This Is the Day (When Things Fall into Place)

by perpetually_mad

Summary:

He looks up at Steve, one eyebrow raised in suspicion. “This… Is yours?”

Steve provides a sure nod, stepping closer to point to random parts of the sheet. “Erica… She helped me, I’ll admit.” He gives a sheepish grin, one Eddie has seen more and more over the years.

He doesn’t know what to think. Steve has never shown any interest in DND, and he knows nothing about it. Now that he does, though, apparently, Eddie is overjoyed. He stays there at Eddie’s for hours, explaining every detail of his character and why he included it. Obviously, Steve would have high combat. It just makes sense for him to use his nail bat, so of course, he had to include that somewhere. He’s a noble, duh, he’s King Steve.

Eddie thinks this is the happiest he’s ever been.

Or, Steve makes a DND character to try and flirt with Eddie. Fluff ensues.

Notes:

Woah, look at that, Steddie is back. Two fics in one day? I shouldn't have! No, really, I shouldn't have, I'm tired. Anyway, I had fun with this one!

“What the fuck is this, Steve?” Eddie asks as Steve, calm and collected as ever, hands him a paper. A DND character sheet.

Of course, Eddie’s excited. He’s been begging Steve to play DND with him for months now. But why the change? Steve has always refused, calling it too nerdy.

Steve now sits perfectly happy on Eddie’s couch, a large smile across his face as he offers up his character sheet to Eddie. What the fuck?

He looks over the sheet. It’s not very well made, very messy and thrown together, but it’s very Steve. An Oath of Redemption Paladin. Tavern Brawler Feat? It looks like Steve put actual thought into this, and that’s honestly what confuses Eddie the most.

He looks up at Steve, one eyebrow raised in suspicion. “This… Is yours?”

Steve provides a sure nod, stepping closer to point to random parts of the sheet. “Erica… She helped me, I’ll admit.” He gives a sheepish grin, one Eddie has seen more and more over the years.

He doesn’t know what to think. Steve has never shown any interest in DND, and he knows nothing about it. Now that he does, though, apparently, Eddie is overjoyed. He stays there at Eddie’s for hours, explaining every detail of his character and why he included it. Obviously, Steve would have high combat. It just makes sense for him to use his nail bat, so of course, he had to include that somewhere. He’s a noble, duh, he’s King Steve.

Eddie thinks this is the happiest he’s ever been. He’s grown to care a lot for Steve, no matter how much he denies it to anyone.

Steve used to be… Not great. He knows that. Everyone knows that. Wayne flipped out the first time he heard of Steve hanging out with him. He previously doubted Steve, but now he knows how wrong he was.

Steve Harrington, the same man who beat kids like Eddie to a pulp in high school. Now, he’s in Eddie’s living room offering to play his nerd game with him. How could Eddie have been so lucky?

“We could play next week, maybe? I dunno what days you play with the little snots, but I’ll just join them.” Steve is so casual, taking his paper back to shove it carefully into his, bag where it rested before he took it out. “Let me know what day, alright? I’ll make sure I don’t work.”

Eddie just… Agreed. What else could he do? He was thrilled. It was unusual, sure, but he figured it was fine.

Steve did end up playing with Eddie and the kids. Erica and Dustin helped him through the game, and he did well. It was while they cleaned up that Steve started talking to Eddie.

Robin came as a chaperone today, since Steve normally served as transportation. She took the kids home, which left Eddie and Steve to fix the mess they all left.

Steve was smiling big and kept humming to himself as he stepped around the room, gathering wrappers and bottles.

“You seem happy, Harrington.” He offered a small smile, nudging him.

“Huh? Oh, yeah. I just had a lot of fun, is all.” He offered Eddie a quick glance before saying, “Thanks, Eds. I enjoyed it. Really.” He walked to the other side of the room to toss away a handful of trash, giving Eddie a moment to react.

Eds? He’s never used that one before. Usually, nicknames are Eddie’s thing. He calls Steve many things. Stevie, Harrington, King Steve, Big Boy, even Babe sometimes, as a joke. Steve has never returned the favor, though. Eddie, he distantly thought to himself, could get used to it.

When they went their separate ways that night, Eddie was practically vibrating with excitement. Steve played DND with him and the kids. He said he had fun, and Eddie knows when Steve is lying. That was the truth.

He thought about Steve a lot that night. He knew he felt certain ways about him from the beginning, honestly. Who could resist his hair, anyway? Eddie could admit that the man was hot. He didn’t think that he would ever be able to say that he loved him, though.

That was the night that Eddie started to doubt himself.

══════════════════════════

Steve joining Eddie’s DND sessions had become a regular thing. Even if he wasn’t playing, he would show up. Not as transportation, just as… Steve.

Eddie was really enjoying this. He had no idea where it came from, but he wasn’t exactly complaining.

Steve was starting to allow more of Eddie’s unconventional hobbies and interests in his life. He started to come over to Eddie’s place more, to listen to Eddie’s music with him instead of forcing some pop shit on him. He played more DND and let Eddie rant about his campaign ideas. He even let Eddie play some of his songs on CD for him.

Eddie was falling hard and fast.

It had been a few months of Steve’s DND adventures at this point. He was at Eddie’s house, lying across his bed. Eddie had his music playing, and Wayne was at work.

It was summer. It was humid, unbearably hot, and Eddie was bored.

Sure, Steve was over, but they hadn’t played DND in a while. Two of the kids were on vacation for a while, so it felt pointless.

Steve sighed softly from where he lay. He and Eddie were opposite– Eddie’s head was on his pillows, and Steve’s head was at the end of the bed. It was peaceful, not-quite-silence.
“Hey, Eds?” Steve spoke, his voice quiet.

That had stuck, too—the nicknames. He called him Eds or Ed constantly, seldom Eddie. Hell, he called him Edward more than he called him Eddie.

“What’s up, Stevie?” He asked, head popping up from his pillows to watch Steve. His eyes were shut, and he was tapping his fingers to the music against his stomach. He gave Eddie a nervous smile before saying, “I’m bored. You know what you should do?”

Eddie grinned back, poking Steve’s leg with a questioning look. He sighed again and suggested, “Your guitar.” He paused to mess with the fabric on his shorts, right at the hem where Eddie and Stveve’s legs touch for just a few inches from the limited space on the bed. “You should play me something.”

Eddie felt like his brain was short-circuiting. Steve knows Eddie plays guitar, everyone knows, but Steve has never brought it up besides asking where he got the instrument and occasionally staring at it. Now, he wants Eddie to play a song for him.

What did he want Eddie to play? He could play some of the riffs he’s worked on for Corroded Coffin, he thinks, but would Steve like those? Steve is more of a pop person. He figures he could learn the parts to some of Steve’s favorite songs. He doesn’t have time to think of what those are, because Steve interrupts him with a hand on his ankle that rests near Steve’s head.

“Whatever you wanna play, Eds. I did hear, uh, that Corroded Coffin is good. I wouldn’t complain if you played me some of your songs from your band…” He gives Eddie a shy grin and lays his head back down.

Eddie has never jumped up so fast. He stands and strides over to his guitar stand, immediately grabbing it. By the time he gets back to the bed, Steve is sitting up and watching him, leaning back on his palms. Eddie takes a careful seat.

He’s nervous. Anyone would be. Eddie plays music all the time, alright? He plays at The Hideout for crowds he never imagined, though not very big. But that’s much different than playing a song one-on-one for your crush of several years. Eddie is trembling.

As he situates his guitar on his lap, Steve watches intently. He feels like Steve’s eyes are critiquing every movement he makes.

He figures he can just play one of their main songs—they haven’t gotten around to songwriting too much, it’s mainly covers, so it’s actually one of their only songs. He adjusts the guitar one last time and starts playing.

Eddie messes up a few times thanks to his shaky hands, but Steve certainly doesn’t seem to notice. If he does, then he doesn’t care.

Steve’s eyes never seem to leave his hands. He seems to be enjoying it, smiling and watching Eddie closely. He lets the song play out, his eyes on Eddie’s strumming fingers and flexing arms as he holds the guitar.

When Eddie finishes the song, he immediately looks up to Steve for approval. Steve’s supporting grin is all he needs.

“Ed, that was- You definitely need to play for me more often, that was incredible!” He continues showering Eddie in compliments by clapping and laughing softly when Eddie looks at him sheepishly.

“It… Was a pretty basic song.” Steve gives him a look in return and sighs with a smile. Then, he perks up. “Oh!” He reaches, making sure Eddie’s guitar is safe, and grabs Eddie’s hand to look at it. He investigates each part of it, leaving Eddie confused.

He sees Eddie’s look and simply says, “Rings, idiot,” before laughing. “And calluses, holy shit Eds!”

Eddie grumbles and shrugs. “It happens when you play guitar…” Steve just laughs and runs his fingers over the rough skin of his palm. “It’s alright. Not a bad thing.” He then remembers what he was doing in the first place and turns Eddie’s hand over.

“Your rings… I was gonna ask where you got them.” He grabs at a bunch of them, inspecting each one carefully. Eddie feels like he can’t move, Steve grabbing his hand and looking so intently. “They’re so cool! Like, really, Eds.”

Eddie tries to remember where he got some of them, but Steve gasps and looks at one particular ring. It’s the smallest of his collection that has grown over the years, but it’s still fairly large, a nice dark gem decorating the front. “This… Eddie, can I try this one on?” He pauses, smiling. “I’ll give it back, just- It’s really cool.”

Eddie gapes at him, but can he deny that? ‘Yeah, go ‘head, Stevie,” he mumbles, sliding it off his hand and dropping it into Steve’s palm.

Steve happily takes the ring, sliding it onto each of his fingers to find the right fit. He grins as he turns his hand to look at it with the sunlight shining into Eddie’s room. He glances up at Eddie and starts to say, “Can I-”

“You can keep it,” Eddie blurts out. “If you want, I mean. You can take it. It- It’s just a ring.” It’s mostly the truth. It is just a ring, but it’s also Eddie’s favorite ring. He likes his chunky rings with intricate details, but that was his first ring he started wearing, one he got from Wayne. He trusts Steve, knows he wouldn’t do anything to it. Steve looks better with it, anyway, he thinks.

He lights up, hand dropping to his lap. “You mean it?” Steve asks with hope. Eddie just shrugs and says, “You’ll take care of it.”

He nods immediately and replies, “I will. I promise, Eds, I’ll take care of it.” Eddie doesn’t doubt him at all.

Eddie jumps when Steve leans forward to hug him, almost dropping Eddie’s guitar in the process. Eddie sets it aside safely when Steve yelps, “Sorry!” Eddie nervously sits back up, and immediately, Steve flies forward to envelope Eddie in a tight embrace. He freezes at first, but he can’t help himself and eventually melts into it.

Nobody can judge him if he buries his hand in Steve’s hair, and he doesn’t feel guilty when he feels Steve smile into his shoulder.

They spent the rest of that hot day relaxing on Eddie’s bed, Eddie playing a few more songs throughout Steve’s stay. He finally left Eddie’s place at around 9:00 PM.

If Wayne gave him a knowing look when he noticed his ring missing from Eddie’s finger, nobody had to know.

══════════════════════════

Once the kids returned from vacation, their regular DND sessions continued, Steve included. Steve wore his ring everyday. Things began to be very nice.

Eddie started visiting Steve at work, too.

Steve works at Family Video with Robin, the same job he’s kept for the last few years now. Eddie often comes in during Steve’s shifts to hang out, or to look for new movies.

Today was one of those days.

Steve is sitting in his chair behind the counter, having just finished rewinding some returned tapes. He flips through a magazine. Robin is working too, so she sorts some misplaced items on the shelves. Eddie leans against the counter that Steve is behind, looking at the magazine with him.

Steve points to a few cars he thinks are cool, and Eddie can’t help but agree. Maybe he’s biased, but Steve has good taste in a lot of things.

Robin spins around with a grin, shoving a tape in Eddie’s face. He doesn’t recognize it, but Robin passes it to him and says, “Get it. Seriously, I heard it’s good! Steve and I can come over this weekend to watch it with you!”

They have movie nights often, the three of them. They hang out for a few hours, drink a little, and watch some shitty movie to end the night. They spend almost every weekend this way, so of course, Eddie agrees.

══════════════════════════

Plans go a bit wrong this time around. Robin forgot that she had to be out of town this weekend, visiting some family. Now, it’s Saturday. Eddie is home alone, waiting for Steve. Robin’s mom has just hung up. Eddie has no way of contacting Steve right now, and he realizes he’s screwed.

The thing about their movie nights is that Eddie has a small couch. TIt’s not weird when it’s all three of them, since they can squish together with Robin in the middle (at Eddie’s insistence).

Today, Steve will be over to watch a movie, and Robin won’t be there as a buffer.

Eddie is screwed, and he panics. He thinks briefly about making himself look sick so that Steve will leave when he gets to Eddie’s, but it’s too late. Eddie’s doorbell rings, and he has no way out of it.

When Eddie opens the door, Steve greets him with a hug. “Eds!” He shouts, grinning. “Robin here yet?”

“Robin… Is in Kentucky. Uhm, for… Something. Her mom just called me, like, 5 minutes ago,” Eddie explains, embarrassed. Steve, unlike Eddie, doesn’t seem to mind. He steps inside and shuts the door behind himself, dragging a grocery bag to Eddie’s dining room table in front of the couch.

“Oh, that’s alright! I brought some beer and shit, so. More for us!” He grins and flops himself on the couch with no complaints. “Got the tape, Ed?”

Eddie snaps out of his confusion and runs into his room to grab the tape, immediately coming back out to the living room. By the time he’s back, Steve already has two beers open, one for each of them, as well as a bag of chips. He grabs a beer and raises it. “Here. I opened it for you. I’ll put the tape in, sit down.”

Eddie does as Steve says and lets him get the movie started. He sips his beer, hoping for the best. Steve hangs out with him all the time, is this really that different?

The answer, Eddie soon learns, is a resounding yes.

Steve is so close to him that he doesn’t know if he can stand it. Eddie sits on the right side of the couch, Steve on the left. Steve got cold, and Eddie had a blanket, so, of course, he had to share. Now, they both sit on the tiny sofa under a fairly small blanket, huddled together. It’s torture.

Eddie can hear every breath Steve takes, every laugh, and every stupid comment about the movie. Steve nudges Eddie and whispers things to him occasionally, but he doesn’t even need that. Every time Steve mutters, “Are you kidding?” or, “That’s so stupid!” Eddie can hear it without even trying.

At some point, Steve’s arm had curled his arm around the back of the couch. His fingertips graze Eddie’s curls, and he thinks he needs a distraction or he might die.

Eddie never gets that distraction. Steve keeps his arm around him, and Eddie is driven crazy by the feeling of his ring on Steve’s hand against his neck. Before the movie even ends, Steve is drifting off. His head tilts toward Eddie’s shoulder, and he doesn’t have the heart to keep him up, not when he looks so comfortable.

Steve is asleep in minutes, his soft breath on Eddie’s shoulder. Eddie, for Steve’s sake, obviously, had reached up to his hair. Steve was close to falling over in his sleep, so Eddie steadied him, and now he doesn’t want to let go.

The movie is coming to an end, and Eddie is getting pretty tired himself. He thinks about drifting off as well, but as soon as he closes his eyes, he hears keys in the door. Fuck.

Wayne is off work. Eddie has no time to adjust how they lie as Wayne walks in. He turns to yell for Eddie to let him know he’s home, but as he turns and sees Eddie shushing him, he stops.

Eddie is bright red and shyly looking away. Wayne laughs softly, taking a few steps closer and ruffling Eddie’s hair. “You oughta get that boy in a bed before he gets’a crick in his neck, Edward.” Wayne steps off to set his work stuff on the counter, and Eddie knows he’s right.

He nudges Steve’s shoulder and looks into his eyes as he opens them with a squint. “Hey, Stevie. Gotta wake up.” He hums in response, lifting his head and looking around. He pauses when he sees Wayne, blushing the same as Eddie. He quickly removes his arm from its position and scoots a little bit away.

Eddie laughs softly. “Wayne said you can stay the night, if you need to. It’s pretty late,’ he mumbles. “But you gotta sleep in a bed. You can have mine. Don’t need you hurting your back.” He helps Steve up, the blanket still wrapped around his shoulders. He leads Steve into his room, sitting him on the edge of the bed he’s so used to sitting on.

“Help yourself to some pajamas if you need, Stevie. I’m gonna go see Wayne before bed.” He parts with Steve after a pat to his shoulder, shutting the door behind him.

The second Wayne sees him, he’s crossing his arms and huffing with a shake of his head.
“That the one, Eds?” He asks, knowingly. “The one you gave my ring to?” Eddie cringes.

“Wayne, I’m sorry. I can get it back, I just- He asked for it, and I trust him to take care of it.”
Eddie goes to speak again, but Wayne does instead. “It’s okay, kid. I don’t care about that, I was just askin’. From your answer, seems it’s a yes.” He pauses and uncrosses his arms.

“That boy takes care of you? Treats you well?” Eddie gapes with a, “We’re not-” And Wayne nods. “I know that. Answer the question, boy.”

Eddie just nods, and Wayne seems happy enough. “Good. Keep him.” He opens the fridge and grabs a bottle of water, passing it to Eddie. “Learn to take care of him, too.” Without another word, Wayne retreats to his room for the night.

Eddie stands there. Processing the conversation. Wayne’s right, he thinks. Wayne’s always right. He spins on his feet, heading down the hallway. He knocks on the door to make sure Steve is decent before coming in.

Steve is sitting on Eddie’s bed, looking half asleep. He’s changed into a loose band shirt and boxers, which also appear to be Eddie’s.

Eddie can’t help but turn a little red at the sight.

He steps into the room, inching toward Steve after shutting the door and locking it, just in case.

You never know, he figures.

“Here you go, Big Boy. In case you need it,” Eddie says, handing Steve the water bottle. Steve takes it with a sleepy smile. “Thanks, Eds. You comin’ to bed?” Eddie shrugs. “Yeah. Gotta change, but yeah.”

Eddie steps toward the dresser, picking out a pair of sweatpants and no shirt. He notices that Steve automatically turned to give him privacy, and he smiles to himself, tossing away his jeans and shirt, changing into his soft pants.

Eddie crawls into his bed, motioning for Steve to lie down too. Steve lies against the wall and accepts the blanket that Eddie offers him. He clears his throat and turns to Steve. “You can, uhm. You can come closer, Harrington.” He grins lopsidedly. “I don’t bite.”

Steve laughs, his voice deeper with exhaustion. “You totally do, I disagree,” he mumbles, but scoots closer anyway.

Eddie pauses before turning to face Steve, wrapping his arms around his shoulders and waist. Steve freezes for a moment, but he doesn’t seem to mind, so Eddie rests his face in the crook of Steve’s neck.

They’re relaxed, calm, and comfortable. It isn’t awkward, Eddie realizes. They’re so content in each other’s arms that nothing seems unusual.

Steve sighs happily, resting his chin on Eddie’s head. His hand comes up to play with Eddie’s hair, and Eddie exhales against Steve’s skin.

“Eds,” Steve says. He isn’t asking for anything or calling for him. He’s just saying his name.
Eddie, in return, mumbles, “Steve.” He presses a kiss to Steve’s shoulder, making him giggle.

“I like having your ring,” Steve says, a moment later. Eddie was starting to drift off, but he was wide awake when he heard that. “I like it, too.”

They’re silent for a moment before Eddie mumbles, “Wayne saw it. Asked if you take care of me.”

Steve hums, petting Eddie’s curls. “Well? Do I?” Eddie rests against Steve, feeling him trace a tattoo on Eddie’s back. “Yeah. I told him you do.” He pauses. “Because you do. You take care of me.”

Eddie leans back so he can look into Steve’s eyes. “You take care of me, too, Eddie,” Steve whispers. His eyes flick down for a second. Eddie grins.

“Hey Steve?” He laughs as he talks. “Did you- Did you make a DND character to flirt with me?” This makes Steve groan, putting a hand over his face. “Oh, God, stop!” Eddie starts laughing more, resting his face in Steve’s chest. “Eddie, stop, I was desperate!”

Steve is grinning, flushed a pretty pink color. Eddie looks up at him and lets his laughter die down a little. “I can’t say anything. It worked pretty well,” he admits to Steve.

Steve, in return, smiles down at Eddie. Eddie gives one back.

Steve hums, hand moving back to Eddie’s hair, playing with some, and brushing it behind his ear. “I had to try something.” Steve sighs with a smile. “I’m… Used to girls. I didn’t know how to do it, but, uhm… I kinda wanted to try anyway, and I figured it would make you happy.”

Eddie chuckles again, watching every movement of Steve’s face. “You make me happy, Stevie.”

Steve looks at Eddie’s lips, blinking slowly. “You make me happy, too, Ed.” His hand moves from Eddie’s hair to his jaw, fingers petting softly at his skin.

Eddie doesn’t need any more signs. He takes that as his cue, and he leans in. As his lips meet Steve’s, his brain goes quiet for the first time in a while.

A hum falls from Steve’s lips onto Eddie’s, and they shift slightly. Eddie’s hands run over Steve’s chest, wrapping in the fabric of his shirt. With a grunt, Eddie’s tongue reaches out to Steve’s lips. Immediately, Eddie is met with Steve’s as well.

On the bed, the two boys peacefully hold each other. Steve reaches to pull Eddie closer, turning his face to part from Eddie’s so he can catch his breath. It only lasts a second before Steve’s lips are back on Eddie’s,

Hands trail down Steve’s torso as they adjust themselves, Eddie’s body ending halfway on top of Steve’s. They both sigh happily, the mess of lips and tongue just what they needed.

The blanket that rested over both of them is now shoved away by Eddie so that he has more room. He pulls his lips away, attaching them to Steve’s neck instead. Steve gives a tiny gasp in response, twisting and turning under Eddie’s grip.

He lifts his head again, this time looking down at Steve with a smile. “You look pretty like this, y’know,” he mumbles before pressing a few more kisses to Steve’s neck. He climbs off of Steve, only to be met with a grumbled and whiny complaint. “Eds, hey-”

“Wayne, babe,” Eddie whispers as he lies back down, resting his head on Steve’s chest. “He’s trying to sleep.” Steve huffs, but gives in. He lifts Eddie’s head for one more kiss.

This kiss is soft, and their lips just linger for a moment. They pull away with a smile on both of their faces.

As Eddie lets his head fall to the pillow, Steve does the same. He inhales deeply before saying, “Love you, Eds.” He looks into Eddie’s eyes. “I love you.”

Eddie grins and kisses Steve’s cheek, wrapping around him.

“Love you too, Stevie.”

Notes:

As always, feel free to comment corrections, concerns, support, whatever! Not beta read as usual, so lmk if I made any mistakes!