Work Text:
It was late May when Eddie came busting into the Family video to tell Steve he would be allowed to walk at graduation. Eddie smiled ear to ear when he showed Steve his latest past test. Eddie had always struggled to remember to turn in his work, and it shot down his grades. It wasn’t like Eddie was stupid; the exact opposite was true. Eddie had the uncanny ability to know a little bit about everything. He had an incredible memory and could recall anything someone told him. He was absolutely fantastic at trivia and, when he could focus long enough, had the ability to plan out an entire campaign in one sitting. This year Eddie had made it his mission to turn every assignment in and was currently passing all his classes. All he had left after this test was his finals.
“I passed!” Eddie smacked the test on the counter to show Steve. “I’m going to graduate! You hear the Hawkins, Eddie ‘the freak’ isn’t a burnout! Fuck yeah!”
Steve didn’t even try stopping Eddie from yelling in the store. He was celebrating his win, and there weren’t any customers he would have been bothering. Steve couldn’t help but smile as Eddie did a victory lap around the store. Robin had finally emerged from the back room, and Eddie picked her up. He started dancing her to the front of the store and back toward Steve.
“I’m doing it! I’m going to Graduate! I’m getting my diploma! Not a GED certificate but an honest to god diploma!”
Robin laughed and danced along with him to the front. “Congratulations, Eddie,” she said as she hugged him. He spun her around the front of the store.
Eddie pulled back to look at her, “You’re walking too, right? Like you’re going to graduation?”
“Pretty sure my mom will actually kill me if I don’t walk. We should go out and Celebrate after,” she suggested as Eddie finally let her go.
“Yes!” He agreed and then turned back toward Steve, who was leaning against the counter. Eddie’s got in close, so they were only a few inches apart. “Will you come? I guess you were always going to go for Robin, but-“ Steve cut him off.
“Of course, I’ll come see you graduate,” Steve laced their fingers together and moved even closer. Standing like this, it would only take a second to lean in and kiss Eddie.
The front door opening ripped them both out of the moment and back into reality. Eddie jumped back, and Steve pulled his hand away. Eddie had his back to the door, so no one should have seen anything, but they always had to be careful. Steve watched as a mom and her son made their way to the children’s movie section.
Eddie was still smiling at Steve. His face only dropped when he saw the clock behind Steve, “Shit! I’m going to be late for the Hellfire Club.”
The women turned and glared at Eddie. Steve waved at her and yelled, “Sorry.” She rolled her eyes and pushed her son further into the store. Steve turned his attention back to Eddie.
“See you tonight?” Eddie asked. This time his voice was low and quiet enough that the woman and her son couldn’t hear them.
“Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Steve would be wherever Eddie needed him to be. Eddie ran back out the front door.
By the time Steve checked out the woman and her son, Robin was sliding in next to him, ready to taunt, “You two are sickeningly cute. Seriously, it makes me want to throw up.”
“Thanks, Robin. Love the support,” he flipped her off and started sorting the returns box.
“No, really, it’s super cute that way you look at each other. God, I’m so lonely,” Robin started to help him with the returns. “So, what’re you going to get Eddie for graduation?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, usually couples get each other something. Like the guy will get the girl flowers or something,” she explains.
“You know I could never do that, right?” They had managed to keep their relationship secret for the most part. Neither their parents nor the rest of the town knew yet, and they wanted to keep it that way. They were never giving anyone reason to hurt them. The people who mattered already knew, and that was enough for Steve.
“Obviously, but you’re not going to show up empty-handed, are you?”
“I’ve only had a few minutes to think about it-“
“Oh my god! You were going to show up without anything.”
“I was not! I just didn’t think about how soon it was, to you know, worry about that,” Robin looked unimpressed; she didn’t believe him, “Okay, fine! I didn’t think about it at all. Happy?”
“Ha! I was right!” She pushed up against him
“Fuck! What do I get him?” He looked at her pleadingly.
“I don’t know. Just get him something he likes. Like music! He loves music. Get him a new tape or something.”
“I only know the bands he already likes and has tapes of. How am I going to find something new that he’ll like?”
“We could just go through tapes in the same genre. Pick something out you haven’t seen before,” Robin suggested.
“That’s actually a good idea,” Steve couldn’t believe how helpful she was being.
“I’m surprisingly full of them. Actually, we could look this weekend when I go dress shopping.”
Steve laughed, “you’re going dress shopping?” He couldn’t imagine Robin going shopping willingly.
“Ugh, don’t rub it in. My mom is making me wear a dress for graduation. She said if I don’t wear something nice, I’ll have to be home by nine on the day.”
“And if you wear the dress?”
“I get an extra two hours out in the real world; eleven PM, baby!”
“Fine, I’ll help you get a dress, but I want actual help picking out an album. Not sassy help.”
“Fine,” she agreed.
—-
Saturday came around, and Steve helped Robin pick out a dress. She was being extremely picky for a person who had worn the scoops ahoy uniform every day for almost the whole summer. She didn’t want anything that showed off her body or was too feminine or it was uncomfortable. This left them with very few options.
“Robin, please just pick something. Pick whatever is the best of the worst and move on.”
“She’s going to take a picture of me in it, Steve. I’m going to have to see the thing for the rest of my life!”
“Just don’t take off the robe then.”
“Fine. I guess this is it, then. She threw a green dress at Steve. It was light weight and frilly. Steve couldn’t imagine her actually wearing it.
After she bought the dress, they walked down to the record store. Steve had only been there a handful of times to buy tapes in the discount bin. Searching through the store was going to be a nightmare. It was the only music store in Hawkins, so despite being designed by a pack rat, it stayed in business.
Once inside, they split up to look in what they could only assume were different sections. Everything in the store was stored in milk crates unlabeled and precariously set on tables and shelves. Steve went through a crate that looked promising. It started out with AC/DC but somehow was in the same crate as Madonna.
“What about this?” Robin held up a vyBlack Sabbath’s Heaven and Hell.
“No, I’ve definitely seen it in his room.”
“How about this,” she held up a black album with a white ghost ship. In the left corner, it said Sir Lord Baltimore.
“I don’t think he like pirates.”
“It’s not about pirates, Steve,” Robin was already putting it back.
“Okay then, what does it sound like?”
“I don’t know, but it definitely looks like a metal band.”
Steve went through several crates before landing on anything promising. The cover was all black with four men with long hair. They all reminded him of Eddie’s hair. On the upper left corner, it said Queen II. Steve wasn’t sure if that was the band name or the album name, but it looked perfect.
“Hey, Robin, come look at this,” Steve held up the album.
Robin looked it over, “I mean, they kinda look like Eddie.”
“That’s what I thought!” Steve was glad she saw it too.
“Do you know if it’s Heavy Metal?”
“Well, no, but I’m not sure there’s any reasoning behind what we’ve been doing. It’s not like we’re going to find something by going off the cover.”
Usually, they would be able to play it, but the turn table in the store had been broken for almost two years and would probably never be fixed. Steve brought it up to the counter to ask Dale. Dale owned and ran Hawke Records, so hopefully, he would know.
“Is Queen II considered Metal?” Steve asked.
“Some of their songs? Sure,” Dale was gruff and to the point.
“Okay, we’ll are any of the songs on this album Heavy Metal?” Steve tried again.
“They might be. Do you want the record or not? Ten bucks.”
“Ten dollars? It’s not even nine in Indy.”
“Ten or you get the hell out, kid.”
Steve Gave the man his money, and they made their way out. Steve really hoped Eddie liked it.
—-
On graduation day, Steve stopped by the grocery store on his way to the high school. He picked up some flowers for Robin. They would never date, but he was sure she’d like the gesture anyway. The only bundle left were daisies that had been left in dyed water that made them rainbow-colored. The flowers were tacky, and Robin would hate them; they were perfect. Steve also got a bag for the record and headed to the school.
The ceremony itself was held outside on the track field. A stage had been made for the Teachers and had been set up with speakers. Graduation was always held outside to accommodate all the families and friends that sat in the stands.
Steve took his spot toward the top of the bleachers to give the other families as much space as they needed. Steve assumed he’d be the only one to come watch Eddie graduate, but one by one, the Hellfire club showed up and sat with him.
This was so wildly different from his own graduation. The only people that came to cheer him on was his mom and Dustin. Dustin had dragged his nerd friends with him but it wasn’t great knowing all of your friends were middle schoolers. That didn’t bother him that much. What hurt was that his dad had forgotten the day and had accidentally planned a work trip on the same day. Steve had told him it didn’t bother him, but it couldn’t have been further from the truth. It also hadn’t helped that Nancy wasn’t talking to him, and he hadn’t met Robin yet, so no one his own age came. Steve was glad Eddie had friends that would show up for him.
The precession of students started right on time. The faculty must have also wanted to get out of the sun. Steve didn’t know how the hell everyone was sitting through the speeches in their robes. It was scorching hot, and he felt like he was going to melt through the stands. He had already sweated through his button-down. He knew he shouldn’t have worn cotton. But it was all worth it, so see Eddie smile like an idiot as he came walking out.
They started lining up to call the names. Steve acted like an idiot every time they said a name he knew. Robin went first, then Eddie, and then Nancy. Each time the Hellfire club and Max got up to yell as obnoxiously as possible. Some of the other families were giving them weird looks, but Steve didn’t care; Eddie would have everyone here for him.
After all the names had been called, everyone was shuffled toward the gym. There were cookies and punch inside, but Steve never made it inside to get anything. Robin ambushed him in the parking lot.
“I thought you weren’t bringing flowers,” she said, crushing into his side.
“I didn’t get him flowers,” he kept his voice low so no one could hear him. “These happen to be for you.” He handed her the rainbow flowers.
“Thanks, Steve.” She squeezed him tight one last time before letting go.
“Oh, Robin, who’s this?” An older woman called over to them. It must’ve been her mom.
“Mom, this is Steve. Steve, this is my mom,” Robin introduced.
“It’s wonderful to meet you, Mrs. Buckley,” Steve held out his hand. The woman ignored it in favor of hugging him.
“You must be the boy Robin’s always with! It’s so good to meet you.” Mrs. Buckley finally let him go.
“Yep, that’s me. I’m Robin’s best friend,” he pulled her in close, knowing full well what he looked like to Robin’s mom. Steve fit the devoted Boyfriend mold all too well and was all to happy to let her mom’s thoughts run wild. It was fun to get under Robin’s skin like this.
“Oh, aren’t you two so cute!” Her mom gushed, “here, let me take a picture.”
“Mom, please stop,” Robin begged.
“Oh, it’s only one. You’ll live through it, I’m sure.”
Well, at least that explained where Robin got her sass from.
“Take an extra one for me?” Steve asked.
“Oh, of course, kiddo,” Mrs. Buckley took a few steps back and took her photos.
“What about one with Robin’s new dress,” Steve suggested. Robin turned toward him to glare daggers into his skull.
“Oh, you’re so right! Robin, sweetie, will you take off your robe and show off your new dress?”
Robin looked ready to murder him then and there, “What did I do to deserve this?”
“For every Family Video shift, you made me pick up,” he whispered back.
“I hate you,” Robin smacked him with the ugly flowers as she struggled to get out of the robes.
Now with messier hair, she was just in the ugly green dress. Steve handed the flowers back to her and smiled as her mom took pictures.
“Do you want some pictures with her?” Steve asked.
“Why aren’t you the sweetest thing,” she handed him the camera and took his spot. Steve took a bunch of pictures and tried not to laugh. Robin looked a little miserable, but Mrs. Buckley was over the moon.
“You know a few of our friends are going to play some board games and get dinner tonight. Would it be okay if Robin stayed out late with us tonight? I’d be the one driving her back home tonight,” Steve offered Mrs. Buckley.
Steve finally spotted Eddie in the crowd. He was with the rest of the hellfire club and was currently throwing Dustin around. He could hear Mrs. Buckley talking but couldn’t pay attention.
“Well, I suppose if you’re going to be out with a group, that’s fine. But she has to be home by midnight. If she’s not through the door before tomorrow, I’m calling the police.”
Robin looked at Steve in complete shock. Steve had somehow charmed his way into getting her an extra hour of freedom.
“Understandable. I will have her back before midnight,” Steve grabbed her hand, and they started running toward Eddie and the other nerds. “Thank you,” he yelled back at her.
“How the fuck did you manage that?” Robin asked, still in complete disbelief it actually happened.
“I’m just absolute catnip to old women,” Steve laughed.
“You’re such a dingus.”
Eddie spotted them rushing toward them and dropped Justin. He spun Robin around first, the same way he had in store a few weeks ago.
“We did it, Robin!” Eddie was yelling again.
“I know; I was there,” she smiled as he threw her around a little more.
Then he turned to Steve and pulled him into a soul-crushing hug.
“I did it,” Eddie said softly. His lips brushed against the shell of Steve’s ear.
“You did it,” Steve confirmed. Eddie didn’t want to let him go but, after what was probably too long of a hug with a friend, reluctantly dropped his arms.
Like Robin, Eddie ripped off the hot robes at the first chance he got. Steve stared as Eddie’s shirt rode up, and he could see a small peek of skin. Robin pushed his side again to let him know he was being too oblivious.
“Hey,” Steve called out, “we’re going to head out. Meet you at the diner?”
“Sounds good,” Eddie nodded, “I’m going to hand some stuff over to my uncle, then I’ll be on my way too. He’s going to go back now and sleep because he has third shift tonight,” Eddie stepped in close so no one could hear him. “He’ll be gone most of the night if you want to come over.”
Steve tried not to blush and coughed instead, “Yeah, I’ll come over.” Eddie was back to grinning like an idiot.
—-
They had all chipped in to rent a table out at a greasy dinner down the road. It hadn’t started becoming popular until Benny’s burgers shut down. The restaurant willingly took their money, and the hellfire club was now allowed to use the table all night for games. Steve would have to bring Robin home before midnight, but the restaurant closed at 2 AM anyway.
On their drive there, Steve remembered he’d packed a bag for Robin, too, “I have a change of clothes for you in the back.”
“You do not!” She whipped her head around and spotted the backpack. Without any hesitation, she pulled it into her lab and dumped out the contents. A gray T-shirt and blue jeans fell out of the bag.
“I didn’t want you to suffer all night. Just a little bit, as revenge. Friendly revenge.”
“Thank you; I was worried I’d have to wear this all night.” Steve laughed.
Once inside the diner, Robin made a beeline toward the bathroom to change, and Steve spotted Mike and Nancy. Mike had already started setting up their first game, Scotland Yard. Steve had never heard of the board game before and didn’t really understand the rules as they were explained to him. After everyone showed up and took their seats, Mike tried again to explain the rules. Steve didn’t get it still, so for most of the night, he just went along with what other people did.
One time Steve got to be the killer, and he didn’t even realize he had won until the game finished and everyone else lost. Steve was just happy he got to sit across the table from Eddie. They couldn’t do much in public but sitting across from the table now; Steve could have his foot far enough forward that their legs touched. It wasn’t much, but it was enough for now.
They always had to be this way just on the off chance someone saw something they weren’t supposed to. Steve had even left the album in the car just to be safe. Even though right now they were around their friends, they were still in public, and he never wanted there to be a possibility someone could misinterpret his gift. Technically they would be correct, but Steve didn’t want them to know that. Eddie had been through enough hell, and he didn’t need to be accused of being gay as well as a Satan worshiper.
Playing games at the diner became a lot more fun when they started playing simpler games. Card game Steve at least understood the rules even if he wasn’t good at any of them. Eddie watched Steve struggle long enough and took pity on him. Every once in a while, he would let his cards bleed, and Steve knew what to play. It was technically cheating, but Steve didn’t really care.
It was after their third order of fries that Robin noticed the time. It was 11:42 PM, and they would have to leave right then if they wanted to make it back on time.
“Shit!” She yelled, “We have to go! Fuck! I’m going to go change. Meet at the car?”
“Robin, you can keep the clothes for a night,” Steve offered.
“I can’t show up at my house late and in your clothes, dingus!” Robin rushed to the bathroom.
Steve started on his goodbyes saving Eddie for last. He leaned in close as they hugged goodbye to say, “I’m just going to drop Robin off,” then in a whisper, “I’ll stop by the trailer later to give you your present.”
Robin sprinting out of the bathroom was his queue to let go of Eddie. He also ran toward his car.
“Sorry you have to drive me home,” Robin apologized as they got in Steve’s car. “Are you at least going to see Eddie again?”
“Don’t worry about it,” he told her, pulling out of the parking lot, “I like driving with you. Plus, I just told him I’d come to give him his present tonight.”
“Wait! Tell me you didn’t say it like that?”
Steve was focused on driving fast enough to get there on time, and he couldn’t understand what she meant.
“Like what?” He asked
“Like the present is sex, Steve!”
“What are you talking about? How in the world would he have gotten that from what I said?” Steve wanted to turn to look at her but was too worried about looking away from the road. He didn’t have a death wish.
“Well, exactly how did you say it?”
“Fuck! I can’t remember exactly how I said it. I’m pretty sure I said something about ‘I’m taking Robin home,’ and, ‘I’ll stop by the trailer later to give you your present’ or something like that.”
“So you whispered, ‘I’ll stop by the trailer later to give you your present,’ and you can’t see at all where I’m coming from? Like how that sounds like you're asking to fuck? Not at all? You stopping by late at night to give him a ‘gift’ you can’t give him in public?”
Steve hadn’t thought about it that way, but it did sound sexual the way she said it. “Fuck! He thinks I want to have sex tonight!”
“Do you want to sleep with him? I mean, you’ve been together now almost two months. I’m pretty sure this is your longest relationship, and you’ve definitely jumped in bed with people faster.”
“I mean, sure, but- but I’ve never been with a guy before. I’m not even sure I know what to do!”
“How different could it be? It’s like sex with a girl but with an extra penis.”
“Gross, don’t say penis!”
“What do you can say boobies, but I can’t say penis? Penis, penis, penis, penis!”
“Alright! I get it! I will literally never say boobies again if it gets you to stop.”
“Fine,” she agreed. “So, did you bring any condoms?”
“Why would I need a condom? It’s not like I can get him pregnant. What else would I need it for?”
“I don’t know, Steve. I try to think about cock as little as possible. Gay sex has twice the amount of cock as straight sex, so it’s never occurred to me to think about how it works.”
“God, please go back to saying penis! This is so much worse!”
“We had the same-sex Ed class, Steve; they didn’t exactly go over this. All I know is condom equals safe sex.”
“Fuck!”
“If you’re not ready, just tell him that. I’m sure Eddie would understand.”
Steve knew she was right, but the more he thought about Eddie, the more did want to sleep with him. He just didn’t know what he was doing. Why did everything have to be so damn difficult?
He managed to drop Robin off with three minutes to spare. Her mom had waited for her to come home and waved at him from the window. She definitely thought they were dating, and Steve wasn’t about to correct her. He drove off toward Eddie’s trailer.
—-
The trailer was completely dark by the time Steve pulled up. He ran around the back with the present and knocked on Eddie’s window. It seemed like no matter who he was with, he always ended up coming through a window. Eddie was waiting for him, though, and pulled Steve in before he could even say hello.
Steve tried to be graceful to keep the album from breaking, but Eddie was making it hard. Eddie was pulling him in close and giving him no choice but to stumble over his own feet into the trailer. Once Steve had fully made it in, Eddie closed the window and curtains so they were alone. Never once letting go of Steve.
“I got you something,” Steve held up the bag and tried to pull back to look at Eddie.
Eddie looked confused. Robin was right. Eddie thought with the way Steve said it, he had meant sex and not a physical present. Eddie finally let go of Steve and took the bag.
“Queen II, nice!” Eddie fully pulled the record out to look it over.
“Yeah, I thought you know with their hair and the color . . .” Steve trailed off. Saying it out loud made him feel dumb. “It just reminded me of you.”
That brought Eddie’s attention back to Steve. The same smile he had had all night was back in full force. However, now it was solely focused on him. Eddie’s fingers slid into his hair, and Steve was pulled into a kiss. Eddie’s tongue swiped across Steve’s lip. Steve moaned, giving Eddie room to deepen the kiss.
Eddie was the first one to pull back. With his hand still in Steve’s hair, he pressed their foreheads together. “It’s perfect, Steve.”
“Good, I was worried you already had it,” Steve could feel Eddie tense, “you already have a copy, don’t you?”
“I mean, sure, but B side is all scratched up; it’s unplayable really; this is perfect. I can listen to The Fairy Feller's Master-Stroke again. I haven’t been able to listen to it in years because it’s so distorted. Wait right here,” Eddie dropped the Album on his bed and ran to the living room before Steve could even agree. He was back in an instant with a little brown record player. Eddie was already setting the album in to play when Steve’s brain started to catch up. “There, now you can listen to it too.”
The record started to play Procession. It sounded like a funeral March, and Steve started to worry if Eddie was just humoring him. Eddie was oblivious to Steve’s inner turmoil and was dancing back to Steve.
“How about I thank you properly,” Eddie whispered in Steve’s ear. He was already pulling at Steve’s button-down and pulled him down toward the bed.
Steve fell into Eddie’s lap, so he was straddling both legs. Eddie’s hands and mouth were all over him, touching as much skin as they could. Steve could feel everything from this position and wanted more. He pushed Eddie down so his back was fully against the bed. They never broke contact once. Steve lightly bit Eddie’s lip and deepened the kiss. It wasn’t enough, and Steve worked Eddie’s shirt up to feel his chest. Distantly he was aware of the songs changing to sound more like metal.
Eddie hiked Steve’s shirt up as well to move his hands up and down Steve’s sides. Everything felt fantastic until Eddie pushed a little too hard on Steve’s bite. It had fully healed over into scar tissue but was still sensitive to the touch.
Steve opened his eyes, but he wasn’t in Eddie’s room. He was in the Upside Down. He was back at the bottom of an empty lake being swarmed by demon bats. He couldn’t breathe as the bat's tail wrapped itself tighter around his neck. The only sounds he could hear were of him choking. Eddie’s music had completely disappeared, and he was alone. Like in a nightmare, his body was moving too slow, and the demon bats were tearing into him.
This wasn’t real. It couldn’t be real. It had to be a memory. Except Nancy should have been there by now. This time no one was coming to save him, and he started to think he was going to die alone. His vision started to fade to black, and he stopped struggling. There was nothing he could do to save himself.
The next time Steve opened his eyes, he was back in Eddie’s room. Steve’s breathing was ragged and sounded harsh in the quiet room. The only other sound is the record needle against the end rings of the album, making a slight popping noise to signal it needs to be flipped over. Steve could feel Eddie behind him. He had them both lying down on the bed on their sides with his arms wrapped around Steve’s chest. He was safe, but his body still felt on edge. Steve tried to focus on his breathing. Once he started to calm down, he put his hands on Eddie’s arms and began rubbing circles with his thumbs.
“Steve?” Eddie’s voice sounded so worried.
“Yeah?” Steve’s voice cracked.
“Are you okay?”
Steve didn’t trust himself to talk and nodded that he’d be okay.
“Did I hurt you?” Eddie’s voice was so quiet and scared.
Steve shook his head ‘no.’ Eddie would never hurt him. If anything, Eddie was the only thing keeping him grounded in reality. Once his breathing leveled out, he started to relax back into Eddie’s hold, who pulled him in tighter.
Steve looked around the room for a distraction. He hadn’t noticed it when he first came through the window, but Eddie's room was the cleanest he’d ever seen it. He thought about the record again as a distraction.
“Will you flip the record?” Steve just wants to listen to anything but his own thoughts. Even though it wasn’t real, his brain hadn’t caught up, and he still felt like at any moment, he would be back there.
Eddie hesitated, unwilling to let Steve go for a second, “y-yeah. I can do that. I’ll be back; it’ll only take a second.”
Eddie finally released Steve and got out of bed. Steve was glad the record player was behind him so Eddie wouldn’t see his face. This isn’t how this night was supposed to go. Steve wished he wasn’t so god damn broken to enjoy one evening with his boyfriend. He curled up tighter and listened as the next song began to play.
Eddie was back in the bed as fast as he could manage. Steve felt the bed dip behind him, but Eddie hesitated at touching Steve again. Steve, unwilling to be left alone, reached behind himself and pulled at Eddie's arm until Eddie covered him like a blanket. The weight was familiar and grounding. Steve sighed and breathed in the smell of Eddie’s hair. Eddie put his hand on Steve’s cheek and brushed away the silent tears.
“I thought I’d lost you,” Eddie confessed. “I thought a new mind monster had come to take you, and there wasn’t anything I could do. You just froze up and started choking. I thought it was going to be like Chrissy again.” Eddie’s voice broke, and Steve knew how terrifying that must have been. Seeing Max float made him want to piss his pants. He couldn’t imagine how terrible that must have been to see someone you care about seize up like that.
Eddie was holding Steve as close as possible. As if a strong breeze would take Steve away from him.
“I’m right here,” Steve promised. The metal in the background was wonderfully distracting. “What’s this song?”
“It’s the end of Ogre Battle,” Eddie told him with his face now pressed into the crook of Steve’s neck.
Eddie must’ve known the kind of distraction Steve was looking for and started telling Steve everything he knew about the album. He named each song and told Steve who wrote each one and who was singing when. On the fifth song of doing this, Steve started to hum along to the melody.
“Do you like this one?” Eddie asked.
“Yeah. What’s it called again?”
“It’s called Funny How Love Is,” Eddie told him. They were both finally starting to relax into the bed. “It’s pretty interesting because it’s never been performed live.”
Steve rubbed his face, “why not?”
Eddie shrugged, “the song has very high-register vocals and is too demanding to play live. What’s also interesting about it, though, is it was produced using the wall of sound technique.”
“What’s that?”
Eddie then explained how it was recorded and how it differs from other songs. Once it ended, Eddie let go of him again and got out of bed. Steve turned to see what he was doing when he heard the needle picked up and put down right before the song started.
“This is my new favorite song,” Eddie told him, getting back in bed.
“Why’s that?”
“Because it’s the one you like,” Eddie’s hands we back in Steve’s hair, and he pressed a kiss to Steve’s temple.
“I think it’s my new favorite song, too,” Steve pulled Eddie close, touching their noses. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“I know.”
Steve fell asleep in Eddie’s arms. He would have to leave before Eddie’s uncle came home, but for now, this was nice.