#does he have fur? up to imgination 'cause i haven't decided

[justrambles]

(Beauty and the beast steddie)

No.10 — Beast

So the thing is that Eddie still hasn't seen Steve. It bothered him less before; he thought maybe Steve didn't like meeting people. But he knows now. Steve likes people. His kids and his friends. He spends time with them even now— just, out of Eddie's eyes.

So yeah, it's bothering him more than it should now. What would he look like? Maybe like Max— a big feline? Why wouldn't he want to see Eddie?

But there's nothing he can do, is there? Unless he just barged into Steve's room, which he would never do because he doesn't want Steve to hate him, there's no way to meet Steve for real.

***

Eddie finds the way in the form of a sleepless night. It's just like other nights, but Eddie can't sleep. He picks up his journal and tries writing, plays air guitar, and picks up the journal again and doodles. But he can't sleep, so he just stays up. Everything is quiet, until he hears something in the hallway.

It's a soft noise, muffled footsteps against the floor. Maybe it's Max again — she sometimes stays up late — and if it's Max, he'll just bother her until they both can go to sleep.

So he opens the door to the hallway.

In the darkness of the night, he can see there's something large in the halls, a crouched figure.

Certainly not Max, the creature is much bigger than she is. But then, who?

Eddie takes a step forward as his eyes adjust in the darkness and he can see the figure more clearly. It's standing on its four limbs, but not in a puma way and more in a... werewolf way? Eddie can see its front paws tense, gripping into the floor, and then it's turning around.

Eddie stills as he sees the creature face to face. Only, there's no face. There are only crevasses, and they shift as Eddie realizes he's been noticed.

The crevasses on the creature's face opens up, revealing a teeth-filled mouth. Holy fuck. It lets out a growl — the low, dangerous growl Eddie heard on his first night in the mansion.

"Jesus H. Christ—" he gasps out.

Eddie is too stunned to move, too stunned to say anything more. But then the beast is running away, across the hallway towards—

Towards Steve's room. And into it.

Eddie stands still as the realization dawns upon him. He just met Steve. He just met Steve and he just gawked at him. Oh. His mind spins fast as he runs down the hallway.

Shit, shit, shit, he messed up, didn't he? He reacted in the worst way possible — well maybe not, but it feels like it. He should have known that there was a reason Steve didn't like showing himself, he probably was scared Eddie would freak out. And Eddie did freak out. He starts banging on the door as soon as he reaches the doorway.

"Hey, Steve? Steve, can I talk to you for a moment?"

"Fuck off," it's a wavering whisper, but with the intensity of a shout, and Steve sounds hurt— and Eddie hates that.

"Come on, man. Let me just talk to you."

Eddie doesn't get a answer, but he expected that. He lets out a small "Steve?" and leans his forehead against the door. He tries to listen to any sound that Steve might make.

"You know, I've been wanting to meet you for real. 'Cause we're friends now, I'd like to think that we are friends, and I'd like to spend time with you just like the other kids do. But you never came out of the room, and I was worried— worried that you might not want to see me.

"I even asked Max about you — I don't know, man, she seemed like the only one who wouldn't tell on me — and uh, I asked her if you didn't like me, if I did something wrong.

"So yeah, anyways, I kind of panicked back there. And I'm sorry for that. Really. But it was because I've never seen you before. Anyone like you before. You caught me off guard, Stevie. I was here beginning to think that you were just a voice. Just like that Psyche myth, maybe? And, uh–,"

"She did."

Eddie was not expecting any responses, so he resorts to the basic reaction of, "What?"

"Max told me that you asked her if I liked you or not."

Steve's voice is tentative, but it seems calmer than before.

"I- what?" Eddie feigns a gasp, "That traitor."

There's a small intake of breath, like Steve's trying to hold a laughter in. Eddie bites down a smile, too, and continues.

"Yeah, where was I? So, I don't- I don't want you to think that I want to meet you anymore, because now I've seen what you look like. Honestly, I don't think it even matters anymore — what you turned into — because,

"You're you, Steve. You're a good guy, a good friend, and I like being here with you."

Eddie gulps down and asks the question.

"So... will you open the door, please?"

There's a small silence, and Eddie's beginning to think maybe opening the door is a bit early for Steve. But then the door creaks open, just a bit. Eddie can see Steve peeking out through the gap.

"Hey there, big boy," he breathes out.

Steve pauses for a bit and then scoffs, only slightly. "'Big boy'?"

"Yeah, kinda suiting, isn't it? 'Cause you are like, big right now. You're as big as the door, Stevie."

"You're exaggerating."

"Hmm, I know. But bet you could touch the ceiling if you stretched. ...You know what? Let's try it right now. Come on, big boy, show me what you've got."

"What? No, I'm not doing that, Eddie."

Eddie can see the door opening more, Steve relaxing more. So he just shrugs and says, "Worth a try."

Steve huffs at his reply, and soon a comfortable silence falls between them. Eddie takes Steve into his eyes as he shifts in posture. He's probably not used to new people seeing him.

"Hey, Steve?"

"Yeah?" Steve's head perks a bit at his voice. And... that's kind of endearing, Eddie thinks in the back of his mind.

"I'm glad I finally met you," he whispers. "Talking between the door is nice but it was getting a little old, you know."

"...Yeah, I guess so."