for @genderthings Eddie's Gender Week prompt "stage"
Steddie | T | 1125 | genderqueer/gender non conforming Eddie | famous Eddie, hair stylist (and drag queen) Steve, first meeting, pre-relationship | Ao3
The new hair stylist walks in on Eddie applying lipstick. Kudos to him, he takes it in stride, placing his bag on the clean area in front of one of the mirrors.
"The doors were open, so I hope it's okay I just walked in," he says with a tilt of a question in his voice.
Eddie hums, focused on sharpening the edges around his lips.
"I'm the new hair stylist, Steve Harrington," the guy introduces himself. "You must be Eddie, right?"
"Ah-hah," Eddie makes an affirmative sound.
"How can I refer to you?"
"Just Eddie is okay, but if you want to keep it more professional, something like chief or captain is fine. Do not call me boss," Eddie says, moving away from the mirror to gauge the symmetry and not happy with the results so far.
"No, I mean, do you want to be addressed as a guy? Or something different."
Eddie sometimes forgets that he's in the creative field now, and a lot of other people he meets are more open to gender fuckery and general LGBT themes. They finally look at the new guy, someone they'd usually dismiss as gorgeous but straight, if not for the pearl necklace around his neck.
"I'm fine with anything, but you can call me anytime."
The silence lingers and as Steve's look sours, Eddie's lips turn up into a grin.
"What?! It's a good line!"
"Sure is," Steve rolls his eyes. "Do you need help with that?" he points to the lipstick still clutched in Eddie's hand. "I do drag on the weekends."
Eddie blanks for long enough for Steve to produce a small make up brush out of somewhere, and pry the lipstick out of his hand. He dabs the brush against the dark red pigment.
"The secret of sharp edges is using a brush," he explains softly. "It gives you better control of the lines."
Eddie can't say shit when Steve's finger gently holds his chin while he's applying the lipstick in small, precise strokes. He steps back, fixes something, and steps back again before nodding to himself.
"I thinks it's okay now."
Eddie turns to the mirror to examine their perfectly painted, symmetrical lips. They look up at Steve's reflection.
"Can you do my eyes, too?"
Steve can, and gives Eddie an impressive, bold eye make up, apologizing all the time that it's "too draggy". Eddie slaps him about it, and informs him that it's perfect.
When Corroded Coffin's actual stylist come into the dress room, they just groan at the sight of Eddie's make up and turn their anger at Steve. For a second, the thinks he's going to be fired, but then...
"Give her an updo, something messy but feminine to match the face," the person instructs. Steve only nods to that. "I'll go pick something in the wardrobe."
Steve is a little terrified, but Eddie only beams at him.
"She likes you!" he exclaims happily, gently slapping at Steve's chest.
"Uh, she didn't seem happy," Steve protests gently, reaching for his actual hair styling kit.
"Don't worry about it," Eddie waves their hand. "Chrissy is always stressed before a performance, but she likes a challenge. We've been friends forever, so I'd know."
"Okay." Steve pushes Eddie gently so he'll rest against the back of the chair, and turns him to face the mirror, then ties his tool belt around his waist. "I'll trust you on that. Now, I'll try to be gentle, but tell me if I pull too hard."
Eddie's hair is a bit of a struggle, since the initial plan was to just tease it as usual and let it be. But Steve turns out to be an expert enough to brush it out and up tying it into a high ponytail, with some strands framing his face. He even takes extra time to curl them and set them in place with hair spray.
When he takes a step back to take in his work, his eyes shine. Not only was he proud with his work, but his model was more than good looking, the make up and hairdo enhancing their features. Their eyes catch in the mirror reflection, but before any of them can say anything, Chrissy is back, carrying a handful of dark fabric.
"I got a few outfits for you to try on. Steve, could you take care of Gareth's hair?"
"On it!"
Eddie gives him a smile and a finger wave through the mirror, before Chrissy descends on them with the clothing she's picked. Steve doesn't have time to look in their direction, curling Gareth's hair and then giving each of the members a simple version of Eddie's eye to match it. The impromptu make over must have put them behind schedule, because everyone is rushing somewhere before Steve can take a proper look at the end product.
It's only after the lights dim that he's ushered by Chrissy to a booth where the rest of the staff is either taking a break or keeping an eye on their work. As part of the styling team, Steve is on the look out for any hair or wardrobe malfunctions that might need touching up during the set.
Gareth comes out first, setting a beat with his drums for the others to walk out to. They're dressed pretty much the same as usual, except for Eddie, whose jeans were swapped with a long skirt, its side slits so high the whole thigh is pretty much on display.
Steve briefly wonders what kind of underwear they're wearing for it not to be visible.
"Hello Chicago!" Eddie greets the audience through the microphone. "Ladies and gentlemen, and..." he makes a dramatic pause, eyes scanning the crowd. "Others. A gorgeous man walked into my dressing room today and did my make up." They flip their hair back and angle their face left and right. "What do we think?" The crowd goes wild and Eddie laughs. "Me too. It goes to show, for the best make up and hair tips, go to a drag queen." With another loud cheer from the crowd, Eddie sticks out their tongue playfully and starts off the first song.
They look stunning, with the strands of hair framing their painted face and the long pale legs wearing heavy leather boots. Steve feels like a fraud, because he's getting paid to make the band presentable, but really, Eddie's beauty is doing most of the work for him.
"Did Eddie just call me gorgeous?" he asks absentmindedly, slowly processing everything he's taking in.
To his right, Chrissy sighs.
"Please don't take it to HR," she says.
"What?" Steve gives her a short, surprised glance. "No. No. Unless, there's something against dating the band in my contract?"
Thank You for participating! With special shoutout to @mugloversonly who did the whole week! We got 9 fics and 1 fanart overall, check them out:
Nonbinary Eddie performing 'Sweet Transvestite' by @alicetallulaafterdark
nonbinary Eddie | prompt: Stage
Pretty by @mugloversonly
prompt: genderfluid | G | Steve walks in on Eddie trying on a dress
Steddie Twilight AU by @fuctacles
shapeshifting is kinda like being genderfluid | M | 1104 | cw: your high school trauma may resurface | Incubus!Eddie, transfem Stevie, inspired by Twilight, part 1 of 3?
Keep on Dancing by @mugloversonly
transman Eddie Munson | prompt: Lipstick/drag | G | summary: Eddie invites Robin and Steve to his drag show
I'm Coming Out by @mugloversonly
transwoman Eddie Munson | prompt “tie/trans” | G | summary: Eddie comes out to the party.
Tease by @mugloversonly
genderqueer Eddie Munson | prompt “stage” | M | summary: Eddie performs on stage for their fans...and their boyfriends.
A gorgeous man walks into a dressing room by @fuctacles
genderqueer/gender non conforming Eddie | prompt "stage" | Steddie | T | 1125 | famous Eddie, hair stylist (and drag queen) Steve, first meeting, pre-relationship
New Furniture by @mugloversonly
transmasculine Eddie Munson | prompt “he/they/ sex shop” | T | summary: Eddie and Steve go to a sex shop.
First Blood by @mugloversonly
non-binary Eddie Munson | prompt “characters/non-binary” | G | | tw: transphobia, homophobia | summary: Eddie makes a non-binary D&D character hoping everything to be fine...it wasn’t.
Phoenix by @mugloversonly
TransFeminine Eddie Munson | prompt “Wayne” | G | tw: child abuse, use of the word Transvestite (but not as a slur) | Summary: Eddie tells Steve how she ended up at Wayne’s.
Please tag how Eddie is portrayed, the rating, major content warnings, and ships. Everything else is optional.
Prompts:
Freak | Genderfluid
Lipstick | Drag
Tie | Trans
Stage | Intersex
Sex Shop | He/They
Character | Nonbinary
Wayne | Ask me a bout my pronouns
Using the prompts, especially the gender-related ones, isn't necessary, as long as some Gender is happening in your work. I.e. you can write a whole week of transmasc Eddie.
INFO | INTRO | ASK | AO3 COLLECTION | PROMPT FORM | ROBIN WEEK | STEVIE EVENTS
@genderthings Eddie’s gender week day 3 prompt “tie/trans” | rating: G | transwoman Eddie Munson
summary: Eddie comes out to the party.
AO3
Eddie took a deep breath as Robin put the finishing touches on her hair. She took her black bandanna and tied it into a cute headband bow, pulling pieces of Eddie’s curls down to frame her face. Today she wanted to look perfect; she was coming out to the party today. She’s been out to Robin for nearly a year. She smiled at her girlfriend when she remembered that conversation. She’d been so nervous.
~~~
It was the first time Robin came over to the trailer alone, but Eddie couldn’t do this in front of an audience. She wanted to tell Robin first since she knew about her sexuality. Eddie hoped the solidarity would give her confidence.
“Robin. I need to tell you something.” She began. “It’s kind of hard to say.” Robin grabbed her hand and held it tightly.
“Whatever it is, I’m here for you. You’re my best friend.” She smiled. Eddie nodded and took a deep breath.
“I’m trans.” She mumbled. Robin furrowed her eyebrows. “I’m actually a girl. Is that okay?” Robin didn’t answer for a minute and Eddie panicked. She stood and began pacing around the living room. “I’m sorry. I know that maybe that does change things between us but I really needed you to know because you’re my best friend and I couldn’t hide this from you anymore and I have a huge crush on you and I know that maybe that doesn’t matter because of what’s downstairs but I still thought you should know. Robin please say something.” Eddie rambled before she froze and stared at the other girl. Robin slowly stood, took Eddie’s hand again, and led her to sit down.
“Okay. Thank you for telling me. I’m really proud of you, this doesn’t change anything between us.” Robin said. Eddie sighed in relief.
“Good.” She hugged the other girl.
Robin helped Eddie find her style and she was free to be her real self around her. A few months after she came out, Robin asked her out on a date.
“Really? Even though I have a…” She trailed off and curled into herself.
“I will admit, I don’t know my way around one,” Robin began. “But that doesn’t mean I can’t learn. You’re still the most beautiful girl I’ve ever met and you’re my best friend so I know we’ll click personality wise.” Eddie giggled and nodded.
~~~
They’ve been together ever since and Robin was Eddie’s biggest support. The only other person in the group who knew about Eddie was Steve. It was partially an accident. Robin made a comment about the two of them dating and confused the shit out of poor Steve. He showed up in the middle of the night to break the news to her that Robin was a lesbian and was probably using Eddie as a beard. His heart was in the right place but the warning was ultimately unnecessary.
The knock on the door broke Eddie out of her thoughts.
“It’ll be okay, babe. And if not, you’ll still have me and Steve.” She promised. Eddie nodded and let the party into the trailer.
“Come in, sit down.” Eddie gestured to her small living room. The group piled in and Eddie gulped at the handful of weird looks she got for her outfit. She hadn’t wanted to startle the group, but she didn’t want to hide either. She wore a simple summer dress, her legs were freshly shaved. Once everyone settled, Eddie stood in front of the TV to address the whole room.
“Um…” She began. Her hands shook. Suddenly, she wanted to run and hide under her covers. Steve gave her a thumbs up and Robin smiled encouragingly.
“Man, what are wearing?” Mike chimed in, bordering on disgust.
“What does it look like, shithead?” Steve growled.
“Guys!” Argyle yelled before there could be anymore comments. “Let him continue.” Eddie flinched at the words even as she appreciated the sentiment.
“I’m not…” She took a deep breath but couldn’t continue. Steve clocked the helplessness in her face and stood to wrap her up in a hug.
“Dude, what’s going on?” Dustin asked. The annoyance at being left out of the loop, clear in his tone.
“Take your time.” Steve whispered. Since he knew the truth, Steve has been her biggest cheerleader aside from Robin. He fought someone at the queer bar the other day for saying shit to her, and he actually won!
She felt another body pressed to her back and smiled when she realized it was Robin. She grasped her girlfriend’s hands and absorbed their warmth.
“Can I tell them like this?” She whispered. Steve nodded and crab walked them around until Eddie’s head peaked out from the middle of the hug circle.
“I’m transgender.” She admitted quietly. The group burst into loud questions from left to right.
“One at at time.” Robin spat.
“What’s transgender?” Lucas asked.
“You cannot be that dumb.” Erica raised her eyebrows at her brother. He pushed her shoulder. She pushed back and the two entered into a slap fight until Jonathon put a stop to it.
“It means you were born in the wrong body, right?” Nancy asked. Eddie nodded.
“Where’s the right body?” El asked innocently.
“I’ll explain that one to you later, okay?” Jonathon promised.
“That’s why you’re wearing a dress, man?” Mike sneered. Eddie shrunk in on herself just a bit. Max smacked him on the back of the head.
“I think she looks beautiful.” She said with a harsh glare at the boy. Eddie’s cheeks heated at the compliment.
“Yeah, yellow really is your color. Who woulda thought with the way you normally dress.” Erica interjected.
Dustin stared at her in contemplation, like she was a hard jigsaw puzzle.
“You told Steve before you told me?” He asked, poorly disguised hurt bleeding through. “I thought you trusted me.” Eddie pulled out of the hug and went to sit next to him.
“It’s not about that. I planned on telling everyone at the same time but I needed to tell Steve before because…” She trailed off. She didn’t know if Robin wanted to keep it a secret but before she could ask, another question popped up.
“Wait, are you dating Steve?” Will whispered. Robin and Steve gasped but for different reasons.
“Um, no! She’s my girlfriend thank you.” Robin blurted out. Eddie whipped around to look at her in shock and laughed when she saw Steve’s hand pressed to Robin’s mouth.
“Eddie already came out once today!” He exclaimed.
“So you’re a lesbian?” Erica asked. Robin nodded since Steve’s hand still blocked her mouth.
“That’s why you never wanted to date Steve.” Dustin threw his hands in the air like that explained everything. And to Dustin, maybe it did.
Eddie answered a few more questions from the group before Steve suggested they move the party to his house so they could all watch a movie and have a sleep over. Max asked to ride over alone with Eddie and she could never say no to the little gremlin. She pressed a soft kiss to Robin’s cheek before they went toward their separate rides.
As the two got into Eddie’s van to drive to Steve’s, Max stared at her hands. Something was on her mind, but Eddie knew better than to ask.
“Fuck Mike Wheeler.” She mumbled. Eddie snorted at the deadpan delivery even though she agreed. “He shouldn’t have acted like that.”
“Well, Mike Wheeler is a notorious shithead so, I expected worse.” She admitted.
“What Nancy said, about being born in the wrong body.” Max continued. “Can that go the other way?”
Eddie’s eyes widened but she tried to remain calm. She was about to have her first queer mentor moment.
“Like can a girl feel like she was supposed to be born as a boy?” Eddie asked just to clarify. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught Max’s nod.
“Yeah. It can go the other way. Do you...know someone who might feel that way?” Eddie didn’t want to force Max to confess anything, but she wasn’t about to slam the door in her face.
“Sometimes...I do.” Max whispered. Eddie took another deep breath and pulled over to the side of the road.
“Thank you for sharing that.” Eddie turned to face Max. “If you feel that way, sometimes or all the time, it’s real. You can talk to me about this stuff, okay? I promise I won’t think of you any differently.” Max nodded. They sat in silence for a few minutes so Eddie started back to the Harrington house. As the parked outside, Max’s hand paused on the car door handle.
“Hey Eddie? I wasn’t kidding earlier when I said you look great in that dress.” Max smiled and popped out of the car.
Eddie sat in the driver’s seat for a few more minutes lost in thought. Did she just gain another little brother?
@genderthings day 5 prompt “he/they/ sex shop” | rating: T | transmasculine Eddie Munson
a bit of a short and sweet one today!
summary: Eddie and Steve go to a sex shop.
AO3
It wasn’t what he originally went into the shop for, but once Eddie saw it, they had to have it. Eddie and Steve were regulars at the shop; they came by every month or so for their newest toy. It was Steve’s turn to pick but Eddie liked window shopping. That’s when he saw something new. It wasn’t something he ever wanted to use. It wasn’t for them, not really. But it wasn’t not for him.
“Stevie!” Eddie yelled for his boyfriend...who was standing right next to them.
“I know, I see it.” Steve sighed...like he knew they were already trying to fit it into the apartment.
“It’ll look so good in the living room.” He cackled. Steve was unimpressed.
“I’m not putting that in the living room.” Famous last words. Eddie ran to the cashier.
“Excuse me, do you have any of those in stock?” They pointed to the display.
“There’s one in the back that I put aside just for you.” The cashier smirked. Eddie used to be embarrassed, coming to a sex shop enough that the staff recognized your tastes. But today, they were pleased as punch.
Not even an hour later, Eddie sat surrounded by pieces of fabric and wood, trying to put the swing together.
“Steve!” They shouted as he looked at the directions again. This time, Steve was across the apartment and he shuffled in.
“What’s wrong?” He asked. In the minute since he yelled, Eddie laid down and curled into a ball. They held out the directions for Steve to take a look. He stared at them for a moment, then he got up and pulled Eddie to his feet.
Steve directed Eddie to the kitchen to make them something hot to drink while Steve worked on the swing. In the store, the display made it seem really easy to put together, but now that everything was out in the open...he started to regret all their life choices.
Hot chocolate in hand, he walked back to the living room. Steve seemed to be having better luck, at least his piles of pieces seemed more coherent than Eddie’s did. They sat on the couch and watched Steve work, content to let the man take over.
Nearly an hour later, Steve declared the swing finished. Eddie excitedly rushed to hang it in a doorway and test it. Before they could sit, Steve picked up a nearby encyclopedia. He placed it gently into the swing and it held.
Eddie went to try it but again, Steve stopped them and placed another heavy book. This pattern repeated until the approximation of Eddie’s weight was represented in books. It held.
“Great, can I try it now?” They asked. Steve begrudgingly agreed and removed the first book. Well, he tried to. As soon as the swing moved a little, it fell apart. Steve threw his hands in the air and walked away in frustrated silence.
“IKEA ass sex swing.” He mumbled. They picked up all the pieces and went to try again.
Half-way through the second attempt he threw in the towel and pulled out their phone, dialing a number.
“Hey, Robin. How good are you at putting together furniture?” They asked.
Important: Since the prompts dropped late, I'll be keeping an eye out for reblogs and the collection will remain open until Women's Day.
Details under the cut.
Please tag how Eddie is portrayed, the rating, major content warnings, and ships. Everything else is optional.
Prompts:
Freak | Genderfluid
Lipstick | Drag
Tie | Trans
Stage | Intersex
Sex Shop | He/They
Character | Nonbinary
Wayne | Ask me a bout my pronouns
Using the prompts, especially the gender-related ones, isn't necessary, as long as some Gender is happening in your work. I.e. you can write a whole week of transmasc Eddie.
INFO | INTRO | ASK | AO3 COLLECTION | PROMPT FORM | ROBIN WEEK | STEVIE EVENTS
for @genderthings Eddie’s gender week day 6 prompt “characters/non-binary” | rating: G | non-binary Eddie Munson | tw: transphobia, homophobia
summary: Eddie makes a non-binary D&D character hoping everything to be fine...it wasn’t.
AO3
When Eddie arrived at the Harrington house that afternoon, they thought it would be a normal D&D session, they hadn’t expected to end up, curled up under Steve’s covers, crying their eyes out.
~~~
Mike wanted to dip his toes back into DMing and asked Eddie to play in a short campaign to give him feedback; something they were more than happy to do. They loved being the DM but they hadn’t been a player in a really long time; they missed it.
Steve agreed to host after Ted Wheeler wouldn’t let Eddie into his house. Officially, because he didn’t agree with Eddie’s whole thing but really it was because Karen slipped her number into their pocket. Nothing would’ve happened, Eddie wasn’t a homewrecker, but they couldn’t blame Ted for taking precautions.
Regardless, Eddie made sure to bring Steve a thank you gift, which they snagged off the backseat as they bounded to the door. They rang the doorbell, and were treated to a sun kissed Steve pulling the door open.
“Hey, Stevie.” They smiled. Steve pulled them into the house, shut the door, and kissed them softly on the lips, making them giggle.
“You know you don’t have to knock, baby.” Steve reminded them. He gave them a key last week but Eddie didn’t want to abuse it. They handed the special flowers they brought to their boyfriend.
“Sunflowers for my sunflower.” They whispered. Steve flushed and ducked his head shyly.
When they first started dating, Steve said his eyes always followed them across the room. Eddie had nervously rambled about the science behind sunflowers and how they tracked the sun to get the most sunlight and how that meant they would get the most nutrients. The whole time Steve stared at them adoringly before he whispered that Eddie was his personal sun.
“Alright you two, please stop sucking face! We want to get started this decade!” Mike yelled. Eddie rolled their eyes but moved into the living room, Steve went to the kitchen to finish up the snacks.
“So sorry, young Lord Wheeler, I’m here.” They slid into the available seat after an over the top bow, and pulled out their character sheet.
“Okay, everyone go around and introduce your characters please.” Mike said and motioned to Will.
“My character is named Jovel, he’s a half-orc wizard.” Will said. Dustin’s turn was next.
“I’m Storg. I’m a dwarf, Paladin who made his way to the party to prove his loyalty to his god.”
“Kaldar is a half-ling tempest cleric. He is afraid of lightening.” Lucas said with a laugh. Eddie snorted. A tempest cleric having a fear of lightening would be interesting to roleplay. Then it was Eddie’s turn. They took a deep breath. Eddie made this character as a way to closet come out to the party, now was the moment of truth.
“Yo, Frenak here. They’re an elvish bard. Their preferred instrument is the flute.” Eddie said.
“Wait, is Frenak a boy or a girl?” Dustin asked. Eddie stiffened. Fuck.
“Neither. Frenak is just...Frenak.” They hoped there wouldn’t be too many questions.
“But, they have to be one or the other.” Dustin insisted. Eddie furrowed their brows.
“No, they don’t.”
“Well, how do we talk about them if they aren’t a boy or a girl?” The smug lilt to his voice grated on Eddie, making them snappier than usual.
“You literally just addressed them without knowing, first of all.” Dustin’s eyes widened at the irritation in their voice that Eddie didn’t try to hide. “Second, they don’t have to be one or the other. It’s called being non-binary.”
“Non-binary?” Will asked. Eddie turned to the younger boy and smiled softly.
“Yeah, it means you’re not a boy or a girl. You’re kinda in between.” That’s how it worked for them anyway. Sure they leaned more to the masc side of presentation, but if the world was more accepting they’d probably be more ambigous.
“Like bisexuality?” Lucas asked eager to have caught on before the others.
“Yeah, but for gender not sexuality.” Eddie smiled, happy to have some understanding from their sheep.
“That’s not a thing.” Dustin said and crossed his arms. “If it’s a fantasy thing for the game, fine but at least say that.”
“Yes it is! It’s a real thing. I’m non-binary.” They growled. Eddie stiffened; they didn’t mean to say that, but now that it was out there, they found themselves relaxing, accepting the consequences so they could be their real self.
“Eddie I know you like being weird but, making up some queer thing to mess with the town isn’t weird. It’s wrong. Isn’t being gay enough?” Dustin said petulantly. Eddie stared at the boy angrily. They huffed and pushed away from the table. They caught sight of Will folding in on himself as they stalked to the kitchen.
“Dude!” Lucas yelled, though at Dustin or at Eddie, it wasn’t clear.
Eddie wanted to storm out, but their boyfriend didn’t deserve that. Steve had his Walkman on so Eddie tapped him on the shoulder wincing in apology when he flinched.
“Hey, I’m heading home.” Eddie whispered to Steve. Angry and hurt tears filled their eyes but they refused to let them fall. Not yet, anyway. Steve ripped his headphones off urgently and pulled Eddie into his arms.
“Baby, what happened?” He whispered as he held them close. They lost the battle with their tears as they soaked into Steve’s shirt. The boys in the living room were yelling at each other but they couldn’t make out any words.
“Just, not feeling well.” They said. It wasn’t exactly a lie, but it didn’t convey the whole truth. They didn’t want to be alone, but they couldn’t sit at the table and pretend like that conversation didn’t happen. Steve pulled back from the embrace and took them in before coming to a decision. He wiped the moisture away and kissed them on the forehead.
“Go upstairs, take a shower, and put on the pjs you love to steal. I’m going to take the dumbasses home.” He whispered. Part of Eddie wanted to argue that it wasn’t a big deal and the boys could still play; but, the rest of him was so grateful to have Steve in their life.
“Okay. I love you.” Eddie whispered back.
“I love you, too, captain.” He laughed. Captain was Steve’s suggestion for a non gendered honorific. Eddie nearly split their side laughing but they appreciated the effort, and it made them chuckle now which was likely Steve’s intention.
Eddie snuck out of the kitchen through the second entrance (a plus to a rich person’s house) and tiptoed up the stairs. When they showered, they made sure to wash their hair with Steve’s fancy products he got just for them. In Steve’s bedroom, they rummaged in his drawers until they found his Winnie the Pooh pajama pants and matching top. The set no longer fit Steve but since Eddie was smaller, they were perfect.
The tears stopped in the shower, but now that they were laying down, the conversation played in their mind. Of all the boys, Eddie always assumed Dustin would be the most tolerant to differences; he seemed too smart for prejudices. But they were wrong and now they worried their stupid character would ruin more than just one friendship.
Eddie knew Steve was bi, obviously, and Robin was out to them too. Technically, Eddie was bi but it’s not like it really mattered, since he was in it for the long haul with a man. They had their suspicions about Will, especially after the way he tried to hide after Dustin said that shit.
They were so lost in the spiral they didn’t hear Steve come home, they only noticed him when the bed dipped under his weight.
“Hey, baby.” He whispered as he curled around Eddie’s back. They only hummed in response. “Do you want to tell me what happened?”
“Did the boys not tell you?” They asked. Kinda shocking with how loud they all were.
“No, once I told them you weren’t feeling good and they needed to leave, Mike invited Will and Lucas over, explicitly ignoring Dustin. Lucas went so far as refusing to ride in the car with him. When I said I didn’t want to make multiple trips, he said he’d walk to the Wheelers'. Then Mike and Will decided to join him.” Steve shrugged. Eddie hated that a rift formed in the kids’ friendship, but they felt warmth in their chest knowing the other three accepted them.
“What did Dustin say on the drive?” They asked. Would Dustin try to justify himself?
“Not much. Whatever he said, he regrets saying.” That counted for something. “According to him, he didn’t know everyone would disagree.” Or maybe it didn’t.
“If I tell you what he said, are you going to commit a crime?” Eddie asked, trying to keep their tone light.
“No promises.” Steve laughed. Eddie took a deep breath and told Steve about the fight. They had to stop half way through to catch their breah when they started crying again.
“I just, never thought anyone in the party could be so...so” they hiccuped.
“Shitty.” Steve finished. Eddie nodded.
“Was Will okay?” They murmured. At Steve’s questioning noise they continued. “He seemed really closed off and quiet, you know? More than normal, when I walked out.”
“He did seem more withdrawn, but you know how he gets when everyone is yelling so it could be anything.” Steve reassured. Eddie didn’t think so and they knew Steve didn’t either. But there wasn’t anything they could do so they let it go.
“Can we go to sleep?” Eddie whispered. It was early afternoon but a nap might make them feel better.
“Sure thing baby.” Steve settled down further.
“Can we go to that fancy pasta place later?” They mumbled. Steve laughed and agreed even though it was in Indy. They only went for the cheesecake but it was worth it.
Eddie’s eyes slipped shut and they let themselves fall blissfully into darkness.
~~~
The next few days, Eddie called out of work, they needed some time away from the world. On the fourth day, someone knocked on the trailer door. They opened it to see Lucas, Mike, and Will crowded on the porch.
“Hey, guys. What’s up?” They asked.
“We want to continue the campaign.” Mike said. Eddie sighed.
“I don’t-”
“Without Dustin.” Lucas interrupted. “We all think what he said was fucked up.” Their eyes darted between the other boys as they all nodded.
“Look, I appreciate it, but I don’t want to come between you guys.” Eddie said, even as their heart swelled and their eyes misted.
“You’re not. Dustin drew first blood and we’re not going to sit around and wait for him to apologize. You’re our friend too.” Will said. He stepped forward and hugged Eddie tightly. When they let go, the boys piled into the trailer, Lucas gave them a bro hug, and Mike nudged them with his shoulder, as if they all were saying we’ve got your back.
The four gathered around the Munson kitchen table, Eddie smiling all the while. It was a little difficult playing with only three players, but Mike did a great job and Eddie made sure to tell him.
“Whatever, man. Can I still call you man?” Mike asked shyly. Eddie laughed in delight and nodded. “Cool.”
“Thanks for asking though.” Eddie said, happier than they’ve been for a while. Eddie offered to give them a ride home and they all piled into their van.
They dropped each boy off, starting with Will since he lived the furthest out of town. They joked and laughed as if nothing had changed between them and Eddie was grateful...even if there was a Henderson sized hole in the interactions.
As they pulled up outside the Sinclair house, Lucas paused with his hand on the door.
“He’ll come around. And if he doesn’t, well you still have us.” Lucas promised. Great, now Eddie was about to start sobbing.
“Thanks, man.” Eddie whispered instead. “Are you guys going to stay friends with Dustin?” They asked. They didn’t want them to choose, it was simple curiosity. Lucas didn’t answer right away.
“I don’t know. Mike and Will let a lot of things slide, but this isn’t something I can just, let go.” Lucas paused. “He gave me so much shit for basketball, about selling out because I wanted to fit in. Even after I explained how much harder it was for me since I’m black, something I can’t control. And this isn’t something you can control either. It makes me wonder, if I could change my skin if he’d say some shit like that to me too.”
Eddie didn’t say anything for a minute. What would they even say?
“Anyway, goodnight.” Lucas hopped out of the car before Eddie could reply. They noticed Lucas wipe under his eyes and decided to let it go, for now.
~~~
The next morning, Steve invited them over. This time, Eddie used their key, giddily calling out to their boyfriend.
“Kitchen.” He called. Eddie rounded the corner to find Dustin sitting at the island. They froze in their tracks, the smile sliding from their face. Dustin stood and walked over to Eddie, putting his hand out.
