Chapter Text
Eddie slipped through the front door of his apartment and toed off his shoes before bending to line them up with the other shoes filling the entryway. He couldn’t help smiling at the array of footwear cluttering the front mat. A collection of varying types of Doc Martens and beat up sneakers for running and fashion and one pair of converse covered in doodles that definitely didn’t belong to anyone who actually paid rent in this house. He tipped his chin up, “Baby?”
“In here!” a voice called from down the hall in the direction of the bedroom. A voice that definitely did not belong to his baby. He sighed, biting his lip to keep from smiling as he walked into his bedroom to find Robin Buckley sitting upright on his bed holding a remote and facing the TV mounted on the wall.
She looked over and grinned at him when he entered. He pointed one finger at her, “You are not my baby and you have no right to impersonate him as such.
She laughed and shrugged, turning her attention back to the TV, “If anyone has a right to, it's me and we both know that.”
Eddie just rolled his eyes and, as he shrugged off his leather jacket, he turned his attention to the other person on the bed who was leaning back against the pillows and smiling softly at the argument. Said person finally turned his full attention to Eddie and smiled up at him, “Hey, baby, how was the meeting?”
Eddie let out a long groan and let his body flop onto the bed and crawled up to bury his face next to his favorite mole on his boyfriend’s neck. “Stevie, I don’t ever want to go to another meeting again. Please don’t make me.”
Steve laughed gently which Eddie felt more than heard and shifted to circle his arm around Eddie’s back and begin playing with his hair. “Babe, you and I both know that that is not up to me.”
“Plus,” supplied Robin helpfully from where she had finally turned away from the TV - the streaming service she had pulled up was on the page for Teen Wolf- “Your meetings would be a lot less annoying if your bandmates thought before trying to prank you in a very public manner.”
“You’re telling me,” Eddie grumbled, burning his face back in his boyfriend’s neck.
“Hey,” Steve said, leaning over and pressing a kiss to Eddie’s head. “Rob and I were gonna watch an episode or two of Teen Wolf before she has to head out. You wanna watch with us and then we can talk later about your meeting?”
Eddie looked up to find Steve’s eyes soft and his eyebrows drawn together in concern. “You're still sure you aren’t mad about all of this?”
Steve shook his head, “Nah, I’m not mad.” He smirked slightly and his eyes flicked over to Robin who snorted before settling against Steve’s other side. “Rob is though and will probably glare holes into the side of Gareth’s head next time she sees him but I’m all good.”
Eddie sighed and shifted so he could more comfortably see the TV and said, without much venom in his voice, “Have at it, the bastard deserves it.”
***
Three episodes of Teen Wolf later Robin was sitting up and stretching her arms above her head. “What’s on the docket for you tonight, Buckley?” Eddie asked, watching and she swung her legs off the bed to stand up.
“I have a date with that girl that I’ve seen a few times,” she paused, looking a little distressed.
“And this is a bad thing because…” Eddie questioned sitting up slightly and glancing between Steve and Robin. Robin looked at Steve with a plaintive expression and he rolled his eyes back which launched them into a fully silent conversation. Eddie sat up more fully to watch the exchange, narrowing his eyes to try and pick up on what exactly they were communicating. He had been working for years to translate their silent conversations and still only had a middling success rate.
Seeming to come to some sort of stand still in the argument Robin sighed and looked down to the side, still not answering Eddie’s earlier question. Eddie glanced between the two of them before holding up his hands catching both of their attentions. “Okay, so can I try and guess?” They both nodded, Robin looking dejected and Steve looking amused. “Okay so obviously Robin is not necessarily excited about this date.” He looked between them, receiving nods from both sides. “And you,” he said pointing at Robin while she grimaced, “are looking for sympathy about this from you,” this time pointing at Steve who inclined his head in ascent, “But you” he said this time poking Steve in the shoulder to which Steve responded by slapping Eddie’s hand away good naturedly. Eddie responded by over exaggerating how hard the hit was and flailed, falling away from Steve on the bed. Steve just rolled his eyes and let his head rest against the wall as Eddie continued his statement like nothing had happened, “are for some reason not willing to give sympathy to the person that you almost always have time and sympathy for…” He glanced between his boyfriend and his boyfriend’s platonic soulmate for a moment, “Which means,” he said rounding on Robin, “that you did something wrong!”
Robin pouted and then put her hands on her hips in a way that mimicked Steve’s motherly mannerisms perfectly and seemingly without meaning to. “I didn’t do anything wrong! I mean I didn’t do anything wrong necessarily! Who is even out here saying what is right and wrong?”
Steve sat up from where he had been leaning to look levelly at Robin. “True or False? Is it wrong to go on a date with someone when you can’t stand the sound of their voice?”
Eddie clapped a hand over his mouth looking between Steve and Robin who were having a stare down. Robin finally deflated and dropped her hands to her sides, “You can’t just say that, it isn’t the whole story.”
“True or False?” Steve parroted again, “Is it wrong to go on a date with someone when you can’t stand their voice or topics of conversation but you think they are smoking hot? You know, when they aren’t speaking.”
Robin groaned and buried her face in her hands. “Don’t say smoking hot.”
Eddie cackled on the bed, glad to finally have someone else take the brunt of someone’s dissatisfaction. He held out his hands in a placating way towards Robin, “Look, Rob, plenty of people go on dates just to have sex. As long as you admit that to yourself and to the girl you’re dating and everyone is cool with that then it isn’t a problem. I mean, other than the fact that you have said many many times in the nearly ten years that I’ve known you that you don’t like hook ups and sex without feelings.” He shrugged and looked at Steve who was nodding and giving Robin a pointed look.
Robin looked between them and frowned, “As if I could ever take dating advice from either of you.”
Steve made a squawking noise and put a hand to his chest. “What does that mean? We’ve been in a healthy relationship for nearly a decade!”
“Exactly!” Robin replied, flailing her arms at Steve. “Neither of you remember at all what it is like to date. You happened upon each other early on and that was it!”
“ ‘Happened upon’ makes it sound like no one was putting in the work,” Steve grumbled. “I was putting in the work.”
Eddie, who was still deeply charmed by Steve’s bitchy moods, flipped his position on the bed to lay his head on Steve’s thigh and rub his calf gently. “Of course you were a baby.” As he said it, Eddie felt Steve’s hand come down and run through his hair.
Robin, who had been watching this entire exchange with growing irritation, threw up her hands, “See! This is exactly what I mean!” She walked a circle around the room before facing Eddie and Steve again. “Okay, I am going to go on this date and I’m going to try to have fun. If I do not, I will not see her again, despite the fact that she is one of the hottest people I have ever seen.”
Steve laughed but immediately sobered when Robin shot him a quelling look. He held up the hand that wasn't currently in Eddie’s hair in surrender. “I think that’s an excellent plan and I look forward to your phone call later this evening to update this entire situation.”
Robin rolled her eyes but leaned over to tap Steve on the head and then, seeming to consider her actions for a moment, leaned over and also tapped Eddie on the head. “Bye Dingus,” she said, directed at Steve. “Bye Dingus’ gremlin.”
Eddie cackled at that, always taking joy in Robin’s attempts to pretend she didn’t love him, and twisted his body to crawl over Steve’s torso and bite his neck. Steve exclaimed and tried to push Eddie off but Eddie wrapped his arms tightly around Steve’s middle and pinning his arms. Steve had always been stronger than Eddie but Eddie made up for lack of strength with sheer will power and the overwhelming desire to be wrapped around Steve Harrington a majority of the time.
From the doorway Robin groaned, “See this is exactly what I mean! You two are useless to me!”
She headed out of the room and down the hall calling out a last goodbye. Steve disentangled himself enough to call out after her, “Have fun chatting with your date!”
“Shut it Dingus!” Robin called from down the hall but there was no malice there. There never was when her yells were directed at Steve.
Eddie looked over at Steve to find him smiling softly as they heard the door bang shut. Eddie, content with where they had ended up - Steve mostly underneath him and at his mercy- moved his head to nuzzle back into Steve’s neck before biting down on the same spot he had latched on to when Robin had called him a gremlin. Steve exclaimed in surprise at the sudden attack and once again tried to throw Eddie off. This time Eddie let himself be moved and they ended up with positions mostly reversed with Steve on top of Eddie, his knees on either side of Eddie’s hips. Steve got a hold of Eddie’s wrists and pushed them above his head, pinning them to the pillow above and only then did he stop moving and look down at Eddie. Eddie grinned up at him and jutted his head forward quickly, snapping his jaw in a biting motion.
Steve, who Eddie could tell was trying to be serious, couldn’t stop the grin spreading on his face. He shook his head and pressed down on Eddie’s wrist with a little extra force before sitting back on his heels. Eddie could immediately pull to mind many other days where he and Steve had ended up in similar positions. He had a feeling though that Steve was not going to let himself be distracted this easily. Worth a try though.
Steve rubbed the side of his neck where Eddie had bit him. “Dude, seriously I think that's going to bruise and not in the ‘you could miss it if you don’t look too hard’ hickey kind of way. Like in the, ‘how did this guy get a literal bruise on the side of his neck’ way”.
Eddie, sensing a chink in Steve’s armor, sat up putting a hand to Steve’s hip to steady himself. “I’m sorry, baby. I didn’t mean to bite so hard. Let me see if it's bruised at all.”
Steve looked at him doubtful for a second so Eddie put on his most innocent face. Steve sighed but then he raised his chin and tilted it to the side so Eddie could inspect his neck. Eddie leaned forward, pressing a thumb against the side of Steve’s neck and rubbing gently. There was no bruise, maybe a light one would form but nothing yet. That didn’t mean he had to say that though. He looked up at Steve, making his eyes as wide and contrite as possible. “Baby, I’m so sorry there is a bruise, don’t worry though, I’ll kiss it better for you.” Eddie then leaned forward, his hand that had been on Steve’s neck sliding up into his hair and gripping gently on the shorter hairs near his nape.
“Eddie,” Steve warned. “Are you trying to distract me from talking about the meeting earlier?”
Eddie pulled his head back slightly to look at Steve in the eyes, once more making his own eyes as innocent as possible. “Of course not Stevie, I’m just trying to be a supportive partner and right my wrongs.” Before he had even finished what he was saying though he had been angling back towards Steve’s throat and pressed his lips against the point he had bitten earlier.
Steve let out a gentle sigh and tilted his head further to give Eddie better access. Eddie also felt one of Steve’s hands come up and slide into his hair and he wrapped his own arm more tightly around Steve’s waist. Eddie let his lips trail up Steve’s throat and along his jaw before pressing a kiss to Steve’s cheek, enjoying the feel of his stubble against his own lips and then shifting to cover Steve’s mouth with his own when suddenly there was a finger pressed against his lips. He opened his eyes to be met with Steve’s hazel eyes looking back at him. “Your tricks will not work on me. We have to talk about the meeting and you are just taking advantage of the fact that you look good today to try and delay the inevitable.”
Eddie looked at Steve and couldn’t help the smirk spreading across his face. “Sweetheart, I know for a fact that I only look okay today so I think you might be projecting something onto me.”
Steve’s cheeks dusted slightly pink but he shook his head resolutely and pushed gently against Eddie’s face and Eddie did what any logical man would do and flopped all the way back on the bed. It had the desired effect because Steve laughed and leaned forward pecking Eddie on the cheek before swinging his leg off Eddie and standing up beside the bed. Not so much the desired effect then. Steve held out a hand to Eddie which he reluctantly took letting himself be pulled to his feet. “Come on,” said Steve, pulling Eddie towards the kitchen. “Let’s get dinner going and then we can talk.” And when it all came down to it, who was Eddie to ever say no to Steve Harrington?
***
Eddie was sitting on the counter in their kitchen watching Steve prepare a pasta bake. When Eddie had allowed himself to be pulled out of the bedroom he had been waffling between the different dishes that Steve would announce he was cooking. Over the years there had been several meals that had been in the heavy rotation specifically on nights where the ideal after dinner feeling was comfort. Eddie had been between pancakes and pasta bake when Steve had turned to him grinning and holding up a box of penne pasta.
Eddie tipped his head back to rest it against the cupboard behind him and admired Steve’s hands and forearms as he sprinkled the last bit of cheese on top of the dish and covered it with tin foil. As he bent to put the dish in the oven Eddie tilted his head to admire a different part of Steve’s anatomy. “Take a picture Munson, it’ll last longer,” Steve said over his shoulder as he straightened up and set a timer.
Eddie grinned at him wolfishly, “If only I had my polaroid on hand…”
Steve rolled his eyes and moved across the kitchen until he was standing between Eddie’s knees. Eddie, ever the gentleman, widened the space between his thighs so Steve could fit more comfortably. The second Steve leaned into the space Eddie offered him Eddie wrapped his ankles around the backs of Steve’s legs, holding him where he was. He grinned down at Steve and put his hands on either side of his face. “Ha, you're mine now.”
Steve set his hands on Eddie’s thighs and squeezed gently, “I already was.” Eddie felt himself begin to melt at the words before Steve followed it up with, “But now that you’ve trapped me here it seems a perfect time to talk. We have fifty whole minutes for it while our dinner bakes.”
Eddie groaned and dropped his hands from Steve’s face and let his head fall back against the cupboard. “Sweetheart…”
“Come on, Eddie. This is a big deal. It's a big deal for your career, and mine indirectly. It’s a big deal for us and our friends. I promise I’m still not mad. However, I might have to be if you don’t start talking about your feelings right now.”
He leveled Eddie with a serious look that Eddie knew better than to ignore. Eddie sighed and sat up straight. He let his fingers trail up Steve’s forearm as he thought about what to say. Steve squeezed his thighs again to prompt him. Eddie looked up to meet Steve’s gaze. His eyes looked the same as always. Soft and kind and a little bit like he was always about to cry but the reasons for the tears always changed. God, he loved him so much. It was hard to remember a time before he had loved Steve. Eddie reached up and let his fingers trail through Steve’s hair. Steve leaned into the touch but didn’t break eye contact. Eddie could talk a lot almost always but sometimes he felt pinned down, as if no words were possible. He sighed again, giving himself one more moment before he had to speak. “You know, I’ve been thinking a lot about the start of everything.”
“The start of everything?” Steve questioned eyebrows drawing together.
“Yeah, the start of it all. The band. Us. Touring. Everything that led us here.” Steve nodded, slowly, as if the memories were flowing back to him as well. “I mean, we were really young and I at least didn’t know anything and it still feels crazy that we ended up here.”
Steve smiled at him and leaned forward to kiss him on the cheek. He had always been affectionate, always leaning into Eddie or holding his hand or kissing his forehead. It still never failed to make Eddie ache. “I’ve been thinking about it too,” Steve admitted. “Like back then I didn't even think about this, the whole interview thing, being a problem we could have.”
“You were too focused on getting a hand on my dick,” Eddie said, nodding sagely.
Steve snorted and gently slapped Eddie’s thigh, “Sure, yeah, that's the reason.
Eddie grinning at him before sobering once more. “Do you remember though baby? I mean I thought I was going to die at any given moment and then you showed up and it felt like some beautiful angel had fallen upon me.” He looked down as Steve whose face had gotten more skeptical. “What? What is that face for?”
“Nothing!” Steve said, holding up his hands in surrender. “It’s just, I don’t think you would have necessarily described me as angelic at the time, that’s all,” he said ending with a slight shrug.
And, fair, Steve had a point. At the tender age of 21, Eddie Munson would not have been caught dead calling Steve Harrington beautiful.
***Almost ten years ago***
Eddie grunted as he hauled the last amp onto the very small but weirdly tall stage in The Hideout. Corroded Coffin had just gotten back to performing after Eddie took a small break to finally finish out high school, which he had done and it hadn’t even been awful at all. Then he had had to find a job and the other guys had been busy and one thing had led to another so it had been almost a year since they had last performed and he was really excited to be back. Well, he would be excited if he could manage to get all the wires hooked up correctly and tune his guitars.
He was kind of touched to see that they even had a few regulars in the audience. Mostly it was just people who regularly drank at the bar and had been drawn into Corroded Coffin’s orbit because of that but it was still nice.
But, he had to focus. He turned around to try and move the amp into the correct position without bumping any of the other equipment around him when he felt a tap on his leg. He turned around expecting to see the bartender or even the owner but instead his brain stuttered to a halt when he realized who was standing in front of him. Steve Harrington, former king of Hawkins High was standing in front of Eddie in a dingy bar with a girl Eddie vaguely recognized from the high school band standing behind him.
“Hi,” Steve said, wiggling his fingers in a small wave. Eddie just stared back at him blankly. “Um,” Steve said, his hand coming up to the back of his neck. “We were wondering if you needed any help.”
“You were wondering if I needed any help.” Eddie replied dumbly, his eyes lingering on Steve’s very puffy, very shiny, very out of place hair.
Steve, seeming to grow tired of the halting back and forth they were engaging in, dropped his hand from his neck and rolled his eyes slightly. “I mean, it kind of looks like you need it.”
The girl behind him hit it arm lightly and he flinched away shooting her a dirty look. And Eddie, well he couldn’t stop the grin spreading over his face. If the king was offering his assistance to a lowly jester such as Eddie it would be wrong to turn him away. Eddie stepped back from the edge of the stage and bowed, spreading his arms wide and grinning at Steve like he was a meal. “Well, by all means my liege, if you deem this jester as deserving of your help, come on up.”
Instead of being disgusted or thrown off by his dramatics Steve just smiled and hauled himself up on stage. Alright, thought Eddie, this could be fun.