Chapter Text
The walk back into the house had the very real potential of feeling like a walk of shame. Eddie and Steve slipped in through the sliding doors by the main room and were met with multiple stares.
Eddie curtsied, “Mornin’, folks.”
“Why are you in your underwear?” Mike asked him, tactful as ever.
He, Max, Dustin, Robin, and Jonathan were lounging on different parts of the couch, each with bowls of cereal. It sounded like the others were still in the kitchen. They were only partially out of view, the open plan of the house not leaving room for much privacy.
Eddie slipped off his boots with a smile, “I was just having a little mental break in the back yard. Why do you-” he waved a hand in the boy’s general direction- “have such awful bedhead?”
“I’m a restless sleeper.” Mike answered easily, but there was a flush on his cheeks and his gaze darted to Will guiltily.
Hoping the man had noticed it too, Eddie shot Steve a gleeful look, and received one in kind, coupled with raised eyebrows.
“Breakfast?” Eddie tilted his voice hopefully, directing the question at the man standing probably suspiciously close to his side.
Steve dragged his gaze up from definitely not Eddie’s face, “Put some clothes on first.”
“Did you just call me a whore, Harrington?”
The man grinned, “Am I wrong?”
Eddie held a hand to his chest while tipping backwards as if he’d been struck by the words. Steve had the catch him by the front of his sweater before he fell on his ass.
Once pulled back to his feet, and with a small laugh, Eddie saluted the group before making his way upstairs.
One pair of jeans, and some slight disappointment at not having been followed by a certain someone to the bedroom, later, Eddie joined the hoard where they’d gathered in the main room.
Robin, Nancy, and Jonathan were stood together behind the couch, most of the kids squished onto it, with El and Max sat on the floor together. They’d all apparently finished their food.
For once having an actual appetite, Eddie felt wrongfooted. It’d be weird to go get something now, right? He’d stick out, be watched while he ate. He was still contemplating when Steve appeared at his side.
“Here,” He said, handing over a full bowl of Lucky Charms. There was a matching bowl in his hands, “You’ll need fuel for this.”
“For what?”
Max answered from the floor, “El’s going to check in on Jason-” she put a hand on the girl’s knee supportively- “and the others. Check they got the message.”
And if they didn’t?
Food didn’t seem that appetising as the lump of anxiety built in Eddie’s throat, but he started eating anyway. He concentrated on getting the right ratio of marshmallow to cereal. The lack of space on the couch meant Eddie and Steve had to stand in the large arch doorway, and he shuffled his feet restlessly.
“What do we do if they don’t leave him alone?” Lucas voiced the question they were all silently asking.
The room went quiet as they contemplated, Max and El quietly muttering to each other by the radio as they set up the white noise.
“We hurt them,” Will answered firmly after it seemed no one was going to offer anything, “You said El broke that guy’s arm, right? We just make them scared.”
“Jesus, Will.” Eddie paused with his spoon halfway to his mouth.
Steve moved Eddie’s hand up so that the metal hit his lips, “We’ll cross that bridge if we get to it. You girls ready?”
Max and El nodded. The room filled with static as the former switched to a frequency with no station. She slipped the volume up notch by notch until El nodded at her.
Slowly, she lowered herself onto the coffee table, facing them all. Max handed her a bandana. El was still wearing Eddie’s t-shirt, and it hung on her frame and made her look younger than she was as she tied the material at the back of her head.
“Remember to be quiet.” El told everyone once the stage had been set.
Eddie gripped his bowl tight. He watched the thin line of the girl’s mouth and the crease in her forehead as she frowned in concentration.
Nancy and Jonathan were holding each other tight on the other side of the room. Similarly, Mike and Will were pressed together closer than they necessarily needed to for the space they had. It was a good distraction, trying to figure out what was going on there.
With narrowed eyes, Eddie elbowed Steve in his side gently. He nodded at the kids when the man looked at him. Steve followed his direction and assessed the closeness too.
A small smile appeared on his face. Eddie leant against the doorway and admired it, unable to stop himself from mirroring the expression when the man looked back at him with a smug tilt to his eyebrows.
“I see him,” El spoke into the static filled silence. Eddie’s smile dropped, “He is-” she frowned, head turning to the side like someone was whispering in her ear- “fighting. With his parents.”
“What are they saying?” Max leant forward as she asked, head tipped back from her place on the floor to look at El’s face.
“They are threatening him-” she paused, listening- “with ‘boarding school’. It sounds like an old fight. They have ‘warned’ him before.”
Eddie shared a look with Steve, who said, “He told them?”
El nodded, “They do not believe him. It was bad for them last time-”
That wasn’t a surprise. After trying to rally the town to mob Eddie, Jason had some trouble with the police, especially when Hopper returned to duty over the summer. He’d gone off the rails, had ruined the good reputation of his family. The Carvers were a pillar of the community before all of this.
Eddie supposed they didn’t want a repeat after scraping themselves back into social graces over the last few months.
El continued, hands clenched into fists on her thighs, “He is frustrated. Scared.”
“It worked?” Mike perked up, pushing forward to lean his forearms on his knees, closer to El with wide, hopeful eyes.
“It worked,” El confirmed, “He is scared of us, and of his parents.”
Eddie sagged against the doorway. He nearly dropped the bowl. He slipped to the floor to lean his back against the wood and put the ceramic next to him with a heavy breath.
“What about Andy, and Chance?” Nancy asked, reasonably so, but Eddie was too busy trying to breathe. He took in air through his nose and tried to calm the rapid beat of his heart.
Steve sat cross-legged in front of him. He put his bowl down too and put a hand on one of Eddie’s knees while still looking at El in the middle of the room. The touch gave Eddie something to zero in on. He focused on the warmth and closed his eyes.
“They follow Jason,” Lucas pointed out, “If he backs off, they will too. Pack mentality.”
Eddie opened his eyes again and saw El remove her blindfold, wiping the back of her hand under her nose. It came away bloody.
She met Eddie’s gaze calmly, “They will leave you alone.”
“Shit,” He gasped out, overcome with emotions he was still unused to feeling after months of white noise, “You think so?”
El nodded, her mouth tipping into a smile, “There is nothing he can do.”
“Shit.” Eddie repeated stupidly. He could feel his eyes stinging, a rumble in his chest that warned of oncoming tears.
There were too many people, too many eyes on him, and he took in a shaking breath to stop himself from breaking down in front of all of them. He looked to Steve pleadingly.
The man took mercy, “Everyone get your stuff,” He said to the room, hand squeezing Eddie’s knee and eyes not straying, “You need to go home, take a nap or something-” he looked away just to give everyone a stern look “-we’ll see each other at the Byers’ tonight.”
It was obvious why Steve had done it. Everyone knew and shot concerned looks Eddie’s way as they filed out of the living room. Robin patted Steve’s shoulder as she passed to let everyone out, considering she was staying and heading to the Byers’ with them.
Eddie paid them no mind. He tucked his head into his knees, ending up with his forehead on Steve’s hand.
The room fell silent after another minute.
“Is this a good panic-” Steve moved closer, the wood scuffing against his trousers- “or bad?”
Eddie heaved out a breath, “Good, Steve.”
“Good.” Steve repeated with palpable relief. He pulled his hand out from under Eddie’s face and brushed it through his hair instead.
“They’re gone,” Eddie said to himself, just to confirm it, to see how it felt. He raised his head and met Steve’s sparkling eyes, “They’re gone?”
“They’re gone.” The man laughed slightly, dipping his head down to meet Eddie’s eyes more fully.
They grinned at each other. It worked, Eddie thought deliriously, it fucking worked.
He was suddenly so thankful that Steve had found him that day. It was what got him here, surrounded by friends, support, people that’d fight for him and that he’d fight for in turn.
The door was open, and Steve was the key.
Eddie lunged forward and tackled the man into a hug. He felt the grunt Steve let out as his back hit the floor, and Eddie pushed himself onto his forearms, smacked a kiss against his cheek, then the other, chest bubbling with laughter.
“I’m getting that kid a fruit basket,” Eddie slipped his hand around to cup the back of Steve’s head. He tugged lightly on the hair at the nape of his neck, met his smile with a wider one, “No, two. Three. Ten.”
“Ten fruit baskets?” Steve tutted, accepting his position on the floor. He brought his hand up and tucked some hair behind Eddie’s ear, tilted his head as his eyes flicked over his face.
Eddie flushed under the attention, “She deserves that many. Saved my life.”
“Maybe I should get her a fruit basket.” Steve cupped his cheek gently, pushed his head up to kiss the tip of Eddie’s nose.
“Yeah? Would you have missed me, Harrington?”
“Again, with the surname,” Steve shook his head then dropped it back to the floor to give Eddie a disappointed frown, “So formal, Eddie.”
“Sorry,” Eddie said unapologetically, pulling the man up again so their breaths mingled, “I’ll call you whatever you want, sweetheart.”
“I like that one.” Steve keened. He moved the last inch between them and kissed Eddie gently, so soft it was barely there. It didn’t make his heart swell any less.
The rush going through Eddie matched every time they’d done this before. Every touch, every kiss, every collision of their affection for each other was as exciting as the first. Having only been a day since the first time it made sense.
He wondered if the thrill would ever fade.
“So, what’s the plan, dinguses?” Robin’s voice echoed down the hallway as she came back from the front door.
One second to the next, Eddie and Steve were back in their previous positions. The other man cross-legged and wiping the back of his hand over his mouth with wide eyes.
The image struck Eddie as eerily similar to a kid being caught eating something they shouldn’t. He barely contained his laugh as Robin rounded the corner.
“I need a nap, for one,” Eddie offered when Steve didn’t seem capable of saying anything. He met the man’s eyes with raised eyebrows, “Didn’t get much sleep.”
He received a warning look in return.
Flustered Steve Harrington was something Eddie would never get sick of, and he knew himself well enough to think that. The flush on his cheeks, the wide doe-eyes, his lips pressed into a thin line.
Even his neck went slightly red.
Eddie would never stop having fun with that.
“That’s fair,” Robin replied, either oblivious or apathetic to the silent conversation going on at her feet. She kicked Steve’s leg, “And you?”
Eddie tempered his grin, “You need a nap too, Steve?” He asked, blinking innocently as the blush grew, “How did you sleep?”
“Really well, actually,” Steve narrowed his eyes at him, visibly containing some admonishing comment, “You can nap on your own.”
Like a dog with a bone, “Who said I was inviting you to nap with me?” Eddie held a hand to his heart, “There’s a spare bedroom.”
Steve’s jaw clenched. His gaze darted up to Robin, who was watching the interaction keenly, her lip between her teeth.
The morning light filled the room and Eddie let himself relax into the doorway. This was nice, good, teasing Steve without the end goal of pissing him off, getting him to run away.
All Eddie wanted was to see him blush. He was all too aware of how the thought made his expression shift, falling from a teasing grin to something fonder, telling. His heart thumped.
“We have to be at the Byers’ for 5:30,” Robin pointed out, crouching to be eye level with them both and tilting her head, “So, we can go do lunch at the diner?”
Eddie recovered before Steve, “Sounds good,” He held out a hand to get the girl to help him up, which she did readily, “Let’s call it my treat, for being my little saviours last night, yeah?”
He bumped shoulders with Robin before offering Steve a hand up with a grin.
Steve’s blush had faded, but not entirely, when he took it. He pulled the man up with purposefully too much force to bump them into each other before adjusting to balance. The blush appeared again.
Pretty, Eddie thought.
“Let us go on-” he ran into the living room and hopped onto the coffee table- “celebrate our righteous victory. We will march into-” he looked to Robin.
“Harvey’s Diner.”
-“Harvey’s Diner with our heads held high and the flag held out in front of us-” Eddie put two fists on top of each other in front of him and tipped his head up- “no more of Eddie the Banished! He has been allowed back into society, a broken but beautiful man!”
“He okay?” Robin mumbled to Steve under her breath, arms crossed and gaze overtly judging.
Eddie met the man’s eye, who was watching him with a light smile and his hands on his hips, “Yeah, he’s okay.”
*
“Come on, Eddie!” Steve yelled from the bottom of the stairs.
With a grunt, Eddie hopped on one foot to pull his boot fully up. How the other man had been ready before him with that ridiculous hair was beyond him.
Eddie had spent probably too long admiring himself in the bathroom mirror. He had to admit to himself, that he made a damn good Han Solo.
The white billowy shirt hung off Eddie’s shoulders just right, and the black waistcoat was open and tapered nicely to accentuate his waist when it was buttoned up. He had a holster resting on his hip, with a brightly coloured water gun that somewhat dampened the overall effect but did its job as his makeshift blaster.
Eddie had pulled his hair into a low bun to complete the look, making him look less himself. Steve had even gone so far as to buy him knee high boots to couple with his black jeans.
They were a bitch to put on. With a final pull, the boot Eddie had been struggling with finally shifted on and he let out a breath.
“Ready?” He called to Steve, who had been waiting for him and Robin for the last ten minutes.
“As I’ll ever be.”
Eddie descended the stairs at a run. He hopped off the second to last and pulled out his blaster, pointing it at Steve with a shout.
The man didn’t play out being threatened, which was a shame, but the leisurely up and down he was giving Eddie instead wasn’t a bad alternative. He holstered the weapon.
Steve was an excellent Luke Skywalker. His white robes were pulled tight to his waist with knotted material, and his boots matched Eddie’s, probably bought at the same time without outright matching in mind. It was more convenient, but the fact that they were wearing the same thing warmed Eddie through anyway.
They admired each other in silence.
Steve sighed heavily, “I did a good job.”
Eddie couldn’t help but agree with an affirmative sound, but he doubted they were talking about the same thing.
He dragged his eyes up from the slope of Steve’s waist and met a heavy-lidded gaze. The man licked his lips.
“Don’t.” Eddie warned with a point of his finger.
“Don’t what?” Steve tilted his head, eyes falling again to admire Eddie’s outfit, slipping down to the boots and all the way back up. His eyes stuck on Eddie’s face, flicking over it like he’d never seen it before, “You put your hair up.”
Eddie touched the bun sitting on his neck with a bashful smile, “Yeah, seemed fitting. Does it work?”
“It works,” Steve nodded quickly. He stepped closer, pulled on the bottom of the waistcoat with a smirk, “It all works.”
His eyes landed on Eddie’s again. The backs of Steve’s fingers brushed against his hip where they gripped the material, and Eddie’s stomach flipped. He swayed closer.
“Like what you see?” He asked, pulling Steve in by the knot on his waist, already knowing the answer.
Steve’s other hand moved to Eddie’s hips, his head tipping back so he could look down his nose at him with a teasing smirk.
“I love what I see.”
Love, Eddie’s eyes widened, even though they’d already exchanged those breathless three words, love, love, love.
He tugged until Steve tipped forward and crashed into him. It was easy to kiss him, their faces so close it would’ve been ridiculous not to. Steve sighed against his lips.
Eddie kept a hand clasped in Steve’s material belt and brought the other to the side of the man’s face, walking him backwards until his back hit the wall. He let out a heavy breath as they kissed, running his tongue over Steve’s bottom lip.
His face was framed by the man’s hands. It deafened him as Steve’s palms covered his ears, but Eddie didn’t need to hear. He needed to taste, touch, feel.
Eddie slipped a leg between Steve’s easily so that they slotted together like puzzle pieces. He pulled on the knot in his hand until it came loose.
“Eddie.” Steve warned against his mouth, only forming the word before continuing the kiss, fingers tangled in Eddie’s hair and ruining his bun.
He slipped a hand under Steve’s robe and pulled away with a chuckle, “You’re not wearing a shirt underneath?”
Eddie ran his palm over the man’s side. He felt the full body shiver that went through Steve, kissed his reddening cheek.
“It’d show at the top.” Steve defended. He traced a fingertip over Eddie’s temple, head leant back on the wall. It was impossible not to kiss him again.
“You wanted your chest out,” Eddie said against his lips, laughed when Steve pulled on the hair by his ear petulantly, “You little slut.”
Steve hummed, the sound like a purr vibrating his chest, “You love it.”
There was no way to argue with that. They both knew it was true.
“Well, this is an interesting turn of events.” Robin’s voice came from the stairs.
The men froze, staring at each other from their compromising position against the hallway wall. The girl moved fucking silently when she wanted to.
Steve pressed his lips together with wide eyes, “Do you think she can see us?”
“Yeah, Steve,” Eddie laughed, pressing his forehead against the man’s, “I think she can.”
They moved apart and shifted guiltily as Robin descended the stairs at a sedate pace. Eddie adjusted his waist coat. Next to him, Steve was hastily tying his robes back together with his eyes flicking back and forth between the other two.
“Leia,” Eddie decided to do what he did best and break the tension, “You look like a million bucks, my dear,” He stepped up to Robin and wrapped an arm around her waist, the silky material of the white dress sliding under his hand. It was easy to dip her wearing a charming smile as she yelped, “What are you doing tonight, say 9pm?”
Robin slapped his chest until he brought her back to her feet, “Beating your ass. Jesus. Never do that again.”
Eddie shrugged, “Just playing the part. We’re a couple for tonight, Buckley.”
“Ironic, considering.” Steve commented, having gained most of his composure during the act. His cheeks were still slightly red. With a skipping step, Eddie pinched one of them.
“That we’re queerer than a pride flag?” He tipped his head down to look up at the man with a grin.
Steve breathed a laugh, “Exactly.”
“Oh,” Robin widened her eyes sarcastically, “So, not ironic because you two are boning?”
“Boning.” Eddie repeated blandly.
“Jesus, Robin,” Steve shook his head disapprovingly, leant against the wall with his arms crossed, “Have some class.”
“You two were the ones going at it-” Robin waved a hand, and Eddie raised his eyebrows at Steve who shrugged back at him- “in the middle of a communal area where anyone could walk in-”
“This is my house.” Steve pointed out, but the girl was unperturbed.
“-and I got my eyes assaulted-”
“Assaulted?” Eddie took his hair out of the scrunchie to redo it.
“-it’s scarring. Truly. I’m scarred for life.” The fake hair pinned to the side of Robin’s head bounced as she bobbed her head to accentuate the point.
Steve checked his watch, “You done?”
“I’m done.” Robin confirmed.
“Good, ‘cause we have to go,” The man clapped his hands together as Eddie tightened the tie in his hair, “Hop on it.”
Steve grabbed his keys from the bowl by the door, and Eddie followed him towards it.
“Wait,” Robin pulled them both back with a hand on each shoulder, “Clarify something for me.”
“Shoot.” Eddie told her. He shared a look with the man next to him, who lifted an eyebrow in response.
With a narrowed gaze, Robin shook them slightly, “Are you two together now?”
He looked to Steve to answer, “Yeah,” He said with a shrug, “I guess.”
“You guess?” Eddie’s stomach twisted, “What does that mean?”
“I don’t know!” Steve pulled himself from Robin’s hand and threw his hands in the air, “What did you want me to say? We haven’t done the talk about it.”
You said you’re in love with me.
Robin pulled her lip between her teeth, “Maybe we should just go. Forget I asked.”
There was no way Steve was getting out of it that easy. Eddie blocked the door with his body when Robin tried to open it. He leant against it, propping his foot up behind him for good measure.
“No, Steve,” He curled his voice harshly, “Explain this to me.”
The man opened his mouth, hands on his hips and brow drawn, “I don’t- we only just-” he groaned and pushed a hand through his hair, “I didn’t want to assume,” His eyes were vaguely panicked when they met Eddie’s, “Or like- put pressure on you?”
Moderately satisfying answer. Eddie was getting good at this honesty thing. He held back some scathing comment, the claws stinging the end of his fingers as they tried to come out.
“Pressure me how?”
“Into a rel-” Steve’s gaze darted to Robin, who was watching on with keen interest- “do we have to talk about this right now? In front of her?”
“Consider me a fly on the wall.” Robin said with a sardonic smile. She made no move to leave and give them some privacy, and Eddie didn’t really care.
He tipped his head towards Steve, swallowed the monster, “How about this, Harrington-”
The man muttered, “Why does the surname feel like a punishment?”
“-you wanna go out with me?”
Steve glanced at Robin again, his neck and face turning that lovely shade of red Eddie adored, “Yeah?”
“Going to need a firm answer, Steve,” Eddie inspected his nails, consciously keeping his face neutral as his stomach did an entirely different twist than before, rolling with delight, “Say it like you mean it.”
“Yes, Eddie-” Steve said firmly, his glare causing Eddie’s face to break out in a smile- “I would like to go out with you.”
Eddie raised his eyebrows.
Steve sighed, “Please?”
“Better,” He nodded, then clapped his hands together in a mockery of the man’s ‘dad move’ from earlier, “Hop on it, folks, we’re gonna be late.”
“Asshole.” Steve whispered into his ear when he moved out of the way of the front door. The fondness of his tone negated the insult. It made it sound like a compliment.
Robin followed them both out of the car while making a gagging noise, “That was super gross, by the way. I’m disgusted by you both.”
“That’s homophobic.” Eddie dug a finger into the girl’s side before she could climb into the van and leapt back when she tried to hit him. She stuck out her tongue instead.
*
The Byers/Hopper house was decked to the nines when they arrived. There were several pumpkins out front, one with a simple three line smiling face that Eddie could only assume was carved by El. Fake cobwebs were strung across the porch, as well as every window.
The trio made their way up the porch stairs. Voices could be heard from inside, chattering over each other, but Dustin’s carried more than the rest which was beyond not surprising.
Steve knocked, and Eddie swallowed his nerves. He’d only met Hopper and Joyce a handful of times, and the most recent with the former wasn’t under exactly polite circumstances. It took a few seconds too long for someone to come to the door.
The anxiety coiled in Eddie’s stomach as Joyce greeted them with a smile, “Happy Halloween, you three.”
She welcomed Steve immediately with a hug, which he sunk into like he needed it. Robin also got one, which she took more awkwardly because of the clipped-on hair.
Eddie took in a breath and went in last with his arms already open. He was partially sure that the woman wouldn’t want to hug him, of all people, but it was better to go in more confident than he felt.
Mercifully, Joyce pulled him in like it was nothing. She was a head shorter than Eddie, and he wrapped his arms around her shoulders with a relieved sigh, pulling his face into a grin when they parted to hide his uncertainty.
“Thanks for having us over,” He said to her. She clasped his shoulders as he spoke, “I promise we’re less of a handful than the kids.”
“I don’t believe that for a second.” Joyce answered easily, giving him a rueful smile before addressing the other two as well, “Food is already on the table. Go ahead and help yourselves.”
“El and Will revealed themselves yet?” Steve asked hopefully.
Eddie admired the bunting with bats and pumpkins hung across the main room. Several lines of it were crossing over each other on the ceiling with barely any space between.
“Not yet,” Joyce said with a shrug, “I’m sure it won’t be long, though.”
With a last clap on Eddie’s shoulder, the woman led the way through to the others, and the three of them followed to a chorus of greetings.
Eddie immediately spotted Dustin in the crowd. He wandered over, eyebrows raised, appreciating the grin, white face paint, red nose and hair, and the green neatly painted around his mouth and eyes.
The kid held his arms wide, “Ha!” He looked Eddie up and down, “Han Solo, lookin’ good, man.”
Eddie did a spin, “You make an excellent clown, Henderson, I must say,” He nodded at Nancy who was by the boy’s side eating some chips off a paper plate, “Good job, Wheeler.”
“I told you I’d do it better.” She said slyly to Dustin behind her hand. Eddie held a hand to his heart with an offended noise.
He was accosted by the other kids as they did their rounds of welcomes. Somehow, he’d lost Steve, but quickly found him gathering food piled on his plate with Robin at his side, quietly talking about something with wide eyes and gestures.
Max slid up to him, “I honestly expected you to show up in the dress.”
Eddie knocked on the plastic helmet the girl was wearing, “Just ask if you wanna see me in a dress, kid.”
“It’d be funny,” The girl adjusted her helmet with a huff, the costume baggy around her shoulders but oddly suiting her, “Then Steve could’ve been Han instead. It’d make more sense.”
“Would it?” Eddie narrowed his eyes at her.
She tipped her chin up defiantly, “Yeah, it would.”
They stared at each other in silence, neither willing to back down and admit defeat. Eventually, Eddie had to concede. The girl was observant, nearly as much so as Dustin, and he couldn’t exactly argue with her.
Instead, “Maybe next year.”
“You can’t repeat costumes,” Max took a step back, her eyebrows raised, “Just think of another couple.”
“Sandy and Danny?” Eddie pointed at her for approval, and the girl hummed with a shrug before she walked away to disappear into the crowd of people as quickly as she’d appeared.
He found Dustin again and pulled him towards the table littered with food with an arm around his shoulder. They chatted as they piled their plates.
“There he is!” Mike shouted, and Eddie turned to see Will had descended the stairs.
He grinned bashfully. There was an orange and blue lightning bolt down his face, and his hair was spiked up away from his face. The boy was wearing a white t-shirt and matching jeans. Eddie tilted his head.
“Bowie,” Steve laughed as he said it before Eddie could. The man walked over and clapped Will on the shoulder, “Rad look dude.”
“Thanks,” Will flushed under the attention, Mike at his other side staring at the makeup appreciatively, his padded Superman costume making him look somehow even taller than he usually was, “But this isn’t the big reveal.”
“What’s the big reveal?” Lucas asked, his mouth full of food.
Will raised a finger. He walked over to the stereo and put a tape in, fiddling with it as everyone watched in anticipatory silence.
Eddie munched on a cocktail wiener.
‘Another One Bites the Dust’ played out loudly. Will grinned and shouted up the stairs by the front door, “Ready!”
“I come down now?” El responded, causing a couple bouts of laughter amongst the audience.
Will waved a beckoning hand, and the girl appeared at the top of the staircase. She trotted downstairs with a grin as the music played.
Once at the bottom, she struck a pose. A very recognisable pose.
It wasn’t a particularly Halloween-y costume, but Eddie didn’t care.
Her yellow leather jacket wasn’t an exact match for the Magic tour, just a classic leather jacket, not military style. There were two red stripes, and one yellow, painted down the sides of both legs of her white trousers. Her hair had been completely flattened on her head with hair gel.
The look was completed with a fake moustache glued to the top of her lip.
“Freddie!” Robin pointed out gleefully, cluing in anyone who hadn’t figured it out yet.
“I am Freddie Mercury,” El dropped the pose and grinned, the expression making her moustache shift and Eddie held in a laugh, “Can you tell?”
Mike said, “We can tell, El. You did a great job.”
“Freddie and Bowie,” Dustin whispered to Eddie, eyebrows raised speculatively, “Sensing a pattern?”
Eddie could see the pattern. He wondered if Dustin was seeing the same one as him. With a grunt, he stuffed a Dorito in his mouth and watched as El and Will were whisked away by Max and Mike respectively.
Instinctively, Eddie searched for Steve in the crowd, met his eyes after a moment and they smiled at each other.
‘Freddie’, Eddie mouthed with a meaningful movement of his eyebrows.
‘Bowie’, the man mouthed back with a disbelieving look. Mutual conclusions, then.
The party really started then. Well, it wasn’t exactly a rager, but the kids were boisterous and with their constant arguments and theatrics, Eddie was entertained the whole time.
He stood back with Robin as Lucas and Mike played their characters, acting out what a fight would look like between Spider-Man and Superman.
“I got you with my laser eyes, dude,” Mike waved a hand, frowning bitterly, “You’re dead.”
Lucas responded smugly, “I jumped out of the way. My spidey-senses told me you were going to-”
“Bullshit! Superman would totally beat-”
“No way, dude. No fucking-”
“It’s not even a debate!”
Eddie spoke to Robin behind his hand, “Should we break this up?”
“Nah,” She responded quietly, watching it go down with a smile, “I want to see if it turns into a real fight.”
“We’ve seen enough of those, don’t ya think?”
Robin’s eyes widened. She turned to him, opened her mouth to apologise, since the bruises were still bright and sharp on his face.
He laughed at her scandalised expression.
“You asshole,” Robin slapped his arm as he continued to chuckle, “I actually felt bad for a second.”
“God forbid-” Eddie held his hands together as if in prayer- “you ever feel bad about anything, Buckley.”
She glared at him, “I’ll end you one day, Eddie.”
“Try me.” He challenged.
Her eyes sparked.
Eddie ran.
He pulled out his ‘blaster’ and pointed it at her, completely pointlessly since it didn’t have any water in it and wouldn’t exactly hurt if he threw it.
The girl yelled threats at him as they weaved through the kids and adults alike. They reached the kitchen and Eddie rounded the counter with a hysterical laugh.
He faced Robin on the other side of it. She darted to the left. Eddie went the other way. The girl suddenly doubled back, and he shouted, changing directions too and almost tripping over his own feet.
Eddie scurried and slammed into something broad and hard.
“Careful,” Hopper grumbled. Oh God, Eddie reeled back and straightened, clearing his throat when Robin crashed into his back with a grunt. They both stood to attention, “Running inside isn’t a good idea.”
“Sorry sir.” Eddie and Robin said automatically, then looked at each other as if personally betrayed by their respect for the man’s authority.
Hopper sighed. He, for some reason at 7pm, had a mug of coffee in his hands. The man exuded ‘exasperated dad’ vibes, and Eddie felt like hiding behind Robin would probably be an inappropriate reaction.
“El told me it’s all good,” Hopper said to Eddie, his eyes flicking over his face, assessing the bruises there, “No more trouble?”
Eddie nodded firmly, his face heating at the fatherly protectiveness being directed at him, “Hopefully not, no.”
“Hopefully,” Hopper rubbed temples with his fingers and thumb, “You let me know if there is, okay? We’ll sort it.”
“Thank you.” Eddie glanced at Robin, who was looking back at him with her lips pressed together, “I appreciate it.”
Hopper simply nodded at them and walked away. He moved as if to ruffle Will’s hair as he passed, and the boy ducked out of the way with a shout to stop him from ruining his spiked style.
“Oh, wow.” Robin laughed, “You looked like you were about to burst into flames.”
Eddie shoved her, “Shut up. You try having an older man say he’ll sort something for you and not blush.” He pointed at the girl when he eyes widened at his words, “That is not what I meant-”
“Steve!” Robin yelled, running for the man on the other end of the room, engaged in some weird tussle with Dustin, “Steve, Eddie said-”
Eddie caught up to her and put his hand over her mouth, pulling her into his chest as she struggled, “Nothing. I said nothing.”
Steve separated from Dustin, the kid adjusting his red nose. He looked between Eddie and Robin as they continued to fight, it eventually ending when Robin licked his hand.
“Buckley!” Eddie wiped his hand on the thigh of his jeans, “How old are you?”
“Twelve.” The girl answered with a serene smile.
Steve raised his eyebrows, “What is going on here?”
“Nothing.” Eddie answered at the same time as Robin blurting, “Eddie has a crush-”
“It was bad wording,” He quickly defended before the girl could dig him into a hole, “Bad wording only.”
“I’m not even gonna ask.”
Eddie had never been more thankful in his life. He stuck his tongue out at Robin and the girl responded by kicking his shin.
The party ended at 9pm. The kids went off to their respective houses, Max and Mike staying behind to sleep over. Eddie, Steve, and Robin said their goodbyes and got more hugs from Joyce.
Eddie was sure that this party had provided more innocent physical touch for him than any other day in his life. He’d never had so many people hanging off his arm (all of the kids), play fighting with him (Dustin and Robin), or insisting on being carried (Robin again, for a photo of the Star Wars trio on El’s polaroid).
Before they left, Eddie had pulled Will aside and told him that he’d be collecting him for the next D&D session at the Wheeler’s, so they could have their talk. The kid had nodded seriously. He’d seemed nervous, but sure, and Eddie was warmed by the fact that Will wanted to talk to him about whatever was going on.
It felt like another thing to add to his list. For the bad days. The three things that make him happy, the reminders of why he wanted to keep living. It was ever-growing.
Most of the items were taken by Steve.
Speak of the Devil, “You want to come back to mine?”
They’d just dropped Robin off at her ‘friend’, Vickie’s party. Neither of them were up for it, considering how full on the past few days had been.
Eddie was relaxed in the passenger seat, having been exiled to the back before because the girl apparently had eternal shotgun. He rolled his head to give Steve a judging look.
“My van is there. I have to come back to yours.”
Steve gave him an equally critical stare, “I meant for the night. You know-” he shrugged, wiggled his shoulders with his eyes back on the road- “stay with me?”
“Not sick of me yet?” Eddie trailed his eyes over the man’s body, the way his costume had sagged over the night, and how his long fingers wrapped around the steering wheel.
“Not yet, no.” Steve shot him a smile.
It blanketed Eddie with admiration. He marvelled at the man’s ability to put so much emotion into such a small gesture. Everything he did radiated love and affection.
Maybe that was Eddie’s rose-tinted view of things. It didn’t matter either way since it was positive. It was good.
There was still a lingering doubt in the back of Eddie’s mind. It persevered even though he knew how the man felt.
Eddie knew he was loved. He knew that Steve wanted him around, knowing how fucked up he was. How the static sometimes won.
His pink lips after we kiss. The muscle in his neck when he tips his head back. The way he says ‘please’.
“Yeah, Steve,” Eddie didn’t resist the urge to touch, brushing the back of his finger over his Luke Skywalker’s cheek, “I’ll stay.”
*
One Month Later
“Don’t tell me that.” Eddie thumped the back of his head into the wall with a breathless laugh.
Nancy’s voice filtered down the line, high with indignance, “I swear! He was so grumpy, Eddie. You can’t leave us alone with drunk Steve again. He stayed at ours and wouldn’t stop cooing over Mike,” Her voice tipped into a poor impression of Steve, “’You’re so lucky you figured it out early. You have Will for five more years than I have Eddie.’”
Adorable, Eddie thought, not bothering to contain his smile, “No promises, Wheeler, you know what the guys are like.”
She did, and he knew that bailing wasn’t an option yet. Eddie had only started hanging out with the members of Corroded Coffin again a couple weeks ago. Playing guitar after so long without felt like breathing fresh air after drowning.
It was one of the steps to take to feel like himself again, and he wasn’t about to ditch it for a house party hosted by someone he barely knew. Even if his friends and boyfriend begged him to go.
“Well, either way, you’re still coming tomorrow, right?”
“Wouldn’t miss it,” Eddie spun a ring around his pointer finger, staring at the post-it note on the opposite wall from Steve a few weeks ago, sweet words he reminded himself of every morning, “Even though Robin said it was monthly, and you’re breaking the tradition before its properly started.”
Nancy chuckled, “I offered to pay for her,” She defended, and Eddie rolled his eyes even though the girl wouldn’t be able to see it, “And this is all of us. You two can still have your little date every month.”
“Don’t tell Steve I’m leaving him for her. It’ll break his poor heart.”
“Cross my heart,” Nancy answered, and Eddie could picture her doing the gesture as well, “It’d be a twist, that’s for sure. The kids would lose their minds.”
Eddie’s eyes were drawn to the window when headlights lit the trailer, “Looks like my side piece is here, Wheeler. I’ll have to love you and leave you.”
“Tell Steve I say hi,” The girl said, then added hastily, “And that if he wants me to never give you the photos Jonathan is having developed, he’ll have to pay me.”
“How much?” Eddie asked. He watched the door, only half paying attention to Nancy’s response as his heart thudded with excitement.
“We’ll call it an even $100.”
The door opened, “I’ll let him know,” Eddie followed Steve with his gaze when he entered the trailer. He bit his lip as the man immediately walked over to him and crowded him into the wall, “Catch you later, sharpshooter.”
He hung up the phone before Nancy could reply. Steve put his hands on Eddie’s hips under his shirt, pushed into him until their fronts were slotted together. Eddie responded by wrapping his arms around the man’s shoulders.
“Nancy?” Steve asked, his lips brushing over Eddie’s cheek. He smelled of sandalwood and cologne, along with the undercurrent that was all Steve.
“No, it’s Eddie,” He retorted, pressing his nose to the man’s pulse point, and inhaling deeply. He let it out heavily so it tickled Steve’s skin, “You can call me babe if you want, though.”
Steve giggled and moved away from Eddie’s nose, “You know what I meant.”
“Do I?”
He received a scathing look in return. Annoyed Steve was one of the best versions of the man, and Eddie was well onto his way of entirely perfecting getting him there in under a minute. This was probably a new record.
“Asshole.” Steve muttered to him; the word laced with that fondness that Eddie had learned actually meant ‘kiss me’.
“If you say so.” He pushed a hand into Steve’s hair so he could pull him in by the back of his head. The man sighed into the kiss.
It was just intoxicating as the first, second, fiftieth, and all the ones in between. Eddie doubted he’d ever not feel like this.
Full, satiated, like he wouldn’t have to eat or drink a day in his life as long as he had constant access to Steve’s mouth.
The man’s hands slipped under his shirt. He ran them up Eddie’s side, and he arched into the touch with a keening sound.
“Is your uncle home?” Steve mumbled into his mouth.
Eddie pulled on his hair, “Don’t talk about my uncle when your tongue is in my mouth, man.”
“Man,” Steve mocked, moving an inch away so he could meet his eyes with a smirk. He put his hand in the back pocket of Eddie’s jeans, “Wanna take this to the bedroom?”
The wiggle of his eyebrows and small shimmy of his shoulders was a predictable move at this point. How he managed to be dorky and hot at the same time, Eddie had no idea. He was ridiculously into it.
The light above Steve’s head created a halo around his hair. It made the shadows on his face wider, his eyes still glittering despite the darkness half-masking his features. Eddie tilted the man’s face up with a finger under his chin.
“You’re a dork.” Eddie said, meaning I love you.
Steve heard it. His smile made the shadows disappear, bright and adoring, all for Eddie.
He could barely believe it. This was his. Steve was Eddie’s, and he was Steve’s.
The bad days, the good days, the numb ones, they were worth the effort when it meant this was what Eddie got at the end of them. If he got Steve, the kids, Robin, Nancy, Wayne- all of them kept his feet on the ground.
“What’re you thinking about?” Steve asked him, bringing him out of his thoughts with a thumb against his bottom lip.
Eddie scraped his teeth against the tip of it, “You, Harrington. Always you.”
“Harrington?” Steve teased, pulling him in by his chin for a chaste kiss.
“Steve,” Eddie corrected obediently. He pushed in for more, releasing a breath when Steve pushed their lower bodies together like a reward, “Sweetheart.”
Steve grinned against his mouth, leaning away to give him a smug look, “Better, Munson.”
“Munson?”
“Eddie,” He pulled Eddie forward by his hips, turned them and started walking backwards towards the bedroom door, “Baby.”
“Much better.” Eddie praised the man as he shut the door behind them both.
A couple of months ago Eddie couldn’t even picture the next day. He’d convinced himself that if he died, ceased to exist, then nothing would change, he would be better off and so would everyone else.
He hadn’t seen how that would change, but it did.
There was no plan for Eddie’s future, still. No job, no high school diploma, no place of his own. But, God, he wanted one.
A future.
One that had this man in it. The one kissing him, holding him, whispering praise in his ear and against his skin. The one that made him laugh when everything seemed to hurt. The one that cared like it was second nature, let himself be cared for in turn.
The one that found him up on the roof at 6am the next morning, when Eddie had been up there for a couple hours. The one that sat silently next to him when he was unable to form any words for another hour.
“Steve?”
The man turned to him. His face was lit by the sunrise burning over the horizon, amber and beautiful, “Yeah?”
Eddie felt his breath stutter, “Thank you.”
The man nudged their hands together against the trailer roof, covering Eddie’s pinkie with his own, “Any time.”
They looked at each other, smiles small and true, and the sun came up.