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peaktotheocean · 1 year

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Hickeygate 1986

a steddie misunderstandings story, 10K, on ao3 here

Steve Harrington can't decide if he's jealous, lonely, or bisexual.

He has a sneaking suspicion that it’s all three.

"It's just so nice talking to someone who gets it," Robin sighed blissfully. "It's like-- I don't know. Obviously he's talking about boys and I'm talking about girls but it still feels great."

"That's awesome, Rob," Steve told her sincerely, keeping his eyes firmly on the tape in the rewind machine. A machine built just for rewinding seemed like overkill considering that Family Video had multiple VCRs but he wasn’t going to bring it up to Keith. The nice, mindless action kept Steve occupied when his brain started to overthink without his permission.

It wasn't like Robin ditched him to hang out with Eddie. Steve had just hung out with her last night, and all afternoon at work today. Not to mention the movie night the three of them had this past weekend.

Eddie had fallen asleep on top of both of them, laid out across Steve and Robin's lap as a joke at first but then Steve had clutched onto his shoulder in a panic, worried that Eddie was posed to roll off the couch.

And then Eddie had just stayed there. So Steve had Eddie on his lap and Robin on the other side of him, always a comfort. A reminder he wasn't alone.

He tried to keep that in mind. But lately, Steve had been thinking that maybe he wasn't alone in more ways than one.

Robin still talked to him about girls she had crushes on or when the cute clerk at the record store leaned in when wishing her a good day.

But Eddie never talked about guys with Steve. He let his guard down a bit, and in so many different ways that Steve was grateful for, even when it felt unearned. He couldn't imagine the Eddie of a few months ago falling asleep in his lap.

Well, Steve could imagine it. He certainly imagined it a lot more after that night. Eddie's eyes on him, trusting that Steve wouldn't let him fall off of the couch.

And all Steve thought about lately was how badly he wanted to be in that room with them, talking about girls with Robin and boys with Eddie.

Both.

He could like both.

Steve knew that now. But he was the only one who knew it about…him.

Now, listening to Robin wax poetry about how great it was to just talk to another queer person and Steve was so close. He nearly told her.

But he just couldn’t get the words out.

No matter how many times he tried, regardless of if Robin or Eddie or both stood in front of him, Steve couldn’t seem to make himself say “If it’s a special hangout just for gays, then I should be invited too.”

It might be okay.

But then he imagined their faces.

He knew, he just knew that both of their faces would go slack, Robin’s eyes would squint in suspicion, like they used to back at Scoops Ahoy when she didn’t quite trust him yet, as if she thought he was telling a joke. As if Steve didn’t already know that Eddie thought he was always one step away from slipping back into King Steve. The soft trust from Eddie's eyes turning hard again. Like the whole universe was playing a big practical joke on Eddie Munson and it was conducted by Steve Harrington.

Which he isn’t, he never would. For a lot of reasons but the main one being that Steve just couldn't. He wasn't sure how to be that person anymore. It wasn't even that he had grown out of it but...

Steve had watched this cooking show once where the chef had baked a fish that was covered in a salt crust. It came out of the oven and the salt had firmed up around the fish to the point where the chef needed to hit it with the knife handle in order to crack it open. But inside was a perfectly cooked meal. Sometimes Steve felt like a tender fish, still in his baked salt crust, terrified of being eaten whole.

He realized how ridiculous that sounded, even in his mind. Which is another reason that he didn't say anything.

So Steve just...kept not saying anything. Not to Robin and Eddie, at least.

He maybe could, if it was just to Robin. He had certainly thought about it enough.

Eddie was...a little bit harder. Not because he was a guy but because he was Eddie and well, he wasn't the whole reason that Steve figured out he liked guys but he absolutely held the recency bias.

Steve had crushes before, plenty of times. Not just finding another guy attractive but being unable to stop thinking about a boy’s whole personality and when he would see him again. Like a switch flipped in Steve’s brain that said “Well, maybe.”

And he ignored that switch for years, until Robin.

Until Eddie.

Thankfully, Steve had one other age-appropriate friend who wasn't his ex-girlfriend or his ex-girlfriend's current boyfriend.

Which was how he found himself on the floor of his bedroom with Argyle next to him, telling him all about his potential troubles.

Maybe almost too much about them, but it wasn’t the weed. Argyle was just that easy to talk to, his earnest demeanor and openness made Steve want to respond in kind.

Even when the response he received wasn’t exactly what he had hoped.

“I think you might be overthinking this a bit, my friend,” Argyle told him gently, a hand on Steve’s shoulder

“You think so?” Steve’s inner monologue surrounding the issue had been sounding increasingly like Robin lately. His brain just kept going in circles. The thoughts were non-stop until they grinded to a full halt anytime he wanted to open his mouth in front of Robin and Eddie.

“I know so.” Argyle leaned a bit closer and knocked his fist on Steve’s head, barely tapping it with any force, just enough for Steve to feel it. “So then what are you waiting for?”

“What if I’m just jealous?” Steve blurted out. He was near positive that wasn't the case, especially now that he had said it aloud.

At least, the jealousy didn't stem just from Eddie and Robin hanging out together or wanting to spend more time around Eddie specifically. He wanted to be with them in that queer, open way.

“I don’t think you are," Argyle mused. “I don’t think it’s just jealousy,” he amended. "The question is...what do you want to do about it?"

“I’m really not sure.” Steve shrugged. He knew he couldn’t spend the rest of his life going in circles but he wasn’t sure how to break free.

“If you’ll allow me, I have a suggestion.”

Steve supposed that the one upside of his parents not being around anymore was that no one expected him at Thanksgiving dinner. No stuffy buttondown shirt or dry turkey awaited him on the fourth Thursday of November.

Instead, he put on a plain white t-shirt and his favorite jeans, because he and Argyle headed to Indianapolis.

To a gay club.

Hunt & Chase specifically.

And Steve couldn’t wait.

With everyone else in the Party expected at their respective family homes for dinner, it was the perfect opportunity.

Eddie hunkered down with his uncle for the weekend and Robin's cousins had come into town. Max and her mother, Susan, had been trying so hard and even though Steve worried, he’d set time aside for Max after his Saturday shift.

The Byers (& Hoppers) decided to visit Joyce’s favorite aunt in Louisville and Steve knew that Argyle had an offer to go with them. Three kids squished in the back seat and two adults in the front. He begged off and told Steve that he wouldn’t have gone anyway.

“Not my holiday. I can be thankful without the colonialism, thanks. This is a way better use of my time.”

"I guess I didn’t think about how gay clubs are open on Thanksgiving,” Steve murmured, as they slipped through the front door of the building. It hadn’t looked too inviting from the outside, with boarded-up windows and not a ton of signage, but Steve knew from Robin that it was by design and for safety. The more unassuming, the better.

The atmosphere inside accomplished the goal of becoming a completely different place. Hunt & Chase wasn’t too different from other bars Steve had been into before. Bright lights, wood paneling, a crowded bar.

The only real difference was how everyone coupled up. Steve tried not to stare but he couldn’t really help the longing as he watched two men intertwined with one another giggling into each others mouths as the song changed to an upbeat tempo.

"We're our own families, you know?" Argyle nudged him towards the bar.

"Yeah, I do know." Steve wondered how many other people here weren’t going back to stay with families because of who they were or something similar to his own situation. He supposed it didn’t matter in the long run. In the end, they all had found a place to go.

“A lot of Thanksgiving-themed drinks tonight.” Steve adjusted his glasses and stared up at the chalkboard above the bar where the word “cranberry” appeared no less than a half a dozen times.

He nodded and smiled at the bartender. “Just a coke for me, thanks.” Steve tilted his head towards Argyle. “He’ll have a bahama breeze.”

"You know me, my friend." Argyle clasped his hands over his hand in a thank you.

Steve didn't bother opening a tab but he did grip his coke a little too tightly in its cold glass. He eyed the red stamp on the back of his hand, distracted by the little circle with an arrow through it.

“Well? Go out there and dance. I’ll be here keeping an eye on you and your drink.”

“Are you sure?” For all his excited anticipation on the ride there, Steve seemed full of nerves now that he was actually in the building.

“This is exactly what I signed up for, bro.”

Okay, I can do this.

“You can,” Argyle assured him with a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “But you maybe don’t need to say that part out loud.”

“Fuck.”

“Or that one. Might be too much of a mixed signal for your first time out.”

Whatever tension Steve had built up in his shoulders over the course of the drive released at Argyle’s joke and he found himself giggling at the bar. He leaned into Argyle as a little thank you, a wide smile still on his face. Argyle plucked the coke out of Steve’s hand and pushed him onto the dance floor.

Steve had danced with girls before but even then, it had been at school dances with teachers watching so they didn’t get too close. God forbid a young couple close any amount of distance ever, let alone on school grounds. His other experience had been dancing at house parties but he didn’t remember much of those. Too sloppy or drunk. The music in Hunt & Chase had real rhythm instead of just being turned up too loud from someone’s dad’s stereo.

Steve loved it.

The lights weren’t ideal and his head might be pounding tomorrow but he still felt good and he intended to ride that high for as long as he could manage.

Some couples danced together but there were also groups in their own circles and worlds, moving to the beat of the music. His uncertain movement towards one of the smaller circle or only around a half dozen people and a mix of genders didn’t last long. One of them perked up at the sight of him and she grabbed him, immediately bringing Steve into their little group.

He beamed at her and took her outstretched hand, pulling it up to give her a little twirl. She laughed in delight, bright and loud even over the music. That seemed to cement Steve’s place in their little group. Everyone was smiling, some even with their eyes closed as they moved to the music, getting close to one another and laughing when they bumped too close.

It lasted quite a few songs, Steve getting more confident with each one. He checked out some guys outside of their group, and saw how people interacted with the DJ, shouting song requests at her. She rolled her eyes at quite a few but no one in the crowd seemed to have any complaints. Everyone just kept on moving.

“Drink break!” His new friend, the woman who originally pulled him into the circle shouted at him over the music. Steve just smiled and shook his head. The man next to her rolled his eyes and stayed with Steve on the dance floor. The two of them took up the empty space abandoned by the rest of the group and when a particularly poppy song came on, Steve even twirled the guy just like he had with his friend from earlier and was rewarded with a similar bark of laughter.

After a song or two, the guy raised his eyebrows and gave Steve a little nod, gesturing behind him. Steve turned around and did a double-take at a new man, eager to join them, or Steve on the dance floor.

The lights shifted again, leaving the new man in more darkness. All Steve saw was a silhouette that he could have sworn, in a split-second, was Eddie.

The lights swung back around and Steve blinked again. He wasn’t Eddie. Of course this man wasn’t. But the guy had long, curly hair. His near-copper, almost-ringlets shone under the lights and Steve stopped himself from reaching out to touch them.

He let his mouth left on one side, into a suggestive smirk, and took a step forward on the beat. Steve’s hand urged to lift up into a wave but he kept it down and reminded himself that he was in a bar. He didn’t need to wave at a cute guy who was already coming closer.

His other friend made a show of getting close enough to Steve to nudge his shoulder as he left the dance floor to find his group. Then it was just Steve and this near-ginger Eddie look-alike. The young man held out his hand and Steve took it.

He pulled Steve forward and put his hands firmly on Steve’s hips. Not wanting to be outdone, Steve placed his hands on the guy’s shoulders. The two of them moved to the beat, shifting together and Steve let himself close his eyes just for a split second.

He felt the bass in the back of his throat and big hands on his hips, with long fingers just playing with the hem of his shirt. Not lifting it up exactly but brushing against the Steve’s skin, thankfully avoiding any scars.

Steve opened his eyes again, remembering where he was with the touch to his skin. His dance partner smiled at him and if Steve had to guess, he would say they were the same age. And here they both were on the middle of a dance floor, moving together with no one paying them any mind. Steve loved it.

He felt so…free. Something must have shown in his face because the next thing he knew, his dance partner was getting closer and closer. He raised an eyebrow, as if giving Steve the option to tell him to pull back if he didn’t want whatever came next.

Steve did him one better and closed the distance.

It wasn’t exactly a heated kiss but the other guy treated the make out session as part of their dance. Keeping the beats even as he trailed down the side of Steve’s neck, giving a little nibble.

This guy wasn’t Eddie but that was all right for now. Steve’s lips buzzed and both him and his dance partner had out soft huffs of laughter. They tried to keep dancing but eventually broke apart, with the other man’s fingers trailing across Steve’s biceps in a fond farewell.

Steve felt good, more centered than he had been in a while. He also was more than ready to find Argyle. It had been at least over an hour, maybe even two. Plus, he didn’t exactly want to clean his smudged glasses on the dance floor. That seemed like a sure fire way to drop them and have them stepped on by eager dancers.

"How you feeling, Stevie?" Argyle gestured for his glasses, already seeing the obvious issue. Steve handed them over, unable to hide his giddy tone. He could have a headache for a week and still not regret his night out here.

"Good. Really good. Thank you, Argyle."

"You are most certainly welcome." Steve leaned back against the bar and tilted his head, letting Argyle put his glasses back on his face.

"I know your glasses were pretty smudged but you know, that last guy you danced with kind of looked like—"

"I knoooow,” Steve groaned, letting his head fall back. He took a sip of the coke Argyle had been watching for him. It had long since gone tepid. He wondered if he could ask for some ice. “I thought I imagined it at first. Wishful thinking.”

Argyle reached over and ruffled his sweaty hair. The gesture was so out of place that Steve came back to himself and remembered where they both were. He giggled, adrenaline from the dancing still running through his veins. Argyle, hand still on Steve's head, laughed as well.

The two of them shared a look and stumbled towards the exit, satisfied for one night. The cold air hit Steve's face and woke up up better than a flat, room-temperature soda and he shook his head, following Argyle to the car.

The drive home went so quickly and even then, they still giggled as they stumbled into the Byers house, whispering to each other so they didn’t wake anyone up.

"You did it, man," Argyle murmured as he fell onto the couch. He held out his arms and Steve followed him down, squeezing his friend tight.

"Thank you," he whispered. "This was...amazing."

Steve didn't even try to get out of Argyle's arms, not that the other guy let up on his grip even as he drifted off to the sleep. King Steve would have craved the touch but kept himself far away from it. He would have never been caught cuddling with a friend, certainly not on the Byers' couch. But he wasn't King Steve anymore.

Now Steve, Stevie, curled up to Argyle and wrapped an arm around his friend's waist, doing his best not to fall off of the Byers' couch. He had gone to a gay bar, he had done something brave and for himself. With a smile on his lips, he finally let himself drift off to sleep.

Steve heard the crackle of a walkie-talkie and instinctively reached out to grab it. Over the past few years, his mind and body had been trained to automatically respond to the static. Though thankfully, in the long months following the defeat of Vecna, his heart had stopped racing anytime one of the kids called a Code Any Color.

So he reached out without thinking. When his fingers didn’t grasp his walkie-talkie, Steve opened his eyes and realized that he wasn’t in his room and it certainly wasn’t his walkie-talkie making the noises.

“Negative, Steve is up now. Argyle is still asleep though. Over,” Will directly into the receiver.

Steve blinked at him, getting his bearings and remembering that yes, he had crashed on the Byers’ couch in the early hours of the morning. Well, he had crashed on Argyle and Argyle had taken up the couch.

El peered at him and plucked the glasses off of his face before he could stop her.

“They are very dirty," she told him, a bit of a scolding in her tone. He put his face back down in Argyle’s chest and applied just enough pressure that he knew his friend would start to wake up.

Steve also took advantage of his glasses being off of his face and rubbed at his eyes, trying to wake himself up. “Thanks, El.”

“You have work,” Will reminded him. "It's already pretty late but Hopper said you got in early and to let you sleep." Steve couldn’t tell with his glasses off but he was pretty sure that Will’s face looked a bit more red than normal. Maybe he was coming down with something. Given their close proximity, flu season normally hit the party pretty hard.

“Hopper also says to come back for leftovers tonight,” El said the word leftovers like day old mashed potatoes and turkey were something to be revered. Steve supposed she was right.

He sat up on the couch, shifting Argyle’s legs a bit so he mostly took up cushion. He stayed slouched though so El could put his glasses back on his face. She straightened them out perfectly and he smiled at her, finally seeing her clearly for the first time today.

“I’m actually closing tonight, kid. It’s a long shift so no leftovers for me. I appreciate the offer though.” El didn’t look too happy about that, but that didn’t surprise Steve much. When she had found out the party wasn’t going to be together for a holiday that involved being thankful, she hadn’t been pleased either. He wouldn’t be surprised if she announced a second Thanksgiving for all them to participate in, most likely in the form of just a typical family dinner. He’d like that a lot actually, the more he thought about it.

Of course Hopper had noticed him and Argyle stumbling through the door early in the morning. Steve should have expected that. At least he had left them alone until-- Steve glanced at the clock-- half past noon. Will wasn't lying. It was late. Steve's shift started at one.

“Oh shoot. Thanks, kids." He got up off of the couch and stretched, shifting around so his jeans felt less stiff against his legs. Thank god he and Robin kept their Family Video uniform pieces at the store. He couldn't do much about a shower but he could stop and get a toothbrush on his break, maybe rinse his face a little bit. It would have to do. "Argyle, you still want me to set aside Princess Bride?”

“Please,” Argyle responded mostly into a throw pillow. “And thank you.”

By the time Steve rolled up to Family Video, his jeans no longer felt as though they were a permanent part of his legs anymore, thank god. He still desperately needed to splash some water on his face though. He knew that the Listerine Keith kept in the top drawer of his desk was unopened but expired. He’d have to get Robin’s judgment on that one but the trip to the pharmacy to get a toothbrush on his break wasn’t the worst idea. Hopefully he’d be able to pick up a bag of chips or something.

Who knew that dancing til late would cause a feeling akin to a hangover? Certainly not Steve, but he could still go for a greasy breakfast. Maybe once Robin’s shift ended, he could bribe her into bringing him back a real dinner. The 1PM til 10PM shift would normally give him a dinner break but not if no one else was at the store with him. Today it would just Steve and a meal (hopefully) at the desk.

“Morning Rob!” He called and let the door swing shut behind him. Given that a video rental store didn’t exactly offer any Black Friday sales, Steve wasn’t surprised to find the place empty and Robin chatting on the phone.

“I’ve got your vest out here.” She snagged hold on his sleeve before he could make it to the break room. The vest didn’t hit him in the face but only barely.

“Thanks. I just need to wash my face real quick.”

It didn’t help. Somehow Steve felt more tired than he had beforehand. He downed a cup of water and then filled it again to down the second one. He wondered if Robin would let him nap since the place was practically empty.

“Late night?” Steve couldn’t see her but he knew that Robin was smirking at him. He heard the click of the phone being put back on the receiver.

“Laugh it up!” He rubbed a hand over his face again and twisted around to stretch. No offense to Argyle or the couch at the Byers’ place but neither were a place to get any extended among of rest.

Stretching only bunched up his shirt and vest even more. Maybe he’d buy some deodorant when he ran out to buy his chips and toothbrush. His shopping list just kept growing. Once he finally felt like he’d straighten out his clothes, Steve looked over and saw Robin staring at him with an odd look on her face.

He frowned for a second and ran through some potential issues. Maybe he was later than he thought? Had he mixed up his shift times? Was his shirt on backwards?

“How was Thanksgiving?” Steve asked instead of worrying. He wondered if Rob would bring him leftovers for dinner. He’d take anything. The candy stacked against the shelves next to the register was tempting but the thought of something sweet and sugary kind of made his stomach turn.

"Do you need make-up for that?" Robin finally asked, eyeing him with a stern expression on her face. She seemed…annoyed?

Then Steve processed her question.

"Make-up? For what?"

"For the little love bite you've got on display for everyone to see."

Steve clapped a hand over the base of his neck. "Fuck." Robin hadn’t been giving him a weird look, not exactly. She had been focused on the hickey he had apparently gotten the previous night. He tried shifting his vest far above his collarbone to hide it but it slid down almost immediately.

"You didn't want to pretend to be my boyfriend for a Buckley Thanksgiving so you could get laid? That's cold, Harrington. Ice--" Robin stopped mid-sentence. Her eyes trained on where Steve was still futzing with his clothing in order to have some semblance of propriety. He wondered what the pharmacy would carry besides make-up that could maybe hide a hickey.

Robin grabbed his hand and pulled it towards her, bringing his whole body with it. Steve let out a little oomph against the counter. She rubbed her hand over the club stamp, still bright red and definitely familiar. Steve knew that she knew that little arrow stamp all too well. There had been a morning or two she had woken up and tried her best to scrub it off before her mother asked her about it. Steve had heard all about it.

"Hunt & Chase?" She looked up at Steve, who had frozen. "Is this where you were last night? Is that where you got that—“ Robin cut herself off there.

Steve couldn't take his eyes off of the stamp. He had nearly forgotten about the evidence of his evening. Too distracted by the euphoria of it.

Steve knew his eyes had widened in surprise but he couldn’t make himself calm down. He thought about all the times he had wanted to talk to Robin but couldn’t take the plunge and even now, it was so hard to say the words to explain it all to her.

Her expression cycled between confused and just edging on start of pissed off. Steve didn’t want her to make it that far. He didn’t want her to be angry. He could explain it all. He just had to start talking.

Easier said than done.

“Is this where you were last night?” She repeated, her tone shifting more towards hurt now. She looked from the stamp to the hickey and then right at him.

“Umm.” He swallowed and tried to figure out where to start.

“Steve.”

“Robin.”

“Why were you at this club last night?” Robin asked again, and then added, "On Thanksgiving?"

“I can explain.” Steve was pretty sure he could. He had all the words, they were all just a bit jumbled. He needed a minute or two to sort them out in his head.

“Can you?” Robin was less convinced, which was fair but Steve just took a deep breath.

He stayed quiet, still not looking directly at Robin. He tried to pull together the words in his head. He wasn't sure where to start. He had been so close so many times to telling her but none of his scenarios started like this. He would never want to spring it on Robin like this, at their job.

This was a confession for a movie night when it was just the two of them. There was nothing like the lights being off and the clock ticking over to midnight for him and Robin to talk about things they could never bring themselves to talk about in the daylight. Steve had wanted this to be one of those things. Just at first.

“Steve,” she said again and he could tell that she was trying her best to keep calm.

“I tried to tell you! Or— I was going to try,” he blurted out. Robin looked taken aback but the floodgates had opened now and all the words Steve couldn’t hope to organize came flowing out of him.

“I was worried that I was just jealous! Well, I have been jealous, I mean. Of you and Eddie. With your like...nights together, just, you know, the two of you," Steve stressed, not wanting to be too explicit even in an empty store. "But then I started thinking it wasn't just jealousy. But I wanted to make sure and I didn’t know how." His heart beat against his chest and it felt just like the bass on the dance floor from the previous night.

“And were you?” Robin asked quietly, her voice so gentle that Steve swallowed the potential lump in his throat. She finally met his eyes and Steve hadn’t realized she was still holding his hand, club stamp on the back of it, until his best friend gently squeezed it.

“Was I…?” Steve asked, bewildered, trying to regulate his breathing. She squeezed his hand again.

“Just jealous?” She asked quietly, an encouraging smile on her face.

“No. I wasn’t,” he told her, letting a wide smile of his own grow across his face. Steve let out an exhausted laugh. “I really wasn’t, Rob.”

“Steve!” Robin squealed and let go of his hand to practically lift herself over the Family Video counter in order to hug him. Steve grabbed hold of her and dragged her across it, much to her protests. She hit the floor on the other side and immediately poked at his hickey.

“Damn, Harrington." She whistled, low and impressive. Steve felt his cheeks go red but he still kept smiling

“I know," he said breathlessly. "I know. God. Robin."

"I'm sorry you didn't feel like you could talk to me about it."

Steve had already started shaking his head before she even finished. "It's not your fault. I just couldn't. You were so excited to have another gay friend, Rob. I was so worried about fucking up. I should have just trusted you and tried harder."

"How about neither of us are sorry?" Robin stopped poking at his hickey and wrapped her arms around his neck instead, bringing him in for a hug. Steve felt whatever tension he had leave him and he let himself slump into her hold.

Robin didn’t sound entirely certain but Steve clung to her words regardless. He knew he had just dumped a lot of information on her and she needed to organize it all in her brain.

“I know how hard it is. I can kind of see where your mind went," she admitted.

“Are we okay?” Steve asked, voice so small and concerned

“Of course we are,” Robin sniffled. Her arms tightened even more but Steve welcomed the pressure. His head dropped onto Robin's shoulder and he wanted to just stay there for the rest of his shift. “You did nothing wrong, Steve, really. You did the best you could with the circumstances being that you just didn’t want to hurt anyone. I just...didn’t have all the facts. Any of them, really. I didn’t know what to think.”

"You didn't have the facts because I didn't give them to you," Steve pointed out miserably, mumbling into Robin's blazer.

“I know that sometimes…you need to figure stuff out away from the people who mean the most to you," Robin whispered as thought it hurt her to say aloud. Steve could relate. “It gives you some kind of courage. There’s less…pressure, in a way." She lifted her head up so she could look him in the eyes.“Going by yourself to a place like that still could have been really dangerous though, Steve!”

“I went with Argyle.”

Robin blinked at him, taking in this information.

“You told Argyle before me? Wait. You took Argyle to a gay bar? Is Argyle…?” Robin made a little hand gesture and Steve wondered if there was some kind of gay and bisexual sign language he needed to learn now.

“I do listen when you talk, Robin,” he teased. “I told him I was having a bit of a crisis and needed to put myself out there. He was very supportive.”

“Honestly," Robin mused, "Argyle sounds like the perfect person. You chose really well,” she teased. "You really were trying to cover all your bases.”

“Except the one about keeping secrets from my best friend, I guess.” Steve shrugged. He stepped backwards out of Robin's hold but couldn't go very far.

“No, that wasn’t your fault. We're not going to keep discussing this.” Robin held Steve's big head between her hands and smacked a kiss on his forehead. “But you can make it up to me anyway by telling me more about the guy.” She poked his hickey again, this time making sure to get it with her fingernail.

Steve raised up a hand to cover his face. “You’re going to give me such shit. Argyle gave me such shit.”

“He looked like Eddie, didn’t he?”

“Spitting image.”

“Wow, you’ve got it bad.”

Steve reached back and grabbed the first thing he could find: a VHS case. He squeezed it so hard in his hands so Robin had to pry it from his grip before the plastic cracked.

“Like I said, I thought I didn’t— I thought I was jealous. Even when I was there, I was little unsure because the guy wasn’t Eddie. And that part stunk. But the dancing sure didn’t.”

“The dancing is always fun,” Robin agreed.

“Whatever. You have coverup, right? If Dustin sees this, he’ll be insufferable.” Maybe none of the kids would come by and that would solve the issue but Steve had never been that lucky. Besides, it was Friday and they had a full two days of eating leftovers and doing nothing ahead of them. Those kids were definitely going to end up in Family Video.

“You could just leave both the stamp and the hickey visible and make Eddie jealous.”

Steve inhaled sharply enough that he went a little dizzy from the speed.

"It's not..." like that, he didn't finish. Because it would have been a lie. Steve knew Eddie flirted with him. He had just kept telling himself that Eddie did it because he knew that Steve was mostly safe. Also, it was Eddie. He loved getting up close to people, pulling reactions, pushing the boundaries of what exactly "close space" was to any particular person.

Steve knew when people looked at him, like really looked. And Eddie had once or twice. But that wasn't...enough. More than that, it wasn't how Steve wanted to have this conversation. Just like with Robin, he wanted to open up to Eddie himself, like he had been trying to for the past few weeks, months.

“I don’t want…I don’t want that to be how the conversation goes, Robin.” He felt ill just thinking about it. His conversation with Robin had gone really well and he didn't want to play games with Eddie. He wanted to just be honest and apologize for not trusting his friends.

“I know. It was just a joke," Robin told him gently. She put a hand on his shoulder and Steve wished she hadn't. He didn't want to be touching anyone right now. “You really do listen when I complain about maturity and being in touch with your emotions.”

Steve exhaled to the point where he felt his whole body loosen up. Suddenly, Robin's hand on his shoulder didn't have him flinching away. “I like to think I’ve learned something from you." Steve stuck his tongue out at her. "Crazy as that is to believe.”

“You have.” Robin examined the hickey closer, thankfully not poking at it again. “But! You also fell asleep at the Byers house when you got home, remember? Which means Will and El already told the other kids that you have a hickey. So Dustin definitely knows and he almost certainly told Eddie.”

“What?” Steve's brain screeched to a halt. “No. Robin, no.”

“Yep. I got a phone call about it. Little shit wanted me to confirm or deny the presence of a hickey on one Steve Harrington.”

“Fuck.”

“You can always lie," Robin offered, finally realizing Steve's panic.

“I don’t want to lie. That’s the whole-- Fuck.”

“I just meant you can lie to the kids. You don’t have to lie to Eddie.”

“I didn’t even think about— I wasn’t expecting—“ Steve ran a hand through his hair and god, it was just a reminder of how he absolutely hadn't showered yet today. He wanted to talk to Eddie but not like this. This was so much.

“I know. It’s okay,” Robin tried to sooth him. “You know I’ll run interference however you need.”

“You’re my best friend." Steve wasn't sure who he was reminding.

“I know.”

“I love you.”

“I know that too.” Robin tapped a finger against her cheek and Steve had seen that look too many times not to be wary. “Actually, let me take care of this for you.”

“Rob, no.” He couldn't decide who would hate that more: Robin, Eddie, or himself. It wouldn't be pleasant for any of them. It was the conversation Steve wanted to have with them ages ago. He wanted to be there.

“Steve, just this once.”

“I want to talk to him myself.”

“I want that too but right now, you’re stuck here until ten o’clock.” Robin pointed at the little clock on the wall. It was ticking so slow. Steve wouldn't even have his break for another hour and all he wanted to do was brush his teeth and then implode.

“He’s probably stewing in his trailer,” Steve murmured miserably. He buried his face in his hands. It was awfully easy to picture. Eddie plucking at his acoustic guitar, working out a melancholy melody, hair greasy and limp, falling in front of his face. All because Steve fell asleep on the Byers' couch and his children were a bunch of gossips.

“Yeah. So let me go give him the basics, okay?" Robin insisted. "And then you can see him after work.”

“What if he doesn’t want to see me?” Steve asked, nauseous at the thought. What if Eddie thought he was a joke or worse: an asshole.

“He will,” Robin promised confidently. “Even if it’s just to talk.” She seemed so adamant about this line of action that Steve knew he was helpless to stop her, especially once she had a plan in mind.

“Don’t tell him that I’m sorry. I want to say it myself.” That was the least he could do if Robin really wanted to do his dirty work for him. Not that she saw it that way but it's the only way Steve saw it.

“I don’t think there’s anything to apologize for, Steve. Not really.” Robin's earnestness went right over his head.

“Hmm.”

“Steve Harrington," Robin sighed. She squeezed his shoulder and leaned in close enough that their foreheads touched. He breathed in the scene of his best friend and wished that they were anywhere but Family Video. Anywhere at all would work but if Steve had a choice, they'd be in Eddie's trailer. "One day you will learn that some things aren’t anyone’s fault. Sometimes things just happen.”

“I believe you.”

He didn't. But she did sound awfully sure of herself.

“You don’t, but one day you will. We’ll work on it.”

Wayne waved Robin right on into the trailer and pointed towards Eddie's bedroom.

"Do something about that, would you?" He asked, with the mild desperation of a man who had no peace for the last few hours. Robin gave a mock-salute as Wayne left the trailer entirely and then bravely headed towards Eddie's bedroom.

Eddie's room was more a mess than usual. Scraps of paper and little guitar cord diagrams littered the floor and he just stood in the middle of it, like a human twister.

“You’re not day drunk yet," Robin observed, sounding impressed.

“I considered it but I don’t like giving straight people that much power over me. I knew he was still going on dates sometimes. I should have been prepared for this," Eddie moaned and gave a half-hearted kick to his walkie-talkie that laid on its side on the ground. “He technically didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Good. We’re on the same page. Keep that in mind.” Robin pushed her way into his bedroom and kept right on moving, taking Eddie with her straight to the bed.

“Hmm?” Eddie was listening but he also curled himself up into ball. Robin would take what she could get. She had heard enough about Eddie's crush on Steve during their little queer hangouts and with any luck, the two of them would be together and disgusting her with their soppiness by the next one.

“Steve didn’t just hook up last night," Robin started and then winced when she saw Eddie's expression. Not the best lead in to the story. "He’s apparently been having a sexuality crisis for a while now but he didn’t want to intrude on our whole— thing.” She said quickly and gestured between the two of them. “So in order to confirm his hypothesis without hurting or confusing anyone, he and Argyle went to Hunt & Chase to see how it felt.”

“What?” Eddie snapped up into a sitting position, a thoroughly-chewed guitar pick falling out of his mouth and onto his bedspread. Robin eyed it with distain but thankfully, because she was the best friend Eddie had ever had, kept talking.

“I know.”

“You just said a lot of words there, Buckley.”

“And that was after I pulled them out of Steve so.”

“He and Argyle. Went to a gay bar. Went to Hunt & Chase," Eddie repeated. "They went to Hunt & Chase so that Steve could figure out if he was jealous of you and I hanging out together. Or if he liked dudes.”

“Yep," Robin confirmed. She sat down on Eddie's bed, keeping a healthy distance away from the mangled guitar pick.

“He really does listen when you talk," Eddie settled on, his eyes flicking up to look at Robin.

“I know! That’s what I said!”

“Wait— what the hell was the verdict, Buckley?” Eddie uncurled himself even further from his despondent bed ball and stood up.

Robin shrugged but she was waiting on something. “That’s something you’ll have to ask him yourself.”

“Oh my god. He has a hickey.” Eddie jumped up onto the bed and just stood on the pillow next to Robin. "He has a hickey," he said again. "He has a hickey!"

“Mmmm.” Robin raised her eyebrows, surprisingly calm for someone on a mattress that currently was being used as a trampoline launchpad.

“Where is he?” Eddie demanded.

“At work. Sit down.” Robin laughed and tugged on his shirt. Eddie didn't budge from his perch atop the bed.

“I’ll sit down in the van while I drive to Family Video.”

“And then what?”

“I’ll give him a hickey over his hickey," Eddie promised decisively.

“Oh my god stop it.” Robin kept laughing. This time she really did manage to tug him off of the bed but he refused to sit down. Eddie immediately went to rummage for the keys to his van. “I told him you would see him after his shift. But maybe you could call and ask where he wants to meet.”

“Robin. Babe. It’s been a great talk. But I gotta run.”

“Oh my god, it’s like you can’t hear me talk. At least bring him dinner. I was supposed to but—“

“Dinner! I can do that! I can bring him dinner!”

“Don’t get him fired, Munson! I can’t reach the top shelf without him!”

Steve wished his health class in high school had covered some kind of nutrition. Maybe it wouldn't have gone as far as to warn him about eating candy on an empty stomach but he could dream. He was actually doing quite a bit of dreaming in the empty Family Video. Mostly about a real meal but about Eddie too.

Robin hadn't called at all so Steve wasn't sure if she had gone over to talk to Eddie yet. It was possible that was the real source of his nausea but Steve didn't mind blaming it on the Raisinets for now.

He wished he had his walkie-talkie. Normally he brought it to work when he was coming right from his house. He bet the kids were arguing right now about the leftovers. Steve wouldn't be surprised if El convinced them all to do a whole second Thanksgiving with just the Party.

Some movement outside in the empty parking lot cause his attention and Steve straightened up. He didn't want to deal with customers but he'd take a distraction.

He pushed up his glasses and blinked a few times but nope, that was definitely Eddie’s van along with Eddie in the driver’s seat. He had pulled right next to Steve's BMW.

Steve's first instinct was to duck behind the counter but he couldn't bring himself to move. He just watched Eddie walk right into Family Video, a takeout bag in his hands. He couldn't look away from those dark brown eyes and Eddie didn't break their shared gaze either. He just strode right up to the counter as if Steve wasn’t in a crisis.

“Hi,” Steve managed to get out. His mouth felt so dry. When had that happened?

“Hi,” Eddie parroted back, amused.

“I wanted to talk to you.” Steve said dumbly. He wished he could think of literally anything else to say but he could barely move from his spot behind the counter, let alone think of words. He wished he had borrowed Robin's makeup to cover the hickey.

He had looked at the pharmacy but there were too many options. His mouth felt less like death after being able to brush his teeth so that was a plus but he wished he had tried harder to understand the makeup.

“Yeah, I know. I thought this was better than calling. I wanted to see you.” Eddie was calmer than he has been all afternoon. Some of his anxious energy gone the second he saw Steve in front of him but he was still electric. The rocking back and forth on his feet had everything to do with excitement as opposed to anxiety. “Robin says you’re not allowed to apologize,” Eddie delivered the order with a charming smile.

Steve couldn’t help himself. Eddie’s grins were infectious. He ducked his head even with a smile.

“I’ll try my hardest.”

“You do that, sweetheart.” Eddie watched Steve's cheeks turn just the slightest tinge of pink and mentally fist-pumped. “I brought you some dinner. Just a sandwich and fries from from Lee’s.”

Steve felt his stomach grumble at the words but blessedly, it remained quiet.

Eddie didn’t drop the bag on the counter but instead, held it a few inches over so that Steve had to take it. Steve swallowed and reached out, taking hold of the bag securely, right alongside Eddie’s hand.

Their gaze broke and Eddie gave Steve the possession of the bag but his hand didn’t go far. He moved it atop Steve’s and rubbed his thumb over the Hunt & Chase logo that Steve had yet to scrub out of his hand.

“Thanks Eddie.” Steve’s hand tightened around the bag and Eddie leaned in, his fingers trailing off of the little red stamp.

“Can I see you after your shift?” Eddie asked hopefully, leaning all his weight onto the Family Video counter, as close as he could get to Steve without jumping over it and knocking all the tapes off of it.

“Yeah, I’d like that.” Steve took his gaze away from Eddie for a split second to look at the clock. Closing time being hours away was about to seem even longer.

“I’ll be here then. 10:01," Eddie promised.

Steve turned back towards Eddie and smiled, nodding even as he didn't quite seem to know what to do with himself. “Okay, sounds good," he said quietly, tilting his head at Eddie as if he wasn't quite real.

Eddie managed to convince his feet to take him through the door and outside to the parking lot but he turned right back around to look at Steve. He had an adorable little smile and he gave Eddie a wave through the glass window.

Steve kept watching him even while reaching down into the bag to munch on the fries that Eddie had brought him. And if Eddie maybe watched Steve's mouth a little too closely well, he couldn't be faulted for that.

Eddie was going to kiss that boy before the night was over.

At 10:01 exactly, Steve Harrington walked out of Family Video. He turned around to lock the door behind him, pointedly not looking towards the van that had once again parked next to his BMW.

More specifically, he didn't look towards the guy standing outside the van, leaving against the driver's side door.

He did, however, thank whichever gods existed that he had grabbed that toothbrush at the pharmacy during his break.

And then he had to get all of within five feet of Eddie and ruin it with a yawn that made his jaw cracked.

"Sorry,” he blurted out, running a hand over his face. “I didn't get much sleep last night."

But Eddie. His sweet Eddie, only smirked at him and came closer. He wrapped an arm around Steve’s waist and even with the single street light above them, began to sway the two of them back and forth.

"I bet. I want to hear all about it,” he whispered in Steve’s ear.

"All?" Steve swallowed as Eddie moved his mouth further south, right above where he knew the hickey stuck out. Steve’s knees trembled a bit when Eddie placed a kiss on the bruise.

"I think you should come back to my place and tell me every detail." Judging by Eddie’s voice, eager and low, he wanted to do more than just listen to Steve talk. And god. Steve wanted that very much.

“I might fall asleep.” Steve wanted to slap himself upside the head. But Eddie’s expression went from a seductive leer to a soft, besotted.

“I don’t mind if you don’t mind.”

He knew he couldn’t leave his car in the parking lot, not unless he wanted to get even more shit from the kids than he was already scheduled for. So Steve reluctantly pulled away from Eddie’s warmth and bravely got in his BMW. He took a few fortifying breaths, telling himself it would only be a fifteen minute drive.

He overestimated a little bit. Within ten minutes, Steve was wrapped up in Eddie Munson’s arms again, the two of them nestled into Eddie’s bed.

He resisted the urge to bury his face on Eddie’s neck as he talks about the club, the dancing. Eddie coaxes him how each time with a gentle smile.

“I wish I had been there with you but I’m glad Argyle went.”

“He was sweet,” Steve told him through a yawn. “Teased me a bit when I danced with a guy who looked like you,” he admitted, a bit shy. Eddie’s eyebrows raised at that.

“Same guy who did this?” He didn’t press on the hickey, only gestured to it. Steve nodded silently, face flush. He still stretched a bit to give Eddie better access and well, Eddie wasn’t about to turn down an opportunity.

“Yeah? Right here.” Eddie kissed the hickey and Steve’s breath hitched. Eddie pulled back. “Do you mind if I…”

Steve swallowed and nodded slowly. “Please," he breathed.

Eddie leaned back in and nibbled on the bite. Instead of tensing up, Steve melted with the touch, the feeling of his skin between Eddie’s teeth. Eddie’s hands stroking down his sides as he went to work.

It didn't take much time at all for Steve's breathing to speed up though. He wanted Eddie's lips on his, not on his neck. He let out a little whimper and insisted, “Up. Up.”

Eddie didn’t waste time. He brought his hands up too and cupped Steve’s face. But Steve moved first, capturing Eddie’s lips in a sweet kiss that went on until his lips felt swollen. Even then, he still didn’t want to move away.

“I want to go back and dance with you next time,” he murmured against Eddie’s lips.

“I think that can be arranged, sweetheart.”

Steve couldn’t do much a lot his flushed cheeks now, given the blankets Eddie piled on top of them both but he didn’t mind too much. Not when Eddie would lean up to kiss his cheek, right on the reddest part.

They kept on kissing through another one of Steve’s yawns. But after the third or so yawn, Eddie just chuckled to himself. He oh so gently took Steve’s glasses off of his face and put them onto his nightstand.

He pulled Steve into his arms and he went willingly. Before Steve could settle, Eddie grabbed hold of the hand that had the Hunt & Chase stamp on it and kissed it.

Steve seemed so content to just lie across Eddie’s chest that Eddie wanted him there every night. Reasonably, he aimed for a few times a week, fully aware that Robin would be all snuggled up to both of them at least on weekends. Their own queer little puppy pile.

Steve pulled himself just slightly up, catching Eddie’s attention. He kissed Eddie one last time with a pleased little sigh.

“Thank you,” he whispered.

Eddie wasn’t sure what Steve was thanking him for but he wanted to thank him right back. So he did.

His “Thank you“ got a sleepy giggle out of Steve as he laid his head back down on Eddie’s chest. Eddie stroked his hair, watching Steve as he drifted off to sleep. So trusting of Eddie but thankfully relaxed, even after a stressful day.

Eddie knew it was foolish to think he, Robin, and Steve could all protect one another in a big queer bubble but that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to try. He tilted his head a bit to kiss the top of Steve’s hair one last time before closing his eyes, content in knowing that Steve would still be there when he woke up.

on ao3 here

#steddie #my fanfic

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peaktotheocean · 1 year

Text

Preparations

A Steddie soulmate AU on ao3 here

For the longest time, Eddie’s soulmate instincts had him gathering normal items: hairspray, peanut M&M’s, a Queen cassette tape, etc.

But lately, he’s found himself picking up four-inch nails, hearing aid batteries, and a distressing amount of first aid supplies. At this point, he just hope his soulmate survives long enough for the two of them to meet.

It’s not that Eddie didn’t notice the sparks when he and Harrington touched. He just had other things on his mind.

Like the fact that they were trapped in literal hell and his apparent soulmate had just gotten nearly torn apart by bats.

He wasn’t so sure said soulmate had even noticed sparks. Steve was a little preoccupied with having gotten bit to all hell, so Eddie wasn’t insulted by the lack of reaction. God fucking willing, they’d have time.

Please, god, let there be time.

All his soulmate preparations, the first aid supplies, wasted because they were piled up in a trailer that was currently an active crime scene. Everytime Eddie had gone into Melvald's for a soda and came out with another tube of antibiotic ointment and a roll of bandages didn't matter because his soulmate needed them now and Eddie only had tinted chapstick and nails in his pockets. He wasn't sure why Steve needed long nails but Eddie was pretty sure that they wouldn't be of much use right now.

Nancy tore a piece of her skirt off to wrap around Steve's torso and Eddie wished it was him. He wanted to touch Steve again. He needed to feel that spark, to prove to himself that it was real.

So many things were coming together in his mind. Not just Steve's lack of interest in popularity or his relatively new friendship with noted nerd Robin Buckley. But the fact that Eddie’s soulmate instincts had him stocking up to build the ultimate first aid kit ever since November 1983. Right when the Byers boy went missing. His soulmate had been dealing with monsters and Eddie had been all turned around, confused at his soulmate's need for large gauze pads and hearing aid batteries.

Nancy went ahead with Robin to scout out the forest and Eddie took the opportunity to gently wrap an arm around Steve's waist. He took on most of his weight and felt Steve swallow.

If he hadn't noticed the first time, Steve definitely felt him now. The bond between them sparked and Eddie wanted to offer Steve the damn chapstick.

"I have...so much stuff for you," Steve laughed breathlessly. It quickly turned into a cough and Eddie shushed him.

"Later, Harrington. Let's get out of here first, okay?"

Later turned out to be much later than either of them anticipated. Eddie did get to use some of his first aid supplies for Steve. Then Steve had to use the remaining ones on Eddie but he couldn't complain too much. They matched scars and souls now. Not ideal but they were both alive to see it.

Frankly, Eddie was mostly just grateful that he didn't have to use the Queen CD that he had stashed in his drawer. It was one of his more recent soulmate preparation purchases. Not a bad one but he'd rather listen to it with Steve when they weren't in danger of possession or death.

Even preliminarily cleared of murder charges, he wasn't allowed back to his trailer just yet which wasn't a real problem for Eddie. His only regret was that the rest of his preparation, his soulmate drawer, filled with bits and pieces for Steve, was inaccessible. First aid supplies didn't mean much now that they were all spent and already replaced with hospital grade bandages.

Just a week prior, he had found a thick and heavy quilt at the thrift store and just needed to get it for his soulmate, for Steve. He wished he could wrap him up in it now. Hospital socks and thin blankets weren't a good substitute, no matter how grateful Eddie was that their little group was alive.

Eddie tried to keep that in mind through their testing and the government documents and the checks for him and Wayne that could buy them a new house but couldn't get peace of mind back for either of them. They were alive at least, and he'd have plenty of time and money to buy new peanut M&Ms for Steve.

Finally, their release came and Eddie and Robin piled into Steve's car, the latter getting in the backseat without a complaint. Eddie knew they'd be back in the hospital soon enough to take their shift listening to Max complain about physical therapy.

To his surprise, Steve didn’t bring them to the big fuck off mansion that Eddie has almost certainly egged and TP’d one Halloween Eve back in his early teen years. Instead, he kept driving further, past what Eddie thought was his neighborhood, Robin uncharacteristically quiet in the back seat until Eddie turned around and realized she had dozed off.

They came to a little two story house that seemed squished even though the next-nearest house wasn’t even close to it.

“Rob? We’re home.” Steve reached in the back seat and gently shook her shoulder to wake her up. “I tried to carry her inside once, but she woke up panicked halfway through and we both ended up on the grass,” he told Eddie, smiling fondly at the memory.

“You both live here? Rob is still in high school.”

“I’m eighteen,” Robin mumbled sleepily, which didn’t answer Eddie’s question.

“I’ll explain tomorrow," Steve promised. "Right now, I just want to sleep until the kids wake us up in the morning.”

“You should have never given Dustin a key," Robin grunted as she shifted into a sitting position. She took Eddie's hand and let him pull her up and out of the car.

“I gave Max a key," Steve corrected her, leading them both into the house. "Dustin stole it from her and made copies for everyone.”

“That little shit,” Eddie laughed in disbelief. Steve tilted his head to look at Eddie fondly, locking the front door, without taking his eyes off of him.

Robin gave them both hugs good night, practically hanging off their necks to the point where Eddie could see Steve wanted to just pick her up and carry her to bed. Steve watched Eddie through the process, like he couldn’t take his eyes off of him. He eventually held out his hand and Eddie took it, following him up the stairs.

His room was a mishmash of furniture that, if Eddie had to guess, was sourced from the Byers house before they left for California. A few thrift store pieces maybe, but nothing that said “Harrington Mansion.” Steve looked at home here, sighing as he finally shut the door behind them both.

Eddie made a beeline for the bureau. He couldn’t explain it but the blank space on the top was his in a way.

He slowly emptied out the few things he had in his zipped jacket pockets, just two bits that he had picked up the morning everything started. It wasn't much but he still needed to put them in their proper place.

A little tube of tinted chapstick, berry-flavored, and, still confusing to him, a bunch of nails.

Steve winced at the sound of the nails hitting the wood. He walked into the small space between the bed and the wall and picked something up off the floor.

A wooden baseball bat with the thick end of it absolutely chock full of similar long nails.

“Jesus. I wouldn’t have guessed that." Eddie stared at it. Steve rotated the bat slowly, showing it in all its gory glory.

“We could have made another one. Again,” Steve offer ruefully. “The first aid stuff all came in handy at least.”

Eddie wanted to apologize. He wished he had just been able to keep complaining about his soulmate’s normal teenage purchases. He desperately missed the days where he’d have the urge to purchase just hairspray, cream-colored, with a woman Eddie didn’t recognize promoting the brand, peanut M&M’s, and fruity chapstick. Maybe, one day, his instincts for Steve would feel safe enough that he wouldn’t want to slip into a pharmacy and purchase a roll of bandages.

One day.

“What did you pick up for me?” Eddie asked, trying and failing not to sound too eager. To his delight, Steve ducked his head, a shy little smile peeking out at Eddie. Before he could go over there and take both of Steve’s hands in his, Steve got on his knees and reached underneath his bed.

He pulled out a shoebox and held it with both hands, trying his best to be careful with a box that looked at least ten years old to begin with. It was about to fall apart.

Steve opened it up towards Eddie, a true soulmate offering.

It was chock full of random bits and pieces that Eddie knew were his. Guitar strings, still coiled up in their original packaging, lay flat at the bottom of the box, along with a few packs of rolling paper. There were a few random guitar picks too. Eddie could almost see Steve going into the music shop for records and adding them on top of his order, last minute, at the cashier. A pack of the hair-ties that didn't snag at Eddie's curls that he never bought because they were just a tad more expensive than the regular ones.

Little glass jars of paint from the local hobby shop, clinking as they rolled against one another as Steve tilted the box. The last one in the row rolled right into a gorgeous pocketknife with a sleek silver handle.

There were dice in there too. Not just D20s, and even more than a full set too. All different colors. He reached out and plucked out a D10 that was a deep, blood red, swirled with an inky black. It was gorgeous.

“I didn’t know what the dice really meant until I met the kids," Steve admitted. "They explained it to me and were pretty excited to meet you. The other stuff I managed just fine for the most part.”

“The paint?”

Steve smiled and set the box down on the bed, sitting on one side of it. Eddie sat down on the other. Steve cradled the little glass jars in his hands, rolling them back and forth. “Once I got into the hobby shop, I knew I needed paint. There was so much of it but…I don’t know. I just knew which colors I needed. You needed,” he corrected himself.

He held the bottles out to Eddie, who ran a finger over each of them until he came to a yellow that managed to be bright and warm all at once.

“Yeah.” Eddie looked up at Steve and smiled. He took the bottles from him and placed them back in the box. He pushed it away so it wasn’t between them anymore and moved right into Steve’s space. Steve didn’t move away, not an inch. “I know exactly what colors those are for,” Eddie told him as he closed the distance between the two of them.

Eddie had imagined what it would feel like kissing his soulmate for the first time. He wasn’t surprised to find out that all his wondering never came close to the real thing.

Just like when they touched for the first time, Eddie felt a spark, but this time, that spark burst into ten thousand more. Eddie felt pinpricks all over his body as he leaned into Steve. They grew warmer and encompassed his entire body, sending the heat down to his toes. He needed to feel all of Steve and as if in sync, Steve let himself drop into the bed so Eddie could fully lie on top of him, both of them trying to connect in every way.

The kisses remained soft and sweet until, finally too exhausted, Eddie just tucked his face into Steve’s neck, taking deep breaths. Steve’s hand stroked Eddie’s curls and the last thing Eddie remembered before falling asleep was Steve’s lips on his crown.

end

#steddie #stranger things #my fanfic

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