Chapter Text
The lights were too god damn bright in this place, Eddie thought to himself. Neon and sweaty teenagers are not his preferred aesthetic. He had just finished browsing the record store at Starcourt but had zero luck finding the album he came for. Since this trip was a bust, he decided to take a smoke break before heading home. He should have known better than to expect the Starcourt mall to carry anything other than Tears for Fears or Bowie. Hawkins wasn't exactly known for being full of complex individuals with unique or diverse interests, and music taste was no exception.
Eddie glanced around and looked for a place to sneak a cigarette where the mall cops' eyes couldn't reach him. He didn't feel like getting harassed by the sorry excuse for security Starcourt employs. Eddie spotted the small corner by the movie theater that he knew most people avoided. Now, if they started to avoid it because it was usually inhabited by smokers like himself, he couldn't say. Regardless it sure was convenient when he needed to sneak a smoke.
Eddie pulled out a cigarette from his pack and dug around in his many pockets for his lighter. He stuck the cigarette in his mouth, then flicked the lighter open and brought it to the cigarette's tip. Eddie inhaled slowly, enjoying the feeling of the smoke filling his lungs and the slight burn in his throat. Eddie closed his eyes and took a few drags while tuning out the noise of the mall until it was nothing but white noise.
"... then why is it called Back to the Future?" a voice says and breaks through the hum of background noise.
Eddie cracks an eye open as he breathes out smoke, his cigarette halfway gone by now.
"He has to go back to the future because he's in the past, so the future is actually the present which is his time… " a different voice answers. Eddie tries to follow the explanation, but not having a chance to see the actual movie yet, he is entirely confused. He inhales around his cigarette again before peeking around the corner to see the owner of the voices. He is shocked to see none other than Steve "The Hair" Harrington and Robin Buckley gathered around a water fountain. Steve is currently slumped over the water fountain in stunned silence, trying to understand what his co-worker said.
Eddie takes a quick second to take their current state in. The first thing Eddie noticed is the two looked like they had just been through some shit. Robin's hair is disheveled, her eyes are red, and she looks exhausted, but her eyes are still blown wide. Steve was… well, Steve looked like he got the absolute shit beat out of him. He had cuts and scrapes all over his face, one eye was practically swollen shut with fresh bruises surrounding it, and new and dried blood covered Steve's face. Eddie saw his iconic hairdo didn't look as nearly well done as it usually was. His outfit was… well, Steve Harrington was in a fucking sailor outfit that was just as disheveled as Robin's matching outfit. Eddie didn't know what God to thank for bestowing Steve God Damn Harrington in front of him with a fucking sailor outfit, but he'd be sure to thank them later.
Eddie casually comes out from around the corner. He leans against the wall to which the water fountain is attached as he takes another drag from his cigarette. Eddie wouldn't be able to live with himself if he couldn't get a closer look at Steve in a fucking sailor suit. Eddie was a simple man after all and had to find entertainment from the little things in life in a town like Hawkins.
Steve's puzzled silence persists as he continues drinking from the fountain he leaned against for stability. Steve's expression changed from puzzled to surprised as he glanced up where Eddie rested against the wall. Eddie's eyes met Steve's, and he waited to see what Steve would do.
Eddie inhaled around his cigarette while Steve looked at him. Steve's expression shifted once more, and he plastered on one of his signature Harrington Smiles that Eddie had seen countless times when Steve spoke to one of the many girls from Hawkins High.
Steve shifted his body to raise his arm and wave and said, "Hi."
Eddie wishes he could say he had a cooler reaction to Steve than he did, but instead, his cigarette falls out of his mouth and hits the floor as his brain shifts into overdrive. What the fuck. Not Steve Harrington flirting with him? What is my fucking problem?
Eddie's face flushes as he quickly gets ahold of himself and moves to stomp out the cigarette butt. Eddie tries to casually lean back against the wall like he didn't just almost set the mall on fire because Steve Harrington spoke to him. He finally smiles back and says, "Hey."
Steve's signature smile still plastered his face as he spoke again, "I dig your vest."
Eddie glances down at said vest and smiles, "Thanks, Harrington. Nice sailor get up."
Puzzled again, Steve glances down, then back up to Eddie, and holy shit, he's blushing, Eddie thinks.
Eddie glances back at Steve's bloodied eye. "Looks like you got your ass handed to you. You two okay?"
Steve's free hand raises, gently touching his fingers to the damaged eye, and winces slightly.
"Damn Russians…" he said softly. He looked back to Eddie, smiled widely, and said, "believe it or not, I won a fight tonight. Just not the one where I got this pretty souvenir from." Eddie doesn't quite follow again, but he smiles back at him.
Robin rushes forward and shoves Steve off the water fountain, "Move dingus, it's my turn."
Steve stumbles away from the water fountain, but Eddie rushes forward to try and steady him out. Eddie can clearly tell their on something by the way Steve and Robin aren't very steady on their feet and slurring their words. Who would have thought he'd see Steve Harrington high off his ass with Robin Buckley of all people in god damn sailor suits? If Eddie didn't know any better, he'd think he was the one on drugs from such a strange sight.
"Here, let me help," Eddie said as he pulled out a napkin from his pocket. Eddie brought it to Steve's face and tried to dab off the blood around his mouth and other cuts.
"So Harrington tell me about these so-called Russians that you apparently beat up tonight," Eddie jokes casually.
Steve laughs, "Well, I won a fight with one Russian, but these battle wounds are from different Russians."
Eddie shakes his head with a soft smile, "Damn Harrington. I don't know what you're on, but I should get myself some. Next time you're on the market for illegal substances, just hit me up."
Steve smirks. "You tryna get me high, Munson? I thought you would be better than that."
Eddie chuckles as he wipes a few stray drops of blood from the corner of Steve's mouth.
"I'm glad his highness, King Steve, holds the local freak in such high esteem."
Steve's face scrunches in confusion again. "You're not a freak. I know what people say about you, but you always seemed okay to me."
Eddie's stomach gave an involuntary flip at the sincerity of Steve's statement. So his majesty had noticed him after all.
"Thanks, Harrington. You don't seem too bad yourself," Eddie replies softly. "Plus," Eddie smirks again. "You're the only member of Hawkins Royalty that was nice to look at." Eddie watched as Steve's eyes widened slightly, and a light dust of a blush found his face.
Eddie finishes wiping the blood off of Steve for him, and he tosses the napkin in the nearby trash can. He turns back to face Steve, who has now fallen against a wall for support, with that same shocked and confused look he'd been sporting most of the night. Meanwhile, Robin continues to drink what Eddie could only assume was a gallon of water at this point from the fountain.
Never really interacting with either of these two before, Eddie feels at a loss of what to do. Clearly, they were both on something and had been through an ordeal.
"Do you guys need a ride somewhere, or is there anything I can do to help," Eddie asks Steve. Steve looks at Eddie again.
"We actually have someone here helping us, but I can't remember where he went…." Steve trails off, lost in thought, trying to use every ounce of clarity to remember what he's supposed to do. He's definitely not supposed to be wondering how soft Eddie Munson's hair looks or how his eyes are the shade of rich dark chocolate.
Eddie opens his mouth to respond when he's cut off by a voice screaming from across the theater, "Steve! Robin!" A boy with a walkie-talkie in hand and a young girl run up to where Eddie stands with Steve.
"Where the hell have you two been? We have to go right now!" The girl grabs Robin, gets her to stand up, and begins dragging her off. The kid does the same thing to Steve.
Steve glances back at where Eddie stands and sends him a quick wave, and then he's gone, and Eddie is left alone with his head spinning from the strange interaction.
What the hell just happened?