caminantedealmas

[steveshairychest]

just giddy from thinking of steve and eddie kissing softly and hungrily, heart’s fluttering <<33 who do you think leads smooches session most of the time?

Eddie definitely initiates most smooch sessions, but only because Steve is still learning that asking for a kiss doesn't mean he's being needy, that it's not annoying if he holds Eddie's hand and kisses him just because he wants to.

Steve has been told in many past relationships that he asks for too much and is overly affectionate. A girl once told him that holding her by the waist looked possessive and needy. He'd walked stiffly by her side for the rest of the date. Eddie's helping Steve realise that it's ok to wrap his arm Eddie's shoulders while they're out, that it's okay to kiss his cheek whenever he feels like it and that wanting to cuddle during a movie isn't asking for too much.

Steve is getting better at kissing Eddie without doubting himself beforehand. He plops down in Eddie's lap and kisses him until they are both breathless, flushed and smiling at each other like fools in love.

When Eddie asks, "What was that for?"

Steve shrugs and says, "I just wanted to kiss you."

Eddie's never been prouder.

[harringtonswriting]

would you maybe do ❝  you’re the only thing that matters anymore.  i can’t eat,  i can’t sleep—  all the goddamn cliches from every stupid movie and song.  you’re all i think about.  i’m useless except when i’m yours.  ❞ with Steve?? Seems very much like a Steve thing to say with a grand romantic gesture maybe 💕

ahhh i definitely agree, this is absolutely a steve thing to say and i hope the romantic gesture is grand enough!! 💕

...

Thunk.

You’re not quite sure what that sound is or where it’s coming from. You look up from your book, one you had been completely engrossed in for the last few hours, but when you don’t see anything moving or notice anything that’s fallen off your bed, you go back to it. You get about half a page of reading in before it comes again.

Thunk. Thunk. Thunk.

You put your bookmark between the pages and close your book before you get up off your bed to search for the sound. It keeps coming, and you realize it’s coming from your window. With all the weird happenings in Hawkins you’re more than a bit wary, because you’ll be damned if you’re going to end up monster food for whatever weird creature of the week is showing up now, so you grab the biggest, heaviest book you own to protect yourself before walking towards your window. You’ve hit someone with it before, completely accidentally, and knew it would be an excellent way to bludgeon something that might attack you.

Except it’s not some weird monster, or a Russian soldier, or even a government goon. No, standing on your lawn at nearly ten o’clock at night, is none other than Steve Harrington. Who’s really the last person you’re expecting to see right now, and the reason you’re spending your Friday night at home with a book.

Okay, well, you can’t put all the blame on him; most of it you put on yourself and the stupid crush you’ve been harbouring on him since you’d made the stupidly wonderful decision to go to Scoops Ahoy last summer, before Starcourt Mall burned down. Unfortunately, as you’d gotten to know Steve and become friends, that stupid crush had only gotten bigger and harder to contain. And when he’d been working in the mall, scooping ice cream with Robin and taking time to chat with you when you stayed way past your break time, he hadn’t been having any luck getting dates—something you were happy about. You felt bad being happy, yes, but him striking out meant you could spend more time with him (and Robin, lovely Robin, who’d very quickly become a staple in your life along with Steve).

But since leaving Scoops Ahoy and starting work at Family Video, Steve’s game had apparently done a 180 and now? Dates all the time, with all the very pretty girls who you’d gone to school with. Never more than once with the same girl, but Steve’s got his groove back and it aches a little, seeing him so excited every time he has a date. But you’re his friend, of course you are, so you push down your own feelings to smile and laugh and encourage him, just the same as Robin and Dustin and the others do, though it’s been getting harder and harder to do lately.

So you’ve been slowly pulling away; you find yourself visiting Family Video far less frequently, usually when Steve isn’t there. You find reasons to skip on group movie nights or hang outs at the Harrington house, and start keeping more to yourself. It’s just until you get over this stupid crush, you tell yourself, and you even tell Robin one night, when you’re on the phone well past midnight and she manages to drag your reasoning for skipping on an outing to Indianapolis with her and Steve.

You’d thought Steve hadn’t noticed. But obviously he had, because here he is. So you put the big book down on your desk before you unlock your window and open it.

A rock goes whizzing by your face, barely missing your cheek, which you were not expecting. You yelp, and that catches Steve’s attention.

“Shit! Sorry! Did I get you?” he yells up at you and you lean out the window to shake your head where he can see you.

“What are you doing here, Steve?” you ask, resting your hands on the window sill so you can lean out a little farther. You can see him shuffling from foot to foot, a big silver boombox resting by his feet. One of his hands is constantly running through his hair, a nervous habit you know he has. His BMW is parked at the end of your driveway.

“I have something I gotta tell you,” he calls up, gesturing with the hand not in his hair. You feel your stomach twist in your abdomen; is he here to break off your friendship? Maybe he knows about your crush and he’s finally had enough. What other reason would he have to be here right now? He probably just finished a date with his latest girl—Heidi? Lauren? You couldn’t remember and honestly, you didn’t want to. Especially not if it was someone Steve was choosing over you. Not that you’d blame him, but still.

“Steve, really, you don’t have to say anything.” Because it’ll hurt more to hear you tell me it’s over before it even began, you want to say. But you don’t. You start to head back in through your window, but Steve shouts and stops you before you can get back in.

“Wait! I do have to say it, because I can’t stand that we haven’t been as close lately. It’s killing me and I can’t keep going like this.” You’re silent, watching him move closer to your house, grabbing the boombox to hold up to his chest. “You’re the only thing that matters anymore. I can’t eat, I can't sleep—all the goddamn cliches from every stupid movie and song. You’re all I think about. I'm useless except when I'm yours.”

Holy shit.

That is definitely not what you’re expecting him to say, and one hand comes up to cover your mouth because that was actually the sweetest thing you think you’ve ever heard him say to you.

That’s when he starts fiddling around with the buttons on the boombox until he gets it to do what he wants, and he cranks the volume dial all the way up before he holds it up over his head. It takes a second before you hear the opening bars of Careless Whisper start to play. He starts swaying back and forth, boombox held high, and god you feel yourself falling even harder because Steve is here, doing this for you, after telling you something that sounds like it would be straight out of one of the romance novels on your shelf.

You get to enjoy the sight in front of you for about a minute before you notice a light turn on and start shining from the house next door.

“Turn the goddamn music down!” You hear your neighbour, old man Mitchell, yell from the vicinity of his yard. It ruins the moment, just a bit, and you can’t help the laughter that bubbles up as Steve nearly drops the boombox on his feet in his rush to turn it off.

“Sorry!” Steve yells back, and you laugh louder. Steve laughs too, the sound floating up to your window, and you can’t help the smile on your face.

You wave your hand at Steve, gesturing for him to come inside, and even from your window you can see the way his entire face blossoms into a wide grin as he lowers the boombox and makes his way towards your front door.

Steve wants to be yours. And you want to be his. And when you unlock the front door and pull Steve in for a big kiss, you press play on the boombox so the two of you can dance to George Michael’s unbearably cheesy song in your living room while you tell each other how you feel.

[katierosefun]

Hello :))) So, i was today years old when i learned you had a girlfriend (if i’m not mistaken) and somehow it means a lot to me as you’re one of my comfort blog and that i’ve been struggling with my own sexuality for a while. (I hope it does not come off as weird this is really not my intention 😭) So i was wondering if you would mind sharing how you two met as i love hearing about queer love stories coming from real people and not only in fiction (somehow i need to be reminded that yes, it can happen in real life too for me??) If and only if you’re comfortable doing so of course!!!

aww hi anon! first of all, thank you so much for the kind words--i'm so glad to hear that my blog is a source of comfort for you. and also, re: your sexuality--i'm sending you so much love! i know how scary and how overwhelming it can be to still be figuring out your sexuality and navigating your own queerness, so please remember to have some compassion for yourself, and please know that you're not alone.

as for my girlfriend: yes! i do in fact have one, and we've been together for a little over a year and a half now. we'll be going on two years pretty soon, which is all very exciting!

as for how we met: it's all a pretty funny story, because we actually met while we were both in college. and also right during that first covid summer too. we started off as long-distance friends, bonding our love for star wars and writing.

anyways, i totally had a crush on her, although i was trying to play it off most of the time. the fact that we lived in separate cities was another factor too, of course.

fast forward to a few years later, when we've both graduated college. i've just started my first year of law school; she's working at this point. we're still texting and calling each other a bit, and then i tell her, oh yeah, i'm going out on a date with this guy.

and just like something from a kdrama or a movie or something, this ridiculous, lovely woman texts me as i'm boarding the bus for my date. her text? hey, i dreamed about you last night! we were sitting on a park bench together and we were holding hands :)

and of course, at this point, i still have a disastrous crush on her (hence why i spent a lot of time dating all these random guys in my junior and senior year of college, because i was like i gotta just get over this), but anon, that text message was the other shoe dropping on my brain. i decided right then and there that enough is enough, i'm gonna call her tomorrow and tell her i like her, so she can't just say stuff like that anymore because i don't think i can take it anymore.

so we arrange to have a phone call the next day, and we chat, and of course, true to form, i have to have some liquid courage on me (peach soju, btw . . . but turns out, if you're jittery enough, you don't even feel the alcohol, because i still remember every detail). anyways, at some point, we're chatting, and then i blurt out, "i like you."

and she goes, "i like you too."

and i went, "no, i mean i like you more than a friend. as in i like you."

and she goes, "uh, yeah. i like you to do. the feeling's mutual."

and of course, i didn't know what to say to that. like, i swear i was just like "??? what?" because the thing is, i had this whole speech planned out in my head--something like i like you, and you don't like me like that, so i'm sorry that this is awkward, and i can just take care of my own feelings, but i just really needed to say that so that we're both on the same page--

so to say i was pretty stunned would be an understatement! so cue a lot of laughter and flustering, and fast forward to today, with her living with me for the summer (because of course, she'll need to go back to work and i'll have to go back to school once august hits), and we talk about how many pets we're going to have one day (she has this hobby of sending me videos of increasingly exotic animals and going "??? so can we have this as a pet? :)"), and we've talked about what our wedding is going to be like (as well as what our wedding will not be like) . . .

this is just a whole lot of details, but as you might be the first one to ask me about this lovely person on this webbed site, of course i'm going to ramble and gush--but anon, to give you some hope here, queer love is a beautiful thing and it certainly happens.

personally, i would love to go back in time and find my sad high school self and go "hey, hang in there, because you're gonna be lucky enough to finally fall in love with someone who's kind and warm and patient and loving, and she's going to encourage you to be a better person, and she's going to make friends with literally every single stranger on the street (much to your partial exasperation and partial wonder), and she's going to be really bad at staying hydrated, and she's going to take so many photographs of everything, and she's going to make friendship bracelets on your bed, and she's going to almost fight the secretary at a dentist's office for you (while you tug at her sleeve and go come on, i'm fine, let's just go), and she's going to recite and write poetry that you keep both on your walls and also in your head, and her grandma is going to show you the dorkiest photos she has of this silly, lovely, beautiful person who you love."

so: all that to say, anon, i hope that gave you some hope! it's such a long journey for some of us, but i promise that queer love is out there and healthily alive, and yeah, sometimes they're just as good (or even better) than those that you find in fiction :)

[demadogs]

i just looked at the stranger things tag hoping to see more gifs of the iconic scenes like joyce putting the lights up in s1 or the running up that hill scene and literally every single post is about steve

[love-toxin]

i love love love obsessed eddie. like he goes from being the poster boy for truancy to having perfect attendance just so he can be around to perv out on you. stealing stuff from your locker and pencils from your desk when you’re not looking <3 and suddenly working extra hard during gym class (he’s really just trying to look down your shirt when you’re doing push-ups)

ok but u said gym and i just blacked out thinking of THIS scene

but with angelface and Eddie getting 100000% up in your junk <333 praying to god he gets on the skins team just so you can see all his tattoos and watch the sweat pour down his chest, and being playful and teasing in your ear as he tries to swipe the ball from you as you dribble. if it weren't so public you just know he'd practically be pressed up against you but to avoid getting booted out for harassment he just hovers as close as he can. when he inhales all quiet and close to you you're like "did he.....sniff me?" in your head--and yes, he did, he was smelling your clothes just like he was watching them stick to your body with sweat as you run around, committing the images to memory so he can use it for spank material later <3

[twopoppies]

.

[hunter-sylvester]

Steve: "what made you decide to shave your head by the way?"

Hunter: "oh I got jumped actually."

Steve: ...

Eddie: "what?"

Hunter: "yeah this shitbag from my school and his friends just...beat me up and cut off a chunk of my hair."

Eddie: ...

Steve: "babe, where's my nailbat?"

Eddie: "in the garage. I'll drive."

[soupnwaffles]

any little!eddie munson headcannons? you almost never post about him besides cameos ;(

- 🎀

oooooh i love eddie so much you don’t even know— biggest sibby vibes from him!! i haven’t done headcannons in a bit, so here you go :3

the chaotic older kid of the party. eddie’s a flip (w/ no particular lean), and his headspace isn’t as mapped out as everyone else but he’s around 6-7

that being said, he acts different depending on who’s around— older, more ‘taking you under my wing’-way with stevie + the younger kids, but like a total baby when nancy and wayne come around

obsessed with dragons. you thought it was bad when he was big? now everything has to relate back to them, and every dragon he sees has to be immediately fawned over and discussed !

he chews his nails bad, and whenever someone catches him, he switches over to gnawing at the ends of his hair

suuuper into wayne’s old records when he’s little— they remind him of the past, and wayne’s always happy to turn them on to see his boy’s smile :)

always trying to sneak something he’s not supposed to !! everything just seems to be ten times better tucked in his pocket than sitting all alone

he’s a rock collector— toddling around the trailer park looking for the super-duper-coolest-ever rocks to show off to the party !!

a total troublemaker.

really, he never fails to wind up in the corner or having to write lines, or some other thing nancy’ll make up so ‘the lesson sticks’

he’s a clinger when he’s feeling fuzzier than usual, and whenever he goes down as far as that, eddie trails around his carers, hiding under shirts, and hanging off of them like a koala

he’s a sensory seeker already, but being small increases that by tenfold !! he’s rubbing up against his favorite textures, and spinning just for the heck of it :3

he’s always coloring or doodling, pages on pages of scribby dragons and other mythical creatures he tries to recreate from his figurines

just about everyone’s got a dragon or two tucked away with eddie’s name on it somewhere in their room. he gives them out like business cards

he’s nightmare prone obviously, and when things get particularly bad, he’s knocking on the door to the mayfield trailer so max can entertain him till he falls back asleep

and when susan’s in better shape, she silently leaves a few of those triscuts and cheese cubes eddie likes so much on max’s dresser

he’s all about being loud, loud, loud !! loud, stimmy stomps, loud outside voice inside the trailer’s thin walls, loud, dramatic reactions when he doesn’t get his way—

when he’s sick, he’s a monster, but god forbid he be little and sick at the same time. nothing but complaints and whining and a causing a scene. and all for a common cold.

just. a buzzing ball of energy !

eddie is sooooo fun to hc stuff for so super glad for this ask !! he’s a devious little curtain climber, and i love him for it :3

[thestobingirlie]

I need to know your thoughts on this: Steve's parents as the couple from Gone Girl

reading this ask made me feel like i was in big brother, because we have talked about steve’s parents being gone girl in the gc so much lmao

anyway, i’m actually obsessed with it.

i love steve’s parents being crazy girls (shoutout to our insane mr h kidnappee aus lmao), and the idea that steve’s parents go through some gone girl shit then pop out steve is hilarious to me.

steve’s mother coming from money, then marrying mr h and moving to a small town to deal with his ailing parents, he starts cheating with a younger woman etc is actually my preferred hc for their backstory, so even without all the actual… gone girl stuff lol, i think it suits them.

oh and mrs h getting pregnant to baby trap mr h is so fun

i also LOVE the implications of like. amy does all her gone girl shit after realising she’s being cheated on, and we know that steve goes crazy after he thinks he’s been cheated on, and i absolutely believe he got that from his mommy and it’s just… mrs h faking her own death and kidnapping is real to me!!!

mrs h being “well known” enough according to steve that she’s on his resume, and amy having the community rally around her disappearance.

mr h smiling for a photo while pleading for his wife to be found…. yeah that’s just canon.

there’s really just nothing to hate. great au all around, and i need the fic yesterday.

[creekfiend]

Yeah, hi “Pip”, nice to meet you. A classroom poster does not in fact constitute fascism. If you had any true hardship in life you might know this was dumb as fuck for you to say. Go to hell! :)

I love online lmao

[snowangeldotmp3]

'solitude'

(hi! this is a prompt fill that i'm doing, and i decided to do all three prompts that @fishwear sent, so!! thank u for the prompts btw!)

prompt list here

1. slow dancing x ronance

“How many records do you own, Robin?” Nancy asks, sifting through the crate.

Robin scratches the back of her neck. “Probably too many. I stand by the fact that records are the superior music format.”

Nancy snorts, rolling her eyes. Robin grins.

They’re silent a moment, going through Robin’s collection, before her eyes fall onto a certain record.

She pulls it from the box and looks at Robin skeptically. “Billie Holiday?”

Sitting next to her like this, Nancy can see the pink that blooms through Robin’s cheeks.

It’s pretty.

(She’s pretty. Nancy likes making Robin blush.

You see, Nancy came to the realization not too long ago that she does, in fact, like girls. And, though she’ll never admit it, Robin is the one who made her realize this, even though she’s pretty sure she’s had crushes on girls before Robin.

Oh yeah, and Nancy’s got a big fat crush on Robin.

No big deal.

Except Nancy’s been trying to make a move for weeks. Dropping hints that she knows Robin should’ve picked up. The only conclusion Nancy’s come to is this:

Robin will not make the first move.

So you know, that’s an extra dash of torture to the whole situation.)

“Yeah,” Robin sighs, running a hand through her hair, “one of the best jazz singers like, ever. Seriously. Her music just has so much emotion, like, infused into it.”

Robin’s getting excited, the way she does whenever she talks about, well, anything that she has an interest in. That sparkle in her eye and the curve of her lips and the way she talks with her hands; Nancy can tell she was fully prepared to be ridiculed for it.

“Well,” Nancy says, handing her the record, “put it on. I wanna listen to it.”

“Wait, really?”

Nancy nods, smiling. Robin slips the record out, onto the turntable, and gently drops the needle.

The speakers crackle to life, a soft piano melody bleeding through, the crooning voice of Billie Holiday flooding the surrounding room.

It’s nice.

Nancy has to admit, it’s a really good record, but there’s something… missing about it. They’re both too rigid. Robin’s too nervous that Nancy will make fun of her, which she won’t, but even Nancy feels Robin’s nerves radiating off of her.

(Which… is a little unlike Robin. Usually she’s all snark with infuriating, sly smiles and inside jokes. Nancy’s only seen Robin nervous once, when she thought there was a possibility of rabies from the demo-bats.)

She’s up on her feet, and it’s out of her mouth before it registers. “Sway with me?”

Robin stops. Leg no longer bouncing, cheeks reddening, and wide eyes staring back at Nancy. “Uh… what?”

Nancy’s brain finally catches up with the rest of her. She can feel the heat spreading on her face, blush now matching Robin’s, no doubt. Her mind begins listing every possible reason to back out, to step away from this and pretend like it never happened. To not get too close to her.

Screw that.

Ignoring her brain’s warnings, Nancy holds out her hand. “You heard me. Come on, it’ll be fun.”

“I can’t dance,” Robin protests.

“I’ll teach you. It’s easier than it looks, promise.” Nancy smiles, wiggling her fingers, trying to persuade Robin.

Robin sighs dramatically, letting her head hang. “Fine, but let me put on a different one.”

“You have multiple Billie Holiday records?”

Robin shrugs, “I like jazz.”

Because of course she does.

Nancy grabs Robin’s hand, intertwining their fingers, and pulls her close as the opening bars of ‘Solitude’ fill the room.

Robin’s cheeks burn a deeper shade of red, and this close, Nancy can count her freckles, creating mini-constellations out of them.

Robin sways rigidly, no rhythm and almost robotic motions, and Nancy knows it’s because she’s doing everything she can to not make Nancy uncomfortable.

Nancy pulls her impossibly closer, bodies flush against one another. “Is this okay?”

Robin jerks a nod.

Nancy leans her head against Robin’s chest. “Still okay?”

“Yeah,” Robin breathes, like she’d forgotten to breathe until Nancy asked. Nancy finds the rhythm again, swaying comfortably, listening to the jack rabbiting of Robin’s heart.

(Nancy silently thanks whatever higher power out there that Robin can’t hear her own heart hammering against her rib cage.)

After another song or two, Robin relaxes a bit, finding the rhythm and swaying along, no longer stiff and robotic. Nancy closes her eyes, the swaying almost hypnotic, lulling her into a strange sense of calm that she’s not felt in… well, she’s not sure if she’s ever felt like this.

Nancy doesn’t know the song, but Robin hums along freely now. She can feel the vibrations against Robin's chest, her heart still a bit fast, but not as erratic as it was two songs ago.

It’s odd, she notices, just how well they fit together.

(Nancy doesn’t believe in soulmates, and she knows Robin doesn’t either, but she finds it a little funny that they fit so well together. Like they were made for each other, and perhaps they were. Perhaps they weren’t, but Nancy wants to make it work. Wants to try, at least.)

She pulls away a moment, just to look at Robin.

Robin’s head tilts, and for a moment, it reminds Nancy of a confused puppy. It’s adorable, and a look she’s never really seen on Robin, either.

Her tongue darts out to wet her lips, like she wants to say something. Nancy stares at her lips before meeting Robin’s gaze. Robin swallows thickly. Whatever she had to say disappears, and it's back to Billie Holiday filling the silence between them.

And then,

The music stops.

Nancy reaches up to Robin’s face, tucking a strand of her hair behind her pierced ear, before cradling her jaw. Robin’s eyes search Nancy’s, flickering down to her lips, and back up again.

“Robin,” she murmurs, “can I kiss you?”

[collectivecloseness]

idec Nancy wouldn’t even have to kidnap me I’d be joining the yandere fruity four so fast if they gave me even the slightest bit of attention no cap

Facts bestie. All they’ve gotta do is invite me over to their house one day, and those lovesick little losers would be so so nice to you, and never wanna kick you out, that I’d just end up staying there.

Oh what you want to finically support me without making me feel guilty, and all of you love me so much, and you’ve never once felt like I was a burden, and genuinely want to spend time with me, and will do anything for me because you genuinely not only think I deserve it but because you want to because you love me so much? Okay where are we going on our first date gang.

Found family trope while also being a poly that’s pretty healthy. I mean they get on with each other and you just fine in the poly, not saying those four are the healthiest motherfuckers outside of that. But tbf, are any of us? I mean not saying that the being constantly terrified of losing you, and fighting back possessive urges, and thinking about murder just to keep you all safe and warm within themselves, is exactly relatable. But also yeah I know of being mentally unbalanced and all of us being a little fucked up, rock on guys. Just no violent crime in this household got it? It’s part of the lease.

[amazingmsme]

Wow so... I don't know how this sounds but like, Imagine Wilbur just having to sit there on a stool infront of Wiggly's throne with his hands behind his head. And Wiggly just, slowly, repeatedly counting his ribs with his clawed wiggling fingers.

Sounds like Wiggly tricked him! Or maybe he did something to piss him off? But I like to think Wiggly insisted he demonstrate this “tickling thing” before he agreed to the whole tickle me wiggly thing & then proceeded to torture play with him for hours

It makes for excellent entertainment

Fr tickle torturing some helpless humans is the best way to make the time go by!

[captainkirkk]

If youre curious about how far they traveled in the Labyrinth, Long Island to Alcatraz is about the same distance, give or take as Brisbane to Perth

Tbf they mention that time/distance doesn't work normally in the labyrinth. They probably walked further than they realised, but it also seems like linear distance is a nebulous concept inside the labyrinth

[corrodedcoughin]

Hello again! I’m the anon that asked you about flubotanist!Steve and I’d just like to say thank you for writing more about it! I included some more thoughts on this is the tags, so you’ve already seen these please feel free to ignore!

There was a thought that during one of the blood draws they got to talking about movies they like and Star Wars was brought up, so of course the bandaid Steve used on Eddie that day (post-gauze pad and tape) was navy blue with little Death Stars all over it. I’m imagining all of this with Steve in glasses and Eddie trying his best to look respectfully (and failing miserably lol)

Anyway, once again thank you for taking the time to read and answer, seeing your posts always brightens my day :)) Hope all is well❤️

I’m not seeing half of the stuff in my activity feed that I should be so THANK YOU!! And thank you for sending the initial ask too!!!

You just casually bring glasses steve into this? I’m a GONNER! I’m DONE! Steve’s glasses slipping down his face but not able to reposition them while trying to draw Eddie’s blood because of the aforementioned difficulty with Eddie’s wriggly veins so eddie pushes them up FOR Steve. Eddie doesn’t even realise he’s done it until his hand is pulling away and Steve is smiling a small ‘thanks’ at him.

Eddie goes to pull his other hand up to fuss with his hair but Steve pushes it down ‘ah, ah needle still in the arm. Gonna need you to keep it there.’ Eddie stills at the gentle pressure and feels his face heat up both through embarrassment and the very definite swirling in his tummy from the touch.

Steve finishes taking the blood and puts the plaster on Eddie and smoothing over it with his thumb. ‘Normally I keep these for the kids, my own personal stock. But I think I can make an exception for a regular like you.’ Eddie looks down and sees the Star Wars logo emblazoned on the tiny plaster and smiles ‘are these to get in favour with the kids? Or heaven forbid, are you are a Star Wars fan?’

Steve raises his hands ‘guilty as charged, something about those ewoks man.’ He proceeds to makes a noise that Eddie guesses is an ewok impression and Eddie swears his heart skips a beat. Stunned into silence and staring Eddie puts his jacket back on and tries to think of anything to say. He can’t just leave it like this! He’s got to reengage the conversation, needs to get the last word so Steve doesn’t think he’s a brain dead normie with no thoughts on the cultural touch stone that is Star Wars.

So on his way out the door he does the worst thing imaginable. He can feel the embarrassment crawling up his skin before he’s even finished. He stands up, moves with the rigidity of a rusted clock and says in a deadpan C-3P0 impression ‘I look forward to our next meeting Steve’. Gives a robotic wave and stifly walks out the door as Steve slowly waves back with a bemused look on his face.

Eddie makes it all the way to his van before he is screams and leans his head on the steering wheel so hard the horn starts blaring and so long that somebody knocks on his window to check he’s okay. Somehow he manages to drive home and eventually tells Gareth. He doesn’t stop laughing the whole night, doesn’t stop doing C-3P0 impressions for a week. Eddie considers murder but then rationalises that Steve probably doesn’t go to prisons to take blood so restrains himself. Gareth lives another day, but only just.

What Eddie doesn’t know is across town the exact same thing is happening in Robin and Steve’s shared appartment, only Robin doesn’t let up on the ewok impression for a month.