#it’s so rainy here today | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

stevethehairington · 1 year

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[read on ao3]

"We're making a fort."

Steve is barely even halfway through the door when he is accosted with the declaration. His slick raincoat is still zipped up, his wet umbrella still wide open and dripping onto the porch behind him.

"What?" He asks, fumbling to close the umbrella and shake it out before a stack of blankets are being shoved into his arms.

"We are making a fort," Eddie repeats, grinning at Steve. He's got his own heap of blankets bundled against his chest, and when Steve glances past his shoulder he can see that the bones of said fort are already mostly established — Wayne's armchair has already been moved from its cozy corner of the room to now sit directly across from the couch, and the coffee table has been pushed to the side so as to not be a nuisance to the building process.

And, well, it sounds like a lot of fun, actually.

"Yeah, sure, alright," Steve replies with a huff of a laugh. "Can I take my coat off first though?" He asks, scrunching his nose at Eddie and holding the blankets back out for him to take.

Eddie presses his lips together, pretends to mull it over for a second before he nods. "I guess so," he says, mouth quirking at the corners. He accepts the blankets from Steve, adding them back to his own pile.

Steve toes out of his shoes, nudging them together neatly amongst the mess of the rest of the shoes by the front door. He tugs the zip of his coat down next, and shrugs out of it before draping it over the back of the nearby chair so that it can dry. Then he goes to join Eddie by the couch.

Eddie has set the blankets down and is standing there, hands on his hips as he assesses the fort structure.

He's still in his favorite plaid pajama pants, probably hasn't changed out of them all day if Steve has to guess. It's not like he had anywhere to go today, unlike Steve, and the weather certainly wares itself to pj's all day. A pair of green knit socks (a gift from Mrs. Henderson; Steve knows because he recieved the exact same pair in a pretty shade of sky blue for Christmas) poke out from the bottoms of those pants. Eddie's also got on a thick knit maroon sweater, one that Steve recognizes as his own. Ah, so that's where it ended up.

Eddie looks so cozy like that, and Steve can't help himself as he pads across the room and immediately drapes himself over Eddie's back. His arms slip around Eddie's middle, earning a little gasp and a flinch and a "shit you're cold!" as he dips his icy finger beneath the warm fabric to get even closer and to leech some of that warmth. Steve tucks his chin over Eddie's shoulder, pressing a kiss to the juncture of his neck before he looks out at the fort too.

"Where do we go from here, boss?" Steve asks.

Eddie melts into Steve, dropping his head back against Steve's shoulder and tilting his chin so he can give him a sidelong glance. "Think it's time to put a roof on this bad boy," he says.

"Grab a blanket then, Munson, let's get to work," Steve replies, leaving one more kiss to his neck before he, begrudgingly, peels himself off of Eddie and moves towards the stack.

They work together to spread the blankets out and lay them across the open space between the backrest of the sofa and the top of Wayne's armchair. It takes about three blankets to get it all covered, and they have to weigh down the ends with a couple of heavy books stacked on top of each other so that they actually stay in place instead of caving in and slipping right off.

It takes a delicate hand and a balancing placement to create the outer walls, carefully draping new blankets over the already secured ones and hoping nothing falls. Eddie finds a couple of clothespins in their junk drawer and decides to use those as an extra precaution. It's a pretty smart idea and seems to do the trick.

When the shell of the fort is finally finished, Steve and Eddie high five each other and take a moment to beam at their creation.

It takes up most of the living room, nearly stretching from corner to corner. They hadn't skimped on using every available piece of furniture that they could get their hands on — including the television set, Wayne's old cot that they still had lying around even though he has his own bedroom now, and the extra chair from the little kitchen table. It's sort of lopsided, and some of the corners look a little precarious, like they could slip at any second, while others look like they could withstand a hurricane and live to tell the tale. None of the blankets match either, both in color and fabric, but there had been enough to put together the whole fort and still have some left over. Apparently mugs and baseball caps aren't the only things the Munson men collect.

"Looks pretty damn good if I do say so myself," Eddie comments, regarding their work with a sparkle of pride in his eyes.

"We make a good team," Steve replies, bumping his shoulder against Eddie's.

"That we do, sweetheart, that we do," Eddie agrees.

He claps his hands together then. "Now it's time to furnish the place."

Steve raises his eyebrow, very eager to see what exactly Eddie has in mind for this next part.

"You wait here," Eddie tells Steve, patting his chest before he disappears down the hall and into his bedroom.

He's gone for a couple of minutes before he makes his return, arms laden with treasures.

The duvet from his bed sits around his shoulders like a cape, both of his pillows are clamped under each of his armpits, he has a thick book balancing in the crook of his arm, a can of pringles and a package of oreos in one hand, a little baggie of party favors dangling between his middle and ring fingers, and his walkman and a couple of cassettes crowding his other hand.

A slow grin spreads across his face as he approaches Steve and he waggles his eyebrows. "Let it never be said that I don't provide for you," he jokes.

Steve snorts but moves to take a few of the things from Eddie before he drops any of them. "You're too good to me," he teases back, though there's very much a thread of truth to it.

He holds back the curtain that is their "front door" of the fort so that Eddie can crawl inside with his haul and start setting up.

"Grab the extra blankets, would you, Stevie?" Eddie calls.

Steve finds them near the kitchen and carries them back to the fort, ducking inside so he can pass them off to Eddie.

"Thanks," Eddie says, taking two of the blankets and lays them out across the floor. He layers his duvet down next, then takes the third and final blanket and settles it overtop. The pillows come after, and Eddie arranges them at the foot of the couch, giving each of them a little punch to fluff them up.

He turns to Steve then and spreads his fingers wide in a flashy pair of jazz hands. "Tada," he sing-songs.

Except before Steve can tell him it's perfect, Eddie's smile twists and he gasps. "Shit," he curses. "Forgot something, hang on a sec." Then he's scrambling past Steve and out of the fort.

Steve hears the squeak of a cabinet door opening, then a shuffling as Eddie digs through its contents, and finally a muffled "Hah! There ya are!" before the cabinet is slammed shut again and Eddie's footsteps make their way back.

The flap goes flying open and Eddie beams, holding up a box of Christmas lights and a handful of safety pins.

And, shit, that is a pretty brilliant addition.

"Help me pin these up," Eddie says, unboxing the lights and spilling half of the safety pins into Steve's open palm.

They work together once again to hang the lights, carefully twisting the string around each safety pin before securing them to the blanket along the perimeter of the fort.

There's an outlet nearby, thankfully, so they don't need to go searching for an extension cord, and Eddie exits the fort again so he can plug it in.

"Let there be light," he announces, then slides the plug home.

A gentle light floods the fort, bathing their snug little sanctuary in a soft warm glow. The nest of blankets and pillows, the little hoard of snacks, the variety of things to keep them entertained. The pretty lights.

It all makes the perfect, cozy little hideaway.

Steve's heart skips a beat as he settles into the pillows and the blankets. Eddie reenters the fort a moment later, and he pats the spot next to him, inviting Eddie to join him.

Eddie doesn't waste a second, crowding into Steve's space. He fits himself to Steve's side and tucks his arm around Steve's shoulders, pulling the duvet and the extra blanket over their legs.

"This was such a good idea," Steve tells him, curling his arm around Eddie's waist and nuzzling into his chest.

"Mm, I knew you'd like it," Eddie murmurs, burying his nose into Steve's hair, just above his ear. He kisses the shell of it and smiles.

"I was thinkin' we could read another chapter or two, if you wanted?" Eddie suggests, separating from Steve's side just long enough to reach over and snag the book he'd brought with him.

The Fellowship of the Ring. They'd made it through The Hobbit about two weeks ago, and had started working their way through the first proper book of Eddie's favorite series almost immediately after.

Steve had tried to read them on his own, but there had been way too many made up words and complicated names, and that didn't help the way his brain already had trouble with regular letters and words.

Eddie had offered to read them to Steve, though, and it was an offer Steve just couldn't refuse. He loved Eddie's voice, and he loved the way he narrated, bringing life to the story and captivating Steve in a way that Tolkien alone couldn't have done.

It turns out, Lord of the Rings is actually pretty cool.

(When Steve admitted that to Eddie, Eddie had grabbed his face, told him "that's the hottest thing you've ever said", then kissed him square on the mouth.)

"That sounds perfect," Steve says.

Eddie pulls his glasses out from their little stockpile and slides them onto the bridge of his nose before he opens the book to find their page. Steve's own glasses case is still in his jacket pocket, but he doesn't need them right now, so he just gets comfortable against Eddie.

Eddie picks up where they left off, diving right in with an enthusiasm that makes Steve smile.

They make it through two chapters before the sound of a key in the lock alerts them to Wayne's arrival home.

Eddie dogears their page and sets the book aside, then nudges Steve so they can sit up and poke their heads out of the flat to greet Wayne as he gets the door open and walks inside.

"Howdy, Wayne," Eddie says cheekily, putting on A Voice.

"Hi Wayne," Steve chimes in, a little more reserved.

Wayne's eyes catch on the blanket fort and he snorts in amusement. "I see you two had some fun," he comments. "Sandbox outside too wet to build your castles in?" He teases.

Eddie bleats out a laugh. "Don't be jealous, old man," he says. "This castle's top notch."

"I'm sure it is," Wayne says, sliding his jacket off. He hangs it off the hook on the wall, then bends to unlace his boots. When he gets those off, he straightens back up. "He's not holdin' you captive in there or anythin' is he, boy?" He asks, addressing Steve.

Steve laughs and shakes his head. "Not a chance," he replies and squeezes his hand where it rests against Eddie's hip.

"Good good," Wayne replies with a solid nod. "Now that that's settled, I'm gonna go clean this weather off'a me and take a nap. You boys holler if you need anythin', alright?"

"Thanks, Wayne," Steve says, giving him a two fingered salute.

"Sleep tight," Eddie tacks on. "Don't let the bedbugs bite."

And then the two of them duck back into their fort, settle back into the blankets, and pick back up where they left off.

As the afternoon stretches on, the rhythmic sound of the rain pounding down against the roof of the trailer and the smooth cadence of Eddie's voice become a dangerous combination, and Steve finds it harder and harder to keep his eyes open.

He tries to fight it, but it's a losing battle, and eventually his eyes flutter shut, and his breathing evens out, and he falls asleep, right there in the warm safety of Eddie's arms, the cozy comfort of their little pocket of the world.

Eddie notices it after a while, huffing out a fond little laugh when a soft, snuffling snore slips from Steve. He smooths back Steve's hair, then kisses his forehead, tucking the blankets more securely around him.

He dogears their page, but keeps reading on himself, silently this time, so as to not wake Steve.

But eventually the same lulling drone of the rain and the warmth of Steve and the blankets start to pull at his edges too.

It's maybe an hour or so after Wayne gets home that he gets out of the shower and follows his stomach into the kitchen, ready to whip a little something up for breakfast, lunch — whatever meal it is he's on, he's never been the best at keeping those straight with the hours he works — before that nap. Wayne's pretty sure they've got some cans of tomato soup in one of these cupboards, and a hot grilled cheese sounds heavenly.

He finishes dressing, then exits his bedroom and pads down the hall towards the kitchen. Except instead of turning into it, he keeps walking past it. If he's cooking for himself, he figures it won't be too much trouble to see if Eddie and Steve are getting the rumbly tummies too.

Wayne can't hear Eddie's voice anymore, but there are plenty of other activities they could be getting up to that don't involve talking — though he does hope they aren't doing that.

"Alright, I'm comin' in," He announces, giving them a couple of seconds to situate themselves if need be before bending at the waist a little so he can pull the curtain aside and poke his head in.

When his eyes land on the two of them, though, he realizes why he didn't get an answer.

Both Eddie and Steve are totally conked out, dead to the world, fast asleep.

Eddie's head is tipped back against the seat of the couch, hand limp around the book that lies flat against his stomach, like he fell asleep while he was reading it. Steve's nestled into his side, using his shoulder as a pillow, with his nose tucked into Eddie's neck and one hand slung around his waist.

Their legs are covered by the cocoon of blankets they've wrapped themselves up in, but their toes poke out the end, and Wayne can tell that they're tangled together beneath all those layers.

They look cozy, comfortable. They look sweet.

It makes his heart warm, and a ghost of a smile wisps onto his face as he slowly backs out of the fort and lets the flap fall back down.

He has no plans to wake them from that.

They deserve to hold onto this little moment of peace for as long as they can.

#steddie #stranger things #steve harrington #eddie munson #wayne munson #mack writes #it is cold and rainy here today so have a little warmth and coziness friends!!#macks ficlets

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