#christma22k

[rogueddie]

Eddie loves seeing the way different people react to mistletoe. But no one ever hands it in places that will be effective. It's easily avoidable and, with his new little gaggle of friends, Eddie is curious.

He starts carrying mistletoe with him, sneaking up behind people and dangling it above their heads.

His old friends still have the same reaction that they always do. Gareth stage-kisses him, overdramatic and trying his best to make it look real and convincing. Jeff laughs, pecks him on the cheek. Grant gives him a "scottish kiss"- which is just an excuse to headbutt him.

With his new, very young friends, he makes a point of turning his head and patting his cheek.

El is the only one who actually does kiss his cheek, and she even thanks him afterwards- saying that she'd been wanting to kiss under the mistletoe and that it was great even if it isn't romantic and he is "really old like my dad".

Mike, Lucas and Max shove him away. They all act disgusted, Max even pretends to gag. Dustin laughs in his face. Will tries to laugh it off too, though he's tense and uncomfortable, so Eddie immediately backs off, plays it off as a joke.

Erica threatens him.

Nancy and Jonathan have similar reactions; they laugh, sounding both pleased and embarrassed. Both hold his chin whilst they give him a little peck on the cheek. He isn't sure if it's them being nervous about him causing mischief by moving, or what, but he thinks it's a lovely gesture all the same.

Argyle surprises him by just... kissing him. It's a quick little peck and he moves on like it's nothing. When Eddie tries to ask, later on, he shrugs it off again. He points out that they're friends, so what's a friendly little peck? Eddie doesn't have a response, just takes the joint back off him and tries not to be jealous of how sure he is of himself.

Robin doesn't hesitate when she sees the mistletoe, doesn't even wait for him to say anything. She grabs his face with both hands and smacks a big, wet kiss to his cheek. It's not until he gets home, finally seeing his reflection, that he realizes that her dark red lipstick left a massive mark on his face.

Steve hesitates, for an uncomfortably long moment. He stares at the mistletoe Eddie holds above them, thinking so hard that Eddie can see the gears turning.

When he tries to back off, tries to play it off as a joke, Steve hand shoots up. He grabs Eddies wrist, pushing his hand and the mistletoe back up so it's still hanging above them.

"This is just a joke, like you did with the others." Steve says. But, something about the way he says it, makes it sound more like a question than the statement that it is.

Now, it's Eddies turn to hesitate. His eyes roam Steves face, trying to get a read on him before, eventually, admitting; "no, it's not."

The smile that blooms on Steves face is so big, so bright, that- for a moment- Eddie thinks that this must be his reward. For turning back, for protecting Dustin, for doing the right thing in the end. This smile, right here.

But, he quickly realizes that he's wrong, because that's when Steve leans in. That's when Steve kisses him. And Eddie realizes that, maybe, this entire moment is his reward. Maybe Steve is his reward.

The universe does owe him a happy ending, after all.

[rogueddie]

"You have glasses!"

Steve looks up, in time to see Eddie skipping out of his room. "Why were you in my room?"

"Being nosey. More importantly!" He holds Steves glasses up, almost victoriously. "You wear glasses!"

"No, I don't. I wear contacts."

"You wear- how did I not know this?" Eddie flops down next to him, waving the glasses in his face. "Put 'em on, will ya?"

"No?"

"Please?"

"I'm not putting them on. I wear contacts, I don't need glasses."

He takes them off Eddie, putting them on the side table and, thankfully, Eddie doesn't bring them up again for the rest of the night. And, optimistically, Steve thinks that maybe that means that he's fully dropped it.

Only the next time Eddie comes over, he finds the glasses again, like a sniffer dog. He's doesn't badger Steve to put them on, just puts them on a nearby table. When Steve tries to scold him, he gives his best wide, sad doe-eyes.

"I'm never going to put them on," Steve says.

"Never?"

"Never."

Eddie sighs, flopping down on so he's laying on the sofa, putting the back of his hand to his forehead. "I can't believe you would betray me like this! You have wounded me! It stings, Stevie, deep in my soul!"

Again, the next time, Eddie puts the glasses on a nearby table. He never says anything and, if Steve doesn't address them, then Eddie seems content to pretend they're not there as well.

Even when Steve does address them, Eddie is- as always- very good at matching the mood. He's usually teasing. Though the one time Steve had been genuinely annoyed, Eddie apologized. He said that, if he really wanted him to, he'd stop putting them out. And the next time he hadn't... so Steve teased him. Which started their little routine up again as though nothing had happened.

It makes Steve curious enough to try them on. He hadn't put them on since he'd tried the frames on, before the lenses with his prescription had been put in them.

They're not horrible. But he still hates how they look.

"Why don't you like your glasses?" Eddie finally asked one day, once their usual teasing had died down.

"I just don't." Steve shrugs. "I don't know. They look a little ugly."

"Hm." Eddie frowns. "What's your prescription?"

"Uh, I wrote it on a note inside the case, I think... yeah, here."

Eddie accepts the little paper, but doesn't hand it back. Steve doesn't notice.

A month later, Eddie knocks on his door.

"Eds," Steve greets, surprised. "I thought we were meeting at the Byers house?"

"We are," Eddie holds out a little present. "I wanted to give you these early."

Steve tuts, but accepts the present, stepping back so Eddie can step inside. He doesn't start opening it until they sit down in the living room.

"Wh- Eddie," Steve whines, holding the glasses case like they're a dead animal he doesn't want to touch. "Dude, no, come on."

"Just... look first. Please?"

He rolls his eyes, but opens the case anyway. He's surprised by the frames Eddie's chosen. They're not the kind Steve would have picked out for himself.

"Try them on? I won't look!" Eddie even throws his hands over his eyes.

"Fine. Stay here."

Steve is surprised by how much he does like them, once he puts them on. He only hesitates for a moment before taking his contacts out, so he can wear the glasses instead.

"Thank you," Steve says as soon as he steps back into the living room.

Eddie stares at him for a long moment. "Oh."

"Oh?"

"You look really pretty."

"Oh, ha, yeah, uh," Steve says, stuttering, flushing bright red. "Thanks. Um."

"Seriously. Fucking... jesus. Sorry, it's... you look good." Eddie shakes his head. "Merry fucking Christmas to me."

[rogueddie]

Steve realizes that he's been spending too much time with the kids families when he gets home, realizing that he'd bought supplies for knitting. It's something that Claudia and, recently, Joyce have been getting into. They would rope Steve into joining them whenever he time there.

But it's nice. He likes knitting. He likes the repetitively and how easy it is to simply... stop. Stop worrying, stop pacing, stop thinking. Stop being so afraid.

It's hard to be scared of beasts in the walls when he looks down and finds a badly knitted sock in his lap. It looks too silly.

The longer he spends on it though, the better he gets. It's not long until he's knitting things nice enough that he feels confident enough to wear them outside the house. And no one bats an eye.

Robin even steals some of his scarves- until she learns that he knit them and then she starts making demands. Which he's happy to fulfil. Seeing her light up when he hands her the scarf and gloves, in the exactly color and pattern she'd asked for, is more than worth it.

That Christmas, his new knitting skills save the day. He had to set himself a very strict budget for the presents. He's trying to save as much as he can, with Robin and Eddie, so they can move into a little house they have their eyes on.

He blows the entire budget on the kids.

So, with the help of Robin, he tries to think of the best things to knit for the adults.

Robin asks him to make them matching scarves and gloves. She knows that Nancy, Jonathan and Argyle will want matching things too, which solves what to get them. As well as Joyce and Hopper- though, Steve isn't sure how those will go down.

The other parents are easy. He's spoken to them, been in their homes enough, to know the patterns and colors they favor.

By the time he finishes knitting everyone their things... he's still not sure what to knit for Eddie. All he has is the black yarn he got and some of the maroon and dark green left over from the other projects.

"He'll be happy you got him anything at all," Robin teases. "You know that. You just want it to be perfect because-"

"He's my friend! Ok? I just want to get him something nice for Christmas."

"And that's all there is to it?"

"Yes!"

"Mhm," Robin smirks, slowly walking backwards towards the door, raising an eyebrow at him. "I totally believe you."

Even though Robin hadn't been any help with thinking of any good ideas, he's sure that he's only thinking of worse ones without her. It doesn't help that, the longer he sits and tries to think, the more ideas they came up with together he forgets.

In the end, he settles for a gothic version of a Christmas sweater. He tries to make it as detailed as he can- knitting in snowflakes and zig zags, the hellfire devil head instead of a reindeer and little Christmas trees along the bottom hem.

He shoves it into the little Christmas bag he got for it, taping the top shut before he can doubt himself. He tucks it away, pointedly avoiding so much as glancing at it.

It's a relief when, a few days later, Christmas comes around.

Most of them bounce between the Wheelers and the Byers homes. The kids all spend most of the day at the Wheelers, gathering all their presents with them. Dustin helps Steve bring the presents from him, Robin and Claudia inside.

He stops at the Byers, where most of the adults are gathered. Joyce and Nancy both try to convince him to change his mind, to stay for dinner, as he drops their presents off. But, as he reminds them, he promised Robin he'd spend Christmas dinner with her.

She's sat on the trailer steps with Eddie when Steve pulls up.

"You're late!" Eddie yells as Steve opens the trunk, grabbing the last three presents. "Have you no consideration for the peasants?!"

"Shut up," Steve says, rolling his eyes. He gently kicks him. "Move."

Eddie throws himself off the steps, onto the floor. "Ah! Rob, he's bullying me!"

"Good." Robin stands up, opening the door and waving Steve inside. She raises an eyebrow at Eddie. "Get up, I'm hungry."

"Fine!" Eddie says, scrambling to his feet. "You're all so mean to me."

Wayne clears his throat. He's stood by the kitchen, leaning with his arms crossed, watching them with an amused grin. "You kids ready to eat now or do you want to do presents first?"

"Food," they all say in sync.

The dinner is amazing, something Steve and Robin both keep telling Wayne. Whenever the conversation pauses, they have a little kick-fight on who gets to speak up that time.

Wayne jokingly asks Eddie why he's never so complimentary about his cooking, which earns him an eye roll.

"You don't need the ego boost, old man."

Wayne gets him in a loose headlock when he stands up, ruffling his hair, before quickly grabbing the plates that Steve tries to collect.

"No, no, no. You kids get started opening your presents, I've got these."

Robin drags him along, into the living room, by the collar of his polo when he tries to offer help. Eddie helps, grabbing his forearm. Steve grumbles the whole time, folding his arms when they push him down, onto the sofa.

"Ladies first," Eddie throws a present at Robin, nearly hitting her in the face. He grins widely when she flips him off.

He insists that, once Robin opens all of her presents, Steve has to open his. Then Wayne. And, once they've all opened theirs, Eddie claps his hands together at the remaining presents.

"Perfect. All for me." He grins, grabbing Steves first. He almost rips the bag with how hard he pulls at the tape.

"We have scissors," Robin waves them at him.

He bats them away, digging the sweater out of the bag. "Oooh, gothic Christmas, very-" he stops when he turns it over, staring at the front for a moment. "Is... is this, like, custom made?"

"Yeah, sort of," Steve says, shrugging. He offers a smile when Eddie looks up at him, looking almost... awed.

"He made it himself," Robin says. "He's gotten into knitting."

"You knit this? Yourself? Stevie, what the hell! This is amazing!" He quickly shrugs off his jacket so he can put the sweater on. "I'm never taking this off. Fuck, I could kiss you."

"Save it for the bedroom," Wayne quickly says, holding a hand up. "Some of us here don't want to see all that PDA."

Robin snickers. "Yeah, have some decency for the rest of us."

"Ha ha," Eddie deadpans. "You're both hilarious."

"Seriously though, son," Wayne puts a hand on his shoulder. "You know I'll support and love you no matter what, but I'd hate to see you and a girl getting like that just as much."

"What?" Eddie frowns, confused. "What are you talking about?"

Wayne glances between him and Steve. "You and your boy."

"Holy shit," Robin whispers. "I knew it wasn't just me."

"I'm, uh..." Steve eventually speaks up, once it's clear that Eddie isn't going to say anything, simply continuing to gape at Wayne. "I'm not his boy."

"What?" Wayne turns to Eddie with narrowed eyes. "You ain't asked him out yet? How many dates have you been on and you still ain't-"

"We're not dating," Eddie hisses. "I've told you this, like, seventy times!"

"This is amazing," Robin whispers, eyes darting between the two as they continue arguing back and forth. "Stevie, you owe me money."

Steve groans, slouching as low as he can, covering his red face with both hands.

[rogueddie]

Steve doesn’t wrap up in wool or thick clothes. It’s something that Eddie notices slowly but, the more he does, the more concerned it makes him.

He tries to point out that he should wear scarves, gloves, winter coats. He starts pointing out that Steve is shaking, any time he notices. He tries to be subtle, to gently coax him into taking better care of himself, but he never does.

“Here,” Eddie had snapped one day. He’d taken his own mittens off and grabbed Steves wrist before he could pull away.

“Don’t, Eddie, stop,” Steve had complained. It sounded more like petulant whining. “You’ll get cold!”

“Remember to bring your own then!”

Steve hadn’t taken the gloves off, thankfully, but he had been in a mood the rest of the day. He almost always had his arms crossed, sending glares Eddies way and pointedly looking at his hands.

It had been worth it though. Steve started wearing the gloves more. Eddie had to get a new pair, but he didn’t care. Steve was warmer.

And it worked the same with his scalf. He bought a new one before forcing his usual on Steve and, from then on, Steve started to wear that scarf as much as the gloves. He refused to admit it though, huffing that it was just to get Eddie off his case.

When Eddie tried to hand off a coat, though, Steve gave it back at the end of the day.

The next time Eddie tried, he also handed it back. The third time, Eddie wore a thick jumper so he wouldn’t have the excuse of Eddie getting cold on the way home again. Still, he gave it back.

“You know, you can keep this,” Eddie finally points out. “I have more than one coat. I’ve been trying to wear this one out anyway. Keep it.”

“No, uh, that… that’s ok.”

Eddie frowns at him, pushing the coat back towards him. “You need a coat, Steve, your flimsy jackets aren’t enough.”

“I’m fine, really.”

“Take the fucking coat, Steve.”

Steve ducks his head- which is what makes Eddie finally realize that it’s not the cold making his face go pink. “N-no, uh, just… I’m fine, really.”

“Steve? Why won’t you keep the coat?”

“You need it.”

“The real reason.”

“I don’t know,” Steve mutters, scuffing his foot against the floor, shrugging.

Eddie sighs, slipping the coat back on. “Alright. I’ll stop, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

“What?”

“You can tell me, you know? I’m sorry if I made you feel like you can’t.”

“No, no, that’s not- that’s not it!”

“What is it, then?”

“They don’t…” Steve flushes a deeper red, turning away from him, crossing his arms. “They don’t smell like you anymore, ok?”

Eddie stares for a moment. “Huh?”

“The… the gloves and scarf. It- they don’t…”

“Oh.”

“Yeah. Sorry, it’s… sorry.”

Eddie blinks again. He’s pretty sure his brain must be melting out his ears, or he’s having a stroke, because there’s no way he’s hearing what he is. He must be misunderstanding.

“Eddie?” Steve finally looks back to him. “Have… have I made you uncomfortable?”

“They don’t smell like me,” Eddie echoes. “So… what you’re saying…?”

“You know what I’m saying,” Steve mumbles, running a hand nervously through his hair.

“No, no, I don’t. I really… my mind is going a mile a minute, Stevie, you need to spell this shit out.”

Steve shuffles, hesitating for a long moment. “I like wearing your things… because they’re yours. Because I like you.”

“... Alright.”

“Alright? What- is that it?”

Eddie quickly ducks down, grabbing a handful of snow and shoving it down the front of Steves shirt. He screams as he hurries to pull the snow out. He very quickly grabs his own snowball, trying to retaliate, but Eddie easily catches his wrist.

“I’ve been so worried about you being cold and catching hypothermia or some shit! Jesus Christ, Steve, I was about to start pulling my hair out.”

“Sorry?”

“You’re such a dumbass,” Eddie grumbles. “You could’ve just said you liked me too.”

“Too?” Steve perks up immediately, grinning.

“You’re insufferable.”

“But you like me?”

“Unfortunately, yeah. Yeah, Steve, I really like you.” Eddie shakes his head, laughing at Steves little victory fist pump. “Fuck, you’re a dork. Just for that, I’m taking you on a real shit first date. We’ll go to this run down little dinner, real greasy food, it’s some nasty shit.”

“Does this mean I can kiss you?”

Eddie tugs him closer with his own scarf so he can kiss him first, beating him to the prize.

[rogueddie]

Wayne grins when he opens the door Steve. He opens the door wide, waving him inside.

"Oh, no, I just came to drop off-" Steve tries.

"Nonsense, come on, come in!"

Steve reluctantly steps inside, holding the little tupperware box awkwardly. Wayne leads him further inside, with a hand on his back. He leads him to the kitchen, where Eddie is sat at the table, looking bored- but he perks up when Steve is led in.

"Steve! You spending eve with us?"

"Oh, uh-" Steve stutters, pausing when Wayne gently pulls the tupperware out his hands. He gives Steve a wink. "Yeah, I guess. I mean... if that's alright with you?"

"Of course it is! More the merrier, right Wayne?"

"Exactly. Come on, sit down," Wayne puts two plates down, one in front of Eddie and one in front of Steve. "You've got some good timing, son."

Wayne is soon back a third plate for himself.

Steve looks between him and Eddie. "Wha- you planned this. How the hell did you plan this?"

"Don't look at me," Eddie throws his hands up. "I thought he was just making enough for leftovers."

"Well... I'm sorry to say, son, you're predictable." Wayne pats his shoulder as he says it, trying to ease any sting. "Plus, I know you'd refuse any invitations to Christmas dinner so... we make do."

Steve looks to Eddie, who shrugs. "Uh... well, um, thanks?"

"Don't worry about it. Eat your food."

Dinner isn't quiet, but it's not as lively as he'd expect. Eddie is almost subdued, matching Waynes softer vibe. For most of it, Steve feels like an observer. It's oddly comforting.

"Help me with the dishes, will ya?" Wayne asks Steve. "Eddie still needs to clean the living room."

Eddie complains, but goes without any real trouble. He tries to use Steve as an excuse to delay, but Steve is eager to help out in any way that he can.

They're both quiet, for a moment. Wayne washes the dishes, Steve drying them.

"Have you asked him yet?" Wayne eventually asks in a hushed voice.

"What?"

"Eds. You asked him yet?"

"Asked him what?"

"Asked him out."

"Oh- that- no- I don't- uh- I mean- he's..." Steve stutters, flushing when Wayne raises a brow at him. "It's not like that."

"Look, I'm trying to be patient with you boys, but eventually you'll need to pull your heads out the sand. Soon. If I have to drag you both out by your ears, I will."

"But, I mean... if it goes wrong..."

"Then it goes wrong. At least you gave it a go."

Wayne hands him the next plate to dry. And, for the rest of the time they spend there, it's silent. Wayne can see the gears turning in Steves head, can see him slowly coming to a resolution.

"Thanks for dinner," Steve says. He sounds confident.

It makes Wayne smile. He pats him on the back, nudging him towards the living room. "You're welcome any time."

[rogueddie]

"What the fuck are you doing?!"

Steve startles, wobbles for a moment. He turns, carefully, craning his neck to look down. There, on the sidewalk outside their house, Eddie stands. He has his hands on his hips, clearly glaring up at Steve.

"Christmas!" Steve calls back. He points to the Christmas decorations he's putting up, throwing Eddie a thumbs up. "I'm good!"

"No, no you're not"" Eddie shakes his head so violently that his hair goes flying. "Get down from there before I get up there and drag you down myself!"

"I'm almost done!"

"I don't care! Get down! Now!"

Steve rolls his eyes, turning back to the decorations, ignoring Eddie when he continues to call for him to get down. The only difficult part left is securing the last corner of the reindeer, something he finishes in a few minutes.

But, by then, Eddie has climbed the ladder propped up on the side of the roof.

"Move," he snaps his fingers at him. "Leave it. Come on."

"Come on, I've almost done! It's just the lights and-"

"I. Don't. Care." He grabs Steves forearm, tugging him up far gentler than Steve expects. "I said I'll do this."

Up close, Steve can see how scared Eddie is.

"Eddie, I'm ok. Really, you don't need-"

"I don't care, Steve! I'll call the fucking firefighters to carry you down if I have to."

"Ok, ok, I'll get down."

Eddie insists on going down first, holding the ladder steady as Steve climbs down and, once he's in reach, keeping a hand on his back too. As soon as Steve is back on ground level, Eddie wraps him in a hug- which is when Steve notices that Eddie is shaking a little.

"Oh, no, hey," Steve tries to sooth him, rubbing his back with one hand, the other hugging him tight. "I'm ok. I'm safe, it's alright."

"You can't be up there. You can't- you could've fallen."

"Baby, I haven't had any dizzy spells in months. My balance is so much better. You know that. I'm ok, really."

"The doctor specifically said that they could come back."

Steve struggles to hold back a sigh. He knows that this whole thing has been hard on Eddie. "I know. He also said they might never come back. I can't just... keep waiting on an if."

"That's... no, yeah, I know. I'm sorry, I was just..."

"Scared, I know."

Eddie finally steps back, wiping his face. He looks to the roof, to the decorations. "They look fucking ugly."

"Aw, you say the sweetest things." Steve gently holds Eddies jaw, kissing his cheekbone, catching a lingering tear. "You love them, don't you?"

"Obviously."

[rogueddie]

Steve groans at the sound of his alarm, batting his hand around the side table until he hits it hard enough to shut it up. He gets up, rubbing his eyes as he moves to the bathroom on autopilot.

He's not just tired, he's exhausted. But he always is at Christmas. He struggles to get enough sleep at the best of times but, since Dustin would kill him if he's late, Christmas is the one time he has to wake up early. It's miserable, every year. The motels only add to his suffering.

As he's washing his face, he freezes. He quickly rinses his face, prodding at the skin. There's no lines, no wrinkles, no crows feet. He doesn't even have his beard. That's when he notices his hair. His hand shoots back, grabbing at the longer strands at the back of his neck.

He hasn't had his mullet for at least 30 years. Not since 1989.

Hurrying back to his room, he nearly recoils. He'd forgotten about the plaid walls and curtains. But he quickly brushes that aside, quickly looking around for anything out of the ordinary. He wishes he could just pull out his mobile, sure that Robin would-

Robin!

He darts down the stairs, to the main phone. But is immediately reminded of how bad the old phones were. He can't remember what Robins old number was and he's sure the one he does remember will be wrong. And it's not written down anywhere either.

But it starts ringing, just as he starts walking away.

"Hello?" He says, struggling to keep his voice even.

"When will you get here?" Dustin asks. "You said you'd be up by now!"

"Dustin, oh thank god, I'm so glad to hear your voice," Steve sighs, rubbing his forehead. "Something really fucking weird is going on with me, dude."

"Weird? Like... Upside Down weird?"

"What? El shut- or has... what year is it?"

"1985. Are you ok? What's going on?"

Steve laughs, high and hysterical. "Uh, well... when I went to sleep last night, it was still 2021, so... no. I'm not ok."

"Are you being serious?"

"Unfortunately. Wait, 1985... that means-"

"No! Don't tell me!" Dustin yells so loud that Steve has to pull the phone away from his ear for a moment. "You can't just tell people what's going to happen! You could change the future!"

"Good!"

"No, not good! You might be trying to make things better, but you could make them worse. Especially if you actually tell people what's going to happen. You need to be subtle."

"Subtle, right..." Steve looks towards the door, pondering. "Right... uh... I'll see you later."

"What? Steve-!"

He hangs up before Dustin can continue to scold him, hurrying up the stairs and throwing on the first clean polo and jeans he finds. His old trainers are at the bottom of the stairs, just as remembers them being- they'd lasted decades before they fell apart, even though they'd always been loose and worn enough that Steve could slide them on, even though he keeps them tied.

It takes him a while to drive to the trailer park. He takes a wrong turn, completely forgetting the way. It's been so long since he's been in Hawkins and, even then, he wasn't familiar with this route.

"Um, hi, sir," Steve says, trying to smile when faced with Eddies uncle. He's not sure if he was always so stand-off or if Eddies death did that to him. "Is- is Eddie home?"

He grunts, eyeing Steve. "Gimme a moment."

He shuts the door, but he doesn't leave Steve waiting for long.

Eddie is the one to open the door. He gently pushes Steve back from the door, gesturing for him to follow him. Steve jogs to keep up with his fast pace, too busy staring to pay attention to how tense he is.

"Alright, what do you want?" Eddie sounds annoyed. Impatient. He's glaring at Steve and crossing his arms.

He looks amazing.

"Right, sorry," Steve shakes his head. "Sorry. Uh, this... ok, there's no way I can say this without sounding insane, so I'm just gonna say it, alright?"

"... Alright?"

"Chrissy Cunningham is going to try and buy from you in March. I don't know what she asks for, but if it means you bring her back here, don't. Just- sell her some weed, whatever you can carry on you. Don't bring her back here."

"She your girlfriend, or something?"

"No. God no. I just... something bad will happen. I'm sorry, I know that's... I sound stupid. But please, please," Steve can't help but step forward, grabbing Eddies hand. "Please don't bring her back here."

"Ok, alright, I won't sell to her," Eddies eyes are a little wide. "Jesus. I'll take your word for it."

"Thank you. Thank you so much."

Eddie stares at him for a moment, raises a brow. "Is that it? You, uh, gonna let me go now, big boy?"

"Oh! Right, sorry, yeah. Um. Merry Christmas?"

"Yeah," Eddie laughs, starting to head back to the trailer. "Merry Christmas."

Dustin yells at him for an hour straight once he drives to his house. He's red in the face by the time he finishes and looks one wrong word away from hitting him. But Steves already done what he wanted to do, he won't change it now and he won't tell Dustin what he said so he can either.

But he does tell Dustin the time to start paying attention. Without Eddie to get them on the case, they won't figure out how to save Max in time. He doesn't tell Dustin anything either, just the date of Chrissys death. He wishes he could think of a way to save her, but his mind runs a blank. And Dustin won't let him ask him. And Dustin refuses to leave him alone long enough to ask anyone else.

By the time he goes to bed, he's happy to think that he's done enough. Though, like Dustin, he wonders what will happen next. If he'll stay in 1985 or wake up in the changed future. Wonders what that would mean for his past self.

He wakes up warm, comfortable, and well rested. Someone has their arms around his waist, pressed fully up behind him, light kisses trailing up his neck, along his jaw.

Steve hums, yawning. "Who's 'at?"

"Morning to you too," the person behind him snickers.

Curious, Steve turns. He freezes, eyes wide. "Eddie?"

"Who else would it be?" Eddie smirks, but that slowly drops, realization dawning on him. "You were just in the past, weren't you? Wait- shit, no, hold on, do you remember anything past that?"

"I don't- ow!" Steve squeezes his eyes shut, head throbbing. "Fuck. Ow, fucking... shit."

"What? What is it? Baby, what's wrong?"

"I don't know," Steve whines, clutching at his head. "You were dead but you- got a job at the record store?"

"Oh, ok, this is good," Eddie curls his arms around him, pulling him close. "This is good. Dustin said this might happen. It's the conflicting timelines or whatever. Your timeline catching up with the new one."

"What the fuck does that mean?"

"Honestly? I don't know. I just know that, like, you might have two sets of memories- or your original ones get forgotten, or something. But this... this is good. God, Stevie, the idea that you'd forget this current timeline..."

He tries to think of what might have changed, new memories or old ones he can't recall. It just makes his head hurt. "How long will it be until I, like... remember everything? I barely remember the 86 with you alive."

"Who knows. Weeks, maybe? Might always be confusing. But... um. I died? Was that... why you were so adamant that I didn't sell to Chrissy?"

"Yeah, it- it got you caught up in the, uh... stuff."

"The Upside Down? Yeah, I did get caught up in that. Hard not to when your town suddenly rips apart. So, what, I originally got caught up earlier?"

"Right at the start. You, uh... you died to save us."

"Now I know you're lying. I'm not one for the big hero moves, that's your job."

"Shut up," Steve snaps. He lifts his head so he can glare. "Shut up. You were a hero. You were- you are. You- you-"

"Hey," Eddie wraps him up in his arms, one hand coming up to brush through his hair. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that, Stevie, I'm really sorry. I'm ok though, yeah? You made sure of that. It's ok. I got you. I've got you. We're safe."

Steve sniffles, grimacing at the snot he leaves on Eddies top. The sight brings forth vague, distant memories- his but also... not.

"You do this a lot, huh?" Steve asks.

Eddie smiles, cupping his face, thumb brushing some tears off his cheek. "Yeah. It's not always easy, but I'm always here."

"Oh, wait... have I missed Christmas?"

"Just the day. Dustin remembered that you said 2021 so... we all wanted to wait. We're doing Christmas today."

"Really? Why?"

"Mostly because they wanted to be here, just in case. You made us promise, too."

"Just in case?"

"In case you forgot, baby. We don't know what you changed. Sandy is going to be very disappointed- she was excited to meet you again."

"Sandy?" Steve frowns, but the memory almost immediately hits him.

A baby, premature, and so small that she was barely bigger than his hands. Dustin's face, wet with tears but so proud, introducing the baby to Uncle Steve.

"Oh, Sandy," Steve whispers the name with reverence.

Eddie kisses him, almost desperately. He pulls back fast though. "Sorry, that was- fuck, Stevie. You're really remembering."

He sobs, startling Steve. "Woah, hey, Eds."

"Sorry. Fuck, we prepared so much but it... God, Steve, I don't think I'd be able to handle it if you never remembered again."

Steve presses a small, hesitant kiss to his cheek. "I don't think you'd have too much to worry about."

"Yeah, that's great," Eddie laughs. "My husband would've found me attractive even with amnesia."

"We're married?"

Eddie groans, flopping onto his back. "Of course that's what gets you excited. Time travel? Too boring for Steve Munson! Where's the adventure? But marriage?!" Eddie gasps dramatically. "Oh my, mister, that sounds mighty exciting!"

"Hey, I'm supposed to be the love of your life, stop being mean to me."

"Oh, don't go pouting at me like that, big boy. Even you should know that I have no self-restraint."

"Promise?"

[rogueddie]

The entire group hadn't been back to Hawkins, all at once, in nearly 20 years.

The last time they were truly all together was the Christmas before Eddie left for Chicago and Nancy left for college, back in 87, the first to 'escape'. Though, it didn't take many years for everyone else to follow their lead.

Steve is the only one who stayed behind. But he didn't think it was all that bad. Robin had moved back to Indy city once she finished college, so she visited often. He's not truly alone, even if it does feel like it... most of the time.

2007 is a good year though. It's the first year that Eddie comes back to Hawkins. They've been having little reunions with as many of the group as they can, every Christmas. But there's always a few people too busy- Eddie is always one, always on tour or writing or recording.

Not this year though. And Steve is finally excited, looking forward to something so much that it buzzes under his skin.

The others are already there once Eddie arrives, the last to arrive. Steve reluctantly hangs back, trying to downplay his excitement as he watches Dustin and Erica shove their way ahead of the others, trying to greet him first.

He looks great, Steve notes. Healthy.

"And Harrington," Eddie finally greets, already saying his hellos to everyone else. "I see the crows feet only add to your charm, shame on you."

"Yeah, it's good to see you too."

Eddie laughs, eyes scrunching up, dragging Steve into a hug. Steve is happy to note that he lingers, forehead pressing down against his collar for a moment before he steps back.

"Come on, it's Christmas Eve! We're all together, at long last! Put some music on, get the alcohol!" Eddie snaps.

Everyone does as asked and, soon, Steves usually cold, empty house is full of music and laughter. The burn of cheap alcohol warming his stomach and the smell of Eddie and Argyles weed filling the air are an old but familiar comfort that he hadn't realized how much he'd been aching for.

Steve sits in the corner, on his own.

For a moment, he just wants to watch everyone else. To look around his living room, so full of people that Mike, Robin, Argyle and Lucas are sat on the floor. So full of people that Max had grabbed El with shaking hands, pulling her onto her lap, coaxing her into sharing her wheelchair.

As soon as Eddie wiggles out of the corner he'd squeezed himself into, Mike and Lucas are fighting for the space. Mike only wins, sitting down on the sofa with a smug grin, before Will helps him.

Eddie sits down on the little side table, next to Steve.

"How've you been holding up?"

"I've been good. Not as good as you, though. The Rolling Stones, huh?"

"Oh, uh, you saw that?" Eddie smiles a little sheepish. "Yeah, it's... it's been getting crazy. I don't know how it happened. One day we're a small, underground thing and the next, we're almost mainstream."

"Underground," Steve parrots, snorting. "Your first single was played on the radio. You guys have always been big."

"You listen to us, Harrington?"

"Of course. And, you know, I have a first name."

"Really?" Eddie gasps, throwing a hand to his chest. "By the Gods!"

"I know, crazy!"

They fall silent, watching the new little fight breaking out. By the yelling, Steve guesses that Dustin stole one of the pieces of candy that Mike is eating.

"I missed this," Eddie quietly admits. "I'm sorry I didn't come back sooner."

"Nah, you were busy with-"

"I wasn't. I wasn't busy. I lied to just... avoid this. Avoid Hawkins. And it's... it's not good being back, I won't lie. But it's... seeing the kids again, seeing- seeing you... it's..."

Steve waits a moment. "What?"

"It makes it worth it. It makes me wish I never left."

"You had to. Corroded Coffin was your dream and you made it happen."

"I know, I just... sometimes I wonder. You know, maybe I could've been happier here. Maybe I could've... I don't know."

"Maybe. But you're happy now, right? And you're so successful! You're doing everything you said you dreamt of doing."

"Mhm..." Eddie hesitates again, for another long pause. "Robin said that you... you're bi."

"Yeah?" Steve frowns, turning to face him a little, wondering where he's going.

"I keep thinking that, I don't know... maybe if I'd stayed..."

Steve nearly presses a hand to his chest, so sure that his heart must have missed a beat. "Wh-what? We... we could've..."

"Yeah, maybe," Eddie whispers. He tugs a strand of hair in front of his face, eyes peaking out at him. "It's just a thought. Or something. I don't know."

"I mean... you're here now."

"What, you wanna give it a shot?" Eddie laughs, shaking his head. "We're going on tour again, in a couple weeks. There's no point in-"

"There is. I mean... if you want to try, I'm willing to, like, put in the effort. We could make it work."

Eddie laugh turns into more a sigh, an almost dreamy look taking over his face. "You're sure?"

"I am." He reaches over, grabbing his hand. "I really am."

"Steve Harrington... Merry fucking Christmas to me, huh?"