all your dreams are waking up

by the_crownless_queen

Summary:

“Nothing wrong with a bit of romance,” Eddie said, and for a moment his eyes darted toward Steve, and they were—

Twinkling. Mirthful and light past their initial darkness, like liquid ink, or the stars in a clear night sky, and…

Steve swallowed past the sudden lump in his throat. He felt dizzy, all of a sudden.

:: Or, when Steve realizes Eddie likes him, he maybe, kind of, sort of spirals a little bit. It works out, though.

Notes:

Aaaah it's finally here!!! This is my entry for the Steddie Big Bang, with amazing art from @peipnpu (Instagram/Twitter) <3

“I’m bored.”

“Hmm-mh,” Steve hummed back absently. If he could put just one more Marathon bar on his pile without it sliding down, he would manage to beat his own record and have it be big enough to— “Hey, come on, what gives?!”

Robin, who had just snatched the last bar from his pile and was now fanning herself with it, slumped over the counter. “I said I was bored. Bo-red, Steven. The monotony is killing me, this is so dull, we haven’t had a client in three hours and-”

“And the TV is broken so we can’t even watch something in the back, yes, I know,” Steve finished for her with a scowl. “I was trying not to think about that and keep myself busy in other ways.”

He gestured toward his chocolate bar pile, and Robin shot him one of her patented why-are-you-like-this looks. Almost on cue, though, the pile started to sway, then shift — then slide.

“Shit!” Steve swore, diving forward to try to catch the bars before they could hit the floor — Keith had opened a broken bar once, and Steve still could hear him complaining about it. He’d rather avoid a repeat if possible.

“Use your shirt, use your shirt!” Robin crowed, cackling as she very uselessly fanned the air around the now slopped pile.

“Or you could help me,” Steve retorted, although he did shift from trying to catch the bars with his hands to making a kind of basket with the bottom of his shirt. It was, admittedly, a marginally better way to do this, although some of the bars still inevitably crashed to the floor.

But he paused, and Robin paused — they shared a look.

“We shouldn’t,” Robin said slowly, but she didn’t sound very reluctant.

Steve grinned and jiggled his chocolate bounty.

“Ugh, stop that, I can see your boy stomach,” Robin replied with an exaggerated sickened expression that couldn’t quite hide the laughter in her voice.

Grinning wider, Steve lifted his shirt higher, barking out a laugh when Robin shrieked and tossed the Marathon bar she’d still been holding at him.

Steve snapped his teeth forward, and felt them clench shut around a mouthful of plastic.

“Holy shit!” Robin shouted, jumping in place, a mad cackle bursting from her lips. “How did you do that?!”

“I ‘on’ ‘ow,” Steve answered with a shrug.

Robin stared back uncomprehendingly until Steve caught on, and he spat back the bar, catching it with the rest still trapped in his shirt.

“I don’t know,” he repeated.

“Ugh, nasty,” Robin said, but she didn’t sound too put out — in fact, her eyes were caught on the pile still on the counter. As Steve watched, her eyes went wide, and she snatched up another bar. “Do you think…?”

Steve jerked back, and hurriedly poured the bars still in his shirt onto the counter as well, scrambling to catch them as they threatened to spill over again. “Please don’t.”

Robin pouted, her eyes sparkling with merriment as she pretended to throw the bar at him again.

“Come on, Steve~” she sing-sang at him, wiggling the bar in the air. “Don’t you wanna know?”

He did kind of want to know, Steve admitted, if only to himself — and because he and Robin were unfortunately stuck on the same wavelength, he caught her smirk of triumph as she jumped up again.

“Yes!” she shouted. “Come on, Steve — it’s for science~”

“I should never have let you and Dustin hang out,” he grumbled, eyeing the bar with distrust.

Robin called again. “I love that you think you could have stopped us,” she said, nodding at him with pity. “No, come on, get in position — on three! One, two-”

And just as she was about to throw, the bell above the door chimed, and she yelped, throwing the bar behind her back and almost tripping over her feet.

Wordlessly, Steve caught her and helped her straighten up, turning toward the door, ready to greet his savior with his best charming smile — which instantly froze on his face as he saw their customer.

“Hi, Steve,” Jessica Martin said, fluttering her eyelashes up him in a way she probably thought looked sultry.

Choking back on a laugh beside him, Robin cleared her throat.

“Hi, Robin,” Jessica added, in a much colder tone and not even looking in her direction.

“Jessica, hi,” Steve replied, feeling his cheeks start to hurt already. “What can we do for you today?”

Sashaying closer, Jessica came to lean against the counter. Her nose wrinkled as she caught sight of the Marathon bars still piled there, and Steve bit back a sigh of relief as he realized this meant she wouldn’t be able to come into his space the way she usually did. She leaned back instead, and graced Steve with another sultry look, twirling a strand of her curly brown hair in between her fingers.

“Oh, you know, I was just in the area,” she said.

“Of course,” Steve replied — and then bit his tongue as Robin stomped on his foot.

What was that for? he glared at her silently.

You know what for! Robin’s eyes shouted back insistently. Ask her out!!

I’m not asking her out, Steve tried to convey, but Robin’s eyebrows had started to do that weird dance that meant she was no longer listening.

“Hem, hem,” Jessica coughed, her smile now grown rigid around the edges. “I’m sorry, am I interrupting something?”

“Of course not,” Robin replied with a too-wide smile. “Steve was just about to-”

“Remind you that we have a five-day lending period, and if you keep one of our tapes for longer than that, you risk having to pay late fees.”

“Oh. Of course.” Jessica, for the first time since she’d started coming in — almost a week ago, now, and with growingly transparent excuses — looked embarrassed.

She rallied quickly though, and gave Steve another one of her too-bright smiles. “I don’t suppose you could make an exception on those fees, no? For a… friend?”

Steve’s smile felt so fake it hurt. “I’m sorry, but unfortunately, I can’t make any exceptions,” he replied, which was so patently untrue it was a wonder the ground didn’t open up beneath his feet to swallow him — always a possibility, in Hawkins.

“But you should still have a day left to return your tape, right?” Robin interjected helpfully, when it appeared that Jessica would just keep staring at him, her cheeks growing steadily redder and redder.

“R-Right,” she said, finally tearing her eyes away from Steve. “I rented it… three days ago?”

That had been last Friday, Steve’s mind supplied, when he’d grown tired of her hanging around Family Video not getting anything, and reminded her that if she wasn’t a customer, she should probably leave. He’d thought that would be the end of it, really, but she’d still come back every day since, with “oops, I forgot to bring back the tape, is it okay if I bring it back tomorrow?” excuses every time.

Well, except for today, where she hadn’t even bothered.

“Let me go check on that,” Robin said, her voice slightly louder than usual as she shot Steve an incredulous look, leading Jessica toward the computer. She typed a couple of things on the keyboard, and then nodded, offering Jessica a smile that was probably realer than Steve, but still looked too manic by half. “You were right! As long as you bring it by tonight or tomorrow, you’ll be good to go! Or you could pay to keep it an additional five days if you haven’t watched it yet,” she added.

“No, that’s fine,” Jessica replied, shaking her head. Her cheeks were still red, and she didn’t look toward Steve as she smiled at Robin gratefully. “I’ll bring it back tomorrow.”

“Great!” Robin cheered. “Looking forward to seeing you, and thanks for stopping by!”

Jessica left so quickly it was a wonder she didn’t walk right into the door, and as soon as she’d left, Robin rounded up on him, slapping his arm.

“Ow! What is it with you and hitting me today?” Steve protested.

“Don’t ‘ow’ me,” Robin retorted, jabbing her index into his chest. “What was that?!! She was clearly into you! Why didn’t you ask her out?!”

Steve grimaced. “First off, she wasn’t ‘into me’, she was into who I was in high school.”

“Huh-uh,” Robin replied dubiously. “Yeah, because you scream King Steve in this fancy Family Video jacket,” she mocked.

“I pull it off fine,” Steve retorted, smoothing out said jacket with a small frown.

“Suuure,” Robin drawled out.

Steve rolled his eyes. “Whatever. But b), maybe I wasn’t into her. Have you thought about that?”

Robin’s incredulous stare grew more incredulous, and she laughed. “You? Since when are you picky about women? I watched you hit on Mrs. Fulminger last week!”

“Okay, I’ve told you, that wasn’t- She’s like seventy, Robin, it’s called being polite, okay?”

Stepping back, Robin swat at his arm again. “‘Oh, you’re looking great, Mrs. Fulminger, is that a new haircut? Did you get a new perfume, Mrs. Fulminger? Because you smell amazing, and I-’”

Feeling his cheeks burn red, Steve slapped a hand over her mouth. “I didn’t say that,” he complained.

Robin licked his palm, but Steve just shot her an unimpressed look.

“If you think that scares me…” He kept his hand in place. “Besides, you were fine with it when she came back and brought us cookies.”

Robin’s shoulders fell and she stepped back. Grimacing, Steve let his hand fall back to his side, and rubbed it against his jeans — just because he wouldn’t let her win didn’t mean he liked having Robin slobber all over him.

“Point to you,” she reluctantly admitted.

“Thank you!” Steve threw his hands up in the air. “And I don’t know, I guess I just want something… more. Something real.” He tapped his foot nervously and looked away from Robin, his cheeks heating up again. “When we were… you-know-where, and I was talking with Nancy-”

“And telling her that you wanted her to have your six babies,” Robin interrupted cheerfully.

“And telling her I wanted a family,” Steve corrected, because he wasn’t ashamed of wanting that, even if the way he’d gone about it made him cringe now, “it was, I don’t know… She was the first real girlfriend I ever had, you know?”

“Which I’m sure the populace of Hawkins High would be devastated to know,” Robin added, wiping a fake tear off her face.

“I know, I know, it was shitty of me,” Steve replied, swallowing past a now familiar swoosh of guilt. He didn’t think he’d acted too much like a cad, really — he hadn’t been as bad as some of the other boys, at least, but Robin had been very unimpressed by that defense, and she would probably know best in this area.

Still, before Nancy, he’d made it quite clear he wasn’t looking for a long term thing, and the girls he’d been with had known that. And after Nancy, well… Hawkins was small enough that everyone had known he was looking for a rebound, which had helped at first, but had grown stale after a while.

“But my point is, I haven’t really felt a connection with anyone since well, us and-”

“No, thanks,” Robin said, with an exaggerated grimace and shudder.

“No, thanks,” Steve echoed with a smile. It felt a little crazy now, after everything, to remember that he’d ever had a crush on Robin. He could see it, still, sometimes, if he squinted a lot and leaned to the left, but what he’d wanted there was the connection, the friendship, the bond that they already had.

And now, the thought of kissing Robin left him feeling as disturbed as he would be to kiss, like, the least kissable person on the planet.

“So, you want a friend, is that what you’re saying?”

Steve scowled. “No, that’s not— I mean, yes, but…” He trailed off, his words failing him. “I don’t know what I want — I just know it’s not Jessica Martin.”

“Aw, you’re a romantic~” she cooed with a laugh.

Steve scowled harder. “I’m not!” he spluttered.

Robin laughed harder. “No, no, it’s nice. I think it’s nice. Steve “The Hair” Harrington, a romantic. You should embrace it.”

“You know that’s not my name,” Steve complained, but he slowly started to put away the Marathon bars again before another disaster could occur — although, they had saved him from Jessica, so perhaps…

“Well, it’s not ‘Steve “Danger” Harrington either — I think mine suits you better. Much more accurate.”

Pausing halfway through returning one of the bars to the shelf, Steve rounded up on her. “It’s a great name and you know it — rolls right off the tongue. And I could so be dangerous if I wanted to!”

Robin shot him another one of her pitying looks, which Steve thought was very unfair coming from one of the few people who had ever seen him win in a fight and kill literal monsters. “Of course you can,” she said, in a sweet, laughing tone that said she didn’t believe a single word of it.

“Whatever — just help me with these, alright?” He gestured toward the bars.

Robin laughed. “Oh no, they’re your mess, not mine.”

“You’re the one who made them fall,” Steve complained, but he heaved out a sigh and didn’t try to argue further — he had a feeling she might go back to trying to throw them at him if he did, and besides, the cleanup would go faster if he worked on his own.

He was just putting the last of them away when the door chimed again, and Steve straightened up so quickly he banged his elbow on the counter.

“Fu-” he bit off a swear, clutching his elbow to his side as he turned toward the door with a smile he hoped didn’t look too pained. “Welcome to- Oh, thank fuck, it’s you.”

Beside him, Robin laughed.

Striding into Family Video, Eddie arched an eyebrow at them, his mouth frozen open in greeting. He snapped it shut, and then, with a smirk, asked, “Do you greet every customer like this? In a family establishment? For shame, Harrington, for shame…”

“Shut up,” Steve replied, rubbing his forearm. “And you, too,” he added, pointing at Robin, who was still laughing.

“I didn’t say anything,” she replied, her lips twitching. “But hi, Eddie.”

“Lady Buckley,” he replied with a fancy bow and a wink. He straightened up and grinned up at Steve, offering him a nod. “Harrington.”

“What, I don’t rank a Lord?” Steve blurted out.

Sauntering up to the counter, Eddie’s grin widened into something a touch more manic. “I don’t know, I don’t think a Lord would have such a dirty mouth.”

Steve spluttered. “Like you don’t swear at least twice as much as I do,” he protested.

Eddie winked, pushing himself against the counter and into Steve’s space. “Ah, but I am not a Lord.”

For some reason, Steve’s heart was pounding in his chest, and his lips felt dry. “What are you, then?” he asked.

Eddie leaned back, a pondering look on his face. “Mmh,” he mused out loud, twirling on his feet. “A dashing rogue, maybe.” Steve’s face must give him some kind of look, because he adds, “An outlaw,” and wiggles his eyebrows.

Robin’s snort interrupts him. “And this outlaw is gonna be in real trouble real soon if he didn’t remember to bring us back the last tape he borrowed…” she trailed off, grinning threateningly at Eddie.

Eddie put his hands up with a nervous chuckle. “Ah, about that…” He cleared his throat. “I may have… forgotten to bring it?”

“Again?” Robin prompted, her eyes narrowing as she pointed at him.

Eddie rubbed the back of his neck as he nodded. “Yes, again,” he replied meekly, before perking back up. “I can bring it back tomorrow?” His eyes turned pleading — it was kind of impressive, really, how big and wet he could make them on command.

But Robin’s eye twitched. “It was due yesterday,” she said. “And you said you’d bring it back today.”

He had, in fact, said that — Steve remembered it now. Still, he couldn’t help but feel that was a little harsh. He didn’t remember what movie Eddie had rented, but considering it had been Eddie’s choice, it probably wasn’t one of the more popular titles that were flying off the shelves, so to speak.

The words fell from his lips before he’d even really thought about them. “Just put it on my account,” he says. To Eddie, he added with a wink, “We get an employee discount, and we can rent for a day longer. Just bring it back tomorrow, okay?”

Eddie blinked at him, gaping a little. “I- You- What?”

Turning to Robin, Steve went, “Please?”

She wrinkled her nose at him, looked at Eddie again, and then back at him. “Tomorrow, Munson,” she said, eyes narrowed.

Eddie crossed himself, his eyes going comically wide. “Yes, ma’am.”

“Whatever,” Robin said, but she moved in front of the computer to dutifully erase Eddie’s debts. “Try not to forget this time — one of these days, Keith is going to catch on, and then we’re going to be the ones in trouble.”

“You mean I’m going to be in trouble,” Steve corrected. “Keith loves you.”

“Ugh, don’t remind me.” Robin groaned before pointing at Eddie again. “But seriously, don’t forget this time, or I’m sending Erica after you.”

Steve snorted out a laugh, then gave Eddie his best innocent shrug when he turned toward him in betrayal.

“You drive a hard bargain, Lady Buckley,” he finally said, relenting with a pout. “Tomorrow it is.”

Robin nodded solemnly, and Eddie propped himself up against the counter again. “So, what’s new in the wonderful Family Video kingdom?”

Steve snorted. “I don’t know if I’d call this place a kingdom,” he said. “And does it look like anything’s happening around here?” He gestured around the deserted aisles before giving Eddie a pointed look.

Eddie made a show of looking around before hoisting himself up on the counter. “Nope,” he said, popping the ‘p’. “Looks as deserted as the mines of Moria.”

Steve blinked for a moment, frowning. “Weren’t those full of like, gerblins? Also,” he added, swatting at Eddie’s legs, “get down from there — what if somebody comes in?”

Eddie groaned loudly, but he didn’t move. “Goblins, Steve, they were goblins. I know you know this.” Echoing Steve’s earlier gesture, he waved around at the family video, nearly smacking both Steve and Robin across the face with his arm. “And does it look like somebody’s going to come in?”

Addressing Eddie’s first point first, Steve merely blinked up innocently at him. “I have no idea what you mean,” he said, purely to hear Eddie groan dramatically again. Ignoring Robin’s growing incredulous look, he shook his head. “And you never know, man — you came in.”

“And Jessica~,” Robin added in a sing-song voice, waggling her eyebrows.

Something Steve couldn’t identify flashed through Eddie’s eyes as he slid off the counter. “Jessica?”

Robin nodded, leaning closer with a grin. “She’s been coming here all week to flirt with Steve.”

“She hasn’t,” Steve complained to Robin, even though Jessica definitely had, and from Robin’s unimpressed look, she wasn’t fooled.

To Eddie, he prompted, “Martin.”

“Jessica Martin?” Eddie echoed, something incredulous in his voice. He mimed something in front of his mouth. “The one with the braces? Didn’t you spend an entire year mocking her for it?”

Robin whistled as Steve felt his cheeks burn. “Ah… Yes,” he answered lamely.

Eddie whistled as well, that same nameless thing shining in his eyes that made Steve’s stomach twist. “Wow, she must have it bad, then.”

“She does,” Robin cackled.

Grimacing, Steve shook his head. “Well, I don’t, so… That’s that.”

“Tough,” Eddie replied, his lips puckering up around the word. He picked up a strand of his hair and twirled it around his fingers, staring at Steve. “Not very gallant of you,” he tsked.

Steve rolled his eyes, but leaned back, suddenly unsettled. “Like I told Robin, I don’t want- I'm not interested right now.”

Eddie’s eyebrows rose so high they almost disappeared into his hair. “If you say so.”

“I do,” Steve said, crossing his arms.

“Steve’s a romantic~” Robin repeated, her voice an echo from earlier. She was still smiling, but the mocking edge of it had softened into something more sincere, and she nudged him with a sharp elbow.

Steve hissed at her, stepping away, but Eddie laughed — the full thing, head thrown back, tears in his eyes, cheeks-splitting grin kind of laugh.

He was still twirling a piece of his hair, Steve noticed, and his stomach squirmed a little for no reason he could discern. It felt like he was on the edge of something, like he’d used to feel studying with Nancy and she’d be explaining this huge concept to him and he’d be just on the verge of getting it — but not quite yet.

“Nothing wrong with a bit of romance,” Eddie said, and for a moment his eyes darted toward Steve, and they were—

Twinkling. Mirthful and light past their initial darkness, like liquid ink, or the stars in a clear night sky, and…

Steve swallowed past the sudden lump in his throat. He felt dizzy, all of a sudden.

The thing was…

The thing was, even if Steve wasn’t as smart as Robin, or god forbid, Nancy, he was still smart about some things. He knew people — got them better than most everyone in their little group, probably.

He could tell when the party’s jibes about sports and jocks started to weigh in on Lucas a little too much, and he could tell when Max went from secretly pleased about her friends’ concern to annoyed about it. He knew when El got overwhelmed from thinking too much about what other people thought of her and what she could do — he could even tell, usually, when Mike being a little shit was because he was just pissed or because he thought if he didn’t make himself bigger and louder, then his friends might forget him and leave him behind.

(Steve could kind of relate to that one.)

But more than that, he could tell when someone was interested in someone else. Robin always made fun of him when he said so, but there were signs — and sure, maybe he didn’t always catch them, or at least not wilfully, but if Steve remembered to pay attention, it was always pretty easy to spot if someone liked you.

It was how he’d known Jessica liked him — or at least wanted him — but since he didn’t want her back, it would have made it… awkward, to acknowledge it, so he hadn’t. But the signs had been there: the way she’d lean into his space, the way she’d look him in the eyes and sigh a little, the way she’d twirl her hair while talking to him, like she needed something to do with her hands so she wouldn't reach out…

And…

And Eddie had been doing that around him too, Steve realized suddenly. It felt like the floor had dropped underneath him — it felt life-changing. He had to grip the counter to steady himself, but…

Nothing had changed, really.

“-eve?” Somebody snapped their fingers next to his ears and Steve jumped, almost tripping over his feet. “Steve!”

“I- What?” he asked, and instinctively flinched at how sharp his voice came out. He shook his head and tried again, glaring at Robin so he wouldn’t have to stare at Eddie straight-on.

“What is it?” he repeated.

“Are you okay?” she asked, biting at her lower lip. Her eyes roamed over his face, and the tiny furrow over her brow that meant she was actually worried was suddenly all Steve could see. “You kind of… zapped out on us.”

“I’m fine,” Steve replied, but his voice cracked in the middle of fine, so it probably wasn’t very convincing. His stomach churned with guilt, because he knew what they must have been thinking — what each of them always thought, these days, when someone got a little too lost in their head.

He cleared his throat. “I’m fine,” he repeated, letting his lips quirk up into a disarming smile. “Just got a little too caught up on… something.”

“Sure,” Robin drawled, crossing her arms and glaring at him in a way that really just meant she was worried. “Because that sounds so convincing.” She shot Eddie a look, and he nodded along.

“No offense, Harrington, but you looked…” Eddie’s voice faltered, and Steve couldn’t help but look at him, catching him swallowing nervously, his eyes tracking the movement of his Adam's apple up and down his throat. “You kind of went really pale,” he said.

“I’m fine,” Steve repeated again, even though he didn’t really feel fine — rather, he felt like the floor was spinning, or maybe he was spinning. It half-reminded him of those Russian drugs; or at least what they had felt like when they’d been starting to come down again. “It’s nothing,” he added.

Neither Robin nor Eddie seemed convinced.

“It must be something I ate,” he offered, finally letting go of the counter. He must have been gripping it harder than he’d realized, because his hand hurt. He flexed his fingers, keeping his eyes on the way his skin stretched so he wouldn’t have to look at them.

This time, however, his excuse seemed to have been accepted — at least in some way.

“I swear to god, Steve, if you get me sick one more time-” Robin started to whine, jumping back and away from him. “I’m supposed to go see my grandmother next week, I can’t be sick!”

“Are you sure?” Eddie asked at the same time, stepping closer. He still sounded worried, and his eyes were so brown with it, Steve thought, and felt ridiculous for it — of course Eddie’s eyes were brown, what else could they be?

But even as he thought it, he caught tiny flecks of green, and like, gold in Eddie’s eyes, and his stomach swooped again. He felt sick, and his hands started shaking.

“Steve?” Eddie repeated, and he raised a hand to Steve’s forehead.

Stupidly, Steve flinched back.

It felt like a bomb had gone off. Or no, worse, like the Upside Down all over again, like they’d heard a Code Red over the radio — the dread felt the same.

“I’m sorry,” Steve said, feeling his tongue go numb and unwieldy in his mouth. “Sorry, I think I might be getting a little sick? I should… go lay down in the back.”

Eddie’s face, which had shuttered horribly at Steve’s actions, cleared up a little, and the vice around Steve’s ribs eased a little alongside it. He wanted to say more, to do more — to take back the past few minutes and make it so he’d never put that horrible blank look on Eddie’s face, but he couldn’t.

He shuffled awkwardly toward the backroom instead, flipping Robin off as she shouted, “If you need to upchuck something, aim for the waste basket!” at his back.

The door closed with a final clink behind him, but it wasn’t very thick. Steve could hear everything happening on the other side, even though he wasn’t really trying.

He stared dimly at the piles of returned tapes in front of him. The backroom had a tiny, lumpy sofa that could sit maybe two people if said two people didn’t mind sharing personal space — so, usually, it worked fine for Steve and Robin when they decided to waste a couple of the slowest hours watching movies, but right now the TV there was still broken, so it was mostly occupied with piles of returned tapes, the same as the rest of the room.

Sighing, Steve cleared a small section of it, pushing the tapes to the side. Star Wars: A New Hope stared back at him, and he bit back a snort, instead choosing to drop down on the sofa. It squeaked beneath his weight, and at least that covered up the voices outside for a moment.

“What’s up with him?” he heard Eddie ask.

“No idea,” Robin replied, but she sounded concerned. Steve hated that she sounded concerned — that he had made her concerned. “He was fine earlier?”

“You don’t think-”

“No, no!” Steve couldn’t see her, but he could tell Robin was shaking her head rapidly. The mental picture made him smile, but then he groaned and dropped his head face-first into the cushions. The corner of a tape dug into his cheek and Steve wiggled his nose until it moved, and then he sighed and just shoved everything in front of him to the floor.

The tapes clattered down with a cacophony of sound, and he winced.

“Everything’s fine!” he shouted toward the door, the other side of which had fallen suspiciously silent. “I’m still fine!”

“Just scream if you’re dying!” Robin shouted back, and then hers and Eddie’s laughter filtered through and Steve…

Tried to bury his face into the cushions again.

They smelled bad, though. A mushy kind of smell, and when Steve rubbed his fingers against the tissue, he could feel a dusty kind of residue stick to his fingers.

Too late, he remembered the bags of potato chips he and Robin routinely had to throw out, and he groaned again, straightening up. He hadn’t really wanted to throw up before, but now he thought he kind of wanted to — he couldn’t believe he’d put his face on that!

He heard more than he saw the door open, but he looked up when Robin spoke.

“Eddie’s just left,” she said, “and I put us on break.”

Steve grimaced. “We’re not really supposed to close during the day, that's why there’s two of us.”

Robin just shrugged, gingerly picking a path through the scattered tapes until she could fall on the sofa by his side. “Yeah, somehow I don’t think our troves of customers are going to come batter down our hatches,” she said.

“You never know,” Steve protested weakly, but he shifted aside to leave her more room to sit comfortably.

She wiggled in closer, her nose wrinkling. “We really should get Keith to get us a better sofa,” she said.

Steve snorted. “And clean up after himself — I think there’s still chips stuck between the cushions.”

Robin pulled a face. “You didn’t have to tell me that,” she whined. She paused, though, and took a long look at him. “You don’t look sick,” she said slowly.

Steve felt his shoulders tense. “I guess not.” Steve sighed.

Giving a nervous laugh, Robin bumped their shoulders together. “Well, that’s good — wouldn’t want you to get me sick, now, would we?”

Steve nodded shakily, but his next words stuck in his throat. He swallowed. “I’m sorry.”

Something flashed through Robin’s eyes and she bit her lip again. “If it was something I said, about Jessica… I hope you know that I was just kidding around, okay?”

But Steve shook his head, hastily reaching out to pat her on the arm. He smiled. “No, no, that wasn’t — you’re fine.” He snorted out a laugh that almost sounded real. “It was just…” He licked his lips and paused again.

Robin spoke for him. “Eddie, then,” she said, her voice carefully neutral. Part of Steve hated that she felt she had to do that, that she felt the need to withdraw from him like this — but the rest of him, perhaps the biggest part of him right now, felt abjectly grateful for it. It made it a little easier to breathe, even if it also made his stomach churn with guilt.

“Eddie… likes me, right?” The words felt impossibly big, and stuck with them hanging between them, the Family Video backroom suddenly felt very small. “Not- I mean, yes, as a friend-” Steve hoped “-but as… more than that.” He swallowed again. “Like you. And girls, not me.”

Steve didn’t think he had ever seen Robin so tense since that day at the mall, where he’d crawled toward her on a public bathroom floor and somehow the real world had felt scarier than all the monsters and Russians outside the door.

She eyed him carefully, and his stomach roiled again. “And what if he does?” she asked.

Steve’s heart lurched in his chest. “Come on, you know that’s fine. I don’t care if he- I don’t care that he likes me,” he spluttered out — but somehow, the words tasted like a lie. Or perhaps not a lie, exactly, but something lie-like.“It’s not, that’s not…” He cut himself off, his cheeks burning. “I don’t mind that he…”

Robin kept eyeing him narrowly. “Likes guys?” she asked, the words almost accusatory.

Somehow feeling back on steadier ground, Steve rolled his eyes and rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, that. I don’t care. It’s great — he can like whoever he wants!” he added, and his voice must have been a little too loud because Robin tried to shush him.

That awful coldness in her eyes was leaving, though, and with it some of the vice around Steve’s ribs.

“Well I don’t know, Steve!” she retorted, rolling her eyes as well and throwing her arms up in the air, only narrowly avoiding his face. “You were being weird, and like, sometimes people are cool with it in theory, but it’s different when the person has a crush on you, personally, and I thought you’d be fine, but again, you were being a real weirdo!”

“That’s not-” Steve tried again, shaking his head. God, but why had this been easier high? “I don’t care that he likes guys, that’s— Who cares? It’s just, why…” me, he didn’t finish.

Robin’s eyes widened and her demeanor softened. “Wait, is this where you start making fun of his crush now?” Her eyes glimmered. “Because let me tell you, I have heard you sing, and he could do way better,” she stated smugly.

Steve spluttered. “It’s not like I’m trying to become a professional singer,” he protested before her words caught up to him. When they did, he protested again, pouting and crossing his arms. “And that's not— Why would I make fun of it? Him. Me. I’m very crushable.”

He blinked, and felt his cheeks burn again. “I mean…”

Robin burst out laughing, slapping his arm with mirth. “You are indeed very crushable,” she said, nodding. “Squish goes the human, I always say.”

“Shut up,” Steve mumbled back, biting back a laugh. “You know what I meant.”

Her grin softened and she nudged his arm again. “Sure I do, Mr. Crushable.”

“We’re not calling me that.”

Robin’s eyes twinkled as she nodded. “Of course not. I would never,” she said, crossing her heart.

Steve sighed and started picking at the hem of his shirt. “I should probably apologize to Eddie, shouldn't I?”

“Meh.” Robin shrugged. “Well, probably — but it’ll be fine.” She knocked their shoulders together again. “It’ll be fine, right? You’re still fine with it?”

Steve rolled his eyes, but smiled despite himself as he huffed. “Yes, mother, I’m still fine with it. I have been fine with it, and I will be fine with it,” he said, which was entirely too many times they’d used the word ‘fine’ in this conversation.

Robin eyed him dubiously, which was probably fair, since he had not only completely lost it like twenty minutes ago, but he was also still not exactly fine with it.

Or rather, he was fine with the gay part — that wasn’t really a surprise, even though Steve hadn’t really let himself think about it before. There had been rumors, of course, but those had been before, back when he’d still been King Steve, and Steve had learned to take those with a grain of salt.

(After all, according to the Hawkins High rumor mill, Nancy had been pregnant with Jonathan’s baby for a little while there, and also Billy beating him up had been over another girl they’d supposedly been fighting over.)

And after Robin, well, it had felt more… polite, to not say anything unless Eddie said something.

Of course, that was before Steve had realized that… that Eddie liked him, but he hadn’t been lying, he was fine with it.

“What am I supposed to tell him?” he blurted out despite himself.

Robin, bless her, just rolled her eyes. “Just say you’re sorry, dingus. You had an off-day, or whatever; he’ll get it.”

Slowly, Steve nodded. “So I shouldn’t tell him that…”

Robin shot him an incredulous look. “Would you want the girl you’re crushing on to come tell you that she knows about their feelings and that she’s sorry about freaking out over it?” She poked him in the arm. “Come on, you’re usually better than that.”

Steve grimaced. “You’re right, you’re right. I’m sorry. It’s been a… weird day.”

Robin huffed a long sigh and cracked her back. “And unfortunately, it is not over — clean this up, okay? I’ll take front.”

Steve scowled at her but stood up nonetheless, wiping his palms on his work vest. “You just don’t want to be stuck vacuuming the sofa,” he complained, reaching out to swat at her.

Robin laughed as she danced away from him. “Hey, you’re the neat freak here.”

“For the last time, I’m not a neat freak, I just like to keep my place clean, and there’s nothing wrong with that,” Steve complained, although he started bending down to pick up the tapes he’d scattered earlier — which, he guessed, might have been proving Robin’s very point.

“Just for that, I’m not going to do it,” he called after her retreating back.

“Sure you aren't,” Robin laughed again. She paused at the door and turned back to face him. “You sure you’re okay? It’s fine if you… need some time,” she said.

Her voice was so soft, so careful, it made Steve’s skin crawl a little.

“I’m good,” he replied. “Go deal with our many, many, many-”

“Alright, I think I get it,” Robin laughed.

“-many clients,” Steve finished. He was pleased to see that his grin came easier now, and it stayed even as Robin left the room.

As he started tidying up, Steve tried to do his best not to think about Eddie, Eddie liking guys, and especially Eddie liking him. Unsurprisingly, he failed on all counts.

It just didn’t make sense, Steve thought. Eddie knew Steve was into girls. He knew that Steve didn’t… That he wouldn’t… That he couldn’t…

Catching sight of a tape hiding under the sofa, Steve dived for it to escape his thoughts.

“I found our missing Breakfast Club tape,” he shouted for Robin.

“Great!” she shouted back. A pause, and then, another shout, “Check if it was rewound!”

Groaning, Steve did — and of course, it hadn’t been.

In fact, none of the ones on the pile he’d been gathering had been, and Steve set out to do it. It was a mindless task, unfortunately, and the soft whirring sound of the rewinding tapes couldn’t quite drown out his thoughts.

It would be easier, really, if Eddie was a girl. Then Steve would just know what to feel — because Eddie was great! He was funny, and energetic, and fun to be around. Steve maybe understood half the words he said, but that didn’t really matter when Eddie was just always so happy to share. Or well, to talk at someone, really.

Eddie had tried to get Steve to engage with his interests, of course, and while Steve could kind of understand the appeal when he heard Eddie play or listened to him talk about it, most of the metal music he listened to was just too loud and angry for Steve to really appreciate it — and that was without getting into the elaborate fictions Eddie could get into when he was planning his Dungeons and Dragons sessions for the kids.

But it was still so…

The thought slipped away from him, twisting and tangling like the lane ropes at the swimming pool would when the team would put them away after practice, and Steve sighed. The tape whirred, and clicked, and Robin cleared her throat.

Steve jumped, a hand to his chest as he only narrowly avoided falling backward into his neat pile of rewound tapes. “Jesus fucking Christ! Are you trying to kill me?”

Robin shot him an unimpressed look. “I’ve been standing there for at least five minutes, doofus,” she said. “You weren’t moving — and I’m pretty sure that tape can’t be rewound anymore.”

Steve blinked and swore, slamming the button to take the tape out. It felt warm to the touch and he grimaced, holding it gingerly as he put it back into its box. “Do you think it’s okay?”

Robin shrugged. “Probably?” Her eyes narrowed as she crouched down to his level. “Better question though: are you okay?”

Steve swallowed, feeling his throat tighten oddly. “Yeah,” he said, shaking his head a little. “Just… You know, still feeling a little… bleh.” He grimaced again, forcing a smile as he stared at Robin. Please believe me, he didn’t say. And, Please don’t ask me about it again, even though he wasn’t sure if there was anything to ask about, or what he’d say if she did.

But something flashed through Robin’s eyes and she nodded. “Why don’t you take off early,” she said. At Steve’s incredulous look, she rolled her eyes. “We’ve only got like, half an hour left on our shift, and it is still dead. Our only client was Mrs. Smyrke, and I don’t think she’ll be coming back soon.”

Steve’s lips quirked up into a reflexive smile. “Did she try to rent half the store again?” he asked.

Robin heaved a dramatic sigh and dropped to the floor, crossed-legged in front of him. “Yup,” she said, popping the ‘p’. When she shook her head, a strand of her hair flew over her face, and she blew it back with an annoyed huff. “She’s got to be doing this on purpose, right? I mean, there’s no way she doesn’t get the ‘only three tapes at a time’ policy, right?”

Steve hummed, only half-listening. “Or maybe she’s just, you know.” He raised his eyebrows at her tellingly.

Robin stared back, frowning. “What?”

Steve wiggled his eyebrows. “You know, going a little crazy. She’s old, now.”

Robin sputtered out a laugh, slapping his thigh. “Steve! That’s mean!”

“Well, so is she,” he grumbled back, because the last time Mrs. Smyrke had come in during their shift, she had spent as much time trying to tell them that ‘of course she could rent a dozen movies, she did it all the time’ as she had making degrading remarks on Robin’s hair, clothes, face, and general demeanor, and how she’d ‘never get a husband looking like that, dear’.

He and Robin had just about died laughing as soon as she’d left, but still.

Robin shook her head at him, but her lips were twitching. “You’re trying to distract me,” she said with a mock glare.

Steve smiled back, half-sheepish. “Is it working?”

“No,” Robin retorted, crossing her arms. “Come on, when do you ever get the chance to skive off early?”

Steve nodded slowly. “You do have a point,” he said, putting a tape he hadn’t realized he’d been holding back onto the pile. With a groan, he stood up, only narrowly avoiding sending all the tapes flying — in which case, forget leaving early, Robin would have murdered him.

“I always have a point,” Robin replied smugly. “Now, help me up and shoo, some of us have got to get back to work.”

Guilt twinged in his gut and Steve hesitated as he offered her his hand and pulled her up. “Are you sure you don’t need me to stay?”

Robin rolled her eyes at him. “Yes, Mom, I promise I’ll be fine.” She stared at him for a moment before sighing, letting her hand slip from his after squeezing it gently. “Just… take it easy, okay? Everything’s fine.”

“Everything’s fine,” Steve echoed dubiously.

“Eddie’ll get over it,” Robin continued, unaware of the way her words felt like a stone had suddenly dropped in Steve’s stomach. “You’re not that great a catch, Mr. Crushable.”

“I— Yes,” Steve sputtered, mouth suddenly dry. Surreptitiously, he tried to wipe his palms on his legs. “He will. That’s… good? It’s good,” he repeated, wincing.

Robin’s eyebrows, which Steve had watched steadily climb up her forehead, were now firmly stuck as high as they would go. “Steve,” she started tentatively, but staring intensely at him, “is there anything you’d like to tell me?”

Steve blinked back. “No?” He frowned, casting his mind back. “Did I forget to tell you something?”

Robin merely hummed, her eyes roaming over his face.

“Do I have something on my face?” he asked after a moment. “Or — oh no, is it my hair? I was trying something new, and I should have known it wouldn’t work out…”

“Oh, you did something to your hair?” Robin replied, batting her eyelashes at him mockingly.

Steve pouted back.

Robin shook her head and snorted. “Your hair’s fine, doofus.” She rocked back on her heels and sighed. “Just… You know you can talk to me, right? About anything?”

She was clearly fishing for something, but Steve couldn’t tell what it was, even though the hopeful tilt in Robin’s voice made his stomach churn.

Still, there was only one answer to her question, and Steve smiled reassuringly. “Of course. And same to you.”

“Mmh-mh,” Robin hummed, her eyes narrowed. “Now, shoo, for real. Take your boy germs with you,” she said, ushering him toward the exit.

Despite himself, Steve laughed. “I don’t think germs have gender,” he pointed out, before pausing. “Wait, do they?”

Robin froze as well. “I… don’t know?” Her eyes widened. “Steve… Steve, what if germs have gender?”

art by @peipnu

“I don’t know — I never paid a lot of attention in biology class. Do you remember if Mr. Donovan mentioned anything about it?”

Robin’s eyes glazed over a little as she thought but she shook her hand. “I… don’t think so?” Her cheeks flushed pink. “But, erm, I may have been a little distracted.”

“May?” Steve repeated gleefully.

Robin’s blush deepened. “Fine, I was — Vickie sits in the seat across from me, and she’s…” She sighed, a little forlorn.

Steve nodded. “I still say you should make a move,” he replied dutifully, because he did. Maybe Vickie had a boyfriend, but maybe she was just… confused, or she didn’t know she liked girls yet. Steve had seen her with her boyfriend, and he’d seen her with Robin — whatever Robin said, Steve knew there was something there. Or that they could be.

Robin just huffed loudly. “I’m not getting into this with you again — you’re supposed to be leaving.”

Steve’s lips twitched as he raised his hands defensively. “I’m leaving, I’m leaving.”

“Mmh, it doesn't really look like it from here,” Robin retorted, affecting a serious look. Pointing at him, she added, “It looks like you’re distracting me. Keeping me from this,” here she gestured at the empty Family Video around them, “important work.”

Steve snorted out a laugh and shook his head. “I get it, I get it. I know when I’m not wanted. I’ll leave you to it.”

Robin’s mask melted away as he finally reached the door. “Take it easy, okay?” she said, her eyes wide.

Steve nodded, feeling his heart swell in his chest. “I will,” he promised.

He paused, for a moment, with his hand on the door, suddenly struck by the need to ask Robin if she really thought Eddie would get over him, if she thought he wanted to. For some reason, the idea made him feel a little sick, like he really had eaten something that hadn’t agreed with him.

“Steve? You have to actually open the door to leave,” Robin reminded him, tone half-gentle, half-mocking.

Steve masked his unease with a too loud burst of laughter. “Right,” he said, and finally left, waving Robin goodbye through the window.

She smiled and waved back — and then shooed him away and pointedly went back to pretending to work.

Smiling to himself and shaking his head fondly, Steve walked to his car and got in, pulling out of the parking lot without really thinking about it.

He was halfway to his destination by the time he realized he was not driving toward his parents’ place, but rather toward the shiny new trailer the government had given Eddie and his uncle. He paused, staring at the red light while his heart pounded in his chest. On the radio, his tape shifted to that Abba song Robin always laughed at, and Steve found himself humming it absently.

The light shifted to green and the car behind him honked loudly, causing him to swear as he started the car again.

“I’m going, I’m going,” he mumbled, shooting a dark glare at the green car behind him in his rearview mirror.

He kept going toward Eddie’s place, and only thought to wonder about whether or not Eddie would even be there as he pulled in front of the trailer. But Eddie’s van was there, parked in all its haphazard glory, and something in Steve’s chest wound and unwound at the same time.

Abba’s cheerful tunes switched off as he cut off the engine, and Steve just sat there for a moment. Perhaps this was a bad idea, he thought. He knew Robin had said it would be fine, that he should just apologize or something, but it still felt…

Steve’s fingers tingled, and he took another deep breath — and jumped, as knuckles rapped against his window.

“Got ya’!” Eddie crooned, voice muffled through the window. His face was split with a mad, wide grin, and framed with hair that looked even frizzier than normal. And softer, too, which really was unfair, because Steve knew Eddie didn’t use any products to get it to look like that, it just did.

“Ah, ah, ah,” Steve replied with an unamused drawl, willing his heart to stop pounding as he pushed the car door open. “Very funny.”

Eddie stepped back to let him get out but leaned against the door, his chin resting on top of armed crossed over the metal. “I thought so,” he said smugly, and for a moment everything just felt so normal that Steve’s breath caught in his chest a little.

“I, erm…” Steve licked his lips. Eddie was staring at him, he realized.

Eddie stared at him often, actually, and Steve felt… some kind of way about it. He swallowed, and stared at Eddie, trying to see what Eddie was looking at. His hair was fine, at least — he knew that because he’d fixed it in the car before leaving Family Video — but he was still wearing his stupid work outfit, and Steve knew he looked tired.

But then again, they all did. Steve knew from experience the nightmares would eventually ease up — or rather, he hoped that trend would keep, that his sleeping brain would eventually catch up on the whole ‘we’re safe now, it’s over’ thing — but right now, they all still woke up in the middle of the night, shaking, their hands reaching for the radios the kids had handed out.

“You…?” Eddie eventually said, snapping Steve out of his thoughts.

He looked… a little more closed off, now. Leaning away from the car, something shuddering in his eyes again. Like before, back at Family Video, and Steve’s chest burned at knowing he was making the same mistake again, when he’d meant to apologize, even though he didn’t know what that mistake was.

Absurdly, staring at Eddie, Steve felt a lump form in his chest. I wish I could date you, he suddenly wanted to say, even though that made no sense at all.

It would be easier, though, and the lump inside Steve’s chest ached.

“I’m sorry,” Steve blurted out, feeling less suave than he’d ever had in his life. He swallowed and licked his lips, looking away from Eddie, but his eyes found Eddie’s reflection instead. “About… before, back at Family Video — if I was kind of… weird.” He cleared his throat and trailed off awkwardly.

Eddie’s reflection blinked. He snapped his fingers, and drew Steve’s gaze back to him.

“Wait, aren’t you supposed to still be at work?” His grin returned. “Are you playing hooky to hang out with me in my humble kingdom? For shame, Steven, for shame.”

Feeling his cheeks burn, Steve shook his head. “I thought I was the king,” he pointed out dryly.

Eddie nodded quickly, his hair flying wildly around his mess. It should have looked messy, Steve noted absently, too busy taking in Eddie’s energy, but instead it really just felt right.

It drove him insane, when he thought about it, to know that people in Hawkins could have seen this man and thought him evil, thought him something to be hunted down.

“Fair point, fair point,” Eddie said, still nodding. He took one step forward, then a step back, and swayed on his feet — Eddie was like that, Steve knew. He couldn’t just stop moving. He’d described it as ants beneath his skin, once, and then, as now, it only made Steve want to grab his hands and steady him.

He swallowed instead, and did nothing.

“And this isn’t really much of a kingdom,” Eddie continued, lips falling into a downward pout as he gestured at the trailer behind him. It was in much better condition than his old one — especially once the Upside Down had played its part there — but it was still probably a far cry from what one would think about when using the word ‘kingdom’.

Only not really, because Eddie looked… right, here. At ease. Things had gotten better around town — for a given definition of ‘better’ — but Steve could never quite ignore the tense line in Eddie’s shoulders when they hung out around town.

“I don’t know, man,” Steve countered, feeling his stomach fall in response, “it’s not so bad.” He gave Eddie his own self-deprecating smile. “And it’s not like my kingdom’s that great these days either,” he added.

Eddie smirked. “Right. Six kids and a winnebago, right?”

Steve groaned, cheeks burning. “Are you ever going to let me live that down?” he whined.

“Not on your life.” Eddie laughed, but something flashed in his eyes, and he reached up, twirling a strand of hair between his fingers. It was, Steve knew from a few not completely sober experiences, softer and springier than it looked.

Before Steve could act on the crazy urge to touch Eddie’s hair, however, Eddie sighed, visibly sobering up. “Did you just come here to apologize, then?”

Something squirmed in Steve’s stomach, but he squared his shoulders, looking Eddie straight into the eyes. “Yes. I was… weird, and I’m sorry.”

Eddie looked away, scuffing his feet. “You’re always weird,” he mumbled, but he sounded a little off. A little tired, like he was feeling… down.

Heart racing, Steve quipped, “Highest of compliments coming from you.”

It fell flat, an awkward silence between them that for the first time, Steve didn’t really know how to break, or fix. Maybe Robin had been right, maybe he shouldn’t have come here — but he couldn’t have left it the way it had been at Family Video either.

Steve swallowed, mind churning trying to find the right words to make Eddie smile again, when Eddie shook his head and heaved another sigh.

“You were… sick.”

Steve blinked, taken aback. “What?”

Eddie barreled on, eyes firmly affixed just a couple of inches below Steve’s eyes. “Before. You weren’t feeling great, right? You said you ate something bad.”

Steve’s stomach curled with guilt. “I did, yes,” he replied hesitantly. “But-”

“But you’re good now?”

It took a beat for Steve to realize Eddie wanted an answer, but when he did, he said, lamely, “I’m good.”

Eddie tensed. “And… we’re good?”

This time, Steve didn’t need a beat. “Of course! We’re always good.”

Eddie nodded. “Good. That’s… good.” He smiled again, but the relief Steve expected at the sight of it didn’t come. Instead, it felt like his blood was freezing in his veins. Eddie was right there, right in front of him — within arms’ reach, even — and yet he had never felt so far.

“Good,” Steve echoed helplessly, at a loss of what else to say. Eddie kept staring at him, uncharacteristically silent, and it was like… he was bracing himself for Steve to say something else, but Steve had no idea what that was, or should be, or…

He swallowed and said nothing else.

Eddie nodded once, decisively. “I’ll… see you later?” he asked, like a peace offering.

Steve’s heart jumped at the chance, even if it still didn’t feel quite right. “Yeah — you still owe us a tape tomorrow, right?”

Eddie’s lips quirked up into a small teasing grin. “You’d know that better than me — you’re the Family Video employee here, you should keep track of your stocks.”

Steve huffed out a laugh as he stepped forward, crossing his arms. He stared down at Eddie, feeling a little warm. “I did you a favor, so you’d better bring it back on time — or Keith really is going to kill me.”

This close, Steve could see the way Eddie’s eyes widened, the way his throat moved as he swallowed. “What the hell,” Eddie breathed out, so soft Steve couldn’t help but think he wasn’t meant to hear it.

Louder, Eddie joked, “You’re not afraid of Keith, you just don’t want Robin to hold it over your head forever.”

Blinking, Steve rocked back on his heels. “She would bring it up on our deathbeds,” he agreed, heart fond.

Eddie snorted. “Well, in the spirit of saving you from the evil witch, I can do you one better — and get it for you now, since you’re here.”

“Don’t let her hear you call her a witch,” Steve retorted, grinning, before the rest of the sentence registered. his smile fell. “Oh,” he said, a little lost. “You don’t have to — what about tomorrow?”

Eddie’s eyes twinkled. “Oh, I’m sure I can find another excuse to visit your new kingdom.”

And it wasn’t like Steve hadn’t known Eddie’s visits would happen under the slightest of pretenses. Sometimes, he didn’t even bother with those, simply popping by while the store was otherwise empty.

Still, it felt a little different, now that Steve knew Eddie liked him. His cheeks were warming up, and his stomach was fluttering.

“You know you don’t need an excuse to come,” Steve finally replied, mouth dry. “We’re always happy to see you, and besides, it’s not like we’re overrun with clients most of the time.”

“Not like Scoops, right?” Eddie quipped, almost like he’d read Steve’s thoughts.

“Exactly,” Steve replied, shaking his head. “That was much busier.”

“So, you’re saying I couldn’t have come to hang out with you then?”

“Oh, no.” Steve shook his head. “We’d have figured something out — what?” he asked, realizing Eddie had frozen, staring at him with his mouth open.

Under Steve’s eyes, Eddie unfroze, blinking rapidly. He liked his lips, leaving them wet and shiny. “Nothing,” he said. “Just… Nice of you to give poor little ol’ me the time of day,” he added, batting his eyelashes.

Steve snorted. “I’d be doing it for me, too,” he replied. “You’re way better company than most of the customers we got.”

Eddie hummed, slowly nodding. “Ah, I'm sorry to have missed it — I can’t believe none of you took pictures of those outfits.”

“Tragically, they perished in the fire,” Steve replied dryly, even though he was pretty sure there had never been any pictures. “But trust me, you really didn’t miss out on much. I looked awful.”

Eddie pouted. “I’m sure that's not true.”

“Yes, it was,” Steve shot back. “The colors washed me out, and the hat flattened my hair. Not my best look.”

“... If you say so,” Eddie said after a beat, giving Steve a long look. He seemed more relaxed, though, if still a little perplexed, but it made Steve relax, finally feeling like he’d done something right.

“I do say so,” Steve replied smugly. “My hair’s my best feature,” he added, and tossed his head back a little.

Eddie snorted out an ugly laugh. “Shut up,” he said, voice strangled.

Steve laughed as well. “See? It is!”

Eddie kept laughing, shaking his head. “I can’t believe you’re like this sometimes.”

The trailer park felt colder all of a sudden, and Steve shivered, his smile falling. He looked up, but the sky was still cloudless. “Like what?” Steve frowned.

But Eddie shook his head. “Nothing,” he said, shaking his head. He was still smiling, although it looked more rueful now. “Just… I’m glad we’re friends.”

Something inside Steve’s chest twisted. “I’m glad we’re friends too,” he said, both because it was true and because he couldn’t not say it. “According to the kids, I need more friends my age.”

“I think it’d help if you stopped calling them ‘the kids’,” Eddie retorted, but his eyes were twinkling merrily again.

“Never,” Steve said, because the perspective of growing proper old and still being around the little shits and calling them ‘the kids’ made him feel warm and fond. “And you also call them that,” he accused.

Eddie shrugged. “They’re kids.”

Steve gestured back triumphantly, a silent There! I was right! that made Eddie’s smile widen.

He really was glad they were friends but — and it was absurd, but he couldn’t get Robin’s voice out of his head suddenly, telling him Eddie would get over it, and… what if he did? What if he did and they lost this? Even now, when Steve kept messing up every other sentence, it still felt so easy to be around Eddie… He didn’t know what he would do if that changed.

“Say, Eddie,” Steve found himself saying before he realized he’d opened his mouth to speak.

“Hm?” Eddie’s eyes snapped back to his face, focused, and Steve’s breath caught in his chest.

He closed his mouth and swallowed, at a loss for words. “I… forgot what I was going to say,” he admitted, even though he didn’t think he’d ever really known.

“That head trauma will get you,” Eddie replied sagely, nodding, and Steve barked out a laugh.

“Yeah, maybe.” He shook his head, fond — he liked that Eddie could joke about this, that he didn’t treat him differently the way their other friends still sometimes did. The jokes made Steve feel normal, really — and they were funny. “Nevermind, if it was important, it’ll come back to me.”

“Can’t have been that important if you forgot, though,” Eddie pointed out with a shrug.

Steve hummed non-committedly. “I guess,” he said. It felt like it had been important, though.

They stood there for a little while longer, but this time, the silence no longer felt awkward. Steve nearly went dizzy from the relief of it.

“I should go,” he blurted out, at the same time as Eddie suddenly said, “I should head back”, nodding toward the trailer. “Wayne probably…” He trailed off, shaking his head and biting his lip.

“Yeah,” Steve nodded. He looked away, and his heart skipped a beat as he saw that the sun had sunk far lower than he’d thought while they’d been talking. He grimaced. “Dustin’s expecting me,” he said.

Eddie blinked and let out a laugh. “Oh god, yes, go — he will never let it go if you’re late,” he said, shaking his head.

He shared a silent That kid, huh? look with Steve that made Steve’s chest grow tight. “He will if he knows what’s good for him,” Steve grumbled.

Eddie laughed again, shooting Steve a mocking look. “Yeah, good luck with that one. He still won’t let me forget the time I was late picking him up for the arcade — I think it’s hopeless.”

“I think that might be because you had to get me to pick you up first,” Steve pointed out wryly, smiling despite himself.

Eddie bowed dramatically, placing a hand over his heart. “And I appreciated the galant rescue way more than that ungrateful child did,” he said, taking on the tone Steve had learned meant he was putting on a performance.

Steve smiled, and a few seconds later, Eddie broke character. “What a little shit,” he said, sounding as fond as Steve himself did.

“Yeah.” Steve backed away, back to his car — and was surprised to find it was still so close by. Had they really never moved away from it? That seemed ridiculous, and yet it had obviously happened. “I’ll see you tomorrow, right?”

For half a beat, Eddie stared back at him blankly, before he snapped his fingers, looking smug. It suited him. “The tape, right?”

“Right,” Steve echoed, mouth a little dry. “Don’t forget.”

Eddie flashed him a thumbs up, grinning. “Now go, before Dustin turns into a little gremlin and comes to hunt you down.”

Steve frowned. “A what?”

“...” Eddie stared back at him. “How you work in a video store, I’ll never know,” he said, shaking his head.

“Robin got me in,” Steve replied honestly. “And I don’t really do scary movies anymore.”

Eddie paused and nodded, grimacing. “Huh. Yeah, that’s fair, actually. Do you think…”

“No, and I don’t want to,” Steve interrupted, before Eddie could curse them by saying something like ‘the Upside could turn someone into a gremlin’, whatever that was.

But Eddie was nodding to himself already, and mumbling, his fingers twitching by his side like he was itching for a pen, and Steve knew he’d lost him, and that sooner rather than later, the kids would come up against some kind of gremlin-monster in their weekly D&D games.

It was easier, then, to leave with Eddie distractedly waving him goodbye, eyes already a little wild. Or no, perhaps not easier, because Steve wanted to stay and hear Eddie tell him about his plans — which he was forbidden to share with the Party on pain of something (terrible but unspecified) — but sweeter, somehow, in knowing that this time, leaving didn’t make him feel like the worst person on Earth.

“Bye, Eddie,” Steve said, half laughing as he slipped behind the wheel.

“Bye,” Eddie muttered back, waving half-heartedly, already halfway back to his trailer.

Steve chuckled to himself and shook his head. For a moment, he just sat there, watching Eddie walk away through the windshield — and then he cursed, because if he really was late, Dusting would be a nightmare all evening, trying to con Steve out of every single penny he had.

(Not that Steve wouldn’t give them to him willingly, but Dustin didn’t need to know that.)

Dragging his eyes away from Eddie, Steve turned the key in the ignition, and drove off.

 

---

 

The Henderson home was homely. It always felt trite to even think it, but it was true, and the word burst into Steve’s mind unaided every time he stepped foot inside the house.

“Steve! Come in, come in,” Mrs.Henderson said as she ushered him in, barely leaving him time to let his hand drop where he’d been knocking on the door. She was wearing an apron tied around her waist, and had a towel slung over her shoulder.

“Dusty’s getting ready still — he thinks I don’t know but he was chatting with that girlfriend of his over the radio,” she added in a mock-whisper, grinning conspiratorially. “I hope you don’t mind waiting? I can tell him to hurry up if you need.”

Steve shook his head rapidly as he saw her inhale deeply, no doubt preparing for one of the motherly calls Steve had only known from the TV before meeting the Party. “No, no, it’s fine, Mrs. Henderson, I can wait. I think Dustin just wanted us to go get dinner while you host your book club, so if you can stand having us around for a little while longer… It’s really no problem.”

Mrs. Henderson smiled. “The girls aren’t set to arrive for another thirty minutes, which means they’ll be there in about forty-five. I’m fine, too. And really, Steve, how many times do I need to tell you to call me Claudia?” she added, her face full of that motherly remonstrance that made Steve half-panic every time.

“At least one more, Mrs. Henderson,” Steve replied with a smile.

Mrs. Henderson’s grin widened as she tutted. “One of these days…” She shook her head. “Well, if you’re staying for a bit, why don’t you join me in the kitchen. I have a few things I need to finish, but you can keep me company.”

“Of course,” Steve agreed readily. Mrs. Henderson was a pretty good cook, but more than that, she was always eager to help Steve learn to expand his repertoire, and home-cooked meals beat the instant meals Steve had used to eat by a mile and a half.

He followed her into the kitchen, and took up his usual spot by the island, secretly relishing in the knowledge that he had an usual spot.

“So, what’s new with you, Steve? I feel like we hardly see you around these days — I know my Dusty has been missing you. It’s nice of you to take him out tonight, I know he’s been looking forward to it.”

Chest warm, Steve smiled. “It’s nice to see him too,” he said. “And I’ve been a little… busy, lately. I’m sorry, I’ll make it up to him,” he added guiltily.

But Mrs. Henderson waved his apology away, handing him a whisk and a bowl full of egg whites. “Beat those for me, will you?” As Steve started to comply, she continued, “And don’t worry too much about it — you’re young! You should live your life too — don’t let Dustin take up all of your time, I know he and his little friends keep bugging you for rides, and I know you say that you don’t mind it—”

“Because I don’t,” Steve interjected truthfully, to which Mrs. Henderson shot an amused look.

“—but you should still take some time to yourself.”

“I do, I do,” Steve reassured her. Unbidden, his mind drifted back to Eddie, and he only realized he’d stopped beating the eggs when Mrs. Henderson cleared her throat pointedly.

Steve’s cheeks warmed. “Sorry,” he said, picking it up again. “I got… lost in thoughts.”

“I see,” Mrs. Henderson replied, amused. She and Dustin shared a lot of their expressions, which was why Steve could tell she was feeling curious right now. “Girl trouble, huh?”

“Boy trouble, actually,” Steve replied absently — and then froze. The whisk fell from his limp fingers, and flipping over the edge of the bowl and landing on the counter, leaving a small but growing pool of slimy egg white liquid. “Sorry, I didn’t mean — I should go. Leave. You don’t have to — tell Dustin something came up?”

He couldn’t move. Couldn’t stop staring at that whisk, and the egg whites pooling underneath it on the counter. His heart felt like it was trying to race out of his chest, and his blood ran cold. Nonsensically, it almost felt like being back under Starcourt, hearing that Russian accent, asking him questions they didn’t believe the answer to.

“Hey, Steve. Steve, breathe,” Mrs. Henderson was saying, her voice soft and warm.

Had he stopped breathing? Steve inhaled a gulp of air, feeling it shake in his lungs.

“It’s okay,” she continued, and when Steve finally managed to drag his eyes away from the island counter, she was smiling softly at him, so gentle it made Steve’s chest ache and his eyes burn. “I know a few things about boy troubles myself,” she added, winking.

Steve let out a wet laugh. “I thought Mr. Henderson was a saint,” he said, because Mrs. Henderson didn’t talk about Dustin’s father a lot, or often, but every time she mentioned him, it was clear she’d loved him.

“He was also very oblivious,” Mrs. Henderson replied, mockingly fond, and Steve let out another laugh.

“I don’t… I usually have girl trouble,” Steve heard himself say. His hands were shaking, and he was barely making sense, even to himself, really, but somehow Mrs. Henderson understood something anyway.

“Oh, me too, these days, dear,” she said. “Women are complicated.”

Steve gaped. Static filled his mind. “W-What?” he asked, mouth dry.

For the first time he could remember, Steve was treated to the sight of Mrs. Henderson blushing.

She was anxious too, Steve suddenly realized, and he was reminded of the way it had felt, not so long ago (even though it paradoxically felt like a much longer time than it actually was), to stand on the other side of a public toilet stall, listening to Robin tell him about Tammy Thompson.

Somehow, that helped.

“I didn’t know you, erm…” Steve trailed off, unsure on how to finish his sentence. He wished he had more experience with this, that he could know the right thing to say. He should have asked Robin for a script, he ruefully thought, but even she probably would never have imagined this particular scenario.

“Also liked women?” Mrs. Henderson offered, reaching around him to wipe the counter clean. She handed him back the whisk. “Yes, it was something of a surprise to me as well,” she said, but she didn’t sound conflicted about it.

She sounded as steady as she did when she told him about the best way to make sure cookies didn’t burn in the oven and baked evenly, like this was some knowledge so settled in her it was just there.

Suddenly, Steve wished Robin was there too, that she could share in this moment. She deserved it more than him, probably — even if she’d probably disagree.

“Wait, also?” Steve asked, heart suddenly pounding in his chest. He set the whisk down in the bowl again and pushed it away, wiping his palms on his jeans. His hands shook. “You— People can just… do that? Like both?”

Mrs. Henderson startled. Her gaze, when it fell on Steve, looked remarkably similar to the looks Dusting gave him when Steve said something he found particularly stupid — but softened by the fact that Mrs. Henderson wasn’t a fourteen-year-old genius, or perhaps simply by understanding.

“Of course,” she said, still kind. “It’s more common than you’d think, really.”

Steve blinked, his throat tight. “Oh,” he said. His chest felt tight.

Of course, now that Mrs. Henderson had said it, it seemed obvious. Obviously people could like both, why wouldn’t they? It was just that…

It was just that until now, everyone had only liked one. Even Robin was pretty insistent she only liked girls, and while Eddie had never come out and said it, he also never really talked about women, and the first few times Steve had tried to broach the subject — any woman would be lucky to date him, serial-killer reputation not-wisthanding — he’d laughed a laugh eerily similar to Robin’s when men came to be discussed.

So Steve was pretty sure Eddie only liked the one too.

But Steve…

For the first time, he let himself really think about it. About the way his heart raced when Eddie was around, just like the way it had used to with Nancy — and before that, the way he’d hated Carol for coming between him and Tommy, up until the moment he’d realized he and Tommy would still be just as close as before.

The way he spent just as long staring at the male leads in movies as he did the female ones, but how he always ignored it, or filed it away as envy.

It felt like a revelation, like those weird pictures Robin liked to show him where if you tilted them in just the right direction, or looked at them a certain way, they’d suddenly change into something completely new — and yet, at the some time, it also felt as natural as having a clear shot at the basket and watching the basketball sink into it. The clarity of mind was the same.

Boy trouble, he’d blurted out earlier, and — had he been flirting with Eddie all this time? Steve didn’t need to think back very far to realize that he had been; probably for far longer than he’d like to admit.

Steve wasn’t really the type to flirt like this — sure, it was nice, but why wait when you could just make a move?

And Steve knew Eddie liked him.

“Oh,” he repeated out loud, feeling his eyes go wide.

He was saved from figuring out what to say next to Mrs. Henderson — who was still watching him with a kind of proud fondness Steve hadn’t known could be directed toward him before — by the loud sound of Dustin’s footsteps, trudging toward them.

“Steve!” he yelled. “I hope you’re ready to stop chatting with my mother, because we’re going to be late!”

“Only if you’re done with your girlfriend!” Steve shouted back, before shooting Mrs. Henderson an apologetic look.

She merely laughed, shaking her head at him. As Dustin entered the kitchen, though, she told him, “You should be nicer to Steve, Dusty. Where would you be if I chose to keep him to help me tonight?”

Dustin shot them a horrified look. “No,” he said, shaking his head rapidly. “No, this isn’t allowed.”

Steve laughed. “I don’t know, maybe a book club sounds great,” he said, grinning.

Dustin’s face turned, if possible, even more horrified. “But you don’t even read,” he whined.

“Maybe you just haven’t tried to show him the right books,” Mrs. Henderson added, playfully winking at Steve, who instantly nodded along.

“Yeah, exactly,” he said. It suddenly occurred to him, after their earlier conversation, that Mrs. Henderson’s book club might not, in fact, be a simple book club, and he gaped a little. “Wait,” he blurted out, whirling around to face her again, “the book club?!?”

She laughed and winked again.

“Steve, are you alright? Are you having a stroke? Did you just realize a book club involved books?” Dustin asked, stepping up to Steve and rapidly waving a hand in his face.

What that was supposed to do, Steve didn’t know, and he knocked it away with an annoyed sigh. “I know a book club has books, Dustin, it’s in the name,” he drawled. “That was just… something else.” He cleared his throat, looking away from Mrs. Henderson.

Dustin fell back on his heels, casting suspicious looks between the two of them. “No,” he repeated. “This isn’t allowed — you don’t get to have inside jokes with my mother, Steven,” he said, jabbing his pointer finger forward in a way he probably thought looked threatening but was actually mostly just amusing.

“Once again, that’s not my name,” Steve replied, eyes narrowing. “I’m not—”

“Boys, boys,” Mrs. Henderson interrupted, causing both of their jaws to snap shut, “play nice with each other.”

“Sorry, Mrs. Henderson.”

“Sorry, Mom.”

Mrs. Henderson shook her head with a smile. “Claudia, Steve. It’s Claudia.”

Grinning, Steve replied, “Of course, Mrs. Henderson.”

Rolling his eyes, Dustin mouthed the words alongside him.

Scowling, Steve reached out to swat at this head, and Dustin ducked away with a screech. “This is abuse!” he shouted. “Mom, you saw that, right?”

“You little—” Steve bit his tongue and glared.

Mrs. Henderson laughed. “I don’t know,” she said. “I think you might have deserved that one, Dusty.” She shook her head. “Now, why don’t you boys take off now? I seem to recall something about being late, and I do still need to finish setting up…”

“Oh, I can—” Steve started, but Mrs. Henderson shook her head.

“Oh, there’s no need, dear. You and Dusty should go have fun.”

“Yes, Steve, we should go have fun,” Dustin echoed, grabbing Steve’s arm and pulling. “You owe me food.”

Steve tugged his arm free and rolled his eyes. “Hey, hold your horses, I’m coming.” He turned back to Mrs. Henderson. “I’m sorry I wasn’t more help,” he said sheepishly, nodding toward the kitchen island, where the bowl he’d set down earlier still stood.

But Mrs. Henderson merely shook her head. “It’s fine, Steve. I’ll manage — and if you want to help, you know you’re always welcome whenever.”

His cheeks warming, Steve nodded.

“Right,” Dustin cut in, voice as dry as a desert. “If you’re quite done, we’re leaving.” His mother shot him a quelling look, and he froze, adding, “Sorry, Mom. I meant… Can we leave now, please?”

Biting back a grin, Steve nodded. “Yeah, sure. Let’s go.”

“Finally,” Dustin breathed out, and Steve exchanged an amused look with Mrs. Henderson.

Good luck, she mouthed at him, smiling, and Steve nodded back.

“We’ll be back by ten, if that’s okay?” Steve asked.

Mrs. Henderson nodded absently. “Of course, of course. You know I trust you,” she said, making Steve’s chest go warm.

She escorted them to the door, and waved them goodbye. “Have a nice evening,” she called out as they stepped outside.

“You too,” Steve replied, pulling the car door open for Dustin, who didn’t even pause before getting in.

Shaking his head, Steve did the same, and pulled out of the driveway.

“Not cool, man, you can’t just do your whole… thing with my mother,” Dustin said, almost as soon as his house was out of sight.

“It’s called being polite, actually,” Steve replied smugly. “You probably haven’t heard of it.”

Dustin huffed. “Whatever — as long as you know I’m still her favorite kid,” he mumbled, and leaned forward to fiddle with the radio.

“Hey, stop that!”

“I’m in the front, that means I get to pick the music,” Dustin protested, letting out a little triumphant ah-ah! when the tape layer opened and ejected the old one — probably something Robin had left in there.

“We could just listen to the radio,” Steve protested, grumbling, but he didn’t stop Dustin from pushing in his own tape instead.

“But the radio doesn’t play this!” Dustin retorted, as a heavy bass started blaring out of the speakers.

Steve briefly considered turning the car around, or crashing it into a tree. Surely no one who knew Dustin would blame him.

“Let me guess,” he said dryly, “Eddie gave you this one.”

Banging his head up and down, Dustin nodded. “Isn’t it great?”

“It sure is something,” Steve drawled. “Turn it down a bit, will you? I can’t hear myself think.”

“But, Steve,” Dustin whined, “this is how you’re meant to listen to it! You need to live the music!”

Through the speakers, the singer screeched something unintelligible.

“Yes, well, I need to be able to drive if you want us to live, so turn it down.”

Scowling, Dustin complied. “I bet Eddie wouldn’t have made me turn it down,” he complained, slumping back in his seat.

Steve snorted. “Thank you,” he said pointedly. “And Eddie’s not here, is he? And it’s my car, what I say, goes.”

Dustin grumbled again, but after a moment, launched into a far too detailed re-telling of everything he and Suzie had talked about earlier today — and possibly all week, judging from the length of it.

The music might actually be preferable — it wasn’t even that bad. The first song had faded into a second, less angry one, and while Steve still couldn’t catch a single word being ‘sung’ to save his life, the guitar behind it was kind of amazing. It reminded him of Eddie, and Steve found himself smiling.

“-eve. Steve!”

A hand on his arm made him jump, and he swore. “Shit, Dustin, don’t do that, I could have crashed!”

Dustin, fearless, only rolled his eyes. “Yeah, sure, whatever. We’re not even moving, it’s a red light. You totally weren’t listening to what I was saying!”

“I was!” Steve lied, pulling away as the light turned green. “You were saying something about…” he cast his mind back for something Dustin had mentioned, and came up blank. “... Suzie,” he finished lamely.

Dustin shot him a scathing look. “Wow, well done. Truly outstanding listening skills, Steven,” he drawled, mockingly slow-clapping along his words.

“That is still not my name, dude.”

“Don’t dude me when you haven’t been paying attention to my woes!”

Steve rolled his eyes. “You’re fourteen, you don’t have wows.”

Dustin twisted in his seat and blinked at him. “Woes, Steven, woes. Not wows. What even is a wow?”

Shoulders curling inward, Steve shrugged. “I don’t know, man. A wow, like, wow? It made sense at the time!”

Dustin shook his head. “It’s a shame the world of physics is my true calling, I would love to be able to see what’s inside your head,” he said.

“You couldn’t handle what’s inside my brain,” Steve retorted, taking a left turn.

Dustin hummed back non-committedly, staring out the window.

“That’s not the direction to the diner,” he said after a moment.

“Mmh,” Steve hummed, flicking his turn signal on. “Well spotted.”

“Steve… Why aren’t we going to the diner?”

“We are, we are — we’re just… taking a little detour.”

“... Why?”

For a moment, Steve considered not answering, but decided it was probably easier to simply say it, since Dustin would bug him endlessly about it if he didn’t — besides which, he would definitely recognize the place once they got there.

“I need to talk to Eddie about something,” Steve replied, fingers drumming on the steering wheel. He could feel his stomach twist and flutter, but he was aware he was smiling.

He could have waited for tomorrow — or at least for after he’d brought Dustin home — but… The truth was, he didn’t want to.

“Does it have anything to do with what you and my mom were being all secretive about?” Dustin asked, frowning inquisitively.

Steve snorted out a laugh. “I… In a way, yes,” he replied honestly.

“And I don’t suppose you’re going to tell me what you were talking about?”

Steve hesitated. “Maybe if it goes well,” he finally conceded.

Dustin whined. “Aw, come on, that’s not fair.”

“Life’s not fair,” Steve retorted, heart beating faster as they finally pulled up into the trailer park.

“Ugh, I can’t believe you and Eddie are friends now,” Dustin mumbled, crossing his arms. “You were my friends first, you should tell me those things.”

“I thought you wanted me to have more friends my age,” Steve retorted, shaking his head. As he reached the Mansons’, he looked up into the rearview mirror, and ran a hand through his hair.

When he looked back, Dustin was shooting him an incredulous look. “Dude,” he said.

Steve froze, stopping the car. “What?”

“Dude,” Dustin repeated, his eyes going wide. “No.”

Feeling his chest going cold, Steve’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “No, what, exactly?”

Ignoring him, Dustin continued. “First my mother, now my DM? Have you no shame, Steven? You can’t just, just be all… charming and stuff at people!”

Steve’s lips twitched. Right, he thought. That made more sense. Pointedly, and without looking away from Dustin, he fluffed his hair up again.

Dustin groaned, loudly. “God, I can’t watch this,” he said.

“Nobody asked you to. In fact, it’d be best if you stayed in the car.”

Dustin scowled. “What, like a dog?”

Laughing, Steve let out a short Whoof.

“You’re not that funny,” Dustin retorted, shaking his head. And then, indicating he was probably spending way too much time around Erica, he added, “What will you give me for it?”

Eyes drifting toward the Munsons’ trailer, Steve saw the light in the window. He turned back to Dustin. “You can get a milkshake with dinner,” he offered.

Dustin hummed out loud, his eyes narrowing. “Two milkshakes,” he said.

“What would you even do with two milkshakes?” Steve protested. From the corner of his eyes, he saw a shadow move against the light in the window. “Nevermind, I don’t care. Deal.”

“And you’re buying me candy the next time we go to the arcade,” Dustin added.

Steve rolled his eyes. “Yes, yes, fine. But that’s it,” he added, seeing Dustin open his mouth again. “You don’t just get to add more things to the deal, that’s not how it works.”

Dustin glared at him through narrowed eyes, and Steve glared back, slowly arching an eyebrow.

Dustin broke away first. “Fine,” he said, “but if you’re not back soon, I’m coming to get you. My tummy’s grumbly.” And as if to illustrate, he patted his belly.

Eyes rising to the sky, or rather to the roof of his car, Steve resisted the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose. “Don’t— Don’t say that.”

“You owe me dinner, Steven. And milkshakes! I will come collect if I have to!”

“Yeah, yeah,” Steve replied, turning off the ignition and pushing the car door open. “Just… Don’t do anything, okay?”

“You could have at least left the music on,” Dustin started to complain, and, grinning, Steve shut the door after himself, cutting him off.

“Sorry,” he mouthed to Dustin, who was clearly setting himself up for a proper rant, “I can’t hear you.”

Dustin glared harder through the glass, mouthing back, “I’m watching you” as he pointed between his eyes and Steve.

Steve shrugged. “I thought you didn’t want to watch,” he said.

“What?”

Rolling his eyes, Steve pulled the door open again. “I thought you didn’t want to watch,” he repeated.

Dustin’s horrified face made the effort well-worth it. “Ugh,” he groaned. “Fine. But hurry up.”

Steve didn’t dignify that with an answer, and closed the door again, before walking up to the Munsons’ door.

Somehow, Steve half-expected it to be open, with Eddie waiting there for him, but it was closed. The lights were still on, though, and Steve wiped his palms on his thighs before knocking.

He heard a crash from inside, and then distant swearing, and smiled to himself.

“Eddie?” he called out before Eddie could somehow drive himself into a frenzied panic. “It’s me. Steve,” he added after a beat, realizing that ‘me’ probably wasn’t a great help.

There was another beat, and then the heavy sounds of footsteps, before Eddie yanked the door open. He was breathless, and his shirt was on backward. As Steve watched him heave, he tugged some of his hair free from under his shirt, where it had gotten trapped in the back.

He was beautiful.

“Steve? What are you doing here? Weren’t you supposed to be with Dustin?”

Heart pounding in his chest, Steve shook his head. “No. I mean, yes. He’s in the car.”

“He’s in the car? And he’s staying there?” Eddie’s eyebrows raised incredulously.

Steve rolled his eyes, fond despite himself of the way Eddie was so casually derailing his best intentions already. “Yes, and yes, I had to bribe him for it.”

Eddie barked out a laugh, leaning harder against the doorway. “That still doesn’t tell me why you’re back. Realized you couldn’t wait until tomorrow to see me?” he asked, eyebrows wiggling.

It was clear Eddie was joking, and yet, Steve blurted out a sincere, “Yes,” anyway.

Eddie swayed back, blinking rapidly. It was hard to tell in the low light, but Steve thought he might be blushing, and, feeling more than a little insane, he wanted to step closer and see if he could feel it.

Licking lips that suddenly felt too dry, he said, “I had to — I’m sorry. About earlier today, when I was weird.”

Eddie’s eyes flashed, his shoulders curling inward. “You’ve already apologized for that,” Eddie said, tone cautious. “And I told you it was fine.”

“Yes! And it was — is,” Steve corrected, a little wild, his words coming out faster now. “But I didn’t explain, not really, and I think I need to—”

“You really don’t,” Eddie interrupted, backing away from the door. He looked trapped, something almost scared in his eyes, and Steve’s chest ached.

“No, no, it’s fine,” Steve interjected, shaking his head. His hands moved forward without his conscious thought, reaching out for Eddie’s, and he stopped them, stilling them halfway through the movement and letting them drop back by his sides, fingers itching. “See, I didn’t know you liked me then, and then I did, and it was— weird, but not really?” Steve grimaced, shaking his head again. “Sorry, that's not coming out right, I didn’t mean—”

“I think you did,” Eddie said, arms coming up to hug himself. His face looked paler than Steve had ever seen it — that one time with the heavy blood loss notwithstanding — and yet, he didn’t otherwise move.

Steve forged onward. “No, but I don’t — You’re not getting it, it’s not coming out right,” Steve replied, biting his cheek and feeling like he could rip his own hair out in frustration. God, maybe he should have rehearsed this a little instead of rushing here.

Eddie rolled his eyes. “You don’t need to explain,” he said, “I’m weird, it’s weird, it’s— whatever. I can… stay away from you, while you get over yourself.”

Steve flinched. “Eddie—”

“No,” Eddie snapped, face suddenly twisting into something mean. Into something hurt. “You don’t get to— You came here, to my house, again, you don’t get to, to—”

“I’m trying to say that I like you too,” Steve blurted out, feeling increasingly like he’d lost all control of the situation — which was, in retrospect, somewhat typical of his interactions with Eddie.

“You— what?” Eddie’s mouth snapped shut with a click. He blinked, and opened it again, only no sound came out. Aggressively, he jerked his pointer finger at Steve. “What?” he repeated, face still too pale.

His chest both too light and too heavy, Steve took a step forward, bringing him closer to Eddie. This close, he could probably count his lashes, he thought. They were very long.

“I like you too,” Steve repeated. He smiled, a little sheepish. “And I’m sorry I never really realized it before? That’s really why I was weird, actually,” he added, nodding half to himself, “because I could tell you liked me but I thought I couldn’t like you because I liked girls, and I’m not gay, but maybe I’m like… gay-adjacent. Ish.” He paused there, staring at Eddie hopefully.

Eddie gaped back at him. “... ‘Gay-adjacent’,” he said, voice strangled.

Steve frowned. “Right, that sounds kind of weird. Is there a word for it? There’s probably a word for it. The point is, I didn’t think I could, erm, like you back like that? But then Mrs— I mean, someone told me that I could? And I do, so I had to come and tell you. And I think we should go out on a date. Soon.” His frown deepened. “Sorry, I didn’t bring you flowers, I should have thought of that… Although I think they might be closed, this late.”

“Flowers,” Eddie echoed, voice still raw. He looked like he’d been hit upside the head, like he was still dazed.

“I know they don’t really go with your whole… thing,” Steve said, gesturing over Eddie’s body absently (his shirt had slipped and was now revealing half of a pale shoulder and collarbones, which was very distracting — had it always been distracting, or was Steve more aware of it, now that he knew that he could let himself stare?), “but I think you’d like them.”

Because for all that Eddie still loved to lean into the whole ‘evil, Satan-worshiping’ image, Steve had now seen him around small children and tiny animals, and it was impossible to deny that Eddie Munson liked soft, pretty things sometimes too.

“Right. You’re… being serious.”

“Of course,” Steve replied, hesitantly shifting on his feet. Eddie’s reaction was a little less enthusiastic than he’d hoped for, but he had surprised him, and he could probably have put in more effort than just… showing up like this.

“And you want to go on a date with me,” Eddie continued, voice rising into higher, almost hysterical tones.

Now feeling concerned, Steve nodded. “I mean, we’d probably have to be discreet and shit, but… yeah.”

Eddie let out a strangled laugh. His eyes looked wild, and his hands were shaking. “Right,” he said. “Right, right, right — excuse me for a second,” he said, and then shut down the door in Steve’s face.

Steve barely had time to react before a poorly muffled scream filtered in through the door, causing him to jump — and then smile.

He leaned against the door as Eddie screamed again, this time rather audibly a swear word. “Does that mean yes?” he shouted, feeling himself grin.

Eddie fell silent — and then the door was yanked open, almost sending him crashing down on his face.

“Obviously it’s a yes, Harrington, what the fuck. If you’re serious — you’d better be serious, or I’ll, I’ll—” he trailed off, murdered threats unvoiced but clear in his glare.

Steve chuckled. “I’m serious.”

“Good.” Eddie huffed. “And you’re… sure, about…” He trailed off again, this time gesturing first at Steve, then at himself, and finally at the space between them.

Steve inhaled a deep breath and let it filter back through his teeth. He thought back, again, to all the movie stars he’d spent too long staring at, to the guys in the swim team he’d sometimes caught his eyes lingering on, to the weirdly charged dreams he’d been having lately, ever since he and Eddie had grown closer.

His cheeks growing warm, he nodded. “I’m sure,” he promised. And then, in the spirit of honesty, he added, “I may be terrible at it,” he said.

Eddie snorted uglily. “Now that, I can’t believe.”

Steve preened, and Eddie stared back at him for an embarrassingly long moment.

“So…” he finally said, “what now?”

Steve licked his lips. “Well,” he said, “if Dustin wasn’t still waiting in the car and probably spying on us right now, I would probably kiss you. If you wanted me to, that is.”

Eddie let out a strangled noise like a punctured balloon. “I want you to,” he blurted out. And then, “What are the odds he’d freak out if he did see you kiss me?”

Steve’s heart skipped a beat and then, seemingly to catch up, started beating faster. “No idea,” he replied. “Odds are even between him holding his powers as a matchmaker over our heads indefinitely—”

“—even though he had nothing to do with it—”

“—even though he had nothing to do with it,” Steve agreed, “and him complaining forever that I’m seducing you to the Dark Side of the Force.”

Eddie swooned. “That is not fair,” he complained, glaring half-heartedly at Steve. “You know what you using nerd references does to me.”

“I…” His mouth suddenly dry, Steve swallowed. “Noted,” he said, half-breathless. He hadn’t really realized, but thinking back on it, it was kind of obvious, and Steve had definitely used this fact before to tease him.

“Another time, then?” Steve offered.

Eddie’s eyes positively smoldered. “Another time,” he echoed, hand coming up to tug on one of his curls. His eyes dropped down to his chest, and his face fell with horror. He groaned, loudly.

A jolt of panic freezing his veins, Steve asked, “What is it?”

Eddie groaned, louder, and banged his head against the door. “... Has my shirt really been on backward this whole time?!”

Steve opened his mouth to answer, hesitated, and then closed it.

Eddie kept staring at him. “Well??” he insisted.

Steve cleared his throat, barely trying to hide his grin. “Ah, yes.”

Eddie slumped against the door. “End me now. I look like an unkempt raccoon,” he whined.

Steve muffled out a laugh. “But a very cute raccoon,” he corrected, both because it was true, and because the strangled noise Eddie made at the words was hilarious.

“Well, you look like, like—” Eddie, who had puffed up at the start of his sentence, deflated, defeated. “I can’t even think of anything, you look great.”

Steve’s stomach squirmed with pleasure. “Thank you.” He spent a moment longer staring at Eddie, taking in the rich darkness of his eyes, now free of the earlier passing shadows, the way the one curl he’d tugged on earlier was now rebelliously sticking out. The way his lips, rough and bitten pink, shone just a little in the low light of the evening.

Steve cleared his throat. “So… Tomorrow?” he asked.

“At Family Video?” Eddie’s eyes sparkled as he tutted, shaking his head slowly. “And here I thought you were a conscientious employee…”

Steve snorted. “Sure you did,” he said. “And actually, I was thinking… It probably won’t be any busier than usual, so…

“Go on…” Eddie prompted, wiggling his eyebrows.

Grinning, Steve shook his head fondly. “If you remember to return the tape you borrowed, we can take the time to pick a new one — and then you could come home with me to watch it.”

Something Steve couldn’t decipher flashed through Eddie’s eyes. It was nothing bad, at least — this much, Steve was sure of. It left him feeling warm, though, and excited.

“Trying to get me alone already, Harrington?” Eddie asked, batting his eyelashes before letting out a loud cackle.

“I don’t know, Munson,” Steve drawled back, “is it working?”

Eddie’s mouth snapped shut with a click, and he swallowed visibly. “Tomorrow, then,” he said, his eyes wide.

Satisfaction curling in his gut, Steve nodded sharply. “It’s a date, then.”

And then, because he was pretty sure that he could do this now, he darted closer and pressed a kiss against Eddie’s cheek, right at the corner of his mouth.

He leaned back in time to catch Eddie’s sharp intake of breath, and the dazed look in his eyes before he shook his head.

Steve was pretty sure Eddie was going to actually kiss him then, possible Dustin-shaped audience be damned, when a loud honk shattered the moment.

“That’s your car,” Eddie said, lips twitching.

Head falling, Steve nodded. “Yup,” he said.

As if on cue, Dustin’s voice shouted, “Are you finally done? Can I watch again? I’m a growing boy, Steven, I need my sustenance, and you promised me diner food!” He could have opened the car door, it wasn’t like Steve had locked them, but instead he’d chosen to roll down his window, and was now half-hanging out of it, one of his hands clenched firmly over his eyes as he yelled in the direction of a nearby tree.

His shoulders starting to quake with suppressed laughter, Steve shouted back, “One more minute!”

“I’ll be counting!” Dustin shouted back, shimmying himself back into the car.

Grinning, Steve turned back to Eddie, finding him equally amused. “Sorry,” he said. “The duty of a babysitter is never done. And I did kind of hijack his evening to come talk to you.”

“And I’m glad you did.”

Steve’s smile softened. “Me too.” He licked his lips again, eyes darting to his car and then back to Eddie. “Till tomorrow?”

Eddie nodded, and sketched a dramatic bow, affecting a desolate pout. “Ah, but parting is such sweet sorrow that I shall say goodnight till it be morrow.”

“I think if you did that, Dustin would definitely murder us both,” Steve replied dryly, even though his cheeks had undoubtedly turned red.

Eddie scoffed. “Worth it.”

“I’d rather live to our first date, though — let’s save the weird murder shenanigans for the real Romeo and Juliet, okay?”

Eddie let out another strangled noise. “Good point. Good point. I’ll see you tomorrow, then. Tomorrow. To-morrow…” He swayed on his heels. “Did you know that the word tomorrow came from—”

“Good night, Eddie,” Steve interrupted with a grin. And then, because he couldn’t resist, he added, “You can tell me all about it tomorrow.”

Eddie huffed. “I know you’re joking, but just for that, I will be telling you all about it then.”

“Looking forward to it.”

“Me too.”

They paused, staring at each other again, and laughed.

“For real, this time,” Steve said, smiling still. “I have to go — I’m kind of afraid Dustin’s going to start chewing on the seats if I don’t feed him soon.”

“Well, they are leather,” Eddie retorted.

Steve shot him an unamused look and shook his head. “Good night, Eddie,” he repeated.

“Good night, Steve,” Eddie replied, bouncing on his heels.

He didn’t move, and neither did Steve — right up until Dustin pressed on the car horn again.

They both jumped, and then laughed. “Go, go,” Eddie said, eyes bright with mirth. “You’re right, he probably will start chewing on your car.”

“He’d better not,” Steve muttered darkly.

“Well, it’s either that or my neighbors will start noticing, and as fun as it would be to see Dustin get into a fight with a octogenarian, Mrs. Dodds is still very spry for her age, and she likes her beauty sleep.”

Steve bit back a laugh. “Got it,” he said.

“All I’m saying is, my money would be on Mrs. Dodds,” Eddie continued, winking.

Steve shook his head. “Oh, I believe you.”

He didn’t want to leave. It was stupid, because he and Eddie had basically been stuck in a loop of goodbyes for who knew how long now, and they’d agreed to meet tomorrow — which would come very soon — but it still felt impossibly hard somehow.

Such sweet sorrow, indeed.

And yet, Steve managed to walk back to his car, keenly aware of the way Eddie’s eyes followed him all the while. Their weight was heavy and warm on his back. Pleasant.

Of course, inside the car, Dustin greeted him with a dark “Finally”. His eyes were still closed, with his left hand slapped over them.

Steve let out a chuckle. “You can look now, you know.”

Dustin somehow managed to convey a doubtful look while hiding half his face. “Are you sure?”

“I’m sure. Nothing untoward whatsoever.”

Dustin let out an unconvinced snort, but he did lower his hand, and blink his eyes open. “Mmh,” he said, casting sharp, inquisitive eyes all over Steve’s face. “Mmh. Something’s different.”

“I’m sure it is,” Steve drawled, adjusting the rear view mirror. Glancing around it, he caught sight of Eddie, still leaning against his door, and waved.

Eddie waved back.

“Mmh,” Dustin repeated, louder still.

“What?”

“You’re… smug.” He sounded disgusted, and also horrified, and Steve couldn’t help but laugh.

“Come on,” he said, pulling out of his parking spot, “I think I owe you a milkshake.”

“More like a hundred now,” Dustin complained, but he settled down again.

“Yeah, I wouldn’t go that far,” Steve retorted, and as they left the trailer park, he risked one look into the rearview mirror.

Eddie was still there, leaning against his door, watching.

Steve’s smile widened.

Man, but he couldn’t wait for tomorrow.