friend."
"Robin," Steve says, "there was nothing to tell. I swear."
"You were naked. Together," she repeats, and she can keep saying that all she wants, it doesn't mean he's gonna remember.
He glances over at Eddie, "Did we fuck?"
Eddie shrugs his shoulders up towards his ears, "I don't know." Then, after a pause: "You wanna?"
"Eddie," Robin chastises.
"Maybe," Steve says, "I heard your dick's so nice Robin wanted to see it."
"I did not!" she interjects. "I'm gonna have the doctor pull the plug on both of you if you don't stop."
"Robin," Steve says, "Do you think Eddie and I should fuck?"
She spins around, hands waving, "Well, duh! You've been dancing around it for months. I just didn't expect to be out of the loop when you figured it out!"
News to Steve.
Good news, definitely.
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! 🦇
Notes: I saw this and thought — ha! I know what to do with that, lol.
A story about a reluctant hero, a cursed king, and a love that transcends space, time, and maybe even death itself.
I wanna give both a huge thank you and the biggest round of applause to @just-my-latest-hyperfixation, the most amazing, patient and clever person ever and an absolutely fantastic collaborator.
The King's Gift was so much fun to work on, and I hope everyone has had as much fun reading each chapter like I did (and I hope you enjoyed the illustrations too 🫣😆)
“Dingus.” Robin catches him by the arms to stop his frantic flailing. “That guy worships the ground you walk on. You have overcome time, space and death itself to be with him. I don't think there's anything in this world or any other that you could do that he wouldn't love. Alright?”
Steve takes a deep breath, letting his answer rush out on the exhale. “Yeah, alright.”
“That's the spirit,” she beams and lurches forward to pull him into a brief, bone-crushing hug. “Now get dressed and go marry that man.”
for @corrodedcoffinfest day 17 prompt 'answering machine'
this is my 100th contribution to CCF and all related popup events! i looooove exploring these characters so much and i can't wait to keep doing it whenever i can!
rated m | 904 words | cw: implied sexual content | tags: miscommunications, second chances, background steddie mentioned, idiots in love, jeff/frankie (unnamed freak who has been given a name by me because i care more than the duffers)
☎️☎️☎️☎️☎️☎️☎️☎️☎️☎️☎️☎️☎️☎️☎️
”It’s me again. Sorry. I know it’s stupid. It’s just. Well, I guess I don’t have anything new to say. I miss you. I’m sorry.”
Beep.
“Saw this wicked bass today and thought about that one you almost bought off that guy on the side of the road. You were gonna trade him, right? He laughed in your face and said he’d never trade a classic for some generic shit. I don’t even think he knew how to play. Anyway, I hope you’re doing okay.”
Beep.
“You didn’t tell me you were moving. Saw the sign in your yard when I drove by on my way to Eddie’s earlier. He hasn’t said anything, either, so. I guess he’s more on your side than mine in this whole thing. I dunno. I didn’t ask him about it. I don’t wanna put him in a position where he has to feel like he has to pick a side. I just wish you…I wish we could talk about it.”
Beep.
“I guess this probably isn’t even your number anymore. I’m surprised there’s even a machine set up for it still. So this will be the last time I leave one. I’m sure you don’t even listen to these. And you definitely won’t now. You left. I guess this is karma, right?”
Beep.
–
Jeff is lucky that he has parents who worked hard and made sure he could go to college. He’s lucky that his dad knows plenty of people in finance who needed to hire a fresh college graduate to make their company look good to prospective clients. He knows many people he went to high school with are never going to be making his kind of salary at all, let alone at 25.
He knows this. He appreciates that he’s lucky, and even sometimes happy.
But he still sees the life Eddie lives, the life Gareth lives, and he wonders how different things could be for him if he’d just not fucked everything up.
Frankie is fine according to Eddie, and better than ever according to Gareth. Steve just gives him a sad smile when he asks.
They weren’t more than best friends. Not officially. That’s the problem.
He convinces himself that’s why it hurts so bad. That he didn’t just lose someone he knew he was falling in love with. That he lost his best friend because he couldn’t admit to himself or anyone else how serious he was about them.
There was always an excuse. The band. School. The world almost ending. Twice.
And when there weren’t any left, he started making them. Frankie let him.
He pushed, Frankie let him.
He pulled away, Frankie let him.
And now Jeff is living alone in Chicago a few blocks from where Steve and Eddie settled. Gareth is in Boston on some scholarship program that lets him study at different Ivy Leagues every year. He doesn’t know the details. Frankie is close enough that Steve and Eddie visit him every couple of months, but not close enough that it’s a day trip. That’s all he knows.
–
”God, I hope this is your number and Steve didn’t pull a fuckin’ prank on me. He would. Anyway. If this is Jeff. I just wanted you to know I did listen to all those messages you left on my answering machine before. Even the one you thought I wouldn’t hear. I’m in Chicago next weekend if you…I dunno you probably don’t want to. But if you wanted to meet up, Steve has my number. I told him to give it to you if you ask.”
Beep.
Jeff blinks back tears. Frankie’s voice is the same. He doesn’t know why he thought it would be different.
He calls Steve and asks for his number. He’s not coming up with any excuses now. Not when Frankie made the move.
–
They’re different people in so many ways, but there’s one thing that hasn’t changed: they’re best friends.
It’s not easy at first. Conversation is awkward as they do the typical catching up, constantly on the edge of apologies that they need but can’t get out in one night. Something changes when they settle on the couch at Jeff’s apartment.
It feels more like it used to. It feels like they can talk about anything.
It feels like Jeff wants to kiss him, remind himself of his taste so he can live off of it for another few years.
It feels like there’s hope for more. He’s ready now.
–
“We should probably talk,” Jeff says as he slides back into bed. Frankie’s sipping the coffee he brought him, sheets pooled around his waist. He’s always been pretty hairy, but apparently, Steve convinced him to wax one time last year and he’s got quite a forest now. “If you…well, if you want more of this.”
“I didn’t call for one night,” Frankie smiles over at him. “But we do need to talk. And figure out what we can handle right now. I have a pretty good job, you do too. You’ve got a house, I’ve got a house. I have a cat.”
“Always thought you’d get a dog.”
Frankie laughs. “Too much work. Do you want a dog?”
“Nah. But I’ve always wanted a cat.”
Frankie kisses his cheek. Jeff leans his head on his shoulder.
Prompt #16 - Hypercolor | Word Count: 1000 | Rating: E | CW: Sex | POV: Eddie | Pairing: Steddie | Tags: Post S4, Blow Jobs, Secret Relationship, Sneaking Around
1991
They haven't told anyone. It's still their little secret.
A long time coming, sure, but now that they've finally crashed full speed into one another, they've been keeping it close to the vest. Squirreled away in a coat closet tonight, while their friends are none the wiser, Eddie kisses Steve.
Desperate for him.
He's never felt like this about anyone, man or woman. Steve's just Steve.
And keeping his hands off him isn't an option. Feeling him up is Eddie's main hobby these days. Hands over his chest, his back, his thighs.
"Mmm," Steve moans, pushing back against Eddie, rubbing his half-hard dick against Eddie's thigh. One of them, if not both, is always on the verge of rock hard at all times.
Eddie got his cock sucked in the car in the driveway, Steve's head bobbing, taking the edge off. A promise for later.
Eddie hopes it's later right now.
Lust. This is lust, Eddie's realized. He thought he knew what that was. The warm buzz of attraction, of desire. He's felt that about lots of people.
This is something else entirely.
It should honestly be studied.
He slides his palm down Steve's chest until his hand is resting against Steve's hard cock, squeezing, as Steve pants against his mouth. They can't do this now. Not here.
Fuck. They're gonna.
"I need you in me," Eddie whispers against his mouth, and Steve groans.
"We can't right now," Steve says, and Eddie knows that, but he still whines in protest. He wants Steve to fuck him. He wants to fuck Steve. Anything, everything. It's all on the menu at Eddie and Steve's Fucktaurant.
Okay, if they can't fuck, they can do something else. They can't do nothing. That's not an option. Steve's hard, and it's Eddie's moral obligation to take care of that.
So, Eddie slides to his knees, bumping into junk in the closet, making a racket. They both freeze, waiting to see if they're gonna get caught, red-handed.
They aren't, and Eddie continues. Carefully unbuttoning Steve's jeans before tugging down the zipper.
"Fuck," Eddie whispers when he gets Steve's dick pulled out. He can't see it. Not really. It's too dark in here, even after his eyes have adjusted, but he can feel it. The heft, the warmth. His mouth waters.
First, he presses a kiss to Steve's bare thigh. Then he slides his mouth along Steve's hard length.
Steve moans, and Eddie taps Steve's hand, pushing it upwards, urging him to keep himself quiet, and before long those sounds are muffled. His fist pressed to his lips, trying to dampen the sound.
He's never gonna get sick of how responsive Steve is to his touch. It's addictive. Knowing what he can do to him, with ease. He can't believe they haven't been doing this for years. They wasted so much time where they could have been fucking and falling in love.
And Eddie is falling in love, even if they haven't put that into words yet. There's nothing else this could be.
The way his head swims, and his stomach flutters when Steve kisses him, tells him this is special. Really goddamn special, and he's gonna do his damnedest to hang onto him forever.
Eddie pulls off, fingers pressing into Steve's hairy thigh, "Give it to me, big boy."
And Steve does. Hand sliding around to the back of Eddie's head, tugging him down, easing his cock deeper and deeper into Eddie's mouth, into his throat, until Eddie's nose is flush with Steve's pubes.
He breathes deep through his nose, and then moans around Steve's cock as he starts thrusting. Eddie deserves a gold medal in cocksucking as much training as Steve's hit him with over the past few months.
Steve Harrington loves to get his dick sucked, and Eddie's always happy to make dreams come true.
"That's good, honey," Steve whispers, and Eddie swells with pride. He wants to be good. He wants to be Steve's honey. He wants, wants, wants.
Eddie rests his arm across Steve's clothed belly, against his soft shirt, hand splayed across Steve's side, getting exactly what he wants.
And he enjoys every minute of it.
When Steve comes, Eddie swallows as Steve slowly drags his cock across Eddie's tongue, pulling out as he starts going soft.
Eddie tucks him back into his underwear, carefully pulling up the elastic. He lets Steve fix his own jeans as Eddie stands, and then reaches for him again.
Steve kisses him, deep and hard, and Eddie feels flush with affection.
And if Steve can taste himself on Eddie's tongue, he doesn't mind. So they kiss, and touch, and get ready to leave this little bubble of privacy.
Still groping Steve, fingers digging into his back, moving down to cupping his ass. Squeezing. Holding him tight, pressing him to Eddie's chest as they kiss.
Eddie can't believe he's gotten this lucky. Life is weird.
They resurface, and nobody at the party is none the wiser.
"Uh, dingus?" Robin says, eyes wide. Staring at Steve.
"What?" Steve asks, wiping at his face, as if Eddie had perhaps been wearing lipstick that is now all over his face. Obviously not.
And Eddie plays it cool. She don't know shit. They are smooth. Sneaky like ninjas.
He reaches his hand into the bag of chips, and has started to shovel them into his mouth when Robin spins Steve around.
Eddie inhales, and nearly chokes. Death by Doritos.
There are smudges of color-changing partial hand prints all over Steve's back, but the real incriminating evidence is the two palms, and ten fingers around the bottom hem, where Steve had clearly been on the receiving end of some major grab-ass.
Eddie's eyes are wide as Steve twists, trying to see what Robin and Eddie are seeing.
Robin holds it out for him to see, and rolls her eyes.
"If you wanna sneak around and make us all pretend we don't know you're fucking, maybe don't wear your Hypercolor shirt, Steve."
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! 🦇
Written for week three of the @steddiemicrofic three-year anniversary challenge
Prompt: micro, 555 words
Rated: T
Tags: Pre-Canon; Pre-Steddie; High school; Mild bullying; Steve Harrington is a sweetheart; Eddie Munson does NOT have a crush on Steve Harrington, who said that?!
“Eddie, are you listening?”
Eddie flinches, leaving a pencil smudge on the sketch he was working on. He curses and tries to wipe it away.
“Eddie?”
He looks up.
Mr. Cooper is drumming his fingers against the blackboard. Every head in the lab has swivelled to him. Tommy Hagan whispers something at his girlfriend, who snickers.
“Um… science?” Eddie ventures. Cooper's left eyelid twitches.
“This is the second time you're doing this class, Eddie. At least pretend you're trying. Do you know what fungi and bacteria have in common?”
“No,” Eddie admits, neck burning with heat. “But I could tell you the difference between a teacher and a three-dollar hoo-”
Steve Harrington raises his hand. “Please, sir. May I?”
Hagan - far enough on the edge of his seat to challenge the laws of physics - hits him in the ribs. Harrington ignores him, smiling at Cooper as he turns towards him.
“Fair enough, Steve. At least some of us are applying themselves. What do you think?”
Harrington runs a hand through his stupid, shiny hair and licks his stupid, pretty lips.
“They're both, um… tiny life forms. Micro- … What’s the word? Microorgasms?”
The class roars. Hagan actually does fall off his chair.
“Microorgasms?” he wheezes. Harrington smiles sheepishly. His eyes dart across the room. Eddie ducks his head and starts sharpening his pencil. “Is that what the girls call it? Because if it is, you-”
“Silence,” Cooper yells. “Calm down, everybody, this will be on the test. Now, who can name another example of microorganisms?”
*
“He shouldn’t have done that.”
Eddie groans and slams his locker shut. He packed up extra slowly, giving the rest of the class plenty of time to leave. No such luck, apparently.
At least it’s just Harrington, without his entourage. He’s leaning against the wall on Eddie’s right, foot propped up, bag slung loosely over one shoulder. The epitome of cool and suave. No trace of the humilation that ought to still cling to him like tar.
“Cooper,” Harrington explains, like Eddie asked for it. “I mean, he saw you weren’t paying attention, and he still decided to call you out. He’s an idiot. Don’t feel down about it.”
“I’m not,” Eddie lies. And then, because biting an offered hand is the only way he knows how to react to kindness, “Not like I made an ass of myself in front of everyone.”
Harrington shrugs.
“They’ll have forgotten about it by Monday. And besides, I was sort of thinking on my feet. Needed to find some way of getting them off your back.”
“Yeah, well, I didn't ask you to,” Eddie snaps. The guy has no damn right to be so unbothered. No damn right to have embarrassment just slide off him like water off an oil film. None at all to be this fucking nice about it. “I can take care of myself, no need for you to swoop in like some white knigh- … Hold on a damn second, did you do that on purpose?”
“No idea what you mean,” Harrington says, pushing off the wall. His hand squeezes Eddie's shoulder as he passes. “Anyway, lemme know if you need a study buddy. I feel like we could both brush up on our microorgasms.”
Eddie keeps staring at the empty corridor long after he's gone.
