There’s too much pressure on him.
He can’t fuck this up.
Eddie keeps looking at him, suspicious but not saying anything. Thank god.
Robin keeps giving him tiny pep talks when they manage to find a few seconds alone: “you got this” and “I promise he feels the same way” and “if you don’t do it now you’ll regret it forever.”
The last one isn’t so much a pep talk as a threat, but it still does the job.
He shakes his hands out, like he’s about to jump in the pool for a swim meet.
He bounces on his feet, slaps his arms like he’s warming up before taking the court for a must-win basketball game.
He looks and feels incredibly stupid and he’s certain that someone will see him acting like this and have questions. He just hopes it’s not Dustin. Or Max. Or Mike, Jesus Christ.
He sneaks away when the announcers give a five minute warning to the countdown. He needs a minute alone before he potentially ruins one of the best friendships he’s ever had besides Robin.
He hides in the bathroom, looks at his reflection in the mirror and tries to smile. He used to be so confident, used to be able to tell himself to make a move and make it successfully. But it used to not matter, not like this does.
No one has ever mattered the way Eddie does.
And fucking this up will ruin a lot more than just his friendship with Eddie; it’ll ruin the entire group’s dynamics.
No more hanging out at the arcade while the kids play, no more bringing snacks to game nights, no more adults only movie nights to make up for the shitty movies the kids make them watch during family movie nights.
No more getting high in Eddie’s bedroom while he plays his guitar, only trusting Steve to see how he still struggles with some chords because his fingers have more nerve damage than even the doctors know.
No more falling asleep on the couch while Eddie reads to him or tells him made up stories that turn into campaigns for the kids.
No more swimming in Steve’s pool after midnight, when Steve is scared, but wants to face his fears with Eddie by his side.
The bathroom door opening startles him from his morose thoughts, and he rushes to try to close it.
“Chill, man. Just me.”
Eddie.
“Sorry, must’ve zoned out.” Steve pretends to wipe his hands on the towel hanging by the sink. “All yours, man.”
Steve starts to leave when Eddie’s hand curls around his shoulder, tugs him back.
“You’ve been weird all night, Stevie. What’s goin’ on? Worried about having to see Nancy and Jonathan kiss?” Something’s off with Eddie’s voice towards the end, like he was going for teasing, but lost the effort halfway through the question.
Steve could hear a one minute warning from the other room.
His heart rate quickened.
“No. That’s not it.” Steve gulped. “I’m fine. Just worried.”
“I don’t think you need to worry.”
As if Eddie would know.
“I’ll just head out there-“
Eddie pushes him against the back of the bathroom door, hands on his chest and eyes boring into his.
“You were worried about kissing me, right? I didn’t imagine the way you avoided me all night and the way Robin kept poking me and looking at you anytime someone brought up kissing at midnight?” Eddie looks like he’s back in the boathouse, looks wild in a way Steve kind of loves, but probably needs to settle. “I haven’t imagined the way you look at me, have I? Like, the crush on you is probably out of hand, but I couldn’t have made up the way you always fall asleep on my shoulder when we try to stay up too late and your hand always finds mine and-“
Steve couldn’t take it. He could listen to Eddie spiral all night or he could just do what he was pretty sure they both wanted and just kiss him.
So he does.
He leans forward and kisses his lips, hopes that the way Eddie’s fingers curl against his chest doesn’t mean he’s about to push him away.
It’s short, and Steve’s hands are stuck at his side while he waits for a proper reaction from Eddie, who is frozen other than the fingers digging into Steve’s chest hairs somewhat painfully.
“Eddie?” He asks after a long silence.
“Steve, shut up. I might be in a coma still. Or those stupid bats got me and I’ve spent the last few months dreaming up a somewhat regular life.”
Steve smirked and placed his hands on top of Eddie’s, slowly unfurling the fingers and holding them in his.
“Eddie.”
This time, Eddie managed to look at him, and his shoulders fell as he seemed to catch on that he wasn’t dreaming or dead.
“Can I kiss you again or are you gonna panic?”
Eddie let out a strangled noise and nodded.
“I need a yes or a no, Eds,” Steve laughed.
“Yes. Please. Always yes. Kiss me for every single minute of 1987 if you want. Start and end the year kissing me. Kiss me until I-“
Steve shook his head, so stupidly fond of this man, and leaned in to kiss him again.
This time, Eddie managed to kiss him back, lips not as firm as they parted beneath Steve’s.
And this time when he pulled away, Eddie’s eyes slowly blinked open, and he was smiling.
“Can’t believe you did this on New Year’s Eve. How stereotypical. You’ve turned me into a stereotype. How could you do this? Stevie, I’m so ridiculously in love with you, but you really should’ve done this yesterday or something.”
“I love you, too.”
Eddie snapped his mouth shut, eyes going wide as his cheeks turned a bright red.
“I have really gotta learn to shut up. I blame Robin for the rambling.”
Steve’s hands wrapped around Eddie’s waist, pulling him closer as he kissed his forehead with a laugh.
“I think you had this problem way before you hung out with Robin.”
“How would you know, sunshine?” Eddie faked annoyance, but the term of endearment gave him away completely.
“I just know you pretty well. And I love you.”
“So you’ve said.”
“You have too.”
“I have, haven’t I?”
They both stared at each other in silence for a full minute before bursting into laughter.
Someone banged on the door as they rested their forehead against each other, laughing through another kiss.
“If you’re all done making out in there, some of us have been holding it since last year!” Max’s voice rang out.
“That joke doesn’t really mean anything when last year was two minutes ago, Maxine!” Eddie yelled back, not pulling away from Steve.
“I will use Steve’s bathroom if you don’t come out in five seconds!”
“God, please no.” Steve said as he pulled away and opened the door. “You suck so much.”
“Not as much as you apparently,” Max said back as she pushed past them and slammed the door.
“I didn’t even get to the sucking yet,” Eddie whined. “Why is she so mean?”
“She’s a teenage girl. They’re all like that.”
“Thank god I never liked them.”
“Never?”
“Steve, I was so busy trying to hide how hot I thought you were, I didn’t even notice girls.”
“Seriously?!” Steve laughed. “That must’ve been terrible for your image.”
“Yeah, well, now I think I’m the one terrible for your image, so I guess it worked out for me,” Eddie smirked, kissing Steve’s cheek.
“Very funny. Now back to the sucking thing…”
“Oh my god, I can hear you!” Max yelled from in the bathroom, causing Steve and Eddie to roll their eyes and laugh.
“That’s okay, we’ll just go upstairs, won’t we?” Eddie said loudly.
“Yep, I think that’s where we’ll be for the rest of the night!” Steve said back.
“Just go away!” Max yelled as the toilet flushed.
Steve did lead Eddie upstairs, and they definitely did intend on using a few minutes of privacy to their advantage, but were interrupted the moment Steve’s pants were unbuttoned.
Mike Wheeler would probably never recover from seeing Eddie’s lips on Steve’s neck, but maybe he’d at least learn to knock on doors before opening them.
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