Archive of Our Own

As Steve blinks awake the following morning the last person he expected to see was Jonathan Byers, hovering over him with a  mug of coffee in his hand. He screws up his face and rubs his tired eyes in an attempt to collect himself, peering up at the other, understandably surprised to see him there. 

“Good morning.” Jonathan says, placing the mug of coffee down on Steve’s bedside table, reaching over to give Steve a kiss on the cheek. The sudden kiss is the second shock of the morning, but he doesn't react.  “Morning. How’d you get in?” He asks, leaning over to take a sip from the mug before sitting up. Jonathan takes a seat on the end of the bed, “You didn’t lock your door last night.” 

It takes Steve a moment to remember the night prior, his scattered mind first collecting the facts of the day. Met with the kids, ran into Eddie, visited Robin, ran into Dustin and Will, went back to Eddie’s, dropped everyone home, Eddie visited, a lot of crying, a really good burger and then a mental breakdown.

He looks around his room for any sign of the attack last night but there’s nothing at all, even the furniture he stacked behind his door back in their original places. Was it all a hallucination? Or a dream, maybe? 

Putting down the coffee mug, Steve’s startled to feel a pair of arms wrap themselves around his abdomen and pull him in. Jonathan is spooning him. Between this and the cheek kiss, Steve’s beyond confused. They’d been sleeping together for years now, sure, but they’ve never been romantic; there’s never been any feelings, and yet Jonathan’s got his arms wrapped around him, nuzzling his head into the crook of Steve’s neck like they’re a couple. 

He won’t audibly question it, but it’s very strange, “Where’s Nance?” Steve asks, Jonathan quickly replying, “Work. I don’t start until Wednesday.” 

Suddenly Steve feels Jonathan’s grip on his abdomen loosen as his hands fall to hook themselves in the waistband of Steve’s sweatpants. “You could have started with that.” Steve comments, pushing himself back into Jonathan as he replies, “I have manners.” The innocent hug quickly turns into something far more sinister as Jonathan begins to leave kisses on Steve’s neck.

Steve will always give into temptation. He lives for the small highs in life. Even now, as he debates whether he should continue this arrangement with Jonathan at all, he gives in to his desires, rolling over into Jonathan’s arms before pressing a kiss to his lips. 

It’s nothing; No worse than what he’s been doing for the past three years or so. Eddie’s return really means nothing in the scheme of things— Nothing may come of it, so why should he throw whatever this is away? With that being said, he can’t help but feel a shift in Jonathan’s attitude towards him this morning. He wonders if he knows. 

There’s no time to ask, however, as the pair are carried away arguing over what  they should do this time, “Again? It’s been like, two days, man. You know i don’t even like it that much.” Steve sits on his bed cross-legged, Jonathan laying on his side, looking up at him, “Well you know i don’t. Ever.”

“What about…” Steve trails off, “Sixty nine.” 

“What!?” Jonathan looks genuinely bewildered by the suggestion, stunned. This just annoys Steve who uncrosses his legs to gently kick Jonathan in the side, “Loser. Get on your knees, then.” Jonathan obeys and the rest is implied. It’s not particularly eventful for Steve who’s a pro at the whole getting head thing by now, but it was a great way to start his morning nonetheless.

Afterwards Steve scampers off to have a shower, Jonathan following behind. Jonathan sits on the toilet and chats to Steve as he showers, discussing random stuff. Thats when Steve learns Jonathan will be traveling to Ireland next month to see The Cure in concert; That doesn’t sound very fun to him at all. 

 “You guys got a house yet?” Steve asks as he turns off the shower, Jonathan handing him his towel. He dries his hair first, violently scrubbing it before tackling the rest of his body, listening as Jonathan replies, “Nope. Gonna look at some places today.”  Steve steps out of the shower, unbothered by Jonathan’s presence as he begins to get dressed, “Rent or buy?”

“That's the thing,” Jonathan says, “I want to rent, she wants to buy.” Steve looks up from the pants he was pulling on, “Is that like, a thing?” 

“Mhm.” Jonathan hums. 

“Why? Not a fan of settling in Hawkins?”

“No, i don’t mind Hawkins. I was the one who suggested we move back.”

Steve throws a shirt on, “...Then?” 

“It’s a big commitment. It’s not like we’re married. I just-” He sighs, “I don’t know.” Steve places a hand on Jonathan’s shoulder,  “You guys have been together forever. Somethings gotta give, especially now you’ve both moved back to town. Everyone’s expecting it.” Jonathan looks up at Steve, lips pursing before he replies, “It’s not me, it’s her .”

“What do you mean by that?” Steve asks as he turns around to face the bathroom vanity, checking himself out in the mirror, running a hand through his hair. 

“You and i both know what she’s like. It was you, then me and now Robin. I don’t wanna be…”

“You don’t want to be me.” 

“I don’t.” Jonathan admits, standing up to stand beside Steve at the vanity,  watching the other’s reflection as he begins to apply an array of products to his hair. “What if she decides she wants to be with Robin again? Then what?” Jonathan mumbles, eyes scanning the bathroom sink as Steve replies, “Then the issue runs deeper than buying a house, dude. She’s probably being fucked by Robin while we speak, and you just sucked my dick.”

“I know, Steve. I know.”

“So, like i said,” He turns to Jonathan, comb in his hand, “Something’s gotta give. You guys have to talk it out. She doesn’t need to know about this,” He gestures between the pair of them with the comb, “But you can tell her you’re scared about her and Robin, quit us, and give her the attention she so desperately craves. Problem solved.”

“But do you really want that?” Jonathan asks. 

“Want what?”

“Me to ‘quit us’?”

Steve pauses and bites his lip, slowly rotating around to face the mirror again, “Well… I mean, it was bound to happen eventually, “ He starts, quickly beginning to comb through his hair, “It doesn’t really matter what i want, anyway. I’m not the one in a relationship right now. I mean, you shouldn’t take my advice anyway, i haven’t been in a relationship since… Well, since-”

“Since Eddie?”

“Yeah.”

There’s silence after that. Jonathan’s busy thinking, Steve’s busy combing through his hair and mustache, making sure every single hair is sat in place. As he’s gotten older his hair has become a bit curly, especially towards the ends; it’s more obvious now then ever, given he hasn’t put any product in it. 

Deciding he’s done playing with his hair he exits the bathroom and grabs the mug from his bedroom while Jonathan heads into the kitchen, taking a seat at the counter. Steve follows behind him and places his cup in the sink, quickly noticing that his dirty dishes from the night prior were gone- “Did you clean up after me?”

“Yeah.” Jonathan quickly replies, propping his head up with his fist, elbow on the counter, “You own one mug and it was dirty. Do you not have friends, or-” “Shut up.” Steve shushes Jonathan who’s just smirking, arms folded over his chest, “We hang out at Robin’s place usually and it’s like, weird to go out and buy a mug.”

“What?”

“You know, it’s awkward. No one does that.”

Silence, again. This time it’s stunned silence because Jonathan cannot believe what he’s hearing, eyes wide, nodding his head… Crazy. Steve’s staring back at him, confused as to why this is so shocking for Jonathan. He thought this was how everyone felt about buying  household items, right? No? Well. 

For no particular reason he checks his watch, wondering what the time is, seeing as he needs to pick the boys up soon, around nine.

It’s 11am. 

“Fuck.” Steve places his hands on his head, eyes widening as he realizes the berating he’s about to receive. Before Jonathan can even question him, Steve’s on the run, “I have to go.” He says, grabbing his keys from the counter, “Can you feed Ozzy for me?” Without an answer, he’s out the door and diving into his truck. 

Jonathan’s left there stunned, mouth agape, struggling to process what  just happened. 

He backs out and stops right in front of Max’s trailer, she’s sitting on her porch, waiting for him. “You’re so late.” She says as she climbs in, closing the door behind her. Steve barely gives her time to buckle in before he’s driving again, “I slept in. You could have woken me up.” Max shakes her head at that, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, “I live directly across from you, Steve. I saw Jonathan pull up. ”

Steve’s neck and ears burn up at the mention of Jonathan and what Max implied, but he completely ignores the statement. He and Jonathan’s relationship is the worst kept secret in Hawkins, Steve having  learnt nothing from he and Eddie’s ‘secret’ relationship years prior. Robin is aware of it, so is Max and Mike almost definitely would be as well if he weren't so focused on himself all the time. 

It’s awkward for everyone involved. On one hand they all struggle with the guilt of knowing Jonathan is seeing Steve behind Nancy’s back, but they’re also scared of saying something and upsetting Steve. Initially when Max found out it wasn’t a problem as Nancy was dating Robin, but after they broke up and Jonathan started seeing Nancy again the relationship continued. 

“So, what happened?” At first Steve isn’t sure what Max is asking, so she exaggerates, “The car parked at your trailer, Steve.” Oh. Right. He sort of forgot about Eddie’s visit the afternoon prior, given everything that happened afterwards. It was so strange. Hard to process. He’s not sure how he feels after the whole thing. Steve replies, “Eddie visited.” Max exhales, “I know that. What happened, though?” 

As much as he trusts Max, he’s uncomfortable with opening up to her about anything. It doesn’t really have anything to do with her, she’s great, protective over him in her weird Max way, but he still sees her as a little girl. He’s uncomfortable showing her his weak side. He needs to be her rock, not the other way around.  “Nothing. We spoke. He apologized for some things.” 

“And the noise?”

“What?” 

“Last night, just after the sunset. Everyone in the park could hear the door slamming and screaming coming from your place.”

Oh. Fuck. Steve goes pale, all of the blood draining from his face as he quickly thinks over the night prior. He hadn’t even considered how loud he must have been, dashing around his little trailer screaming and slamming doors, running away from Vecna and Billy. Initially he’d sort of chalked everything up to a hallucination and assumed everything was in his head, but clearly that wasn’t the case.  “Sorry. I was watching The Shining.” 

Max doesn’t buy it. Steve watches her reflection in the rearview mirror as she rolls her eyes and looks out the window; he wouldn’t buy it either, but what is he supposed to say? “ Sorry, i have panic attacks and recently i’ve been hallucinating Vecna and your dead brother .” After everything she’s been through? That’s the last thing she, or anyone else for that matter, needs to hear. 

They pull up at Dustin’s place a few minutes later, Dustin, Will and Mike standing out the front, clearly irritated. Dustin runs up to the truck, banging on Steve’s window as the other two boys climb into the back, “What the hell man? You said first thing. First thing!” Steve exhales, “I slept in. Shut up. Get in.” 

After a few extra words of frustration Dustin gives up berating Steve and climbs into the back of the truck. As Steve pulls back onto the road, he asks, “When’s Argyle and Will’s boyfriend getting here? Today, right?” Steve watches the three boys in the rearview mirror, observing the way Will’s face lights up while Mike’s entire demeanor recoils. “This afternoon, if everything goes to plan.” Dustin replies, Will adding, “Which could go either way, considering who we’re talking about. They were supposed to fly with us but Argyle just, like, forgot.” 

“Seem’s about right.” Steve comments, shaking his head, smiling. The truck is pretty quiet for the rest of the ride, everyone feeling pretty tense. It’s been years since anyone has seen Eddie. Dustin, Mike, Max and Lucus last saw him three years ago when he bought Uncle Wayne that house out by Lover’s Lake. They vaguely discussed with Steve what happened, Eddie apologized to them, promised he’d visit again and keep in contact. He lied. 

Steve pulls up in front of the record store, half parking on the gutter in a loading zone. Thankfully this time the store is open, a giant ‘OPEN’  neon light in the window letting them know. The three boys are out of the truck before Steve’s even properly parked, practically skipping towards the store while Steve and Max follow in their wake. Steve’s stalling because he’s anxious to see the other again, while on the other hand Max is taking her time because, to be honest, she doesn’t really care. She liked Eddie, sure, but she never knew him that well and always found him to be a bit… annoying.

The boys are already talking to Eddie as the pair enter, Steve holding the door open for Max who thanks him before stepping inside. The store looks the same as it had the day prior, although  there were considerably less people inside, making it way easier to navigate. 

“Henderson! Wheeler! Byers!” 

Eddie’s mouth is agape as the three approach him, arms open for a hug that they all reciprocate, “It’s so good to see you. I missed you guys. You’re so tall, Mike! And Will, you look… You’re hot as hell, dude!” His eyes wander between the two before they fall on Dustin. 

“Dustin…” 

“Eddie…”

“I missed you!” They both yell in unison, Dustin running into the other’s arms, Eddie picking Dustin up off the ground as he hugs him. They’re spinning around and everything, it’s like a scene out of a RomCom. Finally Eddie puts Dustin down again, arms folding over his chest as he observes the trio, “You’ve not changed much at all, really. Taller, sure, and hairier. But not really-.” 

“Red? Is that really you? ” His attention turns to Max who’s standing beside Steve with her arms crossed. She shyly smiles, sighing, “Yes, Munson. My name is still Max, by the way.” Disregarding her comment, he approaches her, “Look at you! I like the glasses.” The comment causes her to suddenly be aware of them, adjusting them on her nose, “You look… Well, you don’t look like a little boy with long hair anymore.” 

“Dude.” Is all Steve says, furrowing his eyebrows at the other who just laughs,  “I jest, i jest. “ He steps back again, arms crossed over his chest, observing the group with a smile on his face. 

Suddenly, his eyebrows furrow, “Where’s Lucas?” 

“In LA i think,” Will begins, Steve continuing for him, “He plays for the Celtics.” Eddie’s eyes widen, looking between the group, shocked. At first it’s hard to say what his reaction is, he’s never been a fan of sports so a small part of Steve was worried it was negative— but that wasn’t the case. His shocked expression turns into a smile, “That’s so good! That’s what he wanted to do, right? Play basketball?” 

“Yes.” Max replies, one word. It’s a bitter subject for her, she misses him greatly and felt very conflicted when he was drafted. On one hand she was happy for him, on the other she felt their relationship would be over if that were the case. Despite everything, though, they’ve somehow managed to stay together, Lucus visiting whenever he gets the chance, the pair calling and writing all the time. Makes Steve think, you know?

There’s this brief moment of awkwardness and everyone sort of just stares at one another. It’s so strange to all be together like this after so long. So much has changed, it’s odd to think about. Eddie doesn’t know anything about what anyone has been up to for the past five years and a lot has changed. 

Eddie’s the first to break the awkward gap of silence, “So, you guys wanna hang out back?” The group nod, including Steve who has no choice but to tag along. Eddie leads the way through the store, guiding the group behind the counter, pulling back a beaded curtain as everyone steps inside. Steve, trailing behind, was the last to approach the bead curtain, Eddie wrapping his arm around the other as the pair walk in together. 

The back room is crazy. It reminds Steve of the old hellfire club hangout under Dustin’s house, only better. Colorful beanbags line the floor, surrounding a short, glass table.  Beyond that, to their left, is a giant, modern television, surrounded by bookshelves covered in video games and their consoles. The back wall is also lined with shelves,  these shelves full with books and comics,  like a nerdy library. To their right is a small kitchenette, modern, having its own little stove. It’s honestly nicer than Steve’s kitchen back home. 

Max, Will and Dustin collapse down onto the beanbags, Dustin commenting, “This is amazing, man.” Mike approaches a bookshelf and starts scanning through Eddie’s comic collection, pulling one out and flipping through it. Steve’s impressed, but not surprised. This is exactly what he’d expect from Eddie; A geeky teenager's wet dream, although it’s funny it’s the backroom of his record store. 

“Thanks, Dusty.” Eddie takes a seat on one of the two remaining bean bags as he replies. Steve notices this and begins to walk towards the other, but Mike beats him to it. Fuck. Steve’s left bean bagless, hands on his hips as he scans the room for another seat- there isn’t one. 

Eddie wraps his hand around Steve’s wrist and pulls him down onto the bean bag beside him; they fit, only just, half of Steve’s ass sat in Eddie’s lap. No one seems to notice, thankfully, all too busy discussing Eddie’s collection of video games.  

Steve’s not sure how to feel. Like, by all means he wants this, but it feels wrong. He feels guilty, embarrassed, even. After spending five years desperately trying to get over the guy, this is a complete shock and he doesn’t know what to do. It feels wrong to just pretend like nothing has happened, but at the same time that's all he really wants to do. 

“The Hellfire Club comics, really?” Mike asks, turning the comic in his hand around to show the group, a smile on his face. Will leans over to snatch it from him, Mike sighing but not protesting against it, instead leaning over to grab another comic from the lower half of the shelf. Wrapping an arm around Steve’s shoulders, Eddie replies, “Duh. They’re still my favourites.” 

Dustin sits forward on his bean bag, elbows on his knees, “You know the old Hellfire HQ still exists. Mom uses it for storage, but it’s still there.” Eddie’s surprised to hear that, “Really? I was sure she would have gutted the place.” Dustin shakes his head, “We used it after you left as a hang out place after school, Steve slept there for a bit too,” Steve audibly sighs and covers his face, “And then ever since i left for college she’s refused to touch anything of mine. Like i died or something.” 

Eddie’s smile falters a bit at hearing about Steve’s sleeping arrangements. He briefly mentioned he was homeless, but he never assumed it was bad enough that the other had to sleep in someone's basement. He feels guilty. He could have done something had he known. 

“This comic… It’s new. What happened to your old ones?” Will asks, looking up from the comic over at Eddie. He begins to reply but Steve cuts him off, “I have them.” 

“You do?” Eddie asks, clearly surprised. 

Steve nods, “Yeah. I have a bunch of your shit in my old car.”

He supposed he’d have to give it all back eventually. There’s tons of stuff, comics, books, pictures, clothes, albums, you name it. “You can come by mine tomorrow and pick them up, if you want.” He adds, Eddie just nodding, “Will do.”

Mike pries a D&D book off of the shelf, placing it in his lap as he flicks through it. Will’s eyes light up, jumping up from his bean bag to kneel behind Mike, looking over his shoulder. “We should play a campaign, for old time’s sake. “ Eddie comments, smiling as he watches the two faun over the book, “Would you be down to be the DM, Will?”

Will’s eyes lift from the book to look over at Eddie, the biggest smile on his face, eyes lighting up, “Hell yes!” Mike, Dustin and Steve chuckle at that, Max even smiling at Will’s reaction. He throws himself back onto his beanbag, “I have so many ideas.” 

“I can’t wait.” Eddie says, winking at Will who’s still smiling. He then looks over at Max, “Maybe if we’re lucky you’ll join us, Red?” Max looks over at Eddie, “You’re dreaming.” He  then turns his head to look at Steve, “What about you, big boy?”

Steve just groans. Eddie knows he will, and Steve knows that. Everyone knows that. So he doesn’t even bother replying, folding his arms over his chest as he lays beside the other. Eddie pulls Steve closer, his head now resting on the other’s shoulder. 

“You know, i don’t think i’ve played D&D since we finished that campaign with Steve. We always tried, though. There was just no time, no motivation. It’ll be great to play again.”  Dustin comments, sounding cheerful despite the miserable sentiment. Steve remembers the following summers, the boys scrambling, always  talking about how they should play another campaign only to put it off until it was too late. 

Steve turns to look over at Eddie who’s absent mindedly watching the group as they talk amongst one another. Steve can tell Dustin’s comment affected him in a similar way, he wonders if Eddie feels guilty. It’s not his fault they stopped playing D&D, not really. His departure was just the straw that broke the camel's back. 

“Can we watch this?” Max had gotten up and began to raid Eddie’s shelf of movies, holding a The Lost Boys VHS out for the room to see. 

This shocks the entire group. It’s just… not something any of them would have expected Max to pick out. Eddie quickly replies with a “Fuck yeah!” Before telling her to pop it in which she does. “I’ll have to be in and out. You know, serving customers and stuff,” Eddie mumbles, mostly to Steve who just nods. 

Steve severely underestimated the amount of customers Eddie could have in only an hour and a half. The first customer arrived about fifteen minutes into the movie, Eddie slipped out from under Steve and excused himself before heading out. Steve could hear the whole interaction taking place only a few feet away, listening as Eddie chats with the customer about the record they’re buying while recommending them similar albums to listen to at a later date. He comes back a few minutes later and slides in beside Steve again, whispering a quick sorry as he does. 

They watch the movie for a little while longer, Eddie’s hand finding itself on the back of Steve’s head, his fingers entangled in the other’s hair as he plays with it. Steve’s melting into the other’s touch, unable to focus on the movie as he closes his eyes. This kind of affection is exactly what he’s been craving, missing Eddie’s touch for all these years. It’s the small things, things no one else could possibly understand. 

The moment ends when another customer arrives. Eddie serves them and then comes back. But then there’s another, and another after that. Every time Eddie gets up, excuses himself, serves them and comes back. It’s driving Steve insane. 

By the time the sixth or fifth customer rings Eddie’s stupid little bell Steve has had enough. He grabs Eddie’s thigh to prevent him from getting up before standing himself, adjusting his clothes before stepping outside, without a word. 

He then proceeds to serve the customer. 

“Hi, how can I help you?”

“Oh, just these, please.”

“Okay. Good choices.” Both bands are German and Steve has heard of neither of them. 

“Thanks. This store is incredible, by the way.”

“Right?” 

“Can i ask you something?”

“Of course.”

The goth teenage girl leans over the counter to whisper in Steve’s ear, “Is it true Eddie Munson from Corroded Coffin owns this store?” Steve chuckles and nods, “Mhm. But it’s a secret, okay?” 

She steps back and quickly nods, continuing to speak in a lower tone, “Do you work for him?”

“You could say that.” 

“Do you think i could meet him?”

“Totally. Come back tomorrow and he’ll be here; i promise. I’ll put in a good word for you, too. I’ll say, “Hey Boss. This cool girl with skeleton earrings came in. You better give her a discount and an autograph.” And he will.” 

“Thank you.” She replies shyly, left hand raising to play with her earring, “I made them myself.”

“Really?” Steve’s still talking quietly, but raises his tone a bit in shock, “They’re so cool. What about the rings?”

He points at her hands, covered in an array of jewelry, reminding him of Eddie. The girl’s cool, goth, short hair teased to stand straight up, pale makeup with extreme graphic eyeliner that reminds Steve of the band Kiss. 

“Those too. I sell them at markets and shows and stuff.”

Steve’s suddenly struck with an idea. A genius idea. He leans in again, whispering, “Could i buy a ring from you? Like a custom one?” She quickly nods, “Mhm. $45 for a custom ring like this,” She points to one on her forefinger, a skull that matches her earrings. 

He runs a finger over his bottom lip as he thinks, “Could you make one that looks like a bat?” 

“Yes! Do you have a piece of paper you can write on? Just so i don’t forget.” 

Steve quickly scans the counter before ducking down to look through the drawers. Eventually he comes across a notepad, throwing it onto the counter along with a pen. The notepad isn’t new, it’s been drawn in,  so it takes a while for Steve to find a fresh page. Once he does he starts writing things down. 

Bat ring. Make it look scary. 

“I’ll need your address as well. To deliver it to you.”  She says, Steve quickly nodding before writing his address down.

 “Oh. And the ring size.”

Interesting question. Steve, up until this very moment, didn’t know there were ring sizes. Like, sure that makes sense, but he’s never worn rings so why would he know. “Huh.” Is all he says, looking down at his fingers, “I don’t know… His- Er, i mean their fingers are bigger than mine.” He remembers how loose Eddie’s rings felt on his hands; he was afraid to lose them the whole night. At one point he thought he had, only to find out Eddie has somehow managed to slip it off his finger, demonstrating the pickpocketing skills he inherited from his father. 

She takes Steve’s  right hand and observes his fingers, wrapping hers around his to measure his’ size, “How much bigger? Would a ring of his fall off, or was it just a bit loose?”  She very clearly ignored Steve’s correction of the pronoun, a smirk on her face. 

“Just loose.”

“Alright. Maybe an 11. Can you write that down for me?”

He does,  along with his full name. He then rips out the piece of paper and hands it to her, while also pulling $50 out of his wallet and handing it to her, “As payment. Drop it off at my trailer whenever its ready, if i’m not home just stick it on a chair out the front.” 

She sticks the note in the bag Steve put her records in, along with the money, “It shouldn’t take me long. Two days, max.” She starts backing up, only to pause, “My name is Bea by the way.” 

“Steve. Nice to meet you.”

She waves goodbye before stepping out the door, bell going off as she exits. Steve stays at the counter for a moment, leaning on it, smile on his face; Eddie’s going to love his ring .

 He looks down at the notepad and absentmindedly begins skimming through it’s pages, a bunch of doodles roughly sketched into it in pen. Dogs, guitars, random people, ‘Corroded Coffin’ written over and over again in different fonts and then his name. Steve. Written over and over again, similarly to corroded coffin, in an array of different fonts and styles. He keeps flipping through the notepad’s pages and comes across what looks like a series of rough sketches, scratched into the paper, all of himself. 

Instantly it fills him with butterflies; his stomach turning in a familiar way as admires sketch after sketch. A handful of them are clearly recent, him in his uniform while others are of a younger him, baby faced. After skimming over every sketch in the notepad he closes it and places it back in the drawer, along with the pen. He better get back to the movie. 

He steps through the bead curtain again and squishes beside Eddie, his arm wrapped around the other now, one leg thrown over his lap. Eddie looks away from the movie and at Steve, a smile on his face, “All good?” Steve nods, stealing a skittle from the packet in Eddie’s hands, “Yeah. Girl came in and bought two records.” 

Eddie leans in to Steve’s touch as the  pair continue to watch the rest of the movie, neither paying much attention to it. They’re both thinking along similar lines. 

Steve’s coming to terms with the situation he’s found himself in. Although at  first he was hesitant to reciprocate Eddie’s feelings his opinion has drastically changed. Why should he deny himself the happiness he craves? It’s awkward, and there’s a lot to be discussed, but ignoring his own feelings is how they ended up in this situation in the first place. He may as well go with the flow and see where things end up. 

Eddie’s mind is on the future. He fantasizes about settling down in Hawkins for good, running this store with Steve by his side. He can see it now- Waking up beside Steve, rolling into work together, managing their silly little record business. It might be crazy for him to think that way given  it’s been five years since they’ve kissed but what is Eddie Munson if not crazy?

Throughout the movie  Steve couldn’t help but notice Mike staring at Will, eyes burning into the back of the poor guy’s head. Mike has never spoken to Steve about his relationship with Will, he’s not even sure if there ever was one, but it’s clear there’s one-sided tension there. Something unresolved. He thinks he should bring  it up with Mike some time, ask him whats up, but he’s not sure how to go about it in a way that won’t upset him.

“Hey.” Eddie leans in and whispers, startling him a bit. He replies, “Yeah?” There’s a brief pause before he continues, “I don’t know if its a bad time or something, but you look really beautiful right now.” 

Steve’s face flushes as he looks down at Eddie who’s looking back up at him, cheeky smile on Eddie’s lips as he pops a skittle into his mouth. Without missing a beat Steve replies, “Well, i guess this is a good time to say you always look pretty.” 

“Really?”

Eddies question is genuine. No joking, or sarcastic tone,  he’s genuinely asking because he doesn’t believe Steve. This shocks Steve who’s always seen Eddie as a very confident guy and if anything expected him to be even more so now that he’s a famous rockstar and all. Without second thought Steve leans down, brushing Eddie’s bangs out of his face as he plants a kiss to his forehead, “Really.”

As the movie comes to an end everyone begins to stir, including Eddie who slides off of Steve and finds his feet, wandering to the little kitchenette in the corner of the room. Steve watches as he walks away,  taking a moment to get a good look at Eddie. Tight black denim jeans, a chunky belt and what can only be described as a crop top. Steve wants nothing more than to touch the visible skin on the small of Eddie’s back, or to grab  the other by the belt and drag him back. It’s crazy how Eddie makes him feel. 

“Dustin, what's the time?” Will asks, rubbing his eyes as Eddie flips the lights back on. Dustin looks down at his wrist, “1:30ish.” 

“We have to go.” 

“Shit.”

“What?” Steve asks as the entire room erupts, Will and Dustin jumping to their feet, Max and Mike finding theirs as well, albeit nowhere near as excited as the other two. “Argyle and Diego will be at Mom’s place any minute now.” Will says, panicked, “Get up! You have to drive us!”

Steve’s not happy about this. He doesn’t want to leave; he’s comfortable. He debates it for a moment, tossing the idea around in his head, “Nah.” Will looks like he’s about to throw hands so Steve quickly continues his statement, “You drive.” He rolls over and pulls his keys from his back pocket before holding them out.

Being the closest Mike eagerly reaches out to take them, but Steve retracts his hand, “Hell no. Will or Dustin can drive.” He tosses the keys to Dustin who tosses them to Will. Mike groans and storms off, Will  and Dustin following suit. Max is the last to leave, mumbling so only Steve can hear, “Will you be alright?” Steve quickly replies, “Yes. I’m fine, Max.” 

As she exits the room Steve pushes himself up off a bean bag and walks over to Eddie. He’s smiling, holding out a beer which Steve quickly takes, cracking it open on the counter. 

“Did you like the movie?” Eddie asks, one arm crossed over his chest, the other holding his beer to his lips. Steve laughs, tilting his head away from the other before replying coyly, “You know damn well i wasn't paying any attention to the movie.” 

Eddie takes a sip of his beer before placing it on the table while Steve does the same, although not putting his down. He then places a hand on the back of Steve’s neck and pulls him closer, “I missed you.” 

“Stop,” Steve mumbles, leaning into Eddie’s touch, placing his spare hand on the other’s waist. Eddie replies, “What do you mean?”

“There’s nothing to miss. You’re here now. I don’t want to constantly be reminded of a time you weren’t.” 

Eddie just kisses him. A desperate kiss, breathy,  Steve kissing back hard enough to knock him back into the table. Eddie’s other hand cups Steve’s cheek, holding him closer, he tastes like home.  It’s so right. 

Five years may have passed but nothing has changed. That feeling of pure ecstasy, the bubbling of emotions in their stomachs, indescribable passion. It’s more than lust; it’s stronger, more potent, addictive. There’s nothing like it. 

And then the bell rings. 

They jump apart, Steve laughing at Eddie’s reaction, being completely startled by the sudden sound. Eddie rolls his eyes and pats Steve on the cheek before stepping through the bead curtain, Steve following behind. 

“Steve?”

It’s them. Alex, Ben and Lily, standing at the counter, their arms full of cheap, band related trinkets, Lily gripping onto an Iron Maiden album for dear life. They all spoke in unisom, the same stunned reaction. 

Steve’s head is still spinning from the kiss so he’s not really in any state to reply, hand on his hips, head tilted to the side, right hand on the back  of his neck, “Yeah?” He’s being so casual about it, but the kids are shocked, eyes wandering between both Eddie and Steve. 

“Eddie Munson!?”

Somehow Steve’s presence registered before Eddie’s, the three kids are even more stunned now, freaking out. Steve had told them he knew Eddie, but none of them really believed him. Eddie smiles, bent over, head propped up in his hands; he’s amused.  “Hey.”

“You know him?” Ben asks, pointing at Steve,  no shame whatsoever. Eddie quickly replies, “Steve?” He playfully turns back to look at him before replying, “Yeah. He’s my best friend.” 

“No way!”

“I can’t believe this.”

“I told you guys!”

Lily’s always defending Steve from Alex and Ben whose sole purpose is to torment the guy. Did she believe him? No, but she still defended him and she’s basking in her glory right now, hands on her hips.

  “You didn’t tell them about us, Steve?” Eddie asks.  After listening in on their conversation he knows he hasn’t, but Steve doesn’t know that. He smirks before replying, “They never asked.”” 

Eddie shakes his head and sighs, “He’s always been like this. We met in high school; friends in common. We didn’t really get close until later.” Not the truth at all, actually, but he’s not about to explain the complexities of their relationship to a bunch of middle schoolers.

“Woah…” Lily says, Alex nudging Ben as he says, “That's why he knows about good music. His best friend is a rockstar.” 

As the kids begin talking amongst themselves, Eddie and Steve begin packing all of the things they’re purchasing into bags. It’s a bunch of small things, being kids they don’t exactly have record money so they can only afford keychains and patches. 

“Let me pay for them.” Steve says, whispering in Eddie’s ear so the kids can’t hear him. Eddie shakes his head, “Nah. I was going to give this stuff to them anyway.” “Eddie-”

“Steeeeveeee.” Eddie whines in reply, loud enough to grab the kids attention. As they turn to him he hands them their respective bags, a smile on his face. “Now, you two,” He points at Alex and Ben, “Choose a record each and you,” He points at Lily, “Grab any little small things you want. On the house.”

Their eyes light up and off the run to raid the store. Steve’s heart is beating out of his chest as he looks down at a very smug Eddie who’s leaning over the counter again. He’s falling in love with Eddie all over again, maybe even worse this time. Seeing him treat these three kids so well; it’s sick. 

A little while later the kids return and proceed to show off their finds to both Steve and Eddie, all three of them going out of their way to flex their extensive knowledge on the music they’re buying.  Eventually Ben announces they’ll have to leave, explaining they have a party at 3pm they can’t miss, promising Eddie they’ll be back tomorrow. 

The kids say their goodbyes as they exit, Eddie closing and then locking the door behind them. 

Eddie walks back to the counter, a smirk on lips face as he steps up to Steve, hands on his hips. Steve’s leant back against the counter, his legs crossed, arms folded over his chest, eagerly watching as Eddie leans in for a kiss he reciprocates. 

“I really hate the stache, you know. “ 

Steve was aware of this, Eddie’s not alone in the opinion, “But it makes me feel cool and tough.”  Eddie just rolls his eyes, cupping Steve’s face as he replies , “You are tough and cool. You saved my life. “

“Dustin helped a lot, you know. “

“I’m not talking about that. “

He has a good idea of what Eddie’s implying and by all means he could say the same of the other. He runs his hand through Eddie’s hair, tucking some of it behind his ear. “I saw pictures of you with shorter hair. You had a mullet.” Steve mumbles in an attempt to change the subject, Eddie quickly asks, “Did you like it?”

“No.”

They both laugh, Eddie smiling as Steve shakes his head, “It was so bad, was it permed?” 

“Yeah.” Eddie admits with a sigh, “They said they wanted me to have a new look or something. Dunno. Took me forever to grow it back out.”

“It wasn’t that bad…” Steve confesses, twirling a strand of Eddie’s hair between his finger tips, “It framed your face nice. But i like your long hair more, especially now.”

Eddie presses a kiss to Steve’s cheek and then another to his temple before stepping back and stretching, Steve’s eyes on his stomach as his shirt rides up. He feels like a teenage boy; desperate and deprived. He’ll be thinking about this later. 

He then watches as Eddie reaches into his back pocket and pulls out a packet of cigarettes, pulling one out and lighting it for himself. The way Eddie effortlessly moves, how he holds the cigarette to his lips. Steve’s obsessed. 

He watches as Eddie takes a drag from the cigarette, exhaling out of his nose as he speaks. 

“Here. “

Eddie hands him the lit cigarette and Steve quickly takes a hit; It feels strange to be sharing a cigarette, he hasn’t done so in years. He hands the cigarette back as he exhales, commenting, “You’re going to have to drive me home, since the kids took my truck. “ 

“Mmm,” Eddie replies before continuing, “Better do that soon, then. I have an appointment at four.”

—

When Steve offered his truck to the kids he didn’t consider how he’d get home; or at least not fully. He assumed Eddie would be okay with driving him, but he didn’t think much further than that and  Eddie’s car didn’t cross his mind at all. Now he finds himself flying down a random road in Hawkins, Metallica blaring, in a bright green Pantera. He feels like he’s on a date with Billy Hargrove or something. It’s terrifying. 

As a man of the law Steve can’t stand the brazen rule breaking taking place right before his eyes; Eddie flying through stop signs, doubling the speed limit, not indicating once. If he weren’t pertfied he’d be furious, hands covering his eyes to shield himself from the horrors taking place, every slight bump or turn in the road turning his stomach. 

 “You’re fucking crazy!”

“Yeah!!!” Eddie replies back, yelling over  his car’s engine and the insanely loud music. He doesn't slow down as he takes a sharp turn into the trailer park, using an old back entrance close to Steve’s trailer to avoid being slowed down by tourists. The sudden turn surprises Steve enough to make him scream, head in his hands.

After that Eddie slows down a bit only because he has to, weaving his way around the trailer park before coming to a stop outside Steve’s place. Steve jumps out of the car as soon as he can, groggily stumbling over to the side of his trailer and leaning on it, his head spinning. Eddie takes his time, turning off his car and getting out, a wicked smile on his face. 

“You’re…”

“Insane?”

Eddie walks over to Steve, placing a hand on his shoulder, patting his back, “Sorry, man.” Steve turns around, clearly irate, and socks Eddie in the middle of the chest with the back of his hand, “Asshole.” And then again with his other hand, “Dick.” 

Suddenly Steve grabs Eddie by the shirt and spins him around, pinning him to the side of the trailer, kissing him. The sudden move takes Eddie by surprise, the taller guy stumbling over his feet, tripping over a bit as he’s kissed. He kisses back straight away,arms wrapped around Steve’s neck as he pulls him in. 

This kiss was life changing for Eddie who’s only just now worked out he’s a big fan of a dominant Steve; Something he’ll have to unpack later on, for sure. Right now he’s just living in the moment, kissing back, only to be disappointed when Steve pulls away moments later and says, “I hate you.”

Eddie whines, sinking down against the trailer, “You don’t.” Steve backs away, wagging his finger in Eddie’s direction as he says playfully, “No, i do. You’re a dickhead.” Eddie whines again, dramatically, arms folded over his chest.

They pause, both looking at one another. Waiting. 

And there it is. 

They both crack up into a fit of laughter, Steve stumbling forward back into Eddie who’s still leant against the trailer. As they calm down Eddie steals a kiss on the lips; “I have to go, but i can come back later.”

“You should.” Steve replies, quickly returning the kiss before jumping up onto his porch. He turns back and watches as Eddie slides off the side of the trailer and throws himself towards his car, “See you later, Harrington.”

“Later, Eddie.”

Steve turns around and only then notices the pile of mail  thrown across his door mat. Fucking asshole. Steve’s had beef with the mailman for a while now, the guy always complains he has to come into the trailer park to deliver stuff to Steve. As if it’s not his job. Prick. He thinks nothing of it and picks the pile up, flipping through it. Bills, junk, and a letter from Gareth. Interesting. 

He steps inside and is instantly greeted by Ozzy who he quickly lets out. He then throws himself onto the couch and begins kicking off his boots, ripping into Gareth’s letter. Gareth usually sends postcards, so this was completely new.

Steve, 

I hope this letter gets to you in time, but i’m in Finland right now and i have no clue how long it takes for mail to get to the US from here.

Right. Show off. 

You’ve probably found out by now that the band’s on hiatus. I would have warned you beforehand but it was a last minute decision, like, i’m writing this ten minutes after we decided. I don’t think we’ll give any reason for the hiatus but i really, really think you should know. I will warn you now; it’s about Eddie. 

He’s not been well, Steve. Like, not at all. Not since leaving Hawkins, really, but it’s gotten worse. At first Jeff and I chalked up his, i don’t know, depression i guess,  cause of everything that happened between you guys, plus the fact we were in a new place under a shit ton of pressure. Like, those early SanFran days fucking sucked. We were living in a basement, forced to pull together an album in three months, crazy shit. Then things started getting better, the album came out and we were everywhere, doing concerts, all of that. Eddie was anxious, sure, we all were, but things seemed ok. 

Then the panic attacks started happening. At first it wasn’t that big of a deal, you really wouldn’t notice. He’d just zone out, get all clammy. But they got worse. Hallucinations, mostly. Like sure you could put it down to the drugs ‘cause he’s been doing a fuckton of them but nah, man. He’s been doing them to cope with whatever the fuck is going on. 

For a bit he was managing them. He’d zone out and then grab his lighter and burn himself and snap out of it, but i don’t think that works anymore. For the past three months before every concert he zones out for like, five minutes. It’s like daydreaming. His eyes are open, he’s there, but he’s rambling about random shit, screaming, crying. Like he’s possessed. Recently, though, he’s started moving. Running around, delirious, like he’s being chased. 

Last month this happened on stage in front of thousands of people. I ended up tackling him to calm him down ‘cause i was scared he was gonna jump off stage or something. Management covered it up, said we had a fight. We didn’t. 

That’s why we’re on hiatus. Eddie needs a break. Jeff and I refuse to do shit with CC until he’s better, ‘cause no amount of money is worth seeing your friend in a state like that. I’ve never seen anything like it. He’s not talking to either of us at the moment, pissed we both decided to go on hiatus. I don’t care about that, though. Nor does Jeff i think. We’d both rather he hate us than see him suffer like he has, man.  Plus he refuses to get help about it, keeps saying it’s fine. It’s not fine, dude. 

That’s not it, though. He’s coming back to Hawkins. I dunno why, dunno when, but thats his plan. I just wanted to give you a heads up so you’re prepared and are in the know, you know? 

Hope you’ve been good, brother. Maybe i’ll see you soon. 

Garebear. 

Well, fuck. 

There’s no denying whatever Eddie’s been dealing with is very similar, if not exactly the same as what Steve has been struggling with. He’s never seen it from an outside perspective, but from what he can tell it’s very much the same. He wonders if Eddie’s been seeing visions of Vecna as well, or if it’s something else bothering him. 

Steve leans back into the couch and tosses the letter aside, sighing. That’s a lot to unpack, for sure. He obviously can’t bring this up to Eddie, ‘cause that’ll expose the fact he and Gareth have been talking this whole time, but he wants to do something about it. He feels as if he should. 

There’s a lot he should do. If he and Eddie’s relationship is going to continue to progress like this he’ll have to break things off with Jonathan and there’s also no way Jonathan isn’t aware of Eddie’s return, Will would have told him by now. There’s also the fact their relationship is progressing at an alarmingly fast rate; only yesterday Steve was crying on Robin’s doorstep because he spoke to the guy, now he’s kissing him as if nothing has happened? Something’s wrong there. 

It’s all too good to be true, so good it feels fake. It feels as if Steve is going to wake up tomorrow and realize he’s been dreaming the whole time or something is about to go drastically wrong, which seems to be an ongoing theme with his life recently. He sighs and flops over onto the  couch, rolling over onto his back, his legs hung over its arm. 

He’ll just have to wait and see.