Chapter Text
Steve’s pov
So, here he was. The gang had all gone off on an adventure, leaving him babysitting, as always. Except this time, it wasn’t exactly “baby”sitting, more like “freak-adult-metalhead-suspected-murderer-nerd”sitting. Of course they did. It was apparently the only thing he was good at.
Man, if “King Steve” from a few years ago saw him now, he wouldn’t believe it was still him. Steve Harrington, supposedly “taking care of” the freak, Eddie Munson? Never in a million years would he have thought this was a situation he’d be in. Nevertheless, here he was.
This time they were hiding out at Steve’s own house, his parents were away for the week on some work trip, and no one would suspect Eddie of hiding there.
Neither of them really liked it, Steve tried to spend as little time at home as possible, especially after what happened with Barbara.
He still felt kind of guilty. While he was up in his room getting his dick wet, she was suffering a horrible death at the hands of a beast from the Upside Down. He should have done more, especially as the host.
“Hey man, you okay?” Eddie said, waving a hand in front of his face, bringing him back to reality. Apparently he’d been staring into space.
“Yeah. Yeah, of course.”
“Alright, if you say so.”
Steve nodded. Eddie was rummaging around in his bag.
“So, I remember you didn’t know who Ozzy Osbourne is, so I’ve decided that it’s my duty to change that.”
“…Okay?”
“Aha!” He exclaimed, pulling a cassette out of his bag. So that’s why he’d asked Steve if he had a cassette player. He pressed play, and the opening bars of Paranoid rang out in the room.
Finished with my woman ‘cause she couldn’t help me with my mind
People think i’m insane because I am frowning all the time
“This is Black Sabbath, the band Ozzy’s in. He’s the singer.” Eddie kept talking about Black Sabbath and explained how Ozzy bit the head off a bat.
All day long I think of things but nothing seems to satisfy
Think I’ll lose my mind if I don’t find some thing to pacify
They kept talking, the music still playing in the background. For each new song, Eddie would talk about it and explain what it was about. A lot of them were unmemorable to Steve, but one stood out to him.
Mr. Crowley
What went on in your head?
Mr. Crowley
Did you talk to the dead?
He didn’t really listen to Eddie talking, focusing only on the song.
“This one’s really good” He said, and Eddie nodded, smiling.
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
“Hey, can I make you a mixtape?” Eddie asked, and Steve could see the excitement in his eyes.
“Yeah, okay. Sure”
Mr. Crowley
Won’t you ride my white horse?
Mr. Crowley
It’s symbolic, of course
Approaching a time that is classic
I hear that maiden’s call
Approaching a time that is drastic
Standing with their backs to the wall
When the song was over, Steve went over and hit rewind to hear it again. As they listened to it for the second time, he looked at Eddie. He felt a warmness in his chest when the man smiled, and the way he talked made his heartbeat speed up in a way that confused him. He just wanted to run his fingers through his hair, and cup his face in his hands, and… He shook the thought out of his head. He ignored the fact that he made him feel the same way as Nancy used to make him feel. It wasn’t supposed to be like that, he liked girls didn’t he? Boobies, he liked boobies. Yes, he definitely liked girls.
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Eddie’s pov
The next day, Steve fought hard to get out of babysitting for Eddie, so this time he was stuck with Robin. He hadn’t really gotten much time with her, since she’d mostly been paired up with Nancy.
He wanted to like Nancy, he really did. She was really cool, and she was pretty too. Unfortunately, that was overshadowed by his jealousy. It was obvious that Steve liked her, and she clearly liked him back.
And then there was Robin too, her and Steve were really close friends, he doubted they were a thing, she had made that very clear, but a part of him was still jealous.
He was very aware of the fact that he was hopelessly in love with Steve. God, you’d think he’d have found someone within his league by now, but nope. He’d fallen hard for some jock guy who was probably straight anyway. Emphasis on the word hard.
Part of him was glad it was Robin this time, so he wouldn’t have to excuse himself to go to the bathroom every half hour to rub one out.
“Alright, what do you suggest for passing the time?” Robin asked.
“I dunno. Wanna get high?”
“Isn’t this kind of the wrong time?”
“Actually, I’d say now is the perfect time.”
“Oh come on Eddie, we’re not doing that now.”
“Fine.” Robin was a better babysitter than Steve, in the sense of keeping him out of trouble. They sat in silence for a couple minutes.
“Robin?”
“Mhm?”
“Are you and Steve like… a thing?” He just had to be sure.
“Nope, definitely not. Platonic wi-“
“With a capital P. Right, yeah.”
“Yeah. Why do you ask?”
“No reason.” Robin raised an eyebrow, clearly not believing him. She stayed silent, clearly waiting for Eddie to elaborate. When he didn’t, she finally broke the silence.
“I’m gay too, by the way.”
“I- What? How did you know?”
“C’mon, I just said I was gay too, obviously I know hanky code.”
“Right.”
“So you like Steve? I’m so sorry for you.”
“I guess… Do you know if he’s-“
“Gay? No, I know he likes girls, but he could like guys too. I don’t think he knows bisexuality exists. I’ve had my suspicions though from the way he looks at you.”
“What?”
“Nothing.” Robin smiled. Another few minutes of silence.
“So um, wanna watch a film or something?”
A few hours later, the others finally came back. Eddie’s heart leapt at the sight of Steve.
“Here’s the mixtape i made you.” He said, holding it out to him.
“Thanks.” Steve said, taking it. He grinned at Eddie, and he smiled back. They stared into each other’s eyes for what felt like ages. Steve’s eyes briefly flicked down to his lips, before he looked back up at his eyes. They were interrupted by Nancy tapping Steve on the shoulder.
“Hey, I’m going home now.”
“Okay,” Steve replied.
“Wanna come?” Steve shot a look back at Eddie, before shrugging.
“Sure.”
Eddie slumped back down onto the sofa. Robin poked him in his side with her elbow, and winked at him, smiling sneakily. He rolled his eyes. Still, Steve was leaving to stay at Nancy’s house, as if Eddie wasn’t stuck in his own house.
Dustin and Lucas left with them, but Max didn’t.
“Max shouldn’t you go home?” Robin asked. She shrugged.
“I… don’t really want to go home.”
“Okay, looks like you got another one to babysit, Robin.” She laughed
“Yeah. I’ll go make some food.”