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Honest to god, it was a misunderstanding.
Every once in a while fate lines up in some sick way and screws your whole life up. At least, that’s what Eddie thought, because the Party had somehow gotten the (incorrect) idea in their heads that Steve and Eddie were dating, and Steve, bless his heart, had no idea.
But let’s back up a little.
Dustin was a little shit that wouldn’t leave Eddie alone. He was always somewhere near, especially after the whole fiasco with the demobats, and even when Eddie begged for personal space, he somehow managed to wiggle his collarbone-less body past him into the trailer. Realistically, Eddie knew he could scare him away. There was a hierarchy here, both in age and in respect, and he knew that if he put on Scary Eddie that Dustin would back off, but he was just so… sad when he couldn’t see him. Eddie’s near death experience had taken a toll on him, and sometimes he just looked haunted.
That’s why, when his face lit up one quiet afternoon, Eddie knew it was trouble.
“What the hell?” he heard from across the trailer. Dustin was, no doubt, snooping through his things again without permission.
Eddie heaved a sigh and rolled out of bed, nearly falling onto the floor in his effort to get up. Recovering quickly, he called to the other room. “What is it, pipsqueak? Can’t keep your nose out of the– bathroom?” He cocked his head as he stood in the doorway. “What are you doing, man?”
Dustin was standing in front of the bathroom mirror, squinting at something in his hands. It looked like–
“Give me that,” Eddie snapped as he quickly took the can of hairspray. It was embarrassing, to say the least, to have a can of Farrah Fawcett hairspray hidden in his medicine cabinet. It wasn’t exactly a secret, but anything the shrimps could use against him was 100% off limits.
“Why do you…” Dustin started with a confused look on his face, before shock overtook it. “Wait. Isn’t that Steve’s shirt?”
He was about to retort “No, why would an unseemly knight like me be clothed in the king’s garments” but low and behold, he looked down and it was, in fact, Steve’s maroon sweater he was wearing. “Huh,” he muttered, face heating up as he tugged at the hem, realizing Steve must’ve left it behind after their last movie night and he’d worn it without realizing. “Yeah, I guess so.” Looking up, Dustin seemed to be processing something, looking from the sweater to the can to Eddie’s face and back again. That’s when his face lit up like a Christmas tree, leaving Eddie more confused than ever.
Dustin pointed at him. “You— you!”
“I what?”
“Steve!” he exclaimed. “You! Steve!” He gestured to the can. “Oh my god, how did I not see it?”
“What the hell are you talking about, man?”
The kid was practically vibrating, grinning ear to ear. “That makes so much sense! No wonder– That’s totally cool man, no worries. I mean, nothing to be ashamed of! Yeah.”
He kept gesturing to the can and saying Steve like it was supposed to mean something. Maybe he used the same spray? Honestly, that would make him feel a lot better, knowing another guy out there had taste, especially someone with hair like Steve’s, and you know what, it wasn’t anything to be ashamed of, goddammit, so there. Unknowingly sealing his fate, he shoved his hands into his pockets and awkwardly went, “Uh, yeah. No big deal.”
That, of course, is when everything went to shit.
Admittedly, it took longer than it should have for Eddie to get a clue. It wasn’t his fault, though! The kids had always been a little weird.
It started with little things. During movie nights, somehow the only spot left would be next to Steve. Then the kids started referring to Steve and Eddie as one unit rather than two separate people. Dustin would nudge him any time Steve walked into a room, and any playful teasing directed at Steve would be met with varying degrees of “yuck” and “aww”. Honestly, he was starting to think the kids caught onto Eddie’s massive crush.
But then, god help him, Steve got more comfortable. Awkwardly sitting next to each other turned into Steve leaning into him, and talking at a distance became a frankly insane lack of personal space. It was driving Eddie crazy, and it only seemed to rile the Party up more.
Everyone started acting differently around them. The kids always gave these ‘I know something I shouldn’t’ looks at each other anytime they hung out, always leaving Steve alone with him to “give them space”. Max was grumpy, Will was happier than usual, and Mike perpetually looked like he’d eaten something sour. It didn’t help that people kept talking in riddles either. One time Will came up to him and told him it was “really nice to see you being able to be yourself”, whatever the hell that meant.
It wasn’t until Max came up to him as he was sitting in a lawn chair outside and kicked him in the shin that he finally got the hint.
“Thanks for telling me, asshole!” she exclaimed.
“Shit—” he groaned, grabbing his leg. She may have been small, but damn was she strong. “Shit, jesus— what the hell, Red? Tell you what?”
She crossed her arms indignantly and stomped her foot, clearly agitated. “About you and Steve!”
Eddie’s face scrunched up in confusion. “What about me and Steve?”
“That you’re–” She looked around, leaning in while she lowered her voice. “That you’re dating.”
“What,” he said far too loudly, making Max jump, “In God’s name are you talking about, child?”
She huffed. “Don’t play dumb! Dustin told us! He said he found Steve’s hairspray in your bathroom and you were wearing his shirt and you confirmed it! I mean, we all knew you were making googly eyes at each other but you should have told me!”
The whole situation kept replaying in his head in a loop. That’s why Dustin was being so weird? That was the conclusion that he came to? Not something reasonable like ‘Oh, I guess they use the same brand! Isn’t that something’? Jesus, did everyone know they were supposedly dating?
Of course he’d love to be going out with Steve, but life didn’t work that way. Steve was everything Eddie ever wanted and could never have. He was so sweet when he wanted to be, even if he played irritable around the kids. He helped them whenever they asked and formed a connection with them that could honestly combat their own parents and he always got this little twinkle in his eyes when he talked about them and it was so precious. He was an angel, really; selfless, brave, patient in a way Eddie could only dream of being, and nothing like the douchebag mask he used to wear, but no. Steve was straight, and Eddie was gay, and this was all very, very bad.
“Uh…” He couldn’t just come clean now, could he? He’d be embarrassing both of them big time, and the kids would never let it go. He’d have to talk to Steve before he found out himself and figure out a way to “break up” so the kids never found out and— “It’s uh, new. And he kind of put me on the spot.”
Fuck.
__________
Telling Steve was… a task. I mean, how do you go about something like that? What was he supposed to say, “Hey, the kids think we’re dating and it’s kind of my fault. Please don’t punch me”? God knows how the children got to be as tolerable as they apparently are, but Steve was a wild card. Even if he was fine with gay people, people thinking you’re gay is something else entirely.
It wasn’t until a get-together at the Steve’s a week later that he found his chance. The kids were all in the pool, supervised by Nancy and Robin, and Steve was in the kitchen cutting up watermelon for everyone like a good little host. Eddie made his way inside, trying to calm his nerves. He tried to tell himself that it was just Steve, and what is the worst he could do?
Actually, maybe don’t think about that part.
He saw in his head the worst of the worst outcomes. What if he was disgusted and didn’t want to see him again? If Steve made it clear that he wanted nothing to do with Eddie, or worse, decided that Eddie shouldn’t be around the kids anymore?
He shook off those thoughts as he entered the kitchen, putting on an easygoing smile and trying his damndest to appear normal. “Making snacks for the Gremlins?” he asked, leaning up against the counter, clasping his hands together to hide his shaking.
“Yep,” Steve responded, none the wiser, focusing on the fruit he was cutting. “Those shitheads will never admit it but swimming tires them out. They need hydration.”
Eddie shook his head, huffing out a laugh. “You really are a mom, huh, Harrington?” He cleared his throat, smile fading. “Look, there’s just this teeny problem I have to bring up,” he said, making a pinching motion with his fingers. “I hope you don’t mind me telling you this in view of the kids but I’m trying not to get pummeled here.”
Steve chuckled. “I don’t think there’s anything you would do that I’d pummel you for, Eddie,” he said, before doing a double-take at Eddie’s crumbling lighthearted facade. He set down the knife, wiped his hands on a kitchen towel and crossed his arms, taking a step closer to Eddie. “What’s got you so worked up?” he asked, concern lacing his voice.
Eddie looked anywhere but Steve, first at the ceiling, then his feet, then out at the kids playing in the pool. He swallowed harshly. “You don’t happen to use Farrah Fawcett hairspray, do you?”
Some of the tension left Steve’s shoulders. “That little shit, did Dustin tell you that?”
“No, he uh, found some in the trailer and was like “Steve!”, so… I figured.”
“Was that what you wanted to tell me?” Steve asked, confused. “That we’re hairspray buddies?”
“No, no, see… Dustin saw that and thought it was yours, that you must’ve left it or something, and then saw that I was wearing your shirt— you left your shirt at mine, by the way—“
Steve's eyebrows raised. “You were wearing my shirt?”
“And he kind of just connected two dots that weren’t there and decided that we must be, you know… going out?”
Steve’s eyes bugged out of his head. “He thinks we’re… dating?”
“Actually, uh, not just him. I think he spread the word pretty quickly. If anybody’s been weird around you that’s probably why.”
“So he just, like, assumed and went off that?”
“See, that’s the problem.” He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, preparing himself. “Little dude was speaking in riddles, just kept saying your name, and I thought he was just saying we used the same hairspray and so I like, maybe accidentally confirmed it?”
There was a moment of silence before— “Oh my god.” Yeah, that was the kind of reaction he was expecting. Steve covered his face with one hand, so it was impossible to tell how he was feeling, which only furthered Eddie’s panic.
Eddie scrambled with his apology. “I know, I’m so sorry—”
A punched out laugh made the metalhead nearly jump out of his skin. Steve held out a placating hand, struggling to get words out. “This is– oh my god. This is perfect,” he wheezed.
Eddie fully shut down, curling in on himself, sure that this was quickly devolving into what he feared most. “Oh, great. He thinks it’s funny.”
“Yes– No! Not like that. Just, I think you should sit down, man.”
Eddie hesitated, squinting a little, not knowing where this was going. He complied, though, stepping to the dining table and pulling out a chair. Steve followed, scooting his chair towards Eddie’s. “Okay,” Steve started, and paused. He seemed to be trying to figure out what he was going to say, and honestly, it was kind of relieving that neither of them had their shit together for this. “Dustin is definitely one to be jumping to conclusions, but he doesn’t just…” He waved his hand around for emphasis, “Make stuff up.”
Eddie tilted his head in confusion. “Really? Because from where I’m sitting it seems like he pulled that out of his ass.” Except for the part where Eddie was head over heels for Steve, but he wasn’t about to say that.
Steve cleared his throat, pulling Eddie’s gaze back to him. “Look. Dustin’s a perceptive kid. After the whole Upside Down thing he’s kind of had a lot of free time and maybe he picked up on some things. He saw the way you look at me. I saw it too.”
This could not be happening. Steve knew about his hopeless crush? Oh my god.
“Oh my god. I’m so s–”
“If you apologize I will end you,” Steve said, maintaining eye contact. “I’m so serious. Don’t you get it?” A blush ran across his cheeks, and he fidgeted in his seat. “I liked it. I liked the way you looked at me, and even if you didn’t notice, I looked back.”
No way. No way this was happening right now, right? He had to be hallucinating, or maybe he never got out of bed, was still dreaming, sprawled across his shitty mattress in the middle of the night. His silence seemed to shake Steve, whose expression grew less confident by the second. “I mean, am I wrong?” he asked, voice weak. He leaned away a little bit. “I know you didn’t respond much when I started leaning into it, but, y’know, I could’ve sworn—“
“Oh, I definitely— I just, are you telling me it’s reciprocated?” Eddie asked incredulously.
Steve let out a playful huff, face relaxing. “I don’t know what that word means, Eddie.”
“You like me too?”
Steve gave him a pointed look. “Duh.”
“What do you mean, duh?! I just spent a full week agonizing over Dustin’s little assumption and you liked me the whole time?!”
Steve grinned, scooting closer. “I’ve liked you a hell of a lot longer than a week, Ed.”
That relaxed something in Eddie, a lingering worry that Steve was just confused or wanted something casual. “Is that so?”
“Mhm.”
“Can I…” Eddie started, head tilting toward Steve’s.
“You better.”
And then Steve’s in his space, leaning in and pressing his lips to Eddie’s, one hand cupping his face while his thumb brushed back and forth across his cheekbone. Almost as soon as it started it was over, Steve leaning back just a little bit to stare into Eddie’s eyes. Something seemed to occur to him, however, and his smile turned lopsided. “You know we can never tell Dustin, right?” he whispered.
A snort escaped Eddie. “Oh, absolutely not.”