#it just screams Steddie

[steddiesucker]

Eddie, kissing Steve: Hey sweetheart.

Steve, kissing back: What’s up, babe.

Jonathan: Did we miss something?

Robin: Oh, no no, they’re just playing a game, no biggie.

Argyle: What game?

Robin: It’s called gay chicken. The point of the game is for two guys to pretend to be gay together for as long as possible, and whoever chickens out first loses.

Jonathan: And how long has it been since they are, uh… pretending?

Robin: Three weeks.

Argyle:

Jonathan:

Nancy, leaning over: They’re pretty stubborn.

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯ ⋆✦⋆ ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

Read the awesome fic by @unclewaynemunson on AO3: The gayest chicken in Hawkins

[florallylly]

concept: eddie has heard many a rumor about king steve, but he's actually never really bothered to seek him out. and while he was doing his lunchtime monologues, steve was usually hanging out with tommy and carol in the parking lot. so despite hawkins high being a small school, he's never connected the rumor to the boy.

he HAS however seen steve, he just doesn't know it. and it's basically love at first sight, but eddie is never able to catch up to him and learn his name. so whenever he talks to his friends, he just calls him the guy with the Fat Ass.

and his friends always brush over steve harrington whenever eddie tries to point out the "love of his life." so it becomes a running joke that eddie is in love with some sort of ghost with a Fat Ass.

then one day, steve peeks into the drama room, looking for dustin. and all eddie can do is point and say "you... you fat ... fat ass." and steve is just like "rude."

[steviesbicrisis]

Eddie who goes to the same supermarket cause they always play his favorite music and he promises himself he will befriend whoever is in charge of the music cause they have the best taste.

Steve who works at that same supermarket, has an embarrassing crush on Eddie and gets in trouble for putting on metal music every time Eddie comes to the store.

[tartarusknight]

I want more platonic stobin and bisexualy disaster Steve and gay disaster Eddie in my life. So I wrote some :)

Steve wanted to scream as he tried the handle again. "Steve. Steve!" Robin pulled him away from the door. "They aren't opening the door, and you're just gonna break the handle. Keith already hates your guts. Don't make it worse." She pointed out, weirdly calm about all of this. "Plus, it's not like we don't share space normally." She says and sinks down to the floor, tugging him down with her.

Steve looked at the door, "Why can't they accept that we're only ever going to be platonic?" He asks and runs a ran through his hair. He was sick of this. Of the comments and the teasing. It stresses him out.

They kept pushing the two of them together, and Steve was worried that it could mess up what friendship he had with Robin. Because Steve's used to messing up and hurting someone, and he really doesn't want to hurt Robin. He has nightmares of outing her by accident and ruining her life. It terrifies him.

"Steve, come on, it's okay. It's just a stupid bathroom. We've shared a bathroom stall. This is bigger than that." She jokes, and he pulls his knees up to his chest.

"I can't do this, Rob." He admits and watches her freeze. Her walls climbed up like he said something really stupid. "I'm sorry, but I'm just-"

She cuts him off, "I get it. You don't want to deal with the backlash of being a lesbian's friend." She says, and he blinks.

"What? No! I don't want to say the wrong thing. I get bitchy when I'm annoyed and I'm easily annoyed when I'm stressed. And I'm stressed! So I don't - I can't be the one to out you. I can't mess that up for you." He says, and it's nice to finally admit his fears.

Robin blinks at him, "That's what- Steve, that's what bothers you about all this?"

Steve nods, "I mess up everything I touch. I can't do that to you, I won't do that to you. Honestly, you should probably find better friends. One who thinks with his brai-"

"Shut up." Robin snaps, and he stops speaking. Looking at her with wide eyes. "You can't talk about my best friend that way. I won't let you," She states.

"You're best friend?"

Her eyes soften, "yeah dingus. Who else would be my best friend? We're soulmates," She decides, and he's confused because she sounds like she means it. "Platonic, with a capital p, soulmates."

He swallows back a ball of emotion, "even if all the kids I babysit-"

"Mother."

"Babysit," he stresses, and she smiles. "Try to get us together at every opportunity and won't believe that we aren't in love. Or that I'm in love with you at the least. I think you're better off because you call me dingus more than my name," he mused.

Robin sighed, "I won't say that it's not annoying. But I'm used to dodging questions about boys, and this way... with you, I have someone to be myself with. That's more important to me than some stupid preteens who think locking us in a bathroom would get us together."

Steve smiles, "last time we shared a bathroom did go pretty well, honestly." She knocked her knee into his. He glanced over at the door. "Do you think they'll give up?"

Robin snorts, "Dustin's more invested in your love life than you are. I don't think he'll give up unless you're dating someone else or the truth comes out."

Steve sighed, chewing his lower lip until something clicked in his head. "What If I come out?"

Robin blinked, "you- what?"

Steve nodded, "I mean I like both but I could just say I favor guys." He shrugs, "it's not like they could disprove it since it's mostly true."

Robin stared at him, "Steve... since when did you- what? Steve oh my god," She shifted onto her knees and slammed into him. "Since fucking when! Why didn't you ever tell me!"

Steve raised an eyebrow, "what do you mean since when? I literally point out hot guys all the time! When we watched watched Rocky Horror, I said Tim Curry was sexy!"

She shook his shoulders, "you did no such thing! You ask if I also think a guy is hot and you said- oh." It clicks for her and she falls back on her ass. She covers her face, "holy shit."

Steve smirks, "holy shit."

A giggle escapes her lips, "you so have a type."

"Shut up," he groans.

But before they can really dig into it, there's a loud knock on the door. "We're gonna open the door in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1!" The door swings in a Dustin's hand is over his eyes like he's gonna be scarred at the sight of them.

"We're literally just sitting on the floor Henderson. Not having freaky bathroom sex," Steve rolls his eyes and stands, Robin following suit.

Dustin looks upset like he expect his plan to work. "I don't get it." Steve ruffles his hair as he passes the kid. Robin lets out a small laugh as she stretches her limbs like she had been stuck in there for more than just 15 minutes. Steve turns, and she locks eyes with him, a silent question.

"Kid, I've said this a million times, but I'll say it one more time." He glances at the other kids that had either always been there or gotten here at some point since he'd been locked into the bathroom. "Robin and I will never date. She and I have no romantic feelings for each other. And if you pull this shit when we're at work again, I'll kill you."

"It's not like it was hard to figure out how to check someone out," Max shrugged and Steve huffed at her nonchalant grin from behind the counter.

Steve ushers the kids out from behind the counter before taking his normal spot, looking around at the empty store. Robin moves and bumps shoulders with him. "Platonic feelings only." She gestures between them.

Dustin groan, "I just don't get why!"

Steve glances at Robin, "because I'm too gay for her." He states and everyone goes quiet. "Honestly boobies are so high school." He winks at Robin who looks at him like he's bravely stupid.

"Wait but you dated Nancy?" Mike questioned arms over his chest.

Steve rolled his eyes, "so? I am more picky on who I date. Doesn't matter the gender. Robin doesn't tick my boxes."

"But she should!" Dustin complains and Robin groans.

But then Steve sees someone in the windows, heading towards the doors to Family video. "My type is more," and he just gestures just as the door dings to call their attention to the newcomer.

Eddie Munson glances at the kids and then at Steve. "Sheepies," he says. Eyebrows raised in confusion at the eyes on him. Eddie glanced at Steve, "Harrington, you break the kids?" He asks as all the kids continue to stare at him as he moves to the horror section.

Steve waves his hand, like he can brush off the confusion. "Nah, they're just shocked that I'm not completely in love with Birdie over here."

Everyone's jaw is on the floor as Steve leans his arms on the counter, not even bothering to hide the way he checks Eddie out when the man looks away. "Right," Eddie sighs and grabs a movie. "Well, not everyone's type is jocks." Eddie teases slightly, having warmed up to Steve little by little when Steve picks the kids up from Hellfire.

Steve takes the movie from Eddie, giving him his one free movie he gets for the week and hands it back to Eddie without charging him. "I'll win ya over." He winks, and Eddie's eyes go a little wide.

Eyes glanced around like he could ask if anyone else saw that. "Um, well, yeah, how-how much for the-"

"Consider it on me." Steve waved his hand and then leaned more into Eddie's space, "I haven't seen this one yet."

Eddie swallows, "You should check it out. It's, uh, pretty good."

Steve smiles, "I'm shit with horror, maybe if I had someone to hold my hand through it." He sighs overdramatically, then snaps, "Oh, I know! If you're not busy we could watch it together. I mean, it seems like a scary metalhead like yourself would be capable of holding my hand through the jump scares."

Eddie's eyes are blinking rapidly, "it's for the boys." He says, looking lost. Steve frowns, and Eddie jumps into action, "But I could-" He stops himself and groans. "I've got to- plans- fuck-" He stumbles and practically smacks into the door in his rush to leave family video.

Steve sighs and leans his head down on the counter. Robin pats his back, "I miss my whiteboard." She sighs and he looks up to glare at her.

[vroomgogh]

bi steve in vol 2 is something that can be so personal

[lady-redhaired]

gotta do everything myself in this bitch of an earth🙄

[findafight]

Robin chose Steve. Robin made the conscious and deliberate decision that she could and would trust Steve. She already liked him! She had fun working and bantering with him! They were already on their way to being weird little bffs and the torture just expedited the process. Steve chose Robin just the same! He thinks she's fun and cool and likes her so much! He chose to be honest and open with her too, putting himself out there.

Even though their interests on the surface level don't match why wouldn't they share them? Steve clearly caves when Robin wants to watch a movie he doesn't think he'll like, Robin can watch a March madness game or five.

Stop trying to take away their bond oh my god people can be close to more than one person!!! Their best friend doesn't have to be dismissive or mean or whatever in order for a romance to be special to them!

[bicappy]

st4t

p.s. i think that drawing eddie w top surgery scars that look like bats is literally the best thing in the entire world

[flowercrowngods]

steve ‘floor time’ harrington and eddie ‘no one touch or perceive me’ munson. they flinch at every noise even though they expected a good night, a stable night, but something changed and they’re in sensory overload. steve tries to take eddie’s hand but he pulls away immediately, shrinking in on himself. steve hums and cocks his head, signalling eddie to follow him.

they leave the loud and lively living room, the kids yelling all over each other, and find a dark and empty room and just lie on the floor for a while before they’re ready to come back. they don’t talk, don’t touch, just lie there next to each other. eddie takes steve’s hand when he’s ready for touch again. they start talking in hushed voices, bringing noise back, rebooting their senses, slowly and gently easing each other in again.

when they come back, hand in hand, mike turns down the music and lucas makes sure to remind people not to talk too loudly. the boys are drained, but the kids try their best. they’re all trying their best.

[joehawke]

I can just see Steve being the cheesy flirter he is hanging out with Eddie and being like “damn Munson, you got something in your pocket or are you just happy to see me” with a suggestive smirk as he walks his fingers up Eddie’s arm with a wink and it truly was all in good nature and fun until Eddie turns bright red and freezes before looking down and looking away quickly covering himself with a pillow and oh. Oh shit

[corrodedcoughin]

Pre-relationship Steddie exchanging mix tapes for each other with pining, lovesick songs over and over again on each side. Handing them over to each other with hopes the other person will Pick Up On The Messages.

Eddie having corroded coffin over that night as a distraction from thinking about Steve listening to The Tape. It’s a pretty normal night except Eddie is crouching on the couch biting his nails and hissing, so actually yeah it’s a normal night. But the guys can tell something is up so Gareth and Jeff start rifling through Eddie’s tapes, hoping that some music will chill him out or get him hyped or just anything that isn’t what he’s doing right now. Ian is sitting by him and trying to start a conversation but it’s a fool’s errand.

So the tape goes in and the music starts and it feels like maybe Eddie will relax. But as the first song goes into the second he freezes. Stares wide eyed. Shushes everyone. Demands gareth skip to the next song, then the next. Oh no. Oh no.

Eddie grabs Jeff by the arm ‘Jeff. Dude. Please. Please tell me what’s written on the tape you put on’ wide eyed and unblinking.

‘Uh I don’t know man. Gareth get the tape out, yeah?’ Jeff asks with a blatantly confused face. And of course Gareth acquiesces, deciding not to escalate the situation for once in his life which Eddie is very grateful for.

And the tape? The tape is the Steve tape. The one Steve was supposed to have. Which is fine. Absolutely fine! It’s okay! Eddie can explain this away. He can, he’ll get his one back and it’ll be fine. Whatever is on the casette steve has can’t be that bad, it just can’t be.

——

The next day Eddie goes to family video. Plays it cool, hopes to earn a smile out of Steve. Maybe a laugh if he’s lucky. Only Steve’s kind of jumpy? Normally he gives a wave and a wink that he’s Eddie struggling to stay upright. This time? This time he’s struggling to make eye contact and blushing? Weird. Maybe he’s sick. Eddie should make him soup.

‘Hey Steve. Stevie. Stev-o’ he’s at the counter now, tapping on it trying to hide his nerves. And Steve is smiling at him, properly smiling, this is nice. Steve should always be smiling.

‘I listened to the tape’ Steve says with a bashful giggle and Eddie loves the way it sounds falling from Steve’s lips. With new found courage eddie continues ‘Actually, about that…any chance I could have my casette back? I want to give it to Gareth.’ Eddie spent far too long on his perfect Steve mix, he will not let it go unheard. If he has to lie to get The Mix To Win Steve in that boys beautiful hands by god he will.

‘Gareth?!’ Steve’s smile drops instantly. Mood souring and expression turning hurt, almost bitchy ‘yeah sure, whatever. Thought we were making tapes for each other but whatever’

Confused by the sudden change Eddie carries on carefully ‘oh yeah, but I gave you the wrong one. That was for Gareth. For all of the guys actually. This one’ Eddie fishes the casette out of his pocket ‘this one is for you’ and slides it across the counter.

‘For…for all of them? You want to give that tape to all of the guys?’ Steve only looks more confused

‘Yeah man, why wouldn’t I? They are my guys!’ Eddie continues, trying to dispel this weird atmosphere. Before he can go any further Robin calls Steve into the store room, something about a stacking tower emergency and Steve is off, a dejected wave thrown at Eddie as Eddie walks out the door.

Weird. Very weird.

Nonetheless eddie hops into his van ready to drive home and start the process of Worrying About What Steve Will Think all over again. Curiosity gets the better of him though and he sticks the mistake casette into the player of the van, expecting a normal metal guitar riff to play out. What he gets? Is far, far worse

Trumpets.

Snare drums.

Oh

Oh no

Oh god

Then the signing starts. And Eddie knows. Eddie fucking knows that this tape only has one song on it. Repeated. On both sides. Over and over again. And Steve thinks. Oh Jesus what does Steve think. What DID Steve think? Eddie pulls over and sinks his head into the steering wheel until the horn drowns out the music of Monty python.

🎶 Sit on my face and tell me that you love me

I'll sit on your face and tell you I love you, too

I love to hear you oralize

When I'm between your thighs

You blow me away

Sit on my face and let my lips embrace you

I'll sit on your face and then I'll love you truly

Life can be fine if we both sixty-nine

If we sit on our faces in all sorts of places

And play, 'til we're blown away 🎶

[matchingbatbites]

Part 1

Steve visits Eddie often. He loves being around the other man, loves how kind Eddie is, how funny he is for someone who rules the dead. He seems to love making Steve laugh and is always cracking jokes that send the goddess into giggles.

Honestly, Steve spends more time than he should in the Underworld, but Eddie has so many duties to tend to, it makes more sense for Steve to come to him than the other way around.

It’s nearly a year since he met Eddie that his joy is brought to an end. Steve is summoned to Olympus, is told that his visits are sending the world into chaos.

He didn’t know that traveling to the Underworld would cut the human world off from his magic, that the plants that bloomed with his presence would die off when the connection is severed.

Zeus bans him from visiting Hades, and Steve ignores the smug look on Ares’ face, the pitying looks from Hera and Aphrodite. Not all of the gods are here to witness his humiliation, but there are enough to make him flush with shame, to have him leaving as soon as he's able to.

Aphrodite catches him before he gets too far, her hair and robes both immaculate even as tears stream down her face. “Ares told them where you were going. I tried to stop him, but he’s… bitter. Jealous.”

She takes his hand, holds it between her own. “I can tell that your feelings are true, and that Hades feels the same for you. I wish I could help you, Persephone. You both deserve happiness.”

And like a stroke of lightning, Steve knows what must be done.

He thanks her and leaves Olympus, finds the nearest gate and descends into the Underworld. Cerberus is given three loving pets as Steve passes by, heading to the garden behind Eddie’s home.

The plants have been thriving thanks to Steve’s frequent visits, the flowers are in full bloom and the plants that can fruit are full and heavy with produce. He plucks a pomegranate from its branch, and stares at it as he remembers.

The goddess had found Eddie eating one on his third or fourth visit, and the older had stopped him when he’d gone to grab a few of the seeds for himself.

“You can’t eat anything grown in this realm. You’ll be stuck here if you do.”

Eddie had looked almost sad as he’d said it, and Steve had tipped his head to the side.

“Are you saying you don’t want me around?”

“No! I mean, I would-” Eddie stopped himself, took a breath. “You don’t belong down here. This place is far too dark, too bleak. It doesn’t deserve you.”

And Steve could read between the lines, could hear what Eddie wasn’t saying. He had ignored it at the time, let Eddie be right, but now? Now Steve knows that Eddie is the only one who deserves him.

Call him selfish, but no one has ever treated Steve the way Eddie does, has cared for him so, and he wants nothing more than to spend the rest of his days in the Underworld, side by side with the man he loves.

He tears open the pomegranate as a voice comes from the house.

“Steve? I didn’t realize you were here.”

Steve turns to face him, and Eddie’s eyes drop to Steve’s hands, dripping with red as he holds the fruit in his hands. His face pales and his eyes jump back to Steve’s.

“What are you doing?” he asks, taking a cautious step forward.

“Do you love me?” Steve asks in return. Just seeing Eddie has firmed his decision, and he stands, unwavering as he watches the other man pause at the question.

“I do. More than anything.” Eddie seems nervous, but his voice is steady, and Steve knows he's telling the truth.

“If I asked it, would you let me stay? Let me stand by your side for the rest of time itself?”

Eddie steps closer, now in arms reach. “I would. I would not turn you away, even if it meant my life.”

Steve’s eyes don’t waver from Eddie’s as he scrapes a handful of seeds from the fruit and shoves them in his mouth.

The juice is tart at first, but is followed by a delicious sweetness, something that reminds Steve of Eddie himself, and as he swallows, Steve can feel the shift within him.

Hands grab his face and the fruit falls to the ground as Steve grabs Eddie in return, both meeting in a desperate kiss. Magic flows between them, invisible threads tying them together in a bond so concrete, even the Fates themselves could not cut them.

They pull back after a moment, and Steve’s eyes drop to the red smear across Eddie’s mouth, something that is surely mirrored across his own.

“My wonderful little goddess,” Eddie mutters, awestruck as he places another kiss to Steve’s lips, more tender than the last.

“You're stuck with me now,” the goddess responds, sending them both into giggles, and yeah. It feels good to be selfish.

(Later, Steve will cut a deal with the rest of the gods. He will come back for half a year at a time and tend to his duties, leaving his beloved twin Demeter in charge while he’s gone, in exchange for Zeus’ blessing to have children. Zeus will have no choice but to agree.)

-

Tagging @stardustonpages because they respectfully asked for more <3

[ikarakie]

why do i see no one talking about how ‘the king has lost his crown’ by ABBA is just ... steve harrington as a song ?? one of the lyrics is quite literally ‘the world is upside down’ HELLO!!!

[starrystevie]

where the spirit meets the bones

written by @starrystevie with art by @paintedpatroclus for the steddie big bang.

releasing in october 2023; full excerpt under read more

after finding out that his father passed away and that the munson family home in townsend, tennessee is now uncle wayne's, eddie munson makes his way back to the little house nestled on the out skirts of the appalachian mountains. he brings along someone to help with the heavy lifting, to help carry boxes and clean out the junk the house has accumulated over the years. in walks steve harrington with his hands and arms open and ready to do much more than just the heavy lifting. together, the two work through eddie's grief and anger, acceptance and closure. it's all wrapped up in a family house in the mountains of east tennessee. it's where eddie learns how to let go, how to let people in, and how to live as free as the winds blowing through the overgrown weeds. and if it means seeing steve trying to catch crawdads in the sunshine and seeing the stars twinkling in his eyes in the moonlight, then eddie's happy to be along for the ride.

The moment Eddie peeled his eyes open only to get blinded by the morning sun, he knew it was going to be a shitty day.

His head was pounding. The vodka (and tequila and beer and gin) from last night’s festivities made it feel like he had been hit by a truck and then possibly re-run over by said truck. His arms were as heavy as lead and his stomach was rolling, bile churning around looking for a new place to call home.

Eddie pushed himself out of bed as quickly as his spinning head would allow to bend over the trash can by his dresser, pushing the contents in it down so whatever he got out of his system wouldn’t overflow. After hours of emptying his stomach (it was in fact, only a few seconds), he wiped the back of his hand across his mouth, and grimaced at the sour taste it left behind. It took more energy than he wanted to exert, but he brought himself to sit against his bed, eyes closed against the bright sunlight and took in deep, steadying breaths.

Hangovers had never been his friend. He always felt like such a baby whenever he had one because they drained him, debilitating and humiliating. 

Water, he needed water. Even if he was going to throw it all back up after chugging it down, his body was too dehydrated to function. With a groan, Eddie pulled his feet under him and braced his arms on the side of his bed to push himself off the ground. He had to stand there for a few seconds to regain his balance before walking sluggishly to the door of his room. 

The kitchen in their new trailer was close but not close enough that it didn’t wear him down just to make it the few steps. Eddie’s eyes were closed as he shuffled along the floor, his socks shifting uncomfortably and causing the toe line to get stuck under his toes. There were more serious problems at hand though, so he pushed that gross feeling to the side to focus on opening a cabinet with as little noise as possible. 

Eddie wanted to dunk his head under the running tap as soon as he turned it on. His eyes felt like they were covered in gunk and he had definitely been too sweaty for too long last night as his hair was now all tangled at the base of his neck. He settled for filling up his cup instead of showering in the kitchen sink and took a large gulp, downing the cup and pulling away to gasp for breath. He filled the cup up once more with the intention to chug it down but a fresh wave of nausea had him groaning. 

“Long night?”

Wayne’s voice broke through the silence and had Eddie jumping out of his skin. With a shout, he brought his hand up to cover his chest where he could feel his heart thumping quickly under his palm.

“What the fuck, Wayne?” Eddie breathed out, closing his eyes with a sigh. His uncle chuckled in response. 

“Sorry, kid. Didn’t think I’d scare ya that bad.” 

The trailer fell into a tense silence as Eddie tried to catch his breath and calm his beating heart. Wayne was sitting on a stool at the kitchen counter smoking a cigarette, the ashtray next to him full, scribbling something into a notepad in front of him. He huffed, crossed something out more times than was probably necessary and then continued writing. 

Eddie took a smaller sip of his water once the fear from being jump scared had settled and he remembered just how thirsty he was. A glance at the clock told him it wasn’t even 9 in the morning. “Shouldn’t you still be at work?” 

Wayne grunted in response, puffed at the cigarette that was at the side of his mouth, didn’t even bother looking up from the legal pad as he continued writing. 

“I’ll take that as a ‘no’ then,” Eddie muttered under his breath as he turned around to find the medicine cabinet over the sink. Tylenol was very much needed if he had any hope of fighting off the day long headache he was already sporting. 

The sound of Wayne ripping off a sheet of paper and crumpling it in his hands was harsh against Eddie’s ears in the otherwise quiet room, causing him to wince and whine like a toddler. 

“Okay, I’m going back to bed for at least 8 more hours so I’ll see-”

“Eddie, wait.” 

Wayne’s voice stopped him in his tracks where he had already started his way back to his bed to be a zombie for the rest of the day. Eddie turned around and saw his uncle run a hand down his face before stubbing out his cigarette and pulling out another. He motioned with a hand to have them both come sit on the couch. 

“I gotta talk to you, bud,” he continued as he stood up slowly from his stool to sit down on the couch. 

This wasn’t normal. Sure, they talked whenever they were both magically home at the same time about easy things, the weather, work, what parts they needed to fix up Wayne’s junker truck. But the way Wayne looked made Eddie apprehensive. It made his stomach turn with nerves rather than with the lingering nausea of his hangover. 

“It’s not you, it’s me?” Eddie joked, forcing a laugh onto the end of the sentence to try and make the tension in the room dissipate. He stayed where he was, pressed against the doorframe to his bedroom, thumbnail running over the hard plastic of the cup still in his hand. 

Wayne rolled his eyes before leveling Eddie with an unamused stare. “Just come sit down.” 

He wanted to do the exact opposite of that. His head was still throbbing and his stomach was too unsettled to do anything but gurgle at him, he wanted to brush his teeth to get the grime off them and crawl back into bed to get his limbs feeling normal again. The last thing Eddie wanted to do was have a talk with his uncle. 

The last time they had ‘a talk’ was when he was 15 and he got condoms thrown in his lap with a gruff, “you better stay safe out there, ain't no extra room in here for any babies,” and Eddie didn’t have the heart to tell him he hadn’t even kissed anyone yet. 

Still, he found himself shuffling back across the floor, his sock catching on a stray nailhead sticking up from the carpet tack strip for a brief moment. Eddie flopped onto the couch in a less than graceful way, pressing his back against the arm and bringing his legs up to sit criss-cross on the cushion. 

“Now,” Wayne started with a sigh. He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath, his arm that was slung across the top of the couch picking at an errant thread. “I know you ain’t feeling too hot and I’m sorry about that, but I gotta tell you this before the day goes on much longer.” 

Eddie’s mind went a million directions. Wayne lost his job, he’s kicking Eddie out, he’s got some weird lung disease from breathing in fumes at the plant, they have to-

“It’s about your dad.”

They hadn’t talked about Eddies’ parents in a long time, there hadn’t really been a need to. His mom had passed away when he was young, the copious drugs in her system causing her heart to stop. And his dad was in prison with 20 years for grand theft auto. It was why Eddie lived with Wayne in the first place; after his brother went to jail, CPS moved him to his closest relative which meant Eddie was going to Hawkins. 

Eddie stilled, felt his head slowly tilt to the side like a dog hearing a whistle. “So I have a feeling I am not awake enough or like… sober enough for this conversation.” 

“Yeah, probably not.” Wayne replied with a sharp gust of air through his nose, nodded his head slowly. “Do you wanna wait until you can get some more rest?” 

“Fuck no,” Eddie said with a shake of his head, feeling his brain sloshing around in his skull and man, he really was too hungover for this. “You’ve got me all intrigued now.”

His uncle nodded again with understanding and he took in a deep breath. “It’s hard to tell ya, kid, but he… uhh. He got the pneumonia or something and it wasn’t clearing up and he-”

Wayne took in another deep breath. Eddie knew he wasn’t awake enough for this.

“They found him in his bunk this morning. Guess he just didn’t wake up.”

All Eddie could do was nod. He felt his eyebrows furrow in for the briefest of seconds before flattening back out. His limbs suddenly felt lighter than they ever had, like he was floating up off their scratchy couch, weightless. His head was still foggy from the liquor that he had shot the night before but everything was a bit clearer now.

“So umm,” he bit at the inside of his lip for a moment, eyes flickering back up to meet Wayne’s. He didn’t even realize he had been staring off into space. Didn’t know how long he had been tapped out of the conversation. “What do we…?”

What did he even want to ask? He didn’t know where to start. 

Logically, there were things to figure out. He was sure they had to get his… body, right? Have a funeral or something. Fuck, how do you plan a funeral for someone you don’t really even know? He was an orphan now, and wasn’t that just a trip to think about. Orphaned at 22… was it even considered orphaned at that point? Or was that just being an adult with no parents left? It’s not like he expected some grand reunion with his dad when his time was served but he didn’t know the last he talked to him let alone saw him and-

“Eddie, breath.” 

He brought his vision back into focus, looked at Wayne’s watery eyes and felt the wetness in his own. He didn’t realize he said that all out loud.  

“I don’t know what to do.”

Wayne’s face pulled up in a show of compassion before mellowing into what Eddie thought was supposed to look comforting. He gave him a small smile, one corner of his mouth pulling up and crinkling the side of his face. 

“Tell you the truth, I don’t really know either bud.” Wayne brought up a hand and pet at Eddie’s knee once, twice, letting the silence of the new trailer without its clangs and groans of the old one wash over them. “I’ll give you some time to think.”

Eddie wanted to be 5 years old again. He wanted to scrunch up his nose and curl his fists and stomp on the ground to get his anger out. He wanted to sit at the edge of his mom’s bed and feel the well-worn quilt she loved so much under his fingers. He wanted to go back in time and figure out why his life had to be such shit before he even had a chance to have a life. 

It was easy to blame it all on Gary Munson and if he was gone, who could Eddie blame now?

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[allyricas]

Steve making the most pining, sad boy mixtape that he listens to on repeat. It's about his friend Eddie.

Eddie who is clueless about Steve's pining. Eddie who is the most tactile person he's ever met. So he's always slinging an arm around Steve or leaning on his shoulder during movie night. He'll run and jump on Steve's back for a piggyback ride or tackle him into the pool. It's slowly killing Steve because Eddie has no idea that Steve's in love with him.

In fact, for all the flirting Eddie does with Steve, the man has no idea he's even queer. 100 percent oblivious. Eddie has convinced himself that it's totally normal to flirt with everyone (he only flirts with Steve) and that it doesn't mean anything to cuddle your male friend on a regular basis (it means something) and poor Stevie is just suffering.

Maybe Eddie needs a ride one day because his van craps out, so he asks Steve to drive him to Indy and of course, the tape starts. after the first few songs Eddie's is having some thoughts. One, who the fuck is this tape about? Whoever it is, Steve clearly has BIG feelings for this girl. It makes Eddie feel like shit.

So he just keeps listening until he finally snaps and asks Steve who the chick is. Steve's confused, but Eddie presses further. He asks who the tape is about.

"What's her name? The girl you made this mix for?"

"There's no girl." Steve replies. His voice is tight like he's upset. Eddie would be so, so confused.

"Um, this is like some unrequited love pop music shit. Obviously you're in love with someone, so what's her name?" Eddie has to push.

Steve just tells Eddie to fuck off. They're both sorta pissed now. Eddie thought they were good enough friends that Steve would tell him. Steve can't have this conversation considering he's in love with his friend.

"Why won't you tell me her name...c'mon Stevie, I won't make fun of you. Is it Nancy again? Shitty considering she's dating Robbie. Tell me. Please. I'm dying to know who could have possibly inspired this mixtape." Eddie knows he's being an ass. He will get Steve to tell him.

Steve says nothing. Literally says nothing the rest of the way to Indy and back. It's not until they're pulling back into Hawkins that Eddie starts pestering again.

"Come on, dude. Who is this mystery girl you're so head over heels for? I mean literally, you put that song on there. Tears for Fears man, tell me, tell me, tell me-"

"It's not about a a girl. Shut the fuck up, man." Steve finally snaps. Eddie is just repeating over and over for Steve to tell him and it's annoying that he's so sure it's some girl.

"Then who?"

"I made the tape about you, asshole."

"What?"

"It's not some girl I'm in love with, it's you Eddie." Steve finally admits and he watches Eddie's face drop in horror. As Steve pulls up to Eddie's trailer, neither of them say a word. Steve is contemplating driving his car into a tree and Eddie is in shock. Because this cannot be happening, Eddie is straight and um, he definitely does not like Steve Harrington. Definitely isn't having a full fledged crisis right now.

"Man, I'm not... I'm not gay. I don't like you that way." Eddie finally tells him, refusing to meet Steve's eyes. Why does every word he just said feel like it's breaking Eddie apart too. He isn't sure he's being honest with Steve right now, but he cannot deal with this. He can't deal with the heartbreak all over Steve's face.

So Eddie gets out of the car and walks into his trailer. He doesn't look back or slow down. Steve is a second away from losing it. What was just pining is a rejection now. Worse than that, it feels like the whole world just fell down around Steve.

Despite how scared Steve was to tell Eddie, blatant rejection wasn't something he was worried about. Eddie flirted with him all the time. Always touching, always leaning into Steve's space. Calling him big boy or sweetheart. How could Steve have been so wrong? Eddie wasn't even into guys, let alone Steve. Eddie specifically said that he didn't like Steve that way. Eddie doesn't want him.

So, Steve listens to his sad mixtape and swears he'll move on even if that feels impossible.

Psst: read the follow up Moving On Pt. 1