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Steve is quietly grateful that the bickering stops as soon as the kids see the Munsons’ van parked, if not somewhat offended that all it takes is Eddie to shut them up.
He parks across the lot from him, and before he’s even pulled the key from the ignition, the kids have scrambled out and made their way over to Eddie. He drags a hand down his face and sighs.
Eddie is looking at him as soon as he gets out of the car, and it makes Steve want to look anywhere but at him in return. He keeps his eyes on the ground as he walks over.
“Hey,” says Eddie. He tips his head to the side, a wayward chocolate curl brushing his nose, and grins. He’s wearing mascara today, or maybe his lashes have always been that long; Steve doesn’t know and doesn’t want to think about it.
“Hey,” Steve mutters.
Max looks between the two of them and grimaces. “Let’s go inside,” she says.
They’d driven twenty minutes down the interstate to get here, and it’s admittedly quite a bit bigger than the shitty arcade they’ve got back home. It’s got aircon, too, just a smidge too chilly and exactly how Eddie likes it.
It would be easier if Steve didn’t remember inane bits of Eddie Munson trivia, but his brain is hardwired to be painfully aware of him at all times. He can’t lie to himself and say he doesn’t want him because he really, really does.
Eddie knocks his shoulder into Steve’s. His van doesn’t have an aircon, so it shouldn’t surprise Steve how warm his shoulder is against his own bare one. Steve glances down at the pale and freckled skin of Eddie’s shoulder and averts his eyes. He remembers Nancy complaining about school dress code and how she couldn’t show her shoulders, and wishes desperately that the arcade had something similar.
“Hey, Harrington. Steve,” Eddie jabs his bony fingers into Steve’s forearm, “princess.”
“What?” Steve grouses.
“You only respond to ‘princess’, huh?” Eddie smirks at him, his dark eyes reflecting the neon colors of the PacMan game behind Steve.
Steve says, “Fuck off,” but it’s without any real heat.
The laser tag arena is all the way back, and there’s no line. Steve wishes he could claim that he’d paid for the entire arena for just them and the kids, but really it’s a Saturday in June and most kids were carted home early because of church tomorrow.
Max bounds over to the wall of vests and starts trying them on as Steve pays for them at the kiosk. The girl working there barely looks at him when she takes his money, her eyes on Eddie the whole time. Steve’s a jealous person, but his thing with Eddie is so hopeless that he just thinks Me too, man sourly.
There’s six of them there, he and Munson plus Dustin, Lucas, Max, and El, but he tells the girl they’re waiting on four more and that he’ll pay for them too.
Robin’s car screeches into the parking lot ten minutes late. She parks haphazardly and skips over to the passenger side to open the door for Nancy. Steve had paid for her permit and given it to her under the guise of it being a school sanctioned activity, but he has a feeling that neither of them really believe that. Robin’s not even supposed to be driving more than one person, but she had called him that morning to remind him that if they got pulled over she’d switch seats with Nancy. Typical.
“My dashing prince,” she jokes, snatching the vest from his hands. Steve snorts.
Will and Mike are attached at the hip today, and Eddie watches them out of the corner of his eye. Steve catches his gaze and Eddie grins, mouthing So cute.
“This is great, but how are we doing teams?” Dustin asks, ever pragmatic.
“Steve and I need to be on the same team, Dusty. He’s my meat shield,” Robin stresses.
“We’ll take Max, Dustin, and Lucas,” says Steve.
“No way.” Eddie holds up a hand. “Couples can’t be on the same team. Drop Lucas and take Mike.”
Mike opens his mouth to complain but thinks better of it, trudging over to Steve. Steve wants to apologize but he’s pretty sure Mike hates his guts and anything he says only serves to make it worse.
“Alright,” Nancy rounds up the kids and starts to corral them into the dark hallway before the arena. There are two doors on either side with guns lined up against the wall. “No kicking, punching, El can’t use her powers, and no swapping guns. We’ll be red.”
“I guess we’re blue,” says Robin. She grabs a gun with a blue grip off the wall and mimes shooting Steve, who dramatically falls back, clutching his heart.
“I thought couples couldn’t be on the same team,” Dustin complains.
“Not a couple,” says Robin.
“Yet.”
“Henderson.”
“Okay, okay! Sorry!”
If only Dustin knew that Steve’s solely interested in the dork across the room who’s trying to spin the guns in his hands. Eddie looks up and waves at him, and Steve blushes and waves back.
The doors unlock and they enter the arena. They’ve got about four minutes to plan and get into position, so Robin gets them into a huddle and whispers, “Nancy’s our biggest target. We get her out, we can get the rest out easy. Everyone splits, the closer we are to each other the easier it is for the other team. Got it?”
“Got it,” they chime back, way too serious for a game of laser tag. Steve turns right and starts down the narrow hallway. The entire arena is covered in carpet, which is probably a safety feature now that he thinks about it. It doesn’t make it any less trippy, though.
The black lights make the blue border of his vest glow violet, and he presses against the wall and keeps his breathing slow.
His traitorous mind conjures images of Eddie pressing him against the wall and goading him to surrender. Steve closes his eyes and counts backwards from ten.
“Game start!” shouts a robotic voice through the speakers. He ducks down and starts down the hallway once again. Across the arena (he’s not sure how far away, honestly. Again, the carpet walls are trippy) someone laughs, and the sound of a buzzer goes off.
“Four red remaining, five blue remaining,” says the voice.
Steve’s heart starts pounding. This is more exciting than he gave it credit for. He turns down a left and ducks back immediately. Nancy is shaking her gun; they’ve got three second timers on them so she must’ve shot at someone less than three seconds ago. Steve’s breathing is loud, aiming his gun and taking a deep gasp of air. He shoots.
“Three red remaining, five blue remaining!”
“YESSS!” Steve shouts, dancing around in place. Nancy turns to face him and rolls her eyes.
“You are such a kid,” she groans.
Steve opens his mouth to reply but whatever he means to say comes out as a weak sputter when his vest convulses. “Three red remaining, four blue remaining!”
“Sorry, princess,” says Eddie, cocking his head and pretending to blow steam off his gun. His hair is pulled back into a messy bun, and he shoots Steve a peppy wink. “No hard feelings.”
Nancy has to drag him out of the arena. “Oh my god,” she groans, closing Steve’s mouth for him, “when are you guys gonna get it together?”
Steve’s brain is in a frenzy. He can’t stop thinking about Eddie’s dark eyes when he’d called him princess or about his stupidly hot cocky demeanor. If he’d asked, Steve would’ve probably stood and given him an easy target. He shivers, rubbing at the gooseflesh on his arms.
He doesn’t notice Mike until he’s standing right beside him. “Hey,” he mutters gruffly. “Good job. With Nancy.”
“Oh.” Steve looks down and gives him a cautious nod. “Thanks, man.”
That seems to appease Mike because all the tension drains out of his shoulders and he nods back.
The blue team wins, because of course they do, they’re just that good. Steve’s surprised when Mike follows him back into the room with the guns so they can wait for the doors to open again.
“…You okay, kid?” he asks.
He glares at the floor. “Are you and Eddie dating?”
“Oh.” Steve looks away, glad that his blush is hidden under the darkness. “No.”
“But you like him?” he continues quietly.
“I— yeah.”
Mike nods as if he’s solved some puzzle. “He likes you too, you know. You’re lucky that he can’t tell how sucky you are.”
Steve laughs, sort of hurt but not ready to admit it to a fifteen year old who already bullies him mercilessly. “Thanks.”
“…Sorry. Eddie’s just— important to me. I want him to be treated right.” He glances up at Steve. “And you deserve to be treated right too. I guess.”
Steve beams.
The next round begins without much preamble and they decide to stick with their previous plan. Steve takes the left wing this time. He can hear scattered footfalls but no one’s shot at anyone yet. He’s starting to get nervous. The other team must’ve changed their strategy, and Steve’s not smart enough to think of anything to combat whatever it is.
Footsteps get closer. Steve pushes himself against a section of the arena that has a corner, holding his gun to his chest as he fumbles with the trigger. The sounds get further away, but it could just be the carpet muffling it. They’re moving in groups, Steve notices.
“Five red remaining, four blue remaining!”
“Five red remaining, three blue remaining!”
Steve’s eyes widen. Shit, that was quick. He ducks his head out around the corner and catches the edge of Lucas’s vest before Max comes out from around her own corner, shooting him in the back. Lucas groans and Steve can imagine his face, the downturned pout of his mouth. Max cackles, blows him a kiss, and takes off down the hallway.
“Four red remaining, two blue remaining!”
So it’s just Max and him now. It would be stupid of him to follow after her, so he stays in place and keeps his gun aimed at the main hallway. El rushes by in a blur of red a moment later, noticing Steve’s glowing vest a second too late before he shoots her.
She huffs as her vest goes black and Steve mouths Sorry. “Three red remaining, two blue remaining!”
Steve should probably move now. He backtracks to where they entered the arena and sticks behind another corner.
“Two red remaining, two blue remaining!”
“Two red remaining, one blue remaining!”
Crap. Two of the red players must be working together, if one shot Max right after she got one out. There’s no guarantee that the remaining two are together, so Steve’s cornered if he doesn’t get someone out, and fast.
He ducks out from under the corner only to be tackled to the ground by Nancy. “Hey!” he shrieks. “You said—”
Nancy shoves her knee over his stomach and all the breath leaves him. Eddie casually walks over, grinning. “Aren’t you a pretty sight,” he coos.
Nancy gags. “Just shoot him, please.”
Eddie aims the trigger right at Steve’s chest and shoots. Steve’s vest tightens around him for a second and between that and Nancy pressing him down he lets out a pained yelp. “Oh, shit,” she says and helps him up. “You good?”
Steve wheezes. “Peachy. I’ll get you back for that, Munson.”
Eddie ruffles his hair as he passes by. “I look forward to it, sweetheart.”
Their final round starts with Robin dragging them away from their door, leaning down to whisper to them. “We can’t split up anymore, too risky. We’ll move in pairs, targeting whichever red player you see first. That way, if someone shoots you, your partner will have your back.”
Dustin nods. “Good plan, but we’ve got an odd number.”
“Steve should go by himself since he lost us the game last time.” Robin slaps his back. “Right, Stevie?”
“Hey— no, Robin—” but everyone has already partnered up and left. Steve tips his head back and groans.
He’s going for Eddie this time, no doubt about it. He hopes Eddie is going for him too; the thought makes him want to giggle and he slaps a hand over his mouth and contemplates his life choices before he can. Then he takes a shaky breath and goes left.
Steve catches a few lasers going off the further he gets into the arena but he’s on a mission and Robin would want him to ignore them.
“Three red remaining, four blue remaining!”
Steve ducks down a narrow hallway that stops on a dead end. Thinking quickly, he backtracks and hides around the corner from it. He tucks a strand of hair behind his ear and waits. He’d always loved hide-and-seek as a kid, but was it only him that always had to pee just when he’d found the perfect hiding spot? Steve grimaces.
“Two red remaining, two blue remaining!”
There’s one other blue player kicking, so Steve considers his options. If it’s Robin, they’re screwed. She’s smart but not coordinated enough to lead whichever red player that’s shooting at her on a goose chase. Dustin is the same, and Steve’s not too sure about Wheeler.
That means he needs to do what he does best. He steps out of his hiding spot and shoots the laser up, giving away his position. “Hey, asshole!” he yells. “Come get me!”
He turns down the hallway and runs.
“One red remaining, two blue remaining!”
Yes!
“One red remaining, one blue remaining!”
Steve freezes, looking both ways like a crazed animal. He turns down the right hallway, panting.
“Haaaarrington!” calls a knowing voice. “You can’t run forever.”
Against his will, Steve starts grinning. He ducks down another hallway, then turns left. He’s halfway down the hall before he realizes his mistake.
Eddie shoves him against the dead end, pushing his gun into Steve’s stomach. Steve snarls, kicking out, but Eddie steps forward and kicks his legs apart with his own and presses a thigh between Steve’s to keep him from moving. He sighs, giving Steve those infuriating puppydog eyes. “And here I thought you’d be smarter than to come back here,” he cajoles.
Steve glares at him. Eddie smells of cigarettes and strong cologne but it sort of makes Steve want to melt into the wall. “Just shoot me, asshole.”
Eddie tips his head to the side and smirks. Steve hates when he gives him those patronizing looks. They never fail to make his stomach twist uselessly.
“Ask nicely, princess.”
“You think I’m gonna ask you to shoot me?” he scoffs.
“I think,” says Eddie lowly, “that you like being pinned up against the wall.” He leans in closely, breath brushing against Steve’s mouth and making him bite back a desperate whimper. “Hmm?”
“Eddie—”
“You’re cute. Don’t worry doll, I’ll pin you up anytime you want.”
Steve grits his teeth and kicks at Eddie’s shins. He knows that he can see him blushing and the thought of it makes him shiver. “C’mon, princess,” sings Eddie. “I won’t even tease you after—”
“Zero red remaining, one blue remaining!”
Eddie looks down at where Steve has his gun pressed to his side and laughs breathlessly. “Crap.”
“No hard feelings,” Steve says with a wink.
The kids are all over him the second he gets out, cheering. Robin grabs him by the shoulders and shakes him around, her eyes comically wide. “STEVE!” she screams.
“ROBIN!” Steve yells back. They collapse against each other, cackling.
When they get outside, Steve offers to take Lucas and Dustin home. Nancy gets all blushy and says, “Can you take Will and Mike too?”
He glances between her and Robin and snorts. “Sure.”
Eddie’s taking Max, but both of them pause by the doors as the kids excitedly get into their respective cars. “You got me real good, huh,” sighs Eddie.
Steve laughs. When he turns, Eddie is already looking at him. “You’re one in a million, Stevie.”
He blushes. “You— uh. You’re pretty great, too.”
Eddie smirks and tilts his head away from him. He taps his cheek with his finger, rings clinking against his jaw. “Gonna give me a goodbye kiss?” he teases. Steve leans in and presses a kiss to just under his eye. When he draws back, Eddie is gaping at him.
“Night, Eddie.”
He’s halfway across the parking lot before Eddie shouts back, “Goodnight, Steve!”
Steve can’t stop grinning for the rest of the night, even when Dustin slaps his shoulder to complain about it.