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resident-gay-bitch · 1 year

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Hellraiser

summary: It’s 1987, the upside down is well and truly gone. All that’s left is severe trauma they’re too scared to talk about, and homosexual relaiseations. And Eddie never thought he’d see the day where Mike Wheeler was gay, something he never would have picked. But, heck, he’d seen stranger things. And doesn’t that unexpected reality leave room for the slight possibility that Steve Harrington might be too?

warnings: gay, suggestive language, blatant stupidity, sobbing, Eddie with his hair tied back.

i found the image in my steddie folder and i have no idea who drew it or where it came from, so if you are / know the artist who made this, please comment their @ and the platform they use so i can credit them :) thankies <3

“You’re what?” Eddie pressed the phone closer to his ear, the chewing of his salt and vinegar chip and mustard sandwich coming to a halt.

“I’m going on a date with Will, and I am freaking out.” Mike whispered into the receiver, checking over his shoulder every so often to ensure his family wouldn’t hear.

“Okay…” Eddie ran his hand down his face, “You’re into dudes?”

“Yes.” Mike answered.

“What?”

Mike rolled his eyes, “Jesus christ, you gonna help me or not?”

Eddie stiffened, folding his arms over his chest, “Ye- yeah sure.”

“Okay…” Mike sniffled, “What do you wear on a date with a dude?”

“I don’t know!”

“Your gay! How do you not know?”

“I don’t go on dates, wanker.”

“You don’t?” Mike scratched his chin, “But your out-”

“To you guys.” Eddie sighed, “Cause you wouldn’t drop stupid questions about me and your sister.”

“So you’ve never been on a date with a dude?”

“No.”

There was a long pause, “Well fuck.”

“Can we please circle back to you being gay?”

“No.” Mike pressed, “Later, I’m freaking out.”

“Okay, okay.” Eddie took another bite of his sandwich, “When is your date?”

“In half an hour-”

“Jesus-” Eddie groaned, “You’re not helping the situation, Wheeler.”

“Yeah, I know.” Mike sassed, “Also I need a ride.”

Eddie rolled his eyes, “Can’t your sister take you?”

“No, she’s with Robin.”

“Right.” Eddie sighed, “Okay, okay. I’ll be over in five.”

“Thank you.” Mike nodded and hung up the phone.

“Jesus christ.” Eddie muttered to himself and turned to find Wayne standing in the kitchen with a beer in hand.

“The Wheeler kids gay?”

“Apparently.” Eddie shrugged.

“Both of them?”

“Apparently.” Eddie took a hefty bite of his sandwich.

“Never the ones you expect, huh?” Wayne smirked, “You know, that-”

Eddie threw his hands in the air. Walking down to his room, “Will you stop with the Steve crap?”

Wayne followed him, continuing to talk as Eddie changed shirts, “I’m telling ya, he might be into you-”

“He’s not.” Eddie grunted, pushing his foot into one of his sneakers.

“Well, if that Wheeler boy is-”

“Wheeler - whilst this is impeccably shocking news to me - is a freak. Harrington is the furthest from freaky I’ve ever seen.”

“He’s always coming over.”

“He hates his parents.”

“Even when they’re on trips.”

“Hates his empty house.”

“Stays the night a lot.”

Eddie grabbed his keys and tossed them in his hand, “It’s never planned, we just end up talking late.”

“Yeah, I’ve said the same thing about every girlfriend I’ve ever had.”

“Steve’s not a girl.” he pushed past Wayne and out to the living room.

“Borrows your clothes a lot.”

“Because he doesn’t have anything to sleep in when he does stay over.”

“You sleep beside each other.”

“I sleep beside Gareth and that too.”

“Not for years.” Wayne protested, “And you always went head to toe.”

“We’re not kids anymore, we can sleep beside each other in an ungay way.”

“But you are gay.”

Eddie dead panned him, “You’re really annoying.”

“I’m telling you, just ask him-”

“I’m not gonna walk up to Steve and say, ‘hey, any chance your a homosexual too, even though your an absolute ladies man and constantly bed them and brag about it to me, wanna be my boyfriend?’.” He grabbed a sweater off the couch and pulled it over his head.

“The fact that you’re wearing his jumper right now practically says that for you.”

Eddie gritted his teeth, “He said I can borrow it.”

“Ah huh.” Wayne nodded, “All I’m saying is, if the Wheeler kid can be gay, why can’t Steve?”

Eddie sighed and walked over to the front door, “Because, he’s just not.”

—————————————————————————

Mike threw the door open, half dressed and a freaking mess.

“Holy shit Wheeler.” Eddie shook his head, stepping inside, “Put some fucking clothes on.”

“I’m trying.” He groaned leading Eddie up to his room, “I don’t know what to wear. Help.”

“I’m not a chick!” Eddie threw his hands up.

“Just-” Mike sighed, “Blue or red?”

Eddie scrunched up his face, “Blue?”

Mike nodded and pulled the shirt on.

“Where is this date anyway?”

“Movies.”

“Ah.” Eddie nodded, “Can I ask-”

“No.” Mike groaned.

“You asked me!” Eddie raised his eyebrows, and Mike rolled his eyes, allowing him to continue, “When, how, why?”

He deadpanned Eddie, “Last month, you, Will.”

Eddie nodded, “Me?” He placed his hands on his hips, feeling a little overly confident.

“Yeah…” Mike sighed, “Your insesent rambling about your homosexual realisations made me realise I have them too.”

Eddie shot him a dirty glare, “I feel like that was an insult.”

“It was.”

“Ass.” Eddie scoffed, “So… Byers huh?”

Mike walked out of his room and down stairs, “Shut up.”

Eddie walked out the door and over to his van, the both of them climbing inside, “So uhm, who asked who?”

“Me.” Mike nodded awkwardly, “Kinda.”

“Kinda?”

“Yeah, well… I didn’t ask him out, I just asked if he wanted to see a movie.”

Eddie looked at him, “So it’s not a date?”

“It is.” Mike pressed, “We like… kissed.”

Eddie smirked and started to drive, “You kissed, huh?”

Mike rubbed his forehead in embarrassment, “Look, I didn’t know who else to go to. Stop being an ass.”

“Alright, alright.” Eddie nodded, “I’m just… surprised.”

“So was Will.”

Eddie laughed, “Kids been pining over you for years, dude.”

“I know.” Mike leant on his elbow, “It’s why it surprised him so much.”

“I bet.”

“Don’t… tell anyone. Please?” Mike turned his attention to Eddie, anxiety showing in his eyes, “I’m just- I don’t know how to feel about it yet.”

Eddie sighed, “You’ll get used to it, man.” he licked his lips, “Took me a while to get used to the feeling as well, only I was twelve and didn’t have a boyfriend to show me I wasn’t alone.”

They let the vulnerability sit in the air for a moment, both of them feeling a little lost. Mike cleared his throat, and Eddie puffed out his chest, both of them attempting to ‘man up’.

“You gonna need a ride home too?” Eddie opted for a conversation change, neither of them looking at the other.

“Yep.” Mike nodded as Eddie pulled into the cinema parking lot.

They climbed out of the car and headed in. They jumped right in line to buy tickets.

“That will be fifteen twenty.” The cashier said, her eyes lazy whilst she chewed her bubble gum, she did not want to be there.

“Fuck.” Mike muttered, “They’ve gone up since last time.”

“Summer rates.” She replied.

“It’s March.” Eddie furrowed his eyebrows.

The girl shrugged.

“I don’t have enough for mine and Wills tickets, plus snacks.”

Eddie sighed and pulled out his wallet, “Never doing this for you again, kid.” Eddie slid a twenty on the counter, “You owe me.”

Mike nodded, and the girl handed Mike the tickets. Mike pulled out ten bucks and gave it to Eddie before running off to the snack bar. Ed stepped up to the counter as she handed him the change.

“Actually, I’ll get one more ticket to whatever he’s seeing.” He handed her the ten, “Gotta pass the time somehow, right?”

She chewed her bubble gum and forced a smile. The ticket machine printed his ticket, and she handed him back the change, making sure her fingers brushed against his palm. Eddie drew his eyes up to her, and she was twirling a strand of bright red hair around her finger, batting her eyelids at him. Eddie cleared his throat and stuffed the money into his wallet, grabbing the ticket off the counter.

“I get off in an hour, you know, if you get bored of the movie.” She smiled.

Eddie looked around, a little unsure of how to respond, “Uh, huh.”

“I got a pretty spacious car round back, if you want?”

“No thanks.” Eddie awkwardly smiled and bounced away.

“Dude,” Mike walked over to him with a grin, popcorn under his arm, a bag of maltesers on top, and two drinks in hand, “did you just get hit on.”

“I think so.” Eddie shivered, “I’m gonna go take a piss.”

Mike nodded, and Eddie wandered into the bathroom. When he came back out, he saw Will and Mike, both red cheeked, making conversation. He smiled to himself, shaking his head and walked over to the candy bar. He ordered a large coke, and a box of popcorn. He looked back over to the kids to see Steve now standing with them. Eddie froze, heart skipping a beat or two. He looked down at himself, cheeks going red as he realised he was in fact wearing Steve’s jumper. He began to walk over to the group, and as he got closer, he noticed that Steve was wearing one of Eddie’s band shirts. He bit his lip.

“Look who the cat dragged in.”

Steve looked up, his face immediately blushing pink and he folded his arms over his chest in an attempt to hide the shirt, “Munson. Did not know you’d be here.”

“Likewise.” They both shared an awkward glance, and Will and Mike smiled at each other knowingly.

“I take it you’re supervising too?”

“Yup.” Eddie nodded, “Mum and dad.”

Steve laughed.

“We’re gonna go in.” Will spoke up.

“Yeah, okay.” Steve nodded, “I’m just gonna get a soda.”

The younger boys bounced off to the cinema, leaving Steve and Eddie to their own, in eachothers clothes.

“I must say,” Eddie grinned, “You got great taste in music, wouldn’t pin you as a metal man.”

Steve smirked and shook his head, “Ah huh.” he poked Eddie’s chest, “And you said you hated the colour yellow.”

He shrugged, “It’s growing on me.”

They decided to share the box of Eddie’s popcorn, and Steve bought them some chocolate before heading in. They sat a few rows back. Far enough away to give the boys some privacy, but still close enough to throw popcorn or heckle at them if they started making out. The movie started, it was a screening of Hellraiser. Fun fact about Eddie; he hated horror movies, even before the terrors of the upside down. They were just plain scary, he hated scary, he hated how easy he was to scare. And then after the traumer of the upside down, and his near death experience, he hated them even more. Steve didn’t like them either. He used to be a horror buff, they were a one way ticket to pound town with just about any girl. Put on something scary, she cowers into his chest, his big strong arms console her, BAM!, they’re making out. But now, he was simply traumatised. Horror movies did nothing but turn him off or make him shy away. So this was gonna be a long afternoon.

Steve and Eddie both tried their best to act tough, to ‘be a man’ as per usual. You couldn’t say the same for Will and Mike, they were latching onto each other for dear life. Eddie shoved a handful of popcorn into his mouth, terror in his eyes as he tried his best to watch. Steve gripped onto the arms of the chair for dear life. About midway through the movie, Mike and Will started making out.

“Hey.” Eddie shouted and tossed a Reeses Piece at Mike’s head, “Keep it PG thirteen.”

“Ow,” Mike turned back to him, “Asshole.”

Steve pointed a finger at him, “Don’t talk to your father like that.”

Mike rolled his eyes and went back to watching the movie. Eddie turned his attention to Steve,

“You knew this was a date?”

“Yeah.” Steve nodded, lowering his tone so fellow movie goers couldn’t hear, “I’m surprised you’re here.”

Eddie furrowed his eyebrows, “I’m surprised you’re here.”

He shrugged, “Will and I have a good relationship, I guess. Came out to me about… three months ago.”

Eddie smirked, “He came out to me last year.”

Steve’s jaw dropped, “What the fuck, why?”

Eddie quirked his eyebrow.

Steve shook his head, “Didn’t know about Wheeler till yesterday.”

“Your one up on me there, then.” He smiled, “I found out about an hour ago.”

Steve laughed.

“Yeah, he called me asking for advice. Asking me what to wear and crap.”

“Weird.” Steve turned back to the movie.

Eddie looked at him for a moment, eyebrows furrowed. Did Steve not know? Surely Robin would have told him.

“I’m relieved that he finally admitted it.”

Eddie quirked an eyebrow, “What?”

Steve turned his attention back to Eddie, “That he was gay.”

“He’s known for years-”

“No, Wheeler.”

“Wha-” Eddie shuffled in his chair, “What do you mean?”

“I’ve had my suspicions about Wheeler for months now. Since they were reunited.”

Eddie shook his head, “You’re lying.”

“Swear I’m not.” Steve smiled, “Since Robin came out to me, I’ve gotten better at noticing. But, I always suspect the ones you wouldn’t.”

Eddie sunk down in his chair, “So you had both Wheelers figured out, huh?”

Steve gave him a strange look, “Is there a sixth Wheeler I don’t know about?”

“Nan-” Eddie froze, “Never mind.”

Steve stiffened, “Nancys-”

“Robin didn’t tell you?”

“Tell me what?”

“That-” Eddie squinted his eyes, “I probably shouldn’t be the one to tell you. Don’t tell Mike.”

“Are they… Robin and Nancy?”

Eddie nodded, “You didn’t hear it from me.”

Steve sunk back down in his chair, “Holy shit.”

Eddie hesitated for a while, debating whether he really wanted to ask what he was thinking. He looked over to Steve, who was seemingly watching the movie, but in truth was trying to calculate the idea of Nancy and Robin being in a relationship. He bit his lip, taking a deep breath, and forced himself to ask,

“Steve,” He cleared his throat, suddenly feeling a whole lot more anxious when Steve’s eyes found him in the dark, the soft glow of the movie screen illuminating his pretty features, “why are you so shocked that I know this stuff and you don’t?”

“Because…” He shrugged, “I’ve known them all for longer. And I suppose Mike is the exception, since he does not like me all that much and admires the shit out of you-”

“He does?”

Steve rolled his eyes, “Cool it. He’s just a weirdo like you.”

Eddie flipped him the bird and let Steve continue.

“I dunno, Robins my best friend, it’s strange that the girls told you but not me.”

“It’s not-” Eddie took a breath, “It was per Nancy’s request.”

“I suppose you guys are pretty close now.”

“Yeah… so it’s a cover when we all go out…” Eddie furrowed his eyebrows, “You know, you and Robin look like you’re dating, Nance and me look like we’re dating. It’s a cover for all of us- well, not for you.”

“Okay, that makes sense… but for you?”

Eddie just nodded. Maybe he really didn’t know.

“And Will, he told you last year?”

“Yeah…” Eddie swallowed, “I could see myself in the kid, and so I just- I just let him know it was okay.”

Steve furrowed his eyebrows. He wasn’t really sure what to think, he didn’t want to get his hopes up. He looked at Will, then at Eddie, and it clicked - well, something clicked - they’re both shunned, bullied, called a freak and casted to the outskirts of society. Eddie’s the murderer and Wills the zombie boy. They were a safety net for one another, an underlying sense of natural trust, instant familial love. Which was true, of course, but not the reason Eddie was referring too.

“Right.” Steve smiled and patted Eddie on the shoulder, “That’s sweet.”

Eddie looked at Steve blankly. How the fuck was he not getting it?

“Yeah, sweet.”

They went back to watching the movie. A few moments passed, and then there was a jumpscare. It flashed onto the screen in a second, big, loud and terrifying. Steve and Eddie both jumped out of their seats, shrieking and screaming, trying to crawl backwards, their hands subconsciously interlocking. They squeezed at each other’s hands for dear life, their knuckles turning white and the tips of their fingers turning red. They were both quite strong, so naturally, it hurt, Steve even felt his knuckles crack. They both relaxed back down into their seats, all eyes were on them.

“Yeah, yeah.” Eddie called out, “Watch the movie.”

Will and Mike looked at them, then down at their interlocked hands, and smirked before turning back around. Eddie and Steve both blushed and instantly let go of one another, coughing and clearing their throats. Both missing the warmth of the other.

“That was, uhm…” Eddie started.

“Caught us by surprise.” Steve finished awkwardly.

“Yeah…” His eyes dipped down to Steve’s hand that sat on his knee, he swallowed thickly, so desperately wanting to grab it again.

“Do you like horror?”

“Nope.” Eddie said blatantly, “Never liked it.”

“Yeah…” Steve nodded, “Kinda creepy, huh?”

“Yeah.” Eddie sighed and they both looked down and Mike and Will who were cuddled up, “At least someones enjoying it.”

Steve laughed softly. His attention turned to Eddie again, and they just looked at eachother. Eddie tried his best to force back a smile, Steve’s features so soft in this low light. He loved the way Steve’s eyes creased when he smiled, the light array of freckles that danced over his skin, the way his hair always fell in the perfect direction, the little strand that was hanging down over his left eye, the faint stubble on his cheeks after not shaving for a few days, the blush pink tone of his perfectly kissable lips. Eddie was a goner, always had been, head over heels for King Steve since nineteen-eighty-four, but his love only grew over the events of eighty-six. Steve sighed, his lips parted ever so slightly before curling up into a warm smile. Anyone who were to look at them now would think it was the gayest sight they had ever seen, but these longing stares were always shared in private, often in the confinements of Eddie’s bed, or Steve’s car late at night when the windows were all fogged up, Tears For Fears playing in the background. Eddie mindlessly picked at the fabric on the armrest between them, his breath falling deep and heavy under Steve’s intense gaze. Steve licked his lips ever so delicately, mouth suddenly feeling dry, and Eddie felt his insides coil. He wished, more than anything, that he was the one licking Steve’s lips right now. Steve smiled wide, Eddie’s heart raced, his cheeks suddenly felt a whole lot warmer. Thank Ozzy the theatre was always dark. Then, naturally, they were interrupted. There was another loud crash through the speakers, a bright flash shone out over the seats, and everyone jumped. Steve threw his arm out over Eddie’s chest, both of them coiling back in their seats. Eddie brought his knees up to his chest and cowered behind them, leaning in Steve’s direction. Steve’s other arm flew out in front of him in defence, one of his legs ready to kick. Both of them froze there for a moment, taking some time to compose themselves and catch their breaths. Eddie peered up at Steve, and then down at the arm pressed hard against his chest. He smiled to himself, feeling giddy over Steve’s natural instinct to protect him. Steve quickly pulled his arm away,

“Sorry.”

“I thought the husband was supposed to protect the wife.” Eddie joked, slowly lowering his legs back to the ground, “Or maybe you’re taking this ‘king’ thing too seriously.”

Steve chuckled nervously, “Yeah.” He smiled down at Eddie, who was still slumped in his chair, “Or maybe I just know you’re a scared little bitch.”

Eddie deadpanned him, sitting up properly now, “I heard you scream. You can’t say shit, Sir Steve.”

Steve rolled his eyes, “For your benefit… how about we wait for them outside?”

“For my benefit,” Eddie mocked him, “Yeah… keep telling yourself that, Stevie.”

They quickly collected their things and ducked out of the cinema. They sat on the velvet bench across from the doors so the boys would be able to find them easily. Eddie sat crossleggerd facing Steve, and Steve straddled the bench, their drinks and popcorn sitting between them. Eddie grabbed a piece and tossed it up into the air, and caught it in his mouth, a little fist pump to celebrate. Steve squinted his eyes, he liked to challenge Eddie. He grabbed a piece himself, and tossed it up, catching it in his mouth as well. He mimicked Eddie’s little fist pump. Eddie grinned, wordlessly accepting Steve’s challenge, grabbing another piece, tossing it a little higher, and catching it. Steve did the same. Eddie threw two pieces, Steve threw three. Two landed in his mouth, the other hit his nose and bounced onto the floor. Eddie laughed and grabbed three pieces himself, but he managed to catch them all.

“What the fuck.” Steve scoffed, “How’d you do that?”

“I’m good with my mouth, Stevie.” He winked and threw a piece really high, catching it with a smirk.

Steve blushed.

“Watch my drink? I’m gonna go take a piss.”

“If you’re not quick, I might drink it.”

“Go ahead,” Eddie grinned, standing up, “as long as you use my straw. It’s the closest I’m gonna get to kissin ya.”

Steve slowly drew his straw out of his cup and shoved it into Eddies, taking a long sip and raising his eyebrows. Eddie faked heartbreak before skipping off to the toilet. He thought to himself for a moment, standing there over the urinal, the post piss clarity sinking in. Eddie always flirted with Steve, a little too much sometimes, that was a fact. He just loved the way Steve would get all flustered and pink in the cheeks, he also loved when Steve teased back. He never flirted back though. That was a fact Eddie knew, hence why he was so dead set on Steve being straight. Eddie thought Steve would have figured out by now about his feelings. He stopped trying to hide them late last year. He’d probably never openly admit it of course, but if it meant he got to flirt with the boy he loved, then why the fuck not. Steve never asked him to stop. And yeah, it was pretty obvious that most of the things they did together were not the activities of a straight man, but Eddie honestly thought that was purely his influence. And he knew that Steve just craved affection, and attention, and love, so he musnt have minded the blatent homosexual themes throughout thier friendship. Eddie also was sure Steve knew he was gay. The rest of the group did. He told Will first, shortly after meeting him, and they connected a lot. After he caught Robin drooling over Nancy one day, he asked if she was a lesbian. And after a long conversation that primarily consisted of Robin rambling about how she definenly wasn’t, Eddie just smiled and told her he was super gay for Steve. He figured out Nancy’s feelings for Robin too. Whenever the four of them hung out, Nancy would attach herself to Eddie in an attempt to hide her feelings for Robin - who she believed had romantic feelings for Steve - which inevitably led to Eddie trying to let her down carefully. Which led to a tear filled confession from Nancy, to which he simply said ‘Steve is the furthest from Robin’s type… maybe you should let her know you like her too’. So yeah, that’s how Nancy and Eddie became so close, and acted sort of coupley when out in public - to hide away the reality of the situation. But that naturally led to Mike and Dustin berating him and Nancy with questions. Nancy was on the brink of tears, both her and Robin were most definitely not ready to come out - and neither was Eddie for that matter, he was only out to those two girls and Wayne - but he, being the selfless person he was, told the boys they were only fake dating to cover up the fact that he was gay. And then word got around and eventually the whole group, plus some of their siblings/parents knew. So he found the thought of Steve not knowing incredibly ridiculous.

He zipped up his jeans and walked back out to find Steve tossing handfuls of popcorn in the air and trying to catch as many as he could.

“The key is volume.” He smiled when Eddie sat back down.

“I can see that.” He laughed, “I’m also blaming you if we get kicked out for making a mess.”

“I’ll blame you, gotta keep the golden boy rep.” He grinned.

“Jerk.” He laughed and took a sip of his drink.

“Ed?” Steve swallowed.

“Stevie.” Eddie raised his eyebrows.

“So, if Rob and Nance are together…” He rubbed the back of his neck and thought for a moment, “I thought you and Nancy were into each other.”

Eddie snorted, “I can promise you, we’re not.”

“Yeah, but you’re always… holding hands and stuff.”

Eddie grinned, “Only in public, to keep the cover. Plus,” he scoffed, “you hold hands with Robin all the time.”

“Yeah but she’s only into girls.”

“Same sorta thing with me and Nance.” He took a breath, “The very gay, and the not so gay holding hands - best friends helpin eachother out.”

“She’s into both, though-”

Eddie nodded, “Yeah…” Come on Steve, figure it out.

Steve squinted his eyes, “I just can’t believe they are dating and didn’t tell me.”

Eddie sighed, “You’re oblivious.”

Steve shrugged and went back to tossin popcorn into his mouth. Eddie just watched with a smile, taking sips of his drink as they waited for the movie to end. About twenty minutes later, the doors busted open and a small swarm of people walked out. Will and Mike walked incredibly close to one another, but refused to hold hands in the daylight, in public, understandably so. The group walked around the corner to an old diner, a popular date location for teenagers. Mike and Will sat themselves down in a little booth on one side of the diner, and Eddie and Steve sat in one on the other side, still wanting to keep an eye on them, and also give them some privacy (and maybe to get some privacy themselves). Steve ordered a cheeseburger, and Eddie ordered some chicken nuggets - being the big child he is - and they opted to share a chocolate shake.

“Yeah, those sodas were huge, I don’t need a whole shake to myself either.”

Their food was bought out in a flash, and they talked, and joked, and childishly fought over their different opinions of things, all whilst sharing a shake with two straws. Every time Steve leant in to take a sip, Eddie would quickly swallow his food down and lean in two, just so they could stare at each other for a couple of seconds, their faces incredibly close, their noses accidentally touching a few times. Eddie thought he was gonna die, and he scolded himself for getting hard under the table.

“Nope.” Steve shook his head, shoving a fry into his mouth, “I’m telling you man, Back To The Future is way better.”

“Give me one reason why.”

“It just is.” Steve pressed.

“See, you don’t have a good reason.” Eddie smirked, “Terminator is the best time travel movie, hands down.”

“Terminator has Arnold Schwarzenegger in it.” Steve deadpanned him.

“One of the top reasons why I like it,” Eddie grabbed one of Steve’s fries - even though he has his own - and bit it in half, “I like my men brawny.” He winked.

“Ha ha.” Steve wiggled his head, sarcasm seeping through his tone.

God, he was oblivious. Eddie was over it now, sick to the core of this endless game of cat and mouse he was basically playing with himself. So he forced his nerves down, gritted his teeth, took a deep breath, and looked down the barrel of the gun.

“Honest to god.” He put his hands up in defence, “Hunky boys are my thing.”

Steve glared at him.

Eddie forced himself to smile, “Hunky pretty boys.” He leant on his elbow, eyes fixed on Steve, “They make me all giddy when they take their shirts off.”

“You sound like a girl.” Steve shook his head with a smile.

Eddie sighed, “Is that such a bad thing?”

“Not generally, but when it comes to Arnold Schwarzenegger.”

Eddie slumped down on the table, a groan finding its way through his lips.

“What?” Steve chuckled.

“Arnold Schwarzenegger is not a hunky pretty boy. He is just hunky.” He slowly looked back up at Steve.

“I’m lost.”

Eddie sighed, “Hunky pretty boys- anyone come to mind?”

Steve thought for a moment, himself maybe?, he clicked his fingers and pointed at Eddie, “That guy from metallica you try to be like.”

Eddie’s eyes fell half lidded and he just stared at Steve for a moment, “Sure.”

“You’re a weirdo.” Steve shook his head with a smile, “For a moment I thought you were talking about me.”

Eddie’s jaw hung slack, “Would you like it if I was talking about you, Stevie?”

“Oh yes.” He deadpanned, his voice flat and emotionless, “I would love for you to drool over me shirtless.” Not a lie.

“Carefull, Harrington,” Eddie huffed, “you sound kinda gay.”

Steve raised his eyebrows, “And you don’t?”

Okay, brutal honesty, here it comes, “Well, the fact that I actually-”

“Oh shit.” Steve’s eyes were fixed behind Eddie, “It’s almost six, gotta get Will home.”

Eddie bit his lip and slowly nodded, “Yeah, okay.” Jesus Christ, it was like the universe never wanted Steve to know.

They left some money on the table, took one last sip of the shake (together) and grabbed Mike and Will. The younger boys walked ahead on the way back to their cars, Steve and Eddie walking slowly behind.

“Okay, but in all honesty, Terminator wasn’t that bad.” Steve hummed.

“Thankyou.” Eddie waived his arms out, turning slightly to face Steve as they walked.

“But Schwarzenegger is not my type.”

“No shit.” Eddie laughed, “I bet you like the pretty boys, huh. The ones you can protect?”

Steve deadpanned him, spot on.

Eddie pulled his arms up to flex his muscles, “Wanna show off, spread your manhood.”

“My manhood?” Steve laughed.

“Yeah.” Eddie grinned, “Big tough Stevie and his weak little boyfriend to be? Is that how you like it?”

You’re not weak, but small, “Har Har.”

“Got ya right on the money.” Eddie waved his hands out in declaration, “Steve Harrington likes pathetic, pretty men.”

He nudged Eddie’s side with his elbow, “You callin yourself pathetic, Munson?”

Eddie froze, that’s new, he swallowed down the aching lump in his throat, “You calling me pretty, Stevie?”

“In your dreams, Edward.”

Correct. Every night, “How dare you, Edward. Would you like me to call you Steven?”

“You wouldn’t dare.” He grinned.

They stopped out the front of their cars, Mike was leant up against Eddie’s van already with his hand on Will’s waist, listening intently as he gushed on about something all pink in the cheeks. Eddie tossed Mike his keys, signalling for him to get in the van,

“You’re twelve, stop with the ogling.”

“Sixteen.” He groaned.

Steve handed Will his keys too and told him to pick out some tunes for the ride home.

“I must say, you’re a great person to share a milkshake with, Steve.” Eddie grinned, his hand brushing against Steve’s hip as he turned to face him, “You don’t hog it.”

“What can I say,” Steve folded his arms over his chest, “I’m a giver, not a taker.”

Eddie giggled, and he felt like a twelve year old girl, “I’d like my shirt back sometime, Harrington.”

“And I’d like my jumper. I’d offer to trade, but…” He pretended to think, tapping a finger on his chin, “now I know you like it when I take my shirt off I think I’ll make you wait.”

Holy fuck, Eddie needed to get out of there before Steve noticed the raging erection he had. Why was he flirting? His own actions coming back to bite him in the ass of course.

“Damn…” Eddie pouted his lips and flashed him the puppy dog eyes, “Was really looking forward to that.”

“So you admit you were talking about me?” Steve leant up against the front of Eddie’s van.

Fuck it, “Who else would I be talking about?” he leant in a little teasingly.

Steve stiffened, he swallowed, hard, “Yourself maybe.”

“Nah, I’m not Hunky pretty, remember?” He smirked, “Just pathetic and pretty.”

Steve rolled his eyes playfully, “I gotta get this kid home or his mums gonna kill me.”

Eddie sighed, “Right… right, yeah.”

Steve licked his lips, the slight pout on Eddie’s made him look so kissable, “So, I’ll see ya round?”

“Yeah.” Eddie nodded, watching as Steve walked over to his car.

Steve shot him that adorable fucking smile he loved so much and he thought, what the fuck, I’ve got nothing to lose. So he took a deep breath,

“Steve?”

“Yeah?” He turned and looked back at Eddie, his hands on his hips.

Eddie loved when he did that.

“How about next time I take you on a date, for real?”

Steve’s heart skipped a beat, he froze, saying nothing, no fucking way was this happening, Eddie is not-

Eddie cleared his throat.

Steve snapped out of his daze and forced himself to laugh, “Good one, Munson. I’ll knock on your door with a bouquet of flowers.”

Fuck, his heart sank, this was hopeless, “Yeah,” He forced a smile, “I like daisies.”

Steve smiled and turned to get back in his car. Eddie stood there for a while, watching Steve turn the key, say something to will, send him a quick little wave and smile, and drive away. He stood there even longer, his heart aching in his chest.

BEEEEEEEP

Mike wailed his arms out from inside the van, “What are you doing?”

Eddie shook all thoughts from his head - no matter how painful - and climbed into the car, “Sorry man.”

“Dude,” Mike scoffed, “Harrington is not gay.”

“That’s what I said about you.” He grunted.

“Yeah,” Mike laughed, “but Harrington is definitely not.”

He sighed, “Yeah, I know.”

——————————————————————————

Steve pulled up to Robin’s place and ran up to the door. Nancy’s car was parked in the driveway. He shook his head in disbelief. He knocked, rather aggressively, actually, and Robin answered the door with a smile, dressed in one of Nancys shirts. Her smile faltered when she saw the dead glare on Steve’s face.

“You really didn’t tell me you finally got Nancy?”

She awkwardly smiled, “Sorry?”

He sighed and pushed past her, into the house, to find Nancy sitting curled up on the couch, a worried look on her face, “Explanation, please.”

“Uh- about four month-”

“You have been hiding this from me for four months?” Steve exclaimed.

“Sorry?” She offered again.

“You know, I want to be mad, but you did an exceptional job at it.” He turned to Nancy, “I really thought you and Munson were in love or something.”

Both Robin and Nancy shared a confused look before turning their attention back to Steve, Robin sat back down on the couch, “Yeah, and you’ve done an exceptional job at hiding your thing with Eddie, not.”

Steve gave her a confused look now, “Sorry?”

“You and Eddie, you’re terrible at hid-” She squinted her eyes, looking intently at the shocked look on Steve’s face, “You’re with Eddie, right?”

“No.” Steve pressed.

“You’re not?” Nancy added.

“No.” He shook his head.

“What?” Robins jaw dropped, “I thought we had an unspoken understanding that I was with Nance and you were with Eddie because every time we go out you guys stop acting so gay and cling to us, and vise versa.”

“We don’t act gay!” Steve shouted, he didn’t know why, he knew they acted very gay.

“Yeah right.” Robin shouted back, “You literally make googly eyes at each other all day.”

“Well, we’re not together!”

“But you like him!”

“You’re into men?” Nancy asked.

“You’re into women?” He replied.

She shrugged, “Fair enough.”

“Okay, but…” Robin crossed her arms, “why aren’t you together?”

Nancy whispered to Robin, “Ed thinks Steve is straight. Says there’s no point in actually asking so he just flirts instead, takes what he can get. I’m not supposed to be telling you, or Steve this, so shush.”

Robin nodded, “Right.” She turned back to Steve, “Why haven’t you asked him out? It’s been a year.”

“What makes you think he wants me to ask him out?” Steve shouted, wailing his arms around.

Robin jumped up in a huff, marching over to the kitchen for a glass of water, “What makes you think he doesn’t?”

Steve froze, he suddenly got a whole lot quieter, “He’s- he likes girls-” Robin just looked at him and shook her head, Steve’s eyes widened, “He likes guys?”

“Whoopty doo!” Robin quipped, “You figured it out.”

“But- today he-”

“You saw him today?”

“Yeah, just then actually.” he thought for a moment, “But, he pulled his hand away when I grabbed it. And he was- he kept…”

Robin and Nancy just kept looking at each other and then at Steve, on the brink of laughter as they waited for him to figure it out.

“No-” Steve shook his head, refusing to believe it.

“At any point today did he share his food with you?” Robin sighed and walked back to the couch.

“Yeah…” Steve rubbed the back of his neck, “We shared popcorn, and I had some of his soda, and we shared a milkshake.”

“Ah huh.” Robin nodded, “Eddie doesn’t share his food.”

“What are you talking about? We share all the time-”

“Yeah, he shares it with you.” She smiled, “He will not let anyone else go near it.”

“Hmmm, that doesn’t prove anything.”

She sighed, “Okay… Did he find an excuse to call you his saviour again? Or call you tough, strong, a knight, a protector?”

“Maybe…” Yes, all the fucking time.

She nodded, “Did he tease you for wearing his clothes?”

Steve looked down at the shirt, “Yeah… he was wearing mine.”

Nancy dead panned him, “Did you guys do that thing where you stare longingly at each other for like, five minuets?”

“Wha-” Steve cleared his throat, “How did you know-”

“So gay.” Robin shook her head, “Did he joke about kissing you?”

Steve tensed, “Maybe.”

“Did he find a way to call you gay, or make a joke about the both of you being gay?”

Steve folded his arms over his chest, “I- yeah.”

“Steve.” Robin pinched the bridge of her nose, “Those are not things a heterosexual man would do.”

“Tommy used to do those things with me-” the realisation hit, “Oh.”

“Oh.” Robin mocked him.

“Oh my god.” His arms dropped to his sides.

“Steve.” Nancy shook her head, “It’s like, common knowledge that he’s into dudes. I’m surprised Dustin hasn’t blabbed to you about it.”

“Eddie’s into dudes…” He thought for a moment, “Fuck, I think he tried to tell me today.”

“Probab-”

“Oh my fucking god.” Steve ran for the door.

“What?” Robin called out.

“He asked me out!”

“What?” Nancy laughed, “He asked you out and you still didn’t pick up on it?”

“I thought he was joking.” Steve pulled at his hair, “Oh my god, I need to go.”

“Get the fuck out of here.” Robin yelled out, “Your stupidity baffles me, dingus.”

——————————————————————————

Eddie strolled into his trailer and sat down on the springy couch. He leant on his knees and rubbed his eyes.

“You alright, son?” Wayne asked as he grabbed a couple beers out from the fridge.

Eddie looked up at him with bloodshot eyes, “Steve is definitely not gay.”

Wayne walked over and handed Eddie a beer, “Come on, have a little-”

“I had a little optimism, Wayne.” He grunted, cracking the can open and taking a long sip, “I asked him out, and he thought it was a joke and laughed.”

Wayne sighed.

“I actually asked him out, Wayne.” He rubbed his forehead, biting back tears, “I gave it everything I had, and nothing. That ship of hope has sailed and sunk to the deepest trench of the fucking ocean.”

Wayne sat down beside him and patted his back, “Sorry, son.” he sighed, “I really thought he liked ya.”

——————————————————————————

It had been about an hour now, and Eddie was midway through Rocky Horror. He’d curled himself up in a pair of Steve’s sweats he had left behind, his yellow jumper, and nothing else. He nursed a can of beer in his hand, his hair tied back in a low bun, his knees were pulled up to his chest, he had the jumper covering half his face so he could smell steve - probably for the last time -, his cheeks were tear stained, but he wasn’t crying anymore, and he was quietly humming along to the musical. He really felt pathetic. Shame it’s not actually Steve’s type.

“I can make you a ma-ha-ha-hannnnn.” He took a sip, his voice quiet and squeaky much like a mouse, “He’ll do press-ups, and chin-ups.”

There was a soft knock at the door, and he wiped his nose with the sleeve of his - Steves - sweater, “I’ll get it.”

He put the can down on the little coffee table in front of him, shoved the blanket he was under to the side, and stalked over to the door. His heart skipped a beat when he saw Steve standing there with his perfect fucking hair, and his perfect fucking eyes, his perfect fucking lips, his perfect fucking face, and his perfect fucking everything.

“Hi.” He put on a face, pretending he hadn’t been pathetically sobbing for the past hour and a half.

“Hi.” And fuck, did Steve almost die when he saw Eddie’s hair tied back.

“Missed me, Stevie?” Carry on with the flirtatious act so he thinks it’s still all a joke.

“Can’t help it,” He shrugged, “I’m a sucker for pathetic pretty boys.”

Eddie forced himself to laugh.

“Sorry.”

“What?” Eddie furrowed his eyebrows.

“I realised you weren’t joking…” Steve bit his lip.

Eddie’s nostrils flared as a new wave of horror washed over him, play it cool, “Joking about what? About thinking Terminator is better than Back To The Future?”

Steve laughed, “No… you know. About practically everything else we talked about today… and everyday for that matter-”

“I have no idea-”

“I just hope you weren’t lying about these,” Steve pulled a bouquet of daisies out from behind his back, “that would be embarrassing.”

Eddie looked at the flowers and then up at Steve, “I’m not really a flower man.”

Steve laughed with a shrug, “Didn’t think so.”

“Right…” Eddie hesitantly took the flowers.

“Look, I’ve come to the realisation that I’m just really stupid sometimes.” He sighed, “You were trying to tell me over and over again today and I just- I didn’t get it… apparently it’s common knowledge, which makes it worse.”

“Yeah…” Eddie swallowed, he was terrified, preparing himself for rejection.

“For your information, you were right on the money when you were guessing my type in men- though, I wouldn’t call you pathetic. Just… in need of someone to look out for you.”

“Har har.” Eddie laughed, this had to be a joke, right?

“I wanna look out for you.” And all sense of humour was lost.

“I’m right here,” Eddie tried to joke, “need your glasses maybe, Steve?”

This was going to be harder than he thought, but naturally Eddie would keep his walls up, so he just kept trying, “I do look out for you, all the time. You already got me… in one way or another.”

Eddie nodded, he was a freaking mess inside, but outside he seemed calm, cool and collected.

Steve sighed, “You know… now that I think back, I realise Will opened up to you because you guys are the same, you both- you could just tell, you could see yourself in him.”

“Okay…” Oh god, here it comes.

“I think I’m the same with Mike. I could see myself in him. We had that built up shitty feeling inside for years that we could never quite figure out, and it took some dorky nerd who was in need of saving to figure out what it was.”

Eddie froze a bit, his heart raced and holy shit, was this what he’d been praying for?

“I know all these stupid things I do with you are not things a straight man would ever do, but for some reason I refused to let myself believe that you might be gay too.”

He said it, he fucking said it.

“Your- your gay?” Was all Eddie could spit out.

“Yeah, whatever the Wheelers got, I got it too.” He smiled that perfect fucking smile.

“Wow.” He thought for a moment and looked down at the flowers, “Wait a second… are you saying I made you gay, Stevie?”

He sighed and tipped his head back, “Jesus, I was hoping you wouldn’t let that fo to your head.”

He laughed, “Oh my, I totally did. I made Steve Harrington gay.”

“Shut up.” He rolled his eyes, but he couldn’t peel the grin off his face.

Eddie folded his arms over his chest, “You laughed when I asked you out.”

“So that was definitely real?”

“Yes.”

Steve awkwardly smiled, “I was hoping it was.” he wiggled a little, “Sorry?”

Eddie sighed, “Yeah, yeah. You kinda broke my heart, you know.”

“Har har.” Steve grinned, but they both knew it wasn’t really a joke.

“So, are you gonna ask me out or what?” Eddie pumped his eyebrows, “I’ve already had my turn.”

Steve rolled his eyes playfully and leant on the doorframe, “You wanna go out some time, big boy?”

Eddie bit his lip, his heart pounded so hard in his chest he thought it would jump out, “Yeah, yeah, good one, Harrington. You’re real funny.”

Steve deadpanned him.

“Yeah I’ll go out with ya,” He raised his eyebrows, “but you’re payin.”

Steve rested a hand on each side of the doorframe, leaning forward on them to bring himself closer to Eddie, “Yeah, yeah. But you gotta promise to actually kiss me, this sharing a straw thing really sucks.”

Eddie laughed and hit Steve in the chest with the bouquet of daisies, “You’re a dork.”

“Nerd.” Steve quipped back.

Eddie leaned in really close, “You sure you wanna kiss me, Stevie? Seems kinda gay to me.”

“And you say I’m the dork.” He smirked.

Eddie’s eyes fluttered shut, and he pulled himself a little closer to Steve - and then there was a thwack on his back and he jolted forward, bumping heads with him instead.

“Tolda he was gay.” Wayne shook his head and pushed past Steve, “I’m always right.” He climbed into his car and headed off to work.

Eddie scrunched up his face, embarrassment flooding his body. Steve chuckled,

“You told your uncle about me?” He smiled smugly, “Hmm, you really were right about my type being pathetic pretty guys.”

“Shut up.” Eddie groaned.

Steve smirked, “Make me.”

Eddie quirked an eyebrow, a smirk crept its way onto his lips. He grabbed Steve by the collar and pulled him through the door, slamming the door shut behind him. He pushed Steve up against the door, their bodies pressed tightly together, both of them already as hard as wood. Eddie hovered his lips right over Steves as he puckered them out,

“I think you’re gonna be the pathetic one one after I’m done with you, Stevie.”

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