#jock(ish) steve

[mcdynamite]

When everything settles down after Vecnapocalypse, Steve gets a call from the athletic director at Hawkins High School, and a day later, he accepts a part-time position as the assistant coach of the Hawkins High varsity basketball team.

Lucas is obviously stoked, and the other kids concede (after a few minutes of bemoaning Steve's return to the Dark Side) that it's a perfect job for him. Robin screeches with delight, and Nancy tells him she's proud of him, and Jonathan thumps him on the back with a quiet, "Congrats, man," and Eddie?

Well, Eddie just rolls his eyes and makes a joke about the Return of the King that goes right over Steve's head (but has the kids and, wouldn't ya know it, Nancy, grinning) and doesn't say much else.

It's probably stupid, but Eddie has actually (horrifyingly) grown to like hanging out with Steve. Sure, he knows next to nothing about D&D or Lord of the Rings or metal music, but that doesn't seem to matter all that much. He still listens to Eddie rant about all of those aforementioned interests and does his best to understand, even if he doesn't particularly care about the content of Eddie's latest campaign. He lets Eddie play Dio and Metallica and Black Sabbath for him, and even though Eddie can tell he's not really into most of their music, at the end of his "Musication" he gives Eddie a list of the songs he actually liked, so they have some stuff to listen to when they hang out that won't make one of them want to puncture their own eardrums.

He even looks genuinely apologetic (and, dare Eddie say, disappointed?) when he tells Eddie that it's not that he doesn't want to read Lord of the Rings. It's just that he can't, because reading is really fucking hard when the letters won't stop jumping all over the damn place.

The point is: Eddie likes Steve. He likes Steve's sarcastic quips and his attentiveness, and his hilarious but well-meaning and frighteningly successful mothering of the teenagers they apparently co-parent. Eddie likes Steve, and he likes being his friend, and he's afraid that this stupid Assistant Coach job will end up dragging Steve headfirst back into his King Steve days, and Steve will forget all about being friends with Eddie "The Freak" Munson.

It's so, so stupid, because while Eddie likes Steve, he also knows Steve, and he knows that Steve isn't the guy who used to hang around the Tommy Hagans of the world anymore. But the fear is there, and it's still there by the time the school year starts and Steve starts getting busy "prepping" for his new job, which... what? The basketball season doesn't start until January, so what the hell kind of prep would Steve be starting in August?

Eddie wonders, but he doesn't ask. He just anxiously waits to see if Steve will eventually decide to ditch him, and he continues to be quietly delighted when Steve always, always makes time for the two of them to hang out.

The thought of Steve going back into jock-mode still makes him kinda sick, but he'll never tell Steve that. Steve is way too excited for the start of the basketball season, and Eddie is gonna support him the same way Steve supports Eddie at his Corroded Coffin concerts: with begrudging interest and genuine pride, so help him God.

It goes on like this until one day, Eddie's begrudging interest suddenly becomes a little more genuine, when he accidentally stumbles upon what Steve meant for the last three months whenever he said he was "prepping for the season." 

He's got plans to hang out with Steve that afternoon, pulling up in his van fifteen minutes late because time management has never been one of his strong suits. Only, when he gets to Casa Harrington, he notices something strange. The garage is open.

The thing is, Steve always parks the Beemer in the driveway. He never uses the garage. Actually, Eddie didn't even realize Steve had a garage at all, until now, but he hears some clanging coming from inside and goes to investigate. He walks past the Beemer (parked in the driveway where it always is) and peers inside, expecting to maybe find Steve... repairing something? Reorganizing? Honestly, he has no clue what he thinks he'll find in there.

What he definitely doesn't expect to find is Steve Harrington in the middle of what appears to be a pretty fucking intense workout – hair and tank top damp with sweat, wearing frankly indecently short shorts, and breathing steadily as he does fucking pull-ups on the bar in his garage, which has apparently been converted into a whole goddamn home gym.

Eddie stops in his tracks and stares, affording himself a moment or two to have a teeny, tiny (enormous) crisis over it.

Steve hasn't noticed him yet, and Eddie can't tear his stupid eyes away from the way Steve's arms tremble from the exertion as he pulls himself up, face pinched into a concentrated frown. Eddie can see him gritting his teeth, can see the muscles in his arms and shoulders straining a little bit. Even worse, every time Steve lowers himself down, his stupid tank top rides up just enough to expose the (not at all soft, apparently) plains of his stomach, glistening with sweat, and God, Eddie wants to lick Steve fucking Harrington's abs like a-

Oh, no.

Oh, fuck no.

Oh, Jesus H. Christ, fucking shit, NO.

Listen... It's not like Eddie hasn't already known for years that he's gay. He's been fully aware of that since middle school. It's the reason his dad kicked him out and sent him to live with Wayne, for fuck's sake. It's just that Eddie has put a lot of effort into pretending his thoughts about Steve Harrington were totally, completely, 100% platonic up until this point, and now he can feel all of that hard work going down the metaphorical drain.

He stands there, stock still with his jaw hinged open, and stares while his brain melts out of his ears and his thoughts begin to race. God, those fucking arms. Eddie's not weak, but he's definitely weaker than Steve, which means Steve could definitely pin Eddie down if he wanted to. In a bed. Against the wall. On the hood of a car. Fuck, on the goddamn floor – Eddie's not picky! All he knows is that he wants Steve to leave the workout for later so Eddie can lick the sweat off of him, which... gross. But also hot. But also-

"Eddie?"

Oh, fuck. How does one talk to the sun?

Steve has noticed him standing there, obviously, which sort of makes Eddie wonder how long he's been staring. Time stopped in Eddie's world the moment a sweaty Steve Harrington entered his field of vision, so he truly has no idea how bad his staring got.

Christ, this is going to be so bad.

So, so bad.

"Eds?" Steve says, his face pinching into a frown. "You okay?"

Oh my god, you moron, say something! Eddie's brain screams at him.

"What?" Smooth. "Uh, yeah! Totally fine. Just, y'know, like, lost in thought, or whatever. Plotting my next demonic attempt at world domination. The usual."

Steve looks at him like he's grown a second head, which... is fair. But Eddie's fumbling attempt at speech is at least embarrassing enough to take precedence over the cacophonous sound of whatever Ode to Abs his mind was attempting to compose, and Eddie feels like he can think a little more clearly.

"Ah, fuck," Eddie mutters, pinching the bridge of his nose. He sighs and looks at Steve apologetically. "I'm sorry, dude. I swear I'm fine. It's just been a weird day."

Steve cocks his head to the side like a particularly inquisitive puppy, and oh God, it's adorable. Eddie loathes how adorable it is. "Good weird?" Steve asks. "Or bad weird?"

Eddie ponders his answer for a moment, then replies with, "Weird weird."

That's enough to startle a laugh out of Steve, who shakes his head and wraps a towel around his neck. "Fair enough, man. Sorry about all of this, by the way." He gestures vaguely towards the home gym in his garage and shrugs sheepishly. "I was gonna be done before you got here but I sorta... lost track of time, I guess." He's got an unreadable look on his stupidly beautiful face, and Eddie doesn't like that at all. He doesn't like that one bit.

But he decides not to overthink it and brushes Steve's apology off with a wave of his hand. "It's whatever, dude. Might wanna shower, though." The ‘otherwise I might take it upon my gay little self to lick you clean’ is left blessedly unsaid.

Steve laughs again, and just like that, things start to feel a bit less earth-shattering. They banter for a bit longer, then Steve really does go to take a quick shower, and they spend the rest of the night lying on the floor of Steve's living room, listening to the metal mix tape they made together and bitching about their brood of teenagers.

Weirdly, though, after that day, Steve seems to be working out a lot more frequently. As in almost every single time he and Eddie have plans. Day after day, Eddie is treated to the sight of Steve Harrington looking like a goddamn Greek god, and day after day, Steve catches his eye and smiles before abandoning his equipment and acting like Eddie's world hasn't been completely turned on its head.

It's starting to drive him kind of insane, honestly, and his pining has gotten so bad that even Gareth and Jeff know.

"He's just so pretty!" Eddie whines for what feels like the thousandth time.

His band mates simply exchange a long-suffering look and let him ramble.

It all comes to a head in November, just before Thanksgiving, when Eddie shows up and once again finds Steve finishing a workout. Just like always, Steve shoots him a good-natured grin and greets him before heading inside for a quick shower, and just like always, Eddie waits downstairs.

NOT like always, however, this time Steve comes jogging down the stairs with wet hair, wearing a pair of joggers and... absolutely nothing else.

It's been a long time since Eddie last saw Steve without a shirt on (since the day at Lover's Lake when they found watergate, to be precise), and suddenly Eddie is remembering why he'd immediately pulled out a cigarette to calm down that day. Only this time it's even worse, because Steve has really been putting effort into these workouts, and it shows.

His chest is toned and covered in coarse hair that Eddie kind of wants to tug on, just to see what sort of sounds Steve would make if he did. He's got the makings of an honest-to-God six pack just barely visible on his abdomen, partially obscured by scars Eddie recognizes from looking at his own in the mirror. Steve's are slightly smaller and not as deep, but they clearly came from the same sets of tiny jaws, and Eddie finds them weirdly comforting, these matching scars that they share. Steve's look pale in contrast against his skin, and God, Eddie just wants to kiss them. He wants to worship them and every other inch of the man who bears them.

The man who definitely just said something Eddie didn't hear because he was too busy trying not to pass out from mere proximity to something so beautiful.

"Sorry, what?" Eddie asks, shaking his head violently in an attempt to dispel his traitorous thoughts.

Steve smirks, but Eddie can see the soft fondness in his eyes when he cocks his head to the side and repeats the words Eddie missed the first time. "I asked if you see something you like, Munson," Steve teases, one hand carding wet hair out of his face, and Eddie just blinks at him.

Play it off, play it off, play it off, his brain supplies helpfully. He can totally play this off. Dudes stare at their friends’ chests all the time, right?

"What?" he practically squeaks. "I- well... no, wait, um... ah, fuck."

So much for plausible deniability.

He's just beginning to feel vaguely panicky when Steve seems to catch on, and he's right in front of Eddie in an instant, concerned, hazel eyes gazing down at Eddie's grimacing face.

"Hey," Steve says, reaching out like he wants to touch Eddie but thinks better of it. "It's okay, man. You're okay. I'm just messing with you."

The impact of his words is instant, and Eddie can feel his face heating up. Of course Steve was joking. God, Eddie is such an idiot.

"Right," Eddie says, voice strained. He rubs his face with both hands, shaking his head lightly. "Duh. Obviously you were teasing." His voice sounds strange even to his own ears, and he's got a weird feeling of anticipation in his stomach that tells him that he's already shown too many of his cards.

"I mean, yeah..." Steve says, seeming nervous for the first time since Eddie got here. His hands flit from the back of his neck to his hair to his waist, like he doesn't know what to do with them. "Teasing is, like, flirting 101, so..."

Eddie freezes.

"Oh my God, wait..." he says slowly, finally daring to meet Steve's confused eyes. "Flirting?"

Steve looks utterly perplexed now, and he does that thing where he cocks his head to the side in confusion. 

It's still adorable. Fuck, why is it so adorable? 

"Um... yes?" He studies Eddie, seems to register the shock on his face, and then matches it with shock of his own. "Wait, you didn't know? I thought you knew!"

"I most certainly did not!" Eddie counters, feeling a bit like he's having an out-of-body experience.

"Oh my God," Steve says. "Oh my God, Eddie, I've been flirting with you for, like, months!"

"Months?!" Eddie's voice has officially reached the stratosphere.

"Yes!" Steve yelps. He looks torn between laughing and crying, though Eddie thinks it'll be mildly hilarious no matter what choice he makes. "Jesus, dude, I winked at you while I was doing pull-ups last week! What did you think that was?"

"A hallucination!" Eddie says immediately. "You're straight, Harrington!"

At that, Steve snorts, then shakes his head.

Eddie's pretty sure his brain is melting by now.

"Yeah, um, no," Steve says firmly. "I'm definitely not straight."

"You... I... What? Since when?"

"Well..." Steve begins, briefly glancing away. "Since forever, technically. Probably. But officially, since that time I made out with Tommy H. after we got wasted at a party sophomore year. And if that wasn't enough proof, I think the amount of time I’ve spent staring at your ass lately definitely is."

Eddie stares at him. "Am I dead?" he asks dumbly. "Is this Heaven? Am I having a fucking stroke?"

Steve's laughter is bright when it rings through his living room, and Eddie is grateful when Steve carefully raises a hand to cup his cheek, because the soft touch is grounding in the best way. 

"Definitely not dead, Eds," Steve says. "And shit, I hope you're not having a stroke. How many fingers am I holding up?"

Eddie just blinks at him, because Steve has one hand on Eddie's cheek and the other on Eddie's arm, and he's definitely not holding up any fingers. "Zero, Harrington, what the fuck?" he says weakly.

Steve laughs – no, scratch that, he giggles. He fucking giggles. 

If Eddie isn't dead yet, he's about to be. 

"Good. See?" Steve says. "Not having a stroke."

"I don't think that's how strokes work, dude," Eddie says weakly.

"No?" Steve asks, though he's still smiling, and he looks wholly unbothered by Eddie's doubting of his medical prowess.

Eddie shakes his head, eyes wide as Steve huffs out a laugh and slips an arm around his waist to pull him closer. They're practically chest to chest now, and Eddie is suddenly reminded of how very shirtless Steve currently is. He's mildly horrified by the way his hands tremble slightly when he rests them flat against the center of Steve's chest, but it's not like anyone can blame him! He's only ever kissed a couple of people before, and now he's somehow found himself in the arms of a half naked Steve Harrington. So, yeah, he's feeling a little jittery. Sue him.

If Steve notices the jitters, though, he doesn't mention it. Instead, he gives Eddie a soft, disarming smile that makes Eddie feel pathetically weak at the knees. "So..." Steve says, cheeks turning a pretty pink color. "Hi."

A slightly manic bark of laughter bursts from Eddie's lungs, but it only seems to make Steve smile wider. "Yeah, hi, Stevie," Eddie breathes. 

And then he nearly stops breathing completely when Steve's thumb drags gently across his cheek. It's such a sweet gesture that Eddie thinks he might melt right into the floorboards.

"So..." Steve murmurs again, gaze not leaving Eddie's. "It has recently been brought to my attention that you didn't realize I was flirting with you this whole time."

Eddie doesn't need a mirror to know that his face flushes bright red at Steve's words.

"But I have been," Steve continues. He bites his lip, almost like he's nervous, which is ridiculous because what the fuck is there about Eddie that could be making Steve Harrington nervous right now? "Like, I've been doing it constantly, because you're funny, and sweet, and sort of adorable, but also kinda hot? Y'know, because you have the tattoos and stuff, and you're all dramatic all the time, and it's hot, but then sometimes you do that thing where you hide your face behind your hair, and it's so fucking cute, Eddie, I mean..."

Steve trails off, cheeks growing even pinker after seemingly realizing that he's been rambling, and Eddie feels like he's going insane.

"Anyway," Steve says, clearing his throat. "I like you, Eddie. Like, a lot. And I've sort of been dying to kiss you for, like, months, so-"

Eddie never lets Steve finish his sentence, because the moment the word kiss leaves his mouth, Eddie is leaning forward and pressing their lips together in a soft, fleeting kiss that's over far too fast.

So fast, in fact, that it takes a moment for reality to catch up to Eddie afterwards. He's already pulling away by the time it hits him: he just kissed Steve Harrington.

He, Eddie fucking Munson, just kissed Steve fucking Harrington.

"Holy shit," Eddie mutters, gaze flitting back and forth between Steve's wide eyes. "Holy shit."

There's a brief pause, and then Steve starts to laugh.

It starts as a soft chuckle and slowly transforms into bright, elated laughter that echoes off the walls and bathes the whole room in sunlight, never mind the rainy day outside. It's light and happy and beautiful, and Eddie unfreezes after a moment to add his own laughter to the mix. He drops his head onto Steve's shoulder, a shiver running down his spine when Steve's arms come around him automatically, like they were made to fit together like this.

Eddie wonders if maybe they were.

When their laughter finally dies down, Steve carefully pulls back just enough to meet Eddie's eyes again, and Eddie smiles shyly up at him.

"Sorry," Eddie says without a hint of guilt in his voice. "You said the word kiss and I panicked."

Steve just shakes his head and grins. "See? Like I said - adorable." One of his hands raises to cradle Eddie's cheek again, and Eddie doesn't hesitate before leaning into the touch. "But if it's okay with you," Steve says softly, “I'd really like to give you a proper kiss, now."

And yep, it's official. Steve Harrington is going to be the death of him.

Eddie can't fucking wait.

He nods and lets his gaze flit down to Steve's lips for a fraction of a second before Steve is closing the distance between them, and oh... this is so much better than the quick, vaguely frantic press of lips they exchanged only a few moments ago. Eddie takes back every judgemental comment he's ever made about the girls who were obsessed with Steve Harrington in high school, because he gets it now.

Oh, God, he gets it.

Because Steve kisses him, soft and sure, like Eddie is the only thing that matters in all the world. It's gentle and sweet and perfect – not an ounce of hesitation in the way Steve slots their lips together. And then Steve just... stays there, like he's giving Eddie a moment to catch up, to process what's happening.

He's so goddamn patient – so fucking kind – and Christ, Eddie adores him for it.

Steve pulls back just enough to break the kiss, and Eddie doesn't whine. He doesn't. But it's okay, because Steve doesn't leave him hanging for long, threading his fingers through Eddie's curls and using them as leverage to tug him even closer into a kiss that turns Eddie's legs to jelly. Steve's tongue slides against Eddie's so beautifully, and his hands are so strong, and he smells like lemony soap and minty toothpaste (did Steve brush his teeth after showering? God, he's ridiculous. He’s perfect.) and Eddie can feel the muscles in Steve's chest shift whenever they move, and, and, and...

And yeah, this time when Steve pulls away, breath coming quicker and eyes shining with happiness, Eddie does whine. Or maybe it's a whimper. Maybe it's both. Christ, Eddie doesn't care. He'll keep making that noise forever if Steve keeps looking at him like this.

"Fuck," Eddie breathes. He knows he probably looks embarrassingly awestruck, but he can't find it in himself to care. "How are you so fucking hot, Steve? What the fuck?" His face is on fire, but Steve just laughs – nope, there's that giggle again – and kisses Eddie's forehead.

Eddie's pretty sure he's melting, but honestly? Worth it.

"I don't know if you've noticed," Steve teases, "but I've actually been working out a lot lately..."

Not even Eddie's lovesickness could protect Steve from the playful smack he gets for that.

"Did I notice?" Eddie huffs. "You're the worst, Harrington."

Steve just smiles and kisses him again.

#steddie #steve harrington #eddie munson #steddie fluff #jock(ish) steve #pov eddie munson #gay eddie munson #sweetheart steve harrington #eddie is bad at flirting #eddie can't handle jock-mode steve being so hot #lighthearted #first kiss #eddie is pining hard #but its okay because so is steve #i wrote most of this at 3am #so its very silly #but also I love steve and eddie #and they're in love #and i love that for them #mcdynamite writes

[missingexaltation]

There were two methods that Steve used to use to get someone infatuated with him.

The first is just as he told Dustin. Pretend you don't care, and it drives the ladies mad. He used it a lot in high school, and the success rate was pretty good. It hadn't worked fully on Nancy, for reasons unknown to him, but it had at least worked enough for her to date him. It just hadn't been enough to keep her.

It didn't work on Eddie either. Like, at all.

The guy was just too busy to notice he was being semi ignored, in between his tattoo apprenticeship, part time job at Thatcher's, prepping his D&D campaigns, band practise and evenings with Wayne. It was insane.

The other method though, was something pretty new in Steve's repertoire. Something that he knew drove Eddie absolutely nuts. Pretending to know about his nerd shit and getting it wrong.

And it was so easy.

'Stevie that's star TREK, completely different franchise.'

'No, that's the one with the weird portal thing, I know what I'm talking about dude.'

'That's star GATE. Jesus H Christ.' It's not even a film, it's a book that I KNOW you haven't read.'

It was so easy. Eddie was a great guy, he really was, but he was so particular about the things he likes, and it made it so easy to wind him up. It as as though those years of mockery at high school had had an effect on him, even though he claimed it didn't. He was protective by nature, of the kids (his little sheepies), his hobbies, the music he listens to, the place he lives. If an outsider tries to invade and conquer his little world, Eddie's already pulled up the drawbridge and summoned the defence.

Too bad Steve was already in the castle.

Just those big, vacant, Harrington eyes, and a look of innocence was enough. It was so funny to watch Eddie twist himself into knots trying to explain the minutiae of his hobbies, or films, or even (on one occasion), the bands that Eddie listened to, because he just had to correct Steve, or have him see things the right way.

It took far too long for Eddie to catch on, and the moment he did, Steve found himself pinned against the van, laughing his head off at Eddie's very outraged but somewhat impressed expression.

'Maybe I just like getting you all worked up, Eds.' He says, not so innocently running his hand up Eddie's arm.

A myriad of emotions runs across his face before Steve leans up to place a very chaste, gentle kiss on the corner of Eddie's mouth.

'You sneaky little -' Eddie says, softly shaking his head in disbelief, 'this all a part of the great Harrington seduction technique, huh?'

Steve shrugs, leaning back to settle against the van.

'Took you long enough.' He says, and waits, all cocky smirk and tilted chin, for Eddie to kiss him this time.

100% success rate (so far).

#steddie #eddie munson #steve harrington #look I'm not saying that Eddie gatekeep girlboss gaslights people into doing what he wants...but he's a little shit (affectionate) #he's almost definitely one of those guys that would ask you to name songs from a band t shirt you're wearing #but he's also like...20 years old (ish) so he's just a typical nerd with some gatekeeping tendencies #and Steve's a jock that's used to picking on (and kicking apart) nerdy stuff...so it's a great combination #Eddie's canonical little tiny temper tantrums are amazing and completely overlooked #he gets so frustrated with other people it's hilarious...poor baby

[steddieasitgoes]

Steve and Robin have spent most of their shifts at Family Video, whispering and giving each other suggestive glances whenever a pretty girl walks through the door. Steve used to hate it whenever Tommy H. made him do stuff like this, but it's different with Robin. Less about objectifying and more about admiring a woman's beauty — at least, that's what Robin tells him when he brings it up one day. 

With his conscious clean, he leans into it, and the two have so much fun silently staring at pretty girls. They learn that they have pretty much the same taste in women — minus Tammy Thompson — which isn't surprising considering they share just about everything in common. 

And while it's fun sharing glances and watching each other blush red when the cute girl gives one of them more attention, Steve also wishes he had someone who would do that with him when he spots a cute guy in the mix. Steve tried to bring it up to Robin once, but she wasn't having it. 

"Stevie," she leveled. "All I see is a faceless blurb that smells too much like pine. You're the only guy for me." 

So, he let it go. 

- 

Eddie and Gareth have a similar game they play whenever they drive out to Indy. Gareth is usually the one to point out a petite blonde walking in their favorite record shop. If she heads to the metal section, Eddie can make a move. If it's anything else, Gareth gets to try. 

Nine times out of 10, it's Gareth who flirts his way to a phone number. 

Not that Eddie minds. 

He has just as much fun watching his friend hopelessly flirt while casually checking out the guys who wander in the record store. 

Gareth always gives him a friendly nudge whenever he notices Eddie staring too long at the back of some guy's short haircut, but it's not the same as the gentle ribbing they give each other when a cute girl walks in. 

Gareth isn't into guys like he is, and that's fine.

But sometimes Eddie wishes he had someone to compare his taste in men with. 

- 

When Steve and Eddie realize they're both bisexual, they rejoice. Finally, they have someone to play their silly games with.

 Except, it doesn't go at all like they'd except. 

See, Steve and Eddie are both so used to having friends share their tastes in women that they don't even consider the fact that they might have different taste in men. 

But they do.

They're hanging out in the lobby of the Hawkins Theater, waiting for the kids to finish getting their snacks, when Steve sees him. A guy with disheveled auburn hair and a black denim jacket cuffed at the sleeves with random patches on it. He's got a blue bandana tied around his forearm and bulky black boots. 

"He's cute right?" Steve asks, nodding his head toward the guy in question. 

Eddie scoffs. Scrunches up his nose like he's just smelt the worst smell imaginable and turns towards Steve. "You're kidding me, right Stevie? That dude is a grade-a-punk! A wannabe one at that! I bet he smells like cheap cigarettes and hasn't washed his hair in days." 

"You smell like cheap cigarettes and don't wash your hair every day," Steve says, rolling his eyes at Eddie's outburst. 

"Yeah, but I'm also broke. That guys doing it for the stupid aesthetic." 

Steve scoffs and lets his eyes follow the guy until he disappears inside one of the theaters. 

"Alright then, what's your type, Munson?" 

Eddie hums and takes a moment to scan the crowded theater and the stops. When he turns toward Steve, he's sporting a giant grin. 

"Guy. Six o'clock. By the butter dispenser." 

Steve slowly turns around and nearly buckles at the knee when he spots the guy in question. 

Short hair, combed back so every strand of hair is in place. He's got on a letterman jacket from one of the neighboring schools, crisp white shoes, and his left hand is tucked into the jean pocket of who he assumes to be his girlfriend. 

"Him?" Steve chokes. "But he's so…" 

"Pretty?" 

"Jock-ish!" Steve supplies instead. "I thought you hated jocks!"

"I hate what they represent," Eddie says, crossing his arms in front of his chest. He tears his eyes away from the guy and stares right at Steve. "But I can't help it if they have a cute face that's begging to be corrupted." 

It isn't until days later when Steve and Eddie are both complaining to their best friends, do they realize that having different tastes might not be such a bad thing. 

Especially when their taste in men is each other.

#steddie #steddie ficlet #steve harrington #eddie munson #steve harrington ficlet #eddie munson ficlet #dani writes #this is dumb but i havent shared anything in a while so here is something lol

[loeyparker]

safe - e.m. 1/3

summary: you and eddie see eachother for the first time after you broke the friendship to protect him from the upside down

pairing: eddie munson x f!reader

word count: 4.7k

warnings: mentions of drugs, strong language, mentions of violence, throwing things

tags: no s4 spoilers, friends to enemies to lovers-ish, angst

a/n: i would die for each and everyone of u who supported this, no joke

(  NEXT CHAPTER  )

Eddie Munson sat on a lounge chair by the pool, unlit cigarette hanging by the corner of his mouth. His metal lunchbox stood by his boots, on the stoned ground. His right leg bounced up and down with quickness, his fingers fiddled with the rings on his right hand.

Strands of uncombed, curly hair fell in his face, covering a portion of his darkened eyes. He sat slouched, elbows resting on his knees.

His eyes were locked on the crowd inside the house, which could be clearly seen through the glass double doors leading to the pool.

“Man, what you dressed as?” A dull voice drew out, approaching the boy.

Eddie pursed his lips in annoyance.

From inside the house, Michael Jackson’s Beat It played loudly and unforgiving of the neighbors who might had been trying to sleep.

“Just a guy on business, man. You want something?” Eddie monotonously asked, already bored of the entire ordeal. While he was used to parties, used to the motions of attending them just to sell his stuff for an easy buck, on that particular night Eddie was annoyed.

“Yeah, lemme see how much cash I got. Hold on.”

Eddie wasn’t sure what had annoyed him exactly.

Maybe it was the simple fact that he was attending a party of ’85 graduates – he was supposed to be one of them, but fate wanted him to go through the motions of senior year for three years in a row instead of two.

Or, maybe, it was the call he’d gotten a few hours prior from The Hideout’s management, canceling his band’s performance of the week for another stupid event. It wasn’t as if missing a week of performing would realistically damage his band in any way, but Eddie hated when his plans were derailed.

But truthfully, what had annoyed Eddie Munson the most that night was seeing you in the crowd of the party, dancing to Michael Jackson with Steve Harrington – and Robin Buckley, but Eddie honestly hadn’t seen her.

Eddie grabbed his stash, opening the box with a screech of the rusted metal. “The ounce is 50.” He spoke, glancing at the jock ahead of him.

“Ah, man. How much is half?”

“25.” Eddie sniffled, the cold of the night getting to him.

As the jock dug around his pockets more, Eddie found his eyes drifting back to the crowd – back to you.

Despite there being about ten other people crammed around you, Eddie’s eyes found your shape with ease and quickness. But, to Eddie’s defense, it was hard not to spot you.

A strapped white dress laid tight over your body, its satin fabric shining slightly in the lights of the living room. A diamond diadem was on top of your head, over the now straight locks of hair. From the crown of your head, blood traced over the sides of your face, past your nose and over your lips, all the way down your neck. Some trickles of blood went into your exposed cleavage, others stained over your dress completely.

Eddie knew immediately that you were dressed as Carrie.

His eyes could only seem to focus on the way your hips swayed to the music, on your hair wildly flailing around as you moved, on the way you leaned with each beat.

Beat it, and you were leaning backwards, head thrown back, neck on display – Steve Harrington leaning forward and closer to you.

Beat it, and you leaned forward, chest down, shoulders moving, lower lip in-between your teeth, biting back a smile – Steve leaned backwards, head thrown as he laughed.

Beat it, and you leaned back again, this time laughing. It seemed as if you and Steve had an entire routine down, and Eddie couldn’t help but scoff. The way you danced was effortless and mesmerizing – but Eddie expected no less, especially since he’d seen you dance in his trailer countless times before. You had also been a cheerleader in high school, so it was not surprising that your moves managed to get the attention of everyone in the vicinity.

His eyes met yours after you’d been spun by Robin and it felt like the world ceased to spin for a moment. The song faded from both your ears, Eddie couldn’t hear the jock trying to buy half an ounce from him, you couldn’t feel Tina bumping into you on the dance floor.

Eddie wore a black hoodie with a jean vest on top. His bangs covered a portion of his eyes, along with a couple of loose strands falling out of the hood. He was brooding and he was far from you, but when your eyes met it felt as if he was breathing down your neck. Your chest tightened, your knees buckled and he didn’t tear his gaze away from you.

Sweet Dreams began playing throughout the house, its imposing bass bringing your feet back on the ground.

With his eyes on you, Eddie then rose his left hand to his shoulder, tapping it lightly with his index finger. Instinctively, you touched your own right shoulder, feeling it too bare, all of a sudden. With your thumb resting on your collar bone and the rest of your fingers gently brushing over the exposed shoulder, you realized the strap of your dress had slipped down.

Eddie smirked – a small, almost unnoticeable movement of his mouth and yet, a motion that made the apples of your cheeks to grow slightly hotter. Quickly, you pulled your dress back up, broke eye contact with Eddie and pushed your way out of the dance floor and towards the kitchen – you were in desperate need of a drink.

Steve Harrington followed you.

“Got the money, man?” Eddie mumbled, the cigarette pressing against his lips. Reaching into his back pocket, he pulled a beat-up lighter and lit his cigarette. The lighter clanked when he shut its lid.

“Yeah, yeah, right here.” The jock handed Eddie two bills – a 20 and a 5. Eddie shoved them in his pocket, then handed the blond guy a bag, no words exchanged. “Thanks, man.” The bag was snatched out of the metalhead’s hand, and the jock disappeared back inside the house.

Eddie rubbed a hand over his face, cigarette butt between his fingers. The smoke veiled his nose and burnt the back of his throat, but he didn’t mind it. He was used to it – loved it. Glancing at his watch, he tried to justify his sudden need to leave the party. He’d only been there for half an hour; it was crazy that he was already bored.

But maybe seeing you with Harrington was enough to push him over the edge.

Deep in thought, hand over his face, Eddie didn’t hear heels clanking against the pavement, approaching him with determination.

“You okay?” Your voice made him freeze. Ash from his cigarette hit the ground and he could feel his heart beats making the veins in his neck pump harder. His hard trailed down his neck as he supported his head, glancing up at you.

He scoffed. “Yeah, just, uh,” he trailed off, a bitter smile on his lips. A short sizzling sound filled the air as he took a drag out of his cigarette, blowing smoke up in the air.

“What?” Your lips parted and a chill ran down your spine. The October air was unkind to your Halloween attire, but you refused to go back inside.

Eddie raised his eyebrows comically, the corners of his mouth turned down, he shrugged. With a head shake, he looked away from you. “To what do I owe the pleasure?” He finally asked, tone condescending.

“I come with a peace offering.” You smiled softly, holding up two cans of Eddie’s favorite beer. Again, he puffed and looked away from you in disbelief. The beer was an olive branch he was unsure of grabbing, especially after what happened the last time you two spoke.

“Thought you wanted me to leave you alone.” His voice was stoic, low.

You pursed your lips, taking a slow step closer to him. “I’m sorry, I was…” you switched your weight from one foot to the other. “I was young, and stupid, and,”

“Power hungry?” Eddie bit back. “Conformist? Fake?”

You looked away, eyes pointed towards the starry sky. There was a hollow feeling in your chest, only becoming deeper as Eddie spoke. You didn’t blame Eddie for viewing you that way. From his point of view, you stopped being his friend soon after making the cheer team and becoming friends with Steve Harrington and the popular crowd.  

You went from hanging out on a daily basis, to Eddie not seeing you for almost a month. You had stopped answering his calls and he was sick of your mom answering the phone and telling him some phony excuse – oh, Eddie, darling; she’s at Nancy’s, you just missed her. She’s at the Byers, poor them. She’s got cheer practice today, won’t be home ‘till late.

He was sick of it, especially because he knew it was all bullshit.

On the day you were supposed to be at practice, he saw you in town buying bear traps with Jonathan Byers and Nancy Wheeler. When he was told you were at Nancy’s, he saw you in Byers’ car late at night, driving through the town.

And then school was closed for a week due to a gas leak, and you had dropped off the face of the Earth. He sometimes drove past your house in the hope of seeing you, but your curtains were always shut, light never on. Unbeknown to him, you had spent the entire week either by Will’s side at the hospital, or with Mike, who was upset over Eleven “dying”. Being Will’s babysitter, you felt personally responsible for the boy’s disappearance. You had been with Eddie that night, at a concert in Indianapolis – how could you not feel guilty?

But Eddie didn’t know any of that, and you decided you were never going to tell him. The Upside Down, the government’s involvement – it was all too much, too dangerous. Unmarked cars had followed you for a month after the entire ordeal, secret agents watching your every move.

And you couldn’t have Eddie involved in all that.

So, you avoided him for as long as possible. You started sitting at the jock’s table with Steve and Nancy, your spot at his table remaining empty. Jonathan started driving you to school and you spent your free time in the library or at practice. You avoided his eyes at lunch and turned from him in the hallways.

You called him a freak and told him to leave you alone on the day he tried to confront you about your behavior.

“The fuck is up with you?” Eddie frowned, letting go of your arm. You backed away, heart racing.

“I just think we should just focus on our social groups and status.” You spoke after taking a deep breath. “We’re different people now, we’re not kids anymore.”

“You wanna stop being friends, is that it?” Eddie frowned, rising up to his feet. He towered over you with ease, and you straightened your back, keeping his gaze.

“Yes.”

Both your stomachs dropped at your words.

Your nose and throat stung as you watched Eddie’s gaze turn sour, his lips settling into a scowl. He had never looked at you like that, in all the years of knowing you. In his eyes, in that moment, you saw nothing but disgust.

“Fine.” He had simply said.

You gave him a sharp nod and quickly turned around, eyes focused on Jonathan waiting for you in his car. He had seen the entire interaction and watched you with concerned eyes – but he also understood. “Don’t think for one fuckin’ second I would want to be friends with the new mean, popular conformist sheep of Hawkins High, anyway!” Eddie yelled after you, his voice becoming higher and croaky.

You got into Jonathan’s car without sparing Eddie another glance, and tears spewed down your cheeks the moment you were out of the school’s parking lot.

You had managed to last two years without talking to Eddie.

Two years during which your anxiety worsened, your popularity increased and the Upside Down became more threatening.

“Yeah,” You gave a weak chuckle, eyes back on Eddie. “I guess.” Music still blared from inside. You could only focus on the way the pool lights danced over his features. He had matured since the last time you’d seen him up-close. His jaw was more defined, cheeks more sculpted.

A moment of silence passed between you two as he took another drag. There was a slit in your dress, he noticed. It allowed his eyes to wonder up your barely exposed thigh – and you watched him look.

“What changed?” He asked, eyes snapping up at yours.

The gate closed, you thought. And you missed him. But, quite frankly, you were also exhausted. Exhausted of running away from your feelings for the boy and from the anxieties of your new reality and you needed an escape.

“Suddenly gained back consciousness?” Eddie continued – which actually pissed you off. He was condescending and mean and yeah, you might have hurt him two years ago, but you did it to save him. You saved him and you suffered and he thought you were some mean, brainwashed girl.

And in that moment, your exhaustion and stubbornness overpowered your lingering feelings for your once best friend. You placed the beer cans on a small glass table by the chairs. Your arms folded to your chest, fake blood smearing off your hands and onto the white, satin dress. “I wanna buy.” You spoke, clearing your voice. “Not weed, something stronger.”

Eddie frowned.

Bending forward, he pushed the cigarette into the ground, putting it out. “No.” He spoke, looking up at you through his fringe.

Your eyes widened slightly, lips parted. “What?”

“I’m not selling you shit.”

A bitter laugh left your mouth. Your tongue ran over your bottom lip and Eddie watched your every move. “Wow, you hate me that much, huh? Did I hurt your ego so bad that you can’t let go of a fight two years later?”

With a sharp move, Eddie got up on his feet.

He towered over you with ease, despite the heels on your feet. His eyes were stoic, harsh. One step, and his chest almost touched yours. Your feet remained plastered on the ground, not being intimidated by the man in the slightest.

On the contrary, you were comforted.

His presence was something you had missed, his proximity craved. Having his cologne and smoky breath filling your senses once more was a high you didn’t know you longed for until then.

“Do you even know me, at all?” Eddie whispered, eyes studying your face. Since last seeing you, a scar appeared on the left side of your temple, your eyes darkened. Your lips got plumper, your perfume sweeter.

“Better than I know myself.” You replied, chest rising up and down with more intensity.

Eddie tutted, shaking his head. “I don’t think you do.” His tongue ran over his lips. “I think you have me confused for Harrington.” He spat, bitterly. And then his right hand cupped your face, thumb and index finger pressing into your cheeks, holding your face in place. You tried to move in annoyance, but he didn’t let you. “If I hated you, I would’ve taken you to my place, sold you my strongest shit for easy cash. But I don’t hate you, do I?” His fingers pressed harder, eyes stuck on yours. “That’s the problem, Y/L/N. I don’t hate you.” He let go of your face with quickness, taking a step back.

He bent down to pick up his lunchbox as you took in a deep breath.

“I need the drugs, Eddie.” You pleaded, watching his every move. “Don’t make me beg.”

Eddie sucked in a deep breath. “Go back to the party, Y/N.” He walked past you without a second glance, and you found yourself reaching out for him. Upon the contact he paused, back turned to you.

“Just this once, and then you’ll never see me again. Please.”

“I can’t.”

You let go of his arm, taking a step back. “Great.” You laughed bitterly. “Great. You won’t take my beer, won’t sell me drugs…I’m out of options here.”

“Y/N, what’s this about?” Eddie frowned, turning to you once again.

You laughed.

He grew worried.

“I don’t know.” You shrugged, the movement exaggerated, comical even. Your arms flailed sideways, then met in a clap. “I guess I just need something to fill the big, black hole in my chest.” You laughed again, finding the situation genuinely funny. "Drugs seem like the only option at this point, and you have 'em!"

Eddie, on the other hand, was worried. He’d never seen you like that. And while you hurt him deeply two years prior, he couldn’t stop caring about you. No matter what he did, you were always on his mind and part of him always believed you’d return to him.

He just never thought it’d be like this.

“Wanna come with me?” He found himself asking. He couldn’t tell if you were drunk, or high on something – or genuinely upset. He just knew you couldn’t be left alone in that moment.

You took his hand with no hesitation, and he walked you to his van.

Inside, you almost sunk into the seat. You had spent so much time in that seat before, that just being inside Eddie’s van felt like home. Tears stung your eyes as Eddie revved the ignition, and so you had to turn away.

Eddie didn’t know what to say.

He just couldn’t believe you were in his van again, and you were wearing the prettiest dress in the world, looking breathtakingly gorgeous.

"Sorry I'm acting crazy." You mumbled, eyes on the view outside. "I'm just a little bit overwhelmed, you know? Still mentally stuck at Starcourt."

Eddie pursed his lips. He also felt stuck there, to some extent.

Eddie had been close to the mall that night, dealing out of his van to some jock.

He watched as three firetrucks rode by, followed by around five or six ambulances. He saw the helicopters in the sky and the large, army-looking trucks passing just moments after the emergency vehicles. The jock ran to his own car and drove off, scared by the commotion, by the army presence and the weed in his possession.

Eddie, on the other hand, followed the vehicles out of nothing but morbid curiosity because – what now? What could cause such a scene in the small, quiet Hawkins, less than a year after the disappearance of the century?

Arriving at Starcourt, he couldn’t believe his eyes.

The large mall stood burning, covered in the flashing lights of emergency vehicles. There were soldiers surrounding the outskirts of the place, with firemen and paramedics rushing among them. 

He saw Nancy Wheeler and Jonathan Byers getting into an ambulance, he saw a bloodied Steve Harrington clutching a blanket over his shoulders, protectively standing by someone’s side – by your side, more specifically.

You were sitting in an ambulance, feet dangling over the wet ground. Eddie remembers the feeling in his chest, the hollowness and panic that overcame him at your sight. A paramedic was checking your wounds, another placed a deep blue blanket over your shoulders. Eddie left his van with quickness, feet carrying him towards you mindlessly. His hair was dampening in the rain, his socks got wet as his sneakers stepped into puddles.

He couldn't understand what you were doing there, couldn't understand how you sustained your injuries. You looked like hell - exhausted and covered in blood.

Eddie was desperate to get to you that night, but two soldiers stopped him before he could get close. And all he could do was watch as you spoke to Joyce Byers, then burst into tears. Steve wrapped his arms around you in an instant, and you sobbed into his shoulder, hands clutching onto his shirt.

The sounds of your sobs along with the sirens and the helicopters flying up above were sounds that hunted Eddie to this day.

Back in the van with you by his side, Eddie sighed. "I get it." Was all he could mutter. "It's okay to act crazy sometimes, though." He added after a brief moment of silence.

"Is it?"

"Hell yeah. It releases tension." The boy glanced at you quickly, eyes meeting once again. He felt short of breath. "I act crazy all the time, and aren't I carefree?" Eddie joked further.

You puffed. "Very carefree." Eddie nodded. "Never angry."

"Never." He frowned jokingly, looking at you again.

You smiled.

"I might be biased, though." He spoke back up, not looking away from you. The van had stopped at a red light, so he could focus on you entirely. "You know how attracted I am to craziness."

Pursing your glossy lips, you looked down at your lap. A blush threatened to form on your cheeks as you felt Eddie's gaze on you. Time had caused you to forget just how intoxicating his gaze was, and now that you had it once again, you felt strange. Nervous.

Giddy almost.

“Do you still listen to Blondie?” He changed the subject when the light turned green.

“Yeah.” You quickly cleared your throat before turning to Eddie. “But, can I tell you a secret?” You asked, biting your lip.

Eddie glanced at you quickly, before looking back at the road. “Of course.”

“I started listening to Black Sabbath, too.”

Eddie almost crashed the car into a couple of trashcans on the side of the road. “You did not!” He exclaimed, wide eyes looking at you.

You laughed. “I did!”

“And?” He drew out, expectantly.

“And they’re not half bad.”

Eddie drummed his hands on the wheel, causing your grin to widen. He was also smiling and for a moment, it was as if nothing bad had happened between you. “Not half bad?” He exclaimed theatrically. “They’re one of the greatest bands of our generation!”

“Eh, they’re no Beatles.” You teased, head leaning back into the seat, eyes on Eddie.

“I’ll crash the car right now.” He joked, making you laugh. And he couldn’t help but allow his eyes to linger on you for a second too long because man, you were pretty. And his heart only ached, knowing that you were probably in love with Harrington and you had only talked to Eddie to get drugs.

His mood soured at the thought and he was suddenly glad your house was close to Tina’s. The drive from the party to your home hadn’t taken longer than ten minutes, and he decided this would be the last time he’d be in your vicinity. Because within ten minutes, you managed to have him wrapped around your finger again and he knew – he knew that once you sobered up the next day, you’d go back to your pristine life and forget about him again.

He couldn’t go through senior year again, again and again. It was enough that he had to repeat the damn year at school, he didn’t wanna do it emotionally as well.

"Why are we at my house?" You asked, confused.

Eddie sighed. "You're upset, and messed up. I couldn’t exactly leave you at the party.” He gripped the steering wheel as he pulled onto your driveway – something he used to do so often long before.

“Wow, thanks.” You snapped, then opened the door.

Eddie was quick to lean over you, shutting the door back up. “What the fuck?” You retorted, feeling his chest against your thighs.

“Why did you come up to me tonight?” He asked, sitting back in his spot. “Was it really just for drugs? I have to know.”

“Maybe I missed you.”

“That’s bullshit.” He puffed, rolling his eyes.

“What? Is that so hard to believe?” Your voice rose slightly.

“Uh, yeah, since you were the one who dumped me!”

“I didn’t dump you!” You grabbed a cassette off his dashboard, chucking it at the man. He dodged with ease.

“You threw me to the curb because, what? You found out Harrington was better? Popularity tasted better than being associated with the freak?” His voice boomed.  

“Steve has nothing to do with this!”

Eddie laughed bitterly. “Right, go ahead, defend him.”

“You’re such an asshole.” You scoffed. “Maybe you’re right. Maybe I am messed up, since I thought talking to you would be a good idea.” And again, you turned towards the door.

“That’s right, go. Run, as always.”

Your hand froze on the handle as anger bubbled in your chest. “For the record, I don’t run. I never ran from anything in my life.”

“Yeah, only from one thing.”

It seemed as if Eddie had a firing shot for everything you said – and he did. Because the fight had been brewing for two years, along with the tension caused by unspoken words. There were many things on Eddie Munson’s mind, and he wanted to say them all. “From me.”

Another cassette flew his way.

“I didn’t run from you! I saved you!” You shouted, angry.

“From what? Having to attend your cheer competitions? Meeting your popular friends?” He shouted back, equally angry.

“Oh my God! There’s more to life than high school shit! This isn’t about social status, you asshole! I saved your fuckin’ life!” Another cassette. “Saved you from death!” Another cassette was in the air, when Eddie grabbed both your wrists into his hands.

“What are you talking about?” His face was inches from you, hair unruly from the hood that had slipped off.

The cassette fell out of your hand and onto his lap.

“I don’t wanna fight you, okay?” Your voice became quiet all of a sudden – yet, your chest still moved with quickness. “You gotta understand that all I wanted was for you to be safe.”

“Safe from what?” His hands then let go of your wrists, instead moving to hold your face, thumbs resting by the corners of your mouth. With free hands, you placed them over his wrists, overwhelmed by the proximity. "Talk to me, Y/N. Just for once, talk."

“From bad stuff, okay? Safe from life threatening stuff.”

“You’re involved in life threatening stuff?” His thumbs gently went over your bottom lip as you nodded. “You don’t have to protect me, Indiana Jones.” You let out a short laugh at his nickname, causing the inkling of a smile to thug at his own lips. “If you’re involved, I’m simply involved by association. There’s no you without me, remember? And vice versa.”

You shook your head. “Not with this. I can handle myself, but you’re just a nerd with a guitar.” You joked, sly smile on your lips.

He chuckled. “And you’re a dancer with pompons.” His eyes moved from your eyes to your lips, then back up.

“Who kicks ass.”

His eyebrows shot up. “Oh, you do?”

“Mhm. I’m sort of a…Wonder Woman out in the field.”

The right corner of his mouth turned upwards. His thumbs still stroked over your lips, pressing onto them ever so slightly. His eyes, as they traced your features, landed on a scar that stood on the left side of your temple. It had yet to heal and suddenly, Eddie felt the hidden heaviness of your words.

His mind flashed back to Starcourt, then to Hopper’s funeral for a brief moment, and he remembered the bandages on your right arm, the busted lip, the bruises and scars on your face. Most had healed by Halloween, but they still lingered on his mind.

“Tell me what’s going on.” He asked.

You shook your head, hands leaving his wrists.

“Please, I wanna help.”

You shook your head again, pulling away from his touch.

“Who hurt you last summer?” Eddie asked as his hands fell off your face.

“I can’t, Eddie.” Your voice cracked as you opened the passenger’s door. “Just, forget we talked.” You spoke as you left his van, rushing up the stairs to your house, without sparing him another glance.

And Eddie could only sit and watch you run from him again, just as you had done two years prior, after breaking your friendship.

Only this time, Eddie wasn’t going to let you go.

#eddie munson #stranger things #joseph quinn #stranger things 4 #eddie munson imagine #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x y/n #eddie stranger things #eddie munson x fem!reader #strangerthings #stranger things imagine #eddie munson fanfic #eddie munson oneshot #eddie munson imagines

[l223m0nade]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuNIsY6JdUw

so the Taylor Swift You Belong With Me video was playing at the gym, and I was reveling in its sappy cliche goodness despite myself, when I REALIZED I could totally mentally superimpose 1940s Smol Steve and Bucky pining for each other as teens into it. now i love it even more hahaa

#i dare you to watch the video #while thinking about smol steve and jock bucky #makes more sense as an au but I want to force it to be 1940s canon(ish) context #i might have to write a tiny cheesy fic about this :D

[strangersteddierthings]

What's Eight Plus Seven?

Part One🦇Part Two🦇Part Three🦇Part Four🦇Part Five

Alright y'all. We had the hurt, let's get some comfort started.

-

Steve leans against his door, expecting Eddie to follow him upstairs to continue their argument because Eddie's never been one to back down from an argument as far as Steve can tell, so he's using his weight to keep the door shut. It takes about five minutes of just leaning against the door before he hears a few light knocks on the door. He pretends he didn't hear them and soon starts to hear Eddie monologue-ing on the other side. He thinks he hears a 'sorry' and an 'I fucked up' but he doesn't really tune in until Eddie says something about cancelling Hellfire.

Spinning quickly, he yanks the door open and says, "You better not fucking cancel!"

"What? Don't you, like, want me out of your house?" Eddie looks startled and sounds confused.

"What I want is for the kids to get to play Dungeons and Dorks for an afternoon, just getting to be kids and fight against monsters that can't actually kill them," Steve says as he goes to put his hands on his hips (a move that Robin calls his Bitch Stance) but realizes he can't while still holding a book, so instead he folds his arms across his chest, cradling the book to his body.

He waits for Eddie to call him out for saying dorks instead of dragons, but Eddie just blinks at him, quiet for a moment before he says, "Oh. Uh, okay then. I'll just, uhh, I'll be back closer to noon, then. For the game."

"Don't you have prep to do?" Steve knows he's trying to pick a fight now but he's angry, and sad, and hurt underneath it all. Also, he doesn't understand the change in Eddie suddenly. Ten-ish minutes ago Eddie had shouted back I wasn’t exactly wrong, was I? You were a jock, a bully even! Where is that anger now?

"No. Not, uh, not really," Eddie says, avoiding meeting Steve's gaze, face turning a very light pink. "I was- I mean, yes, there was prep, but I did a majority of that already and what's left will take maybe three minutes so..."

Steve's confused now, still trying to cling to his anger. "But you called and asked if it was okay to come early specifically for that reason."

Eddie doesn't respond right away. He turns around to walk to the wall opposite Steve's door and thump his forehead against it. Steve is perplexed by the behavior (but he's been perplexed by Eddie since finding him at Reefer Rick's) so he just watches in silence as Eddie heaves a sigh and turns around to slump against the wall, facing Steve once again. He runs a hand through his hair, then drags that hand back forward and down his face. "Yeah. I did do that."

"So, what, you lied? Why?"

"I just wanted to hang out," Eddie whispers, like it almost hurts him to say out loud, which is such a weird thing to hear because it makes Eddie seem small in a way Steve's never seen him. Even during spring break Eddie was never small or quiet; his fear manifested as shouting, for fuck's sake. It chips away at the last of Steve's anger. He's long past the days of kicking someone when they're down.

"You... wanted to hang out," Steve repeats before heaving a sigh of his own, long-suffering man that he is. Maybe it is time to bury the hatchet and actual deal with this. If nothing else, it'll result in Steve being less defensive around Eddie when everyone hangs out, like for movie night or BBQs. Also, he knows that Dustin will never let him know another day of peace once he learns that Eddie and Steve don't get along as well as he wants them to so he says, "Listen, I think we've got some shit to hash out, or whatever, so that should probably be done or, like, things are going to be weird when we all hang out, but I can't do that right now, man. So, stay or go, just make that game happen at noon. I'm going to stay up here."

Eddie nods, weirdly sullen and quiet again, as he says, "Yeah. Umm, maybe after the game? If you're feeling up to it."

"Sure. After."

Eddie raps his knuckles against the wall behind him twice before pushing off and heading back towards the stairs. He pauses to look over his shoulder and say, "If you wanna watch, or listen in, or something, I don't think anyone will mind." And then he's heading down the stairs.

Retreating back to his room, Steve tosses the book onto his bed before flopping face first next to it. He groans into his comforter before reaching for the book. He props himself up on his elbows and stares down at the cover before opening it to see Christopher's handwriting on the inside cover.

It's been years since he thought about Christopher and even longer since he's laid eyes on the books. He was so sure his mom had just gotten rid of them. All this time, they'd been right where he left them, shoved just far enough back to be out of sight on the shelf. His last link to Christopher.

That's not true, Steve scolds himself. His cousins, Amber and Robert, are still alive and in Washington. His grandparents still live on that farm in Michigan. Steve just hasn't seen them since the funeral.

He hadn't gone back to the farm the summer after freshman year, or any year since. His parents thought he was old enough to stay home for a whole month in the summer alone now, instead of paying to ship him off to his grandparents. Steve's old enough now to know that was why he'd spent a month every year out on the farm; so his parents could go off on longer work trips. Once they'd decided Steve was old enough to stay alone for the summer, that quickly reached other seasons and by the time Steve was a junior, the were gone more than they were home.

He doesn't even remember when he last spoke to them in person. He thinks the last phone call was right after Starcourt. It was just to make sure Steve got to job hunting, since his place of employment had burned down and the bills wouldn't pay themselves. Which is true. He doesn't have to pay rent, but all the utilities are in his name now.

Jesus, he doesn't want to be thinking about them.

He goes back to the book, flipping through the pages absently. Halfway through the book he finds a couple folded pieces of paper tucked close to the spine. He doesn't have to open them to know exactly what they are.

It's the character sheets he'd made.

He closes the book back atop them and rolls over to face his ceiling. He wants to call Robin, but the phones are downstairs and he doesn't want to go down there just yet. He also kinda wants to cry. To get rid of all these emotions about Christopher, and Freshman First Day, and Eddie.

Fucking Eddie. Who haunts Steve's thoughts more than he'd like because despite the grudge Steve has been holding, Eddie has been fun to be around and so good with the kids, especially Dustin. Fuck, after having watched Dustin break down when they thought he was dead- but he'd had a pulse. It was weak but it was there.

After Eddie'd been cleared of the charges and the months rolled on into summer, they'd spent lots of time together as a group. Steve will admit he tried to avoid Eddie as best he could (he knows he's petty, okay) but could still see how he blended smoothly into their group.

If this Eddie had been the one he met on Freshman First Day, instead of the dick that mocked him, they might very well be friends now.

That's the crux of it all, Steve thinks. That he wouldn't mind being friends with Eddie if not for that bottled up grudge he'd been holding onto. He can't bring himself to let it go and Steve's not even sure why. Thoughts and feelings aren't something Steve processes quickly, and it usually helps to talk it out with Robin. She lets him stumble through his thoughts, and doesn't mock him for messing up, or mixing up, words.

Goddammit, if he's really going to try talking this out with Eddie, he's going to have be open and honest and maybe a little vulnerable and he doesn't know if he can do that.

But he'll have to. For better or worse, he can't just keep Eddie at arms length. They need to either come to the conclusion that they can be friends, or not, and then go from there. (Also, he knows that Dustin will never let him know another day of peace once he learns that Eddie and Steve don't get along as well as he wants them to.)

In the end, Steve's not sure how long he just stares up at the ceiling but a sudden shout breaks him from his trance. It sounded like Dustin. Hellfire must have started.

Steve leaves his room to go lean against the half wall of the hallway, so he could look down to the dining table where everyone has gathered to play. No one notices him, so Steve sinks to the floor and turns, so he can lean against the wall, closes his eyes, and listens in.

The room below is filled with noise. Shouts of excitement, and groans of pain, and sighs of relief. Dustin yells at his dice when it rolls a Nat 1. Mike curses up a storm over a barely missed perception check that makes the party fall into a surprise round. He hears Lucas whoop happily and then what sounds like him taking several victory laps around the table.

He used to be an imaginative kid, able to easily conjure castle, and knights, and dragons in his mind's eye. Listening to Eddie describe a new location, or NPC, or monster makes it easy to bring that part of himself back. Eddie is descriptive and uses so many voices that Steve would be embarrassed to even attempt. But because Eddie is being descriptive, so is everyone else at the table. Erica has adopted an accent of some sort for her character. Dustin and Will go into great detail describing what they want their character to do. The older members of Hellfire do the same, and one of them is using an Irish accent that if he used while talking to Steve, he'd would think it was his first language.

Steve's not sure how long he sat there, long enough that they've taken a snack break and are back at it again, before he decides he might as well watch, too. He gets up and goes downstairs. There's a pause at the table when he wonders in and plops down on the couch. He makes eye contact with Eddie and offers a small half smile. Eddie grins back, and starts back into the game, pulling everyone's focus.

Watching is interesting. He gets to see the Party jab at each other, or lean over and whisper about something. It's nice, to see them being kids. Having fun.

They end around five and Steve is surprised at how quickly five hours had passed.

"So, Steve, how was watching your first DnD game?" Dustin asks, pausing on his way to the door to do so.

Steve considers teasing him, but he goes for honesty instead. "Pretty interesting. It might not be my last time observing. I gotta see you get killed sometime, right?"

"Rude, Steve. Rude," Dustin is grinning though.

"Tell your mom hi for me, and let me know when she's making pork chops again. I'd like to crash that dinner."

Dustin rolls his eyes and shakes his head but he hugs Steve before leaving. Between all the older Hellfire members, they all have rides home that aren't Steve or Eddie.

Speaking of the latter, he's slowly packing things away at the table. Clearly killing time so it won't look like he's intentionally staying after everyone's gone.

Soon, the house is empty again.

"So, I'm not sure... how to start this conversation," Eddie admits to the silence. He's still at the table, standing behind where he was previously sitting, fiddling with a die. "But, I'm sorry. For that day. You were right, you know? When you said I was lashing out at you first."

"Thanks. For the apology," Steve stands from the couch and moves to the table, toying with the tablecloth instead of looking at Eddie. "I, uhh, I'm not sure where to go from here, either? I spent such a long time angry at you. For pointing out all the things I'm bad at in front of everyone there. For making me feel like an idiot."

"I know. I'm sorry."

Now Steve looks up at Eddie. "You say that, but like, why? Are you sorry because what you did was shitty, or because you want to be my friend now?"

Eddie blinks, apparently thrown by Steve's question.

"Because, like, you were pretty dismissive of Lucas before Spring Break and he helped save your life. So, it's like, are you okay with being shitty if the people you hurt aren't people you like? 'Cause I used to be that way, and I'm not going to be friends with someone who is."

"Yeah, no, you're right," Eddie nods. "For all that I scream about conformity, and how stupid it is, I've been rather quick to dismiss everyone outside my own... group. I held rather close to that nerds verses jocks crap for too long. Lucas is a jock, but he's also a nerd, and so very loyal to his friends. And you- you're really fucking awesome."

"I am," Steve interrupts with a cheeky grin.

"Ass. But yeah, you're pretty awesome, and I've been feeling all fucked up today because, we could have been friends, couldn't we? In high school. If I'd just let you take the damn flier and kept my mouth shut."

"Hey, that's not all on you," Steve says. "I would have still joined the basketball team, and the swim team. And, like, I was so desperate for any shred of attention from my parents that I would never have picked Hellfire over sports meetups. I could have joined and still ended up a bully by sophomore year."

"Well, I didn't help-"

"I made those choices, Eddie. And it doesn't matter because it's in the past. So, like, we can just move forward. Start over, or whatever."

Eddie looks him up and down before giving one sharp nod, then breaking out into a wide grin, sticking his hand out for a handshake. "Hi. Name's Eddie Munson."

Steve laughs, reaching out to shake Eddie's hand. "Steve Harrington."

"Great, pleasure to meet you. Do you wanna hang out? We can play 20 questions. Get to know each other."

"Sure," Steve chuckles, extracting his hand from Eddie's. "Let me order some pizza first."

First time hanging out with Eddie alone. Guess they'll find out if they can be friends after all.

#steddie #my fic #what's eight plus seven? #just one more part #not fully edited because im at work so apologies for that

[thefatedthoughtofyou]

I was thinkin about lifeguard Steve and the way the pool was on Jason's list of places Eddie might be and then this happened. Not sure when it takes place. Eddie's hair is around his shoulders so maybe s2-ish? Pop it into canon wherever you'd like my dears!

Steve's been a lifeguard at the pool for a few years now. Maybe trained for it when he was a freshman. And he.... idley knows that Eddie Munson deals in the small patch of woods behind the pool. Everyone knows that. Or at least, anyone who buys drugs.

Steve had gotten pot from him once. But not behind the pool. Didn't wanna risk getting caught and losing his job. Because yeah, the kids can get a bit roudy, but he genuinely likes being there to help people if, and when, they need it.

The thing is. He sees Eddie pop in sometimes. He wanders in. Looking skiddish when it's overly crowed. Steve watches him, every time he comes in. Not because he's suspicious, or thinks Eddie's gonna do anything. But because sometime he feels the way Eddie looks in crowds. And it makes him feel better to watch him. To look out for him. Even if Eddie doesn't know he's doing it.

And he sees Eddie look at him sometimes. Squinting through the sun and his bangs, his feet dangling in the water as he tries to cool off without getting all the way in the water. His hair is just above his shoulders. Getting longer every year.

Steve tries not to think about how much he wants to tuck it behind Eddie's ears for him, wonders if Eddie would follow him into the janitors closet at school if he asked. If he left a note in his locker. Wonders if he'd just think Steve wants weed from him. Like last time. And not that Steve wants him.

Because Steve can't want that. That's what everyone says. But he watches Eddie smile at a little girl in a bright pink floaty. Her mother smiling too when the little girl leans forward, makes bubbles with her mouth at Eddie. And Eddie wiggles his fingers back at her, nudges her floaty with his toe genlty, sends her spinning and giggling. And Eddie throws his head back and laughs and Steve wants.

Steve can see he's a good guy. But he sees how people look at him. How the other jocks talk about him. Call him names. Things they'd call Steve too if they knew what he was. So Steve keeps his mouth shut. And his eyes on Eddie Munson.

And then one day, the pool is crowded. Packed. All the kids and teens and parents shoved in like sardines and Steve watches Eddie hesitate at the gate. His eyes roaming over the crowd, teeth worrying into his lip, his hand falls away twice.

But he wipes at the sweat on his face and sets his shoulders. Shuffles into to the pool area and heads for his normal spot. The corner of the pool at the shallow end. He just likes to dip his feet in. That's all. Steve has never seen him actually in the water. Crowd or not.

There's a yell, Eddie's head snaps in that direction. Some asshole from the basketball team, Steve knows him, but not well. He yells at Eddie and Steve's hackles rise, he sits forward on his chair more. Watching as the boy and a few of his friends start moving towards Eddie. He sees Eddie bump into someone as he tries to move away from them.

A scream from the other end of the pool draws Steve's attention. For just a moment. It was just some kids. Splashing each other.

Steve moves his eyes back to where Eddie was. He's gone. Replaced with the group of laughing boys.

But Steve's observant. His eyes land on the mom and little girl Eddie had played with last time he was here. She's holding her daughter on her hip, her eyes worried, staring at the shallow end. Her eyes move up, like they're in slow motion, they meet Steve's, and she points, wordlessly, into the water. Her little girl is crying now. Maybe sensing the dread her mother is clearly feeling.

Steve moves fast after that. Blows his whistle and jumps down. Shouts for everyone to get out of the pool and dives in, slipping easily past the bodies climbing out.

Eddie's laying at the bottom of the pool. There's a small cloud of blood blooming through his hair, a red halo floating around his head. Steve groans, bubbles flowing from his nose, his stomach sinking as his fingers curl into Eddie's vest. He pulls the boy to his chest and hauls him up. Hefts him over his shoulder and lays him on his back on the concrete as gently as he can.

"Move back. Everyone get back." He says, automatically. The crowd does as they're told as Steve leans down, presses his head against Eddie's chest, he's not breathing.

"Shit." He whispers it, starts chest compressions and breaths air into Eddie's lungs.

It takes 6 breathes. 4 curses. And one,

"C'mon Eddie. Come back to me."

And Eddie coughs. Water spewing out of his mouth as his back arches off the ground.  Steve holds his head, doesn't want him to fall back and hit it again.

"There we go. Hey you're okay. It's okay." Steve soothes, Eddie gabbing at his arms, still struggling, sucking in air harshly. Steve pulls him to his chest protectively. Eddie clings to him, his wet hair matted to his face as Steve's hand rests over it, he can feel blood on his fingers. Not a lot. But enough.

He looks up, into the crowd, finds the group of guys, they're smirking, don't even have the decency to look upset that they nearly killed someone.

"What the hell happened?" Steve asks, voice calm, and to those who know him best, that's not a good sign. Steve's eyes find the mom, the one who had laughed with Eddie instead of giving him a sideways wary look and pulling her kid away like the others.

"They threw him in." She said, her face pale, her daughter tucked up under her chin now. Steve feels Eddie shaking in his arms, his clothes still dripping water onto the hot concrete, and looks back to the boys.

"You're banned."

"Oh what? Seriously Harrington?"

"For life. Get out." They try to protest, stupid excuses dripping from their lips.

"Now! Go! Before I call the fucking cops!" Steve shouts, points over their heads at the gate.

"In fact. Everyone out! Pools closed!" No one else argues. Only the mother and her daughter linger as Steve moves his attention back to Eddie. He lets Eddie uncurl from his chest, finds big brown eyes looking at him.

"Thanks man." He breaths, his hand moving to his throat as he coughs again.

"Sure. Lemme get a look at your head too." Steve moves to his side, presses Eddie forward a bit, moves his fingers through his hair. Sucks in air through his teeth when he sees the small gash on his head.

"That bad?" Eddie asks, his hands trembling as they rest on his thighs.

"You might need a couple stitches." Steve says, moving a bit more of Eddie's hair, to see better, he tells himself, not so he can keep touching him.

"I can do it." The voice startles Steve. He looks up, the mother is looking down at them. A soft smile.

"If you have a first aid kit that is. Two stiches should do you fine. If you can hold her while I work?" She bounces the little girl on her hip a few times. She reaches out for Eddie and he laughs. Steve laughs too, but goes to grab the first aid kit.

He holds the little girl, Daisy, as her mom, Lilly, cleans the cut in Eddie's hair and gets the needle threaded.

"How do you know how to do that?" Steve asks, making a face at Daisy, sending her giggling again before looking back to her mom. Eddie has his fingers wrapped around Steve's ankle, his fingers tapping nervously.

"Oh my mama taught me. I helped patch up my brother and my daddy lots of times." She smiles at the memories, moves her hand to Eddie's shoulder.

"You ready hon? It's not gonna feel very nice." Eddie sniffles. Steve lowers himself and Daisy to the ground, presses his thigh into Eddie's and grabs his hand with his free one. Eddie looks at him, eyes wide. Steve nods. Eddie nods back.

"Ready."

She works fast. Gives him three instead of two just to be safe. Eddie had squeezed Steve's hand so hard he thought he might break it. But he hadn't made a sound. And when he let go, Steve missed his hand, clinging to him.

Lilly offers to give Eddie a ride home. Apparently they're neighbors. She lives a few trailers down from him and his uncle. He accepts, gratefully. "Thank you's" dripping freely from his mouth as he follows her out to her car. Steve a few paces behind them. Eddie stops before he gets in, looks at Steve, his face doing something funny.

And then he's jogging the few paces back to Steve and pulling him in for a hug.

"Seriously man. Thank you. Thought I was a gonner there for a minute." He breaths the words into Steve's shoulder, squeezes him tight. Lingers too long. Eddie pulls back and he's pink to the tips of his ears. He glances at Steve as he pulls away, grimaces, and mutters,

"Sorry." And ducks hurriedly into the car. They're gone before Steve can correct him. That he doesn't need to be sorry. That Steve understands. He's like that too.

~°~

They don't mention it again. Not at school. Not at the boathouse. Not in the upside down. Neither one of them says a thing about it.

Until Eddie wakes up in the hospital. He's covered in bandages and Steve Harrington is sitting in the chair next to his uncle looking concerned. The same look he'd had at the pool that day after he'd breathed life back into Eddie. His scars look healed. Ish. Lot of time must have passed.

After Wayne stops hugging him and Steve is settled close, his hand in Eddie's, squeezing tight. Eddie sighs around a smile and says,

"Saved me again didn't you?"

And Steve laughs, can't help it. But he cries too, and nods, and bites his lip as he leans closer to Eddie, like he needs to be closer, to be next to Eddie. And that's... something. Eddie tilts his head against his pillow, looks at Steve.

"Let's not make it a habit okay? I kind of hate doing it." Steve says, his head falling to rest against Eddie's hand.

"Sorry. Had to keep those bats away from Dusty. And hey,"

He wiggles his wrist so Steve's head jostles and lifts, his eyes on Eddie's face now, cheeks wet.

"I figured you'd come save me. Worked the last time." Eddie shrugs, grimaces at the pain in his body. Steve shakes his head, but his eyes are fond.

"Yeah well, I didn't have Lilly this time, so the stiches look like shit." He sniffles, and Eddie laughs, deep in his chest, immediately regrets it and grimaces. And that's apparently all Steve can take, he takes a watery breath and climbs up into the bed next to Eddie. It's a tight squeeze but neither of them care. Wayne laughs, pats Eddie's ankle and tells him he's gonna go get some food.

Steve nuzzles into his neck best he can without hitting any bandages, wraps his arms genlty across Eddie's stomach and holds him.

"Seriously man. Don't make me do it again. Please." Steve begs, rubs his wet cheek against Eddie's shoulder.

"But Steven," Eddie sighs, not able to keep from joking, the seriousness of it all about to choke him. Steve tilts his head, listening.

"How else am I supposed to get you to kiss me?" He whispers it, knows it's okay now, to say it to Steve, to feel that for Steve. Steve laughs into his shoulder, shakes his head.

"Just fucking ask me man." He sniffles, presses his forehead to Eddie's shoulder, hard, his fingers moving to tangle with Eddies.

"Hey Steve?" Eddie asks, his voice still a whisper.

"Yeah Eddie?" Steve whispers back. Eddie smiles, waits for Steve to get impatient. It doesn't take long. He pushes himself up onto his hand to look down at Eddie.

"What?" He asks, brow furrowed.

"Kiss me?" Eddie's own brow furrows even as Steve smiles down at him, closes the distance quickly, brushes his nose against Eddie's.

"Anytime you want." Steve breathes into his mouth. Eddie hums, moves his lips gently against Steve's and feels him sigh into it when he feels Eddie kissing him back.

They fall alseep next to each other. Wayne only waking them when the doctor is on his way in. Steve rolls out of the bed and sits in his chair. Keeping his eyes on Eddie.

And when Eddie glances at Steve, gives him a silly little smile, Steve thinks back to the pool, and the way Eddie would glance at him then, trying not to get caught while everyone else would leer openly at him. His heart flutters in his chest when Eddie crosses his eyes and sticks out his tongue, so grateful to his past self for becoming a lifeguard.

He'd saved a few people over the years. But he's pretty sure he was sent there to save Eddie Munson. To keep him alive. Because as he sat there, watching Eddie joke with the nurses about how metal his scars would be, Steve was pretty sure Eddie Munson may have saved him too.

Or might save him later.

Or was saving him now.

Either way, the way Eddie's fingers find his on the hospital bed, twitching into his and making them both smile. Steve knows it was worth it, all of it, just to see that smile.

#steddie #steddie ficlet #steddie blurb #steve x eddie #steve harrington x eddie munson #my writing #mine #my fic #fates endless inkwell #fei

[2btheanswertothequestion]

Lesson/Plan

Kissing Lesson #2

(Lesson 1 | AO3)

Eddie has a problem with obsessiveness. If he finds something he likes, he holds onto it. Delves deep. Becomes an expert. Previously, his obsessions were regular things that anyone with a modicum of taste might enjoy. Fantasy books. Heavy metal. DnD, naturally. All tangible-ish and accessible to him. Currently, he's not so fortunate. Because his latest obsession?

Kissing.

More precisely, it's kissing Steve Harrington.

Yeah. 'Shoot for the moon,' they said. 'You might land among the stars,' they said. Only he boarded a spaceship and didn't notice until he was walking on the sun, somehow making it back to Earth without burning up. And now… now he can't stop thinking about how to make a repeat trip.

He truly has no idea how. Zero fucking clue is what he has.

He's never done this before, y'see; he doesn't know how to proceed. Is it off-putting in the wrong way if he went up to Steve, his good buddy, and told him the friendly French kiss they shared changed Eddie's life? And yes, Eddie has no frame of reference, but he's nevertheless certain that no one else will come close to what Steve did to him. Is he allowed to admit that? That his first kiss is bound to be the best he'll ever have unless Steve kisses him again?

Everything Eddie knows about the world tells him that, were he to do that, his next kiss would be with a fist. Although, everything he knew about the world got sort of turned upside down mere months ago. Not just regarding the existence of monsters and mind-raping lichs, but also telepathic teens, reanimated sheriffs, Russians, and jocks who are nice. And considering it was the aforementioned nice jock's idea to kiss in the first place…

So, yeah. Pardon him for being slightly confused about stuff. Especially since Steve doesn't seem to share the confusion. No, see, Steve's gone on like usual, to the point where Eddie might've convinced himself it was a dream if Robin hadn't given him knowing looks afterward. Which means Steve told her. That's fine. Eddie expected nothing else. He hasn't told anyone yet – needs to keep this close for a while longer, roll it between his palms to get a better feel – but it's good to know he could without upsetting Steve.

Then, the remaining question is: can he talk to Steve about it without upsetting him?

Only one way to find out.

The keyboard click-click-clicks as Steve helps a customer find a movie she's rented before but can't remember the name of. Eddie hangs at the side of the counter, waiting. His plan is foolproof: ask Steve while at work so, in the case of backfiring, he can flee, fake his death, and vanish forever before Steve clocks out. Unfortunately, Family Video is bizarrely busy this ordinary Wednesday, and Eddie's been passing time reading synopses of unshelved VHSes and trying not to get caught staring at Steve as he works.

At last, she leaves (the movie she wanted was Gremlins – who the fuck forgets Gremlins?), and Steve is free to also lean on the counter. It brings him into Eddie's space, close enough to speak softly and still be heard; close enough to kiss- No! Bad, Eddie! Talk first, then kiss (hopefully).

"Did you want something?" Steve asks. "Or are you hanging around for the view?"

If he only knew.

Dropping the VHS back in the pile, Eddie smiles like he's not developing stress ulcers at this moment.

"It's about what happened last week."

"What happened?"

"You know."

Eddie taps his own lips; Steve's eyes widen in understanding.

"Oh, yeah." He nods, unbothered, as if this happens to him all the time. Shit, maybe it does. "Yeah?"

What Eddie's supposed to ask is if a repeat is in the cards. What actually emerges when he opens his mouth is, "Was that a good kiss?"

Look, he's working his way toward it, all right?

Steve scoffs. "Of course. I wouldn't let your first be bad."

"Right. Then I'll categorize it accordingly," Eddie says gravely; Steve lovingly rolls his eyes. "And… how did I do?"

"With the…?" Now Steve taps his lips (plush, pink, peh-lease get your mind out of the gutter, Eddie). "S'all right. Better than all right! It was good. You were responsive. But, uh, kinda passive."

Eddie, who's leaned in with interest in the feedback, recoils indignantly.

"Passive?"

"Uh huh. Most girls enjoy when you take charge. But some chicks like to call the shots and be dominant."

Eddie scowls. "I didn't mean to be passive. I wasn't sure what I was doing, or what you'd be doing."

"That's understandable. I didn't mind it. It was…" Steve smiles, eyes heavy-lidded in a way that doesn't make Eddie's stomach flip, nope, not at all. "...a nice surprise for you to be so pliable."

Passive. Pliable. Those words and 'Eddie Munson' do not go together! He's a man of action, a doer! And yet. For another kiss or two? Eddie could be putty, if that's what he needs to be.

"So, you don't go for dominant chicks then, huh?" he asks.

"I didn't say that. I'm fine with either. A good kiss from the right partner is… I mean, I'm flexible."

Shrugging, Steve then gathers the returned tapes in his arms and starts reshelving them. Eddie trails behind him.

"I seriously could do better, you know," he says.

"Hey, it's okay," Steve says without looking up from the movie in his hand. "You were good. With practice, you could be amazing."

Jackpot. The conversation is heading where Eddie wants it to. Now he just needs to give it one last push…

"'Practice'." Eddie snorts derisively. "With whom?"

He's about to lay down the final breadcrumb and say 'with you?', but Steve is quicker on the ball – looking over his shoulder, eyebrow raised, he says:

"I said it was lesson one, right? Kinda shitty of me if I don’t follow through with lesson two."

Eddie’s eyes might just pop out of his skull, they're bugging so hard.

"You- Really?" he squeaks.

Steve nods absent-mindedly, rearranging two VHSes that were ordered wrong on the shelf. "Why not? It's not like my recent dates have been mind-blowing – I'm not missing out by hanging with you instead. Honestly, I'd rather spend time with you anyway."

That sonofabitch. He can't say stuff like that. Not to a dude he 1) knows is queer, and 2) is offering to provide tonsil-cleaning for as a friendly favor. If Eddie didn't know he was straight, he'd assume…

Well. He shan't look down that hole, lest he falls in. Dwelling on impossible what-ifs will only depress him.

"So," Steve says, depositing the last tape. "Tonight?"

Kissing while sitting is different from kissing while standing.

Duh, right? But it's not something that even entered Eddie's mind until it happened. He can't begin to describe the differences, though, so don't ask him to – he's too preoccupied with memorizing the shape of Steve's molars.

They got into it immediately. He expected a degree of awkwardness when rolling up for his 'lesson', but Steve apparently doesn't do 'awkward' when it comes to making out. He just invited Eddie inside, told him to sit, and planted one on him the moment he got comfortable.

It's good because it's straight to the point, removes the weirdness and potential second-guessing. It's bad because the responsible voice in Eddie's head (which has Wayne's twang, if anyone's wondering) insists they must talk about it for real at some point. At the moment, Eddie ignores it – he's climbed into Steve's lap and is straddling his waist. He's not interrupting this for anything.

It begins uncertain, him hovering and his hands gripping Steve's shoulders. But as Steve's hands roam over Eddie's thighs and cup his ass, he figures it's time to stop thinking so fucking much and simply do. He lowers himself on shaky legs and grinds their hips together until Steve moans into his open mouth. Steve holds him closer, tighter, trapping the heat between them. The mansion is chilly, but Steve is warm and Eddie is sweating, damp spots growing in his pits and on his back. He's a wreck, just like last time, head spinning and heart racing, and he wants to ruin Steve the way he's being ruined. Give as good as he's getting.

Digging his fingers into Steve's hair – upper layer stiff with hairspray but softer underneath – and tugs. Steve makes a delicious noise; Eddie tugs again, and louder. Eddie pushes into him, curls their tongues, bites at Steve's lip, licks roughly when he groans, and starts over, all while tugging, grinding, tugging, grinding.

Steve breaks the kiss. His eyes narrow suspiciously.

"This is because I called you passive, isn't it?"

He doesn't specify what 'this' is. He doesn't need to. Eddie smirks in lieu of an answer; Steve huffs.

"You're a brat," he says.

"That's no way to talk to your student."

"This is no way to act with your teacher."

"You're not really a teacher. What are your credentials? Do you have a diploma?" Eddie gasps, melodramatic. "I bet you're not even licensed! You're more like a tutor. The smartest kid in class hired to ensure I don't fall even more behind."

"Oh, I'm hired?" Steve pulls Eddie flush to his chest, needing to crane his neck to look Eddie in the eye. "What's my salary?"

Eddie rises to his knees. He quite likes being taller than Steve. Likes those huge hazels looking up at him, pupils swallowing the irises.

"We'll discuss the financial details later," he says. "The point is, I'm your boss."

Steve rolls his eyes. Then he heaves them both aside, slamming onto the couch with him on top. Eddie squawks, his head nearly thumping into the armrest.

"Shit!" Steve says, panicked. He cradles the back of Eddie's head. "I'm sorry, did I hurt you?"

Eddie laughs. "I'm fine, dude."

Steve frowns, delicately prodding Eddie's skull as Eddie shakes, strings of giggles spilling out. It wasn't every day he almost got brained on Steve Harrington's luxurious white sofa while Steve Harrington laid on top of him.

Satisfied that Eddie's laughing fit wasn't due to head trauma, Steve's expression shifts from contrite to tender. He brushes stray locks off Eddie's face, the touch featherlike. As if he's handling something valuable.

It creates a lump in Eddie's throat that aches. This experience is alien. Wayne, bless him, while loving, isn't the gentle or sentimental type. In Hellfire they trade benign roughhousing and the occasional clap on the shoulder. Dustin is the cuddliest of them, but there's a difference between little-brotherly hugs and the sensual caress from a beautiful man, muscles flexing as he holds himself up in order not to crush you.

Eddie tilts his head up and looks at Steve, thinking Come on, please? Reading him like a book, Steve reattaches their lips; swallows Eddie's sigh.

These kisses are slower, lazier. They take their time exploring each other's tastes (Steve's is minty). His hand finds Eddie's, fingers splaying along each other before interlocking. Breaking the kiss with a smack, Steve then trails his mouth from Eddie's jaw, pausing to give extra attention to the scars, to the crook of his neck, nuzzling deep. It tickles – Eddie giggles and tries not to squirm, lest Steve stops.

"Is it always like this?" he asks, voice breathy.

"No, not always," Steve murmurs against his skin. "Only when… I'll tell you later, okay?"

Eddie hums in agreement. All his brain power is dedicated to keeping his dick in line, because as accommodating as Steve's been, even he must have a limit. He must. And Eddie's betting that limit is someone else's boner poking his leg. Steve's not making it easy for him – he nips at Eddie's earlobe, which is oh so good, then licks circles over Eddie's pulse point, which is even better, Jesus Christ.

Try as he might to avoid it, his instincts win: Eddie's hips buck, his groin rubbing against Steve's thigh, and the friction. It's delicious. Superior to what his hand or any pillow has ever provided. He could come just like this.

Steve flinches away with a gasp. His hair is unkempt where Eddie has run his fingers, mouth red and wet from the necking. Hazy eyes focus on the bulge in Eddie's jeans; he figures this is it.

"Oh, yeah," Steve says, as if he just remembered where he left his keys. "We can make this lesson two."

Sliding back, he unbuckles Eddie's belt. Eddie lies frozen, gawking as Steve deftly opens the cuffs and pulls the strap out of his belt loops. This can't be happening. He's hallucinating. He really did hit his head on the armrest and is stuck in a fucked up coma dream. His subconscious is taunting him.

He says, "W-wait, what-"

"You don't want that?"

Steve's eyes are huge; he's pushing out his bottom lip in an adorable pout. But why is he making such a perfect impression of a kicked puppy now?

Eddie splutters. "Do you? Are you okay with this?"

"Yes?" Steve says, the 'duh' at the end unspoken but still so loud. Except there should be no 'duh' in this situation. The only way this could logically happen is if Steve asked Eddie to jerk him. The wrong person's pants are coming off!

"You don't want me to, um, to you?"

Steve blinks rapidly, long lashes fluttering with surprise. "You've done it before?"

Eddie glares at him. Of course he hasn't! Not to someone else. But, "Have you?"

"No," Steve says evenly. "But I've had it done to me. I know how to do it. I'll demonstrate and then you can try if you want."

And what is Eddie supposed to say to that? 'No, thank you'? Perhaps if he were a stronger man. Alas, he has smoker's lung and failed PE twice due to lack of attendance. He has the ability to muster strength for amp-carrying and little else.

He says, "O-okay."

Grinning victoriously, Steve pops the button on Eddie's jeans. Pulls everything down. Doesn't comment upon the X-Men print on the boxers. Regards Eddie's cock, at half-mast and growing, with a fiery resolve. He licks his lips.

Then he dives and takes the cock head in his mouth.

Eddie yelps when the warm wetness envelopes him. He'd flinch too, if Steve hadn't kept Eddie's legs and hips in place using his own weight. As it is, he can do nothing but gawk, mouth drying where it hangs open, as Steve bobs his head up and down Eddie's dick.

It feels wrong to watch. Like this isn't meant for Eddie, even if it directly involves him. He'd sooner shave off his hair than look away, though. This is the front-row seat to the show of his life; he doesn't give a fuck whether his name is on the ticket.

Steve goes slow and deep, hollowing his cheeks and swirling his tongue. Drool trickles from the corner of his mouth, gliding along the shaft.

Eddie's panting, chest heaving so fast his lungs barely have time to gather oxygen. The sweat is pouring, pooling by his neck and in his palm and on his forehead. His vision blurs and darkens; he blinks to clear it because he has to see this. Has to drink in every second because his gut is already tightening, balls drawing up.

Steve pulls off, gasping for breath, but quickly resumes, flattening his tongue and running it up and down Eddie's swollen cock, so ready to burst it's turning purple. Steve's eyes are molten gold when he catches Eddie's gaze. Sizzling and gorgeous; they make Eddie whimper. Steve smiles, lips shiny and cheeks flushed. Then he drags his tongue over the bulging vein on the underside of Eddie's cock, moaning in bliss.

Eddie comes, a high-pitched whine ripped from his throat. He sags into the couch cushions, boneless, too weak to watch Steve lap the sticky spunk off his softening dick, but perfectly able to feel it. So he lies, eyes closed, breathing and feeling, breathing and feeling.

When done cleaning, Steve crawls up the length of him to collapse half on top of Eddie, half wedged between him and the couch's backrest. His own erection bumps Eddie's hipbone.

Eddie slurs, "Hey, d'you wan' me to…?"

Steve chuckles and presses a kiss on Eddie’s jaw.

"Dude, you're so out of it. Give yourself a break first, and then we'll see. Maybe we'll do it next time."

"Okay," Eddie sighs.

He snuggles closer to Steve and his warmth. The living room lights are too bright and it reeks of sweat and come and a chill is settling on his dick since Steve didn't pull his pants back up. It's quiet, though, excepting Steve's soft breathing, and the way Steve is stroking Eddie's stomach is really nice.

He relaxes in Steve's embrace, thinking about next time.

------------------------------

No taglist this time; don't ask for one unless you want to vex me.

Lesson 3 (eventually)

#stranger things #stranger things fanfiction #steddie #steddie fanfic #eddie munson #steve harrington #steddie fic: lesson/plan #my writing

[eddieswh0r]

Hiii!

I was wanting to request a fic where eddie and femreader! are best friends and roommates, eddie is in love with her but is too afraid to tell her in case it ruins things and she doesn't feel the same. so he naturally is quite jealous when he sees her with other guys, but what he doesnt know is reader feels the same way about him. one day eddie was meant to be at band practice all day but it finished early as gareth got sick, so eddie comes home and he walks by readers room and all he hears his her making sll sorts of moans and groans, and the door is open just a little so he can see her touching herself but she also is moaning his name. maybe he walks in or she sees him either way it could end up with some sex and a confession maybe?

let's get back into it with a smutty slow burner? 😉

'Best Friends Lend a Hand'

"Y/n, c'mon. Really? He's stood outside like he's taking you to fuckin' prom" peeking through the blinds that were being held open with a thumb and index finger, just enough to see down onto the street below, Eddie stifled his laughter "Look at him, he's got a fucking flower on his blazer. Wait.. Wait.. There's not even a button hole. It's just pinned on man.. No, stop it. Wait. Is that fucking sticky tape?" The curly haired metal head threw himself back down onto the sofa, holding his stomach as he erupted into fits of roaring laughter.

"You really need to stop calling it sticky tape Eddie, you're 24 and let me guess, you'd turn up on a date in a raggedy pair of jeans and your battle vest?" with a peek through the blinds yourself, your eyes widened. A short man who looked a little older than 25 like you'd been previously told and yes, as plain as day there was a wilted flower stuck to his blazer with the so-called 'sticky tape' attaching it.

"I'm so gonna get Harrington back for this." grabbing your bag off the arm of the sofa you pointed an outstretched finger at Eddie with narrowed eyes "You too!! you're both gonna pay so fuckin' bad for this!" with a slam of the door behind you, you lingered on the stairwell for a moment then sloped off to meet the blind date. The fucking horrible idea Harrington had concocted because he just wanted you to shut the fuck up about the lack of touch you so badly wanted. The few previous dates you'd been on were ok, nothing to write home about, there was no spark, they weren't thrilling, they weren't Eddie.

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"Yeah man, she left about twenty minutes ago - ish and she did NOT look happy" passing Steve a beer Eddie leant his hip on the kitchen counter "..We're gonna pay for this, she insisted on it actually. 'You're gonna pay so fuckin' bad'" mimicking your voice in a high pitched tone he laughed taking a big gulp from the cold bottle.

"You can fuck right off Munson if you think she's getting me back for this as well. I was doing alright, firing out the best people i knew for these dates. You.. You picked this one, who the fuck is this man?"

"Michael, you remember him right? few years older than us, his brother Tommy was in Robins science classes"

"MICHAEL? MICHAEL COOPER? Eddie he's at least 30 now. A few years older? Jesus CHRIST. She's gonna go mental. How did you even ask him?

"Saw him in the 7-Eleven parking lot"

Eddie knew what he was doing though, he wasn't just being a prick to his roommate, his best friend of 20 years for no reason. Seeing Steve organize all these dates for you and watching you go off with the jock looking buff boys made Eddies insides twist. 20 years is a hell of a long time to be crushing hard on someone right? But from the age of 4, you and Eddie had been completely inseparable. Kindergarten, first school, middle, high, college, work, roommates, the full lot, together. So let's be honest a crush for 20 years? No. That boy was completely in love with you but he'd never tell you. No way. But you wouldn't tell him either, he'd never know you felt the same, fuck he could never know. Ever.

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"I swear Eddie that date was traumatizing, you and Steve are in for it, just you wait. I don't mind an older man but 30 and already balding? You're both assholes for that" placing your cereal bowl in the sink you frowned crossing your arms, the previous events from last night whirling around in your head making you cringe. Pulling on his trainers Eddie hid the smirk that spread across his face as you told him all about the disastrous date.

"So lemme get this right, the sticky tape fell off and the flower fell riiiight into his soup?"

"Eddie i was so embarrassed, he was speaking so loud and people were staring and.. and then.. he fucking ate the flower swimming round in his soup, i wanted to die" slumping down into the sofa you looked over toward Eddie who was now chuckling to himself. God, if only the man who was stood in front of you would take you on a date.

"Wait.. Where you going anyway? I thought we had a movie marathon planned?" he better not be blowing you off for a date you thought, he did that once before and it didn't end well. You didn't speak to him for days and he did a bit too much groveling after that.

"Corroded Coffin rehearsal sweetheart, fuck. I thought i told you?" Grabbing his keys off the side, he looked at you with his big ol' puppy dog eyes "I'll make it up to you, i promise.. i gotta go"

"Asshole"

Eddie swung the door open and glanced back to you "Laters princess" flashing his teeth with a grin and finishing with a wink.

Fuuuck. If only he knew what those simple words did to you. That knot in your stomach tightened.

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Hey, Doc! we better back up.

We don't have enough roads to get up to 88.

Roads?

Where we're going we don't need no roads.

"I will never get tired of that film" pressing the off button on the remote you sighed happily. You'd taken yourself to bed and curled up in your covers to watch yours and Eddies favorite film, even though he'd ditched you for band practice. The smell of his cologne wafted up to your nostrils from his band tee you wore. It's not like it was unusual for you to wear one of his t-shirts, in fact, it was more unusual for you not to be wearing one.

Boredom took over. The apartment was relatively clean, the laundry was done and you'd already picked at snacks throughout the film.

16:27 flashed on your alarm clock, Eddie had been gone for hours and he'd probably be gone a few more. Resting your hand on your stomach you tore your stare away from your ceiling toward your nightstand. A photo of you and Eddie from 2 years prior. Nancy had suggested a walk which sounded like a good idea at the time but it was a cold autumn morning and Steve did absolutely nothing but complain about the temperature the whole time. Nancy had bought her camera with her and caught the exact moment Eddie threw a big pile of golden orange and yellow leaves at you, he had his head thrown back laughing while the leaves fell around you. So as grumpy as you looked it was developed and placed in a frame for your 22nd birthday.

God, you were so in love with him. His hair, eyes, smile, neck, the dip in his chest, down towards his toned stomach which had his little trail leading towards.. towards..

"Mmm, fuck." your hand had found itself tucked inside your thin cotton panties, your finger drawing circles around what was now a wet pulsing bud of nerves as you thought about your best friend, the best friend you were absolutely madly in love with.

Closing your eyes and tilting your head back you slipped a second finger and applied more pressure wishing it was Eddie that was taking care of you, making you feel good.

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Placing his keys on the small table next to the door Eddie scanned his eyes around the living room searching for you but nothing, he thought that you'd probably gone out to meet Nancy. He'd come back much earlier than expected, Gareth wasn't feeling great so they decided to call it a day.

"Oh Eddie."

His gaze quickly turned towards your bedroom door, faint squeaks and mewls coming from inside. Eddie gingerly made his way closer to the door, the faint orange hum of light from the bedside lamp shining through the slight crack of where it was left open.

"Feels so good, Eddie"

Hearing his name a second time he peeped one eye through the ajar door, eyes widening at what he could see in front of him. Sprawled on your bed with the covers no longer on you and Eddies tee bunched up just above your chest, one hand in your panties and the other caressing your breast with your hard, sensitive nipple rolling between your finger and thumb, your back arching every time you went a little faster. Eddie automatically palmed his now painfully hard erection through his jeans. Should he be doing this? This is wrong, that's my best friend he thought to himself but another moan of his name from your lips stopped that thought abruptly. He watched you gather your own slick on your index and middle finger letting your legs fall to the side and giving him a very clear view of what he wanted needed so bad, slowly sliding your fingers into your aching cunt a moan dragged from your throat which made Eddies breath hitch and palm his erection faster.

Eddie couldn't take it any longer, watching you take care of yourself like this, he needed to help. He needed to take care of you himself.

"Need a hand sweetheart?" gently pushing your bedroom door open his eyes darkened with want as he took a slow pace towards the end of your bed. You stopped what you were doing, you weren't nervous or even embarrassed. Looking up at him with big doe eyes you gave a simple nod and that was more than enough for him. Eddie walked round to the side of your bed while unfastening his belt, letting his jeans fall down to his ankles, followed by his boxers. Your eyes widened as his hard dick slapped against his stomach on release. Holy fuck he was gifted.

"I'm gonna take care of you now, 'kay? Just relax baby. M'gonna make you feel so good" Eddie climbed on top of you, pushing your legs apart with his knees. Nuzzling his way into your neck his teeth nipped at your skin, grazing down to your collarbone. You watched his every move not wanting to miss his perfect fucking face making its way over your torso.

"You miss me princess?" his voice muffled as his mouth enveloped around your nipple, the connection rapidly sending your hands to his mass of curly hair with a soft moan flowing from your lips, Eddie pinched your nipple between his teeth as he dragged a hand across your thigh, gripping the inside. Letting your nipple go from his mouth with a pop he gave you the biggest shit-eating grin you've ever seen.

"I’ll take that as a yes?" Taking his bottom lip between his teeth he edged down toward the end of the bed, hooking his arms under your knees, pulling you towards him.

“Eddie, wait!!” You called, Eddie let go of your legs in a panic, you watched his face drop as you knew every kind of thought would be running through his head.

“I don’t think it’s fair Eddie” you pouted your lips, dropping your head ever so slightly

“W-we can stop? If that’s what you want princess? We don’t have to do this, I don’t wanna ruin our friendship”

“Well.. I just kinda mean.. like.. you still have your top on” it was your turn to wear the shit-eating grin now and watch the relief wash over Eddies face. In a flash he removed his top and flung it over to the side. His toned body in all its glory, right there in front of you, begging to be touched, every single part of it, you wanted to cover with your lips.

“Is that what you wanted, Sweetheart? Is that better now?” A breath you didn’t know you were holding escaped and Eddie leaned forward and pushed his lips on yours, snapping you from your stare. Slow, wet kisses at first switched on what felt like lightening dancing in your stomach which quickly turned to messy, open-mouthed kisses, tongues circling in unison, trying to find each other at every opportunity. Eddie pulled away breathless, leaving nothing but a string of saliva between you. Sitting up he resumed his position and hooked his arms under your legs pulling you closer. You bit your bottom lip in arousal and anticipation as Eddie looked down at you giving you a quick nod and the most beautiful smile, you nod back confirming the go ahead and be didn’t hesitate.

“Just relax sweetheart, if you wanna stop.. tell me.. ‘Kay?” He slowly pressed against your soaking wet opening with the tip of his dick, rubbing up and down gathering your wetness on his end.

“Oh f-fuck, you’re fuckin’..” cutting himself off from his own sentence he slipped inside of you, feeling your gummy walls clench around his length almost immediately. Your head threw back and a moan of his name left your lips pronto.

“Jesus fucking Christ, Eddie” gripping the sheets and throwing your head back at the bliss. Eddie pushed in to the hilt and picked up a pace rather quickly which earned groans from his direction.

“Sweetheart, you’ve no idea how long I’ve wanted this”

“Eddie, shut up and fuck me” you giggled breathless. Deep and hard, faster and faster. The fire in your stomach was unbearable and the taste of sweet release was moments away.

“Eddie. I- I’m gonna..”

“Cum for me, there’s a good girl.” Those words tipped you over the fuckin edge, as you clenched your walls around him waves of euphoria washed over you, knuckles turning white from the sheets in your grasp, your mouth hung open but no sound was audible. Your body shook as your reached your ultimate high.

“There it is, fuck. Such a good girl for me” Eddie praised as he reached his own high, burying his warm seed deep inside you. Your name and curses rolling off his tongue.

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What felt like hours passed and somehow the covers had found their way onto you both, Eddies arms wrapped around you and your head on his chest while it gently rose and fell with every breath. You didn’t know what was to happen next only that you both didn’t want this to end, you and Eddie had waited for this moment and no one was going to take it away. Your eyes slowly closed as tiredness took over as it did for Eddie.

“I love you, Sweetheart”

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Oh please I’ve been fucking working on this for months and the last few paras are SO fuckin rushed because it was just sitting in my drafts.

Love you all😩🥰

#eddie munson #joseph quinn #joe quinn #stranger things #eddie munson smut #eddie stranger things #eddie munson x y/n #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x you #eddie fanfic

[marvelsswansong]

summary: you're completely oblivious to how men stare and flirt with you. Steve isn't. But he doesn't care so long as you continue to be his sweet girl.

tags: Steve x bimbo-ish!fem!reader, basically she's a hot feminine girl with no social cues/zero awareness of men's attempts to flirt, so much fucking fluff, implied smut/one sexy-ish scene, Steve being a protective bf

☆ word count: 1.6K+ ☆

-> a/n: does this count as a himbo x bimbo relationship sksksks. I'm just a sucker for bimbo!r fics where the bf is v protective.

⚠️ 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝐈 𝐝𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐩𝐲, 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐨𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐲 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐞.⚠️

It's easy for Steve to spot you in the crowd.

The bakery is swarming with people, it being a sunny Friday afternoon, but he's still easily able to pick you apart from the masses: the shiny lip gloss, the short skirt, the click of your black heels on the cobbled floor. The dip of your v-neck shirt and your perfectly manicured nails, your delicate lashes fluttering softly as you nod along cluelessly to another guy attempting to get your attention.

Steve decides to amuse himself for a bit, leaning against the wall out of sight from you to examine the rotation of men trying to flirt. He doesn't blame them - you're walking sin in heels. What with the way your mini skirt flies behind you when you run, exposing your lace panties underneath, or how you giggle and fumble with the silver butterfly necklace on your neck when you're embarassed.

Worst of all, you're not even trying. You're just that sweet, that kind hearted, that... oblivious to how men gawk at you and thirst after you like you're an oasis in the middle of a long-stretching desert.

And right now, the guy at the front is laying it thick with the flirting, but you're not picking up on any of his innuendos.

"So, you work here a lot?" the jet-blacked hair jock questions, leaning against the counter. You smile politely, nodding.

'Weak pick-up line.' Steve thinks.

"Yeah! I've been working here for about a month." is your response, your smile bright and genuine, your voice preppy and dripping with sunshine and honey.

God, you're so damn sweet and cute, Steve thinks.

The guy hums in fake interest.

"So, uh, (Y/n)-" he says, reading the name tag stuck to your work-mandated apron (which honestly does nothing much to cover the skimpy outfit underneath). "How well buttered are your muffins?"

The comment makes Steve cringe internally but you simply frown, cocking your head to the side.

"...None of our muffins are buttered. They contain butter, sure, but we don't put any butter on top." you reply matter-of-factedly, making the cocky smile on the guy's face fall. The raven haired man crumbles like chalk in front of you, before he coughs awkwardly and attempts to regain his confidence.

"No, baby, I meant..." he leans forward, placing his left hand on top of yours this time. "Do you need any help getting your muffins buttered? Because I am very good with my hands."

Your eyes light up at his comment, but not for the reason the guy hopes for.

"OHHHH.... are you here for the job opening? For the baker's assistant position, right?" you say cheerily, turning around to take the 'help wanted' poster off of the wall. The guy starts to refuse, shaking his head sideways but you're not even looking at him, your eyes fixated on the poster. "It seems that you're in luck, the deadline doesn't close for another week."

You thrust the piece of paper into the man's hands, before resuming your place behind the register.

"Will that be all?" you ask sweetly. It could read to others as sassy and savage, but the funny truth is that you mean no malice: you're being wholly genuine and honest. But the line has only gotten longer and the mother holding a small child coughs sternly behind the man, forcing him to bow his head in shame and walk away. The sight makes Steve let out a quiet laugh, the defeated look on the creep's face a sweet victory for him.

Steve decides to make himself visible then, waving at you from the back, your smile widening instantly as you spot him.

"Connor, can I take my break now?" you yell into the kitchen as another co-worker takes your spot at the register. As soon as your boss yells out a "yes", you're throwing the apron down and running up to Steve. You hug him fiercely, your arms wrapping around his neck as Steve lets out a quiet "oomph" at the force and speed with which you hug him.

"I thought you had work until 6 today." you mumble into his neck, not letting go of your boyfriend's body. Steve chuckles, running a hand down your back as he breathes in your familiar scent. Floral and citrus sweetness - a blend of vanilla, cinnamon and peaches.

"I got off early and wanted to surprise you, sweet girl." he responds, pulling away to peck you lightly on the lips. You whine at that, never satisfied with a light kiss as you tug him back down by the collar of his shirt, modesty be damned. The kiss is intoxicating and hungry, your hands traveling down his chest as you mould your lips against his, practically backing him against the wall.

Steve has to be the one to lightly tap your shoulders and push you off of him, a light red blush coating his cheeks as you frown and pout your lower lip forward.

"Why'd we stop?" you whine, completely unaware of the fact that half of the store is staring at you and Steve.

"We gotta save the... heavy kissing for places that aren't crawling with kids and families. Alright, angel?" he suggests lightly, smiling as he pats your cheek with his left hand.

You sigh dramatically, before you let out an excited gasp.

"Can we go get dessert then? I saw that there's a new ice cream store in town and Robin's been too busy with Vickie." you complain, crossing your arms across your chest. The motion causes your shirt to ride up, exposing more of your waist, which Steve quickly covers with an arm around your torso.

"Of course. Whatever you want."

You give him a dazzling smile, one that never fails to make his stomach churn and his mind buzz, before he laces his fingers with yours and guides you into the front seat of his BMW.

When you two arrive at the ice cream store, the cashier refuses to let you pay after taking one quick look at you. You accept the free dessert with a bright smile and before the guy can even attempt to ask you for your number, you're pulling Steve's hand and asking the poor guy in front of you if your boyfriend can also get the ice cream for free.

Steve has to suppress his laugh: it's happened so many times at this point that it's amusing to see you accept discounts and free food/drinks from thirsty men, never even questioning why they'd offer you that in the first place, before dragging Steve along into it.

Afterwards, you insist on sitting on the roof of Steve's BMW to watch the sun set whilst eating ice cream. But it's hard for Steve to focus on what you're saying - or for him to eat his own damn ice cream - when you're sitting with your legs thrown over his lap, your tongue dragging across the sweet dessert slowly in between sentences.

A firey desire lights up in his stomach as you slowly lick the top and drag your tongue down the side, letting out a satisfied moan at the taste. The knowledge that you're doing it naturally - that you're not even trying to tease him or anyone else - makes the sight even more erotic and Steve's not the only one to have noticed.

Feeling the prickly stares of a group of junior boys parked across the street, Steve makes it a point to twist his back and shoot a deathly glare at them. The boys are quick to avert their gaze after that and Steve feels satisfication seep in.

"And I told Dustin that I think- hello. Stevieeeeee." you sing song, waving your hand over his face. "Are you even listening to me?" you pout.

"I'm sorry, yes, I promise I'm listening."

You let out a disatisfied 'hmph' at that, a sour expression appearing on your face, which he's quick to dismiss by kissing you tenderly.

"I'm sorry I got a little bit distracted." he mumbles against your lips as you sigh. Taking another slow lick from your cone, you raise your eyebrows.

"What were you distracted by?"

It's such an innocent question, one which makes him chuckle, fingers brushing against the pads of your knees.

"You, of course."

The comment makes you smile shyly, your gaze dropping to the floor - six months into dating and you're still not good at receiving your boyfriend's compliments.

"Oh.... I guess then, uh, that's okay to be distracted. If it's me."

Steve's fingers lazily play with the edges of your skirt, his gaze flickering in between admiring the fabric and your gorgeous face.

"You have no idea, do you?" Steve finally questions, referring to your effect on men and all the attention you've been getting the whole day. You shrug your shoulders at the question, biting your lower lip.

"No idea about what?" you genuinely ask, confused.

"Never mind." he responds, biting into his ice cream. Steve's quick to then sit you on his lap as the sun finally sets on Hawkins, his arms wrapping around your shoulders as you complain about it starting to get cold.

"I know another way we can get warm." Steve suggests into your ear, biting your shoulder. You frown at that before your back straightens and you turn around excitedly.

"Oh, I know this from last time! You want to have sex." you practically announce for the whole parking lot. A few passerbys even shoot the two of you a dirty glare.

"Yeah, baby, but you don't need to shout it out loud." he chuckles into your skin as you smile sheepishly.

"Oops. Sorry."

"No worries." he says, sliding you off his lap before winking at you. "You can save the screaming for later, my sweet girl."

#steve harrington x reader #steve harrington x y/n #steve harrington x you #steve harrington x female reader #steve harrington x fem!reader #steve harrington fluff #steve harrington imagine #steve harrington oneshot #1k #2k

[captainkirkk]

✩ WEEKLY FIC ROUND-UP ✩

All the fics I’ve read and really enjoyed in the past week-ish. Reminder: This list features any and all ratings and themes. Please read the tags and warnings before reading.

BNHA

you could have knocked me out with a feather by sahwen

"Your X-rays don’t indicate any fissures or other breaking in the skull,” his handler said as she looked over his file. She always spoke like that, as did his other handlers; the skull. Not his. Because it wasn’t his, when you got right down to it. He was a public figure. He was property. He was real estate.

And he knew what she meant when she said your x-rays don’t indicate any fissures. It meant, you’ve wasted our time. It made him sweat.

Or: Hawks gets bonked. The HPSC is not a hospital.

Stranger Things

Adopt a Jock by @sp0o0kylights

Hellfire adopts Steve during his final year of high school. Pre-Steddie. (Ongoing tumblr fic)

DC (Batfamily)

This Dark Ceiling Without a Star by Miss_Lazy_Tuesday

"For fuck’s sake, your chatter is going to drive me crazy faster than this stupid spell.”

“Then you talk!”

“There’s no point!” Jason snaps. “I can feel it, okay. It’s—there’s no emotion behind it, it’s not using my thoughts. It’s just a bunch of weird Greek echoing in my brain and a compulsion to act. And it’s getting stronger. Talking isn’t going to slow it down.”

“Then what will slow it down?”

After five long seconds of silence, Tim gives into the urge and viciously jabs his fist into Jason’s leg for the second time.

“Goddammit, why?” Jason snaps, green briefly sparking in his eyes before disappearing just as quickly.

“You are not seriously going to just sit there and wait to die.”

“The hell do you care anyway?”

“Because I don’t want you to die! Obviously!”

“You fucking should."

Marvel

status quo by jilliancares

"So, you’re investigating this not-so-bad-bad-guy, and you’re coming out of his apartment at—" Wade tilts his head to the side, just enough to check his watch “—almost exactly the time you usually start your patrol.”

Peter chews on the inside of his cheek. “Yep,” he decides on.

“And — just to be clear — I definitely shouldn’t unalive this guy instead of the douchebag across the street.”

“Definitely not,” Peter agrees. “No one would like that.”

Wade bangs his head against the fire escape again. “Okay, Webs. This one’s just to gauge if you’re smarter than a fifth grader: how much of that do you think I actually believe?"

Or: Somehow, the components of Peter’s secret identity keep crumbling all around him.

Also: He’s running out of excuses not to tell Wade that he’s in love with him.

9-1-1

Don't You (Forget About Me) by Princessfbi

"Bill, can you tell me your location? I want to send some people to make sure you’re okay. You don’t sound okay.”

“I’m not. But he’s worse off than I am. Shouldn’t you want to help him instead? Wouldn’t you want to know where he is?”

“Who is he?”

“That firefighter I buried underground.”

The long awaited buried alive fic

ATLA

All the Little Things by CSHfic, VSfic

Sokka receives an offer of an arranged marriage from the Northern Water Tribe. On the one hand, accepting would strengthen ties between their tribes. On the other hand, Chief Arnook has suggested Hahn as a potential match, and Hahn sucks. But with the future of the Southern Water Tribe Reconstruction project relying heavily on the good will of the North, Sokka doesn’t know how to say no.

(Katara doesn’t have to deal with this. Katara is dating the Avatar.)

Zuko has a solution. Sokka just wishes he’d realized he was in love with the Fire Lord before he agreed to pretend to date him.

Classroom Lessons by Thisisentertaining

Sokka never would have thought he'd be pretending to be a Fire Nation Colonial Citizen, going to a parent conference about his fake!son who was an airbender, but here he was.

At least life wasn't boring.

Sokka turned on Aang, fake mustache and beard bristling. "Young man, as soon as we get home, you're gonna get the punishment of a lifetime."

The headmaster smirked, smugly, evil-y, Fire Nation-y. "That's what I like to hear. Really Zuko him."

the snakes, and the people that they bite by Serie11

Rai is just a normal guy, really. One of the many guards that patrol the Fire Lord's palace.

Why did it have to be him who got caught up in this assassination attempt?

Finishing Each Other's Sentences by mindbending

fire lilies are red your melancholy mood’s blue still I prefer you 

After the war, Sokka starts writing poetry.

She broke your throne by Serie11

Zuko is kidnapped from his afternoon of paperwork by a well intentioned friend. There just so happens to be a festival on in town for them to attend instead of working...

#happy monday everyone! #we've got a big boy round up this week #my posts #fic recs #weekly fic round up #bnha recs #marvel recs #dc recs #stranger things recs #atla recs #911 recs #misc recs

[hairstevington]

Freaky Friday (Steddie's Version)

Eddie Munson x Steve Harrington

Summary: Dustin is fed up when his two friends, Eddie and Steve, hate each other for stupid reasons. The universe decides to bring them together by having them switch bodies until they get over themselves. Link to Ao3

Chapter 2 ~ Chapter 3 ~ Chapter 4 ~ Chapter 5

Word Count: 7K, more chapters to come

Warnings: Enemies to lovers, slow(ish??) burn, canon universe (more or less) set before season 4, Dustin gets bullied at the beginning which is a bit sad but it's brief, body swap, angst, revenge, POV switching, Steddie both love Dustin so much, honestly just tons of fun lmao

A/N: A while back I made this post where I had a Steddie AU idea I never really got out of my head and then I started writing it and now I can't stop lmao. FYI this starts in third person Dustin POV but switches to Steve/Eddie midway! Please enjoy, I'll have it up on Ao3 soon probably like I do with everything else :)

Dustin had enough of this shit. 

He had been bummed that Steve graduated from Hawkins high the year before Dustin entered the ninth grade. Having Steve there would have been a buffer for Dustin, who - although he rarely admitted it - actually didn’t like being unpopular. As much as he hated being the victim of bullying, he hated the thought of changing himself even more - which is why he refused to. 

He showed up to his first day of high school in his Weird Al shirt, because he would be damned to give an inaccurate impression of himself. He knew that after graduation, he’d turn out better than all the other assholes at the school anyway. He was smarter than them, he was better than them. He could get through four years of their bullshit until he proved that. 

Although…Having Steve around would have made it a lot easier. 

But, whatever. Steve had graduated. Dustin still called him all the time, and they hung out every so often, but Dustin knew that nineteen year olds didn’t have a lot in common with fourteen year olds, at least not enough to hang out regularly. They were like brothers, more than anything, and they were in a weird spot. 

Thankfully, through some grace of God, Dustin met Eddie. 

It was bound to happen, considering Dustin had wanted to join the Hellfire Club anyway. He’s already informed the rest of the group - Mike and Lucas - so that the three of them could still play DnD together. Lucas had seemed hesitant, but that was to be expected. Things were changing. 

He missed Will. Will would have loved Hellfire, had he not been in California. 

Dustin met Eddie Munson at lunch - his first lunch in high school. The food Hawkins High served was mildly disturbing and likely lacked any nutritional value, so Dustin was grateful that his mother had kept up the tradition of packing him a lunch special for his first day. She even included chocolate pudding, since it was his favorite. 

Mike and Lucas weren’t going to be at lunch on the first day, because Lucas wanted to check out the basketball team, and Mike wanted to see if he could call El - she wasn’t starting school until the following week. This meant that Dustin was alone in the cafeteria, and he wasn’t entirely prepared to face the brutal sting of rejection, so he didn’t want to just pick a random table and try to make friends. He already had friends, they just weren’t there. 

He stopped in his tracks and scanned the room, pondering his next move. There was no way he’d sit with the jocks or the cheerleaders, and the rest of the tables were unrecognizable in terms of what cliques they represented. This was nothing like he’d seen in movies - he didn’t even really know who the popular ones were versus the unpopular ones. 

He must have been standing there for a bit too long, because suddenly he was nudged hard in the shoulder. 

“Move it, loser,” a guy twice his size said. “You’re in everybody’s way.”

“S-sorry,” Dustin apologized. He took a few steps backward, deciding to just start walking and see what happens, but then he bumped into someone else. 

“Jesus, kid,” another voice said. “You’re like a pinball.” 

Dustin looked up to see a tall, rather intimidating man with long, curly brown hair. He was dressed in denim and leather, the Hellfire logo splayed across his chest. He looked way too old to be a high school student, but way too scary to be a faculty member. 

Not scary in a dangerous way - Dustin had experienced enough real danger that most normal things didn’t faze him - but scary in a way where Dustin felt the person standing in front of him had some kind of power in the school. A reputation, at least, whether it be good or bad. 

“Welcome back, Freak,” another random student remarked at him as they walked past. Dustin watched as the enigmatic metalhead flipped the student off with zero hesitation.

Ah, so it was for sure a bad reputation. Noted. 

“So, I’m the school freak,” he said, theatrically bowing as he introduced myself. “Eddie. Eddie Munson. And you are…”

“Dustin Henderson,” he answered without a second thought.

“I was going to say -” Eddie continued, “- you are….wearing a Weird Al shirt. Bold move for your first day, Dustin Henderson.”

“How did you know it was my first day?” Dustin asked, grateful to be having some sort of civil conversation, even if he had no idea where it was going. 

“Just a hunch,” Eddie replied with a shrug. Dustin looked back at Eddie’s shirt. 

“You're in Hellfire?” he asked. Eddie grinned, then pointed at a table where a bunch of people were wearing the same shirts. 

“Hellfire is my pride and joy. We play a game called Dungeons and Dragons, have you heard of it?” Before Dustin could confirm, Eddie kept talking. “Of course you’ve heard of it, look at you. You’re one of us, I know it.” Eddie gestured for Dustin to follow him to the Hellfire table, which he gladly did. 

“Eddie, who’s this?” a member seated at the table asked when they approached. 

“This, Gareth, is Dustin, and he’s sitting with us today.” Eddie pointed at an available seat, then looped around to his own. Dustin noticed a textbook in front of Gareth and chimed in. 

“You’re taking chemistry?” he asked. Gareth nodded. “That’s cool. I love chemistry. I went to this awesome summer camp called Camp Know Where -”

“Sorry, sorry, sorry,” Eddie interrupted. “Did you just say you love chemistry? What kind of kid actually enjoys that shit? Are you a masochist? I failed that class twice.” Eddie’s rambling was entertaining, to say the least. 

“Isn’t Camp Know Where that science program where all the geniuses go?” another person at the table asked.

“Jesus Christ,” Eddie exclaimed dramatically. “Okay, Dustin Henderson. I will protect you, since you so desperately need the protection. In return, you will join Hellfire, and occasionally help me with homework because you’re obviously smarter than half the people in this school. Deal?”

“Only half?” Dustin joked - although, it wasn’t really a joke. Dustin knew for a fact he was smarter than at least 75% of the school. “Fine, I accept these terms. Can my friends Mike and Lucas join too?” Eddie rolled his eyes and sighed.

“You’re killing me,” he said. “Yeah, yeah. Bring all the Freshies in, I guess. No one will come near you if you stick with us, but you’ll avoid being stuffed in lockers at least.” That seemed like a good enough deal to Dustin, for now. “Alright, kid. Welcome to Hellfire.”

-

Dustin recounted this entire interaction with Steve the moment he’d gotten home from school. 

“Eugh, Hellfire?” Steve said over the phone, acting disgusted. “That club’s for nerds.”

“Earth to Steve, I am a nerd,” Dustin deadpanned. “And Eddie said -”

“Oh god, not Munson,” Steve groaned. “That guy’s trouble, I swear. Seriously, you should get out of this while you can.”

“And go where?” Dustin retorted, starting to get agitated. “It’s not like I can float through school like you did by joining all the sports teams. I’m gonna be made fun of either way, and you know it.” Steve was silent on the line for a bit, knowing that Dustin was right. 

“I wish I could be there to watch over you, ya know,” he said at last. 

“Yeah, I wish you could too, but I have Eddie at least.”

Eddie. Ugh. Steve hated that guy. He was always doing something weird and dramatic to try to get a reaction from people. 

“Yeah, okay. But I’ll kick his ass if he tries anything, alright?” Dustin laughed. 

“Sure you will, Buddy.” 

-

Mike and Lucas were far more terrified of Eddie than Dustin was. He knew why - Eddie had shown a bit of kindness that first day, but he wasn’t usually like that. Eddie was the kind of guy who loved attention, and he knew the best way for him to get it was through negative attention. He consistently made an ass of himself. 

Dustin enjoyed it. Mike and Lucas didn’t not enjoy it, but they still felt like he was unhinged. Maybe he was. Dustin didn’t think about it that much. 

Him and Eddie had bonded pretty quickly, especially since Dustin would hang around after lunch or club meetings to talk about homework. Eddie had a lot of questions, and he was kind of a horrible student. This was especially evident when Dustin discovered he was a third year senior, which explained why the guy looked so goddamn old. 

“Damn,” Dustin said once he found out. “You’re even older than Steve. Wait - you might know Steve actually. He graduated last year. Steve Harrington?”

Eddie Munson did an actual spit take with his soda. Dustin had only ever seen that in movies.

“No shit,” Eddie responded. “You know that asshole?”

“He’s not an asshole,” Dustin replied immediately, quick to defend his friend. “He’s awesome.”

Dustin opened his mouth to continue, but it was hard to explain why Steve was awesome when he had to leave Upside Down stuff out of it. He totally saved us from a bunch of Demodogs, and one time he got tortured for information underground by evil Russians. Dustin considered mentioning the time Steve protected the kids from Billy - that was unrelated to the secret world the group had been privy to - but, considering Hargrove’s death, it felt in bad taste to bring up now.

“So you’re trying to tell me that you’re friends with the guy?” Eddie asked suspiciously. “Why? I mean, why would he be friends with a kid so much younger than him?”

“Why are you?” Dustin retorted. Eddie chuckled. 

“Touche. But I know why I’m friends with a bunch of kids, why is he?”

“It’s complicated,” Dustin replied with a shrug. “But Steve’s pulled through for me a lot. He’s cool. You should give him a chance.”

“Give him a chance? I don’t ever see him. Are you trying to have us all hang out for a slumber party or something?” Dustin shook his head and was about to respond, but Eddie was on a roll (as usual). “Listen, Henderson. You’re cool and all, and I’m glad you joined our little clan here. But you wouldn’t want to hang out with me outside of this hellhole we call school, and I certainly wouldn’t want to hang out with Steve goddamn Harrington.”

There was a definitive finality to his statement that let Dustin know there was no point in arguing. But it did leave him wondering what exactly had happened to cause them to dislike each other so much.

-

Dustin blew through his first few weeks of school like this. He’d visit Steve and mention Eddie, and Steve would complain about how Eddie was a bad influence and would probably get arrested before graduation, if he ever did graduate. Any time Dustin brought up Steve in Hellfire, Eddie would groan and complain about the forced conformity and bullshit societal infrastructure at the high school that separated the good from the bad and blah blah blah. Dustin probably had that speech damn near memorized. Eddie seemed to hate the jocks, and for decent enough reason - the jocks hated him. And Dustin knew that Steve was kind of a dick in high school, but he’d changed now. 

So, yeah. He’d had enough. He just thought that if maybe he could get the two of them in the same room, they’d start to understand why Dustin liked each of them so much. They were both good guys who were protective of him, and he wanted them to get along, dammit!

Steve always went to the basketball games to support Lucas and the rest of the team, which was nice. On nights where the games coincided with Hellfire, Steve would drive Dustin home after. 

On one of these nights, Dustin hatched a bit of a plan. Usually, Hellfire got out before the game was over, so Dustin would meet Steve outside of the gym. This time, Dustin intentionally stayed late to help Eddie clean up and talk his ear off about his upcoming biology report. Eddie seemed to be in decent enough spirits, fresh off another successful campaign, and Steve was in a good mood because he now had a job again with Robin. It gave him money to take women out on dates, which he did often. 

As Dustin chatted with Eddie, there was a pounding on the door. 

“Hey, Dipshit!” Steve called from the other side. “Are you in there? Did Munson kill you or something?” Dustin grimaced as he gaged Eddie’s reaction to the comment, but thankfully Eddie seemed amused more than anything. 

“Sure did,” Eddie shouted back with a grin. “Bite me, Harrington.” Dustin rolled his eyes. 

“I’m fine, Steve!” he yelled. “Come in!” 

“You’re inviting him into my sacred space?” Eddie asked with feigned offense. 

“Your sacred space?” Dustin mocked. “You mean the drama club room? Based on the shit I’ve heard, it’s the least sacred spot on school property.” Eddie was laughing as Steve opened the door and came in. 

“You guys making fun of me?” he asked, his chest puffed out in his silly Steve way. Dustin didn’t find Steve or Eddie that intimidating, because he saw right through their tough guy act. They were both goofballs. 

“Always,” Eddie replied, returning to his cleaning tasks. “So, you’re Dustin’s ride home huh? How’d you guys become friends in the first place?” Steve hesitated, facing the same issue Dustin had when he’d been asked the same thing. Thankfully, he’d had more time to prepare since then. 

“Steve used to date Mike’s sister,” Dustin stated plainly. Steve opened his mouth to object to the sharing of that information, but then Dustin added - “And then I annoyed him into being my friend.” 

“That’s not really -” Steve grimaced, then realized that was the best version of the story either of them could provide. “Yeah, okay. The kid really worms his way into your heart.”

“I know, right?” Eddie replied absentmindedly. Dustin was thrilled to see them agree on something. It was a moment where he hoped they’d realize they could actually get along. “I remember when you dated Nancy Wheeler. I’m surprised it didn’t work out, since you were so perfect for each other.”

Okay, so maybe they wouldn’t get along. The way Eddie had said the word perfect almost seemed like an insult. To Eddie, it was. Dustin noticed Steve tensing and felt the need to mediate. 

“Anyway,” he said, searching for something, anything, to redirect the conversation. He wasn’t sure when he was gonna get them in the same room again, so he couldn’t just leave. “How was the game, Steve?” Eddie rolled his eyes when Steve lit up again. 

“We lost,” he answered. Dustin noticed Eddie hiding a smirk under one of his ringed hands. “It’s a shame they keep Lucas on the bench, although he’s a Freshman so it makes sense I guess. I mean, that’s how it always has been.” 

“You mean to tell me,” Eddie interjected. Oh boy. “- that a high school sports team values a players popularity over their talent?” He scoffed. “Probably why you got so much airtime, right Harrington?”

Oh Jesus Christ this is bad. This is going badly. Steve was clearly offended by that comment, and rightfully so. 

“Eddie, can you just - be nice?” Dustin pleaded. 

“Since when am I nice?” Eddie shot back, picking the last of his papers up and stuffing them in his bag. 

“You’re nice to me,” Dustin pointed out. 

“Yeah, because I like you,” Eddie replied, “-and as I’ve said to you multiple times, I don’t like him.” Eddie gestured vaguely in Steve’s direction. 

“What did I ever even do to you, Munson?” Steve questioned, finally deciding to stand up for himself. “Seriously man, you’re being a dick.” 

“I know what you think of me,” Eddie answered plainly. “I’m just calling it like I see it.” 

“Okay, well this has been sufficiently awkward and horrible,” Dustin sighed, finally giving up. “I was wrong, you two are hopeless. Eddie, Steve’s right. You’re being a dick.” That accusation actually did seem to have an effect on Eddie, even though he tried not to let it show. “Steve, let’s go home.”

On the walk to the car, Steve had already seemed to brush the whole interaction off. 

“I told you that guy’s no good,” he said. “Thanks for defending me, by the way.” 

“I promise he’s not usually like that,” Dustin assured him. But, come to think of it, that kind of was how Eddie usually spoke to people, especially the popular kids. But Dustin was in Hellfire, he was one of them, as Eddie said, and he treated the freaks far differently and with more respect. 

His two cool older guy friends were bound to hate each other, he realized. No getting around it, no point in trying to change it.

_______________________________________

Eddie had gone to Family Video countless times over the years, because what else were people supposed to do in Hawkins, Indiana? It was cheaper and involved less people than going to the movies, and it was something to entertain him while he was home. 

Imagine his surprise when he walked into the store one day and saw none other than Steve Harrington behind the counter. 

The green vest Steve was forced to wear was a lot more masculine than the get-up he’d worn at Scoops Ahoy over the Summer. Eddie had the pleasure of seeing him a few times at the mall in his little short shorts and stupid hat, and it was an image he sorely missed. Seeing King Steve pathetically dressed and striking out with women post-graduation? Delicious. 

He’d only let himself visit once, although he may have done it again had the mall not burned down. But alas, Steve’s sailor outfit days were short-lived, and now he was back to being the same old boring jock he always had been - just now, he didn’t even play sports. 

Eddie may have been in his third go-around of senior year, but at least he wasn’t pretending he was someone he wasn’t. He embraced his freak nature, and had grown comfortable in it. Life hadn’t been kind enough to him to give him the option of the niceties people like Steve took advantage of. 

“Hey, man,” Steve greeted him as he entered the door. He was so nonchalant about it, like he didn’t even care about Eddie’s presence. Eddie didn’t care too much about Steve being there, except he did. There was a fire in Eddie's dislike for Steve that seemed one sided. Steve being almost indifferent made Eddie hate him even more. “Let me know if I can help you find anything.” Eddie ignored Steve’s surprisingly sincere customer service and went directly to the row of movies he always went to. He scanned the selection - it looked about the same as it had the last ten times he’d reviewed it - then picked one of his favorites and brought it to the counter. 

Steve didn’t say anything more than that as he went through the rental process. It was all over in less than two minutes, and Eddie was mildly disappointed in the lack of drama. If Steve wasn’t an asshole, then what? Was Eddie the asshole all along?

Yeah. Yeah, he absolutely was.

He was on his way out when he stopped, then spun on his heels to face Steve at the counter again. 

“Listen, man,” he began. Steve looked up from the pile of VHS tapes he was sorting, seemingly unbothered by any of this. “I’m sorry about, uh - about the other night.”

“Thanks,” Steve responded with a nod. Eddie could never really just leave things alone, though. 

“Dustin was right,” he continued. 

“The little shit usually is.” Steve had returned his gaze to the movies in front of him. 

“Yeah,” Eddie chuckled, a bit too forcefully in an attempt to ease the tension. “I’ll see you around, then.”

“See ya,” Steve responded. Eddie pouted, not satisfied with how that went, and he wasn’t sure why. But whatever. He was gonna go home, get high, and watch the movie. A good night was ahead. 

He paused at the door when the phone rang, pretending to get distracted by a cardboard cutout near the window. 

“Family Video,” Steve said on the phone. “Woah, shit. Dustin, calm down. Where are you?” This got Eddie’s attention, and he raced back to the counter. “Okay, I’ll figure something out.” 

“What’s up with Henderson?” Eddie asked, his concern growing. 

“I guess some guys are picking on him. He called from the side of the road on a pay phone near the power plant.”

“Jesus, what did they do to him? Is he okay?”

“He’s great, that’s why he called,” Steve shot back sarcastically. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed. “I don’t know if I can just leave my shift since I just started this job like three days ago. Shit.”

“I’ll go,” Eddie offered. “The plant is right by my place anyway. Don’t sweat it.” Steve eyed Eddie suspiciously, then nodded.

“Okay, I guess. Just - can you call here once you know he’s safe?”

“Sure thing, Harrington.” It was a brief, genuine moment between the two of them, both desperate to protect the tiny child they each adored so much. 

And with that, Eddie bolted out of Family Video, to his van, and towards the plant. 

Dustin had apparently been chased down and recaptured after he called Steve, because Eddie found him tied to a pole a bit further down the street. 

“Eddie!” he yelled once they locked eyes. “Get me out of this shit!” 

Dustin was doing his damndest to break free from the binds, but it was no use. Eddie took his pocket knife out from where he always kept them tucked in his jeans and got to work, successfully freeing the little twerp once he stopped squirming. 

“Who did this? Where are they?” Eddie felt the heat rising in his chest, up his neck, and to his cheeks. “How’d they even get a hold of you? Why are you all the way over here? What -”

“Jesus, Eddie,” Dustin interrupted him. “It doesn’t matter. I just wanna go home.”

Eddie looked Dustin up and down and noticed a bruise forming on his jaw. 

“Come on, my trailer is right there,” Eddie said, pointing in the vague direction of Forest Hills. “Let’s get you cleaned up first.” 

_______________________________________

Steve tried to wait idly by while he entrusted a guy like Eddie to go rescue Dustin. He tried to do the responsible thing for once and stay at his stupid job so he could keep said job. He tried not to think about how Eddie could have been behind this whole thing, for all he knew. Some sick twisted mind game. He tried not to think about any of that. 

He lasted two minutes before he called Robin and begged her to fill in. She accepted after a few minutes of persuasion - after all, Steve didn’t ask her for things very often, and he always drove her around, so she kinda owed him. It took her about fifteen agonizing minutes to get there, and just as she walked in the door, the phone rang. 

“Family video,” he greeted, hoping a familiar voice would be on the other end. 

“Steve, it’s me,” Dustin’s voice called through the phone. “I’m at Eddie’s. I’m okay.”

“Where does he live?” Steve asked, still hellbent on leaving. 

“At the trailer park. You don’t have to -”

Steve dropped the phone and ran out the door, not even bothering to hang it back up on the receiver. He headed to Forest Hills, and was thankfully able to locate Eddie’s trailer pretty quickly due to the beat-up red van parked in front of it. He stumbled out of his own car as soon as it stopped, nearly forgetting to take his keys from the ignition. Maybe it was silly for him to worry about Dustin so much, but after what they’d been through together, Steve had learned to treat everything as life or death. 

The door pushed open from the stress of his knock alone, so he let himself in. 

Eddie’s place was small, messy, and smelled of smoke. But, it was clear the place was a home. Steve’s house was a hundred times bigger and somehow contained less. 

“Dustin?” Steve called as he walked deeper into the living room. “Eddie?”

“Bathroom!” Steve followed the voice down the hall to where Eddie was tending to a bruise forming on Dustin’s jaw. 

“Who did this? Where are they?” Eddie chuckled, and Steve almost lashed out because of it, but then Eddie explained. 

“That’s exactly what I said when I found him, Harrington.” Steve took note of the care that Eddie was actually putting into his first aid. It was surprisingly gentle. “Good luck getting him to rat the bastards out.”

“I told you, it doesn’t matter,” Dustin groaned. 

“Whoever it was, we can take ‘em,” Steve insisted. He noticed Eddie smirk at the inclusion of them both taking the bullies down.

“You idiots!” Dustin snapped, standing up from where he was sitting on the lip of the bathtub. “Don’t you get it? I don’t want you to ‘take ‘em.’ It was embarrassing enough to have them pick on me, I don’t need you guys to go down there and humiliate me even more.”

“We’re just trying to protect you, man,” Eddie replied. 

“I don’t need protection!” Dustin shouted, causing Eddie and Steve to back up. “My bike isn’t far. I’m going home. Eddie, thanks for cutting me down. Steve, thanks for leaving work when I asked you to. You’re both really good friends, and I appreciate it. I just want to go home.” 

It broke Steve’s heart to know that Dustin was getting picked on. He just wanted to help, but he understood the whole pride thing. Steve had fought many uphill battles in the past in the name of saving face. Ironically, his face was usually what took the brunt of the consequences. 

“You sure you’re gonna be -” Eddie began to ask the question before Steve was able to, but stopped himself when Dustin shot a glare at them both. “Right, okay. Can you just call when you get home okay?”

“Me too,” Steve added. 

“Okay, mom and dad,” Dustin replied, rolling his eyes. “Or, Steve could stay here ten minutes and then I’d only have to make one call. Unless you guys will murder each other by then.”

“Jury’s out,” Eddie muttered. Steve felt like it was a joke, but also Eddie gave off psycho killer vibes, so anything was possible. “Sure, Harrington. You can stay here until he gets home.”

Steve wanted to think of a witty comeback, but his head was empty. He could stay, and then he figured he should get back to work. 

“Fine,” he agreed. “But the moment you walk through your door, got it?”

“Yes, dad,” Dustin deadpanned. 

“I thought I was dad,” Eddie cut in. 

“You think I’m mom?” 

“Ten minutes, no murders,” Dustin reminded them before heading out the door. There was a beat of silence before Steve and Eddie turned to each other once again. 

“So, we’re definitely gonna go to that plant and kick some ass, right?” Eddie asked, his tone completely devoid of its usual teasing. Steve smirked. 

“Finally, we’re on the same page,” he replied. 

Ten minutes later, Dustin called as promised. Seconds after the call disconnected, Steve and Eddie made a beeline for the front door. 

-

It was getting dark, even though it was a bit too early for the sun to set. Clouds were forming in the sky, a bleak omen of the impending storm that neither Eddie nor Steve had prepared for. 

They walked to the plant in silence, because what was there to be said? They were going to tolerate each other to defeat the common enemy. 

A group of misfits were in fact still camped out under one of the towers. They were all smoking and laughing and spouting nonsensical vitriol about the student body - kids like Dustin, as well as the women of the school. If Eddie and Steve weren’t heated already, the few comments they’d overheard sent them over the edge. 

“Hey!” Steve shouted, cutting one of the guys off. Five pairs of eyes flickered over to the pair, who’d realized once they were in the situation that they were vastly outnumbered. 

“Steve Harrington?” One of the boys questioned. “What are you doing over here?”

“And with Munson?” Another added. “I never thought I’d see the two of you together.”

“Neither did I,” Steve and Eddie said in unison. They glanced at each other, awkwardly acknowledging that they’d said the same thing at the same time, then hastily moved on. 

“Is this about the boy?” The leader of the group was probably a Junior, and shorter than both Eddie and Steve, but he had enough audacity to make up for it. 

“Found him tied to a pole,” Eddie reminded them through gritted teeth. This was news to Steve, who’s blood boiled at the thought. A few years prior, Tommy and Carol used to do shit like that. Maybe not to that extent, but it was all the same. 

“Why do you care so much about that dumbass anyway?” The leader (was his name Chad?) asked. 

“He’s totally harmless,” Steve said.

“Us on the other hand…” Eddie interjected. 

“Oh yeah,” Steve agreed. “I’ve been known to throw a punch, and Eddie over here  is actually insane, I’m pretty sure.”

“Aw, thanks man,” Eddie grinned devilishly, smacking Steve on the back. “Our point being, you stay away from Henderson and we won’t break anything, okay?”

Thunder cracked in the distance, followed by a flash of lightning. 

“Yeah, okay,” Chad mocked. “We’re not scared of you.” Eddie and Steve looked at each other, shrugged, then both trudged forward. Eddie took Chad while Steve went for the one who appeared to be second in command. They each pushed them against the metal pillars, gripping them by the collar of their shirts, and drawing their other hand back into a fist. 

“How about now?” Eddie asked with darkness in his eyes. 

“Let’s get out of here,” one of the others in the group said, and within moments the other three bullies scampered away into the night. 

“Some loyal friends you got there,” Eddie teased. Steve was getting agitated at how many stupid quips Eddie had. Was he supposed to be all quippy too? Was that the secret to winning one of these goddamn things?

Thunder rumbled again, this time much louder than before. Rain started to fall hard against their skin, distracting them enough for the two pathetic bullies to slip from their gasps and follow their friends out of sight. 

“Shit,” Steve groaned, realizing that they’d just made a fool of themselves. “Not only did we not hurt them, but they’re definitely going to tell people about it, and then -”

“Is that seriously what you’re worried about right now?” Eddie interrupted, the rage in him still burning. “Your reputation? Claaassic Steve Harrington, always thinking about himself.”

“That’s not what I was saying, asshole,” Steve responded. “Dustin’s going to find out, and then -”

“So what if he does?” Eddie asked. Steve was sick and tired of being interrupted. “If they mess with him again, then -”

“Could you let me finish a goddamn sentence? Holy shit,” Steve exclaimed, thoroughly irritated. The rain was falling steadily now, the drops heavy as they hit him. His hair was already starting to feel weighed down to his scalp. Perfect. Just perfect. “Dustin told us not to do anything, and then we did, okay? So what do you think that little shrimp’s gonna do when he finds out, huh?”

“He’ll handle it, Harrington,” Eddie shot back. “He’s a big boy.”

“Oh, come on!” Steve groaned. “Don’t give me that bullshit when ten minutes ago you dropped everything to rescue him like he was some lost puppy.”

“Because he was tied to a pole!” Eddie responded. 

“That would have been helpful to know before we headed out here, by the way.” Steve put his hands on his hips and planted his feet in the mud. It was way too late to worry about his appearance, now. 

“Oh, Jesus H. Christ,” Eddie sighed, taking a step towards Steve. “You’re just as awful as I thought you were.”

“Oh, really?” Steve said, taking another step forward to meet Eddie. “Back atcha.”

“Fuck off.”

“Fuck off.”

There was another loud crack of thunder as both of them shoved the other at the same time, causing them both to stumble backwards until they each hit one of the metal pillars extending down from the plant. 

A flash of light. A quick, searing pain. Then, they each dropped to their knees and fell into the mud. 

-

It felt like a sudden hangover, and a bad one. Eddie opened his eyes and cringed at the feeling of mud under his fingernails and up his arms. 

For a moment, he’d forgotten how he ended up on the ground. It felt like he was somewhere different, and he wasn’t sure why. He sat up, extremely disoriented, and then focused on a similar crumpled heap across from him. It took a second for Eddie to make out Steve’s features in the dark, but then his head angled upwards, their eyes met, and everything got a whole lot more complicated. 

“Steve…” Eddie began, speaking slowly. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. “Why the hell do you look like me, man?”

The man across from him had the same features Eddie had come to know in his own reflection - the same style, same hair, same everything, but no - that didn’t make any sense. 

“I was going to ask you the same thing,” the man replied. The man, who answered to Steve, but couldn’t possibly be. No, Eddie was dreaming. He’d done some hallucinogenic and forgot and now he was tripping. That had to be the case. 

They both stood up, mirroring each other, and for a moment Eddie thought that maybe that’s all this was. Some trick of the light. Maybe, there was a mirror at the power plant for some reason, and he was just staring at himself. Sure, the other guy responded to him, but he couldn’t think about that.

He waved at himself, but the guy across from him didn’t wave back. There went the mirror theory. 

It was still raining, but it had lightened up quite a bit. The two men took a few tentative steps towards each other, their eyes adjusting. 

“So, this is…I mean, we are…” Eddie fumbled over words that didn’t make sense. 

“What kind of weird cult shit did you do to me?” Steve accused, his voice rising. “Did you drug me? Sacrifice me to the devil or something?”

“Dude, are you fucking serious right now?” Eddie groaned, throwing his head back. “I didn’t do shit.”

“Then what happened?” Steve snapped. “How did we - Like, you’re seeing this too, right?”

“Yeah, I’m seeing it.” Eddie finally took a moment to look down, noticing a vastly different wardrobe than the one he remembered putting on. 

Including a green vest. 

“Holy shit,” Steve said. It was weird hearing his voice with Steve’s words. 

The idea of saying it out loud - dude, we switched bodies - seemed too batshit insane to consider. So, naturally, Eddie did what he knew best. 

“No. Nope. Not happening.” he shook his head and took off towards his trailer. 

“Hey. Hey!” Eddie’s own voice echoed behind him, followed by footsteps that got louder and louder as Eddie desperately tried to get away. He didn’t even look back until he was safely in his trailer again, the feeling of home making him feel slightly more at ease. “Dude, we gotta figure this out.” Steve followed him in, of course. 

“Why? Why do we have to? Why can’t I just shower and go to sleep and hopefully wake up from this nightmare?”

“Because I don’t think we’re gonna wake up,” Steve said with a shrug. “And because if you shower right now you’re gonna see my dick, and so I think we should, like, talk first.” Eddie barked out a bitter laugh.

“Don’t flatter yourself, Harrington. Would you feel better if I bought you dinner first?” He continued to walk down the hall to his bathroom, where first aid supplies were still strewn about, and that’s when he caught himself in the mirror.

Sure enough, Steve Harrington stared back at him. He looked a little worse for wear with his hair wet and disheveled and streaks of mud on his face, but no amount of dirt could change the pretty boy Steve was and always would be. He nearly spat at the image. Eddie’s familiar figure joined him in the bathroom, where they stood shoulder to shoulder and stared at themselves for an absurd amount of time. It was the closest they’d ever been to each other for more than a few fleeting seconds, but they were too stunned to do anything about their proximity. 

“Okay, so…” Steve said, watching Eddie’s mouth move as he said it.

“I’m you,” Eddie responded, finishing the thought. 

“And I’m you,” Steve finished. Their eyes stayed focused on their reflections for a while longer. How long exactly, it was tough to say. 

“So, what the fuck do we do now, then?” Eddie asked, finally breaking his gaze to look at Steve - er, himself, he guessed. 

What did they do now? That was certainly the question. 

____________________________

Steve had gotten used to weird shit happening to him, but this was a whole new world of weird. 

“I guess…” Steve searched for a plan, but he had no semblance of one. His head was completely empty. Probably because I’m using Eddie’s head, he thought to himself. “I should call Robin and tell her I’m not coming back to work.”

“You mean I should call Robin, since I am you now apparently.” Steve scoffed.

“You’re not me, alright? You just look like me, for some reason,” he argued. “Maybe we should call Dustin.”

“Yeah, because he’s soooo happy with us right now,” Eddie responded. “What do we say when he asks us what happened? We did the thing he told us not to do, and now we’re facing the consequences.”

“Consequences?” Steve repeated. “No, no. On any other day, in any other town, we would have done what we did and nothing would have happened. This isn’t a consequence, this is just my goddamn luck.”

“You’re acting like this is just any regular day for you,” Eddie complained. “Do you body swap with your enemies often?” Steve shot him a glare. The actual answer of, no but I’ve had a bunch of other weird shit happen, was on the tip of his tongue. If only Eddie knew what was really going on in Hawkins. Steve thought Eddie probably had his head up his own ass too much to notice, anyway. “Fine. I’ll call Robin.”

“Don’t say anything I wouldn’t, okay?” Steve warned, suddenly terrified at the power Eddie had to do some damage if he wanted to. 

“Don’t worry, I know exactly what to say.” Eddie went to his phone and dialed the number to the video store. “Hi, Robin. It’s me, your coworker, Steeeeve Harrington.” 

Great start. Jesus. 

“Dude,” Steve whined, nudging Eddie’s shoulder. “I don’t sound like that.”

“Yeah, I’m still at Eddie’s,” he continued on the phone. “Dustin’s okay. Can you finish my shift?” Huh. After the playfully performative introduction, Eddie seemed to actually act normal on the phone. “Great, thanks a bunch.” Just when Steve thought they were in the clear, Eddie tagged on a final line. “See ya later, Sweetheart,” followed by a bunch of kissing noises. 

Steve wrestled the phone from ‘Steve’ and slammed it against the receiver. 

“What the hell was that?”

“That -” Eddie said with a grin, “- was fun.” Steve’s eyes narrowed as anger began coursing through his veins. Anger, mixed with fear. Fear of this guy he hated, who now had full control of his life. 

“If you mess with my life, Munson, I swear to god -”

“What?” Eddie cut him off, barely fazed. “What are you gonna do? Get me back? Harrington, I’ve got nothing to lose. I’m already the school freak, nobody gives a shit what I do.” 

He had a fair point. Steve scrambled to think of a way, any way, he could get under Eddie’s skin the way Eddie was under his. 

“You have Hellfire,” he blurted out. Steve knew from Dustin just how much Eddie loved that stupid club. Based on Eddie’s reaction, Steve had made the right call. “I could tank it,” he continued. “Give up your title as dungeon manager or whatever.”

“Dungeon Master,” Eddie corrected him through gritted teeth. “You wouldn’t.”

“Oh, I would,” Steve insisted. “If you mess with me, I’ll mess right back.”

They stared at each other, knowing that each of them were serious. 

“Fine,” Eddie agreed. “I will play nice.” He stuck his hand out in front of him for Steve to shake. Steve hesitantly did so, not sure if he believed a word out of Eddie’s mouth. 

He was right to be mistrusting. Eddie had the fingers of his other hand crossed behind his back.

_____________________________________

#st fanfic #writing #steddie #steddie fanfic #dustin henderson #steve harrington #eddie munson #steve and eddie #eddie munson x steve harrington #stranger things #stranger things fanfiction #eddie x steve #freaky Friday Steddie’s version

[corrodedcoughin]

in my mind steve isn't all that physically demonstrative in public beyond bro/jock-ish stuff like slaps on the back or bonking shoulders together or maybe if he gets really excited those chest bumps and friendly jostling - except his friends, robin and argyle and eddie especially, are more likely to completely ignore personal space and give hugs and just be physically comfortable with people they like and trust, and there are all these kids he's happy to give hair-ruffles and half-hugs even though half of them are taller than him these days and the other half are very willing to punch him in the ribs for his troubles. so most of the time, he's happy to get an argyle hug when he and jonathan come back into town and let robin grab him and shake him when she's excited and just hang out, but sometimes somebody is dawdling while steve is trying to get people from point a to point b and he starts just. picking them up. he puts robin down pretty quickly because she has Opinions on being thrown over his shoulder like a sack of rice but after the first few times eddie just makes himself comfortable and continues his conversation while steve does the walking.

HELP THIS IS PERFECT!!!

Before they are properly together Eddie actually goes slow on purpose knowing that Steve is going to give out a big huff of a sigh after telling Eddie to hurry up for a third time. Eddie smirks to himself behind his hair, waiting Steve out until finally Steve comes along and makes a grab at Eddie. He doesn’t always pick him up, sometimes it’s forcibly pulling him to his feet, other times it’s grabbing his hand and leading Eddie out the door, on the occasions when Eddie just complains that he can’t be bothered to move Steve gives him a piggy back and Eddie has the biggest goofiest grin on his face the whole way to wherever they are going, he didn’t take in the details, just knew he wanted Steve to touch him.

Now what Eddie doesn’t know is that Steve is silently begging for Eddie to make a reason for Steve to touch him. Steve worries that people don’t want him near them so when he has an excuse he latches on. Especially when it comes to Eddie. So during the piggy backs Steve is wearing an equally ridiculous smile while trying to hide it. Because of their positions they have no idea the other person is grinning wide enough to split their face. That is, until Jonathan captures of photo them together in piggy back euphoria. Jonathon makes sure to give them both a copy in hopes of helping them to see how well they fit

#HI!!!!!! god everything you said is PERFECT!!! thank you for gracing my inbox!!! #im sorry I kind of went off on one #we just need to push these loser boys together!!!! #steddie #stranger things #eddie munson #steve harrington #but once again thank you I feel very lucky to have been chosen for such a perfect hc

[meet-me-backstage]

⎈

𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐓𝐨 𝐄𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲

𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞

𝐏𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 🦇 Eddie Munson x Fem!reader

𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲 🦇 You get dragged into the unfathomable events at Starcourt Mall by your hopeless crush on Billy Hargrove and new-found middle-schooler friends. You struggle to cope with the trauma, which gradually costs you your popular cheerleader reputation when you return to high school for senior year. Though this loss first appears to be the end of the world, you learn that there's worse things than levelling down in popularity.

Though even in darkness, there is always a light - for you this is Eddie Munson, who you gain an unlikely friendship in and fall for him in the process.

𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒂 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍 𝒔𝒍𝒐𝒘 𝒃𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒍𝒐𝒕𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒖𝒑𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒏𝒔, 𝒔𝒎𝒖𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂 𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒚 𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈!

𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 🦇 smoking, mention of and consumption of drugs, horror themes, violence (in the upside down and probs Steve losing another fight (•̀ᴗ•́)و jk jk he's king), nightmares, mention of and consumption of alcohol, mention of and a near death experience, death, bad language, blood, bullying, mention of vomit and vomiting, some domestic (mainly verbal and emotional) abuse(‼️), mention of suicidal thoughts, mention of suicide, mention of self-harm, allusion to eating disorder and smUUT so you have to be 18+ to read this series❗️

𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 🦇 5K words

𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 🦇 mention of drugs, bad language and a little bit of bullying / teasing.

𝐃𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐚 𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 - 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞, 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐠!

𝐋𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲, 𝐦𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐓𝐨 𝐄𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝! <𝟑

⇜ 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭

🦇 𝐒𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫, 𝟏𝟗𝟖𝟐 🦇

"Over here, little miss!" Rebecca, your older sister called out from the middle table of the cafeteria, her voice standing out amongst the mumbles of the large room. Her confidence shone in her voice, not caring about her surroundings.

It was your first day at high school, September 8th, 1981. To jumping swiftly out of your sister's silver Ford Sierra and roaming the corridors, to finding your way to your first class, you immediately noticed the difference between middle and high school - everyone was taller, older students were walking around like they owned the place... it was also a maze.

You took a quick look around the cafeteria, everyone was split based on their interests, reputation - one group were wearing matching t-shirts with 'Hellfire Club' written on them. You were most curious about that table, the 'Hellfire' table, noticing a boy with short-ish dark curly hair, he seemed familiar.

"Are you coming or what?" Rebecca called again, playfully shaking her head.

The loud sound of Rebecca's voice distracting you from your thoughts as you watched the boy at the 'Hellfire' table - you shook your head and realised that you hadn't been the only one who'd been alerted by the sound of Rebecca's voice, the boy had been too... but he wasn't looking at Rebecca, he was looking at you, probably because he'd seen you staring and figured he was to blame for stopping you in your tracks - he looked... petrified, his eyes were wide... he was questioning you looking at him, also thinking 'don't look at me, don't bring unwanted attention to me'.

"Yeah, I'm coming," you became flustered, shaking your head half-heartedly before joining your sister at the table of cheerleaders and jocks.

Rebecca was sat next to her boyfriend, Alex, who she'd been friends with from the beginning of middle school - they started dating in their freshman year of high school and had been together since, now they were both starting junior year together, happy as ever - they were the perfect couple and most of the female students swooned over their relationship or were jealous of it - it led to a perfect reputation for them in high school and in middle school.

You sat beside Rebecca after she'd patted a spare seat. A majority of the table was taken by the cheerleaders and basketball team for Hawkins High because Rebecca was the head cheerleader, Alex was the captain of the basketball team - perfection.

You smiled sheepishly at the stereotypically athletic-looking girls and boys, you’d be lying if you weren’t a little intimidated... you recognised Heather Holloway, your neighbour, and received a small fake smile from her, which made you nervously look down.

"Hey, you okay?" Rebecca turns to you after speaking to Alex about their date plans after school, they still held hands with intertwined fingers.

Your hands clung onto each other on your lap, "Yeah, wicked," you flashed your sister a solemn smile, and received a dumbfounded look from Rebecca.

All you could think about was Mason, your big brother - who'd left Hawkins during summer break... he'd skipped senior year and your mom and dad were furious to say the least, but you were just... sad, he would have been here for you today - you knew he would've ruffled your hair and said something funny like 'high school is like moving from a potty to a toilet - don't take it too seriously, superstar.'

He'd been your biggest unconditional supporter, fan, friend and influence ever since you could remember - your sister a close second, minus the 'unconditional' part.

"Is that all? Wicked?" Rebecca giggles, "How are you finding it? The school I mean, isn't it great?" Rebecca truly loved being at Hawkins High... everyone loved her, her relationship, her good grades and behaviour - those who didn't she'd say were 'jealous'. When she saw that you were giving her a dead behind the eyes look, Rebecca rolled her eyes, "Picture it like - a," she thinks, biting her lip, "Like a clean slate - or like the leftover pancake you didn't have this morning that you scraped off and into the bin - leaving you a-," her voice rises, encouraging you to finish her sentence.

Your eyebrows raise and you smile cheekily, "Whole lot of washing up to do after school?"

Rebecca let out a strained laugh and politely covered her mouth, "An empty plate," she states seriously, leaning slightly closer, grinning.

She's being weird, way too nice to me... you thought before realising why. To stop me from causing her any embarrassment. "So in other words - join the cheerleader - pack and eventually become the head once you leave, gush over the boys in the basketball team and maybe date one - have everyone want to be friends with me... pass with flying colors?" You speak playfully, full of sarcasm.

"Don't put it like that, little miss," Rebecca tuts. You cringe at the nickname, "I just want you to start on the right foot because high school can be intense if you don't. You might wind up with the - wrong people," her eyes avert to a table, you were curious to look, "Subtle," she whispers... it was the 'Hellfire' table.

"They look harmless to me, Becky," you shrug.

"That's the problem - they look harmless," Rebecca looks back at you.

Your brows furrow, you were impressionable and vulnerable in your new surroundings so you actively listened, "Okay then, give me the gory details and I'll decide whether they are dangerous freaks or just harmless nerds."

"Wellll - the leader of the 'cult' is Caleb 'the monster' Moore, a senior - the others are like his - worshippers or something, anyway, he's the master. Next to him is Eddie 'the freak' Munson and it's rumored that he'll take over this devil worship cult thing they've got going on - he's also just started a drug business so - just steer clear, okay?"

Though you were shocked at the 'cult' aspect of the explanation, the drug business was the most realistic part, so you picked on that, "Shouldn't someone report him - for starting a drug business? If he has?"

Rebecca gave you an 'are you serious?' look, "Have you got a death wish? You'd snitch on the deputy cult leader?" You continued to look at her with worry, "Trust me, most of us know about this but no one says anything for that exact reason - and also because some people like to buy drugs from him at parties," she shrugs.

"So - they're terrified that he's this devil worshipper, but they'll buy his drugs? And he's what - a junior?" You question, your eyebrows furrowed.

"Precisely."

"Makes sense," you nod, looking at the 'Hellfire' table, trying to be discreet about it because deep down you had been unsettled by Rebecca's words.

"Look, it's just a rumor - nothing's been proved about the devil worship thing, it's what my friends told me and now it's just a - thing... they're the freaks and what they do has got nothing to do with us," Rebecca's expression was serious and she gave you a warning stare, saying 'if you go anywhere near them it'll be me you should be afraid of'.

You look down, nervous, "M-mhm."

Rebecca continued to look at you, noticing your unkempt hair.

Rebecca reached forward to try and brush her fingers through your hair, only to receive a look that told her not to, but she did anyway, "You look pretty today, little miss - it's just - maybe, for the best you listen to mom... leave the whole - messy look in middle sch-."

"Becky!" A boy in the basketball team sat at the table interrupted, "You alive over there or have we lost you to a freshman?" He laughs and you look up at him, timid as ever - he looked like the average jock in every high school.

Rebecca rolls her eyes and playfully leans forward towards her friends, her dark brown hair swaying elegantly, "This isn't just any freshman, Sean - this is my er - sister, little miss," her voice lowers, looking down.

Sean looked at you, confused, "You didn't tell us you had a little sister," he starts to smile, holding in a laugh at the sight of you. You’d expected this treatment, it wasn't like you imagined being welcomed with open arms into the popular crowd because your sister was one of them, "Hi, little miss."

You cringe again, "Nice to meet you, Sean-ie," he didn't seem to understand your sarcasm and he looked at his popular friends for reassurance, but they were glaring at you.

You felt unsettled under their gazes, Rebecca looked humiliated.

"Hey, she’s staying whether you guys like it or not," Alex interrupts, waving his hands in front of his friends faces after noticing Rebecca's face hidden in her hands. Alex was reasonable underneath the popular persona, you were thankful that out of all of the basketball team, Rebecca was dating the kindest - even though you had to third-wheel on rides home or at home watching a movie... you smiled at Alex, he looked at you, smiling reassuringly.

"Relax, Al - she is cool to stay here," another basketball team player speaks up - you could tell because of the green, white and yellow outfits they wore, it matched the cheerleader's outfits.

You smiled, feeling like you were getting on the right side of your sister's friends, "Thanks?" You say unsurely, the compliment gave you more confidence, as did Alex, knowing he had your back. "I really like your basketball jerseys, they're so wicked. I love the murky green with the yellow on the numbers - I'd love to wear - it myself," you start to ramble and trail off at the end because you can see that the team are now looking at you funny... for being yourself.

The boy that once agreed that you were 'cool', was now holding in a snigger, "Wear this?" He gestures to his jersey and shorts arrogantly, "You're gonna have to grow some balls to do that," he starts to laugh now, as does Sean, which provokes giggles from the cheerleaders, including Heather, "You got a spare kit for her, Al?"

Alex started to look unsettled himself and he avoided eye contact with his friends, his curly blonde hair falling over his face, "Will you just shut up, dude?" He tried not to sound too intimidating - he knew he had a sense of authority over them being the captain, but he didn't seem to know how to deal with this situation, so he gave Rebecca a look, squeezing her hand. You noticed this and looked at Rebecca innocently.

Rebecca looked down, not knowing what to say... frustrated because you very clearly are a copy and paste of Mason... he'd influenced your 'boyish' attitude ever since you were little. Rebecca had to think of another way that would get you to fit in before you wound up even more like him.

Suddenly, and you could see this, a lightbulb lit up, "I know that you miss Mason, okay? I know, so do I - but it doesn't mean you have to be exactly like him and hate high school - think about the people here for you right now - like - like Chrissy! Have you seen her today? She wanted to talk to me about joining the cheer team - maybe you could come too? And then you'd be able to wear something - similar to the basketball team."

Chrissy had been a friend of yours since the very first year at middle school, towards the end of 6th grade. You met at the middle school talent show, you’d originally gone with Heather to audition, who was slightly older than you and in the 7th grade at the time - she was doing cheerleading and your act was shooting as many basketballs into the hoop in one minute.

🦇𝐉𝐮𝐧𝐞, 𝟏𝟗𝟖𝟎🦇

Heather was nice to you outside of school just because she was a neighbour and was friends with Rebecca, but within school walls, Heather was not one for 'babysitting', she was quick to leave you on your own to go and hang out with the likes of Steve Harrington, Tommy Hagan, Carol Perkins, Tina Cline and Nicole Thomson, who were a mix of 7th or 8th grade - the popular crowd.

You were sat on the step-like seats alone in the sports hall to audition for the talent show. It had been decorated with sparkly banners and confetti - a table was set in the middle of the hall for the Principal, Mr Coleman, coach Kemp and the History teacher, Mrs Newton to judge each act.

The basketball Mason got you was hugged tightly between your arm and side until you started to get bored waiting for your name to be called, then the basketball was being bounced with your petite left hand - it was on a whim that you’d decided to have shooting hoops be your 'act', you knew that it wasn't 'girly', but it was something that you liked to do at home and your parents disapproved of it, well - your mom did, your dad was just protective... often he'd join you and Mason in the front yard to play basketball - sometimes getting odd looks from neighbours, including Heather.

The sound of the ball bouncing had caught other student's attention - you were usually extremely quiet, didn't have many friends and tried to cling onto Heather, which often didn't work. No one really knew you or tried to get to know you in your first year of middle school, so seeing you with a basketball was their first impression of you - you thought that it wouldn't be a massive deal and thought 'why would it be anyway?', students gave you odd looks - everyone but Chrissy Cunningham.

Chrissy had been alone too, stood in a yellow dress before deciding to approach you. She was in 6th grade too, a sweet and kind girl who had more friends than you did, and a good reputation - she reminded you of your older sister which scared you a little.

You noticed two feet in your eye-line and slowly look up, seeing Chrissy - you thought that Chrissy might've just approached to tell you to stop bouncing the ball, "Hi - er, it's okay I'll stop," you mumbled, placing the ball in your lap.

"Oh no, I just came here to say hi," Chrissy blushes and giggles softly, her whole demeanour very delicate, "Can I sit there?" She asks, pointing at the space next to you.

You were in disbelief, but figured that Chrissy was feeling pity towards you. You shrugged your shoulders, "Yeah, sure - 's not like anyone else would wanna sit here," you laugh half-heartedly.

"Well they definitely can't now because I'm here," Chrissy smiles sweetly, holding the edges of the step with both of her hands.

You chuckle and look down at the basketball in your lap, "Good one."

It falls silent between you and Chrissy taps her sneaker-clad feet on the floor, "So, I'm guessing basketball is your act?" She doesn't laugh, or give you a weird look, she just smiles.

You nod, briefly looking at Chrissy before looking back down, "Yeah, people think it's kinda weird, right?"

Chrissy purses her lips and shakes her head, "Not really, I like anything athletic - they've just got a weird attitude I guess," she shrugs and gestures towards some students, who'd only just stopped staring.

"I guess - I was just hoping that maybe by doing this talent show, the school would make a girls basketball team and it wouldn't be so - 'unusual'," you huff afterwards and stare blankly forward, "I'm probably hoping too hard."

Chrissy looks at you, admiring your optimism, "Well if it means anything, I think that it's good - what you're doing."

You make proper eye contact with Chrissy now, and you can’t help but smile, "Thank you."

It's silent again, the two of you smiling at each other, realising that you actually had a connection and regretting that you hadn't made an effort to speak before, a friendship could've sparked ages ago as you were in most classes together. You started to blush and scratch the back of your neck, "So you're - doing your cheerleading - thing?"

Chrissy giggles, it was contagious because you started to giggle quietly and swing your legs in sync with Chrissy's, "Yeah, although I've been - left out so I don't feel that ready."

Your brows furrow, "Left out?" It explained why she was stood alone in the first place, but you couldn't fathom why Chrissy Cunningham would be left out.

Chrissy looks down, "Yeah - I didn't think I would have any problems, but I'm the only one in our year auditioning for cheerleading in the talent show. Everyone else is older and - intimidating, they didn't think I was as capable to do the lifts so I'm the one being lifted," she breathlessly giggles and lets out a nervous puff of air through her mouth, "I've not done that before and I'm starting to think I shouldn't audition - they just think I'm too little," she speaks quickly as if she was releasing a weight off of her shoulders, "Am I rambling? I'm rambling - sorry."

"It's okay," you gaze at her, intrigued, "I think that you're really amazing - when I've seen you practicing, I mean - I think they are majorly underestimating you, you're going to be the cheerleading queen in a few years, I know it."

Chrissy grinned toothily in response, a smile from ear to ear, "You're too kind - oh, I'm Chrissy, by the way," she laughs.

"I know," you laugh.

"You know, you're exactly what I thought you'd be like," she smiles, visibly relaxing by hunching her back.

You tilt your head, "Really?"

Chrissy hums as she nods her head, "Whenever I saw you in class - or in the hallway you always reminded me of Tinker Bell - in the Peter Pan movie? Like a fairy because you're kind of cheeky, and pretty - but also a total sweetheart."

Your mouth breaks out into a wide grin. That’s the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me.

Coach Kemp casually walked into the area where the students were waiting to be auditioned and your heart starts to pound, distracting you from your conversation with Chrissy. He looked around before looking at the clipboard he was grasping onto. He calls your name in a questioning tone and looks up again.

A sharp shoot of nerves spread through your body, but Chrissy placed her hand on your shoulder and smiled, "Good luck!" She spoke enthusiastically, "I'll be right here waiting for you."

You smile and nod, temporarily cooling down before standing yourself up and raising your hand a little, "I'm here, coach!”

You walk towards the coach, the grip on your basketball so tight, probably squeezing the air out of it. You look around as you leave the 'backstage' area - your eyes locked with a boy's, his hair was buzzed and he was holding an electric guitar, his mouth slightly agape. You quickly broke the eye contact and looked down, following the coach.

'Lets get these ones over and done with first, shall we?' Was what you had overheard as you approached the principal and your history teacher, the coach jogged towards them. The principal cleared his throat when he'd spotted you.

"I'm going to-."

"Speak up - we're not going to bite," Mrs Newton leans forward, smiling.

You blush and clear your throat, "I'm going to shoot as many basketball hoops as I can in one minute."

Coach Kemp raises his brows at you, leaning forward before looking at the principal - he seemed interested, but you didn't know whether that was interest in potential failure or actually wanting you to do well. "Go ahead, Miss."

"Have you got a er - a timer?" You ask as you begin to jog down the steps of the stage and to a hoop in the sports hall.

"We're counting," the coach answers, nodding.

They didn't have much hope in you, judging by their words before, but you concentrated and got into position, you thought about Chrissy's kind and encouraging words.

The first throw of the basketball did not go through the hoop, but you quickly recovered. Instead of being at school, you pictured yourself in your front yard with Mason.

You shot eighteen successfully through the hoop with just the one basketball. The three members of staff's mouths were open and you hoped that they were thinking 'how is she that good?'

Sweat was running in beads from your forehead as you stood, holding the basketball tightly for some comfort, though the adrenaline was keeping you going. The judges still hadn't uttered a word, "I hope - you can spare some space for girls like me - in this talent show," you spoke between breaths and nodded before bowing your head, "Thank you."

The three were looking between each other before Mrs Newton nodded, "Thank you."

When your were ushered back to the area where all the students were waiting for the coach, you noticed that Chrissy wasn't alone. The boy with the electric guitar and buzzcut who you’d made eye contact with before the audition was next to Chrissy, they were talking, but Chrissy quickly spotted you, "Tink!"

At first you figured that Chrissy didn’t know your name, "Tink?" You tilt your head before coming to a halt in front of Chrissy and the boy.

"Yeah, like Tinker Belle? That’s her nickname, it could be yours too," a laugh leaves her lips and she blushes, "It sounded better in my head."

You can't help but smile, all nervousness gone again, "I like it - and it sure beats the one my sister calls me - little miss," you make a 'yuck' face, though you didn't think it was a terrible name, you felt it didn't suit you.

Chrissy brings her hands together and claps excitedly before her mouth forms into an 'o' shape, she looks at the boy who had been standing with them, "Oh - Tink," she wiggles her brows at the use of the new nickname, "This is Eddie, he's auditioning but the rest of his band are late so - he's with us for now. And Eddie, this is-," Chrissy gestures to you.

"Oh - Tink," you give the boy a shy smile. He looked to be slightly older, maybe 8th grade and he had really dark brown eyes under the lack of light behind the stage, he was smiling shyly too.

The shy smile turns slightly cheeky, "Hi Tink."

Your head tilted as you watched him, trying to stop a really big grin from taking over your features - you’d never seen him before around school.

You didn't realise that you were staring until Chrissy spoke up about being signalled by the coach, that the cheerleaders were up next - so the two of you were left alone, blushing, until Eddie gestured to the step-seats, waiting for you to sit down first.

You fiddled with your fingers, the ball in your lap again - you watched as he placed his red and black electric guitar upright next to him, "It's wicked - your guitar, I mean," you look down for a second.

Eddie grins, his face lighting up at the mention of his guitar, "Yeah, it was my mom's baby before - me," he giggles, but doesn't make eye contact to hide the hurt in his eyes, "Now it's my baby," he lights up again, but you could tell that there was more to it than that - you didn't question him and before your curiosity would get the best of you, he changed the subject, "I like your - balls," you make a funny face and scrunch it before laughing, making Eddie laugh with you, "I mean - it was pretty cool of you to show up and show off your balls in laundry basket skills," he gives you a cheeky smile - trying to hold in more high-pitched laughter, but failing.

Your mouth was agape at his comment, "Totally blew their minds with my balls in laundry basket skills," you whisper and snort a laugh, you leant closer to each other, immersed in the other's presence, it was as if you were sharing secrets - not noticing other students gawking at you both.

"You're good - more than good - from what I saw," Eddie became flustered, he clearly hadn't talked to many girls. He gestures towards the stage, where you could see that Chrissy was being lifted, nailing what she had been nervous about.

You couldn't contain your excitement, you clapped silently and shyness took over again as you remembered the boy sitting next to you, "I-I can't wait to hear you play, Eddie."

"Oh, yeah - Corroded Coffin, that's what we're called," His voice broke in the middle of the sentence and it made him blush, he cleared his throat and his nose twitched - which you found cute, "I like to think that we're very metal."

"Metal?" You give him another shy smile and push your hair back behind your ear.

Eddie scrunches his nose, "Yeah - like hardcore music," he gestures 'hardcore' with his hands excitedly and you watch him with curious eyes, how excitable he was... a bit like the way Mason would get excited about music, "It's pretty different to what you hear on the local radio, y'know?"

You hum, "my brother likes - different music... I listen to it with him - like Black Sabbath, do you know them?"You blush, feeling a little timid because you’d never spoken about your interests and have someone actually be interested, besides Mason, instead of laughing at you.

Eddie was thinking the exact same thought, girls never took interest in his music... he knew that his band was pretty amateur, but he loved it and planned to aim big one day. He noticed that you were nervous and he internally panicked, which made him fidget and blush, "Y-yeah - they're one of my favorite bands."

"Do you know Behind The Wall Of Sleep?" You find yourself asking shyly, "It's my brother's favorite - it's sorta grown on me too."

Eddie's entire face lights up, "Do I know it? I've bled with it!" He bounces slightly on the bench from excitement.

You stare at him, confused and shy, not knowing what he meant and it made Eddie blush, thinking he'd been too excitable.

"Bled with it as in I played it for hours and hours and my fingers got - all scratched up," Eddie chuckles awkwardly. His small fingers strum the guitar before he notices his band in the room - they were watching him, their eyes darting between him and you. "M-my band is over there," he points them out, they were smirking at him and Eddie's legs became restless, "I should pro-bably go to the-m."

You look at the band, all wearing mostly black - you thought they looked cool and you blushed at them staring, "S-sure," you watched him as he got up, his guitar by his side.

He began to walk away, but halted and turned his head, you noticed this and sat up straight suddenly, "You know - Tink really does suit you," he gives you one last smile before leaving you, you gaze at his back.

After that, you hoped you’d would talk to him again. However, you only exchanged looks and timid grins.

Mason went to see you at the talent show, but your mom, dad and sister didn't, they were too horrified to go and watch - Rebecca had even restrained herself from taking part in the talent show upon finding out that her little sister's act was basketball related.

You had been grounded after, your mom even punctured your basketball, only for Mason to buy you another, which you decided you’d hide under your bed, and play with it whenever your mom was distracted or out of the house.

After the year was over, you never saw Eddie around again - you assumed he moved to high school. You spent most of your time alone because participating in the talent show hadn't done your reputation much good, however, you had gained a friend in Chrissy, who stuck by you, and had continued to stick by you to the end very end of middle school.

🦇𝐒𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫, 𝟏𝟗𝟖𝟐🦇

It was why Rebecca wanted you to change at the start of high school - because middle school hadn't gone quite to plan for you.

Now that Mason had left Hawkins, Rebecca felt like without the distraction of him being around, it was possible for things change... once you’d gotten his 'delusional' ideas of you being a basketball superstar out of your head.

You sighed at Rebecca's question about coming along with Chrissy in seeking advice in joining the cheer team, "Sure - I'll tag along," joining the cheer team might not be so ba-, your thoughts were interrupted by the 'Hellfire' table - which had been disrupted by some other kids, they'd chucked some of their lunch at the boys.

The boy, Eddie, that had made eye contact with you before you sat down, had turned to face whoever had thrown their food at him and his friends, "Do you mind, asshole?" You watch him as he flips the bird before turning back to his friends, he looked nervous and his nose twitched before he resumed eating his lunch out of the black metal box on the table in front of him, suspiciously guarding it with his arms.

It was the nose twitch, it was all too familiar to you - one of your first proper interactions with a boy that wasn't your brother... you could see it now, in the rest of his features and demeanour, that this was the same boy from the talent show... your breath hitched.

That Eddie Munson is the same Eddie that you’d met at the middle school talent show, the same boy that you once wanted to get to know better - now... you weren’t so sure if you did.

⇝ 𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝑶𝒏𝒆 ⎈ 𝐁𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐲

𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐨 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠! 𝐏𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞, 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐑𝐄𝐁𝐋𝐎𝐆!!!!! 𝐈𝐭'𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐝𝐚𝐲 <𝟑

𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 ‘𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐓𝐨 𝐄𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲’ 𝐨𝐫 ’𝐄𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐞 𝐌𝐮𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐧’ 𝐭𝐚𝐠-𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐦𝐞 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰!

𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐒 ↯

𝑭𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝑯𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝑻𝒐 𝑬𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒚

𝑬𝒅𝒅𝒊𝒆 𝑴𝒖𝒏𝒔𝒐𝒏

@introvertedmouse @munsonology @fastnights @kathieycarrerarosshley @marjoriea13 @goldengunspinkrosses-blog @lolalanaie @neteyamsluvts

⎈

#eddie munson #eddie munson fandom #eddie munson fanfic #eddie munson slow burn #eddie stranger things #stranger things 4 #eddie munson series #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x best friend reader #eddie munson x you #eddie munson x fem!reader #eddie munson ff #eddie munson friends to lovers #eddie munson fanfiction #eddie munson x female reader #eddie munson fem!reader #eddie munson fix it fic #eddie munson writing #happy ending #from here to eternity #immie writes #this is for you eddie #eddie munson fic #eddie munson st4 #eddie munson stranger things #eddie munson fluff #corroded coffin #stranger things fanfiction #stranger things writing #stranger things

[a-little-unsteddie]

for a minute in the sunlight I

i reached 400 followers today which is insane so have part one of a fic i’ve been working on. once i’m not half asleep i’ll post it to ao3 as well, which will be linked at the end of this note. this is an au i’ve been floating around in my head for a while now, which basically is my rendition of a meet cute ft. Famous!Steve x Normal(ish)!Eddie. except, eddie is a cosplayer, the character that steve voice acts for is coincidentally the character that eddie cosplays as, but that’s later. eddie has no idea that steve is the VA tho. ALSO eddie runs a booth in artist alley with chrissy! anyway, here is part one lol.

ao3 link

—part I: 1.7k words—

“Eddie Munson! You better be on your way!” Chrissy’s voice greeted him as Eddie pressed the ‘accept call’ button and pulled the phone up to his ear. He looked around his hotel room and grimaced.

“I am! I swear I am! I’m gonna get us coffee, though,” he said, grabbing his backpack filled with his convention supplies. He looked around the room, almost ‘aha’-ing out loud before grabbing the ‘artist’ lanyard he had gotten the night before as well as the hotel keycard.

“Good! If you’re not here before the booth opens I swear to god I’ll cut your hair!” She threatened him, causing Eddie to laugh.

“Relax! I’m almost to the cafe,” he lied, dashing out the door and shutting it quietly behind him to not alert the girl on the other end of the phone.

“You’re supposed to be here, y’know, at the convention, to be at your booth, to sell your art!” She snapped at him, sounding more amused than actually upset.

“I’ll be there soon! With coffee!” Eddie repeated, before hanging up just as the elevator dinged at him to indicate its arrival. He stepped onto the elevator, smiling stiffly at the stranger already occupying it. She glanced at him, but ultimately ignored his existence, which was just fine in his opinion.

Okay, so. Eddie knew Chrissy was right to be mad at him—he was meant to be at the venue around 9, and it was nearing 10, and the convention starts at 10:30, so really he had about 45 mins to get there, which was more than enough time to get there. But he was supposed to be there at 9, so he could be set up by 10, for opening at 10:30. He was forever grateful that Chrissy was a morning person and willing to put up with his bullshit.

They had known each other for years, growing up in the same small middle-of-nowhere town as each other. She had been cheer captain while he was forever bullied by the other jocks, but she had come to him one day and decided that he was going to be her best friend. Well, more like, Eddie decided that he wasn’t going to sell some girl hard drugs and instead talked to her.

The rest was history, as they say.

Eddie helped her get away from Jason, her abusive boyfriend, and Chrissy helped him get away from Hawkins. She was also the primary reason he was able to do art and cosplay as a full time gig, as she was able to market and manage his chaos better than he ever could. What had started out as a hobby that Eddie took on to express his frustration with the world had turned into his career, thanks to Chrissy. He had started out by posting his art onto instagram, tiktok, and tumblr, just wanting to show off the work he did for some fandoms he was active in.

Chrissy was also the one to convince him to try to sell his art. To his surprise, fans and non-fans alike ate his work up and bought the fuck out of it. Chrissy also helped him with starting to do conventions as a job rather than as an attendee — she helped him put together his portfolio and designs and ideas into something cohesive that could be set up in a booth in the artist alley of whatever conventions they could get into.

All of that is to say, Eddie owed a lot to Chrissy for his current life. One thing that Eddie couldn’t get figured out was time management. He was able to do most other things with Chrissy, like managing his online presence, restocking his prints when he was low, managing the booth when they were at a con. However, he could never seem to get anywhere on time the first go around. The first day of cons, without fail, led to Eddie arriving a few minutes before the booth opened to the rest of the con.

Which is why Eddie was running late, again.

Chrissy should know better than to expect him on time, but he also figured maybe he could work harder at being on time. Not that he didn’t try, he set an abundance of alarms every time, but one thing or another caused him to be late. This time it was the fact his alarm was set for 7:30 in the evening, instead of morning. He had woken up, checked his phone, saw it was 8:37 and shot up like a rocket to get his shit together. He was meant to do some sort of look today, but had decided against it so that way he wasn’t completely behind. So he just did a basic look — unfortunately that still took him nearly an hour. He didn’t even do make up, which to be fair, he never did on the first days of conventions.

Eddie was so caught up in his thoughts, rushing towards the cafe he knew was near the convention center, that he crashed right into someone leaving said cafe. He swore loudly, stumbling back with wide eyes.

“I’m so sorry, I should’ve been paying more attention, oh my god,” Eddie rushed out, staring at the spilt coffee on the ground. There were two to-go cups laying there, making Eddie feel even worse because this person wasn’t just getting coffee for themselves. He looked up to apologize again, except the words died in his throat.

Was it cliché to say it was love at first sight?

The man looked less angry and more just sad at the coffee that was spilled at their feet, which, to be fair, Eddie felt really bad about.

The man looked up and caught Eddie’s eyes and Eddie was gone. He had honey colored hair, eyes made of milk chocolate, freckles dotted his cheeks, and Eddie could see moles on his neck and expected him to be covered in them. He smiled apprehensively at Eddie, as if expecting a sort of reaction to seeing him, but Eddie was distracted by his jawline. He felt heat crawling up his neck, and took a deep breath to steady himself.

“I’m more than happy to buy you new coffee, I’m so sorry,” Eddie apologized again, eyes wide.

“No— it’s okay,” the man responded and Eddie was floored because was there anything about this man that wasn’t completely perfect? Eddie knew he likely had heart eyes but he couldn’t help it, the stranger was just gorgeous.

“I insist! I ran into you, caused you to spill not one but two coffees! Let me buy you replacements at least,” Eddie pressed earnestly, smiling brightly, trying to put on his charm which he hadn’t used in years. It seemed to work, because the stranger's cheeks tinted pink as he nodded shyly. “Great! I’m Eddie,” he said, reaching out to offer his hand to shake, before changing his mind immediately and moving to grab the door. “After you, sweetheart.”

“Steve,” the stranger—Steve—responded, smiling timidly as he ducked back into the cafe. Eddie followed, letting his gaze drop for a moment to take a peek at his ass, which Eddie was dismayed to also find perfect. This is simultaneously the best and worst day of Eddie’s life.

“Nice to meet you,” Eddie said as they came to a stop at the end of the line. “What are you in Chicago for?” He asked, cocking his head to the side.

Steve seemed to relax at the question, smiling softly as he answered. “Well, officially, I’m here to go to a convention, but unofficially I’m here to visit a friend I don’t get to see as often as I want.”

Eddie lit up, eyes bright with excitement. “Oh, no way? I’m going to a con too! I run a booth in artist alley! Maybe we’ll see each other?” He said, grinning at Steve. The man smiled back, eyebrows furrowed as he took in the excited man beside him.

“Yeah, maybe,” he agreed, raising his eyebrows.

“Look for a booth called CorrodedCoffin Art, and that’ll be mine! If I’m not there, Chrissy will be, so you can just ask her where I am,” Eddie said, enthusiastically. The idea that he could see this man again was already making him vibrate with excitement.

“I’ll look for you,” Steve said earnestly, smiling crookedly. “I have a lot to do this weekend, but hopefully I can stop by and see you.” Eddie bobbed his head, pretty much bouncing in place.

“Cool! Oh! It’s our turn. You can order first,” the metalhead said, gesturing in front of him. Steve smiled at him before turning to the barista.

“Back so soon?” She asked, raising her eyebrows.

Steve laughed, glancing at the man next to him. “Yeah, this guy ran into me and spilled both of my drinks,” he said, leering teasingly at Eddie, who felt his cheeks heat.

“I said sorry! And I’m buying you new drinks to make up for it,” Eddie defended, crossing his arms and pouting. Steve snorted softly, before returning his attention to the barista. He ordered his two drinks before moving to the side to let Eddie order.

“One large iced caramel mocha, and one extra large iced white chocolate mocha, please,” he ordered with a hum. He handed over his card, barely disguising a wince as she read off the total to him.

“Extra large, huh?” Steve asked, raising his eyebrows. Eddie laughed, shrugging helplessly.

“I was supposed to be at the convention center an hour ago,” he admitted, smiling, “the extra large is for Chrissy to make up for it.” He paused for a minute, looking Steve up and down and decided ‘fuck it’. “Can’t say I regret being late, though,” he said, winking at the man. Eddie delighted in watching Steve’s cheeks turn pink and itched to know how far down his body the flush spread.

“Well, I for one am glad you were running late,” Steve said, causing Eddie to grab a piece of his hair and hide a grin behind it. He watched as Steve’s gaze went down and then back up to meet his eyes.

Sooner than either man hoped, their orders were fulfilled. Eddie checked the time absentmindedly and cursed, seeing it was nearing 10:15. He reached into his bag and grabbed a sharpie, grinning as he wrote down his number onto a napkin.

“I am running late, but text me, maybe?” He asked, grinning shyly at the man as he tucked the napkin into his front pocket. He winked at him one more time before grabbing his drinks and dashing out the door. Chrissy would forgive him, probably.

#genuinely so excited to write more of this #but this is for fun so idk how often i’ll post #cosplayer!eddie #famous!steve #steddie #eddie munson #steve harrington #steve x eddie #stranger things #st #steve harrington x eddie munson #for a minute in the sunlight #unsteddie writing

[fuckmymunson]

🎄𝗨𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗺𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗲: Send me a character + prompt from this smut list ;)!

robin buckley “I’m going to fucking ruin you.” +“You’re so in for it when we get home.”

your writing is SO GOOD! i hope you’re having a wonderful december <3

THIS IS MY FIRST TIME WRITING FOR ROBIN OMG, I'M SO EXCITED! Thank you so much!!! I really appreciate your kind words and I hope you had a wonderful December and a Happy New Year! 💛. Btw, I'm on my phone so I don't have the «read more» feature, so sorry!:(

18+, smut! Sub!Robin ♡, Dom!Reader, drunk(ish) sex, dirty talk, (if you squint? Idk), fingering.

︵‿︵‿‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿ʚ♡ɞ‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿

Robin was your local awkward, adorable girlfriend. Always wearing a lovely blush on her cheeks and still getting all flustered by your kisses, pet names and compliments after almost a year of dating.

Her sweet and rambling personality completely bewildered you— yet, it was one of your favorite things about her.

But god forbids, the moment she sips a single drop of alcohol.

Goodbye shy, nervous Robin, hello bratty, cocky Robin.

You two weren't used to public displays of affection, your friends were pretty much into it and even encouraged you two to be more comfortable between them, making you feel safe in an environment where you knew you wouldn't be judged. No one cared if you two kissed, or held hands, or whatever!

But unfortunately not everyone thought like that.

Don't get me wrong either— You love a touchy Robin, a smiling gorgeous girl who cupped your face and kissed you lovingly; But, you weren't quite fond of the way a couple of immature jocks looked at you, laughing and clearly whispering obscenities.

Or the group of childish cheerleaders that kept gossiping at the way Robin's hands sneaked under your skirt and grope at your thighs.

"Darling" You whispered to her ear, removing the red cup from her ringed hand. "Let's cut the alcohol a bit, yeah? I need to take you home and I don't want you puking your mom's couch again"

"Baby— Come on" She said, loudly. Brunette locks framing her freckled cheeks. "I just wanna give my girl some sweet lovin', don't be bitchy!"

"Me? Bitchy?" You inquired, huffing. You slap her hand away from your ass again. "Robin, stay still. Or else you know what happens to bad girls" You let the threat linger in the air.

"Yeah? What? You gonna send me to sleep without a goodbye kiss?" She mocked and grabbed the first red cup on her eyesight, not bothering to check it before drinking from it.

"Robin, this is your last warning"

"You gonna spank me or what?" She giggled and playfully slapped your thigh.

"You're so in for it when we get home"

Your hand trapped her wrist, dragging her outside Steve's house. Robin saw the look on your eyes gulped, suddenly nervous. She didn't realized how much she was pushing her luck. As if every drop of alcohol and bratty confidence drained from her body, she tried to save herself.

"Babe! I w—was just joking you know? Haha, you know I didn't mean any of that"

Your answer was silence.

You stomped your way to your car, opening the passenger door and pushing her inside, gently yet firmly. Crawling on top of her, you locked the door, cupping her face and kissing her. Robin moaned against your lips, already full aware of what was about to happen.

"I'm going to fucking ruin you" You promised.

Usually, you would take your time with her, one by one pushing her buttons and turning her into a needy, begging mess— Not tonight, though. Robin moaned against your hair when you sank two fingers inside her, curling them and squeezing her thigh as you held her legs open. The position was uncomfortable, your car wasn't that big but it had to do. Without hesitation you moved your fingers at a mean pace, in and out, in and out, the wet noises of her pussy made you choke a moan, this was a punishment, you needed to remind yourself that.

Your thumb rubbed her clit, already swollen between her puffy, sweet lips. Robin cried your name, ashamed of how quickly she was cumming.

"I'm sorry—I'm sorry!" She almost yelled, biting her lips. "Please mommy I'll be good!"

"Now you wanna be good?" You rolled your eyes but your voice was hoarse and trembling.

With a high yelp, Robin came around your fingers, clenching around your digits and yanking your hair almost unconsciously. Her lips searched yours and you gave in just this time, because what was about to happen will be way worse.

Instead of removing your fingers like you would usually do, you continued your movements, this time adding a third finger easily due to the new wave of slick that coated them. Your girlfriend mewled, a bit overwhelmed by the sudden overstimulation.

"Nononononono—" She shook her head, already knowing your plans.

Robin hated to be overstimulated to the point that it brought tears to her pretty light eyes and turned her into a wet, putty mess.

You, on the other hand, were having the time of your life.

"Remember the last time you came four times and squirted?" You talked, nonchalantly. Not giving her time of replying, you continued: "Let's see if I can make you squirt before the third time"

"But—fuck" She cried, clenching around your fingers when your teeth gazed over her nipples over her thin cotton shirt. "Baby, your car— it's gonna be all m—messy"

"Don't worry, it's leather. You can clean it with your tongue"

#omel is writing! #omel answers! #omenhel's 1.5k flowers! #robin buckley #robin buckley x reader #robin buckley x reader smut #robin buckley smut #robin x reader #robin buckley x you #robin buckley x y/n #robin buckley x fem!reader #robin buckley scenario