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skepsiss · 2 years ago

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Modern problems, Modern solutions pt7 *final*

This is the last part of this mini-series! This is very soft and romantic. I promised everything would turn out okay, and it turned out more than okay. Hope you guys like it! The story takes place a little over a month since pt6; Holiday vibes, so if you're in the mood for soft winter vibes, this is great as a stand-alone too.

cw: none. It's all soft.

Pt1 Pt2 Pt3 Pt4 Pt5 Pt6 Pt7

---

November hadn’t been smooth sailing; everything after the events of Halloween 2015 had been anything but smooth sailing. Eddie had struggled with apologizing and explaining the situation to everyone he had complained to and he had worked hard to prove to Robin that he was sorry for how he had acted. She in turn had apologized and they both seemed to understand why the other had reacted the way that they had.

You were just protecting him, I get in.

You were protecting yourself, I get it.

They had both been pushed into a corner and while Eddie didn’t really think it was fair that his reaction had been to call Robin a dyke, it had happened and he needed to take responsibility for that. He’d learned over the years–and was still perfecting the art–that apologizing and just doing better mattered more than anything else. Admitting you were wrong was tough though, and Eddie knew himself… he knew that he held grudges and was stubborn but he had been more than compelled to put a swift end to any perceived fight with Steve and Robin.

It had been awkward, that was for sure, and Eddie had taken a long time to sort out his own feelings. To Steve’s credit… he had been patient, very patient. But it had been disconcerning because everyone knew what had happened between them and that ultimately, in the end, Steve had confessed.

What a concept.

It had taken Eddie a long time to accept that Steve really meant it and this wasn’t some rich man’s fancy; it had taken twice as long for Eddie to admit his own feelings to himself. It was embarrassing and it had been a rocky start, but every time Steve dropped Dustin off at Hellfire he lingered and Eddie would quietly chat with him until he had wasted too much time and people began to complain. He had shown up to Steve’s basketball games too and stood awkwardly by the bleachers only to flush red when Steve spotted him and came over between plays.

He felt spoiled and shy about it all at once, never having been faced with the prospect of a real person liking him back, let alone their generation’s teen-heartthrob. But that hadn’t stopped Eddie from calling Steve late in the evening and talking to him on the phone quietly until Wayne told him to be quiet. Even after that Eddie would whisper into his phone until he couldn’t anymore, just talking for hours.

Eventually, it became ridiculous for them to be acting the way they were and to not be dating.

They’d gone on their first date the weekend after Thanksgiving; it had been impromptu and amateurish but Eddie had felt giddy when Steve picked him up and hadn’t said anything for the first thirty minutes of their drive. He had been happy though… ridiculously happy. Happier than he could ever remember. He was practically beaming the whole time even if he was too nervous to say anything.

The date hadn’t been anything spectacular, but it was novel; they’d gone to see a movie at the local theatre that did special features of old films. They watched a re-release of The Princess Bride and Eddie had only felt a bit self-conscious about whispering movie facts to Steve during the screening. Did you know the actor who played Fezzik was able to fit his whole hand over Robin Wright’s head? He did it between takes because she always got so cold on set. Apparently, he used to do it for his mother when he was a teen.

Did you know the ROUSs were operated by Dwarves and one of them got arrested the night before shooting and the production had to spring him?

And so on.

Steve had hummed and smiled every time Eddie had leaned in to tell him something, and thankfully there weren’t enough people in the theatre to complain about their constant whispering.

Eddie had still flushed brightly and clammed up when Steve held his hand as they left the theatre. It had been surreal and Eddie had hunched in order to hide despite the fact that Steve and him were practically the same height. But it felt amazing to be walking in public holding Steve Harrington’s hand. Not just because he was popular or whatever, but because he wasn’t ashamed to be holding Eddie’s hand, that… and because it was Steve. Steve… the sweetest guy Eddie had ever met and the guy he had somehow convinced to fall for the local, punk-dork. Steve, who unapologetically brothered kids who had no right being as close to him as they were. Steve, who had broken down and been heartsore over the prospect of not dating Eddie. Eddie. Not dating him….

That had been the first date of many.

It was snowing in Hawkins today as Eddie breathed hot air onto his hands to warm them. December was here and the town was decorated with Christmas lights as people bustled around the city center: children free from school for winter break and parents stress-shopping for last-minute gifts.

It was only a few days until Christmas and this was going to be the first proper Christmas Eddie was going to experience.

Wayne had always said they were Jewish, but Eddie had never gone to temple in his life and he didn’t know anything about Hanukkah, really. Eddie wasn’t sure if he hadn’t celebrated Christmas as a kid with his mother or his father for the same reason, or if they just didn’t have the money.

Either way, Steve celebrated Christmas and Eddie was keen to spend that time with him. It was romantic, and picturesque in a way Eddie would never admit to wanting.

Steve’s family wasn’t religious, not really, and Eddie hadn’t properly met Steve’s parents yet so Christmas was going to be a bit of a gong-show, but surprisingly Eddie found himself looking forward to it. That and Will had vehemently suggested that Hellfire should do Secret Santa this year. Eddie had drawn Lucas and he had just roped Steve into shopping with him. A good excuse to see him… a good excuse to spend time with his boyfriend.

Boyfriend.

Eddie’s stomach flipped as he thought of the word, smiling privately to himself and letting the heat from his own love-sick heart warm him. He was so lame. So ridiculously lame, but Eddie couldn’t think of a time he had been happier. Steve made him so happy. “You planning to freeze?” Eddie glanced up, shaken from his reverence, and somehow managed to smile wider when he saw Steve walking down the sidewalk toward him. Steve was dressed much warmer than he was, smiling with his cheeks stained red from the cold. “Not if you have anything to say about it,” Eddie replied, shuffling toward Steve and sticking his hands out in a claw motion. It was as if they had rehearsed it, because without missing a beat Steve had opened his arms and his coat for Eddie, letting him snuggle in to warm up. “Jesus Christ,” Steve cursed, shivering as he wrapped Eddie up. “Your hands are freezing.” “I couldn’t find my gloves,” Eddie sighed, running his hands up and down Steve’s sweater, already feeling warmer. “Should we buy some?” Steve asked, leaning back just far enough so he could look at Eddie. “No, I’m fine,” Eddie insisted, breaking the hug so they could get moving. “Baby…” Steve insisted. The pet name made Eddie smile and look off to hide his joy a bit. It never got old to hear Steve call him baby.

Babe. Baby. Angel. Eds.

“Here,” Steve was saying as Eddie refocused and watched him take off his gloves and try to put them on Eddie’s hands. “Woah, no,” Eddie complained, wriggling his fingers to make it difficult for Steve to put the gloves on. “What about you?” “It’s fine, I’ll just put my hands in my pockets,” Steve insisted, his breath fogging up the air around them. “And I can’t just put my hands in my pockets? How am I supposed to hold your hand with your hands in your pockets?” Eddie asked, not breaking contact with Steve (under no circumstances did he want that), but not making it easy at all for him to put the gloves on.

“How am I supposed to with you putting your hands in your pockets?” Steve countered, raising a brow at Eddie. Eddie huffed dramatically, before snatching one of the gloves and putting it on. “Keep that one,” he insisted, waiting impatiently for Steve to put his glove on before grabbing his hand as if it was an inconvenience. He over-exaggerated putting his other hand in his pocket before grinning at Steve, absolutely smitten. “We’ll share, come on, Harrington,” Eddie teased, beginning to drag Steve by the hand down the sidewalk. It made Steve laugh slightly; the sound dreamy and affectionate.

Eddie slowed eventually and tucked into Steve’s side, still holding his hand with the other warmly stuff in his pocket. It was easy to fall into step with Steve, especially as they chatted and window-shopped for Lucas. It felt comfortable and calm in a way Eddie couldn’t describe. It felt perfect, really. It felt perfect to be walking through Hawkins with the first snowfall, debating casually over what gift to buy a friend as he held his boyfriend’s hand.

His boyfriend.

Eddie’s stomach swooped again and he tipped his head onto Steve’s shoulder, soaking in the warmth and the affection and wondering if he had ever been happier in his whole life.

#my_writing #Properly dating boys #imagine Steve in his ugly Christmas sweater from the end of Season 1 Stranger Things #but also a fashionable peacoat cause he a rich bitch modern boy #modern problems modern solutions #eddie munson #steddie #steve harrington #stranger things #steddie fic

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skepsiss · 2 years ago

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Modern problems, Modern solutions pt 5

Ooph, it took me a while to get this out. It's a bit of a "transitional chapter" that involves quite a few 3rd parties. I think it's important to see how Eddie feels about all of this and what he thinks has happened. I also think it's pretty realistic for there to be this sort of "divergence" of who is on whose side. Not that I think that's smart or practical, just that is how everything seems to go in High School. Everyone has to take a side, even when the people involved don't want anyone to take a side.

Time for Robin to get maud.

TW: The D-slur (for lesbian), general verbal tussling, lots of insults, lots of swearing.

Pt1 Pt2 Pt3 Pt4 Pt5 Pt6

- - -

Eddie was miserable for the rest of the weekend and had been in a sour mood when he got to school on Monday. He was so short-tempered he had even snapped at Wayne even though he had quietly apologized for it later. Still, more than anything Eddie hated that he was going to have to see Steve at school the next day. They didn’t have classes together, and he had no reason to interact with him if he didn’t want to, but even the idea of seeing his face in the hallway made his expression twist. What an absolute total shit. Steve knew how to be pleasant, how to be nice, and vaguely allude to being your friend, but everything was surface level. He didn’t actually care how you felt–that was a given–but he just didn’t want to make enemies either. It was this snide, fake way of existing, and that bothered Eddie more than anything. Here he was trying to be genuine, and all he had gotten for it was insulted and mistaken for being someone else. Framed as if he was the asshole, or the weirdo in the situation–every situation. Steve had been trying to apologize as if the insult of an apology over something like that would make everything okay. Eddie felt like an idiot. Like a loser. For whatever stupid reason he had thought that Steve didn’t see him that way.

There was no one at that party that was even remotely in the same social circle as him and now that he thought about it that sort of felt like that was done on purpose. It had been a mistake to show up to the party at all. They were probably all laughing about it behind his back now.

Eddie slouched around the school for most of the day and kept his head down in fear of having to deal with the jock crowd. He had been short with more than a few people, but he couldn’t find it in himself to feel bad about that. He didn’t want to give anyone even the smallest chance of an in to make fun of him. He didn’t want to hear even the tiniest jab and he sure as hell wasn’t going to tolerate having to talk to Steve Harrington if it came to that. Eddie’s attitude changed a bit at lunch when he opened his locker and an envelope fell out. There wasn’t much to the letter really, just a simple note that read ’for the weed’ with 30 bucks inside. It had made Eddie frown, but at the very least he felt a bit relieved that he hadn’t been swindled. It didn’t cure his bad mood, but it made him feel a little less on edge for the remainder of the day. It was still no secret that some people seemed to be giving him side-eye as he walked down the hallway, even if no one was doing anything overtly hostile.

Nothing happened day one, and Eddie felt grateful for that, but he still felt like a tool for thinking for even a split second that Steve and him were compatible. He hadn’t really liked Steve, it was just a fantasy really, even if the fantasy had involved a lot of assumed mutual attraction. It was stupid and he could see it as that now; thinking about it just made him mad. Tuesday was worse; Tuesday was worse because even though most of the day had been benign Eddie hadn’t gotten away home free at the end of the day. It had caught up to him in the parking lot of the school as he had tried to shuffle away from Hawkins’ High. It had caught up to him in the shape of Robin Buckley. Eddie had made it to the far side of the parking lot–far enough away that no one in their car could run him down if they had a mind to do it–but to his surprise, he could see Robin hoofing it towards him. It was club day so seeing Robin out here made it especially odd but he barely had time to register that as he noted the stormy expression on Robin’s face. “Eddie,” he said sternly, not raising her voice any louder than normal. She wasn’t talking as if she was just trying to get his attention, no, there was an edge of anger there as if she was his mother or something. The tone made Eddie sneer slightly and he turned away from Robin to continue walking. “Eddie! I’m talking to you,” Robin said firmly, not quite putting her hands on him, but cutting in front of him to make him stop walking. “I don’t want to hear it, Buck–” Eddie tried, only to get caught off as he watched Robin cross her arms and step into his path once again. “No, you’re listening to me, you’re listening to everything I have to say,” Robin interrupted and Eddie did take pause because of her expression. She looked pissed as hell–face red, the bags under her eyes especially dark–and the rhythmic chanting of the old saying ‘hell knows no fury like a woman’s scorn,’ rang through his mind. “I thought I’d give you a chance to apologize on your own–be a decent person about it, but you didn’t do squat on Monday,” Robin continued, which made Eddie’s expression twist with frustration. “Apologize–” he tried to interrupt, not beyond starting an argument. “Listening for once in your goddamn life,” Robin cursed, keeping steady eye contact, “people make mistakes, Eddie, I get it and you’re a prickly person, whatever–” “Hey–” “What. Ever! Listen! I’m trying to give you some grace here, and you’re lucky that Steve would be pissed at me if I flayed you, so you’re going to settle for listening to what I have to say because sure as hell he isn’t going to say it,” Robin huffed, her teeth bearing a bit. Great. So, this was about Steve. Eddie wanted to hear what she had to say even less now and he sidestepped Robin again only to have her walk after him, not deterred in the least. “You know for years I’ve been thinking oh, Eddie isn’t actually a bad guy, he just projects that image to get people to leave him alone, but then you turn around and do this bullshit? How dare you, how fucking dare you pull something like that and then walk around school on Monday with a chip on your shoulder–” “How dare I?” Eddie asked, whipping around to jam a finger in Robin’s face. “How dare I? You don’t know what the hell you’re talking about, Buckley.”

“I sure as hell do,” Robin retorted, seemingly not intimidated enough by Eddie to back down despite the glassy look in her eyes. She was standing her ground and it probably helped that she and Eddie were the same height. She was a tall girl and was potentially stronger than Eddie if he thought about it–not that he was ever going to hit Robin, but jeez her expression made him wonder if she was going to be the one to throw a punch. “Your tough guy appearance and devil-may-care attitude isn’t going to do shit for you, Eddie. Steve is too nice of a guy to say any of this to your face, so I’m going to do it instead. How dare you. How dare you look someone in the eye and laugh at them when they’re trying to tell you something. You think it’s funny? You think it’s funny that Steve has been nothing but nice to you and because he’s an underclassman–or whatever fucking reason–you think it's funny to totally spit in his face? Be a total dick because he made a mistake and thought you were a decent fucking person? I regret sticking my neck out for you. I regret defending you and encouraging Steve to talk to you–you’re such an asshole! I thought you were better than those posturing cliques that toy with people’s emotions for the drama of it all, but you’re not. You’re the exact same as them,” Robin yelled, her voice not loud enough to carry across the parking lot, but loud enough to sound livid and have passersby look in their direction.

Eddie didn’t understand what she was getting at, but it was making his face red with anger and embarrassment. He was being reamed out. Why the hell was he being reamed out? So, now he was being gossiped about behind his back and having Robin Buckley of all people curse him out? He was being framed as the asshole? “What the hell are you talking about?” Eddie snarled, feeling his chin bunch up with the effort of not crying. He hated that he cried over every goddamn thing, and his attempt to control his tears was the only thing stopping him from yelling back properly at Robin.

“An apology isn’t nearly enough, but at least it’s something,” Robin continued, ignoring Eddie’s protests, “don’t even think about showing your face at Pride Club cause we sure as hell are not going to support anyone being a goddamn bully.” “What the hell are you talking about!” Eddie yelled again, finally raising his voice loud enough for anyone nearby to hear. “You’ve got absolutely no idea what you’re talking about! I don’t want to go to your dumb fucking club ever again anyways. You’re all a bunch of hypocrites. Fucking ‘love and acceptance’ my ass–” “Good! Then don’t come!” Robin shouted back stubbornly. “Sounds great to me!” Eddie declared, throwing his hands up in the air. “Have a great time patting yourselves on the back for being the world’s most gullible dyke.” “You’re a fucking asshole,” Robin chewed, “bye, prick!” “Good riddance, fucknut!” Eddie shouted loudly as he backed up and away from Robin, posturing. He saluted high into the sky only to turn around and flip Robin off as he walked away. She didn’t prolong the interaction and Eddie stole a quick look over his shoulder to see her storming back towards the school. What a piece of work. He was pissed that Robin had been turned against him–not that they were friends or anything like that, but it felt especially sinister to hear from her what tale Steve was spinning about that night. So, he was the bad guy, huh? He was the asshole in this situation? Figures. Steve was a tool. A complete and utter cunt lying to people about what went down and painting himself as the victim in the situation. Why not though, huh? Why not throw your weight around and make everyone else pick your battles? It was easier that way anyway. Eddie was going to be obliterated from the inside out and Steve wasn’t even going to need to lift a finger.

–

Eddie skipped Hellfire club later in the week, choosing to mope at home instead which got an angry slew of texts from the guys. He had ignored those too and had only emerged when Wayne knocked on his door declaring that Jeff had come to see him. The visit was under some guise that he needed help playing a part of a song he was trying to perfect. Eddie had seen through the rouse almost instantly but he hadn’t said anything. The conversation had naturally moved towards why he was so upset 20 minutes into Jeff’s visit, but Eddie had been grateful to do something with his hands in the interim. He had sneered and scowled, not wanting to talk about it and not wanting to be made fun of, but Jeff had seemed earnest in his attempts to pull the truth from him and eventually Eddie told him everything.

He didn’t go so far as to say he had liked Steve or anything like that, but he was the same as any guy and he thought Steve had maybe had a thing for him. That seemed far-fetched now, and he had just been holding out to maybe get lucky or something like that–he didn’t go into detail and it didn’t seem like Jeff wanted it anyway. The conversation was clipped and lacked real emotion until Eddie got to the bit about why he was pissed. He didn’t hold back either: telling Jeff how Steve had gotten drunk and then obviously started to flirt with him because he thought Eddie was someone else. How that had been a blow to his ego, but whatever; the real injury had happened when Steve had tried to make light of it all and Eddie had tried to offer a sympathetic ear, but that had blown up in his face. Steve had called him cruel for even asking and had acted like Eddie was pathetic for even trying to talk to him about it in the first place. How cruel it had been for Steve to be pretending this whole time to like him, even just as a friend. That had pissed him off, made him not like Steve, but the worst of it was the fact that he was spreading rumours about him now. He was already a social pariah, what was gossiping about how pathetic Eddie Munson was going to do to him for the rest of the school year? Jeff, in his defense, had tried to keep up as Eddie had explained everything lightning-fast with wayward details. By the end of it all Jeff seemed properly bothered by it as well and had commented on how stupid and lame it was that high school was so clique-y. Steve was an asshole. Steve should have realized that Eddie was just being nice. It was weirdly suspicious that he invited Eddie to his party when there was no one there that he knew.

Pretending this whole time to be interested in friendship for God knows what reason. And he had come onto him? Only to act like it was a joke in the end? What a tool. What an asshole. What a jock.

Complaining had made Eddie feel a bit better and Jeff getting mad on his behalf felt good. He was being defended properly and he liked that. It wouldn’t matter that much when they had to go back to school the next day, but it at least made Eddie feel like he wasn’t storming into battle without an army at his back. Maybe they were weak and lacked numbers, they were never going to win against the leagues of popular kids, but at the very least Eddie didn’t feel alone in this fight.

Days passed and the news had spread fast through Hellfire. Eddie wasn’t upset about that at all, in fact, it saved him from having to explain everything and he genuinely wasn’t sure he would have been able to talk to Dustin and Will about this. He wanted them on his side and if they remained neutral he’d be fine with that too, but the last thing he wanted was to hear them defending Steve.

Blissfully, nothing had been said to him and Eddie’s spine had stopped tingling once the week ended. He didn’t feel like everything was staring at him, even if Robin had glared at him every time they crossed paths in the hallway. That was the best things were going to get though and Eddie had no interest in entertaining the rumour-mill.

In fact, he had made it all the way to next Thursday without incident. Or at least ‘incident light’. He had seen Steve in the hallway once or twice, but they had pointedly ignored each other or simply walked down another hallway once they made eye contact.

Hellfire was on Thursdays and though Eddie’s mood was still low, it felt as if it could be helped along by seeing his friends and maybe throwing a few difficult encounters their way. “That isn’t true!” Someone yelled, and Eddie perked up as he walked down the hallway.

The school was mostly empty since the last bell, 20 minutes ago at least, and it was odd to hear someone yell this far away from the main classrooms. They hosted Hellfire in the classroom beside the theatre and for ‘special events’ they even got to use the theatre itself. Regardless of all of that, no one really came this way in the school unless there was a performance on or they were here for Hellfire.

“That’s not what I was told!” The yelling continued and Eddie frowned as he slouched forward. Were the guys having a fight over something? Great. He didn’t want to have to deal with that. He didn’t want to entertain someone else’s emotions when he had simply been looking forward to an easy hang and some D&D.

Eddie rounded the corner towards the theatre and his expression soured as he saw Robin and 2 other girls talking to Dustin, Will, and Jeff. Talking was a generous word even, they were straight up yelling at each other.

Eddie stopped where he was in the hallway, not eager to enter the fray, but unfortunately, he was spotted before he could turn tail. “Eddie!” Dustin exclaimed, jabbing his arm toward Robin and getting everyone else to look at him. “Tell them what you told Jeff!” Eddie bunched his shoulders up and frowned deeply, feeling his skin crawl when Robin turned to look at him. He did not want to deal with this. “It doesn’t matter! I don’t care about that–it’s real low though to tell Will he can’t come to Pride Club,” Robin exclaimed, glaring daggers down the hallway at Eddie. “What?” Eddie asked sharply, bunching his shoulders up more. “I never–” “He didn’t bane me,” Will interjected, his voice sounding shrill with anxiety as he spoke. “It’s my choice.” “Your choice because it was heavily implied, or your choice because that’s actually what you want?” One of the other girls with Robin asked, crossing her arms. “Whatever, let them do what they want,” Hannah scoffed, which made Robin shake her head.

“No, that’s so shitty. I’m not going to make you do anything, Will, but know that you’re still welcome, you don’t have to quit just because–”

“Oh, so Will is welcome but Eddie isn’t?” Jeff interrupted. Robin shot him a harsh look and he seemed to back down a bit. “This is why it matters!” Dustin yelled again, “I think you have it all wrong–Steve won’t even talk to me about it!”

“That’s his choice,” Robin replied, pursing her lips, “I’m not here to share his business with everyone.” Eddie clenched and unclenched his hands as he stood in the hallway, feeling frozen to the spot as everyone slung angry words back and forth at one another. It was hard to keep up with and it was making his anxiety spike as he listened to Dustin and Jeff trying to defend him, while Robin and the other girls tore him apart.

High school was so fucking stupid. This was all so fucking stupid.

Yeah, fuck this.

Eddie turned and started walking in the opposite direction. He could walk to the parking lot without passing anyone in front of the theatre; the last thing he wanted to do was walk past any of them. He’d just go home. He’d just crawl back into bed and wait for the blissful ignorance of sleep. “Eddie!” Dustin was yelling at him but he wasn’t turning around and he sure a hell wasn’t going to Hellfire today if he was going to have to sit there with this atmosphere hanging over him.

He made it as far as the doors before Dustin caught up with him, huffing hard as Eddie pushed his way out into the parking lot. “Eddie–wait up,” Dustin puffed, grabbing his arm as the door swung shut behind them. Eddie jerked away, his anger flaring as he wrestled with the fact that he wasn’t going to ever get a moment of peace ever again. Not as long as he was in school and he had 8 more months of this bullshit to deal with. “Fuckin’ don’t, okay?” Eddie sputtered, not actually mad at Dustin but not having anywhere else to direct his anger. “I’m done okay, I’m done with this bullshit. I’m done. She wants to harass all the guys outside of Hellfire every day, be my guest. I’m going home, I’m not dealing with this bullshit.” “She’s leaving, you can come back,” Dustin explained, which only made Eddie huff a laugh. His limbs felt like rubber as he swayed, not wanting to leave but not wanting to stay either. It was all such bullshit.

“I’m going home, Henderson,” Eddie lamented, rubbing his hand over his face as he lingered. He didn’t want to walk all the way home but he’d have to hang out here longer if he called Wayne for a ride. “What happened?” Dustin asked, which made Eddie groan as he forced one foot in front of the other and started walking. Dustin didn’t let up and started following him across the parking lot towards the forest behind the school.

“You know–Jeff told you I’m sure,” Eddie grumped, stuffing his hands in his pockets and rolling his shoulders. “Yeah, but–” Dustin tried, not stopping Eddie but keeping pace with him, “--that doesn’t sound like Steve.” Eddie laughed incredulously, rounding on Dustin and sneering at him.

“What? You think I’m lying?” He asked, trying to keep his eyes from prickling with emotion.

“No!” Dustin declared, almost too vehemently, “It’s just–maybe you both have it wrong. I don’t know! Steve can be a real idiot sometimes, but–but, when he messes up he owns up to it! He doesn’t–he isn’t vindictive like this.” “Yeah well, tomato-tamato, 'cause I’m living proof that isn’t true,” Eddie huffed, frowning deeply. He didn’t like hearing Dustin defending Steve, but at least he wasn’t making Eddie the one at fault for it all. “No, it’s just–Robin won’t talk to me about it, and Jeff says you told him that Steve was like… tricking you, man? Setting you up for some kind of joke and making fun of you or something like that?”

“Something like that,” Eddie confirmed nonchalantly, not wanting to talk about this, “seemed like it at least. Pretty much called me a villain for telling him he could talk to me honestly cause he was like… upset about something. Said I was cruel.”

Eddie stared down his nose at Dustin, not wanting to budge on this. Dustin didn’t seem convinced, but he was frowning as well as he listened to what Eddie had to say. Dustin was a smart kid, and Eddie could see the gears in his head turning.

“It just doesn’t make sense…” Dustin lamented quietly. They stood like that for another minute before Eddie turned and continued walking. “Are you…” Dustin started, not following Eddie this time.

“Yeah, go on without me. I’m going to go fall off a bridge to my demise, Belrog style,” Eddie grouched, throwing his hand up into the air in some kind of wayward goodbye. He could practically hear Dustin frowning, but he didn’t turn around and Dustin didn’t follow him. That was both a relief and a disappointment, but Eddie didn’t let himself dwell on that as he marched home on the edge of another breakdown.

Pt6

#Eddie is going to have some apologizing to do to Robin later #I want everyone to imagine Steve saying “He said that?” in the most broken-hearted voice in the world #modern problems modern solutions #eddie munson #my_writing #steve harrington #steddie #steddie au #steddie fic

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