Archive of Our Own

The video store was quiet today. Not a single customer had walked in, which wasn’t unusual, seeing as it was a Wednesday and not a Friday.

Keith had told Steve to scrape the gum off the underside of the counter, handing him a paint scraper and a little plastic bucket. Steve wanted to complain, he almost did, but he needed this job and Keith already didn’t like him as it was.

Robin was chewing on a piece of gum, while idly flicking through a shelf of films. She would pick them up and read the back of them, with little to no interest.

“I’m bored.” Robin called out for the fiftieth time in the last two minutes.

Steve looked up at her from underneath the counter. She was watching him, as if waiting for him to magically cure her undying boredom. Yeah right.

“Then why don’t you do something productive, like I don’t know, help me scrape this gum-”

Steve cut himself off when a dried wad of gum fell from underneath the counter and onto his face.

“Jesus Christ! What the hell is wrong with people?” He slapped the gum off.

“Why is there even gum under here in the first place?”

He was annoyed, and a little pissed off.

Robin cackled. “At least it didn’t fall in your mouth, that would’ve sucked.”

Steve stood up from under the counter, pointing the scraper at Robin with a glare.

“Most of this is probably yours anyways, so why don’t you get down there and clean it.”

“Definitely not.”

He blew out a breath, clicking his tongue, it didn’t matter anyways, he was done scraping that shit off.

There were two stages of gum being stuck on something. One, it would be old, dried, and hard as cement. Two, the gum would be fresher, stickier and a million times worse then cemented gum. Steve despised both of them.

“Hey at least when you’re scraping off the gum, you’re getting an arm workout.” Robin pointed out, lifting her arm up and flexing her muscles.

He looked down at his forearm and biceps, turning his arm and flexing a little before raising his eyebrows and nodding in a ‘not too bad’ kind of way. Honestly, they probably didn’t look any different from before, but he let himself believe it.

“Shit you’re right.” He smiled, his mood flipping just like that.

“Always am.” She replied, rolling her eyes. She moved over to the romance section, picking up films only to set them back down, uninterested.

The door swung open, and both Steve and Robin looked up to see Dustin hurrying over to the counter.

“Henderson!” Steve lit up at the sight of Dustin. See, Dustin was his favorite of the group, no questions asked. He always had something sarcastic to say, he was smart and overall just a good kid. Even when he was being little shit, Steve still adored him.

Dustin was panting, his face was flushed pink, and his curls stuck to his forehead with his sweat. He looked exhausted.
Steve couldn’t blame him, it was summer and the temperature outside was in the mid nineties. The only thing keeping Steve sane was the air conditioning that Keith kept at a cool sixty nine.

“Don’t you think it’s weird how happy you are to see your children friends? Just a little?” Robin asked, pinching her fingers in front of her face.

“Nope!” Steve grinned at Dustin. “What’s the rush?”

Dustin caught his breath, holding up a finger to tell Steve to wait as he braced himself against the counter.

“I need a favor.”

Steve nodded. He was ready to say yes to anything Dustin asked. Seriously, he’d do almost anything for him.

“Alright, we’ll what do you-,”

“As you know, Mike’s in California visiting Will and El,” Dustin interrupted, his eyes wide, almost pleading, even though he hadn’t asked his question yet.

Steve shifted, narrowing his eyes.

“Yeah,” He drawled out, waiting for Dustin to spit it out. He didn’t like that Dustin was giving him the puppy dog eyes, he never did that. He was usually a pretty straightforward kid.

“Well, we need you to join our campaign tonight,”

“No. Nope. No way. Not in a million years, Henderson.” Steve would do anything for Dustin, but this just wasn’t on the list. And it never would be. No way in hell.

“Please Steve. Jesus Christ, I’m literally begging here.”

Steve crossed his arms. “You’re not gonna get a yes out of me, so you might as well quit now.”

“Don’t be a dick Steve, you owe me.” Dustin cut the puppy dog act, leveling Steve with a glare.

Steve reeled back, his eyebrows furrowing together. “Owe you? For what?”

He couldn’t think of anything he owed Dustin right now. In fact he just drove Dustin an hour away so he could buy a limited edition comic book. So if anything, Dustin owed him.

Dustin paused. Opening his mouth and then closing it. He glared harder, if that was even possible.

“I don’t know yet, but I do know you’re gonna owe me soon and I’m cashing it in now.”

Steve looked at Robin, throwing his hands up in the air as if to say, ‘Are you seeing this shit?’.

“Don’t look at me.” She shrugged, taking a bite out of the licorice twisted between her fingers. Steve rolled his eyes, she was no help, whatsoever.

Dusting huffed impatiently. “You can bring Robin.”

“How sweet.” She said flatly around another bite.

Dustin threw his head back, groaning loudly. “Steve, please, I’ve asked literally everyone else. I wouldn’t ask you if it wasn’t important to me. You know that.”

Steve did know that. He knew it well enough he could feel his willpower cracking under Dustin’s stare.

He tried again.

“I’m not gonna spend my night role-playing a fantasy game with a bunch of kids. It’s weird.” Steve argued.

“Why not? Eddie does.” Dustin pressed.

“My point exactly.” Steve laughed, holding his arms out.

Robin snorted, pulling out two pieces of licorice, offering one to Dustin.

Dustin looked her up and down before taking it. “Thank you, Robin.”

He glanced back at Steve with a pointed glare. He huffed as he turned to leave. “Eddie was right.”

Steve opened his mouth, puzzled.

“Right about what?” Steve asked. Not that he cared what Eddie thought about him, he was just curious.

Dustin smiled, stepping back up to the counter. That’s when Steve knew Dustin had him right where he wanted him.

“Oh nothing, he just said you’d probably be too boring to play D&D with anyways.”

“What? That’s not true, I’m not boring.” Steve defended, not really sure why it irked him that Eddie thought he was boring. “Like at all. I’m fun, Robin, right?”

“Sure, if by ‘fun’ you mean ‘boring’.” She teased, winking at Dustin.

Steve scoffed, looking between Robin and Dustin. “He doesn’t even know me.”

That was partly true, in a way. In fact he’s pretty sure he remembers Eddie calling him metal. Metal’s not boring, at least according to Eddie.

“Then I guess you’re just gonna have to prove it to him by showing up tonight.” Dustin dared, smiling he knew he won. He did, but he didn’t have to look so proud of himself.

“Fine.” Steve glared, biting his tongue. Sneaky little shit.

“Okay.” Dustin grinned, sliding Steve a ripped piece of paper with an address and a name on it.

Steve sighed, scratching the back off his head. These kids were gonna be the death of him, and they weren’t even his.

“You know he probably made that up so you’d agree to go, right?“ Robin pointed out unhelpfully.

“Yeah I got that.”

——————————————

In the end Robin decided she had nothing better to do, so she got in the car with Steve. They drove to Gareth’s. Or at least that’s what Steve thought his name was. It was hard to read the scribbled handwriting.

Steve pulled up next to a curb in front of the house before getting out to knock on the front door. While they stood there waiting for someone to answer, the garage door slid up with a loud rattle.

“What the hell?” Robin muttered, squinting her eyes to try and see the figure walking towards them.

“Hey,” It was Gareth, Steve thought, vaguely recognizing him.

“We’re gonna be playing in the garage, cause my mom doesn’t like listening to us play. Plus there’s more space.”

“I bet.” Robin said, shifting her weight to her other leg.

Gareth smiled at her. “I didn’t know there was gonna be a girl playing with us tonight.”

“Okay,” Steve interrupted, stepping in front of Robin, “Let’s just get in there and play.”

“Yeah. Sure, yeah, follow me.” Gareth led them to the garage, pulling the door down behind them with an echoing thud.

There was a drum set shoved in the corner, and a large table in the middle of the floor. Everybody at the table was watching them.

“I didn’t think you’d actually show.” Eddie sounded surprised as he stood from his seat to stand in front of Steve.

“Well, here I am.” Steve said, crossing his arms against his chest.

Eddie grinned, pulling his bottom lip between his teeth. “Here you are.”

Steve tracked the movement, not really sure why his mouth went dry.

Eddie glanced back at his friends, “Our very own King has come to join us tonight.” He bowed mockingly, “Truly an honor.”

King. Steve didn’t care for that nickname. It wasn’t him anymore, just a reminder of what an asshole he used to be.

Dustin cleared his throat pointedly, narrowing his eyes at Eddie, before looking to Steve. “You and Robin can sit on either side of me and I’ll explain the game to you.”

“Sounds great.” Robin said, walking over to sit between Dustin and another guy he didn’t recognize.

Steve turned his attention back to Eddie who was staring at him.

“Did you do something different to your hair?” Eddie asked, reaching his hand up to flick the strand of loose hair hanging over Steve’s forehead.

Steve frowned, his hand automatically going to his hair.

“No. Why? Does it look bad?” It felt the same as it usually did, the only thing he did differently this morning was skip an extra spray.

Eddie’s smile almost looked shy as he looked away.

“No, it looks good.” Eddie complimented, letting his hand fall back to his side. “But I think it would look better with a crown.”

Steve ignored the teasing, brushing past Eddie to sit on the other side of Dustin. He shrugged off his jacket and hung it over the back of his chair, touching his hair when he thought no one was looking. It’s not like his hair was a sore spot exactly, but he’s been told it was one of his best features so, yeah, he wanted it to look good.

Eddie sat down next to Steve at the end of the table, bouncing in his chair. He winked at Steve when he caught his eye, drumming his fingers against the table. Steve looked away, listening to Dustin start to explain.

“Okay, basically you’re going to need to come up with your character. Give me names, powers and attacks.”

Steve groaned, muttering under his breath.

“I’ll keep my name,” Robin started, “And my appearance, and oh, I want to be able to have perfect aim with a bow.”

Steve stared at her, his mouth open. He was pretty sure Robin had zero interest in the game or anything like the game, and yet here she was, already knowing exactly what she wanted her character to be.

“Great, we can work with that.” Dustin high-fived her, turning to Steve.

“Why do you know this?” He asked Robin, leaning forward in his chair to look at her.

She shrugged. “I’ve sat behind them at lunch before.”

It took a couple tries before Dustin accepted Steve’s character, mumbling something about how he always has to do everything for him. Which was kind of true, but still.

Steve caught on eventually, after about an hour of playing. He still didn’t understand everything, but he knew enough to play the game. When he needed help he’d ask Dustin, and he wouldn’t admit it to anyone, but he actually kind of enjoyed the game.

It was near the end of the game when things started to pick up. Somehow, Steve ended up being the last player that could save their team.

“Burn him to a crisp, Steve! Don’t be a pussy.” Dustin yelled in his ear.

“But I’d have to roll a-,” Steve couldn’t think of the number, not when everyone was watching him, waiting for him to roll.

“Does it look like I give a shit, Steve? No, just roll the goddamn die!”

“Jesus Christ, okay!” Steve threw the die across the board, closing his eyes as he took a deep breath.

Dustin screamed, throwing his arms up in the air, almost knocking himself out of his chair. But he was grinning ear to ear like a madman so Steve guesses he rolled pretty high.

“Beginner's luck.” One of Dustin’s club members mumbled under his breath.

But Steve didn’t care, not when Dustin was looking at him like he hung the damn moon in the sky.

Dustin celebrated the rest of their team with fist bumps and high fives.

“Steve Harrington,” Eddie drawled out his first name, “I didn’t think you had it in you.”

Steve turned to look at Eddie who was smiling at him, almost in awe. Steve’s stomach flipped. It’s been doing that more and more recently and Steve couldn’t figure out why.

“Yeah, well I only played just this once as a favor for the kid.” Steve crossed his arms over his chest, watching Eddie’s fingers play into his hair.

“Too bad, I wouldn’t mind playing with you again.” Eddie bit his lip, his rings dancing in the light.

“You’re actually not terrible.”

Steve laughed at that. “Yes I am. I sucked. I just happened to get lucky at the end.”

“If you insist,” Eddie tilted his head to the side, “But you and Robin are welcome to play again.”

Robin kicked the back of Steve’s chair lightly. Steve turned around, lifting an eyebrow.

“You ready?” She asked, sticking her hands into the pockets of her jacket.

Steve glanced back at Eddie who had already leaned over the table to talk to Dustin.

“Yeah,” He said, standing from his chair, “Just a second.”

Steve stood next to Dustin, lifting up his hat and scrubbing his fingers into his hair.

“Do you have a ride?” Steve asked, ignoring Dustin’s glare.
Dustin grabbed his hat back from Steve, putting it on his head.

“Yeah, my moms gonna be here in,” He looked down at his watch, “Half an hour.”

“Alright man,” Steve shook Dustin’s head before leaving the garage.

————————————

After Steve and Robin shut the garage they loaded into Steve’s car, which creaked with the weight of them.

“So,” Steve started, turning the key in the ignition, “Do you wanna come back to mine or should I just drop you off?”

Robin turned in her seat to face him, the leather creaking beneath her. Steve glanced at her and then to the mirror to check his rear view.

“Yours, obviously.” Robin scoffed, reaching over to the radio to screw with the buttons.

The beginning beat of Slow Ride played quietly through the speakers.

Robin groaned, throwing her head back. “No, god no.”

Steve laughed high and free. He turned the knob all the way up. “Yes, god yes!” He yelled, hitting the steering wheel with every beat.

He took pleasure in Robin's pretend annoyance, nodding his head along with the song. He took his eyes off the road to sing her the lyrics.

“Eyes on the road, asshole!” She shouted, pushing his head to face forward. She was smiling though, and eventually she gave in, singing along loudly.

They pulled into Steve’s driveway, music still blaring through their open windows. Steve cut the music when they parked, pulling his keys out and dangling them in front of Robin's face.

“Let’s go.”

Steve locked the doors before racing Robin to his porch, shoving his house key into the lock and pushing the door open.

“I keep forgetting how rich you are.” Robin commented, kicking off her shoes by the door.

Steve didn’t say anything, he was too focused on getting his own shoes off.

Robin ran up the stairs, the thumps echoing around the empty house, Steve followed her upstairs to his bedroom. When she stepped into his room she grimaced.

“Jesus Christ. When’s the last time you cleaned in here?”

She dropped her bag onto Steve’s bed, hopping up and crossing her legs over each other.

Steve shut the door.

“I don’t know, probably the last time I had a girl over.” He joined her on the bed, pressing his back up against the pillows.

“Ew. I’m gonna ignore that.”

The truth is, the last time he cleaned his room was when his parents were still home. Every time they left, he never really felt the need to clean. It’s not like they were there to tell him otherwise.

Robin pulled her bag into her lap, unzipping the little pocket and reaching in. She pulled out a little altoid container, glancing up at Steve with a playful grin.

“Up for it?” She asked, popping open the lid. There were three joints, one of them already half smoked, and a lighter squished in.

“Shit,” Steve sat up, “Where’d you get that?” The joints were rolled almost perfectly, no way she got them from Tommy. He couldn’t roll for shit. And his weed sucked.

Robin raised an eyebrow, her face blank. “Who do you think?”

Steve stared at her, his mind drawing blanks. Tommy was the only guy he could think of that sold on the side.

Robin sighed. “Eddie. Jeez dude catch up.”

“Oh. Oh shit, yeah.” Steve laughed. Of course she got it from Eddie.

Eddie. How could Steve forget? He remembered the time Tommy bought weed off Eddie in sophomore year. Steve had driven them to the trailer park and waited on a picnic bench while Tommy paid in crumpled bills.

That was the first time Steve really got a look at Eddie. Before that, he never really paid much attention to him. Tommy had said it was weak and that it tasted like shit, but Steve knew he was lying through his teeth. That was one of the best highs he had.

The corner of Robin's mouth twitched up, she turned her attention back to the altoid container balancing on her knee. She held one for Steve, but he shook his head.

“I’m trying to keep it limited to the weekends.” He supplied. That was the compromise he made with himself the last time his dad had caught him high. His dad wasn’t angry, but he was disappointed. So Steve promised him he wouldn’t smoke again, but he liked his compromise better.

She snorted, shaking her head and sticking a joint between her parted lips. “Alright.”

Well, he was trying to limit smoking, but an hour later they were sprawled out across his bed, passing Robin's joint between them. Steve’s music was playing faintly, drowned out by their conversations.

“Okay,” Robin giggled, drumming her fingers against her stomach, “Kiss, marry, fuck,”

“Wait, that's not how it goes.” Steve complained, scrunching his eyebrows.

Leave it to Robin to start the weirdest conversations.

“Well that’s how it’s going now, so shut up and think.” Robin said, flicking Steve in the head.

“Kiss, marry, fuck.” Steve nodded, waiting for Robin to continue. “ Jonathan, Eddie, and Keith.”

“Fuck you.” Steve laughed, rolling onto his side to face Robin. He held his jaw in his hand, watching her laugh at the people she picked for Steve to choose from.

“Sorry, I’m not on the list.”

They looked at each other before breaking into a fit of laughter. Robin clutched her stomach, kicking her feet that dangled off of Steve’s bed.

“Okay, now seriously, answer.” Robin said, trying to make her smile die down.

Steve thought about it. Honestly, it wasn’t that hard of a choice, if he really considered it. Keith was the worst option so he’d get that out of the way with a kiss. Jonathan wasn’t as bad as Keith, so he’d marry him, the second best option. And then there was Eddie. They hardly knew each other, and Eddie was admittedly attractive, so he’d choose to fuck. At least he wouldn’t have to see him again after.

“Okay I got it,” He scratched his nose, still smiling, “ I’d kiss Keith to get it over with, cause yeah.”

Robin snorted, snuffing out the last of the joint on the little altoid lid.

“Then I’d marry Jonathan, because he seems like he’d be a good housewife, oh and also just because we’re married, doesn’t mean we’d have to do stuff, y’know.” He made a gesture with his hand. Robin flicked him again.

“So you’d fuck Eddie then?” Robin asked, raising her eyebrow in question, her face completely unserious.

Steve paused. Yeah, he guesses he would.

“Well yeah, I mean, he’s the best looking, and we wouldn’t have to see eachother again. So yeah, I’d fuck Eddie.”

Steve tried not to think about the way his stomach flipped when he said that, or the way his brain kept repeating it over and over in a loop. Maybe he really should stop smoking.

“Your turn,” Steve scrubbed his hands through his hair, “kiss, marry, fuck. Mrs. Click, Keith, or that guy you visited in the mental hospital.”

“Victor Creel, the old guy with no eyes? What the fuck?” Robin choked on her laugh, shoving Steve’s face away.

“Yeah that guy, now you gotta choose.” Steve grinned, pushing her hand away.

“That’s not fair, I gave you guys our age.” She complained, her voice broken with laughter.

“You gave me Keith.” Steve deadpanned, glaring at her.

“You gave me Keith!” She yelled, her voice cracking.

Robin smacked him in his chest with the back of her hand, forcing Steve into another laugh.

“Oh yeah, I forgot.” Steve flipped onto his back, staring at the ceiling. His head was swimming like it always did when he was high

“‘Oh yeah, I forgot’.” Robin mimicked, like a child.

“Mature.” He raised an eyebrow. “Now choose.”

Robin threw her head back against Steve’s bed with a groan.

“Kiss Keith, marry Mrs. Click, and fuck old man Creel.”

Steve sat up all the way, turning to look at her. His mouth hung open with disgust, his eyebrows scrunching together.

“What the fuck Robin?” His disgust turned to amusement. “What the fuck is your problem?”

“Something about his festering, stitched up eyes, really does it for me.” Robin cackled, covering her eyes with her fingers, turning to face Steve.

“You're disgusting.” He nudged her with his foot, his cheeks were burning from how much he was laughing.

They laughed until their chests screamed for them to stop, every time they stopped giggling, they’d look at each other and start all over again.

These were the nights Steve loved the most. The nights where he wasn’t alone, were he wouldn’t sleep in a quiet house, with nothing but the creaking structure to keep him awake.

Robin was his rock that he clung to in the raging current that was his life. Well, besides Dustin, but that was different.

————————————————

Steve woke up to the sun in his eyes, peeking through his curtains. He squeezed his eyes shut, turning into his pillow with a muffled groan.

He took a deep breath before lifting himself onto his forearms to look over at his clock.

“Shit.” He drawled out, his voice raspy with sleep.

Steve glanced over to Robin, who was sleeping on her stomach, sprawled across the foot of his bed. There was dried drool at the corner of her mouth that spilled onto the sleeve of her jacket.

“Robin.” He nudged her with his foot. Her body shook with it, but she didn’t wake.

“Robin.” He repeated louder, kicking her harder. “Robin, get up.”

“Fuck off Steve.” She murmured, lifting up her drooled on arm to flip him off.

Steve rolled his eyes, sitting up fully.

“Seriously, we’re gonna be late if we don’t leave like now.” Steve scrubbed his hands through his hair and down his face.

“Jesus.” Robin croaked out, her voice cracking worse than Steve’s. She sat up with a yawn, stretching out her arms as she twisted to crack her back. “What time is it?”

“Eleven twenty something.” He replied, shoving the covers back, moving to sit on the edge of his bed.

Robin grunted, sliding off the bed. She stumbled her way out of his room and into the bathroom, locking the door behind her.

“Hey, don’t take too long.” She didn’t answer. “Seriously Robin, I’m not leaving with my hair looking like this. This shit takes a lot more than just hairspray.” He called out louder.

Steve stood up, walking over to the bathroom door to bang on it. His body ached, and his mouth was so goddamn dry. It was too early for this.

Then the toilet flushed and the sink ran before Robin pulled open the door, glaring at Steve.

“I was literally just peeing.”

“Yeah, I got that.” Steve flashed her a smile, weak and uncomfortable.

She turned back into the bathroom, reaching under the sink to grab Steve’s mouthwash, she twisted off the top and knocked back a half cap.

Steve stepped in beside her, pulling open a drawer and grabbing his floss.

Robin gargled the mouth wash, spitting it into the sink, and turning on the faucet. She splashed water onto her face and lifted up her sweatshirt to pat it dry.

“Ew.”

“Don’t care.” Robin said, her lips tilting up. She fixed her hair in the mirror using Steve’s comb, while Steve finished brushing his teeth.

Steve wasn’t sure when things got so domestic between them, but it was nice in a way. He liked having Robin over when his parents were gone, it made him feel a little less alone.

Robin left the bathroom, leaving Steve alone to perfect his hair, which he did.

Steve found Robin downstairs eating a bowl of cereal, slurping down the leftover milk.

“Mhm, and he’s back from his date with his hair.” Robin teased, milk and cereal still in her mouth.

“Faster than I expected. Faster than she probably expected too.” Robin threw her head back with laughter at her own joke.

“Hilarious.”

“I know.”

Steve grabbed a spoon and made himself a bowl, downing it as quickly as he could. He didn’t even like cereal that much but he was hungry enough not to care.

——————————————-

They made it to work with barely two minutes to spare, throwing on their vests in Steve's car.

“You we’re almost late.” Keith pointed out in a monotone voice as they walked in. .

“But we weren’t.” Robin argued, going to the back to clock in. Steve joined her, smiling at Keith as he did. Keith just stared, taking a long sip of his drink.

“Okay.” Steve muttered under his breath to himself, eyeballing Robin. When she was out of Keith’s sight, she dropped her face in a blank stare, mocking Keith. Steve bit back a laugh, clocking in after her.

The day was slow, as it always was. There were maybe six customers that came in since Keith left, only two of them bought something. Which was fine by Steve, the less customers there were, the less he had to do. But he was feeling antsy today, his fingers kept twitching for something to do. Anything.

It felt like he was waiting for something, or someone. He didn’t know who or what, but it kept him on edge.

“What’s your deal?” Robin asked Steve, while she busied herself refilling the candy jars.

“I don’t know,” Steve sighed, running a hand through his hair as he leaned against the counter, facing Robin. “I think I’m just tired.”

The door opened, and the bustling of people outside filled the quiet store for a few seconds before the door closed. Both Steve and Robin turned their heads to greet the customer, only to be met with Eddie. Again.

See, ever since they found Eddie and went into the upside-down together, and played d&d, he’d just kind of stuck around. Maybe he was grateful that they saved his life, and maybe he just wanted to be friends. But Steve didn’t get it. They’d never hung around each other before everything that happened, and they certainly didn't have anything in common.

Well, they did hang out last night, sort of. But that was different, that was for Dustin.

Eddie was dressed in his usual get up, though, his hair looked a little wind blown. It didn’t look bad. No, it actually looked kind of good, wild and untamed, just like him.

He didn’t look at Steve or Robin yet, instead he was looking around the store. Steve watched out of the corner of his eye as Eddie ran his fingers across the perfectly lined up tapes, his rings thudding on every dip.

Steve busied himself with kicking around a crumpled piece of paper on the floor until Eddie came over to the counter in front of him, leaning forward on his elbows. Steve glanced at Robin but she just shook her head with a smile that told him he was on his own.

“Hi.” He smiled, his eyes were soft and his lips were twisted lopsidedly.

“Hi,” Steve's eyes were searching him, skeptical.

Eddie drummed his fingers on the counter, his rings clacking and scraping against the wood before he stilled them.

“Are you sure you didn’t do something different to your hair?” Eddie asked, laughing when Steve rolled his eyes at him.

“I’m sure.”

“Alright well I just came to return this.” Eddie slid a folded piece of clothing across the counter.

Steve picked up the jacket, immediately recognizing it as his. He must have left it in Gareths garage last night. He looked back up at Eddie who was chewing on his bottom lip.

“I didn’t wash it or anything, but it should be fine.” Eddie explained, scratching his cheek.

Steve made a sort of laugh in the back of his throat before setting his jacket back down.

“I didn’t even realize I left it, thanks though.”

“Yeah,” Eddie breathed out, “I’ve gotta go, but um, yeah. I’ll catch you later.”

He pushed off of the counter and turned to Robin, waving at her with two fingers.

Robin waved back, coming over to stand next to Steve. She put her elbow on his shoulder this time, kissing her teeth.

“What’s with your hair?” She asked, tugging his hair.

Steve shook her elbow off.

“Nothing. Jesus, why? What does it look like?” Steve pushed past Robin to look at his reflection on the blank computer screen. He frowned, running his fingers through his hair. Nothing was different.

He turned to look at Robin.

“You’re fucking with me.”

Robin raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, no shit.”

Steve pushed off the counter, “ Funny.” He said, rolling his eyes, his voice monotone.

“Very.” Robin grinned, reaching over to give Steve’s hair another tug.

————————————————

Almost everyday for a month Eddie would show up at Family Video, with seemingly nothing else to do. Steve used to mind it, he used to get annoyed every time Eddie came in and leaned against the counter with a stupid smile, but now, it’s just another part of his day. He expects it. He kind of likes it too, in a way.

Today wasn’t any different.

“Finally,” Robin moaned, “I’ve been bored out of my skull.”

Eddie grinned, brushing past Steve to stand next to Robin. “But you’ve got Stevie here to keep you company.” He held both his arms out to Steve in a show, before dropping them back to his sides.

“My point exactly.”

Steve scoffed. “It’s just Steve,” He said to Eddie. Eddie held his hands up in surrender, his mouth twitching up at the corner.

“And I’m not boring. I’m fun. Obviously.” He gestured to himself as if to say ‘duh’. Because he was. All the shit he did to help his gang of kids, proved that. You don’t fight demogorgons and their offspring just to be told you’re boring.

“Uh huh. Obviously.” Robin gave him a teasing once over, before turning her attention back to Eddie.

“So what brings you in?”

Eddie glanced at Steve before speaking to Robin.

“Actually I wanted to talk to you for a minute. About that thing.” His tongue was poking out the corner of his mouth, before he bit down on his lip, glancing once again at Steve.

Fucking hell. Steve rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, yeah, don’t mind me.” He muttered, walking behind the counter.

For the past two days Eddie and Robin have tucked themselves in a corner talking about something that Steve was left out of. It was getting pretty annoying, but this time it only took less than a minute before they were both walking back over to Steve.

“So, we’ve got a question.” Robin said, looking Steve up and down with narrowed eyes and a smile.

“What’s the question?” He asked, crossing his arms and leaning back against the counter.

“What do you think about coming to a teeny-tiny little get-together at your place next Saturday?”

Steve stared at her blankly. “What?”

Robin smiled, taking her elbow off of Eddie to brace herself against the counter.

“I know your parents are going out of town next weekend, and then I thought ‘wow, what a wonderful opportunity to host a little get-together’.”

“Host a little get-together.” Steve raised an eyebrow. “Did you two seriously just plan a party, expecting me to let you throw it at my place?” Steve asked, pointing back and forth between them with two fingers.

“Yes.” They both said in unison, completely serious.

So that’s what they’ve been talking about for the past two days.

Steve thought about it. Really, what was the harm? In all the saving the world bullshit they went through, they sure as shit could use a party. He just wished they had a different place picked out. But not everyone has a pool.

Steve sighed.

“Alright.” He agreed easily.

Eddie looked surprised before he grinned.

“Shit, really?”

Steve looked at Eddie, his smile was always so goddamn eager. It used to irk Steve, but not so much anymore. He’s used to it now. The way Eddie’s eyes light up at the smallest things.

“Yeah, why not? I’ve got nothing better planned.” A lie. He was hoping to spend his Saturday getting high with Robin and watch a movie neither of them would’ve watched otherwise.

Robin smiled, breathing a sort of laugh through her nose. She came around the counter to stand next to Steve.

“How many people though?” Steve asked seriously. Spending his whole Sunday cleaning was definitely not on his list of things he’d like to do.

Robin moved her hands in a show as though they’d speak for her, “Friends and friends of friends, or whatever.”

“Friends and friends of friends.” Steve repeated with a raised eyebrow.

“Shut up.” She elbowed him, “Something small with people we like or can at least tolerate.”

“Touching.” Steve nodded, earning another elbow to his side. But he was glad there wasn’t going to be a bunch of people, he didn’t really want to host anything too big.

Eddie smiled, his eyes crinkling at the corners. “Well, I should probably go,” He set his heavily ringed hand back on the edge of the counter, his nails tapping rhythmically.

“But I’ll be there.” He looked at Steve, the corner of his mouth quirking up slightly.

“Alright, see ya.” Robin raised her hand in a wave.

“Later,” Steve sighed, not really sure why he felt empty every time Eddie left.

—————————-

It took a while before Keith agreed to cover for them, but whatever Robin had said to him worked. It always amazed Steve how she could just talk her way in and out of things. She could probably convince Keith to pay her for days she never even worked.

“So who’s coming, exactly?” Steve asked, emerging from the back with a stack of tapes he needed to stock.

Robin took half of the tapes off the top and started placing them in their correct spots. She hummed, thinking.

“So far it’s us, Vickie, Eddie, his group of friends, and some kids in band you wouldn’t know.”

That was nothing like the party’s Steve had been to. He didn’t even think he’d been to a party with less than thirty people.

“Sounds like a real rager.”

Robin rolled her eyes, “Fuck off.”

An older customer that was browsing came to the front to check out. Robin placed her last tape on its shelf before going behind the counter to help.

The bells above the door chimed, causing both Steve and Robin to look up. Steve didn’t know why he was expecting Eddie, but he wasn’t disappointed at the sight of Dustin.

“Steve, I need you to stop this beating around the bush bullshit and ask Eddie out already. It’s getting old.”

Steve was sure if he heard that right so he laughed. “What?”

“Have a wonderful day sir.” Robin said, handing the older man at the counter his receipt with an apologetic smile.

When he left, she leaned against the counter, looking at Dustin. “That was a hell of an entrance.”

Dustin ignored her, still staring at Steve. “You heard me Steve.”

So he did hear him right, but he was confused on where this was coming from.

“Ask out Eddie? As in a date?” Steve asked, taken aback “What the hell, Dustin?”

“Yes Steve, like a date. I don’t care if it’s a candlelit dinner or a goddamn hookup at skull rock, but you need you to tell him how you feel so I can stop hearing about it.”

Robin raised her eyebrows at Dustin, looking back and forth between them.

“He doesn’t even like me.” Steve argued.

Dustin scrunched his eyebrows together and opened his mouth, looking at Steve like he was the stupidest person in the world. Which to be fair, he might be.

“Other than the fact that Eddie literally has the biggest crush on you? You’re joking right?” Dustin laughed, exasperated.

“Robin, please tell me he’s not that oblivious.” He looked at her and then back to Steve. “Steve you are not that stupid.”

Steve just stood there, not really sure what to say. Obviously it wasn’t true, but it left Steve reeling.

“He literally never stops talking about you. It’s actually annoying. Especially when you have to listen to him tell the story of you biting the demobat, and ripping it in half, over and over again on a goddamn loop.”

Steve searched his head for something to say but he kept pulling blanks.

“That’s just because it actually was pretty cool.” Steve defended. “He said it was very metal. That’s probably why he keeps bringing it up, I don’t know what else to tell you.”

Dustin looked like he could hop over the counter and strangle Steve for being an idiot. Instead, he took a calming breath.

“You know what? I don’t care if you don’t believe me, but you need to tell him if you don’t like him, because I’m tired of hearing it.”

And with that, Dustin left the store, leaving Steve at a loss for words.

Finally though, Steve closed his mouth and chalked it up to Dustin getting worked up after hearing the demobat story one too many times.

He turned to look at Robin who was already watching him carefully.

“Am I crazy or did he just try and get me to ask out Eddie Munson?”

“You’re not crazy,” Robin started, leaning her hip against the counter, “But he’s got a point.”

“What?”

“Relax, Steve. I’m joking.” Robin laughed, pushing off the counter to greet the customer.

That made him feel a little better. And later, when the sky grew dark, he almost completely forgot about it. Dustin has been known to have little outbursts, and this was probably just one of them.

Robin looked at the clock before turning to look at Steve. “Vickie’s gonna be here soon so,” She cut herself off when a car pulled into an empty parking spot in front of the store.

“Scratch that, she’s here early. How do I look?” Robin asked, running her fingers through her hair, trying to smooth it down.

Steve looked her up and down. She looked good, and now it made sense why she looked more dressed up than usual. She had a date.

“You have a date.” Steve pushed himself off the counter, standing up straight.

“It’s not a date.”

“You have a date with Vickie.” Steve repeated with a small ‘I told you so’ smile.“Vickie who definitely likes boobies.”

“Don’t say boobies.” Robin groaned, shrugging her vest off. She went to the back to grab her stuff before walking to the door. “It’s gross.”

“Fine. You look great by the way.” Steve called out as she pushed open the front door. She gave him the middle finger.

And suddenly Steve was alone, which was fine, but not really. The thing about being alone in an empty store is everything is so quiet. Like eerily. So Steve decided to pass the time and go to the back to rewind tapes. There were only a few in the box below the counter, but it was enough to keep him busy.

He brought the box of tapes to the back and sat on the floor. He slid one of the tapes out of its protective sleeve and pushed it into the vcr. He rewinded to the beginning of the movie and when he was done, he placed it back in its sleeve and set it off to the side.

He did that to three more tapes until he heard the bells above the front door chime. Steve took a deep breath before getting up to greet the customer. Except, when looked into the store, he couldn’t see anyone.

Steve wasn’t necessarily afraid of anything, especially not after the shit he went through, but he still got the chills. He crossed his arms and looked around the store a little more but he couldn’t find anyone. He was sure he definitely heard the bells, but then again maybe he didn’t.

Thoroughly creeped out, Steve went back to finish rewinding the tapes only to be met with the lights turned off and the tv thrumming with static. Ok he definitely didn’t do that.

Steve started to back up when something grabbed his shoulders and shook him.

“Shit!” Steve screamed, his heart was racing.

He could hear the person behind him laughing as they let go of him. Steve switched on the lights to see Eddie with his back pressed against the wall in a fit of hysterics.

“Shit Munson. What the fuck?” Steve yelled. “How did you even get in here? I didn’t see you.”

Eddie shrugged, his laughter subsiding. “I just walked past you. It was pretty easy.”

He was watching Steve with amusement, pulling his bottom lip between his teeth.

“Sorry.”

Steve rolled his eyes and shook his head before he gave in and scoffed, his own smile making its way onto his lips. “You scared the shit out of me.”

“Yeah I know,” Eddie scrunched his nose up, “It was pretty funny though.”

“For you maybe.” Steve sat back down on the floor to finish rewinding the tapes. “What are you even doing here?”

Eddie came over and sat down next to him, bringing his knee to his chest and resting one of his arms on it. “Dunno, I was bored, and I thought you and Robin might be too.”

“Yeah well she left early.” Steve sighed, sliding in another tape.

“I figured. But why? Did something happen?

“She went on a date.” Steve almost said with who, but he caught himself. Sometimes he forgot you couldn’t just say shit like that. God that was annoying. But then Eddie laughed.

“With Vickie? Took them long enough.”

Steve paused. What? He turned to look at Eddie who was picking at the loose strings of his ripped jeans.

“You know about them?” Steve asked him, baffled.

Eddie looked up at him, raising his eyebrows. “Yeah dude, I’m not oblivious.”

“Oh.” Steve went back to the tapes, sliding the last one back in its sleeve. He collected the stack of tapes and stood, moving towards the front. Eddie got up and followed behind him.

“So,” Eddie started, grabbing a tape off the top of Steve stack, and placing it where it belongs. “What do you think about getting out of here with me?”

Steve looked at Eddie, he was playing with his hair, twisting it between his ringed fingers. He’d never asked to hang out with him before, and after everything Dustin said, he was a little hesitant to accept. Even if he didn’t believe Dustin.

“Where?” He asked anyway.

Eddie tilted his head to the side, running his tongue along the bottom of his top teeth.“I know a spot.”

Steve thought about it. He didn’t really have anything better to do tonight, and Eddie wasn’t bad company.

“Alright.”

Eddie looked surprised, like he didn’t actually think Steve would say yes.

“Just let me finish up and I’ll grab my stuff.” By his stuff, he meant his jacket and keys. Eddie nodded.

————————————

Eddie had told Steve to follow him, so Steve got in his car and followed behind Eddie’s van. He recognized the path they were taking though.

When Steve parked and got out of his car, he walked over to Eddie.

“Skull rock?”

Eddie grinned, scratching his cheek. “Sort of, but not really.”

Steve looked around, this was definitely the way to skull rock. But he shrugged, deciding not to question it. Instead he walked side by side with Eddie, down the forested trail.

They reached skull rock, but when Eddie kept going, Steve stopped, confused. Eddie noticed Steve wasn’t following him anymore so he turned around, smiling.

“I told you we weren’t coming here.”

He did, Steve just didn’t believe him.

“You look disappointed.” The corner of Eddie’s mouth curved up. “Did you want me to bring you here? To press you up against the rock and have my way with you?” Eddie faked a gasp, covering his mouth with his hand.

“So dirty, where’s your shame?” Eddie teased, shaking his head, stepping in close to Steve.

“In your dreams, Munson.” Steve scoffed, not bothering o hide his amusement. He pushed Eddie back with two fingers pressed against his chest.

Eddie threw his head back and laughed.

“Alright, so where are we really going?” Steve asked, kicking up the leaves beneath his sneakers.

Eddie looked up at him, rolling his eyes. “I told you, I know a spot. You’re just going to have to wait and see.”

“You’re ridiculous.” Steve said, lifting an eyebrow.

“So I’ve been told.” Eddie smiled, turning back around to lead the way.

Steve huffed before jogging to catch up with him. He tried to wipe the smile off his face, but no matter what he did it just wouldn’t go away. He felt good though. Like just being here with Eddie rid him of all his inhibitions.

Eventually though, Eddie stopped in front of a wall of leaves. He glanced at Steve before holding up a branch. “Ladies first.”

Steve looked between Eddie and the dark entrance he created. “You want me to go in there? No way.” He crossed his arms.

“You scared, Harrington?”

“No.”

“I promise I’m not gonna steal your keys and ditch you.” Eddie said in a singsong like what he said was enticing.

“I didn’t think you were, but now I’m starting to.”

Eddie sighed, softening his voice.“It’s not scary, you just have to trust me on this.”

Steve looked up at him, searching his face. Steve did trust him. He started trusting him the moment he went into the upside-down to help fight the demobats. Even if he only did it because he didn't want to be the only one that stayed on the boat.

Steve let out an audible sigh before giving in. “Okay.”

Eddie smiled, letting Steve walk past him and into the darkness. Steve waited until Eddie was back at his side before he took another step.

“It’s dark as shit in here.”

“Hold on,” Eddie murmured, pulling out his lighter. He flicked it open, moving deeper into the tree. Steve couldn’t see anything, he could only hear the shuffling of Eddie’s feet.

“Aha!” Eddie cheered, before the inside of Eddie’s ‘spot’ lit up dimly by the fluorescent lamp he held in his hand.

“Holy shit,” Steve breathed, taking in his surroundings, “I didn’t even know this existed.”

It was a large cleared out area completely walled off by leaves and branches. There was a spot in the middle that had two logs laid opposite of eachother, and a handmade fire pit that sat between them. It didn’t look real.

“Well, if I say I know a place, I mean it.” Eddie set the lamp down next to one of the logs.

“Do you like it?” Eddie asked, sliding up next to Steve.

Steve turned to look at him, their faces were probably too close but Steve didn’t really notice. “Are you kidding? How did you find this?”

Eddie played with his hair, holding it to his face like he was hesitant to answer. “I spend a lot of time by myself. You tend to find things you didn’t know you needed until you’re alone.”

Steve hummed. He didn’t really know what the was like, in fact he can't remember the last time he went anywhere truly alone. He stepped closer to the fire pit.

“Can we light this?” He asked, kicking one of the bigger rocks that surround it.

“We can.” Eddie came over and crouched by the fire pit, touching the log with a little pile of twigs and pine needles. “But I can’t promise how long it’ll keep.”

Steve nodded, taking a seat on one of the large logs. It wasn’t very comfortable, but it beat sitting in the dirt.

Steve watched as Eddie used his lighter to help start a small flame in a little tuft of something soft. He set his lighter down and blew until the tuft caught on fire. Eddie’s cheered, hurrying to put the flame down onto the twigs and pine needles.

The fire grew brighter as it caught the brush, but it died down a little smaller when all that was left were the two small logs and little twigs to keep it alive.

Eddie sat next to Steve on one of the larger logs instead of sitting across from him. Steve didn’t mind though, he was too focused listening to the fire crackle.

Soon after though, Eddie was digging in his pockets before he pulled out a neatly rolled joint. He glanced up at Steve with a raised eyebrow.

“You do know what a joint is, right Harrington?” Eddie teased, placing the joint between his lips. He flicked open the lighter and held it to the end until the flame caught.
Eddie took a long drag, holding the smoke in his lungs while he passed the joint to Steve.

Steve rolled his eyes, matching Eddie’s grin, as he took it. “Yeah, yeah, I do smoke occasionally, believe it or not.”

He placed it between his lips, holding it steady with his two fingers before he inhaled and then coughed out smoke. He took a deep breath and then he coughed again a bit harder. Uncool Steve.

Eddie laughed, all fun, no judgement. Steve held the joint out for Eddie to take. Still clearing his throat, tasting nothing.

“Been a minute?” Eddie supplied, taking it from his fingers, matching his smile.

“No, actually” Steve breathed out a laugh. Steve let his eyes wander, taking in all that was Eddie Munson. He looked soft under the flickering firelight, like if he were to touch him, he'd simply fade away.

They passed the joint between themselves until they reached the end of it. Eddie tossed it in the fire and tried to find another but his pockets were empty.

“Shit. I thought I had another one.” Eddie muttered under his breath, double checking.

Steve just kind of sat there watching him. His mind was thoroughly numb, and his tongue felt loose. He couldn’t take his eyes off Eddie. It was weird, because he tried to, but it didn’t work.

“I have to tell you something.” Steve started, already smiling because he knew what he was gonna say.

Eddie looked at him, “What is it?”

“You look pretty in this light.” He meant it. Even if he wasn’t saying it with a clear head, he really meant it.

“You are so faded.” Eddie’s grin widened, as he broke into a laugh. “I should’ve known you were a lightweight.”

“Maybe, but that doesn’t mean it’s not true.”

“You’re not gonna feel that way later, trust me.” Eddie insisted, and suddenly he wasn’t smiling anymore. He looked so serious, Steve wanted to call him out on it but something told him not to. Maybe it was the way Eddie wasn’t meeting his eyes.

“You know,” Steve broke the silence, “Earlier today Dustin stopped by and said something funny.”

Eddie hummed, poking the fire with a long stick.“What’s that?”

“He told me to ask you out on a date.” Eddie looked up at this. “His exact words were ‘I don’t care if it’s a candlelit dinner or a goddamn hookup at skull rock’.” Steve laughed, looking up at the ceiling made of leaves.

“I guess that’s why I was a little suspicious of you taking me out here.” He kicked around a rock he found next to his shoe. “Which is crazy, and obviously not true, but I guess I let him get in my head?”

Eddie was quiet. “Did you think I brought you out here to try and hook up at skull rock?”

Steve couldn’t figure out the tone in Eddie’s voice, but he didn’t like it.

“What? No. But if you did, this little hideout is a
much cooler place to do it than a rock.”

That startled a laugh out of Eddie.

“What? It’s private and nobody else knows about it so yeah it’s like the perfect hookup spot.” Steve continued, looking over at Eddie with a smile. He was glad the mood lightened up again, even when Eddie told him he was an idiot.

They spent a couple more hours in the hideout until the fire died down to a black log, spotted with glowing embers. By then Steve had a clearer mind to work with and convinced Eddie he could drive home just fine.

And he did.

——————————————-

On Saturday, they got off work at six, leaving them an hour to set up, which was really just them setting out plastic cups, a bottle of vodka, and three liters of soda. Steve thought that might’ve been a bit much for the amount of people, but Robin insisted on it.

Eventually, someone knocked on the door, and Robin got up to answer it shortly after. She smiled widely, opening the door enough for Vickie and two of her friends to walk through.

“Hi,” Vickie greeted, leaning against the wall to kick off her sneakers. Her friends followed suit.

“Nice place.” Vickie said, turning to look at Steve.

“Thanks.” He said, even though it was his parents house, not his. “Feel free to look around.” He offered, staying at her side, playing a good host.

Vickie took a couple steps further into his house, glancing out the sliding door.

“There’s drinks in the kitchen.” Robin told Vickie, leading her towards the kitchen. Robin watched Vickie with a stupid smile that was definitely going to be a permanent fixture on her face for the rest of the night.

They stayed in the kitchen, conversing lightly, but honestly Steve felt so out of place. He hardly knew anything they were talking about, let alone who they were, but he tried to keep up anyways.

Eventually though, more of Robin and Vickie’s friends showed up, including Eddie and his band mates. And even though Steve wasn’t sure if he and Eddie were friends, he still felt relieved.

Eddie stood next to him, offering him a beer. “Big house you got.”

Steve took the beer from him, their fingers brushing.“So I’ve been told.”

He glanced over to Eddie, who was already looking at him.
Eddie’s eyes were soft as he bit down at the corner of his lip. Steve tracked the movement, licking his own subconsciously.

Soon though, some friends of Vickie and Robin trickled in through the door, creating a sizable enough group. They mostly trailed outside to sit by the pool, though, leaving Steve alone with Eddie in the kitchen.

“So,” Steve nodded to Eddie’s hands, “Do you play with your rings on? Or do you take them off?”

He wasn’t sure why he asked, maybe it was because he didn’t like how quiet it was between them now that Robin wasn’t here to break any tension.

Eddie followed Steve’s eyes down to his own fingers. He held them up in front of his face.

“I guess it depends,” Eddie answered, dropping his hand. “Sometimes I’ll keep them on if I want to show them off, but most of the time I take them off.”

Steve nodded, taking a sip of his beer. It was warm but it went down easily enough. He gestured to the living room with his head. Eddie followed him, taking a seat on the couch.

“Are they heavy? They look heavy.” Steve continued, still eyeing Eddie’s rings. He sat on the opposite side of the couch, holding the bottle on his knee.

Eddie bit his lip before setting his bottle down onto the coffee table, pulling his rings off one of his hands. They clinked together, as he collected them, before holding his palm full of rings out to Steve.

“Why don’t you try them on and see for yourself?”

Steve looked between the open hand and Eddie before he held out his own, letting Eddie drop them into his hand.

The rings were warm as Steve slid them onto his fingers. Surprisingly, they weren’t heavy at all, but they made his hands feel small.

“They look good on you.” Eddie complimented, drumming his ringless fingers against his knee.

“Thanks, but I don’t think I pull them off as well as you do.” Steve laughed, holding his fingers up, letting them glint in the light.

It was true, they looked out of place on Steve's hands. But they fit Eddie just fine, like they were made for him.

Eddie breathed a laugh through his nose, biting back a smile.

“I don’t know Steve, you also looked pretty damn good in my vest. Maybe you should think about switching up your clothing choices.”

Steve remembered the way Eddie threw his vest at him in the upside-down. He was glad for it at the time, even though it barely covered anything.

“You’re just thinking that because I was also covered in blood.”

“Ah,” Eddie snapped his fingers, pointing at Steve, “You might be right. That was so fucking metal.”

Steve snorted, it was weird getting all these compliments, but in a way, he kind of liked them. Eddie made him feel good about himself for things Steve never even considered.

Eddie’s tongue was poking out the corner of his mouth, caught between his teeth. He bit down on his bottom lip, bringing two fingers up to touch it, like he was trying to hide his smile.

Steve caught his eyes, and they both laughed. It felt good laughing with Eddie, even when they had nothing in common.

—————————————

Steve didn’t notice when everybody left until Robin and Vickie told them they were heading out as well. He didn’t even remember when he and Eddie ended up on the floor with their back pressed against the couch.

Eventually, Eddie pulled out a joint from god knows where, and a lighter to match. Eddie narrowed his eyes at Steve, a playful smile lifting the corner of his mouth.

Steve watched Eddie start the joint, waiting for him to pass it over to Steve. When he did, Steve placed it between his lips and inhaled deeply, savoring the way the smoke rolled across his tongue and down into his lungs. He tilted his head back against the couch and let his jaw relax, opening just enough room for the smoke to escape.

They sat there with a comfortable silence between them, the only other sound in the room was the faint music coming from the stereo that belonged to Steve’s dad.

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Eddie watching him, playing absentmindedly with his hair. His fingers twirled, his rings dancing in the light. His smile twitched, before he looked down.

“What?” Steve asked, still watching him with a careful smile.

“Nothing, just,” Eddie put his jaw in his hand, fingers drumming on his cheek. “You’re not what I thought you were.”

Steve frowned, what was that supposed to mean?

“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”

Eddie looked up at Steve, he licked the corner of his bottom lip, pulling it between his teeth. “Both.” He replied, his smile widening. He looked shy.

Steve couldn’t help but laugh, he didn’t understand, but the way Eddie was watching him, made him feel like there was a fire kindling below his skin. His skin was warm and his heart thumped offbeat.

“I’m confused.” He huffed a sort of laugh from the back of his throat.

“It means,” Eddie took one last drag before snuffing out the end of the joint in a little ceramic bowl meant for cigarettes, “In a way, I’m glad you’re nothing like I thought you were, because it means there’s a chance.”

Eddie took a deep breath, his eyes searching for something, anything, on Steve’s face. Steve didn’t know what he was looking for, so he stayed quiet, waiting.

“But also, it’s bad. Because if you’re nothing like I thought you were, and there’s a chance, then I’m so fucked.”

Steve opened his mouth, not really sure what to say. Honestly he was still lost. In fact, it was embarrassing how much he really didn’t understand anything Eddie was saying. Maybe he really should quit smoking.

Eddie rolled his eyes, running his tongue across the bottom of his front teeth before shaking his head with a gentle smile.

“Do I have to spell it out for you, Harrington?”

“I think you’re gonna have to.” Steve breathed out in a laugh. His heart was thumping.

Eddie watched him carefully before lifting his hand up to hold Steve’s jaw, firm but gentle. Steve glanced down at Eddie’s hand holding his jaw. Eddie’s fingers were warm, so were his rings, as his thumb rubbed his cheek tentatively.

Steve looked up at Eddie, he watched his eyes trail down to his mouth. Steve licked his lips, parting them, glancing down to Eddie’s own. Why? He didn’t know.

Eddie looked unsure before leaning in, pressing his lips against Steve’s. It was soft, gentle, and unsure, like he was asking if this was okay. Steve breathed in deeply through his nose, he felt frozen. Stuck and unmoving.

He could feel Eddie’s grip loosen on his jaw, and could feel him start to pull away. Steve didn’t want him to pull away, so he kissed him back.

Steve reached up to grab the back of Eddie’s neck, his fingers tangling in his hair. Eddie sighed, tightening his grip on Steve’s jaw. Steve opened his mouth wider, letting Eddie take the lead. Eddie kissed him hard and fast, desperate for more. Eddie’s other hand held him up as he leaned over Steve, pressing him into the front of the couch. He licked Steve’s bottom lip, pulling it between his teeth, gentle enough, but the want for more was there. It was there in the way Eddie pushed Steve’s head back to rest against a cushion. It was mostly teeth and tongue, but Steve didn’t care, he couldn’t care, not when Eddie kissed him like he was the best thing he’s ever tasted. Like he’d rather suffocate than stop kissing Steve.

Steve used his other other hand to grip Eddie’s waist, his fingers squeezing him like Eddie was the only thing keeping him grounded. Maybe he was. Steve’s couldn’t think.

Eddie pulled back, panting over Steve’s mouth. His eyes were low, and his lips were kissed red, gleaming with Steve’s spit. Steve couldn’t look away, he could hear himself breathing just as hard.

“Hi,” Eddie smiled down at him, his thumb wiping away the wetness on Steve’s lips.

Steve sucked in a breath, his head was clearing, he felt sober. He removed his hand from Eddie’s neck, using it to cover his face.

“Fuck,” He muttered, his voice muffled by his sleeve.

“Hey,” Eddie said, his voice worried, “Hey, look at me, what’s wrong?”

Eddie sat down beside Steve, tugging at Steve’s arm. Steve dropped his arm, turning his head to look at Eddie. Steve’s head was spinning so fast, it made him dizzy.

“I’m sorry, I just can’t think right now.” Steve said, not really thinking, all he knew was that he needed to leave now. This was too much for him. “Fuck.”

Steve got to his feet, looking away from Eddie. “It’s late, um, shit. I’m gonna go.”

He didn’t look back at Eddie who was still sitting on the floor, his expression hurt, probably really fucking confused. So was Steve.

Steve didn’t bother tying his shoes, too busy trying to leave his own damn house before Eddie could decide if he was going to follow Steve or not. Steve hoped he wouldn’t.

Fucking hell. Jesus Christ. Steve ran his fingers through his hair, tugging at the ends, hard. What the fuck was that.

Steve pulled open his car door, slamming it behind him. He buckled his seat belt and started the engine, he turned off the music that blared through the speakers. He needed to think.

He drove in silence, chewing on his lip. He kissed Eddie. He kissed a guy and he liked it. That was the problem. He really fucking liked it. That much was painfully obvious by the tightness in his jeans. But it was more than that, Eddie was his friend, and now, Steve didn’t know.

He leaned his elbow out the window, chewing on the skin next to his nails instead.

Steve liked to think he was open-minded, that what people chose to do with their lives was their choice, and that it didn’t affect him, so it was never his place to judge them for it. But he never thought this was something he would’ve liked. He’d always liked girls, in fact, he was pretty sure he was in love with Nancy Wheeler. That wasn’t fake, that was real.

Steve pulled back into his driveway, he cut the engine but stayed in his seat. Eddie’s van was gone. He breathed in deeply, resting his head against the steering wheel, his fingers gripped tight.

Eventually Steve got out of his car, and into his house. He kicked his shoes off and went into the kitchen to grab a glass of water.

He leaned his back against the counter and downed his water in one go, setting it down beside him with a clink.

“Fuuuuuuck.” He groaned, scrubbing his hand down his face, letting it rest on his neck.

He went upstairs into the bathroom, and started the shower. He tugged off his pullover, and unbuckled his belt, sliding it through the loops before dropping it to the floor with a clack. And that’s when he realized he was still wearing Eddie’s damn rings. He tore them, setting them on the counter with a clack. He looked away from them and unbuttoned his Jeans sliding them off, taking his underwear along with them.

Steve stepped under the spray, yanking the curtain closed. Hot water soaked him, rolling down every surface of his body, taking all his stress with them. He placed his forearm on the wet tile just above his head, letting his head rest on his arm.

This was a perfect opportunity for him to jerk off. He had the place to himself, a semi that wouldn’t fucking go away, and a memory of the person who gave him it clear as day.

“No. Fuck.” Steve groaned, but his hand already started.

Maybe he was just pent up, depraved of sex. Maybe this would help clear his mind and stop the spinning.

——————————————-

Steve sat on his bed with a towel wrapped around his waist.

Jerking off didn’t stop shit. In fact, it probably just made things a hundred times worse, because now he just jerked off to a memory of kissing his friend.

“Shit.” Steve laid his back. “Goddamn it.”

Steve forced himself to get up and put on some clothes before switching off his light and crawling into bed. He pulled the comforter over him, up to his chest and closed his eyes.

—————————————

The sun woke him up early this time, or maybe it was from the lack of any actual sleep he got.

He ignored his thoughts about last night, forcing them to the back of his mind. It was difficult, but he managed to get through his morning. He splashed water on his face, brushed his teeth, and got dressed, pulling on his vest. He styled his hair in the mirror, trying his best not to look at his face in the reflection.

It was when he got into his car that he started to feel restless. He turned the music up, drumming his fingers against the steering wheel, hoping the lyrics would drown his thoughts.

They did. For a while he lost himself in the songs, fingers thumping on the beat, humming not so terribly.

He pulled into an empty space in front of Family video, and parked his car. He took his key out of the ignition and waited. He was twenty three minutes early, but he couldn’t care less. He needed to busy himself. To focus on anything other than last night.

“Jesus.” Steve whispered, taking in a deep breath and letting out with a heavy sigh. He got out of the car and locked it behind him.

As soon as he pushed through the glass door, Keith greeted him, bored, yet surprised.

“You’re, early.” He pointed it out, eyeing Steve, skeptical.

“Yeah, Keith.” Steve agreed, flashing him the best smile he could manage. “Surprising I know.”

Keith hummed, going back to flip through his comic book.

Steve went to the back, busying himself with sorting through returned tapes. He rewinded tapes and stacked them in piles according to their genre.

Robin joined him a couple minutes after her shift started.

“Hey,” She nodded.

Steve shook his head, clearing it before giving her a lopsided grin.

Robin came over and sat next to him to help. There were only two tapes left but whatever.

“So what did you and Eddie do after we left?” She asked, sliding a tape back into its sleeve.

Steve turned to look at her, ignoring the way Eddie’s name made him feel like his skin was on fire. Instead, he asked her a question of his own.

“What did you and Vickie do after you left?”

Steve stared at her with narrowed eyes, waiting for her to crack. Robin's head fell back as she groaned. “Okay we went back to her place and-”

“I knew it!” Steve laughed, nudging her shoulder.

“Why do you sound so proud of yourself?”

“Because you’re my friend, and I told you Vickie liked boobies.”

“I hate you. Honestly, I do. And don’t say boobies, it’s weird..” Robin breathed out a laugh kicking his leg.

He snorted, kicking her back.

——————————————-

They finished up rewinding the tapes and resleeving them, carrying armfuls out to the front, setting them on the counter. Keith was helping an older woman find a film, his voice quiet and monotone.

“I’ll stock drama, and you,” He pointed a finger at Robin, giving her a teasing smile, “Can do the romance.”

“You’re a moron.” Robin said with raised eyebrows and a grin forming at the corner of her mouth.

Steve snorted, grabbing the stack of tapes in both his hands. He placed the tapes on the correct shelves until his pile was empty, and Keith was gone.

Robin finished before him, and instead of helping Steve, she was flipping through the comic Keith left behind.

She made a face looking down at the comic, her disgust morphing into shocked laughter.

“Oh my god Steve, come look at this.” Robin said without looking at him, her attention stuck.

Steve stood from his kneeling position on the floor, coming up to stand next to Robin. She pushed the comic closer to him so he could see.

Steve put two fingers on the paper, holding it down. He frowned.

“I don’t get it.”

“Keep looking.” Robin said, making a strangled laughter in her throat.

Steve followed the little art panels until he reached the bottom. He pushed the comic back towards Robin, his eyebrows pinching together, and his mouth just kind of stuck open.

“Jesus fucking Christ.” Steve laughed, looking up at Robin and then over to the door.

“I know,” Robin agreed, trying to force down her smile.

“It makes sense, though. In a way.” Steve glanced at the comic again. “Wait, is that supposed to be Keith?”

“Yes!”She cackled, holding her stomach.

She shut up the second she saw Keith’s car pull in front of the store though. She closed the book, placing it back where she found it and the both hurried to look busy.

Keith entered the store, his eyes going back and forth between Steve and Robin.

Robin gave him a tight lipped smile from where she was leaning against the counter, raising an eyebrow in question.

Steve was back on the floor, kneeling in front of a shelf or films, pretending to fix the display.

“Hey man.” Steve waved, ignoring Robin clearing her throat.

Keith stared at him before answering. “Just forgot something.”

“Alright.” Steve looked away, picking up a vhs tape, reading the back.

Steve watched out of the corner of his eye as Keith grabbed his comic, hurrying back out of the store. As soon as Keith got back in his car, both Robin and Steve doubled over in hysterics.

“Do you think he knew we saw it?” Steve asked between breaths.

“Maybe, but I doubt it.” Robin cleared her throat, trying to calm her laughter.

“Shit.” Steve scratched a hand through his hair and down his neck. “Where do you think he gets that shit from?”

“No clue. Why? You want one of your own?” Robin teased.

“I’d rather just look at real people, but to each their own I guess” Steve shrugged, standing up.

The door swung open again and Steve turned to see who it was, taking in a deep breath only to let it out, disappointed. No. Not disappointed, just a little annoyed.

“Good morning, can we help you with anything?” Steve greeted, flashing a smile at the middle aged woman.

She smiled back at Steve, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear.

“I sure hope so.” She said, walking towards the counter, licking her lips.

Steve glanced over to Robin, she only raised her eyebrows before leaving him with the customer.

“I’m glad to help, what are you looking for?” He asked, leaning against the counter on his forearms.

“Oh I don’t know, maybe something romantic? My husband is out of town for work so,” She bit her lip staring at Steve, “I’m all alone.”

She was attractive, sure, but Steve didn’t do moms. But he also didn’t do guys either and now look where he was.

Steve bit his bottom lip, smiling the way he knew women liked. He sucked in a breath through his teeth, clicking his tongue.

“Alright, let’s see if I can’t help you with that.” He pushed himself off the counter and came around to the romance selection, the older woman following him.

He didn’t know much about romance movies, or movies in general but he knew Grease. That was probably the only one he recognized, so he held it up for her, listing off whatever he knew about the movie.

She didn’t seem to care though, her eyes never leaving Steve’s. Finally though, she checked out with Steve, leaving the store with a flush.

Steve braced himself against the counter, he hung his head between his shoulders and breathed out through his nose. Robin came up behind him, drumming her fingers on one of the candy jars.

“I almost threw up watching that. Seriously, I still feel it at the back of my throat.” She stuck out her tongue and made a gagging noise.

Steve scoffed, turning to look at her. “At least I got her to buy something.”

“That’s so not what she keeps coming in for.” She rolled her eyes.

“Wait, she’s been in here before?”

“Men are so unobservant, it’s a wonder how women are viewed as the lesser species.”

Steve spent the rest of his shift talking to Robin and helping the small number of customers that came in.

When the sky faded from pinkish haze to blue and black, Robin flipped the window sign to ‘closed’. She locked the door and went to the back to grab the vacuum. Steve wiped the counters, while Robin vacuumed the floor lazily.

“So,” Robin started after she pulled the plug from the wall, “I wasn’t going to ask, but I feel like I have too.”

She was watching him carefully, wrapping the thick cord up. Steve tried to keep his face blank but he took a steadying breath just in case.

“What’s up?” Good. Cool. Keep it cool.

“Did something happen between you and Eddie?”

“If something did happen, I’m on your side, like always. But also, you can talk to me, I’m here or whatever.”

Her tone was softer, like she knew something he never told her.

“I don’t know if I can even tell you. Not because I don’t want to, well, a little, but,” Steve huffed at the lack of words coming to mind, running a hand through his hair and dragging it down his face.

“Im just so fucking confused, Rob.”

Robin sighed, “ I get it. And it’s okay if you can’t talk about it right now, but I’ll be here when you are. I swear it.”

Steve smiled, placing the rag and bottle of cleaner beneath the counter. “Thanks,” He chewed his bottom lip.

“You ready?” Robin asked, holding her work vest in her hand.

“Yeah.” Steve took off his own vest, grabbing his keys from the back. They shut off the lights and locked the door behind them.

Steve drove Robin home. This time he let her choose the music. He kept his eyes on the road but he wasn’t paying attention to much else. His head was spinning so damn fast he couldn’t think straight, and every time he breathed his chest felt heavy.

He knew he had to talk to Eddie, even if the thought of it made him uncomfortable. He needed to apologize for being an asshole at the very least.

“Night,” Robin smiled, shutting the door behind her.

“Night,” Steve waved with two fingers, waiting until Robin walked into her house before he pulled back out onto the street.

He could go now. To Eddie’s, to apologize. He’d most likely still be awake, it was only ten.

Steve considered it, but decided to wait. If he went now without giving himself an actual chance to think, he might screw things up more than they already were.

He went home, this time he wasn’t alone. His parents were there, and judging by the lights, they were still up.

Steve greeted his parents before excusing himself upstairs.

He tugged off his pants and sat on his bed, staring at the wall in front of him. He wasn’t really sure what to think, but he knew he needed to, so he made a list in his head.

On one side he could admit he liked the kiss, he really, really liked it. On the other, he wasn’t sure if it was just because it was a good kiss, or if it was because of the person he was kissing.

That was the part he didn’t understand. He’d never really thought about guys like that before, or maybe he did and he just never tried to figure out what it meant.

Steve laid on his back, it wasn’t like he was upset at the possibility that he liked guys, he was just upset at how confusing it all was to him.

And then he thought about Eddie. He liked Eddie, he kind of grew on him in the time they spent together. And he liked the kiss. He was sure of both the answers on their own, but he wasn’t sure of what they meant together.

He went to bed relatively fast, considering how much his brain screamed for him to stay awake.

—————————————————

Steve didn’t see Eddie for a week. He tried to ignore how that made him feel, how it put him on edge, constantly watching the Family Video door, just fucking waiting. And it was weird, because Steve wasn’t even sure if he wanted to see Eddie, because if he did then they’d probably have to talk about that night. And Steve didn’t know if he was ready.

But it also brought another question. What if Eddie just didn’t want to see him either. That made Steve pause. He chewed his bottom lip and frowned. Eddie was his friend, and he didn’t want to lose him over this.

It was Saturday, one of their busiest days of the week. There had already been eight people in and out of the store and his shift only started thirty minutes ago.

The time flew by pretty quickly though, because soon Robin was shrugging out of her vest and waving goodbye as she got into Vickie’s car.

Steve worked the last twenty minutes alone, only having to help two more customers before he could clock out.

When Steve finished shutting off all the lights and locking up behind him, he climbed into his car and started the engine.

He kind of lost himself in his thoughts as he drove home. He couldn’t stop thinking about Eddie. He thought about how he should drive to his trailer and bang on the door until Eddie was forced to open the door and talk to Steve. But he wouldn’t do that. He would wait until Eddie came to him.

But that was torture because Eddie wasn’t coming to him and it had already been a week. Steve was tired of waiting, tired of his heart speeding up every time the bells above the Family Video chimed, only to be met with just another customer.

Steve rolled up to a stop sign. Just ahead of him, there looked to be a group of people his age arguing with someone. Steve was going to ignore it, to just drive by and continue on his way home, but then one of the guys looked familiar.

He recognized Eddie immediately, feeling his heart drop into his stomach. This was the first time he’d seen Eddie since the night of the party. Now was his chance to confront him, to tell him he was sorry for leaving, or that he never reached out.
Steve didn’t even see the guy hit him. It happened so fast but, suddenly Eddie was on the ground.

Steve didn’t waste any time before he pressed his foot on the gas. He pulled up against the curb, yanking his keys out of the ignition and stepping out of his car.

The two men roughly a couple years older than him watched him carefully.

“Best fuck off if you know what’s good for you.” One of them said, kicking Eddie when he tried to stand up.

“Get the fuck away from him.” Steve seethed. He could feel every ounce of sanity begging for him to stop. Telling him he’s never won a fight, and this won’t be his first. But Steve held his ground.

“Why? Do you know him?” The other boy questioned, fixing Steve with a glare. “Do you know what he did to that girl? How he murdered her?”

“He didn’t do that, the police cleared him.” Steve defended, his anger was rising, he could feel it in the way his ears pounded, rushing with blood

Both of them laughed, short and ugly. “The police can’t even do their own damn jobs. They’d rather let a murderer walk than waste their time filling out the paperwork to send him to prison.”

“I’m not gonna tell you again,” Steve warned, “Get the fuck away from him.”

“You know, I’m starting think you care about this murderer,” the taller one said, stepping closer to Steve. Steve didn’t take a step back, too cocky for his own good.

“Oh!” He cheered, turning to laugh with his friend. “It looks like not only do we have a killer freak, but we also have his faggot boy-” Steve didn’t let him finish his sentence before he swung. He felt his fist connect with his face, hard enough to bruise both of them. He shook out his hand, looking down at it to see the cuts pooling with blood. It stung, but he was ready to throw another one.

The guy had staggered but he didn’t fall, instead, he looked up at Steve, touching the corner of his lip that dripped with blood.

“You’re done.” He charged at Steve, pulling back his fist. Steve somehow managed to move out of the way, but he didn’t see that the other guy had already started moving toward him. He punched Steve with enough force to send him to the ground.

Steve should give up now, but he couldn’t. He stood, his head was spinning. His nose dripped blood onto his crew neck and he couldn’t feel his cheek, but he swung again.

He got two more hits in, before Eddie stood. Steve didn’t notice Eddie had a knife until the tip of it was pressed against the neck of the taller guy who had Steve by the collar.

“Let him go, or I swear to god I will bury this in your neck.” Eddie pushed the knife deep enough for the man to feel the threat.

He let go of Steve, taking a step away from them when Eddie dropped the knife from his neck. He still clutched it in his hand, ready to use it if he had too.

“Now get the fuck out of here.” Eddie spit, wiping the blood from his nose on his leather sleeve.

The two men didn’t hesitate to turn tail and run the other way. And when they were out of sight, Eddie closed the knife and stuck it in his back pocket.

“Holy shit,” Steve breathed, lifting his fingers to touch his nose. It wasn’t broken, but it hurt like a bitch.

Eddie was panting.

Steve stood in front of him, trying to get a good look at his face. “Are you okay?” Steve asked quietly, not really sure what to do. This was the first time he’d talked to Eddie since they kissed.

Eddie looked at him, his expression unreadable. Steve was about to ask again, but then Eddie’s lips curved up into a grin.

“That was so fucking fun.”

Steve stared, not sure if he heard that right. Fun? “What?”

“Did you see the way I stuck the switchblade to his neck?” Eddie asked, imitating himself holding the knife. “Not as fun as killing the demobats, but holy shit, I feel alive.”

Steve laughed, “I got my ass handed to me in a two against one fight, and you think that was fun?”

Eddie considered that. “Not that part. Why did you do it? One of the first things I learned about you is that you can never win a fight.”

“Because they hit you.” Steve pointed out like it was obvious.

Eddie looked away. “Yeah, but I just kind of figured you didn’t want anything to do with me.”

Mentioning that night made them both quiet. But Steve’s heart was pounding and his head was reeling at Eddie’s words. That wasn’t true. Steve wanted plenty to do with him, he just didn’t have the right words to convey that.

Steve lifted his hand up to Eddie’s face, turning his jaw towards him. Forcing him to look at Steve. “Eddie, I’m not upset that we kissed.”

Eddie’s eyes widened and his lips parted like he had something to say, but couldn’t.

“I mean, I was at the time, but I was just so fucking confused.” Steve took his hand back to run his fingers through his hair. “And I’m sorry that I left.”

“I thought I ruined everything.” Eddie murmured.

“Well you thought wrong.” Steve smiled before leaning in to kiss him.

Eddie’s lips were as soft as he remembered, except this time when Eddie parted them, Steve tasted blood on his tongue. He didn’t mind though. He reached his hand up to hold Eddie’s jaw, pulling him closer. Eddie kissed him back just as hard, running his tongue along Steve's bottom lip, pulling it between his teeth. Steve liked when he did that, when it felt like Eddie just couldn’t taste enough of him.

Steve pulled back from Eddie’s mouth to breathe, pleased when Eddie chased his lips, breathing hard.

“You taste like pennies.” Steve whispered to Eddie, laughing when Eddie shoved his shoulder.

“So do you, but I’m not complaining.” Eddie whispered back, unable to keep the laugh out of his voice.

Steve took a step back and shook his head. “Why don’t we go back to my house and get cleaned up?”

“Are we gonna shower together?” Eddie asked, looking half serious.

“Don’t push it or I’ll leave you.”

—————————————-

They made it to Steve’s house and it felt weird. The last time they were here things didn’t go too well. But Steve was determined to make it right, so he led Eddie upstairs to his bedroom. Steve had cleaned it recently but he still felt self conscious about it, like it wasn’t clean enough.

Eddie glanced around his room, running his fingers along the surface of his desk.

“So this is Steve Harrington’s room.” Eddie picked up the bowling pin tucked in the corner. “Can’t say I expected anything different.”

Eddie smiled, setting the pin back down. Steve watched him carefully. Eddie didn’t seem to notice though, still picking through Steve’s stuff.

Steve dug through his dresser until he found a pair of joggers and tshirt for Eddie to wear. He turned to Eddie and held them out for him to take.

“These are clean, and there’s towels in the bathroom cupboard.”

Eddie took the folded clothes and smiled at Steve. “Thank you. Not just for the clothes, but for also stepping in.”

Steve raised his eyebrows and scoffed. “I’m pretty sure you could’ve handled yourself with the way you pulled out your knife, but yeah, of course.”

Eddie narrowed his eyes and his smile turned sly. “Did the knife turn you on a little bit?” Eddie asked, pinching his fingers together. “Just a little?”

“I’ll tell you after you shower.” Steve rolled his eyes, pushing Eddie towards the bathroom.

“I think that means yes, yes it did. Steve Harrington, you are downright dirty.” Eddie tutted, covering his heart with his hand before he stepped into the bathroom.

Steve waited on his bed until Eddie was done showering, and replayed the events of the last hour. Everything happened so fast, Steve could barely keep up. But, he felt good. He felt happy in a way he never did before, it was almost like constant relief, being with Eddie. He didn’t realize how much he wanted Eddie until he thought he lost him, and now? He never wanted to let him go.

When Eddie came back into Steve’s room, Steve told him he’d take a quick one too and be back in a few minutes.

He kept his word and came back within ten minutes. He sat on the end of his bed and dried his hair with his towel.

“So,” Eddie was lying on his side in the middle of Steve’s bed, watching him. He wasn’t wearing the shirt Steve gave him..“What do you wanna do?”

“I mean, you gave me some clothes to wear, so I’m assuming you want me to spend the night.” Eddie played with one of his rings. “But it’s still pretty early, so we’ve got time to kill.”

Steve lifted an eyebrow at Eddie’s hint before rolling his eyes. “You’re ridiculous.”

But he dropped his towel to the floor and climbed over Eddie, placing his knee between his legs. Steve smiled down at him, before leaning in and kissing him. He kept it slow, still getting used to the feeling of kissing a guy. It wasn’t that much different from kissing girls, but maybe that’s because Eddie had soft lips, and long hair that Steve could twist his fingers into.

Eddie made it clear he wanted more though. Steve could feel it in the way his hands trailed lower, and the way his body arched up into Steve, desperate to feel him. Steve wanted more as well, he just wasn’t sure how to go about it. But he did pull back enough to look at Eddie. Eddie whose lips were parted and red, thoroughly kissed, who still had his eyes closed while he caught his breath.

“Eddie,” Steve murmured against his mouth, pressing another kiss to his lips. Eddie hummed, chasing his lips when Steve pulled back again. Eddie opened his eyes, soft and inviting.

“Steve, we don’t have to do anything if that’s what you’re worried about.” Eddie smiled, kind, but also teasing.

“I do want to, I’m just not sure if I’m ready to go all the way. Not yet at least.” Steve closed his eyes. He did want to touch Eddie, and he wanted to be touched too

Eddie laughed, light and gentle. “Steve, there are other things we can do besides jumping straight to sex. I promise.”

“Yeah? Why don’t you show me then?” Steve ran his tongue along Eddie’s bottom lip before kissing him again. This time, he let himself deepen the kiss. Eddie made a noise in his throat, sliding his arm between their bodies.When his hand touched the skin on Steve’s hip, he pulled back just enough to ask if this was okay. Steve nodded, answering him again with a kiss.

————————————

“You don’t know how long I wanted to do that.”

Steve looked down at him, his fingers playing idly in Eddie’s hair. “What? Jerk me off?”

Eddie laughed. “That too, but I meant when I kissed you at the party. I wanted to do that for so long.”

“How long?” Steve asked, he was pretty sure he already knew the answer, but he wanted to hear Eddie say it.

“I think ever since I saw you bite the demobat and rip it in half. I couldn’t stop staring at you.”

Dustin was right. Steve smiled, shaking his head. Dustin was always right.

When Steve looked back down, Eddie was sleeping, pressed against Steve’s chest.

Steve knew he’d have to tell Robin eventually, but for now he’d just enjoy what he had.

———————————————