Steve rushes over to the Henderson house after an ominous call from Dustin saying, "Come over as soon as you can, it's an emergency," before hanging up dramatically.
He can hear his nail bat rolling around in his trunk every turn he takes as he gets there in record time. He grabs the bat out of the trunk and rushes to the door, not bothering to knock before he barges in.
He's met with the sight of Eddie Munson staring at him with wide eyes as Dustin yells, "No! No! Don't swing! Not a code red!"
Steve sets down the bat and lets out a deep breath. "What the hell, Henderson?! I could've seriously taken you out with this thing!" He hears Dustin give him a half-assed apology as he tries to get his heartbeat to slow down. "Next time, don't leave such a cryptic message, okay?"
"Okay," Dustin says, holding his hands up.
"What the fuck is that?" Munson asks, staring at the bat.
Steve points at him and says, "Language," before turning to Dustin and asking, "What's he doing here?"
Dustin sighs and gestures them toward his couch. Steve shoots Eddie a look before taking a seat right against the arm of the couch. It's not that he hates him, hell, he's pretty sure he's gotten weed from him before. It's just that he doesn't like sharing this older brother role with another guy - especially one who likes to make dramatic speeches on top of lunch tables.
Based on the way Eddie is similarly leaning away from him and uncomfortably fidgeting with his rings, he can tell there's a mutual tension between them. Dustin doesn't pick up on it as he sits across from them, acting like he's about to deliver the worst news ever.
Steve leans forward a little trying to get Dustin to finally spill and tries not to lean back immediately when he sees that Eddie is doing the same thing.
"Okay, Suzie and I were talking, and her family is considering visiting Hawkins."
Steve smiles. "That's great, but why-"
"Why are you acting like that's bad news?" Eddie asks, finishing Steve's sentence. The two glance at each other, and Steve tries not to size him up.
Dustin groans, "Because I need to take her on a proper date! We weren't able to go on dates during science camp, so I want this to be special. Of course, this is all contingent on whether she can convince her dad to give us alone time..."
"I could be your chaperone, but I'd ditch you once you got to the movie theater," Steve offers.
Eddie scoffs, "Yeah, a date with Suzie will not be at a movie theater."
Steve crosses his legs and turns toward Eddie. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know you knew something about dating. Wait a minute." He directs his attention back to Dustin, utterly horrified. "You asked me and Munson for girl help?"
"Don't sound so shocked," Eddie says, but Steve ignores him.
"Yes," Dustin states simply. He sighs and gestures between the two of them. "Steve, you're a lady's man and you know exactly what to say and where the best date spots are, but you pick up the worst girls. Except Robin who you refuse to date." Steve doesn't have time to argue before Dustin points at Eddie, "And Eddie understands all the cool nerd stuff that Suzie and I like, and he's super charismatic. So, I thought we could combine your abilities to create the most epic date in the history of dates."
"No," Steve and Eddie both say at once.
"Guys-"
Steve turns to Eddie and raises an eyebrow. "Why are you protesting my help?"
"Because try as he might, Dustin can't convince me that you aren't an asshole that has never actually wooed a girl. You get by with your pretty looks and think that's enough."
Steve's mind lingers a bit on the "pretty looks" for some reason, but he pushes past it to say, "Please, you're telling me you know a single thing about wooing a girl?"
Eddie leans in with a bright smile. "You heard it from Henderson, I'm charming."
"Charismatic," Steve corrects him, "But I haven't seen a shred of that yet."
Eddie tosses an arm over the back of the couch and scoots in until Steve is trapped against the arm of the couch. Steve tries not to show Eddie how much the sudden closeness is affecting him.
"I could easily charm your pants off, big boy," Eddie says with a wink.
Steve's eyes betray him and flicker down to Eddie's lips. "Please, I'd easily beat you to it."
Eddie tilts his head and looks at him through his lashes. "Are you saying you want to charm my pants off, Harrington? I'm flattered, but I'm not that kind of girl."
Steve raises his eyebrows. "Is that a bet?"
"Do you want it to be? Because it kind of sounds like it."
Steve blames his series of bad dates, the meaningless sex with girls with no substance, and the weird tension between them for his response. "It's a date, Munson."
"So, I'm going to assume that was the weirdest way of you two agreeing to help me," Dustin says, startling Steve away from Eddie who he was definitely not just about to kiss.
"Jesus H. Christ," Eddie mumbles under his breath as he moves away, seeming to have also forgotten where they were.
"Sure, we'll create a date for you two and trial-run it for issues," Steve says.
Dustin smiles wide and giggles, "See, I knew you two would help if you just put your dumb differences aside!"
"Something like that," Eddie mutters. "But hey, what does your gut say? Where do you want to take her?"
Dustin shrugs. "I like the idea of the movies."
Steve slowly looks over at Eddie and gives him a cocky smile. Eddie's mouth twitches momentarily into a frown, but he ignores him. "I'll think of something special to do after, but Harrington can fill you in on a movie date."
"I thought you were the expert on wooing," Steve snarkily replies.
Eddie huffs, "Movie dates just aren't my thing."
If they're actually trial-running this, Steve will make it a point to make movie dates Eddie's thing.
"That sounds great. Thank you both!" Dustin says, still ignoring the obvious tension.
"Well, I've got to head out, but it was good seeing you," Eddie says with a genuine smile that Steve thinks he would like to see more often.
"I do, too. Hey, I'm glad I could help. Next time maybe don't make it sound like a nail-bat emergency though," Steve says lowering his voice before grabbing the bat.
He follows Eddie toward the front, but they both stop and turn to mess up Dustin's hair simultaneously. Steve pulls his hand back when Eddie's hand runs on top of his. He looks at him with his eyebrows furrowed.
"I told you you guys are similar."
Steve thinks that Dustin's right, but maybe they're only similar in the way they both obviously care for him.
They finish their goodbyes and head out into the cold January weather. Steve clutches his jacket tighter around himself - he had forgotten to grab a heavier coat in his rush over. He turns to Eddie and says, "Hey."
Eddie turns to him and raises his eyebrows.
"Want to trial-run that date tonight?"
Eddie frowns at him. "I thought you were joking."
With that, Steve should take the clear out given to him and agree. Yes, it was just a joke. Instead, he says, "It doesn't have to be."
It's a long few seconds of Eddie staring at him before he gets a quiet response of, "Yeah, sure. Uh, let's go to my place though. I don't want your reputation to be tainted if you're seen in public with me."
"I wouldn't mind," Steve says sincerely. He's not sure why he's so adamant about this date, but maybe he just wants to see where that moment on the couch could truly lead. "But hey, your reputation would also be tainted if you're associating with me."
"And we wouldn't want that," Eddie says with a small smile. "The freak and the king. What would people say?"
This surprises a laugh out of Steve before he says, "I think your place would probably be a little more intimate than a movie theater."
He can't tell if Eddie's cheeks suddenly flush a little pinker from the cold or a blush. "I told you, I'm not that kind of guy."
"More intimate doesn't always mean sex. You know this."
Eddie laughs and shakes his head. "Why don't we continue this conversation at my place so you don't freeze to death?"
"I like the sound of that," Steve says, making his way to his car and trying to hide the huge smile that's trying to split across his face all because of Eddie Munson.
He rushes to shove his bat into the trunk, hoping that he won't have to further explain that to Eddie. But based on the way his eyes linger on it, he's thinking he won't get away from questioning too easily.
Luckily, he has prepared his Harrington charm for this moment. And boy, he's going to be using it as often as he can to prove Eddie wrong.
Eddie, two weeks after getting with Steve, coupled with erratic hand gestures: Okay, so like imagine that your highschool prom king saves your life right? Like full on drags you from hell whilst on the brink of death. And then he helps you beat a murder charge with his connection to a dirty cop. And then he like, sticks around. Like playing full on nursemaid free of charge. And now you got the basketball starter, certified heart throb at your beck and call. And it turns out he’s sweet, and funny, and even prettier up close. Like, how do you not fall in love with that? And then imagine that you do, and some fucking how he loves you back. And your first kiss makes you feel like your dying and getting reborn all over again. Just insane shit. And you expect me not to talk about it? Like this will not be the only thing I am capable of discussing for the next ten years?
Dustin, head in his hands, wishing for death: All I asked was if you could pass the salt.
thinking of Eddie going completely incoherent whenever Steve casually changes his shirt in front of him.
they're hanging out in the Harrington house and they realize they need stuff to cook dinner so Eddie trails after Steve just talking his ear off as Steve gets ready and he's mid-sentence when Steve changes his shirt and he just sort of short-circuits from where he's sitting on Steve's bed. it's like one second there's no chest hair and the next there's so much of it and Eddie just-
"yeah we need the burger buns for sure. also remind me to get a- this um, the where uh, not um want, no, and he uh, he didn't tell me what it was"
Steve gives him a puzzled look "wh- who? what?"
Eddie blinks, looking lost "I uh- I think I forgot what i was saying"
and Steve just goes "oh. ok :)" and starts discussing other stuff about their shopping list, completely oblivious. no matter how many times it has happened already.
later, after they get together, Eddie will just straight up stop talking and if possible he'll lean his chin on his hand and just happily watch Steve be shirtless for a bit.
he'll say stuff like "you have great tits. you should be allowed to do whatever you want"
and Steve will preen a little and say "I agree." before giving Eddie a small kiss that Eddie accepts like it's the most precious gift <3
Steve talking about his boyfriend Eddie, how nice and sweet he is, and everyone else is confused because their Eddie??? The guy that throws food at anyone to get their attention??? The guy who openly jeers at everyone but Hellfire and a select few people in the cafeteria?! The one that pushes and shoves his club-mates around in the hallway thinking it’s the funniest thing ever?? THAT Eddie?
And Steve’s like yeah, duh. That’s just how he is. He just tries to be tough and scary.
Everyone starts to plot. How do they find this secret side to Eddie that Steve found?? Turns out the answer is found, when they’re all hanging at Steve’s.
Everyones in the kitchen, filling their plate with snacks while Steve finishes the brownies. Eddie walks over to him, wraps his arms around his waist. Gives him a few pecks on his neck and everyone thinks this is it.
Robin, who was closest to the pair, pestering him to let her eat the batter, watches the exact moment as Steve’s eyes shut, and Eddie lifts his head, a mischievous smile on his face as he snatches the spatula, and jumps away. Licking a long stripe down the middle.
And that’s when they realize, while Steve shakes the ever-loving life out of the metalhead because ‘now I need another spoon!’ That Eddie doesn’t act any different.
Steve just sees that stuff in him because of how he is.
His family had treasure for sure: more gold than they could count, family jewels passed down from generation to generation, and an estate with more rooms than servants. But Steve himself was nothing worthwhile.
Women were worth something; well… daughters were. In Steve’s mind, it all seemed a bit twisted. The women he knew were only as good as their selling price, not seen for their minds or strength. It confounded him most days, considering they could rule better than he ever could. They probably should rule instead. Still, in most family’s eyes, although their worth was demeaning, but it was still worth.
Steve Harrington didn’t hold any value. Most saw him at best as the damaged heir, broken and bruised beyond repair. Others saw him at worst as his father saw him, as a disappointment who would only make good helping running the ship under the man Richard wished was his son.
Steve was almost certain he could be lost at sea, and no one would ever bat an eye.
So Steve is baffled, really, when one of the few times his ships is back in port and he stays a rare night in his family’s estate.
Perplexed when the rooms are broken into and raided in the time before dawn by the ruthless crew of Hellfire, that they come looking for more than gold. He is baffled, and downright alarmed when, instead of killing Steve as they had for many of the guards, they rip him away and steal him, much like the gold that lined the halls.
And when he meets the dreaded Captain Munson for the first time, where he brushes a thumb across the scar on Steve’s lip…Steve can’t help but be stunned into silence when Munson mutters under his breath, “Looks like we found our hidden treasure.”
T/M (recreational drug use, language) no upside down AU but still the 80s. Pizza, the Party, meet cute (re-meet cute?) Just a lotta cute.
Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four
Part Five ✨️complete✨️
Eddie didn’t love having to do this.
He’d much rather make his money the fun way, the illegal way, the way police Chief Hopper made very clear that the next time he was caught in the act a warning and weekends worth of community service wouldn’t be the only repercussions.
So Eddie was on a temporary drug dealing hiatus.
Reefer Rick was surprisingly understanding and still agreed to sell to Eddie for personal use in his trying time of need.
Wayne had thrown out numerous suggestions and all of them sucked. Epic proportions of suckage.
I mean Eddie ringing up groceries? Even in the scenario where he was hired it would be boring as fuck and he’d have to encounter the exact types of people that made his day to day existence in Hawkins less than ideal. He had some basic mechanic experience but the closest auto shop was owned by a man who genuinely thought Eddie ran a satanic cult.
He applied to a music shop outside of town and the local library, who now employed his former middle school teacher. She had let him down gently before he had a chance to turn in his paltry excuse of a résumé.
It was over a week and Eddie needed to be making some sort of income. Gas didn’t pay for itself, he and the guys used his van to go play shows, and he had stepped up to help Wayne with the utilities on his second go at Senior year so he wouldn’t feel like a failure and a freeloader.
He laid in front of the high-speed fan on Gareth’s bed holding his arms up to better cool him down and whined about his conundrum, “I’ve literally applied to multiple places Gare- not even the fucking hardware store would hire me!” Eddie complained as he flopped his arms back down.
“The owner said something about his daughter being a pot head because of me. ME?! Like sir, listen to yourself, I’m sure you contributed a hell of a lot more than I did in her wanting to smoke up to chill out.” Eddie made his point by sitting up and re-packing the glass bowl on Gareth’s bedside table.
“Are you even listening to me, man?” Eddie said as he exhaled a sloppy succession of smoke rings.
Gareth huffed out a laugh, “I mean, yeah? Blah blah blah, getting a job is hard, yadda yadda?”
Eddie snorted at him and handed over the bowl, “Fucking delinquent.” He muttered and smiled as Gareth laughed out his toke of weed.
Gareth snapped him fingers and set down the piece, “Jeff said his work needed more drivers!”
Eddie let his body slowly melt off the bed and laid down like a boneless corpse on Gareth’s bedroom rug, “Fucking pizza delivery?”
Jeff walked into the room with a bag of Cool Ranch Doritos and Sprite, “What’s wrong with pizza delivery, Edward?”
Eddie smooshed his face against the rug and breathed out a long winded, “Fuck…” As both his closest friends laughed at him.
Jeff slapped him on the back, “Dominic is desperate; besides you can be a little stoned at work, no one will know the difference.”
The metal head pushed himself up to a seated position and made grabby hands at Jeff to pass him the bowl. He lit up the remaining weed in place and watched it blaze for a moment before inhaling a deep full-bodied breath. He held it as Jeff and Gareth chattered about who the better drummer was John ‘Bonzo’ Bonham, Ginger Baker of Cream, or Phil Collins.
Eddie frankly did not care, “Fuck it.”
He stood up as the other boys watched, “Looks like I’m gonna go talk to Dominic.”
“Dude, I said you could be a little stoned you look zooted. Chill for a minute then go talk to him tonight. Like I said he’s fuckin’ desperate.” Jeff said as he relaxed into the pillows and munched away on the Doritos.
Eddie sunk down to the floor and rested his back against Gareth’s bed, “It’s Bonzo by the way, numbskulls, he’s definitely the gnarliest drummer. I mean come on- Led freaking Zeppelin.”
Gareth pushed his head as they devolved into a half-assed slap fight before Grant walked in and tossed on the newest cassette he had come across at a record store his older brother frequented. It was a debut band called Megadeth, the four of them vibed to the tunes of the album Killing is My Business…and Business is Good as they let the weed do it’s work.
•
Jeff had been right, Dominic was desperate for drivers and Eddie had a van and a half decent attitude so he agreed easily and put him on a shift that night.
Eddie knew the area well from living in Hawkins, but also better knowledge of side streets and some off the beaten path places due to his original entrepreneurial endeavors. He delivered to four houses and had his signature long hair shoved under a ‘Hawkins Hot Pies’ hat. It made him feel slightly less recognizable on the rounds, especially when he pulled up to a home in a nicer subdivision.
He returned to the restaurant to pick up a final round of deliveries, feeling accomplished with the tips he had gotten along the way- not nearly as lucrative as his dealing days, but not awful for a Saturday night.
It was easy, he could jam to his own music, take a toke or two en route- it wasn’t the worst available option. His last stop was a little further out in the town limits.
He pulled up the long drive to the more secluded home and rang the doorbell. It wasn’t the most well-lit porch but he caught the address and knew it was the right place, he could hear some excited yelling and the door beginning to unlock, “El, wait- I’m watching you girls tonight I’m gonna get the door, okay?” He heard a petulant fine drawn out before the door opened.
Steve ‘the Hair’ Harrington stood before him with glitter on his cheeks and a scrunchie holding back his usually voluminous hair in a Pebbles style ponytail atop his head.
Eddie almost choked.
He coughed out to cover his laugh, “Pizza delivery.” He said only a little dumbfounded as his wide dark eyes trailed over Harrington’s face, was that mascara he had on?
Two girls peeked around him, one with short hair and a red head he vaguely recognized as a new addition to the trailer park he and Wayne resided. The red head poked the glittery boy hard in the side. He swatted her hand away with an annoyed Ouch, Max- before stepping out to the porch and semi closing the door behind him.
“Uh, yeah, how much again?” He asked Eddie.
Eddie knew for certain this wasn’t Harrington’s place he had sold drugs at a handful of Harrington parties in Loch Nora. Rumors had swirled about him through Eddie’s time in Hawkins High and now? How the mighty had truly fallen. He looked hilarious. A traitorous part of Eddie’s brain supplied that he also looked kind of cute. All annoyed and less than expertly made-up wasn’t a bad look on the guy. Was that lip gloss too? Eddie willfully forced his line of sight back up to Harrington’s amber eyes.
It was just a large cheese pizza, “It’s gonna be seven-fifty.” Eddie said as Harrington dug in his back pocket for his wallet.
He pulled out a ten and handed it to Eddie, “Keep the change, man.” He said softly as one of the girls shrieked out a giggle.
Eddie smirked at him, “Ya got a little something...” He trailed off and pointed to his own cheek.
It was hard to tell in the dim summer evening but Eddie swore Harrington’s cheeks burnt a deeper pink at the comment. He held tight on the pizza box, “Oh, yeah, fucking babysitting. And y’know sometimes you just-“ He was cut off by the door being opened again.
“Jesus Steve, you’re the one who needs babysitting. Get back in here me and El are starving.” The red head lamented dramatically as Steve made a face at Eddie.
“Please don’t repeat…” He trailed off and gestured to his face.
Eddie burst out laughing, “Your secret’s safe with me King Steve.” He managed to say.
The red head narrowed her eyes at him, “Better do as he asks, I know where you live, dweeb.”
The short haired girl popped up behind her and gave him a stony faced look, “Steve looks pretty.” She said in a deadly tone.
Eddie straightened right up, kids were terrifying, “Yeah, yeah of course! You look like a princess, man. The prettiest. Enjoy the pizza!” Eddie said as he rushed off for self-preservation.
Steve ushered the girls back in the house feeling wrong-footed and embarrassed, “Here’s your pizza you fucking menaces.” He griped at them as they sat down at the table.
Max bit into a piece and twisted the line of gooey cheese around her pointer finger she studied Steve’s still lingering discomfort, “You do look pretty. Your lashes are super long. Thanks for letting me and El practice on you.”
Steve rolled his eyes but didn’t have it in him to stay mad, “Any time, well not really any time but, y’know it was actually kinda fun.”
Eddie was just getting ready to turn the ignition on his van when Hopper’s police Blazer pulled up the driveway next to him.
He knocked on the window for Eddie to roll it down, “I swear I’ve been super legit Hopper, like this is my first night! I’m working an honest job!” He started rambling off.
Hopper chuckled at the other man’s discomfort, “No need to freak out Munson, this is my home and I’d appreciate that stays on the down low.”
Eddie nodded his head, and let the thoughts swim around in his slightly stoned brain, did Hopper have a daughter?
“You got it Chief.” He said and saluted.
Hopper huffed out an exasperated noise, “Be good, kid.” He said as Eddie started up the van and headed back to the shop to clock out.
The drive back had the same image popping up in his mind, he wasn’t even that high, but Steve Harrington had definitely opened the door with make-up on and a scrunchie in his hair.
What a wild sight.
The girls had been right too, he had looked pretty.
Eddie had always loathed how attractive he found Harrington, but tonight? He wanted to lick the gloss from his lips. Super normal, Eddie thought to himself. He shook it off, he’d barely seen the guy around since he graduated. He could avoid him. Eddie was sure it wouldn’t be a problem now.
•
I'm going to continue this just some fun flirting/friendship/getting together vibes. I'll use the hashtag PizzaSteddie for this one if you wanna follow along. 🥰
Eddie just knows how to get under everyone’s skin. It’s his superpower. He’s always been great at it. Knows how to piss people off so they’ll leave him alone. Knows how to talk to his flock to motivate or inspire fear. But then…Steve fucking Harrington happened. And he thought he knew. He thought - I’m gonna get up in this jock’s space and make him uncomfortable, make him shy away in fear of Eddie touching or flirting or smiling.
But Steve flirts back. Figures out that touching Eddie makes him skittish. No one ever touches Eddie. He’s forged his relationships on keeping people at a distance. But Steve doesn’t follow any rules. He’s not like everyone else in Eddie’s life. He’s not afraid of repulsed or annoyed. Or maybe he is and he doesn’t care?
However it is, he’s figured out that trailing a hand across the small of Eddie’s back will make him shiver, that Steve tugging gently on his hair as he walks by elicits a groan from him, that Steve manhandling Eddie when he’s being obnoxious and in the way makes him pliant and easy.
So Steve fucking Harrington gets under his skin. On purpose. Eddie knows its on purpose. He can see a gleam in Steve’s eye every time. What’s he supposed to do though? Call him out? Ask him out? Run and hide? That seems like the best option for awhile but he’s afraid Steve would just hunt him down.
It’s a Wednesday when it happens. Eddie finally calls Steve’s bluff. But he can’t do it in a normal way because he’s Eddie and he’s nothing if not a mess of a human being. So when Steve puts his hands on Eddie’s hips and bodily moves him to the side so he can reach over him to pull a glass out of the cabinet, Eddie turns to him, bats his eyelashes and simpers in a high obnoxious voice, “Oh, I do love a big strong man who can handle me.”
And Steve. This fucker. This absolute fucker. Instead of being weirded out like most guys would, instead of backing off or playing it off or, hell, telling Eddie off, Steve smirks, puts his hands back on Eddie’s hips, leans in way too close and says softly but with so much promise, “Oh, I can handle you if you really want, Munson.” His fingers dig in as he squeezes Eddie’s hips through his jeans, “Gotta say please though.”
Eddie’s pretty sure he lets out an embarrassing whimper. Sure he looks like a deer caught in headlights. Knows that his pants are slowly becoming uncomfortable - particularly in the front region. He can’t pass this up, though, right? That would be crazy. So he stutters out, “P-p-please?”
And that’s how Eddie Munson loses his virginity in Steve Harrington’s kitchen, Because, as it turns out, Steve wasn’t bluffing. And maybe Eddie doesn’t mind if Steve gets in his personal space. In fact, Steve can get in Eddie’s “personal space” twice a day for the rest of their lives if he wants. Give Eddie an hour and he’ll get in Steve’s “personal space” this time.
******
That’s it for this drabble but feel feel to check out my Masterlist or if you want more Soft Dom Steve check out Destroy the Silence (Drummer Steve) and If Eddie on top is more your thing, I’d suggest An Accidental Flogging. No matter what you read this week - happy reading and I hope it’s time well spent!
he's officially running late for his first date with linda because he couldn't find his car keys and the shirt he wanted to wear just wasn't working so he had to grab something out of his hamper and throw it on blindly which then messed up his hair and he almost forgot to brush his teeth again but remembered as he opened the front door and-
he only realizes he forgot to put on cologne once he makes it halfway to her house and smells himself. the shirt from the hamper smells stale, not bad, just stale. and steve in his normal, non-rushed state wouldn't have noticed because his trusty calvin klein would have covered it up but today is apparently not a day for things to go right.
with a sigh of frustration, steve pulls into the hook's drugstore a little too quickly and it makes his stomach lurch the tiniest bit before sliding into an open parking sport at the front door. he rushes in, pushing the door open with too much force and books it to the fragrance aisle.
"this is so fucking stupid," he mutters to himself, unable to be heard by any surrounding shoppers over the annoyingly loud jingle playing through the speakers.
steve skids to halt in front of the cologne section, crouching down and scanning quickly over the tester bottles for obsession. once he spots the amber bottle, he yanks it towards himself, spraying as much as he can onto his chest given the awkward angle he's at. as he stands back up, steve pulls his shirt collar up towards his nose and the ball of nerves in his stomach loosens at the familiar smell. he may be late but he feels like he's back in the game.
checking his watch, he sees just how late he is and makes a beeline for the door, nearly running into an older lady with far too many rolls of toilet paper in her tiny arms. as he dodges around her and extends his arm to push open the door, he hears a loud voice over the intercom.
"you're not going to buy anything after stealing cologne?"
steve stops, freezes where he is and frantically turns his head around to spot the cashier grinning at him. he has long hair and a bright red hook's drugstore vest over a denim vest which doesn't look very comfortable. he has chains in his jeans and handcuffs holding his belt closed and a smirk that is trying to kill him and oh-
"wait, stealing cologne?" steve shakes himself back into existence as the old lady pushes by him without dropping a single roll on the way back to her car. "you're going to call me putting on a few sprays stealing?"
the cashier's smile just gets bigger, like a cat hunting down a canary. steve's never felt like a canary before but can't deny that it's an exciting feeling.
"well, on a good day i wouldn't. but i'm bored and you didn't buy a single thing so technically, yes. you're stealing, pretty boy."
steve fights the urge to roll his eyes and put his hands on his hips, so instead he crosses them over his chest, cologne wafting up from the movement and reminding him that he doesn't have time for this no matter how cute the cashier may be.
he makes his way over to the counter, grabs a pack of gum and slams it on the counter. without breaking eye contact with eddie, as his nametag suggests, he throws him a salty smile of his own and pulls his wallet out from his back pocket.
eddie's eyes are a deep brown with a glimmer of something behind them and his hands are covered in rings making his fingers look long and strong. the jeans he has on are ripped on one of the the thighs, showing a hint of a tattoo to match the ones crawling up his arms. steve's no stranger to thinking men are attractive but this guy? he's on a new level. his heart thumps painfully in his chest when eddie's grin grows larger as he watches steve give him a once over. it thumps even harder when eddie gives him a once over of his own.
the clock above the register shows that he's officially 20 minutes late to picking up... laura? lisa?
no, linda. damnit.
eddie looks down at the gum and then back up at steve, quirking up an eyebrow. "i hardly think this monetarily equates to a bottle of cologne but-"
"oh come on!" steve huffs. eddie laughs and it's clear and bright, ringing off the cinderblock walls louder than the annoying jingle that's still playing. whatever fight steve may have had left in him drains away at the sound and suddenly he isn't thinking about the clock anymore. he feels his shoulders fall down to a more relaxed state, feels himself shift his weight on his feet to look more natural than ready to run at a moments notice.
"just kidding, man." eddie rings up the gum quickly and hands it back to steve. "sorry, you looked like you were in a rush. i shouldn't have created a scene just because i'm bored."
steve chuckles. "i'm already supremely late for my date so what's another five minutes. especially if it gets me..." he looks at the gum packet to look at what he even picked up in the first place. "... spearmint freshen-up gum."
"well there you go," eddie says, grin smaller than before, "a perfect thing to get for a date. everyone likes their date to be minty fresh for that first kiss."
it strikes somewhere in steve that he isn't expecting. the beemer is still out in the parking lot running so he didn't have to waste time, his watch on his wrist feels heavy, the scent of obsession overpowering. but he can't make himself move. he wants to stay and talk to eddie, wants to learn about what makes him tick.
"can i borrow your phone?" steve asks. eddie's eyebrows furrow but he reaches for the store phone and places the console on top of the counter.
"for what?"
steve look through his wallet, finding the piece of paper with linda's number on it. holding the receiver between his shoulder and ear, he dials in her number and holds his pointer finger up at eddie, signaling that he'll need a second. steve then brings the finger to his lips and shushes with his cheek pulling up in a smirk. eddie's eyes zero in on the motion and it feels like steve's gone from being the canary back to the cat.
"linda? hey it's steve."
he watches as eddie mouths steve back at him and then nods to himself when he gets the confirmation that it is indeed his name. steve throws him a wink for good measure.
"i know i'm late and i'm really really sorry to cancel last minute but-. oh. yeah, sure. have a good time. okay bye li-."
on the other end of the line, linda slams down the phone without waiting for steve to finish talking and it makes him wince with how loud it is in his ear. he gives eddie a sheepish smile, all toothy and guilt-ridden, and gently puts the receiver back down.
"what was that?" eddie asks with a disbelieving look on his face. steve shrugs.
"she got tired of waiting so she already had another guy lined up to come pick her up."
eddie sucks in air through his teeth and mimes getting shot in the heart. it has steve laughing as he falls over on the counter, hair covering his face. he turns his head to peer up at steve through the curtain of curls, the one brown eye that's visible twinkling in the harsh overhead light.
"was it true love? are you just absolutely heartbroken?"
steve thinks about it for less than a second. watches how eddie curls back up one vertebrae at a time before placing his elbows on the counter and leaning over. watches how eddie's eyes flit between his own and his lips. watches how he focuses on the latter for a little while too long.
"why would i be heartbroken," steve starts. he's being too forward, too brash, but with eddie looking at him that way, he knows he can be. "when you'll probably be on break soon and can make it up to me? you know, for making me even more late and all."
eddie's grin grows wide again. "oh really?"
steve shrugs once more with a playful look of consideration on his face, resting on his elbows to match eddie on the counter. "yes, really. this is your payback for being bored and taking it out on me."
it's later when eddie's on break and steve hasn't left the drugstore in over an hour and they're sitting in his car with bowie playing through the speakers that eddie looks up at him with a look steve knows well.
"you do smell really good, y'know." his voice is softer than steve's heard it all day.
"so are you glad i came in to steal cologne?" steve leans closer over the center console to get into eddie's personal space. there's a hand curling over his bicep and pulling him even closer, their faces only centimeters apart.
"i guess i'll let it slide this time, thief."
and when they kiss for the first time, it tastes like the freshen-up gum they both had been nonstop chewing ever since steve paid for it.
I need more famous musician Eddie content where he’s still super fucking lame and freaks out around other musicians
Like, I’m thinking about the video of JQ getting to meet with Metallica and play with them and Hetfield asks if he wants them to sign the guitar and Joseph gets so excited about it.
Eddie at an after party or something and he left Steve (and Robin because she refused to not be invited if Steve was coming (he gave her a “job” just so she could come)) to go get them some drinks and when he comes back Steve is talking to Brian May like he’s just a normal guy. Steve had been talking to Robin about Dustin getting an internship at NASA and Brian May inserted himself so he could ask about Dustin’s job.
Eddie comes over, nearly vibrating, and Steve introduces him to “Brian, he’s an astrophysicist!” and Eddie nearly passes out when he shakes his hand as if this isn’t a member of Queen.
It becomes a theme for them at events where Steve makes conversation with these world famous musicians about real life things all while Eddie is trying to act like a normal person standing in front of James fucking Hetfield.
The eventually develop a way for Eddie to subtly signal to Steve that this is one of his heroes so that Steve can steer the conversation to music and give Eddie an in.
I just need more social butterfly Steve and his music nerd boyfriend Eddie who panics whenever Steve befriends a famous person.
you must have known for a long time (the shape of things to come)
part 1
Steddie no-upside down AU, rated explicit for later chapters, this takes place in the 90s. themes of grief and isolation. fluff, light angst, a little drama. it's 75% written and will top out at about 15k. currently writing the smut scene. i won't be doing a tag list for this one, as I plan on updating every three days. if you want to keep up with it, just follow my blog please.
special thanks to twin del for being amazing and encouraging and telling me this was something worth writing and sharing. they have been endlessly supportive and i can't thank them enough
—
It was an eight mile hike to the fire tower from the service road where the ranger had dropped Eddie off that morning. It was further than Eddie had ever walked in a single day in his life. Worse, it was all uphill. At 30 years old, he was arguably in the best shape of his life. He’d had to give up cigarettes and had had a lot of time to work out and not much else for the past thirty-six months. Still, lifting weights was great for muscle tone but not really for cardio or lung capacity, so…
But he could do this. It was gonna suck. Four miles in and it was already sucking pretty hard. But at the end of it would be a quiet little place to live for the next five months where he’d be making above federal minimum wage, 56 hours a week, without any living expenses to speak of. Shelter and food would all be taken care of by the state. All he had to do was live at the top of a tower all alone for the summer and watch for forest fires. Easiest money he was ever going to make. Legally, anyway. For someone in his situation, finding this job had been a godsend.
By the time he reached the tower, his shirt was plastered to his chest and back and his hair, which was finally getting long enough again to pull back at least the top half of it, was falling out of its ponytail and sticking unpleasantly to his forehead and jaw.
It was nearing dusk and he was tacky with cooling sweat. The muscles in his thighs felt like jell-o. His ankles and shoulders ached under the weight of his backpack and the guitar case he’d lugged up here with him. They’d warned him to pack lightly, and he’d left behind his electric guitar and amp in storage where his uncle had kept it for him, but there was no way he was going to go a whole five months without at least an acoustic.
The climb up the steps of the tower seemed endless in the darkening woods. He climbed and climbed until he reached the little cabin at the top of the tower where he’d be living, a full two stories above the swaying tops of pine trees below. The porch wrapped around the entire cabin, but Eddie didn’t bother exploring at the moment. He was so beyond exhausted.
“Holy fuck,” he groaned as he set down his pack and guitar case and shuffled to where he could see a twin bed in the corner of the one-room cabin, dark plaid coverlet just barely visible in the pale purple light of dusk coming through the windows. He didn’t even bother switching on the lights, just fell onto the surprisingly comfy mattress, kicked off his sneakers, and fell asleep in his sweaty clothes.
Some time later, a staticky voice woke him.
“Tower two, come in.”
Eddie raised his head off the bed and blinked bleary eyes, expecting to see gray concrete walls and startled to be met with rustic wood instead. Shit. Where was he? Why was it so dark? What had woken him?
“Tower two, come in. Do you copy?”
“Who the fuck…” Eddie grumbled, sitting up cautiously. Then his memory caught up with what he was seeing and he groaned. Right. He was at the fire tower.
“Jesus fucking christ,” he said, carefully swinging his legs over the side of the bed. His thighs felt tight and sore and he knew he was going to have to do some stupid jock stretches or something over the coming days to recover from the hike. He rubbed at his scratchy eyes with the backs of his hands.
He felt gross. The cabin was stuffy with the remnants of early summer heat. He’d sweated through his clothes. His socks were stiff with dried sweat. He peeled them off, shoulders aching with the movement, and sighed in relief as he stretched his overheated toes against the frayed rug. He needed to find the light switch and then he needed to find the shower.
“Tower two, come in.”
And he needed to find the radio and tell whoever was disturbing him in the middle of the night to fuck off. Eddie groaned as he stood and stumbled his way through the dark to the cabin door. He found the light switch beside the door, but didn’t have time to inspect his new home before the radio crackled again.
“Tower two, do you copy?”
Eddie snatched the handheld radio off the little table in the corner and pressed the push-to-talk button. “Yes, I’m here, what do you want?” he said.
There was a short silence, then the radio crackled in his hand. The voice sounded amused. “Just making sure you were alive out there. I never saw your light come on. I was worried you got lost or eaten by a bear on your first day.”
Eddie sighed and dropped his head back in exasperation. This must be tower one. The Ranger, Hopper, had told him the only line of communication he’d have out here for the next five months would be the guy in tower one.
“Nope, no such luck,” he responded. Fuck. He’d already made a bad impression on this guy. The guy who was literally his only lifeline out here in the wilderness. He chewed his lip and paced towards the kitchenette area, wondering if he should apologize.
“Ah, give it a few months. The bears get more desperate later in the season.”
Eddie huffed a laugh through his nose. The guy was joking with him. That was probably a good sign.
Then the voice came back on. “This is tower one, by the way. I’m sure you’d figured that out. Um. My name is Steve. Steve Harrington.”
With those words, the bottom dropped out of Eddie’s gut. Oh, fuck. Shit. He knew that name. Recognized the voice, now that he had the name to go with it. Steve fucking Harrington. The king of asshole jocks, the boy who had haunted teenage Eddie’s dreams and nightmares.
“Oh, fuck you!” Eddie said to the ceiling. “I come out to the middle of fucking nowhere and Steve god damn Harrington is my only line of communication?”
He glared down at the radio in his hand.
“Tower two?” Steve’s uncertain voice crackled through the radio. “You there, man?”
Eddie held down the button, opened his mouth, then snapped it shut again and released the button. He did it two more times. Shit! Steve would surely recognize his name. That was the last thing he needed.
He made a split-second decision and pressed the button to talk. “Yea, yea, I’m here. Sorry. Uh, bee got in. I was trying to get it out the window. I’m, um- Eddie Makowski.” His intonation raised at the last syllable like he was asking a question. He cringed. Hoped Steve didn’t notice it.
There was a long silence. Then, “Makowski, huh? Ok. Um, nice to meet you then, Eddie Makowski.”
Eddie sighed with relief.
“So, I’m guessing this is your first year doing fire watch?” Steve asked.
“Yea,” Eddie answered. “You’ve done this before?”
“Five years and counting,” Steve said.
“Shit. You must really like it.”
He could hear a smile in Steve’s voice when he answered. “I love it. All expenses paid vacation in a luxury cabin for five months? And I’m getting paid? Can’t beat it.”
Eddie raised his eyebrows, looking around the small rustic cabin. The twin bed in the corner, the little table and single chair, the kitchenette with a tiny stove and the refrigerator, the smudged glass of the windows. “Yea, luxury, right. Hey, where the hell is the bathroom in this place?”
Steve laughed. “Outhouse, dude.”
“You’ve gotta be kidding me.”
“Just wait til you see the shower.”
Eddie groaned and sank down into the dining chair. Like everything in the cabin, it was hard wood. Without thinking he responded, “Guess it’s still better than where I’ve been living.”
“Oh? Where’s that?” Steve asked.
Eddie bit the inside of his cheek. “Nowhere special. Listen, the Ranger didn’t explain much to me. Kind of the silent stoic type. How does this work exactly? Am I supposed to just sit on the porch and stare out at the woods all day?”
Steve dropped the previous subject, thankfully. “Oh yea, Hop’s not much of a talker. And no, you don’t have to sit on the porch all day. That’s what the windows are for.”
Eddie let his eyes wander the entirety of the cabin. All four walls were lined with floor-to-ceiling windows, making the cabin feel like a fishbowl in the sky. The light inside, provided primarily by soft white string lights hung across the walls, prevented him from seeing out, only his lank-haired reflection staring back at him. “Not much hope of any privacy. Feel like I’m in a zoo exhibit or something.”
“Eh, it’s not so bad. You’re so high up and so far away from anyone, you don’t really have to worry about it,” Steve said.
“Unless there’s some pervert out here with binoculars spying on me,” Eddie grumbled.
“Dude, it’s a national park. Everyone has binoculars out here,” Steve said.
“That’s sick. So where do you jerk off? The outhouse?”
There was a delay in reply, and Eddie wondered if he’d weirded Steve out already. Not that he cared, really. High school was a long time ago, but he’d be lying if he said he didn’t still feel sort of antagonistic toward the other man.
Steve’s voice came through, and he sounded like he was smiling again. “I mean, you can. But I try not to linger in there. It’s spider central.”
“Spiders? I’ve gotta try to do my business with a bunch of spiders watching me?” Eddie said. What even was this place? What the hell had he gotten himself into?
“You’ve never been camping, have you?” Steve said.
Eddie glared down at the radio. “I’ve been camping, jackass.” Not since he was a little kid, but he didn’t say that. “I don’t remember having to contend with spiders when I needed to piss.”
“Oh, just piss off the edge of the tower. Don’t waste a whole trip to the outhouse for that.”
“You’re a savage.”
“That’s tower life, baby.”
Baby? If Eddie didn’t know better, he’d think Steve was flirting. He wasn’t, though. Obviously. Ugh. Fucking heterosexual jocks.
“So, I’ll tell you what I do. I mean, like generally,” Steve said, sounding a little winded. “I get up in the morning, have breakfast, hang around and keep watch for four hours. You don’t have to stare out the windows, just be aware of your surroundings. Take an hour lunch, watch for four more hours, then do what you want. You can go for a hike. There’s good fishing at the lake, if you’re into that. Just try not to be away from your tower for more than like three or four hours at a time.”
“What do I do if I see a fire?” Eddie asked.
“You call me, and I call Hop. You’re the furthest tower out, so your radio only reaches me. I’m about 12 miles east of you, by the way. My light’s on. You should be able to see me if you go out on the porch.”
Eddie did. His legs still ached from his earlier exertions as he stepped out onto the porch and walked around until he saw a yellow light in the distance above the treeline. “Huh. Yea, I can see you.”
“I’m waving!” Steve said, sounding excited.
Jesus Christ, this guy was a dork. Eddie couldn’t see him, of course, only the light of his tower, but he smiled and waved back.
“Are you waving back?” Steve asked.
Eddie rolled his eyes. “Yes, Harrington, I’m waving back.”
“Cool,” Steve said.
“You’re really not,” Eddie said.
“Cooler than you,” Steve shot back.
Eddie laughed. It felt startlingly foreign. It had been so long. “I seriously doubt that.”
“Yea, you’re probably right. I’m not too cool these days. But at least I’ve still got my charm.”
“I’ve seen no evidence of that so far,” Eddie said, mouth still twitching with a smile.
“I’m better in person.”
“Guess we’ll never know,” Eddie said.
“Never say never. Maybe we’ll run into each other on the job. It’s a small forest.”
Eddie barked another laugh. “It’s literally not.”
“It’s all relatives or whatever.”
Eddie furrowed his brow. “Relatives?” he mouthed to himself.
Steve’s voice came back on. “Listen. It’s like one in the morning. I’m gonna go to bed. I’m glad you made it safely. There’s a binder in one of the kitchen drawers if you have any more questions before morning, and the key to the outhouse and storage shed are there too.”
“Oh, shit, yea. It’s pretty late. Uh, yea, thanks man. I’ll talk to you tomorrow maybe?” Eddie said.
“Absotootly!” An awkward beat. “I don’t know why I said that, ignore it.”
Eddie laughed again. “Tell me again how cool you are?”
“Shut up. Good night, Eddie.”
“Goodnight, Harrington.”
The sounds of the forest filled the silence, crickets and distant bullfrogs, an owl hooting somewhere. Eddie set the radio down on the railing and looked thoughtfully out at the light in the distance. The light in tower one went out. Steve must have gone to bed.
What a weird fucking night. Had Eddie actually been having a decent conversation with Steve Harrington? A flirty conversation? Best not to think about it.
He shifted uncomfortably. His bladder was full. He glanced down the porch to the stairs. It was such a long walk in the dark.
He snuck aboard during a hurricane that the ship barely survived, and only survived because Eddie kind of. helped. a little. just a smidge. enough to keep it from sinking when it got a little too close and personal to an undersea mountain an he bumped it out of the way. and he just kinda. Stayed there.
He was curious! And he can blend in!! He camouflages for the most part, hides in plain sight usually and probably stays hidden for the better part of a month until someone finally notices that the apples keep vanishing, and while it’s easy to point fingers and it does cause some tension because you do not steal rations aboard a ship at sea.
but the apples are replaced with fish. they suddenly have more fish than they do apples.
so Steve keeps watch for a whole week, secretly, doesnt tell anyone he’s going to do it. and there he is.
Sneaking in and out of an innocent little barrel on deck. Watches the sneaky little demon slip from his barrel which definitely looks too small for him but he seems to fit just fine, creep his way below deck and return with an apple.
Gottem.
Only reveals his find during the day. when he can have his crew gathered and pop the lid off that barrel to find those brown eyes staring up at him amidst a twisty twirly sea of dark blue, red tipped tentacles, wide, surprised, beautiful big brown eyes.
just rendered silent, all the sass he’d built up blown away in the breeze, critical hit, right to the heart. rip.
He calls himself Eddie the Banished. Because he was banished from his colony for something he didn’t do but because he was different…
well… they pointed the fingers at him. And he’s a dramatic little shit.
So he’s on his own, and usually lone mer dont last very long, being exiled/banished is usually a death sentence. The sea is not forgiving.
He’s an octopus mer though, so they’re a little hardier, they last a little longer on their own, they can camouflage, they have suckers to stick to things, a multitude of ‘arms’ to fuck things up, plus he has a natural connection to long leggy friends in deep places.
So he’s a little scuffed up, but he’s alive. And he really likes apples.
He’s been alone for a while now. Tells the crew that after they (Dustin) finally coaxes him out of the barrel while Steve just stands there, stuck stupid. but he saw their ship in the sea, saw it headed for the mountain (which just looked like a rock jutting out of the sea) so he got between it and the ship and shoved them in the other direction and just… held on. figured he could ride the underside of the ship until he found some safer waters to settle in.
or a new colony to try and introduce himself to.
but then he heard them one night on calm waters. saw the lanterns on deck, the stories being told, the laughter that followed, the jeering, a very small colony… maybe not of his kind but… maybe it’d do!
Mer arent supposed to be on their own. Even Octopus mer arent supposed to be alone.
So he snuck onto the ship, camouflaged in the shadows, he found a nice cosy little hiding space and stayed there, only sneaking out for food when he was hungry, waiting for the right time to introduce himself but the longer he waited the less confident he became, not because of anything they did but… humans and mer dont really mix so he talked himself out of revealing himself but he also didnt want to leave.
and then Steve found him and tadahhh!!
Does a little tadaahh motion with his tentacles, Steve throws him an apple, finally breaking from his stupor. and just “Well… if there’s one place outcasts fit in best, it’s a pirate ship. Welcome aboard, Eddie the Banished.”
But yes, he absolutely has those braids down. Mer are pretty gifted when it comes to braids, they have to be cause like those tags say, underwater currents are a thing, they do NOT mess around, and long hair is a regular nuisance, you cant just cut it like normal! scissors dont exist for mer people! You gotta find the right kind of rocks, usually the shiny black rough kind (obsidian glass) work best, but the right kind of rocks are rare so you gotta just suffer, or learn how to braid.
So while Robin used to just lob her hair off, cause that was easier, now Eddie’s around to braid it when it gets too long, and sometimes he puts pretty things in it like shells and little golden trinkets he finds on his dives while the ship is at anchor.
he doesnt know how valuable those trinkets are, they’re just pretty things to him, so if sometimes a simple but golden bangle worth millions turns up in an intricate braid Max has in her hair, or precious pearls wind up turned into hair accessories by accident, dont blame Eddie he’s doing his best.
For some reason I can’t stop thinking about the social differences between merpeople and humans, someone like Dustin or Robin or whoever giving him something of them (nothing too important, maybe just clothes to keep him warm from the cold or simply because it matches his tentacles) and Eddie all amazed because it’s made of a material that (obviously) doesn’t exist under the sea and he’s giving this to him, who has only given them those pretty looking stones.
Or also
Steve giving him a gun which is the equivalent of a courtship gift, something very romantic for merpeople because they are born in a dangerous place and giving a gun, especially if it’s not new and you used it first, is like saying “this made me survive until I found you, now I give it to you so you can survive by my side”, Eddie wants it to be known that he didn’t know humans were so shameless, Steve did something cheesy like that in front of the whole crew and they all look very relaxed, Eddie envies them a little, what does seem to affect the crew is seeing a blushing merperson live and direct.
Eddie… wouldn’t actually know what a gun is lmao, guns don’t really work underwater. They don’t exist there. It’d be similar to the clothing thing. He would find it fascinating, but maybe not for those reasons. He’d probably wanna tinker with it, take it apart, and see what it was or how the humans put such a weirdly shaped thing together.
Maybe try and work out its purpose on his own with little luck.
A courtship gift for Eddie would be something useful to a mer, something either difficult, or dangerous to find, or difficult to put together. Anything from Obsidian glass from the lava fields, usually used as tools for hunting, kelp farming, or cutting hair, to a nice little cosy nook on the ship that he and his “mate” can share.
Courtship gifts aren’t pretty things, they’re things a mer can use. Things that’ll make their lives easier, better, or comfier with their mate!
for the first few weeks, Eddie still kinda lives in that barrel.
It’s cosy!!! it can hold water so he doesnt dry out!! He likes it!! He’ll just Nope to his barrel when things get a little overwhelming. like “fuck this shit, i’m out” into the barrel he goes. Just extending one tentacle out to sucker the lid up and onto the barrel and he’s out for the day.
This has proven to be an effective way to surprise attackers at sea. there’s a commotion, a shout of his name, panicked voices, something bumps his barrel, and Suddenly Tentacles From A Barrel and lots of screaming as strangers are forcibly removed from deck overboard into the sea.
But he can’t live in the barrel forever, even though he disagrees. He can totally live in the barrel, go away with your tools, shoo.
Steve has to wait until Eddie goes off on one of his little dives while the ship’s at anchor and has the whole crew work hard to create an extra little spot on deck, knowing Eddie wouldnt want to be below deck as he wouldnt be able to get to the ocean as easy.
it’s a nice cosy little cabin on deck, with a window made out of the head hoop of his barrel so they know he can fit through it when he wants to go adventuring, fitted with a big tub so he can relax in regularly replaced sea water. It looks like a little closet space to the untrained eye.
But it’s Eddie’s closet space. The door has a shell on it. And he’s cosy.
Especially since the kids had been steadily gathering random rocks and things to put in there to make it look like a cave on the inside.
He is Emotional™️
And maybe very flustered by the fact that it’s Steve who presents it to him.
EDDIE: I think I just figured something out. I got to go.
STEVE: Aren't you forgetting something?
EDDIE: Uuh...*hesitantly kisses Steve's forehead before running out.*
STEVE: No, pay your bill! Damn, who raised you?
I dont think Eddie's vecna song would be Master of Puppets.
purely because by that point in time, it'd only existed for... three weeks, Technically in the UD, Eddie was the first person in history to play that song. As the UD is set in 1983.
Sure he can play it, meaning he probably spent every bit of free time he had with it on repeat learning to play it by ear, but i bet he has a real favourite from before that. Something with more personal history to it, maybe a track from his first concert, or the first song he learned how to play.
Eddie loves music, it's clear he has very strong opinions on music. So i bet there's a bunch of other options for his favourite. Even if the most obvious choice would be Master of Puppets.
Sometimes the most obvious isnt always right. The most obvious would be too easy.
Eddie started finding notes in his locker his sophomore year. The first couple of them, he just tossed without reading. He didn’t need to read what those asshole bullies wanted to say about him. But curiosity won out after two weeks of constant notes and he finally opened one. It was the single most impactful thing he’d ever read.
I think you’re the prettiest boy I’ve ever seen.
He kept that note. And every other note he got from that point on. If anyone were to ask Eddie what he regretted most in his life, it would be those two weeks of notes he tossed without reading. Ten slips of paper with unknown writing that he wishes he could get back. Add them to his ‘mystery boys notes’ box. And he was a mystery, the note writer. Anonymous. Unknown. Impossible to catch.
Eddie held out for a month. A whole month before he decided to stage a stake out. He watched his locker like a hawk. In between classes, during classes, lunch, after school and even one absolutely horrible day where he came in an hour before school started. But the mystery boy had to be invisible. He never saw anyone approach his locker but his daily note was always there. And Eddie; poor, unfortunate, infatuated Eddie dealt with mystery boys’ notes from ‘82 to ‘85. Four agonizing years of the most heart-warming, loving notes.
I wish I was as brave as you.
Did you change your shampoo? Your hair looked so soft today.
God, your eyes have to be the biggest fucking eyes I’ve ever seen. So pretty.
I like how long your hair is getting.
Saw you walking down the hall today and I’ve never wanted to kiss someone more.
They started cute. Compliments here and there, even a doodle every once in a while. Hearts and smiley faces. But as the months and years went by, the mystery boy got deeper. Confessions and secrets.
I think if I had a different dad, we would’ve been best friends.
Can you fall in love with someone you’ve never talked to?
I dream about us.
I’m a boy. I’m sorry.
I want to hold your hand. Those rings are something else.
I saw you trying to catch me. Adorable.
I wish I could take you on a date. Not give a shit what my dad would say or what people would think.
I wish I could be brave enough to talk to you.
You’re still the prettiest boy I’ve ever seen.
I’m graduating this year. I’m sorry it didn’t work out for you. I think I’m going to try to figure out a way to keep dropping these off next year. I don’t want you to forget about me.
The notes didn’t continue when the school year started. Eddie was embarrassed to admit he cried that first night. He wasn’t sure how the mystery boy was going to be able to get the notes to him but he fully believed it was going to happen. He went five weeks with no daily note in his locker. And then, it showed up on a Monday. He almost missed it, the tiny slip of paper.
Sorry this took so long. Had to figure out how I was going to sneak these in here. I don’t think I’ll be able to call you pretty every day of the week this time around but I’m going to try my best!
And mystery boy was right. The notes were always there on Monday. Just Monday. But Eddie didn’t complain. One note a week after five weeks of nothing almost had his heart bursting from his chest. It also narrowed down his search. Sort of. Mystery boy was either coming in on those Mondays to drop off the note, sneaking in on the weekends when the school was empty OR after school on Fridays. And look, he’s failed to graduate high school two times in a row now but he wasn’t stupid. Did it take him three months after the notes to start again for him to realize who it was? Yes but to be fair, for two of those months it was Eddie wallowing in denial.
Five weeks into school was when he restarted Hellfire. Three weeks before that was when he brought in those new little freshman sheepies. The same freshman sheepies that got picked up by Steve Harrington. Steve Harrington who graduated last year. Steve Harrington who he catches staring at him from his beemer in the parking lot every Friday night before he takes the kiddies home. Steve who he categorizes as someone who is so far out of his league that it just couldn’t be him. But it’s been three months and there isn’t any other former Hawkins high student running around in or near the school. And now that Eddie’s almost certain Steve has been mystery boy these past few years, he can’t wait. He’s been in love with a figure made out of slips of paper for four years and his nonexistent patience has truly run thin.
He calls for a break 15 minutes before they normally end their sessions. Tells the boys he needs to run to the bathroom and almost sprints out the door. His locker sits in the hallway just around the corner of the drama room. The door closing shut echos through the empty hallways, alongside the squeaks coming from his shoes as he hustles towards his locker. He freezes as soon as he turns the corner.
Steve probably only had 30 seconds after hearing the door open and shut to process what he was going to do. He could’ve run or hid, maybe pretend like he just needed the bathroom while he waited. But Eddie watched him pause as they made eye contact instead. Watched as Steve looked him up and down. Watched him relax and lean back against the lockers behind him with a lazy smirk. His arm slowly moved up and Eddie could see a slip of paper held between his fingers. Steve didn’t break eye contact with him at all as he proceeded to shove the paper between the vents of his locker. They stayed like that for what felt like hours. Staring. Broken when Steve pushed himself off the wall and walked towards him. He didn’t stop. Side stepped around Eddie before they could collide. A faint brush of his fingers along the back of his hand as he walked past him. And Eddie just watched him pass. Just like he watched him slip that note in his locker, he watched Steve walk back down the hall and out the front doors.
He waited only five seconds after the doors closed behind Steve before he jogged over to his locker. Grabbed the note and shoved it into his pocket before running back over to the drama room. Told the guys that they stopped at a decent spot and would meet again next Friday. Walked with them to the parking lot to head home. To catch a glimpse of Steve. And there he was, sitting in his beemer, staring again. This time though, Eddie smiled at him. He smiled at him and pulled the note out of his pocket. Opened it right there in the parking lot while he stared back at Steve. It only took him a few seconds to glance down to read. And as soon as he did, he threw his head back and laughed. Cackled really. He looked back at the beemer and saw Steve with the widest grin. Watched him lift his fingers off the steering wheel and wiggle them at him before he started pulling out of the lot. He looked back down at the note in his hand and chuckled again. Who knew Steve Harrington knew DnD well enough to draw a perfect rendition of an eight sided dice?
