#When Robin hears about it she gives Eddie the shovel talk of all shovel talks

[artiststarme]

Love Me, Love Me Not

Based on a prompt from @mysticcrownshipper, I hope I did it justice! I hope you guys like it and please leave your thoughts in the comments!

~*~*~*~

After the harrowing events of Spring Break, the school banned Hellfire from meeting on school grounds. They’d finally managed to get rid of him by sending him a pity diploma, there was no way in hell they were going to let him back for a nonacademic game. Eddie’s new trailer wasn’t big enough to comfortably host all of them, Gareth’s mom wouldn’t let them meet in the garage after hearing about Eddie’s accusations on the news, and Mrs. Wheeler wouldn’t let them use the basement. Just like that, one of the only things that kept the boys sane was taken away from them. 

Eddie was practically bursting at the seams when Steve offered for them to use his dining room. Steve hadn’t heard from his parents since Christmas and he wasn’t expecting them to come back any time soon. And he was itching to do something to make the kids happy. They’d been through so much already, they deserved to act like kids for a while and play their little nerd game without restriction.

From that point on, Thursday nights at the Harrington household were devoted to Hellfire. The first few sessions of the new campaign were a bit awkward. The Corroded Coffin boys didn’t know how to interact with Steve. He’d never bullied them or messed with any of them directly but they’d heard enough rumors about him to be wary. After the first few meetings though, they lost their hesitance around him and he became just another guy, another friend that they were excited to hang out with. 

On one fateful Thursday, the boys were mingling during a break in the session and Gareth opened up a can of worms he would’ve rather kept shut. He’d been watching Eddie making eyes at Steve all day and he finally called him out on it over a beer and some Cheetos. 

“So, you and Steve, huh? I didn’t think he was your type. You going for jocks now?” Gareth said it as nonchalantly as he possibly could but Eddie still snorted his beer up his nose and fell into a coughing fit. 

“Fucking shit, Gare! Don’t just drop that on me like that, what’s the matter with you! Of course I’m not, just leave it!” Eddie sputtered.

The Corroded Coffin boys narrowed their eyes at him in unison. None of them believed him especially since he had waxed poetic about the golden flecks in Steve’s eyes just a few hours prior. 

“Dude, that’s the dumbest shit I’ve ever heard you say and you’ve said some really dumb shit,” Jeff told him deadpan.

Grant scoffed in his face, “yeah sure. Just lie to us like we can’t see that you’re head over heels for the guy.”

“I’m not! Why would I be interested in Steve? There’s no way in hell that would ever work out. Just drop it, you’re making me uncomfortable” Eddie seemed adamant on that and the other boys nodded in reluctant agreement. What they didn’t realize was that Steve had heard their whole conversation from his position in the hallway. 

He really thought he was getting somewhere with being Eddie’s friend, maybe more. Just like all of his other relationships though, he was putting more effort in than Eddie was. He didn’t realize that he hated him so much though. But, maybe he should have. Eddie had seemed hesitant to accept his offer of hosting Hellfire at his house. Steve probably made him uncomfortable, either being a jock when jocks had terrorized him over Spring Break or maybe because he knew Steve had a thing for him and wasn’t interested. Regardless, he didn’t want to make Eddie feel any worse than he already had so he took a step back. 

Steve turned down invitations, made himself scarce on Thursday Hellfire nights, and limited his regular tangents to bland responses. He wanted to make Eddie feel more comfortable with the Party and himself. However, all it served to do was make Eddie pissed off. 

From his perspective, Steve had seemingly out of nowhere decided that Eddie wasn’t worth being friends with. Their weekly smokeouts that he looked forward to were canceled. His lengthy conversations at Family Video with Steve and Robin were met with stilted conversation and narrowed eyes. He didn’t know what had happened to cause the change but Eddie couldn’t help but feel offended. What the fuck had happened to cause such a profound change between them?

Eddie lasted a lengthy two weeks before he exploded. Steve refused yet another invitation to watch Hellfire and Eddie couldn’t take it anymore. “Oh yeah? You’re too good to fraternize with mere peasants, huh King Steve? You have everyone fooled but you’re still such bullshit!” 

Steve whipped around in shock and stepped closer to Eddie to scream into his face. “I’m bullshit? Really? Are you fucking serious?! I was fine, I was having fun talking to you and hanging out and then you said I made you uncomfortable so I backed off. If anyone is bullshit here, it's you. Stop sending fucking mixed signals and leave me alone!”

Eddie just blinked at his back as Steve grabbed his car keys and took off in a haze of confused anger. Well shit, he’d fucked this up immensely. He couldn’t even bring himself to move until Gareth pushed harshly at his shoulder. 

“Dude, what the hell is the matter with you? Steve’s a good guy, why are you jerking him around?” He sniped at him, stabbing his chest with aggressive finger pokes. 

Eddie was still in shock at Steve’s words, still reeling at his proclamation. “He said he likes me?”

“Are you a dumbass?” Jeff asked him. “No seriously, are you stupid? He just said that he backed off because you said you were uncomfortable, he was respecting your boundaries, and you called him bullshit. We’re past him liking you now. We’re in ‘you fucked it up’ territory now, bud.”

Eddie’s heart fell. He didn’t know where to go from there, he’d never liked anyone quite like Steve. “How do I fix this? I really like him.”

Grant sneered at him, “you don’t deserve Steve. You’ve been treating him like shit for the past two weeks, just leave him alone.”

“Wow Grant, thanks for your opinion. That was very helpful,” Eddie said before turning to Jeff and Gareth. “Seriously though, how do I fix this?”

Gareth just let out the most profound sigh anyone had ever heard. “Jesus Christ, Eddie. I think he heard you telling us that we were making you uncomfortable when we asked about him and he misunderstood. I’ll talk to him and explain but fuck man, you need to get better at communicating. If this does work out between you guys, you can’t just keep everything bottled up like this. It’s stressful for all of us.”

“Thank you, thank you, thank you! I’ll make it up to you, I swear!”

“Yeah, you better,” Gareth muttered.

Hellfire was postponed that week while Gareth tried to barter with Steve to hear Eddie out. He didn’t know the details of what happened after he dragged Steve back to his own house but when Corroded Coffin met for band practice the next afternoon, both Eddie and Steve were sporting multiple hickies and hiding small smiles. 

The boys just sighed at them. They were happy for the pair but good god, they had just gotten used to Eddie’s ramblings about Steve. Imagine how awful he was going to be going forward now that they were together. 

(And they were right. Eddie made it his mission to mention Steve at all times and always managed to include how great his ass looked in any conversation no matter the topic. The Corroded Coffin boys suffered forevermore, always regretting getting them together in the first place.)

My Permanent Tag List: @doubleb11 @nburkhardt @zerokrox-blog @newtstabber @i-less-than-three-you @straight4joekeery @carlyv @pyrohonk @ksherlock15 @conversesweetheart @estrellami-1 @suddenlyinlove @yikes-a-bee @swimmingbirdrunningrock @perseus-notjackson @anaibis @merricatty @maya-custodios-dionach @grtwdsmwhr @manda-panda-monium @lumoschild @goodolefashionedloverboi @mentallyundone @awkwardgravity1 @anzelsilver @jestyzesty @gregre369 @mysticcrownshipper @disasterlia @lillys-weird-world @messrs-weasley @gay-stranger-things @pnk-lemonades @coolestjoy30 @awkotaco24

@strangerthingfanfic @dangdirtydemons @bookworm0690 @hannahhook7744 @dreamlandforever @marsbars97 @precursorandthedragon @romanticdestruction @5ammi90 @death-thee-nervousqueer

#When Robin hears about it she gives Eddie the shovel talk of all shovel talks #Eddie gets a hell of a lot better at communicating upon receiving threats of literal death #the next fic is going to be about Steve hurting Eddie because I feel bad now #I keep making Eddie mess it up and that's just not fair to him! #might delete this (is this even cohesive?) #stranger things #steddie #steve harrington #eddie munson #hellfire #jeff #gareth emerson #grant

[strangersteddierthings]

Shovel Talk(s) Part One

Part One 🦇Part Two🦇Part Three🦇Part Four

Steve and Eddie aren't even together when Steve gets the Shovel Talk from Eddie's uncle, but it is what tips Steve into talking to Eddie about his feelings, so he's not upset by it.

They aren't dating, not because he doesn't want Eddie, because he absolutely does. It's just that he wants to be sure Eddie wants him back. There are times when he's sure, when Eddie gets into his space a bit too close, or more often, than he does with anyone else. Eddie calls him a thousand and one nicknames, ranging from sweet to irritating but just when Steve thinks that's a perk left just for him, Eddie hands someone else a new nickname (just the one, a voice in Steve's head that sounds suspiciously like Robin says).

Not that any of that is the point. Wayne wouldn't bother to give Steve a shovel talk at all unless he knew how Eddie felt. Wayne is a man of action, and he's never done anything unless it mattered. Meant something. Steve and Wayne have sat in plenty of (what Steve considers to be) awkward silences because Wayne doesn't talk to fill the void of silence.

The point is, Steve drops Eddie off at the house the government so graciously bought for the Munsons, walks Eddie to the door and giving Eddie a hug goodbye. He stays on the porch until Eddie shuts the door and then nearly jumps out of his skin when he hears Wayne call out his name.

"Harrington," Wayne says from the shadows of the wrap around porch.

So, Steve jumps and it's only then he notices that Wayne is sitting at the table and chairs set up on the porch. "Mr. Munson, sir, hi. Hello."

Wayne lets out a chuckle, but it doesn't really sound amused. "I have come to accept that you are nothing like your father, boy, but I do want to make it clear to you, that Eddie means more to me than anything else on this Earth."

"I know, sir."

"I know you do. And while I will forever be grateful that you helped return him to me alive, know that I will not hesitate to make you disappear if you hurt my boy in a way he can't bounce back from."

Steve's not afraid of Wayne, not really, but that doesn't stop him from feeling the need to flee. He doesn't, though, because he'd gotten enough shovel talks from concerned parents in high school, and he knows they can sense weakness. "I can't promise I'd never hurt him, sir, but I can promise it'll never be intentional."

He can't actually see Wayne's face in the darkness but he feels sized up all the same.

"I believe that, Steve," Wayne says, and it's the first time Steve's ever heard his name leave the man's mouth, "now go home."

-

Wayne's shovel talk was expected. Robin's is not.

"You took Eddie on a date date?" She whispers it as though they aren't alone in Steve's living room. They're laying on the floor in a line, heads next to each other so if they turn slightly to the side they can make eye contact. Steve's not sure why they always end up on the floor for Serious Talk Time.

"Yeah," Steve says, looking away from Robin's face to stare up to the ceiling, "I mean, sorta? We can't like... be open that it was a date, but we went to dinner and a movie and it was nice. Shared a popcorn and played footsie under the diner table."

"Whoa," Robin says. "I never thought you'd- didn't think you'd be brave enough to ask him."

"Me either."

"Steve," Robin sounds serious, so Steve turns to look at her. She studies his face for a moment before she's the one to look away, speaks to the ceiling, "be careful with Eddie, yeah?"

"What? Careful how?"

"I just think you could really fuck him up," Robin says. "You're his first boyfriend, right? That's going to set a precedent for relationships that might happen if you two don't work out. And I hate to say this, because I know you've changed, but like, I saw how a lot of those girls you dated in high school ended up when you broke up with them."

Steve's a little hurt, because Robin's his best friend. She should be giving this talk to Eddie, not him. But, also, he understands. He knows that Robin knew about Eddie's sexuality before he did, knows they bonded over being queer while Steve was still figuring himself out.

Steve also knows that Eddie's never been in a relationship before, Eddie'd told him at much when Steve asked him out. Steve doesn't like that Robin implied that he and Eddie will eventually break up, but no matter how much that thought makes Steve's heart ache, he won't know if it'll happen unless it does.

He just doesn't understand why she seems to think he'll be the one breaking Eddie's heart. It could go the other way.

"Did you OD over there?" Robin asks, trying to lighten the mood.

"No," Steve answers, "I'll be careful."

-

They've been on four more dates before Nancy knocks on his door. She doesn't accept his invitation to come inside. Just starts speaking on his doorstep.

"As Eddie's Capital P Soulmate," is how she starts that sentence, and it makes something hurt deep inside Steve as he tries not to think about Robin, "I am obligated to remind you that I do own several guns now. And I don't miss."

"Jesus Christ," Steve says, because even Wayne was more subtle, "I got it."

"Good. I do know you'd never hurt him on purpose," Nancy says but Steve doesn't feel reassured.

He thinks that, if she really didn't think he's going to end up hurting Eddie she wouldn't have said anything at all. "Right."

"Well, good talk Steve," and then she's walking down the driveway and climbing into her car.

He closes the door and goes to the kitchen to get himself a beer, mostly so he has something to do besides stew in his emotions. He wonders if Eddie has been given the shovel talk, too? Maybe Robin did the same thing Nancy just did. Showed up unprompted, threatened Eddie with some sort of bodily harm, and then just left.

Steve grabs the phone and dials Eddie's number.

"Hello?" Eddie's voice greets him, albeit questioningly.

"Eddie, it's Steve."

"Oh, hello sweetheart," Eddie says, "are you calling for business or pleasure?"

Steve laughs, "business."

"Boo!"

"Listen, uh, I had a question. I just wanted to know if anyone's said anything to you. About us. Or, y'know, specifically about us and our relationship?"

"Uh, not really? A few congratulations, I guess. Why? Did someone say something?" Eddie's voice is level, almost too level, so Steve knows he's trying to keep cool.

"Oh, no! No! I mean, aside from the scary shovel talk from- Wayne, everyone's been surprisingly cool about it. Very supportive," Steve says and even though it's true, everyone they've told has been cool about it, it feels a little bit like a lie.

Eddie laughs, "I can't believe my uncle gave you a shovel talk! You know, I keep expecting to get one from Robin but so far nothing. She must think you're safe in my capable hands."

Steve is safe in Eddie's hand, he thinks, but that doesn't stop the sting that goes through him. "Of course, she does. You've been a perfect boyfriend."

There's a pause before Eddie's voice comes through the phone, soft and quiet, "I'm glad you said so. I want to be. For you."

"You're not allowed to say those kinds of things when you aren't within kissing distance, babe," Steve says, because if he doesn't add humor to this conversation, he's going to tell Eddie he loves him instead, and even Steve knows that saying that a month into dating is too soon, especially over the phone where he can't see Eddie's reaction.

Eddie laughs and makes kissing sounds at him before the conversation shifts to chatting about the day and making plans for the weekend.

-

Steve is trying really hard to not be the person he was in high school but every time he gets to the point where he's being a better person, someone brings up how he used to be. Shoves it back into his face that no matter what Steve does he can't outrun his past.

One such time is shortly after Steve and Eddie accidentally come out as a couple to all of Hellfire. Steve was just dropping off the boys and had stepped inside to chat a bit. Once game time had arrived it had and Steve made to leave, they'd (he and Eddie) had been on autopilot. Eddie'd whined 'where's my goodbye kiss?' and Steve had stepped over, kissed him goodbye, and was out the door before it had actually computed.

Steve had burst back through the door, rushing back to Eddie, because no way in Hell was he going to leave his boyfriend to deal with whatever the consequences would be alone.

It had been absolute chaos at the table with people shouting over each other.

"Of all the people you could be with, you picked Steve!? You could do better!" Mike had whined, and Steve had thought for sure he was the only one who had heard Mike until he saw Will punch his arm and hiss his own 'don't be a dick' at Mike.

It took almost half an hour to calm everyone down. It was a relief to know that Eddie had come out to his bandmates/the older Hellfire members already. The kids took it in stride, in the end, and Eddie had shoo'd Steve away.

Jeff had excused himself, too, and Steve thought he was just going to use the bathroom but instead he followed Steve outside.

Ah. Steve knows what's coming.

"Harrington," Jeff says, "can't say I'm excited that you're the secret boyfriend Eddie's constantly sighing wistfully about. I'm sure Wayne's already threatened you," And Robin, and Nancy, and Mike doesn't think he's good enough, "but if you hurt Eddie-"

"I get it! There will be dire consequences if I hurt Eddie," Steve snaps, not down for hearing it anymore. He stomps to his car and peels away from the curb without bothering to look back.

-

If he's being honest, Steve didn't even know he had a breaking point with shovel talks until he gets his fifth one from Dustin.

It's not even a shovel talk. It's just a single sentence, said almost a month after Dustin learned about their relationship. He's dropping Dustin off after their DnD game. Normally Claudia picks him up, but she's busy tonight and asked Steve to do it.

"Alright, Henderson, safely delivered."

"Thanks, Steve," Dustin says, unbuckles his seatbelt, and opens the door, before turning back to Steve. He just looks at him for a moment.

"What?"

"I'm happy for you and Eddie. Just, don't hurt him, ok?"

He nods his head but can't say anything. Dustin grabs his backpack, shoots him a smile, and climbs out. Steve does wait until Dustin closes the front door behind him before putting the car back in gear.

He manages to get home, somehow, because Steve doesn't fully remember the drive. It's not that his mind was so focused on something else that made him fail to take in his surroundings, but rather that his mind wasn't even a part of his body anymore.

One moment he was pulling away from the Henderson residence, and the next, he was home, just standing in his kitchen in the dark. And now that his thoughts are back, or easier to process, he finds himself wondering why everyone thinks that he's going to be the one to hurt Eddie.

How many people has he hurt that this is his reputation? Is it inevitable that he will hurt Eddie? Is it truly just a matter of time until he breaks Eddies heart? Why is everyone so convinced that he will?

Briefly the thought occurs to him that maybe he should call up Eddie and break up with him right now, before Eddie has a chance to get in deep enough that Steve could break his heart, but just the thought of it breaks Steve's heart, so he's not going to do that. Doesn't want to do that. That would just be punishing Eddie for something he didn't do.

None of this is Eddie's fault, and Steve's an asshole for even thinking of breaking up with him because of it. Which feeds him back into the loop of thinking that maybe everyone is right about him. He is an asshole and will someday hurt Eddie, perhaps even on purpose.

He loves Eddie. He's in love with Eddie. But does loving him mean proving his friends wrong? Or does it mean leaving him before they're proven right?

He wants to ask everyone why they think he'll hurt Eddie.

He wants to ask everyone why they don't care if he's the one that gets hurt.

#steddie #my fic #we like making steve a sad emotional mess right guys? #steve-centric #we gotta make the boy Sad so that his boyfriend can fix him #is that healthy? not IRL but this is fanfic and if i want Love to solve all the problems then im allowed to do that #only itll be in part two #that might get written one day #is steve putting words into his friends' mouths #yeah duh the boy needs therapy but its the 80s so hes not getting any

[solarmorrigan]

Hands Where I Can See Them, Part 6

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5

The days pass like cold mud – slow, uncomfortable, and relentless.

But they do pass.

Eddie had said he could give Steve the time he needed, and he’d meant it; he would wait out the two weeks and be there on the other side to talk to him. To hope for a second chance.

They see each other here and there, mostly in passing: Steve comes to pick a few of the kids up from a gaming session; Eddie stops in at Family Video with Jeff, Gareth, and Oliver to grab a movie (where Jeff and Steve exchange a surprisingly friendly greeting); they occupy separate sides of the room at a group dinner.

Each time, Eddie is sure to at least acknowledge and wave at Steve, in spite of any protective hovering and scowling Robin might be doing if she happens to be present. Steve gives cautious nods in return at first, but as they near the deadline, he’s returning Eddie’s distant greetings with a hesitant smile and that ridiculous little finger-wiggle wave that Eddie had been reluctantly charmed by in the beginning.

And in the meantime, Eddie plots.

He is not, by nature, an optimist (strangely, between the two of them, that’s Steve’s area), but in this instance, he plans for the best: the idea that Steve will say yes and let Eddie take him on a proper date. And as improvisational as Eddie likes to be, he’s also a veteran dungeon master and plotter of all sorts of campaigns; if you want long-term plans to go off without a hitch, it pays to be prepared.

So, he plots.

He brainstorms and makes lists of all of Steve’s favorite things and schemes out elaborate romantic gestures and draws on all the knowledge he’s retained from the romcoms he’d whined about having to watch with Steve but had always given in over when Steve gave him that puppy-eyed look that Eddie has no defense against.

(And somehow, he’d continued to think they were just friends. His lack of awareness should be studied as a scientific anomaly.)

He thinks Steve would be proud of his accumulated work (and Eddie himself isn’t ashamed of it, but all the same, he makes sure to hide the notebook where none of the guys will ever, ever stumble across it, because they would never, ever let Eddie live it down).

In any case, the ticking down of two weeks finally comes to an end, and Eddie stands in front of the phone earlier than he’d normally care to be awake, hoping that his work will pay off.

Steve picks up before the fourth ring, just like he always does, and answers the phone like a dork, just like he always does.

“Harrington residence, Steve speaking.”

This is where Eddie normally makes a joke – says he’d been trying for the funeral home and asks if Steve happens to have a shovel and some time on his hands; says he thought he’d had the number for the Hawkins Gentleman’s Club and asks if Steve is much of a dancer; once, he’d even affected a terrible New York accent and spun some lines about how he’d been trying to call a speakeasy. He can always hear the laughter caught behind Steve’s dry responses to his nonsense, and he always loves it.

But now is not “normally,” and Eddie only just manages to sound like himself as he replies, “Steve. Just the Harrington I was hoping would speak.”

“Eddie,” is all Steve says for a moment; he sounds almost surprised, but not displeased. “Hey.”

“Hey,” Eddie says back. “So, I know punctuality has never been my strong suit, but it’s, uh. It’s been two weeks. Pretty much on the dot. And you said I should come talk to you again, so…”

“Uh, yeah. Yeah, no, did you – You can come over. If you want to talk, still,” Steve says – stammers, really, like he’s been caught off-guard, like he really hadn’t been expecting Eddie to call.

“Well, if I didn’t change my mind in two weeks, I’m not gonna change my mind in the fifteen minutes it takes to get to your house,” Eddie says.

“Sure,” Steve says, a little steadier now. “Yeah, I’ll see you in a bit, I guess.”

“You definitely will,” Eddie assures him. “See you in a bit, Steve.”

“Yeah. Yes. Bye, Eddie.”

It’s awkward, but – it’s something.

The only reason Eddie doesn’t break an egregious number of traffic laws on his way to Steve’s house is because he simply couldn’t bear the irony of getting arrested now, of all times. With his luck, he’d get sent up the river and Steve would be left waiting and waiting at his house before coming to the conclusion that Eddie had never really cared about him after all, only to be found surprised and jaded several years later when Eddie is finally released from prison and makes his first stop the Harrington house and – Christ, Eddie’s had romance on the brain too long. He’s going to have to binge reread Lord of the Rings or something to get his head back on straight.

He pulls his head out of the clouds and his van into the Harrington’s ridiculously massive driveway and heads up to the door with a vibrating surplus of energy sustained entirely by nerves and determination.

It seems like he’s not the only one running on anxiety power, though, based on how quickly the door opens after Eddie rings the bell.

It’s the first time Eddie’s really seen Steve up close since the trailer two weeks ago. He looks– better. He’s still tired, Eddie can tell; he’s got that slightly droopy look around his eyes and an almost painful set to his jaw that’s nearly impossible to spot if you don’t know what to look for – and most people don’t (but Eddie’s spent a lot of time learning Steve, even if he hadn’t picked up all the right tells). But he still looks better, and Eddie finds himself relieved.

“Hey, there,” he says, giving Steve a nod. “Just happened to be in the neighborhood, y’know. Thought I’d drop by.”

Steve shakes his head, a tiny smile quirking up at one corner of his mouth. “Come in, jackass.”

“Fine way to treat your guests,” Eddie drawls in return, gratified when Steve’s smile grows just a tiny bit more.

He takes off his shoes at the entryway (Steve hardly ever asks anyone to take off their shoes, because worrying about the state of your floors isn’t cool, but it bothers him all the same, and so Eddie takes them off) and follows Steve through to the living room, where they both perch awkwardly on the couch and sit in an equally awkward silence for about thirty seconds.

“So… you said I should come talk to you,” Eddie says finally.

“I did, yeah.” Steve nods.

“You said to tell you if this was still something I wanted,” Eddie goes on.

“I did, yeah,” Steve says again. “And… you’re here.”

“I told you I wouldn’t change my mind, Steve.” Eddie’s hand twitches, almost instinctively reaching out for a spot on Steve’s knee, or around his wrist, or threaded through his fingers, but he doesn’t think he can take Steve freezing up or pulling away again. “This – you, us – I still want it. I want to do it right. If you’ll give me the chance, I want to treat you how you should be treated.”

Steve nods. “Okay.”

Eddie blinks. “Okay? As in – just, yeah, okay?” He knows he’s not making much sense, but he’d been sort of prepared to have to make his case – to extol the virtues of the perfect dates he had planned, to sing the praises of all the things he knows now that he should appreciate about Steve, to lament the loss of trust and ease between them, but instead Steve is just sitting there, watching him with a funny sort of smile on his face.

“I was… I was never going to say no, Eddie.” Steve shrugs. “I just really needed you to think about it. To make sure this—a real relationship with… with me—is really what you wanted. Because if it’s not, if you took it back again, I don’t think I’d– I just really needed you to be sure.”

“Steve,” Eddie says, low and serious, “I have never been more sure of anything in my life. A real relationship with you is exactly what I want.”

Steve’s smile twitches, changes into something a little more familiar, a little warmer. “Okay.”

“You’re never gonna regret it, sweetheart,” Eddie says, can’t help bouncing a little in his seat as his nerves turn to excitement, to elation. “I have the corniest, most romantic dates planned, I swear, I’m going to knock your socks off. We’ll unlock your inner Molly Ringwald.”

Rolling his eyes, Steve shakes his head at Eddie. “You really don’t have to do all that. I’m not– putting you through a trial, or whatever, we can just go back to what we were doing, right? Just with… I dunno, more awareness.”

“Noooo, no.” Eddie shakes his head right back. “You said you didn’t want to pretend nothing ever happened, and you shouldn’t have to. I want to do this, Steve. Let me take you on a real date.”

Something unreadable flashes across Steve’s face, and suddenly his smile is wrong again. Sort of plastic – like he’s trying, but it’s not quite reaching his eyes. But before Eddie can ask what’s wrong, Steve is shrugging.

“If you insist…”

“I most certainly do,” Eddie says firmly. “I’m gonna romance the shit out of you.”

At that, Steve releases a helpless snort of laughter, and the plastic smile is gone, blown away by a real one.

“You’re making a super good argument for it,” Steve says, and Eddie grins.

“Aren’t I?” He bats his eyelashes. “So tell me: you free on Friday night?”

“I’m working, actually. Someone has to dole out dumb romances to other people out on dates,” Steve says drily, as if he himself hasn’t seen most of the films he’s maligning.

Eddie hums. “Saturday?”

“I could probably get someone to cover my shift,” Steve hedges, teasing and flirty and everything Eddie’s missed in the last few weeks.

“So you’ll be free?” Eddie asks.

“As a bird – as long as that bird isn’t a robin, considering who’s going to have to cover for me,” Steve says, and Eddie pulls a grimace.

“Yeah, maybe don’t tell her why you need the shift covered. I get the feeling she wouldn’t be as agreeable if she knew I was involved,” he says.

“I don’t think Robin’s ever been agreeable in her life, and she’d probably resent the accusation.” Steve smirks. “But as long as she doesn’t think I’m sneaking away to see you, and if I take the Monday morning shift she really hates, I don’t think it’ll be a problem. Let’s plan for Saturday?”

“Saturday it is!” Eddie pops up off the couch, both unwilling to sour the mood by overstaying his welcome, and suddenly overflowing with the need to set preparations in motion. “Six o’clock, sharp! I’ll pick you up.”

“Do I get to know where we’re going?” Steve asks, one eyebrow cocked.

“Absolutely not. The surprise is part of the experience,” Eddie says.

“Dress code, at least?” Steve wheedles, and Eddie supposes that’s fair.

“Casual. And bring a jacket,” Eddie says.

Both of Steve’s brows go up now, as he rises from the couch to follow Eddie back out towards the door. “Telling someone to bring outerwear to a date is usually a red flag, man,” he says, watching as Eddie shoves his shoes back on.

“But you love being outside,” Eddie counters, glancing up at Steve with a grin.

“I,” Steve pauses, blinking at him. “I guess.”

“And no more hints,” Eddie says, rising from the floor and reaching for the door handle. “I’ll see you on Saturday?”

“Yeah,” Steve says, his voice warming around a small, pleased smile, “I’ll see you on Saturday.”

“Can’t wait.” Eddie throws one last grin at him before stepping out into the brisk, late fall air.

He doesn’t stop smiling the whole way home.

Part 7

-

Tag List (Drop me a line if you'd like off the ride): @bushbees @y0urnewstepp4r3nt @gleek4twd @hellfireone @westifer-dead @anne-bennett-cosplayer @starman-jpg @mugloversonly @swimmingbirdrunningrock @alycatavatar @y4r3luv @rhapsodyinalto @vinteraltus @lilpomelito @tillystealeaves @noctxrn-e @pearynice @giverobinagfbrigade @novacorpsrecruit @hotluncheddie @strangersteddierthings @alongcomesaspider @theheadlessphilosopher @jettestar @rajumat @garden-of-gay @jamieweasley13 @dam28lh @oldwitcheshat @lololol-1234 @perfectlysensiblenonsense @salty-h0e @r0binscript @mavernanche @back2beesness @a-lovely-craziness @paintsplatteredandimperfect @redbullgivescaswings @emmabubbles @heartstarstar-blog @thesuninyaface @thatonebisexualman @fruitandbubbles @erinharvelle @m-owo-n @theystoodandplayedwithsilence @surroundedbyconfusion @luthienstormblessed @3ldr1tchang3l @pansexuality-activated

The tag list is full at this time, but I'll be posting this fic to Ao3 soon, so hopefully people can subscribe there if they want update alerts?

#steddie #eddie munson #steve harrington #stranger things #eddiesteve #things are going to start picking up soon 👀 #solar wrote

[steveshairychest]

Steve's the last one to leave the upside down.

Dustin tries to stay. He holds Eddie in his arms and begs Steve to help him carry Eddie through the gate. He cries and screams and refuses to let Eddie go as Nancy and Robin gently try to pry him away. Steve would do anything for that kid, but he wouldn't be a good babysitter if he let one of his charges go through the pain of carrying his dead friend through a gate.

He hugs Dustin with as much strength as he can, tries to speak without words how sorry he is that he can't do this one thing for Dustin. "I'll make sure he's comfortable." He whispers brokenly against the top of Dustin's head. He doesn't get a verbal reply, just a firm squeeze to show that Dustin heard him and that he understands. "Go with the girls. I'll be right behind you."

It takes even more convincing to get Robin to leave without him. She stands her ground and refuses to budge as Nancy gently tugs on her elbow. "What if something happens? What if they come back? You've never won a fight, Steve, I can't leave you alone out here."

Steve laughs, but when he sees the tears in his best friend's eyes, he has to hold back a sob that nearly chokes him. "10 minutes and I'll be back. If I'm not, I give you full permission to use Nancy's gun." He pulls her into a hug and whispers, "Go find the others. Make sure they're safe. I'm right behind you. I promise."

She blinks back her tears and shoves him lightly. "10 minutes, dingus."

"See you in 10. Go."

He watches them disappear into Eddie's trailer and sits in the silence of the upside down for a moment. It's suddenly so quiet without Dustin's sobs. All he can hear is the distant cries of demogorgans and his own uneven breaths. He doesn't want to be the one to do it. He wants more than anything to just walk away and make sure everyone else is ok, but he can't leave him like this.

He kneels beside Eddie and, with shaky hands, wipes the hair out of his face and gently closes his eyes. Steve's the protector. Therefore, he has to be the one to lay their friend to rest, he can't make the others go through it. He didn't know Eddie for very long, but it still hur. It hurt so much he sobs the whole time. He finds a shovel and digs a hole deep enough to bury his friend, who had been so alive and full of chaotic energy only mere hours ago. It hurt that he will now never get to know Eddie. Sure, he could ask Dustin or Eddie's other friends, but it wouldn't be the same as sitting shoulder to shoulder with Eddie and talking quietly about everything he enjoyed, everything he hated.

He doesn't know why, but it feels like he's burying a part of himself as he slowly covers Eddie with dirt.

A part of him liked having Eddie's attention, it liked the way Eddie dragged out his name and actually listened to Steve when he spoke. That part of him wanted Eddie to bump shoulders with him when they walked, and it lit up with a new found excitement whenever Eddie just looked at him. It made Steve feel alive.

But now Eddie is gone....he's dead,, and so is that spark inside Steve.

Steve doubts he'll ever feel that spark again, so he buries what's left of it with Eddie. He doesn't want to give it to anyone else.

#IDK WHAT THIS IS BUT IT IS A LITTLE ANGSTY #tw major character death #the second steve leaves eddie burts out of the grounf and coughs on dirt for an hour #steddie #stranger things #eddie munson #steve harrington #st4 vol2 #steveddie #stranger things s4

[ladykailitha]

If I Rescue You, Will You Rescue Me, Too? Part 13

Hello!

I didn’t have time to work on the Shovel Talks AU today so I thought I’d give the part of the concert series that I’ve been sitting on for a couple of days.

And I have more of this done, too, so that’ll be fun.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12

*

They arrived at the hospital and were almost immediately brought back. Dr Hathaway looked over Eddie’s wounds, changed the dressing and took his vitals.

“Everything looks good, Mr Munson,” Dr Hathaway said. “You are free to go home. I will have a nurse come in in a few minutes to go over care for the next couple of weeks. And then be sure to make an appointment with me at the receptionist’s desk before you go. I want to see you in two weeks to remove the stitches.”

Eddie nodded.

Steve gave his shoulder a squeeze. “I’m just going to radio everyone the news, and I’ll be right back.”

Eddie smiled and nodded again.

When Steve came back, the nurse was going over his outpatient care. He helped Eddie to his feet and stood by as Eddie made his appointment.

They drove in comfortable silence, a smile on both their faces.

When Steve turned into Loch Nora instead of driving out to Wayne’s new house, Eddie frowned.

“Are we going to your place, then?” he asked.

Steve’s soft smile turned into a grin. “You’ll see.”

When they turned onto Steve’s street, Eddie could hear something like... cheering?

“What is that?” Eddie asked, but like Steve had all weekend, Steve had remained silent.

A head of them on Steve’s lawn, Eddie could make out signs and balloons.

“Steve...” he whined.

“Yes, babe?”

Eddie buried his head in hands. “You’re going to kill me. That what this is. You have decided that Vecna couldn’t do it, so you are going to finish the job by killing me in the cruelest way possible. KINDNESS.”

Steve laughed. “Just wait.”

Eddie tilted his head back and rolled his eyes. “You can’t keep doing this to me, man. I haven’t had so much outpouring of love my entire life. Like sure, I had friends, and my Uncle Wayne. But camaraderie and quiet affection are nothing like the sheer amount of love you have shown me over and over again this weekend.”

Steve stopped the car for a moment and turned to face him. “If this is too much, I can call it off. I can take you home and we can have a nice quiet afternoon and we can do this some other day.”

Eddie took a deep breath. And then another. He buried his face into his hands as he struggled to get his breathing under control.

“I mean it, Eddie,” Steve said, rubbing circles into his back. “I will turn this car around and we will go somewhere quiet and safe.”

Eddie let out a long shuddering sigh. “No. I think I’m okay now. I want to see our friends too.”

“If it gets too much, just go up to my bedroom and I’ll make your excuses, okay?”

Eddie nodded.

Steve pulled into his driveway and paused before opening the door. “Just one more thing. We don’t have to tell them about the change in our relationship today, tomorrow or ever, if you want. I leave that entirely up to you.”

Eddie gulped. “But it’s about you, too. Why are you leaving it up to me?”

“Because if it was up to me,” Steve murmured, “I would put it on every billboard, marque, and in every newspaper in town.”

Eddie’s eyes went wide. “You would?”

“But I’m new to this whole gay relationship thing,” Steve continued. “I vaguely have an idea what could happen if I did that. But no real experience. I’m guess you do.”

Eddie bit his lip, but nodded.

“And that’s why you’re in charge of who knows and when,” Steve said. “I know Wayne already knows, and Robin would be fine with it because she helped me with this weekend. So other than her and maybe Nancy, no one knows that the real plan for the weekend was to woo except those three. So if you want to wait about telling everyone else. Or in small batches, that’s fine, too. I want you to feel comfortable about us being together.”

Eddie took his hand. “Me too, sweetheart.”

Steve gave it a squeeze and then opened the door. Eddie scrambled to get out the car.

“They aren’t going to jump out and scare me, are they?” Eddie asked, sheepishly.

“If they do, you’ll have to help me hide all the bodies,” Steve said with a wink. “Because I’d murder them.”

Eddie laughed and followed Steve into the house. There wasn’t anyone in the foyer so that helped Eddie relax a little.

“You see that room at the top of the stairs?” Steve asked. Eddie nodded. “That’s my bedroom. If it gets too much, head straight there. Okay?”

Eddie nodded again. Steve wrapped him up in a big hug and Eddie clung to him for a moment.

Eddie took a step back. “Okay, I think I’m ready now.”

Steve nodded and opened a door on the side. It led to a large room with lots of large couches and a TV with huge sound system.

There were also a shit ton of people there too. His Uncle Wayne, his friends from Corroded Coffin. Dustin, Mike, and Lucas, Erica, too. Max was still in the hospital, but it was still nice to see the other kids there. Robin and Nancy were there too. But there were a couple of new faces he didn’t recognize. Two boys and a girl.

Eddie vaguely recognized the shorter of the two boys, having gone to school with Jonathan Byers. Which meant that the other boy must be his brother Will. You would have had to have been living under a rock to not know who he was. But the kid had certainly shot up like a sprout, though. Holy hell, Eddie was almost sure the kid was taller than he was.

Which left Supergirl. The one they had hoped would kill Vecna and had. Steve may have hauled his ass out of hell, but there wouldn’t have been anything left to save if she hadn’t have gotten to Max in time.

There were welcome home signs for both Eddie and Steve. Steve blushed.

“Come on, guys,” Steve muttered, “I’ve been out for a week.”

“Yes,” El said, glowering. “And it was a miscarriage of justice that Eddie got a welcome home party and you didn’t.” She glared at Nancy and Robin in particular, who looked away bashfully.

Eddie blinked at her and decided. Yup. He liked her. She was his new favorite.

Will nudged her with elbow and whispered something in her ear. She smiled sweetly at them which actually might be worse than the glaring.

But it broke the dam and suddenly everyone was coming up and welcoming them home.

Eddie grinned over Dustin’s head at Steve who was getting just as many hugs as he was.

Steve blushed harder and Eddie cackled.

The two of them were ushered over to sofa to sit down as they were brought food and drink. There was laughter and good times.

About half way through, Robin came over to sit by Steve while Eddie was engaged in conversation with about a campaign he wanted to start now that he was out.

She bumped his shoulder. “She was right you know. El, I mean.”

Steve looked over at El as she chatted excitedly with Dustin about his latest experiments.

“Yeah, she was.”

Robin looked down at her hands. “You were only in the hospital for like a day, but you were still hurt and needed to be celebrated too.”

Steve covered her hands with his. “Sometimes I think I’m like glass to them.” He jutted his chin out to the rest of the room. “Completely see through and only thought about when I’m useful.”

She wrapped one of her hands on top of his, their hands completely intertwined. “I know it can feel that way sometimes, but none of these people would be here without you.”

“It is my house,” Steve deadpanned.

Robin bumped his shoulder again. “Not like that, Dingus!”

He chuckled.

“They love you,” she whispered.

Steve nodded, fighting back tears.

Eddie leaned over just then and whispered, “That thing you offered me? That’s good for you too, sweetheart.”

Robin looked at them quizzically. “What does that mean?”

“It means, fair Birdie,” Eddie said with a grin. “That if either one of us is feeling overwhelmed, we can take a breather and the other one will cover for us.”

Robin tilted her head. “Count me in, too. In case both of you need a break at the same time.” She waggled her eyebrows suggestively.

Both boys blushed.

Dustin came over and pulled Steve to his feet, dragging him away from Eddie and Robin so that they could chat with El.

“You should meet Jonathan’s friend, Argyle,” El said in lieu of greeting. “He’s nice. He helped us get across country and he didn’t have to. But he didn’t feel like it was appropriate to crash a party for people he hasn’t met.”

Steve rubbed her head. “Is that a bid for a pool party, Supergirl?”

“Please don’t touch my head,” she whispered.

Steve pulled her in for a hug. “It’s because they shaved it again, huh?” She nodded. “Then I won’t do it until it’s grown back some, okay?”

“Thank you for respecting my boundaries,” El said.

He kissed the top of her head. “Anytime, Supergirl.”

She giggled. “And of course it’s a bid for a pool party. When it gets warmer.” She shivered. “There wasn’t much to like about California, but it being warm all the time was nice.”

“I’m sure it was,” Steve said. “And when Max wakes up, you can tell her all about it.”

“I did tell her over the phone,” El said with a frown.

“Sure,” Steve agreed. “But I’m sure she’d love to hear it again all the same.”

El cocked her head. “I’m not sure I understand, but Hop and Joyce has both said the same thing, so I will do so.”

Will pulled Eddie and Steve aside when most of the crowd had thinned out and gone home. It was El, Will, Jonathan, Robin, and Wayne that were left besides Steve and Eddie.

“I didn’t want to give you these in front of everyone,” he began. “Mike would have flipped his shit.”

Eddie and Steve looked at each in confusion.

“Give us what?” Eddie asked.

He handed one rolled canvass to Eddie and the other to Steve. “I was talking to everyone and they were saying how amazing and awesome you guys were in helping take down Vecna, so I painted these.”

Steve unrolled his first. There was Steve, but a more badass barbarian version of himself in leather armor ripping a demobat in half.

“Wow, Will,” he murmured. “This is awesome!”

Eddie looked over his shoulder and whistled long and low. “That’s about what it looked like to be honest. Only this idiot was barefoot.”

Will turned to Steve in shock. “Barefoot?”

Steve blushed. “I had been swimming like seconds before that, so yeah. No shoes.”

Will shook his head. “You never cease to amaze me.”

Eddie unfurled his. There was Eddie as a medieval bard on top of a mountain, playing guitar. He put his hand over his mouth to stop them from quivering. “Oh.”

Steve looked over at it. “I don’t quite understand what he’s supposed to be.” He blushed from embarrassment expecting Will and Eddie to dogpile him the way Mike and Dustin did.

“He’s a bard,” Will explained. “They’re like warrior musicians. Most of them sing, but instruments are a big part of what makes a bard.”

Eddie smiled. “And big part of what a bard does is called bardic inspiration. It gives everyone able to hear their song, boosts to their stats.”

Steve nodded. “That’s definitely Eddie.”

Eddie blushed, shoving his hair in his face.

Will cocked his head to the side. “Wait...are you two...like together?”

Eddie and Steve shared a slightly panicked glance.

Will smiled. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone.” He looked down at the floor. “I mean not all the rumors about me are wrong, so...”

Steve and Eddie frowned for a moment trying to remember all the bullshit that had been thrown around by bullies.

Eddie hit on it first. “You’re gay!” he whisper yelled.

Steve’s jaw dropped. “That makes sense. I’m bisexual myself. But yeah. Your secret is safe with us, too.”

Will blushed.

“We aren’t the only ones either,” Steve said with a wink. “Let’s just a birdie told me there is a lesbian in our Party too.”

Will mouthed the word birdie a couple of times before his eyes went wide. “Oh!”

Eddie and Steve cackled.

“Hey Robs!” Steve called out. “Can you come here for a moment?”

Robin broke off from talking to El and wandered over. “What’s up, Dingus?”

“Will was just saying how hard it was to find other queers in Hawkins,” Steve explained.

Robin snorted. “Dude, you landed among three of the biggest queers in the whole state.”

Will’s smile lit up his whole face. “Duly noted.”

“Hey, Will,” Jonathan said. “I’m ready to leave. Are you?”

“I’ll be there in a minute!” he said and then gave all three of them a hug. He hesitated a moment and then joined El and Jonathan. They all said goodbye.

That left Wayne, who was leaning against the door frame and Robin.

“You staying the night, Ed?” Wayne asked. “Or are you coming home with me?”

Eddie looked back at Steve, nervously.

“You haven’t been able to spend much time with your Uncle, Eds,” Steve murmured. “It’s okay if that’s what you want to do.”

Eddie’s shoulders sagged in relief. “Yeah. Yeah. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

Steve smiled softly. “It’s a date.” He winked and Eddie blushed.

He pulled Eddie in close for a gentle kiss. “I love you, sunshine.”

“Love you too, sweetheart,” Eddie whispered back.

Eddie and Wayne were almost to the door when they heard Robin squeal.

“You better tell me everything!”

***

Part 14  Part 15 Part 16 Part 17  Part 18  Part 19  Part 20    

Tag List: @anaibis @spectrum-spectre @estrellami-1 @zerokrox-blog @artiststarme @swimmingbirdrunningrock @gregre369 @goodolefashionedloverboi @chaoticlovingdreamer @maya-custodios-dionach @messrs-weasley @val-from-lawrence @plyerice27 @thedragonsaunt @chaoticlovingdreamer @sapphirecobalt-1 @a-little-unsteddie @i-must-potato @danili666  @carlyv @rozzieroos @wonderland-girl143-blog @itsall-taken @justforthedead89 @whalesharksart @nburkhardt @snapshotmaestro @shrimply-a-menace @theotalksalot @child-of-cthulhu @bookbinderbitch @cr0w-culture @punctualhowell @obliosworld @eddiemunsonswife @sharingisntkaren @dididisrespectyourbridgegoatman @lillemilly

#My writing #stranger things #steddie #season 4 fix it #ladykailtiha writes

[rocknrollsalad]

steddimas prompt fill - vacation destination

🍍 eddie tries to give steve a tropical vacation, thinking he needs a break, but it doesn't really go to plan.

🥥 content/trigger warnings: couples fighting, (harmless) threats from wayne

🌴 word count: 2260

Winter isn’t all grand snowstorms and huddling together for warmth. Usually, it’s just really cold and dark and miserable. Sometimes it snows, maybe enough to cancel school but never enough to cancel work, and then everything turns into this gray, slushy mess. No one bothers to clean it. They carve out a path to whatever they need and carry on with blinders. Waiting for spring to do the rest. 

No season was more depressing and Eddie had never figured himself one for sun and tropics. As he dragged his feet through the slush, making the shortest path from his van to the door, he really thought laying on a white sandy beach sounded good right now. 

As tough as Eddie was finding, his only-thrives-in-the-sun boyfriend was shriveling up and dying slowly. Steve lacked the energy to get up and do much of anything and his fuse was shorter than when he woke in the morning. Eddie knew he could take the man in a fight but didn’t think it’d be good for their relationship if they found out for sure. 

So he did what he did best and hatched a dumb and overly elaborate plan. 

In something he almost didn’t want an explanation for, both Gareth and Dustin’s parents had thrown tiki parties in the last year. They both had leftover directions that had the kitsch meter exploding. Part of Eddie wanted to be a fly on the wall of these gatherings. They were either absolutely insane or so lame they needed to be witnessed. 

Both Dustin and Gareth were willing to lend leis, thatched placemats, and grass skirts for everything. Dustin threw in far too many tiki masks. Eddie needed exactly zero, he didn’t know what to do with three dozen. Gareth put in those bobble hula girls, coconut cups, and paper palm fronds. His character was going to win so many battles. 

Nancy came in clutch with a bunch of blue sheets and comforters. Apparently, the Wheelers have some gender issues they need to work out and Mike goes through a lot of bedsheets. Eddie didn’t ask any further questions and plugged his ears when she tried to offer details. Though he was able to return the favor tenfold since Nancy kept insisting this was all for “some sort of sex thing”. 

It was prudish of her in a way that didn’t match anything Eddie had heard her say. Maybe it had something to do with that cutesy pastel room of hers that also didn’t match. No matter how much Eddie insisted it wasn’t, she did the same, plugged her ears, and sang a song to not hear. 

Robin offered nothing because Eddie didn’t ask. She’d spill every last bean and then make up some more stuff. He did, however, tell her all about the “sex thing” Nancy thought he was up to. Making her gag and retch as he made up kinks. “Do you think Steve would prefer a green sheet situation?” It didn’t mean anything but the girls of Hawkins must have some code Eddie wasn’t hip to. That was fine by him because Eddie could have made Robin actually throw up if he’d gone into real detail. 

A next-door neighbor, who later had a conversation with Wayne about Eddie’s mental stability, lent him a kiddie pool. Foolishly, Eddie asked Lucas if he had any portable heaters without cluing him into the whole plan. His parents bought Eddie two and Mrs. Sinclair added a few scarves she’d knitted. A gift Eddie wasn’t going to turn away and he vowed to shovel their walkway every day this winter. He promised to give one of the heaters to Max when he was done with this event.

After days of begging for (and hiding) all this stuff, Eddie took it one step further and went to the grocery store. Picking out fresh pineapples, a mango, and some real coconuts. He stocked up on lime Jell-o at Claudia Henderson’s recommendation. Gareth’s mom talked a lot about ham but Eddie didn’t have the first clue what to do with that, so he figured hamburgers were close enough. A couple of bottles of rum rounded out the food part of things and Eddie felt he was all set. 

Waiting for Steve to work a late shift on a day Wayne also worked was the hardest part of this and out of Eddie’s control. Though he was getting impatient enough he almost called everyone’s bosses. He needed to give Steve a vacation but this was the best their budget allowed for. But if the man didn’t “get away” soon, everyone was going to pay. 

Eddie wasn’t just doing this for him. It was for them too!! And they were making it very, very hard. Plus, there were only so many ways Eddie could keep Steve out of the closet where everything was hiding. It was starting to get too stressful but finally, the day came. 

Hallelujah and praise satan! 

The miserable, disgusting snow on the ground was being washed away by torrential rains. Nothing about the outdoors said good things and Eddie was about to sing around his porch like a nanny in the Alps. His time had come. Of course, he had to sit on his hands for four hours and wait for Wayne to leave but after that, it was all Metallica and thoughts of something tropical. 

This wasn’t any real destination. Eddie wasn’t looking to mimic a real place here. He wanted to give the illusion of warmth, of the beach and water, and show he was trying. He’d noticed Steve’s crummy mood and wanted to do something to help. Not to look like he cared but because he cared. 

Wayne would spontaneously combust if he saw Eddie putting a kiddie pool in the middle of the living room, regardless of the season. It proved that no matter how grown up he got, he was always going to be a little bit afraid of Wayne as Eddie kept an eye on the door. 

Once it was half filled, Eddie filled four of the largest pans they had and left them on the stove to wait. No tropical beach had cold water. 

The rest of the decorations were hung and rehung as Eddie stood in a pile of blue sheets, taking in everything and making sure it was all just right. As the hours ticked down to minutes, Eddie got burgers cooking. In the oven because he couldn’t handle the stress of explaining the grill to Wayne too and the burner was all trying to boil water. No one would care where they were cooked, as long as Eddie remembered to turn the oven off it’d be okay. 

In Steve’s eight-hour shift (plus travel time), Eddie had done everything he could to turn the trailer into a tropical oasis. He spent the last few minutes admiring his work and debating if he should put on a grass skirt or not, Steve was so lucky to have him. 

Barely remembering to turn the music off, Eddie made a mad dash to Wayne’s closet and dug down deep. Way, way in the back were a couple of god-awful Hawaiian shirts, Eddie grabbed them and was able to get back to the living room before Steve pulled into the driveway. 

As Eddie ping-ponged around the room, careful not to disturb anything, to find the “right place” to stand, Steve came in the door with a welcome everyone wanted to hear. 

“What the hell is this?” 

It was impossible not to deflate, frozen in mid-climb, Eddie’s shoulders dropped and he looked at Steve. “Ta-da?” 

“What?” he repeated, the disgust too thick. 

Eddie slipped down off the chair, two feet on the ground, tiptoeing over to Steve. Approaching the wild animal who’d already shown claws and teeth, Eddie sighed and tried to remember the speech he’d prepared. 

“Look,” he started, a little too defensive for his liking. “You’ve been miserable lately and I can’t exactly take you on vacation. It’s, like, really fucking expensive, man. So I did the best I could.”

Steve took his shoes off and put his lunch and jacket on the table, same as every day. Leaving Eddie to wonder if it was okay to flip your boyfriend off behind his back in the middle of trying to do something nice for him. The consensus was yes and Steve was given the double salute. 

“Okay but why? This isn’t the beach, I mean, there isn’t even sand.” 

“No shit there isn’t sand, Steven. Wayne would kill me if he saw all this, I wasn’t going to put sand in the living room.” 

“So what was the point?” 

“Great…fucking question,” Eddie said, gritting his teeth and moving to the kitchen. 

If he didn’t start doing something he was going to explode. And if he did, Steve certainly wasn’t going to clean up this mess so Wayne would kill him. Eddie was mad but he didn’t want the guy murdered. 

He clicked all the burners off to let the boiling water cool down. Moving to the drawer of lids, Eddie tried to find something to put all the fruit away before it attracted bugs. If it even could in this weather. The whole time biting his tongue to stop from saying anything. 

Steve disappeared for a bit, coming back in house clothes. By that point, Eddie was standing in the living room folding towels. He’d turned the music back on but kept it at a reasonable volume. 

“There’s burgers in the oven and all the fixings on the counter. Unless you’ve gone vegetarian since I saw you this morning.” 

“Why would I do-” 

“Not a fucking clue,” Eddie snapped. He couldn’t hold it in anymore and Steve’s shitty mood was ruining the coolest thing Eddie had done in a while. 

“What has gotten into you?” 

“Yeah because I’ve been a real problem before now.” 

“And what do you mean by that?” 

“You’ve been unbearable. Like you know I love when you’re kind of an asshole but it’s gone a little far. I did the dumb thing and tried to do something nice for you. It was weird, yeah, I know. That’s sort of my fucking thing but you walked in and turned your nose up at it.” 

“Okay, sure. You put a pool in the living room.” 

“Surrounded by blue sheets! It was a fake ocean. I got all this beach stuff and made you dinner, there were tropical drinks for later. I didn’t just put a pool in the living room, you're just being a dick.” 

“I’m looking at it, you did.” 

“Jesus Christ. Yeah, well once I get it out of the living room I’m going to bed. Fuck it and fuck you.” 

The rest of the mess was going to be a lot to explain to Wayne but Eddie didn’t care. He couldn’t be in this situation any longer. So he dropped the sheet to the couch and focused on dragging the pool out the front door. Which took more work and feet shuffling than dragging it in did. 

Eventually, though, he got it dumped out and stashed back under the porch. Tomorrow he’d return it. Perhaps with a thank you pineapple. From there he made good on his promise and went to his room. Not fully able to kick Steve out of the house but was confused as to why he was still there. 

Eddie read until he fell asleep. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d fallen asleep angry like this. Hell, it probably had something to do with one of Steve’s stupid jock friends. There was something here about a leopard not changing his spots that Eddie really didn’t want to believe. They were too many months into this, he’d been too vulnerable. He thought Steve was doing the same but maybe he was still just some asshole jock. 

The next morning Steve woke Eddie with a shake. “Wayne’s pissed and he wants you to clean all this shit up.” 

“You fucking clean it,” Eddie grumbled, trying to wake up enough to even know who was talking to him. 

“I’ll help but I don't know what half of this stuff is or where it goes. Wayne doesn’t even know where it came from.” 

Bolting up in bed, Eddie glared at Steve. Sleep weakened the bit he wanted it to have but he tried to burn a hole through the man who had the nerve to perch on the end of Eddie’s bed after last night. 

“Look who’s bright and cheery and helpful this morning,” Eddie said, trying to deepen the glare. 

Steve pointed his thumb over his shoulder toward the open door. “Your uncle is out there, ready to toss us both to the curb. Can this wait?” 

“No. It kind of can’t. Gimme the quick version.” 

“You’re right. I was being an asshole and you were trying to do something nice.” 

“And?” 

“There’s no-what ‘and’?” Steve hissed, his head bobbing back and forth. 

“Boy!” Wayne hollered. 

“And…I wish I’d given it a chance?” Steve tried. 

“You don’t,” Eddie deflated. “We can talk about that later, I guess.” 

He’d really missed the mark on this. Steve couldn’t even lie…at gunpoint basically. Eddie needed to talk to Steve and find out why it didn’t work and maybe get a few ideas of what would work in the future. They’d have to do a lot of talking but first, they had to clean. There’d be nothing to sort out if they didn’t get Wayne his living room back in order.

#this went places i didn't expect #and i'm not sure i love the ending #but it's what i got #hey everyone come see what i wrote now