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maithefluffychicken · 10 months

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Hazelnuts and blackberries, chocolate and lavender

Part 1 / Part 2

Omegaverse Steddie fanfiction, alpha Eddie Munson, omega Steve Harrington, strangers to friends to lovers, alpha beta omega dynamics.

Starcourt.

Small business owners complain about that hellish building that's going murder Hawkins' commercial economy. Or whatever.

Surely, it was going to murder Eddie's sanity, that's a fact. Since the mall opened its doors, the poor alpha’s life hasn’t been the same.

First, that awful morning when Eddie skipped his math class to buy a tape. Not just any tape but the ‘Marching Out’ by Yngwie Fucking Malmsteem, a tape that just released and it was already considered a worthwhile listen album. Eddie was ecstatic, a spring in his step, thinking about listening to his new tape for hours on end, just to find out that the little, cluttered tapes and vinyl store he loved - and where he used to spend a big part of his money - was closed.

Closed!

Eddie glared, gaping like a fish, at the closed door and blinded windows and the big cardboard placard with the word ‘closed’ in big, red letters. By its side, a note that said that the customers could still find whatever music they were looking for in the bigger and better record store at Starcourt Mall.

Since there were no other stupid stores to buy the tape - gas stations never had the new things - Eddie had to go to Starcourt.

Second, the stupid music store with a stupid cool name - Divinyl Madness Records - needed a stupid someone to hire as clerk.

Eddie was that stupid someone, it seemed. The owner of the store was nice, an older and intimidating alpha that sported a trimmed beard and a mane longer than Eddie’s; he saw the boy’s looks and his always present battle denim vest and, with a wolfish grin, as if he had found an equal, asked him a few things while Eddie was trying to buy the fucking tape! What kind of music he listened to (metal, mostly), if he played some instrument (guitar, d-uh!), if he minded talking with people (people usually minded to talk with him if he were being honest), and if he was interested to become part of Divinyl Records, as a clerk.

Eddie could save some money, help at home, and hopefully, Chief Hopper wouldn’t be such a present figure in his life if he worked there. That would be nice. He could always keep his other job - selling a few joints from time to time - but maybe he could start a new life. One that could let him out of here.

That day, Eddie came home with ‘Marching Out’ blasting from his van’s windows down and a new job.

Ok, all in all that had been a nice day after all. Sure, Eddie would miss the old store and his chaotic shelves and disarrayed style, and the owner's long stares at him, the beta glaring at Eddie for taking too much time deciding what to buy while waiting for new album releases. But at home that night, when he told his uncle Wayne about his new job, the man rewarded him with a proud glint in his eye and a pat on his shoulder, reassuring him that he didn't need to worry about their economics, that Eddie better save his money for his future, and made him promise to not go around skipping his classes again.

Third, and worse thing about Starcourt and working there, though, was Steve the King of the Jerks Harrington.

And if his persona wasn't bad enough, the real nightmare was the tight, small ridiculous sailor uniform he had to wear because the fallen ruler of Hawkin’s High worked in the silly ice cream parlor called Scoops Ahoy!

Divinyl Madness was situated right in front from Scoops Ahoy, Eddie had a perfect view of the former king's highlighted blonde mane ruined by the silly hat, his toned arms flexing every time he scooped ice cream. That alone could drive any alpha insane.

But his shorts. Oh boy.

The blue fabric clinged to his round ass perfectly, and left muscular, slightly hairy thighs on sight. And those long white socks that covered his calves.

Eddie maybe hated the guy, but fuck, he was hot. Really hot. Stupidly hot, ridiculously even, always has been, and the alpha hated the way his eyes lingered on the jock whenever he was nearby.

Eddie knew, because he had heard it at high school, that one of the reasons for Harrington's disgrace was the fact that he presented late and as omega. Captain of the swimming team, basketball star, and a bully jock turned into nothing just because of his secondary gender. Eddie couldn’t easily forgive the way Steve Harrington treated his people, the nerds, the outcasts and the misfits, but he never understood that hate towards male omegas or female alphas, as if they were less than nothing. Stupid old-fashioned social conventions.

Anyway. The real and only reason Eddie hated to work at the record store is that Steve Harrington was always there, too, in that small outfit, being hot.

Hot enough to distract Eddie from time to time, who started to stare at him when he wasn't busy and no clients were at the store.

Hot enough to start invading Eddie's dreams at night, and fuck it all, even his fantasies when he was wide awake at night and restless because Steve was a wet dream made flesh and bone and Eddie was just a guy. Just give him a rest. What if he had to knot his own fist, what else could he do about it?

Eddie was just a guy who ate a lot of ice cream that summer.

“Ahoy Ladies! Would you like to set sail on this ocean of flavor with me? I’ll be your captain, I’m Steve Harrington,” Steve’s cheerful and flirty greeting to every cute girl while he winked and used his sultriest voice was fucking unnerving to Eddie. Maybe an old habit from when he was expecting to present as an alpha.

Maybe Steve preferred other omegas, just because they were girls? Eddie frowns upon this and he feels suddenly sick. Every fucking time he comes for a stupid ice cream during his break the same thing, the same stupid line falling from these pink, flush lips and Eddie feels…

He fucking wants to growl and snarl at these other poor omegas girls that are unaware of his inner turmoil. He’s going insane, and he has been working at Divinyl Record for only three weeks.

The girls have their ice creams, ignoring the omega in his slutty sailor disguise but they all scrunch their noses when walking past Eddie, glaring at him and flushing themselves together, the way the omegas do to protect themselves against an alpha. Eddie, even enraptured by Steve, notices it and looks at them in confusion, until- fuck. His scent. Sour with jealousy and spicier with his own arousal, it’s a very distinctive and very alpha smell, no doubt the poor girls had felt the need to close their pack to protect themselves, leaving the establishment in a rush.

Fucking great, as if Eddie hadn’t enough in his plate already, now he smells like a predator. And it’s not like he can turn and say ‘hey babes, don’t you fret, you surely are all lovely and very enticing omegas, but I’m afraid my mind is set in this pretty sailor over here, I won’t represent any danger to any of you, and now I bid you farewell.’ Ha!

“Ahoy Lad-, oh Eddie, hi!” Steve greets him, a wide smile in those pink lips and Eddie can’t help but to think, it’s not fair. Why the fuck does Steve to smile at him like that, as if he’s happy to see him today, as if he’s happy to have Eddie coming for an ice cream every day since Eddie started working in the mall, right in front of Scoops Ahoy.

“What, no offer for me to sail this ocean of flavor, hm?” Eddie teases, he can’t help himself. “ You don’t want to be my captain, Harrington?”

Steve’s cheeks turn red and that’s such a good look on him. Eddie’s hindbrain yells mine and he has to shake his head, reminding himself he hates this guy and always will. People don’t change, Steve Harrington doesn't change, he’s still the same jerk, even if his scent is sweeter now and his hair is a bit longer, with blonde highlights…

“Pft, captain? Not even Private First Class, our dear Steve,” a chirpy voice says from the backstore, the blonde girl who works with Steve appearing and resting her arm on Steve’s shoulder, grinning wide while Steve frowns at her. “But he’s working hard. How are you, Eddie?”

“Hey, Robin,” Eddie smiles tensely at her, he doesn’t enjoy the way she treats the omega. From the record store, though, Eddie has seen that it’s just how their friendship is. He knows, he knows they’re friends, and Eddie is no one for them, for Steve. “Slow day at the store, I’m here for my daily dose of sugar.”

They’re not friends, Eddie has to remind himself, when Steve offers him a blinding smile, droopy eyes locking with his own when he asks if he wants a sample of their new flavor.

Fuck.

The thing is, and this is when Eddie realizes for real that he’s completely fucked - about this whole affair who involves Steve Harrington and his inner, loud alpha- the thing is, that Steve’s scent smells like hazelnuts and lavender. And since Eddie started working at the store and spending his money on ice cream, he has been asking for flavors that remind him of Steve’s scent. Almond and maple syrup, chocolate and peanuts - his favorite, since Eddie’s own scent is dark chocolate and blackberries, and -

He hasn’t noticed until now, until this exact moment when he shrugs and Steve offers him a disposable spoon with the new ice cream flavor: caramel and hazelnuts.

Eddie opens his mouth, inhaling the cold scent of the sample when Steve raises his hand, offering the spoon to him; the omega chuckles but shoves the spoon in Eddie’s mouth carefully. The omega’s own scent, warmer and even sweeter, the hint of lavender fills Eddie’s nostrils and makes his mouth water.

Fuck.

“It's good, right?” Steve asks him, eyes wide. Maybe ice cream is the ex-jock whole life, now. “Do you like it?”

Eddie nods, awestruck, forgetting where he is, wrapping his fingers around Steve’s wrist, gently. Steve flares his nostrils, inhaling deep too, and blushing right in front of Eddie’s eyes, who feels his blood boiling in his veins. The omega holds his gaze, his almond eyes bright and wide open, lips parted to taste whatever he’s smelling-

Robin clears her voice, “Steve, I think Eddie wants his ice cream so he can go back to work, and we have more clients waiting.”

The alpha almost snaps at her, turning his head to snarl, but her soft eyes and knowing smile are enough to keep his mouth closed. What the fuck is happening to him today?

“Yes, yeah, sure. What flavor do you want today, Eddie?”

Eddie comes back to the record store with two scoops in his cone, his usual chocolate and peanuts - the closest to hazelnuts until now - and… well, hazelnuts and caramel.

“Hey, pup, what’s wrong with you?” Joe, the alpha who owns the store looks at him and wrinkles his nose. “You smell like you fell into a chocolate fountain, like burnt sugar, you feeling ok, Munson?"

"I… I'm fine," Eddie lies, and the hours don't run fast enough.

When he reaches home, his uncle Wayne winces.

"Uf, son, your rut is early," he says, greeting him.

"Hng," Eddie agrees, flopping onto the couch, face first.

"Something triggered it?" His uncle asks, not unkindly, shuffling in their small kitchenette.

"What do you mean, Wayne?" He bristles, almost snarls, but his uncle simply laughs and puts a glass of water on the table for him.

"Do ya really want to go through the bees and the birds talk again, son?" Wayne asks, teases him, and Eddie grunts, hides his face against the plush, worn cushions that smell like him and his uncle. Their little pack. "Ya know what I mean, some pretty omega caught yer eyes?"

"Uncle Wayne," Eddie groans. Then, the younger alpha thinks about droopy, hazel eyes, about pink lips stretched in an open smile, and the smell of sweet hazelnuts. "Maybe."

His rut lasts three whole days, he spends them in his room, thrashing and growling and having half a mind to not destroy everything he has, his guitars, his amps, his books.

On the fourth day and feeling like shit, Eddie comes back to high school, to his band practice, and to Divinyl Records. At least his brain is not full of cotton anymore, even if his hindbrain is still louder in his mind.

Eddie apologizes to Joe for calling in sick for three whole days.

"It's ok, pup," the alpha pats his shoulder with such force that makes Eddie stumble. "It gets easier when you're older."

"Really?"

"Nah, not really," Joe laughs, putting a box full of records on Eddie's trembling arms and he picks another box, and points Eddie with his chin to follow him. "Just an omega, a good mate, it's the only thing that will make your ruts less miserable, pup. Find someone who sees that you’re so much more than a knothead and never let go."

Eddie snorts at these words, but during his shift, he can’t stop thinking about it. Fuck, he knows he’s far too young to think about finding a mate, and yet, something weird tugs at his gut when he glances sideways and sees Steve across the corridor, in his blue uniform and smiling to a kid. There’s this pup again, his curls under a cap, Eddie has seen him with Steve other times, they greet each other with a silly handshake that makes Eddie smile despite his best effort to keep his frown.

His hindbrain whines and Eddie reminds it, sulking, that they’re not friends, they’re no less than hereditary enemies. There’s no place in Steve’s life for someone like Eddie.

Eddie is focusing, organizing and reshelving some tapes behind the counter when a soft cough calls his attention and makes him turn around.

“Good ev- Harrington?”

Steve is in front of him, holding two cones in front of him, his blond hair is falling over his eyes but there’s no little white hat, and he’s smiling. Wide and beautiful. At Eddie.

“Hi, Eddie,” Steve greets him, his smile shy and tentative.

“What can I do for you, Captain Harrington?” Eddie teases, his eyes jumping from the ice creams to Steve’s eyes.

“You didn’t come for your ice cream today nor the last days, and I thought…” Steve blushes, his eyes leave Eddie’s. “I thought I could bring it to you, maybe we can have our breaks together?”

Eddie gapes like a fish, opening his mouth with nothing to say, and then closing it again. He manages to mumble something about letting his boss know and Steve’s smile widens.

Lavender and hazelnuts fill his nostrils suddenly when Steve’s scent peaks with joy, and Eddie feels far too weak after his rut, his mind wheeling before the alpha can look for his boss at the backstore.

When the older alpha appears, trailing behind Eddie, he looks at Steve and then at his employee, arching a brow. He doesn’t say a thing, but Eddie feels like Joe knows exactly who was the one triggering the rut that forced Eddie to miss three days of work.

Eddie clears his throat and takes the cone Steve is offering, leading him out the store to find some place where they can sit and eat their ice cream.

“It’s the hazelnut and caramel from last time,” Steve informs him, blushing. But if you'd rather have some other flavor…”

“Nope!” Eddie interrupts him, blushing fiercely but unable to stop his mouth. “I loved this one, honestly, my favorite one so far. Thank you.”

Too much information, too much honesty, but Steve gives him that sweet, flustered smile, and it’s worth it. Eddie stares at Steve licking his own scoop, the one Eddie used to order, chocolate and peanuts.

Eddie doesn’t want to hope.

Things change after that evening.

They start looking for each other to share their break time together. Sometimes, if Scoops Ahoy is empty, Robin lets Eddie spend his break with them, perched at the table in their backstore, the three of them eating ice cream. Eddie can’t help but to laugh at the weird friendship antics the young beta and Steve have developed.

Robin used to hate Steve Harrington The King, she confesses to Eddie one lazy evening, the summer is coming to an end and Scoops Ahoy has lesser clients, now. Steve is dealing with a pup that sounds terrifying, no doubt she’ll present as an alpha someday, and she’s demanding free samples for her and her pack of friends.

“And now you’re friends,” Eddie says.

“And now we’re best friends, Eddie,” she corrects. “He’s not like he used to be, I wonder if he ever was like that or if he was, you know, pretending, for survival.”

Robin looks at Eddie, expectant, as if she’s waiting for Eddie to understand some hidden meaning in her words.

“I don’t hate Steve,” Eddie feels the urge to say, and it feels weird to admit it out loud.

“I know,” Robin smirks, making Eddie frown at her. “You reek of sweet blackberries all the time when you’re here, Eddie, I know you don’t hate him.”

“I-... Well, we agree then, we don’t hate Steve Harrington anymore, isn’t that a sign for the Apocalypse that’s to come upon us?” Eddie decides to joke about it, not wanting to acknowledge his burning cheeks or how his belly churns at the mention of his scent when he’s around Steve. And definitely he doesn’t want to listen to his hindbrain and its constant longing for the omega.

“For the Apocalypse, then,” Robin raises her cone - strawberry - and Eddie does the same with his own, chocolate and peanuts and hazelnuts with caramel.

“For the Apocalypse.”

“Scoops Ahoy is going to close its doors, at least until next summer,” Steve informs Eddie.

“What?” Eddie asks, fear rising inside him.

Scoops Ahoy is what had transformed their relationship, from hate to an irresponsible crush (at least for the alpha) to a friendship that leaves Eddie breathless, filling him with longing and a burning desire inside and stupid thoughts about a kind of life Eddie had never wanted to think about before. But Steve is his friend now, Steve wants to spend time with him, even outside their working hours, just like they're doing now.

It’s Sunday and they’re both over the roof of Eddie’s van, watching the sun set, parked on the quarry. It’s quiet and still warm, even if they both have their hoodies ready, it’ll be cold at night.

“And what are you and Robin going to do, now?” Eddie asks. He doesn’t want to lose any of them, now that he thinks about it. Eddie realizes he doesn’t want to lose everything he has found this summer.

Steve and Robin, and the whole strange pack that comes with them. Dustin, the curly hair pup that is a total nerd and Eddie has met and discussed DnD with him and his friends. Lucas, Will and that stubborn pup called Mike. Max and El, the young teens like peas in a pod. And Erica, the strong pup that is Lucas’ little sister and the most terrifying person Eddie has ever met, always surrounded by her own group of friends, always leading them.

Eddie feels strangely overprotective towards them all, even if he met them just recently. It’s all because of Steve, he knows and he can’t stop it now. He wants to protect everything that makes Steve happy, even his underpaid job.

“Oh, don’t worry, Scoops Ahoy closes but Spoons Ahoy opens instead!” Steve half laughs, maybe because he’s witnessing Eddie spiraling on his behalf, because Eddie is looking at him with wide, panicked eyes. Steve’s hand rests on Eddie’s face, soothing him immediately, letting Eddie nuzzle his palm and inhaling deeply from Steve’s wrist glands.

“What the fuck is Spoons Ahoy,” Eddie mumbles, losing himself in Steve’s touch and scent.

“A coffee shop, Eds, they’re keeping our jobs, just as baristas now.”

“Hm, ok,” Eddie mumbles, feeling like he’s laying in a field of lavender and eating sweet, roasted hazelnuts, his body going pliant and weightless when Steve pulls him to rest his head on him, over the omega’s clothed chest.

Eddie inhales deeply, ignoring the last rays of sun to better nuzzle the omega’s preppy white and red polo, his arms wrapping around the omega’s thin waist. It’s good, so good, to just stay like this, knowing his omega is safe with him…

“Don’t wanna lose you,” Eddie whispers, not knowing he’s saying it out loud. His hindbrain swimming in a lavender field.

“You won’t, Eds, I promise,” Steve whispers back, his fingers playing with Eddie’s hair and lulling him to sleep.

It’s middle September when Spoons Ahoy opens its doors, Robin and Steve wearing matching sailor uniforms again, but long sleeves ones now. Eddie misses being able to see Steve’s pale skin covered in moles, even if the new, sinfully tight white slacks stretch deliciously against the omega’s round ass. The first time Eddie sees Steve’s uniform - at Steve’s house, because they’re friends who hang out almost daily, now -, the alpha wants to bite these clothes off until Steve is bare and underneath him, and Eddie has to force himself to laugh at the ridiculousness of the new uniform when Steve looks at him, expecting an answer to a question Eddie can only imagine by context.

He knows Steve can tell what is he thinking, the omega’s nostrils flaring everytime his scent peaks spicier and sweeter. Ripped blackberry and dark chocolate, as his own boss, Robin and his uncle Wayne had informed him, several times now. Even Gareth has told him about it, in a very Gareth way - that was basically shouting at him in the middle of a band rehearsal - to be an alpha and to start courting Steve already because, in Gareth words: ‘he’s sighing too much and it’s annoying’.

Everyone knows how he feels about Steve Harrington, former king of Hawkins’ High School and actual princess of Eddie’s heart.

Steve is just too kind to ignore it in favor of their friendship.

Anyway, Spoons Ahoy it’s a blast and during the first days Eddie can’t share his break with Steve. He waits in line until he can reach the counter and it’s Robin who’s free for him to take his order; Eddie loves the funny beta girl, but he wanted to see Steve. His deception must be obvious.

“Hey, Steve, this one is yours, actually,” she grins and winks at Eddie before he can even say his hellos. Instead, he mouths her a silent thank you that makes Robin shake her head, smiling softly at him.

“Eds!” Steve greets him with his sweetest smile, his scent peaking sweeter, and it’s like summer again and lavender fields. “I’m sorry, I can’t take my break now…”

“Don’t worry, big boy, just wanted to, you know, say hello,” Eddie mumbles, and knows that Steve is looking at his smitten expression, he can’t even disguise it nowadays, he can’t pull a straight face in front of Steve, not for dear life.

Steve chuckles, making Eddie’s chest puff, his hindbrain whispering the sweetest things in his mind. Perfect omega, so sweet and caring, so beautiful, so strong, perfect mate for me, laughing at my words, wanting me back.

But a beautiful dream, though, to have Steve loving him back.

Wait, what?

“I’ve been trying something new. Want to forgo your usual coffee and take a risk, Munson?” Steve asks him, his cheeks deliciously blushed. He seems shy, hopeful even, as if Eddie had told him no at anything during the last months.

“Aye aye, Captain,” Eddie smirks, making Steve snort at his antics. Fuck.

Eddie can’t stay once Steve hands him two steamy disposable cups, one for Eddie and the other for Joe. He rushes to leave the counter, wishing Steve a nice shift and hoping they could spend more time together. When Eddie retreats to the backstore after offering his boss the second coffee, he takes time to admire Steve’s handwriting in his cup. There’s a little heart instead of a dot over the i on his name.

The alpha smiles at it. Holding the cup with both hands, he inhales the warm aroma, expecting… not knowing what, exactly, but he’s rewarded with strong cocoa and roasted hazelnuts. Their scents mixed sweetly in this cup. It’s like holding scorching hot hope in his hands.

Eddie whines, rushing to give it a sip, burning his tongue in the process but ignoring it because Steve had given him hope and a silly, little heart in his name.

It’s Halloween.

Steve says his parents aren’t at home, and invites Eddie, Robin and the pups for a movie night. All the pups have been discussing what movie they should watch first, it’s all sci-fi and horror and Eddie sees an amused Steve, hands on hips and wearing a worn, well loved yellow sweater, playing mom with the pups.

It’s a sight that makes Eddie’s hindbrain go feral, providing him images he doesn’t even want to think right now because, well, he’s surrounded by pups and there’s no doubt they all would know exactly what Eddie is thinking about the omega.

“We can start with Jaws and Alien next and… Wait, who brought The Exorcist? You’re all too young for this movie.”

“Come on Steve, we’re not pups anymore!”

“You won’t be able to sleep later!”

“We’ll nest with you and Eddie, we’ll be fine!”

Steve looks at Eddie at this, blushing fiercely, and Eddie just shrugs. Yes, I want to nest with you and protect these pups that you love as if they were yours and maybe someday we’ll have our own pups in our own nest and… Yeah, yes, Eddie has been thinking about this, sue him - again.

The pups are all tucked on an improvised bed in front of the couch, where Eddie and Steve are sitting together. Robin has claimed the reclining chair for herself, a thick blanket covering from chin to toe, and smiling smugly when she reclines it and gets comfortable.

The movie starts and Eddie startles when Steve gets closer to him, a plush, giant blanket in hands, and smiles at him coyly, a silent question in his shy eyes.

Eddie smiles at him, heart hammering wildly in his chest, laying sideways on the couch and opening his arms for Steve to make himself a place between them.

“I don’t really enjoy horror movies,” Steve confesses in a whisper, covering their bodies with the blanket. “I mean, I’m ok with Jaws, I love Steven Spielberg’s movies, but, Alien?”

Steve wiggles and gets comfortable, taking Eddie’s arms to wrap himself with them, and the alpha has to suppress a purr, but oh, he flushes their bodies together without thinking. Hazelnuts and lavender surround Eddie and it’s summer again.

“Technically, Alien is sci-fi, sweetheart,” Eddie nuzzles Steve’s soft hair. “But I’m here and I’ll keep you safe, I promise.”

Steve lets out a happy chirp and one of their pups - because now they all are their pups - shush at them.

“Would you scent me if I’m scared?” Steve turns his head to whisper at Eddie, their lips brushing slightly. Eddie wants to growl and claim those lips.

“Always,” Eddie whispers back, no, promises him so earnestly it hurts him physically.

Steve pecks him on the tip of his nose and turns his head to watch the movie, seemingly unaffected by Eddie’s inner turmoil, and daring to intertwine their fingers togethers.

Eddie feels like he’s floating, his purr starts in his chest and it’s low enough that the pups wouldn’t hear it, but Steve can feel the rumble of it, pressed as they are back to chest.

A moment after, Steve’s purr starts too, lulling Eddie to a sated, safe state where even his hindbrain gets quiet. It’s the best Halloween of Eddie’s life..

It’s a rare occasion, Eddie and Wayne have the day off and they decide to drive to the city, see what’s new.

They take a look at the thrift shop, where Eddie spots a brand new denim jacket, in great conditions and so cheap, perfect for a new battle vest. He also finds a couple of t-shirts and brings them all to the counter where Wayne is waiting for him, his own bounty in his hands.

Eddie drops the clothes on the counter and it's when he sees it. Behind the glass, resting over blue velvet, there's a silver chain attached to a silver blackberry.

“It’s beautiful, right?” The girl at the other side of the counter says.

“It’s perfect for a courting gift,” his uncle Wayne agrees, nudging him with his elbow.

Eddie blushes, but he keeps his mouth closed. For now.

“You don’t strike me as the romantic type, Wayne,” Eddie teases, biting a chip dipped in ketchup.

“What’s yer real question, pup, spit it,” Wayne snorts, devouring his burger. “It’s about that Harrington boy?”

Eddie grunts, hides his face and makes some more grumbling noises his uncle takes as an affirmation.

“H-how do I court an omega?” Eddie asks with a trembling voice, muffled by his hands.

Eddie has a plan.

It’s a good plan, it’s a fucking perfect plan and he’s sure that Steve is going to say yes, he’s.. ok, he’s 90% sure that Steve is going to accept his courting gift. They’ve been getting closer and closer, Eddie has been dying to ask, but between their jobs and classes…

It’s an old as fuck tradition, the courting ritual, and nobody does that anymore, but Eddie is an idiot and a romantic and Steve Harrington deserves to be wooed, to be courted. Eddie just hopes Steve says yes. That this is not some kind of joke.

Eddie has the silver blackberry pendant, the one from the thrift store, in a neat, blue velvet box.

He just needs to wait two days. Two days and he’ll give Steve his courting gift on Christmas’ Eve day, during lunch, and he’s going to ask him if he accepts his courting.

No misunderstandings, not hey, I saw this and thought of you, or look! Early Christmas present! No.

A real proposition.

They’re working double shifts because of the holidays, and they have one whole hour for lunch. Eddie runs towards Spoons Ahoy, planning to ask Steve to spend their hour together - as they do now - and finds Steve holding to the counter for dear life, cheeks red and covered in fresh sweat. Thankfully, there are no clients at this hour.

“Stevie!” Eddie shouts and rushes behind the counter, Robin appearing at his screaming.

“Eddie? What… Steve?”

“Steve, sweetheart, are you ok?”

“It’s… too hot,” Steve sighs, tugging at the collar of his sailor uniform.

“Eddie?” Robin asks, scared and scrunching her nose covered in freckles. “Is he… Is he in heat?”

“Y-yeah, yes, smells like it,” Eddie says. Steve’s scent is sweeter than ever, dry lavender under august’s sun and roasted hazelnuts filling and dizzying Eddie’s mind, his own body reacting to his omega’s needs. “He can’t work like this.”

“Go with him, I’ll inform Joe, too.”

“Robin, I can’t… We’re not… He never…” Eddie doesn’t know how to say that he can’t go and betray Steve’s trust. Eddie can’t trust himself, not when Steve is so vulnerable. But Robin basically shoves them towards the exit, ignoring Eddie’s weak protests.

Ok, new plan. Eddie is good at improvising and he’s a firm believer that adaptability it’s a great skill. He has a new plan now.

The new plan is to leave Steve at his house, safe and sound, and then provide for whatever Steve could need.

“Eddie…,” the omega whispers, arching his back in the passenger seat of Eddie’s van. “Eddie, it’s too hot.”

“I know, baby, I know,” Eddie tries to soothe him. “It’s your heat, it’s starting now. I’m going to leave you at home, ok?” Eddie caresses the omega’s face, he’s burning as if in fever.

“Would you spend it with me?” Steve asks, whines hopefully and in pain. Fuck.

“I can’t, baby,” Eddie answers, swallowing around the lump in his throat and driving as carefully as he can while his hindbrain is howling. Steve is whimpering, so close to him, scenting his van. “I want to, you know… Fuck, Stevie, you know that I want to, but I can’t do this to you, not like this.”

“Like this?” Steve asks, frowning even if he keeps whimpering softly.

“You know…” Eddie makes a vague gesture with his hand. “Like this.” He repeats. “In heat, you’re like, hindbrain is in control and all that, right?”

Steve barks an angry, incredulous laugh at Eddie.

“Is that how a rut feels for you?” Steve asks.

The alpha looks at Steve sideways, blushing and feeling like the idiot he is. Nods sharply. All alphas are knotheads, after all, aren’t they?

“Eds… I’m in heat, not drugged,” Steve sighs, clearly annoyed and smelling Eddie’s scent, lips parted and nostrils flaring. “I know what I’m doing, and I’m asking you to spend my heat with me, if you want me.”

If you want me. If you want me.

Eddie growls at that, his hindbrain howling. He reaches to hold Steve’s hand, squeezes hard, the omega feels clammy and scorching hot because of the heat.

“I’ve wanted you for a long time, Stevie, baby.”

Eddie doesn’t remember how they made it to Steve’s house, only that he’s grateful that the Harringtons are always out of Hawkins, because Eddie can’t stop kissing Steve while the omega leads them to his room.

Steve breaks their kiss, their first kiss - not like Eddie had planned but he’s not complaining - and starts rummaging through his room, grabbing blankets and sheets and rearranging his bed. No, his nest.

“Fuck, fuck, I can’t get it right,” the omega sobs after a while, fighting against a pillow.

This is more what Eddie expected, if he’s honest. When the hindbrain takes control, logic goes away and instinct takes everything. Steve is now succumbing to it, groaning and snapping, and Eddie falls in love with him even more.

“Hey, hey, baby,” Eddie gets closer, calmly and with his hands raised up. “May I help you?”

Steve’s face is red, fat tears running down his cheeks. Eddie’s heart breaks a bit at the sight, the urge to fight against whatever it is that is making Steve unhappy too strong, his hindbrain too loud to ignore.

“I have nothing that smells like you,” Steve sobs again, wiping his tears with the sleeve of his uniform.

“We can take care of that, hm?” Eddie reassures and Steve looks at him. “I just, I need to… Can I get closer?”

Eddie’s body is reacting to Steve’s scent, to his heat, and when Steve flares his nostrils, lips parted to chase Eddie’s own scent, he knows the omega is tasting his own arousal. Eddie is already getting hard in his jeans, urgency tugging at him in a new, desperate way. There’s this sudden urge to close all the doors and windows, to make sure his omega is safe here. To make sure they have plenty of food and water and whatever Steve could need.

Steve’s heat is triggering the alpha’s deepest instincts, his own rut. Faster now that he’s with an omega in heat, more desperate if that’s possible, quicker the way his body reacts and his hindbrain shuts down his rational mind. If someone tried to enter the house now, Eddie knows he would fight them with teeth and nails.

The omega nods at him, offers Eddie his hand and the alpha rushes to take it in his, kneels in front of Steve and kisses his hand, nuzzles his warm, soft palm, noses Steve’s wrist glands. It’s so different from every other time, so intimate.

“Stevie, sweetheart, I want to give you whatever you could want,” Eddie whispers against the omega’s wrist, who gasps and thrashes, still fully clothed. His rut is overwhelming him and he needs to do something before he loses it completely. “I just want to know that this… that this is what you really want?”

Eddie’s speech is slurred, he can feel it, like he’s drunk but still thinking properly. Still in charge of himself but not for long, and hopes Steve is still in charge of himself, too.

No, of course they’re not drugged, as Steve said, and maybe it’s different for the omega. But Eddie? He knows he’s losing his mind, he needs to be sure. He needs to claim, the only way he can, now.

“Eddie, I told you, I know what I… oh.”

The alpha, who has been carrying the blue velvet box with him for weeks now, too anxious to leave it at home and yet patting it on his pocket every five minutes, is now holding it in front of Steve.

“Eds? Is this…?”

“Open it, please,” Eddie begs, his hips bucking, armpits stinging, his rut coming to him in waves of painful need. “You don’t have to say yes but fuck, I… I hope you say yes, Stevie, I just… I want to ask you… I’ve been wanting for a long time, actually, never sure if you… if you ever…”

He’s rambling, his hindbrain snarling inside him. If Steve rejects him, and still wants Eddie to stay, Eddie doesn’t know if he’ll survive that. If Steve wants him to leave, Eddie would leave the country, leave it for good and never look back.

Steve opens the box and his eyes widen, the light brown swallowed by the black of his pupils, his delicate fingertip caressing the simple pendant.

“A blackberry,” he whispers. “Eddie, is a silver blackberry.”

Steve is smiling when he looks at Eddie.

“It’s… a courting gift, Stevie,” Eddie reassures, his intentions clear, or so he hopes.

“You always smell like ripe blackberries and chocolate when we’re together,” Steve smiles, his eyes bright.

“Yeah,” Eddie agrees, breathless. “Do you accept it?”

Eddie finds himself with a lapful of happy, chirping omega who is peppering kisses all over his face. They fall to the ground, Steve stradling him, and Eddie hugging Steve back, laughing, feeling weightless and yet like he’s a supernova.

“I thought… Eddie, what took you this long?” Steve pouts before grinning again. “Of course I accept it, silly alpha, help me?”

They stand clumsily, clawing at the last moments of rational thinking to enjoy this moment. Eddie closes the chain around Steve’s neck, takes his chance to kiss at the moles right there in his jaw, the omega shivering under his touch.

After that, it’s all a blur. Steve undresses himself hastily, tossing the uniform somewhere, leaving only the new silver blackberry, and urges Eddie to do the same. The omega steals Eddie’s handkerchief and puts it on his nest, next goes Eddie’s t-shirt, faded and soft and comfortable, and the alpha knows Steve is going to keep his favorite t-shirt when he nuzzles it, pressing it against his face and inhaling deeply. He feels a deep rush of pride, smiling wolfishly, thinking: mine.

“Better?” Eddie manages to ask when Steve deems the nest good enough.

“No,” Steve answers, takes his hands and pulls at him until Eddie is on the nest, laughing, laying barenaked for Steve to touch and scent and enjoy. “Ok, now, perfect.”

They can’t keep talking after that, their needs far too urgent to deny them now that they’re together. Eddie is not a virgin, but he has never shared a nest with an omega in heat, nor has he spent his rut with someone, and it’s so intense, so overwhelming.

It’s so good. So fucking amazing, he’s not ready for something like this, and yet, he can’t believe he’s been living without this.

Steve’s skin is burning and dripping wet when Eddie gets his mouth on him, his little cocklet throbbing in his tongue under the alpha’s ministrations while his own cock is aching, leaking precum all over the nest.

“Alpha, alpha, I need you,” are the last coherent words Steve pronounces that night. Eddie has half a mind to grab one of the condoms Steve tossed into the nest.

Eddie kisses him while he breaches him, his cunt so wet and ready for him, swallowing him to the hilt, until he’s buried deep in the omega.

“Omega,” Eddie worships him, and knows he’ll always worship Steve.

The omega thrashes and bites him in his shoulders and arms, leaving the marks he can while avoiding his mating gland. Eddie hopes they can claim each other in the future.

They wail and whine, their moans and breath mingling, Eddie rolling his hips chasing Steve’s pleasure again and again, the feeling of his walls clenching around him making him believe in a higher power.

“Alpha, alpha, alpha,” Steve chants, and tugs at Eddie’s dark curls, making the alpha growl, his hips stuttering, the knot at his base swelling and catching at Steve’s entrance.

A powerful, earth-shattering orgasm hits Eddie and leaves him breathless, knotting them together. The alpha howls at the sensation, Steve all around him even if he’s still underneath the alpha. The omega is milking him, riding his own pleasure, and Eddie loses himself in their mixed scents and the overwhelming truth that is to admit at last that he actually is in love with Steve Harrington.

Eddie awakes to the sound of a rumbling, loud purr. His muscles are sore and he’s thirsty and hungry as never before, but he’s also sated and happy, his own purr starting happily when he remembers the night before.

“Morning, sleeping beauty,” Eddie whispers, kissing Steve’s rumbling chest, nuzzling him and feeling absurdly proud of their mingled scents, plus the mess of sweat and slick and overall smell of sex.

“Hngmng,” Steve mumbles, his fingers tangled in Eddie’s fingers and playing idly.

Eddie props over his elbows to look at the magnificent sight that is Steve Harrington, completely naked in the morning light, in the mess of a nest they made together last night. The alpha smiles, completely smitten.

“Is it still too hot, baby?” Eddie asks, and kisses Steve’s lips, softly.

“Hm, not now, but… soon,” Steve answers, biting his lower lip, his soft gaze locked in Eddie’s eyes. He touches his own chest, finds the silver blackberry, and a shiver runs down his spine, Eddie feels like shivering, too. “You meant it?”

“The courting gift? Of course, sweetheart.”

Steve nods, biting his lower lip. Eddie has the need to kiss him again.

“And that you want to give me everything I want? Would you scent me when I’m scared? All that, you meant it?”

“Yeah, omega, I meant it, I mean it… Do you still accept my courtship?” Eddie needs to know, needs to be sure. He’ll probably need to hear it often, still feeling like a dream.

“Yes, Eds,” Steve’s laugh sounds like a chirp, far too adorable. “Do you realize that I’ve been flirting with you since you started working at Divinyl Records, right?”

Eddie blinks once, twice. Wants to say that, yes, that he knew all this time, but the truth is that he’s still wondering if all this is really happening.

“I- Sure.”

Steve chuckles, wraps his legs around the alpha’s waist and pulls at him until they’re kissing again, the urgency rising slowly, letting them enjoy their kiss.

During their lunch on Christmas’ Eve day, Starcourt bursting with people doing last time shopping, Eddie and Steve sit closer than usual. The omega is almost sitting in Eddie’s lap, and the alpha can’t stop nuzzling at his boyfriend’s hair and neck. He feels invincible.

Steve shoves a black velvet box towards Eddie, and kisses him right in his scent gland under his ear, making the alpha growl in pleasure.

“What’s this?” Eddie asks, lips curling in a smile.

“Just open it, Eds,” Steve smiles.

Eddie obliges and opens the box to reveal a silver hazelnut.

“Yes, Eddie Munson,” Steve whispers in his ear. “I accept your courting.”

#steddie fanfiction #steddie #alpha eddie munson #omega steve harrington #alpha beta omega dynamics #fluffy chicken writes #Hazelnuts serires

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crappymixtape · 1 year

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something infinite • part three

SOMETHING INFINITE • PART THREE J U S T W A N N A S E E Y O U

part three of something infinite – finally a day off and you’re all heading to the lake to fish and swim and drink and it feels like summer and fresh starts and you’re surprised to find you get one of your own | ( 3.3k, angst, tiny bit of fluff if you squint, enemies to lovers, steve x you, steve x reader – find the rest of the series and more here and find the series playlist on spotify here )

J U N E 1 9 8 7 🎶 never be ourselves, savannah conley

The sky was awake ages before you were, summer sun painting the clouds cotton candy pink and sunflower yellow. The sounds of crickets and frogs had faded and your eyes were still puffy and full of sleep when Jonathan shook your shoulder awake.

“C’mon, gotta get a good spot,” he gave you one of his soft, but playful Jonathan grins and you couldn’t help grinning yourself.

Finally you had a day off. Not that putting books away was anything hard, but as the sun fell through your open window you could feel the potential the day held. Everyone was going to the lake, the boys wanted to fish, and Eddie had promised beer and spliffs and you could already feel the sand between your toes.

When you fell into the back of the Wheeler’s station wagon next to Dustin your hair was still all messy sheets and morning, but nobody else looked any better and you couldn’t help laughing at the state of you all.

“What?” Dustin had asked, voice still scratchy from sleep, and you answered by roughing up his curls.

Nancy rolled the windows down as you bumped out of town into the woods, the air already warm and thick and fuzzy as it wrapped around you. Hop’s boat and fishing poles were up top of the station wagon and Eddie was trailing behind you in his van with Robin in tow. The trees and leaves and clouds flung shadows across the seat and your legs as you went and everything smelled like cedar, like moss and bonfires and summer and you closed your eyes for a minute.

This was nothing like Indianapolis. No climbing fire escapes at 1am, no paper bag bottles in back alleys, no running so fast from the cops you could hear your heartbeat in your ears. This was late nights eating dry Honeycomb from the box and whole cans of Pringles. A pile of tangled limbs in the back of Jonathan’s truck at the drive-in. Your skateboard wheels rough on the pavement like Max’s with Lucas and Dustin and Mike spinning bikes and spokes alongside you. This was lazy and slow and smooth like molasses. Easy, like breathing, and when you felt the car crunch into gravel off the pavement you opened your eyes again.

“First ones here!” Lucas’ squeal woke Max up and she slapped a hand against his chest.

“People are trying to sleep, genius,” she grumbled, head lolling back on the seat.

Mike and Will were busy pointing out all the best spots for fishing, Dustin peeking over the bench to get a better look as Nancy pulled off the road into the long grass. There was no gravel there, just dirt and molehills and wildflowers and when the car finally stopped next to the lake you thought you’d never heard something more quiet and alive in your life.

Mourning dove calls echoed through the birch trees, the buzz of cicadas just picking up, and the soft static of the lake lapping up the rocky shore chased off sleep better than any alarm could. How had your mom hidden this tiny treasure from you for so long? You felt the corners of your lips tug up into a smile.

“Nice, right?” you hadn’t realized Lucas had lifted the back hatch for you to get out. When he caught the look on your face he gave you a grin.

“Yeah,” you breathed, piling out of the car after Dustin, feet kicking dandelion seeds up into the breeze, long grass dancing around your knees as the sun lit the sky on fire.

It couldn’t have been any later than 9am, but you could already feel your skin all dewy in the warm, thick, summer air. Tangerine swimsuit ties peeked out from the waistband of your jean shorts and cut-off shirt, a spare of Jonathan’s sunglasses perched on your head, the very picture of June and July and August, and your smile grew.

“Day’s not gettin’ any longer!” Eddie hollered out his window. He pulled up next to the station wagon, the sounds of Black Sabbath setting the little spark in your chest alight.

“Eddie!” the boys were on him in an instant, their ever fearless Dungeon Master arriving at last. The heavy van door rolled open to loose Robin with a joint already tucked between her lips and she climbed out to stretch her lanky frame.

“God, this place is so pretty it’s almost gross,” she mumbled, sunglasses crooked on her nose. You huffed a laugh as she groaned, “Eds, I’m gonna need a beer.”

“Aye aye,” he quipped, scurrying around the back of the van for the cooler. He was clearly the only morning person of the group. You were about to offer a hand, but something, someone, caught your eye.

A pair of dirty, beat up Blazers, skin all golden and dotted with moles and freckles, eyes like honey and hair a riot – your stomach flipped over.

“Jesus, beer me too, too damn early.”

Steve hadn’t seen you yet, moving without hesitation for Eddie and the cooler, and for a split second you felt like you were back in middle school. Like you wanted to hide. Like you’d seen someone you weren’t sure of. Someone you didn’t want to talk to. But your morbid curiosity kept your feet planted and when he came back into view you quickly turned away, hoping he hadn’t seen you staring.

No luck.

“Morning, sunshine,” you could hear the grin on his lips. At least he hadn’t called you princess.

Pulling your bottom lip between your teeth you took in a breath, but Dustin saved you from the obligation of a response, “Whoa, you guys know each other?”

“Unfortunately,” you quipped recovering quickly, gaining a snicker from Lucas and Max as you turned back around. Steve gave you a look and you replied wordlessly with a sugary, sweet smile.

“Cute,” he snarked, lips twisting in a tiny scowl as Eddie shoved a beer into his hands.

“Boooooring,” Robin droned, giving Steve a shove as she walked past him and grabbed your hand, “Less talking, more swimming.”

It felt so strange watching Steve with everyone, how he made them laugh and smile. You’d expected them to have to get on him about being an ass, about his shitty comments and judging stares, but it didn’t happen. It was like everyone knew something about him that you didn’t. They all gave him the benefit of the doubt.

Their laughter and teasing coming so easily as they threw worms from the bait bucket at each other or splashed lake water into beer cans and stole sunglasses from atop their heads. And oh my god, the way he took care of the younger kids. Getting on them about sunscreen and telling Lucas to get a life jacket or Dustin that his walkie was too close to the water. Where was the sniping, scowling, mope of a boy you’d met a couple weeks ago?

As the sun crept higher in the sky, morning gave way to afternoon and you, Nancy and Robin found a spot to lay out next to the lake. The others were all clambering into Hop’s old boat and snippets of their bickering fell into your ears.

“Move over, Mike, Max is sitting next to me.”

“Just because she’s your girlfriend doesn’t mean you have to be on her.”

“I’m not on her.”

“Can we please go already?”

“Children. It’s too early for this shit,” Steve chided. A smirk tugged up at your lips when you opened your eyes, but it fell as you caught the boy pulling the soft white cotton of his t-shirt up and over his head and you swore you felt your heart drop out of your chest.

The muscles along his back tensed as he leaned over and gave the boat a shove off the sandy beach and into the water. A whole galaxy worth of freckled constellations scattered across the slope of his shoulders and even if you wanted to you didn’t think you could pull your eyes away from him.

“Helloooo, anyone home?” Robin waved a hand in front of your face and when you blinked her back into focus she was giving you the biggest shit-eating grin you’d ever seen.

“What?” you sniped, hastily snatching the spliff from between her fingers.

“Oh, nothing, just watching you be a creep.”

You frowned and took a drag, “I’m not a creep. That guy is grade A douchebag.”

Robin huffed a laugh and shook her head, “He definitely doesn’t make it easy.” But then Nancy chimed in.

“Steve’s…had a hard time,” she murmured, tone soft, expression almost nostalgic.

Oh, fell from your mouth and for a minute you felt bad, a thread of guilt snaking around your heart. You had your fair share of shit and people still gave you a chance despite your sass and sharp tongue, why weren’t you doing the same?

“I mean, don’t get me wrong, he can be a dingus,” Robin laughed her bright Robin laugh and grabbed the joint from you, taking a drag, “But he’s our dingus. He’ll come around, you’ll see.”

Turning away from the girls you glanced over to find Steve and Eddie throwing rocks into the lake, laughing like a couple of idiots, and you couldn’t help wondering if maybe you were wrong about him. You wished for a minute he’d tell you. Wished he’d sit close and let you look at him. Let you see what it was you were missing.

“You three are much too dry,” Eddie’s voice stilted your thoughts and you realized both boys had stopped what they were doing to make a beeline for the cozy little spot you all had set up.

“No. No way, Munson. We just lit this. Don’t even think about it,” Robin snarked through a smoky exhale, holding her hand up in protest.

“Think about what? This? Harrington, gimme a hand.”

The look on Nancy’s face was scary enough to make anyone wilt on the spot, but you and Robin were too easy. Eddie scooped Robin up from the ground as she tried to scramble away, flailing against him, “EDDIE MUNSON, PUT ME DOWN.”

“Sure thing, sweetheart!” Eddie walked them knee deep into the lake and then promptly fell over backwards with a splash, Robin screeching as they both hit the water.

A laugh nearly escaped you, but it stalled when you saw Steve coming at you with an intense commitment and you froze. “Oh-no-I don’t–”

“Sorry, captain’s orders,” he said simply and then he was wrapping his arms around your waist, lifting you from the ground with ease and tossing you over his shoulder. As he walked away Nancy shrugged at you guiltily. Sorry, she mouthed, but the grin on her face said she wasn’t.

Steve was so warm, like he held summer and the sun and firecrackers in his chest, and as your shirt rode up you felt his calloused fingers trailing along the soft curve of your hip. His touch was electric, crackling against your skin, and your breath hitched in your throat as he rumbled a laugh against you, “Not even gonna fight me? Doesn’t seem like you.”

His voice shook you back from where ever you’d gotten lost and you squirmed in his hold, cheeks burning bright red, “You can’t be serious, are you twelve??”

“Feels like it,” he shot back casually. His bare feet met the lake and he lengthened his steps as his legs pushed against the water til it lapped at his waist.

“Shit, far enough!” curses fell from your lips and he only laughed in return.

Flipping you around the front of him he gave you a boyish grin. You opened your mouth in protest, but the words died in your throat when your eyes met. Pupils blown from the weed. All burnt caramel and honey, flecks of gold swimming in hazel, bright and glassy in the summer sun.

“Plug your nose,” and just like that the moment was shattered as he pulled you tight to his chest, pushing you both off the sandy lake bottom and under the water.

You probably should’ve said something, should’ve told someone you’d never really been good at swimming cos no one ever bothered to show you, but how lame and stupid and silly and as your head went under the blue-green of the lake you felt Steve let go and you panicked.

Reaching out, your hands slipped against his chest, frantically searching for anything to hold onto, your breath shrinking in your throat. Dread was pulling at your stomach at the thought of him swimming away, but it was like he knew and in an instant he had a hold on you, lifting you to the surface.

“Whoa, hey, are you okay?” Steve blew water from his lips, pulling you up, arms tight and warm on your bare skin.

You sucked in a breath of air, chest heaving, and for a minute you wished someone would throw you back into the lake. Blinking water from your lashes you opened your eyes expecting him to lay into you, but he didn’t.

“Seriously, are you good?” he said again. Lifting a hand to your face his fingers gently pushed messy, wet hair out of your eyes, looking for you to tell him you were okay.

“Uh–yeah. Yes. Good.”

“Good,” he echoed, eyes still searching yours at the uncertainty in your voice.

“I–” the words stuck in your throat, but you heard Robin in the back of your mind, He’ll come around, you’ll see. “–I can’t swim,” you muttered, cheeks burning.

“Oh? Oh,” Steve looked at you in a way he hadn’t done before. You’d loosed honesty on him and he felt it. Water dripped off his nose and he pressed his hand gently on the small of your back. “Well…that’s okay. I–I won’t tell anyone,” and when he looked at you, you knew he meant it.

“Could you at least go out a little further if you’re gonna do that?” Eddie’s voice teased from the shore, barely room for lake water between the two of you and you both realized what it looked like.

“Shut up, Munson! There was a crayfish!” Steve hollered over your shoulder.

“Yeah, oookay.”

Robin slapped a hand against Eddie’s chest and shoved him toward the cooler for another beer, trying to give you a minute.

“Here,” Steve steadied his feet under him, arms still holding you tight as he swam you back to a place where you could touch. When his hands fell away you missed it, Steve and warm and summer, and the cold lake water trailed goosebumps across your skin. “Better, princess?”

There it was.

“You know I hate that,” and you shoved him, but it was soft and you didn’t really mean it and he knew it.

When he looked down at you he gave you a tiny, teasing grin, but it melted the longer he looked. And then he said something that surprised you. “Listen, I-I can be asshole, I’m sorry,” he didn’t shy away, keeping his eyes on yours, and returned your moment of trust.

“So don’t be,” and you were serious, but he laughed and the sound made your heart flutter against your ribcage.

“Workin’ on it,” he rubbed the back of his neck and you swore you saw nerves flicker in his eyes, but then he dropped his gaze and cleared his throat. “Eds, beer me! C’mon, lunch,” and he reached a hand out to flick your fingers before jogging back up to the others.

The rest of the day spun by in a blur of laughter and sunscreen and smoke as the sky blew out into pale pinks and lilacs and bachelor button blue. Everyone was full of the sandwiches Nancy threw together, no one caught any fish, and all you could do was think about what Steve had said.

I’m sorry.

He was softer to you after that, his teasing held less heat, and you were both smiling. A lot. Everyone noticed, but no one said anything and you were thankful for it. You wished you could all stay there in that moment forever, held in the hazy sunbeams that glittered off the turquoise of the lake, but the light was fleeting and soon it was time to leave.

Eddie threw his cooler in the back of the van and lazily passed the spliff he’d been smoking to Jonathan, “Robs, we gotta go soon. Stevie boy has to get back.”

“What? Steve. Don’t tell me you’re hanging out with Tommy?” Robin leaned up on her elbows and fixed the boy with a look he couldn’t see.

“And what if I am?” Steve’s voice was flat as he stretched out on his back with a ball cap over his face, fingers laced behind his head.

“Steve,” Nancy spoke up then, tone short. Eddie and Jonathan both suddenly found the joint they were sharing very interesting.

“What, mom,” Steve huffed a sigh and sat up, yanking his hat over damp hair, “It’s fine, it’s not like I’m gonna steal another car.”

Your stomach dropped. Stealing a car? Tommy? He had to have been one of the other boys that night at Hop’s place. Why was Steve still hanging out with him?

“Hah, hah. Real funny, Harrington. Seriously, Steve. Tommy’s not–”

“I’m kinda done talking about it, Robs, so–” Steve shoved himself off the ground, grabbing his shirt off the rocks, “–Munson, let’s go.”

“Yep, leaving,” Eddie didn’t want to get caught in the middle of it and wasted no time hopping into the driver’s seat, waving at Robin to hurry the hell up, “See you kids at the fair, right? Friday?”

“Wouldn’t miss it,” Jonathan agreed as he and Nancy tried to herd the kids into the station wagon.

“Hawkins’ Fourth of July is legendary,” Lucas chimed in.

Max rolled her eyes and pushed him into the car, “You’re sitting in the middle this time.”

“You too. Get in, Harrington,” Robin took a page from Max’s book, shoving Steve into the van and pulling the slider closed behind them.

“Alright, everyone say a prayer for Stevie!”

“Shut up, Munson.”

“No, no he needs it!”

“I don’t, I don’t need it,” Steve had shoved himself between the front seats to flip Eddie off, but as he hit the gas Steve fell back into the bench and they were off down the road.

“So, you can sit in the front this time. You know, if you wanna talk to Nance or whatever,” Jonathan said, thumbing over his shoulder.

Oh, fell out. If you wanted to talk to Nance? He gave you a small knowing smile and it made your cheeks flush pink as he walked back to pile in next to Dustin.

The radio crackled as you rolled down the road back home, all the windows open, summer air blowing your lake damp hair past your face. You could still feel Steve’s hold around your waist, that look he’d given you, I’m sorry.

“Listen, I know Steve can be hard,” Nance broke the silence, everyone else fast asleep. “We dated in high school and he just…” she drifted off, considering her words, “…he’s sweet, it’s just not easy for him at home.” She glanced over at you, giving you a half smile. She cared. It was more than obvious.

“I think it’s like that for a lot of people,” you said quietly, your own relationship with your parents less than easy.

“Well, just give him a chance. You know? He’s got a big heart, he just needs someone who isn’t going to break it.”

He just needs someone who isn’t gonna break it.

Would you break it? Wait, did you want it?

You rode in silence for the rest of the ride home, Journey’s After the Fall playing on the radio, your heart feeling a little less guarded, warmer, and wrapped in honey and burnt caramel.

Should've told you then I knew, should've told you right from the start, hey. But the words didn't come out right, so I'll tell you straight from my heart.

SOMETHING INFINITE SYNOPSIS: hawkins, indiana, 1987 – your mom is out of town for the summer on business and she sends you to live with your aunt joyce and her husband jim in hawkins while she’s gone. joyce works at the library and jim is the town sheriff – the kids, will, jonathan and el slowly warm up to you and it’s after you get in with them that you really start to feel at home, but there’s one person who just annoys you to no end. one person you’d love to just boot off a cliff – steve fucking harrington. ♥️ find the rest of the series and more here and find the series playlist on spotify here.