Work Text:
When Steve wakes up the following morning to head to work, Eddie has already left. His blanket from the previous night is folded in a haphazardous attempt to look neat and tidy, like the rest of the room. Steve smiles to himself at the effort and puts it back into the cabinet.
Robin is already inside stocking videos when he pulls into the parking lot, and he knows he’ll get an earful for being late, even if it’s only by 10 minutes.
“Right on time, I see,” Robin cracks as soon as Steve enters, just as he predicted. “They might be forced to give you a raise for getting here early every day.”
More than used to her smart-ass attitude, Steve only rolls his eyes and sets his stuff in the back. “Yeah, well, you know what? I don’t wake up with my hair looking this perfect, okay? It takes time to master the ‘do.”
Robin snorts. “Whatever you say. Here, make yourself useful and rewind all these. Because apparently, no one else in this town knows how to do it.” She hands him a stack and goes to re-stock the romantic comedy section.
Twenty minutes before their lunch break, the phone rings. “Didn’t you tell your latest girlfriend not to call until lunch? We don’t get paid to chit-chat.” Robin asks as she takes the phone off the hook.
“How do you even know it’s for me?” Steve tries to defend himself, but Robin is already shushing him, an eyebrow raised in amusement.
“Family Video, how can I help you?” Her eyes widen in surprise at the voice that answers.
“Hey, Freckles. Does Harrington happen to be nearby? I need to talk to him for a second.”
“Sure, Eddie, he’s right here.” Robin gives Steve a questioning glance that he consciously neglects to acknowledge.
Taking the phone from his friend, Steve tries to mask his own confusion at why Eddie might be calling. “What’s up, Eddie? Everything okay?”
“Oh, yeah, I’m fine. Just wanted to uh, thank you again for helping me out. I feel a little bit better about Chrissy and all that.”
“That’s good. And if you need anything else, you know where to go.” They exchange a few more pleasantries before Steve hangs up, Robin still gazing at him in bewilderment.
“What was he thanking you for? I’ve never seen you help him out with anything.”
“Just because you never saw anything doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.” Steve sighs before continuing. “He hasn’t been sleeping since the whole ‘almost dying’ thing, so last night, he came by and slept in my guest room. We also went to the memorial for Chrissy really early this morning. Dude needed some serious closure. That’s it.” He didn’t tell her about watching a movie together, Eddie falling asleep on Steve’s couch while he observed, or almost brushing Eddie’s hair out of his face.
Robin didn’t need to know any of that.
“So, you happy, now? Is your curiosity satisfied, Your Highness?”
Robin puts a finger to her chin and pretends to think. “Hmm, yes, for the most part. You’re definitely hiding something, though. Why? I don’t know yet. But I’ll let you tell me when you’re ready.” She winks and stalks towards the backroom from behind the counter.
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A few days later, Eddie suffers from the worst case of deja vu. The middle of the night. Afraid to fall asleep. Nightmares. Needing to see someone. This time, however, he doesn’t feel as hopeless; he has Steve.
But do I take him up on his offer? He did say I could come by whenever. Or was he saying that just to be polite?
“Fuck this.” He mumbles, throwing a shirt on, grabbing his keys, and heading for his car.
When he arrives at Steve’s residence– the size of it still blowing his mind –Eddie does nothing but sit in the driveway for five minutes, deciding whether he should actually go in or not. “Mr. Popularity giving me a key to his house,” Eddie whispers, shaking his head incredulously. “The jock and the freak. Who would have thought?” He snorts, turning the engine off and striding towards the porch.
The key is exactly where Steve said it would be, and the door gives nothing away about Eddie’s entering. The covers to the guest bed are pulled back- like Steve was expecting him to show up eventually. Fighting a grin, Eddie slips between the softer-than-soft sheets and drifts off.
Unfortunately, the refuge of the expensive bed is only temporary, and the dark-haired boy wakes up covered in sweat and panting merely an hour later. Hot. Way too hot. Why is it so damn warm in here? He desperately fights from under the covers and pulls his shirt off once more. Eddie’s next thought falls on the boy sleeping across the hall. I need to get to him. I need to make sure he’s okay.
Creeping through the hall, Eddie finds Steve’s door to be cracked already. He pushes it open and breathes a deep sigh of relief. He’s fine, see? Pull it together and go back to bed. But he finds himself rooted to the spot in the doorway. Then, as if he’s left his body and is watching from above, Eddie sees himself moving closer, sitting on a stool by the bed and watching the steady rhythm of Steve’s chest move up and down. His messy brown hair is spread over the pillow, and his lips are lightly parted.
Eddie watches as Steve rolls over onto his side towards him, hair falling in front of his face. He’s just about to reach out and move it away when he sees Steve’s eyes squint open. The boys flinch back from each other.
“Fucking hell- shit, man! You scared the shit out of me!” Steve reaches for the lamp and snaps it on. That’s when he sees a very stunned, very shirtless Eddie, his guitar pick necklace still hanging from his neck. He tears his eyes away. “What the hell were you doing?”
“Sorry! I’m sorry! I just needed to- never mind. Never mind, just forget it.” Eddie starts walking back to the guest room, kicking himself for waking his friend, when said friend calls to him.
“Hey, dude, it’s fine. You startled me, that’s it. What do you need?”
He turns back to face Steve. “It’s dumb,” He whispers, uncharacteristically unsure of himself. “Sorry for waking you. I should never have...” Stop rambling! Get. It. Together. “Ugh, sorry. Forget it, man.” Would you stop apologizing? He gets it! What’s wrong with you?
“Eddie,” Steve jumps out of bed and strides to the door, putting a hand on his back and spinning him around. “I’m not going to ‘forget it.’ Chill for a second, dude. What’s going on?”
Eddie takes a deep breath and sits back on the stool as Steve sits on the bed. “Alright, okay. I drove here a little over an hour ago and fell asleep in your guest room. I woke up…”
“Nightmare?” Steve asks, and Eddie nods.
“Yeah. A pretty bad one.” He pauses and looks away. “It was about you, actually.” He mumbles.
Steve suppresses the almost overwhelming urge to bring the other boy’s chin up with his finger. He opts for snapping his fingers instead. “Hey. Eyes up here, Munson.” His words are harsh, though his tone is anything but.
Eddie almost sighs in amazement at how soft and gentle Steve is with him. He’d only seen him do so once before, when he had first woken up after Steve brought him out of the Upside Down. He wants to wrap himself up in the comfort of it and live there. Eddie brings his eyes up to meet Steve’s.
“What happened in your dream, Eds?”
It’s that nickname, that damn nickname, that finally breaks him. One stubborn tear trickles down Eddie’s nose, and he sniffs. “You were the one who went off to distract the bats with Henderson. And I let you. I let you go. You were attacked by the bats, except... you didn’t make it. It completely destroyed the kid.”
He lets his head fall again, tearing his gaze away from Steve’s because he knows he’ll be unable to say this next thing while looking at him. “It sounds stupid, but I needed to make sure you were okay. That you were still… alive. I needed to see you.”
“That’s not stupid. I used to be that way with Nance after we took the Demogorgon down in the Byer’s house. I called her in the middle of the night, just to hear her voice. So no, I don’t think it’s stupid. I think it’s a natural response to trauma to check in on those you care about, and I think that makes you human, not dumb or silly. Honestly, I’d be more worried if this wasn’t happening to you.”
Eddie finally looks up to find Steve smiling softly at him, his eyes holding none of the mockeries Eddie thought he’d find there. “Thanks, Harrington,” He murmurs. “You’re not as douchey as I thought you were.” He cracks a goofy grin, his dimples stretching across his face.
The other boy rolls his eyes good-naturedly. “Yeah, you’ve mentioned that. And you’re far from a satanic cult leader.” He pauses for effect. “But you’re definitely still a nerd.”
Eddie snorts. “I definitely am. Don’t worry, Harrington; I’ll turn you to the dark side eventually.”
The two boys stare at each other, grinning, before Steve clears his throat and breaks eye contact. “Uh, yeah, so…”
“Oh, yeah, I was just gonna…”
They chuckle awkwardly, and Steve starts again before they trip over each other a second time. “You don’t have to go back to your room. You’ll probably end up back here anyway, watching me sleep.” A half-smile creeps up his face. “So, um,” Steve doesn’t say anything else, just pulls back the covers on the opposite side of the bed and tilts his head towards it as an invitation.
Eddie attempts to remain nonchalant as he walks around to the other side of the bed. This is normal; he convinces himself, friends share beds all the time. Relax, Munson; he’s trying to help you. Even as he repeats these thoughts like a mantra, Eddie can’t help but breathe in the scent of the boy next to him as they lay back to back.