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When they go back to 1983, there’s a lot that Steve Harrington wants to change.
He has no clue how they got there. Something about time travel and Will Byers and Vecna/Henry/001 being a douche with repressed family trauma, he thinks. A weakness Vecna/Henry/001 did not realize until it was too late. A hard-fought battle by a little girl with a bloodied nose. Whatever it was, however it happened, it led to their entire gang surviving and traveling back in time. Now, they all have a front-row seat to before Hawkins became home to the end of the world. Before their lives were irrevocably changed and they watched countless people suffer a terrifying fate. Sure, they were the only ones who were given this second chance, but it was kind of nice. They could do it all over. They could live out the next three years how they should’ve been lived, as kids - just kids. Kids who liked D&D and arcade games and being a little too nosy. And, they could do it without worrying about the next day.
For many, there is no greater blessing.
El is a great example of this. The poor girl who spent so much of her life tested on and tested by the universe’s worst demons no longer has to suffer. She can be a normal girl now. She is free to eat as many Eggos as she wants, take loads of trips to the non-destroyed Starcourt Mall with Max, and giggle at the stuff young girls giggle about. She can just be.
Will is the same. Free from the trauma of sharing a connection with the Upside Down, he has all the time in the word to do what he loves. He doesn’t have to waste time looking over his shoulder when he paints - unless he wants to show Mike something, or poke El’s nose to leave a bright red dot on it that makes the three of them laugh. He does not have to flinch every time he hears a loud noise in fear it’s the Mind Flayer. He can listen to Should I Stay or Should I Go for fun rather than protection and play as much D&D with his friends as his little body will allow him. He is free to be happy.
Not everyone can be so happy, though. Not everyone is blessed. Some, like Max Mayfield and Steve Harrington, are teleported to 1983 in the middle of a world they had tried so desperately to forget.
Max in 1983 still lived with Billy, after all. They had not yet made the move to Hawkins, so he was nowhere to be found when they first arrived, but Max knew he was out there. Waiting. Causing trouble. Prepared to rain hell on her if she gave him a reason. As nice as it is to no longer shoulder the guilt of his death on her back, it is a whole different ballgame having his shadow over her now. She dreads the thought of having to hide her connection with Lucas, which is now so undeniably strong it burns like Vecna’s claw on her skin. She dreads all the cover ups she will have to give when she wants to go out with El or visit the boys, knowing firsthand how much he disapproves. Worst of all, she dreads being alone with him now that she's fully aware of what he is capable of.
Hopper promises to station extra cops not far from her home. The gang has her pinkie swear to move them earlier than next year so that they are close by, and she promises to do her best at convincing him so they can make good on watching over her. She mentions telling him something about babes needing help sweeping their pools a lot more in Hawkins doing the trick. If Mike Wheeler feels like hurling at the prospect of his mom thirsting after Billy again, he maintains a pretty good poker face for her sake. So does Nancy. There is an unspoken pact among all of them to not let Max’s story teeter back into tragedy for any reason. It is written all across Lucas’ face, and that is enough for Steve to believe it never will.
Steve is another story.
The Steve of 1983 had been at the center of it all. He was popular. He was a jock. He had girls dying to be with him and guys grappling at the chance to be anything like him. He also was a grade-A asshole. He hung out with grade-A assholes and made a living of looking away when those grade-A assholes beat the shit out of and bullied people for being anything other than ordinary. For 1983 Steve, caring about anything other than Nancy Wheeler had been too uncool for his brand.
The Steve of 1986 is nothing like 1983 Steve. He cares to the point it’s borderline toxic. He is willing to lay down his life at the drop of a hat to protect anyone he cares for, especially the little brood of nerds he’s come to call his own, and he knows with complete certainty that he finds more solace in hearing them chat about their silly nerd games than any BS story he’s ever heard from Tommy and Carol. He’s aligned with Robin, who he thinks he loves in a way no one in 1983 could ever understand, a borderline soulmate-like bond that never would stray from platonic but would always make his heart flutter in happiness. He’s best friends with Nancy, but nothing more. In fact, he’s most fulfilled when he sees her genuinely in love with Jonathan Byers, the very same guy 1983 Steve had shattered the spirit of and caused so, so much senseless pain toward at the height of his insecurities.
The Steve of 1986 is a whole different man than the Steve of 1983.
A better man.
A man who looks across the cafeteria at Hawkins High and finds himself more drawn to a slightly younger version of the D&D-loving, borderline obsessive, hero of a guy flipping through new records alone than any jock or grade-A asshole known for worshiping Steve Harrington nearby.
How he ever overlooked him before, Steve has no idea. Then again, 1983 Steve had no need for guys like him. He had no emotional breadth for it, the space taken up by insecurity after stupid insecurity placed there by his parents, his peers, and himself. The Steve he had become had grown to replace those worries with a need for Eddie, sort of like one would need a cup of coffee to start their day. He needed his laugh, far too loud, to stop him when his mind doubted. He needed his knowledge of media Steve had no clue about to make him forget his family's disapproval. He needed his ability to make Dustin smile and his too-close proximity whenever they stood within an arm’s reach to give him the warmth they and every woman Steve ever dated could've give him. He needed it, because he knew what it was like to live without it. He had tasted a glimpse of what a 1987, a 1988, and so on might be like without Eddie Munson, and the taste was so bitter. So unsatisfying.
Of all the things Steve wants to change when he returns to 1983, his lack of a relationship with Eddie ranks at No. 1.
So, he wastes no time in rectifying it.
He feels Robin’s eyes on him as she sits two tables away. She is not as confident as he is about shoving the current social order aside, but she is still so, so supportive. She has visited him for the past week, adjusting to their more private friendship while helping Steve grapple with these desired ‘changes’ of his. It was she who first suggested Steve make the bold move of sitting with Eddie at lunch. She had said it as a joke, sure, but as Steve walks over to Eddie, she is deathly serious about coming to his aid if need be, and she will be hard-pressed if her best friend does not get the happy ending he deserves because of some interruption in his plan. She wants to see him happy just as much as Steve wants to be happy.
Steve has the fleeting thought that he’ll need to return the favor, eventually, when Robin catches sight of Vickie and re-realizes those feelings. She's so good to him, so patient with his guilt and grief and muddy feelings for Eddie. If he survives this, he knows he'll need to carry her forward. He makes a mental note to do so right as he approaches Eddie's table. All brain processes halt, however, the second Eddie's wide doe-eyes stare up at him.
God, Steve never thought he'd see the light in them again with his own two eyes. Doing so might as well be like staring right into the sun. Into heaven.
In an instant, he is transported back to when Eddie died. He remembers the way Eddie had looked to him during their unknowingly final goodbye, conflicted, pleading for him to make Vecna pay in the way he believed he couldn't. Steve had replayed what he saw there in his mind for weeks after Eddie passed. He pondered how those deep eyes of his had conveyed the need to say so much more than his mouth would let him. In his dreams, they haunted him, a bleak reminder of how he had not given a firm enough warning to save him. How they had all had to leave him behind.
It leaves present-Steve breathless. He feels choked tighter than any demobat's tail around his neck could leave him. He has to grip the chair beside Eddie lest he collapse under the weight seeing him alive and breathing and fresh for a second chance places on his chest.
Eddie scoffs.
“Lost on your way to the tater tots, your highness?”
He’s expecting a rude comeback. Steve knows it. He sees it in the way his shoulders grow more rigid in the seconds that follow and in the sinisterness of the smile he shoots his way. It’s all a mask. A shield, Steve corrects. A protection spell. Something awful tugs at his heart at the thought of Eddie believing he needs to cast such a thing around him. He frowns, unable to hide his displeasure.
And then, something catches his eye.
“Is that Metallica?”
Bless him, Eddie just about combusts before Steve's eyes. He does not say a word, but Steve can see for himself that his words are so unlike anything Eddie had been prepared for, so low on his list of possible Harrington-approved comebacks, that it sends him reeling. Speechless for the first time in his goddamn life. It is both comical and breathtaking to witness. Unable to decide which is better, laughing or getting lost in the wide saucers that have replaced Eddie's eyes, Steve takes a step forward and grabs the record into his hands. Kill ‘Em All stares back at him in rounded red font, the color so close to the one from Eddie's Hellfire shirts. He smiles.
“I’ve heard they’re pretty good.”
Eddie barks out a laugh only to slam his hand over his mouth milliseconds later in embarrassment. A little ways away, Steve swears he hears Robin laugh as well. Steve keeps up his smile, tilting his head to the side as amusement takes over. God, he missed how bombastic and perplexing Eddie Munson could be.
Dropping his hand with a too-loud bang on the table, Eddie blinks. “I’m…I’m sorry, did I just hear you correctly? You, Steve "The King" Harrington, champion of all of Hawkins, know Metallica? A brand-new metal band who just released this album a few months ago?”
Shrugging, Steve flips over the album to reveal the track list. Seek & Destroy catches his eye. It's one of the ones Eddie had tried to get them to play in the stolen van when they were cascading away from its rightful owners. Something about them needing good theme music to fit the mood. Steve had denied him profusely then, calling him crazy for even suggesting stopping to listen to some tunes at a time like that. Now, he’s tempted to run this record to the PA system and play it for all - especially Eddie - to hear, just to see the man smile.
He sets the record down and points to the title.
“It’s no Ozzy or anything, but I’ve heard this song’s pretty cool.”
If Steve hadn’t seen it happen with his own eyes once before, he would have sworn Eddie’s heart stopped right then. Wide-eyed, jaw dropped, he looks beyond lost in the layers of heavy metal knowledge coming out of Steve Harrington’s mouth before him. Maybe even close to crying. Maybe a bit of both.
When he finally catches his breath, he whispers into the air a soft, “That’s my favorite song.”
Steve reckons the sound alone might upstage his own favorite song. He also finds some strange warmth knowing Eddie's will soon be replaced by the one he'd played with expert skill in the Upside Down. It makes him want to ask what other songs he likes, to flip through every single album stacked on the table and explain the musical intricacies of each no matter how much it will all soar over his head. All his mind can think of right now is how much he missed Eddie, of how he wants to never again pass up the chance to make him feel flustered and listened to, because god doing so and getting this kind of reaction out of him might be Steve's new favorite thing.
Tommy's arm smacking him on the back snaps the moment in two, it crumbling around him and Eddie like shattered glass. All progress Steve had made is gone in an instant, and he pales as he watches Eddie start to pack up his things, as if he thinks he needs to get away to be safe. As if he needs to run.
It makes him feel sick.
“Yo, Harrington, you get lost on your way to the tots or what?”
It sounds a lot less witty and amusing when Tommy says it, that's for sure. Steve refuses to give him the cheery, approving response he is looking for - no, craving. Tommy never acted on his own volition. He acted on the need for praise, for approval, like any second-hand to a leading man would. At least, one as weak as he would. Subconsciously, Steve nudges Eddie's Metallica record beneath his hands a bit behind him where Tommy can't see. He does not know what he might do if Tommy or Carol spots it and decides now is the time to demolish it and make Eddie into an example, but he knows it will lead nowhere good.
Well, nowhere good for them. He has fought demogorgons, demodogs, and now demobats. Two pissy high schoolers would be nothing. Effortless.
Tommy scrunches up his face, visibly confused.
“Uh, hello? Earth to Harrington? Why are you chilling near the freak? We’ve got food waiting. Let's go before the freshmen wet themselves and block the line.”
“Shove off, Tommy.”
The air grows a tad colder as Tommy's eyes narrow before him, eyeing up Steve as if weighing taking him on for such a rude comment. Behind them, Steve hears Eddie inch a little further back out of the line of fire, his seat squeaking just so. He's sort of glad, on a fucked-up level, that this Eddie has not yet endured the trauma that compelled him to jump into action and save the day. If this goes south, Steve wants him to run as far as he can and for as long as he can, maybe leaving a little trail of breadcrumbs for he and Robin to find later to make sure he's okay.
I hope Chrissy's okay, wherever she is.
Steve sets his jaw.
“Look, man, I know you’ve been all weird since your break with Nancy.” Steve and Nancy had made it ‘official’ the day they returned to school. When she showed up the next day talking to Jonathan Byers and everyone noticed, they both went around saying they loved each other but it was for the best. A rumor had began shortly after that Nancy cheated and Steve was possibly not as cool as people said he was. Tommy probably suspected his behavior was because of that. Hell, he probably was the one who started the rumor. Why else would he be caring about what Steve was thinking so much? Guilt was probably eating the little bastard alive. Good, Steve thought. “But you can’t let that slut’s behavior stop you from eating and drive you into the arms of some nerdy, Devil-worshipping fa-“
Tommy flies.
The punch hits him so hard that, when he lands back-first against the table behind him, the wood crumbles under his weight. Everyone in the cafeteria looks - workers, students, Nancy and Jonathan, Robin. They all stare at Steve, and then at Tommy who is quickly being covered in his own blood, and wonder what the hell just happened, because, 'Isn't that Steve Harrington's friend? and, 'Is Steve honestly willing to risk everything to punch some guy?' As if to answer their questions, Steve makes a grand scene of moving to hover over Tommy. He peers down at him with a glare so dark, it might as well be lit by the dimness of the Upside Down alone, and grabs at his shirt so that he hovers just above the rubble. Gotcha, he seems to sneer.
“Don’t you DARE say that again,” comes out instead, more like a snarl. His voice sounds aged. Three years older, as a matter of fact. Worn. Tired. Hideously protective. It adds a dose of fear to Tommy’s eyes, and Steve finds himself gaining some sort of odd satisfaction from that. Maybe this will be the last time Tommy messes with anybody. Maybe Steve can be the end. Maybe Eddie can finish out this year with one less stressor, one less barrier to graduation. Maybe Nancy can go through the year without worrying Hawkins sees her as anything other than the incredible, beautiful, wickedly smart girl she is.
Steve wants to fuck around and find out.
“For your information, Nancy Wheeler is the most badass girl I’ve ever known, and she deserves WAY more than your sorry, pitiful ass treating her like anything less.” He slams Tommy back against the wood and presses down in emphasis. The crowd around them gasps, but Steve can't find it in himself to care. “And?” He leans in closer, compelled to really drive this point home. “Eddie Munson is one of the coolest, most amazing people in this godforsaken town. If you so much as raise a finger or say a word against him, I will not hesitate to take one of Nancy’s shotguns and blow your brains out. Do you understand me?”
The wide-eyed, terrified look in Tommy’s eyes says yes.
The wide-eyed, terrified look in half the cafeteria’s students says yes, too.
The wide-eyed, terrified look in Eddie’s eyes a foot away says yes, that he cannot even begin to comprehend his worthiness of such a defense, and that he is seconds away from spiraling over the fact Steve Harrington thinks he’s amazing.
Satisfied, Steve smiles.
What happens next is a bit of a blur. Before Robin or Jonathan can pull him up and off of Tommy, a gaggle of teachers do it first. They whisk him away by his jacket to the principal’s office for the talking to of the century, and god, Steve really has lost his ability to care about what some stuffy man in a suit has to say to him when he’s looked Vecna in the eye and had literal bats eat him alive. He sits through it, though. Acts polite like his parents raised him to be before discarding him aside. Shockingly, he's not expelled in the end. He has detention for pretty much the rest of his high school career, but he’s not expelled. He can work with that.
No, he absolutely can work with that, because he knows what usually happens after detention ends. It's usually what happens after basketball practice ends.
Eddie's Hellfire meetings begin.
If he can play his cards right, and if he didn't just scare the living daylights out of Eddie by ending Tommy with one punch, he thinks he might be able to sneak his way into one after he's done. Maybe even the kids. Especially the kids. He can kickstart this alternate timeline by introducing Eddie to the people who will appreciate his campaigns the most and hail him as a hero, no death or ill-timed bat fighting necessary. He can introduce him to Will, to Eleven.
Who knows, maybe he can even score an invite to one of Eddie's Corroded Coffin shows in time.
Maybe. Just maybe.
Robin smacks the hell out of his shoulder the second he leaves the principal's office, bringing him back to reality.
“What the hell was that, Steve?" She shouts, but Steve can't help smiling at her. "I said say hi to the guy, not start nerd-war-three! You could've gotten kicked out of high school, dingus! You don't get a redo on that!”
Steve shrugs her off, not caring much for the way Nancy and Jonathan are staring at him either. Why did they care? It wasn’t like it was their reputation he was handling. It was his. And dammit, if he was going to get a second chance at it all, why shouldn’t he be risking his ass for Eddie Munson? The dude did as much him before. For all of them.
He runs a hand through his hair, sighing as his fingers get caught in a knot.
“Look, I did what I had to, Robin. You didn’t hear him.”
“He sure heard you though,” Jonathan supplies, becoming the next victim of a Robin swat. Nancy shoots him her own look, her signature look of disapproval, but he doesn’t flinch at that one as much as the swat. Probably because he trusts her. Because he loves her. “Pretty sure he was shaking when Carol dragged him away. Serves him right. Dude's an ass.”
Steve nods. He's glad to agree. "How was Eddie?”
“I think it’s safe to say you’ve successfully shellshocked the guy enough for the next few years,” Nancy offers with a huff, Robin nodding her own agreement at her side. “He just sort of sat there for a bit before leaving. I didn't see where he went, though.”
“What did Tommy even say about him to get you so worked up?”
Of course, Jonathan would be the one to ask Steve this. Of course. He’s been riding too high to not have a little bit of that old guilt bite at him now, to knock him down a peg. He almost can’t meet Jonathan’s eyes when he goes to speak.
All words fail, though, the second Eddie Munson's shoes squeak at the end of the hall.
He looks more innocent now like this, younger. Steve thinks he's a little less rough around the edges. He still has his battle vest, but he wears it without a jacket underneath and with a lot fewer rings as accessories. His hair is the tiniest bit shorter, too. It’s almost as if he’s still growing into his looks, sure of himself to a point but not as battered down by the world as his future self was. Not as desperate to be the man they all think he is. Steve finds himself subconsciously taking a step forward toward him, to assure him he doesn't need to put on an act now. It calls Eddie’s younger eyes to stare right into his.
Robin places a hand on Steve’s shoulder, and in moments, she, Jonathan, and Nancy are all gone. It's just them.
The sound of the A/C hums through the hall.
“So, uh…what’s the damage, your majesty? Banished for all eternity?”
He asks with uncertainty, as if he is not sure if he is entirely allowed to speak to Steve yet, as if everything in the cafeteria still didn't grant him the ability to speak without fear of a clapback. Steve does his best to flash him one of his patented smiles in an attempt to assure him it's okay. He can make jokes around him. He can be himself. He’s safe. It takes away some of the nerves in Eddie's eyes, but Steve knows it does not clear all. He still sees the twinge of worry, of possible impending doom. It's the same look he gave at Skull Rock, when he went on about shires and whatever Mordor is.
Clearing the distance between them, Steve comes to rest his back on the locker nearest to Eddie. Eddie maintains a distance between them, but Steve doesn’t mind. He knows Eddie well enough to know that it’ll be gone the instant he feels safe. Eddie's not one to deny touch without reason.
“More like given enough detention, I could start my own Breakfast Club.”
“...What?”
Steve will never, ever admit it, but this brief moment of knowing more about movies than Eddie, though technically unfair, is one of the greatest moments of his life. He can’t wait to one day confess it to Eddie, to see his smugness fade into a twinkle at how proud it makes him. Steve preens under it. He cherishes it.
He tosses it to the side as soon as his prolonged silence causes Eddie to stare at him with a look of, "You sure Tommy didn't get a swing at your head?" His excitement can wait another day - no, another year for Eddie. Forever, as far as Steve's concerned, if he must.
“Point is,” he says with a flourish of his hand, diving back into the conversation, “I’m still stuck here. Now, just longer than usual.”
Eddie hums. He clutches his backpack a little tighter at his side, too, which draws Steve's attention to it for the first time ever. He takes note of a few patches sewn into it and smiles at the thought of Eddie adding them. If his math is correct on when they ended up arriving back to Hawkins, Eddie’s in his senior year right now - his first one. He’s still got enough hope to carry around a backpack. He could still graduate on time, if he tries.
Steve would love to see him try. He’d love to help him too, if he’d let him.
“I don’t understand you.”
Pulled away from studying the bag, Steve looks at Eddie. He’s cautious again. Shit.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, for almost three years, you stalk the halls as if everyone, myself included, is beneath you just for existing, and now you’re asking me about Metallica, punching your henchman in the face in my honor, and…watching me? A lot? Which like, I'm flattered you find me worthy to watch, but...I dunno.”
Shit, has Steve been that obvious? Robin had said to play it cool, had reminded him how observant Eddie is. He should have listened and been more careful at first to not spook Eddie prematurely. He looks away, but it's already way too late. Eddie’s already clocked him. He's already mucked this up. Embarrassment and a twinge of self-loathing creeps up to his cheeks. He can't see it, but it's visible enough to catch Eddie's attention. The boy clicks his tongue.
“You’ve got me thinking I might’ve woken up in some kind of alternate dimension or something.”
If only he knew how plausible such a thought really could be.
Steve folds his arms.
“Can’t a guy change?”
“Yeah,” Eddie says softly, contemplating, "but you’ve never really fit the bill of a guy who would. At least, not from what I've seen.”
“You’re right.”
There’s that stunned look again. Steve should start counting them as they happen. Set up some sort of bet with Robin.
“Now, you’re just messing with me, man.”
“No, Eddie-“
“Listen, just say the word and I can just shove myself into a locker now, avoid all the hassle, send you on your wa-“
“No!”
Eddie’s eyes widen a bit. Why was this all so hard? Why did 1983 him have to be so much of a jerk? Steve takes a slow breath and drops his hands back to his sides, willing Eddie to understand, begging for divine intervention to make this easier for him. His head falls back against the locker.
“Shit man, just listen for a sec, okay? I don’t want to shove you into a locker. I don’t want to do any of that. I know I’ve been the world’s biggest douche. I know I’ve let Tommy and Carol and whoever the hell else beat you and so many others up, but I’m tired of it. I’m sick and tired of being this big, bad guy everyone puts on a pedestal and thinks is cool for playing some stupid sports and dating some prissy girls.” He rubs his hands across his face, the anger from earlier resurfacing. “It’s all just…it’s just so much…”
“Bullshit?”
Steve feels something thud at his chest when he meets Eddie’s gaze.
“Yeah. It’s bullshit.”
Somewhere, Steve hopes Nancy is fist-pumping the air. She always had him pinned, the genius girl she is. He makes a mental note to hug her next time he sees her for knocking that sense into him all those years ago. Maybe even buy her a drink - well, at least once they’re both old enough to again. Can’t have the kids calling him out as a bad role model and raising any suspicion.
Presently, he sighs.
“Life’s too short to let so much bullshit get in the way, anyway. There’s too many other things to be worrying about, like college, and jobs, and…” he lefts himself trail off, knowing he was seconds away from saying Vecna’s name. The last thing he needs right now is to be confronted with Eddie’s D&D knowledge of the beast, blissfully unaware of how he’d died at the real thing's command not long ago. “I guess I’d rather spend the time being around friends - real friends. Ones that don’t care about all the bullshit.” Ones who just care about me.
Eddie pauses to consider this. Then, with a tentative step forward, he cocks his head to the side and gives Steve one of those stares that Steve is sure is blaring right through him, right through the bullshit. Right through to his soul. It makes him shiver. Eddie, noting this, grows impossibly more fascinated. He inches even further, close enough to cause Steve's heart to quicken. He hopes it isn't audible.
“Oh?”
“Yeah,” Steve breathes. “I’m so…I’m so tired of it.” I’m tired of being told to hate you.
“Is that why you stood up for me back there, Harrington? Because you want to be my friend?”
I’d be anything. Anything to make you smile. To make sure you get your happy ending, Eddie. To keep you alive.
“Yeah, man. If you’d have me.”
If you’d let me help you study. If you’d let me drive the kids to your D&D sessions. If you’d let me listen and learn Metallica with you. If you’d let me make you laugh.
With a grin as big as Texas, Eddie looks up at Steve from beneath his lashes and lets out one of those laughs. It’s confused, it’s bewildered, it’s swept up in so many surreal emotions that Steve feels drunk just listening to it, but then Eddie nods. He nods, and suddenly it’s all been worth it. The detention, the fight, the panicked guilt he felt when they first came back, the clawing anxiety over hoping he still had a chance to make things right. Even the battle they had fought after Eddie’s death, the gashes and bruises and pain they’d felt leading up to the mindfuck of time travel where everything strangely went back to normal like it was all a bad dream. It’s all worth it for Steve to see Eddie smile and feel safe being his friend, here and now.
Even if he does immediately make a dig about nearly killing a man being a real weird way to ask someone to be their friend.
Even if he does call him a freak with that sly smirk of his.
Even if it does make Steve blush.
The more Steve thinks about it though, with all his life and double-life considered, it really isn’t so weird he asked like that. Steve is severely protective and caring. What better way to show one’s care for another, to begin a close bond, than to defend their honor? To make them feel safe? To make them laugh? It’s the most Steve-move out there.
Rolling his eyes, Steve motions with his head for Eddie to follow him and asks if they can listen to that Metallica album together in the AV room, because he really does not want Tommy's blooded face to be the only thing stuck in his head during detention. Eddie complies, obviously. He sprints ahead and practically barrels into the room, pulling the album from his bag in record time as if it is his job. He sits on the floor by the record player and bounces, literally bounces, waiting for Steve to join him, aching for the chance to have someone to listen to it with, to not be so alone for once in his passions. It is a no-brainer for Steve to give him that. And when he does, he lets himself fall a little in love with Eddie as a treat. Just a little bit. Just to see what the future could be like if he didn’t stop himself like before. If he cut out all the bullshit.
It’s wonderful, he finds.
Living your life as me, I am you, you see.
~~~~~~
Three months later, Max arrives in Hawkins and into the protective arms of her found family. El gives her a whole box of Eggos as a gift, Hopper letting them throw a big party for her as soon as she's settled in at the trailer park. Lucas, Dustin, Mike, and Will all crowd around her to give her the biggest bear hug imaginable and each drop a few arcade tokens in her hand, free of charge. Nancy and Jonathan gift her a pistol, just in case. It has her name engraved on it, along with her kick-ass score in Dig Dug, and Nancy says extends an offer to go out to a field and practice aiming any time she'd like. Robin buys her a new Walkman. It doesn’t have Running Up That Hill yet, but she promises in the card that she handed over along with it that she’ll buy it for her the second it’s out. In the meantime, Kate Bush’s greatest hits so far are already loaded in, ready to entertain. It leaves Max speechless.
It's Steve and Eddie’s gift that means the most to her, though. They give her the joint promise of always being a phone call away. Of caring. Of falling into the role of two protective dads, way more loving than her real dad ever was, there for her whenever Billy’s being Billy or she just needs a place to run to. She sobs into their shared hug in a rare display of emotion and doesn't hold back. They rub her back through it, despite Eddie not really knowing the full story of why. He just knows she needs it, and that Steve is far from pulling away. Steve kisses the top of her head and looks over at him with a look of, "She's safe. They're all safe."
Eddie, looking unbelievably fond in that moment, seems to mentally correct Steve's statement to include a "we" with a firm arm around Steve's waist.
Eat your heart out Steve of ’83.