#Dethrone-Live | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

schrijverr · 2 years

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Your Name in Every Corner

Eddie’s perspective on Steve as he first learns about his good side from the Freshman he takes under his wing and then witnesses it when he gets dragged into the whole Upside Down business, learning that King Steve is no more and Steve is actually a good dude.

On AO3.

Ships: Steve x Eddie

Warnings: mentions of period typical homophobia

King Steve Dethroned: Jonathan's POV, Robin's POV & Eddie's POV.

~~~~~~~~~~

Eddie knows Steve Harrington. Of course, he does. He was only a year above him during his rise to popularity and douchbaggery, then shared his second time doing Senior Year with the man, before he was finally free of King Steve in every corner of the school.

Sure, he wasn’t terrible when they shared Senior Year, but Eddie knows his kind. Has watched him all the years before. He knows how to avoid, how not to engage.

Most likely, his survival avoidance tactics just worked well. Steve walked the podium, Eddie didn’t, but was glad to see him gone.

However, Steve isn’t gone.

He is physically, but somehow he surrounds Eddie more than ever now that he isn’t here. And all that is because of one kid only. Dustin Henderson. The kid worships Steve for some odd reason and while Eddie loves the kid, he is stuck with him, thus so with his talk about Steve.

Eddie spots them on the first day back at school. He’s in the cafeteria eating his lunch as usual when they enter. A group of nerds, obviously Freshmen, looking way out of their depths. So, Eddie saunters over and saves them.

They eagerly join their table and inquire after the shirts, soon signing up for the Hellfire Club. Yeah, this year is good. Eddie can feel it.

With three new members, their legacy as Hellfire will be secured as he finally walks that goddamn stage. So, he’s in a pretty good mood as they set up the campaign for this year. Eddie is naturally running it and he wonders how those kids will fit into the party dynamic.

Excitedly, he sits on his throne, looking over his victims, uhm, troops, and grins: “Everyone ready for the start of the most epic campaign known to man?”

“Hell yeah,” Jeff says and the new recruits nod.

Dustin then says: “But we do have to be done by ten, because Steve’s picking us up and he hates it if we make him wait.”

“He doesn’t hate us,” Mike rolls his eyes. “He just doesn’t let you pick the music until he breaks under your eyes, because he’s a massive looser.”

“Don’t say that, Mike,” Lucas buds in. “You literally based your character off him.”

“Wait, Steve Harrington?” Eddie asks, realizing who they’re talking about and wondering why the hell the human fighter with a spiked club and a heart of gold that Mike plays is in any way based on his sister’s ex boyfriend.

“Yeah?” Dustin confirms, like it’s weird that Eddie is asking, while the other members look at the three of them like they have extra heads. “He’s cool,” Dustin shrugs.

“Exactly,” Gareth says. “He’s cool. Why the fuck is he picking you up from school after your DnD night?”

“Oh,” Dustin says like that explanation makes more sense. Before showing he didn’t understand the comment at all as he explains: “He doesn’t want us biking out when it’s so late and he has a car and the time. So, he offered.”

“Steve. King Steve. Offered to drive you home, because he was what? Worried about you?” Eddie laughs disbelievingly.

“Yeah,” Lucas shrugs like that’s an explanation.

The four original Hellfire Club members share a look that tells each other that they’re all not buying it. But Eddie isn’t about to let his first DnD night of the year be ruined by Steve Harrington of all people, so he claps his hands to get the attention of everyone, deciding to drop it.

Maybe Nancy asked Steve, because she was worried about her brother. The rumor is that Steve is trying to get back into her pants now that her boyfriend moved to California and Eddie wouldn't think him above driving her little brother and his friends home to do it.

If those kids have a bit of a hero worship of the cooler older kid that they saw in passing, then that will fade quickly. Douchbags will always be revealed in time.

Soon, he forgets about Steve and gets into the story, leading the party to the first obstacle. He is impressed with the kids. They have a good strategic mind and play well together. A perfect addition to his campaign.

Still, when the night is over, he can’t help, but remember that King Steve is picking them up. He tries to tell himself he wants to see to make sure Steve isn’t a total dick to his Freshmen, but a part of him knows he’s just too curious not to go look.

As they said, Steve’s car is in the parking lot, the man in question leaning against the hood, wearing a strange vest.

“What the hell are you wearing,” Dustin calls out to Steve when he sees and Eddie raises his brows at the fact that Dustin dares to speak to Steve like that.

He half expects Steve to get angry, to snap back, but instead he looks on in surprise as Steve rolls his eyes and calls back: “It’s called a work uniform. You know, since I have a job, Henderson. Someone has to pay for all the gas I use up driving you lot around. Now get in the car, or I’m not driving you to the arcade this weekend.”

Quickly, the three of them scramble into the car and Eddie watches as Dustin puts a tape into the player like he’s done it a million times before. ABBA loudly blares from the speakers as the car pulls out of the lot, faintly Eddie thinks he hears Steve yell something about seat belts, but the whole picture is already too absurd, so Eddie pretends he imagines it.

Steve truly came to pick them up.

King Steve came out of work to pick up three nerdy Freshmen like it was a totally normal thing for him to do. Acting like he drove them around often. Often enough to have them all act comfortably in his car.

It just doesn’t seem like a thing Steve would do, Eddie thinks as he gets into his own van. Internally he tries to rationalize it. Maybe Steve is getting paid. The word is that his parents cut him off and he’s lucky he was allowed to stay in the house and keep his car. Maybe the kids’ parent pay him for it and he thinks it’s easy money.

The reason sounds a bit far fetched for Eddie’s taste, but it’s plausible (and he hasn’t forgotten about the getting into Nancy’s pants theory). Much more plausible than Steve wanting to do this, so he accepts it into his worldview and speeds off as he lets the whole interaction go.

And Eddie is sure he wouldn't have though twice about the whole thing if Steve didn’t become a frequent topic of conversation at his table.

Apparently, his newly adopted Freshmen adore Steve and think he is the coolest person to ever grace the earth. Even Mike thinks so, though he denies it vehemently. So, each session Eddie has to listen to how cool Steve is.

“Oh, this is like when Steve faced off against Dart and his friends!” Lucas says and Eddie wants to yell: ‘How is my cool monsters surrounding you from all sides unexpectedly anything like something Steve has done? And who the hell is Dart?’

He makes an awesome hidden base under this town and Dustin tells Mike next to him: “It’s kind of like what happened this summer. Is your Steve throwing himself in front of danger to save me?” and Mike says: “My character is not based off Steve!” while Eddie desperately wants to ask: ‘What the hell did you do this summer? And why the fuck were you hanging out with Steve?’

At some point Mike’s fighter dies so that the rest of the party can escape and Eddie feels great about the moment. It’s a beautiful end for the character and they’re all basking in it when Dustin comments: “Steve never did win a fight, did he?”

“He wasn’t based off Steve,” Mike complains, but he’s smiling at the comment.

“Oh, he so was, Mike,” Lucas pipes up.

“Uh-huh,” Dustin nods vigorously. “That self-sacrificing move you just pulled that got your character killed? Total Steve move.”

And Eddie is about to rip his hair out, because even his beautifully crafted moment in his story is tainted by fucking King Steve. So, he finally explodes: “In what way does this remind you of Steve? Like, for real. How?”

The three look surprised at his outburst, then share the look they sometimes share. Before they all shrug and Dustin says: “Uhm, last year Billy came after Max when Steve was watching us over at the Byers’ house. Billy was about to beat up Lucas, so Steve went out there to stop him.”

“Yeah, and he got the shit kicked out of him,” Mike rolls his eyes.

“But it was cool,” Lucas protests.

“Billy smashed a plate on his head and everything,” Dustin adds. “Come on. Even Max thought it was cool. She never thinks anything is cool.”

And Eddie wouldn't have believed them if he hadn’t watched Steve come in with his face all bruised up, ignoring Billy sending him smug looks. It just sounds absurd. Though, he does think the plate is an exaggeration, one doesn’t just walk away from that.

“Alright, alright,” he cuts in, before the discussion can get out of hand. “I get it. Whatever. Lets focus back on the game.”

Luckily that works and they all get back to it. Mike doesn’t have a new character yet, but he delight in meddling anyway, calling out suggestions.

Once they’re done. Dustin wants to ask a few more questions about the campaign. So, he hangs around while Eddie packs up and walks with Eddie when he locks up.

Outside, he can hear Mike’s voice going: “I died. We were fleeing and we couldn't get out on time, so I was a distraction, but my character died.”

“That sucks, man.” And is that Steve’s voice? “You were excited about playing a fighter for once, right? Making another one?”

“Nah, I’m better at playing magic users. Guess, I never was a fighter type,” Mike answers, though he sounds normal it seems like there’s more to that statement that Eddie is privy to.

“You are. You can make a sorcerer based of El, I’m sure she’d love that. And you can’t deny she’s a fighter,” Steve suggests and Eddie is still reeling over the fact that not only is Steve still picking the kids up, he is also talking DnD with them, like he actually cares about their game.

Dustin calls out a greeting and Eddie looks away like he wasn’t interested. Quickly waving goodbye to Dustin as he hurries to his car. He doesn’t want to interact with this Steve. This strange Steve, who is just not Steve-like at all.

Eddie is focusing on finally graduating, he doesn’t need to be thinking about weird Steve. A Steve, who dresses in comfortable soft looking clothes and talks about DnD. A Steve who is good with kids. Not mean.

And he is almost glad when Lucas joins the basketball team later, telling them how Steve is helping him run drills. Because, he can say to himself, see, Steve is pushing this kids towards being sheep jocks. He wants a little posse to carry along his name and found the perfect targets to do that for him.

Even if it makes no sense that Steve is being nice to a few Freshmen to keep his name in high school of all places, especially since all the Senior girls still giggle as they whisper his name. It fits in his views and he’s holding onto that.

In hindsight, it’s embarrassing how much he clings to the douche King Steve image.

Because he doesn’t let it go, the distaste at Steve growing when he sees him pull up into the trailer park a few weeks later, frowning. At first he thinks Steve must have a date here, however unlikely it is that he would want to come close to any of the girls here, but then Lucas gets out of the car and calls out: “Thanks, Steve.”

“No problem,” Steve smiles gently, that smile turning into a grin as he yells: “Don’t do anything I wouldn't do, Sinclair. And don’t do some of the thing I did do.”

“Shove off,” Lucas grimaces like it’s an older brother teasing him instead of the king of Hawkins High.

Max, the girl who lives across from Eddie, has come out of the trailer in time to catch the words Steve yelled. She flips him off, even if she’s smiling. She yells: “Fuck off, old man. We’re not doing anything. Not everyone is a pervert in high school.”

“I wasn’t a pervert,” Steve protest, through the opened window.

“Slut then,” Max shrugs, before dragging a laughing Lucas through the door.

Eddie watches as Steve pouts for a second. Yeah, he also can barely believe that he just watched King Steve drop off Lucas to hang out with his girlfriend, teasing the kids like an embarrassing brother. Not only that, but said girlfriend jokingly called him a slut and he let her. Hell, he’s only pouting in his car about it.

Then Steve drives off and Eddie tries to muster irritation at the peppy radio music he hears floating over, even if he never thought he’d hear Steve sing along to Madonna, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel.

And then again he ignores what his brain could put together, but refuses, because the notion is fucking ridiculous. He’s out in the city, having driven his van out there, because it’s where they have stores that actually sell stuff for DnD. He has some extra money left, and he needs a few more figurines for the next battle he’s planning.

Something that seems almost impossible is the fact that he hears Steve Harrington’s voice. “Yeah, uhm, it’s the dice, but not with six sides. I’m looking for sets? Dice sets, I think?”

The clerk must say something, because the Steve-soundalike laughs: “It’s not my thing, no. It’s a present for my kids, they love this nerd shit.”

Eddie relaxes at the sound. Whoever this guy is, he has kids and Steve decidedly doesn’t have kids (that anyone knows off, because honestly Eddie wouldn't be surprised if Steve had knocked up a girl at some point, but those wouldn’t be old enough to be playing DnD yet). The man at the counter just sounds like Steve, that’s all, and it’s weird to go looking at him just because he sounds like someone Eddie dislikes.

Still, he can’t help but think of the man when Dustin, Lucas and Mike show off their new dice sets at the next session (all picked to fit perfectly with them).

Like he said, it’s ridiculous to think Steve would drive all the way to the closest big city to buy dice sets for a few Freshmen he doesn’t like so that they can play a nerdy game. It’s just stupid coincidence. King Steve buying DnD dice just doesn’t happen.

Eddie doesn’t ask how they got the dice, however.

After that, it slips his mind. Sure, he still has to listen loudly proclaim that Steve is a badass whenever he can, but he manages to avoid the man himself. If he is still picking up the kids after DnD nights, Eddie is too busy packing away the stuff. If he drives them to the arcade, Eddie doesn’t know. And with Lucas and Max breaking up, he doesn’t see Steve at the trailer park much, except the few times he brought Max home (something Eddie ignores).

If asked, he will laugh about why he should be interested what Steve is doing. He’s too busy trying to finally graduate to be busy with the former Mister Popular. He has never cared about that sort of thing, why start?

Why would he want to know what Steve is doing? Why should his brain wonder about this new Steve that gives rides, buys dice and is actually nice? It’s stupid. Those kids just have a very bad case of hero worship and Eddie is desperate to not make it his problem.

Naturally, the universe has a funny way of turning against him, because a girl dies right in front of his eyes and before he knows it, he’s on the run.

He’s in hiding, but found.

He’s scared, feeling trapped.

He’s holding a broken glass bottle to the throat of Steve Harrington.

Because of fucking course Steve has decided to- to what? To help Dustin in his attempt to help Eddie? To believe that Eddie is innocent? To be nice?

Though, at the moment, he looks more scared than anything else. He flinches away from the sharp edge of the glasses and softly but frantically swears on Dustin’s mother, his hands raised in a deescalating and placating manner.

And no matter how unbelievable it is, it can’t be stranger than what he saw in his trailer. So, despite all his instincts he lets Steve go, believing that they’re truly there to help, and sinks to the floor, still clutching the broken bottle to his chest.

They ask him what happened. What happened is that a girl, Chrissy, kind Chrissy, suddenly levitated and broken all her bones right in front of him. Something that should not be able to happen. Something that no one would believe if they could also blame him.

“You wouldn't believe me,” he says.

But they assure him they will and then they actually do. They listen to him talk about a floating girl that broke right in front of his eyes and instead of calling him a freak or insane, they nod their heads. They share looks. Then explain the wildest shit to him, dragging him into a world that he would have loved to never know.

Yet here he is, learning more and more crazy facts about what has happened in Hawkins since ‘83 and how this group was involved every single time. And suddenly Steve and the hero worship the kids have of him makes a lot more sense.

Because, Steve is there for them. He’s not there to solve the mystery or get the glory, he’s just there to make sure none of the dipshits die. Eddie can see it in how he hovers behind them, ushering them through doors, backing up their stories in his own way and how he rests assuring hands on their shoulders.

It’s incredibly obvious that Steve is there for the kids and the kids only. Sure, he is protective over Nancy and Robin as well, but it’s nothing like how he is about the kids.

Eddie can hardly believe his eyes as he watches Steve, Steve Harrington, King Steve, that Steve, put his hands on his hips as he sternly tells the group: “No, those snacks are for Eddie. We can get you snacks on the drive back, he can’t. I asked if you wanted something when we bought them and you all said no.”

“You were eating chips on the way here,” Dustin protests.

“Yes, I bought those for myself,” Steve replies, raising a brow daring Dustin to say more about it, to which the kid wilts as he gives in. When he does, Steve nods satisfied as if he was waiting for that reaction, like the mom-tone (because there’s no use calling it anything else) usually works. Like this happens often.

Then he smiles at Eddie and his heart skips a beat. It’s a gentle, assuring smile, the kind that says ‘don’t worry, I have your back,’ and the weirdest part is that Eddie believes that smile, that it makes him feel safe and cared for.

So, he eats his snacks as they walk towards… a portal apparently, because a compass is wonky. This is his life now.

There Eddie witnesses that stubborn protectively self-sacrificing streak he has heard Dustin and Lucas mention during their game, always followed by Mike complaining his character wasn’t based off Steve (which Eddie was side-eyeing a lot more, having heard of the nail bat).

Because Steve offers to jump in the water, without taking no for an answer, like it’s obvious that he’s the one that is going to be put in danger. And with the way Robin and Nancy let him, maybe it is obvious to everyone that Steve is going to stand between them and danger. However, they also value him enough to follow him without hesitation after they’ve all watched in horror as he is dragged down into the deeps by god knows what.

And then Eddie confirms to himself once again that he is very, very gay as he watches Steve rip a bat in two.

Fucking hell, those kids just had to be right about Steve being a badass, didn’t they?

Thus, all that Eddie has clung to during this year comes crashing down. He has to confront that the reason he didn’t want to think that Steve is different – has become nice and caring – is because then he would have to face that not only is Steve very fucking hot, he also cares. Truly the full package.

Eddie isn’t ready for Steve to be the full package. Yet, here they are, and the aesthetic admiration of the boy he’s always had is turning into a full blown crush. And the last thing Eddie needs on top of an alternate dimension and murder charges is another crush on a straight boy.

So, he pushes it all down, telling Steve about how Nancy jumped after him in the hopes that them getting together would break his heart enough to snap him out of his crush.

However, as this week has already shown him, the universe hates him, so that doesn’t happen. No, instead Steve walks around in nothing but his vest for a long while, letting Eddie make comments he can’t keep behind his teeth even if they are bound to get them punched out at some point if he keeps this up.

But that doesn’t happen. Steve takes the teasing flirty remarks Eddie can’t keep contained with only mild confusion, which seems close to his normal state. It appears that Steve is there to do a job and nothing is throwing him off, not other dimensions, a gaggle of loud kids, the cops on their tail, Robin’s rambling or Eddie’s joking flirting that is close to not-joking.

Luckily (if you want to call it that), Eddie is stopped by the universe before he can make an embarrassing mistake. Albeit in the worst way possible, because Eddie is waking up in a hospital before he knows it.

Oh, no, the universe is not done with him.

Steve is sitting there next to his uncle, Dustin leaning against him, both asleep in an uncomfortable hospital chair when he wakes up.

So, it takes his uncle a moment to realize Eddie is awake, he’s so stunned by the sight. Logically, he knows that Steve is probably there to support Dustin, because if there’s one thing he has learned about Steve, it’s that he’ll do anything – anything – for those kids. Yet, for a few moments he tries to kid himself into thinking Steve is there for him.

Then he locks eyes with his uncle, who shoots out of his seat, hurrying to his bedside. Eddie has never been more happy to see his uncle. He’s missed Wayne so so much. Nancy told him how his uncle didn’t doubt his innocence for a moment and he has never been more happy with living with the man.

“Hey,” he croaks. “How long was I out for?”

“A week,” his uncle says. “Sorry, I wasn’t here the whole time, but I’m glad you made some good friends, kid. That one hasn’t left once.”

“Dustin?” Eddie asks, not sure who Wayne is indicating.

Wayne shakes his head and points to Steve. “No, the other one. Read you The Hobbit. Apologized to me for not keeping you safe. Bit of an idiot if he thinks I care about that when he brought you home to me.”

Eddie can’t believe what he’s hearing. He has already come to terms with the fact that Steve is actually a good dude, but it’s a bit surreal to learn that he’d do that for Eddie. He’s pretty sure he’s heard Dustin complain about how Steve never reads the books he recommends. Yet, Steve sat by Eddie’s sickbed and read him his favorite book.

In hindsight, Eddie isn’t sure if it’s lucky that Steve and Dustin wake to find him awake, before he can think about too much, or not.

However, there is something that makes his heart flip as he sees the subconscious blinding smile Steve gives him once he sees Eddie awake. A smile that is gone by the time Dustin stops hugging him, having jumped Eddie the moment he noticed.

They don’t have the time to talk much, because soon, the room is filled with nurses and a doctor that check him over and inform Eddie of his condition. With the amount of blood he has lost, he’s lucky to be alive. The bites will take time to heal and then he will have to rebuilt the muscle tissue that was shredded by the bats. It will be quite the recovery, but he’s going to be okay.

After the nurses leave, his uncle has to say goodbye, since he still has to go to work. Eddie is sad to see him gone, but he is glad Wayne managed to be there when he woke up.

Once his uncle is gone, Dustin fills him in about what has happened since he went under. How El came and stopped Venca, before Max could get seriously hurt (though she does have a broken leg and arm), how Nancy, Robin and Steve flambeed the shit out of Vecna, killing him, and how Steve carried Eddie out of the Upside Down like a damsel.

At the last one Eddie blushes and Steve looks away, not meeting his eyes as he mutters: “It was nothing, man. He’s overreacting.”

“No, I’m not,” Dustin protests. “He came running when he saw you, sliding down to his knees and feeling for your pulse. He gave you CPR and mouth to mouth, before sweeping you up in a bridal carry. Then he carried you up the new rope, like slung you over his shoulder and just climbed out of there. It was so cool!”

“Alright, alright, Dustin,” Steve stops him and Eddie is glad for it, because he sure can’t in his flustered state. “Eddie just woke up, I don’t think he wants to be annoyed with all that shit.”

Dustin pouts, but listens, switching topics to his now proven innocence in the media and how the government made sure to paint him as a hero, getting injured saving a few kids (Dustin, Erica, Max and Lucas) from serial killer Henry Creel.

Steve adds: “You’re probably going to get approached by men in suits soon now that you’re finally awake. They’ll make you sign a bunch on NDAs. Don’t worry too much about it. Happens every time.”

“Jesus, how many times did you sign those?” Eddie asks.

“This was the fourth time,” Steve shrugs. “Not as bad as last time when me and Robin were questioned about that Russian base for hours, before they let us go.”

“You’re gonna have to tell me that story in full sometime,” Eddie says.

“Course,” Steve promises with a small smile, which makes Eddie feel things.

God, he should really try to get over that stupid crush, because that shy smile and soft assurance is very comforting. And Eddie really wants to tell him that he looks beautiful like that.

Before he can embarrass himself, however, Dustin checks his watch and curses. He ignores Steve’s soft warning about language as he says: “I have to go home or my mom will freak.” He adds an explanation, “Nearly got murdered according to the news and all that.”

Eddie nods, expecting Steve to get up, jingling his car keys and saying goodbye, but that doesn’t happen. Instead, Dustin gives Steve a hug, before dragging out his goodbye to Eddie, then bounces out of the room.

Once he has left the room, Eddie gives Steve an inquiring look, raising a questioning brow.

Suddenly Steve seems to remember that Eddie is awake and he blushes brightly. Eddie didn’t even know that King Steve could blush. But this isn’t really King Steve, this is Steve, the babysitter and hero.

“I’m sorry,” Steve says. “I- uhm, I didn’t want you to be alone, so I stayed. Kinda habit now, but I can go if you want to be alone. No problem.”

His head is filled with the memory of being alone with Chrissy’s corpse, alone hiding out in the shed, alone and being swarmed by bats. Quickly he shakes his head, reaching out to Steve before he can get up as he says: “No. Stay.”

Steve lowers himself back into the chair without question and Eddie can almost kid himself into thinking he looks relieved about Eddie’s (highly embarrassing) request to stay.

It’s awkward for a second, then Steve says: “The Hobbit is actually a better book than I expected.”

Eddie lights up at the mention of his favorite book and launches into a rant about it, practically interrogating Steve about where he is and what part he likes best. Until they’re talking, conversation flowing easily between them.

Over the next few weeks, Eddie recovers. During the day Dustin often joins him and his uncle is there whenever he can. However, Steve is the constant. He only went home once to get more clothes and pick up some things for Eddie, but he is mostly there.

The two boys talk about everything and nothing, Steve continues reading The Hobbit and they listen to music together, Eddie claiming Steve needs to be educated and Steve letting him with only an eyeroll.

Slowly Eddie gets better. He sleeps less, walks more and every day his infatuation with Steve grows bigger.

It’s really fucking embarrassing if Eddie is honest with himself. For all his protests about not becoming a sheep, it only took a few weeks of hanging around Steve to feel like all the girls he has always seen buzzing around the man. To lay and think about Steve’s hair, charming smile, muscled arms etc.

But it’s also different, because he knows Steve. He knows that he is nothing like the guy Eddie used to see in the halls of Hawkins High.

This Steve read The Hobbit, talks to Eddie about DnD, trying to understand it for the kids and asking questions about the campaign Eddie is planning. He listens to Eddie’s music, not always liking it, but enough to bop his head and sing along from time to time. He worries for Eddie when he twinges in pain, makes sure he is okay, herds the kids away when they’re too loud and Eddie is tired.

All in all, he’s a great guy and Eddie blushes around him, trying to play it off by playfully flirting with the man more. Something Steve doesn’t seem to mind. Even like, if Eddie wants to fool himself into thinking the flush is about more than embarrassment from Eddie’s comments.

Then, a month and a half after waking up, Eddie walks out of the hospital on his own two legs (though he’s supported by Steve’s muscular arms, his brain busy with replaying Dustin’s recount of his saving).

His uncle couldn't be there, so Steve has offered to drive him home.

He helps Eddie into the car, buckling him in, before flushing and saying: “I’m so sorry that was a total mom-move. I mean, the kids already tease me about it, no need to around proving them right even more and-”

“It’s okay, sweetheart,” Eddie cuts off the apologetic rambles, before they can continue.

“Ah, oh, uhm, okay,” Steve splutters, quickly retreating and closing the door, before hurrying to the other side of the car and sliding in. He takes a deep breath, turning to Eddie, then bites his lip, before shaking his head and pointing to the dashboard. “I have tapes in there, pick whatever you like.”

Eddie feels a weird tension and wonders what happened. He opens the dashboard and laughs, pulling out tapes: “Really, Stevie? Madonna? Wham!? Whitney Houston? Cyndi Lauper? ABBA? No wonder those kids call you a mom.”

“Oh shut up,” Steve grins. “If I want to be a dancing queen, I can be, Munson.”

“Is that so, princess?” Eddie teases, wanting to hit himself when he does. Sure, sweetheart hasn’t been much better, but if he is going to get his ass kicked by Steve ‘princess’ would be the pet name to do it.

However, Steve doesn’t punch him, he just blushes again and grips the steering wheel tightly, not looking at Eddie.

The silence drags out.

It’s awkward. Eddie may not have gotten his teeth punched out, but he’s pretty sure he has finally made Steve uncomfortable. Because he’s a fucking idiot, who can’t keep words to himself and Steve doesn’t have to take that from Eddie. It’s likely harder to ignore without a huge threat hanging over them. So he has to fix this, before he ruins this friendship, which is already more than he could have hoped for.

“Steve…” he starts uncertainly, wanting to reach out.

“No, it’s fine,” Steve says tersely.

“It’s obviously not fine,” Eddie protests. “I made you uncomfortable, sorry.”

Steve gives him a shocked look. “What? No, you- you didn’t make me uncomfortable,” he objects, like it’s a given. Then he looks away, flush still coloring his cheeks and mutters: “You just keep giving me hope.”

“Hope?” Eddie repeats softly, not really able to believe what he’s hearing.

The blush brightens impossibly even more and Steve huffs: “I know. It’s stupid. Believe me, Robin has already made fun of my unrequited crush on you at lengths.”

At those words Eddie’s brain short-circuits. Steve- Steve has a crush. On him? Holy fuck, Steve Harrington just confessed to having a crush on him. Eddie Munson. He is sitting there blushing because Eddie called him princess and that apparently makes him flustered. Because he has a crush. On Eddie.

Then the words unrequited hit him and his brain catches up to the fact that Steve is still gripping the steering wheel tightly, obviously waiting for rejection. And Eddie is just sitting there, staring at him without saying a word.

Before he can rectify the mistake, Steve says: “If you’re going to call me slurs, please just do so, Eds.”

“What? No!” Eddie exclaims quickly. “No, no, no, of course not. Fuck, of course not, Steve. Gods, no, I wouldn't do that.”

“You won’t?” Steve asks tentatively, risking a glance at Eddie.

And fuck, his eyes are really fucking pretty. Eddie looks for a moment, then shakes his head, softly replying: “No, would be pretty hypocritical of me. You know, making fun of your sexuality and crush when I also have a crush on you.”

Steve was about to look away, but at the confession he whips his head around, eyes growing wide as he breathes: “You do?”

Eddie smiles, a giddy feeling taking over his body. He nods and confirms: “I do.”

At that Steve smiles back, his face splitting in two, eyes sparkling. He looks absolutely beautiful and Eddie now gets to say that without having to make a joke about it. So he does. And enjoys how Steve blushes, deciding it’s much prettier in combination with that soft smile.

In a moment of boldness, Eddie says: “So, does this mean you’ll say yes, if I ask you on a date with me, pretty boy?”

And Steve is nodding, before agreeing, an equally giddy smile on his face as he starts the car.

In that second, Eddie feels on top of the world. He has been cleared of murder charges, he has lived to tell the tale and now he has an amazing man on his side that has agreed to go on a date with him, along with many friends by their sides. ‘86 is truly shaping up to be his year.

So, yeah, Eddie knows Steve Harrington. Of course, he does. He is the best babysitter he has ever known with more mom-tendencies than a twenty-year-old should, along with the prettiest blush he has seen. He has taken up space in every corner of Eddie’s life and he can’t be happier that he’s there.

Eddie has witnessed his princess in every way and he has to say, he likes Steve Harrington a whole lot more than King Steve.

#rr writing #tw: homophobia mention #stranger things fic #stranger things #st the party #st season 4 #steddie #steve x eddie #steve harrington #eddie lives au #eddie munson #steve harrington x eddie munson #dustin henderson #uncle wayne #wayne munson #King Steve Dethroned #King Steve Dethroned Eddie's POV

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