#in which robin and the party parent trap eddie and steve

[hairmetal666]

The note shows up in Eddie's mailbox cubby on Valentine's Day.

It's nothing fancy, loopy cursive handwriting on lined paper:

"I know this is probably silly but I can't go another day without saying it, and today seems appropriate for this kind of confession. Seeing you in the morning is the best part of my day. You're so gorgeous it leaves me breathless. I hope you don't mind if I don't leave my name. Just wanted you to know that you're beautiful."

His eyes fill with tears that he blinks back, a goofy smile stretching his mouth wide.

"You good there, Munson?" Robin Buckley asks.

"Oh, yup, yeah, all good." He laughs. "Just got one of those 'you're my favorite teacher Mr. Munson!' notes."

He squeezes the letter to his chest before slipping it in his pocket.

---

The worst thing about Eddie's new job is that someway, somehow, Steve-fucking-Harrington works here too. PE teacher, JV basketball coach, of-fucking-course. Once a douchebag jock, always a douchebag jock. What makes it all worse is that he's still the prettiest guy Eddie's ever seen.

---

The first week of March, there's a commotion in the hallway that has him rushing out of his room, ready to breakup a fight. He finds Harrington already there, holding Dustin Henderson and Will Byers by their shoulders. Troy Walsh and James Dante stand across from them, wearing matching snarls.

Of course Harrington is picking on little nerd kids; he knew it. But before he steps forwards to break it up, Steve speaks, voice low and angry. "You want to tell me what happened here, Troy?"

"Byers tripped. He really should watch where he's going," Troy says. James laughs.

Steve's glare goes even more icy, more disdainful (it's so fucking hot, Eddie hates it). "You want to take that again? And try being honest this time, or you're suspend from the team."

Troy splutters for long enough that Eddie finally notices Will's stricken face, the sketchpad and snapped colored pencils littering the linoleum.

"I saw you take those things from Will, and unfortunately, I'll have to call your parents and you will be responsible for purchasing a new sketchbook and pencils. You're also benched for the next four games."

The boys shout, but when Steve raises a hand they quiet immediately. "You want to complain more, or do you want it to be five games?"

"No, sir," they answer before scampering off.

Harrington faces Dustin and Will. "You boys okay?" he asks them.

"We're good, Mr. H," Dustin answers.

"Glad to hear it." Steve begins collecting Will's ruined belongings, stops to study one of the drawings.

"This is really good, Will."

Will flushes. "Thanks. It's my character for dnd,"

"Dnd? That's that game that El and Max are always talking about? With the character sheets and the dice?"

"Yeah!" says Dustin. "You know it?"

Steve's smile is a little bashful, and it tugs at Eddie's heart in a way he has to ignore. "Not much. Just from what the girls have said. You want to tell me about it?"

"Really?" Their eyes light up.

"Really. You can stop by the gym during lunch. Only if you want to, though."

"Cool," says Dustin.

He pats them both on the shoulder, and they hurry away, leaving Steve and Eddie suddenly alone.

Eddie should head back to his class, hasn't been needed in this situation at all, really, but before he can disappear, Steve spots him and his eyes widen.

"You need something, Munson?" Steve's cheeks go a faint pink.

He shakes his head, feels wrong-footed. "Uh, that was really cool what you did just there."

"They're really good kids," Steve says. "I know them a little. Used to babysit El Hopper." He slides his hands into the pockets of his khakis and, seriously, fuck Harrington for looking like that in a pair of Dockers.

"Babysitter, Harrington? Never thought I'd see the day. Or that you'd be the one defending a bunch of nerds," Eddie says. He means it teasing, but Steve's face warps into a frown.

"Y--yeah, I guess. I mean. I'm trying not to be that guy anymore, and Robin's really helped--"

"Shit, man, I'm sorry. That's not what I meant, at all--"

"--I feel terrible about all that shit I pulled back in school. That King Steve stuff? I was awful and you didn't deserve--"

"Steve!" Eddie cuts him off. "I forgive you. For everything." He looks down at his shoes. "For all I didn't want to believe it, you really have changed."

They're both pink faced now, avoiding each other's eyes. "Thanks," Steve says. "I should get going, but--for the future-- I really wouldn't mind--um--trying to be friends."

The grin that passes across Eddie's face is huge. "Yeah, Harrington, I'd like that."

Eddie has to run to make it to his classroom on time. He passes Dustin and Will and the rest of their gaggle of friends, rushing them along, but forgets all about it as he steps in front of his third period juniors.

---

He and Steve are...friendly now. They chat, they joke, they share smiles that have Eddie's heart beating too fast even though it's not like that. Turns out Steve is kind and funny (a little bit of a bitch too, but in a way that ties Eddie's stomach in knots), and a hell of a teacher.

---

His freshman are in small groups, peer-reviewing an essays, when Max Mayfield catches his eye. She's one of his favorite students and absolute trouble.

"What's up, Mayfield." He asks.

"Are you friends with Mr. Harrington?" She asks.

He chuckles. "Sure, Max, we're friendly enough. Why?"

She narrows her eyes, like she knows he's not being totally honest. "Oh, nothing. He just talks about you all the time."

He's blushing horribly and Max, and all of her friends, smirk up at him. "He does?" He chokes out.

"Mmhmm," Lucas Sinclair says. "Says he thinks you're really cool."

"Definitely one of the best teachers here," Mike Wheeler adds.

Eddie rolls his eyes. "Okay, very funny, guys. How're your essays going?"

They answer, but before Eddie goes to help another group, Will says, "he really does like you, Mr. Munson. A lot."

El nods earnestly up at him. "It is true," she says. "I know him."

"Thanks, kids. I'll keep that in mind." He gives them a smile, tries not to let their words get to him. When he reaches the next group, though, he notices his hands are shaking.

---

Gifts start turning up in Eddie's cubby. It starts with a bag of oatmeal chocolate chip cookies from his favorite bakery. There's a small note that says "from your secret admirer," on the packaging. Every two weeks or so, something new shows up in his little mailbox; a woven friendship bracelet, a yellow rose, Hershey kisses, a delicately painted dnd figure that gives Eddie a small crisis because it's his own bard character, an Iron Maiden cassette, a bag of dice that almost brings him to genuine tears.

Eventually, he gets another note. This one is typed and reads: "I would love to have coffee with you 11am this Saturday at the Cafe on Main Street."

---

He walks into the cafe at 10:50am, wearing his favorite pair of ripped black jeans and a burgundy button-down, his hair pulled into a loose bun. He doesn't recognize anyone there.

Eddie gets in line, studies the menu, and the little bell above the door rings. He whips towards the sound to find none other than Steve Harrington in little wire rim glasses, a butter colored sweater, and jeans the man must have painted on, Jesus Christ. Honestly, the whole thing is enough to give Eddie a coronary (and to, embarrassingly, chub up in his own tight jeans).

"Steve?" He asks. He's overwhelmed with the (stupid, stupid) hope that it's been Harrington all along. "What are you doing here?"

"Henderson asked me to meet him. He around?"

"Uh, no?" Eddie feels heat creeping up his throat.

Steve shakes his head, as though he expected as much. "You alone? We could grab drink."

"I can't believe this." Eddie hides his face in his hands, knows it's gone horrifyingly crimson.

"What's wrong?"

"My secret admirer told me to be here now, so we could meet," Eddie's misery slices through his words. "I'm such an idiot."

"I--your--what?" Steve stammers.

He gathers himself enough to look Steve in his hazel eyes and ask, "I'm assuming it wasn't you leaving notes and gifts for me at work?"

And he expects Steve to say no. To laugh and ask why he'd ever do something like that, but instead, instead he flushes a deep red. "O-only one note."

"What?"

"I, uh," Steve clears his throat. "I left you a note. On Valentine's Day. I--we weren't friends yet, and I wanted you to know how much I liked you. It's --uh--it's pretty silly, huh? Robin's--"

"Steve," Eddie interrupts. He's going to tell Steve that he reads the note often enough that he has parts memorized; that it's the kindest thing anyone has done for him, but what he says instead is, "Dustin Henderson told you to meet him here at 11?"

"Yeah. Said he had something to show me."

Eddie remembers running into Will and Dustin and their friends that day in the hall, the weird conversation in class, the dice and the miniature. Something must click for Steve at the same time because his mouth drops, blush getting somehow deeper.

"Oh my god. Henderson! I'm gonna kill him. They figured out I had a crush on you."

"They WHAT?" Eddie says, loud enough that several looks are aimed their way.

"I'm so, so sorry, Eddie. Holy shit, this is so humiliating. You have to believe me, I had no idea they were doing this. God, I'm really starting to think it is possible to die from embarrassment."

"You have a crush on me," Eddie says instead of any of the dozens of helpful things he could say.

"Um. Yes?"

Eddie takes a deep breath, straightens his spine, and asks, "You wanna have coffee with me?"

"I'd really like that." Steve's return smile is so beautiful, it makes Eddie weak.

---

Eddie Munson is making out with Steve Harrington in the backseat of Steve's BMW. He and Steve spent the day together. They've kissed for so long that the sun has set, both of their lips are swollen, their skin red from stubble, and Eddie is nowhere near ready for the night to end.

Steve breaks away, gently pulling their mouths apart, but arms still tight around Eddie. "Hey, what kind of gifts were they giving you anyway? The kids?"

"Oh," Eddie blushes. "Uh, cookies, a dnd mini, lots of candy, a set of dice."

"Oh my god," Steve says, he pulls a little more away. "Oh my god, I'm going to kill her, Jesus Christ."

"Who are are you killing, sweetheart?"

Steve groans. "Robin. She was helping them. We found a set of dice at this little bookstore and she told me to get them for you, and--" he breaks off with a helpless, frustrated noise.

Eddie doesn't mean to, but he starts to giggle.

"It's not funny!" Steve says.

That only makes Eddie laugh harder. "Your best friend," he squeaks. "And a group of literal children set us up. That's hilarious, Harrington."

Steve's mouth drops and for a second Eddie thinks he'll be upset, but then he's giggling too, his whole face crumpling into it.

Steve pulls Eddie close once the laughter subsides, his eyes trained on Eddie's lips.

"We could pretend we didn't get together," Eddie manages to say.

"What, like, make them think they failed?"

"Yeah. We could tell them I got stood up, but you and I hung out. Had a bro day."

Steve giggles again, and it's the best sound Eddie's ever heard. "I'm absolutely on board with this plan, but you should definitely kiss me some more."

"Oh, yeah?" Eddie asks, his voice low. "And what'll I get out of it?"

"Why don't you get over here and see."

As if Eddie could turn down an invite that enticing. He slides a hand behind Steve's head, drawing him in, and they're kissing like they never stopped. It only been a few hours, but Eddie knows--without a doubt--he's already head over heels.

[strangersteddierthings]

Pumpkin Carving (A Halloween One Shot)

Pumpkin carving and a sleepover. An excuse for everyone to gather together on Halloween now that the Party has decided they're too old to trick-or-treat.

A pumpkin carving station has been set up in the Harrington's giant three car garage. Steve did debate setting it all up in the yard, less cleanup of the pumpkin insides that way, but it was pretty chilly, and Steve wasn't sure how long they'd all take to do the actual carving.

Does pumpkin carving take long?

Steve's never carved a pumpkin so he wouldn't know. There is no universe in which his mother would have allowed a pumpkin in her house, much less under the circumstance of then cutting it open and freeing it of its insides. While Steve has never participated in the act of carving a pumpkin, he knows how it goes. Hypothetically.

He'd needed to know enough to gather all the supplies after all, so a quick call to Robin (along with some gentle teasing and mocking) and he was set.

Eddie arrives first, having been volunteered to go get the pumpkins from the patch. It's not that Steve is scared of the pumpkin patch, or anything, it's just that Eddie's van would be better for transporting them.

Steve tried to offer to unload them, insisting it was only fair since Eddie had to load them, but Eddie just rolls his eyes and gets to work. It's not that pumpkins are extra heavy, but they aren't exactly light. And Steve knows that Eddie thinks Steve doesn't want his help because of how long it took Eddie to heal, but that's not the reason. Steve just...

Steve's just drawn to watching instead of helping when Eddie grabs a pumpkin under each arm, muscles flexing as he tightens his hold enough to keep them trapped between his arms and his sides and now Steve's left wishing, wistfully and not for the first time, that it was his thighs Eddie was wrapping those arms around. That it was him Eddie was hoisting up, perhaps holding against a wall and-

"Am I going to do all the loading and unloading?" Eddie bursts his thoughts by knocking their shoulders together as he passes by, already on his second round of pumpkin unloading.

"What, no, sorry," Steve turns to grab two pumpkins of his own. It's quick work with the two of them, then, to unload, and a short wait for everyone to start showing up.

Some biked, others dropped off by parents. Steve walks out to each car to chat and confirm that yes, of course they can stay the night; they won't be a bother and I'll keep them out of trouble.

Soon enough the garage is full of people, pumpkins, and noise. Lucas and Max have migrated to the corner of the garage closest to the door leading inside to whisper together as Lucas guts two pumpkins while Max describes what she wants on hers. Will and Mike have also set themselves apart to work out whatever it is they plan to carve on their own pumpkins. Dustin, El, Erica, and Eddie have plopped down in the center and just got to work. They aren't coordinating their pumpkins like the couples seem to be doing. They do seem to be taking it the most serious, though, with the absolute silence from all of them, concentration faces fully on.

Steve is off on his own, too. He's taken a seat about five feet from Eddie but he's the furthest from the door. He frowns down at his pumpkin, suddenly feeling embarrassed. He's not sure how to start. What to do.

He looks up from his pumpkin and over to Eddie. He's using a knife to saw around the stem of the pumpkin. Which, duh. Steve should have put that together. There has to be some way to remove the insides easily, so removing the top made sense.

Without trying to overthink it all, Steve stabs into the top of his pumpkin and starts sawing his own circle around the top. It's. Well, it's something. He wouldn't say sawing a circle is fun but it's not tedious and soon enough his knife returns to the starting point and... Hmm. He watches as the bit he just cut around sags into his pumpkin. Eddie's didn't do that.

Steve frowns down at it for a moment before grabbing the stem and pulling the top off. His face wrinkles in disgust at the stringy clump of pumpkin insides that hang from the top and he sets that down to the side quickly. He's realizing now why everyone else chose to wear short sleeves even though it's cold outside as he looks around the garage and sees everyone shoving their hands into the pumpkin, pulling stringy, seedy, strands of pumpkin out.

With a sigh, Steve rolls a sleeve up and plunges his own hand into the holes he's made and almost instantly rips his hand back out. Ew. No. Gross! Wrong! The feeling of the strands breaking under the pressure of his hand, the slightly moist feeling of the inside, the unexpected slipperiness of the seeds, all of it sends a shiver of revulsion up Steve's spine. He makes a soft gagging noise against his own will.

"You gonna be sick?" Eddie asks almost immediately.

"Uh. Oh, yeah," Steve says as he feels his face heat with an embarrassed blush. He can see that all eyes are on him now, which adds to his embarrassment on top of realizing the question he was asked and what he answered. "Wait, I mean no. I'm not going to be sick."

Eddie looks from Steve to his pumpkin, and back up. "Don't like the feeling of pumpkin guts?"

"It was just unexpected is all," Steve defends, even as the thought of sticking his hands back into the pumpkin sends another shiver through him.

"Unexpected," Dustin repeats back. Steve tenses but nothing else follows that. He looks over and Dustin seems to be having a silent conversation with Eddie judging by the stare down.

"Maybe I am gonna be sick," Steve lies, standing quickly and fleeing the garage.

God fucking dammit. Why is he so embarrassed about this? Why is he... he's hiding the fact he's never done this before, and he doesn't know why. They aren't going to mock him for it. Well. Maybe a little, but in the same way Robin did. Tease him because they love him. They wouldn't really be making fun of him. Except maybe Mike but Steve doesn't really care about his opinion anyway. Gave up on that a while ago.

He goes to the kitchen sink on autopilot, scrubbing the gross, now dried and tacky feeling from his hand. He's in the process of drying his hands when a voice startles him.

"Hey man. You okay?"

It's Eddie. Of course, it's Eddie they would send after him.

"Yeah," he turns so his back is to the sink, leaning back against it to look at Eddie.

"You never have to scoop out a pumpkin before? Did someone else do it for you?"

If anyone else had asked, Steve would think it was condescending. Someone mockingly asking after nannies or servants who would do the gross part of pumpkin carving for the little rich kid. But it's Eddie, and he's just curious and sincere. So, Steve says, "nah, man. Just never done this before."

Eddie's browse crinkle in confusion and Steve thinks he's so fucking cute. He wants to kiss the confusion from his brow. "You've never carved a pumpkin before?"

Steve just gives a shake of his head before shrugging. He wants to cross his arms, close in on himself, but it's Eddie. He's trying to not shy away from the people he cares about. He's trying to let them take care of him, too.

(It's been a process, since the defeat of Vecna. Learning to let people care about him. He's better at it these days. Robin said so and if anyone is an expert on him, it's her. He can't always trust his own opinion to be unbiased.)

"I'll scoop out your pumpkin if you still want to give pumpkin carving a try," Eddie offers, a soft, lopsided smile on his face that Steve adores. The bats took a good chunk of his left cheek, and the scarring is heavy, the muscles non-responsive, so every smile is lopsided, but Steve loves them all.

"Okay," Steve says, offering a soft smile in return but doesn't push off the sink. Not until Eddie approaches, taking Steve's wrist and tugging him along.

No one says anything when they return to the garage, nor when Eddie blows past his own pumpkin to sit next to Steve and grab up his pumpkin. Eddie looks down at the hole Steve's carved, a calculated look on his face. It's cleared away soon enough when he smiles as wide as his scarred cheek allows before he gets to work on the pumpkin. He cleans it out thoroughly before handing it back to Steve, then crawls across the floor to retrieve his own abandoned pumpkin, rolling it across the floor as he crawls back.

"Oh, wait. Can you go get me a marker?" Eddie asks, as Steve is examining his pumpkin, trying to imagine a face to go on it.

"Yeah," Steve says, glad to have a moment more to think about the face as he fetches a marker from his father's office.

He returns to most of the kids having already finished their own pumpkins. Unsurprising, considering how much time Steve spent just thinking about carving before he even started.

"Marker," Steve offers it out after he's sat down again, close enough that his knee is touching Eddie's this time.

"Thanks," Eddie takes the marker and adjusts so more of his leg is pressing against Steve's. "So, you can freehand the face if you want, or I could draw you a face to cut out? If you want."

"Oh. Uh, yeah. Yeah, sure," Steve says, shoving his pumpkin towards Eddie who looks delighted by Steve's answer. It doesn't take him long to draw on a face. Triangle eyes, a little rectangle nose, and a wide mouth filled with jagged teeth.

Steve and Eddie carve in quiet, while Steve basks in the warmth of Eddie's leg next to his, touching his. He's never been sure if Eddie likes him back, not enough to announce his own crush, but sometimes... There are times like this that fill him with hope.

Steve doesn't even realize they've been abandoned to the garage until Eddie finishes his pumpkin, which is three bats carved artistically into the side. Steve is impressed, and when he turns to ask if anyone else is, there isn't anyone there.

"Oh. I didn't even hear them leave."

Eddie plops the top of his pumpkin back on, which reminds Steve he needs to do the same. He reaches for his top but Eddie beats him to it, craving the gross mass of sides that was stuck to it off before handing it over it.

Steve sets the top back on the pumpkin, and it immediately drops into the pumpkin. "What. Why did it-?"

"You gotta cut the top into an odd shape or at an angle. Otherwise, that happens. But it's okay. You didn't know, and I know how to fix it. You got some toothpicks in your house?" Eddie says, assuring Steve before he even has time to overthink it.

Can Steve be any more in love with him at this point?

"What?" Eddie whispers, eyes wide and face slowly turning red.

"What?"

"You just... you, uhh. Did you not mean to say that out loud?"

"Say wha- oh God," Steve registers what he'd thought, or apparently, what he said and now he and Eddie are just staring at each other, wide-eyed and unmoving.

"I'm not going to question if you meant it," Eddie starts slowly, clearly the more brave one of the two, "just. I need to know if you mean it, like, romantically."

"I did. Do. I-" Steve can be brave, too. He can. "I do love you. Romantically."

"Holy shit. I want to pull you in and kiss you so bad but my hands are covered in pumpkin guts and-"

Steve does it for him, both hands grabbing at his face and pulling him in.

His first time carving a pumpkin ends up being fantastic, even counting the kids flooding back into the garage to scream 'finally' at them.

-

@i-less-than-three-you @nburkhardt @afewproblems

[indouloureux]

Heyyy can u possibly write a fic about being Eddie’s girl friend and going to a party with him and he gets super wasted and gets all touchy feely to his gf

thank you for requesting! <3

one of the things you love about eddie is that no matter what his state is — whether it be sober or drunk on cheap beer — is that he's still clingy.

good clingy. it's amusing to see him with vermillion cheeks and a silly, drunken smile with heavy eyes to be looking down at you, bending over so that he'd shift his entire weight onto you.

which was exactly what he's doing right now.

nancy laughs lightly when eddie yells your name, tripping over his feet when he nears you. your heart pounds, chest fluttering with a bemused sensation at the sight of your boyfriend.

he opens his arms, and finally lets his feet stumble over each other as he topples over you.

"baby," eddie mumbles in your hair, rich scent of liquor and cheap perfume stinging your nose. "baby baby baby baby,"

"hi," you hook your arms beneath his, pulling him closer to you and you pat down his hair, nancy giving you an entertained look. "hey, eds. where've you been, huh?"

"'bout to go sk- skinny dipping," he whispers in your ear. "big boy dared me to take my clothes off and go skinny dipping with him. and- and i'm here to take you with me."

had you not been surrounded by any other young adults in this party (minus nancy, robin, and steve) you would have said yes. but you're about 90% sure the cops are gonna be called in less than an hour by the neighbors and you wouldn't be so pleased getting handcuffed naked. neither will your parents.

"i'd love to, but it's getting late—"

"no!" he whines, trapping you in with a bear hug. your cheek smushes on his chest, judas priest print cold against your skin; eddie rests his head on top of yours, pouting deeply, eyes watering and suddenly he sniffles. "don't go. don't wanna go. wanna- wan- wanna go with you,"

"you are going with me," you tilt your head up, placing your chin on his chest, grasping at his shirt. eddie lazily runs his fingers through your hair, snorting absentmindedly at how soft it is. "we just gotta go home."

"now?" he mumbles, wrinkling his nose. "but i wanna see steve naked!"

"we'll see him naked next time,"

"but i wanna see you naked," his pouty expression shifts, smirking drunkenly when his hand comes down to cheekily grasp at your ass. you gasp, looking behind you to see nancy laughing. "let me fuck you in that pool,"

you adjust the lapels of his leather jacket, brushing the hair out of his face with a flushed face. eddie leans close to your cheek, kissing the inside of your palm. "you can see me naked when we get home and shower," you tell him. "and you can fuck me tomorrow,"

he whines again like a petulant child not getting what he wants, his feet stomping on the ground as he shakes you by your waist. "why tomorrow?!"

"because you're drunk!"

"but drunk eddie says yes!" he almost yells. "who cares about what sober eddie thinks? he's a pussy. fucking prune."

"hey," it's your turn to pout. "don't talk about sober eddie like that. he is you, y'know? just– knows our boundaries more than you do."

"no," he shakes his head. "can we go home now?"

only because he wants to see you naked than to get some rest. but you know the second he sees his bed he's out like a light. nancy gives you a good luck pat on your shoulder and a goodbye nod to eddie, before you look back at your boyfriend. "yeah, babe, we can go home now,"

[steviewashere]

It's Enough

Rating: General CW: Implied/Possible Depression Tags: Established Relationship, Steve Harrington Needs a Hug, And Gets One, Eddie Munson is a Sweetheart, Steve Harrington is a Sweetheart, Other Characters Mentioned, Bittersweet, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Cuddling

For the @steddielovemonth prompt: "Love is showing up when someone doesn't ask."

💕—————💕

Eddie got a key for Steve’s house when they first started dating. Just something that Steve did as a gesture that said, “You’re part of my permanent fixture of people.” Which, thank God he got a key or else he wouldn’t be able to come check in on his lovely, lovely, lovely boyfriend.

Especially when said boyfriend seems to have gone dark on all the people in his life.

It started with Robin telling him that Steve no-called, no-showed his shift at Family Video. Strange, he had thought. Though, he’d heard that Steve’s done it a few times before. Once when he had a migraine and was vomiting so profusely that he was simply too exhausted to reach his phone. Another, his bat wounds were infected and he was laid up in the hospital. There was kind of recently where Steve just slept through the entire day, nightmares riddling him the night before. Eddie had been there for that day, had to calm Steve down when he realized he missed work, had even held him as he shook from the come down of another nightmare.

So Eddie thought it was a little odd, but not all that different from how Steve can be if given dire circumstances.

Though, then Dustin radios him. “Steve didn’t pick us up from school today. He promised he would, but I guess he couldn’t? I don’t know. I can’t get a hold of him.”

That made the hairs on Eddie’s neck and arms stand up. Because, Steve doesn’t do shit like that. It’s Eddie, usually, who forgets. But Steve? No way, Eddie had thought. Yet, no way turned to, Okay, maybe he did. Eddie made it his duty to pick all the party members up and drop them off at their respective houses.

However, that wasn’t the final straw to make Eddie go to Steve’s.

No, what crumbled his resolve was hearing Max on the radio. She didn’t go to school today. Her limbs aching in a way that made it impossible for her to move from bed. Dustin had told Eddie that. He’s even witnessed it, the poor girl. Her voice came through the radio, small and scared, “Steve?” But there wasn’t a response. “Steve, please, are you there? I—I had a dream about the—“ And her voice trapped in her throat, the cut off of a sob making itself apparent over the radio wave. She forgot to switch to a private channel. She’ll do that, now, apparently. It was mentioned in passing that the channel dial was hard for her to navigate without being able to see all that clearly. She was half-blind, for Pete’s sake.

Eddie comforted her through whatever nightmare shook her. The bats, he concluded. Because, though she wasn’t there to witness it, her mind filled in the blanks easy enough. Vicious, red, raw, bleeding images.

His hackles rose. He beelined for his van. He scurried his ass over to Steve’s house. Because, What the fuck is happening today? And more importantly, He needs me. Maybe that was a selfish thought. Though, maybe, it was a necessary thought.

He creeped through the foyer. Easily realizing that neither of Steve’s parents were home. Tiptoed his sneakers off by the front door. And called out, gentle yet as loud as he could, “Steve? Are you home?”

There wasn’t a response, which made Eddie’s stomach twist. He made his way up the stairs, coming to the cracked opening of Steve’s bedroom door. There was a lump on his bed, Steve’s body. But Eddie couldn’t really tell if he was alive or not, all things considered.

Coming to Steve’s bedside and crouching down, he noticed that Steve was awake. Wide-eyed, glistening, staring through to nothing. Eddie tried to bring a palm up to cup the side of Steve’s face, but that only made him flinch away from the touch. “Stevie?” Eddie hesitated. “Baby, are you alright?”

Steve whimpered in response. He curled farther into his blanket, hands white-knuckling on the edge, head burying itself into his pillow.

Eddie hushed gently. “It’s alright, sweetheart. It’s Eddie,” he tried to cajole. “Just came to check on ‘ya.” He settled down on his butt, criss-crossing on the carpet. Hands folding in his lap. HIs eyes still attentive on Steve.

“Bad day,” Steve muttered.

“That’s alright,” Eddie assured. “It’s okay to have a bad day. Why is—“ He hesitated momentarily. This probably wasn’t going to be a very comforting conversation to have. “Why is it a bad day, Steve?”

He shrugged. “Something’s…Something is missing,” Steve articulated, or at least attempted to. “Like…I don’t know. I don’t know, Eddie. I don’t know.” His voice produced a nasally quality, wet where it shouldn’t be. Getting worked up. “My chest hurts,” he quietly sobbed.

“Oh, honey,” Eddie cooed. He rose up onto his knees. Palms down on the edge of Steve’s mattress. “Can I—Are you okay with me—“

“Please,” Steve cried out. And the way it reached from within his chest made Eddie shudder. It clawed itself out of Steve. Almost bubbling and bursting to the surface. “Please, Eddie,” he had begun to plead, “Come here. I need—“

Eddie took no time at all. Chucking his jacket to the floor. Crawling under the duvet. Curling his body around Steve’s trembling back. He wrapped his arms around Steve’s sturdy torso, hands interlocking and squeezing against the subtle softness of his belly, fingers splaying against his naked skin. He pressed his forehead between Steve’s mole-dotted shoulder blades, brushing his lips over the moles within distance. Shutting his eyes against the shuddering breaths in front of him. Nosing at the top notches of Steve’s spine.

“I gotcha, love bug,” he whispered, “I gotcha and I ain’t going anywhere. Promise, baby. I promise.”

He knew that Steve didn’t like showing himself when he cried. But something about this was different, to its core, Eddie could tell. Something almost hollow and echoing to Steve. Something hungry and aching all at the same time. Eddie never wanted to let go.

Steve shifted in the hold. Turning over completely so that his head was tucked under Eddie’s chin, face burrowed in his chest, arms wrapping around Eddie—low near his hips. He was scrunching himself as to not take up the most amount of room. And Eddie hated it with a great passion. Hated it so much. But realized, in that moment, it was not worth the fight. That, in the throes of loving somebody like Steve, that things need to run their course.

Even as devastating as they are.

Eventually, when Steve calmed and went boneless yet hiccuping in Eddie’s hold, only then did Eddie pull away. Only slightly, as to not startle the stilted air between them. Only to peer a little, to look and gaze and cherish.

Before Steve could even open his mouth, Eddie murmured, “Don’t apologize. It’s alright, love bug. You’ll be okay. Can you…Are you okay to tell me what happened?”

Again, Steve shrugged. “I don’t know,” he whispered. “Just woke up feeling sticky and wrung out and…Empty, I don’t know. Tired.”

Eddie nodded. His eyes sunk in a little, going soft and sad in understanding. “Okay,” he muttered. And cuddled back in, as close as their bodies would let them. “Okay, Steve. That’s enough. ’T’s all I needed to hear, sweetheart.”

Steve sighed against him. His exhaustion noticeable, heavy and armored. Before he drifted, though, he murmured, “Thank you for coming over.”

“Thank you for letting me in,” Eddie responded. His palm slid over Steve’s naked, mottled back. Kissed the top of his head. And pushed himself in closer. “Love you.”

“Love you, too,” Steve could only muster as a whisper.

And that was enough.

💕—————💕

[love-toxin]

ok I'm canadian so thanksgiving was weeks ago for me but. just thinking about being with the fruity four post-vecna when you're all squared up in the Harrington house, living and sleeping and spending all your time together, sharing your lives together as you intended to. but since the holidays are rolling around and your house is by far the biggest for all the guests you wanna invite, you guys are the ones that end up hosting the big turkey dinners and gatherings for the kids and their families to come to. you've even got the Hopper-Byers clan, Hellfire, and uncle Wayne to come, which makes it even more lively--especially since, ironically, the Harrington parents themselves are a no-show.

however, the catch is that none of them really know the nature of your relationship. Dustin has ideas but he's not positive, he just thinks you guys are really close and he heard Eddie calling Steve babygirl so he's assuming there's something going on. also Max has seen you peck Robin on the cheek before. and Mike's caught Steve at Nancy's former bedroom window to get an old knickknack she forgot. and Erika knows for a fact that you like Eddie because she's sat next to you at Hellfire--and she's seen those cheesy hearts circling his name in your notebook. but either way, whatever it is you're doing they really don't mind, and they're just glad to spend the holidays with their favourite honorary older brothers and sisters. it's difficult to be spending such nice quality time with everyone but not be able to show affection to each other, because you just have to pretend you're friends and roommates, bustling around the kitchen to make dinner together and figuring out table settings for all your guests.

but you get lucky when someone fixes up a thatch of mistletoe above the doorway between the kitchen and the dining room, the fist bump/high five combo between El, Max, and Will going unnoticed as they wait for the trap to spring. and when the five of you cycle in and out to bring the food to the table, none of them miss the opportunity to chant "kiss! kiss! kiss!" when two of you get caught underneath. it's a game but also a challenge--can the party members figure out who it is that's actually dating off of a kiss?

needless to say, most of you are quite subtle because you're just happy you get to kiss the ones you love on this special occasion--light pecks and goofy cheek kisses aplenty. but the ass-grabbing and the mouthful of tongue from Eddie when he catches both you and Steve under the mistletoe keeps everyone guessing.

[eriquin]

Steddie Superhero AU Part 4

Last part of my quick fic. Why are my outline-only fics hitting 8k? Because my brain will not shut up about them.

(part 1) (part 2) (part 3) (you are here)

Warning tags: neglectful parenting, child superheroes, more injuries.

...

Robin wants to know if he wants to talk to Eddie about this, because maybe he’s okay with it and he’s got his own thing planned. Steve agrees to meet with him, if they can get them somewhere safe. He doesn’t want to deal with an ambush. When they get them together, Steve wants to talk to Eddie alone. The first thing Eddie does is apologize for how he acted before, and they talk through what Eddie thought was going on and what was actually happening. Eddie says that his parents treated him like shit and once he figured that out, the way he treats the Party makes a lot of sense. Steve hasn’t really had a chance to tell anyone what happened to get him trapped yet, and once he starts talking about it with Eddie, he can’t stop talking about the finer details of his messed-up upbringing.

If there’s a place to tell the backstory of baby-superhero Steve, it’s here. He was a child superhero, the kind of thing that just isn’t done anymore. This was part of the arguments that Eddie (as Hellfire) and Steve had about the Party. The kids are generally considered too young for real superheroing, and Steve was even younger than they are. He had super strength and fast healing but not the top-tier kind of thing that his parents had. They kept trying to push him further and further in the hopes of him developing better powers, but it never got better. The only thing that’s rare about him is the sympathetic healing ability, which isn’t really a flashy combat power. Except that his parents started relying on it for cleaning up their messier fights. If their son heals everyone afterwards, it means they don’t have to hold back as much. Steve eventually realized that they didn’t care that he was hurt by it, either. Robin helped him escape and build a new life, and they’ve been each other’s besties ever since. 

He’s messed up about everything, but he’s finally physically healing and he’s afraid of how much effort it’s going to take to feel safe again. Eddie has to hold his own hands back to keep from touching him, because he wants to comfort him but doesn't know if he’s allowed. Eddie says that he’s not going to let them hurt Steve again and then Steve’s practically crawling into his lap. He just wants to be held for a little bit, and he says he’s still a little mad at Eddie but flying to his rescue with a cool dragon helped a lot. He mumbles something about feeling like a princess in a tower. 

Eddie winces: I feel bad about calling you prince charming before. You remember that? Yeah, I shouldn’t have done that Steve: That was on purpose? Eddie: Yeah. Christ, I’m sorry. Steve: It was nice. Finally made the title feel good, hearing it from you. Like you meant it. Did you... not mean it? Eddie: I meant it so much. You were sweet and charming and so fucking earnest and I liked you so much but you hated Hellfire Steve: ‘cause Hellfire was a dick who didn’t listen to me Eddie: I know! And I didn’t know how to tell you that I was both without you hating me for it. I’m so sorry. 

They’re curled up with each other now and Steve remembers why he was so enamored with Eddie. It doesn’t take much to start kissing him again, and it’s close to getting to be more than that when there’s a knock on the door, startling them. They shift apart and then Eddie gets up to let people in again. Robin and Hopper are there, as is Murray who is a friend of Hopper’s and a clever PR person. They ask if the boys came up with any good story to tell or plan of how to handle the issue with the Regal Heroes and how to clear Eddie’s name. Eddie’s like “Oh, is that what we were supposed to be talking about?” Robin, Hopper, and Murray collectively roll their eyes but Steve giggles a little which makes Robin happy to see. 

They go over what their options are and how they’re going to explain why the Regals were keeping Steve prisoner without revealing more about his power set than he wants people to know. People know he has fast healing and super strength, but they don’t know that he can take people’s injuries or that he’s any kind of healer. Murray has gone through the data that Jonathan and Robin pulled from about what they were doing to Steve and he thinks that the Regals wanted to try to duplicate his power, or to figure out how to activate it involuntarily on him. That’s some dark shit and he’s worried that if that comes out, not only will it involve a larger scale government cover-up but Steve might be targeted by people who want to recreate the experiment. So it would be better if they could figure out some other reason that’s more in line with your everyday, petty superhero bullshit. Steve has an epiphany.

Steve: I’m a princess Robin snorts: Yeah, the prettiest princess. Steve: No, shut up. I mean. The princess in the tower. They locked me up there. There was a dragon and everything.  Eddie: I mean, usually the dragon is guarding the princess instead of rescuing... Steve: Yeah, yeah, I mean. That’s why they locked me up, why you rescued me. That’s what we say? Murray: I’m not sure I follow, kid. Steve: Just... Make them garden variety homophobes. Not approving of their son’s boyfriend, they lock him away in the tower. No freaky medical experiments, no power reveal. Just your average kidnapping and involuntary confinement.  Murray, suddenly gleeful: Oooo... so the vendetta against Hellfire really is personal. That’s good. That’s going to make them look just awful. Steve: Right? Exposing my boyfriend like that, but not me? It’s coming at me without exposing themselves, right? ‘Cause if I stay with him then people will find out who I am.  Hopper: Wait, how much of this is true? Were you dating before this?  Robin: Like, three months ago. Steve: Two. Robin: Three. It’s April. Steve: Woah. Fuck. I’m so fired.  Eddie: Aww, babe. You’ll have to be a househusband.  Hopper: Do we have to wipe more records about you, Munson?  Eddie: Eh? Maybe? I’ve dated a bunch of people.  Robin: Boo, you whore. 

They figure out their stories and then Murray arranges something for a remote interview with Eddie about what happened, and then once they get someone to agree to it they let it drop that Junior Prince is also going to talk to them. He doesn’t like his previous superhero name but he’s not sure what else to call himself. They’re like “so the superhero formerly known as Le Petit Prince?” and he’s like “Not that. I’m not nearly as cool as the rock star.” What other name would they use for him? Eddie thinks they should call him Prince Charming. Steve hates it and wonders if there’s a good prince of hell he could be named instead. Eddie’s like “I think Asmodeius is the one for Lust” and Robin has a live Robin reaction and declares that Steve is Prince Charming now because they’re trying to go for a squeaky clean image. Steve resents this but he doesn’t really want to be in the mask again so he just rolls with it. 

So they get ready for their interview. They’re just wearing domino masks, which Hellfire usually wears under his face shield, and they’re mic'd up. Steve’s like “I forgot how much I hate talking on camera” before they’re on the air with the interviewer. No one has heard from Le Petit Prince in ages, but they roll with him being called “Charming” now and he explains that he’s basically retired. They go with the whole story about the fight with his parents being about them not approving of his boyfriend and keeping him captive for a month to try to break them up. It was interpersonal drama and his parents have taken it way too far by starting this vendetta against his boyfriend. Hellfire gives a little wave and says hi but mostly lets Charming talk. The interviewer asks if Hellfire didn’t start it by letting a dragon bite off King Whatever’s arm and Hellfire’s like “She is a strong, independent dragon and she does what she wants. She likes kids and doesn’t like bad parents.” 

The interviewer seizes the opportunity to talk mostly to Charming, asking him questions about why he retired and what he’s been doing. He talks about how his childhood sucked a lot but he didn’t know any better so now he helps take care of younger heroes and makes sure someone’s looking out for their best interest and keeping them out of trouble, as best as they can. He drags his parents at every opportunity. They finish off the interview with the interviewer asking what he thinks about his parents revealing Hellfire’s identity. Charming says that he wonders if they’ll get more than a slap on the wrist for doing that, and then goes 

Charming: It’s funny because as an independent adult, I could reveal my identity at any time. I know people do it, and it’s not like they’d have any right to sanction me for doing it just because my parents’ identities would be super easy to determine based on it.  Interviewer: What an interesting point.  Charming: Yeah, that’s the choice they made when they decided they’d rather have a sidekick than a son, huh? I think they thought I’d break up with this guy :jerks thumb at Hellfire: if everyone knew who he was, but the jokes on them, huh? Hellfire: Guess we’re not getting their blessing any time soon, huh? 

So they finish up the interview and it goes viral and gets sampled on stuff. There’s the court of public opinion that’s decently split about their relationship but not about Steve dragging his parents for child abuse and imprisonment. Steve’s parents are now pariahs among heroes and basically have to retire, but they’re still rich assholes in their regular life. But Steve’s estranged from them and is back to dealing with his own shit. Eddie gets recognized far too much to do the anti-establishment vigilante work that he used to do, but on the other hand a bunch of people like him and agree with him. Some people even like his music, and that’s cool. He’s internet famous, which he hates, but Jonathan helps him manage. He even tweets occasionally, in the style of terrible Bruce Wayne tweets that make no sense. When he does do the superhero stuff it’s usually for natural disasters or big villains now, because his upgraded shadow monster stuff has catapulted him into A league. Which he hates. 

There is one reporter who he’ll talk to, and it’s usually cute banter. Chrissy Cunningham starts as a music and arts reporter, but since Hellfire will talk to her about stuff she gets put into heroes stuff. He accuses her of flirting with him and says that she knows he’s taken. 

Steve gets his EMT job back, with his boss knowing that there’s something cape-related going on in his life. His boss probably already knew this, but realizes that it must have gotten very bad for him to be missing for a month. But Steve has a great success rate and he suspects it’s related, like maybe he has good luck powers or something. 

They get sent to a disaster that turns out to be unnatural. There’s a supers battle that’s collapsed a building and Steve’s helping deal with injuries. He ends up running in to drag someone to safety and one of the bad guys hits him. He gets stabbed by a javelin while there are lots of civilians around. There are certain rules of engagement for supers, because targeting injured people and medical personnel tends to get the attention of people like Nancy who just kill you for it. So he waffles between fight and flight mode because he thinks this is deliberately attacking him, but then the guy looks like he’s going to go after the injured people near him so fight mode it is. He tackles the guy despite his own gut wound, but ends up being thrown into the debris. Then other uninjured civilians start joining in on the fight, which they normally wouldn’t do but this injured EMT just tried to take down some clown in spandex and they’re mad about it. Then the Party arrives, including Hellfire and his summons, and the villains are routed quickly. 

The Party is good at disaster cleanup. Eddie’s directing his summons to find people who are trapped. He gives Steve a long look from across the ruined building, but he’s got his faceplate on so people can’t tell. But Steve is now a patient and being loaded into his own ambulance on a gurney and he can’t even protest too much because he really, really should be injured by this and it’d be suspicious if he wasn’t. He does whine a little bit about not getting to meet any of the heroes. Later on he’s in the hospital room he doesn’t need with a doctor who has to pretend that he’s still injured and Eddie sneaks in with the help of someone who can make illusions. 

Eddie, being cheeky: I just had to meet this heroic EMT who took on a villain all by himself.  Steve: Ha-ha asshole. Tell Robin that we need to check if that guy has a connection to my parents. They might have sent him to silence me Eddie, crawling onto the hospital bed with him and in a singsong voice: If they did, I’m letting my dragon eat them Steve: Oh, sweetheart. You say the nicest things.

They kiss for a little bit and Steve complains about being stuck in the hospital until a reasonable amount of time has passed for them to release him, and the door opens with a nurse saying she has Mr. Henderson’s meds. Eddie jumps away from Steve and fails to hide his face because he recognizes that the nurse is actually Chrissy. He’s suddenly pissed that she’s there, impersonating a nurse, and wonders if she’s actually stalking him. 

But she’s actually there to try to find out more about Steve, who was very heroic but was whisked away and she’s on the lookout for superhero-related stories that affect. She wanted him to get to him before the super teams tried to hush up him for any reason, as it’s happened before. She gets all in Eddie’s face about him trying to coerce a civilian and she thought he was better than that. 

Eddie: That is not why I’m here! Chrissy, poking him in the chest with her pen: Then why? I know it’s not to flirt. You have a boyfriend, remember?  Steve coughs: Yeah, Eddie. Remember?  Eddie: You shut up. Chrissy, catching up a little: Wait. Why aren’t you more injured? You were impaled. Steve, pretending very badly to be hurt: I’m very injured! I’m covered in bandages here. I’m ... absolutely not sitting up right now. Ouch?  Chrissy: ... Oh my god. You... Charming has fast healing.  Steve: Jesus, you were right. She is smart.  Eddie: This is your fault for getting stabbed. Steve: This is your fault for visiting me after I was publicly stabbed!

...

And that’s about all I have. I like Chrissy as the Lois Lane character. If there are any follow-ups, it’s exploring the Party’s powers and Steve finding his feet as a real hero. Or just having a happily ever after. He and Eddie would have excellent banter. Good enough for now.

Taglist: @kedreeva, @fiore-della-valle, @whydamnitwhy, @captainhaterade

[spookyclooky]

considering I will never shut up about this, and I see a lot of people ganging up on each other over this, I've decided I'm going to publicly share at least a few (if not all) of the slides from a powerpoint I made for my friends explaining why Stancy doesn't work and Steddie does

Keep in mind, this was not originally intended for general audiences but I've reached the end of my rope with this and I'm gonna show you some research I did (though I'm gonna exclude some of my slides cause they're introducing the characters for my friends who don't watch ST)

my first two slides, because some of this was jokes but I'm so actually fucking serious about this it's crazy

my summarization of both of their relationships (some of the Steddie one was jokes because they don't actually have a canon relationship obv)

and this is the summation of my analysis of both relationships (or what I think their relationship could be by analyzing the way they interact in Steve and Eddie's case). This doesn't even include the fact that Steve evidently wants a big family according to ST4, which Nancy straight up said is the last thing she wants. So, in being with Steve, she'd be trapped in her worst nightmare and would grow to eventually resent him. She even says this during that conversation:

Because she doesn't want kids! She expressed this early on the series when she's talking about her parents with Jonathan, telling him about how her dad was older and her mom married him for money. She didn't want to be like her parents, she still doesn't. She's trying her hardest to pave a path for herself in her journalism, by any means necessary. You think she can do that stuck in a house on the end of a cul-de-sac with someone she never truly loved in the first place?? NO!!! She says this to Jonathan in S1 E6, which just further proves my point

so hearing that, do you think she wants a cute little family with Steve, schlepping across the country with "six little nuggets" in tow? Absolutely the fuck not.

AND, for Steve, he straight up tells Robin that he doesn't love Nancy anymore. While he was on 'truth serum' from the russians. He doesn't even hesitate, and here's the scene if you wanna watch it again cause you don't believe me.

Even Murray, an outsider looking in, could see their relationship was not it

Like, do y'all not remember this?

Cause I do

this shows that even an outside party, who is JUST MEETING Nancy, can tell that she no longer loves Steve, and that's assuming she ever had feelings like that for him in the first place.

In S4, he SPECIFICALLY says, after the bit about crawling backwards, that he says when he gets a big enough thump on his head, he can change and move forward. He thanks her for helping him to 'crawl forward', which I kind of interpreted as a 'hey, thanks for showing me that the way I was acting before sucked, and you breaking up with me changed my life for the better', the breakup acting as his proverbial bump to the head in this particular case.

Speaking as someone who has been in an extremely unhealthy relationship in the past, I think that Steve is simply going through a denial stage at this point, his rose colored glasses coming back on to romanticize the good parts of his and Nancy's relationship instead of seeing the entirety of it. The good and the bad, even though from what we see as an audience, there's much more bad outweighing the good. Especially considering they weren't together for very long by the time the events of season 1 took place.

At the beginning of season 2, it seems like from Steve's perspective, the stuff involving the Upside Down (i.e, Barb's death, facing the demogorgon together, etc.), brought them closer together, but to Nancy, it made it easier for her to distance herself from Steve, for whatever reasons she personally may have found prominent at the time.

She at least acts like she's in denial at first about not being in love with Steve, but she lets that fall apart insanely quickly, considering she kisses/sleeps with Jonathan at Murray's a few hours after they talk about her love life/relationship with Steve where she says that she does in fact love him??

Delving into the mind of Nancy Wheeler is a complicated endeavor, the same could be said for Steve Harrington himself, but long story short, the idea that the Duffers could possibly be pushing them back together bothers me a lot because it'd be like Steve crawling backward all over again. It's like they don't know what to do with him unless he has some sort of love interest and it kind of shows. In S1 and S2, it was Nancy, in S3, it was Robin and now they're trying to come full circle which doesn't make any logical sense.

In all honesty, I think Nancy should just take a break from having a relationship all together, to finally let herself grieve Barb properly and Steve should have a partner that matches his emotional maturity that he's gained over the past seasons.

But that's all I'm gonna say, so thank you for coming to my TED talk and I hope you enjoyed <3