#ronance implied

[eddiethebrave]

🩷 part six

one two three four five

466 words

Stevie wraps her arms around herself to fend off the cold as she walks up to her front door. She feels the loss of Eddie’s arms like the loss of a limb. 

Only after she’s getting out of the shower does she get the text she’d been waiting on from Robin.

everyone got home ok im spending the night at nancy’s  #slumberparty wait is it still a slumber party if there’s only two of us or is that just a sleepover stevie answer me it’s important

Stevie smiles down at her phone and shakes her head in amusement as she replies.

two ppl does not a slumber party make buckley #sleepover

She climbs into bed and her phone pings with another message. This one has a photo attached. It’s a photo of Robin in Nancy’s bed with the girl in question tucked snugly under her chin. Robin’s wearing a goofy smile and Stevie rolls her eyes in fondness at the caption. 

#sleepover

Stevie hearts the image and plugs her phone in for the night. She assumes that’ll be the last of the messages and settles herself into bed. She’s just about to slip her glasses off and cut the light when her phone lights up again.

She considers leaving it for the morning but decides against it. She’s never been good about not responding to messages right away. 

oh my god i almost forgot look at this loser this is approximately ten seconds after you got out of the car btw

The photo attachment takes a moment to pop up and Stevie curiously waits. When it’s finally revealed, she feels her face heat up. She’s alone in her room so she doesn’t bother trying to tamp down a goofy smile of her own. 

The photo is from Robin’s vantage point in the front passenger seat. She has her phone pointed toward the back, where Eddie sits with his arms crossed and his plump lips pulled down at the corners in a pout with his eyes trained at his lap. Stevie clicks on the image to get a closer look and that’s when she realizes it’s a live photo. 

She holds her thumb down and the image comes to life. She watches in amusement as Eddie’s head snaps up when the flash goes off. He has this deer in the headlights look on his face and his cheeks turn a pretty shade of pink almost alarmingly fast. Just as he opens his mouth to presumably scold Robin, the moment freezes. 

Stevie watches it six more times before shamelessly saving it to her camera roll and swiping back to her and Robin’s messages. 

aw leave him alone :(( …also ty for the pic 🩷

Robin responds immediately.

yeah yeah we all know i’m the best best friend ever

seven

taglist

@jaytriesstrangerthings @wheneverfeasible @chameleonhair @yesdangerpls @sadisticaltarts

@sofadofax @yearningagain @ollyxar @tinyplanet95 @theseaofdespair

@croatoan-like-its-hot @estrellami-1 @anaibis @crayonboxcolors607 @noahdeawesome

@themoonagainstmers @quevadilla @lil-gremlin-things

sorry if i missed anyone!

[sir3n-s]

Steve knew that one day he wouldn't be able to refuse to play dnd. 

Especially since he was now dating a dragons master or whatever it's called. He can't keep up with all the names. 

And don't get him wrong Eddie is great and dnd sounds sort of interesting but he's been against playing for so long he doesn't want to give up the act. 

But he if was going to give up the act he was going to get something in return. 

The kids were all gathered at Steve's house for a movie night. 

They had 2 different kinds of movie night, one where they all actually watched movies and the other where the movie was just there for background noise while everyone either talked or worked on something.

Tonight Mike, Will, Lucas, and Dustin were making character sheets for Eddie's new campaign while trying to get Steve to join as well. 

"Just play one campaign" Dustin whined for the 20th time that night. And probably the 100th time in his life. 

"Are you ever going to let this go?" 

"No! You have to play one now that you're dating Eddie. Aren't couples supposed to try out each other's hobbies?" He got him there.

"He's got a point Stevie," Eddie says finally engaging in the conversation after being glued to the TV. Despite the volume being low he was still watching it with intense interest. 

"You're right, couples should try each other's hobbies" Steve agreed. 

"Uh oh," Robin says without looking up from the puzzle she was going with Nancy, knowing what he was going to say next since he ran his plan through her first.

"I will play a campaign but!" He says before the kids could get too excited, "you all have to play basketball with me" 

They all groaned. Except Lucas who was completely fine with this arrangement.

-

It was Saturday and they were all at basketball court in the park. Most of them were wearing their gym clothes. 

Except for Lucas and Steve who actually had basketball jerseys. 

Max and el were also playing since they wanted to join despite the fact they won't play dnd either. 

And who was he to say no to them? The more the merrier.

Robin and Nancy were sitting at the bench in the shade, Robin saying she refuses to play a sport because she's too clumsy and Nancy saying Robin shouldn't have to sit alone. But Steve knows they just want to talk shit about them. 

He wasnt going to stop them, he knew it was a lost cause to try to get them to join as well. 

The only rule they had before playing was that Steve and Lucas couldn't be on the same team, 'it wouldn't be fair' Dustin said and everyone else agreed. Even Robin and Nancy. 

So they ended up being the team captainsin on each team. 

Steve's team was Max, Mike, and El while Lucas had Will, Dustin, and Eddie. 

And it was going well! Better than Steve thought it would. Especially with how unathletic most of them were. 

Steves team was winng, and despite Dustin whinning about how it was because Steve was older and had more experience he hasn't even made all the points. 

He did score the first point but El scored the last 2. 

It's was 3 to 1. The only point they had was from Lucas. Eddie couldn't throw for shit, Dustin kept dropping the ball, and Will was actually doing pretty well but was kinda being ignored because Lucas and Dustin wouldn't stop arguing.

He can tell eddie was getting annoyed with having to constantly break up their fights.

Their team only needed one more point to win and Mike had the ball.

"Pass it to me!" He yells towards Mike and he does pass it to him. Just way too hard. 

Because it goes past his hands and right towardd his face. Smacking him hard in the nose and knocking him over. 

He hears everyone gasp as he groans on the ground.

He heard the tapping of people feet on concrete, and on grass, get close to him. 

"Holy fuck are you okay?" Despite his eyes being closed he can easily tell that's Eddie's voice.

"Damn Mike why did you throw it so hard" he hears max says. He also hears a light punch but doesn't comment on it this time.

"I didnt mean to!" 

"I'm okay" Steve says while getting up, grabbing his nose when he felt something on his lip. Blood, of course.

"That would've been a great throw if I was a little bit farther from you," he says towards Mike as Eddie helps him off the floor and leads him to the bench despite saying he was okay to keep playing.

Everyone gather arounds him as El hands him some of the napkins she keeps in her pocket.

"If this is how you all act everytime someone gets hurt it's going to get extremely annoying as we keep playing" Everyone makes weird faces, except for Robin who was grinning.

And Nancy because Robin definitely told her. 

He smiles. "You guys are going to want me to play more than one campaign, so you will all be playing more games of basketball."

While Lucas smiled, everyone else groaned.

[deadgirlhawkins]

Ed & Rob play dress up!

thank you @unsettlingg for the suggestion 💋⭐️

[imfinereallyy]

Bedside Manner

for @acasualcrossfade request for "the infection has spread"

"Some birdie told me that you have been causing a fuss, Wayne, is that true?"

Wayne huffs from his hospital bed, glasses sliding down his nose. He places the newspaper he was reading on the table beside him. "You tell that Robbie of yours to stop exaggerating. It was only a small request."

Steve raises his eyebrows at his favorite patient (Dustin tells him he isn't supposed to have favorites, but he also used to cry anytime he picked up Max before him when they were younger, so what does he know) and gives him a knowing look. "Robin listens to no man, Wayne, you know this. You're better off sending that message through her wife. Besides, small? She was telling me you refused to have any other nurse help you because I wasn't here last night. Which surprised me since you are always pushing me on about taking a vacation. "

Wayne opens his mouth, but Steve presses on. "And the fact Robin was even in the room means they called a psych consult, so I can only imagine how bad it was."

Wayne grumbles like a little kid being scolded for getting his hands caught in the cookie jar. "Yea, well, it was a bad night, kid."

Steve feels his shoulders sag, he takes off his glasses and rubs a hand down his face before placing them back on. "Sorry, Wayne, I had a bad migraine last night. Nance and Robs wouldn't even let me pass the entrance. Bad news?"

"Kid, don't stress yourself out over me. I'm just your patient, and more so, I am just a cranky old man." Wayne patted Steve's knee as he sat down next to him.

"C'mon, Wayne. You're more than that. I'd like to think seeing you in and out of here the last year has made us friends. Although I gotta say, you're the only friend I have that I'll be glad if I don't get to see again, given the circumstances. So, what's the news?"

"The infection has spread."

Steve takes in a deep breath, he tries not to panic, but any infection in a hospital can be deadly, especially for a cancer patient like Wayne. "Incision site?"

Steve must not be as good at hiding his emotions as he used to be because Wayne jumps to ease his worry. "No, kid, don't worry. The surgery was a success. Just got that hospital fever, the good old bronchitis. But it just means I'm here longer than I have to. It also means my nephew is on edge, and I don't know if I can take a second longer of his hovering."

Steve laughed wetly, thankful for the topic change. "Ah yes, the mysterious nephew of yours that I've never met. The way you talk about him almost tempts me into switching to the day shift, sounds like he might be entertaining. But only almost."

"Always wondered why you were always working the nights, most of the others seem to switch. Not a big fan of the day?"

Steve shakes his head gently, "No, I like the quiet here at night. Like getting to know the patients without having to worry about fixing ten million things. Don't get me wrong, it has its downfalls. Like the doctors can be horrible at night, never tell Dr. Wheeler that or Robbie will kill me, and the food is awful. But there is something special about it here at night. So sorry, your ridiculous nephew isn't enough to tempt me."

Wayne smirked, "What if I told you he was a looker and single?"

Steve blushes slightly. He is used to patients trying to pawn him off to their relatives, it came with being a young male nurse, but typically it didn't phase him. But Steve has become close with Wayne, so hearing him suggest he get together with his nephew has him flustered. "I'm good, Wayne, thanks. Gave up on the dating scene a while ago. Not many people can keep up with a guy who works nights and suffers from severe head trauma."

"Shame, Eddie likes the nights too. I'd reckon yal would get along."

"I'm pretty sure we would need more than that, Wayne."

Wayne smiles fondly at Steve. "You don't need a whole lot to build a connection, son. Me and Linda, god rest her soul, only started dating for our mutual love of mugs. And we may not have had long together, but our love was strong. Besides, there is more yal would have in common than just the night shift."

Steve huffs a laugh, "Oh yea, like what?" The least he can do is humor the man.

"Well, you both care about me deeply."

Steve blushes again, "C'mon, Wayne. I'm your nurse. I'm kinda paid to care."

Wayne won't hear any of it, "No, son, it's more than that. You take your break in here every night. You make sure to record the game at home for me because they only have the news here. And last night, you tried to come in with a migraine, even though we both know I am the only patient you can stand right now."

Steve doesn't know what to say back. Wayne is right, of course. Steve has been spending all of his time with the man, giving him extra care. Steve isn't bad with his other patients, he goes above and beyond most of his coworkers, but there is something special about Wayne.

"You got nothing, kid, you know I'm right. Remind me a lot of my nephew. Before visiting hours ended is when I got the news of having to stay longer. Kid almost threw a fit when they kicked him out. Swore he was gonna break in to stay the night with me. I told him not to worry since you would be there, I brag about you too, ya know. When he found out today you weren't here, that boy threw a fit again. Swear he gets his tantrums from his father. Said he was gonna sneak back in tonight. Make sure I had company. That 'the man' couldn't stop him. That if he ran into you, he was gonna have a word with you."

Steve can't help the snort that shakes his body, "I'd like to see him get passed Hop first."

Wayne starts to chuckle, too, "Eds may have had his fair share of escaping the law, but no man moves as fast as Jim in a security uniform."

Steve is fully laughing now, "I know, right? It's like those pants make him aerodynamic or something. No way your nephew is getting by."

It is almost as if Steve's words summon what happens next. There in the doorway is the most gorgeous man he's ever seen, even though he is bent over and out of breath.

"Eds?" Wayne questions, clearly surprised. Steve has to mask his face and quickly before Wayne catches him ogling his nephew. Steve is finding it difficult, though. The man, Eddie, despite his out-of-breath appearance, is stunning. His long curly hair is thrown up in a bun, showing off the piercings up his ears. His clothes are simple but suiting, ripped jeans and a black band tee. Tattoos cover his entire body, and Steve wants to ask about every single one of them.

The most surprising thing about him isn't that he got by Hop (although he has questions for that later), no the most surprising thing to Steve is that Wayne somehow knew his exact type, which most people assume wrong in that department.

Eddie awakens an old craving inside Steve that he thought he had buried long ago.

"Wayne, you would not believe what I just went to get up here. The story I have for you, oh boy. You're gonna love it. Who knew security guards could move that fast. Anyway, I hope that nurse boy of yours is here tonight because I am ready to—" Eddie stops mid-rant when his eyes land on Steve, a lovely blush blossoming across his pale cheeks.

"I believe what you are trying to say is, what was it, Wayne? Oh yea, 'have a word with me,'" Steve laughs softly.

Eddie sputters, "Wayne!?!" His blushing becomes deeper as the seconds pass by.

Wayne just chuckles as Steve stands. "Don't be mad at your Uncle, I think he was just trying to make me feel better. I am sorry I wasn't here last night for the news. Got my head knocked around too much as a kid—" Steve taps his head with his knuckles, "—so I suffer from migraines sometimes. I really did try to come in, but well—you met Jim. He's pretty fast." Steve worries his lip. Eddie's eyes follow.

"Well, I can't be too mad now, can I?" Eddie swallows nervously before a smirk spreads across his face, switching from shy to confident in two seconds flat. Steve shouldn't be turned on by that. "The pretty face helps too. I'm pretty sure you could convince me to give you my kidney right about now. I'm Eddie, which I know you know by now, and you are...?"

Steve puts his hand out for a shake, "Nurse Harrington. But most people call me Steve."

Eddie grabs his hand gently and brings the back of it to his lips. "Stevie, a pleasure, really." A light kiss is placed on Steve's knuckles. Stevie, he thinks. That's a new one. And he isn't mad about it, at all. In fact, the butterflies in his stomach want him to get Eddie to say it again.

Steve catches Wayne's smug face in the corner of his eye as Steve begins to blush again.

"I'm just gonna—I'll be right back." Steve stutters.

"Leaving so soon?" Eddie says disappointed.

Steve has the sudden urge to fix the frown on his face. "No, no! Just, uh, gonna call Jim and tell him not to send out a search party. That it's okay if you stay. I'll keep an eye on you."

Eddie's face breaks out into a brilliant smile, "Really, Stevie? You gonna keep me around?"

Steve's heart skips a beat, "If I can help it."

***

[williamprattz]

#jealousy jealousy jealousy

ronance s1 au — Nancy and Robin have a fling at a High school party. Nancy falls fast for Robin while still in relationship with Steve, She grows jealous that Robin has a crush on another girl at Hawkins High. Was she just a fool?

[lavenderstobins]

follow for more helpful tips

[morganski-19]

The One with the Stolen Clothes

 Eddie walks into Steve and Robin’s apartment to bother them, because he’s bored, and Robin dramatically gasps. Then throws a ball of paper at Steve when he walks out of his bedroom.

“What the fuck was that for?” he asks, thoroughly confused.

Robin gestures over to Eddie with wide eyes. Steve raises an eyebrow, still confused. Eddie just looked between the two of them, trying to decipher what they are silently communicating. Robin rolls her eyes.

“Eddie, where did you get that shirt?”

Eddie glances down at his shirt, having just pulled it out of the laundry basket before walking over here. “The laundry basket on the couch. Why?”

“No, like what place?”

He shrugs. “Thrift store probably, I don’t listen to this bad, but the logo’s cool.”

Robin dramatically stands up. “I knew it. That’s my shirt.”

Eddie makes a confused face. “How would your shirt end up in my apartment?”

Steve’s eyes widen. “I think I know. Remember when you stayed over here a few nights ago, and you borrowed some of my clothes. You said that you would wash them and then return them, but never did. I’m pretty sure that was the shirt you borrowed.”

“Huh, guess so. Sorry Buck, I’ll have to wash it again before giving it back to you.”

“Yeah fine, whatever,” Robin groans.

Steve snaps, like he just made a big realization. “That’s why you threw the paper at me.”

“It always come back to you stealing shit out of my closet.”

“Not my fault you like to wear baggy shirts.”

“You still wear it even if it’s not baggy,” Robin raises her voice. “Half my closet is stuff that you stretched out.”

Steve huffs. “That is so not true. And you steal my shit all the time, it’s like our thing.”

“Not when you lend someone else my clothes,” she points to Eddie, bringing him back into this conversation. “And I don’t care if it’s not washed, I’d like it back.”

Eddie shrugs. “I’ll go change then.”

He leaves the apartment and returns to his own. Nancy giving him an odd look when he walks through the door.

“Is that you’re shirt?” Nancy asks, sitting at the kitchen table with her laptop.

“Apparently not. It’s Robin’s.” Eddie goes to his room to change, double checking that this shirt is actually his.

“How’d you end up with Robin’s shirt?” Nancy asks, turning her head to the hall when a loud scream is heard from the other apartment.

Eddie matches her expression, thinking it’s probably not a good idea to go over there again. “Steve accidentally lent it to me. Apparently, he steals her clothes a lot.”

Nancy hums. “Yeah, it’s been a problem for years. But she does it to. When I roomed with her in college, she would steal my sweatshirts all the time.”

“I’m still surprised you guys didn’t date back then. You practically were from the sound of it.” There’s another scream from the across the hall. “Should we intervene?”

“Nah, they’ll be fine. We probably would have dated in college if I knew I was bi back then. But I didn’t, so we sort of missed it.”

Eddie faces Nancy. “And now?”

“Now,” Nancy says, still facing the door. “Whatever we might have had back then is gone. Robin and I are just friends. All we’ll ever be.”

“Are you saying that because you believe it, or because you think Robin doesn’t like you back.”

“Because I believe it. What we have,” Nancy takes a deep breath. “I’d rather be her friend forever than risk losing her to some shitty breakup. I almost lost Steve when we broke up in college, and then Jonthan when we broke up two years ago. I got lucky twice, I’m not risking being lucky again.”

Eddie sits down next to Nancy at the table. “But are you really going to stop yourself from trying. Maybe this time, you won’t have to be lucky. Everything could work out.”

“Are you still holding yourself back after your dick head of an ex-boyfriend broke up on you?” Nancy asks already knowing the answer.

“Got me there. When did life get so complicated?”

Nancy huffs. “Life was so much easier when we were in high school. The biggest thing we had to worry about were classes and shitty after school jobs. Not this.”

“Remember that hiding spot we found in the library?”

“Yeah,” Nancy smiles. “Right behind the non-fiction isle by the teachers lounge. Everything felt better there.”

“Do you ever wish you could go back in time, just for life to feel simpler again? Or to change something in hopes it would make your future better.”

“Sometimes. I think if I did, the one thing I would change is us falling out of touch. Everything else, I think was just fine enough.”

Eddie plays with his rings. “I’m sorry that I stopped reaching out when you went off to school. Just felt like you didn’t need me anymore, with all your new college friends and classes and shit. You didn’t need me dragging you back to that town. You were so much better than them.”

“I’m sorry I let you. Wasn’t just you’re doing. I wanted to separate as much from home as possible, you just happened to be in the crossfire.”

Robin bursts through the apartment door, finding Eddie with a glare. “My shirt,” she demands.

“Right, here,” he tosses her the shirt and she leaves. “We really need to start locking that door.”

Nancy winces. “Yeah. Why’d Steve lend you the shirt anyway?”

“Not the reason you think. We were too high and tired to stand up fully, so he just let me stay over.”

“Damn, thought you two were done being stupid.”

Eddie laughs. “Yeah, that’s not going to happen until you and Robin stop being stupid.”

Tag list (let me know if you want to be added or taken off) @slowandsteddie, @annieofhearts, @cacdyke, @ubpd, @captain--low, @thespaceantwhowrites, @goodolefashionedloverboi, @anne-bennett-cosplayer, @lunaticparisianlady, @apomaro-mellow, @dolphincliffs, @dragonmama76, @maggiebug417, @stevesbipanic, @fearieshadow, @mentallyundone, @eightpackdiaz, @au79burger @bookworm0690 , @practicallybegging, @potato-of-the-lord, @autumncrocusandladybug

[strangerthingsontwt]

[ronance-romance]

Concept: Nancy wears flannels more and more, nobody says anything until Steve asks why she keeps stealing Robin’s clothes

——-

The first time it happened, Steve didn’t say anything. Perhaps it was laundry day. Nancy did like to keep a rigorous schedule. But a couple days later, when she entered Family Video, there she was again in loose plaid and jeans, hair a bit of a mess. Of course Nancy’s version of “a mess” meant anything less than the usual perfection he saw in her. He often tried to tell himself he was over that high school crush. Sometimes, Nancy Wheeler made it hard to actually make it be over.

“Trying out a new style, Wheeler?” Eddie snorted as he hopped up on the counter, stealing Steve’s popcorn from his morning movie with Robin. The girl in question had stepped out to the bathroom, having missed Nancy’s and now Eddie’s entrance.

“Shut up,” Nancy replied cleverly.

“Hey Robin!” Eddie called as she finally emerged. “Have you noticed Nancy’s new look?”

“Um, not really!” Robin ducked into an aisle. Steve raised an eyebrow, tracking her movements. What the hell was she doing in the horror aisle? They finished stocking that.

“Right, okay.” Steve scoffed.

“What brings you here, anyway?” Robin asked from a distance.

“Returning.”

Fast Times.

You had to be kidding. Joking. Pulling his leg, even. Steve looked at Nancy like she had grown two heads. Opened his mouth. Then closed it.

“Yo Harrington, did you forget the English language or something?” Eddie said, his mouth full of the last handful of popcorn he’d stolen.

Steve wanted to grab him by the jaw and tell him to stop being a nuisance. But he didn’t do that. Nor did he acknowledge the question.

“Something the matter?” Nancy demanded. “Did I scratch it or something?”

Steve picked up the film and walked it to where it belonged, feeling like his body didn’t belong to him in that moment. Robin was about to ask what the hell was wrong with him till she saw the movie he was holding.

“Nancy rented Fast Times?”

“Yep.”

“THE Fast Times?”

“Yep.”

“The Fast Times with—”

“This going somewhere anytime soon, Buckley?”

Robin’s cheeks were as pink as a sunrise as she shelved the movie without further comment. Steve had more questions than answers, but people never liked answering his questions. So he didn’t ask any.

Another day, another interruption from the ever annoying Eddie Munson. After shooing him out of the store, Steve and Robin served several other customers. For a Saturday, it was quiet.

Ding. Nancy appeared again. Red and blue flannel. He tilted his head as she gave a friendly greeting to Robin. As they chatted it up, he felt that odd sensation in the back of his skull coming to the front, like he was remembering a dream he’d had. Dejavu, his brain reminded him. Something was familiar. And then he remembered:

Two weeks ago. He and Robin were on a friend date. She’d worn that shirt. He remembered because he had stupidly spilled his drink all over it and he had offered to clean it at his place and return it to her the next day. The shirt was too big even for someone as tall as Robin.

And that’s what all the shirts Nancy had worn that week had in common. Too big. They swallowed her whole.

“Nancy, why do you keep wearing Robin’s clothes?”

The comical, red faced silence that followed was better than any movie Steve could’ve picked out that day. But it was Robin’s turn, unfortunately, and she had chosen Fast Times. For some reason.

[the-lark-ascending69]

Vampire Robin. Have you ever thought about that? Half vampire Robin who desires exclusively blood from other women. She would never take it - of course not. She would never indulge in it. She's been surviving off of roadkill and rabbits bought from local hunters and the ocasional rat just fine. It's fine. Really, she's fine. She doesn't need to feel the soft, warm, thick metallic taste of a woman's blood in her mouth. Even if her entire body screams for it. Even if she can barely control herself when Nancy Wheeler, a girl from her school, accidentally cuts her finger on paper right next to her desk. Hands trembling, mouth watering, heart racing, breath quickening, pupils contracting and dillating. Oh she tries so, so hard to act normal around Nancy, but being next to her is simply maddening. She's terrified of what she could do if her self-control faltered for just a second.

[dufrau]

Listen I am open to and happy to read any interpretation of ronance's sexual dynamic, its all good if its written good as far as i'm concerned. But i've seen people saying that Robin is obviously not a top because she's an awkward loser, and, like... I am sorry to have to be the one to tell you this but those two things are not mutually exclusive lol.

[astreinomane]

Robin enters Nancy's bedroom.

Robin: Hey, Nance! Look who arrived for y...

She stops immediately when she sees what Nancy is wearing.

Nancy: *noticing Robin's presence* Oh, hey, Rob! You arrived!

Robin remains still and stares at Nancy.

Robin: W-What is that? *pointing at what Nancy is wearing*

Nancy: Oh, it's a old bikini of mine. I wanted to try it out to see if it still fits me. What do you think?

Robin: *furiously blushing and stuttering* Y-Yeah, I think it still looks great on you!

Nancy: You really think so?

Robin: Y-Yeah! Seriously, you look SO good, Nance!

Nancy: *blushing as well* Well, thank you.

Robin: Yeah...

*30 minutes later*

Robin: *crying on Steve's shoulder* STEVE, I CAN'T DO IT! SHE WAS SO HOT!

Steve: *sighing and patting Robin on the shoulder* I know.

Robin: I LOVE HER SO MUCH!

Steve: I know.

Or

*In an alternate universe where Robin is a little less lesbian disaster*

Nancy: What do you t...

Before Nancy can even finish the sentence, Robin graps her and slams her on the bed.

Nancy: *a little terrified* R-Rob, what are you...

Robin shuts her up with a kiss.

Robin: *in a raspy and seductive voice* Did you really expect to wear this beatiful bikini in front of me and not make me want to fuck you so hard?

Nancy: *already horny and surrendering to the lust that has taken hold of both her and Robin* C-Can I at least go lock the door first?

Robin: *smirking* Be quick.

[frankenstein-ate-my-left-shoe]

it's finally here! one month late, and a couple thousand words more than i thought it'd be! happy leap yeap!

Here's my entry for Lex's (@thefreakandthehair) Spicy Six Winter Fanworks Challenge! I had dialogue prompt #22 "Guess we’re the only two without dates, huh?”

pairing: steddie | word count: 10,446 | rated: E | on AO3: hey you really turn me on

Why in the hell did he agree to this? It’s 20 fuckin’ degrees out and he’s outside?? In the snow?? Voluntarily?

If the boys could see him now.. “Who are you and what’ve you done with Eddie?”, “Since when do you do shit outside?”, “All this for Steve fuckin’ Harrington…”.

And that’s the rub, it is because of Steve. Hopeless crush aside, Steve is the reason he’s there. Why they’re all there in the first place.

When Steve got the call, Eddie and the other older teens of their world-saving group were just hanging out; movies, beer, snacks, a little weed, music playing low…all in all, a great kick-back. 

Then the phone rang.

It was relatively late too, 10 maybe?

Steve went to answer it of course, the conversation muffled through the living room and kitchen walls, but after a minute or so he came back. The long phone line stretched across the hall back to the hook in the kitchen.

“When is this again?” Steve says into the receiver, waving towards the sound system. Robin had scrambled up immediately, nearly falling back on her face to turn the volume down.

“Uh huh. And you and Dad won’t be there? Mm hmm.” he nods.

Eddie looked over to Robin first, eyebrow raised. She only shrugged, as does Nancy when he turned the look to her.

“And how many rooms?” Whatever the answer is causes Steve’s brows to shoot up. “Wow, okay, yeah we–” 

Eddie was closest to him, previously starfished out on the carpet, but had sat up and leaned back on his palms when Steve returned, so he could just barely hear the sound of another voice on the other end of the line.

“Yeah of course, that’d be great, we definitely will. Thanks Mom.”

Steve had sounded actually…happy to be talking to his mom. And here Eddie thought the Harringtons were objectively the worst.

“No, they’re going to love it, Mom, I promise.” another pause, “Nope. They’ll all be on their best behavior.” Steve glances down at Eddie, “We all will be.”

He scoffs up at Steve from his spot on the floor. Rude.

Steve only waves him off with a smile, “Yeah, the usual.” he says, “Rob, Nance, Jon, Jon’s friend Argyle–yeah, he’s the one from California, and Eddie.” Steve’s eyes flash down to Eddie again and his stomach twists sharply. Aw fuck, here it comes; the scolding, the yelling, the berating about how Eddie’s no good for him to be associating with, why are you stooping to his level, he’s a murderer, yadda yadda yadda.

“Yeah, he and Wayne are doin’ much better now, I’ll have to tell you about it next time, okay?” 

Uh.

What?

“Yeah, that’d be great if you don’t mind! Yep, Wheeler, Henderson, Sinclair,” He looks again at the other people in the room, they’re still just as puzzled as he is. What do the kids have to do with this? “I’ll talk to Hopper and Joyce, and I’m sure Ms. Mayfield would let Max go. Oh absolutely,”

Steve starts back into the kitchen, and Eddie can hear him all the way back to the hook. “No–Nope, it’s fine, I actually have a couple people over right now so I want to–yeah. Yep. Okay, love you too. Bye mom.”

Eddie looks around at the others; Robin, Nancy, Jonathan, even Argyle, though he’s not looking around wide-eyed at what all just occurred like the others are.

Steve comes back into the living room. “So…” he lets out a long breath, “How do you all feel about skiing?”

-x-X-x-

So yeah. Here they all are, at some ski resort up in Michigan. Boyd Mountain…or Bowie? Something with a ‘B’.

Turns out, Steve’s parents had a four-room cabin rental set aside as a perk for some deal they were trying to barter. It fell through though, and they wouldn’t be back from Colorado themselves until after the reservation would’ve expired so they offered it to Steve and whoever he’d like to invite.

They took care of everything too; got lift passes, boot and ski rentals set aside for each of them, even sent a whole ass passenger van to be dropped off in the Harrington driveway for them to make the drive; A huge 15 passenger one that even with the three extra seats, still barely held all their crap for the long weekend.

All of them piled into the van in the dark on a Friday morning, sleepy-faced and crusty-eyed; Robin as Steve’s co-pilot, and each of the rest of the older teens and the party piling in wherever they could (they’d fight about their seats when they woke up more, Eddie was sure of it).

The first rest stop on the way up went by without incident, but by time they stopped for late breakfast/early lunch at another, everyone was stir crazy. Sandwiches were passed out, gas was gotten, bathroom breaks were taken, and almost as soon as they got back in the van, Robin was snoring.

“Damnit, if I knew she was gonna tank like that I would’ve had someone else sit up here.” Steve had groused. 

“I’ve gotcha big guy, I won’t let you fall asleep.” Eddie said, now seated next to Dustin and El on the first bench behind the driver’s seat.

“Yeah, me either.” Dustin agreed.

He was snoring an hour later, El leaning into him for her own nap.

“That’s cute.” Was the first thing Robin said after waking back up.

All in all, not a bad drive. The worst part was tramping through the snow to the cabin after they’d arrived.

“Goddammit Steve, How am I supposed to get through this week in only my jeans?”

Steve sighs, “Eddie, you have made the same argument ever since my mom called; and every time you did, I told you everything would be here for you.”

He finally gets the door open, shoving it wide for them all and gesturing them in, “Get comfy guys, I’m going to grab the cooler with our groceries.”

“I’ll give you a hand,” Jonathan says, following Steve back out to the van.

The large open main floor has a full kitchen with a raised bar counter and four stools, tall peaked ceilings, a fireplace on one wall with two couches and a rocking chair situated around it, and a sliding glass door to a balcony off the back side of the building overlooking the trees below.

There’s stairs too, a set going up and a set going down, and at least one bathroom here on this floor, off the kitchen.

Eddie wanders into the living room, picks out some pieces of kindling from the bucket on the stone beside the fireplace and a couple logs from the stack nearby, and busies himself with starting the fire while the party pokes around the place.

He glances over his shoulder when he hears the fake leather of the couch cushions squeak together, only to see Argyle has perched himself on the backrest, squashing a cushion beneath his feet.

The fire takes less than no time at all, and once it’s going and he’s re-situated the trifold metal screen back in front of the fire, he sits down beside Argyle’s shins and is immediately entranced by the flames.

Steve and Jonathan return not long after, lugging their things with the cooler hanging between them.

“So how do y’guys want to split up the rooms?” Robin asks aloud, ignoring the yelling the other teens are already doing about the same thing.

“I’m not picky.” Eddie shrugs, standing up to stretch again, deciding he really did not want to be sitting anymore.

“Me either sister, whatever you decide is cool with me.” Argyle agrees. “What’re the rooms like?”

“There’s a master up here!” Max calls from above them, looming over the log railing at the top of the stairs with El.

“We walked right past it, but there’s a room with a queen off the front hall there,” Jonathan says, shuffling his bag against the kitchen bar.

“Hey! Assholes!” Steve yells down the steps, the boys must’ve gone down there. “Go get your shit out of the van and we’ll head over to the main lodge!”

The four thunder up the steps, how any of them can understand any other over the other is beyond him.

“Will,” Nancy calls as he rounds the stairs last, “There are bedrooms down there?”

“Yep!” he grins, “Two rooms with queen beds, and a bathroom.”

“I don’t mind taking one of the queens,” Nancy says, “Robin, wanna share with me?”

Robin starts to splutter, still somehow not convinced that Nancy’s got a thing for her. It’s obvious to him, but he and Steve have both tried to tell her this. To no avail. Even after Jonathan and her had confirmed they’d split and that he was moving back to California with Argyle come spring.

Steve rescues Robin from her spluttering. “It’s only fair that Argyle gets next dibs, since he’s the one that’s offered to cook for us.” he says, lugging the cooler over to the kitchen to unload it.

He’d insisted on picking up groceries for their stay, saying “There’s a restaurant, sure, but that’d get expensive quick and we’ll have a full kitchen so why not?”

“Appreciated my man; y’wanna bunk with me, Jonny?”

Eddie follows Steve, leaning on the bar across from the fridge from him, “So where’s all my snow gear, Stevie?” he asks the back of Steve’s head.

“Eddie, I swear to God.” Steve huffs in return, bending down into the cooler at his feet to fish out a couple of cartons of eggs.

Eddie does not watch how the denim of Steve’s jeans pulls tighter over any part of him, thank you very much.

“Mom called ahead and has everything we might need set aside in the main lodge, we’ll go there first before we hit the slopes.”

“Oh my god, did you really just say that?” Eddie asks as Steve stashes away two jars of jelly, one strawberry, one grape.

“Say what?” Bacon and some packs of lunch meat are next.

“Like, that’s an actual thing that people say? It’s not just in the movies?”

Steve sighs, finishing off the groceries with a couple 12 packs of pop stashed on the bottom shelf. “What is just like the movies?”

“‘Hit the slopes.’? Really?”

“You’re super annoying, you know that, right?” he says, closing the fridge and pushing the lid back onto their cooler.

“Awe, c’mon baby, you don’t mean that.” Eddie coos, slipping around the counter to cup Steve’s face in his hands, “What happened to the man who loves me for my antics, huh?”

“Get off me, dude,” Steve laughs, batting Eddie’s hands away, his cheeks tinged pink.

‘Yes! Success!’ When did he decide he was trying to fluster Steve? Eh, whatever. No harm, right?

 “So, did you guys figure out the sleeping situation?” Steve asks the rest of the group, walking back around the bar.

Eddie follows, leaning back on the counter in his previously vacated spot.

Nancy nods, “Jon and Argyle will take the room on the main floor, us girls will take the two downstairs, you can take the master, and the boys will take the couches.”

The boys return with their bags then, and Mike immediately starts complaining about being relegated to the fold-outs. Eddie also hears Dustin and Lucas trying to talk him down, saying things like “Dude, that means we’ll be close to the fire!”, “We can throw things in it!,” and “We can make s’mores!”.

Steve doesn’t seem to hear them though, otherwise he’d be shutting that shit down. Instead, his face only scrunches in confusion, “What about Eddie?”

Nancy looks surprised for a blink, then disgruntled, like she’s pissed she forgot someone.

“I’ll just crash out here on the floor with these losers, no worries.” he shrugs.

Steve turns toward his voice, a deep crease between his brows. “That’s not fair.”

“I promise I’ll survive Stevie,” Eddie chuckles. At least he’ll be the warmest out here in front of the fireplace. “I’ve slept on worse, believe it or not, I’ll be sleeping like a king compared to then.”

Steve’s brows scrunch almost all the way together, then spring apart and settle into determined lines. “You’ll sleep with me.” he says with a nod, his arms folding across his chest.

A beat passes.

Eddie can’t resist.

He leans close to Steve’s side, “A bit presumptuous, Stevie darling,”

Steve’s face practically glows with the flush that appears in the next beat, mumbling something to himself as he walks to the door and starts to pull on his coat and boots.

Eddie pushes off the counter and follows, obnoxiously holding a hand up to one ear. “What’s that, sweetheart?” he teases, walking to his own tossed-aside boots, “I didn’t quite catch that.”

“We going to the lodge now?” he hears Lucas ask as he passes.

“Finally.” Mike adds, unhelpfully.

Steve huffs, standing up again and leaning close to Eddie’s cupped hand, “As if you hadn’t thought about it, darling.”

Four of the other ten are in their coats and boots and out the door after Steve before Eddie comes back online.

-x-X-x-

So here he is: outside. In the snow. With skis strapped to his feet. All because of Steve and his surprisingly generous parents.

He watches, amused, as Robin stands as still as she possibly can, arms spread wide, while Nancy helps strap her into her skis. As soon as the skis had gotten remotely close to being attached to her, it was discovered that no matter what section of ground they may be standing on, Robin would start to drift away. Sliding down some sort of unseen incline backwards, frontwards, and/or sideways.

Jon and Argyle are already almost to the closest lift, and Eddie watches as they do a weird half-jump onto the bench as it comes up behind them.

The gremlins had scattered after Steve’s ‘be careful’ lecture, telling them all when to be back to the van by, or back to the cabin if they will be coming off the slopes near there, telling them all to be safe and to keep to pairs or more so they can be radioed.

They’d all brought their walkies with them, and Eddie can see where the boys are still huddled together, swapping out their batteries.

He watches them split off soon after, Dustin and Lucas pushing off to where Max and El are waiting at the standing lift to the top of the training hill.

Mike and Will scoot off together in the opposite direction, toward the centermost lift a few dozen yards away.

“Guess we’re the only two without dates, huh?” He says as Steve slides to a stop on his own skis beside him.

He’d meant it jokingly, was probably going to follow it up with some jabs about being Steve’s wingman if he needed (there were already a few ladies he’d seen giving Steve some looks while they waited for their gear in the main lodge), but Steve shrugs and says: “I’ll be your date this weekend, Eds. Wouldn’t want you to feel left out or anything.” 

Eddie whips his head around to look at him, “That’s not–” he starts, but cuts himself off at the look Steve is giving him. His goggles have been haphazardly pushed up his face, trapping a few loose locks of Steve’s hair between them and the roll of his beanie, his cheeks are already bitten red with the cold, and he’s smiling so painfully sincerely under that damn teasing smirk that all Eddie can do is acquiesce.

“You better be the best date here then, Stevie,” Eddie chides, starting off toward the lift Jonathan and Argyle had disappeared up, “I won’t settle for anyone other than the bes–” he pitches forward suddenly, one of his skis sticking to the snow under it more than it should’ve.

Steve catches him, of course, and says “Will I get points taken off as ‘Best Date Ever’ if I make you go on the training hill?”

They do go to the training hill, lovingly called the Bunny Hopper, but he and Robin are thankfully saved from the embarrassment of actually being taught by the volunteers there; Steve and Nancy taking them to the slightly taller ‘big kid’ hill and teaching them there.

Surprising even himself, Eddie picks up on the motions and the feeling of being on skis easily. The whole ‘pizza’ thing about stopping was still iffy but the rest is no problem. Fun, actually.

“That was great, man! You’re a natural!” Steve beams at him, his grin lopsided from the meat of his cheeks being squashed under his goggles.

“I just had a great teacher,” he brushes off the compliment, elbowing Steve playfully.

Steve somehow grins even bigger, and Eddie’s heart stammers.

“You ready to go to the real hill now?” “This isn’t a real hill?”

He’s positive Steve just rolled his eyes under his goggles. “C’mon smartass, let's get in line for the lift.”

Eddie bows him forward, “After you, sweetheart.” 

He follows Steve to the end of the line; thankfully it’s not too long, now that it’s late afternoon and will be getting dark soon. 

Steve seems to notice this as well, lifting his goggles off his face again. “We’ll have to call the gremlins back sooner than I thought. It’ll be dark soon.”

“Stop reading my mind, Stevie.”

Steve looks over at him, squinting hard and pursing his lips (Eddie’s stupid lizard brain has a split second thought of those lips pursed around something). “Ugh! Ew, gross Eddie, what would make you think about that?!”

He feels his face blanche and scrambles to recover. “I was only thinking about our good friend Robin, Steve-o, you saying Robin is gross?” He pitches his voice higher and glances down the line to where he can see Robin and Nancy.

Robin flips her mitten up at him, and he can infer the gesture just fine, thanks.

“Shut up, asshole.” Steve laughs, pushing him out of the line on his skis.

They’re the next to hop up on the moving bench, and Steve’s…everything…seems to seize up as soon as they’re seated and on their way.

“Could you imagine?”

“Hm?” He’s still looking down anxiously, so Eddie scoots just a bit closer, pressing what he hopes is comfortingly into Steve’s side.

“If we could read each other's minds? If the bats biting us both somehow linked us together?”

It works a little; Steve tears his eyes away from the ground as it drops away from them, huffing out a short laugh, “I don’t think I would survive inside your head, it’d be even more chaotic than you already are.”

“As if your head would be any better.”

“Hey, my head is great!”

Eddie grins wickedly, “You get told that a lot, Stevie?”

Steve seems unphased, smirking slowly. “I do, actually. Why? You tryin’ t’see if it’s true?”

His cheeks start to prickle, “You offering, big boy?”

“Maybe I am,” Steve shrugs then leans closer, “Now the real question is if you’re gonna take me up on it.”

Eddie’s head reels in the couple seconds he takes to respond.

Where in the hell is all this coming from? Is it just part of the ‘date’ thing? There’s no fuckin’ way Steve is actually into him, is there? He’s always been flirty, just like Eddie is himself, but there’s no way there are any actual feelings behind it… So there’s no harm in playing along.

“I’m gonna have to now, aren’t I?” he grins back, “Gotta see if it lives up to the hype.”

Steve smirks, his eyes hooded. He’s good at pretending, he’ll give him that.

His eyes glance away, then back to Eddie’s face. The sultry look he’d been hamming up for his sake is gone, just an easy smile remains. At least this sudden flirting Steve’s decided to do isn’t going to ruin their surprisingly solid post-apocalyptic friendship.

“It’s almost time to get off, ready?”

Eddie looks ahead to where the couple on the bench before them are hopping off. They stand up off the lift easily and don’t end up in a heap, but he is starting to feel the anxiety Steve was feeling only minutes ago. How’s he supposed to get out of the way fast enough, isn’t there a drop? That looked way too easy.

“As I’ll ever be,” he gulps.

“Give me your hand.” Steve says, not waiting for a response and snatching up Eddie’s hand in his, “Okay, when I say so, you just gotta stand up. Ready?”

“Stand up, what do you mea—” he feels his legs lift a bit as the ground rises to coast under his skis, and it makes sense.

“Now!”

Wait, no! He wasn’t ready!

He stands just a breath after Steve, but isn’t fast enough, the lift continues up on its path and catches him again, forcing his butt back into the seat.

“Eddie, you gotta–”

He tries again at the same time Steve pulls him forward and he pitches forward, landing with an “Oof–” on top of Steve and forcing the breath from the other man’s lungs.

“Aw fuck, sorry Stevie!” He rolls off of him and out of the path of the upcoming lift chairs. “That went exactly as well as I thought it would.”

Steve wheezes out a breathless laugh, standing back up on his skis with no problem at all. Wait, how did he do that? How’s he supposed to get up with these things on his feet?

“Here,” Steve arranges his skis for him, putting one long side of each onto the snow, “Give me your poles, and push yourself up with your hands. You want to get your feet under you.”

He does as he’s told and walks his weight around on his hands to the fronts of his skis until he’s bent forward at his hips, standing straight out of the bend.

“...Huh.”

“Good job, man!” Steve grins, handing him back his poles, “Getting up on skis can be a bitch and a half; way to catch on quick.”

Eddie grins mischievously, deciding to be a little shit. “I dunno, you’d think my date would like seeing me bent over for him, huh Stevie?”

Steve just rolls his eyes, snapping his goggles back down with a smile, “C’mon, asshole, let’s get out of the way; the run to the right of the lift looked shorter on the map.”

Thankfully, the chair behind them had been empty, but the next one had a full four people on it and it was coming up fast.

“‘Sides,” He says, pushing off toward the top of the run, waiting for Eddie to scoot in next to him at the crest before leaning in and murmuring low into his ear, “I’d rather wait ‘till we’re alone to bend you over properly.”

Steve’s a good 20 feet away by time Eddie comes back to himself enough to follow.

They get about an hour and a half in on the hills, a grand total of six wipeouts under Eddie’s belt, and a couple others under Steve’s, with one successful landing off one of the jumps on the main drag to finish off the day.

“Didja see that?!” Steve yells, pulling down the balaclava he’d unceremoniously added to his getup about an hour ago.

“Hell yes Stevie!” Eddie calls, breathless, still coasting to the bottom of the slope after him. “You landed it!”

“I landed it!” 

Steve holds his arms open as Eddie once again fails to slow himself down properly, and catches him at the bottom in a crushing hug. His cheeks are flushed with adrenaline, bitten with the cold, his eyes bright in the setting sun and smile nearly as beautiful.

Damn he’s pretty.

Courteous as ever, Steve waits until Eddie’s arranged his feet the right way again before letting him go to spin the pack off his back for their assigned walkie.

Steve radios the party, and everyone is packed away in their van a scant ten minutes later. The older teens had already made it back to the cabin, letting themselves in off a run near there, so it was only the similarly flushed and excitement-filled younger teens babbling away in the back seats.

There’s overlapping stories of their own wipeouts (including one Robin took that Max swears was hilarious), Dustin insisting he saw a brown bear through the trees at one point, and all six debating whether or not they’d want to go to the main lodge for the waterpark tomorrow instead of back onto the hills.

They are still debating amongst themselves when they pull into the driveway. “Alright dorks,” Steve calls over the bickering, “Go inside and hang up your shit next to the fireplace so it can dry out.”

Eddie follows the troop into the living room and watches them pile all their outerwear together on the two hooks closest to the stone fireplace, then tear off downstairs where he heard there may have been a Nintendo stashed in one of the bedroom dressers.

Jonathan and Robin start methodically re-arranging the coats and snow pants on the hooks so they’ll dry easier, while Argyle pushes up off one of the couches to start on dinner. 

“C’mon Eds, get comfy,” Steve says, coming up beside him and gesturing to the loveseat directly across from the roaring fire. Eddie can already feel the burn of it across his frigid skin, “I gotta make sure I get you unthawed before I get you into my bed.” Steve murmurs into Eddie’s ear.

And isn’t that a whole new type of torment. They will actually be sleeping in the same bed tonight…the next three nights!

Steve turns back to the kitchen when Eddie drops cross-legged onto the sofa, and the tingling feeling in his cheeks has nothing to do with the fire.

It’s half from Steve’s scarily earnest-sounding flirting, but also about half from the look Robin is giving him while she takes the spot next to Nancy on the other couch.

“What? What’s the look for?”

Robin shrugs, picking up what must’ve been her discarded book from the end table between them (which she’s got the already read half curled backward around its spine, like a heathen), “Nothin’ at all, Eds.”

His face is burning hotter than the fire by the time Steve returns.

He passes them each a mug of cocoa, then flops down on the floor in front of Eddie’s knees. 

“What’s cookin’ good lookin’?” Eddie asks, surprised at the nonchalance he was able to muster up. He reaches forward and tugs on a lock of Steve’s hair without even thinking about it (and ignoring the muffled giggle coming from somewhere to Robin’s left. Oh great, Nancy’s in on his torment too?).

Steve lets out a contented hum, dropping his head back to lie heavily in Eddie’s lap, “Argyle’s whipping up some burgers.”

Eddie leaves his fingers in Steve’s hair, absentmindedly pulling them through a few tangles left behind by his hat.

Steve’s head lolls around in Eddie’s lap with the motions of his fingers for a whole thirty seconds before he snaps it back up, “Oh–ugh–wait, don’t do that,” Eddie pulls his hand away immediately, an apology on his tongue, but Steve continues, standing up and saying, “I’m all gross and sweaty, man, at least let me take a shower first. Be right back.” Steve grins, and heads upstairs to the master bedroom.

Eddie blinks into the space left behind by Steve’s departure, then Nancy is standing as well; “That’s a good idea,” she says, unfolding from her spot at Robin’s side and walking around the back of the couch, “I’ll be back up soon.” She gives Robin’s shoulder a squeeze, and heads downstairs.

Not a full five seconds pass before Robin says, “So...Steve’s super into you.”

Eddie balks at her, his eyes darting around the room automatically. Jon’s helping Argyle chop up toppings for their burgers, the two of them paying less than zero attention to him or Robin, there’s a yell from downstairs followed by laughter, the sound of a shower starting from the open balcony to the upstairs bedroom..

“You can’t just say shit like that, Birdie.” he whispers, his tone harried.

“What, the truth?”

“He is not into me.”

She nods in sarcastic understanding, “Ah, so you’re into him.”

“No I’m—” she levels him with a look. He sighs, glancing around at the no one around them, “Okay fine, yes, I am super into him. But he is not into me.”

Robin shrugs, going back to her book. “You don’t have to believe me, but I think he is. And I think you should make a move.”

“Make a mo—He’s straight as fuck, Robin!”

She gives him a glance, her brow furrowing for a split second then smoothing out. “Did he tell you that?”

“He didn’t have to.” he says, sinking back against the cushions.

She doesn’t say anything else, and he goes back to staring at the fire.

“If you make a move on Steve, I’ll finally make a move on Nancy.” she says a handful of minutes later.

He processes that slowly, takes a deep breath, then shoves his hand towards her without looking over.

She takes it, giving it one hard shake.

As soon as he takes his hand back, Argyle lopes into view with a plate in his hand, “Food’s ready my dudes.” He says, sinking into the armchair closest to the glass balcony door.

Robin snaps her book shut and sets it down on the little end table between them (the cover curls back up immediately, the poor thing), standing up and heading into the kitchen. 

Eddie has just let his feet fall to the floor and has scooted to the edge of his seat to stand up himself, when Argyle yells out “Nice tits!”

“Whose tits are out?” Eddie asks, following his gaze automatically. 

Argyle goes back to his plate. “Steve’s.” 

Uh…Yeah…He can see that for himself now.

Steve is standing at the railing of the upper floor in nothing but a towel. One hand is flipping Argyle off, and the other is preoccupied with scrubbing a second towel over his damp hair.

The towel wrapped around him is slung low on his hips, and Eddie’s eyes start to roam on their own.

Steve’s stomach is solid yet soft-looking with all its faded pink scars, and it and his chest are still as hairy as Eddie remembers; strong shoulders, solid jaw, dusty lips that pull up into a smirk, all of him is so fucking perfect.

“Hurry it up, dingus, food’s ready!” Robin calls, startling Eddie out of his gawking.

His face goes hot with embarrassment, chancing another glance up to Steve and hoping he didn’t get caught…

Steve winks at him, then turns out of sight, disappearing just as his hand comes down to grab the towel twisted around him.

His face burns, and doesn’t stop burning until long after Steve returns from upstairs.

He makes up a burger for himself, and once each of them have theirs, they call the rest of the hoard upstairs. The six teens all but destroy the remaining burgers, two whole bags of chips, and would have gulped down at least one whole 12 pack of Coke if Nancy hadn’t relegated them to one can each.

Steve’s about to herd them back downstairs when El pipes up and says that they’ve decided they want to go to the waterpark in the main lodge tonight instead of tomorrow. Surprisingly, Steve agrees to drive them over there on the condition “you shitheads are careful, and are ready to go as soon as the pools close at midnight. Got it?”

“Agreed.” they say in unison, splitting off in all directions to grab their swim stuff.

“I’m surprised at you, Stevie, letting them go off on their own.”

He just shrugs, “There’s lifeguards.”

The troops are back in the living room within ten minutes, and in their boots and out the door in 12. 

Once they’re out the door, Robin goes back to her book, Jon and Argyle step out onto the balcony to smoke, and Eddie follows Nancy into the kitchen without even thinking about it, grabbing up the hand towel hanging from the oven door and placing himself to her right.

“Thanks,” she says, handing him the first wet plate from the mess of suds in the sink.

They work in silence for a few minutes, listening to the crackling of the fire, the clanging of silverware in the sink, the muffled voices of the two on the porch.

“Nancy?”

“Yeah, Eddie?”

“If I–If Ste–” he wasn’t sure how to ask this, how to even approach the topic, “Robin said—”

“He’d be lucky to have you Eddie, and you him.” She says, not looking up from the sink.

“How’d you–?”

“Robin tends to ramble when she's nervous, have you noticed?”

He stares down at her, dumbfounded. Her lips quirk into a smile. “She’s like that around me a lot, actually.”

“I’ve noticed.”

They fall back into silence again; on the last plate, she says, “Robin’s already had this conversation with Steve about me, so I only assume it’s fair that you have it with me about him.” She passes the last plate to him and pulls the drain from the water. 

“Just remember Eddie,” She pauses and turns to face him, one hip cocked over to lean on the edge of the counter. “If you’re gonna go for it..Steve loves with all of him at once. Don’t take it for granted.”

He sets the dried plate onto the rack beside the sink as she passes behind him, patting him on the shoulder as she does.

He wants to take a moment to process all that, but just his luck, Steve returns then, passing in behind him where Nancy just left to grab up a six-pack.

Steve hands one to Eddie as he leaves, “You okay, Eds?”

“I’m good, thanks Stevie.” he says, fixing his face into an easy smile.

The six of them lounge around the rest of the evening, slowly sipping on their drinks while they play cards in front of the fire, but there’s a catch: Eddie’s going absolutely insane.

Steve’s touching him everywhere. His thigh and foot are sitting comfortably under Eddie’s own thigh where it’s crossed above it, his arm is draped across the back of the couch behind Eddie’s shoulders and methodically twirling long lengths of dark hair between his fingers.

Eddie’s been doing his damndest to ignore it, and succeeds, actually, for short periods of time while they are playing Uno, but every time Steve leans back from dropping his next card on the coffee table, he casually puts his arm back where it was, and grabs up a new lock of Eddie’s hair to torture him with.

And each time he does, Robin gives him the same knowing look.

It’s. Agony.

He wants to relax, wants to scream, he wants to swing his leg over Steve’s lap and press him into the cushions with heated kisses, he wants to haul the other man upstairs and throw him onto the bed…be thrown onto the bed.

Finally, Nancy calls it, breaking their little bubble to stand into a long stretch around nine. Steve hops up off the couch after Robin to gather up all the rest of the cans, and Eddie helps Jon and Argyle pull apart the couches enough to fold out the beds for when the goblins come back.

He escapes upstairs after a short goodnight to the two, Robin and Steve are still bickering in hushed tones about something in the kitchen, and pulls out his bag. He’s fishing out a new pair of boxers when Steve finally gets upstairs, shutting the room’s double doors behind him and heading into the ensuite.

He left the door open in his wake, so Eddie grabs up the rest of his things and follows. He drops his pile of stuff onto the closed lid of the toilet and shucks his shirt unceremoniously, tossing it to the floor.

The glass door of the huge half-walled stone shower squeaks softly on its hinges when he opens it to start the water, squeaking again when it swings closed. He reaches up to a shelf above the toilet to pull down one of the provided towels, turning to hang it on the hook beside the shower.

It’s while he’s turning back to the hook that he chances a look at Steve.

Steve, frozen at the sink with his toothbrush hanging listlessly in the air and a glob of foamy toothpaste slowly drooping off his lip, is staring. 

Unabashedly.

At Eddie’s bare torso.

Eddie caught and cataloged this in the split second it took Steve to realize Eddie was staring back, but it was enough. 

The flirting had been one thing, a natural, goofy continuation of their friendship that led to their ‘date’ today, the soft touches and hair-playing had been another, something Eddie could explain away just as easily. Steve is a touchy guy once you get close to him, and had been with Eddie since they’d gotten closer after spring break.

But this?

He’s looking at him with the same wide-eyed look Eddie’d given him earlier: gobsmacked and slightly hungry.

Steve turns away quickly, spitting into the sink and mumbling something under his breath while he finishes rinsing out his mouth. 

Eddie snorts, shaking his head and finally hanging up his towel.

“Oh, what, now you’re gonna be all shy?” he grouses, twisting around to scowl at the back of Steve’s head. Steve looks over his shoulder to glare at him in return, his cheeks glowing red. “Really? The guy who was joking about bending me over only a couple hours ago? The same guy who was winking at me in nothing but a towel earlier?”

Steve flushes darker, and it irritates him to no end. “Honestly Steve?” Eddie starts, turning back to the shower and pretending to fix how his towel is hanging, “If you’re into me, just do something about it. Otherwise, just…back off, okay? I’m super into you but I can be a big boy about it because honestly, I’d rather keep you around as a friend if nothing else and—”

His rambling is cut off by the click of the bathroom door closing.

Eddie lets out a long breath, “Yeah.. that’s about what I expected.” Robin was wrong.

He takes a moment to collect himself, but just as he pops open the button on his jeans, Steve’s voice breaks through the sound of rushing water.

“Were you being serious?”

“Jesus H. Christ!” Eddie yelps, spinning around to face the man who’s still very much in the bathroom with him. “What the fuck, Steve?”

“Were you?” he asks, pushing off from where he’d been leaning back on the door.

“...About what?”

“About how you’re ‘super into’ me?” he grins.

Eddie crosses his arms across his chest defensively, “You don’t get to be an ass about it, Steve.”

“Sorry, sorry,” Steve says softly, reaching out to unfold Eddie’s arms. His fingers follow the length of them and grasp Eddie’s in his, “I wasn’t trying to be, promise; I’m just surprised is all.”

“Surprised?”

“Well yeah,” he shrugs, “The super hot metalhead you’ve been mooning after since March confesses he thinks you’re also super hot? That’s kinda hard to believe.”

He can feel Steve’s shirt brushing faintly against his stomach now. “I never said you were super hot.” he manages to say.

Steve catches his eyes, smirking at him with an obnoxious head tilt, “Didja have to?”

“Shut up..” Eddie snorts out a laugh and pushes lightly at Steve’s chest; he’s laughing too. “Okay, okay, now leave me alone so I can shower.” he says, pushing a bit harder this time. “I’ll be out soon and you can do with me what you wish.”

Steve’s leaning his weight against him, fighting going back to the bedroom, “Or…”

“Or?” Damn, he’s heavy what the fuck!

“I could, maybe, if you want..Icouldgetinwithyou.”

Eddie stops pushing.

Steve scratches at the back of his head in embarrassment, “I mean, I’ve been wanting to get you naked for months now and there’s a perfectly good reason right there, and I think it’d be nice to shower, y’know…together.. and wow, I am being super awkward, actually..so I’m just gonna…yeah.”

Steve gestures over his shoulder toward the bedroom but he doesn’t even move to turn before Eddie is pulling him back the other way.

He lets him go a couple steps away from the glass shower door, “Better get t’stripping big boy, can’t shower very well with clothes on, can you?” he winks, then faces away from Steve to finally shed his jeans (and for his own sanity).

Eddie can hear the split second it takes for Steve to start pulling off his clothes, taking another second for himself before pushing his jeans and boxers off his hips.

He had been trying to be in the shower under the spray before Steve was even out of his clothes, but one of his legs got caught, then he had to pause further to pull off the stubborn sock that decided not to come off with his jeans.

Which of course led to him nearly toppling over.

He caught himself on the wall, but not before Steve’s hands caught him around the waist too. “Careful, Eds.”

Oh fuck. Steve’s hands should not feel that good against his skin..also, dammit! He was trying to be all suave and cool by getting in under the water before Steve could see him fully, and now his bare fuckin’ ass is out for all to see…

Eddie laughs to himself.

“What?”

“Nothin’, I just thought I’d be…better? At this?”

“At what?”

“Stupid fuckin’—” Eddie finally gets his sock off, then sighs, “I dunno, being sexy, or mysterious I guess? Coy maybe?” 

“Why would you need to be any of that?”

Eddie shrugs, stepping out of Steve’s hold and into the shower and under the spray, staying faced away from the door while Steve follows.

“Are you gonna look at me?” he asks, voice devoid of anything but concern.

Taking a breath, Eddie steels himself and turns to face Steve in the large shower.

Steve’s expression is calm, open, but skews slightly into concern under Eddie’s gaze.

The long lean lines of his torso are just the same as the other two times he’s seen them, but they’re close now, and in good lighting too; Eddie can see a few other scars other than the ones from the bats, others he’s gotten over the years protecting the heard of goblins they’ve been co-parenting since last September.

He watches rogue droplets of water slough down the now-damp hairs on his arms, his legs, his chest, the ones that follow the path of darkening hairs down his stomach to his—

Steve steps closer, sharing the warm, wide spray of the shower with him.

He lifts his hand and brushes the damp hair back from the scar that marrs Eddie’s face and neck, stepping forward fully and cupping the puckered flesh in his palm when the hair settles wetly behind his shoulder

Eddie feels time stop for a brief moment. 

All of Steve is pressed into him and they line up perfectly, like they were made to share the same space. Steve’s other hand slides onto Eddie’s hip and it tugs him closer. Steve's half-hard length slots into place beside Eddie’s own, into the crevice where his crotch meets thigh.

Eddie shudders a breath at the feeling, opening his eyes to study the planes of Steve’s face and the way he is seemingly drooping forward into Eddie’s orbit. 

Steve’s smiling softly at him, the soft spray of water reflecting off their chests is misting up onto his cheek and lashes. His eyes are so much more green than he’d thought before, besides how little of the color he can see around the much larger pupil.

“Gorgeous.” Steve says, his voice is breathy and low, full of admiration, of longing…and it takes Eddie out of his reverie.

“Wha?” He says, eloquent as ever.

“You’re gorgeous, Eddie.”

Then, Steve’s lips are on his, tentative and sweet; soft, but becoming heady fast. 

The next time their lips meet, it’s punctuated with a short huff of air from Steve’s lungs when Eddie spins them, pressing Steve into the stone wall beside the shower knobs. He parts his lips to mumble out an apology, but Steve’s tongue decides to fill the space instead.

The hand Steve had on Eddie’s jaw snakes down to grab hold of his other hip and pulls him even closer, using the both of them to roll Eddie’s hips into his.

Their tongues slide languidly against the other, the fast pace they’d been building into falling off in exchange for slow, sanguine kisses instead.

Eddie lets out a shaky breath when they do part, blinking across the short distance between them at Steve’s kiss-bitten lips for only a second before letting his eyes fall shut with the exhale.

“Steve…is this—Is this real?”

Steve breathes out a shaky laugh of his own, “Why wouldn’t it be real, Eddie?” He asks, gently tracing the length of Eddie’s nose with his.

“I’m pretty sure I’ve had this exact dream before; are you sure I didn’t snap my neck during one of those falls earlier?”

The younger man laughs fully this time, and Eddie relishes in the slippery feeling of the wet skin of Steve’s stomach rippling against his own. He can’t help but grin in response to both the laughter and the funny feeling, his eyes opening without a second thought.

Steve looks like he’s floating, his face soft and dripping with a bright beaming smile..

“Do you need me to pinch you?” Steve asks, finally coming down from his brief fit of laughter.

“I don’t know if I want to find out this isn’t real.” Eddie grins in return.

One of Steve’s large hands leaves his hip then, snaking around to pinch the underside of Eddie’s asscheek.

He sucks in a short hiss of pain and lets out a soft whimper of something else (holy shit, when did that become a thing??) in the same breath.

“Okay…” he gulps down a mouthful of nothing, “Not a dream.”

“Not a dream..” Steve repeats. 

There’s a beat, two full breaths of more nothing before Steve spins them around and pushes Eddie back into the cold stone instead, his arm wrapped around him and up to cup the back of his skull protectively against the tile.

He presses a thick thigh between Eddie’s and does three things almost simultaneously.

The first, a second before the other two: He locks his heavy-lidded gaze on Eddie’s; two and three: presses the thigh between Eddie’s legs up, and pulls the hand at the back of his skull down along with a fistful of dark curls.

“Aahhh—ohhh fuck, Steve…” The sting from his scalp pulls a moan from his exposed throat, and Eddie scrambles to grab hold of something.

His nails dig into the slick skin of Steve’s back automatically, and he opens his mouth to apologize the same moment Steve latches onto his neck with a low groan of his own.

The hand not tangled in Eddie’s hair is starting to pull him down in waves against Steve’s thigh and hips, both of them hissing in pleasure with each pass of the other’s length against theirs.

“Mmmm, Eddie..” Steve moans, unlatching from the bruise he’s sure to have left on Eddie’s throat to lave his tongue and lips against his jaw instead. “Baby, you feel so good against me.”

“AAaahh—mmm..”

“Ooh, and you sound so sweet..” His lips trail down from his jaw back to the definitely sore spot on his neck, one that he prods lightly with the tip of his tongue before continuing on to nip at the taught skin of his collarbone, kiss lightly over the skin of his scarred pec, finally landing tongue first onto Eddie’s remaining nipple. 

The reaction to this is immediate; Eddie arches his chest further into Steve’s mouth. Steve, the sonofabitch he is, suctions his lips away from Eddie’s flushed skin in response.

“Hhnng—what the actual fuck, Steve?” Eddie glares best he can though the panting, “Get that mouth back over here.”

Miraculously, Steve obliges, sliding forward into a saccharine kiss and pulling Eddie away from

the wall and back under the spray of water.

“C’mon Eds, tilt your head back before the hot water runs out.”

Eddie just gapes at him, at his dick, both their dicks, still standing at attention, back up to his face.

Steve just purses his lips together as if holding back a grin and tugs Eddie’s head back by his hair again, soaking the strands through under the water.

He lets Steve turn him this way and that, reveling in the feeling of the other man’s hands in his hair, slick with soap on his skin, the gentle nudges and pulls relaxing him further into this weird world where Steve’s totally into him and also they’re naked in the shower together.

Finally, when Steve tilts his head back for the final time to rinse the conditioner out of his hair, Eddie decides to be a little shit, pushing his hips forward to clash their (still half-hard) dicks together.

“What are you—really? A sword fight?”

Eddie lets out a long cackle, “What? You knew what you were getting into with me, didn’t’cha Stevie?”

Doubt crashes into Eddie’s chest the instant the words escape his mouth.

He did, didn’t he? He likes him for his antics right? Oh fuck…How long would it take for Steve to get sick of his shit?

Despite Eddie’s near-crushing doubts, Steve smiles and says, “That I did.” easy as breathing, then pulls Eddie flush against him in another heated kiss.

Steve walks him backward after a moment, and Eddie drops his hands behind him to feel for the inevitable press of cold stone on his back, shuddering when it finally makes contact.

His gasp from the cold tile only seems to egg the other man on, hunching down to grip him around the backs of his thighs.

Eddie’s legs lock around Steve’s waist in panic, but pleasure shoots through him with the motion too, the horny thrill of being picked up so effortlessly along with the pressure of Steve’s stomach against the underside of his dick.

“Mmph—Steve holy shit,” he’s only just managed to thread the fingers on one hand into those sleek brown locks when he has to stifle down a long groan with a bite to his knuckle. “Hnngh–Steve, Steve, you gotta—oh fuck..”

The muscles of Steve’s stomach bunch under him as he grinds up in slow, torturous rolls..

“Oh, fuck—” the words spill out of his mouth, loud and long; his palm snaps up to hold them in as Steve pushes his shoulders into the tile behind him and leans back, leaving Eddie’s body balanced between strong thighs and shower wall.

The tile hits hard on the back of his skull when Steve wraps one of those hands of his around both their lengths. Eddie manages to look down, only to knock his head back again at the sight. 

Even with the added height of being on top of Steve’s thighs, their heads are exactly level, disappearing over and over again into the water-warmed skin of Steve’s fist.

Steve hunches forward again, pressing kisses into Eddie’s sternum. “Gorgeous.” 

“Steve...” he whispers in return, grinding as much as he can against the length slotted along his.

Again, too soon, Steve is pulling away, releasing his grip on them both.

“What’s wrong?” Eddie asks, already moving to drop his legs back to the floor. 

Steve stops him, hoisting his legs back around him and lifting him off the wall. “I’m taking you up on your offer.” He says, twisting off the now-cold stream of water and carefully stepping over the lip of the doorway through the glass door.

“My offer?”

“You said that after your shower, you’d come back out here to the bedroom and I could have my way with you.”

A half whine, half moan curls out of Eddie’s throat to his utter embarrassment.

“D’ya like that idea, sweetheart?” Steve says, grinning mischievously. 

Eddie manages to scowl at him as they leave the steamy bathroom, and is dropped down onto the mattress soon after. 

“Aw shit!”

“What? What happened?”

It’s cold as shit, that’s what.” The air-cooled temperature of the covers against his skin has him breaking out in goosebumps.

Steve winces, “Sorry, I didn’t think about that.”

What was calm and collected confidence flickers off his face, and Eddie can’t have that. “Jus’ come over here and warm me up, big bo–wait,” He sits up and stops Steve when only one of his knees has made it onto the bed. “Lemme look at you.” 

He looks down at Steve, and yep. Big Boy is very accurate. He’d felt it against him already, Steve’s too-gorgeous-to-be-real dick; he’s longer for sure, cut and curved up like something out of a wet dream. 

“Oh, definitely big boy,” Eddie grins, looking up at Steve’s somewhat embarrassed expression.

“It’s nothing special.” he shrugs, his cheeks heating up as he climbs up Eddie’s damp body. He lowers himself down lay between his legs, his dick slotting itself beside Eddie’s once again.

He hunches over to kiss lightly up the scars on Eddie’s left side, lips brushing along the healed edge of the biggest one. It tickles, then it doesn’t, then does, then doesn’t, his lips pressing halfway onto skin and halfway onto puckered pink flesh.

“Steve..”

“Yeah baby?” he responds after a few more kisses.

“You’re giving me more goosebumps.” Eddie says, somewhat breathless.

Another kiss, “Mmmm.. You’re welcome.”

That shocks a laugh out of him, “You’re such a dork.”

Steve takes one of Eddie’s hands where it lays on the mattress, lacing their fingers together and pressing them back into the mattress beside his head.

“Says you.” he affirms, locking those ridiculous hazel eyes on his.

Eddie’s about to crack off another one liner, say something to…all that, but it’s completely erased from his mind when Steve ducks his head down to find his nipple again.

“Oh fuckin–nnng..” his hips buck up hard into Steve’s, who presses down into him in return.

He can feel it when Steve grins against his skin. “Shut up, asshole, that fee–ee–els so good.”

“Hmm, tell me about it, baby.” He’s grinding down slowly now, adding to the exponentially increasing Steve-addled brain fog he’s currently experiencing.

“Ahhh—I want to but–”

“But what?” Steve’s breath over the spit-slick spot on his chest sends a chill through him. 

“Oh fuck–If any of them hear us, we’re never going to hear the end of it.” he tries to warn around another stifled moan.

The Menace is undeterred, swirling his tongue around the little nub open-mouthed and hot once more before moving upwards, trailing his lips up Eddie’s breastbone until he’s sucking kisses into his throat once again. He continues up along the length of his neck until he reaches his ear, “Then you’d better keep it down, huh?”

Well that didn’t help. He lets out a long moan in response, clamping a hand over his mouth way too late.

“You sound so good though,” Steve says, continuing his slow grinding, “I can’t wait to get you alone so I can fuck you properly.”

That pulls another moan from behind Eddie’s palm. “Jesus H. Christ,” Eddie bucks his hips up as much as he can, but Steve's palms move down to hold him in place.

“Can’t have that now, can we?” Steve chides, trailing his lips down his stomach as he slides back to the edge of the bed, his eyes locked on Eddie’s.

“Wh–Why not?”

“Because I’d prefer,” a kiss above his belly button, “to choke,” a kiss below, “on my own accord.”, then swallows Eddie down in one go.

“Oh fffuuck—”

Steve hums in agreement around Eddie’s dick and the vibrations course up his spine to rattle around in his brain.

“Oh shit, Stevie, that feels so fuckin’ good.” He breathes, twisting his fingers into Steve’s hair.

In response, Steve starts to bob his head, swirling his tongue around Eddie’s on the upstroke, and sucking with fervor on the down.

“Steve, sweetheart–fuck–if you keep going I’m gonna—haah—”

“And what if I want you to?”

“And what if I want to to-together?”

Steve releases him with a wet pop, kissing his way back up to Eddie’s lips, humming in satisfaction when he reaches them, like kissing Eddie is the best part of all this.

And doesn’t that make his head spin.

“All you’d have to do is ask.”

Eddie pulls Steve back to his lips and bucks up into him again. “That’s me asking.”

Steve grins down at him and re-starts his slow, tortuous pace.

He’s rock hard against Eddie’s thigh, and this is getting fuckin’ ridiculous.

“Alright, you know what,” Eddie pushes his hips up hard and flips them over, straddling Steve’s thighs in no time at all.

“Holy shit—“ Steve blinks up at him in astonishment, like he’s surprised that he’s been flipped so easily.

 Eddie grinds down onto Steve, “You don’t get to tease me like that, big boy.”

“Is that so?” He chuckles, then groans when Eddie wraps his hand around their lengths. His hands grip onto Eddie’s thighs, squeezing tight to match the hold on them.

Eddie fucks forward into his fist, pulling his hand down to meet each thrust and watching as Steve’s head drops back onto the mattress.

He lets out a long groan. “Eddie…”

“Yeah, Stevie?”

Eddie runs his fingers over both their heads, adding to the slight slip of pre with a well aimed glob of spit that makes Steve hum out a short breathy moan as it makes contact with his head.

More noises of appreciation are pulled from the man under him as he rubs the pad of his thumb through the mess and under the head of Steve’s cock in small circles.

“Mmhm oh fuck..”

“You like that?”

“Mmhmm,” he nods dazedly “Keep moving though, feels so good, Eds.”

“You got it, sweetheart.” Eddie grins, wrapping his palm around them again and pushes forward into his fist.

Steve’s head drops back onto the pillow beneath him, “Just like that Eddie, fuck.” 

He gives them a few more strokes, then Steve’s hands start to move; his warm palms skirt along the wiry hair on his legs, one traveling around to grab onto Eddie’s horribly non-existent ass, and the other comes up to his remaining nipple, pinching it between two digits.

That did it. The hot coil of pleasure already broiling in his stomach twists even tighter. “Ahh—Stevie..I’m so close, Jesus Christ…”

“Me too..”

“Yeah? Well c’mon sweetheart, give it to me.”

A scant two passes of his hand later, Steve shoots hot across his stomach, and Eddie follows a half stroke later. 

He sinks down to the bed against Steve’s heaving ribs, tucking his shoulder under the other man’s arm.

After a few more breaths, Steve pulls Eddie into him and presses his lips to Eddie’s still-damp forehead.

“Ew gross, don’t do that, I’m all sweaty.”

“Don't care.” Steve mumbles softly into his hairline.

In return, Eddie wipes his soiled hand off on Steve’s stomach.

“Ew! Gross!” Steve laughs, shoving Eddie away with no actual intent behind it.

A few minutes later, Steve breaks the comfortable silence. “So,”

The word sinks heavily into Eddie’s gut. “So?”

When Steve doesn’t continue, Eddie turns his head to find Steve gazing at him with soft eyes, and even softer smile.

It morphs into a teasing smirk. “Did it live up to the hype?”

—--

One snooze and another heated shower later, Eddie crawls back into their bed and gets comfy while he listens to Steve pull his clothes back on to go down to the main lodge for the hellions.

He hears a short shuf when Steve’s leg skirts around the end of the bed. “I’ll be back in 15,” he says, kissing the damp hairs on Eddie’s temple. “Go to sleep, Eds.”

“Hmmm…” he hums in return, cozy as ever, and is out as soon as the door clicks shut.

Too soon, the sounds of the shitheads scrambling into the house interrupts his dozing, the door to the bedroom squeaking open not long after.

“Eds? You awake?”

Instead of answering, Eddie simply opens his arms.

He listens to Steve strip off his clothes, beckoning the man forward again when he feels the end of the mattress sink under the other man’s weight. 

“I’m comin’, I’m comin’, hold your horses.”

“My horses have been patient enough.” Eddie grumbles as Steve finally shuffles between the sheets and into his waiting arms.

-x-X-x-

“Dude! What the hell happened to your neck?! Did you get attacked by a vampire?”

“Henderson, you are way too loud for how early it is.”

“It’s 10 am, Eddie.”

“Exactly.” the barstool creaks as he climbs onto it, gratefully accepting the plate of eggs and bacon Argyle passes him.

“Leave him alone, guys.” Steve says, coming up behind Eddie on his stool and kissing his cheek as he passes into the kitchen with his empty plate.

There’s three whole seconds of silence before the younger teens burst out into a cacophony of various outbursts.

“Aw, what? Eddie! Steve’s way too lame for you to be dating!”

“Steve, did you fuck my DM?!”

“I fuckin’ knew it. I told you they’d get together, didn’t I? Dustin, you owe me 10 bucks.”

“I don’t owe you shit, Maxine.”

“Holy shit, congrats guys.” Lucas is his new favorite… Will and El too, nodding along to Sinclair’s assessment.

“Alright, alright, that’s enough; All those heading back to the waterpark better be ready to go in T-minus three minutes otherwise I’m leavin’ without you.” Steve calls out over the noise.

The complaints follow him out of the kitchen and into the tiny laundry room off the entryway.

“Why don’t you guys get yelled at?” Eddie grumbles, poking up a forkful of egg.

Robin snorts a laugh, “Because none of us are sleeping with the babysitter.”

okay, some notes:

steve's mom is a lawyer in this canon and she's the one who paid for eddie's legal counsel/helped with clearing his name after s4

wha?? steve harrington has good parents?? insanity

"canon" hawkins is about an hour outside of indianapolis so i used shelbyville, indiana as my base and from there to boyne mountain is about a 7 hour drive. if they left at 6 am from hawkins, they'd get to the resort around 1 or 2 and have a good couple hours to ski before it gets dark again at 6 (daylight hours in the midwest during winter are a bitch.)

i did way too much research into the ski resort i based this at, only to realize that neither the cabin itself OR the waterpark were there in the 80s. so...let's all just pretend, okay?

the map above is a trail map of the resort from 1985

when i asked my husband what i should add to 'my most recent blorbos' he said 'nice tits!' so that's why that line lmao

who'da thought this'd go from skiing to shower sex? cause i didn't

i got stuck on the smut part of this for way too long and i am so glad i am a) done with it and b) that it actually turned out relatively coherent.

on that note though, i have been looking at this damn fic for so so long that i don't know if it's actually good or what. 'cause to me, it's complete garbled garbage

the title of this is from 'Object of My Desire' by Starpoint

lex i am so sorry this is late ilysm 🫶

[lonesome-witching]

I Think We're Alone Now

I could not not use this title, I love this song. Anyway, thank you for the anonymous prompt. I'm probably not the best to write comedy but I tried. So enjoy this ronance story with some implied Karen/Joyce. There is no actual smut in this story but there is some making out.

You can read my previous prompts or send me some new ones.

The door swung open while Robin’s finger was still pressing on the doorbell. It still felt slightly surreal that the Nancy Wheeler was this excited to see her. The same Nancy Wheeler that didn’t spare her a second glance a year ago.

“Come on in,” Nancy greeted. She moved to the side, one of her hands still gripping at the edge of the door. It almost seemed like she was ready to throw it shut and push Robin against it, the second Robin stepped over the threshold. But she didn’t.

It wasn’t that they didn’t know this was where their night was going to lead. Sloppy make out sessions and maybe more. It had been evident as Nancy had whispered ‘I’m alone at home tonight’ into the phone. Robin had been left with goosebumps all over her arms after hanging up.

And now she was here, standing in the Wheeler hallway with her hands pushed into the pockets of her slightly oversized jeans. She noticed a picture of Nancy stood on the fireplace. A picture of Holly had knocked it crooked so Robin could barely see the face of the younger version of her girlfriend. It frustrated Robin.

Robin walked over to the fireplace as Nancy closed the front door. Her hands were hanging in the air when she heard Nancy’s voice. “What are you doing?” It was followed by a soft laugh.

She quickly pushed the picture of Holly to the side, so it was blocking Mike instead and placed Nancy’s picture in a more prominent spot. “Nothing.”

Nancy leaned her head on Robin’s shoulder. “You’re adorable.”

Robin turned around quickly, a pout on her face.

“What?” Nancy asked, her hands stroking over Robin’s arms. Maybe this was some kind of foreplay. Robin wouldn’t know.

Instead of replying, Robin dove in for a kiss. It had been a total of 20 hours since she last saw her girlfriend and that had been in Family Video so no kissing. She was going through withdrawal already. It was quickly washed away by Nancy sighing against her lips, her soft hands slipping under Robin’s sleeves.

Nancy was the first one to start pulling. Pulling Robin closer as her tongue slipped past Robin’s lips. Pulling them closer and closer to the couch, the one they had made out on before. Robin had expected to fall down there, Nancy would settle on her lap like last time and reality would wash away. But Nancy kept pulling.

And then she started pushing. Pushing Robin’s button up off her shoulders as they were hallway up the stairs. The goosebumps had returned, and Robin’s heart was beating heavily in her chest as her brain screamed more, more, more.

Robin snaked her arms around Nancy’s waist, lifting her up. Nancy giggled like the teenager she still was, as she crossed her legs behind Robin’s back. With Nancy’s feet lifted off the ground, it was up to Robin to guide them to Nancy’s bedroom. It shouldn’t be too difficult, she had been there plenty of times. But never with her girlfriend hanging on her while passionate kisses where clouding her brain. Robin stumbled into the first room she noticed. There was a bed, even though it seemed to be in the wrong spot.

“Wrong room,” Nancy mumbled once Robin had placed her on the bed. But it didn’t seem to matter. Nancy’s lips quickly found her neck, kissing down and down until her teeth nibbled on the edge of Robin’s shirt.

The piece of clothing was quickly discarded and followed by Nancy’s own shirt. Robin stumbled over her own feet and fell on top of her girlfriend. But as her hands wandered down Nancy’s chest a bang tore them apart. Nancy shot up causing Robin to tumble off the bed and hit the floor.

“Nancy?”

“Mom?”

Robin crawled up, coming face to face with Mrs. Wheeler and… “Mrs. Byers?” Robin asked.

“Oh, call me Joyce.”

“Would you mind telling me what you are doing in my room?” Mrs. Wheeler asked, her arms crossed over her chest. But her messy hear and swollen lips did not particularly portray authority.

“Should I go?” Robin and Joyce asked their respective partners.

“No!” Nancy and Karen yelled back. Although Nancy yelled louder.

“You weren’t supposed to be home tonight. You were going out,” Nancy continued, pointing at her mother.

“I was out. Now I’m home.”

Robin became acutely aware of the fact she didn’t have a shirt on and while Nancy had been able to hide her upper body, Robin stood out in the open. Her eyes searched the room for the shirt.

“Here you go,” Joyce said as she handed over the piece of clothing.

“Thank you,” Robin responded, quickly pulling it over her head and not caring in the slightest that she had it on backwards.

“Do you think they’ll be fighting like this for a while?”

Robin chuckled softly. “Probably, I know Nancy and she is as stubborn as they come.”

“Karen too.” There was a fond expression on Joyce’s face.

“So, are you and Mrs. Wheeler…”

“Nancy, look, if you want to have… sex,” Mrs. Wheeler whispered the last word, “that’s okay. As long as you are sure that’s what you want, and you don’t do it in my bed.”

Nancy finally crawled off the bed, the pillow still pressed to her chest. “Joyce?”

“Yes?”

“You better not hurt her.” Nancy grabbed Robin’s hand and quickly dragged her out of the room. “God dammit, that was embarrassing.”

Robin fell down on Nancy’s bed. “I don’t know. I think it was kind of funny. And… We’re finally alone now. We can get back to it, if you’re still in the mood.”

Nancy walked over. “Are you still in the mood?”

“Of course. I mean, you still don’t have a shirt on.” It was meant to be a lighthearted comment but now Robin’s eyes were focused on Nancy’s chest.

Nancy hummed. “Too bad you put yours back on.”

“I can take it off if you want me to.”

“I do,” Nancy whispered against Robin’s lips.

“Nancy! Nancy? I need you to drive me to Will.” Mike burst into the room without knocking.

“Oh my God, Mike. Learn how to knock!”

“Why don’t you have a shirt on?” Mike asked with a frown. “Hi, Robin.”

“Hi, Mike.”

“Mike, leave!” Nancy shouted.

“But I need you to drive me to Will.”

“No!”

“But­—”

“Take your bike!”

Robin stifled a laugh.

“Ugh, fine.”

“And close the— He’s already gone.” Nancy threw the door shut.

“Nancy! Don’t throw the door shut like that!” Mrs. Wheeler yelled.

Robin laughed loudly, falling back on the bed.

“The mood is ruined, isn’t it?” Nancy dropped her head against her bedroom door.

“It kind of is, but there will be other moments.” Robin grabbed one of Nancy’s pillows. “Like, I could sleep over and we can try again when the peace and quiet have returned.” 

[morganski-19]

Nancy and Robin sulking in the corner at the New Year's party when Argyle walks up to them.

"Why are you dude so sad? It's a party."

Robin sighs. "Nancy and I wanted to kiss at midnight but we can't because no one knows we're dating."

An idea pops into Argyle's mind. "I got you dudes."

He walks away from them before they get a say and goes straight to Steve. "Hey, dude. We're trying to figure out who to kiss at midnight. Eddie said he would kiss you."

"Wait, why?" Steve asks a little confused.

"Robin's going to kiss Nancy because she's a lesbian. And you can't kiss Jonathan because of the history."

Steve makes a face of realization. "Oh true. Ok."

"Cool." Argyle walks over to Eddie. "Steve's going to kiss you at midnight."

Eddie snorts. "If he wanted to he could have just asked." He walks away and finds Steve.

Argyle smiles to himself and walks over to Jonathan last. "Dude, we're going to kiss at midnight."

"We're going to?"

"Yeah," Argyle nods. "Robin and Nancy are kissing for obvious reasons and you can't kiss Steve because of the history. So you would you rather kiss, me or Eddie."

Jonathan shrugs, "Fair point."

The countdown starts and each of the couples pair up. Happy New Year is screamed before the couples kiss each other into the new year. The ones Argyle crafted had just a small kiss, Robin and Nancy being much more into it. He glances over quickly to not put any attention on them, but they're smiling wide.

[dragonmama76]

Where We Fell In Love Matters

Written for @thefreakandthehair 's Summer Spicy Six Fanworks Challenge, my prompt was "rocking chair." Length: 3.5k, Rating: T

Also Posted on A03

Now 2023

“Ooof” Eddie puffed out as he lowered himself to the porch rocker.  Glancing over at the other chair he stretched out his legs and started rocking.  “Sorry, I’m late, Stevie.  Your grandchildren are running me ragged.  But I’ve got them set up with a movie and popcorn and I think they’ll stay put for now.  I remember the kids used to be a handful, no rose colored glasses here, but this generation is something else entirely.”  Feeling familiar eyes on him he continues smirking, “They are a bunch of nosy, mischievous brats who never do what they are told….”

“Grandpa Eddie!!” a small voice cries out, “Thas not true!  I’m notta cheevius brat!  I’m your little man!  You SAID!”  

“So I did, little man.  And seeing that I just set you up with a very cool movie, what may I ask what you are doing out here?”

“Auntie Robbie said not to come out ‘cause this was your special time with Grandpa Steve, but I wanted to come out to have special time with Grandpa Steve too! So I sneaked”

“Oh you did, did you?”  Eddie sighed and rolled his eyes in the direction of Steve’s rocking chair, but gathered the curly haired monster up into his lap and started them rocking.  “Well, I suppose I could share just this once.  I was just telling Grandpa Steve how much fun we had today.”

The little body settled into the warm lap and snuggled his head to Eddie’s chest.  “Mmmmm…we went mini golping!  And you won and you didn’t let ME win.”

“Golfing, yes.  And I don’t let anyone win.  I’m the best at mini golf and no one can beat me.”  Eddie grinned into his curls.

“Daddy says you never let him win either when he was little like me, but he says now if he wanted to he could beat you good.”  Eddie laughed out loud.  “Maybe he could and maybe he couldn’t, but I didn’t see him out there trying.”

“How come you and Grandpa Steve have special time every night?”

Eddie paused and looked at the boy.  It seemed like he was here to stay, so he began, “Have you ever heard the story of how your grandpa and I fell in love?  It started with a couple of rocking chairs….”

Then 1986

Steve was bound and determined to get Eddie up and outside.  The man had been staying with him for a few days after the hospital fast tracked his discharge.  The professionals reasoned he was awake, eating and drinking normally, could walk at least a few steps on his own, and (the real reason, Steve supposed) Eddie made the staff uncomfortable being a murder suspect and all.  The sooner he was out, the happier they would be.  That was all well and good, but the apartment Wayne had found for them was up on the second floor and there was no way Eddie could navigate the stairs yet.  Steve was in Eddie’s hospital room visiting when all this went down and shocked even himself when he insisted Eddie come home with him.  He was still waiting on Family Video to reopen so he had the time, his government payout had just come through, so money wasn’t an issue, and his parents were out of town indefinitely so he had the space.  Plus, his house had more than one guest bedroom including one on the first floor.  Steve made his case and all parties readily agreed to his idea.  

It wasn’t exactly what he expected.  Eddie was not a great patient.  When his pain levels were low he was great company and Steve was enjoying getting to know him without the oppressive weight of the upside down hanging over them.  They talked about music and movies and the kids and while their opinions didn’t always line up, they both enjoyed bickering like two little old ladies.  But Steve could always tell when the pain was bad because Eddie would shut down and refuse to leave his bed.  He wanted to respect Eddie’s boundaries as a guest in his home, but he also felt a keen responsibility for his well being.  Fresh air was what Eddie needed, so fresh air would be what Steve would provide.   

“C’mon Eddie!”  Steve was using his most persuasive tone in order to cajole the man into taking a few steps out onto the front porch where a double rocker packed with pillows and blankets waited for them.  It was just past sunset and the sky was still pink and creamy.  The street was quiet and the air was starting to cool down from the thick heat of the day.  

“Now listen, Eds, we’re going to sit out here for one hour every day and relax and get some fresh air.  If you want I can read to you while we’re out here or we can just talk or whatever, but you’ve got to get some exposure to the outside.  Hardly anyone ever drives by so you don’t need to worry about being seen and even in the unlikely event someone does see you and says something, I’ll be right here to protect you.”

“Fine,” Eddie groaned and then brightened, “And I can smoke?”

“Not a chance, man.  You quit in the hospital so no reason to start back up now.  If you’re good when we go back in I’ll make your favorite dinner.”  

“Mac and Cheese and hotdogs?”  Steve knew Eddie needed more fruits and vegetables in his diet, but he was dealing with a man who had the palate of a stubborn six year old so they were working up to more healthy stuff.  It wouldn’t hurt to skip the veggies this once.  

“Yup.  Now you get settled in all comfortable so we can enjoy our hour.  Do you want me to grab your book?”

Resigned to his fate, Eddie arranged the pillows so they would support his back and sides and tentatively leaned back.  “Yeah, okay, this is okay I guess. No book, we can just rock and talk.” 

Smirking, Steve carefully dropped down next to him so as not to jostle the pillows and gently set them on a back and forth motion.  Eddie closed his eyes and sighed with pleasure and Steve couldn’t resist  glancing over to appreciate just how pretty he was when he was relaxed like this.  It wasn’t particularly concerning to him that he thought of Eddie that way.  Steve had known for years that he found both men and women attractive, but growing up in Hawkins he had learned early on to keep those kinds of feelings to himself.  Even when his platonic soulmate, Robin, had confessed her affinity for the fairer sex, Steve had kept his secrets.  He knew she would encourage him, but he wasn’t ready for that kind of push.  Although, the more time he spent with Eddie the more he wondered if a push wasn’t exactly what he needed.

Steve relaxed back into his place next to Eddie and couldn’t help letting loose a small sigh of pleasure when Eddie leaned into him.  His heart felt like it might beat out of his chest, but he willed his breath to slow so as not to startle the injured man.  They rocked together slowly and allowed the fresh air to wash over them like a gentle calming wave soothing their hurts and calming their souls.  

It worked so well that Eddie allowed Steve to bully him out to the rocking chair every evening to watch the sun set.  His healing wasn’t linear, sometimes he walked and sometimes Steve had to pick him up and carry him out.  But without fail their bodies fell together in comfort and somewhere along the way, hands reached out to clasp and there were soft hesitant touches.  They never spoke of it inside the house.  Each night they came in feeling shy and a bit wary of the other as they fled to separate rooms until it felt normal to be together again, laughing and teasing and bickering.  

Eventually Eddie recovered enough to move back home with Uncle Wayne.  Steve was happy he was doing so well, but if he was being honest with himself, he was sorry to see him go.  It was selfish, but his feelings for Eddie had only grown and having him around made Steve feel like maybe he could keep him all to himself forever.  Not that he had confessed any of that to Eddie.  Especially when he didn’t know if his feelings would be returned.  So instead he helped pack Eddie’s things in the morning and drove him to the apartment Wayne had set up for them.  They lingered at the door neither wanting to be the one to say goodbye until Wayne yelled at them for letting the bugs in.  Steve managed to croak out, “Well, don’t be a stranger.”  And Eddie looked at his feet and managed a, “Yeah, you too,” and shut the door.  

That first afternoon without Eddie around felt so heavy.  Steve felt inexplicably restless and spent the day washing the guest room sheets and cleaning the bathrooms trying to keep busy.  It still wasn’t enough to fill the emptiness inside and out but he pressed on.  When the sun began to set, Steve found himself almost unconsciously grabbing a pillow and throw blanket.  When he opened the door, to his surprise Eddie was headed up the porch stairs and as Steve’s heart fluttered, Eddie settled himself in the rocking chair with a shy smile.  “I’m not late, am I?  I didn’t want to miss our rocker time.”

“Is that what we’re calling it now?”  Steve grinned as he slid into the chair next to Eddie.  They rocked in unison in the quiet afternoon, hearts lighter as they leaned towards each other exchanging stories of how they had spent their first day apart.

When the hour was up, Eddie reluctantly stood and stretched.  “I’ll head out, I guess.”  

Steve found himself trying to stall, “I’m making dinner, did you want to come in -”

“I promised Uncle Wayne I’d be back for our first dinner in the new place.”

“Of course, sorry.  Tell him I said hi.  I’m so glad you both have your own space back and everything,” Steve mumbled looking everywhere but at Eddie.

“Hey, sweetheart,”  Eddie reached out and gently cradled the side of Steve’s face, “It’s okay.  I’ll - I mean if it’s okay…I’ll be back tomorrow?  For rocker time?”

“Yeah?” Steve breathed out.  “I mean, if you want.  I’ll be here.”

“Me too, baby.  It’s the best part of my day.”  and with that Eddie gave Steve’s shoulder a quick squeeze and bounded down the stairs to his van.

Steve watched him go and when he turned the corner he bolted back in the house and dialed Robin.  When she picked up the phone with a quick, “Hello?” Steve took a breath and confessed, “I’m having a bathroom emergency.”  Robin snorted and snarked, “I’m not really up to hearing about your digestive issues.”  Steve felt like screaming, “Not that kind of bathroom emergency, I mean OUR kind of bathroom emergency.”  Ever since they had been brought together by Russians and truth serum, their deepest confessions had been whispered or sometimes shouted in the comforting privacy of a bathroom, whether in one of their houses or the employee bathroom at Family Video.  “Oh, shit!”  Robin stammered, “Okay, your place or mine?”  “Mine if you can get a ride, yours if you can’t.”  “Uh…I can get a ride.”  Robin replied in a strangely vague way, but Steve couldn’t be bothered to work out her deal as he was too far gone in his own.  They hung up and Steve sunk to the floor. 

When Robin knocked and Steve opened the door he glanced out to see Nancy, Steve filed that info away for later, pulling out of the driveway.  He wasn’t sure what that was about, but today was about him.  Without speaking he pulled Robin into the downstairs bathroom and fully sat in the tub.  Robin perched on the side and waited calmly for Steve to speak.  If it was a red alert kind of emergency, she knew he would have just said so, so she could afford to be patient.  They were safe in the bathroom now and it would come out eventually.  

“Uhhhh….” Steve began.  “Ever since we came out of the Upside Down I’ve sort of been dealing with developing feelings for someone.”  

“I know.” said Robin and to Steve she sounded…sad? 

 “You do?”  he looked up, a little alarmed at being so obvious and so oblivious at the same time.   “I mean I barely knew it myself until today.”  

“Really?”  Robin asked incredulously, “It’s only natural that fighting Vecna together would bring it all back…”  

“Back?” Steve wasn’t sure what was happening, “I barely knew Eddie before everything happened.” 

“Eddie??” Robin shrieked.  

“Who did you think I was talking about?  He’s been living in my house!  I haven’t even really seen anyone else for weeks.”  

“Nancy!  Obviously!”  Robin shouted. 

 “How is that obvious?  Nancy is old news.  I mean, I’ll always love her but not like love her, love her.  That’s over and done.”  Steve shook his head.  “You know what she did to me.  I forgave her but I would never set myself up like that again.”

“Okay….okay.  I just need to reorient myself.  I thought we were going to have a very different bathroom conversation.  Eddie?  EDDIE?  I thought you liked boobies.”

“I do.  But I also like not boobies. Bisexuality is a real thing you know.”

“Is it?”  Robin asked hopefully.

“Of course it is.  Look at Bowie.  It’s why I keep saying you have a chance with Vickie.”  Steve felt like Robin’s reaction to his coming out was not exactly what he had been hoping for, but he also didn’t know what he wanted from her.  Recognition?  Excitement?  A medal?  He saw a flicker of something across her face and then it was gone.  

“So you’re definitely not still pining for Nancy?”

“No!  Why are we still talking about Nancy?  This is my big bathroom confession and I feel like maybe you are focussing on the wrong things?” 

 Robin schooled her face and got with the program. Placing her hands on Steve’s cheeks she smooshed them together.  “Look at you!  My sweet bisexual baby is having a crush.”

This was more of what Steve had expected and he huffed out a laugh.  “Might be more than a crush, Robs.”  Steve blushed and Robin gaped at him.

“Okay, then.  Well.  You’ve got to go for it.  Turn up the Harrington Charm and don’t suck this time.”

Steve ran his hands through his hair. He could do this.  He was Steve fucking Harrington and he could do this.

The following afternoon Steve spent making sure his hair was perfect, but not too perfect.  He threw on what Robin had called his slutty polo - just a touch too small so it hugged his chest and his arms, and the jeans that cradled his ass just right.  He gave himself several pep talks and was waiting on the porch when Eddie pulled up.  Steve didn’t have to overthink the wide grin that spread across his face when Eddie got out of the van.  That man was so pretty it should be illegal.  Ripped jeans and a band tee were his standard uniform, but in Steve’s mind, no one wore it better.  

Eddie seemed to sense the subtle change in the air and when he got to the rocker his gaze flicked up and down and he let out a breathless, “Hi.”

Steve’s grin widened and he shifted a little to let Eddie flop down next to him.  The rocker started it’s slow movement and Steve bravely reached over and grabbed Eddie’s hand.  He began toying with his rings and making small circles on Eddie’s palm with his thumb.  Now that he was here, some of Steve’s resolve began to crumble and he felt shy and unsure.  What if he was reading this wrong?  What if this was an insane error in judgment and he was about to ruin everything he and Eddie had built up between them?  He couldn’t look at him.  Couldn’t stand to see rejection, or worse revulsion on Eddie’s face.  

A finger under his chin lifted his face up to where Eddie was waiting, mouth a little open in surprise.  “Stevie, sweetheart, what’s going on in there?  I can hear you thinking from here.”

“I, um, I’m just glad you’re here, Eds.  I miss having you around and I’m so happy you still wanna come back here and spend time with me.”  Steve’s voice caught a little.  Damn it.  He was doing this wrong.  He had meant to be bold and brave and he was too in his head.  

“Hey, hey, hey I’m not going anywhere baby.  I always want to spend time with you, that’s why I’m here.”  Eddie’s voice was low and reassuring and Steve was grateful for the opportunity to collect himself and start again.

He inched himself closer to Eddie and slowly raised his free hand to tuck one of Eddie’s curls behind his ear.  His thumb drew a gentle line down Eddie’s jawline and he heard a sharp intake of breath.  “Eds, tell me if I’m reading this wrong and it’s totally fine.  Nothing has to change.  But - I really want to kiss you right now.  Is that okay?”

Eddie placed a firm hand on Steve’s chest and he felt his heart drop and his vision blur.  Stupid.  He was so stupid.  “Wait,” Eddie managed.  “Just, can we back up just a little?  Because my straight best friend wants to kiss me and I’m not totally sure what to do with that.”

“Uh,” Steve stammered, “Not straight?  Um, bisexual actually.  It’s okay if it’s a no though, just I know I’m not cool and I used to be a huge asshole back in high school so -” 

Steve was forced to stop as the hand on his chest fisted his shirt and pulled him so close that he and Eddie were breathing the same air.  “Yes.”  Eddie said.  “Yes I was an asshole?” Steve was having a hard time following what was happening.  “Yes, kiss me.”  And then it was happening.  

As first kisses go, this should have been unremarkable.  A gentle meeting of lips, Steve’s hands coming up to cradle Eddie’s face, tilting his head so they slotted together seamlessly.  Instead it was extraordinary.  It was brief, but charged with so much emotion it left Steve gasping for air, a whimper in the back of his throat.  “Okay?” Eddie whispered.  “More than okay,” Steve managed to say, bringing him back a second time firmer and more sure of himself.  

Now 2023

“Is this a kissing story?”  interrupted a suspicious little voice, “Mama says kissing stories aren’t propriate for me.”

Eddie jumped, having gotten lost in the swirling memories, he had forgotten about his little captive audience.  He grinned.  “Your beautiful Mama is always right and we can absolutely skip to the end past the kissing parts.  Okay?”

“M’kay!” agreed curly locks.  “Was that the falling in love part?  Did you have a true love's kiss and live happily ever after?”

“Sort of,” laughed the old man, “Never let it be said that even true love is an easy path to happiness.  There were plenty of times we argued or hurt each other's feelings.  Sometimes we didn’t even like each other very much.  But we made a promise.  You know what that promise was?”

“Was it sittin’ in the rocking chairs?”  Eddie bounced the boy up and down on his lap and smothered him with kisses, “You are my most brilliant grandchild, you know that?  Yes!  No matter what was happening with us, as long as we were both home, we sat in those damn rocking chairs and talked about our day and our family and everything we loved.  And you want to know a secret?”

The child rose to his knees in Eddie’s lap and put his ear right to Eddie’s mouth.  “Yes!”

“Even if one of us wasn’t home, the other went and sat in their own rocker and shared all about their day.  Do you know why?”

“Why?” the child’s eyes were open wide.

“Because rocker time is magic.  No matter where we are or what is happening, we can talk to each other here in these rockers when the sun is going down and the air is sweet and we always hear each other.”  Eddie’s eyes were shining now with memories and longing.

“So even though Grandpa Steve isn’t here you can still talk to him and he hears you?  And that’s why you come out every night to have special time with Grandpa Steve?”

“That’s right, little man.  And sometimes when it’s quiet and still I can hear him talk back.  Want to try?”  Eddie looked down at the child with a gleam in his eye as his youngest grandson struggled to stay still.  “Can you hear him?”

“What is he saying?”  the little boy whispered, eyes wide, mouth open.

“He says………TOSS MY GRANDCHILD IN THE POOL!”  Eddie shrieked and raised his hands as his little man screamed with joy and took off across the lawn.  Hell, his Son and Daughter in law were going to scold him again, but it had been worth it.

Before leaving to chase after the boy, Eddie turned to the empty rocking chair, “Sorry to abandon you early tonight, my love.  But I told you your grandchildren were a menace.  I don’t know who they get it from.”  As he stood to leave he felt a breeze like the whisper of a caress against his cheek.  “Love you too, Stevie. See you tomorrow.”