#dangerous steve

[lilpomelito]

I go feral for for fics where Eddie is like "I'm a metalhead drug dealer🤘😈, I'm dangerous, I'm from the wrong side of the tracks☠️💉⚠️, I'm bad news baby, you should be scared, I'll eat you up and spit you out⛓️🐺⛔️, you should run, you're a suburban spoiled rich kid and I'm exactly the bad news your mommy warned you about❤️‍🔥🔪😏" and Steve, who fought an interdimensional demon with a bat full of nails, who protected children from the equivalent of radioactive rabid dogs, who endured russian torture, who saw a little girl who was the experiment of a shady government organization explode full grown adults with her mind, who survived a demon bat attack with only his fists and teeth as weapons, he's like "ok sweetie, I'll pick you up at six 🥰✨"

[steddiealltheway]

The Danger in Romanticizing (Ao3 Link)

"Steve, I'm serious, you might absolutely hate Eddie." 

Steve sighs and relaxes against their couch. This is the third time today that Robin has given him this warning. "I'm not going to terrorize him to the point that Chrissy breaks up with you." 

Robin raises her eyebrows at him as if he would seriously do it. "You don't know Eddie though. He's... he's someone you would've hated in high school. He's loud, nerdy, dramatic, and he was in a band." 

"Robin, he sounds just like you." 

Robin's jaw drops. "Take it back." 

Steve laughs, "Come on, he sounds great. I don't know why you and Chrissy think we'll hate each other." 

"He was bullied in high school by jocks just like you, but he threw it right back at them," Robin says while pacing. "And Eddie to Chrissy is the equivalent of you to me - her platonic soulmate. If you two don't like each other, then I don't know what we'll do." 

Steve stands up and grabs Robin by the shoulders, stopping her pacing. "It's going to be fine. If anything, we'll just make polite small talk any time we see each other. As far as I'm concerned, you like him and he's kind to you, so he's good on my list." 

Robin nods but she doesn't look convinced. 

"I just can't believe that you two waited a month to introduce us." 

Robin sighs and walks away from him, brushing off imaginary dust on their couch and chair. "It'll be easier to explain when you meet him." 

"When are they supposed to get here again?" 

Robin glances at the clock and goes pale. The doorbell rings and Steve feels a sudden rush of nerves. He doesn't know why he's so nervous to meet this man. He really likes Chrissy, and he can't imagine her being best friends with someone he wouldn't like. 

Robin takes a deep breath and looks Steve over for a second sighing as if disappointed in something. 

"What?" 

"Nothing," Robin says quickly and rushes to the front door. She pauses and looks over her shoulder. "Just please be nice." 

Steve gives her a thumbs-up and shoves his hands in the pockets of his jeans, waiting for this mystery man to appear. 

The door opens and Steve spots Chrissy first, sporting a very nervous smile, and then the door opens all the way to reveal Eddie. 

And holy shit. With all the warnings, it never crossed Steve's mind that the man could be so damn hot. He's wearing a black t-shirt with some band on it that Steve doesn't know but the short sleeves show off a few tattoos that make him curious about how many he may be hiding under the rest of his clothes. He tries not to let his eyes wander for too long, so he doesn't dare stare for any longer, glancing back up at Eddie's face in hopes that he hasn’t been caught. 

He feels his heart speed up a little bit as he finds Eddie looking him up and down quickly before shooting him a small smile. And god, he has dimples. 

Steve smiles back at him and walks to the front door. He bends down to pull Chrissy into a hug first before pulling away to hold a hand out to Eddie. He takes it, and Steve's eyes catch on his rings quickly. He wonders if the whole tough exterior was built to protect him while simultaneously drawing attention. "Hey, I'm Steve." 

"Eddie," he says back. And his damn voice goes straight through him. 

"Oh shoot, I forgot to grab something from the store before we got here," Chrissy says. "Robin, will you come with me to get it?" 

"I can-" Eddie starts to say, but Robin's already grabbing Chrissy's hand and pulling her out the front door. 

It closes loudly and Steve winces at the noise. 

Eddie turns to him and awkwardly smiles. "So..." 

"So," Steve says, noticing the hesitation coming from Eddie. He wonders... "Can I just come out and ask if you've been getting the same warning that we might hate each other?" 

"Yes!" Eddie says and lets out a deep breath. "And did they seriously just leave us alone thinking that?" 

"They're lucky if we don't kill each other." 

"If? Don't you mean 'when?'" Eddie asks with a teasing smile. 

Steve laughs loudly and asks, "Do you want a beer or something?" 

"God, I would love a beer." 

Steve smiles and walks off to the fridge, grabbing two and gesturing Eddie over to the living room. They both sit on the couch a comfortable distance away from each other, and Steve ignores the itch to move closer. "So, I heard that you were in a band." 

"And I heard you were a former jock." 

Steve snorts and waggles his fingers at him. "Your worst nightmare." 

Eddie dramatically leans away from him with a hand over his heart. "Good heavens, you're absolutely repulsive." 

Steve finds himself laughing again. He has no idea why Robin thought he would ever hate this guy. 

"So," Eddie says with a small smile, "What are you doing now, former jock? Chrissy hasn’t mentioned you being in any of her classes or hanging around the college, so I’m assuming you don’t go there." 

Steve runs a hand through his hair and leans back against the couch. "No, college isn’t for me. I'm working in sales at my dad's company. Specifically, as a car salesman." Eddie immediately cringes and Steve sighs, "Trust me. I know. But I'm absolutely horrible at my job. I can never bullshit someone. If they tell me what they're looking for, I'm giving them exactly that and not some overpriced bullshit." 

Eddie raises his eyebrows. "But you're still selling cars, so it sounds like you're doing your job." 

"Not the way my dad wants me to," Steve complains. 

"So, why don't you do something else?" Eddie asks point blank. 

Steve's a little taken aback by the bluntness, but he appreciates it. He shrugs. "I got horrible grades in high school to the point that I couldn't get into even the easiest colleges. Working with my dad just seemed like the only option." 

"For a while I was thinking about working at the plant with my uncle because high school was terrible for me. I managed to fail my senior year twice before graduating." 

"So, what are you doing now?" Steve asks, curious about what other options there are. 

Eddie leans back against the couch and takes a long swig of his beer. Steve tries not to focus on the tendons in his neck as he swallows. "I had this moment after I graduated where I suddenly realized that my creative outlets suddenly vanished. My band had to take a break because everyone but Gareth graduated and Jeff and Grant were going to college, and I could no longer run Hellfire Club which got rid of my Dungeons and Dragons outlet. And for some reason, I was struck with this great idea to write a novel." 

He shifts, crossing his legs under himself and looking off in the distance with a sad smile. "I just sat down and wrote and wrote. It's like the words were pouring out of me, and I couldn't stop them. God, I barely slept." He pauses as if he's reliving the moment. "Then, I had this extremely rough draft of this book, and I started calling publishers and I went to the first one who would take me. But they read it and told me it would be better as a children's story." 

Steve can't help but interject, "That's just one person's opinion though." 

Eddie nods and drinks more of his beer. "Yes, but they offered to actually look at it and publish it once I simplified it." 

"Did you do it?" 

Eddie nods. "Yeah, and I mean, it brought in a decent amount of money that I've been cruising on, but I don't know. There were so many things I wanted to expand on. I was aiming for a whole book series." 

Steve turns to him and sits crisscrossed. "So, what's the children's book about?" 

Eddie sighs, "You're going to find it so dumb." 

"Try me." 

Eddie puts his beer down on the coffee table and leans in to Steve. "So, it takes inspiration from Dungeons and Dragons. And it's about this boy who has never felt like he's fit in. For some reason, he's always been disliked by people or shunned for being different. Then, he comes across this monster, one that he's heard terrifying stories about from all these different adventurers. But instead of attacking it, he tries a different approach and finds that he can befriend the monster, and he ends up naming him Dart and they travel together. And for once he doesn't feel alone." 

Steve's jaw drops as Eddie continues to describe the story, feeling frozen in place. 

"Then, they come across more creatures, and they find they're all evil because they're always under attack. And yes, some are just pure evil, but it doesn't define the whole species. Then, the story gets really cheesy..." Eddie trails off with a groan. "God, this is embarrassing." 

Steve finally finds his voice and continues for him, "Then, he's practically hunted by the town who assumes he's evil because he's with all these monsters which they think he must have some sort of dark control over. But then when an even bigger monster comes and threatens to destroy the whole town, they turn to him for help. The boy becomes a hero, but he goes back with the rest of the monsters who always accepted him for who he was." 

Eddie's eyes become considerably wider by the end of Steve's narration. "How do you...?" 

Steve grabs his hand and pulls him to his room, opens the door, and goes through the small stack of books on the bottom shelf of his nightstand. He pulls out Eddie's book and holds it up. "You're Eddie Munson?" 

Eddie nods, totally bewildered. 

"Holy shit," Steve says with a big smile, "Dustin loves this book!" 

"Dustin?" 

"One of the kids I used to babysit, he's in high school now, but he went on about this book for weeks. He loves Dungeons and Dragons, and as soon as I saw it, I bought it for him. He thought it was some kind of joke because it's a children's book, but he read it and developed so many theories about it. He made all his friends buy it because he thinks it could change the whole universe of Dungeons and Dragons. Shit, you’re like a legend to him." 

Eddie's mouth just opens and closes. "I- I don't know what to say." 

"Could you possibly meet him sometime? No pressure at all, but he'd love you." 

"Yeah! Definitely," Eddie says and excitedly bounces a bit. "God, I've never met a fan before." 

"I have to warn you that he may be a bit much, and I don't think he would ever leave you alone after this. But it would make his entire year, maybe even his whole life." 

Eddie just smiles widely and nods. "Yeah! Yeah, I mean, I can also be a lot, so I'm ready. Just let me know when." 

Steve smiles and shakes his head. "This is so cool. And thank you, really, this means the world to me." 

"Same here," Eddie says. 

The two let the excitement bubble down a bit, but the smiles don't leave their faces. Eddie glances around though and asks, "No offense, but why is your room so..." 

"Empty?" Steve fills in for him. Eddie nods. "Well, my parents didn't really let me decorate my room, and I've just never really known what I wanted to do with my own place. So, I've kind of put it on the back burner. Plus, I spend most of my time in Robin's room or in the living room." 

Eddie looks around and shakes his head. "My room is covered in shit. It's like I never have enough wall space or floor space for everything I want." 

"I can see why Robin and Chrissy thought we wouldn't like each other," Steve says, sitting on his bed covered in a plain blue comforter and patting the empty space next to him. 

Eddie follows the cue and sits down. "That all feels like surface-level bullshit." 

"I think they're so blinded by their love for each other that they couldn't think beyond it. I know Robin's scared shitless of messing things up." 

"God, so is Chrissy. I swore that even if you were the biggest asshole I was going to pretend to like you. Luckily, you're making it easy." 

Steve feels the tips of his ears turning red. "Same here." 

Eddie smiles at him, and Steve feels so enamored by him that he can't help but ask, "So, what about you?" 

"What about me?" 

"Are you seeing anyone?" Steve asks, hoping he doesn’t come off as too forward. 

Eddie shrugs and looks down at his hands. "Sort of," he says and looks back at Steve. "I'm bisexual, so it's a little harder for me sometimes." 

Bisexual. The label that Steve has personally struggled with for years. 

"Shit, don't tell me your biphobic." 

Steve snaps out of his mini panic and asks, "What?" 

"You practically grimaced when I said bisexual. Or are you someone who is only okay with girls being in relationships but not guys?" 

"No! No," Steve insists. He takes a deep breath. He's not sure what it is about Eddie that makes him feel so at ease, but he confesses, "It's just that... I think that I'm also bisexual. I don't know though. I know I've had feelings for guys and felt attraction, but I can't picture myself dating a guy. But I feel so horrible admitting that. Maybe I'm just a coward." 

Eddie's expression shifts from guarded to sympathetic quickly. "Who can blame you though? The world sometimes just... sucks. But here's something that kind of blew my mind when learning about bisexuality - you can still have preferences. Like, for me, I have a preference towards men, but I can't deny that some girls I've had feelings for. Even Chrissy once upon a time, but I quickly realized how much better things were platonically. You can always have a preference for women; it doesn't have to be half and half." 

It's like something finally clicks in Steve's head. He breathes a sigh of relief. "Where have you been all my life?" he asks somewhat dramatically. 

Eddie laughs, "Being kept away by Robin and Chrissy." 

Steve smiles and traces their conversation back a bit. He lands on a question and asks, "So, how are you sort of dating someone?" 

Eddie groans and runs his hands over his face. "There's this guy I've been somewhat hooking up with at this bar. And he's just perfect, you know?" 

"Oh no," Steve says, feeling the familiar phrase wash over him. 

"What?" 

Steve really looks at Eddie, accessing him fully before declaring, "You're a romanticizer." 

Eddie scoffs. "How did you arrive at that conclusion?" 

"'He's just perfect,'" Steve mimics him. "It's the dead giveaway. Plus, I am too. It gets me in trouble a lot. But I hate seeing it in other people. Like there's this asshole I work with that my dad loves but I absolutely despise. His name is Collin, and he's constantly bragging about all these women he has practically begging at his feet for his attention and shit. Then, at these work parties, Collin's wife will always just go on about how perfect her husband is. God, it kills me because she's so blind to it all. I would tell her, but my dad would kill me if I did anything that potentially would affect Collin working for him." 

Steve sighs and clutches Eddie's book closer to his chest, not noticing until now how he's been unconsciously using it as a source of comfort. "Anyways, I just hate seeing people love blindly." 

"I've done the same thing," Eddie admits, "But this time it feels different." 

"Ten bucks he sucks." 

This startles a laugh out of Eddie, but he sticks his hand out. "You're on." They shake on it quickly. "So, what about you? Are you currently romanticizing anyone?" 

Steve smiles sadly. "Not at the moment, but feel free to call me out on it when I do." 

"Looking forward to it," Eddie says with a smile. "Now tell me, do you have to wear those awful polos to do sales?" 

"I do, but I'll have you know that I actually like those awful polos." 

Eddie stands up and gasps, "I'm appalled. Please don't tell me you have more than five in your closet." 

"I have way more than five. I actually almost wore one today, but I went with my comfort sweater instead." 

Eddie walks slowly toward his closet door. "Is this where the source of disaster is?" 

Steve raises his eyebrows and nods. 

"May I?" Eddie asks with his hand on the knob. 

"Prepare yourself." 

Eddie takes a dramatic deep breath to gather himself before swinging the door open dramatically and yelling, "It's worse than I thought!" 

"You haven't even looked through it!" 

"I saw more than two collared shirts," Eddie says in horror. "Steve, I've decided that Robin and Chrissy are absolutely correct, and there's no way I could ever like you." 

Steve laughs, but is interrupted by Chrissy and Robin suddenly barging into the room yelling, "What happened?" 

Eddie and Steve look at them and laugh. 

"We didn't hear you come in," Eddie says. 

"We wanted to check the atmosphere as it was, but we heard you say the thing about not liking Steve and we thought..." Chrissy trails off. 

Steve finds Robin staring at him while looking worried. "Steve, are you okay?" 

Steve frowns. "Yeah, I'm fine, why?" 

"You're holding your comfort book." 

Steve flushes red and puts his head in his hands. 

"His what?" Chrissy and Eddie ask. 

"His comfort book. He reads it or makes me read it whenever he's sick, has a bad day, or misses Dustin." 

"Robin," Steve groans, embarrassed by his secret being revealed. 

The mattress shifts beside him and Steve glances toward the source, finding Eddie amusedly smiling down at him. "So, you're also a fan." 

"Wait, what am I missing?" Robin asks. 

"Eddie wrote that book," Chrissy answers and crosses her arms, "But he also tells no one about it." 

Robin's jaw drops, but Steve ignores it to smile at Eddie. "Aw, so tell me, why me?" 

A small blush appears on Eddie's cheeks. "And why me about your..." he trails off, looking nervously toward Chrissy. 

Steve glances at Robin who looks at him, gesturing to explain. "I told him I was bisexual." 

Robin's jaw drops again. She and Chrissy exchange a look of bewilderment. 

Steve throws an arm around Eddie's shoulders and says, "Looks like you two were very wrong." 

"And we're very upset that you kept us away from this beautiful friendship for so long." 

"Very upset," Steve agrees. 

"Oh god, I think we've created a monster," Robin says. 

Chrissy just giggles. 

“I don’t know, I kind of like the monsters Eddie creates,” Steve comments. 

Eddie laughs and Steve looks at him fondly. He doesn’t think that Robin has ever been so wrong about something because there’s no way Steve could ever dislike Eddie.  

Part Two :)

Welcome to my new series! :))) I have so many shenanigans planned. And I’m doing a tag list! Just ask me and you’ll be tagged <3

[steddielations]

Steve, Nancy and Robin go back into the Upside Down to get Eddie's body. They come across a fully transformed Kas, fangs snarling, clawed slashing, wings bared. He’s vicious and angry and very territorial, hissing at them. The whole group is really freaked out.

Until Steve steps closer and says, "Ed... Eddie?"

Then this ravenous monster goes full on Bambi-eyed and scampers over to them. Robin jumps back and Nancy slowly lowers her gun, both of them watching utterly dumbstruck as ‘Eddie’ excitedly jumps around Steve's feet.

Confused, but trying to keep Eddie happy, Steve’s like, “That’s it… nice little monster puppy?”

Eddie’s tail is wagging, butt wiggling, nuzzling Steve’s hand and making a purring noise when Steve carefully ruffles his hair, “Good boy…?”

Eddie’s wings flap happily in response.

This is how they find out that not only is Eddie alive, but his vampire-half is not subtle at all. Especially when Eddie finally admits he has feelings for Steve and to his surprise, Steve already knows, mostly because Eddie’s been ‘gifting’ him all the random shiny things he finds for weeks.

[chillinparker]

[hoegrove]

insp

[robin-buckely]

ROBIN BUCKLEY & STEVE HARRINGTON

4.07 | Chapter Seven: The Massacre at Hawkins Lab 4.09 | Chapter Nine: The Piggyback

[acowardinmordor]

I need a fic where Steve and Eddie are sorta friends after S1. He isn't talking to Tommy H, so he has to buy his own stash, and since he saw a monster, he's more in need of that stash than before. Steve is still with Nancy, there isn't anything romantic happening between Eddie and him, but they're close enough they have stopped acting like guests at each others place when they're over.

They get way too high the friday before Halloween of 84, and Eddie accidentally outs himself. Doesn't say that he likes Steve, but the pieces are there if Steve wants to connect the dots. Eddie runs for it, and Steve is confused why he ran, but thinks that he should give Eddie some space, since he obviously wants that. Enter S2.

Steve gets a little in his own head about dragging people into the Upside Down crazy. It got Bob killed this time. People die, and the closer people are to the group, the more likely it is that they'll end up in danger or dead. The best case scenario is that they have nightmares and brain damage.

So Steve takes the echoing silence between him and Eddie as a chance to keep him safe. Eddie is terrified that Steve hates him, so he's not going to say anything. Then, Steve shows up to school beaten to shit and single, and Eddie asks if he's okay, what happened, who did this, why.

Steve really wants to loop back to why Eddie ran out so fast after saying that he was 'a friend of dorothy', because he missed it entirely, but asking would encourage Eddie to stay around him, and that isn't safe. He is still a bit concussed, and convinced that if he tells Eddie about any of it, the guy will figure out all of it, and get himself killed. Brushes him off.

Its not until a year later, talking to Robin about queer culture that he understands what Eddie was saying, and why he ran. He also realizes that cutting off contact must have convinced Eddie that Steve was disgusted by him. Steve tries to reach out, tries to catch Eddie after Hellfire, shows up to his trailer a few times. It's late, but Steve wants to apologize and fix that one thing if nothing else.

It doesn't work, Steve takes the hint, and goes back to avoiding Eddie. So, the first time they talk again is in the boathouse.

[strangersteddierthings]

I would rather have Steve die in season 5 than have a romance subplot of any kind.

[klearilist]

sometimes "home" is a bunch of stupid guys doing stupid stuff

[dunnswrld]

“dont make a mess sweetheart i gotta stunt in ten minutes.”

is what johnny said to you as he lifted his head from the sweet spot between your thighs, a cocky grin plastered on the fake cowboys face as your juices and his spit dripped down his chin.

“f-fuck off.”

you said breathlessly, johnny only letting out a soft chuckle before he spoke.

“aw dont be so mean.”

is all he said before he connected his lips with your sensitive cilt again. a moan leaving your lips as his mouth returned to the spot you needed him the most.

your fingers were tangled in johnnys brown hair as he ate you like his last meal, the sound of his soft groans could not only be heard but felt against your core; shivers going up your spin as your eyes crossed from the amount of overwhelming pleasure.

everytime johnny was between your thighs it was better then the last if thats even possible. you swear there was no man that enjoyed eating pussy more then your boyfriend did.

johnnys brown eyes looked up at you from between your thighs. his erection only ached more as he saw your reaction to him between your thighs, you looked completely overstimulated with pleasure and he loved it.

this only motivated johnny to push himself deeper between your thighs, his tongue lapping circles around your cilt as lewd slurping noises came from his actions. a high pitched moan leaving your lips as your grip on johnnys hair tightened.

“j-johnny i-im gonna-”

you felt johnnys grip on your hips tighten as he became almost determined to make you cum, and make you cum hard.

you could swear you saw stars as you let out a strain of moans as your hands tried to grab anything they could, a intense wave of pleasure shooting through your body as johnny didnt even care to slow down. he wanted you to be completely worn out from his tongue.

it wasnt until your chest began to rise and fall heavily did johnny stop, slowly kissing his way from between your legs to your cheek. he then gave you a sweet and passionate kiss, he slightly laughed feeling how lazily you kissed back. you were beat.

when johnny pulled away from the kiss you saw his mouth and face that was covered with your cum and his spit. your face couldnt help but turn red at seeing the aftermath of your boyfriend eating you out.

“i said dont make a mess sweetheart.”

johnny softly teased with a shit-eating smirk on his face, using the bottom of his shirt to wipe his mouth off.

(coming back from the dead to write the smallest piece of whatever this is cause i had the urge to write maybe if it does good ill write again idk😟)

[kunntzsstuff]

🫸 some of my favs of the guys 🫷

[steddiealltheway]

Part Three of The Danger of Romanticizing. Part One. Part Two. Ao3 Link.

Over the next few days, Steve asks Robin to tell Eddie he says hi, adding it to his morning routine. And every day without fail, he gets a responding hi back. Sometimes, he even gets a question about what the polo of the day is. Robin starts shoving Steve sticky notes to write down whatever he wants to say which she hands off to Chrissy. 

He finds himself looking forward to the notes whenever he gets home, fingers tracing over Eddie’s slightly sloppy handwriting before sticking them to his wall. 

On Thursday, Steve comes home to find Chrissy sitting on the couch with Robin, fingers intertwined as they appear to do their separate class readings. “Hey,” Steve says, hoping that they’re not too deep into the studying zone. 

Chrissy gives him a bright smile and says, “Hi, Steve.” 

Steve can’t help but glance around, trying to find some trace of Eddie in the place. For some reason, he thinks that he would know if he was there. 

“He’s out with his... friend,” Chrissy explains, giving Steve an apologetic smile. 

Steve nods. “Right, the sort of boyfriend.” 

“I wouldn’t call him that,” Chrissy says with a slight frown. She shakes her head and turns back to her work. 

Robin stares at her girlfriend for a moment before asking, “How come you never talk about him?”

Chrissy glances at her and her expression immediately softens. Steve feels like he finally understood the phrase “heart eyes” when he first saw the way Chrissy and Robin look at each other. 

“I haven’t met him yet. But Eddie doesn’t have the best track record with guys. I mean, he deserves the world, but he doesn’t understand why. I used to make him recite these affirmations to try to make him understand his worth, but he’s Eddie, you know? A lot of those deep emotions he deflects with jokes.” Chrissy sighs and holds up a packet of paper. “Sorry, I’m currently learning about coping mechanisms.” 

“No apologizing, remember? You’re allowed to talk about the things you’re passionate about,” Robin gently reminds her. 

Chrissy leans over and plants a soft kiss on her cheek. “Thank you,” she says softly. 

Steve turns away as he watches Robin blush and duck her head. He resists the urge to make a comment that will ruin their moment and instead goes to the pantry and pulls out a box of pasta. He silently starts on dinner contemplating if he can pry about this mystery man in Eddie’s life through the sticky notes. 

“Oh, Steve!” Chrissy says over her shoulder. 

“Yes?” 

“Eddie said that he’s sad to miss you and he hopes he can see you again soon.” 

Steve smiles. “Tell him I hope I can see him soon.” 

“Will do,” Chrissy replies with a bright smile. 

And god, Steve really hopes he can. 

-:-:-:-:-:-

The next morning is rough. 

Steve sleeps through his alarm and in the process of rushing out the door he forgets to write Eddie a note and spills a cup of coffee on himself on the drive to work. 

He walks in pressing napkins against his shirt, trying to soak up some of the liquid. Of course, this is the day he decides to wear a light pink polo. 

“Nice look, Harrington,” Collin says loudly, causing everyone else to look up from their desk at him. 

He already gets enough shit for being the boss’s son, so he’s sure that today will be worse than usual. 

And it is. 

It’s like everyone teams up on him to make jokes pretending to trip while holding coffee mugs in their hands. It gets old pretty fast, especially when his co-worker Aidan actually ends up pouring more coffee on him while he’s talking to a customer. And while he’s cleaning up again, Collin is able to swoop in and swindle his customer. 

It’s all bullshit. 

When the workday ends, he tries to grab his stuff and stalk off to his car quickly, but Collin manages to get in a quick, “Better luck next time, champ.” 

Steve ignores him but he can’t help but feel like the final straw was broken for him. 

He gets stuck in traffic and wants more than anything to just get home, shower, change, and put on a shitty movie. When he finally gets to his apartment, he manages to drop the keys while unlocking the door twice before pushing it open only to find Robin standing on the other side. 

“How was work?” she asks overly bubbly. 

“How do you think it was?” Steve asks gesturing to his shirt. 

Robin cringes and teases, “Clumsy day?” 

“Not now, Robin,” Steve sighs, trying to take his shoes off quickly. He finally gets them undone and finds that he’s wearing one navy and one black sock. 

Robin points down to them and laughs. 

“Seriously, Robin, I’m not in the mood,” he says and crosses his arms. 

Robin grabs onto his arms with a bright smile and says, “But I have a surprise for you.” 

Steve sighs and ducks his head, trying to make his way past her. 

“Hold on!” Robin says, blocking his way. “God, you reek of coffee.” 

For some reason, the comment really gets to Steve, and he snaps, “Can you just fucking give me some space?” He storms past her and rounds the corner to his room only to find that they’re not alone. 

He looks up and takes in Chrissy and Eddie standing in the living room looking extremely uncomfortable. 

“I...” Steve starts then turns around mumbling, “Fuck,” under his breath as he practically runs out the front door, grabbing his shoes on the way out. He jogs toward his car and pulls on the handle, realizing it’s locked. He digs into his pocket and mumbles, “No.” He checks his other pocket and comes up with nothing. 

Of course, he left them on the hook by the front door. 

He quickly puts on his shoes, wincing when he feels a rock in his right shoe. He sighs and digs the heels of his hands into his eyes. He knows he shouldn’t run. He always runs. 

He hears footsteps thudding on the sidewalk behind him. “Hey,” a voice softly says. 

Steve squeezes his eyes shut a little harder before running his hands over his face and slowly turning around. “Hey,” he mumbles, making fleeting eye contact with Eddie before staring at the pavement. 

“Going somewhere?” 

Steve crosses his arms and leans back against the hood of his car. “I was, but I left my keys inside.” 

Eddie digs into his pocket and pulls out a set of keys, dangling them in front of him. “I have mine. Come on,” he says, already stepping back on the sidewalk and walking away from Steve. 

Steve pauses but follows him around the corner of the building where he’s parked. He wonders if he purposefully parked there in order to surprise him. God, it just makes him feel worse. 

He climbs into the passenger seat and stares ahead. 

“Where to?” Eddie asks. 

Steve sighs, “Whatever store carries pints of coffee chocolate chip ice cream.” 

Eddie starts his van and asks, “Your favorite?” 

“Robin’s favorite.” 

“Ah,” Eddie says as he backs out of the side parking lot. “I have an extra shirt in the back if you want to change.” 

Steve almost passes it up, but he doesn’t think he can stand the smell of coffee any longer. He twists in his seat and glances at the back, finding a random shirt thrown on the seat along with a lot of random shit that Steve wants to ask about. Instead, he tugs his polo off and quickly shrugs on Eddie’s shirt. 

In any other situation, he would’ve been ecstatic about the softness of the shirt and embarrassingly tried to smell the collar or something to commit the scent to memory. But the heaviness of how he treated Robin weighs too heavily on his mind. 

They sit in silence for a few moments, and Steve grows increasingly sorrowful. 

“Want to talk about it?” Eddie asks. 

Steve glances at him, noticing the lack of judgment in his expression which puts him at ease. “I just had a really bad day at work, and I was an asshole and took it out on Robin.” 

“Chrissy always tells me that we take out our stress on the ones we love the most.” 

“There’s definitely a reason she’s a psychology major.” 

Eddie snorts and shrugs, eyes not leaving the road as he talks. “She’s going to be an amazing therapist. But what I meant by that is that I’ve had my fair share of frustrating exchanges with Chrissy as well.” 

Steve sighs and leans back in his seat. “Yeah, but usually I save the part where I reveal that I’m an asshole at least a few months after meeting someone.” 

“Romanticizing yourself,” Eddie says with a small smile. He approaches a red light and turns to Steve to state, “You’re not an asshole. You’re just human.” 

“A little too human,” Steve argues. 

“The best people are.” 

“Sounds like you’re romanticizing me,” Steve says, trying to brush off the sincerity of what Eddie said. 

Eddie rolls his eyes and turns back to the now green light. 

They sit in comfortable silence as they make their way to the parking lot of a grocery store. 

With the words still weighing heavy on his mind, Steve finally says, “Thank you.” 

Eddie pulls into a parking space and replies, “No need for all that.” He gets out of the car before Steve can argue with him. 

As they make their way inside, Steve changes the subject, “Ever since you brought up how empty my room is, I can’t stop noticing it.” 

Eddie winces. “Sorry, I have a tendency to chronically put my foot in my mouth.” 

Steve shakes his head. “No, I didn’t mean that in a bad way. I just suddenly want to do something about it.” 

Eddie suddenly stops in the middle of the store, causing the person behind them to nearly hit him with their cart. Eddie turns and says, “Sorry,” before placing a gentle hand on Steve’s back and guiding him away from the frozen aisle they were walking toward. 

“Where-” 

Eddie puts his finger to his lips and says, “No questions.” 

Steve’s eyebrows furrow but he keeps his lips shut as Eddie guides him to some random place in the store. He lets the warmth of Eddie's fingertips through the thin layer of the shirt distract him for a few moments until he notices that they’ve stopped. 

Steve glances around and asks, “Clocks?” 

Eddie sighs and tugs him past the section to the picture frames. “Stay here and pick a few you like. I’ll be right back.” 

Steve can’t even give him a confused look before he takes off. He turns back to the frames, scanning them before he grabs a white frame with a gold stripe that he thinks looks nice. For some reason he also finds a small silver circular frame that he thinks is kind of cute and funny, so he grabs it. He holds the two side by side and smiles. They look horrible together, but he likes them. 

Eddie suddenly appears at his side, winded as if he just ran across the store. He holds up a small disposable camera and smiles proudly. “And this should be good for now. Time for ice cream.” He turns and heads toward the frozen aisle before stopping in place suddenly again. 

Steve runs right into him and stumbles back. “Do you do this often?” 

“Absolutely,” Eddie answers. He glances down at the frames and says, “I just realized I didn’t look at what you chose. The small one is funny.” 

“Right?” Steve says, relieved that he understands. 

Eddie looks him in the eye and his smile grows. “Good choices.” 

Steve finds himself flushing a bit red after the direct affirmation from Eddie. Luckily, Eddie doesn’t notice as he leads the way to the ice cream. 

It takes a few moments to find the ice cream, but Eddie suddenly excitedly says, “Yes!” and grabs a pint out of the freezer. Steve can’t help but think that he might be his good luck charm. 

They check out quickly. Eddie asks Steve to grab him a candy bar, taking the moment of distraction to hand the cashier money, paying for everything. When Steve realizes, he tries to protest but Eddie shuts him down saying, “I’m the one who told you to get those things. It would be a dick move to make you pay for them too.” 

“I could’ve at least covered the ice cream.” 

“And risked it melting while we wasted time with a second checkout?” Eddie asks, acting flabbergasted at the idea. 

Steve just laughs and at least takes the bags from him. 

“My hero,” Eddie jokes, fluttering his eyelashes. As they get to the car he asks, “By the way, what candy bar did you get? I forgot to check.” 

“A Three Musketeer. I hope that’s okay.” 

Eddie smiles and hits the center console excitedly. “That was the inspiration behind naming Dart! You know? D'Artagnan.” 

Steve shakes his head coming up with nothing. Eddie digs into the bags and grabs the candy, pointing it out to Steve. 

“Oh. Dustin’s going to be so excited to hear that. Three Musketeers are his favorite.” 

“You really love that kid,” Eddie comments with a smile as he starts the car. 

“He can be an annoying little shit sometimes, but I love him like a brother.” 

Eddie laughs. “I’m excited to meet him.” 

“Me too,” Steve replies and suddenly remembers what Dustin told him. “Hey, I didn’t know you also illustrated the book. I don’t know how I skimmed over that, but that’s incredible.” 

A light blush covers Eddie’s cheeks. “It’s alright. I used to design stuff for Hellfire in high school, but I’m absolutely shit at faces. That’s why you never see The Boy’s face.” 

“I somehow never noticed that. But I think it’s a good choice. It lets the reader kind of imagine themself in the role, you know?” 

Eddie pauses for a moment before asking, “Yeah? You can relate?” 

Steve shrugs and leans back. “I can relate to the found family, and I mean...” Steve trails off and looks down at his hands. “Sometimes I feel like an outcast. And yeah, that sounds ridiculous since I was a pretty popular jock in high school. But I had this kind of reality check and suddenly I didn’t see the appeal of being ‘King Steve.’ I spent the last semester of my senior year sitting next to my ex and her new boyfriend during lunch. It was a miracle that I put in my resume at this ice cream shop because that’s how I met Robin. But even at work now, I just don’t fit in.” He sighs and runs a hand through his hair. “I don’t know.” 

“Maybe we’re the same,” Eddie cheesily quotes the title of his book. Before Steve can ask what he means, Eddie presses on. “I have one question.” 

“Mhm?” 

“Did they really call you King Steve?” 

Steve groans, “Yes. God, I hate that nickname.” 

Eddie laughs. “Alright, I promise not to call you that.” 

“Thank you.” 

“Your Highness.” 

Steve sighs but he fails to hide the slight humor in his expression. 

“Okay, I promise to never bring it up... After this car ride, my lord,” Eddie says with a wicked smile. 

Steve buries his face in his hands for the rest of the ride home, trying not to laugh too hard at the ridiculous nicknames Eddie pulls out of his ass. But as they get closer to his apartment, his happiness dies down as he faces the reality of what he’s returning to. 

Eddie quiets down during the last minute, sensing the shift in emotions from Steve. He parks outside and quietly asks, “Are you ready?” 

“No,” Steve says, unbuckling his seatbelt and grabbing his bags before getting out of the car. 

He slowly steps up to the front door but pauses to turn around to Eddie. “Thank you for all of this. Really.” 

Eddie just puts his hands in his pockets and shrugs. “I had a good time. I hope your day has gotten a little better.” 

“It has,” Steve admits with no hesitation. “As long as I can apologize to Robin after this and hope she forgives me.” 

“Something tells me that she will.” 

Steve glances up at Eddie, wondering if he can express how much that fills him with relief. He steps forward, intent on wrapping his arms around the man and holding him for as long as he’ll let him. 

The door swings open before Steve’s arms can come up. 

“Hey, I thought I heard the van doors shut,” Chrissy says with a small smile. 

“How is she?” Steve asks immediately. 

Chrissy puts a hand on his arm. “She’s alright. I think she’ll be happy to talk to you.” She squeezes him before turning to Eddie and asking, “You ready to go?” 

Eddie’s eyes flicker to Steve before settling on Chrissy. He gives her a conflicted look, but Chrissy raises her eyebrows at him causing Eddie to sigh and turn to Steve saying, “Maybe I’ll see you soon? We’ll plan it this time.” 

Steve feels his face suddenly get very warm with embarrassment. “That would be great.” 

Eddie nods at him and turns away to make his way back to the van. Steve waves goodbye to the pair before going inside. He drops the bag with the frames and camera on their table in the small dining area before grabbing two spoons and the bag with the ice cream.  

He purposefully makes his footsteps a little heavier as he makes his way to Robin’s room to prepare her for his presence. He lightly knocks on the door and waits. 

“It’s open,” she says. 

Steve slowly pushes the door open and finds Robin lying in her bed staring at the ceiling. “Hey.” 

Robin turns and gives him a small smile. “Hey.” 

“I brought the goods,” Steve jokes as he walks toward her bed. 

Robin sits up and makes grabby hands at him, taking the pint and a spoon as soon as she can. Steve can’t help but think that’s a good sign, but he’s not going to pretend everything is normal. “I’m sorry I was an asshole to you. I shouldn’t have taken out my bad day on you.” 

Robin glances at him with a spoonful of ice cream in her mouth. She takes a moment to eat before she sighs, “It wasn’t just you though. I shouldn’t have been so pushy and glossed over your bad day. And I definitely shouldn’t have surprised you like that.” 

“Are you kidding? Any other day, I would’ve been ecstatic.” 

“Just not today,” Robin says, staring down at the ice cream before taking another spoonful. She glances over at him and asks, “Want to talk about your day?” 

Steve shakes his head. “Just Collin being an asshole and the other guys joining in.” 

“Charles and Ryan?” 

“Aidan this time.” 

Robin sighs, “I wish I could go in there and give them a piece of my mind.” 

“I think I deserved it today.” 

Robin raises an eyebrow at him. “No matter how much of a dick you can be, I’m not leaving you, dingus. And you definitely don’t deserve that shit.” 

Steve shrugs and takes a stab at the ice cream. “Eddie made things better.” 

“Yeah?” 

Steve nods and avoids eye contact as the coffee flavor melts in his mouth. 

“Speak of Eddie, is he the reason you’re wearing a Metallica shirt?” 

Steve glances down at the shirt and smiles. He had forgotten he was wearing it. “Yeah. He had an extra shirt in the back and let me change out of the coffee-stained one. I think I left that polo in his van though.” He shrugs and gets another spoonful of ice cream. “He’s really great.” 

There’s a longer pause before Robin rests her hand on Steve’s and asks, “Steve, do you... like him?” 

Steve’s eyes snap up to Robin quickly, swallowing a mouthful of cold ice cream in the process. His heart beats a little faster, and he hopes Robin can’t feel his pulse. “No, it’s not like that. Besides, I barely know him.” 

“Yeah, but you’ve liked people with a lot less information about them.” 

Steve sighs and puts his spoon down to lay his other hand on top of Robin’s and look her in the eye. “Even if I do like him, he has a sort of boyfriend. Plus, I’m not going to do anything reckless that will risk the happiness of your and Chrissy’s relationship, okay?” 

Robin stares at him for a few seconds too long before she nods. “Okay. But... you can talk to me if those feelings ever change.” 

“And they won’t,” Steve reassures her. 

Robin looks conflicted before she gives him a small smile and goes back to the ice cream. 

Steve is able to easily change the subject and things finally feel normal again once they’re both laughing so hard they have to wipe at the tears running down their faces. 

But when Steve lays in bed that night, his thoughts drift to Eddie. He can’t fall for him. Really, he can’t. He can’t do that to Chrissy and Robin. 

So, for once, he tries to turn off all the thoughts romanticizing the man. But he doesn’t know how to humanize the man when he’s been nothing but... perfect. 

He’s so screwed.

Part Four

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[mcgpoy]

when it's the silly name competition and your opponents are philip john "PJ" clapp, stephen gilchrist glover and kenneth ehren mcghehey

[chillinparker]

taking home the gold

[gayjackass]

[momotonescreaming]

One day Dustin walkie talkies Steve, asking to host DnD at his place, and Steve answers back that dude no, he's busy and hangs up the walkie.

Dustin responds in a huff, flipping off the walkie, before packing up his DnD stuff and angrily biking over to Steve's place anyway. He's got the biggest place, he loves him, and he's probably not even busy anyway. He goes on a million dates, he can cancel.

So Dustin arrives, throws his bike on the front lawn, and angrily knocks on the door. He can hear noise from inside - Steve isn't busy, the bastard - and frowns as the door opens to reveal Steve. Hes wearing a button down shirt and dress pants, an apron tied over top. Before he can say anything, Steve looks at him, and frowns.

"Dustin? What? Dude, I told you I was busy." Steve says, placing one hand on his hip and the other resting on the open door.

"Come on Steve," Dustin says, rolling his eyes. "It's one date with a girl you're never gonna see again. Just tell her you changed your mind. Hellfire is more important."

"Hellfire is more important?" Steve says, and before he can say anything else, a voice echoes out through the Harrington house.

"Steven?" A feminine voice calls. "Have my guests arrived yet?"

"No Ma," Steve calls back. "It's one of the kids I babysit."

Oh, Dustin thinks, he's busy at a party with his mom. And something in Dustin coils, frustrated. Why did he hang up the walkie then? And why did he say he's Dustin's babysitter? He's not a kid anymore, he's a teenager now. He can handle himself. He's way more mature than most adults out there.

Steve turns back to Dustin, hand still on hip, eyebrow raised.

"Well why didn't you say something Steve!" Dustin replies, gesturing exasperatedly with his hands.

"I did." Steve says firmly. "I told you I was busy. It's not my fault you didn't listen."

And Dustin flusters. "It wasn't- I just- I thought-"

"You thought?" Steve prompts, raising an eyebrow at him, and Dustin shrinks under his gaze. He's never felt so small.

"I thought you were lying to get out of it." He replies, basically a whisper. "Or just going on one of your dates."

"And what? You thought I didn't want to host badly enough that I'd lie about it, and showed up anyway? You thought I'd abandon a date last minute to host a game I don't even play?" Steve says, and Dustin can feel the pressure behind his words. "Or I'd let you host a game in my house without me there? Fat chance."

Dustin looks down at his feet and tries not to let his lip wobble. To repress the urge to stamp his feet and yell. Instead he clenches his fists, tight by his side, and feels his stomach churn. He just wants to play his game.

Steve sighs, runs a hand through his hair, and looks down at Dustin softer this time.

"Dust, you know I love you right?" He says, placing a hand on his shoulder. Thick, and warm, and comforting. "But you've got to learn some fucking boundaries, bud."

Dustin snorts, weak and watery. "Okay.