Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

It’s been exactly eight days since the party, and Steve hasn’t heard from Eddie since he drove off the morning after. Not that he’s exactly gone out of his way to seek the other out either. He tells himself he’s been busy at work, that Eddie’s probably busy, too. But he knows it's bullshit, knows the real reason he hasn’t reached out. 

He’s scared. 

And it’s not like this is his first sexuality crisis. Did you see Billy Hargrove? But Billy was a big enough asshole, that he never had any problem brushing it off. 

Yet, if he’s being honest with himself, it’s not even so much that he finally acted on his desires. 

Because he has no trouble admitting that he liked it. 

He liked it a lot.  

The problem is, he also actually likes Eddie .

As a person, as a friend, and, holy hell as a lover. But they’ve never been exactly what you’d call close . After everything that happened in the spring, Eddie and he had hung around each other more and more often, but always with other people. He’s never been alone with the guy long enough to figure out whether or not Eddie likes him, too, in any capacity other than obligatory. 

Well, obviously, Eddie likes him enough to give him mind-blowing head in the back of his van, but beyond that, he isn’t really sure. The guy certainly tolerates him- laughs at his dumb jokes, teases him, and sometimes just looks at him like, like… fuck like there’s something there. But Steve doesn’t know for certain, and that drives him crazy. 

“Earth to Steve,” Robin calls him from his thoughts, waving a hand in front of his face, “you in there?”

He bats the hand out of his face and frowns. 

“Oh good,” she sighs, hopping up on the counter beside his elbow, “I was beginning to think I’d lost you.”

Steve rolls his eyes. 

“So…” she starts, poking at his elbow until he looks at her, “what’s got you so spacey?” 

“I’m not spacey,” he swats her hand away with an annoyed glare, “we just haven’t had a single customer in, like, over an hour.” 

“Sure, sure,” she says, unconvinced, “ that’s why you look so constipated.” 

“I don’t look constipated .” 

“Well you definitely don’t look bored, either.” Steve sighs and Robin smiles sympathetically. “Is this about Mystery Lady?” 

Mystery Lady is what Robin calls the person who gave Steve all those hickies at the party last week. He’s refused to tell her who really was responsible, figuring it’s not his place to out anyone to anyone, not even to Robin. So, technically, she’s not wrong in her line of thinking. And Steve knows he must be making some kind of face, because Robin’s eyes light up like a hound with a scent. 

“It is, isn’t it!?”

Steve sucks in a breath, pushing himself away from the counter. 

“C’mon, Steve, it’s me! ” She whines, using the same point of argument for the thousandth time this week. “I can’t believe you’re being so weird about this!”

“I’m not being weird.” He says, needlessly straightening the punchcards by the register. 

She slides off the counter, crossing her arms, “Uh, yeah, you are.” 

“No, I’m not.” He argues, hands on his hips as he glares down at her. 

She looks him up and down critically. “And getting weirder .” 

Steve lets his hands drop with a sigh. “It really doesn’t matter, Robin, trust me.”

“Clearly it does if it’s bothering you so much, Steve.” She counters, concern in her voice and her expression. 

“It’s not-” 

She raises her eyebrows, daring him to finish that sentence. He sighs.

“It’s just that it was a one time thing, okay?”

“And is that your choice or hers?” 

Steve gulps, “Both.” 

Robin sees right through the lie with a pitying expression that makes Steve feel worse than he already does.

Of course just then the bell goes off and they both look away from each other to watch Dustin, Lucas, Mike, and Will walk through the double doors like they own the place. 

“What’s up, losers!” Dustin greets cheerily as he strolls up to the counter and immediately starts playing with the new popcorn seasoning spinner on the edge. The other three break off to browse the isles. 

“Hey, Dustin,” Robin says with a smile.

Steve leans over and puts his hand on top of the spinner, stopping it in place. 

“What’s his problem?” Dustin asks Robin. 

“Don’t ask me,” she shrugs, “he’s been broody all day.”

“I’m not broody.” Steve defends.

Dustin and Robin exchange a look. 

“I’m not .”

“Uh-oh,” Dustin drawls, grinning, "Looks like someone must have had a bowl of brood-i-o’s this morning." 

Robin giggles, adding, “Bet he’s going to Brooder’s after work.”

“Looks like Dr. Brood Banner’s about to turn into the Incredible Sulk.”

“Nice,” Robin says, high-fiving Dustin over the counter. 

Steve rolls his eyes. “Ha. ha, guys, very clever.” 

Dustin says something- no doubt insulting- but Steve doesn’t hear him when his gaze catches sight of the person walking toward the doors. He has exactly three and a half seconds to prepare himself before Eddie Munson strolls in, bell chiming Steve’s demise. 

“Eddie!” Dustin greets excitedly. 

“Hey, Henderson,” Eddie says, extending a hand to push affectionately at Dustin’s head before placing a stack of VHS’s on the counter. His eyes sweep from Dustin, he nods “Robin,” his eyes stop on Steve, mouth twitching ever so slightly to the side, “Harrington.”

Harrington, Steve tries not to frown. He clears his throat and offers a tight-lipped smile. “Hey, Munson.”

Steve can see Robin looking between them from the corner of his eye. He knows he should look away, knows he should brush it off and pretend like nothing’s bothering him. But he doesn’t. And neither does Eddie. 

“So Eddie,” Robin, thankfully, interrupts their little staredown, leaning over the counter on her elbow, “how have you been?”

Eddie drags his eyes away from Steve’s and shrugs. “Good, good. Ya know, I got a job, so that’s… well it sucks, but at least I’m making money, right? Well, legally, anyway. What about you guys?” he asks, glancing back at Steve. “What have you been up to?”

Robin opens her mouth to answer, but the ringing of the phone cuts her off. She groans, but goes to answer it, leaving Steve to fend for himself.

“Steve’s brooding.” Dustin informs Eddie before he gets a chance to say anything. 

Steve’s gonna kill him. Soon as Eddie’s gone, he’s gonna jump over the counter and throttle the little bastard. 

“Aw, what’s the matter Stevie,” Eddie asks sardonically, and Steve represses a shudder from the nickname, “did the store finally run out of your favorite hairspray?” 

“What? Why?” Steve asks, suddenly panicking, “Is something wrong with my hair?”

Eddie chuckles, “Nothing’s wrong with it, Harrington, I’m just taking a guess at what’s got you so down.” 

You should know. He thinks with a frown. What he says is, “I’m not down. ” 

“Hey, I know what’ll cheer you up!” Dustin starts, eyes wide with excitement. “You should come over to Max’s tonight!”

Steve pinches at his brow, “I appreciate the invite, Henderson, but I really don’t need cheering up.” 

“Eddie, you'll still be there, too, right?” Dustin continues, ignoring Steve completely.

“Sure will, man,” Eddie confirms. 

Steve drops his hand and looks at Eddie. “Really?” 

Eddie half grins at Steve while Dustin catches sight of the other boys laughing loudly. 

“Hey, what are you assholes laughing at?” he asks, running over to them. 

“You sure you don’t wanna come, Harrington?” Eddie asks. 

Steve blinks at him. “What?”

“To movie night,” Eddie clarifies, stepping up to the counter, eyes never wavering from Steve’s. “I could use the adult company.” His eyes flick down to Steve’s mouth for an instant before he’s smirking, “I mean, you know what a handful those guys can be.”

“I, uh,” Steve’s brain stopped working at Eddie’s insinuation, and he’s having a heck of a time playing catch up. Before he can think better of it, he hears himself say, “yeah, alright.”

“Alright,” Eddie repeats, eyes lighting up. He drums his hands on the countertop, rings tapping rhythmically as he smiles, “Well then, I'll see you later, Harrington.” 

Steve smirks, "Looking forward to it, Munson."

A rush color dusts Eddie's cheeks before he turns and walks back out the door. 

“So…” Robin starts at Steve's side, “you gonna tell me what just happened there?”

He looks at her and shrugs innocently, “What do you mean?”

She raises her eyebrows looking between him and the door. “Uhh, 'Looking forward to it, Munson' ?” 

Steve sighs. “I was just…”

“Just what? Flirting?” 

“Being nice?”

Robin crossed her arms, looking at him like a parent who knows he's been into the cookie jar. "Since when have you and Eddie been so 'nice' to each other?"

Steve feels heat rise to his cheeks and Robin's eyes go wide and jaw drops. 

"Eddie's Mystery Lady!?"

"Shhhh, Robin, jeez!" Steve snaps, looking around. Luckily the boys are still the only ones in the store and they're too busy arguing amongst themselves to have heard anything. He sighs, flashing Robin a venomous glare before pressing his head into his hands, leaning his elbows on the counter.

"Sorry," she winces. "It's just," she starts in a hurried whisper, getting close to him, "this is kinda big news, isn't it? Why didn't you tell me?" 

He sighs, running his hands down his face before looking back at her. "Same reason I don't tell people the truth about why we're not dating." 

"But I already knew about Eddie."

“How was I supposed to know that?" 

"Well you could have at least told me about you. " She says, looking genuinely hurt. "I thought you knew I'd never judge you for something like this."

"Robin," he starts, "that's not why I didn't- it's just, I knew that if I told you it was… ya know,” he looks around anxiously before continuing under his breath, “ not a girl, then you’d figure out who it was.”

“That’s fair,” Robin nods consideringly, “but you could’ve told me, like, in general , that you're into…” she makes a vague gesture with her hand.

“Yeah, well, it’s never really been something I thought I'd ever act on until now, so what would have been the point in saying anything at all?"

Robin looks at him sadly and his stomach twists. 

"Also," he continues, "it’s not like anything’s really changed . I mean, I still love boobies !" 

Robin rolls her eyes, "Yeah I'm pretty sure everyone knows how much you love boobies, Steve." 

"What about boobies?" Dustin asks suddenly in front of them with a stack of VHS's. 

"Jesus, Henderson," Steve jumps, "wear a damn bell." 

Steve is nervous. 

And it's fucking ridiculous. 

He's going over to watch a movie or two with a group of 14 year olds on a Sunday night, it’s not like it’s some big event. And, sure, Eddie will be there, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything. They're going to be surrounded by all the munchkins, so, really, he doesn't know what exactly he's expecting to happen. 

And he knows all of this, knows he's acting like a preteen going on his very first date over probably nothing. But for some God forsaken reason, he can't help it. There was just something in the way Eddie spoke to him, looked at him, smiled that had set his nerves on edge. 

So now he is sitting in his car, staring at Max's trailer, wondering for the hundredth time if he should have changed out of his work clothes. Robin had insisted that it was fine, asking him if he'd bother changing if it was just the gang. 

"They'll definitely notice if you change," she had said, "at least Dustin will. Then he'll wonder why you changed and then he will probably notice the way you look at Eddie, and he's a pretty smart kid, so unless you want him to put two and two together…"

"Okay, I get it."

So he didn't change and now he's living with that decision. He frowns, looking in the mirror for the tenth time to mess with his hair.

"C'mon, Harrington," he sighs to himself, "stop being stupid." 

With that he takes a deep breath and finally gets out of his car.

It's El who answers when he knocks on the door. Well, not so much answers it as opens it from where she's seated on the couch without breaking eye contact with the television. And, fuck, you'd think that after the last couple of years he'd have gotten used to that by now. 

“Finally,” Dustin groans as Steve steps inside.

“What?” Steve asks, looking at the TV playing a rerun of Gilligan’s Island. 

“You’re late.”

“You know you could have started without me.”

“That’s what I said,” Lucas mutters, arm around Max’s shoulders. 

“Bet he was busy fixing his hair.” She teases. 

El looks at him then, studying him intently before saying, “It looks nice.”

“Thank you, El,” he grins before looking at the group, “at least one of you little gremlins is nice to me.”

Mike glares at him from over El’s shoulder, and Steve is a little taken aback by its ferocity. He looks away and ends up gazing right at Eddie who is eating popcorn and watching Steve with amusement. 

“Yeah, yeah, we’re all awful,” Dustin murmurs, getting up to set up the movie. “Now will you sit your ass down so we can start?”

“ Language , Henderson,” Steve scolds as he tries to find a place to sit. 

Max is in the chair by the window, arms and legs resting in their marker-covered casts as Lucas lounges on its wide armrest beside her. Mike and El are sitting on the floor in front of the couch, curled up under a blanket. Will is sitting in one corner of the couch behind them, trying not to look uncomfortable. Dustin’s staked his claim beside Will with the remote on the cushion. And wouldn’t ya know it, that leaves the only spot between him and Eddie who’s in the other corner of the couch. Because, of course. Eddie seems to come to the same realization as Steve because he grins at him. 

“C’mon, Harrington,” he says, patting the seat beside him, “I won’t bite.”

Steve gives him a nonplussed look because, well, that is a blatant lie and they both know it. And Eddie must be reading his mind because he looks like he’s trying to hold back a laugh at Steve’s expense. Still, for lack of better options, Steve carefully toes off his shoes, and climbs around Mike to sit on the cushion beside Eddie. Once the lights are out and the movie is set up, Dustin practically jumps over El back into his seat, knocking into Steve’s bent legs.

“Watch it, Henderson,” Steve grumbles, readjusting his legs so they’re bent in front of himself. He sighs, trying and failing to make himself smaller as Dustin presses play. 

“So,” Steve starts, leaning toward Dustin as the previews play, “what are we watching?”

“Only the best sci-fi horror film of all time , ” Dustin answers.

“Which is?” 

Dustin looks at him offendedly, “Are you kidding me right now, Steve?”

“What? I don’t know every movie ever made.”

“You work in a video store.”

“So? That doesn’t make me an expert.”

“Will you two shut up?” Lucas snaps. 

Eddie chuckles lowly before leaning to whisper in Steve’s ear, “ Alien, Stevie. We’re watching Alien. ” 

Steve hopes Eddie doesn’t see the goosebumps on his neck from the heat of his breath. 

About 10 minutes into the movie, Steve realizes that his current position is not sustainable. His legs are too damn long to be cramped up like this. He tries subtly moving them from side to side, but it does nothing to alleviate his discomfort. Then suddenly Eddie’s wrapping an arm around Steve’s knees and pulling them onto his lap. 

“That better?” He asks Steve in a whisper. Steve nods, ignoring the increase in his heart rate. He’s expecting Eddie to pull his arm away, but he doesn’t, just keeps his hand settled right on top of Steve’s knee, the warmth burning through his jeans like a brand. 

It isn’t until Ripley’s in the escape ship with the cat that Steve realizes just how close he’s gotten to Eddie. By now he’s practically curled in the guy’s lap. Luckily the others seem too occupied watching the film to notice, but that could change any second, and he really doesn’t want to have to explain their position to anyone. So, carefully, he begins to extract himself from the other. Eddie looks at him, confused, but lets him go without comment. 

The rest of the movie he spends intimately aware of every part of his body. He’s still pressed up against Eddie on one side, unable to help it given the size of the couch, but he’s careful not to touch him more than necessary. Eddie seems to be doing the same, scooting himself as close to the edge of the couch as he can to give Steve some room. Then the film ends and Mike finally moves so Steve can stretch his legs with a groan. His knee pops loudly and Dustin snorts.

“God you’re so old.” 

Steve responds by pushing on Dustin’s shoulder. “Shut it, twerp. You try sitting with your legs scrunched up for 2 hours and see how your joints feel.”

Dustin looks at him incredulously, “Don’t act like you weren’t sitting in Eddie’s lap most the time anyway.” 

The room erupts in ‘oooohs’ as Steve feels his face drain color. 

“C’mon, Henderson,” Eddie steps in with a smirk, “that’s no way to speak to your mother.” 

The little gremlins laugh and Steve turns his glare on Eddie. 

“Okay, keep laughing,” Steve shrugs, “see if I drive you brats to your little convention next month.” 

That shuts them up comedically fast. Well, Lucas, Dustin, and Mike anyway. Max is still snickering to herself while El looks rather confused by the whole exchange. Poor Will just looks downright uncomfortable. 

Just then, Max’s mom walks through the front door. She smiles when she sees them even though Steve can see the bags under her eyes. 

“Oh, you’re all still up?” She asks.

“Yeah, the movie just finished,” Max answers.

Mrs. Mayfield looks at her daughter, “Did you take your medicine?”

“Mom…”

“Did you?”

“I got ‘em, Mrs. Mayfield,” Lucas answers. 

Mrs. Mayfield smiles graciously at him before looking around at everyone else. “Okay, everyone, you know the drill. Max and El in her room, and you boys spread out in here.” She looks between Steve and Eddie, “Are you…”

“No,” Steve assures her, “no, we were just leaving.”

She looks relieved at the answer. “Well thanks for watching over them. I know they can be a handful.”

Eddie nods at her, “No problem Miss M.”

She smiles gratefully at them once more before moving past them to help Max out of her seat and into the wheelchair. 

Steve feels a small tug on the hem of his shirt and looks back to see Eddie now in front of him, nodding toward the door. Silently, he follows Eddie out into the night. The air is cool for summer, comfortable, and there’s a choir of crickets and toads in the treeline that ground him as they start walking.

“So,” Eddie starts conversationally, “how’d you like the movie?”

Steve nods, “It was good. What about you?”

“Oh," Eddie smiles widely, "it’s a classic in my book.”

“So you’ve seen it before?” 

“I’m honestly surprised you haven’t.” 

Steve shrugs. “Guess I’m not usually drawn to the sci-fy-y stuff.”

“Star Wars?” Eddie asks curiously. 

“Oh, well, I’ve definitely seen those.” Steve laughs. “Between Robin and Dustin, I didn’t really have much of a choice. But they were surprisingly good, so I’m not complaining.”

"Good to know you've got some taste, Harrington," Eddie laughs, stopping in front of his van. Steve hadn’t even noticed that Eddie’s trailer was the direction they had been walking toward. Well, his new trailer, seeing how the last one had been torn apart in the ‘earthquake’. Eddie looks at Steve, lips parted like he’s trying to decide on what to say next. Steve waits, heart pulsing as he holds Eddie’s gaze. 

“You, uh, wanna come inside?” Eddie finally asks. 

Steve’s lips quirk up in a half-grin, “Yeah, I’d like that.”

This trailer is almost identical to the old one, just newer. These walls are lighter beige, too, which just makes the space seem brighter, more homey. Though, it does also help that there's not a gaping hole to another dimension across the ceiling. 

"Make yourself at home," Eddie offers on his way to the kitchen. "Wanna drink?"

"What do you have?"

Eddie opens the fridge, listing, "Coke, water, beer?"

"I'll take a beer, thanks." 

Eddie appears a few seconds later, handing him a cold bottle; he takes it with a nod of thanks. Christ, his nerves are fried and he seriously needs to get it together before he makes a complete fool of himself. He takes a long pull from his drink, hoping it might take some of the edge off. When he’s done, he catches Eddie watching him, amused.

“Thirsty?” Eddie chuckles. 

“Parched.”

Eddie snorts, tipping up his own bottle for a drink.

“Why didn’t you call?” Steve blurts out before he can stop himself.

Eddie blinks at him slowly, lowering his drink. Then he purses his lips, looking at Steve challengingly, “Why didn’t you ?”

And, okay, that’s fair. 

“I- I don’t know,” the words tumble out of his mouth and he gulps, wishing he could suck them back in. 

Eddie scoffs, “You ‘don’t know’ ?”

Steve doesn’t know what else to say that won’t make him sound like a Goddamn coward, so he does the next best thing and stays quiet. 

Eddie sucks in a breath, “Look, Steve, we don’t have to make it into anything more than what it was, okay?”

Steve furrows his brow, “And what was it?”

Eddie shrugs, “Just two friends having a little fun.” 

Friends, the word stings unexpectedly, but Steve hides it by nodding. 

The silence stretches, he can feel Eddie watching him carefully as he keeps his eyes anywhere and everywhere but the other man, tapping anxiously along the side of his beer before taking another long drink. Steve knows what he wants from Eddie- the reason he followed him into his home- but he doesn’t know how to put it into words. 

“So…” he tries, pauses, licks his lips, takes a breath, then tries again, “so, like, when you say that, do you mean it as in, it was just a one time thing, or…”

He looks at the other hopefully, and Eddie’s face cracks into a lopsided grin.

“Well, gee, I hope not, Stevie,” he starts teasingly, “because that would make you a liar.” 

Steve's heart picks up as Eddie steps closer, his dark eyes dragging over Steve slowly. 

He stops right in front of Steve, looking at him through his lashes as he speaks lowly, “You’re the one who promised me a ‘next time’." 

The hunger in Eddie's eyes makes Steve feel lighter. Dizzy, yes, but back in his element instead of being a nervous wreck because, fuck, at least under this gaze he knows what Eddie wants from him. And he can work with it. 

He lets his mouth curve into a smug grin as he takes the other in, eyes landing on Eddie's lips as he says, "I did, didn't I?"

"Mhm," Eddie responds, biting on his lower lip as he hooks a finger into the waistband of Steve's jeans and tugs, "And wouldn't ya know it, I've got a bed and everything."

Then they're kissing. 

And Steve's not really sure which one of them initiated it, but he doesn't care because Eddie's moving against him with the right amount of pressure, face angled just the right way that their mouths slot together as though they were made for each other. Then there's a sturdy hand gripping his hip tightly as Eddie's tongue slides across the seam of his lips. Steve opens thoughtlessly, yielding to the heat of Eddie's tongue against his. He goes to wrap his arm around Eddie's waist, but forgets he's holding a half full beer until he feels it start pouring out. 

Eddie yelps at the cold, jumping back as Steve holds up the bottle. 

"Shit," Steve hisses gently, setting the bottle on the coffee table. He looks at Eddie, embarrassed, "Sorry."

Eddie laughs, looking over his shoulder at the soaked bottom of his shirt. "Eh, I wasn't really planning on staying in this much longer anyway."

And, fuck, that's hot. Steve licks his lips, "Why wait at all?"

Eddie laughs, "Eager, huh?"

"Me? Pft. Not really." Steve shrugs, nonchalantly tucking his hands in his front pockets. "It’s just that, that beer must be really cold and sticky soaking through your shirt. You’d probably be more comfortable without it." 

Eddie snorts, shaking his head. "Ah-huh. Very smooth, Harrington." 

“You want smooth ?” Steve smirks, slowly closing the space between them. He brings one hand up to push back Eddie’s hair, the other gently settles on Eddie’s waist as he looks deep into Eddie’s eyes. He smiles, transfixed by the swirls of chocolate and flecks of gold he sees there.

“You know, it’s amazing,” he starts in a low cadence coated in honey, “I was on the swim team for 2 years- top of my class and everything- but, somehow,” he strokes his thumb against Eddie’s cheek, “I still can’t help drowning in your eyes.”

A slow grin slides onto Eddie’s face, colored by a rosy pink on his cheeks. He shakes his head fondly. 

“Alright, I’ll admit it, Stevie, that was pretty damn smooth. I see how you got your reputation.” His hands suddenly grip Steve’s hips tightly, pulling them flush against his. “Now,” he starts, voice heavy with lust, “you gonna sweet talk me all night or are we gonna fuck?” 

“Fuck,” Steve gasps, not really as an answer, but because he doesn’t know how else to react to that fucking mouth.

Eddie smirks, “I was hoping you’d say that.” 

Then Eddie’s leaning into him with a biting kiss that sends shockwaves through his body. Steve groans, eyes fluttering shut as he tightens his hold and lets Eddie take control. After what could very easily have been several seconds or several hours Eddie brings a hand up to twist into Steve’s hair, yanking his head back before attaching his mouth to Steve’s throat. Steve gasps, dropping his hand to Eddie’s shoulder and holding on for dear life as the other works him over. And in some far off part of his mind, he thinks about how strange it is that he’s yielded to the other so easily when he’s used to being the one in control. But then that distant thought gets swept away in the current of electricity that shoots through him when Eddie bites the juncture of his jaw and throat. 

And holy fuck , Steve’s never felt his blood move south so quickly in his life. Eddie immediately soothes it with his tongue, but the damage has been done. Steve realizes he’s at the complete and total mercy of Eddie Munson. 

And he’s utterly thrilled by it. 

“Bed?” He asks hoarsely. Eddie nods, placing one final kiss to his work before roughly pulling Steve by the hand. 

As soon as the door’s closed behind them, they each strip their shirts at record speeds before crashing back together. Eddie’s hands seem to be everywhere at once- running down his back, up his chest, groping his ass, gripping his sides- all while steadily walking him backwards. When the back of Steve's knees hit the bed, he automatically sits, gripping Eddie’s waist and pulling him along. Eddie climbs into Steve’s lap with his legs on either side. At this point, Eddie’s hands are cupping Steve’s jaw, holding him in place as he continues to devour his mouth. Steve can’t help the moan that’s smothered between them as he cants his hips up, desperate for friction. Eddie hisses into his mouth, holding Steve in place as he leans back to look at him seriously. 

“How do you want to do this, Steve?” He asks directly. 

Steve furrows his brow, “What do you mean?”

Eddie looks at him like he’s a lovable idiot, tenderly rubbing Steve’s jaw with his thumb, “Well, I don’t know if you know this, sweetheart, but, uh, sex between guys isn’t as straight forward as what you’re used to.” 

“Obviously,” Steve deadpans, somewhat offended, “I mean, I’ve done some research.”

“Research?” Eddie chuckles, eyes glinting with amusement, “Oh I’d love to hear more about that. But for now,” he brings a hand to gently push back Steve’s hair from his forehead, “just tell me what you want to do- how far you wanna go- and I promise we won’t do anything more than what you’re comfortable with.” 

Steve’s heart fucking swells at those words, at Eddie being so fucking considerate of him, so much so that he almost forgets to answer. But then Eddie raises his eyebrows expectantly and Steve remembers his voice. 

“Can I-” he pauses, sucking in a breath before continuing, “can I fuck you?”

“Yeah,” Eddie breathes, eagerly nodding, “ fuck yeah , you can do that.” 

Steve meets him for a heated kiss, but his throat is tight with all the other things he doesn’t know how to ask for. Something must show through his expression, though, because when Eddie pulls back, his face grows concerned. 

“We also don’t have to do anything, you know?” He assures Steve.

“No, no I definitely want to, it’s just,” Steve hesitates, embarrassed, but determined to convince Eddie he’s not backing out, “remember how, um, last time you got all bossy and started giving me orders and shit?”

Eddie smirks, “If I remember correctly, you seemed pretty keen on following those orders.”

“Yeah, well…” Steve looks at him imploringly.

“Oh,” Eddie’s eyes light up with understanding before going completely dark, “ oh.” He smirks, “Steve Harrington, you naughty boy.” He leans forward, kissing the flesh beneath Steve’s ear before murmuring, “You want me to order you around, baby?” 

Steve gulps, “Yeah.”

“Gonna be a good boy for me?” Eddie growls, capturing Steve’s earlobe between his teeth a moment as he grinds down on Steve’s lap. 

Steve chokes on a breath. “Y-yeah, fuck. I’ll be so good.”

Then Eddie’s sliding off Steve’s lap, and Steve immediately laments the loss of heat. 

Eddie tilts his head consideringly before commanding, “Take off your pants and lie on your back in the middle of the bed.”

A shiver runs through him before he rushes to comply- undoing his button and zipper before leaning back on the bed to buck them off his hips and down his legs. Then he scrambles to the middle of the bed, laying his head on one of Eddie’s pillows. When he’s done, he looks at Eddie who's stepping out of his own jeans, slowly peeling off his rings and placing them on his desk as he looks Steve over. 

“Fuck, Stevie, look at you.” Eddie starts approvingly, slowly climbing onto the bed. He throws one leg over Steve's hips, caging him between his legs, licking his lips as his eyes roam over the body beneath him, “So obedient for me." He starts moving his hands up Steve's sides, his chest, and back down. "So eager to please. Can’t fucking wait to take you apart piece," he leans down, placing a chaste kiss to Steve's sternum, "by," another kiss to Steve's collarbone, "piece." And one last one to his jaw. 

Steve exhales slowly, eyes falling shut just a moment before there's a rough hand wrapping around the tip of his cloth-covered cock. He sputters on his breath as Eddie's thumb firmly rubs against its head. 

"So hard for me, baby," Eddie mutters into his ear, pressing against him again. "Can’t wait to ride you. Bet you'll fill me up so good. "

Steve moans. "Jesus, Eddie, the mouth on you."

Eddie chuckles, sitting up, "Would you rather it be on something else?"

Steve short circuits, staring at Eddie slack jawed and nodding quickly. 

Eddie tuts. "What did I say about using your words, Stevie?"

"Yes, fuck, please , Eddie, put your mouth on my cock." Steve stammers desperately, "I'll be good, I-I won't move at all."

Eddie grins manically, "So he remembers the rules, huh? Good, cuz I'm gonna add one more." He moves his hand over Steve's boxers again, gripping him where he's able and stroking. "You don't get to cum until I tell you to, can you do that for me?"

Steve whimpers. 

"Answer me, sweetheart," Eddie says.

"Yeah, okay, I'll try not to-"

"No, no, no, this is a do or do not situation."

"What?" 

Eddie sighs exasperatedly, "There is no try, Stevie. You won't cum until I tell you to or you can consider this our last little rendezvous."

In this moment, Steve has two conflicting thoughts: 1. Holy shit, doing this again is an option!? And 2. Oh fuck, I better figure out how the hell to control myself or it won't be. 

"Okay," he nods, "okay I-I won't cum until you tell me to."

Eddie smirks, "That's what I like to hear." 

He leans over Steve to give him one last soft, lingering kiss before moving down the bed. He wastes no time pulling Steve's boxers off in one fluid motion. 

"God, you're even prettier than I remember." Eddie mutters, transfixed on Steve's cock as he steadies himself with his hands on Steve's thighs. Steve gulps in anticipation, watching Eddie leaning in. 

Eddie's tongue runs along the underside of Steve's length, wet and hot, and Steve positively groans , head falling back against the pillow as his vision swims. It takes a lot of effort keeping still as Eddie envelopes his cock in his mouth, hollowing his cheeks and bobbing his head rhythmically. He has one hand wrapped around the base, taking care of what he can't yet fit in his mouth, moving in time with his head.

Steve wants to move, to touch , but, unlike last time, Eddie hasn’t given him permission to tangle his hand in his hair. So, as much as it pains him, Steve carefully keeps his hands at his side, tangled tightly in the comforter instead as Eddie just fucking ravishes him. The way Eddie’s using his mouth should be illegal- sucking and bobbing, coiling that spring in Steve tighter and tighter until-

Eddie's tongue massages beneath the head and over the slit as he pulls away. Steve whimpers and Eddie just smirks down at him as he catches his breath.

“How ya holding up, Stevie?” Eddie husks smugly.

"Are you seriously asking me that right now? " 

Eddie chuckles, “Just checking in.”

Then Steve chokes on his breath as Eddie, the bastard, swallows him down in one motion. Reflexively, his hips snap up, pushing the head of his cock deeper into Eddie’s throat, and, fuck, for half a second, he thinks maybe he’s gotten away with it because Eddie positively moans around him. But then, Eddie pops off of him, pulling away completely from all points of contact so that Steve’s left feeling utterly cold. 

"Shit," he pants as he looks up at the other. "Shit, Eds, I'm sorry. I-I couldn't help- fuck."

Eddie watches him stammer his apologies with a look of disappointment, arms crossed in front of his chest. Then he raises an eyebrow and Steve clams up. 

"You get one, Steve," Eddie says, holding up a finger, " one slip up, but if it happens again, I swear to God I will leave you with the worst case of blue balls you've ever had. Capeesh?" 

Steve nods, "Yeah, yeah, okay. I'll be good, I swear." 

"I’m holding you to that, Harrington.” Eddie drawls, rewrapping a hand around Steve’s length, pumping slowly, “I’ll be awfully disappointed if I don’t get to ride this pretty cock of yours, and you don’t wanna disappoint me, do you?”

“N-no, never want that, fu-ck ,” Steve stutters, eyes fluttering as Eddie twists his wrist at the base. 

Eddie hums, leaning over him to swallow a loud moan, sliding his tongue into Steve’s mouth as he continues pumping Steve’s cock at a dizzying pace. Steve’s hands flex against the bed, aching to do something, to make the other feel as good as he does. 

Because, dammit, Steve Harrington is nothing if not a generous partner. 

“Eddie,” he pants into Eddie’s mouth, “ baby , can I touch you? Please, I just wanna, fuck, wanna make you feel good.” 

“Yeah?” Eddie purrs, nudging his nose against Steve’s cheek, “You wanna make me feel good, Stevie?” 

Steve nods, “Yeah.”

Eddie pulls back enough to peer down at Steve, “Wanna open me up for you?”

Steve's pulse skips and cock twitches at the suggestion. “Fuck yes.” 

Eddie grins, eyes wandering across Steve's face. He removes his hand from Steve's cock to reach past him to the nightstand. After a couple of seconds, Eddie’s sitting back, wiggling a bottle of lube in his hand. 

"Okay, big boy," Eddie drawls, challengingly, tossing the bottle to Steve, "let's see if all that, uh, research pays off." He licks his lips, opening up his arms, "So, how do you want me?”

“Uh,” Steve pauses, looking between the lube in his hand and Eddie, trying to formulate the best course of action, “on your back?” 

Eddie nods, rolling off Steve’s lap and onto his back beside him. Steve moves so he’s between Eddie’s bent knees, looking down at him, lube abandoned at their side. And, fuck, now that he’s here that initial thrill at being able to touch has given way to fraying nerves because, well, it’s becoming glaringly obvious as he looks down at the other that he has no idea what he’s doing.

Well, okay, that may be a little bit of an exaggeration. He knows what girls like, knows how to make them scream til their throats are raw, but Eddie’s very much not a girl. Still, that doesn’t mean the two can’t appreciate the same things, right? After all, Eddie has seemed more than okay with his techniques the other night. Besides, it’s not like he was lying when he said he’d done some research. He’s read a couple magazines here and there, and, though that hardly makes him an expert, he’s at least not going in totally blind. 

Keep it simple, Harrington , he thinks to himself, slowly running his hands up Eddie’s thighs. Eddie’s watching him with interest as he hooks his fingers into Eddie’s boxers; he lifts his hips as Steve pulls them off. 

And, okay, fuck, that is a nice looking cock. Not that Steve has a wide basis of comparison, but still, it makes his mouth water looking at it, so he figures that must count for something.  

"Well you just gonna stare at it all night, Harrington, or are you gonna touch me? " Eddie asks smugly.

Okay, here goes nothing. Steve picks up the lube and squeezes a generous amount in his hand. He moves it around, warming it with his fingers before wrapping it around Eddie’s cock, smoothing it around until his hand glides over him easily. He sets a steady pace, watching as Eddie’s head thumps back on the bed and breath catches in his chest. Steve bends over Eddie, capturing one of his nipples in his mouth and teasing it with his teeth. Eddie groans, tangling a hand in Steve’s hair as he continues. Steve brings his free hand to rub over the other hard stub which rolls beneath his thumb with ease. 

“Yeah, yeah, just like that.” Eddie murmurs, hand in his hair brushing encouragingly. “You’re doing so good for me, baby. Making me feel so good .”

Steve feels a shiver run down his spine at the praise. How the fuck does Eddie have this power over him? 

He pulls away from Eddie’s chest to start marking up his collarbone with rough nips and kisses- hand pumping faster until Eddie is utterly squirming against him.

Then, inspiration strikes and he bites down on Eddie’s collarbone, roughly pressing his thumb into the head of his cock. And, fuck , he is far from disappointed by the reaction he gets. Eddie’s cock positively jumps in his hand as Eddie’s body seizes beneath him, a loud string of curses crashing into the walls. 

Steve smiles against Eddie’s skin before tenderly licking at it. Then there’s a hand on Steve’s wrist, stopping his movements. Steve leans back to look at the other, confused. 

“Stevie, sweetheart,” Eddie pants in a warning tone, “start stretching me now or I’m going to tie you up and do it myself.” 

And, boy, does that threat go straight to his dick. Eddie must notice because his face cracks into a manic grin. 

He chuckles, “You like the sound of that, huh, big boy?” He gently brushes back Steve’s hair.  “Want me to tie you up?” 

Steve nods, dumbly.

“Well, be a good boy for me and we’ll see, yeah?” 

“Okay, I can- I can do that.” 

Eddie licks his lips, fingers gently tracing along Steve’s jaw. “Yeah, I know you can, baby. Now,” his expression turns serious, “get to work.” 

Steve nods, grabbing for the lube and squeezing another glob on his fingers before warming it between them. Then he settles back, looking at his target, and suddenly the nerves are back. 

"Start by spreading the lube around, sweetheart," Eddie instructs.

Steve nods, taking a deep, calming breath before diving in. He does what he's instructed and gently probes at Eddie’s entrance, spending a few seconds rubbing the lube around it, coaxing the muscle to relax even more. 

Eddie hums approvingly, "Good, Stevie, now go ahead and-"

Steve cuts him off by slipping the tip of his finger inside. 

"Yeah, just like that," Eddie sighs when he begins to move, pushing further and setting a slow rhythm. 

For lack of anything better to do with his other hand, he wraps it back around Eddie’s cock and begins matching his own pace. Eddie gasps. Steve watches his breathing become more ragged as he works.

"Another one," Eddie instructs after a time and Steve slips in a second finger. 

And, holy shit, Goddamn , there is something about the way Eddie stretches around him this time- how the heat of him seems to suck his fingers in- that makes Steve dizzy with need.

That’s going to be his cock soon. 

Fuck, he’s going to be inside Eddie Munson. 

The thought has him picking up his pace, scissoring his fingers as he moves them steadily. Then, not really meaning to, he curls them and Eddie lets out a long and low moan that surprises Steve before bringing a smug smile to his face. He repeats the motion, fingers brushing the same spot with a little more pressure, and Eddie sputters on his breath.

Then Eddie laughs breathily, “Fuckin’ figures you’d be good at this, too, Harrington.”

And, oh, does that give his ego a well needed stroke. 

He keeps working, pumping his fingers and hand faster, curling and stretching and stroking and etching every filthy little sound Eddie makes into memory. Before long, Eddie starts grinding back on him.

“Add another one, baby,” Eddie commands lowly. 

And because Steve is such a great listener, he eagerly complies. Eddie throws his head back with a gasp.

“Fuck, Stevie, you’re doing so fucking good for me,” Eddie pants. “Can’t fucking wait for you to fill me up.” 

Steve whimpers, the weight of his neglected cock catching up as Eddie’s words wash over him. He shifts, but it does very little to alleviate his discomfort. Luckily, it isn’t much longer before Eddie’s telling him to stop. 

“‘M ready,” Eddie assures him. “Just lay back down, and I’ll do the rest, okay, baby?” 

Steve moves faster than Eddie’s probably expecting, flopping onto his back and settling into position. 

Eddie chuckles lowly, leaning over him to press a hot trail of kisses across his neck, murmuring against his skin, “So fucking good, Stevie.”

Steve suppresses a shudder as Eddie throws a leg over his hips. Then Eddie’s looking down at him, hands absently rubbing up and down his chest.

“You still want me to tie you up, baby?” Eddie asks.

And suddenly, Steve’s not so sure anymore. The suggestion was hot before, but now that it could actually happen, he just, he’s not-

“You can change your mind, ya know.” Eddie assures him. 

“I do want to, just,” Steve gulps, “maybe not right now?” He frowns, adding, “Sorry.”

“Steve, you never have to be sorry about your boundaries, okay?” Eddie says, soothingly, leaning down to press a soft kiss against his lips. Steve’s heart flutters wildly in his chest.

Then Eddie reaches past him to the nightstand. He sits back, tearing into the wrapper of a condom as he looks appreciatively down at Steve. 

“Fuck, Stevie,” he starts in disbelief, “do you have any idea how fucking hot you are?”

Steve smirks, dragging his eyes over the other's body. “You’re not so bad yourself, there, Eds. Maybe a little rough around the edges, but...”  

“Charmer.” Eddie laughs as he begins rolling the condom down Steve’s cock. 

Steve sucks in a breath when Eddie starts slicking him up with lube. 

“Listen up, Stevie, cuz I’m only gonna say this once,” Eddie starts seriously, languidly pumping his cock, “the same rules apply here as when I suck your cock. No moving, no touching, no cumming unless I say so, understood?”

Steve nods. Eddie raises an eyebrow, and Steve answers aloud. “Y-yes, understood.” 

“Good.” He says, gripping the base of Steve’s cock, one hand steadying himself on Steve's chest as he positions himself over it. Then, slowly, he lowers himself down. 

Steve's eyes roll back as searing heat envelopes him, sucking him inside as Eddie pauses to adjust. Then Eddie's moving again, slowly fucking himself down inch by inch until he's bottomed out, flush against Steve's skin. 

And, holy hell, Steve feels like his entire body's on fire. He's glad Eddie's pausing again, steadying his breath, because Steve feels like he's seconds away from blowing his load, which, not only would be absolutely mortifying but directly defy Eddie's orders. So he gulps in a few calming breaths of his own, eyes opening to find Eddie watching him intently. 

"You good, Stevie?" Eddie asks breathily. 

Steve nods. "Yeah, great."

"Great," Eddie echoes, grinning as he grabs Steve's wrists with either hand. He brings them up, one at a time to place a kiss just beneath Steve's palms. "I want these," he moves them up and over Steve's head, one laying over the other on top of the pillow, "here. Can you do that for me, baby?"

"Yeah," Steve breathes. 

"Good," Eddie says, wearing a lop-sided grin as he sits back. He rolls his hips forward. They both groan. Then, bracing his hands on Steve's chest, he does it again, lifting himself higher before sinking down quickly. Steve's breath gets punched out of him again and again and again as Eddie repeats the motion until he's got a steady rhythm going. 

"Fuck, Steve," Eddie pants, twisting his hips in a way that makes Steve’s vision blur. Eddie’s fingernails are scraping up and down his chest, sparking little trails of electricity in their wake. Then there’s a hand on his wrists, roughly pinning them in place as Eddie leans over him, his hair hanging around them like a curtain. For a moment they just stare into each other’s eyes, and, fuck, Steve really does feel like he’s drowning in them- being swallowed whole by warm pools of chocolate and gold so full of… fuck, something that it’s dizzying. The moment passes, though, as Eddie sweeps down to cover Steve’s mouth with his own. 

Steve's nerves are absolutely thrumming beneath his skin, growing hotter with every minute movement of Eddie's hips, every swipe of his tongue in his mouth. Then Eddie angles his hips in such a way that he’s suddenly jolting forward, pouring a moan into Steve’s mouth as his hole seizes up around him. Steve’s vision whites out for a second, his arms straining against Eddie’s grip as a full body shudder moves through him. His cock aches with the need to cum. Fuck, he doesn’t know if he can-

Suddenly Eddie bites his lower lip hard , effectively forcing his attention away from his dick. 

“Not yet, baby,” Eddie says, slowing down his hips, “hold on just a little longer, yeah?” 

Steve whimpers, but nods. Eddie places one more hard kiss to his lips before sitting back, relinquishing his hold on Steve’s wrists. Steve watches Eddie as he wraps his hand around his cock and starts pumping in time with his hips, picking up speed as he slides up and down Steve’s cock. Eddie sucks in a deep breath, biting at his lower lip as he finds the right angle. His eyes flutter closed, head tilting back as he holds back a moan. And, for a moment, Steve’s utterly transfixed at the sight, because, fuck, right now, like this, Eddie Munson is absolutely,

“Beautiful,” Steve mutters absently. 

Then Eddie stops all movement, blinking down at Steve surprised. Something crosses Eddie’s expression, but Steve doesn’t have a chance to catch it as Eddie starts moving again, clenching sinfully around his length. He throws his head back and moans. It’s not long until Eddie’s pace is utterly brutal. He’s fucking himself on Steve’s cock fast and hard- pumping himself just a quickly as Steve just writhes beneath him. Steve’s muscles are tense and aching as he wills them to stay as still as possible. The heat pooled low in his abdomen is at its boiling point, and he’s really not sure how much longer he can hold out. 

It’s torturous in the most delicious way possible. 

Then Eddie’s thighs tense up around him, he opens his eyes to see Eddie's hips start to stutter.

“Baby, you with me?” Eddie asks, voice raspy. 

Steve nods. “Yeah, ‘m here.”

“You’ve been such a good boy for me, haven’t you, Stevie?”

Steve whimpers as Eddie’s free hand comes to trace gently along his jaw. He nods.

“Ready to cum, baby?”

“Yes, fuck , yes, Eddie, please, ” Steve whines. “I’ve been so good, just, please, baby , let me cum.” 

“Fuck, Steve,” Eddie breathes, legs shaking, “yeah, baby, cum for-”

Steve doesn’t hear the rest as he cums harder than he can remember cumming in his whole life. His mind whites out completely, back bowed off the bed as Eddie’s clenching around him. He half registers screaming something that tastes like Eddie’s name, but he’s too far gone to care. He feels himself leave his body as his ears fill with static. 

After what feels like an eternity, he registers the sound of Eddie saying his name. 

He shakes his head, coming back to himself slowly. “Hm?”

Eddie chuckles, looking down at him, arms on either side of Steve’s head. “I’ll take that as a yes.” 

He leans down to place a chaste kiss to Steve’s lips before rolling to the side, both wincing as Steve slides out of him. 

They lay there in compatible silence, catching their breath side by side until the cum in the condom and on his stomach start to cool and get uncomfortable. Steve groans, sitting himself up to grimace at it. Eddie leans up on his elbows and chuckles. 

“One second,” he says, climbing around Steve to get off the bed and leave the room. Steve peels off the condom and ties it off, half grateful Eddie isn’t there to see just how much he came. Then he swings his legs over the side of the bed and gets to his feet in search of a trash can. His legs almost give out from under him as he moves, but he pushes through it. He finds one under Eddie’s desk and throws in the condom just as Eddie appears in the door with a wet washcloth. He tosses it to Steve, casually leaning in the doorway. Steve catches it with a thanks, eyes slowly raking over Eddie’s naked body as he wipes himself off. God, he looks utterly fucked out. His chest is littered with hickies that Steve put there, his hair is mused and tangled, his skin is glistening with cooling sweat. It makes Steve’s stomach flutter, heat swooping lowly. But, when his eyes get back up to Eddie’s face, he sees the other looking at him anxiously. 

Steve gulps because, fuck, now what? Eddie must be thinking the same thing, judging by the way his eyes are searching Steve’s. 

Steve clears his throat, “That was, um…”

“Yeah, it was.” Eddie smirks then frowns. “Not gonna freak out on me, are you, Harrington?” 

“Why would I do that?”

Eddie shrugs, “It happens.”

And, fuck, does that make Steve’s stomach twist. He doesn’t know what’s worse, the thought of someone freaking out on Eddie or the fact that Eddie seems so okay with it. 

“No, Eddie,” Steve starts assuringly, “I’m not going to freak out on you.”

Some of the tension leaves Eddie’s shoulders, but not all of it as he continues to pin Steve in place with his eyes. 

“So, what do you want here, Steve?” 

And, fuck, isn’t that the question of the hour?

Steve gulps. “I know I wanna do this again.”

“But?” 

Steve shrugs, chest tight because, fuck, he doesn’t know what to say. He likes Eddie, really, he does. But does he like him enough to risk everything? And, yes, he knows how selfish that sounds, how cowardly , but he can’t help it. He’s Steve Harrington, Hawkins’ ladies man who’s been dreaming of a life with six kids and a beautiful wife. He doesn’t see how Eddie can fit into that. But that doesn’t mean he wants to stop whatever this is. 

“Earlier you said ‘we don’t have to make it into anything more than what it was’...” Steve starts, “so can we just, keep it like that?”

“Two friends having a little fun?” Eddie asks, an unreadable expression on his face. 

Steve nods, looking at Eddie imploringly. 

Eddie purses his lips consideringly, tension notably gone from his shoulders now, a look of relief? in his eyes that somehow stings. 

“Okay, Harrington,” Eddie nods, grinning in a way that doesn't quite reach his eyes, “friends it is.”

Chapter Text

Eddie Munson has been having sex with Steve Harrington for nearly a month, and somehow the world has gone on spinning. 

And Eddie is still somewhat surprised by this because the possibility of sex with the King had always been so far-fetched that he thought the world would sooner end. Yet, the sky is just as blue as ever, birds still chirp when he wakes in the morning, and Hawkins is still hot as balls in the middle of June. The only notable differences are the barest shadows of hickies littered across his skin and the residual ache in his back and legs (and the constant knotting and unknotting in his stomach whenever his thoughts drift to the other, but, then again, that's nothing new, so never mind).

Other than that, though, against all odds, life is perfectly normal.

He gets up by mid-morning, goes to work at the diner across town before the lunch rush, leaves around 8:30, then either goes to band practice, Hellfire, or simply home where Steve may or may not be waiting for him. Today’s the exception to that routine, however, as after a long fucking day full of terrible people, Eddie decides to go for a nice long drive. 

Later, he’ll look back on this decision with remorse- will wish he had just gone home and had a stiff drink and joint- but for now, he drives beneath rolling clouds. 

Somehow he ends up sitting at the edge of Lover’s Lake, skipping rocks over its smooth surface. Next week it will be exactly 3 months since Chrissy’s death, and, though he knows it wasn’t his fault, that there was literally nothing he could have done, he still can’t help but feel partially responsible. This sweet girl had come to him for help in her own way, and instead of asking why she was looking for an escape, he just treated her like a sale. He wasn’t mean or cold or anything short of charming, actually, but still, he could have at least pretended to care. It’s stupid and ridiculous because even if she had told him what was going on, he would have thought she was insane, plain and simple. There was no way to help her. It wasn’t his fault. But he still sees her broken body hanging in front of him when he closes his eyes at night, and that makes him feel like he’d failed her somehow. 

It’s not always her, though, in the nightmares. Sometimes it’s Dustin or his Uncle Wayne or even himself. Last night it was Steve and he’d woken drenched in sweat with tears streaming down his cheeks. 

Steve. A knot forms in his throat as he throws another stone, watching it plop and sink in one go. 

This whole ‘friends with benefits’ situation he’s gotten himself into with the other was a bad idea from the start. He knew that, knew that taking Steve back to his trailer at all was a recipe for trouble, but he did it anyway. And then did it again. And again. And again. And each time it gets harder and harder to let him go, to pretend it's all casual. 

And he hates that, hates that it’s not because that’s all he wishes it could be. He doesn’t want any feelings tangled in what they have. It’d be so much easier, he could have his cake and eat it out, too, without ending up with a mangled heart. But Steve had offered all he was willing, and Eddie eagerly took it. At first it really was a relief, the prospect of having Steve Harrington with no strings attached, but then he quickly realized the strings were already there, he just hadn’t wanted to see them and now it was too late to cut them loose. 

Just then, a flash of lightning splits the sky, and Eddie notices for the first time just how dark and heavy the clouds have gotten. A deep rumble of thunder echoes in the distance, not too far off, and suddenly the sky starts wringing out its tears. 

“Shit,” Eddie mutters, getting to his feet. The rain picks up as he jogs back to the van, and he silently hopes he’ll be lucky enough to make it home before the storm really hits. 

But, of course, that hope is quickly crushed. By the time Eddie hits the main road home, the sky has truly opened up above Hawkins. Rain pelts his car in relentless sheets and the sky is blinding with white light every dozen or so seconds as thunderous roars shake the air around him. It's the kind of storm that makes a man feel small in the awe of nature's fury. A humbling and exhilarating experience, certainly, but an absolute bitch to drive in. His wipers are on full speed, and he can still hardly see. His tires are also hydroplaning in the collection of water at the edge of the road, which is fun and totally not gut wrenching at all. 

It's fine, he tells himself, just a few more miles. 

Just then, because the universe seems to have a personal vendetta against him, the front tire on the driver's side blows and he swerves off the road to the shoulder. 

"FffffUCK!" he shouts, slamming his hands on the steering wheel before putting the van in park. He then rests his head against it, not even bothering to care when the horn goes off- the noise effortlessly swallowed up by the storm. After a few minutes of wallowing, he finally sits back to come up with an actual game plan. He has a jack and spare in the back, obviously. Under normal circumstances, he'd have the tire changed in 10 minutes tops. The problem is, there's casually a monsoon outside, and trying to change a tire in that sounds like potential suicide. But where does that leave him? He's just short of five miles from the trailer park, but that walk sounds miserable in this storm. Which leaves the option of simply waiting the storm out in the comfort of his van. And, honestly, that sounds awful. He's tired and grouchy and just wants to be at home in his sweatpants with a cold beer and a Wes Anderson film going. 

But, he really doesn't have much of a choice. So he turns off the car and climbs into the back. He spreads out his comforter and lies down, staring at the paint-chipped ceiling. The wind and rain crash into the thin metal walls, echoing loudly throughout the small space. The thunder is so violent that he feels it in the tips of his fingers and toes. Normally he'd get a good smoke in, but, as fate would have it, he needs to restock so that's not an option. So instead, he sucks in a deep breath and begins humming indistinctly, tapping his fingers across his stomach while the storm rages around him. Then suddenly a strong gust of wind crashes into him, jolting the van precariously.

“Nope.” Eddie says to himself, sitting rod straight and immediately looking for a jacket. The best he finds is a jean one covered in patches, none of which are waterproof. Still, at least it’ll keep him dry for a little while if he holds it over his head. He doesn’t have far to go, anyway, if he’s got his bearings straight; just downhill through the woods till he reaches his new best buddy’s house. Then maybe he can use a phone to call Wayne and give him an update. 

Almost as soon as he’s locked the van behind him, he’s soaked to the bone. The jacket does very little to shelter him from the rain, so now he’s just holding a wet jacket while he jogs off the road. In immediate hindsight, he realizes that traveling downhill in a thunderstorm is absolutely not the smartest decision he’s ever made. He falls on his backside, sliding halfway down the hill through thick mud. He lays his head back for a moment in the mud and just groans while rain washes over his face. He should have stayed in the van. At least there he’d be dry. Sure, there’s a good possibility he’d be swept off the road in a flash flood, or some other driver might crash into him, not to mention that his uncle would be up worried sick. But he’d be dry and relatively clean and his forearm wouldn’t hurt so bad, fuck, he must have scraped it against something. With a heavy sigh, he pushes himself back to his feet and continues on his merry way. 

Luckily, it doesn’t take long for the backside of chez Harrington to come into view. The house is dark, but the patio light is on, illuminating the rain splashing into the pool. When he gets closer, he sees the light on in the window above the garage as well, and he lets out a sigh of relief. This would have been very awkward if he had to wake up Steve’s parents. As it is, however, he makes his way to the garage and loudly raps on the door in the back. A few seconds later, it swings open, revealing a surprised, half-awake Steve Harrington wearing an oversized Hawkins High hoodie and boxers.

“Eddie?” He asks, blinking as if hallucinating. 

“Heya, Stevie!” Eddie grins, leaning in the doorway. “Mind if I come in?”

“Oh, yeah, sorry,” Steve stammers, stepping to the side. Eddie lets himself into the narrow space at the bottom of the stairs. “What are you doing here?”

“Blew a tire up the road, and this was the closest place I could think of to go.” He gulps nervously, looking at Steve, “I hope that’s okay?”

“Yeah, ‘course. Just, uh, if you wouldn’t mind taking off your boots down here.”

Eddie nods and bends to do just that. As he does, he can feel Steve’s eyes on him. 

Then there’s a warm hand wrapping around his wrist and holding up his arm in the light. “Jesus, Eddie,” Steve starts, inspecting the scrape dripping with blood and mud down his arm, “what happened?” 

Eddie looks down at it and shrugs. “Lost a fight with gravity.” 

“You okay?”

“I’ll live.”

Steve looks at him, concerned, then sighs and lets his arm go. “C’mon, let's get you cleaned up.” 

Eddie follows him up the stairs and into a cozy little studio, but his eyes barely have a chance to sweep the small space before he’s being herded into the bathroom beside the stairs. 

"I'll find you some dry clothes if you want to rinse off." Steve tells him. "Or, you're also welcome to use whatever's in there if, I mean, you wanna actually wash up."

Eddie grins gratefully, "Yeah, okay. Thanks, Stevie."

Steve goes to leave Eddie some privacy before stopping in the doorway. "Oh, and my shower is backwards, so it's right for hot, left for cold."

"Thanks for the heads up." 

Steve takes another second to look Eddie over, and Eddie thinks maybe he's going to invite himself in, but he doesn't, just leaves and closes the door behind him. Eddie sighs before peeling off his sopping wet clothes. 

Roughly 10 minutes later, Eddie steps out of the shower- smelling like a respectable young man who will have your daughter home by 8 on the dot, sir- to find a folded set of clothes sitting on the toilet while his pile of dirty ones have disappeared. It’s just a pair of sleeping shorts and a plain white tee, but they’re soft and warm and make him smell like Steve more than he already does. 

When he steps out of the quiet fog of the bathroom and past the stairs, he's greeted by a sight that he's sure will live in his mind rent free for the rest of his days. Steve is in the small kitchen, stirring a pot of something while gently swaying his hips, murmuring along to the song coming through the small radio sitting on the counter. Eddie leans against the wall, arms crossed, trying (and failing) to hold back the rush of emotions coming through his grin, his eyes as he watches Steve’s dance get a little bolder. 

“She’ll let you take her home,” Steve sings lowly, swaying his shoulders now, “mmhmh appetite ,” he starts bobbing his head, tapping his heels, “she’ll lay you on a throoone, she’s got Bette Davis eyes. She’ll take a tumble on you, roll mmhm, hmdada blue, she’s got Bette Davis eyes…” He puts the pan on the stove and starts snapping, “She’ll expose you, when she hmhm you , umnhmnm with the hmmn she hms you . She’s ferocious and she knows just what it takes to make a pro blush. All the boys shm-bdbm, she’s got Bette Davis eyes!” He spins, catches sight of Eddie and immediately stops in his tracks and puts his hands on his hips.

“Don’t stop on my account,” Eddie drawls, grinning widely. 

Steve blushes. “I, uh, didn’t hear you come out.” 

“I’m glad you didn’t, I woulda missed the show.” 

Steve clears his throat, the tips of his ears red as his cheeks as leans to turn down the radio. Then he looks at the pot on the stove and shrugs. “I didn’t know if you were hungry or not, so I made some food. Well, truthfully I was already making it when you got here, but there’s plenty to share…” 

Eddie pushes himself off the wall to swagger over; he nods approvingly at the golden mac’n’cheese heaped inside. “I could eat.” 

“Okay,” Steve says, turning to pull out a couple of bowls from the cupboard. “There’s pop in the fridge or water from the tap if you want something to drink.”

Just then, the house shakes from a violent wind and roar of thunder, lightning blinds them through the curtains. 

“Man,” Eddie starts looking at the window in awe, “it’s really getting intense out there.” 

“Yeah,” Steve agrees, handing him a full bowl and fork, “I should light the candles in case the power goes out.” 

“You got a lot of candles lying around, Harrington?” 

Steve shrugs, digging through a drawer. “Helps set the mood. ”

“I’m sure it does.” Eddie snorts, looking around. 

It's a decent sized little space, even with the slanted roof. The kitchen has a small breakfast bar with wooden stools hanging into the orange carpeted living room. Along the wall beside it are plain wooden shelves built-in from top to bottom, a TV sits cozily in the middle while the rest of the shelves house some movies, tapes, and a sparse collection of books. Sitting across from it is a dark blue print couch and tv tray. On the far side of the room is an unmade bed between a matching pair of wooden nightstands that coordinate with the rest of the furniture because, of course it does. Christ, even the drapes hanging in the giant window opposite the TV match the throw pillows on the couch.

Eddie chuckles to himself as he walks to the window, pulling back the curtain to peek at the raging storm beyond. Steve is moving around him, lighting candles in strategically placed areas. In no time, the whole space has a soothing vanilla and spice scent that he’s grown to associate with Steve. Jesus, at this rate he’s going to leave here with a haircut and skinny jeans. 

The building shakes again as another body trembling roll of thunder crashes into it. Lightning flashes through the room, the lights flicker, then they're shucked into the soft glow of the candlelight- the suddenly dead radio diving them into the tune of the storm.

“Huh,” Steve starts, shaking a match in front of the final candle beside the bed, “good timing, I guess.” 

Eddie snorts, fully pulling the curtain to the side. He slowly backs up until the back of his legs hit the back of the couch, watching the rain pelt into the glass while bringing a forkful of noodles to his mouth. 

He really does love thunderstorms. They make him feel so small, like looking up at the milky way in the middle of a field on a clear night. And it’s comforting, that insignificance, that assertion that in the grand scheme of things, what he does with his little life doesn’t matter. It gives him permission to live the way he wants- dress, act, love the way he wants. It’s equal parts liberating and terrifying. 

Suddenly, there’s a couch cushion plopping down in front of his feet. He blinks, looking at Steve who’s dropping a second one on the floor and pushing it against the couch before setting his bowl in the middle of it. Then he crosses to the window and pulls back the other curtain, fully exposing the window and the lightshow beyond it. Eddie watches him in fascination when he turns around.

“What?” Steve asks, hands on his hips. “I thought we could watch the storm.”

Eddie’s heart flutters as the floor simultaneously drops from under him, because, fuck, no, no, no, Eddie, you can not go down that road… any further than you already have.  

Steve deflates a little, and Eddie realizes that he’s been staring like a fucking moron.

“Yeah,” he quickly says, kicking his own cushion against the couch. His mouth curves into a lopsided smile, “Sounds great, Stevie.” 

Steve nods as another boom of thunder rolls through. Eddie swallows his butterflies and sits on his cushion as Steve comes back and pulls the blanket from the back of the couch. He scoops up his bowl and plops down, offering one end of the blanket to Eddie who graciously takes it. They sit there in compatible silence, shoulder to shoulder as they eat and watch the lightning show. 

“You know,” Steve starts a few minutes in, “I used to be scared to death of thunderstorms.” 

Eddie looks at him, “No way.” 

“Yep,” Steve nods, “I would, uh, scream until my mom came and got me. Actually, there was one night when the storm was so bad that my mom couldn’t even hear me, so I just sat up all night crying.”

Eddie laughs.

“Oh, okay,” Steve starts, mock-offended, “so my childhood trauma is somehow funny to you, huh, Munson?”

“Sorry,” Eddie shakes his head, looking at Steve, “it’s just hard to imagine. I mean, I literally watched you tear into an interdimensional demon bat with your teeth .”

“Yeah, well,” Steve shrugs, “people change.”

“If that ain’t the fucking truth…” 

“What about you, Eds?”

“What about me?”

“What was something you were scared of growing up?” 

Eddie lets out a puff of air from cheeks, “U.F.Os?”

Steve snorts, “Seriously?”

“Well, of course this was before I realized there were plenty more things on Earth to be scared of instead.” Eddie sighs, setting aside his empty bowl and leaning back, “ Now , if I were to encounter a being from another world, I would just open my arms and ask them to beam me the fuck up.” 

“What if it was one of those Xenomagnio things?” 

Eddie chuckles because, well, he tried , got so close, but still somehow missed the mark. “A Xenomorph?”

Steve rolls his eyes, “Whatever.” 

“Hm, you raise an interesting point there, Stevie: is it better to know how you’re going to die with one alien species or take your chances on potentially not dying with another?” Eddie muses whitsfully. 

Steve furrows his brow, “You lost me.” 

“What I mean is: sure, your abductors might be monstrous parasites ready to annihilate life as we know it or they might simply be explorers interested in understanding our way of life who will take you to see the universe with them to discover new lifeforms in new galaxies.”  Eddie pauses, arm outstretched toward the window, “Would the potential experience be worth the risk?” 

Then there’s a hand reaching for his, pulling it back until it’s in front of Steve’s chest. Steve rubs his thumb over Eddie’s knuckles, looking at it consideringly while Eddie tries to keep his heart from jumping out of his chest. 

“Would you really leave everything here behind on the off chance you wouldn’t get an alien parasite in your chest?” 

Eddie tries to smile, but it feels more like a pathetic twitch of his lips, “It’s not like I’ve got a lot for me here anyway.”

“That’s not true,” Steve says quietly and frowns. “What about your uncle? Dustin? Hellfire?” Then he looks at Eddie through his stupidly long eyelashes and gulps like he’s stopped himself from saying something else. “The people who care about you. Would you really leave all of them behind?” 

Fuck, fuck, fuck, abort, abort, Munson, jump ship while you can!

Eddie clears his throat, shrugging, “Guess we’ll never know, will we?” 

Steve shakes his head, smiling, “Never say never, Eds. I mean, a couple years ago, I would have thought having a psychic tentacle man killing people to open interdimensional portals would be in the realm of ‘never gonna happen’.”

Eddie laughs, “Fair point.” 

They fall back into silence, watching the raging storm while Eddie remains intimately aware of his hand still warmly nestled between Steve’s in the other’s lap. It’s dangerous in the nicest, sweetest, deceivingly safest way possible. He wants to bask in it, eat it up while he can, because he’s selfish, he’s hungry, and he wants so badly. But he can’t.

It’s already going to hurt when it’s over, why make it any worse?

Still, Eddie doesn’t pull away, isn’t strong enough to save himself in this moment. 

“When do you leave?” Steve breaks the silence in a small voice. 

Eddie sucks in a breath, “End of August, hopefully.”

“That’s when Robin’s going, too.” Steve leans his head back against the couch, “Then it’s just gonna be me and the kids.” 

“Eh,” Eddie bumps his shoulder into Steve’s, trying to lighten up the mood, “they’re not so bad.”

“No, they’re not, but still…” Steve holds in a breath before letting it out in a huff. “Never mind, it’s stupid.” 

“What is?” Eddie prods, turning slightly to give Steve his full attention. 

“It’s just,” Steve frowns, “everyone’s moving on, ya know? Robin, Nance, even fucking Jonathan are off to college. You are going and actually doing something with your life, and I’m just-”

“Hang on,” Eddie interrupts, snorting, “what makes you think I’m doing anything with my life? I’ve got no plans other than getting the fuck outta here.” 

“Still more than what I’ve got going on.” 

“So do something about it.” 

“Like what?”

“I don’t know, but it’s your life, Steve,” he gently reaches out to brush back the other’s hair, trying not to think about how fucking  ethereal he looks in the candlelight, “you’re the only one who can live it. So, make it what you want.” 

Then Steve is surging forward, catching Eddie completely off guard with his lips. 

And Eddie just

melts.

And they’ve done this so often that he knows exactly how to relax his jaw, to slide his tongue in between Steve’s parted lips- knows how much Steve likes it when he brings his hand to cup his neck, pulling slightly on the roots of his baby hairs, pressing his thumb against his throat as he lays claim to his mouth. It’s a practiced tactic, but just as exhilarating, as dizzying as the first time. His other hand is still awkwardly interlaced with Steve’s just a few more moments before Steve releases it to tangle his hand in Eddie’s hair, which leave’s Eddie’s free to wrap around Steve’s waist. It’s not the most comfortable position, there’s far too much space between them, but Eddie doesn’t care because this moment - with Steve kissing him in the candlelight, the rain tapping against the window, the low timbre of thunder rolling through the air- is absolutely perfect.

And distantly, he knows he should be scared of that, of how right it feels. But right now, all he cares about is the heat of Steve’s mouth, his touch as they maneuver themselves closer, blanket discarded thoughtlessly on the floor. Somehow, Steve ends up in Eddie’s lap, haphazardly discarding his hoodie behind him before leaning back in for another drawn out kiss. His hands move beneath Eddie’s shirt, insistently hiking it up. Eddie chuckles, making quick work of shucking off and throwing it in the general direction of Steve’s. When he looks back, Steve’s eyes are roaming over him hungrily as if he hasn’t seen him shirtless a dozen times. 

His hands are hovering over Eddie’s chest as he looks at Eddie imploringly, “Can I?”

“Yeah,” Eddie nods. Then Steve’s hands are on him, running down his chest, up his sides, exploring until he runs over a tender spot right on the backside of his waist. Eddie winces, and Steve immediately backs off.

“You okay?”

“‘M fine,” Eddie assures, “just got a little roughed up going down that hill.” 

“You fell down a hill?” 

“How do you think I got mud all over me?” 

“I thought you just tripped, not slid down an entire fucking hill. ”

Eddie shrugs, “Same difference.”

Steve just rolls his eyes before leaning back in for another kiss. Then he lifts up Eddie’s arm, turning it over to inspect the scrape there. It’s still a little raw, but stopped bleeding in the shower, so, really, it’s nothing to write home about. Still, Steve places a tender kiss on it that sears the sensitive skin. “Any other injuries I should know about?” 

“It’s just a few bruises on my back, baby,” Eddie purrs, wrapping his hand back in Steve’s hair to pull him in, “nothing to worry about.” 

Steve kisses him indulgently for a few minutes before pushing away and rolling to his feet. He extends a hand to Eddie who eagerly takes it to be pulled up as well. Then they’re drawn back to each other like magnets, desperate for contact. But it’s unhurried in a way that’s unfamiliar to them- all firm caresses and drawn out kisses as Steve slowly directs them to the bed. Eddie’s hands slide down Steve’s back to the waistband of his boxers, roughly tugging them down. Without breaking the kiss, Steve steps out of them then does the same to Eddie’s (his) shorts. Steve’s legs hit the edge of the bed, and he breaks away from Eddie to crawl back til he’s in the middle of it, and Eddie wastes no time following him. He covers Steve’s body with his own, caging the other in with his forearms on either side of Steve’s head. Steve gently pushes one side of his hair back, tucking it behind his ear before tracing along his jaw. 

“You know,” Steve starts, smiling sweetly, “you really are beautiful, Eddie.” 

Butterflies explode in Eddie’s chest, throughout his body as he just stares dumbfoundedly at the other because, fuck , what’s he supposed to do with that!? It’s not the first time Steve’s called him that, but they had been in the throws of sex, so it’s been easy to write it off. But this? This feels like too much, too meaningful, too close to the fire. 

Luckily, however, Steve doesn’t seem to be expecting a reply because he’s leaning off the bed to press a kiss to Eddie’s lips. Eddie can’t help but relax into it, pressing back until Steve’s head is comfortably back on his pillow. He kisses Steve’s cheek before bending to whisper in his ear. 

“Tell me what you want, baby.” He says before placing a wet kiss on the hinge of Steve’s jaw.

“I want you to fuck me,” Steve says huskily. 

And, just like that, his half-hard cock becomes quite a bit more rigid because, holy fuck yes please, he wants that. But, it’s not something they’ve done before, so he leans back to double check.

“You sure?” 

Steve frowns, “Unless you don’t want-”

“Oh, trust me, baby, that’s not the problem,” Eddie smirks. “I just wanna be sure that’s what you want.”

“Yeah, fuck, yes , Eds,” Steve nods vigorously, “ Please fuck me.”

And, really, how can he say no to that? He grins widely, leaning down for a chaste kiss before asking, “Lube? Condoms?”

Steve nods toward the right hand nightstand. “Top drawer.” 

Eddie nods, leaning over to rummage through for the small tube and wrapper. When he sits back, Steve has widened his legs and bent his knees up, waiting with his hard cock standing at attention. 

“Fuck, baby,” Eddie starts, running a barely-there stroke up Steve’s dick, “already so hard for me, aren’t you? So eager. ” 

He bends to kiss him hotly.

“Eds?” Steve starts into Eddie’s mouth. Eddie pulls back and raises his eyebrows. Steve licks his lips, “Will you tie me up this time? I’ve got neckties in my top drawer.”

Eddie drops his head to Steve’s shoulder and groans because, fuck, it sure is a night of firsts, isn't it? At this rate, this guy’s gonna be the death of him. “Yeah, Stevie, I can do that.” 

He rolls off the bed, hissing at his strained erection, he spits in his hand to give himself a few pumps on his way to the dresser in the open closet. Sure enough, there’s a nice little row of ties rolled in the corner of the drawer. Eddie browses for a second before deciding on the crimson one. When he turns back toward the bed, he slowly unravels the tie, pulling it taunt between his hands. He can see Steve lick his lips, eyes blown wide as he watches Eddie stalk closer. Eddie climbs back on the bed, swinging a leg over Steve’s waist.

“Arms over your head,” Eddie commands lowly. 

Steve gulps, obeying so quickly, it sends a hot shiver up Eddie’s spine. Fuck, he’ll never get used to the thrill of watching Steve submit so eagerly. 

“Yeah, just like that, baby,” he purrs, running his hands up Steve’s arms, stopping at his wrists. Eddie expertly wraps the satin cloth around Steve's wrist, tying it securely with plenty of tail. "Want me to tie you to the headboard, too, or you just wanna stay like this?"

"Headboard. Please." 

Eddie grins, grabbing the extra tail of the tie and looping it around a slat of the headboard, pulling on it so Steve's arms are stretched higher above his head. Once that's also tied securely, Eddie sits back to admire his work. He was right, crimson's a good color on Steve- a sharp contrast to his soft skin. How he'd love to see him with a matching blindfold or gag. 

But, fuck, that's getting a little ahead of himself. 

"Ready for me to open you up, baby?" Eddie asks, slowly moving down Steve's body, nails dragging with him. 

"Yes, fuck, Eds, please, " Steve stammers, watching him. Eddie leans past Steve to grab the extra pillow.  

Once Eddie's back between Steve's bent legs, he places the pillow beneath Steve's lower back before he grabs the lube. Without looking away from Steve's dilated eyes, he pours it in his left hand, rubbing his right fingers through it until they’re generously slick. Then he uses his left hand to start massaging Steve’s balls, Steve sputters on a breath. As he does that, Eddie prods at Steve’s entrance, rubbing soothing circles around the tight ring.

“Stevie,” Eddie starts gently, “baby, you gotta relax for me.” 

Steve nods, taking a deep breath and relaxing his body. Eddie moves his hand from Steve’s balls to stroking his cock languidly as a distraction as he slips the first finger into him. He pauses for a moment, letting Steve get used to the feeling before he starts moving at the same slow pace as his strokes. He goes at that speed until Steve’s ready for a second finger, then he picks up a little bit, slowly scissoring his fingers between pumps. Steve pants, arms straining against the tie, legs flexing around Eddie as he works. Eddie turns his face to pepper them with kisses between soft praises of “So good for me, baby”. Then he curls his fingers just the right way, and Steve practically screams, hole clenching around Eddie’s fingers.

“There you are,” Eddie murmurs smugly. He sets a pattern, brushing that spot in Steve every other time before adding a third finger. Steve positively moans at the stretch, grinding his hips back. Eddie stops. 

“Steve,” he says warningly. 

“Fuck, sorry,” Steve pants, pointedly stilling himself, “just feels so good. ” 

“Well, if you want it to feel a lot better, you’ll keep yourself still, yeah?” 

“Yeah, okay, I- I’ll be good.” 

You always are, Eddie thinks, heart squeezing in his chest as he picks up his movements again. It isn’t long until Steve is well stretched and whimpering beneath him. Eddie pulls out his fingers and wipes them on the pretty blue comforter before grabbing the condom and tearing it open with his teeth. He groans lowly as he rolls it on his neglected cock, eyes fluttering shut a moment. When he opens them again, he finds Steve watching him as if he could swallow him whole. And it does things to Eddie that he doesn't want to examine any closer. 

So he pours some more lube in his hand, spreading it around his cock then using the excess around Steve's hole. He grabs Steve's legs, placing them one at a time over his shoulders as he aligns himself with Steve's entrance. 

He holds onto Steve's hips, looking at Steve, eyebrows raised, "You ready, baby?" 

Steve gulps, nodding. "Yeah, yeah 'm ready."

Eddie slowly rolls his hips forward, pushing the tip of his cock inside Steve's entrance. He pauses, resisting the urge to bury himself the rest of the way so that Steve can get comfortable. Once he feels Steve start to relax, he slowly inches himself forward until he's completely sheathed by Steve's tight heat. He stops again, watching as Steve wriggles against his restraints, chest notably tight. 

"Steve, baby," Eddie coos, placing a kiss to the inside of Steve's knee, "breathe."

Steve sucks in a breath, laying his head back and forcing himself to relax. 

"Again." Eddie commands, and Steve listens, taking two more deep breaths, each time relaxing further and further. 

"Okay, okay," Steve pants, "you can move."

Thank fuck. Eddie pulls back and rolls his hips forward experimentally. Steve gasps while he hardly holds back a groan. He repeats the action, pulling out a little further and pushing back in a little faster. Steve moans sinfully as a loud crash of thunder rolls through the space. 

Well, apparently the storm's picked up again. And with it comes the resurgence of insistent hammering of rain on the window, the roof, walls. 

Eddie finds a rhythm in it, snapping his hips in time with the raging storm around them until Steve is a writhing mess beneath him. 

"Eddie, Eds, fuck, so good, so good," Steve chants, head bowed back, eyes unfocused on the ceiling, arms pulling against the tie. Watching him so gone makes Eddie's chest swell with warmth and he's suddenly overwhelmed with the need to taste those heady sounds. 

He drops one of Steve's legs, hooking it around his waist before leaning over the other. His hips keep up their ruthless pace as he places his hand beside Steve's head and swoops down to taste his name on Steve's tongue. Steve slacks his jaw, automatically submitting to Eddie's mouth.  

"Steve," Eddie murmurs into the other's mouth, "so fucking good. " He moves to Steve's jaw and Steve tilts his head to accommodate. Eddie groans into his skin before nipping at it. " Steve. " 

The tension in his body keeps coiling tighter and tighter, but he's not ready for it to be over yet, so he slows down his thrusts, which makes Steve absolutely whimper.  

"Eddie, please ," Steve whines, face illuminated by a crack of lightning. 

"Shh, baby," Eddie starts, wrapping his free hand around Steve's cock and moving it in time with his hips, "I'll take care of you."

He begins leaving a trail of hot nips and kisses down Steve's throat (nothing hard enough to leave marks above the collar ever since Steve's boss yelled at him for looking 'unprofessional' , much to Eddie's disappointment). But once he does get to Steve's collarbone, he bites hard and Steve's body bows into him. 

"Fuck, Ed- AH! " Steve gets cut off by Eddie roughly snapping his hips into him, thrusting his cock deep and rubbing against that spot that makes Steve scream and clench around him. 

Eddie moans, rolling his hips at the same angle, making Steve sputter through another loud shout. 

Steadily, Eddie builds back up his brutal pace, fucking into Steve with pistoning hips that bang the headboard into the wall loudly. Steve is a stammering, serpentine, straining, sweat-coated wreck whose cock is so slick with precum, Eddie knows it's just gonna take one word to get him off. 

And he's almost there himself. 

Just a little faster, a little harder , a little more of an angle and, fuck

"Baby," he pants, "you ready to cum?"

Steve nods, viciously biting on his lower lip. 

"Okay, fuck," Eddie's hips stutter forward, but he barely hold himself back, "okay, baby, cum for me." 

And Steve cums hard in his hand, spilling onto his stomach. When he does, he spasms around Eddie in a way that just launches him over the edge. 

His vision blacks out til all he sees are brightly colored shapes. He collapses his head onto Steve's shoulder, desperately chasing his breath as feeling slowly returns to his body. 

"Holy shit, Eddie," Steve pants. A rumble of thunder moves around them and Eddie chuckles into Steve's shoulder before rolling to the side. He slides out of Steve with a hiss and just lays there, getting lost in the afterglow accented by the storm. 

After what feels like an eternity, Eddie feels himself starting to drift off, which promptly urges him into action. He pushes himself up with a groan, throwing his feet over the side of the bed. His legs are Jello, but he's been in worse condition, so he muscles through to the bathroom, stopping on the way to pick up a candle as a light. He pulls off the condom, throws it away, does his business, and wets a washcloth. 

When he gets back to the bed, he takes a second just to appreciate the view. Steve's still tied up, eyelashes fanned across his cheekbones as his breath comes in steadily. Eddie smiles at how thoroughly fucked he looks. From the wrists limp in their restraint to the sweat slicked hair to the mark on his collarbone and the utter exhaustion in his limbs- all of it brings on a possessive feeling in Eddie that has no right to be there. 

Eddie pushes down the feeling, tightening his jaw before gently pressing the washcloth into Steve's stomach. Steve startles, eyes snapping open. 

"Just me," Eddie says, wiping him up. Steve lets out a breath, settling back down. Once Eddie's done cleaning him up, he unties his wrists. Steve sighs in relief, bringing them to his chest. 

"Thanks," Steve says, rolling them out. 

"Anytime," Eddie drawls. 

Steve looks at him, smirking, asking hoarsely, "Promise?" 

Eddie snorts. "I'm gonna go get you some water. "

In the kitchen, Eddie downs a glass and half of his own water before filling a glass for Steve. Once he hands off the glass, he starts walking around the space, blowing out candles one at a time and flicking off the light switch in case the power comes back on. It’s dark when he’s done, but his eyes have mostly adjusted, plus the intermittent lightning helps guide him back to the bed. He goes up the left side, grabs a pillow, when there’s a hand on his, keeping him from pulling away. Eddie looks at Steve who’s watching him anxiously.

“Stay with me?” Steve asks.

And, fuck, alarms are going off in his head.

But, here's the thing: sharing a bed to sleep isn't an inherently intimate act. He's shared beds with friends before and thought nothing of it. This isn't any different. Steve is a friend who is just being nice. There's no need to make it weird.

Only, Steve is Steve, and he makes Eddie feel all these things he shouldn't feel about a just friend . Things that are easier to ignore when they can just fuck and move on, not when they're basking in each other's body heat and falling asleep to the sounds of the other's steady breathing. It’d be safer to keep his distance, to politely decline Steve’s invitation and take the couch.

But, fuck, he’s weak.  

So he tucks himself in the bed beside the other. 

And he stays.

And, as Steve wraps an arm around his waist, pulling himself closer, he does everything in his power to pretend like everything’s okay. 

When he wakes the next morning, the sun is shining brightly through the open curtains, reflecting off the TV and somehow straight into his eyes. He groans, going to throw an arm over his face only to find out it's being held down by Steve's resting on his chest. His other arm is bent beneath his head, the feeling all but gone from it. 

With that comes the slow assessment of their positions. Steve is curled into his body, head resting beneath his chin, hand pinning Eddie's wrist to his chest. Steve's leg is hooked into his, too- a heavy weight that's going to be tough to maneuver out of. But he's gotta try. 

Because if he doesn't, he'll never want to leave. And it's a very dangerous place to be. 

So, slowly, Eddie starts to untangle- to pull away in a way that's not going to disturb Steve. He tells himself it's for the best, Steve doesn't really want to wake up to him anyway. They don't have that kind of relationship. Once he's successfully removed himself, he can't help his eyes wandering over the other, so peaceful and soft and completely untouchable. Still, because no one is looking and because he allows himself so few things, he swoops down to place a light kiss to Steve's head. Steve hums contentedly, nuzzling deeper in his pillow, and Eddie’s heart fucking seizes. 

The sooner he leaves, the better. 

He moves silently through the space, collecting the hoodie Steve had discarded the night before and the shorts he’d been given because the tee shirt has the cum washcloth on it and he doesn’t want to risk rummaging through drawers. He’ll just have to get his clothes back later. So he pulls the stolen articles on, grabs his keys, pads downstairs, pulls on his muddy boots without socks (that’s definitely going to haunt him later), and slips silently out the door. 

It’s a much shorter hike back to the van in the daylight, and he’s relieved to see it upright and in one piece, well, relatively speaking. It’s still in the early hours of the day, so there are no cars on the road as he changes his tire, which is good because he’s not sure how he feels about anyone seeing him like this- a grey TIGERS hoodie with green and gold basketball shorts and black mud covered combat boots. Once the tire’s done, Eddie hits the road and heads straight for home. 

Wayne’s car is parked out front when he pulls up, and he just knows he’s waiting up for him. Fuck, he can’t believe he forgot to call last night! Granted, the power was out most of the time, but he could have called somewhere between watching Steve sing along to the radio and eating mac’n’cheese. He takes a bracing breath before opening the door. Sure enough, his uncle is on the couch, head slumped to the side while the TV drones on about last night’s storm. As soon as the front door clicks closed, he stirs. 

“Eddie?” He asks, blinking his eyes open. 

“Hey, Uncle Wayne,” Eddie waves pathetically. 

“Where have you been,” he asks, sitting up to click the remote, muting the TV, “I’ve been worried sick.” 

Eddie sighs, “Sorry, my tire blew on the way home last night so I stayed at a friend’s. I would have called, but the phones were down because of the storm.” 

His uncle studies him a moment before asking, “Which friend?” 

Eddie gulps, “Steve.”

“Harrington?” He tilts his head curiously, “Been spending a lot of time with him, lately.” 

“Well,” Eddie shrugs, “guess we have more in common now than we did in high school.” 

Wayne hums, unconvinced. After an uncomfortable minute under his knowing gaze, he asks, “You’re being safe , right?”

“Jesus, Uncle Wayne,” Eddie groans, pinching his brow and hoping against hope that the earth will just open him up and swallow him whole. He’ll take the Upside Down over this any day. “It’s not like that, okay? We’re just friends.”

“Those aren’t your clothes.”

“Mine got messed up in the rain last night.” 

“Eddie,” Wayne starts in that parental ‘I see through you’ kind of tone, “you know I’m not judging you, never have and never will- not over something like this. You’re an adult, you make your own decisions. But I’m not stupid, so don’t treat me like I am.”

“Uncle Wayne, seriously -”

“All I ask, Eddie, is that, while you live with me, you’ll let me know if you’re gonna be out all night. After what happened with everything in the spring…” he pauses, shaking his head, “I can’t stand the thought of losing you again, okay?” 

Eddie nods. 

“Good,” Wayne nods, “now go change," he grins, trying to lighten the mood, "this isn’t your best look.” 

Eddie tries to chuckle, but it doesn't really make it past his lips. He turns toward his room, guilt-ridden and mortified at the same time, a real Wayne Munson specialty and it’s not even noon. 

And it's not that his uncle doesn't mean well, it's just that he can always see straight through Eddie's bullshit and has no problem calling him out on it. It's unsettling because no matter how well Eddie can lie to himself, Wayne will always make him admit the truth, sooner or later.

And right now, there are more than a few truths he's not ready to accept.

Chapter Text

Eddie’s gone when Steve wakes up, and, honestly, he can’t say he’s surprised. Eddie’s made it pretty clear where they stand, and, fuck, Steve has no right to even be hurt by it. He’s the one who set those parameters in the first place. 

He flops over in bed, spreading his arms as he looks up at the ceiling. Eddie’s side is still somewhat warm, which means he must have left not too long ago. Steve wonders what it would have been like to catch him before he went, to be the first one awake instead. He likes to imagine that he’d have made breakfast (by that, of course, he means setting out cereal and milk) but, if he’s being honest with himself, he probably would have just panicked. Because doing something like that would be a definitive shift in their dynamic, even more than whatever the hell last night was. And he’s still not sure if he’s ready for that- if Eddie would even let it happen. 

So, yeah, Eddie’s gone and Steve has to admit he’s equal parts disappointed and relieved. 

He sits up with a groan, his body protesting every movement as he swings his legs off the bed. Last night had been… a lot in a lot of ways, but right now Steve doesn’t want to look at anything beyond the physical. His body aches throughout and his ass feels like it was beaten to hell, which isn’t entirely an exaggeration. 

After he cleans up a little bit- puts the dishes in the sink and replaces the couch cushions, he allows himself a nice long shower. The warm water does wonders on his aching muscles, and he tilts his face up into the stream, trying not to think about how Eddie had been in there not long ago- using his shampoo for those long locks, scrubbing down that body with his soap, stepping out and wearing his clothes, smelling like his home, eating his food, fucking into his body- and, well, so much for not thinking about it because now all he’s thinking about is Eddie and how warm it made him feel when he saw him looking so at home in his space. 

Like he belonged there. 

Like maybe he wanted to.

Steve finishes his shower quickly after that. 

The next day brings another slow shift at Family Video, which really does wonders for Steve’s habit of overthinking. While he’s rewinding returns, he thinks about everything he told Eddie the other night. About feeling left behind. Thinks about how Eddie had looked at him like he could have anything if he asked as he told him to live life how he wants. 

While he restocks the shelves, he thinks about Eddie talking about aliens and insignificance and thinks about how heart wrenching it was to hear Eddie say he doesn't have anything here, and how he wishes he could make it so Eddie never felt that way again. And then he’s thinking about how he would do that, and what that would mean , and if Eddie would ever let him.

While he puts out the new releases, he thinks about how fucking right it felt kissing him, touching him, just fucking talking to him. Thinks about how Eddie had treated him like something special, had held him through the night. 

Maybe if he had stayed…  The thought comes unbidden and Steve groans, annoyed with himself because these lines of thought aren’t going to help him at all. He shakes his head, stretching his back as he straightens up, which pops loudly in a few places.

“Jeez, Old Timer,” Robin starts, raising an eyebrow, “what’s wrong with you?”

Steve sighs heavily, assuming she’s talking about his gloomy mood. “Eddie was over the other night and-”

“Okay, that’s already too much information.”

“ And it was weird.”

"The sex was weird?”

“What? No, the sex was…” he trails off with a wistful look in his eye than has Robin gagging.

“Ew.” She grimaces. Steve frowns and she sighs. “Okay, so what was weird?”

“I don’t know, just, like, everything else?”

“Bad weird?”

“No, but that’s what’s so weird .”

“Oh my God, Steve, you’re not making any sense right now.” She says, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Would you just tell me what happened without the explicit details?” 

Steve goes on to share with her all the PG parts of the evening- from opening the door on Eddie soaking wet to waking up to an empty bed. He’s not sure what he’s expecting from Robin, maybe some validation for his conflicting emotions. When he’s finished he looks at her expectantly while she just looks at him confused. 

“So,” she starts, “your very pointedly not boyfriend showed up on your doorstep for help because his tire blew in a storm and you’re upset that he one-night-standed you?”

“Well, jeez, when you say it like that it doesn’t make sense.”

“Because it doesn’t.” Robin sighs. “Steve, if you’re so insistent on ‘just being friends’ why do you care so much that he left without saying goodbye?”

“It’s not that I care, it’s just that…”

“What?”

Steve shrugs. “You know…”

“No I don’t. Explain it to me.”

“It’s the principle.”

“What principle?”

Steve opens his mouth a couple different times to answer, but comes up with nothing. 

Robin takes a deep breath, bringing her hands together like a prayer. “Okay, let me help you out here, Steve: maybe you’re upset because you actually have feelings for Eddie- a guy you’ve been sleeping with for almost a month, who you actually like as a person and who obviously likes you back .” 

“That’s not- I mean- I don’t like him like that, okay?” Steve stammers. “And- and he doesn't obviously like me like anything. In fact, I'd say he definitely doesn’t , so…”

“Have you talked to him about it?” 

“Why would I do that?” 

She gives him a withering look, “Seriously?” 

Steve frowns, “I don’t wanna mess up what we have.” 

“So are you admitting that you do have feelings for him and you're just scared what his response would be?” 

“No, because I don’t have feelings for him." He does. He knows he does, even if they’re not as deep as Robin’s implying. But knowing that is as pointless as freeform jazz, so he's content actively denying it. "I mean, not any more than as a friend .”

“Holy Christ , you are so difficult.” Robin rolls her eyes and groans. “Fine.” She marches over and pulls out the phone. “So call him and invite him to the drive-in with us tonight.” 

"What?" He blinks. “Why?”

“It’s a very friends thing to do, isn’t it? And you are friends , right?”

“Robin, we’re not really that kind of friends.” 

“Why not? Have you tried it?” When Steve doesn’t answer, she sighs. “Steve, look, I’m just saying that if you’re really so convinced that you only like Eddie as a friend, then try doing something other than sleeping together- something, ya know, friend-like - and see how you feel then.” 

Steve crosses his arms. 

“Okay, how about this,” Robin groans, “ if I’m wrong and you really, truly, do not have anything other than platonic feelings when you’re done, then I will cover any one shift you want the rest of the summer, no questions asked, including a Back to School night.”

That's a good deal, honestly, because Back to School nights are hell on earth, and Steve's certain she's going to lose.

Because, so far he's been great at pretending to be completely casual with Eddie, so what's one night out? He’ll totally be able to make it through and just go on as though the fact that Eddie doesn’t feel the same, that he’s leaving in a couple of months doesn’t eat him up inside.

Steve gulps. She raises her eyebrows, wiggling the phone receiver in her hand. 

“Fine.” Steve concedes, taking the phone. He pulls out the phone book and looks up Munson while Robin buzzes at his side. 

“Hello?” A deep voice picks up on the fourth ring. 

“Uh, hi Mr. Munson,” Steve starts awkwardly, “Is Eddie there?”

“Who’s askin’?”

“Steve, uh, we’re friends from-”

“Oh, I know who you are,” Mr. Munson says ominously. 

“Oh, okay… um, is Eddie available?” 

There’s a long pause before Steve hears a muffled, “Eddie, that Harrington kid’s on the phone for you.” 

A few seconds later, Eddie’s voice comes through the receiver. “Steve?”

“Hey, Eddie.”

“Aren’t you at work?” 

“How do you know that?”

“You always work Thursdays.” 

“You know my schedule?” Steve doesn’t know why, but he finds himself biting back a smile, shifting the phone to rest between his shoulder and ear. “That’s pretty stalkerish of you, Munson.” 

“Yeah, well, someone’s gotta keep tabs on the King. How else will your loyal subjects stay in the know?”

Steve snorts, shaking his head. “You’re really doing God’s work, there.”

"I do what I can."

Robin rolls her eyes and clears her throat. When he looks at her, she raises her eyebrows. 

“Um, so anyway,” he starts awkwardly, “what are you doing tonight?”

There’s a long pause on the other end. “Tonight?”

Steve gulps, “Yeah, um, Robin and I were just going to go to the drive-in and I thought, ya know, maybe you’d want to come along?” 

Another pause, shorter this time. 

“Go to the drive-in ?” Eddie asks, confused. 

Steve holds his breath anxiously as he says, “I mean, if you want to…”

“Um, yeah, sure.” Eddie agrees and Steve lets out a puff of air. “Do you guys wanna take my van, though? It’s probably more comfortable than your car, no offense.” 

“Yeah, that would be awesome, actually, thanks.” 

“Cool. What time should I swing by?”

“8?”

“Okay, I can do that.”

Steve feels a small smile slide on his face. “Okay.” 

“See you then, Stevie.”

Then the line goes dead and Steve hangs up the receiver, specifically not looking at Robin.

Robin giggles. “ Stevie ?” 

“Shut up.”

“I think it’s cute."

Steve rolls his eyes, ignoring her to get back to his display. 

"Ya know,” she starts a few minutes later, leaning over the counter, “you really should go by Stevie instead of plain old boring Steve .”

“Robin, seriously, you’re this close to walking home.” 

She snorts. "You realize that threat would only work if you'd ever follow through with it."

Steve raises his eyebrows, but the door chimes before he can respond and in strolls his favorite Wheeler with a handful of movies. 

"Hey Nancy!" Robin greets enthusiastically. 

Nancy smiles, "Hey guys. Just dropping these off." She sets them on the counter one at a time. "I think a couple might be overdue. They're Mike's and you know how responsible he is."

Robin chuckles and Nancy averts her eyes to the countertop, tucking her hair behind her ear as a rosy shade rises to her cheeks. It's shy and sweet, the way Nancy looks back at Robin- how she smiles, endeared, when Robin starts rambling about one of the movies Mike rented. 

Huh , Steve looks between them and feels a very complicated whirl of emotions move through him. Surprise, of course; amusement at Robin's obliviousness and anxiety; melancholy, because, fuck, Nancy used to look at him like that, and, honestly, he's not sure he's ever going to fully recover from her; then a strange sense of optimism, like maybe good things really can happen in unexpected ways. 

Then he hears Robin start to really stray from adorable rambling to overwhelming, so he steps in. 

"So, Nance," he starts, an idea springing to mind, "what are you up to tonight?" 

"Um," Nancy starts, taken a bit off guard, "nothing. Why?"

"Well, we're going to the drive-in, me, Robin and Eddie. And, you know, Robin was just complaining how she was going to be the only girl…"

Robin's eyes go wide and she looks at Steve, betrayed. 

"So," he continues, "I mean, if you want, you should come with us."

"Oh," Nancy says, looking from Steve to Robin (who quickly replaces her glare with a smile), "sounds fun!"

"Really?" Robin asks, surprised. 

Nancy smiles, "Yeah, as long as it's okay with you…"

"Of course!" Robin says a little too eagerly and Nancy nods, pressing her lips together in a way that Steve recognizes as holding back a grin. 

"Okay," she takes a breath, looking between them again, "so, should I meet you there, or?"

"Since you're on the way out, we'll just pick you up." Steve explains. "Say quarter after 8?"

"Okay," Nancy presses her lips together and glances back at Robin through her lashes, "see you later."

As soon as the door chimes behind her exit, Steve straightens up, hands on his hips as he looks at Robin expectantly. She crosses her arms and glares at him.

“Why did you do that, Steve?”

“When were you gonna tell me about that, Robin? ” He asks. 

Robin blinks innocently. “About what?”

Steve raises an eyebrow. “About your obvious crush on Nancy.” 

“To be fair,” Robin starts, “I have a crush on just about every pretty girl I meet. Why should she be the exception? Besides, it’s not like it’s going to become anything anyway.”

“Robin…” 

She sighs, “I didn’t want you to be upset.”

“Why would I be upset?”

“Because it’s Nancy; I know what she means to you.”

“Yeah but,” Steve shrugs, “you’re you, and if there’s anyone I’d be okay with seeing the ex love of my life, it would be you.”

“That’s sweet, Steve,” Robin sighs, leaning on her elbow on the counter, “the only problem is, Nancy is still totally straight, which was why it was pointless to say anything in the first place.” 

“Robin, I seemed totally straight until a month ago.” When Robin doesn’t say anything, he walks over to the counter and shrugs. “I’m just saying, you don’t always know, ya know?”

She frowns, “You said that about Vicki, too, and remember how that turned out?”

“Well, I didn’t know Vicki the same way I know Nance.” 

She gives him a flat look. 

“And, hey,” he starts again, reaching across the counter to pat her shoulder, “it doesn’t have to be a big deal. I mean, going to a drive-in is a ‘very friends thing to do’ , isn’t it?”

“Steve,” she starts, unamused, “you realize you can’t turn that around on me, right? Unlike you I’m not in denial. I know exactly how much I like Nancy, so tonight’s basically going to be torture for me and I hate you.” 

“You love me."

Their shift ends at 6 and Steve drops Robin off before heading home to get ready. 

By the time 8 o’clock rolls around, Steve has been showered and dressed in his finest casual attire (his best pair of jeans and a dark blue polo with thin white stripes). He’s in the bathroom, air fogged by hairspray as he puts the finishing touches on his mane when a loud knock echoes through the space and his stomach does a flip. Eddie’s casually leaning in the doorframe when he opens the door.

“Heya, Stevie,” Eddie greets and Steve gets major deja vu.  

“Hey,” he says back. 

Eddie’s eyes wander up and down his body appraisingly. “You look nice.”

Steve gulps, “Thanks. So do you.” 

And he really does. He’s wearing tight black jeans that are ripped at the knees with an acid washed Black Sabbath t-shirt beneath his denim vest (which is still a little bloodstained around the seams, but in a way that really only adds to the aesthetic). It’s a look that so signature Eddie, that looks so good on him that part of Steve wants to just say screw the movie and pull him inside instead- see if those clothes would look even better on the floor. 

Then Eddie grins bashfully, bringing Steve back to himself and asking, “You ready?” 

Steve nods and follows Eddie to the van. 

They first pick up Robin who sits herself behind Steve’s seat, leaning forward between the headrest and the door to whisper as she passes, “You sure look nice, Stevie .”

“Robin, I swear to God.” Steve hisses back. Robin chuckles as Eddie pulls away from the curb.

Once they scoop Nancy up, it’s only 20 minutes to the drive-in at the edge of the town over. They pass the time with idle chatter until Steve and Eddie get into a discussion about music. Then the conversation turns more into a debate. 

“All I’m saying, Steve,” Eddie starts heatedly, “is that until you listen to Peace of Mind straight through, you really don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“And all I’m saying, Eddie, is that music you can’t dance to can’t really be classified as music.”

“You can dance to it.”

“Banging your head doesn’t count as dancing.”

“Okay, Fred Astaire, what counts as music, then? Wham!?”

“Hey, George Michael has won me many a dance partners.”

Eddie snorts, “ Dance partners?”

Steve shrugs because, well, yeah, maybe they were a little more than dance partners, but what can he say, George always comes through. Then his eyes catch Nancy’s in the rearview mirror for a moment before they both look away, cheeks rosy. “Careless Whisper” had been a personal favorite of theirs, and, fuck, what a great time to be reminded of that.  

Steve clears his throat. “Don’t knock it til you’ve tried it, Eds.”

Eddie looks at him incredulously, eyebrow raised in a way that says ‘If you think we’re fucking to Wham! you’re crazy.’ 

Steve snorts. 

They get to the drive-in in time to find a decent spot in the middle of the rows a little off center to the screen. Eddie backs into the spot so they can use the back of the van as a seating area, and they all climb out. Nancy and Steve are volunteered to go find provisions while Robin and Eddie spruce up the back with pillows and blankets. 

“So,” he starts when they reach the edge of the concession line, “when do you leave for Emerson?”

She sucks in a breath, “August 22nd.” 

“Are you excited?”

“Y-yeah,” she hesitates, “I mean, yes , I am. It’s just going to be a lot different, you know?”

“I can imagine.”

“It would be nice if I wasn’t going completely alone, but…”

“Hey,” he starts, putting a reassuring hand on her shoulder, “I’m sure you’re gonna do great. Meet new people, crush your classes, make the Dean’s List in your first semester.” 

Nancy gives him a nervous grin, “I hope you’re right.”

He pats her shoulder once more as the line continues dwindling down. 

“So…” she starts a few seconds later, “you and Eddie, huh?”

He feels his face drain of color. “W-what do you mean me and Eddie?”

She gives him a knowing look. “You know you’ve never been very subtle when you flirt, and you were flirting, like, the entire drive.”

Steve gulps, “I don’t - ”

She raises a daring eyebrow at him. “I also know you, Steve,” she smirks, "and when you look at him, your face says either you're together or you want to be." 

Steve doesn't know what to say- wasn't expecting the conversation to go in this direction much less like this. 

"Well," he starts on the deflective, "what about you and Robin?"

Pink rises to her cheeks as she averts her eyes. 

"See," he nudges her shoulder with his, "I know you , too, Nance."

She takes a breath and nods. "Fair enough." A few moments pass in silence before she says, "I'm happy for you, you know. For both of you."

“It’s not-" he clears his throat, "it's not like that, really. We’re just friends.” 

Nancy gives him her most revered ‘bullshit’ look, crossing her arms. “Uh-huh. Does he know that?”

“What do you mean?”

“C’mon, Steve, even you can’t be that blind?” When Steve only looks at her, confused, she sighs. “Apparently you can.”

He frowns because, no, she can't be implying what he thinks she is. Eddie doesn't like him that way- made that pretty clear when he left the other morning- so she must have her wires crossed. “Blind how?”

“Maybe you should ask Eddie.” 

Steve opens his mouth, but they’re at the counter so Nancy starts ordering a couple large popcorns before he can get anything out. She pointedly walks two steps in front of him back to the van, as well, leaving him to stew in his thoughts. 

Robin and Eddie are laughing when they get there, sitting cross-legged in the middle of the back of the van which has been convincingly transformed into a pillow fort. 

“What’s so funny?” Steve asks.

“Wouldn’t you like to know, Pretty Boy?” Eddie replies and Robin sputters a laugh. 

He looks at Nancy who just shrugs before ducking into the van. 

Robin scoots toward the middle to give her room beside her while Steve takes up the space on Eddie’s right. There’s not a lot of room to see the screen, so he ends up pressed close to his side, which, honestly, he doesn’t mind. Eddie is warm and solid and moves his body in a way that accommodates Steve’s weight. It’s not cuddling, but it still feels nice, secure.  

Once the sun finally sets, the screen comes to life along with the tiny speaker hanging on the door. The movie is Top Gun, something he, truthfully, has been a little excited to see. And it’s pretty damn good, actually. 

Eddie and Robin clearly don’t agree, though, as they keep laughing and mocking it between themselves, but Nancy seems invested, so at least he’s not alone.

The one thing that gets him in the movie, though, happens about halfway through when Ice and Maverick’s ‘rivalry’ heats up for the umpteenth time. 

Steve rolls his eyes, murmuring, “Those two just seriously need to screw it out.”

Eddie laughs loudly and Steve’s eyes widen. He looks around the van to see Robin looking at him, horrified and amused, and Nancy just looks embarrassed and surprised. 

“I just said that out loud, didn’t I?” 

Eddie laughs again, patting his knee. “Sure did, Stevie.” 

Steve groans, hiding his head in his hands. 

Nancy clears her throat. “But, you’re not wrong. ” 

The three of them look at her, somewhat surprised, before they all dissolve into a fit of laughter.

After that, Steve finds himself relaxing further and further into Eddie’s heat. At some point, Eddie had thrown a blanket over the two of them, Robin and Nancy sharing another. His hand rests on the top over his thigh, and Steve finds himself glancing at it every so often. He wants that hand in his, wants to feel Eddie’s calluses and warmth entangled with his own, but would that be crossing some sort of boundary? Eddie had let him do it the other night, but would he now that they were with other people? Then Steve remembers how Eddie had welcomed Steve practically into his lap during the movie night in front of all the kids, so, maybe he wouldn’t actually have a problem with it. 

Taking a bracing breath, Steve cautiously moves his hand until it’s brushing against the other’s. Out of the corner of his eye he sees Eddie look down at them, but he doesn’t pull away. So Steve gets a little bolder, raising his pinky to gently loop around Eddie’s. Eddie stiffens a moment, and Steve almost retreats, but then that pinky curls against Steve’s tightly. He smiles to himself, leaning his bent knees comfortably on Eddie’s lap. He resists the urge to rest his head on Eddie’s shoulder, as well, but only just. 

They stay like that for a while, Steve curled into Eddie’s side, pinkies intertwined. Then Goose dies, and Steve’s really trying to reign in the emotions, but obviously isn’t doing a great job because Eddie’s hand slips out of his and his arm wraps around Steve’s back instead, rubbing a soothing circle before settling on his hip. Steve looks at Robin and Nancy to see them also in tears, which makes him feel a little better. Nancy has her knees pulled to her chest, wiping at her cheeks with the back of her hand while Robin uses the edge of their blanket to blotch her eyes. Then Steve looks at Eddie and notices that his eyes seem maybe a little more watery than usual, which makes Steve smile a little. 

When the movie ends, Steve’s the one to pull away, stretching his back. 

“What’s next?” Nancy asks. 

“I don’t remember what it’s called,” Robin says, “but it’s some kind of comedy.”

“Good, I could use a good laugh.”

“Speaking of good laugh,” Eddie starts, leaning behind Robin to the far corner of the back, his ass sticking in Steve’s face and Steve tries very hard not to stare, but obviously doesn’t do a good job because when Eddie sits back down and he looks at the girls, they’re both fixing him with a knowing look. Eddie’s too preoccupied to notice, though, as he shakes a bag of brownies. “I brought a little something for the occasion.” 

“Are those…” Nancy starts.

“Pot brownies?” Robin finishes. 

“Yep,” Eddie says, proudly, “heard this movie was pretty fun, so I thought I’d make it even better.” He unzips the bag and holds it out. “Any takers?” 

Robin and Nancy exchange nervous looks, but Steve shrugs. 

“Why not?” He says, grabbing a small one from the bag.

“Atta boy, Stevie!” Eddie says, grabbing one of his own; they both tilt theirs in cheers before taking a bite. 

“Do you,” Robin starts, talking to Nancy, “want to split one?”

Nancy gulps, considering Robin. “Sure.”

“Okay.” Robin nods, reaching into the bag and grabbing one to pull in half. 

Eddie cheers when they each take a bite. They both make a face at the taste, but still eat their whole halves. Then Robin pokes at their empty popcorn bins. 

“Someone’s gonna have to refill these.”

“I will,” Nancy says, tucking her hair behind her ear. “Do you want to come with me?”

“Uh,” Robin gulps, “sure.” 

Steve snorts and they both glare at him before crawling out of the van. 

He feels eyes on him and turns his head to Eddie who’s wearing an unreadable expression. 

“You wanna go for a smoke?” He asks, and Steve gets the feeling there’s more to that invitation, so he nods. 

"The show will begin in 10 minutes." The announcer says as the intermission cartoons begin and Steve follows Eddie away from the van through the maze of parked cars. 

"You sure that brownie had pot in it?" Steve asks, frowning at his hands as they stop at the edge of the fence line. 

"Pretty damn sure." Eddie snorts before lighting his cigarette. 

"Why don't I feel anything?"

He shrugs, taking a drag. "Hits differently with different people."

"Should I have another one?"

Eddie laughs, "Definitely not. Just give it some time, Stevie."

Eddie holds out the cigarette as an offer, Steve takes it and pulls in a breath.  

"So," Steve starts, handing it back to Eddie, "what did you think of the movie?"

Eddie shrugs. "It was great propaganda." 

"The volleyball scene was a little much."

"Really? I thought that was the best part. Bunch of shirtless men getting sweaty in the sun?" Eddie laughs, "Coulda watched an entire movie of just that. "

Steve feels a pang of jealousy. "Didn't realize Tom Cruise was your type." 

Eddie smirks, "Didn't say he was. But, objectively speaking, he ain't hard on the eyes." 

Steve crosses his arms self consciously. 

"Awe, don't pout, Stevie," Eddie starts, "I'm still way more into jocks with big brown eyes and great hair." 

Steve huffs. "I'm not pouting ." 

"If you say so." Eddie chuckles, and, God, there's just something about it, about the almost shy smile he gives Steve while blowing smoke out his nose that has Steve leaning forward to kiss him. Their lips meet for only an instant before Eddie pushes him back and looks around nervously. 

"Not here, Steve." He says warningly, dropping the cigarette butt on the pavement before hooking a finger in Steve's jeans and tugging while taking a step back. Steve looks around again to make sure nobody's watching before following Eddie. 

"The show will begin in 5 minutes."  

There's a gap in the fence that's mostly used by those sneaking into the drive-in that leads directly into the dense treeline. Eddie leads them further in until the lights of the high screens are barely visible. Steve can't see very well, but that doesn't matter much when Eddie's large hands firmly wrap around his waist, pulling them flush as he covers Steve's mouth with his. He tastes like cigarettes and popcorn with a little sweet edge of chocolate and it's oddly intoxicating . Especially when his tongue is wrapping around Steve's with such finesse it makes Steve moan into his mouth. He tangles a hand in Eddie's hair, anchoring himself as Eddie just eats him up. 

He's slowly walked backward until he hits a tree and Eddie leans all his body weight onto him, trying to get as close as possible. The bark digs into Steve's back, but he welcomes the bite of it through his shirt as he dissolves into Eddie, whose hands drag down Steve's sides to slide across the waistband of his jeans until his fingers are deftly working on the button at top. Once it's undone, Eddie begins to slide to his knees, but Steve tightens his hand in his hair.

"Wait," he pants, Eddie pauses thoughtfully. Steve licks his lips, "Can I?"

In this light, he can't see Eddie's pupils blow wide, but he doesn't have to because Eddie leans forward to press a chaste kiss to his lips, murmuring, "Yeah, baby, have at it."

Steve drops his hand from Eddie's hair and begins dropping down to his knees, hands sliding down the other’s body as he goes. Eddie takes a step back to give him room, leaning his forearm on the tree to watch him as he makes quick work undoing Eddie's pants. His hand pushes down the front of Eddie's boxers to pull out Eddie's half hard cock; he gives it a few pumps, squeezing just the way he knows Eddie likes it until it's fully hard. Then he moves his head forward to place a kiss to the slit before gently popping the tip into his mouth, sucking lightly. 

Eddie's breath catches, free hand moving to thread itself into Steve's hair as Steve leans in again, taking more in as he covers the rest of his cock with his warm hand. 

Truthfully, Steve has only done this one time before, and he's pretty sure Eddie only came because of his raw enthusiasm rather than actual skill. So this time, Steve's determined to give as good as he always gets, putting all his mental notes from Eddie's techniques to use plus a few ideas of his own. 

So when he goes back in, he's sure to lather the velvety flesh with his spit and the firm massage of his tongue as he pulls away before diving back in quickly, hollowing his cheeks as he takes a little more and more at a time. Eddie's hand flexes in his hair, breathing getting heavier as Steve sets a steady rhythm. 

Then the hand in his hair tightens, pulling him away. "Steve, I wanna take over, is that okay?" He traces Steve's lips, "Fuck this pretty mouth of yours?"

“Yeah,” Steve rasps, nodding eagerly.

"And you're going to swallow all of my cum, aren't you, sweetheart?"

Steve nods again, dropping his jaw as Eddie places his cock back into his mouth. 

"Just keep relaxed and breathe through your nose. If you want me to stop, just double tap my leg, okay?"

Steve hums in acknowledgement and Eddie sucks in a breath as the vibration moves through his cock. 

" Fuck , Steve." He hisses slowly rocking his hips forward. Steve relaxes his jaw as much as he can while Eddie starts thrusting shallowly into his mouth. He starts sucking instinctually as Eddie moves a little deeper with each roll of his hips, nearly gagging when Eddie's cock pushes into the back of his throat. Eddie pulls back enough for him to take a breath through his nose, hand gently carding through Steve's hair. Once he feels ready, Steve squeezes the other's thighs, encouraging him forward. Eddie chuckles lowly, complying with a slow push of his hips. 

And, as Eddie tightens his fingers in Steve’s hair and picks up his pace, Steve just lets go. His eyes flutter closed while Eddie just fucking uses him. And maybe it shouldn't be as much of a turn on as it is- being treated like a toy- but, Goddamn, Steve's so fucking hard, it hurts . He's grateful for his fly being undone so he's at least not against the rough denim of his pants. He drops a hand from Eddie's thigh to dip into his boxers and wrap around his aching cock. 

Eddie picks up his rhythm and Steve feels his throat constrict around Eddie's hot length as a deep moan rumbles through him. Eddie literally bites back a groan, "Fuck, gonna cum."

Steve replies by moaning around him again, sucking hard. 

" Shit. " Eddie breathes, hips stuttering. He gets in one, two, three more good thrusts before his hand tightens in Steve's hair and he's cumming down Steve's throat. It's a lot and Steve can't help choking on it- tears leaking from the corners of his eyes- but he was given an order so he swallows as best as he can. Eddie pulls out, wiping some of the excess cum from the side of Steve's mouth with his thumb and bringing it up to lick clean. Steve's cock twitches in his hand, but he doesn't break his gaze as Eddie searches his face, bringing the hand from Steve's hair to gently massage at Steve's jaw. 

"You are a fucking wonder , Steve Harrington." Eddie says in awe. And, okay, what the fuck does that mean? How is he expected to respond when his heart is swelling in his chest and a spark runs down his spine? Then Eddie looks away from his face down to where he's holding his cock in his hand. Eddie raises an eyebrow and smirks, "Want me to take care of that for you?"

"Please," Steve says, but his throat is raw so his voice is raspy as fuck. 

"Stand up." Eddie commands. 

Steve does as he's told, and at the same time, Eddie drops to his knees. He pushes Steve's hand out of the way and immediately swallows down Steve's aching cock. Steve chokes on his breath, thudding his head back against the hard trunk. And he's so wound up from sucking Eddie off- so fucking dizzy from the heat and skill of Eddie's mouth around him- that it takes an embarrassingly short amount of time before that spring in him snaps and he's spilling into the other's mouth.

Eddie gets to his feet, wiping off his lips with the back of his thumb before capturing Steve's mouth in an open kiss. 

And, holy shit , is it hot. He can taste himself on Eddie’s tongue and it’s mixing with the taste of Eddie still on his, and, really, it shouldn’t be as good as it is, but simply because it’s Eddie, he can’t get enough. 

They keep kissing like that for a little longer- unhurried and open mouthed- until Eddie’s pulling back, hand on Steve’s cheek. The corner of his mouth turns up into a lop-sided grin. “The girls are probably wondering what we’re doing.” 

“Oh, I think Robin knows exactly what we’re doing.” Steve giggles. 

“Probably,” Eddie chuckles, “but, um, we should go back. I mean, we did pay for both movies. Besides, what will Nancy think?”

He laughs. “Yeah, she probably knows, too.”

“You… told her?” Eddie asks, surprised, something unreadable in his eyes. 

“She kinda figured it out.” Steve shrugs then frowns because, fuck, he hadn’t considered how Eddie would feel about her knowing. And suddenly, he feels like the world’s biggest asshole. “Sorry, I didn’t think-”

“Does it bother you?”

“What?”

“That she knows.”

“Why would it?”

Eddie sucks in a breath, shrugging. “It’s Nancy; your ultimate dream girl.”

Steve makes a face. “She’s not my ‘ultimate dream girl’. I mean, sure, she was for a long time, but,” he shrugs, “we both know we’re better off as friends.”

Eddie looks at him anxiously. “There’s also the obvious fact that I’m not exactly your usual type.” 

“Wait,” Steve starts sardonically, wrapping his arms around Eddie’s waist, “you don’t wear pastels and talk about your favorite John Hughes movie?” 

Eddie chuckles before gently pushing Steve’s hair back. “You know what I mean.”

“No, Eds,” Steve starts, “I don’t care that Nancy knows. If anything, it’s a relief because, I mean, I still care about her, and her opinion means a lot to me.”

Eddie gulps, “And what is her opinion?” 

'I'm happy for you, you know. For both of you.' 

Steve's heart flutters because, even though what Nancy thought was going on between them isn't the reality, it still makes him feel good knowing he has her support. 

Steve smiles. “She doesn’t care. S'long as we're happy.” 

"And," Eddie starts, holding his breath, "are we?"

"Are we what?"

"Happy?"

Steve pauses to consider Eddie, tilting his head as he searches Eddie's dark eyes. Are they happy? Right now, in this moment… he smiles. "I am if you are." 

A conflicting range of emotions flash through Eddie's eyes, but it's too dark and Steve is too gone to catch any of them. 

Finally Eddie speaks, tracing Steve's cheek. "Yeah, Stevie, I guess I am." 

Then he leans in for a slow sweet kiss that leaves Steve breathless. 

"We should still head back, though." Eddie says when they pull apart. 

So they do, and, fuck, it’s a little disarming when the floating feeling from his time with Eddie doesn’t go away, and then he remembers that he did eat one of Eddie's brownies, which then makes him giggle because, isn’t it funny how easily he forgets things when he’s with Eddie. Or more specifically, when he’s touching Eddie. Or Eddie's touching him.  

“What?” Eddie asks over his shoulder as he leads them back through the maze of cars. 

“Just, uh, thinking about… Funyuns.” He lies, then pauses and tilts his head, “Hey, do you have any Funyuns in the van? Cause, like, those sound amazing right now.” 

Eddie chuckles, “So it finally hit you, huh?” 

“A little." He laughs loudly before being shushed by a choir of parked cars. 

Eddie grabs his wrist and leads him the rest of the way. 

When they reach the van, Steve is still daydreaming about Funyuns and Eddie’s mouth, and Funyuns in Eddie’s mouth, and whether Eddie even likes Funyuns at all. He follows Eddie around to the back of the van and immediately slams into his back when Eddie stops short. 

“What-” Steve starts, peeking around Eddie when he’s stunned into silence. There, tucked up against the cushions, a pile of blankets pooled around their laps, are Robin and Nancy, mouths locked together. 

And, okay, wow , well that’s definitely a development he’s absolutely going to have to unpack with Robin later, but for now he loudly raps on the side of the door and they spring apart. Nancy’s turning tomato red while Robin just glares at him. 

“So,” he starts, crossing his arms like a disappointed father, “we leave you two alone for five minutes and this is what we come back to?”

Robin scoffs, “It was a lot longer than five minutes.” 

“Regardless, I would have hoped you would have had a little more tact than making out in someone else’s car in public .”

Nancy looks him up and down then raises her eyebrows, “You’ve got dirt on your knees , Steve.” 

Eddie chokes on a laugh, bringing up a hand to his mouth trying to cover it with a cough. 

The movie ends around 1:30 and Steve is the last to be dropped off. Eddie pulls into his driveway and puts the van in park; then, like a true gentleman, walks Steve around back. Steve turns when he gets to the door and finds Eddie already studying him with big brown eyes roaming across his face in a way that makes Steve's cheeks flush and stomach flutter. But he's gotta play it cool, because Steve Harrington is not some blushing virgin. 

So he smiles at Eddie, "I had fun tonight."

"Yeah," Eddie nods, "yeah, me too."

Steve clears his throat, breath caught in his chest as he speaks, "We should, uh, do it again some time?"

Eddie pulls his lower lip between his teeth, biting back a smile. "Yeah, okay."

Steve lets out his breath. "Okay." 

Eddie's eyes flick down to Steve's mouth before he's leaning into the space between them. Steve meets him halfway, pulling him closer by the waist as their lips softly press together. A hand pushes back his hair, nails scraping lightly until it's cupping the back of his head, the other coming up to hold his jaw as Eddie deepens the kiss. 

And, shit , there's something about the slow slide of Eddie's tongue, of the pressure of his lips, and the warmth of his hands, that sends shockwaves down Steve's body, fogging his mind and curling his toes in his shoes. Then it's over and Eddie's pulling back, wearing a dopey smile that makes Steve's heart race.  

"Night, Stevie." Eddie says, backing out of Steve's arms slowly, hands tucking into his front pockets.

Steve nods. "Night, Eds." 

After a few steps, Eddie turns and disappears around the corner of the garage, Steve watching him the whole time.

Then he catches himself smiling like an idiot, recognizes the free falling feeling in his gut.

Oh, he thinks, face dropping as his thick skinned bubble finally pops, oh no. 

Chapter Text

"I cast invisibility and sneak beneath the web to retrieve the stolen orb.” Will declares confidently.

“You’ll need an 18 or higher, Will the Wise, and keep in mind you’re rolling with disadvantage,” Eddie tells him ominously, “if that is still your choice, go ahead and tempt your fate.” 

“I don’t know, man,” Lucas starts, “we can try getting it another way.”

“How?” Mike asks, “We can’t take her head on, we’ve tried that already and now half our party is out!” 

“I only have another turn before I’m halfway healed, guys,” Gareth chimes in.

“I’ve got two,” Jeff adds. “So, at least buy us some time, and we might have a chance.”

“A chance for what?” Lucas asks, “For her to kick our asses again? I say we retreat for now and regroup.” 

“We could create a distraction while Will grabs the orb?” Mike suggests. “Set a fire or something?”

Dustin shakes his head, “Lolth’s too smart for that, she’ll definitely know something’s up.” He sighs, “I think Will’s plan is our best bet.”

“Hello?” Lucas starts, “Did you not hear my plan of retreating?”

“We don’t have time for that! One portal is already open, so if we retreat now, we’re basically dooming the entire realm!” 

Eddie sighs heavily, gaining everyone’s attention. “Looks like you gentlemen are in a real conundrum. Might I suggest reexamining your items and spell slots, maybe there’s something in there you’ve overlooked.” 

The party looks at him, confused before flipping through their sheets. Then Dustin’s eyes light up. 

“Zabou!” He exclaims, and Eddie smiles proudly. The others look at him confused, and Dustin sighs exasperatedly, “The fungus from Zuggtmoy’s layer. We can use the masks we got to act like Zuggtmoy’s warlocks and lure Lolth out, then hit her with the Zabou! If we use everything we’ve got, it should be enough to knock her out so Will can grab the orb!”

Christ, this kid’s good. Eddie thinks fondly as Dustin glances at him for a response. He offers him a little shrug, maintaining the image of an impartial DM, but Dustin can probably read his face well enough to recognize his approval. He had been hoping they would appreciate the importance of the first leg of this campaign, that all his time and effort put into it would be utilized. It reminds him of putting the final touches to it in the first place. 

It had been a few days after the drive-in, a couple of weeks ago while Steve was over, patiently waiting for Eddie to finish up/acting as an ear to bounce ideas off of. 

“Couldn’t they just cast, like, giant shoe?” Steve had asked, perched halfnaked on the arm of Eddie’s couch. 

Eddie looked at him over his shoulder. “Giant shoe?”

“Ya know, because she’s like a giant spider-thing, right?” 

Eddie snorted, shaking his head, “Lolth is the drow Goddess of cruelty and shadows, it’d take more than a giant shoe to defeat her.”

“Okay,” Steve started, sliding himself into straddling Eddie’s lap, “then what about trapping her in a giant glass?”

Eddie laughed, arms wrapping around the other’s waist. “And this, my dear Steven, is why you’re not invited to join any of my campaigns.” 

And just like that, Eddie is trying to smother down a flurry of butterflies while the rest of the party equip their items and plan their attack. Now’s hardly the time to think about Steve and all the complicated feelings attached to him. Now’s the time for Eddie the DM to focus on the campaign and help guide these little Hellfirelings to either success or mortal parial. 

Dustin’s plan works, for the most part. The remaining party is able to lure Lolth from her web for Will the Wise to make his grab for the orb. However, Will’s disadvantage roll lands just below the mark, and his character is spotted by Lolth’s Driders. Luckily, he has the orb in hand, so even though they’re now being swarmed by Driders and other demons while Lolth’s knocked out from the spores, they’re able to make it to relative safety. At least until they pick up again next week, because, unfortunately, the minors still operate within a curfew. 

Gareth’s house is on the outside of town, just far enough away that biking is a chore for everyone except Will. So, being the gracious friend he is, Eddie takes it upon himself to taxi Mike, Lucas, and Dustin home. He zones in and out as the boys talk among themselves, but his interest is piqued when he hears someone going into the difference between spandex, latex, and leather. 

“Hold up, what’s going on?” Eddie asks.

“This weekend is the comic con in Indianapolis.” Mike explains. 

Oh , Eddie holds back a laugh, oh, thank God.

“Eh,” Lucas starts, “comic con is a loose term here. It’s basically just the local comic book stores putting together a poor imitation.”

“Well, it’s the closest we’ve got to the real thing for now, so try to at least pretend to be a little more excited.” Dustin says. “Or else Steve’s gonna use it as an excuse not to take us."

“I wouldn’t be surprised if he cancels anyway to spend more time with his secret lover .” Mike drawls, the others chuckle. 

“Secret lover?” Eddie gulps, “What makes you think he’s got one of those?”

“Well, let’s look at the facts, shall we,” Dustin starts, leaning forward to list on his fingers, “he hasn’t bragged about going on any dates in, like, weeks ; he hardly hits on the girls in the store anymore; he’s always ‘busy’; and most importantly, he keeps smiling like a doofus when he thinks nobody’s looking. So either he’s happily celibate-”

Mike snorts. “Not likely.”

“Or he’s seeing someone in secret.”

“My money’s on a married woman,” Lucas states. 

“Nah,” Dustin starts, “he may be a douchebag sometimes, but he’s no homewrecker.”

“Then what do you think, genius?”

Dustin’s eyes meet Eddie’s in the rearview mirror for a moment, and Eddie holds his breath.

Then Dustin shrugs, looking back at the others, “Probably just schmoozing a Russian spy to join the US government.”

Goddamn, Eddie fucking loves this kid.

Lucas rolls his eyes, “Yeah that’s definitely more likely than having an affair.” 

The rest of the drive passes in idle chatter that Eddie half pays attention to. They’re making a loop, so Mike’s the first out, then Lucas, which leaves Dustin. The moment Lucas ducks out of the van, he’s climbing into the front seat. 

“So,” Dustin starts as Eddie starts driving, “how long have you and Steve-”

Eddie’s fingers tighten around the steering wheel. He really should have seen this coming. “That’s really none of your business, Henderson.” 

“But you are -”

“Again, none of your business.” 

“I knew it!”

“Dustin…” Eddie starts warningly.

“Don’t worry, I’m not going to tell anyone. In fact, I think it’s great! My two older male friends finally getting together!”

“Ew, don’t say it like that.” 

“Honestly, it’s about damn time. I mean, you two have been dancing around each other since the Vecna thing.” 

“ ‘Dancing around each other’ ?” Eddie snorts, “What are you, 80?”

“Excuse me, I meant ‘eye-fucking’ .”

“Okay, go back to being 80, please.” Eddie says, grimacing as he pulls up to the curb outside Dustin’s house.

Dustin starts to get out, hand on the handle, but pauses, saying in a serious tone, “Steve’s a good guy.”

Eddie gulps, “I know.”

“And he’s a lot more sensitive than he lets on.”

“I know.” 

Dustin pauses again, staring Eddie down warningly,  “Don’t hurt him, Eddie.” 

Then the door closes before he even has a chance to respond, to correct Dustin because, fuck, if anything, Steve’s going to be the one to hurt him.  

When he gets home, he can hear the phone ringing before he’s even opened the door. He hurries turning the key to get to it before the machine.

“Hello?” He answers.

“Hey, Eds.”

Eddie’s chest gets stupidly warm at the sound of the voice on the other end. “Hi, Stevie.”

“How was Hellfire?”

And, fuck, Eddie’s heart races because, Steve remembers his schedule as much as he remembers Steve’s. Not to mention the fact that he seems to have it down so much that he can predict when Eddie’s going to be home from it, which, okay, under normal circumstances might be a little creepy, but with Steve it’s just endearing.

“It was good,” he answers, “the party really came together to put Lolth down… at least for now.”

“The giant spider lady?”

Eddie chuckles, “Yes.”

“Anyone opt for the giant shoe spell?”

“No, sadly nobody thought of that.”

“Hm, shame. That woulda solved everyone’s problems.” 

Eddie snorts, shaking his head fondly. “You’re such an idiot.” 

“Yeah, but it’s charming.” 

“Can’t argue there.” 

Steve clears his throat, “Hey, do you wanna come over for a movie or something? Maybe spend some time in the pool? My mom’s in Tampa and my dad’s on a business trip so the house would be ours.”

Eddie’s stomach flips, a wide grin splitting his face. Including the movie on Wednesday and the take out the night before last, this would make, “Three nights in five days? To what do I owe the honor?”

“If you don’t want to…”

“I never said that, just curious why I get so much of your time lately.” As soon as it's out, Eddie cringes. Why is he questioning it? 

There’s a short pause. “Maybe I just like spending time with you.” 

Fuck, that sounds dangerously far away from ‘just friends’ and Eddie doesn’t know how to respond. 

“That okay?” Steve asks anxiously.

No, not if you don’t mean it. “Yeah,” Eddie starts, swallowing that knot in his throat, “yeah, it’s great.” 

“Wow, that was super convincing, Eds, thanks.”

“No, I mean- it’s just- I, um- I like spending time with you, too, Stevie,” Eddie rushes out in a panic, then clenches his eyes closed, pressing his head against the wall because, fuck, he sounds like a fucking idiot. 

There’s another pause before Steve says, “Okay, good. Glad that’s settled. So, see you in thirty?” 

Eddie lets out a long breath, “Thirty’s great.”

“Great. See you soon, Eds.” 

Then the line's dead and Eddie is sucking in a deep breath. 

"Maybe I just like spending time with you."

He groans, rubbing at his brow. This is not good. Steve is wandering into territories he is not prepared for. The night of the storm was one thing- the passion could be written off as a fluke inspired by the circumstances and conversation. 

But ever since, things between them have only gotten more complicated. They still spend the same amount of time together- twice the week after the drive in and now thrice this week- but somehow those times have shifted into something more than just sex. Hell, the last time they didn’t even remove clothing. They just genuinely enjoyed each other’s company, which led to Eddie staying up, staring at the ceiling all night trying to process things. 

Either Eddie’s reading too much into this shift (not an impossible conclusion), or Steve knows exactly what he’s doing. And if that’s the case, it begs the question: what is he doing? 

It’s not a game, he knows Steve would never play him like that, but it’s also in direct violation of the parameters Steve himself set. So what’s Eddie expected to do? 

Just enjoy it while it lasts, he reminds himself. Because, at the end of the day, whatever this is- however far it goes- it’s going to stop. He’s going to move away while Steve stays here, finds a pretty girl to settle down with, and has his big happy family. That ending’s not going to change, so why not take what’s given to him now? Be a little bit selfish because, fuck, it’s going to break his heart either way, right? At this point, might as well just let Steve tear the whole fucking thing up.

There’s just enough time for a shower and a good smoke before heading over to Steve’s. Before he goes, he leaves a quick note for his uncle, letting him know not to wait up for him; he’s not sure what to expect out of the night, but he also doesn’t want to risk upsetting Wayne again. After that, he grabs the unopened 6-pack from the fridge and is off like a prom dress. 

Steve opens the door on the first knock with a wide grin on his face. “Hey.” 

Eddie returns the smile, holding up the beer. “Hey.” 

Steve steps aside to let him pass. 

It’s the first time he’s been in the main house since the graduation party, which brings on a strange feeling as his mind replays the highlights from the night that changed everything between them. Starting with his drunken invitation, Steve’s hungry gaze, crashing lips, warring tongues, pressing body heat followed by eight solid days of radio silence that eventually led them, well, right back here. 

He follows Steve into the kitchen to stock the beer in the fridge, grabbing two. When he turns around after closing the door, Steve’s in front of him. Before he can say anything, Steve’s leaning into him, hands wrapped loosely around his forearms as he presses a soft, chaste kiss to Eddie’s lips. 

When he pulls back, he looks at Eddie with a lopsided grin, “Hey.”

Eddie chuckles, “Didn’t we just do this at the door?”

“Couldn’t kiss you at the door.” He explains, “Mrs. Charleston has got a perfect view of the front.” 

“It’s almost midnight.” Eddie points out.

“I wouldn’t put it past the old bat to still be up with her binoculars just waiting for something to happen.”

Eddie hums before leaning forward for another kiss, his heart fluttering wildly in his chest. Steve sighs contentedly, pressing himself closer, arms wrapping around Eddie’s waist while Eddie holds his own out of the way so the cold bottles don’t touch him. They kiss some more, sweet and lazily, then Steve drops his arms, stepping away. Eddie immediately misses the contact, but he hides it by offering Steve one of the beers before pulling his keys from his pockets for the bottle opener hooked on them. Once he's popped both their caps off, Steve leads the way out to the patio. 

“So,” Steve says, closing the sliding door behind Eddie, “those don't look like swim trunks.”

“Well, I was thinking," Eddie starts, a mischievous look in his eye, "if we've got the place to ourselves, then why bother with swimwear at all? Unless Mrs. Charleston can see back here as well.” 

Steve’s pupils dilate. “As a matter of fact, she cannot.” 

"How fortuitous." Eddie smirks, raising the bottle to his lips. Steve steps back into his space, tugging on the hem of his shirt. 

“So, you waiting for an invitation to take this off, or what?”

Eddie laughs, “You seem pretty eager to get me outta my clothes.”

“Eds, at this point you should know that I’m always eager to get you outta your clothes.”

Eddie chuckles, shaking his head before setting his beer on the patio table and pulling his shirt off over his head. He feels Steve’s hungry gaze eating him up as he slowly shimmies out of his pants and boxers. When he looks back at Steve, he’s licking his lips, eyes roaming over Eddie in a way that makes him feel hot all over. Christ, he’s felt more wanted these last few weeks under those eyes than he thinks he ever has in his life. And the fact that that desire is just as strong as the first night despite just how often they’ve done this does things to Eddie’s heart that are becoming harder and harder to leave unexamined. 

When Steve’s eyes finally make it back to his, Eddie’s wearing a smug smirk, eyebrow raised. “You just gonna look all night, pretty boy, or are you gonna join me?” 

Steve looks at him thoughtfully, grinning, “You know, I’m pretty content looking for now, actually.” 

“Oh really?” Eddie asks, slowly stalking toward him. “You just wanna look?” He gets right in Steve’s face, close enough so their noses are brushing. When Steve begins leaning in, he says, “Suit yourself.”

Then he ducks around Steve’s incoming kiss and runs straight to the edge of the pool, lunging into the cool water. It’s a shocking contrast to the warm night air, and Eddie comes up to the surface with a yowl, flipping his hair back as he rubs the water from his face. 

“Shit,” he says, shivering, “why is it this Goddamn cold ?”

Steve’s watching him, amused. “You’ll get used to it. If not, that’s what the hot tub’s for.” 

“Bet it’d warm up with another body in here.” Eddie suggests.

“I don’t think that’s how pools work.”

“Get in the Goddamn water, Stevie.” 

Steve takes a long drink before placing it next to Eddie’s on the table. Eddie watches, enraptured, as Steve strips down to nothing. His body is long and lean, ass firm, cock flaccid but delectable all the same, his jawline is extenuated by the warm porchlight, soft hair casting shadows across his face as he steps fully out of his shorts. From this angle, he looks like a Goddamn Roman sculpture- an otherworldly beauty meant to be admired by the masses. And, oh, how lucky Eddie feels to be the only one around for the view. 

Of course, instead of following Eddie’s lead and simply jumping into the pool, Steve walks to the diving board. Eddie rolls his eyes as Steve runs down the plank and does a perfect dive into the water. 

When he emerges next to Eddie, Eddie flicks water in his face. “Show off.”

Steve laughs, wading close enough to smooth his hands up Eddie’s chest and down his shoulders. “You still cold, baby?” 

"That depends," Eddie starts, pulling Steve close by the waist,  "you here to warm me up?" 

"If you need it."

"Then I am freezing. " He says, closing the gap between them by gently nipping on Steve's lower lip before soothing it with his tongue. Steve moans, eyes fluttering closed as Eddie slides that tongue into his mouth, slipping a hand up Eddie's neck and into his hair. A warm current moves through him from every point of contact as Steve enthusiastically meets him kiss for kiss. The cool water, however, keeps things from getting too heated too quickly, and before long they are pulling apart to breathe. 

“Better?” Steve asks, voice husky.

“Worlds.” Eddie replies. Steve’s hand slowly drops from his hair to his shoulder, thumb gently swiping across his collarbone. Then he grins at Eddie, slowly backing away. 

"Wanna race?" He asks.

“Actually I’m gonna grab another drink.” 

“Suit yourself.” he responds before arching into a perfect backstroke.

Eddie watches him start lapping the pool gracefully with a grin on his face. 

Finally, he peels his eyes away from Steve long enough to climb out of the pool. His body had adjusted to the temperature of the pool, so being back in the warm night air makes him shiver on his way to pick up his beer. Then he’s back to watching Steve do another lap while he takes small drinks from his bottle. 

He's beautiful like this, truly in his element, and it makes Eddie's heart squeeze. He wants to see Steve like this everyday- carefree and effortless. 

Steve stops his swimming to gaze up at the stars while floating on his back, which gives Eddie’s internal gremlin an idea. As quietly as possible, he sets down his bottle and begins tip-toeing to the diving board. Once he’s at the top, he waits until Steve has floated just far enough out of the landing zone before racing down. He jumps high at the end, tucking his body into itself and letting gravity drop him like a bomb. 

“Shit!” He hears an instant before crashing into the water. 

When he emerges in front of Steve, shaking his hair wildly, he cheers loudly.

Steve is wiping water from his eyes with one hand as he pushes on Eddie’s chest with the other, “Asshole.” 

Eddie laughs, smoothing his hair back out of his face. “You love it.” 

Steve’s face grows serious, and Eddie freezes. Did he really just say that? He gulps, waiting to read Steve’s response. It’s a small thing, really, easy to brush off and ignore, but, of course, Steve doesn’t. 

Instead he cups Eddie's face and draws him into a long kiss that curls Eddie’s toes and warms something in his chest. Then Steve pulls away, hands still on his jaw. He just looks at Eddie like he wants to say something significant , and Eddie holds his breath. 

"You wanna play a game?" Steve asks, dropping his hands.

He chuckles, letting out a puff of air. Because, of course, what else was he expecting? "What kind of game?"

Steve’s face lights up. "HORSE."

Eddie frowns, "Isn't that a basketball thing?" 

" Diving HORSE." Steve clarifies.  "Basically we take turns coming up with dives and whoever can't copy them gets a letter until they spell HORSE." 

Eddie considers, tilting his head.  "What's in it for me?" 

"Loser has to do whatever the winner wants the rest of the night?"

Eddie smirks, " Whatever the winner wants?" 

"Mhm." 

A crystal image of Steve bound and blindfolded pops into his head and his smirk grows into a mischievous grin.  "Okay, I'm game. " 

"Great," Steve grins, "but fair warning, I was the district diving champion senior year."

"Of course you were." 

Steve winks before swimming away to the ladder; Eddie sighs, following. 

For all intents and purposes, it's a pretty even competition. Close to twenty minutes later, Eddie's only down by one, having HORS to Steve's HOR, but he's also one away from losing so stakes are high. 

"C'mon, Eds," Steve starts, legs dangling in the water as he sits on the edge of the pool, "quit stalling."

Eddie flips him the bird before looking back at the board and taking a deep breath. Steve has just done a double bounce then backwards dive, which looked pretty easy until Eddie got to the board himself and started thinking of the logistics. How much is he going to have to arch his back? What if he doesn't do it enough and ends up back-flopping? What if water rushes into his ears from the angle? 

"Eddie." 

He sighs, closing his eyes a moment before turning around at the edge of the diving board. He jumps once, twice, and on the third he pushes away, arching backwards with his hands pointed above him. He cuts into the water nicely on the front end, but he's not paying attention to his legs which splat on the surface of the water. 

Shit. He thinks as he flips around under water before coming up to the surface. 

"Very graceful." Steve comments, clapping slowly. 

"Oh fuck off, Stevie." Eddie replies without any real bite. 

"And that makes HORSE, Eds." Steve says, sliding into the pool and wading over to the other.

“Alright, my liege,” Eddie sighs, swimming to meet Steve where their toes just touch the bottom, “what will you ask of me?” 

Steve smirks, “Oh, I have a few ideas.” 

“Such as?”

“Well, that’s for me to know and you to find out, Eds.” Steve answers plainly, reaching out to run a hand up Eddie’s arm. Steve tilts his head thoughtfully, watching his hand move from Eddie’s shoulder to his neck to gently tracing across his jaw with his thumb. Goosebumps rise in his wake as Eddie studies Steve intently. Then Steve shakes his head, coming back to himself, and looks at Eddie, “Hot tub?” 

“Sure,” Eddie breathes. Steve nods and leads the way out. 

The scalding heat is a welcomed change for Eddie who sighs as he sinks into the water. Steve presses a button on the side of a short post and jets spring to life right on the small of Eddie’s back, which only makes him moan contentedly, eyes slipping closed. Next thing he knows, Steve is sliding into the water beside him, taking the nearest open jet and letting out a similar noise. 

“This is nice,” he comments offhandedly.

Eddie hums in agreement.

They bask in the warmth and the silence for a few minutes before Steve starts, “Can I ask you something?”

Eddie’s heart automatically begins to race at the question, but he just shrugs, “Shoot.”

"What happens to Hellfire when you leave?"

"Well,” Eddie sighs, relieved at the line of questioning Steve chose, “as soon as school starts back up, I officially hand off the reins to dear sweet Henderson."

"Does that mean you'll stop playing?" 

Eddie frowns. "It means I'll just have to find a new party to play with. The kids and I talked a little bit about potentially keeping campaigns going once a month, but who knows if that will actually happen, ya know?" 

Steve gulps, looking at Eddie, "Once a month? That's all you'll be visiting?" 

Eddie shrugs, "That really depends on what kind of job I can find there." 

Steve frowns in a way that twists Eddie's heart. He gulps, bracing himself for the invitation he's not sure he's allowed to extend. 

"The highway goes both ways, though, you know." he says, nudging his knee against the other’s. 

Steve looks at him anxiously. "It does?"

Eddie’s chest is tight, breath trapped. "If you want it to."

Steve’s lips twitch up as he looks at Eddie as though that's all he was waiting to hear. "Yeah, I'd like that." 

"You would?" 

Steve nods, then they're meeting each other halfway for a kiss, Eddie threading his fingers through Steve's wet hair. And, fuck, Eddie’s heart is soaring dangerously, his stomach filled with butterflies as heat swoops low. Steve breaks away to move himself into Eddie's lap before bringing his hands up to cup Eddie’s face. Steve pulls him back into a deep kiss that sends a flurry of sparks through his body as he settles his hands on Steve's hips. 

And somewhere in the back of his mind, he knows that thing that keeps shifting between them has made another move, been pushed a step further, blurred their boundaries a little more . Because Eddie just did what he swore to himself he wouldn’t do: he offered to keep the door open for Steve. And that’s bad because the one thing he knew about their relationship was that it was going to end with the summer. But now he’s saying they can continue doing whatever the hell they’re doing past that; what’s worse is that Steve actually seems to want it just as much as him.

And what the hell does that mean? 

Does Steve actually want more than what he’s offered Eddie? If so, why hasn’t he done anything about it? 

Just then, Steve grinds into him and those background thoughts go static as Eddie moans into the other’s mouth. Steve repeats the motion, slower this time, coaxing Eddie to tighten his grip on Steve’s hips and direct him forward while rolling his own up. Steve breaks away with a sharp gasp. Eddie does it again, moving Steve against him as he ducks his head forward to lick a stripe up Steve’s neck. 

“ Fuck. ” Steve hisses. Eddie nips at the skin just above his collarbone. He’s rock hard now, pressed tightly between Steve’s own heavy cock and his stomach as he continues to thrust up while pulling Steve into him. Steve’s hands are wrapped around his shoulders, holding on while he’s being manhandled just the way Eddie knows he likes it. His head is thrown back, giving Eddie all the access he could want to the long column of his neck that he mouths at like a starving man. 

The hot water only adds to the searing beneath his skin as they move against one another, heat coiling tight in his groin. Eddie moves his hand off Steve’s hip to slip between them. He grips both of their cocks firmly, and Steve’s breath catches. 

“Fuck, baby,” he starts against Steve’s skin as he begins stroking them, “you’re so fucking good right now. Letting me mark you up,” he places a kiss on Steve's Adam’s apple, “so you remember who makes you feel this good.”

“Couldn’t forget, Eds,” Steve says, breathily, “only you make me feel this- fuck - this good- shit, faster, please .”

Eddie makes a low noise in the back of his throat, a possessive feeling overwhelming him as he picks up his pace on their hot cocks. Eddie bends his head into the crook of Steve’s neck, breathing in his musk from the sweat and chlorine. Steve’s nose is nestled against his head now as he makes punched out noises into his hair. 

“Fuck, Eds,” he pants, “‘m so close. ” 

Eddie nods, twisting his wrist in a way that makes his vision blur as Steve moans into his ear. He does it again, thrusting his hips with it. Steve’s nails are digging into his shoulder as they come up the edge- that cord pulled tighter and tighter until finally it

Snaps.

“ Eddie! ” Steve gasps as he cums, sending Eddie spilling after him. 

He places a kiss to Steve's shoulder as he comes down from his orgasm. 

"Fuck, Stevie." He breathes into the skin before pressing another soft kiss higher on the other's neck. 

Then there are hands in his hair, pushing his head back so that Steve can capture Eddie’s lips with his own. And suddenly the hot tub is too hot. Steve must think so too, because after another peck, he pushes himself off Eddie’s lap back into the space beside him. Steve’s arms rest on the pavement outside of the hot tub, he leans his head back, eyes closed as he catches his breath with a lazy grin on his face. Eddie’s heart skips and he quickly looks away from him to the newly calm and now slightly clouded water. He grimaces. 

“Probably shoulda done that outside of the water.”

Steve shrugs, “Gets cleaned tomorrow anyway.” 

Eddie sighs, pushing himself to his feet before climbing out. He welcomes the cool night air as it washes over him on his way to the table where he grabs the single towel thrown over the chair and begins drying off. Then he grabs his beer and downs what little is left. Once it’s gone, he pulls on his boxers and gathers his and Steve’s long since empty bottle to bring into the house. He throws them away on his way to the fridge before pulling out their replacements.  

While he’s popping the caps off the new bottles over the trash can, a hot body presses against his back, hands smoothing down his sides. 

He tries to fight back his smile, “Awfully clingy tonight, aren’t we, Stevie?” 

Steve responds by reaching for the open bottle on the counter in front of them. “Just thirsty, Eds.”

“Ah-huh,” he says, turning as Steve takes a small step back. He's back in his swim trunks, but thankfully he's kept his shirt off. Eddie watches Steve tilt his drink back, showing off red and purpling marks on his skin just below the invisible line of a respectable collar. He smirks, taking a pull from his own drink. Then it’s Steve who’s watching him with some kind of warmth in his eyes. 

Steve’s mouth curves up on one side, voice like honey as he says, “Dance with me.” 

Eddie chokes on his beer. 

“What?” he coughs. 

“That’s what I want as the winner.” Steve explains, eyes staying locked with Eddie’s as he slowly sets his beer on the counter behind Eddie while bringing the other hand to rest on his waist. “Dance with me.”

Eddie gulps. “Seriously?”

Steve nods, fingers lightly tracing up Eddie’s neck- they’re cold and slightly wet from the bottle and make goosebumps rise on his flesh, sending a shiver down his spine. 

“I’m not exactly Gene Kelly, Stevie.” 

“You can trample my feet for all I care, Eds.” Steve says as if it’s the simplest thing in the world, gently pushing his fingers through Eddie’s wet tangled hair, “I just wanna dance with you.” 

Sirens are going off in Eddie’s head, his pulse races dangerously. He’s at the receiving end of yet another sharp dagger to the heart, he knows this- knows that if he dances with Steve, it won’t just be a dance. It will be one more memory to break him when all this is over. One more regret. One more way Steve will ruin him for anyone else. He shouldn’t, he can’t.  

But Steve won the game. So he really doesn’t have a choice. 

“Okay,” he hears himself say, and Steve’s grin could light up a room. 

Fuck. 

Steve takes his hand and leads him into the living room. 

"Fair warning," he starts, dropping Eddie's hand on his way to the record cabinet, "the selection down here is mostly my parents', so it’s a little dated. Let’s see,” he starts, tapping his chin with one hand while his flips through the LPs with the other, “we’ve got Bee Gees, Elvis, The Hollies, Carpenters, Frankie Vallie… like a lot of Frankie Vallie. Any requests?"

"Surprise me." Eddie answers, leaving out the comment that he's probably not going to like any of the options anyway. 

Dancing is not exactly his thing. The only real dancing he's done with another person was at his cousin's wedding a few years ago, which, incidentally was also with the same girl who helped him realize that, yep, he's definitely gay. 

Aside from that, however, Eddie's been able to duck and dodge every winter bash and spring fling, every homecoming and prom since junior high. He's proudly avoided being put in a situation where his two left feet would shine.

Until now, anyway. 

He takes a deep breath as the speakers spring to life with a melody of sweet piano and soft flute. Steve turns around, stepping up to Eddie, hand extended as the woman sings:

'We've only just begun…'

A rush of air escapes Eddie as he shakes his head, a fond smile on his face. Could he have picked a cheesier song? Still, Eddie takes Steve's hand and is pulled against the other's chest as Steve's other hand finds its place on Eddie's waist. Eddie rests his free hand on Steve’s shoulder like he's seen in all the movies. 

When the chorus comes in, Steve takes a step forward and Eddie immediately steps on his foot. 

Eddie cringes. "Shit, sorry."

"'S okay," Steve assures, "we'll go slow, just follow my lead, okay?" 

Eddie nods. 

"Okay, I'm going to move forward with my right foot, so step back with your left."

"Okay." 

So Steve leads and Eddie does his best to follow. And, though he won't be signing up for dancing competitions anytime soon, it does get easier. By the end of the song, Steve has stopped instructing him entirely; when the song closes and their feet stop, Eddie thinks, Okay, that wasn't so bad.

Then the second one starts- the tempo is faster, music more upbeat- and Steve doesn't let go of his hand like he's expecting. Instead, he smiles at Eddie. 

"Wanna keep going?" He asks with so much merriment in his eyes that it completely smothers out any hope Eddie has of denying his request. 

"Yeah, okay." He replies instead, smoothing his hand on Steve’s shoulder. 

This time, the dance is a little more intricate. Steve has him doing twists and spins and, yeah, he's pretty bad at it, but Steve doesn't seem to mind in the slightest. He always just pulls him back in, chuckling as he wraps his arm around his waist and sways before spinning him out again. Eddie thinks maybe Steve keeps doing it because he enjoys seeing him trip over his own feet, but he can't find it in himself to care when Steve holds him close as the song blends perfectly into the next. A slow song this time, one that gives him the perfect excuse to hang his arm around Steve’s neck as their clasped hands stay bent close. 

“Maybe it’s you, maybe it’s me. Maybe it’s just the constant rhythm of the sea…”

Their bodies are pressed tightly against each other to the point that he can feel Steve’s heart beating next to his- feel how it seems to be racing even though their movements have become much slower. And if he can feel that, he knows Steve can feel his, too, picking up when Steve presses his cheek against Eddie’s, his breath hot on his ear. A shiver moves through him- too hot and too cold all at once- setting his nerves on end. He takes a deep breath and forces himself to relax. 

Then there’s only the two of them, the music, and the warmth spreading through his body as they move to it. Time slips away entirely, and before he knows it, the song is over, and they’re standing still- holding each other close as the music shifts its tempo into the next song. 

“Eddie?” Steve whispers in his ear, his heart beginning to race. 

Eddie pulls back to look Steve in the eyes, arm lazily sliding from Steve’s neck down his arm. “Yeah?”

“I, uh-” Steve gulps, eyes wide like a frightened doe.

“Yeah?” He asks, concerned. “What is it?” 

Steve just looks at him, eyes swimming with emotions Eddie daren’t guess at naming. Then he sighs, dropping his hand from Eddie’s to grip the other side of his waist. His mouth curves into a lopsided grin. 

“Thanks for dancing with me.” he says, though Eddie get’s the feeling it’s not what he was going to say at all.

All the same, Eddie returns the smile, bringing his hand up to run his thumb across the other’s cheek. “Any time, Stevie.” 

Then they’re both surging forward. 

And it’s not something soft or sweet. It’s hard and hot- full of desperation and all the unnamed tension between them that they’re both too afraid to acknowledge. Steve’s grip on his waist is tight, pulling Eddie as close as possible while Eddie’s fingers tangle in Steve’s hair. And instead of Steve’s usual submission to Eddie’s mouth, Steve’s meeting him blow for blow- every slide of the tongue, every hard press of the lips, every push, every pull, every touch. He’s giving as much as he’s taking while one of his hands slides down Eddie’s back to grope his ass, grinding forward. 

Eddie lets out a low growl in the back of his throat, tightening his fingers in Steve’s hair as he begins walking backwards in the general direction of the couch, pulling Steve with him. Once his legs hit it, he quickly turns them around and roughly pushes Steve away. Steve falls back on the couch with a surprised look on his face. 

"Lay back with your head at the end." Eddie commands and Steve's eyes go dark as he rushes to comply. 

Once his head is resting on the arm of the couch, Eddie climbs on between his legs. He grabs the back of Steve's calves and pulls as he leans over him. Eddie nips at Steve's jaw, hands smoothing up Steve's thighs as he begins kissing his way down Steve's neck, his collar, his chest. 

He captures a nipple between his teeth, and Steve bows his back, whimpering desperately. “Eds, fuck yes, please. ” 

“Please what, sweetheart?” Eddie husks against his skin before licking the hard nub again. 

Steve gasps. “Please fuck me. Right here, just fuck me like this.” 

Eddie groans, sitting back far enough to roughly pull at Steve’s trunks. Steve lifts his hips and pulls back his legs to help the process, then Eddie’s throwing them in some corner of the room. Eddie slowly runs his hands up the backside of Steve’s thighs, pushing them back and lifting Steve’s ass off the couch. 

“Hold these for me, baby,” he says, and Steve replaces his hands underneath his bent knees, exposing himself fully. Eddie sits back, licking his lips as he looks Steve over. “You’re so fucking perfect for me, Stevie, you know that?” 

Before Steve has a chance to respond, Eddie ducks forward, licking a hot stripe over Steve’s hole. Steve tenses, Eddie can see his breath caged in his chest as he looks at Eddie with wide eyes. Eddie smirks, bending to do it again, slower, circling his tongue around the tight ring of muscle, which gives to his prodding a little too easily. 

“You been touching yourself, sweetheart?” He asks, looking at the other from over Steve’s hard cock. 

Steve gulps, nodding. “Before you came over. Just wanted to be ready.”

Eddie grins wickedly. “Did you imagine it was me opening you up?” He asks before ducking back down and flattening his tongue against Steve’s hole. “Fucking you with my fingers?”

Steve’s head thumps back as he breathes, “ Yes. ” 

“How’d it feel?”

“Good, fuck,” Steve pants as Eddie pushes his tongue deeper, pushing through the rim and curling, “ so good. ” 

“Bet I can do it better.” Eddie hums before sucking two of his fingers into his mouth, thoroughly slathering them with saliva. He pulls them out with a wet pop then brings them to Steve’s loose entrance. He prods his middle finger in first, ducking his head to help the process along with his tongue massaging against the ring of muscle as he slips the digit in easily. 

“ Yes! ” Steve breathes as Eddie pumps his finger slowly. Eddie continues, pushing in a second finger that has Steve writhing against the couch. Then he adds another and Steve hisses at the stretch and Eddie pauses. 

"You sure you don't want me to get some lube?" Eddie asks. 

"Later," Steve pants, "want it just like this right now. Wanna feel it." 

"'S'long as you're sure… " Eddie replies before pulling out his fingers, replacing them with his tongue. He licks around the sensitive skin, pushing inside and circling as deep as he can to add as much spit as possible. He cock twitches against the thin fabric of his boxers as Steve's hole flutters around his tongue. 

"Fuck, baby," he groans. "Can't wait to be inside you." 

"Then hurry up." 

That earns Steve a sharp nip to the meat of his ass. Steve yelps. 

"Don't be a brat, Stevie." 

“Or what,” Steve asks, licking his lips, “you’ll tie me up?” 

Eddie snorts, “No, you’d like that too much. But…” he slowly begins pumping in his fingers and Steve's head thunks back again, “keep testing me and I’ll find something to stuff into that pretty mouth.”

Eddie curls his fingers and Steve moans , fingers tightening on the back of his thighs to the point that Eddie can see red beneath them. Eddie smirks, repeating the motion as he stretches him further. 

"C'mon, Eds, 'm ready, just- oh shit- please , just fuck me already!" 

"Well, since you asked so nicely, " Eddie chuckles, pulling out his fingers and wiping them on the blanket hanging over the back of the couch. He looks at it, an idea springing to mind. He pulls it off the back as he stands up. 

"What are you doing?" Steve asks, sitting up as he spreads the blanket on the ground. 

"I want you right here," Eddie answers, voice heavy with lust as he saunters back to the couch, "on all fours,” he runs a hand slowly up Steve’s thigh, eyes boring into the other’s, “so I can fuck you hard and deep until you scream yourself hoarse.” He pauses, licking his lips, “That okay with you, pretty boy?"

Steve gulps, nodding, “Yeah.”

Eddie smirks, biting on his lower lip as he gently traces Steve’s sharp jaw. “Then what are you waiting for?”

He steps back to give Steve room to get to his feet, but instead, Steve slips off the cushions and crawls into the middle of the blanket, tilting his hips back invitingly. 

He looks over his shoulder at Eddie with a playful expression, “This good?” 

Eddie’s grin is wide and feral as he looks Steve over, “Perfect.” 

Then he’s shoving off his boxers and dropping to his knees behind the other. His hands roam up and over the soft flesh of Steve’s ass, groping and kneading as he settles himself back on his heels. He ducks his head again, flattening his tongue over Steve’s prepped hole, leaving a slick trail of saliva behind as Steve chokes on a moan. Eddie spits into his hand generously, breath catching tight in his chest as he smooths it over his own neglected cock. He grabs Steve’s hips with his other hand tightly as he aligns himself with Steve's entrance. Slowly, he pushes in, eyes rolling back as he’s sucked in by Steve’s tight heat.  

A low noise comes from Steve as he goes deeper, pausing intermittently to let Steve adjust until he's completely flush with Steve's ass. He stills, partially for Steve's sake, but mostly for his own because, fuck he's never felt Steve like this- this raw and hot and deep . He sucks in a breath before experimentally pulling back and rolling his hips forward. 

Steve pants hanging his head forward, damp hair sticking up in all directions from writhing on the couch. It's so inviting that when Eddie pulls back again, he runs his free hand up Steve’s back then thrusts forward roughly as his fingers twist themselves in that soft hair. 

Steve shouts, jolting back against Eddie's cock. Eddie repeats the motion, tightening his fingers as he slams back into Steve, who makes another loud punched out noise. 

" Fuck, yes, Eds! " He breathes as Eddie sets a hard rhythm, head bent forward from Eddie’s hand in his hair. And Eddie feels like he’s burning alive- every roll of his hips sends shockwaves through his body, amplified by Steve moving against him, by the fucking noises he’s making. His mind is blissfully static as the tension builds through his body until he’s right up on the edge. Steve’s thighs are tense, his breath coming in shorter and shorter, and Eddie knows he’s just as close. But he’s not quite ready for this to be over, so, his hand digs further into Steve’s hip, his hair as he slows down with a thorough roll of his hips- pulling out almost completely before pushing leisurely forward, pouring a moan from Steve that drowns out the music still playing in the background. 

He lets go of Steve’s hair to spit into his hand again, pulling out completely to reslather his length, leaning down to spit around Steve’s hole, because, well, spit definitely isn’t lube, and even through Steve wants it rough right now, Eddie doesn’t want to make it worse than necessary. Then he grabs Steve’s other hip just as tight as he lines himself back up and slowly thrusts forward, pulling Steve back to meet him with a sharp slap of his balls against Steve’s flesh. 

“Christ, baby,” Eddie starts, roughly continuing pulling the other to meet his thrusts, “you fit me like a fucking glove, you know that?” He bends forward to place a kiss to Steve’s shoulder, murmuring against the sweat-slick skin, “Like you were fucking made for me.” 

Then he straightens back out, replacing his hand in Steve’s hair as he picks up his pace. And that familiar tension is back, but its build is syrupy, slowly filling him from the tips of his toes to the crown of his head as he pounds into the body in front of him. Steve’s getting louder as his own tension continues to build, but Eddie doesn’t slow down again- keeps his relentless pace until Steve’s begging for release. 

“ Please, Eds, ” he whimpers, “ please let me cum, fuck, I need it so bad! ”

And that’s enough to burst his bubble of self control, he lets go of Steve’s hair, wrapping his hand around Steve’s cock. It only takes half a pump before Steve’s spilling into his hand with a broken scream- pulling Eddie with him into the hot pool of pleasure. Eddie’s vision whites out as he cums deep inside, Steve’s name hot off his tongue. 

It takes a long time for him to come back down from his high, and when he does, he realizes he’s lying on his back on the soft blanket, Steve watching him from where he lays on his stomach. 

The room is silent besides their ragged breathing- the record having finished sometime before their climax. Eddie turns his face toward Steve, wearing a wide grin. 

“Hey,” Steve says, reaching out to tuck a stray lock of hair from his face.

Eddie chuckles, “Hey.” 

Steve’s hand gently traces down Eddie’s neck to his chest, idly drawing patterns against his tattoo before settling on top of it. Eddie brings his own up hand to trap it against his skin. And when Steve leans forward to place a soft kiss to his shoulder, Eddie wonders if he can feel his heart skip a beat.

They lay in companionable silence for a few minutes before Steve groans.

“What is it?” Eddie asks.

“Cum’s getting really sticky,” Steve sighs heavily, “but I think you broke me, I can’t get up.” 

Eddie laughs, pushing himself up by his elbow, Steve’s hand dropping lazily from his chest as he sits up. “Don’t be such a drama queen, Stevie.” 

“I’m serious, Eds, look at me,” he lamely wiggles his ass, “I’m like a limp noodle.” 

“Fine, princess ,” Eddie sighs, getting to his feet, “I’ll clean you up.”

“You’re a peach, babe!” Steve calls after him as he goes down the hall to the bathroom. 

Eddie shakes his head, chuckling to himself as he flips on the lights. Then he catches sight of himself in the mirror- flush cheeks, wide dopey grin, eyes swirling with so much fucking adoration that he’s stunned silent. His expression falls, shifting into something timid, frightened as he looks himself in the eye. He gulps, quickly turning on the tap to cold before splashing it on his face because, fuck, he needs to ground himself before he gets too high on whatever feeling he’s riding. Needs to come back down before he goes back out there or else Steve might just see the look in his eyes- recognize it- and he doesn’t think he could handle Steve’s reaction to that. Not right now. Maybe not ever. 

“Keep it cool, Munson,” he reminds his reflection, wiping the cold water from his cheeks. Then he grabs a washcloth, turns the water warm to wet it, and sweeps out of the bathroom without looking back in the mirror. 

Steve is sitting back on his heels by the time Eddie comes back into the living room, using one end of the blanket to wipe off his stomach.

“Oh,” Eddie begins sardonically, “so he can move.”

“Well, you kept me waiting for so long, ” Steve replies, smirking. Eddie rolls his eyes, throwing the washcloth at Steve’s face. Steve catches it easily, chuckling. “Wow, such a gentleman.” 

Not long after, they’ve cleaned up their mess in the living room, grabbed their clothes from outside, have moved the beer up to Steve’s fridge for the remainder of the evening, and are now watching Back to the Future on Steve’s couch. Well, half watching because Steve’s also got his entire body laying on top of Eddie’s, and it’s hard to focus on Marty McFly when Steve’s body heat is warming him to the core. Steve’s head is tucked beneath Eddie’s chin, soft hair tickling his throat any time he moves his head. Eddie's got one arm resting beneath his own head on the arm of the couch while the other is loosely wrapped around Steve’s waist.

It's dangerous, he knows. Worse than the drive-in, worse than the dancing, but he doesn't do anything to stop it because he realizes with shocking clarity that he’s never felt so content, so safe, so at home  than right now, in this moment.