softsteddieseptember

[softsteddieseptember]

How To Lose Your Roommate in Six Weeks (1/7)

Week T-One (Steve)

chapter excerpt:

"I'm just in a slump. That's all," Steve finally determines, tossing the bag towards him, now that he thinks he can probably be trusted. "So, I'm gonna put dating on hold. For six weeks." "That's actually not a bad idea," Eddie says, and Steve knows he's not exactly been having the best luck either. His drought has been going longer than Steve's. "But you're not gonna get laid for six weeks?"  Steve scoffs. "Not likely," he answers, honestly, "but maybe I could find a fuckbuddy for six weeks? No strings. Just sex."

► read the full first chapter of How To Lose Your Roommate in Six Weeks [rating: e] on ao3!

This chapter fills the prompt "blind date" for @softsteddieseptember.

[softsteddieseptember]

Hello there! It is officially week 1 of Soft Steddie September!

The prompts for this week are

Strangers to Lovers | Blind Date | Party | Cooking | Fairy tale

Keep in mind this is an 18+ event since it is a sister event with @steddiesmuttyseptember

There is no word count limit so go nuts, combine with other events but keep it Steddie centric.

Tag @softsteddieseptember and use #softsteddieseptember on submissions!

Once I reply with a 🥹 you can post to the archive!

Have fun and happy creating!

[softsteddieseptember]

Soft Steddie September Event!

Hello!

I’d like to announce Soft Steddie September is once again taking place!

Just like last year this is a sister event with @steddiesmuttyseptember. (their prompts are up now!)

With that in mind, this is 18+.

The goal of the event is to use the prompts provided to write something that makes you happy, or go awww!

Happy Endings is the goal (they can be implied but they should be Heavily implied)

Writers: No word limit

Artists Welcome!!

Be sure to tag the blog @softsteddieseptember when you post and include the prompt, ratings, word count, and any warnings. Like this

prompt | rating | wc | cw

Any NSFW should be under the cut. Use one prompt a week or combine them! Prompts can be combined with other events as long as it fits their guidelines! Combine them with smutty Sept to your heart’s content!

The prompts are split into each week, and anything included that week will be in the weekly masterlist. But, as long as they are posted by the end of the month, the post will be included on the big masterlist.

I will comment a 🥹 once your piece has been put in the queue for reblog.

Find the AO3 collection here to add your fic.

If you have any questions send me an ask here or @mugloversonly

Now for the prompts!

Week 1: (Sept 01-06)

Strangers to Lovers | Blind Date | Party | Cooking | Fairy tale

Week 2: (Sept 07-13)

Friends to Lovers | First Date | Secret | Falling | Pool

Week 3: (Sept 14-20)

Surprise | Wedding | Love at First Sight | Lake | Second Meeting

Week 4: (Sept 21-27)

Communication | Eavesdropping | Parents | Wrong Number | Anniversary

Week 5: (Sept 28-30)

Modern AU | Sunrise | Flowers

Last Year's masterlist

[softsteddieseptember]

~~~Steddie September~~~

STEDDIE SMUTTY SEPTEMBER

@steddiesmuttyseptember

❎ .

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

SOFT STEDDIE SEPTEMBER

@softsteddieseptember

❎ .

🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷

HYPE'S FILTHY FLUFFY FORTY

@just-my-latest-hyperfixation

❎ .

🩷🖤🩷🖤🩷🖤🩷🖤🩷🖤🩷🖤🩷🖤🩷🖤🩷🖤🩷🖤🩷

My writing tag

[softsteddieseptember]

Next week!!

Soft Steddie September Event!

Hello!

I’d like to announce Soft Steddie September is once again taking place!

Just like last year this is a sister event with @steddiesmuttyseptember. (Their event and prompts will be announced in a few weeks!)

With that in mind, this is 18+.

The goal of the event is to use the prompts provided to write something that makes you happy, or go awww!

Happy Endings is the goal (they can be implied but they should be Heavily implied)

Writers: No word limit

Artists Welcome!!

Be sure to tag the blog @softsteddieseptember when you post and include the prompt, ratings, word count, and any warnings. Like this

prompt | rating | wc | cw

Any NSFW should be under the cut. Use one prompt a week or combine them! Prompts can be combined with other events as long as it fits their guidelines! Combine them with smutty Sept to your heart’s content!

The prompts are split into each week, and anything included that week will be in the weekly masterlist. But, as long as they are posted by the end of the month, the post will be included on the big masterlist.

If you have any questions send me an ask here or @mugloversonly

Now for the prompts!

Week 1: (Sept 01-06)

Strangers to Lovers | Blind Date | Party | Cooking | Fairy tale

Week 2: (Sept 07-13)

Friends to Lovers | First Date | Secret | Falling | Pool

Week 3: (Sept 14-20)

Surprise | Wedding | Love at First Sight | Lake | Second Meeting

Week 4: (Sept 21-27)

Communication | Eavesdropping | Parents | Wrong Number | Anniversary

Week 5: (Sept 28-30)

Modern AU | Sunrise | Flowers

[softsteddieseptember]

WIP WEDNESDAY

A little something I'm cooking (pun intended) for @softsteddieseptember - It will be two small fics, and one has mtf Eddie (aka Amelia/Emy)

This was something they were trying since two months ago to make their everyday a bit more interesting. Most weekends, Robin would go and visit her parents on Hawkins, and every Tuesday and Wednesday, Steve was too busy with school and work, so those days they weren't 24/7 together. Not like they did it anyway, they also needed their breaks. So the idea was that Steve would sign up Robin to some class any of those days, without her knowing, and she would do the same for Steve.

But this time wasn't a class.

"Really, a blind date?!" he opened Robin's door widely. "What do you mean a blind date?"

"Hey! I'm changing!" Robin pushed him, as if she cared Steve saw her underwear or bra. "We will talk about it later."

"Later? It is tomorrow! And kind of early."

Steve didn't care, jumping to the bed as Robin keep changing for classes.

"It will be fine!" Robin shook her head. "Didn't you say last week you would like to date more?"

"Yeah, but not like this."

[softsteddieseptember]

We're a few weeks out so here's last year's masterlist for that gooey softness

Event Masterlist

thank you for joining me on this journey. I had fun and it was a success! Love all the softness

Week One:

art by @steddiecameraroll

cheesy pick up lines by @talanashta

come fly with me by @midsummer-semantics

do it for him by @steddie-island

every color illuminates by @miss-bushido

Fear of the unknown by @mugloversonly

full circle by @steveseddie

goodbye/ see you later by @yesdangerpls

your smile is my favorite (wiggly Wednesday) by @scoops-aboy86

Week Two:

home run by @steveseddie

it isn't over, it's just begun by @sidekick-hero

it's about the journey by mugloversonly

sweet surrender is all that I have to give by miss-bushido

Through the pines by steddie-island

Week Three:

art by @alicetallula

Champagne kisses by steddie-island

I would not change it by mugloversonly

make the world safe and sound for you by miss-bushido

southern hospitality by scoops-aboy86

Week Four:

For protection by steveseddie

kiss me, underneath the moonlight by miss-bushido

love is a battle(vest) by steddie-island

promise to see you again by mugloversonly

Week Five:

A Long Time Coming by mugloversonly

Life Finds a Way by steddie-island

[softsteddieseptember]

Hi ! Probably a silly question but is okay to draw or write Sapphic Steddie or t4t Steddie for your event :3 ? (I also asked on the Smutty Steddie September blog, since I'm having ideas about having drawings that would connect the two events 👀)

100%. So long as it's Steddie as the main ship do what you want!

[softsteddieseptember]

One month to go!

Definitely didn't post in the last one that I will respond to your post with a 🥹 once it's been put in the queue for reblog. I'll update the pinned post once the event is live to include the collection you can post to on AO3 once that happens!

Soft Steddie September Event!

Hello!

I’d like to announce Soft Steddie September is once again taking place!

Just like last year this is a sister event with @steddiesmuttyseptember. (Their event and prompts will be announced in a few weeks!)

With that in mind, this is 18+.

The goal of the event is to use the prompts provided to write something that makes you happy, or go awww!

Happy Endings is the goal (they can be implied but they should be Heavily implied)

Writers: No word limit

Artists Welcome!!

Be sure to tag the blog @softsteddieseptember when you post and include the prompt, ratings, word count, and any warnings. Like this

prompt | rating | wc | cw

Any NSFW should be under the cut. Use one prompt a week or combine them! Prompts can be combined with other events as long as it fits their guidelines! Combine them with smutty Sept to your heart’s content!

The prompts are split into each week, and anything included that week will be in the weekly masterlist. But, as long as they are posted by the end of the month, the post will be included on the big masterlist.

If you have any questions send me an ask here or @mugloversonly

Now for the prompts!

Week 1: (Sept 01-06)

Strangers to Lovers | Blind Date | Party | Cooking | Fairy tale

Week 2: (Sept 07-13)

Friends to Lovers | First Date | Secret | Falling | Pool

Week 3: (Sept 14-20)

Surprise | Wedding | Love at First Sight | Lake | Second Meeting

Week 4: (Sept 21-27)

Communication | Eavesdropping | Parents | Wrong Number | Anniversary

Week 5: (Sept 28-30)

Modern AU | Sunrise | Flowers

[softsteddieseptember]

Check out our sister event! If you want to combine prompts within the two events or connect the pieces in the same universe do it! The world is your Oster.

welcome to steddie smutty september 2025!

this event will take place for the entire month of september. there will be weekly prompts to choose from. you can write one of the prompts, multiple prompts, or combine all of them in one!

please keep in mind this event is for 18+ participants only.

there will be no maximum word count, however the minimum word count is 500 words.

prompts can and should be interpreted however you want, but please include the prompt(s) you chose towards the top of the post. all submissions should be steddie-centric, though other characters can be included, and should be written from third person POV.

all submissions should be rated m for mature or e for explicit. please put the rating at the top of your post, as well as any content warnings and tags you see appropriate. as a courtesy to tumblr users, please put any explicit content and/or anything more than 1000 words under a read more. please tag @steddiesmuttyseptember so it can be added to the queue of reblogs.

a '😏' will be commented once your post has been seen and added to the queue. please send this blog or @steddieas-shegoes a message if you don't see the emoji comment within two days of your submission.

late submissions will be accepted! please note that late submissions are any posts submitted after 11:59 PM EDT on the last day of the posting period. any late posts will be reblogged at the end of the event (starting october 1st) to avoid any confusion for people wanting to participate. late posts will still be included on the event masterlist, however any post submitted after october 1st will not be reblogged or added to the masterlist.

feel free to add your submissions to Steddie Smutty September AO3 Collection once you receive confirmation of it being added to the queue on here!

ATTENTION ARTISTS!

art submissions are welcome and encouraged! same rules apply:

must be rated m or e (put explicit/nudity under a cut), and should follow at least one of the prompts for the week.

due to the way tumblr tends to react to nsfw art, if you’re more comfortable posting on another platform and linking it here, please do so! please include a preview if you’re able to on here.

a ‘😏’ will be commented once the art is added to the queue and masterlist.

———————————————

2025 PROMPTS

WEEK 1 (SEPTEMBER 1-7) : hate sex, motel, sexting, vers

WEEK 2 (SEPTEMBER 8-14) : whimper, exhibitionism, tongue, leather

WEEK 3 (SEPTEMBER 15-21) : secret, love confession, knees, spit

WEEK 4 (SEPTEMBER 22-30) : wedding night, toys, pool, ice

———————————————

A QUICK GUIDE TO RATING M VS. E

while there’s no strict definition for either, here’s what seems to be the most common practice among fic authors:

rated m for mature: descriptions of sex (usually more detailed than just mentioning sex), making out (if partially or fully nude), frottage (or above the clothes getting off of any kind), BDSM in discussion, dirty talk

rated e for explicit: handjobs, blowjobs, rimming, penetrative sex, BDSM in practice

it’s up to your discretion what your fic is rated, and there will always be cases where you may feel more comfortable rating something e that might usually fall under m. any ratings chosen by the author are the author’s decision. please heed all tags and content warnings before reading.

———————————————

If writing or creating art that's rated M or E isn't for you, check out our sister event: @softsteddieseptember run by @mugloversonly

if you have any questions, feel free to ask the blog or @steddieas-shegoes!

have fun! - mickala 😏

Steddie Smutty September Masterlist

[softsteddieseptember]

Soft Steddie September Event!

Hello!

I’d like to announce Soft Steddie September is once again taking place!

Just like last year this is a sister event with @steddiesmuttyseptember. (their prompts are up now!)

With that in mind, this is 18+.

The goal of the event is to use the prompts provided to write something that makes you happy, or go awww!

Happy Endings is the goal (they can be implied but they should be Heavily implied)

Writers: No word limit

Artists Welcome!!

Be sure to tag the blog @softsteddieseptember when you post and include the prompt, ratings, word count, and any warnings. Like this

prompt | rating | wc | cw

Any NSFW should be under the cut. Use one prompt a week or combine them! Prompts can be combined with other events as long as it fits their guidelines! Combine them with smutty Sept to your heart’s content!

The prompts are split into each week, and anything included that week will be in the weekly masterlist. But, as long as they are posted by the end of the month, the post will be included on the big masterlist.

I will comment a 🥹 once your piece has been put in the queue for reblog.

Find the AO3 collection here to add your fic.

If you have any questions send me an ask here or @mugloversonly

Now for the prompts!

Week 1: (Sept 01-06)

Strangers to Lovers | Blind Date | Party | Cooking | Fairy tale

Week 2: (Sept 07-13)

Friends to Lovers | First Date | Secret | Falling | Pool

Week 3: (Sept 14-20)

Surprise | Wedding | Love at First Sight | Lake | Second Meeting

Week 4: (Sept 21-27)

Communication | Eavesdropping | Parents | Wrong Number | Anniversary

Week 5: (Sept 28-30)

Modern AU | Sunrise | Flowers

Last Year's masterlist

[softsteddieseptember]

Event Masterlist

thank you for joining me on this journey. I had fun and it was a success! Love all the softness

Week One:

art by @steddiecameraroll

cheesy pick up lines by @talanashta

come fly with me by @midsummer-semantics

do it for him by @steddie-island

every color illuminates by @miss-bushido

Fear of the unknown by @mugloversonly

full circle by @steveseddie

goodbye/ see you later by @yesdangerpls

your smile is my favorite (wiggly Wednesday) by @scoops-aboy86

Week Two:

home run by @steveseddie

it isn't over, it's just begun by @sidekick-hero

it's about the journey by mugloversonly

sweet surrender is all that I have to give by miss-bushido

Through the pines by steddie-island

Week Three:

art by @alicetallula

Champagne kisses by steddie-island

I would not change it by mugloversonly

make the world safe and sound for you by miss-bushido

southern hospitality by scoops-aboy86

Week Four:

For protection by steveseddie

kiss me, underneath the moonlight by miss-bushido

love is a battle(vest) by steddie-island

promise to see you again by mugloversonly

Week Five:

A Long Time Coming by mugloversonly

Life Finds a Way by steddie-island

[softsteddieseptember]

A Long Time Coming

for my last entry of @softsteddieseptember

prompts: overheard conversations | buying them flowers | making dinner

Eddie checked his watch and swore under his breath. He knew Steve wouldn’t be upset if he was a little late, but Eddie cherished every minute they got to spend together since their schedules don’t overlap much anymore. He loved his job at the record store, but he hated that he couldn’t waltz into Family Video to spend time with his boyfriend.

He glanced over at his passenger seat; the bouquet of their favorite flowers sat carefully placed. Red roses and white calla lilies, an odd combination at first glance, but they paired nicely together. It wasn’t a special occasion or anything. He simply wanted to do something nice for his boyfriend.

As he finally pulled up to the house, Nancy’s car was in the driveway. Not totally unusual for a party member to be here, but he doesn’t ever remember seeing Nancy, and that had him a little on edge. Did something happen? Was the upside down back? He shook his head, spiraling wouldn’t help anyone. He went into the house, with the new key Steve cut for him for their three months last week with a giddy smile. He went to call out but heard loud voices from the kitchen. He didn’t mean to listen, really, but on his way to make himself known he heard his name. They were talking about him, he crept closer, and what he heard stopped his heart.

“Steve, you guys have only been together three months. Forgive me if I don’t believe you.” Nancy said.

“So, my feelings are bullshit again are they?” Steve replied coldly. Nancy sighed as if talking to an annoying child.

“That’s not what I’m saying.” She threw her hands up.

“So what are you saying?” Steve asked. There was silence for a moment until the soft click of Nancy’s heels sounded across the room.

“You don’t love him like you love me.” Nancy insisted. Love- present tense, Eddie’s heart stopped.

“What?” Steve asked softly.

“I’m saying, that you still love me, and I still love you” She whispered. Eddie’s heart dropped into the ground. He knew Steve liked him, but he also knew he couldn’t compete with a first love, and if March was anything to go by, Steve still held feelings for the girl. This was it. Steve was going to admit it and break up with Eddie. “I want to be together Steve, be a better girlfriend to you.” His heart shattered to pieces when he heard the unmistakable sound of lips pressing together.

Eddie felt sick, he needed to get out of here before he got hurt anymore. But then he heard the soft clicks of Nancy’s shoes as she stumbled back. “Seriously Nancy?” Steve asked, Eddie’s racing heart calmed at the sound. “How many times do we have to have this conversation?” Eddie frowned, they’ve talked about this before? Have they kissed before?

“Steve, you don’t understand,” she began but Steve interrupted.

“No, Nancy. I don’t think you understand.” He paused. A chair scrapped across the floor as Steve sat down. “How many times do I have to tell you? March was a mistake, brought upon by stress and fear. I did think about us like that at one point, but Nance, that was years ago. I don’t love you anymore, I haven’t for a while now, and you need to accept that.”

“But, I still love you.” Nancy whispered fruitlessly.

“I know, Nancy. But this isn’t fair. Not to me, not to you, but especially not to Eddie.” Steve insisted.

“Eddie” Nancy scoffed. “He can’t give you what I could.” Eddie frowned. She was right of course, Eddie couldn’t give Steve kids, or marriage, or a normal life. They’d have to hide their relationship for a while, if not forever. He couldn’t be brought home to his parents...or showed off at work events. Nancy would be better for Steve in those aspects, he had to admit.

“No, Eddie can’t give me what you could.” Eddie bit his lip, tears welled up in his eyes. “But he won’t give me what you did.” Steve said.

“What did I give you Steve?” Nancy demanded.

“You gave me a broken heart. You gave me the inability to trust my own feelings and feelings of those around me. You gave me the fear of my partner being unfaithful. All you gave me was pain Nancy. Eddie would never do that.” Steve confidently replied. Eddie’s heart swooped.

“Again, you’ve only been dating for three months. How could you know that?” Nancy was grasping at straws, Eddie could tell.

“Because he taught me how to trust again. He’s wonderful, beautiful, he listens to me talk, and doesn’t make me feel stupid. He never talks down to me, he holds me when I’m scared, but also when I’m not. Eddie checked his watch and swore under his breath. He knew Steve wouldn’t be upset if he was a little late, but Eddie cherished every minute they got to spend together since their schedules don’t overlap much anymore. He loved his job at the record store, but he hated that he couldn’t waltz into Family Video to spend time with his boyfriend.

He glanced over at his passenger seat; the bouquet of their favorite flowers sat carefully placed. Red roses and white calla lilies, an odd combination at first glance, but they paired nicely together. It wasn’t a special occasion or anything. He simply wanted to do something nice for his boyfriend.

As he finally pulled up to the house, Nancy’s car was in the driveway. Not totally unusual for a party member to be here, but he doesn’t ever remember seeing Nancy, and that had him a little on edge. Did something happen? Was the upside down back? He shook his head, spiraling wouldn’t help anyone. He went into the house, with the new key Steve cut for him for their three months last week with a giddy smile. He went to call out but heard loud voices from the kitchen. He didn’t mean to listen, really, but on his way to make himself known he heard his name. They were talking about him, he crept closer, and what he heard stopped his heart.

“Steve, you guys have only been together three months. Forgive me if I don’t believe you.” Nancy said.

“So, my feelings are bullshit again are they?” Steve replied coldly. Nancy sighed as if talking to an annoying child.

“That’s not what I’m saying.” She threw her hands up.

“So what are you saying?” Steve asked. There was silence for a moment until the soft click of Nancy’s heels sounded across the room.

“You don’t love him like you love me.” Nancy insisted. Love- present tense, Eddie’s heart stopped.

“What?” Steve asked softly.

“I’m saying, that you still love me, and I still love you” She whispered. Eddie’s heart dropped into the ground. He knew Steve liked him, but he also knew he couldn’t compete with a first love, and if March was anything to go by, Steve still held feelings for the girl. This was it. Steve was going to admit it and break up with Eddie. “I want to be together Steve, be a better girlfriend to you.” His heart shattered to pieces when he heard the unmistakable sound of lips pressing together.

Eddie felt sick, he needed to get out of here before he got hurt anymore. But then he heard the soft clicks of Nancy’s shoes as she stumbled back. “Seriously Nancy?” Steve asked, Eddie’s racing heart calmed at the sound. “How many times do we have to have this conversation?” Eddie frowned, they’ve talked about this before? Have they kissed before?

“Steve, you don’t understand,” she began but Steve interrupted.

“No, Nancy. I don’t think you understand.” He paused. A chair scrapped across the floor as Steve sat down. “How many times do I have to tell you? March was a mistake, brought upon by stress and fear. I did think about us like that at one point, but Nance, that was years ago. I don’t love you anymore, I haven’t for a while now, and you need to accept that.”

“But, I still love you.” Nancy whispered fruitlessly.

“I know, Nancy. But this isn’t fair. Not to me, not to you, but especially not to Eddie.” Steve insisted.

“Eddie” Nancy scoffed. “He can’t give you what I could.” Eddie frowned. She was right of course, Eddie couldn’t give Steve kids, or marriage, or a normal life. They’d have to hide their relationship for a while, if not forever. He couldn’t be brought home to his parents...or showed off at work events. Nancy would be better for Steve in those aspects, he had to admit.

“No, Eddie can’t give me what you could.” Eddie bit his lip, tears welled up in his eyes. “But he won’t give me what you did.” Steve said.

“What did I give you Steve?” Nancy demanded.

“You gave me a broken heart. You gave me the inability to trust my own feelings and feelings of those around me. You gave me the fear of my partner being unfaithful. All you gave me was pain Nancy. Eddie would never do that.” Steve confidently replied. Eddie’s heart swooped.

“Again, you’ve only been dating for three months. How could you know that?” Nancy was grasping at straws, Eddie could tell.

“Because he taught me how to trust again. He’s wonderful, beautiful, he listens to me talk, and doesn’t make me feel stupid. He never talks down to me, he holds me when I’m scared, but also when I’m not. He treats me like I’m precious but not like I’m fragile. He respects me and likes me for me. He doesn’t try to change me to fit his ideals.” Steve whispered. Eddie felt his cheeks heat up.

“Steve, it almost sounds like���” Nancy trailed off.

“I love him. With all of my heart and I know he loves me too.” Eddie muffled his gasp as best as he could. They haven’t said that yet. “And you, need to respect that. Back off, stop trying to get me to hurt Eddie. I won’t hurt him, especially not for you. Go home, Nance. And don’t come around here until you can accept that I will never want you back. Because I love Eddie so much my soul aches with it. The love I had for you was a tiny flame compared to the fire I feel for him. He’s the moon to my sun. The stars in my sky and the wind in my hair. The air in my lungs, I need him to breathe. We are never having this conversation again. Got it?” Steve said.

“Got it.” Eddie stood shocked as Nancy ran past with tears in her eyes. She bumped into his shoulder and stared at him for a moment before trying to run off. But Eddie had something to say, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her in close.

“He’s mine now. Get over it.” She yanked her arm out of his hold and took off. Eddie turned to the kitchen to see Steve staring at him.

“Eds? How long have you been standing there?” Steve asked as a blush crept onto his face. Eddie handed the flowers he was still holding to him and kissed him sweetly on the cheek.

“Long enough. I love you, too.” Eddie whispered. “You’re quite the wordsmith.” Steve smiled softly and leaned in for a kiss, but Eddie pushed him away gently. “I’m not kissing you with that little homewrecker’s spit on your mouth.” Steve laughed and ran up the stairs to brush his teeth.

When he came back down, Eddie was in the kitchen starting to cook the dinner they had planned. He wrapped his arms around his waist, “I love you, Eds. So much.” He whispered. Eddie giggled and turned in his arms, planting a kiss on him that deepened quickly as Eddie sighed at the minty freshness of Steve’s mouth. He lifted Eddie up onto the counter and stepped between his legs, his hands on his hips. Eddie groaned softly into his mouth, thrust his hands into his hair, and pulled Steve closer.

Their impromptu make out session was interrupted by the sound of water boiling over. “Shit!” Eddie yelped as he pushed Steve back and jumped off the counter.

ao3

[softsteddieseptember]

Life finds a way

Written for week 5 of @softsteddieseptember | Prompt: Adoption Rating: G | WC: 1,113 | Tags: Established Steddie, mention of Al being in jail, anxiety about becoming parents ao3 | Divider credit

The plastic seat dug into the backs of Steve's thighs. They'd been sitting in the waiting room for over an hour now. At least Eddie had stopped pacing, had settled for bouncing his leg up and down and fidgeting with the cap of his water bottle.

"Hey." Steve reached over to catch Eddie's hand. He threaded their fingers together and gave a gentle squeeze. "We'll be okay. We can do this."

"Yeah." Eddie didn't sound so sure. He brought his other hand to his mouth to start chewing on his cuticles. It was the same position he'd sat in the night before, only Steve wasn't across from him this time.

Steve rested his chin on Eddie's shoulder and switched which hand he had laced with Eddie's, so he could wrap his other arm around his partner's back. "We'll be okay."

"We've done this before."

"Not like this," Eddie murmured. "Not with— not with someone so small. What if— what if I fuck up? What if I don't know what I'm doing and I fuck up in a way that— that can't be fixed? That I can't take back? What then?"

Eddie's hair was bigger, wilder than it normally was, showing just how many times he'd dragged his hands through it, or had his face hidden in his palms. There was a half empty pack of cigarettes on the table that Steve knew for a fact had only been opened a couple of hours earlier.

"We might fuck up, but it won't be on purpose. Everyone fucks up sometimes." Steve kissed Eddie's knuckles. "I'm not saying it won't be hard, but we can do it. And they're your siblings."

That earned a sound that halfway between a scoff and a whine. "I know. I know. What the fuck— he's old, he's not supposed to be out there just— making more kids he can't take care of."

It'd been a week since the call from the state. A week since they'd found out Al was in jail again, leaving behind two kids that no one else wanted to take responsibility for.

Steve wasn't sure he'd ever seen Eddie this torn up before.

"There are a lot of people out there doing that." Steve caught Eddie's other hand and held them to his own chest. "We don't have to do this. If you really think we can't do it, if you don't want to—"

"I want to," Eddie said quickly, his eyes going wide. "We've talked about having kids before, I just… didn't think this would be how it happened."

"I know. I didn't, either. I didn't think it would be like this, or be so soon…"

"Yeah. Yeah, fuck." Eddie pushed his fingers through his hair again. "I'm scared, Stevie."

Steve cupped Eddie's face between his palms. "It'll be hard. I'm not saying it won't be. We might fuck up. We will fuck up, there's no way for us not to." He smiled a little. "But those kids will be so loved. They'll never have to wonder for even a second whether we love them."

Moisture welled up in Eddie's eyes. He cleared his throat, blinked the tears back, nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, we have that going for us," he said. "And… you want this? With me? You want to do this?"

Steve pulled him in, kissed him gently before resting their foreheads together. "I've never wanted anything more in my life," he admitted. "If you're in, I'm in."

Eddie wrapped his arms around Steve's back, pulling him closer until Steve was sitting in his lap. He brushed their lips together before meeting those eyes he would never get tired of getting lost in. "I'm in."

"Mr. Munson?"

Eddie jerked up out of his seat, nearly dropping his water bottle in the process. "Here— I mean, that's— me."

Steve stood up, too, as the caseworker they'd already met with to fill out paperwork came through the door. There was a bundle in one arm, and her other was holding the hand of a little kid with dark curls and darker eyes.

Steve had always thought that Eddie got his looks from his mom, but those eyes were Eddie's. "Oh…"

There was a soft intake of air. Eddie took a cautious step forward, then squatted down so he was even with the kid in front of him. "Hey, sweetheart. What's your name?"

The kid shot a shy look up to the caseworker, then back to Eddie. "Andrew," he said, but it came out more like Andwew.

"Hi, Andrew. I'm Eddie." He smiled and held his hand out, and Steve melted as the little boy in front of them took Eddie's hand. "You'll be coming to stay with us for a little while."

Andrew bit his lips and looked up at the caseworker. There was so much Eddie in that nervous little glance. "Sissy, too?" he asked.

Eddie gave him a nod. "Yeah. Both of you."

The caseworker smiled and smoothed a hand over Andrew's curls. "They're very nice," she said. "They'll take good care of you."

Andrew looked past Eddie to Steve for the first time. "Who him?" he asked.

Steve squatted beside Eddie and held his hand out, too, just like Eddie had done. "I'm Steve. I'll be taking care of you, too." He gestured to the shirt Andrew was wearing. "Do you like dinosaurs?"

"Yeah." He ran a pudgy little hand over the print of his shirt. "They go—" He held his hands up like claws and made a dinosaur roaring sound.

Oh, yeah. This kid was a mini Eddie, and Steve was in love.

"They do! They're so cool, aren't they?" Eddie looked at Steve, his eyes swimming, his smile wide. "How about we take you and your sister home, we can make some dinosaur nuggets and watch a movie?"

Andrew perked up at the offer, and he didn't look back to the caseworker this time. "Can we?"

"Yeah!" Eddie straightened up and offered Andrew his hand. "We definitely can, if you want to!"

"Okay!"

Steve stood and held his arms out for the baby wrapped in a soft yellow blanket. He could make out her dark hair, not as curly as her big brothers' hair but the same dark shade of brown. That was definitely Eddie's mouth, too. "Hi, sweetheart. You're coming home with us," he murmured.

"Call if you need anything," the caseworker said with a squeeze to Steve's elbow and a smile at Eddie. "I'll check in in a few days."

"Thank you," Eddie said. He bent to pick Andrew up, then rested a hand at the small of Steve's back to guide him to the door. "C'mon. Let's go home."

[softsteddieseptember]

for protection

steddie | rating: t | wc: 5,2k | cw: none | tags: steve pov, scary movies, accidental hand holding, turned into non-accidental hand holding, soft boys, getting together, fruity four friendship

for week four of @softsteddieseptember using the prompt “protection”

click here to read on ao3

Steve never liked horror movies. 

He didn’t like them before the Upside Down and he definitely doesn’t like them now when he spends most of his time worrying and waiting for the next supernatural shoe to drop. There’s no reason why he would want to spend two hours peeking through his fingers at a screen and anticipating the next jumpscare on top of that.

Occasionally, he will let Robin or one of the kids— or lately, Eddie too— convince him to watch one. They might have gone through the same horrors as Steve, but somehow they’re not bothered by these movies at all. At least when Robin is around she’ll let Steve hold her hand, which has gotten him through worse things than movies about aliens or monsters or psychopathic killers. 

That is the only reason Steve agreed to go to the movies tonight.

“Who are you kidding, dingus?” Robin snorts when Steve tells her as much. She’s sitting in the passenger seat of the Beemer as Steve drives them both to The Hawk to meet Eddie and Nancy. “You agreed to come because you can’t say no to Eddie and his big Bambi eyes!” 

Steve sputters indignantly. “What? Yes, I can!”

Robin rolls her eyes. “Steve, I told you I wanted to watch this movie weeks ago and you kept brushing me off. You only said yes when Eddie pouted and complained that no one wanted to watch it with him!” 

Steve waves her off. “I would’ve said yes to you eventually.” 

“But you didn’t,” Robin says, poking Steve’s side and making him yelp. “You said yes to your boy—”

“He’s not my boy,” Steve huffs, trying to ignore the heat creeping up his neck at the words. 

Robin ignores him and keeps teasing him. “You said yes to him because you love him—” she says, dragging the word love and making obnoxious kissing noises. 

“Christ, what are you? Five?” Steve protests, pinching the bridge of his nose while he waits for the red light to turn green. Robin keeps making those kissing noises, making Steve groan. “Ugh, shut up. Or I’ll shove you out of the car and you’ll have to walk the rest of the way.” 

Robin huffs. “If you do that you’ll have to explain to Nancy that you abandoned me in the middle of nowhere,” she says, sticking her tongue out at him. If she keeps up acting like a child they’re not going to let her in to see this movie. 

“We’re like, four blocks away,” Steve says, pointing ahead where the sign for The Hawk comes into view. “That’s hardly the middle of nowhere.” 

But they both know he won’t do it anyway— not even a horror movie sounds scarier than having to tell Nancy he left Robin to walk the streets of Hawkins alone at night. 

So he finds them a parking spot instead, a few blocks away from The Hawk so by the time they walk up to the entrance it’s exactly 7 pm. They agreed to meet up at that time, meaning Nancy is already there—and probably has been for a while—and Eddie is nowhere to be seen. 

As soon as she sees Nancy, Robin leaves Steve’s side and runs up to her, wrapping her arms around Nancy’s shoulders to hug her. Nancy stumbles back a few steps, taken by surprise but then she smiles and wraps her arms around Robin’s waist, returning the hug. 

As Steve approaches, he hears Robin rambling with her arms still around her. “Hey, Nancy! I hope you haven’t been waiting for long, I told Steve we were gonna be late but he still took forever to fix his hair. And I was like ‘dingus we’re going to be in a dark room for the better part of two hours, no need to fuss about it so much!’ but you know Steve. Duh, you dated him, of course you do. I think he just wanted to look good for—” she pauses, pulling back to look around them and make sure they’re alone, “—for Eddie, which is silly, y’know? Have you seen Eddie’s hair? He does not care about hair care routines and stuff!”

“I should’ve made you walk,” Steve mutters, feeling his blush tinting his cheeks pink again. Nancy stifles a chuckle behind her hand and Steve waves at her. “Hey, Nance.”

“Hi, Steve. Your hair looks good,” she says with a tiny smirk that makes Robin cackle loudly and makes Steve roll his eyes. She turns back to Robin, “And I haven’t been waiting long, I just got here.” 

Robin throws some finger guns at her. “Cool,” she says, “Should we get the tickets?” 

“We still have to wait for Eddie,” Steve interjects, looking around for any sign of Eddie’s van or Eddie himself. 

“You can wait for your boy,” Robin says with a smirk, “and Nance and I will get the tickets!” 

Steve lets out a long-suffering groan. “For the last time, Robin, he’s not my boy.”

Once again, she ignores him and holds her palm up at him. “Money, please.”

Steve sighs, pulling his wallet from his jeans and handing her a few bills, enough for four tickets. 

“Thanks!” She says, whirling around and hooking her arm with Nancy’s, dragging her towards the ticket booth and leaving Steve to wait for Eddie alone.  

He entertains himself by kicking a plastic bottle back and forth. He keeps his eyes on the ground as he does so he doesn’t notice Eddie approaching— not until he jumps on Steve’s back, wrapping an arm around his neck in a chokehold.

“Got ya, Harrington!” Eddie yells in Steve’s ear as Steve stumbles with the added weight but manages to find his balance before they both end up on the ground.

“Christ,” Steve mutters, trying to wiggle out of Eddie’s hold while he laughs like a maniac. “Eddie, get off, man!” 

“As His Majesty commands,” Eddie giggles, jumping off Steve’s back and sweeping down in a dramatic bow when Steve turns around to face him. 

Steve’s hands land on his hips. “You couldn’t just say hello like a normal person?” 

“That, my dear Stevie, would require that I was normal, and as the Hawkins population so graciously accused me of, I am—” he pauses for dramatic effect, “—a freak.”

Steve lets out a snort. “You’re late, that’s what you are,” he says and Eddie gives a dismissive wave. “The girls went inside to get the tickets.”

Eddie gasps, his eyes sparkling under the streetlights. “And you waited for me, sweetheart?” He asks, placing both of his hands over his heart. Steve’s cheeks pink up at the pet name. “You shouldn’t have!” 

“Noted,” Steve smirks. He bumps his shoulder against Eddie’s, jerking his head towards the entrance. “C’mon, they’re waiting.”

Eddie falls into step beside Steve as he starts walking to where Robin and Nancy are whispering and giggling about something.

Robin notices them first. “Eddie!” 

“Lady Buckley,” Eddie greets her with a little royal twist of the hand, then repeats the motion in Nancy’s direction. “Lady Wheeler.” 

“Hey, Eddie,” Nancy says, playing along with a curt nod. “Glad you could make it.” 

“Late as usual,” Robin says, rolling her eyes good-naturedly. 

“Time is nothing but a social construct, Birdie.”

“Tell that to the movie starting in fifteen minutes,” Steve says, checking his watch. “We should head in. C’mon, Eds, I’ll buy you popcorn.” 

Eddie gives him a lopsided grin. “You sure know your way into a man’s heart, Harrington.” 

“Do I get popcorn too?” Robin asks with a knowing smile. 

Steve flicks her on the forehead. “Dude, I already paid for your ticket.”

“You also paid for Eddie’s!” She argues, crossing her arms over her chest petulantly. “Why does he get popcorn and I don’t?”

Steve glances at Eddie and finds him staring back at him with wide eyes, a strand of hair tugged in front of his face. Steve doesn’t know what he’s supposed to say— other than tell Robin to shut up. 

But before he can, Nancy, bless her soul, jumps in. “Hey, Robin,” she says, putting her hands on Robin’s shoulders so she can steer her away. “I’ll get you popcorn, okay?”

Robin lets Nancy guide her away, narrowing her eyes at Steve over her shoulder one last time.

Steve lets out a puff of air. 

He feels Eddie bump his shoulder. “Hey, I- I can get my popcorn, man. And I can pay for my ticket too,” he says a little awkwardly. “I don’t wanna get you in trouble with Buckley.”

“No way, Eds,” Steve is quick to say, bumping his shoulder right back. “It’s on me.”

Eddie offers him a shy little smile. “Well, I’ll get the next one then.”

Steve nods, stomach fluttering at the thought of doing this again with Eddie— maybe just the two of them next time. “Sure, as long as you don’t drag me here for another crappy horror movie.” 

“Stevie, Stevie, Stevie,” Eddie says, shaking his head. “This isn’t a crappy horror movie! It’s supposed to be the best one of the year, I guarantee you’ll be scared.” 

Yeah, that’s precisely what Steve is worried about. He tries not to grimace at that. 

As long as you sit next to Robin, you’ll be fine, he thinks to himself. 

To Eddie, he says, “Whatever you say, Eds.”

They join the girls at the concession stand where Steve and Nancy get large popcorn bowls to share with Eddie and Robin, sodas for each of them, and Steve also asks for some gummy worms because he knows Eddie will put too much butter on their popcorn, get sick of it halfway through and will want to eat something sweet. 

As soon as the kid slides the bag of gummy worms over the counter, Steve puts it in his pocket. He doesn’t want Robin to see them and call him out on that too.  

He hands the popcorn to Eddie who, as expected, soaks it with butter, earning horrified looks from everyone around them, including Steve. Though Steve’s expression might also be overly affectionate. 

“Hey, don’t forget the napkins for your gross buttery fingers,” Steve tells him when Eddie deems their popcorn soggy enough and waits for him to grab a handful of napkins before they follow Nancy and Robin. 

“Why do you care if I have buttery fingers, hm?” Eddie asks, getting all up in Steve’s space. A few popcorn kernels fall on the carpet from Eddie moving so much. “Planning to hold my hand in there or something?” 

And Steve isn’t— he’s planning to hold Robin’s, but the thought of holding Eddie’s hand instead makes his heart stutter in his chest, pink tinting his cheeks.

“You wish, Munson,” he says, picking up the pace to catch up with the girls and walk into the dark movie theater, hoping it will help hide his blush from Eddie. 

“Oh, but I do, Stevie, every night,” Eddie says, following him with a shit-eating grin. 

It’s relatively empty inside and the four of them head straight to the back rows where Steve ends up sitting between Eddie and Robin, with Nancy on her other side. 

While they wait for the movie to start, Eddie leans over to whisper in Steve’s ear what critics are saying about the movie, what he’s most excited to see, what the scariest parts are supposed to be. Someone else might find it annoying— to have Eddie loudly chewing popcorn right next to their ear and talking about the movie they’re about to see— but Steve loves hearing Eddie talk, and maybe knowing what’s going to happen in the movie will help ease his nerves a bit.

Eddie doesn’t stop talking until the opening credits start to appear, settling back on his seat with a happy little squeal. 

Cute, Steve thinks as an idea occurs to him. Maybe if he focuses on Eddie instead of the screen it won’t be so bad. 

And so for the first thirty minutes of the movie, Steve keeps his attention on Eddie with the occasional glance at the screen to not be too obvious— even if Eddie is unlikely to notice since his eyes won’t leave the screen, barely blinking as he shoves handfuls of popcorn into his mouth. Halfway through, just like Steve predicted, Eddie shoves the popcorn towards him, buttery lips scrunched up. He downs his soda as he tries to wash away the taste of salt and butter before using the napkins to wipe his fingers. 

He glances away from the screen for the first time since the movie started when Steve nudges him with his elbow and holds out the gummy worms. 

Eddie’s eyes widen and then he gives Steve a slightly awed look. “Thanks, Stevie,” he whispers, grabbing the bag. 

Steve just winks at him, and when Eddie faces forward again, Steve thinks he can see a pink flush high on his cheeks thanks to the glow coming from the screen. 

Pleased, Steve finishes the popcorn and his soda, setting everything on the floor to pick up later and sitting back to stare at Eddie a bit more, paying little to no attention to the screen. 

That’s when bad things start to happen in the movie. 

Shoulders tense and heart hammering in his chest, Steve does his best to not glance at the screen but even then there’s no way to block out the screams or the other disturbing noises. When he looks at Eddie, he actually seems excited about the horrific, gruesome scenes taking place. On Steve’s other side, Robin and Nancy seem mostly unbothered, though Robin’s nose keeps scrunching up at times. They’re all handling it better than Steve is— fingers digging into his legs, eyes screwed shut, breathing in and out as he tries to calm down. 

Steve makes the mistake of opening his eyes and accidentally glancing at the screen just as some awful monster jumps at them, almost giving Steve a heart attack. His hand leaves his lap to grab Robin’s hand, needing physical comfort. 

It takes him a few seconds to realize that, while the hand he just wrapped his fingers around is thin and bony like Robin’s, it’s also bigger and uncharacteristically cold. Steve glances down at it with a frown and realizes that the reason why it’s so cold is the multiple rings adorning the fingers— fingers that don’t belong to Robin. 

Because Steve reached out with the wrong hand and grabbed Eddie’s instead. 

Fuck.

He glances away from their hands and finds Eddie already looking at him. Steve knows he must look like a startled deer, but instead of the teasing expression he expects to see on Eddie’s face, his eyebrows are knitted in concern. 

“You okay, Steve?” Eddie asks softly, leaning into Steve’s space even though the noises coming from the speakers are enough to drown out their voices. 

“Not really, but um, I didn’t mean to do that, sorry, I thought I reached for Robin,” Steve nervously stammers out. He manages to get his scrambled brain cells working and lets go of Eddie’s fingers— but before Steve can fully retrieve his hand, Eddie flips his hand over, trapping Steve’s there.

Steve blinks at him.

“Does it help? Holding someone’s hand?” Eddie asks and Steve nods dumbly. “Okay, then.” 

And so Eddie slides his fingers through the spaces between Steve’s fingers, intertwining their hands.

Steve looks down at them, blinking repeatedly, expecting them to disappear. “Eds, you don’t have to—”

“Shhh, I’m happy to,” Eddie says, squeezing his hand.  Steve’s breath catching in his throat. “Don’t you worry, big boy. I’ll protect you,” he adds with a wink. 

Steve knows Eddie is trying to lighten up the mood but he doesn’t laugh it off because the truth is that he does feel safer like this, more relaxed. He gives Eddie a small smile. “Okay.” 

“I guess it’s a good thing you made me grab those napkins, huh?” Eddie says, and this time, Steve does laugh, though he muffles it behind his other hand so hopefully the girls can’t hear it. He doesn’t need them glancing over and noticing their hands— Steve is already blushing enough as it is. 

After that, Eddie turns his attention back to the screen but Steve keeps his eyes on their hands for a while, taking advantage of the glow coming from the screen to study each of Eddie’s rings, his chipped nail polish, the tattoo on the side of his wrist, the scar from a demobat bite in the back of his hand. 

When he glances back at the screen, the worst of the movie seems to be over and he’s able to push through the remaining and significantly less scary scenes by squeezing Eddie’s hand and feeling Eddie squeeze right back. 

At one point, Robin glances at him, probably to check on him and her eyes end up on their held hands, a loud gasp slipping past her lips. 

Steve whips his head at her and meets her bulging eyes. She mouths her words at him— “Oh my God!”

“I know!” Steve mouths right back.

Because this might’ve started with Eddie being a good friend and comforting Steve, but as the movie droned on, it started to feel less like that— it started to feel like more. The way Eddie started rubbing his thumb over Steve’s hand, the way he blushed when Steve started to play with one of his rings, the way they both kept glancing at the other and smiling almost shyly. Steve’s heart hasn’t stopped jackhammering against his ribcage at the thought of all of this meaning something. 

But they can’t address any of that right now and Robin seems to realize that, so after giving Steve a dorky thumbs up, she turns her attention back to the movie. 

Steve does the same. On the screen, those who survived are being rescued and Steve can breathe a little easier. Before he knows it, the end credits start rolling up and Steve finally fully relaxes. 

He expects Eddie to let go of his hand right away but to Steve’s surprise, he doesn’t. Without letting go, Eddie leans over Steve to ask the girls what they thought about the movie. 

“I probably could’ve lived without seeing that many guts,” Robin says, her nose scrunching up. 

At the same time as Nancy says, “Oh, it was good!” 

Steve stares at her, dumbfounded, but Nancy has always been the bravest out of all of them. 

“Hell yeah, Wheeler!” Eddie whoops, reaching over with the hand not currently holding Steve’s to give her a high five. 

Nancy returns it with an amused chuckle. If she notices Eddie’s other hand intertwined with Steve’s, she doesn’t show it. “What about you, Steve? What did you think?” 

“I think I’m never letting the kids rent this fucking movie,” he says with a scoff.

Eddie throws his head back with a laugh, loud and full-bellied. It’s a good thing that the movie is over because the sound reverberates around the rapidly emptying room.

Next to Steve, Robin snorts. “You know Dustin is just gonna convince Eddie to rent it for him, right?” 

“Lies and slander!” Eddie protests. “I would never corrupt the youth like that!” He says, pulling his hand and Steve’s towards his chest, clutching it as he plays the to offended part. Well, if Nancy didn’t notice they were holding hands before she sure did now. 

“You would,” Robin says with a shake of her head, “You have.”

“I resent that, Buckley.”

“She’s right, Eds. Max told me you let her try beer last week,” Steve says, voice shaking slightly from Eddie keeping their hands on his chest, letting Steve feel his heartbeat. 

It stutters at Steve’s words and his eyes go wide. “That little snitch! Okay, it was one sip and she was blackmailing me!” 

Nancy raises her eyebrow. “With what?”

Eddie’s cheeks go pink and he averts his gaze, his eyes darting to Steve for a second before focusing on the rips in his jeans, tugging at them. “Um, nothing. All I’m saying is those little shits are menaces. They’ll find a way to watch the movie, y’know?”

“Well, god-fucking-speed to them,” Steve grumbles, “I’m never watching that shit again.”

Eddie leans close. “Not even if I agree to hold your hand, sweetheart?” He asks, his voice low and accompanied by a squeeze of his hand. 

Steve flushes— from Eddie’s voice in his ear, his hand still on his, the thought of holding it like this again. He opens his mouth and closes it, he wants to say no but he’s afraid the word will come out will be an embarrassingly eager yes. 

Luckily, he doesn’t have to say anything because Nancy speaks up. “You guys ready to go?” 

They all nod and set about picking up their trash, which means Eddie finally has to let go of Steve’s hand. He tries not to look too disappointed by that but probably fails. As they start making their way out of the room, Eddie and Nancy fall into step together, engaging in conversation about their opinions on the movie, which in Eddie’s case includes a dramatic reenactment of his favorite parts.  

Steve and Robin are a few steps behind and Steve watches Eddie as he gestures wildly and makes weird noises and even falls to the ground at one point, pretending to die like one of the characters in the movie. Nancy laughs and helps him up and Steve feels a wave of affection for Eddie so strong he nearly doubles over with it. 

“Ugh,” Robin groans next to him. “Tone down the heart-eyes, dingus, it’s gross and I literally just saw someone’s insides explode.” 

“Fuck off, Robs,” Steve says, shoving her lightly, his cheeks dusted pink. She stumbles before crowding against Steve again, a bounce in her step. 

“Nope, you still have to tell me how you two ended up holding hands.”

Steve hangs a hand from his neck, wishing he could say he pulled it off by being smooth or something. God, he used to have game. “Uh, the movie was a lot and I accidentally reached for his hand instead of yours.”

Robin throws her head back with a loud cackle. “Oh Steve,” she says, holding onto Steve’s shoulder as she laughs. “You’re lucky you’re pretty.”

“Hey!”

At Steve’s protest, Robin shrugs. “What? I called you pretty!”

Eddie comes bouncing over. “Ohhh, are we calling Steve pretty? Can I join?” He asks, throwing his arm over Steve’s shoulders. Robin meets Steve’s eyes and waggles her eyebrows. If Steve wasn’t trapped against Eddie’s side he would pinch her arm. 

“No, she’s just being annoying,” Steve says and Robin sticks her tongue out at him. 

“Doesn’t mean she isn’t right, pretty boy,” Eddie says, dropping his head to Steve’s shoulder and looking up at him, eyelashes fluttering. Steve goes warm all over. He ducks his head, unable to keep a dopey smile from stretching over his lips. 

Robin clears her throat— she and Nancy are trying not to smirk as they look between the two of them. 

Steve squirms. “Um, you ready to go, Robs?” 

“Actually,” Robin says, exchanging a look with Nancy. “Nance is giving me a ride home.”

Steve’s eyebrows knit together. “What? Why?” He asks. “Is it because I threatened to push you out of the car and make you walk?” Next to him, Eddie lets out an amused snort. 

Robin waves him off. “No, it’s because um- she left a book! At my house last week! And she needs it back tonight, right Nance?”

Nancy’s eyes widen almost imperceptibly. “Oh, yes, it’s a very important book.”

Steve narrows their eyes at them. He’s not buying any of it. “Right.”

“Yeah! So I’ll see you tomorrow at work,” she tells Steve then to Eddie she says, “And I’ll see you, well, probably tomorrow at work too when you inevitably show up to annoy me and Steve.”

Eddie grins, wiping a fake tear. “Oh Buckley, you know me so well.”

“Yeah, yeah, sometimes I wish I knew you less,” she says but the corners of her mouth are turned upwards. 

Eddie lets go of Steve so he can give Robin a quick hug. Then she throws her arms around Steve’s shoulders. “Call me when you get home and tell me everything,” she whispers in his ear and Steve frowns. 

He already told her about the hand holding and that’s pretty much it. He doesn’t know what she thinks will happen between Eddie and him when they say goodbye right here in the middle of the street, but he nods anyway.

They each get a hug from Nancy too and then she leads Robin away towards her car.  “Bye, boys! Miss you already!” Robin says, waving enthusiastically at them. 

Steve wiggles his fingers at her and Eddie gives her a two-fingered salute, both of them chuckling in amusement. 

“Um, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow?” Steve says when it’s just the two of them and a few other moviegoers trickling out of the cinema. He can see Eddie’s van parked just across the street while his own car is a few blocks away. 

“Nope, Stevie, I’m walking you to your car,” Eddie says with a wink. “For protection, of course.”

“You know I keep a nailbat in my trunk, right?” Steve asks with a raised eyebrow. He’s over the movie by now, not worried about some creature jumping him on his way to his car— not more than usual at least.

Eddie shrugs. “My protection then.”

“If you insist,” Steve says with a chuckle.

They start walking towards Steve’s car, the street getting darker and quieter the further away they get from The Hawk. Their shoulders keep bumping together, the back of their fingers brushing with how close they’re walking. Every time it happens, Steve wants to grab Eddie’s hand and hold it again. 

“Hey, um, sorry I dragged you to this movie,” Eddie says after a short silence. 

Steve glances at him and finds Eddie looking at him shyly. “You didn’t drag me,” he says, nudging Eddie with his elbow. “I said yes.”

“But why? If you hate horror movies so much.” 

“I like hanging out with you,” he says and Eddie’s eyes widen almost imperceptively. “And I had fun just— not during the movie. Though holding your hand wasn’t so bad.”

Eddie chuckles, ducking his head. “Mediocre hand holding is what I’m best at,” he jokes. “And I’m glad you said yes, you know I love my Stevie time, but maybe next time you can pick the movie.” 

“You mean next time we come here with Robin and Nancy?”

Eddie bites his lip, side-eyeing Steve. “Sure, yeah, or y’know just the two of us, if that’s a thing you’d want to do.”

His voice is small and he’s anxiously playing with his fingers and with a start, Steve realizes that Eddie is nervous. Cute, Steve thinks.

He tilts his head. “Like a date?” 

There’s a sharp intake of breath and then Eddie is grabbing some hair and tugging it in front of his face, but Steve still sees the way his cheeks turn red. He mumbles, “Um, yeah?”

Butterflies explode in Steve’s stomach then and he feels a dopey smile stretching over his lips. Eddie’s eyes go wide, looking hopeful at Steve’s expression. He spits the hair from his mouth, revealing a small smile tugging at his lips. “How about next Friday?” Steve asks.

A disbelieving laugh tumbles from Eddie’s lips. “Really?” When Steve nods, Eddie lets out a cute little yelp at the confirmation. “Friday it is,” he says. His eyes get a little twinkle in them. “Do I need to pretend to be scared so you’ll hold my hand?” 

“Nope,” he says, and after looking around and making sure they’re alone in the street, Steve finally reaches over and grabs Eddie’s hand, intertwining their fingers like Eddie did in the movies. 

Eddie’s mouth makes a little “o” shape as he blinks down at them, color rising in his cheeks. 

Steve tugs on his hand to get him walking again, pressed together to hide their hands between them even if it’s dark and there’s no one around.

Sooner than either of them would’ve liked, they reach the Beemer. “Here we are,” Steve says, leaning back against the car, their hands dangling in the space between them. “And we didn’t even need my nailbat.” 

“You know that’s not the only reason why I walked you to your car, right?” 

Steve’s eyebrows go up as he feigns shock. “You mean you didn’t actually expect us to get attacked by slimy monsters with razor-like teeth?”

“Nope,” Eddie says, stepping closer until he’s pressed against Steve’s body, pushing him against the car. “Not that I’d be surprised in this fucked up town but no, um, I was also hoping I’d get to do this.”

Steve opens his mouth to ask what he means by this but Eddie shuts him up by hesitantly grabbing Steve’s neck and leaning in, softly pressing his lips to Steve’s mouth, who gasps in surprise before the sound melts into a happy sigh. He lets go of Eddie’s hand so he can wrap his arms around Eddie, bringing him closer, tilting his head for a better angle so their lips move together more easily and he can taste butter and salt and the slightest hint of sugar. They keep the kiss short, knowing that despite the lack of street lights around them and the late hour, they’re still in public. 

When Eddie pulls back, his cheeks are bright pink and his eyes are sparkling, his smile giddy and so beautiful. Steve already wants to kiss him again. 

“Jesus Christ, Steve, don’t look at me like that,” Eddie groans, and Steve’s eyes snap up from Eddie’s lips, where they darted to without Steve realizing it.

He blinks. “Like what?”

“Like you want to—” His hand slides through the air as he gestures aggressively, “—eat me or something. I’m trying to be a gentleman here and not drag you into the backseat of your car.”

Steve smirks. “I wouldn’t say no to that.”

“Steeeeeve,” Eddie whines.

“Okay, okay,” Steve says, holding his hands up with a laugh. He doesn’t trust himself not to jump Eddie right now if he stays here any longer anyway. “Goodnight, Eds.” 

Eddie’s face softens. “Goodnight, sweetheart.” 

When neither of them move— Steve to get in the car and Eddie to go back to his van— Steve shoves him and sends Eddie’s clumsy ass stumbling back. “Go! Before monsters actually jump from the shadows and murder us.” 

“You’d protect me though, wouldn’t you, Stevie?” Eddie teases, batting his eyelashes at him. 

“Always,” Steve says, then makes shooing motions at him. “Now go.”

“Yes, your Majesty, I’m going,” Eddie says as he starts walking— backwards so he can look at Steve some more.  

Steve blows a kiss at him, making Eddie trip over nothing and stumble, but he catches himself and he catches Steve’s kiss in his hand— and then makes out with his hand, making Steve scrunch up his nose and chuckle fondly at the same time. 

He waits until Eddie turns around to get in his car, catching sight of his dopey smile on the rearview mirror as he adjusts it. But he can’t help it— he held hands with Eddie, he’s going on a date with him, he kissed him. 

Turns out Steve does have a reason to call Robin when he gets home after all. 

[softsteddieseptember]

kiss me, underneath the moonlight

Eddie and Steve are on their third date at a local farm, when the rain starts.

Written for @softsteddieseptember week 4, prompt 'dancing in the rain'.

Rating: T Tags: Kissing, Steve Harrington has bad parents, heavy petting, making out, secret tattoos

The sky had been threatening rain all day. Dark grey clouds, lots of wind. Typical for mid to late autumn. It was a bit of a bummer because Steve had planned this third date with Eddie to take place outside. He knew enough about him now to know that Eddie was obsessed with Halloween and all things spooky. So, a date at a farm on the outskirts of Hawkins that boasted not only a pumpkin patch and a corn maze, but an outdoor set up to show movies in the late afternoon? Well, it was perfect. Eddie’s face had told him that he’d planned it well.

They had picked their pumpkins and put them in the back of Eddie’s van for safe keeping. They had gone through the corn maze- managing to find a few hiding spots to surreptitiously make out in- and they were now sitting side by side in some wooden Adirondack chairs, holding hands and sipping hot apple cider. There was a bag of warm kettle corn at Steve’s feet, and once the projector was set up, they would be watching a double feature of 80’s horror films ‘Children of the Corn’, and then ‘Near Dark’.

Eddie had been ecstatic about the whole thing, but particularly about the second movie. ‘Near Dark’ was a cult classic vampire movie, and not many people knew about it who hadn’t seen it when it was first released. At least not many people they knew. Most people their age preferred movies like ‘Saw’ or the remakes of ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ and ‘Rob Zombie’s Halloween’. Not many people shared Eddie’s enthusiasm for old horror films, but, luckily, Steve was one of those people. ���This was such a fun date, Stevie,” Eddie said, squeezing Steve’s hand before he took another sip of his apple cider.

“I’m glad, Eds,” Steve replied, reaching out to tuck a long lock of hair behind Eddie’s ear. The wind made his hair more wild than it normally was, and that was saying something. “The date’s not done when the movies are, either,” he couldn’t help adding, giving him a wink as he settled back into the chair.

Eddie’s eyes widened at the implication, and he gave Steve a wide cheeky grin. “When you put it like that, maybe we can just find these on Netflix later on.”

“And miss out on this experience?” Steve asked. “It’s not every day you can see a horror movie outside next to a pumpkin patch with a sexy metal head.”

“You’re really not making a case for us to stay when you talk like that, baby,” Eddie grinned, biting his lower lip.

“I guess we’ll both just have to exercise some restraint,” Steve answered, leaning forward to kiss Eddie on the lips. He licked into Eddie’s mouth, tasting the apple cider and the popcorn he’d eaten. “And restraint enters into it…if you’d like,” he whispered, licking Eddie’s bottom lip before he pulled away.

“Damn it,” Eddie muttered, exhaling heavily to get himself under control. Steve grinned and sipped his own apple cider, smiling to himself at the reaction he’d gotten at the implication.

‘Children of the Corn’ started, and he settled into his seat, ready to enjoy the rest of their date. The scenery of Nebraska rolled out on screen, cornfields and all. It reminded him of Hawkins, but then, they were both part of the Midwest, so it made sense.

On screen, the little kid Job had just received his strawberry milkshake at the diner when fat, cold raindrops began pelting them. Seconds later, it turned into a deluge. The bag of kettle corn and the drinks were abandoned as they moved quickly to try and get to the closest shelter. Unfortunately, where they were, the closest shelter was the Boo Barn, named for the children to go into and have a few kid-friendly scares, and by the time they got there, everyone else had already filled it up. The doors were closed to anyone else.

“Well, shit,” Steve commented. They were soaked to the skin, and the rain was showing no signs of stopping.

“It’s okay, Steve,” Eddie reassured him. “It’s just rain.”

Steve turned to look at him and burst out laughing. Eddie’s wild hair was now a mess: completely waterlogged. He looked like a drowned cat, which only made Steve laugh harder.

“Something in my hair?” Eddie asked, laughing as well. He reached for Steve’s hands and pulled him away from the Barn.

Steve took it upon himself to pull Eddie back into his arms and then spin him back out, almost as if they were dancing. The lyrics to a Lady Gaga song came into his mind then, and he sang-yelled:

I’d rather be dry, but at least I’m alive! Rain, rain on me

He repeated this, pulling Eddie close, pretending he was dancing with him as they made their way back to Eddie’s van, water dripping everywhere once they were seated inside. The rain was still coming down in sheets, fogging up the windshield, turning the whole world outside watery grey as it continued pouring.

Eddie looked out the window and shook his head, water from his hair flying onto the dashboard. “It’s not stopping any time soon,” he said as he got up from the driver’s seat and moved into the back of the van. He had put a thin mattress with some pillows and a few blankets back there years ago. It was handy to have a place to sleep when you were a struggling musician and couldn’t always afford a decent motel room. “I have towels back here,” he said, grabbing a red one out of a canvas bag, and beginning to wring his hair out. “They’re clean, I promise.” They had been in the bag that he’d put back there earlier in the summer when there had been plans to go to the pool. Those plans had fallen through, and he’d just never gotten around to moving them back out.

Thank you, Past Eddie for being lazy.

Steve followed Eddie into the back, grabbing a green towel to wipe himself off. He grimaced at the way his shirt was sticking to his skin. “I don’t suppose you’d have an extra shirt I could wear, do you?”

Eddie rooted through the bag, tongue out in concentration, before he pulled out a black tank top. “This is the best I can do for you,” he said. Steve reached for the tank top, but Eddie pulled it back, eyebrow raising.

“Trying to play keep-away, huh?” Steve asked, lunging forward to grab Eddie by the wrist. He pulled him flush against his body, wrapping his arms around him to hold him while they kissed. He ran his hands up Eddie’s damp back, pushing his shirt up. “Take this off,” Steve breathed, sucking Eddie’s bottom lip before he resumed kissing him.

Eddie responded by pushing Steve’s own shirt up, both of them breaking away from the other to get out of their damp clothes. Once they were both shirtless, they began kissing again in earnest, Eddie moving forward to lay on top of Steve on the blankets. “Is this okay? Is this too much?” Eddie asked, slotting his left leg between Steve’s thighs. From what he could feel, it was not too much, and seeing as how this was their third date, he assumed something would happen.

He also didn’t want to assume and be disappointed. The signs were there, though. And he still had the memory of Steve’s kiss before they got soaked to the skin.

Steve swallowed thickly. “No, it’s not too much,” he said, looking down at where Eddie was pressing into him. “Can you take these off of me?” he asked, bringing Eddie’s hands to the waistband of his jeans. Not everything he wanted to do tonight would happen in the van, but he wanted some of it. He wanted Eddie fiercely, and that need was growing by the minute.

Eddie kissed him once more and then sat up, straddling Steve’s thigh. He unbuttoned and unzipped Steve’s jeans, beginning to pull them down. They stuck a little to Steve’s skin and Eddie gave them a strong pull. As this happened, he pulled down part of Steve’s underwear on his left hip. He looked down, and immediately froze, his face going pale.

“What’s wrong?” Steve asked. He glanced down at where Eddie was looking and he froze, too.

Unlike Eddie, whose tattoos adorned him in numerous visible spaces, Steve’s tattoo was hidden. It was a small crown on his left hip, just under the waistband of his jeans. Robin was with Steve when he got it: right after he was kicked out of his house when his Dad found out he was gay. Robin had taken him in immediately, and he had set up in her two-bedroom apartment with the meager belongings he’d managed to grab on his way out the door.

The problem was that Steve didn’t have access to a lot of money. Just what was in his bank account, which his father could not touch, thankfully. He had applied for numerous jobs, but wasn’t able to get much. He was starting to panic around the first of the month before he landed a job as a host at a local restaurant. The pay wasn’t much, but it was money, and he could at least give Robin his share of the rent, and buy some things he needed.

While Steve applied for other, better paying jobs online, he kept seeing people talk about their OnlyFans sites, and how much money they made. He made his own account, Hail to the King, using the pseudonym King Sexy. Robin had laughed herself sick when he told her the names, and the tattoo had followed soon after.

Steve never shared his face. Made sure he had no identifying rings or watches on when he posted his pictures. And especially not when he posted his videos. The only thing his subscribers could see was the tattoo, and they ate it up. He made a lot of money with his content, and there were more than a few accounts who made his live streams very lucrative indeed.

“Why do you have that tattoo?” Eddie asked, voice quiet as he traced the edges of the crown.

“Uh…I uh…” Steve struggled for an answer before something dawned on him. “Wait, does it…You can’t be bothered by it when you have…” he trailed off, eyes roving over Eddie’s torso and arms. If he was bothered by it, he was a major hypocrite.

“No! No, I’m not…I just….” Eddie exhaled and put his hands over his eyes. “I just didn’t realize that you were King Sexy until this moment.”

Record scratch.

“What the- You- I-”

“Yes, exactly,” Eddie answered. His shoulders were shaking, and for a second, Steve worried he was about to cry. This fear evaporated when Eddie burst out laughing, tears coming out of his eyes as he doubled over. “Oh my God, this cannot be my life!” At Steve’s confused expression, Eddie managed to say, “I’m BardsCurse666.”

A laugh of his own burst out of Steve. What were the freaking odds? One of his best customers on his account was someone he was on a third date with.

They fell over one another laughing hysterically, until they physically couldn’t anymore. Eddie was sobbing with laughter, tears rolling down his cheeks. “Oh my God, oh my God.” He sounded like he was pleading, holding his stomach.

Steve managed to get himself under control quicker, though he was still wiping his eyes as he giggled into his hand. He looked over at Eddie laid out on the blankets behind him. “Is this…Does this change anything?”

Eddie snorted. “Hell no it doesn’t change anything.” He reached for Steve’s hand. “Well, I guess the only thing that will change is that I may not be as active on the site. Since I have King Sexy all to myself.”

Steve grinned wickedly and crawled over to him, looming over Eddie’s body. “You certainly do. Let me know if you want to be part of things in the future.”

Eddie groaned and pulled Steve down for a blistering kiss. “There’s enough time to talk about that later.”

“Indeed,” Steve agreed, kissing him back just as fiercely.

[softsteddieseptember]

Soft Steddie September Week Five

WEEK FIVE PROMPTS(September 29th-30th)

Adoption | Buying them flowers | Cooking dinner | Overheard Conversation | Wedding