#pre s4

[matchingbatbites]

Pre-s4 Steddie where Eddie doesn't try to be cute and sneak up on Steve, not to spook him or to even just to wrap his arms around him without warning. He doesn't know why his boyfriend's reaction to being startled is to throw a mean right hook, but he learned his lesson the first time and always makes sure Steve knows he's coming up behind him. Especially because seeing Steve upset over the fact that he hit Eddie hurts worse than the actual hit itself.

[marvel-ous-m]

Eddie Munson’s Guide for How to Adopt a Jock in Four Easy Steps (2/5)

Part One 

Part Three

A.N.: Um... guys, WHAT?! The outpouring of love and support for a blurb I had sitting in my Notes app for the last two months has been absolutely wild. I’ve been writing for the better part of the last day, and this is now a ~7k, five chapter fic that I will be posting to Tumblr as well as my AO3. I can’t thank y’all enough for all of the support, and I hope you like where this is heading! 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  

After Steve finished ranting about the middle schoolers he spent time with, Eddie launched into a description of the campaign he was working on for Hellfire. Steve listened intently as Eddie spoke, slowly making his way through Eddie’s sandwich and the bottle of water until both were finished. Eddie kept talking after Steve finished his food, distracting himself by going on a tangent about goblins in D&D. He was pulled from his rant at the sound of a soft thump- which, Eddie realized with surprise, was Steve’s forehead slumping down far enough to hit the tabletop. 

Steve sat up almost immediately when his head hit the table, cheeks flushing in embarrassment. 

Eddie snorted at Steve’s antics, piling his books together. “Damn Stevie, I didn’t realize I was that boring.” 

“Stevie?” Steve whispered under his breath, then shook his head, shooting a sheepish smile Eddie’s way. “You didn’t bore me- I liked it, really, I just-”

“Hey, Steve?” Eddie cut Steve off, smirking at him. “You don’t need to make excuses. No offense man, but you kinda look like shit, I can tell you haven’t been sleeping well. Speaking of which- why are you even here? You should probably be at home resting, not zombie-walking your way through a day of classes.”

Steve hummed at that, shrugging and resting his cheek on his palm. “S’better here than it is at home.”

Eddie frowned at that, his brow creasing. Steve had just told him a few minutes ago that his parents hadn’t been home in three months, and all of Hawkins knew he was the only child of the Harringtons. What was so bad about spending the day in a giant mansion that most definitely had central heating? Eddie would kill to spend these winter months in a house like that instead of under approximately fifty blankets (while somehow still freezing his ass off) in the trailer. 

Steve breathed out a small puff of air, and Eddie noticed that his eyes had slipped shut in the minute-or-so that Eddie had been distracted by his internal monologue. Shit, Steve was really exhausted. Eddie sighed and stood, quietly loading his books into his backpack. After zipping up his backpack and pulling it onto his shoulder, Eddie gently shook Steve’s shoulder, wincing sympathetically. The last thing he wanted to do was wake Steve up, but Mrs. Boliene would have a fit if she saw Steve like this.

He was definitely not expecting Steve to practically jump out of the chair, or for his breathing to suddenly grow erratic, in response to being woken up. There was something in his eyes- a kind of fear that Eddie could only associate to something he saw in Wayne’s eyes after waking his uncle from a particularly bad nightmare. 

Eddie held his hands up, taking a step back from Steve. “Hey- sorry, it’s just- Ms. Boliene can be kinda a bitch about people sleeping in the library. I know a place you can rest for a while if ya want. Let’s be honest, you probably aren’t going to be learning anything if you go to the rest of your classes today.” 

Steve clenched his right hand a couple times- Eddie would file that particular coping mechanism away to ask about later- then nodded, his breathing (mostly) back to a normal pace. “Sorry about that. Yeah man, whatever you say.”

Eddie nodded, let his arms drop, then cleared his throat. “Right, just go ahead and follow me, King Steve.” 

Steve sighed and stood with a wince, gathering the garbage from his (Eddie’s) lunch before following the other boy out of the library. He tossed the trash in the garbage bin outside the library then took a couple of long strides forward to catch up to Eddie. “Can you um- maybe, like… not call me that?”  

“Sure thing, Steve-o. Here, hang a right.” Eddie turned down a hallway and Steve followed, eyebrows raised in surprise. 

“That’s it?”

Eddie stopped walking when they reached the drama room door, shrugging. “Yeah man, that’s it. You don’t wanna be called something, I’m not gonna call you that. Nicknames are supposed to be fun, dude.” 

Steve nodded in understanding, but his brow was furrowed- he was clearly deep in thought. Eddie stood there a moment, waiting for Steve to say something. When it became apparent that the jock was going to keep his thoughts to himself, Eddie smiled tightly and opened the drama room door, walking past the gaggle of students sitting together and eating lunch at the front of the room. He ignored their stares and walked to the back of the room to a set of double doors, which he opened and then led Steve through. “This is where Hellfire meets. You can lay down in the corner over there on the couch cushions and blankets. I set that up last year for my mid-morning, skip-P.E. nap time.” 

Steve blinked in surprise, then turned to Eddie with a playful smirk. “Is that why you’re repeating this year? Slept through too much P.E.?”    

Eddie chuckled at that. Harrington had some sass to him, huh? “One of the many reasons. What can I say, getting sweaty for some dumbass P.E. teacher just doesn’t agree with me.” ‘There are much better things to get sweaty for’, a distant voice in Eddie’s head whispered. Eddie pushed that thought away, shaking his head at himself. Harrington was not the kind of guy to think those kinds of things around. 

Steve giggled to himself- honest to god giggled, it was quite possibly the best sound that Eddie had ever heard- then stepped into the room, taking in the variety of chairs surrounding the giant table and the various decorations on the walls. Suddenly, Steve’s playful smile disappeared, turning to a grimace. “Um, are you sure it’s okay for me to sleep here, Eds? Don’t you have Hellfire here later tonight? I wouldn’t want to intrude-” 

“Stevie, I promise it’s fine. You’ll probably be awake by the time we’re in here playing through the campaign anyways. Just don’t worry about it and get some rest, okay?” 

Steve nodded, walking to the corner and sitting down on the cushions. Eddie smiled reassuringly at him from his place at the doorway, then waved goodbye to Steve. “I’m off to English and Chem. I’ll be back in about two hours, but I could lock the doors in the meantime?” Eddie pulled a lanyard out of his pocket, grinning. “Perks of being club president. I’m the only one with a key other than the drama teacher, and he never comes in here. I just figured- maybe you would sleep better knowing that no one can get in? You would be able to get out, obviously, but- y’know what? Maybe this is creepy, pretend like I didn’t say anything-”

“-Thank you, Eddie. I… would appreciate that.” Steve cut off Eddie’s (admittedly awkward) rant and punctuated his request with a yawn, scrubbing a tired hand over his face. 

“Yeah, yeah of course dude, whatever you need.” Eddie stepped out and locked the door behind himself, then slumped his back against the door. Step One: Get Steve Harrington to Take Care of Himself, complete. Time for Step Two.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A.N.- tagging those who requested/insinuated a request, lmk if you’d like to be added/taken off the tag list.

@ellietheasexylibrarian @cuips-not-cute @melodymeddler @i-have-three-feelings @sc00ps-ahoy @singmeyoursimpsong @patchworkgargoyle @spectrum-spectre @devondespresso @thesuninyaface @obsessivlyme @angeldreamsoffanfic @carlyv @nburkhardt @inspirationorinsanity @rebelspykatie @my2amgaythoughts @lavenderagenda @just-a-tiny-void @mamafaithful @breadboi66 @beholdingloser @randomfandomcontent @oftirnanog @yellowdevilkitten @steves-strapcollection @keep-er-steddie

[sp0o0kylights]

 armed your words with explosive devices and put the trigger on your tongue.

I never know if a kiss will kill me. 

It's a joke. 

Or at least, Eddie meant it as one. 

He was flicking his hand out with the intention of pretending to "push" the weight off Steve's shoulders, following a joke about how he looks like he's carrying the whole world on his back.

Beyond the general air of a frazzled single mother, Harrington had been down to clown. He'd laughed at Eddie's first few jokes, even made a poor attempt at making one back.

So it surprised both of them when Steve flinches back, hard, sucking in a noisy breath.

For a moment he holds it in and Eddie mimics him, hand frozen midair. 

They breathe out almost together as Eddie slowly lowers his hand.

"Steve." Eddie starts off, voice soft. 

Steve jams his hand in his hair, face flushing red. "Sorry man, jock reflexes."

He catches the second Steve forces a smile back on his face, the way his desperate attempt at tugging on his own hair changes into a move designed to fluff it up. A laugh makes its way out of Steve’s mouth and to his credit, it sounds natural. 

This, Eddie realizes with an abrupt clarity, is Steve caught wrong-footed in public. This is Steve being off and fixing it before he breaks down. 

It’s a good cover, excellent even, and if Eddie hadn’t been watching for the signs, if he hadn’t started looking closer and closer at Harrington after finding him drunk and bloody in Tina’s bathtub, he might have brushed it off. 

Thought of it as Steve being a jerk, a jock, a guy who didn’t want to touch the filth that was Eddie Munson and was now trying to hide it.The same way so many others did, because they’d learned the hard way that a pissed off dealer won’t sell you any drugs. 

Eddie could even see him spinning this as having an off day. Maybe Steve was sore, maybe he was annoyed, maybe he was six other million things that he’d lead you to believe. 

Worse than knowing that he’d have bought Steve’s cover though, is that Eddie recognizes this. 

Has seen it before. 

Or micro versions of it. 

In class, when Steve’s asked a question he doesn’t know. In the hallways when someone tells a joke about his parents. In the parking lot when those kids snap at him, rolling their eyes and throwing their hands around.

Even the one basketball game Eddie attended, during his ill-fated attempt at joining the yearbook club before he finally started Hellfire. 

There had been a moment where Tommy had briefly turned on Steve, got some of the other boys to snap and snarl at the King in the face of a bad score. 

Called him stupid. 

Spineless and gutless. 

(Steve hadn’t even been the captain, back then.

 They held him responsible anyway.)

Eddie had thought it well deserved--even funny at the time-- considering what made up a man like Steve Harrington. 

Get big movie star hair, combine with no parents, and add tons of money. Shaken and stirred with little bits of never-ending popularity and girls swooning left and right over him, and you got Hawkin High’s most popular guy.

 Good to buy you whatever you needed, with a famously sharp tongue that he used in place of his fists. 

Grant still had nightmares over some of the names Steve had nailed him with. 

He was the school’s most desired bachelor until Nancy Wheeler took him down, proved even kings could be cheated out of their kingdoms. 

(One of the teenagers at the famed Starcourt fire, a hero in the papers for saving half a dozen kids. The pictures the news still occasionally shows often pin up those pictures of Steve, wearing this exact smile. 

It’s the same one he’s wearing now, as Starcourt burns in the background of each and every photo..)

The realization comes with a flood of knowledge--that Steve knows how to hide his issues, that he’s had issues for far longer than whatever--or whoever--is beating him up. 

Longer than Eddie himself had caught onto too--and Eddie had prided himself on seeing through people’s bullshit. 

If he does what Steve wants, let’s this drop, Steve will go on acting like everything’s fine. 

Just like everyone else does.

Eddie can’t do that. Has never been able to do that. 

"We both know that's bullshit." Eddie says, and he knew calling it out would get a reaction, but he’s not expecting the sheer strength of it. 

How Steve looks like he’s taken a punch, mask breaking fast on his face to reveal the hurt underneath. 

"Don't--" He tries to start, tries to breathe again and Eddie's not sure what caused it, but he knows the beginning of a panic attack when he sees one. “Don’t, please--” 

It’s the please that gets Eddie, the word sounding bruised. Like it hurts Steve to say it, that he only uses it as a hail mary that it may somehow help ward off whatever is coming. 

Eddie fights not to put his arms around Steve.

Protect him from whatever the hell is happening. 

"Hey." Eddie says, softly but clearly. "I’m sorry. Tell me what I did and I won’t do it again.” 

They’re in the middle of the school parking lot and neither of them can afford to misstep here. Not in a town like Hawkins. Eddie has a choice to make--to sweep Steve to somewhere safer, or to give space, back off so the younger man can regain control of himself and pick this up later. 

Steve takes a shuddering breath, hugs himself and bows his head. 

Eddie wants to go to him, to touch and comfort, but instead just hovers ever so slightly closer. “I’m here.” He whispers, just loud enough for Steve to hear. 

Steve takes the moment he needs, and Eddie knows he can at least give him that. Shield him from any onlookers with his own body. Use himself as a distraction if anyone comes up. 

His cheeks are wet when Steve raises his head. He wipes his face, bites his lip. 

It takes far less time for him to return to normal than Eddie would have ever thought, but then Steve Harrington keeps surprising him. 

“Shit.” He says, voice in a sort of croak. He clears his throat once, harshly. “Sorry.”

“I set you off, this ones on me.” Eddie says, keeping his voice smooth and calm. “I don’t want to push you, but I need to know what I said to upset you, so I can prevent it from happening again as best I can.” 

Steve looks up for a moment, away from him. Eddie allows it, acknowledges the move as Steve gathers the strength to face whatever hurt him enough to send him spiraling. This isn’t an easy thing he’s asking, and they’re in the worst place to do it--a potential audience can appear at any time. 

Eddie doesn’t want to lose this thread, though. Knows instinctively, how important it is. 

“It’s stupid.” Steve’s struggling to sound more normal, but the real surprise is that he’s starting to manage it. “It’s so stupid, but it’s--the word.” 

Short-term memory recall isn’t exactly a talent of his, but Eddie’s had plenty of practice with D&D. He runs the conversation back, and there’s really only one option that makes any sense. He almost says it again, but catches himself.

Thinks quickly on his feet. 

“Adult male cow crap?” He says, and tries to make his tone a little light. This is a calculated risk, Steve may very well believe he’s being mocked or teased.

The younger man snorts a laugh and thankfully doesn’t appear to take offense. “Yeah.” He drawls out, a tinge of embarrassment flushing across his nose.

It’s fucking adorable, and Eddie has to bite his lip to keep interrupting, inappropriate thoughts at bay. 

“Nance--when we--” Steve huffs an annoyed sigh, arms having shifted long ago to more of a defensive cross, nails digging into his sleeves while he taps his foot, aggravated. “It’s fucking stupid man, but that word got tossed around.” 

“Got it.” Eddie nods his head. “It’s gone.” 

“You shouldn’t have to do that.” Steve says, and it's got an angry undertone to it. “I need to get over it anyway. It’s been long enough.” 

The anger, Eddie decides, is self directed. 

He cocks his head. “Do people tell you to do that a lot? To just get over it?” 

Steve finally looks at him and to his credit the guy’s managed to go from actively falling apart to merely appearing cold and annoyed, as if the redness in his face itself is trying to help hide his emotions. 

That hurt thing flickers in and out of his eyes though, covered by an edge of something else, something stubborn. 

Yet again, Eddie finds himself wondering if he’s found Steve’s limit. If this is when he finally gets pushed away and threatened over all the things that have been revealed to him. Steve hasn’t made that move yet, but Eddie thinks that's mostly because Eddie keeps catching him off guard. 

To be fair, his own reactions are, at times, catching him off guard. This defensiveness of Steve, the way he wants to go slam whoever has hurt the younger man into a wall, to try and make everything better for a guy he previously hated…

Eddie knows what’s gotten into him. It’s his own personality, combined with his own inner sense of someone lost and hurting. Someone who needs to be rescued. 

He just never expected to have it pointed at Harrington. 

“Maybe.” Steve admits finally. “Doesn’t mean they’re wrong though.” 

Eddie can’t help himself. It’s a puzzle in front of him, dangled in the form of Steve and his weird injuries. Steve and his odd reactions. 

Beautiful, gorgeous, straight Steve Harrington, who once pressed his cheek into Eddie’s hands and closed his eyes like he’d found a slice of heaven. 

“Why?” Eddie challenges. He’s still close. Close enough that they’re going to have to pretend to be fighting if anyone else starts making noise. Eddie’s lost track of time entirely, can’t recall what period this is. Where he’s even supposed to be.

Hell, he never even asked why Steve was here. 

Steve’s mouth opens and closes, like he had an answer but suddenly thought better of it. 

He’s still tapping his foot. 

“Why would they be wrong? ” And at first Eddie thinks Steve is turning the challenge back on him, until he clocks the confused crinkle in his forehead, right between his eyebrows. 

Like a dog who just wants to be a good boy, and doesn’t understand why he’s being shouted at. 

‘Eddie, for once in your fucking life, focus!’ He thinks furiously at himself. 

“Because it hurts you. Because all of us “get over” things in different ways, at different paces.” He makes the quotes with his fingers, putting on a fun voice just to try and make even a small smile appear on Steve’s face.

It works, and Eddie grins despite himself and the seriousness of the moment. 

“Doesn’t matter how stupid it is, Steve-O. Our brains don’t care.” He knocks on his own to make his point. 

“I guess.” Steve says, and it’s not an agreement but Eddie will take it. 

Will take anything Steve will give him, which just shows how badly he’s screwing himself.

Straight boys, even ones wrapped up in some kind of mystery and sprinkled with dozens of other things that catch Eddie’s attention like Steve’s his own personal brand of crack, typically don’t mean anything good for him.

This time, he just hopes it can mean something good for Steve.

Eddie might not know much, but he knows Steve deserves something good.

[withacapitalp]

I wanna forget my bad days (except I really don't)

Read it on ao3 here (and thank you to @stevethehairington for betaing!!!)

“You know you can just use the front door, right?” Robin asked rhetorically as Steve hauled himself up onto the roof by her bedroom. She had poked her head out when she heard his car turn into the driveway, and she was already hanging out of the window when he had begun his climb up to her. “You already park in our driveway, and my parents know you stay the night. No one cares, Dingus.”

Steve shrugged rather than replying, too preoccupied with trying to make sure he didn’t fall off the side of her roof and break his neck. 

He was aware her parents knew how often Steve snuck over to stay the night, and her parents were aware that Steve was aware, but none of them had broached the subject yet. Apart from a few awkward breakfasts and her parents insisting Steve park in their driveway instead of risking a ticket parking a few streets over, no one ever said a word. 

At first it surprised Steve, but he quickly figured out that’s just the kind of people they were. 

Don and Joan Buckley couldn’t care less, but not in the way Steve’s parents didn’t care. They cared about Robin, just not about how she was spending her time. As long as she was safe, moderately happy, and not getting arrested, nothing was off the table. Robin probably could’ve permanently let Steve take residence in her room if she wanted, and her parents wouldn’t have said a word as long as he promised to help clear the table after dinner and occasionally mop the floor. 

It was a terrifying kind of freedom that was so familiar, but so completely foreign at the same time. The knowledge that she could do anything, but someone was waiting for her to come home at night- well that was something Steve had never had. Not even once. 

If he let himself think about it for too long, Steve’s chest would start to ache, so he just… didn’t.

Read the rest on ao3!

[steddielicious]

It's April 1985 and Steve is at Sandra Turner's 18th birthday party. Half the party is settled into the basement playing Truth or Dare and even though most of the crowd has accepted Billy as their new King, there are still a handful who prefer to hang around Steve, generally the kinder jocks. But as Steve looks around, he notices most of them have gone upstairs, so when Billy turns to him and asks, "Truth or Dare?" Steve knows he has to answer Dare. Hargrove won't let him get away with anything else.

Billy smirks in satisfaction and tells him that his Dare is a simple round of Seven Minutes in Heaven. Steve blinks in confusion at the seemingly tame nature of it, until Billy points, "With him."

Him being Munson, lurking in the corner with his lunchbox and absolutely not participating in the game. Of course, when Munson shakes his head with wide eyes, Billy gestures for Tommy H and Tommy C to forcibly lift the guy and shove him in the direction of the closet. Steve can tell he's next, so rolls his eyes and makes his way over himself. There's no light inside, and as the door closes, Hargrove pounds on the thin wood and bellows,

"I better see hickeys when you come out!"

It's a tight squeeze, so Steve can feel every uncomfortable fidget from Munson.

"Look, I'm sorry that Hargrove has it out for me and you got caught in the crossfire." Steve pauses as Munson remains silent. "How about we just give each other the hickeys and then pretend this never happened?" Munson hums in affirmation, so Steve raises his hands to cradle the stubbly jaw in front of him and leans forward to press his lips to the softer-than-expected neck in front of him.

Steve's praying he doesn't get hard over this, but Munson really is that attractive and Steve has known for a few years that he's into guys. Tentatively, Munson starts sucking back and Steve swallows heavily. Their bodies press closer together and the pins on Munson's vest brush through Steve's polo across his nipples. He chokes back a soft moan and Munson freezes.

“Not a fucking word, Munson.”

But Steve is really in for it now as Munson dives back in. He realizes that the other man must have been holding back as now there’s teeth and tongue and they’re clinging to each other and they’re both hard and gasping and –

Bang, bang bang

“Time’s up, queers!” 

– and they barely have a moment to spring apart before the closet door is being wrenched open to Hargrove’s leering face.

Munson pushes past him, grabbing his lunchbox on the way to the stairs out of the basement. Steve can hear him muttering about how fucking weird jocks are and he’s getting out of here.

And Steve can’t stay here, not with the Tommys and Billy cackling in the corner. So he snags his jacket and has walked halfway down the block when Munson pulls up in his van.

“Want a ride? I mean, I know you live like five blocks away but it’s cold.” Steve can’t for the life of him think of a reason to refuse, so he climbs in silently.

And if they end up hooking up in Steve’s bedroom after sharing a couple of joints, well, what Hargrove doesn’t know won’t hurt him.

Part 2 / ∞ of Truth or Steddare

[icksam]

yk i still really crave steddie fics set before s4 where they dont get established yet but just. MM yummy interactions between what eddie thinks is still king steve and steve either innocent w eddie or wary

[resident-gay-bitch]

Jay's Steddie Fic Recs :)

because i have so many, I needed to make a fresh post of them :)

some of these fics are found on tumblr, some on ao3, maybe some on wattpad? all of them are spectacular. i’ll tag the creators tumblrs if i know them :)

happy reading! <3

Steves First Bruise spiderman!steve x roommate!eddie - eddie has a crush on his roommate steve, who also happens to get into a lot of fights. he also ends up with a crush on spider man. how long will it take for him to figure it out he’s only crushing on one person? please its so adorable

Till I Kissed You steve x eddie - super angsty. eddie doesnt get the big deal about kissing, steve calls him a bad kisser, they kiss to test it out. oh god, now theyre both questioning everything. perfection.

The Boys Of Summer eddie x steve & wayne - for all you wayne lovers out there. steve dreams that eddies alive, he’s so sure that his dreams are real, he tries to break into the upsidedown by himself to get the boy he loved back. wayne tags along for the ride. please, this is so good it has me dying i love it so much.

Not Exactly Nappa Valley eddie x steve - ultimate fake dating scenerio. steve has a family wedding to attend and he wants to piss off his parents, so he brings eddie and they gay it up and… oh my god, plot twist, who wouldda thought they both harboured feelings for eachother?

Needles steve x eddie - eddie gives steve a stick and poke and he kinda gets hard because hes a sadist. steve gives eddie a stick and poke and eddie almost busts in his pants. its pretty funny and has some fabulous smut.

If Your Heart Surrenders steve x eddie - super angst. dates back pre s4 and is very soft and angsty and i loveee it. i binge read the shit out of it. it has a very sweet ending. an alternate version can also be found here on tumblr. @asbealthgn

Recipe For Disaster steve x eddie - princess diaries au?! excuse me, hello. this is everything to me. it is pure perfection. please give this a read because it has me sitting on the edge of my seat, biting my nails and pulling at my hair. everytime a new chapter drops i get so excited. prince steve?!? yes. yes yes yes. @frankenstein-ate-my-left-shoe

Crashed The Wedding steve x rockstar!eddie - steve is forced into an arranged marriage and eddie comes to save the day after nine years apart. HELLO this is amazing. pure beauty. please take the time to read this because it’s magnificent, makes my heart swell. it’s very very good. makes me feel things. i love them so much. @piratefishmama

Eddie’s Memory Log steve x eddie - eddie is in hospital post vecna and can’t remember anything, steve visits every day and writes down what eddie can remember - hint hint, eddie always remebers steve. this is so good, i love it very very much, please give it a read. @harmonictechnicality

This Love Came Back To Me famous!steve hopper x ‘dead’!eddie munson - steve rescued eddie’s guitar after his death and processed his grief through song writing, pouted his heart out into the lyrics and took the world by surprise. I LOVE THIS SO MUCH okay, just read it. it’s so fucking good. gut wrenching stuff, okay!? have a read. it’s beautiful. so fucking beautiful i was going through every single possible emotion known to man. @strawberryspence

Bad News First steve x eddie - steve grieves for eddie’s death and becomes close with wayne in the process, slowly falling in love with what could have been with eddie. until… I LOVE IT. it’s beautiful. one of my favs. @strangersteddierthings

Melt Me On Your Tongue wounded!sub!eddie x caring!dom!steve - this is a spicy one, basically pure smut, but it’s got a lot of feelings. i love the style, the atmosphere, and the feeling the author has created for this fic and steve & eddie’s dynamic. it honestly feels delicate to read, and i love it very much. highly recommend. very soft but very spicy and hot :) @steddielations

Black Out Days (Fairground Nights) - eddie x steve - no monsters, modern au. nancy and eddie are best friends, robin and steve are best friends. when nancy and robin date, steve and eddie clash… a lot. ‘tis brilliant. this fic is so fucking angsty, it’s got some really fucking heavy themes (please read the warnings before proceeding) but it’s written so effortlessly beautifully. this has easily become one of my favourites now. it’s more than worth the read. @azrielgreen

[jelzorz]

care

Callum's eyes flit upwards: the tape, her, the tape again, Stella’s stupid cheeky face. His lips thin. “You didn’t tell me you were still having problems with your wrist.”

here on ao3

[ferra-to-my-faberge]

eddie has a new client. he doesnt know who it is. all he knows is there was a note in his locker saying "meet me at the bench -a new client" the handwritings shaky, like the writer had been hesitant. needless to say, hes curious.

steves fucking stressed. hes popular now, cool, nice, except jesus fucking christ he hates it. hes mean to people now, hes meant to not like anyone who isnt popular. hes meant to laugh at people now not with them. hes been trying his best to get some relief but nothing hes tried has worked. so, he tries a last resort; drugs.

[chirpsythismorning]

With the re-uploaded 3x08 script you were talking about, who was it uploaded by? Was it on 8flix or something, or was it officially released by the show? I wasn’t in the fandom at the time so I’m kinda confused

8flix was the original source back in the day yes 🫣

Or at least according to Reddit it was back then. He posted there and they all viewed him to be credible.

Now all of his links from his posts on there are dead 😭 but the comments all give it credence. Interesting they switched up on him…

[writingwife-83]

So I came across an old iPod touch today while we were going through stuff in our closet, and I was browsing through what little was on there. Check out this blast from the past almost 8 years ago in the notes app…

Idk if I ever did any more detailed outlining, but it looks like this was at least my initial outline for my Big Bang challenge fic All We Have. Seeing all this stuff about “Sherrinford Holmes” still cracks me up every time. 😂🫣

[captain-neopets]

Is Steve confused when he wakes up to an alarm that isn’t his and finds himself in a tiny, cluttered, and completely unfamiliar bedroom?

Yes. Very. 

Not that it’s the weirdest place he’s ever woken up unexpectedly. That questionable honor goes to the backseat of Billy Hargrove’s car, where Steve painfully dragged himself into consciousness post ass-kicking and found himself on the way to set fire to a nest of monsters with a 13-year-old in the damn driver’s seat.

He feels kind of awful now too, not like he got beat to shit but just… off. Normally, he’s ‘bright-eyed-and-bushy-tailed’ as soon as he wakes up (Robin’s phrasing; she always says it like Steve’s ability to function at 6 a.m. is personally offensive to her), but his brain feels syrupy and his eyelids are so heavy he doesn’t care whose bed this is as long as he can keep sleeping in it.

Is he shocked when he finally drags himself up, leans around a weirdly pointy guitar to peer in the mirror, and sees Eddie Munson’s face looking back at him? 

Absolutely. He spends several minutes fully freaking out about it.

Chapter 4 is up on ao3!

[marvel-ous-m]

Eddie Munson’s Guide for How to Adopt a Jock in Four Easy Steps (3/5)

Part One

Part Two

Part Four

AO3 Link

A.N.- shorter chapter today, but the next two chapters make up more than half of the rest of my google doc! So I promise that it’s worth it, lol. Enjoy!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Eddie, I’m going to need you to repeat what you just told me, because I know for a fact that I didn’t hear you correctly. I couldn’t have.” Grant crossed his arms angrily, leveling Eddie with his best intimidating glare. 

“I know it sounds crazy, but I need you to trust me on this. Steve is… fuck man, he’s not in a good place, okay? So yeah, he’s sleeping in the Hellfire room right now. Before you come for my throat, I need you to think about this.” Eddie held out his hands, counting on his fingers as he went through his reasoning. “His parents haven’t been home in three months. Hagan abandoned him last year, Nancy broke up with him then hooked up with Jonathan Byers, Billy beat the shit out of him this weekend, he isn’t sleeping, he has no one. He’s an outcast, just like the rest of us.” 

“So this is the perfect opportunity to get back at him.” Gareth muttered under his breath, crossing his arms. 

Eddie turned to the youngest member of their party, raising an eyebrow. “I know that his type like to pick on you Freshmen, but that’s not how we do things here, Gar-bear.” Eddie sighed then, pinching the bridge of his nose. “It’s easy to get back at people in times like this, but that would make us no better than them.” Eddie turned back to the entire group then, shaking his head at the three of them. “You guys didn’t see him. It was bad… I mean, if I’m being honest, it was a little scary.”

“So what are you proposing?” Jeff finally spoke, looking up from where he was previously staring at the linoleum floor of the hallway outside the drama room.

“Just let him sit next to me and watch the game today. Be civil. Don’t tease him, don’t make snide comments- just don’t be assholes. If things go well after today we’ll talk about bringing him in permanently.”

“Permanently?!” 

“Eddie, I mean this when I say it, you are certifiably insane.”

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.” 

“Shut up!” Eddie shrieked and held his hands up, effectively quieting the uproar from his group of misfits. “Just- look, if you fuck this up I’ll TPK this whole campaign- which, honestly, is probably more of a punishment for me because I’ve been working on this campaign for about a month, but I digress. Give. The guy. A chance.” 

Grant, Gareth, and Jeff looked at one another. They always seemed to be able to have a conversation without speaking (and that conversation usually was centered around some shit Eddie was pulling). Finally, Jeff nodded at Eddie. “Alright, we’ll give him a chance. BUT only on the condition that each of our characters starts with a rare magic item.”

Eddie huffed out a quiet laugh, nodding at the three boys. “Yeah, sure, whatever. I’ll add them to your character sheets before we start.”

Jeff blinked in surprise and looked at both Gareth and Grant, then back at Eddie. “Even though the magic items may not make sense with your campaign?” 

“You’re the ones asking for ‘em.” Eddie shrugged, then pulled the lanyard out of his pocket. “Okay, just gimme like, ten minutes, then you can come in.” As Eddie walked away, he could’ve sworn he heard the boys whispering about a giant crush and him being head over heels. Eddie scoffed to himself. He could never fall for Steve- what with Steve’s stupid big eyes and his floppy hair and his dorky polos. Eddie unlocked the door, rolling his eyes as he did. Him falling for Steve. As if. 

Steve sat up from his space in the corner when the door opened, instantly relaxing when he saw who it was. The jock rubbed at his eyes, humming sleepily. “Hey Eds. S’it time for Hellfire ‘lready?” 

Steve’s hair was a mess, his polo was sideways, his eyes were tired and a blanket was hunched around his shoulders. He was… actually kind of adorable. Eddie smiled at him and could’ve sworn he felt a flutter in his chest. 

Oh no.

Oh no no no.  

He had a crush on Steve Harrington. 

...Shit.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A.N.: this tag list has grown so much! I’m sorry if I forgot to add you if you requested it or if you didn’t end up on here, there were some accounts that were giving me trouble. Thanks again for all the support!

@ellietheasexylibrarian @cuips-not-cute @melodymeddler @i-have-three-feelings @sc00ps-ahoy @singmeyoursimpsong @patchworkgargoyle @spectrum-spectre @devondespresso @thesuninyaface @obsessivlyme @angeldreamsoffanfic @carlyv @nburkhardt @inspirationorinsanity @rebelspykatie @my2amgaythoughts @lavenderagenda @just-a-tiny-void @mamafaithful @breadboi66 @beholdingloser @randomfandomcontent @oftirnanog @yellowdevilkitten @steves-strapcollection @keep-er-steddie @cinnamon-mushroomabomination @bisexualdisastersworld @jinxjinn @copingmechanizm @blackpanzy @failedstarsandgoldenclouds @evix-syne666 @crisisinverted17 @satan-is-obsessed @shrimply-a-menace @anaibis @trashcanniballecter  @thoughtfulbreadpolice @awholedamnmesstbh @chaoticvictorianspirit @jcmadgirl 

[sp0o0kylights]

The Occult Summoner Starter Kit was a failed competitive toy to Hasbro's Ouija Board (a game that was doing numbers in 1986 for reasons the government would later pretend they noticed a lot sooner than they actually did.) 

Unfortunately for the toy company, The Occult Summoner Starter Kit (complete with two real, black candles!) was a total flop.

In fact it barely sold at all, stubbornly hanging on to sale racks to the point where you could offer a store owner a dollar and they'd be delighted just to have the shelf space. 

No one really bought them, outside of confused grandmothers and a handful of children who used the candles for arson.

Eddie Munson bought seven.

Initially it had just been three kits, because it was cheap and making a proper set up for D&D boss battle was an art form. 

The rest was something of a joke. Some asshole a year above him decided Eddie ran a cult and made sure the entire school knew, earning Eddie endless amounts of stupid, mocking questions.

In return, he had found it absolutely hilarious to offer Occult Summoner Starter Kits to anyone being a jackass.

You gotta make your own fun, sometimes. 

At least it came in handy now that they were attempting to summon some actual occult bullshit. Eddie had no idea if the sets were going to work, but it was better than the two cans and a fricken string Henderson and Sinclair had presented him with. 

"You use those as a telephone, not to talk to the dead." He'd chastised, which lead to Sinclair sputtering and Henderson going on a rant that included words like "psychic-soundwaves" and "electromagnetic fields."" 

IE way above Eddie's own head, even if he was loath to admit it. 

At least Harrington hadn't bothered to pretend he knew what the kid was on about, looking at Dustin with exasperation so fond it gave Eddie the worst urge to bite something.

Preferably Harrington. 

Which, in retrospect, should have been the first sign something had gone horribly wrong because Eddie's bite reflex only came out this strong for cute shit. 

"Explain to me again what exactly we are trying to contact?" 

"Not a what, who." Henderson corrected, setting up the kits he'd snatched from Eddie's arms. 

Eddie rolled his eyes. "Okay fine. Who exactly are you trying to connect to? And why the hell did we have to do it specifically in King Steve's backyard?"

Shock of shockers that his majesty even let Eddie in the house, let alone Eddie armed with a literal stack of a game that would have sent most of his neighbors fleeing in terror. 

"Would you stop interrupting?" Dustin snapped, looking up from his work with an annoyed frown. "You're just as bad as Steve! Go talk to him so I can concentrate." 

The tone alone would have made Eddie gape, but the sheer audacity of it all threw him so hard he just stood there wide eyed. 

Unsure if it had actually happened, or if he had just hallucinated. 

Hell, maybe this whole thing was one giant weed induced coma dream, and he'd wake up all snug in the trailer. Warm, childless, and not anywhere near Steve Harrington's stupid, perfectly shaped ass. 

(The very same ass that was currently wearing shorts that hugged them so tightly it made Eddie want to scream and pull at his hair. 

Shorts shouldn't fit like that, dammit!) 

"I keep telling him he needs to work on his tone." Harrington said, startling Eddie out of his thoughts and making him blush scarlet. 

A fact he quirky hid by running his hands over his face. 

"No kidding." Eddie muttered. Louder, he asked; "Why is this even happening?"

Steve blinked. 

"Huh?" 

"This kinda thing isn't exactly your scene, man. In fact, I recall several remarks about how you wouldn't be caught dead playing with," Eddie removed his hands so he could make air quotes, "--fake nerd bullshit."

Steve flinched, looking away while rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. 

"I used to be an asshole, yeah." He said. 

Eddie made a loud, ugly noise. 

"Used to?" He challenged, crossing his arms. 

"Still am sometimes." Steve admitted, a soft, apologetic look on his face. "The kids made me wanna change, though, and after I did I realized that I never really liked who I was." 

He smiled absently at the trio crouched down on the pool deck as he talked, voice startling honest. 

Not that Eddie was about to let it slide. He didn't have any proof that Harrington had changed. 

Not really. 

The fact he'd noticed Steve had stopped hanging out with his douchebag friends his last year, or that Eddie had walked face-first into a pillar upon seeing him working at Scoops before the mall burnt down didn't count. 

Not that Eddie kept an eye out for the guy or anything. 

"Still." He snipped, shaking the thoughts away with a toss of his head. "I wouldn't have guessed you'd let them try to summon a dead guy in your backyard." 

The very idea of it was the kind of absurd that even Eddie couldn't believe. 

Except the look Steve was giving him now wasn't embarrassed or even annoyed.

It was puzzled. 

Surprised, even.

"Oh they didn't tell you?" Steve said, raising an eyebrow. "They're not trying to summon a dead guy."

A pit of dread bloomed in Eddie's stomach, an internal warning that things were about to go sideways, fast. 

"What are they trying to do then?" Eddie asked, the words crawling out of his mouth without his permission.

"They're trying to call El--Mike's girlfriend, in California." Steve said, which was interesting because it confirmed that Mike wasn't lying when he insisted his little girlfriend was a) real and b) did in fact like being called Eleven instead of Jane sometimes. 

"Apparently they rang up a nasty phone bill trying to include her on a party line call last week." Steve waved a hand. " So Occult Summoner kit it is." 

"They woke me up, at eight in the morning, on a Saturday," Eddie began, horrified, "so the three of them could call Mike's long distance girlfriend?" 

"Mmhmm." 

"I'm going to kill them." Eddie said faintly. He swayed backwards dramatically, though part of him really did go lightheaded with the knowledge that the freshmen had walked all over him for once instead of their self-proclaimed babysitter. 

Alarmingly, Harrington reached out, as if he was going to catch Eddie like the fucking Disney prince the entire town thought he was. 

Eddie ended the dramatics immediately, before he made a fool of himself by actually falling (or worse, said something stupid the second Steve's arms came around him, the very thought of which made him want to throw up and die.) 

Satisfied Eddie wasn't going to go down like a Victorian maiden, Harrington slowly lowered his arms back to his  sides

"Want a beer?"  He offered, as Eddie silently choked on his own anger. 

"God yes." 

                                                           xXx

Conceptually, Eddie understood how ended up hungover in Steve's bedroom. 

The kids had taken so long that they'd run through an entire case of beers, which hadn't seemed to phase Harrington one bit, but had, rather unfairly, put Eddie right on his ass.

Since he was unable to drive the kids home, Steve had ended up dropping them off instead, and then picked up pizza on the way back for Eddie to sober up over like the good civilian he was. 

In return, Eddie had offered some of his weed as both an apology and a thank you--and then made the mistake of taking up Steve's offer of smoking it with him. 

"Had a bad trip a while back." The younger man had said, almost shyly. "I don't really get high much anymore, and never by myself.” 

How could Eddie say no to that?

Which of course meant he'd then smoked and ate and ended up getting into Harrington's father's expensive scotch--

("You cannot sit here and tell me there's not a difference between five dollar and one hundred dollar scotch Steve. I don't believe it."

"Dude give me two minutes and I will prove to you they taste exactly the same.") 

--which meant no driving home. 

The bedroom had come into play when Eddie found himself in a discussion on rich people's horrible taste in décor. 

Sure, using Steve's own house as an example wasn't the brightest of ideas, except Steve had simply raised an eyebrow and told him that the bare ass, gray living room they sat in was nothing. 

Led him up to his room, upon which Eddie had become so dizzy staring at all the plaid that he’d laid down dramatically on Steve’s bed and loudly declared he’d died from horrible décor. 

Considering the plaid everything in Steve's own room was currently making Eddie's hangover worse, he thought he'd rather proved his point.

What Eddie didn’t understand is why Steve hadn’t kicked him out of the house already. It wasn’t like they were friends. Hell, he and Steve had barely spoken before today, and even then they’d only had a few stilted conversations that had been the result of Henderson trying to force them to become buddies. 

Okay, Steve ended up being fun to hang out with. Yes he had in fact, changed from the King persona he wore so easily in high school. No Eddie and he had never had any kind of direct confrontation with each other, but it was a damn small town. 

You couldn’t walk three feet without repeatedly running into other people’s business. 

It was still weird. 

The sun beaming into the room declared it was at least past 9 am, and the smell of coffee and breakfast foods wafting up the stairs hinted that Steve had been up before him for at least thirty minutes, minimum. 

Footsteps interrupted his thoughts, and Eddie looked up to watch as Steve, fully dressed, came trotting through the door, a glass of water in hand. 

"Morning.” Steve said with a grin. “You doin’ ok man? Remember everything you did last night?"

"This isn't my first hangover, Harrington."  Eddie scoffed, scooting to the edge of the bed. He gratefully accepted the glass of water Steve gave him, chugging it empty before carefully setting it aside on the nightstand. “A few beers and some weed isn’t enough to give me amnesia.” 

Which of course, wasn’t true at all--his memories were a blurry mess after he landed in Steve’s bed, but he knew they’d had at least one more discussion before dropping off because he definitely recalled Steve laughing about Eddie insisting he sleep on the right side of the bed. 

Not that he was going to admit that to King Steve, whose clearly high level of tolerance probably stemmed from stupid jock genes.

(Or a family history of alcoholism, but Eddie had found out the hard way one tended to get punched for stating that little fact.)

"Good." Steve said with a smirk. 

Then he walked over to the bed, placed a hand on either side of Eddie's hips, bent and kissed him.

It was a good kiss--a great kiss even!-- except Eddie’s entire brain ground to an abrupt halt, bodily functions and ability to kiss back freezing right with it. 

"Whaaa-".Eddie said intelligently once Steve departed, the only thought that came through the cloud of singing angels and buzzing static of confusion. 

Considered, maybe, that the room had actually killed him because Steve? And Eddie?

Kissing!?

Harrington moved back, "There. Proof.” He teased, looking up through his eyelashes with a downright sinful grin and oh god, could a man die twice? 

Eddie was certain he was about to find out if Steve kept looking at him like that. 

When Eddie didn’t answer (couldn’t!) Steve added coyly, “I thought you said you remembered everything?"

Except of course, his own lack of reaction had to ruin it because he saw the moment Steve realized Eddie was frozen in place. 

“You lied.” He decided, and the sweet, adorably smug look dropped off his face so fast that Eddie whined aloud. 

Steve removed his hands from the bed, pushing to stand up and put some room between them. He ran his hands through his hair and oh, oh shit, he was starting to panic. 

‘Say something. Say something right the fuck now you idiot-!’ 

“What am I not remembering?” Eddie asked, forcing the words out and not caring that they weren’t clear. He could make them clear in a moment if he had too, he just needed to know what the fuck just happened. “Because I know for a fact we didn’t kiss last night, there is no way in hell I would ever forget that.” 

Steve’s distressed look depend and okay, maybe he should have considered the words and tone better but you had to forgive a guy when his very straight crush decided to up and kiss him out of nowhere. 

Giving up any desire to look cool or casual about this in anyway (because he couldn’t, there was no way he was going to keep his composure through this and he might as well admit that to himself now, before he went and fucked up further) he reached out and made grabby hands at Steve.

“Come over while you explain it please, I need to touch you to make sure you’re real.” 

He got a squinted look in return, as if Steve was assessing to see if he was joking or not. 

Eddie just made the grabby gesture again, arms still outstretched. 

“Last night. We uh--talked. About um, gay stuff.”

Thankfully Steve did come closer as he spoke, though the movement was cautious. 

Eddie couldn’t blame him--this shit got you hate crimed after all--but made sure to grab at Steve anyway, obnoxiously patting him like he might disappear. 

Steve smiled slightly, before taking a breath and speaking. “I asked how you knew you were gay. You explained it to me, and I explained back that I thought I was bisexual.” 

Wow, there is a word Eddie had never thought he’d hear out of Harrington’s mouth. 

Fuck maybe Buckley was rubbing off on him!

“You told me that it sounded like I was but that sometimes you just didn’t know until you kissed someone. I asked if--if I could…�� Steve blushed crimson, the red crawling across his cheeks and down his neck and holy shit, Harrington had come out to him.

Which of course just made him furious that he didn’t remember it, but hell, at least he was getting a repeat! 

“Ah, kiss you. To. Figure it out.” Steve plowed on bravely.  Eddie’s hands found their way to his wrists and squeezed them lightly, encouraging. 

“You said you didn’t take advantage of impaired men, even if they were pretty.”

And yeah, that did indeed sound like something he would say. 

“I told you it wasn’t like that but you insisted and said if I still wanted to know, I could kiss you in the morning.” Steve finished. He kept looking at Eddie and then away, like he was hopeful despite his embarrassment. 

Eddie took a chance, sliding his fingers down to the palms of Steve’s hands. Tapped and wiggled until he got what he wanted, which was to lace their fingers together. 

“So did you figure it out?” Eddie asked, and sue him if his voice sounded a bit breathy. This was the kind of shit porn and women's erotica was made out of. 

“Figure out…”

“If you like men.”

“Oh.” Steve paused. Then; “I’m not sure honestly, I kinda panicked when I realized you weren’t reacting.” 

Eddie grinned up at him, the look almost feral. “Want to kiss me again to find out?” 

A relieved sigh blasted out of Steve as Eddie tugged him down, a stupid grin breaking across his face. 

“Yeah.” He agreed. 

Then he once again boxed Eddie in, keeping Eddie’s hands in his as he ducked down and pressed their lips together. 

This time Eddie pressed back hungrily, deepening the kiss and letting the electricity of the moment cascade over him. 

Steve, as it would turn out, ended up needing to kiss Eddie several more times, in order to find out if he in fact liked men, or “if I just like you, Munson.”

Eddie, who had never in his life been happier to be a guinea pig, told him to take his time. 

(“Oh shit the pancakes!” Steve said suddenly, ripping his mouth away from where it had been licking a line down Eddie’s neck. 

“Not hungry.” Eddie responded, hands tangled up under Steve’s shirt, one leg hooked around Steve’s. 

“No I had the stove on, shit--” Steve yelped, trying to get up. Found himself laughing even in his panic as Eddie clung onto him stubbornly, like an octopus. “You can kiss me downstairs Munson, I have to make sure the house doesn’t catch fire!” 

“Fine.” Eddie pouted, releasing Steve and standing up after him. “But I want at least one more makeout session before we have any kind of serious conversation about this whole thing!” 

The grin Steve shot him made his knees weak. “Deal.” He agreed, before taking Eddie’s hand and rushing them both down the stairs.) 

[lionguarded]

“Are you going to run from me? Fight me? Go on. I love a good struggle.” (howlingkiefman)

“why? what’s it to you? you’re gonna have to try harder if you wanna intimidate me.” he would, he wouldn’t - it didn’t matter, they both knew silas had nowhere else to go, no other place to be. no other fight he wanted to fight.

[steddielicious]

Fall 1986 and El is making sure that no one is lying during Truth or Dare. If anyone doesn’t want to answer, they can excuse themself from the game, but since friends don’t lie, no one has done so. 

And then Max asks who everyone’s first kiss was. Mike and El and Max and Lucas all say each other. Dustin says Suzie and Jonathan, Nancy. Will and Robin haven’t kissed anyone before and Argyle looks dreamy as he tells everyone about Madeleine. Nancy’s was Matthew Roberts and Eddie’s was Kathleen O’Hannigan. And Steve ends with Carol Perkins. Until - 

“Lie.” 

El’s proclamation cuts through the Peter Gabriel that’s softly playing across Steve’s living room. 

“What?!” Eddie interjects incredulously. “Who could be worse than Perky Perkins?”

Steve is frozen, a light blush playing across his cheeks. “I’m not lying. Carol was the first girl I kissed.” 

“Truth.”

The room erupts in shouts, disbelieving that Steve had confused El. Jonathan makes sympathetic eye contact with him across the circle and comes to his rescue. 

“Robin! Truth or Dare?”

And as Robin licks Argyle’s left armpit, everyone’s attention moves on. 

Except Eddie, whose head is tilted as he watches Steve. 

Huh.

Part 3/ ∞ of Truth or Steddare