Chapter Text
Steve loves parties, everyone knows that. Or, at least, he did, and everyone thinks he still does. People were used to him drinking and smoking; it was his norm. Steve himself still thought he still loved getting drunk parties, that was, until after the mall. Sure he still likes alcohol and such, but he wasn’t prepared for the backlash of getting drunk. He wouldn’t know until he got drunk and high at a party. A party frequented by Eddie “the freak” Munson.
He didn’t get the weed from Eddie directly, but it still came from his pockets. He smoked and drank like he always used to in highschool. He was trying to calm himself, let loose so to say, after the events of the mall. So he went to a party at a random house he’d never been to before. It obviously didn’t work. As the familiar fog settled into his mind, he had intense flashbacks to the interrogation.
“Hey man, you alright?” A nameless figure asked him.
“Yeah yeah,” Steve lied, “just give me a minute.” He stumbled into the unknown backyard. It was quiet, empty, it was safe. Sharp breaths escaped his mouth in the “empty” space. “Oh, shit… shit…” His throat felt dry, his eyes burned. The air felt thick and heavy as he tried to inhale.
A hand touched his shoulder and he nearly broke the nose of whoever was there.
“Woah woah woah, hey man it’s just me.” Eddie held up his hands at the sight of Steve’s raised fists. “Is that you Harrington?” They lowered their hands in unison. “I thought you could handle your liquor?” Eddie said with a joke in his voice.
Steve looked at the floor, “I thought I could too…” He, being as drunk as a skunk, took the liberty of collapsing into Eddie. His head burrowed into the shoulder of the metal head and he cried. “I can’t… I just want to forget.”
Eddie dropped the humor he held before. “Woah… what happened to you Harrington?”
“Too much. Too much. He could have died, it would’ve been my fault. I couldn’t stop myself. I'm…” His voice was drowned with tears, tears that soaked the denim of the resident “freak”. A freak that held a drunk, sobbing, previously famous asshole.
“Come on man, I don’t know much about you but I doubt the town's Golden Girl Nancy would date a murderer.” That, Eddie decided, was the wrong thing to say, as it elicited a much stronger and louder sob from Steve. “Damn how much did you drink?” He didn’t get an answer.
“C'mon man,” He started rubbing circle’s into the crying man’s back, “Pull yourself together. You’re Steve ‘the Hair’ Harrington. Everyone loves you, and even if your drunk mind thinks you might be a murderer you’ve never actually killed anyone right?” Silence. “Harrington?”
“I’m thinking…” Eddie froze for a second as Steve mumbled into his shoulder. “I haven’t…”
“Ok, there you go. You’ve got nothing to worry about.” He pushed Steve away from him. “You got a ride?”
“No…” he said with a sniffle.
“Can you call someone?”
“Robin…”
“Buckley? Can she drive?”
“I’m taking that as a no. Come on man do you know anyone else’s phone number? Preferably someone with a car orrr…” Steve made a face. “Can you tell me where you live at least?”
“Why you wan know where I live?” Steve swayed back and forth a little as he pointed at Eddie.
“I’m going to drive you home Steve, you clearly can’t and I don’t think it’s a good idea to leave you here. You seem,” Eddie gestured vaguely with his hands, “overwhelmed. So, can you give me directions now, Harrington?” Steve nodded his head slowly. “Ok, good.”
Eddie spent the rest of that night driving Steve to his cold, empty house, putting him to bed, and quietly considering how his first interaction with this new Steve would change his opinion of the man. The next morning Steve wouldn’t remember even arriving at the party.
___________________
The next time Eddie interacted with Steve was much later, when he held a glass bottle up to his throat. The heat of his situation and his memories of their last conversation set him on edge. Even after Steve dropped the oar he didn’t believe he was harmless. Steve however felt oddly at peace being pinned by Eddie. Something about the warm hand on his shoulder was familiar. So while the broken glass pressed to his neck terrified him, he knew Eddie wouldn’t hurt him.
Steve couldn’t shake the familiar feeling, something about it made it easier to accept Eddie as a part of the group, even though he hadn’t spent much time at all with the man. He found himself staring at the strange dungeon master, who wasn’t as scary or freakish as everyone liked to say he was.
Eddie, on the other hand, was very aware of Steve. He knew the preppy jock hid his emotional baggage well. After entering the upside down and seeing him rip a bat in half, he began to understand where it came from and how serious it was. His respect grew to admiration. Admiration grew to fondness. Fondness to butterflies. He found himself regretting telling Steve to pursue Nancy’s heart.
After exiting the upside down Eddie wanted nothing more than to find himself wrapped in Steve’s arms like he was in Eddie’s all those nights ago. He kept his wants to himself though, and his memories. He decided it would be best not to bring up that night unless Steve asked. And ask he did.
They were alone in the RV. Steve lay in the back of the stolen vehicle looking at Eddie with a pensive gaze. “Y’know Munson… for some reason I feel like we’ve met before this. And not just like, me passing you in the hallway met.”
Eddie laughed a little. “Well Stevie that’s because we have.” Steve mouthed the nickname in confusion. “You were absolutely tanked. Positively high, off your rocker. Lost in the sauce-“
“I get it.” The other man let out a cackle. “That would explain why I don’t remember it. Funny thing though- I don’t remember getting that drunk at a party recently at all. What exactly happened there?”
“Well you were so drunk you were crying and you said something about almost killing somebody. It was after the thing with the mall I think. I had to drive you home because Buckley can’t drive-“
“You called Robin?”
Eddie pointed a ringed finger at Steve. “No, because I remembered she couldn’t drive. And the only reason why I took you was because you were practically falling over and you couldn’t remember the name of anyone else who could drive you.”
“Alright alright,” Steve laughed, “why didn’t you just leave me at the party?”
“It didn’t seem like you were having a good time anymore and you didn’t have anyone else to take you home so…” Eddie shrugged. “Seemed like the right thing to do in the moment.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
“You know, people love painting you as this creepy scary guy, but deep down you’re just a big old softie. Not to mention just a decent guy, I don’t think I know anyone else who would just drive home a stranger that used to be the biggest douche of their high school.”
Eddie leaned forward a bit and smiled softly. “Aw come on Stevie you weren’t that bad…” Steve gave him a judgmental look. “Ok, you were pretty bad. But I don’t know, I don’t like leaving vulnerable people alone and overwhelmed, and I guess arrogant douches aren’t the exception.”
Steve gave Eddie a warm smile, the first full, genuine smile he’d seen from the man. With a small shake of the head he said, “Y’know what? I like you, Munson, you’re cool.” It was at that moment, when Eddie’s heart leaped from his chest, that he knew he was absolutely, unabashedly, head over heels.
Eddie tried to hide his blush by fiddling with his hair and picking at his lip, and attempted to brush off the sweet words with a joke. “Careful there Harrington, or I might think you’re flirting with me.” Eddie winced. ‘That was a bad joke, I should’ve just stayed silent or said thank you. God, why can’t I be normal?’
Steve’s demeanor shifted ever so slightly. All he could think of was the possibility of someone being hostile to Robin. “And would that be a bad thing?”, he asked with a defensive tone, and for a second time in the same conversation Eddie’s heart would speed up and skip a beat.
This time he couldn’t hide his smile as he laughed with an ever frowning fondness. “Not at all Stevie. Not. At. All.”
Steve smiled along with him. “Good.”
Eddie’s heart ached as he looked at the fluffy haired man. ‘This won’t end well for me.’ He thought to himself. For he was just a man, in love with a man, in love with a woman. Before Eddie could get out another word the rest of the party burst through the doors.
“We have to go.” And the chaos began again.
___________________
Once again, they were alone again in the upside down. Eddie couldn’t stop staring at Steve. He couldn’t help it. The ache in his chest from seeing him stand by his side was too wonderful a feeling to pass. It seemed to melt the cold away though it burned him in the process. He wanted to see him more. To feel the ache as long as he could. “Hey Stevie?”
“Hmm?,” Steve looked at Eddie with a curious look, “What’s up Munson?”
“If we make it out of this-“
“When.” Steve interrupted with a grin.
Eddie couldn’t help but laugh a little, “Yeah, sure, when. But when we make it out of this, what say you to joining in on a D&D campaign? I bet Henderson would be over the moon with joy.” It was an obvious attempt to spend time with him. Despite Eddie knowing the answer would be no he couldn’t help but ask.
“Ahh… I don’t know man, D&D sounds kind of confusing. I don’t think I could keep up with all the lore and math-“
“I could teach you.” The words came out before he could process them. “Y’know for Dustin.” Steve smiled at him and he floundered. “I don’t know I just, the kid’s been through a lot I think it would be nice, for him you know.”
Steve nodded to himself a little. “For Dustin… yeah, that sounds nice. I might take you up on that offer.” He paused for a moment. “For Dustin of course.”
Eddie’s heart bloomed with warmth, but this time it didn’t hurt. He carried it through the cold expanse of the upside down and wore it like a shield.
When it came time to say goodbye he held back his declarations of hope and love. He didn’t want to face rejection and lose his warmth before he left. But oh how he longed to tell Steve he loved him. He settled on a simple and awkward, “Make him pay,” before Steve left. He wanted to wait for a peaceful, more private moment, when his name had been cleared and they were safe.
And then the bats came. ‘Sorry Harrington,’ he thought to himself as he waited for Dustin to arrive, ‘looks like I won’t be able to teach you about D&D anymore.’ He said goodbye to Dustin, and then his world faded to black. No buried body, no funeral, just a crying child begging him to wake up and a mourning Uncle clutching a bloodstained guitar pick.