Chapter Text
Eddie supposes that you tend to form some sort of attachment to the person who saves your life. When you owe your life to someone, It’s hard not to develop some kind of connection to them. Even if it’s one sided.
So after Steve ‘the hair’ Harrington dragged his unconscious body, his dying body, away from them demobats, well, the dead bodies of demobats, and back to his trailer, well, the version of his trailer in the upside down, and proceeded to throw him over his shoulders and climb back up, and then down, that makeshift rope, and back to the over-world, to safety, while the others shouted urgently, there was no surprise that Eddie felt something about that.
That after he was told that king Steve was the one to rush to his side after Henderson had gone screaming for help, when the others where scrambling back to the over-world, and he was told that Steve had carried him to the back of his car, and Dustin had sat next to him crying (although Henderson claims that wasn’t true and Steve must have ‘imagined it’,) and the king of Hawkins High drove him to the hospital, not listening to the others concerns about ‘revealing the upside down’ or ‘demobat rabies’, Eddies heart stuttered a little in his chest.
It had been about three weeks since they had collectively defeated Vecna, since they had closed the upside down away for good (they hoped), and since Steve Harrington had saved Eddie ‘the freak’ Munsons life.
And since then, Eddie had turned up at Family Video almost every time Steve had a shift. Well, since he got out of hospital. Steve hadn’t visited him in hospital. Henderson passed on messages between them, but Dustin had very little to say in regards of what Steve talked about Eddie.
Eddie didn’t take it personally.
But he couldn’t help sitting on the counter of Family Video, talking animatedly more at Steve than to him, as he shuffled through different movies. Steve would just roll his eyes or give an exasperated sigh, but every now and then Eddie would be able to coax out a reluctant grin, and he would grin back victoriously.
He wouldn’t say they were exactly ‘friends’. He was pretty sure Harrington barely enjoyed his presence. If anything, he always seemed slightly irritated by him. But then again, Steve usually seemed slightly irritated by anything that wasn’t a pretty girl.
Still, it would be weird for them to be friends, right? Just because they went through hell and back, literally, together, they were back in the real world now. They were the king and the freak. The golden boy, and the suspected murderer.
No one expected them to be friends. But Eddie can’t just… leave him alone. Not after he saved his life. Not after Steve had looked at him like that in the upside down. Like he was actually interested in what Eddie had to say, like Eddie was someone he cares about in some way, even if it was just because Henderson liked him, but Steve looked at him like he wasn’t just some freak. Like he wasn’t disgusted to be in his presence.
Like he wasn’t the fag Steve had called him in junior year. When Steve hung out with Tommy and Carol and those douchebags, when Steve was untouchable and above them all and Eddie was the pathetic loser with a buzzcut and played guitar in a garage band. When Steve was admired and every girl in the year had a crush on him (minus Robin), and Eddie had to change for Gym in a toilet cubical or he’d get called slurs and be accused of ‘getting off’ to the guys changing in the locker room.
Eddie used to hate the guy. It wasn’t from jealousy, it wasn’t because Steve had something he didn’t, it was because Steve Harrington was a grade A asshole. A fucking jerk. He didn’t beat anyone up or relentlessly bully, but he’d sit there grinning as his friends did. On occasion, he would say something cruel, even throw out a slur, but it never sounded like it did when Tommy H did. It was more muttered, with a grim look on his face. Eddie still wanted to see the guy get beaten up. He smiled when he heard that Jonathan Byers had in senior year.
But now? Now Steve Harrington was the guy who saved his life, when the rest left him for dead. They thought he was dead, when Steve dragged him from the upside down. Still, even the fact that Steve and Dustin risked it all to go back for his body meant everything to him.
Steve Harrington was the guy who would take a bullet for Dustin Henderson. All of the kids. He was the guy who cared enough to stay with them throughout all the bullshit they went through. The guy who beat up a guy to protect them, who jumped into the upside down for them, who swung his nail studded bat at creatures he’d never seen before without hesitation for them. Steve was the guy who cared enough to protect his ex girlfriend and her new boyfriend.
Steve was the guy who came with them to help Eddie, probably knowing Eddie hated him. Knowing that he would’ve happily shoved that broken bottle into Steves throat without question, he was already suspected for murder anyway, what’s it matter if he committed a real one.
Steve was brave, and kind, and caring. Steve was everything he wasn’t in high-school.
Eddie respected him for that. Even admired him a little.
He definitely admired him when he fought off demobats with such ferocity, when he used his teeth to tear one apart. When he took his shirt off and dove into the water because he knew he had to.
Maybe it was a mix of that strange admiration and the debt of his life that made Eddie keep hanging around.
“You’ve never seen Friday the 13th?” Eddie asks with shock written into his expression. Steve just glanced up at him from whatever he was pretending to do on the Family Video stores real slow cash register.
“Do you plan on acting surprised with every horror movie i’ve never seen?” He asks back dryly, and Eddie steps forward, dropping the tape on the counter.
“But this, Harrington, has revolutionised slasher horror as we know it. Everyone’s seen it.” Eddie says dramatically, leaning in, trying to get Steves full attention.
Steve just rolls his eyes.
“I haven’t.”
Eddie clicks his tongue and shakes his head.
“You’re a disappointment, King Steve.” He sighs, and Steve shoots him a glare for the nickname, which makes Eddie grin.
“Thought you’d be put off horror movies after literally living one.” Steve says lowly, almost to himself, and Eddie laughs.
“Thought i’d be put off selling drugs as well after the last girl I sold to got her neck snapped in mid air, but a guys gotta make money somehow.” He says casually with a shrug, and Steve gives him this exasperated look.
“Don’t go saying shit like that when theres customers.” Steve says, before turning back to pretending to do anything other than paying attention to Eddie.
“Relax, I wouldn’t. I can control my mouth, Harrington.” Eddie grins, stepping backwards and swiping the tape off the counter. “Besides, this place is as dry as a desert on a Tuesday.”
“That’s cus you scare them off.” Steve grumbles.
Eddie slides the tape back into its rightful place in the horror section.
“What, you think people see me in here and don’t fancy gettin’ killed?” He grins.
“No,” Steve replies, voice picking up so Eddie can actually hear him across the store. “Scared they might accidentally lose their wallets in your hair.”
Eddie snorts, running his finger along the horror tapes.
“I’ll have you know I take the upmost care of my hair.” He says mockingly, looking over to see Steve raise a brow at him.
“Yeah? You make it look like a birds nest on purpose?” He says dryly, but Eddie can see he’s fighting a grin.
“It’s called style, Stevie. You should know.” Eddie says smoothly as he steps backwards towards the counter.
“Would you two stop bickering?” Robin bites as she steps out of the back room with a small cardboard box filled to the brim with tapes she’s spent the last 45 minutes rewinding. “You’re annoying me already.”
Steve sighs.
“You’re telling me.” He mutters, but Eddie just grins.
“You saying you don’t enjoy my gracious presence, Robbie?” Eddie teases, tilting his head as he leans his arms on the counter. Robin shoots him a look as she rifles through the tapes.
“Don’t mind it so much when you actually come in to buy something, and not just flirt.” She shoots, grinning at the end. Steve scoffs.
“Oh, if I was flirting, you’d know, sweetheart.” Eddie smirks, taking a glance at Steve, who is actually looking at him with narrowed eyes. “This is just me hanging out with my two favourite minimum wage employees.”
Robin huffs a laugh with a stack of rom-coms in her hands, and she rounds the counter, walking towards the romantic comedy section of the store.
“Yeah, well maybe you should consider getting yourself a job instead of just annoying us at ours.” Robin grins, and Steve laughs as he starts organising the tapes out the box.
“I do have a job,” Eddie says, matter of factly. “It’s called being cool. You should try it.”
Steve barks a laugh.
“It’s called being a drug dealer, Munson.” He says smirking.
“It’s called being unemployed.” Robin adds, and they look at each other with a grin.
Eddie mocks offence, bringing a hand to his heart.
“You two are cruel.” He says with fake hurt plastered on his face.
“And you keep coming back.” Robin says, grinning at him over her shoulder.
And he did.
Eddie kept going back.
——
The classroom is mostly empty, save for the clutter of dice, notebooks, empty soda cans, and one black-painted table where Eddie Munson is crouched, dramatically arranging miniature figurines with the care of a man setting sacred relics on an altar.
“Henderson,” Eddie calls over his shoulder, holding up a twisted plastic goblin with a chipped axe. “Is this the one that melted in Lucas’ backpack or the one Mike gave a mohawk with a Sharpie?”
Dustin, sitting cross-legged on the floor beside a battered tackle box full of dice, squints. “Mohawk. The melted one is the guy with no foot.”
“Right.” Eddie places the figurine squarely at the head of a plastic tree. “He dies first.”
“Unfair.”
“Consequences of bad hair choices,” Eddie says solemnly, but there’s a grin twitching at the corner of his mouth.
Dustin rolls his eyes, then flips open a worn campaign notebook. “So are you really throwing them into the cursed mirror dimension tonight, or is that just another one of your fakeouts?”
“Oh, it’s real,” Eddie says, voice lowering like a campfire storyteller. “And it’s cursed. Real cursed. Like…‘Steve Harrington’s dating history’ cursed.”
Dustin snorts. “He’s not that bad.”
Eddie shrugs, a grin still on his face, but his hand stills over the little wooden castle he’s setting up. He doesn’t say anything right away. And when he does, he keeps his eyes on the table.
“Nah, he’s not.”
Dustin doesn’t notice the pause. “I’m totally gonna make him host Hellfire once you graduate. Just, like, barge into his house and set up dice on his kitchen table.”
Eddie raises an eyebrow, smirking. “Oh yeah? Gonna turn King Steve’s bachelor pad into nerd central?”
“Yep,” Dustin says proudly. “He owes me. I’ll tell him it’s a public service.”
Eddie chuckles, flicking a die toward Dustin’s pile.
“You think he’ll survive that? I bet he gets one look at the rulebooks and spontaneously combusts.”
“You like him now,” Dustin says offhandedly, not looking up from his notes.
Eddie blinks.
“What?”
“I said you like him now,” Dustin repeats, with the same tone one might use to state that grass is green. “Before, you used to groan every time I brought him up. Now you don’t even make that weird hissing noise.”
“I never hissed,” Eddie mutters, definitely lying.
Dustin smirks. “You kinda did.”
Eddie fidgets with a dice tower, straightening it even though it’s perfectly fine. “He dragged my half-dead ass out of a murder dimension. I’m sorta obligated to not hate him anymore.”
“Uh-huh,” Dustin says, smug.
Eddie tries very hard not to smile. Fails.
“I mean,” he says, too casually, “once Will takes over as Dungeon Master next year, Steve’ll probably be too busy with, I dunno, whatever Steve Harrington does with his free time. Haircare rituals. Babysitting you weirdos.”
“Don’t worry,” Dustin says brightly. “I’ll tell him to keep a seat open for you.”
Eddie tosses a die at his head. “Nerd.”
Dustin grins. “Takes one to know one.”
And across the table, Eddie, his heart doing that stupid flutter thing it’s been doing lately, smiles quietly to himself.
The classroom was dark, curtains drawn, and a dusty lamp switched on, casting dim light across the desks pushed together to form Hellfire’s final battlefield.
Eddie Munson stood behind his Dungeon Master screen like a rock star at the edge of the stage, voice low and dramatic as he leaned into the climax of the campaign. Around him, the Hellfire Club was on edge, Dustin gripping his pencil like a sword, Mike practically kneeling on his chair, Erica whispering threats at her d20.
“And as the portal begins to close behind you,” Eddie intoned, fingers steepled beneath his chin, “the Lich King’s scream echoes through the crumbling halls of the obsidian citadel. You have defeated him. You saved the realm.”
Silence.
Then-shouts. Cheers. Dice flying. Fist pumps. Erica yelling, “I told you not to split the party!” Mike slamming his hands on the table in victory. Dustin nearly knocking over a can of soda as he leaned into Eddie with a grin that was just a little too emotional for a game.
Eddie threw his hands up, laughing. “Hellfire lives another day, freaks!”
It felt good. Too good. Like he could bottle this moment and carry it with him for the rest of his life.
They began collecting dice and papers, energy buzzing with post-campaign adrenaline, but none of them moved too quickly. No one wanted it to end just yet.
“I can’t believe it’s over,” Lucas said, quieter than the others.
“It’s not over,” Mike insisted. “We’ll still play.”
“Just… not here,” Dustin added, softer.
There was a pause.
Eddie leaned on the table, watching them. His kids. His chaos crew.
“Yeah, well,” he said with a mock-serious sigh, “I’m leaving you in Will’s capable hands. He’s already got a whole folder of ideas that scare even me, so you’re in for it.”
“We’re gonna have to find a new hideout,” Erica said, already plotting. “The basement of the library’s empty after four.”
“Or Steve’s house,” Dustin offered, grinning. “I told you he’s gonna host Hellfire one day.”
“Right, right,” Eddie said with a smirk, but something warm settled in his chest at the idea. “Let me know if King Steve survives you all raiding his fridge.”
There was laughter, but quieter this time. More fond.
Mike turned to Eddie, suddenly earnest.
“This campaign was epic, man. I mean it. Best one yet.”
Eddie tilted his head, his usual dramatic edge softening. “Thanks, Wheeler.”
Then Dustin, ever the glue, stood up and raised his soda can like a toast.
“To the final Hellfire campaign at Hawkins High. And to Eddie Munson, the best damn Dungeon Master this school’s ever seen.”
They all echoed it. Even Erica, begrudgingly.
Eddie looked away for a second, blinking harder than he meant to.
“You guys are gonna make me cry in my Dio shirt,” he muttered.
They laughed again, and the room filled with something deep and unspoken- gratitude, nostalgia, a little ache for the things they’d outgrow but never forget.
The classroom door creaked open as the last echoes of laughter and dice rolls faded. Hellfire was packing up, papers stuffed into folders, dice rolling across desks, chairs scraping against the floor. It was a mess of post-game buzz and quiet melancholy.
Eddie zipped his binder closed, tucking his DM screen under one arm.
“Alright, freaks. Get lost before the janitor throws us out.”
Dustin lingered, of course. He always did. “You coming next week?” he asked, hopeful, even though he already knew the answer.
Eddie ruffled the kid’s curls, grinning. “Nah, man. I’ll be too busy with the glamorous life of a high school graduate. You know—beer, tattoos, world domination.”
Dustin made a face. “You hate beer.”
“Details.”
Just then, wheels clattered against the hallway tile. Max rounded the corner on her board, skidding to a lazy stop with her backpack slung over one shoulder.
“There you are,” she said. “You nerds done playing fairy games?”
“It’s fantasy combat storytelling,” Dustin corrected.
“Sure it is.”
They walked down the hall towards the front doors of the school, Mike and Will disappearing down the opposite end of the hall, and Lucas turning to follow, but looking back at Max.
Max turns and meets his eye, and Lucas smiles and offers a small wave, and Max just fights a grin and shakes her head, before turning back around.
Gareth and Jeff had stalked off somewhere, and Eddie, Max and Dustin emerged from the main school doors.
Before Eddie could duck out and disappear, Dustin suddenly grabbed the back of his vest and yanked.
“Wait! Steve’s picking us up. You gotta say hi.”
“What? Why?” Eddie stammered as he was dragged backward.
“Because,” Dustin said simply, “he’s right there.”
And sure enough, Steve Harrington stood leaning against his nice car, probably paid for by daddys money, hands in the pockets of his jacket, looking every bit the reluctant chauffeur-slash-older-brother. His hair, as usual, was criminally perfect.
“Hey, Henderson,” Steve said, smacking Dustin lightly on the shoulder as they approached. “You survive your wizard battle or whatever?”
“Uh, yeah,” Dustin said proudly. “It was epic. Eddie made this crazy cursed mirror dimension thing, and the Lich King exploded, and Erica almost died again, but she rolled a natural twenty and-right, Eddie?”
He nudged Eddie, grinning up at him like he was some kind of war hero.
Eddie laughed, rubbing the back of his neck. “Yeah. It was… pretty metal.”
He didn’t know why he was suddenly trying to sound cool now, after spending the past hour pretending to be a three-eyed dwarven shaman in a cape.
Totally not because Steve Harrington was standing three feet away.
Dustin kept going. “But now we have nowhere to play ’cause Eddie’s graduating next week, and your parents are never home, and you owe me one, so we could totally play at your place-”
Steve blinked and cut in, looking at Eddie. “Wait, you graduate next week?”
Eddie blinked back. “Yeah.”
Steve nodded, like that was suddenly a big deal.
“Shit, dude. I forgot about that. That’s cool.”
Eddie shrugged, trying very hard not to grin. “Yeah. Kinda wild.”
“That was not the point to take away from that, Steve!” Dustin cried. “Focus!”
“What? No,” Steve said, already exasperated. “You’re not playing your weird nerd game at my house.”
Dustin crossed his arms. “You said I could pick the movie last week. This is like that but better.”
“Dude-“
Eddie raised a hand, stepping in. “Hey, hey. It’s cool. We’ll find somewhere to play, Dusty.”
Dustin pouted but let it go, barely.
Max, leaning against the car, groaned. “You guys talk so much. Can we leave now?”
Steve sighed like a single father with a minivan full of problem children. “Alright, cretins. Into the car.”
He looked at Eddie as the kids started climbing into the car.
“Later, Munson.”
Eddie gave a lazy two-finger salute. “Later, Harrington.”
And with that, he turned and walked away from them, off to locate Gareth and Jeff again, trying not to think too hard about why his chest felt weirdly warm.