(I made this a month ago i kinda rushed at the end of it & then realised i still have to do the NSFW version of it which idk when i will start that since this drawing isn’t my top priority right now..👀 but it will happen eventually!)
+ greyscale/colour / close ups / with & without body hair
When Steve’s mom forced him to get a tutor for biology, he was not happy. Frankly, he was pissed. Sure he was sitting on a solid D- and yeah he wasn’t exactly known for his academic prowess, but it still sucked. He didn’t have time for tutoring. He had things to do, especially when it came to Sundays. It was one of only two days a week when Steve got Eddie all to himself, no band practice, no sports, no Hellfire, just the two of them.
But Eddie, the goddamn hypocrite was actually on his mom’s side.
“I’m just saying that it would help with the college thing.” He said, rolling his eyes at the way Steve glared at him. Maybe it would have been more intimidating if he wasn’t currently straddling his lap and playing with a piece of Eddie’s hair, but Steve was too comfortable to move, even if he was pissy.
“Y’know, there’s a solid chance nothing I do will be good enough for a college.”
“Well then at least we can say you tried, can't we?"
“I’m just saying, you’re setting yourself up for disappointment if you think I’m just going to start academically succeeding out of nowhere. My dumbass won’t be our ticket out of here,” Steve sighed, ignoring the way Eddie’s eyes softened at his words. He was staring downward, eyes focused on a suddenly interesting bleach stain on Eddie’s shirt.
"You’re not stupid Stevie."
And as sweet as that was, it wasn’t true. He was a straight C- student on a good year, and that took effort. And yeah, the two of them may be in the same ballpark with their grades, but it was different. Eddie was actually smart, just not when it came to people outside of Wayne and Steve telling him what to do. He taught himself how to draw, how to write, Jesus, he basically taught himself how to read, all while living in a house from hell for his formative years. He didn’t know what it was like to be truly dumb. He missed 2⁄3 of middle school and he was still doing better in English than Steve was.
Steve could feel his eyes start to get wet as he sniffed, instantly annoyed at himself for getting emotional over something so stupid. But at least it fits the profile, stupid people do stupid things.
He didn’t fight it when Eddie hooked a finger under his chin, forcing him to look up at him. He kissed him first, two light pecks to his lips before mumbling against his mouth, “I could never be disappointed in you. You could drop out tomorrow and I’d still love you as much as I do now.”
Steve couldn’t help but smile a little at that, “Yeah?”
“You know I would. And well…in all honesty babe I always thought drug price inflation was going to be our ticket out of here. I have been overcharging ninth graders for like, a year and a half now.”
Steve smacked his lightly in the chest for that, even if it made him laugh, “Ass. If you can’t trust your local drug dealer then who can you trust?”
“Not my fault I have a family to take care of,” Eddie grinned, swooping in for another kiss, "But seriously baby you're not stupid."
Steve opened his mouth to argue but Eddie slapped a hand over it before he had a chance, “And I know you don’t want to hear it but you’re not. Who was the one to find out that Rick was shortchanging me?”
Steve rolled his eyes. That didn’t even count. He was just the first one to notice that the numbers Rick had written didn’t match up with what the scale said, and the first one to threaten him over it. Eddie would have figured it out eventually.
But he let it go, mumbling beneath his hand, “I did.”
“And who saved us fifty bucks in rent after threatening the landlord with a lawsuit?”
That…that shouldn’t have counted either. Steve had been on a cleaning kick that day and just happened to stumble across an old copy of their lease. And he only read through it because he was bored waiting for Eddie to come home. And the only reason he knew there were violations was because he spent nearly 80 percent of his time there, and yeah maybe he was good at threatening people with legal jargon, but that was only because he retained shit he’d heard from his dad.
“I did but-”
“But nothing,” Eddie interrupted, “Because you were also the guy who actually paid attention during CPR class and saved that lady from drowning sophomore year. And you’re managing to scam your parents into giving you money while banging gay trailer trash. If that’s not smart, I don’t know what is. So I think that you're more than capable of passing a biology midterm. And even if you're not it won’t erase all of the other things you’ve done. Understand?”
Steve blushed, a confusing mix of annoyed and pleased at the praise. Part of him still wanted to fight him, even if everything he said was technically true. But a bigger part wanted to get back to kissing him, and he knew Eddie wouldn’t let it go without him conceding at least a little.
“I understand,” Steve sighed, “But if I’m a big fat failure at this you’re still contractually obligated to love me.”
He wrapped his arms around Eddie’s neck, eyes darting to his lips every few seconds while Eddie chuckled, “Baby, you could try to kill me and I’d still love you.”
Steve leaned back in, tired of waiting. He licked over Eddie’s lips, smiling when he obediently opened his mouth so he could slip his tongue inside. Besides, maybe he was right, maybe Steve could handle it, but it didn’t matter either way. As long as Eddie loved him, he’d be fine.
And that’s how Steve found himself being shaken awake by Eddie on a Sunday for freaking studying. Yeah the make-out session from last week had been pretty convincing but it was a whole different thing in the light of day.
He groaned at the sound of Eddie’s voice, purposefully loud as he sang out, “Time to wake up sunshine! You got some learning to do!”
Steve buried his face in his pillow, groaning again when Eddie took that as an invite to sit on him. He leaned over, whispering in his ear, “If you wake up now I’ll make it worth your while.”
Steve giggled, immediately charmed by the asshole who was already starting to tickle his sides, “What, like you did last night? How are you going to top that?”
Eddie whispered a few more things in his ear, some very interesting things that suddenly left certain parts of Steve very much awake. He pushed Eddie off of him before jumping out of bed, scrambling to put on the loosest pair of sweats he owned while Eddie laughed behind him.
They went downstairs together, and somehow Steve only managed to embarrass himself twice during the whole interaction. It helped that Nancy ended up being one of the most patient people on the planet, always willing to re-explain the things that Steve didn’t get on the first try. It helped even more knowing that Eddie was in the other room, like his presence alone was his own personal security blanket, even if all he was doing was snoring on the couch.
The whole thing wasn’t nearly as bad as Steve had been expecting. He had kind of thought that the daughter of someone who could stand to be friends with his mom would be…well a bitch. But Nancy was nothing like that. She was straightforward and to the point, but also kind with 0 condescension to Steve’s lack of studying skills.
They drove her home after, and he had to admit she dealt with him and Eddie bickering over the radio like a champ. Eventually she just threw her hands up and batted both of them away, with a stern, “Passenger side gets to pick!”
But at least he knew who ABBA was now, and Steve was a pretty big fan of both their music and the way it made Eddie cringe. He kept it on the whole ride home and surprisingly enough, he was actually looking forward to their next session.
He thought that would be the next time he saw her, so imagine his surprise when he walked into first period with Nancy Wheeler already seated by the window, a book in hand. That was new. He walked up to her, taking the desk in front so he could turn back. She didn’t notice him at first, too absorbed in her book. He gently tapped on her desk, knowing from previous experience that it was really easy to jumpscare people when they were absorbed in reading.
She glanced up at him, surprise written all over her face. Which made sense, this was probably the first class they’d ever had together.
He smiled at her, “When did you get added to this class?”
Steve frowned when she looked away from him before answering, voice quiet, “I’ve uh, been here all year actually.”
Steve blinked at her, stomach twisting in a knot. Oh. Oh no. Could he look like a bigger dick? But maybe he could still save this, “Oh. Then I guess this is what you meant when you said we’ve met before?”
Nancy shook her head, still looking anywhere but at Steve’s face, “It was uh, actually last year? We were lab partners in Mrs. Kay's chemistry class. And um, I guess as a warning I’m also in your History class. And uh, Biology. That’s why I’m your tutor.”
Steve stared at her, mouth opening and closing like an idiot. He knew that he was a bit notorious for his one track mind, but he didn’t realize that it was that bad, “I am so sorry.”
She shrugged, “It’s not your fault I’m forgettable.”
Steve opened his mouth to argue, but the next thing he knew he was being shushed by the teacher and Nancy was already back to reading. He wiped a hand down his face, mind already racing on just what he could do to make up for accidentally ignoring her existence for a year plus. But by the time class ended and he turned around she was already walking out of the door.
She was fast for such a little person. And despite the fact that they apparently had three classes together he couldn’t manage to catch her once. He whined to Eddie about it the whole way home, glaring at him when he had the audacity to laugh. Steve was still pouting about it by the time they walked through the front door of the trailer, especially since Eddie was still giggling behind him.
“Babe, I said I was sorry! And hey, at least you didn’t fake date her right?”
Steve groaned as he flopped down into their bed, only the slightest bit appeased when he felt Eddie tug his shoes off for him, “Lab partners is so much worse. I didn’t even know her name until last week. I’m awful.”
“Oh come on, you can still win her over!” Eddie said as he plopped down next to him, laughing when Steve immediately started to play with his hair, “You just got to use some of that signature Harrington charm.”
Steve sighed as he twisted a lock of Eddie's hair around his finger, trying and failing to make his brain come up with an answer. But then it hit him, “Hey, do you still have enough stuff here to make more muffins?”
Eddie raised a brow at him, “Are you going to try and bribe her into liking you with chocolate?”
“If you make them for me I will,” Steve was trying to put on his most convincing face, the cute one that almost always got Eddie to do what he wanted. And it seemed to be working if the way his eyes softened was anything to go by.
Eddie sighed, pretending to think about it for a second, “What’s in it for me?”
Steve leaned into kiss him, two quick pecks to the side of his mouth before saying, “My undying love?”
Steve loved how something so corny was enough to make Eddie melt, “Deal.”
God, he was so easy.
He left Eddie to bake while he drove all the way back to his house. There were a lot of other things he’d rather be doing than digging around in his mom’s desolate wrapping paper drawer in the middle of the night, but he made it work.
By the time he got back to the trailer they were baked and cooled, and Steve made sure to give Eddie a thorough kiss for his efforts. He wrapped a few of them up in some purple cellophane, paired with a pink and white bow, the least ugly combination he was able to find at one a.m.
He added a small white card, scribbling a little something into it before presenting it to Eddie in bed, “Tada! What do you think?”
Eddie laughed as he took it from him to inspect, in good spirits despite the fact that Steve insisted he stayed awake until it was finished. He seemed just as impressed with his handiwork as Steve was, “I think it’s perfect."
Steve preened, “You think she’ll like it?”
“She’ll love it,” Eddie reassured before gently placing it on the nightstand. He grabbed Steve’s arm, hauling him down from his sitting position to nearly laying on top of him before grabbing a blanket to cover them both up in, “Now can we please go to sleep?”
Steve didn’t argue when Eddie went to turn off the light. He was right, especially since he was going to make them wake up early on top of it.
The next morning Steve was actually in class early. For the first time in well…ever. But Nancy had still beat him there. She was in her usual place, nose in her book. She didn’t even look up when Steve sat in front of her, but she did startle a bit when he dropped the gift on her desk.
He grinned at her, way too excited for her reaction, “These are for you! To say I’m sorry for y’know. Being oblivious.”
Nancy looked at the muffins and back to Steve, a small smile slowly growing on her face, “You made me apology muffins?”
“Well…Eddie made them,” Steve admitted, rubbing a hand on the back of his neck, “But I helped! And did the decorating and wrote the card.”
Nancy plucked the small card off the ribbon. She read it out loud, her small smile transforming into a full blown grin, “‘I’m Sorry I’m an Asshole.’ I’m guessing you did the little frowny face too?”
Steve nodded, “I may have the art skills of a ten year old but I do mean it. You’re not forgettable Nancy. I’m just an inconsiderate moron. Okay?”
Nancy stared down at the gift in her hands before looking back to Steve, voice soft, “I…thanks. I appreciate that.”
They talked for a while after that and Steve was pretty sure he was planted firmly on the path of forgiveness. But he wanted to be 100 percent sure. He had made it this far, why not push a little more?
“Do you want to have lunch together today?”
Nancy looked more than a little surprised at the request, “Oh, I already have plans with Barb.”
Steve shrugged, “She can come too. The four of us can go to Benny's and get some burgers or something.”
“Isn’t that against school rules?”
Steve smiled to himself. He forgot for a second that he was talking to a goody two shoes over here, “Only if you get caught. And if we did Eddie and I would take the blame, scout’s honor.”
She bit her lip, hesitating before finally nodding her head, “If Barb says yes then, um, sure.”
That was good enough for Steve, even if he had no clue who Barb was. But he’d trust Nancy’s judgment. And surprisingly the whole thing goes a lot better than Steve had been expecting. He was a little scared that their table would be dead quiet after they all realized they had nothing in common, a completely unfounded fear considering that Eddie was with them. He had a knack for getting people to open their mouths, even if it was only to tell him to shut up. And that little skill was great to get both girls to open up a little.
Turns out Steve and Nancy actually had something in common, a mutual love for Blondies, in particular Heart of Glass, while Barb and Eddie both agreed that it was one of the most annoying things they’d ever heard. They created a united front to tease them both over it, and Nancy and Steve bonded over just how misunderstood Deborah Harry was.
It was fun, fun enough for Eddie to invite them both to lunch more and more often. Nancy says yes more than Barb, who is surprisingly busy with a few of her extracurriculars. But it’s still fun. Nancy’s fun. And soon spending lunch together turns into inviting her over to watch a movies with him and Eddie at the trailer, or getting food while Eddie was caught up in Hellfire or Band practice.
It all snowballs into the two of them spending a lot more time together, most of it outside of their tutoring sessions. And Steve was starting to think that he had actually managed to make a friend. The real cincher is just how well she gets along with Eddie, and watching them both laugh together was enough to make Steve feel all warm and happy inside.
Because he likes Nancy. Like, really likes her. Like doesn’t want to throw her to the wayside likes her. She’s smart and kind, a little strict in a weird but pleasant way. And sometimes he’ll look at her and Barb doing something, something as casual as whispering to each other at the lockers, all smiles and shared secrets, and Steve can’t help but want that.
Because he doesn’t really have his own friends outside of Eddie. He has his teammates sure, but it’s not like he can let himself get too close to them. Then there were Eddie’s friends, and they were all great, really, but they weren’t…his. There was Wayne, but as much as he loved him he’d always be more of a parent then a friend. That said, Eddie was still his best friend. He loved Eddie, he loved Eddie more than anything on the planet.
But he can’t…talk to Eddie about Eddie. And yeah, maybe it was a bit too feminine to want to gossip about your boyfriend at the lockers with a new girl bestie. But then again, he probably lost his “man” card the second he shoved his tongue down Eddie's throat for the first time. And it’s not just that he wants someone to talk about his relationship. He wants her to be able to talk to him too. Whether it be her own crushes or complaining about her parents, he wanted to connect with her more. It sounded…fun. Maybe gay as hell but whatever. Technically it was fitting.
But he knew that he couldn’t have that if he didn’t tell her the truth.
~
From this fic, and the 1.5 Part of this post
Part 2 Part 3
@missarte-beltane
Idk tag etiquette so I only added the person who asked for it because I don't want to be annoying! But if you want to be added let me know!
