Inspired by this TikTok
I wrote this instead of everything else I should be working on, enjoy! đ
Rating: G | WC: 2494 | AO3
Eddie took a deep breath, preparing himself mentally for the night ahead as he walked up the street towards the place he was supposed to meet his blind date.
He couldnât believe heâd agreed to this, but it wasnât like he was having any luck finding love on his own.Â
After several failed long-term relationships with fuckboys that werenât worth his time and heartache, who ran the second things got real, he joined the appsâquickly realizing that most of the guys he found on there were only looking for sex. Which was fun and all, but Eddie wanted more.Â
He was looking for romance, a spark, someone he could see spending his life with, who was also looking for a partner. Someone who wasnât allergic to commitment.Â
So, heâd quit the apps.Â
And when Chrissy told him she had a guy she wanted him to meet he figured, fuck it, heâd tried everything else.Â
Steve Harrington.Â
He was a friend of Robinâs, Chrissyâs new girlfriend who Eddie hadnât had the chance to meet yet, but apparently the three of them had gotten together last weekend, and now Chrissy was convinced the man and Eddie were perfect for each other.Â
âOn the surface itâs giving opposites attract,â sheâd said, âbut under the carefully styled hair and button down shirts, Steve is not at all what youâd expect. Heâs kind, funny, a little weird, and way different than the guys you usually go forâbut in the best way. Just give it a chance. I promise at the very least youâll have a good time and maybe make a friend.â
Eddie wasnât so sure thatâd be the case, but he was here, willing to give it a go, and he had a trick up his sleeve. A little idea heâd stolen from a TikTok video that had, so far, a 100% success rate for exposing duds.
He reached his destination and pushed open the door, entering the warm dimly lit restaurant, and before heâd even reached the hostess stand noticed a man rising from his seat, smiling and wavingâwaving at him.
And oh, oh Chrissy had better count her days because Eddie was going to fucking kill her. Steve, assuming this was the guy, was quite literally the hottest man heâd ever seen in real life.Â
She couldn't warn a guy? Â
Eddie raised his hand, absently returning the wave as he continued to stare a little dumbstruck at his date.Â
Get it together, Munson.Â
Mercifully, Eddie was able to snap out of it enough to put one foot in front of the other again and make his way over to their booth.
There was an awkward moment where Steve couldnât seem to make up his mind between shaking Eddieâs hand, or hugging him in greeting.Â
Honestly Eddie wasnât sure of the protocol either since it was his first blind date. He supposed this was to be expected. Not only were they about to embark upon the supremely awkward adventure that was every first date ever, but they were also meeting for the very first time having never seen or spoken to each other before.   Â
In the end it became one of those half-and-half bro hugs with the little pat on the back, before they took their seats opposite one another.Â
Steve was the first to break the silence. âItâs good to meet you, Chrissy told me a lot about you.âÂ
âWish I could say the same.â Eddie muttered under his breath.Â
âOh, um.â
âSorry, itâsâI didnât mean,â Eddie shook his head at himself. âIgnore me.â
âNo, I'm sorry.â Steve raked a hand over his face. âItâs weird right? This is weird. I tried to tell RobinâI mean, who even goes on blind dates anymore!â
It surprised a laugh out of Eddie that he couldnât have held back if he tried. He quickly slapped a hand over his mouth, but it was too late.Â
Great job, Munson, laugh at the guyâgreat way to make a first impression.Â
But then Steve was cracking a little lopsided smile, the corners of his eyes crinkling ever-so-slightly with it. He didnât seem offended, or mad.Â
Fuck.Â
He wasnât just dangerously hot, he was cute too.Â
Eddie tugged lightly on his shirt collar, and cleared his throat. âItâs a little weird, sure, but that doesnât mean itâs bad.â
Their server chose that moment to arrive and introduce herself, taking their drink orderâsome local craft beer Eddie had never heard of for Steve, a Jack and coke for himselfâand Eddie used the temporary distraction to try and regain some composure. Heâd be lying if he said he wasnât already hoping this would go somewhere, that Steve would be different from all the others.
But when the server had gone and it was just the two of them again, Steve opened his mouth and Eddie instantly flashed back to every bad first date heâd been on.
âSo, whatâs your favoriteââ
Steve hadnât even finished asking his first question before Eddie was interrupting, raising a hand to tick off each response on his fingers as he went.
âBlack, metal, D&D, the 1999 cinematic masterpiece The Mummy starring our lord and savior Brendan Fraser, The Silmarillion, cheeseburgers, Halloween, aaaaandâa dog.â
Steve blinked at him. â...What?â
âMy favorite color, genre of music, hobby, movie, book, food, holiday, and of course the classicâif I could be any animal, what animal would I be and why?âÂ
Eddie let his hand fall to the table with a soft thud. âDogâhands down. And I know I look more like someone whoâd say black cat or something like that, but I enjoy attention and physical affection far too much to be an aloof feline. Shaggy lovable mutt seems way more my speed.â
By the end of his speech, Steve was grinning from ear to ear, nodding in understanding.
Eddie gave half a shrug, blushing a bit under the full force of Steveâs dazzling smile. âThought I'd save us some time and speed-run the same old, same old.â
A moment later their drinks arrived and they both sat up a little straighter reflexively as the server set each glass down on cocktail napkins in front of them before scurrying off.Â
Theyâd been leaning in towards each other without even realizing, it seemed. It was Steveâs turn to blush now, Eddie noted with delight as he raised his glass to his lips, grateful to have something to do with his hands.
âI take it youâve been on a lot of first dates?â Steve asked, taking a long sip from his own drink.
âA few.â Eddie said, tilting his cup to swirl the ice around. âYou?â
Steve made a waffling motion with his head. âA few.âÂ
Eddie took another sizable swig from his glass, focusing for a moment on the burn of the whiskey and the tingle of soda bubbles in his throat as he swallowed, and carefully set his cup down on the table between them. It was almost empty alreadyâshould have asked for a double.Â
âOkay, my turn, â he said.
Steve raised an eyebrow. âYou wanna know my favorite color?â
âNo, thereâll be plenty of time to find that out later.â
âPresumptuous of you.â
Eddie hummed noncommittally. âMore⊠hopeful.â
Steve let out a breathy laugh. âAlright, what do you want to know?â
Here goes nothingâ
âWhat would you do if we moved in together and I started seeing ghosts and told you that our house was haunted?â
Steve tilted his head to the side, giving Eddie that soft crooked smile again, and damn if it wasnât becoming one of Eddieâs favorite things. Can you be obsessed with something youâve only seen twice?
Steve was quiet for a long moment, nearly draining his beer as he thought it over, but eventually set his own drink down beside Eddieâs and looked him dead in the eye. âIs it a nice ghost or a scary ghost? Are we talking banging on walls and rearranging furniture at 3am? Or a cold yet comforting presence in the corner.âÂ
Eddie put on a show of thinking about it, rubbing his chin and staring off into space as he tried desperately to contain his excitement. Heâd never had the question go over this well before.Â
Then their server was back, asking if they wanted another roundâyes, of courseâand if they were ready to order. They hadnât even cracked open their menus yet, too distracted with talking.Â
âDo you know what you want?â Steve asked him.
Eddie swallowed hard.Â
You.
âI-Iâm not picky. Order for me? Chrissy said you come here a lot so Iâm sure you know whatâs good.â
Without hesitation Steve ordered them a burger each, and a plate of some sort of fancy fries to share, apparently they had the best fries.Â
It hadnât been another test, honest. Eddie really didnât care what he ate, this was already turning out to be his best date in far too longâand It could have been a coincidence, maybe Steve ordered burgers there all the time, but Eddie chose to believe it meant Steve had been listening. Test or not, heâd passed with flying colors.
When they were alone again Eddie smoothed his hands along the table, drawing invisible patterns with his fingers and finally answered Steveâs question.Â
âLetâs go with scary ghost, but remember you have no proof, you haven't seen it with your own eyes, just my word.â
Steve waved him off as if that was inconsequential, upending his glass to get the last dregs of the beer, and wiping his lips on the back of his hand.
âOkay, well then it depends on how hands on you want to be. We could consult WitchTok, try and cleanse the house ourselves, ask the spirit to leave, that kinda thing. Or maybe find a priest whoâd be willing to help us out? That might be a little more difficult since the church isnât usually our biggest fans, but I could deal with a little homophobia to make sure you were happy and comfortable in our home.â
Eddieâs stomach flipped, heart beginning to race. He wasnât surprised exactly, Steve had been blowing past his expectations at every turn already, but there was no more perfect answer to his admittedly insane first date question.
So naturally, he had to push.Â
âWhat if I wanted to move?â
Steve shrugged. âThen weâd move.âÂ
Eddie stared at him incredulously. Steve said it like it was nothing, like uprooting his entire life for some crazy shit was akin to changing his socks. This was all hypothetical, Eddie knew that, and Steve could just be telling him what he wanted to hear, but Eddie had a feeling he was telling the absolute truth
âBut weâd be out, at minimum, a monthâs rent and security deposit, and what if the landlord wonât let us out of the lease?!â Eddie threw his hands up, suddenly taking his own game much too seriously. âOr godforbid weâd bought the place, then weâd have to sell it and all our money would be tied up in it, andââ
Steve reached out and took Eddieâs hands with his own, gently stroking his thumbs along the back of them. âBabyâbaby itâs okay. No amount of money would be worth you feeling unsafe.â
And Eddie was simply going to pass away, because what the fuckâhow was this man so perfect?
âWhyâhow are you single?â
Steve flashed a sad, self deprecating smile. âIâve been told I can be a little⊠intense.â
âYou say that like itâs a bad thing.â
âWell, historically speakingâŠâ
Eddie leaned over the table, pressing a kiss to the back of Steveâs hand. âI happen to like intense.â
Steve sucked in a breath, cheeks flushing again with the most glorious shade of pink. âGood to know.â
They stayed hand in hand talking for a long time, taking turns asking each other the most random questions they could think of.Â
âFavorite episode of The Twilight Zone?â Eddie asked.Â
âOh, easy. I donât know the name of it but itâs the one where the kid is lost and her parents can hear her in the house panicking, but they canât see her?âÂ
Eddie nodded his approval. âLittle Girl Lost, good choice.â God he was falling more in love by the second.Â
âFavorite Abba song.â Steve countered.Â
Eddie grinned. âHow do you know I even have one? Mean scary metalhead like me.â
Steve rolled his eyes, and shot him a look that clearly stated he found Eddie neither mean or scary. âEverybody likes Abba.â
âWell played.â Eddie bit at his bottom lip. He felt like a teenager with his first crush all over again. âFineâwhile Dancing Queen holds a special place in my heart, and maybe this makes me a gay cliche, but Gimme, Gimme, Gimme fucking slaps.âÂ
It went on and on like that until eventually their food arrived, forcing them to separate. They still spoke as they finished their meal, and settled their tab, but Eddie missed the warmth of Steveâs hand in his already.Â
He suddenly understood why some couples chose to sit together on the same side of a booth. Heâd happily look like a dork right now to have the opportunity to be pressed up against Steveâs side, to be able to slide a hand along his thigh and maybeâ
âEddie?âÂ
Steveâs slightly raised voice found him in his daydream, snapping him out of it abruptly.Â
âWha..?â
âDid I lose you there for a second?â Steve asked, a knowing smile playing on his lips.
Eddie rubbed at the back of his neck nervously. âYeah, sorry, umâyou were saying?â
âI said, I'm having a really good time, and I know we already paid the bill but I really donât want this night to end, soââ Steve slid out of his seat and moved to stand in front of him, holding a hand outâwhich Eddie took immediately, of course, and let Steve pull him to his feet.Â
âI was wondering if youâd want to take this back to my apartment? Yâknow, so we can plan a second date?â He finished with a smirk.
Jesus Christ.Â
Warmth shot through Eddieâs body at the implications but he found his heart skipping a beat too, because as much as Steve was teasing, Eddie knew somehow that he meant it about the second date.Â
He couldnât believe his luck, Steve was everything Chrissy had made him out to be, and so much more. He was going to send her the biggest bouquet of flowers tomorrow, and maybe an edible arrangement. Were those still a thing?
Eddie leaned in, letting his lips brush along the shell of Steveâs ear as he spoke. âItâs not haunted, is it?âÂ
Steve shivered, wrapping his arms around Eddieâs shoulders and pulling their bodies flush. âNo, but if youâre interested I can think of a few other ways to make you scream.â
Thanks as always to the lovely @penny00dreadful for everythingđđđ
Permanent taglist(open): @penny00dreadful @pearynice @hitlikehammers @bookworm0690 @wonderland-girl143-blogÂ
@goodolefashionedloverboi @themagicalari
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