#cat!eddie munson

[dwobbitfromtheshire]

I expanded on this. Sorry, it's longer than I thought it would be.

Vecna's first clue that he had the wrong man was when he went to awaken Eddie Munson as a newly born vampire.

"Get up," Vecna commanded.

Eddie groaned, rolled over on his stomach with his face down in the dirt and his ass up in the air.

"Five more minutes, Uncle Wayne," Eddie whined.

"Get up!" Vecna growled.

"Why? There's no school today," Eddie yawned, his eyes closed. "I am sleeping in today. I am in no mood to receive anyone, dearest Uncle. Please, take my messages."

"Wake up, you fool!" Vecna roared and kicked him in the stomach.

Vecna's powers were weak as he was healing, or otherwise, he would be using them on this idiot.

"I'm awake!" Eddie exclaimed, his eyes opening as he flopped onto his back. "Lord Vecna, I pressume?"

"What?"

"Oh. That's what we've been calling you. It's from my game," Eddie said. "Vecna is a dark wizard with great powers."

"It's. . .acceptable," Vecna said.

Vecna's second clue was when he was going over his plan for Hawkins. He stopped talking when he noticed that Eddie was scribbling furiously in a notebook.

"Are you taking notes?" Vecna asked.

"What?!" Eddie asked. "Oh. No, absolutely not."

"What, pray tell then, are you doing?" Vecna asked, gritting his teeth.

He looked at the pages. Scribbled all over them was the name Steve Harrington, Mr. Eddie Harrington, Mr. Steve Munson, and a list of first names. He pointed to the list.

"What are those?"

"Name ideas for the child that I imagine having with Steve," Eddie said with a sigh.

"Alice?"

"Yeah, that's my favorite. What do you think?" Eddie asked.

"It's a terrible name," Vecna said.

"Okay, rude. You're just jealous that I don't want to have a child with you," Eddie said.

"You're testing my patience," Vecna growled.

"Oh, yeah? What else can you do to me? I'm already dead," he said.

"Just pay attention!" He snapped.

"If I didn't pay attention in school, what makes you think that I'm going to pay attention to you?" Eddie asked.

If Vecna still had hair, he would have pulled it all out.

"Gah!"

The third and final clue was when he brought Eddie to Steve Harrington's house. What else could he do to him? Oh, he'll show him.

"I want you to prove your loyalty to me," Vecna said.

"Okaay. . .I'm not sure how fucking Steve would prove my loyalty to you but I would prefer it if I woke him up and got his consent first," Eddie said, giving a side eyed look. "What kind of monster are you?"

"What?! No, I don't want you to - " Vecna said.

"Look, man, I don't know what you're into but I am not into that," Eddie scowled.

"I want you to kill him!" Vecna snapped.

"What?!"

"Kill him," Vecna said again.

They stood in Steve's room, Eddie gazing affectionately at Steve's sleeping form.

"Aww, but Henry, he looks too cute to kill," Eddie said. "Look at him, I think he's fighting in his sleep."

"Imma kill you," Steve mumbled, kicking out a leg.

"Aww."

"Kill him."

"I shan't!" Eddie said. "To slay a sleeping prince with a greater beauty than all of the stars in the universe would be most uncouth of me."

"Oh, for fuck's sake," Vecna swore and Eddie gasped. "Fine, I'll do it."

"Oh, Henry, you really shouldn't have said that," Eddie grinned menacingly at him.

"Oh, fuck," Vecna cursed.

Eddie grabbed his face, flashed his fangs, and bit into his neck. Vecna tried to fight him off, but Eddie was suddenly stronger than him, and he couldn't make a sound as the vampire ripped through his vocal cords. Eddie kept going until he stopped moving all together, and then suddenly, his teeth met air as Vecna's body dropped to the floor. He was still holding Vecna's head.

Steve woke up to the sound of a loud thump. He blinked several times. Standing there, alive and well, was Eddie Munson. Dark blood coated his chin and his shirt as he held Vecna's dismembered head in his hands.

"I brought you a present," Eddie said.

"Oh my god!" Steve said, jumping out of the bed and grabbing the nail bat from underneath it.

Eddie dropped the head.

"He wanted me to kill you, Steve, but I couldn't, so I had to, I had to kill him," Eddie whimpered.

Steve dropped the bat and rushed forward to wrap Eddie into a tight hug. They didn't let go of each other for a long time until Steve finally pulled back.

"Let's get you cleaned up," Steve said and grabbed some clothes from his drawers.

Eddie let him clean his face, a fond smile growing at Steve's determined face. The smile dropped.

"I'm sorry," Eddie said.

"Dude, are you apologizing for killing Vecna?" Steve asked. "Because I should be getting on my knees and thanking you."

"Really?!" Eddie asked eagerly.

Steve blushed and began stuttering. Eddie could hear his heart beating faster in his chest. He smirked.

"What are you sorry for, Munson?" Steve asked with a sigh.

"For not sticking to the plan," Eddie said.

"I'm not mad about that, I knew you were going to do something like that. What I am mad about is that Dustin watched you die in his arms. I'm not mad at you, I'm mad at that piece of shit lying dead in my room who caused that to happen! What I'm mad at is that you died, and I almost lost -," Steve cut himself off.

"What?" Eddie asked softly.

"You. I nearly lost my chance with you," Steve said, ducking his head.

Eddie grasped his chin and tilted it back up to meet Steve’s eyes.

"He couldn't control me, Stevie. It was because of you. Everything about me is heightened now, including my feelings for you," Eddie replied and cupped his cheek.

Steve sighed and leaned into his hand. Eddie moved to kiss him when Steve reeled his head back.

"No fucking way," Steve said.

"What's wrong?" Eddie asked.

"I am NOT kissing you when there are chunks of Vecna in your teeth," he said.

"What? You don't want to kiss this?" Eddie grinned. "Come on! This is sexy!"

Steve ducked and weaved as Eddie tried to kiss him. He pushed Eddie and laughed. Steve dug in the cabinets and tossed him a new toothbrush. Eddie rolled his eyes and brushed his teeth. He slid his fangs out and made sure to carefully brush those too. He made a dramatic point of using mouthwash and tossed it back like it was a shot, gurgling it in his mouth. He spun Steve into his arms, dipped him, and kissed him. Eddie broke the kiss and pulled him back up.

"Wanna join me for a shower, big boy?" Eddie asked.

"Sure," Steve giggled.

"No hanky panky," Eddie said. "Strictly body and hair washing."

"I'll behave if you'll behave," Steve grinned, and Eddie laughed.

All of a sudden, the house started to shake, and Eddie stumbled into Steve’s arms.

"What the hell was that?"

"That was the gate officially closing," Eddie said. "I felt it."

"Are you going to be okay?" Steve asked and tucked a hair behind his ear. "Hey! Your ears are all pointy."

"Oh, yeah," Eddie said. "You like them?"

"Yeah," Steve said and started laughing. "You're not a vampire. You're a fucking cat!"

"Mean," Eddie pouted. "I am a vampire."

Steve started scratching behind his ears and almost immediately Eddie started purring, actual purring.

"Are you sure?"

After their shower, Steve went downstairs and dialed the number for Hopper's cabin. He knew that if they weren't up before, they were now because of the earthquake. Eddie joined him, snuggling up against his back and hugging his waist, purring. Steve smiled.

"Hello?" Hopper greeted.

"Hey, Hop, it's Steve," he said.

"Hey, kid, everything okay over there?" He asked.

"Um, yeah. I probably shouldn't say this over the phone, but I'm not sure what to do with it," Steve said.

"Something needs to be taken care of?" He asked.

"Yeah."

"Yeah, I'm on my way," Hop said.

Steve wasn't too surprised when Hop showed up with his daughter and the Byers in tow. Argyle was also tagging along behind Jonathan. Hop pulled Steve into a hug and immediately began to check him over. Argyle made his way past Hop and hugged Steve.

"Steve with the good hair. It's good to see you again, man," Argyle said.

Hopper growled and pulled him back.

"You okay?" Hop asked.

"Yeah, I'm not sure how to explain this," Steve said. "It's better if I showed you."

He led them to the living room where Eddie was waiting for them.

"Munson?" Hop asked.

"Hey there, Chief, glad to see I'm not the only one who can rise from the grave," Eddie said. "I think our resurrection stories are a tad bit different."

"How?" He asked.

"Well, the bats ate me until I died, and then I became a vampire," Eddie said.

"What's that?" El asked.

"An undead creature who feeds on human blood," Will replied.

"He's harmless though," Steve said. "He only feeds on animals."

"And apparently dark wizards from another dimension," Eddie grinned.

"How do you know he's harmless?" Joyce asked, worried. "How do you know that we can trust him?"

"Well, for one, I scratch behind his ears, and he starts purring like a cat," Steve said, demonstrated it for them. "And another thing. . . He killed Vecna."

"What?!" everyone yelled.

"So, he really is dead," El said. "Will and I felt him die."

"Well, if you need more proof, his decapitated dead body is up in his bedroom," Eddie said cheerfully.

Hop went to head up and stopped El from trying to follow. Jonathan and Joyce had done the same with Will. Argyle followed Hop, and the older man growled at him.

"What? You can't stop me, man," Argyle grinned.

Hopper rolled his eyes, sighed, and went upstairs with Argyle following after him. A moment later, everyone downstairs heard Argyle yell.

"Ah, man, brutal!"

A moment later, they both came down looking a little pale. Argyle clapped a hand on Steve’s shoulder.

"There's blood everywhere, man. It's going to be a bitch to clean up," Argyle said and stepped away to move back towards Jonathan.

"So, what happened exactly?" Hopper asked.

"Well, when Henry so rudely woke me up, he immediately tried to turn me into his bitch to help him take over Hawkins and turn everyone into his little minions," Eddie said. "It wouldn't take."

"Why?" Joyce asked.

Steve and Eddie shared a look. They talked about it briefly before they got here. They knew the question would come up. Steve trusted them, and Eddie trusted Steve.

"Everything about me is heightened now as a vampire: my hearing, my strength, my mind, my morals, and most importantly. . .," Eddie said and took Steve’s hand. "My feelings, particularly towards Steve. He wanted me to kill Steve, but when I couldn't do it, he tried to do it himself. He was still weak from when they tried to kill him, which I think is how I managed to do it."

"You're together?" Will asked.

"As of, well, right before you guys got here," Steve said, blushing.

"Well, there's no reason not to trust him after that," Hopper sighed. "I'm glad something good came out of all of this bullshit."

"Yeah?" Steve asked.

Hopper pulled him into a hug and lightly tapped him on the shoulder with his fist.

"Stay here with your boy," Hopper said. "Jonathan, Argyle, and I are going to dispose of the body."

"Oh man, I am so going to throw up," Argyle said.

"Okay, there are some gloves, bandanas, and aprons in the kitchen," Steve said. "You sure you don't want me to help?"

"You've been through enough tonight," Hopper said. "Let us take care of the rest. That's what you called us for, right?"

Eddie pulled him back onto the couch next to him, putting an arm around him.

"Delegate, baby," Eddie said.

Will sat down next to them.

"Did you always know that you like guys?" He asked softly.

"Yeah," Steve and Eddie said.

Will smiled at them, digging at a piece of thread on his pants.

"Me too, just guys, that is. You dated Nancy before, so is it just guys for both of you or. . .I mean, if you don't mind me asking," Will said softly, eager to know that he wasn't alone.

"I like both," Steve and Eddie said together again.

They glared mockingly at each other. Just then, the phone rang. As Steve got up to answer it, Joyce and El were pulling Will into a tight hug. It had been Nancy on the phone, wondering what happened with the earthquake. When he told her the gate closed, she immediately volunteered to bring everyone else around. When he walked back in, Will was smiling and laughing with Eddie. Steve leaned against the doorway and gazed fondly at the sight. A while later, Jonathan came back in with the rest.

"Well, that took longer than it was supposed to," Jonathan said.

"Why?" Steve asked.

"Argyle threw up on the body," Jonathan said dryly and paused. "And a little bit on your bed."

"Well, he did say that was going to happen," Steve said.

"Better out than in, brochacos," Argyle said, patting his stomach.

Jonathan and Steve shared a look with each other before they started laughing. Suddenly, the front door burst open, and the rest came pouring in. Robin pushed past Steve and threw herself at his side.

"Are you okay?" Robin asked. "What happened?"

"I happened," Eddie spoke up.

Everyone gasped, and suddenly Dustin was pushing past them. His eyes were watery.

"Eddie?" Dustin asked and turned to Steve. "Is that -?"

"It's really Eddie," Steve confirmed.

Dustin started sobbing and threw himself into Eddie's arms. Eddie hugged him tightly, his own tears spilling on his cheeks.

"How?" Dustin choked.

"Vampire," Eddie said, flashing his fangs and wiggling his ears. "Yeah, I can do that. I killed Vecna."

"What the fuck? How?" Dustin asked.

"The power of love, little dude," Argyle said.

"The power of love?" Dustin asked.

"Uh, he tried to kill Steve, but I stopped him," Eddie said, blushing.

"You two are dating?" He asked.

"Yeah," Steve said, and Robin squealed beside him, grinning.

"That's so cool!" Dustin exclaimed and hugged him. "Hey, asshole! Get in here, I want to hug you too!"

Steve laughed and hugged them both. A moment later, Eddie started purring, and Dustin pulled back from the hug.

"Hey! I thought you said you were a vampire!" He yelled at him. "You're a goddamn cat!"

"I am not a goddamn cat! Why does everyone keep saying that?" Eddie whined.

They started arguing when the phone rang again, and Steve slipped away to answer it. A moment later, Steve came back, grinning from ear to ear, his eyes filled with happy tears.

"That was Max's mom," Steve announced. "Max is awake, and her eyesight is back!"

Everyone erupted into cheers and tears. Lucas grabbed Steve’s arm.

"Are you serious?" Lucas asked.

"Yeah!"

Lucas burst into tears, and Steve pulled him into a tight hug, letting him cry into his shoulder. Lucas pulled away to hug El, picking her up off the floor as they laughed gleefully. Hopper tapped him on the shoulder, his own eyes filled with tears. Apparently, there wasn't a dry eye in the house. If Max could see this now, she'd know exactly just how much she was loved.

"Hey, kid, you got anything to celebrate with in the house?" Hopper asked.

"Hell yes!" Steve laughed.

A FEW MONTHS LATER. . .

Everyone was settling in now. Max had healed up nicely and had moved out of the trailer park with her mother. Along with the Munsons, they were given a house as compensation. Eddie was cleared off all charges and was still happily dating Steve. The Munsons and Steve were currently over at the Hendersons for dinner. Steve and Wayne were helping in the kitchen. Dustin and Eddie were no longer allowed to help. Dustin was pouting in his room while Eddie sat on the couch with Mews in his lap. They were both purring.

"Don't look at me like that, Mews," Eddie scowled. "I'm not another cat. Stop it."

A moment later, Steve walked into the living room to find his boyfriend on all fours. His back arched as he and Mews circled each other.

"Eddie!"

"What?! Steve! She started it!" Eddie exclaimed.

"And I'm finishing it," Steve said. "Dinner is done. Don't forget to wash your hands."

Steve started walking back to the kitchen, and Mews gave Eddie a look.

"What? I don't have to listen to him all of the time," Eddie said.

"Eddie!"

"Coming, dear!" Eddie exclaimed and turned to him, pointing his finger at her. "This isn't over."

Mews reached over and licked his finger. She turned around and flicked her tail at him. Eddie hissed at her retreating form.

[bigskyandthecoldgun]

steve having a cat that refuses to be touched by anyone but him (it tolerates robin by extension ofc bc it has accepted the reality that they’re a package deal), and eddie gets warned by the entire party that steve’s cat hates people who aren’t steve or robin. eddie’s fully prepared to get scratched the fuck up, but the cat’s almost as friendly with him as it is with steve. huh. weird.

meanwhile, steve’s poor cat is trying to figure out a way to get its owner to stop being so sad all the time, and when one of the strange people he spends time with makes steve smile, the cat is determined to keep him around at all costs.

[morganbritton132]

Someone posts on their Twitter account, “I walked pass this restaurant on my lunch break and there was this gay couple on the patio, oohing and awing into a phone about seeing their little girl. When I walked past them, they were FaceTiming a cat.”

Jonathan replies to this tweet with a picture of Steve and Eddie at a restaurant and he asks, “Was it these idiots or is someone else in the same layer of hell as me?”

They reply, “Yeah, that was them.”

[maikaartwork]

Riot is jumping onto the boop train.

[fuctacles]

| 😺😺 | 😺😺😺 | 😺😺😺😺 | 😺😺😺😺😺 |

| 🐈 | 🐾 | 🐈 |

Eddie was lowkey disgusted by how his uncle would talk about one of his neighbors. No, he doesn't think it's bad for old people to fall in love or have crushes. But it's weird to know these things about his own uncle. 

And it's also sad to watch, because it's been months of Stephanie this, Stephanie that, and nothing came of it, so he felt safe to assume the infatuation was one-sided. So when he tells his uncle he can't go feed her cats that week, he figures it's for the best. And not only because of Wayne's twisted ankle. To his surprise though, he doesn't seem fazed; he just waves his hand and says:

"Yeah, yeah, I know. No climbing the stairs with this thing." He pokes the cast with his crutch. "I've already volunteered you anyway."

Eddie raises his eyebrows because he surely misheard that.

"You did what now?"

"Told Stephanie I'll send you to feed her cats," Wayne says, confirming his fears.

"Why?! She has so many other neighbors!" Eddie points out, gesturing vigorously around the room, implying but meaning the flats surrounding them. 

Wayne clicks his tongue at him.

"Would you let in just any of your neighbors into your home? She already trusts me, and I'm vouching for you."

Eddie gapes at him, hating that he's making a valid point. Damned be his old man and his reasonable thinking. He crosses his arms because while it makes sense, it doesn't mean Eddie can't be angry about it. 

"When?"

"She's visiting her friend this weekend so she asked for Saturday evening and Sunday morning. And stay with them for a while if possible, so they don't go crazy. Ah, and the plant in the kitchen needs watering."

"Great," Eddie grits through his teeth. He's so delighted at the prospect of spending time with some old lady's cats. The whole place probably stinks of cat piss and he'll definitely kill the plant as soon as he touches it. (It was his only superpower, which is not what he aimed for when his five-year-old had been praying, thanks for nothing, Jesus.) He just hopes he won't have to meet her. Hearing some old hag complain about his clothes, hair, and general adolescence was the last thing he wanted on his weekend off. But, alas...

"She asked you to come over tomorrow so she can show you where everything is."

Eddie groans. 

------

It's a Friday afternoon, he's at his uncle's taking a break from college and work. He should be sharing a beer with the old man, complaining about the coursework, the professors, and other students, not picking him up from the hospital, and running errands while his foot is in a cast. And certainly not meeting up with old stinky spinsters. 

To add insult to injury, Miss Stephanie, (which, by the way, is such a typical old hag name) lives two floors higher and the elevator is perpetually broken. Not too high, but high enough for Eddie's anemic lungs to start collapsing. 

He stops around the corner to steady his breath, because regardless of his overall attitude, he didn't want to worsen the first impression. He already refused to 'dress like a decent man' and didn't want to wheeze into the lady's face on top of it. 

Once his lungs are functioning properly again, he walks into the hallway, looking for number 54 as Wayne instructed. He knocks on the door, hoping he didn't mess it up and is at the right place. What if it was 45?

It must have been because he was told Stephanie Harrington lives alone. 

"Uh, sorry, I must have—"

"Are you Eddie?" The woman who opened the door takes him in. At her feet, a tabby cat peers curiously at the new human.

"Uh, yeah? I'm looking for Miss Stephanie?" he offers awkwardly. Maybe that's the friend? Or a sister?

But the woman extends her hand and smiles brightly.

"That would be me, but please call me Steph. I wish I could drill that into Wayne's thick skull." She rolls her eyes fondly.

Her big, gorgeous eyes, framed by thick lashes. She's not an old hag, she could be in her forties at best. She's tall and curvy and her hair looks straight out of a shampoo commercial. She's gorgeous. Eddie shakes her hand in a daze.

"Hi," he croaks as he's ushered inside. 

"Come in, come in! I've heard so much about you, it's great to finally see you in person. I must say," she turns around and gives him a quick once-over. "Wayne's stories didn't do you justice."

Did she just check him out?

Eddie clears his throat, suddenly dry like his elbows during winter.

"Uh, same to you."

"Yeah?" She puts her hands on her hips, raising an eyebrow. "What does he say about me?"

"Good things only," Eddie assures her. 

"So you're saying I'm a bitch." She squints at him.

"No!" His eyes widen. "What?!" 

"Well, if he's saying only good things about me, and you say they don't describe me right..." 

Eddie gets the point she's making and quickly shakes his head.

"No, he just made you sound like a crazy old cat lady, and you're..." He waves his hand uselessly. "Not that."

She sighs softly, shoulders sagging a little. It would be easy to miss but Eddie's senses are heightened after his fuck up.

"I kinda am, though," she says with a shrug. 

Eddie feels the need to reassure her somehow.

"Well, you're not eighty and your place doesn't smell like cat litter, I think you're fine."

She barks a laugh, it's low and surprised and Eddie's cheeks are red because he's just digging further into the hole he's in, isn't he?

"Good to know the bar is so low."

Eddie groans, tired of doing damage control that's not controlling anything.

"I'm gonna shut up now."

"Please don't." Steph smiles wide and teasingly. "You're a funny one. Just like your uncle told me."

Eddie scoffs. He's going to have a word or two with the old man once he's back.

"Great, this is exactly the impression I was hoping to make."

At his words, the woman eyes him up and down again, and he can feel his cheeks heating up.

"Yeah? Not as the local punk satanist?" she teases, making Eddie bristle.

"Metalhead," he corrects instinctively and immediately winces.

"Ah, my bad. I'm not good at the subcultures thing." She smiles apologetically but it doesn't read well with how clearly amused she is. "Anyway, here's the plant I want you to water tomorrow evening. Just like, half a glass."

Right. Plants. Cats. He came here on a mission.

"Come on, I'll show you my cats."

There's only three of them and they come rushing from all corners of the flat at the rustle of a catnip bag. Eddie never saw high cats so he's glad to have this opportunity now. Stephanie points to the tabby he saw earlier.

"This is Dart, she's not actually mine, but my friend couldn't keep her at the dorms. This is Garfield," she points to the orange cat, making Eddie huff a laugh. She grins. "Yeah, don't tell anyone, but he's my favorite," she whispers, to which Eddie mimics zipping his mouth shut. 

Lastly, she points to the black cat rolling on the carpet. 

"And this is Arwen."

Eddie frowns.

"Like, The Lord of the Rings Arwen?"

"Yeah," Steph sighs. "Dustin named her. He's the friend I've mentioned. Dart is short for D'Artagnan and I've fought teeth and nail for Garfield not to be called Pippin."

"Pippin is a great name, though," Eddie points out.

"Maybe," she huffs, crossing her arms. "But I wanted one for myself, okay? Not everything has to be about Dustin."

"Is Dustin like, your brother or something?" 

"Kinda?" She frowns. "We're not actually related but I babysat him, and then we became friends. He just stuck around, somehow." The words sound angry but her face betrays the fondness she has for her friends. 

"That's nice," he offers. "I'm an only child, never met any cousins, and only ever had friends my age."

"Well, good for you. Maybe if I had friends my age I wouldn't be living alone with a bunch of cats."

Eddie frowns. 

"Hey, now..."

She cuts him off with a dismissive wave of her hand. 

"I'll show you where the food is." 

Eddie's in a daze when he comes back downstairs, only realizing his visit ended when he's standing in his uncle's living room. He's been gone for only half an hour but it feels longer. 

"How did it go?" his uncle asks, pulling him out of his reverie. 

Edie turns to him and blinks, fighting the cotton around his brain.

"Fine?" he offers. "She's not as old as I expected," he admits bluntly. His uncle snorts.

"What, just because she lives alone with her cats you assumed she's on her deathbed?"

Eddie winces. It's exactly what he did.

"Well, the people in her life weren't kind to her, so now she relies on her pets. Nothing wrong with that." Wayne shrugs. 

"What do you mean?" Eddie frowns, curious. Concerned. He goes to the kitchen, not wanting to seem too eager to get an answer, and grabs a beer for himself and his uncle. He opens the junk drawer to find an opener and hears his uncle answer from the adjacent living room space. 

"She doesn't say much about it and I never asked, but she's always alone on the holidays. Her friends visit a few days before or after."

Eddie walks back in and hands his uncle the opened bottle. 

"Thanks, son."

He nods and settles heavily in an armchair. Focusing his gaze on the label peeling off of his beer, he hums thoughtfully.

"No family?"

"Seems so." Wayne nods solemnly. "I think it was a conflict of lifestyle choices, but I'll be honest, I'm basing it off of rumors and my own assumptions." He scratches his cheek, frowning at the wall. "It's not my place to pry, though I offered to hear her out if she ever felt like needing an ear." He sighs. "I'm just trying to be a good neighbor. Invited her for dinner over Thanksgiving, when you couldn't come. I was surprised she's into basketball," he muses. 

Eddie was seeking answers and now was even more confused.

"You invited Miss Stephanie. For a dinner?" He raised his eyebrows. 

"Yes. She was alone, I was alone, figured I could at least ask. I'm still surprised she agreed. She declined all my other offers."

"Wow." A teasing smile creeps on his lips against his will. "You've been inviting a lot of women since I moved out?"

"Listen," Wayne takes on his stern voice and it takes all of Eddie's willpower not to cackle. He can see his uncle's mustache twitch. "Stephanie is a lovely lady, but she's way too young for an old man like me. And this old man is too old for romance anyway. Besides—" he cuts himself off like he realized he was saying too much. Which, of course, piques Eddie's curiosity. 

"Besides?"

Wayne shrugs.

"I don't think I'd ever be ready for someone like her."

Eddie makes a confused face. 

"The fuck does that mean?" he asks, irritated. 

"Rumors and speculations, son."

[steddieasitgoes]

Steve owning a sphynx cat who is antisocial and always hides when he has people over at his house to the point where people don’t even know he has a cat. Cue Eddie screaming in terror when she makes her presence known on a random Saturday in December.

Steve scolds him for yelling because he’ll startle Princess and Eddie looking at Steve with astonishment, going: “That thing is not a Princess. It’s an abomination! It looks like Gollum!”

Princess hisses before strutting over to where Steve sits on the couch and cuddles up on his chest. And Steve just looks at Eddie like: “She’s my princess if you have a problem with her there’s the door.”

Obviously Eddie’s not stupid enough to walk out on Steve over a damn cat but he’s not exactly thrilled about sharing him with the hairless monstrosity staring at him.

Jokes on him though because within two weeks he and Princess are best friends, always napping together much to Steve’s chagrin. “Guess she likes me better, Stevie.”

“Yeah because you’re both heathens!”

[solarmorrigan]

Steve Harrington is absolutely the sort of person to become emotionally dependent on a pet. He grew up lonely and he loves taking care of things, and here's this creature that loves him unconditionally and is dependent on him for care? He's a goner

He finds a kitten in his backyard, wet and cold and alone, but in pretty good shape, all things considered. It hisses and swipes at him, but it's also mewing pathetically, and Steve can't just leave it, so he manages to get the thing inside with minimal blood loss (all his) and cleans it up and feeds it. It's a lot more amenable to the idea of Steve once it's warm and dry and full, and by the end of the day, it's curled up and purring in the crook of his neck, and Steve is already prepared to die for this thing

He does recognize that the right thing to do is to ask around and see if anyone is missing a kitten, which he does do, but no one on his street or the next one over lays claim to it, and there aren’t any kind of wanted posters going up for it, so Steve decides he is now the proud owner of a cat

He names her Baby and dotes on her accordingly. (In his defense, the name is Robin's idea; she tells him that he treats the cat enough like a baby, so the name might as well fit. Steve's always been shit at coming up with names, so he just goes with it)

Baby is the world's most spoiled cat, which Steve readily admits. But isn't that what cats are for? She's a wonderful cat and she clearly deserves nice things and Steve is going to get them for her. Toys, treats, a plush cat bed, the best food, whatever he thinks she could possibly need or want. If "I work hard so my cat can live a better life" t-shirts had existed in the 80s, Robin probably would have gotten one for him and he probably would have worn it

Of course, it helps that Baby actually does adore Steve. With everyone else, she ranges from frosty to outright hostile (she's taken a particular dislike to Eddie, of all people, which is unfortunate, because Steve really, really likes Eddie); she'll consent to be admired, and she'll accept treats, and she might even let more familiar people pet her, but in the end she is very much Steve's baby. If he's home, she's stuck to his side like a burr, curled up wherever he is and purring away, content just to be with him. She still snuggles up in the crook of his shoulder at night, just like when she was a kitten, even though she's bigger now and is a bit less easily accommodated

It goes without saying that Baby is strictly an indoor cat. Steve lives right up against the woods and there are predators out there, and people in town drive like assholes, and Steve won't take the chance of her being eaten or run over or meeting some other horrible fate. He really doesn't think his heart could take it

But of course, because all cats are terrible bastards at heart (affectionate), Baby darts out the back door one day as Steve is coming in off the patio, chasing after some other small animal that Steve can't even see, and she's out of the backyard and up towards the trees before Steve can do much more than make a grab for her

And Steve, who has survived interrogations and monster attacks and many situations objectively much more stressful than this, does not panic. He does spend half the night wandering around in the trees with a flashlight, shaking a bag of cat food and calling for Baby, but that's not panicking, that's problem solving

He eventually gets too cold and too tired to keep going and has to pack it in for the night. He holds onto some shred of hope that she'll be waiting by the back door when he wakes up, wondering why the hell it's taken so long for him to come let her in, but apparently that's not the way life works, because the patio and all areas around the house are still distinctly catless come daybreak

Eddie shows up sometime mid-morning, just as Steve is preparing to head back out and look for her. He has genuinely never seen Steve so upset; he looks like he might actually cry if he doesn't find that damn cat, which just isn't something that Steve does. But he's actually fucking distraught, and Eddie simply can't have that, even if Baby is his nemesis, so he goes to the phone and makes some calls

He cashes in on favors, he makes promises, he actually agrees to pay Mike ten bucks to show up, but he gets the kids, all the older teens (the only reason Robin hadn't been there already is because Steve hadn't paused long enough to tell her what was going on), and even the Corroded Coffin boys up to Steve's house to comb the woods for Steve's damn cat

It's Eddie who finds her in the end, a shock of pale, mewling fur actually stuck in a fucking tree. The cliche nearly kills him – either that or trying to climb down a tree one-handed while holding a cat. He's surprised she actually lets him pick her up, but then again, she's been out here all night, she's cold, and at least she recognizes Eddie. Maybe this is the beginning of a truce

Or, she might go back to hissing and swiping at Eddie any time she the mood takes her, but Eddie doesn't even care, because Steve is elated to have Baby back, so fucking happy that he doesn't even seem to notice that she's digging her claws into his arm as she clings to him for dear life all the way back to the house. Eddie will deal with anything that Steve loves that much

Steve pays for pizza to thank everyone for putting their Saturday on hold to search-and-rescue a cat, and everyone warms up and eats their fill before slowly filtering back out of the house. And later, after Baby's been cleaned up and fed and properly doted on and is purring away curled up over a heating vent in the living room, Steve takes Eddie upstairs to show his thanks in a much more thorough manner

After all – Baby is very important to him, and he's more relieved than he can say to have her back, but she isn't the only thing that Steve adores

[glitterfang]

@toburnup thanks for finding the perf stommie ref 💖

[undreaming-fanfiction]

As a crazy cat lady, may I offfer...

Eddie who has always loved cats, how free and soft and elegant they are, how they purr and close their eyes in affection, how they make him forget all his worries and stress. He's loved them ever since a neighbor's cat found him crying behind the trailer after he got bullied for his new haircut, the last gift from his shitty dad before Eddie got whisked away by the social services. The cat ignored his sniffling and jumped in his lap, plopping herself over the bony knees and thin thighs, and when she started rubbing her face against his scraped palm, Eddie felt complete.

He can't adopt one yet because he lives with Wayne who is allergic. Wayne offers to take antihistamines but Eddie refuses, he doesn't want to inconvenience him in his own home. Still, he dreams of one day sometime in the future, a small apartment of his own and at least two cats who will greet him when he comes home.

Eddie finds himself volunteering in a shelter and when a new cat café opens, he jumps at the opportunity. He is hired and spends his days taking of their cat ensemble and preparing delicious coffees. Cats help him be less jittery and more grounded, so it's a win win. Eddie loves this job.

Enter Steve Harrington, an insanely handsome man who stops by to make a reservation. Eddie is his usual flirty self, although he expects Steve will bring a date and that's the end of that. But then Steve leans to Eddie and asks: "Listen, uh...I will need some help."

Suppressing an internal groan, Eddie asks: "what, do you need me to drop an engagement ring into the coffee or something? Because can do, but it needs to be sanitized first."

"Oh no. Not that, no..." Steve runs his fingers through his hair and even though it looks like a nervous gesture, Eddie is seconds away from a cuteness induced nosebleed. "Not at all. I just...I have a little sister, you know? I mean, my adoptive dad is fostering her and she's the kindest girl you've met, but she had it rough in her original family. Apparently there was something involving animals and...she loves cats so much, but is terrified of hurting them. She would never!" he clarifies when he sees a frown forming on Eddie's forehead. "It's just that whenever she showed affection to any animal, her biological father made sure it would get hurt or at least chased away. And that's gone, that man is in jail and I just...I want to show her that it's okay to love animals again. That she can pet a purring cat without worrying about its safety."

Eddie just stares at him with mouth open. "That's...wow," he says. "Sorry. Processing."

Steve does the hair thing again and laughs and Eddie thinks that this man deserves a brother of the year award, yep, he'll ask Gareth to 3D print one right fucking now. "Yeah, sorry. I didn't mean to dump all that on you, but I had to be honest because this is a big deal to her. To me as well. Just...listen, I like cats a lot, but I'm not the best at interpreting what they mean, their body language and all that. And I really need Jane to have someone here that can tell her what to do, when she's doing a good job...someone who will protect the kitties if she messes up. Her words. I know it's a lot to ask, but..."

But Eddie shushes him. "Say no more, big boy. I'll be here and I'll give the young lady the cat experience of a lifetime."

Eddie used to think he couldn't love his job any more. But with Jane's uncertain smile and big eyes, her incredulous squeal when a cat chose her for the first time, when she kept asking Eddie for specifics of each cat in his care - "which one is more shy, which one likes to be picked up, which one is a picky eater?" - he thinks he's finally found his calling. Steve beams at him and comes back the next day with a bag of approved cat treats for the cats and a box of chocolates for Eddie as a thank you, then asks him out for a dinner - "if that is even appropriate, shit, sorry, I don't want you to feel pressured or something, this is your job, I get it, but I just really admire you and you were amazing to Jane, uh, and the stuff you say about cats is so interesting I'd just love to hear more". Eddie's heart flutters like the traitor it is and he thinks - maybe this is someone I could adopt a cat with one day.

And unsurprisingly, he's right.

[stevesbipanic]

For the lovely @withacapitalp happy birthday Liam hope you have the best day today!!!!

Steve had been pacing around the apartment all morning. Well, pacing wasn't really the right word, Eddie would describe it more like having the same zoomies their cat Toothpaste has at 3am.

You see today was–"It's Robin Day, Eds!" As his lovely boyfriend had practically screamed in his ear at 5am. "And it will still be Robin day when you return from your job at a normal waking hour, babe."

Eddie had hoped the jog would've gotten some of the energy out of Steve's system but he seemed more hyper on his return, at least he'd brought Eddie coffee.

"Love, Robin isn't even on the plane yet."

"I know, but it's today, Eds."

Steve looked so bright it made all of Eddie's sleepiness fade away. It had been hard, living away from Robin. They'd all shared an apartment when she went away for college but by the time she got a job in New York, Steve and Eddie were not only dating finally but settled into Chicago life.

They spoke every day of course, Robin and Steve never missed a nightly catch up of the day's events, Eddie didn't even know what they'd talk about once they were in the same state again. Eddie knew Robin would always be Steve's number one and he loved that about him.

There was one other thing about today though. "Sweetheart, you know it's not just Robin Day, right?"

Steve looked confused at his boyfriend, kind of like the way a puppy looks when you move his toy.

"What could be more important about today than that."

Eddie began humming a specific tune wrapping his arms around Steve's waist. "Oh, right, my birthday, 24 isn't exactly a big deal Eds," Steve said rolling his eyes.

Eddie laughed, "Your birthday is the reason Robin's coming, sunshine, plus after the number of times we've both almost died I think every birthday is a big deal."

Steve nodded his head and returned the embrace Eddie had been giving him, "True, you think you're gonna have a quarter life crisis in August, Mr 25?"

Eddie grinned, "Oh yeah, I think imma buy a guitar and start a band." Steve laughed, while Corroded Coffin never got famous they got relatively well known in the local scene, Tuesdays were now a regular gig at The Squire downtown.

"Four hours til she lands," Steve said kissing Eddie's cheek and running upstairs to make sure the guest room was ready for the tenth time. "Still not on the plane yet!" Eddie called up laughing.

Four and a half hours later their loving room was filled with laughter and joy once more. "And then the guy asked the flight attendant for another ginger ale and Steve this man was looking green and you know how I don't deal with sick people well I'm surprised I survived the flight at all," Robin rambled filling Steve in on her flight from hell.

"Honestly, you should just move back here, save yourself the flight," Steve joked. Robin glanced at Eddie, one little birthday surprise they hadn't told Steve yet.

"Actually, my contract is ending in two weeks, and um, they offered to extend it at...their Chicago office."

Steve was frozen, if Eddie didn't know better he'd think Vecna had returned from the dead to finish them off after all these years. Then the screaming started.

"YOU'RE MOVING BACK TO CHICAGO!"

"I'M MOVING BACK TO CHICAGO!"

Pretty soon everyday would be Robin Day and with his boy looking that happy Eddie wouldn't want it any other way.

[emblazons]

"If you touch her again, I will kill you. Again."

STRANGER THINGS SANS VISAGES S04E09 - The Piggyback (Part I of II)

[bettyfrommars]

A doc I started a while ago is titled "car thief Eddie" (his dad gets him into stealing cars for this chop shop and shit goes sideways) but anyway, I totally forgot about it. I was looking through my wips just now and swore I saw "CAT thief Eddie" instead. Now I'm imagining it's an accident that he ends up with (steals) your cat because he thought it was a stray, but you’d been searching for it for weeks. Once you get it back, he's already very attached, named her Leia and everything, so he comes by to visit like a sad, divorced cat dad, and you start to warm up to him. Leaves treats and cat toys on the porch when you’re not home. Keeps a photo of her on his fridge. Meanwhile, the cat was the mastermind the entire time. A cat matchmaker, if you will.

[soupinaboot]

Fuck it. Every Steve Harrington headcannon I have because I've been rotating that boy in my head like a pig on a stick

- Has had glasses since he was young but mostly wore contacts throughout high school due to being bullied in middle school for looking like a nerd

- Plays the piano or the violin, your pick

- In addition to the piano, he mostly plays jazz cause thats my favorite genre and I think it would be his too

- Has ALWAYS had horrible migraines but have since been a lot more difficult to deal with due to you know all that other shit that's been going on

- Does not know popular culture, I know it's very popular within the fandom that he only listences to what's on the radio or watchs only the recent released movies but that boy could barely name a single movie he does NOT know popular shit (this also goes with my jazz headcannon that he mostly just listenes to jazz in the car or at home)

- Surprisingly amazing at chess, no one in the party has managed to beat him

- Horror fan(books,shows,movies,etc)

- His best subject in school was math and I will die on this hill

- Between him and Eddie, he is the black cat

- Bisexual obviously, but a really do like the headcanon that he kinda knew he liked boys when he was younger and doesn't need Robin or Eddie to tell him(he was the one telling Robin that Vickie could like both just saying)

- Also asexual maybe

- Can cook

- SMOKER!!! He smokes in the first season, and in the third he makes a reference to smoking marijuana, he is NOT new to this

- Has really bad bedhead

- I can see him as having some form of OCD or ADHD

I'm forgetting most so be prepared for a part 2

Part 2

[morganbritton132]

Eddie’s just trying to show off his new guitar picks on his TIkTok account while in the background, this conversation is happening:

Steve: Want some m&ms?

Robin, holding out her hand: When I was a kid, I would assign each of my family members a color of m&m and then eat them in order of who I liked the least to who I liked the most.

Steve: Who did you eat last?

Robin: My cat, Lucy. She was the brown one. I would swallow them whole so I wouldn’t hurt her chewing.

Steve: Makes sense

Steve: What color would I be?

Robin: Blue

Steve: *fist pumps*

[maikaartwork]

One does not simply remove a sleeping cat from lap.

[pitifulbaby]

I’m actually so normal about this btw