Chapter Text
The last few days had come with a number of big shocks. Eddie was pretty sure if he lived through all this shit then he was going to be immune to any and all surprises in the future. More than once, he had wondered if maybe he was actually in some hospital bed in a coma after taking something he shouldn’t have and this was all his imagination running wild. People’s brains did that sometimes, right, to cope?
All the D&D references and him being on the wrong side of the law, he could see all that being conjured by his unconscious mind. Eddie knew he had a vivid imagination. It almost made more sense that this was all just a messed up story his brain was constructing to cope.
Then again he also knew he definitely wasn’t smart enough to imagine all the plans and conclusions that the likes of Nancy Wheeler and Dustin Henderson had come up with in the last 24 hours. All that stuff about electromagnetism, compasses and gates to an alternate dimension… Yeah, no way Eddie Munson the third time senior had that anywhere in the back of his head. He may be a nerd but not the smart kind like Dustin.
So that meant all this was real. Monsters, alternative dimensions, Nancy Wheeler owning guns, curses, him being wanted for murder actually commited by some freaky wizard, him being a total coward that ran every chance he got and even Steve Harrington being less of a douche than he expected. All that was real.
He truly didn’t know which was more surprising at this point. Maybe the fact that Steve Harrington was actually someone Eddie admired now.
Over the last few days, Eddie had seen that against all the odds Steve Harrington was actually a decent guy. More than that, he was a monster fighting bat biting honest to God real life hero. He’d been through this crazy shit three times already and wasn’t signing himself into the closest mental facility? That was insane.
Eddie, much like the majority of the girls in Hawkins, wasn’t immune to Steve’s good looks. Before this week, he would have dubbed it simple attraction to a pretty face and decent body but now? Now that he knew Steve a little bit and saw for himself that Dustin wasn’t exaggerating… Well, it was officially a crush.
Which was a ridiculous thing to be thinking at a time like this. Like Jesus Christ Munson pull yourself together. They were about to go off into battle and here he was thinking about how pretty Steve’s eyes were and how he’d quite like to kiss him before he died.
Maybe that’s all it was. Maybe all the movies weren’t wrong when the main characters stopped to fuck in a life or death situation. Were humans wired to seek each other out in their last moments? Probably. Eddie had no idea about any of that.
All he knew was that he had thought about kissing Steve almost as much as he had thought about all the other crazy shit going on. Which was stupid and ridiculous. They had much more important, literally life saving matters to be thinking about. Besides, when the hell did cute jocks become his type? Cute, definitely straight jocks with perfect hair and an ass Eddie wanted to bite.
Eddie blinked, pulling himself out of his rapidly spiralling (crashing and burning) train of thought.
They’d just walked out of his Upside Down home, about to execute their plan to take down Vecna and rid the world of the freaky wizard.
Steve was talking. Oops. How long had Eddie been ignoring him to think about kissing him? Not the best way to appeal to your crush. Not that he was thinking about appealing to him right now. Eddie was definitely thinking about their plan to defeat Vecna. Yep. Totally.
“Okay? You guys are just…”
“Decoys!” Dustin said at the same time as Steve. “Don’t worry. You can be the hero, Steve.”
Ah, right. Steve was giving them a little speech about saving themselves and hauling ass out of this nightmare the second they had fulfilled their role. Got it.
“Absolutely.” Eddie agreed. “I mean, look at us… We are not heroes.”
He glanced at Dustin as he spoke but looked back to Steve, blowing air out of his nose and smiling at him. It was true. Eddie was no hero, he had proved that to them many times over the last few days.
Being a decoy and running away before shit got real? That was perfect for him.
Eddie watched as Steve glanced between them, looking especially worried when he looked at Dustin. It was so painfully clear that Steve cared for Dustin like family. Eddie almost felt stupid for ever being jealous of him. How could he ever be upset that Steve cared this much about Dustin?
There was something about Dustin Henderson. He was cheeky and charismatic in his own goofy way. Easily one of the smartest people Eddie had ever met. He was always coming up with cool inventions or doing some weird but fascinating science experiment. Sometimes he could be a bit rude but ultimately when it counted he was there to support his friends. It was impossible for the little shit not to worm his way into your heart, really.
Eddie knew at that moment that if it came down to it and it was him or Dustin… Well, there was no choice. This kid was probably going to invent something and change the world before he was 30. Eddie would be lucky to keep himself out of jail before 30.
Steve nodded and stepped away from Eddie and Dustin, accepting that they understood not to be heroes and that they were just the decoys. Eddie felt his chest tighten and he started moving forwards before he could help himself, suddenly needing to say something, anything, to Steve.
Just in case.
"Hey, Steve?" Eddie continued to step forward as he spoke.
Steve turned back and met Eddie’s eyes. Behind Steve, Robin and Nancy were looking at him too. Eddie could feel Dustin looking at him too, everyone waiting to see what he had to say that was worth delaying their plans. Well, shit, what was he meant to say? I’d like to kiss you before we all die please and thank you? Yeah, right.
Eddie glanced away for a moment. Quick, idiot, think of something.
Uh. “Make him pay.”
Eddie almost winced at how stupid and pointless that had been. They were here to save Max and probably everyone in Hawkins. Steve didn’t need a pep talk from him, for fuck sake.
Steve stared at Eddie for a moment before nodding. Eddie nodded back even though he had no idea what this exchange was meant to mean. A jock thing, maybe? Did a nod mean good luck?
Eddie watched as Steve started to move away. Eddie was about to turn back when Steve suddenly stopped in his tracks again. Robin and Nancy stopped too, looking back. Nancy was starting to look a little pissed off by all the interruptions.
Steve shook his head, stupid perfect hair shaking all over the place but falling back into position like magic. How did he style it so perfectly without making it rock hard with hairspray? Probably some fancy rich boy stuff.
“No.” Steve declared. “This isn’t right.”
Nancy arched an eyebrow. “Steve, what are y–”
“I’m staying here with Eddie and Dustin.” Steve told her before turning and starting back towards Eddie.
Eddie’s eyes widened and he looked to Dustin, wondering what the hell was going on in Steve’s head. Dustin looked back at Eddie, just as confused as to why Steve felt the sudden need to stay with them. They both knew it wasn’t cowardice. Steve Harrington was a lot of things but he was not a coward. In fact, he was usually the first to throw himself in the line of fire Eddie had quickly discovered.
“That was not the plan!” Nancy was clearly not in any mood to be messed around. She looked like she might raise her gun and shoot Steve right here just to make a point.
Steve was standing next to Eddie now and turned round to face the girls. Robin looked confused and was glancing between them, looking like she wanted to help but had no idea whose side she was on. Nancy looked ready to murder Steve.
“Steve, we had a plan!” Nancy insisted.
“Most of which consists of you shooting and Robin blowing the creep up. Do we really need two people to throw molotov cocktails?” Steve replied. “This is where I’m needed. Leaving the kid and the new guy to fend for themselves? What the fuck were we thinking?”
“Hey!” Dustin protested from somewhere behind them.
Eddie was staring at Steve now, not sure if he was incredibly touched or annoyed by Steve’s words. As much as he didn’t want to be viewed as less capable than the rest of the adults here he had to admit that Steve did have a point. No point in having main character syndrome right now if he could be surrounded by supportive party members.
Touched, Eddie decided. He was touched that Steve wanted to make sure they were okay. It was probably mostly Dustin but still. God, he really wanted to kiss him again. Fucking hell. He might just do it if they survive this, consequences be damned.
“ Steve !” Nancy sighed heavily. “We have a plan for a reason. The gate is right there, they’ll be fine!”
Steve shook his head, standing his ground. Eddie wasn’t sure he’d be brave enough to defy Nancy Wheeler holding a sawn off shotgun if she was glaring at him like that. Steve really was badass, wasn’t he? Or maybe just used to women looking like they wanted to shoot him, who knows.
“This idiot!” Steve pointed at Eddie, finger inches from his face and making him jump. “This idiot fully intends to sacrifice himself for Dustin and I’m not letting that happen. No one is dying today except Vecna or Henry or whatever the fuck we’re calling him.”
Eddie’s eyes widened. How the hell had Steve known that? He had barely known that himself. It had been a brief thought, barely half a second. Was his expression that transparent?
Wait. Fuck. Did this mean Steve was staying for him ? Shit. At this rate, he was going to be totally in love with Steve Harrington by the end of this mess.
Everyone looked to Eddie then, silently asking if it was true. Eddie glanced at Steve and swallowed thickly before he struggled and just smiled around at the group.
“I mean, sure, if it came down to it, of course I’d save Dustin. That doesn’t mean I’m planning to die, jeez.” He huffed softly.
Before Eddie could register anyone else’s reaction, he felt Dustin slam into his side. He stumbled but managed to stop them from falling over, turning to hug his friend back properly. He smiled down at the curly hair poking out from the hood. Dustin had his face pressed into Eddie’s chest, hiding whatever may or may not be going on with his face. Eddie sighed softly and placed his hand on the back of Dustin’s head, bringing his forehead down to rest on top of Dustin’s head.
As he held Dustin, Steve bickered back and forth with Robin and Nancy. Eddie only half paid attention to them, more interested in comforting Dustin who was sniffling softly against his chest now.
“Hey, dumbass. I’m not gonna die. Just make sure I don’t have to save your backside, hm?” Eddie told him, ignoring that his own eyes were damp now.
This kid… When did Eddie let him get through all his perfectly crafted armour and make him care?
Dustin sniffed again and nodded, pulling back and wiping his eyes. “If you die, I die.”
Eddie laughed softly and shook his head. “How about we just don’t die, ‘kay?”
“Yeah, yeah.. That works too.” Dustin smiled up at Eddie.
Eddie nodded and looked back to the other three just in time to see Nancy nodding at Steve. Then, her and Robin began to walk away again. They jogged a little, wanting to make up the precious seconds that they’d lost.
Eddie took a deep breath and wiped his own eyes aggressively before speaking. “You’re with us, then, Harrington?”
Steve turned back to face them, smiling at them. His eyes were all soft and fond, crinkling up at the corners. Fucking hell, he looked so kissable. How was Eddie expected to focus on his very important decoy task when he had Steve around looking far more perfect than he had any right to considering their situation.
“Yep. I’m with you. Nance is the big guns, anyway.” Steve shrugged.
Eddie looked towards the two women disappearing into the distance and had to agree he didn’t see them needing Steve to save them. Nancy could hold her own and despite all her awkwardness and clusiminess Robin was beyond just brave. They didn’t need a big strong man to save the day.
Eddie, on the other hand, well… He wasn’t going to say no to having a big strong man save him. Especially one as pretty as Steve.
Dustin clapped his hands, bringing Eddie out of his thoughts. Eddie almost thanked him. He really needed to get his head in the game. Time to roll initiative and get things started. They had their plan, now it was time to execute it.
They all nodded to each other and got to work reinforcing the trailer. Eddie and Dustin made idle chatter as they worked, occasionally getting distracted and messing around with the metal. Steve was quiet for the most part, Eddie noticed, but he saw him watching Dustin with that same fond smile from earlier.
Eddie had already lost count of how many times he’d considered kissing the other man. Probably every time he looked at him. To think he used to avoid looking at Steve in case he got shoved into a locker or a book thrown at his head and now he was avoiding looking at him so he didn’t get lost in day dreams of pressing him up against the trailer and kissing him until he couldn’t breathe.
What had his life become? A week ago the craziest thing he had ever done was go on a three day bender in the city that ended with him walking all the way home over another two days. Now; he had witnessed multiple supernatural murders, he was wanted for said murders, had stolen someone’s home and vehicle, had gone through a portal to some weird alternate dimension twice, was about to help kill a serial killer slash spellcaster and to top it all off he had a new, aggressive crush on Steve fucking Harrington.
Wayne wasn’t going to believe any of this shit if he lived long enough to tell him about it all.
Eddie swallowed thickly, that thought sobering him. He had been doing his best not to think about what kind of mess his uncle might be going through right now all because he ran away like a coward.
He was pulled from his thoughts by Steve placing a hand on his shoulder. Eddie jumped at the contact, not expecting it. Steve smiled tightly and immediately removed his hand. Eddie almost wanted to hit himself in the head for stopping Steve from touching him.
“Ready? It’s almost time.” Steve nodded to the trailer door where Dustin was already making his way inside.
Eddie nodded and followed after Dustin, moving past him and heading towards his bedroom to get his guitar. Time for the most metal concert in the history of the human race. Eddie couldn’t stop himself from grinning at the thought which might be a little inappropriate given the situation but he couldn’t care less.
Dustin was grinning alongside him, insisting he was very ready for this concert. Behind him in the corridor, Steve stood with his arms crossed but a small smile on his face. He wasn’t immune to their excitement, apparently.
“Let’s go.” Eddie nodded. “For Chrissy.”
Steve nodded firmly, meeting Eddie’s eyes, adding “And for Barb.”
“To save Max and everyone in Hawkins!” Dustin cheered.
They moved out, setting everything up on top of the trailer. Despite the few distractions, they were still set up in plenty of time to stand around waiting and stewing in their own anxieties. All three of them were quiet now, prepared for what was coming but all too aware that what they were about to do was dangerous.
Eddie thought about the Hellfire kids out there putting themselves on the line. He thought about his bandmates who were somewhere probably hoping the witch hunt for Eddie didn’t reflect back onto them. He thought about his uncle who didn’t even know if he was alive. He thought about his unlikely new friends.
Inevitably, he thought about the fact they might all just die tonight. That he might die tonight.
Before he could get too deep into those dark thoughts, the walkie talkie crackled to life.
“Copy that. Initiating phase three.” Dustin responded and moved to plug in the amp. “Let’s hope they hear this.”
The amp whirled to life and Dustin moved to adjust it before nodding to Eddie.
Go time. For real.
Eddie nodded back. His eyes moved over to Steve who stood about an arms length away from Dustin. Steve was already watching him, eyes wide and an unreadable expression on his face.
Eddie smiled tightly and winked at Steve before he turned to face away from them. This was his time to shine and he needed to focus.
He yanked the pick from around his neck. “Chrissy, this is for you.”
Eddie found himself yelling out as images of Chrissy flashed behind his eyes. He launched into playing, almost not even thinking as he poured all his anger, his fear and his regrets into the song.