Chapter Text
Steve lightly tossed the pile of tapes he was balancing onto the counter, causing a few to clatter to the floor. "Look, Robin, as much as I'd love to continue listening to you ramble on about Vickie, there's work to be done," he groaned, bending over to pick up the strays. Robin begrudgingly stopped leaning against the wall to help.
"It's a Monday, Steve. Barely anyone comes in on Mondays. Plus, you get to talk about all the stupid dates you go on ALL. THE. TIME."
"Well, I'm sorry but somebody has to attend to the customers."
Before he could get up from behind the counter, the bell at the entrance rang out and someone walked through the door. "Oh, hey Eddie," Robin welcomed the customer. Steve attempted to stand up, resulting in him hitting his head on the overhang of the countertop. He winced, using one hand to hold his head and the other to wave briefly at Eddie.
"Munson," he greeted.
Eddie mumbled something that resembled a 'hello' and immediately flopped over the desk. His curly dark brown hair draped dramatically around his head.
"Did you come here just to sleep or did you need something?" Steve said, hands on his hips. Eddie lifted his head and rested it on his palms. Dark circles hung below his drooping brown eyes. While he never was one to look particularly well rested, his appearance took both Steve and Robin aback.
Eddie shot a brief sarcastic smile in his direction. "Very funny, Harrington, but like most people that come in here, I'm here to look at the movies."
"You look kinda out of it, man. Did you get any sleep last night?" Robin asked.
"Nope," he said blankly.
"What? Dude, why not?" she exclaimed.
"Oh, uh," Eddie paused for a second and rubbed his neck. "I was busy planning Hellfire's next session. Gotta make sure I'm prepared for the kids to derail the campaign, y'know." A weak chuckle fell from his mouth. Steve wasn't fully convinced but he didn't want to push it.
"No, Eddie, we don't. We're not nerds," Steve deadpanned.
"You say that now but Henderson and I can be very persuasive. One day, Stevie, one day,"
"In your dreams, Munson,"
"Anyways, you said you were looking for a movie?" Robin interrupted.
"Yeah, but chances are I'm just gonna get Rocky Horror again. I'm still appalled that you haven't seen it yet, Steve." He pointed an accusatory finger toward him.
"Look, I'm just busy alright. I've never really had any reason to watch it until now."
"Well, are you busy tonight?"
"I mean Keith is closing tonight so technically no, but-"
Eddie cut him off before he could finish. "Then it's settled. We're watching The Rocky Horror Picture Show, tonight, 9 o'clock, your house."
"Wait, why my house-"
He cut him off again. "Because you're rich, bigger screen. I would never besmirch the good name of King Steve by dragging him to a trailer park." Steve hated that nickname. "Robin, you in?"
"Can't. Vickie invited me out tonight and I'm totally not freaking out about it." She switched on the computer which sat beside her and began to look through customer records. "You boys enjoy your movie though,"
"I- Fine but you're renting the movie. It better not be a double VHS either. I have to pick Robin up in the morning for work. I don't want to be up all night watching it."
"Deal. And don't you worry your pretty little head, Stevie, it's only an hour and a half. You'll get your beauty sleep."
Something about how Eddie phrased his sentence made Steve's stomach drop.
~~~
Eddie left shortly after their conversation which left Steve and Robin to finish their shift. After a few hours went by Steve peered down at his watch. 7:59 pm. He peeked into the break room to make sure Keith had clocked in before he and Robin made their way to Steve's car. He quickly dropped Robin off at her house and by the time he got to his own, it was 8:23. His parents hadn't been home in months, off God knows where on some business trip or other. The house had always felt too big for Steve's liking. So, empty. He could take care of himself just fine, but sometimes he caught himself wishing people came to visit more often. People filled the space better than any heated pool or fancy furniture could ever do.
Steve let out a sigh. He took off his work vest and name badge, leaving him in a striped blue polo and dark blue jeans. He flopped over onto the couch and stared at the ceiling. Pulling his arm up above him, he checked his watch. 8:36... 8:42... 8:49... 8:51... 8-
A knock at the door shook him awake. "One second," Steve called out. He pushed himself up from the couch and lightly jogged to the front door. Catching himself in the mirror he realised his hair sat awkwardly out of place. Regardless, he opened the door and saw Eddie fidgeting nervously with his belt chain, VHS in his other hand. Steve extended an arm and gestured behind him into the house. "Come on in." He thanked him and slinked inside.
"So this is the infamous King Steve's Castle. I'm honoured," Eddie held a hand to his heart dramatically while looking around at the large interior.
"Yeah yeah, follow me, Munson." He rolled his eyes to which Eddie chuckled.
"Lead the way." He smiled impishly before following Steve into the living room.
"Let's get this over with shall we." He gestured for him to hand over the tape and he obliged.
"Aww, don't be like that Stevie. You'll love it," Steve gave him a look that read 'we'll see about that' and slotted the VHS into the player. "What happened to the mullet, Steve 'The Hair' Harrington?"
"Oh, I was lying down before you came," Steve tried to smooth the back down lightly as he spoke. "It must have gotten a little messed up-". He froze as he felt a hand run gently through the front of his hair and sweep it to the side. Eddie's hand lingered for a moment before quickly jolting away. Steve's brain short-circuited momentarily and his cheeks started to feel warm. Why was he freaking out so bad about this? Eddie was just helping him out. Get a grip, dude. He realised he was staring like an idiot at him and cleared his throat to speak. "Thanks, man,"
"Don't mention it," he replied with echoed awkwardness. The two boys crumpled onto opposite sides of the couch and the movie began to play. It was only the beginning credits but Steve still found himself zoning out. The heat in his face still lingered and the twisting in his gut had returned from earlier. Was he sick? Whatever. Just watch the damn movie. Focus, Steve, focus. The feeling didn't really leave but he was able to push it down enough to semi-pay attention during the first half of the movie.
"Woah, wait, his name's also Eddie," Steve commented, watching a man riding a motorbike wildly out of a walk-in freezer. He'd come to terms with the fact the movie will never make any sense.
"What an astute observation, Steve," Eddie grumbled. It wasn't an annoyed tone, just drained.
"He's got the vest and everything,"
"Mhm,"
"Your hair's better than his though,"
"Mmm,"
He turned his head towards Eddie. His face was illuminated dimly by the television. His eyes were closed and his mouth hung open slightly. He might as well let him sleep. He seemed pretty tired earlier. He was surprised he hadn't fallen asleep as soon as he sat down.
The movie continued for a bit longer and Steve peered over at Eddie again. His face was scrunched up lightly and his head fell uncomfortably to the side. That position surely couldn't be good for his breathing. "Eddie?" he whispered. He didn't respond. Steve shook his shoulder gently. "Hey bud, you might have to wake up for a second." This caused him to stir and he groaned in protest. Eddie started to roll sideways until eventually he was curled up with his head resting on Steve's lap. Shit.
Steve cautiously hovered his hands in the air, not knowing where to rest them. He very slowly lowered one hand on the armrest and the other on Eddie's head. Steve's muscles were stiff and his breathing was slow and purposeful as if moving an inch would cause him to wake up. Eddie's curls felt nice underneath his fingers and he found himself fiddling with a strand.
There's no way he LIKE, liked Eddie. He couldn't... Right? It's probably a very normal thing friends do and he's probably freaked out for no reason. I mean, he'd liked girls before and it definitely feels kinda similar... But it doesn't matter because he'd liked girls before. So liking Eddie was out of the question. He just wasn't used to having a guy friend his age that wasn't a jerk. Problem solved.
~~~
The end of the movie came around quickly. He didn't fully understand what he'd just watched but some of the music was pretty good so he didn't mind. A sharp pain shot through his stomach and he realised he hadn't eaten since his lunch break. He cringed at the idea of having to wake up Eddie when he looked so tired, but he thought it was better than not offering. He pat Eddie's shoulder lightly.
"Hey, Munson, you awake?" Eddie's eyes fluttered sleepily for a second before shooting open in slight shock. A faint red spread across his cheeks which was hardly visible in the dark. "Sorry for waking you, I just wanted to see if you'd like something to eat. I'm about to go check what I have in the kitchen if you wanted to join me,"
Eddie took a second to process everything. "Uh, yeah, ok," he said, voice crackly from sleep. He sat up and waited for Steve to lead the way.
When they'd reached the kitchen, Steve flicked the light on and headed to the fridge. Eddie sat on the island countertop and watched him. "Will you eat Hot Pockets?" Steve called over his shoulder.
"Sure, I'm not too picky," he replied. Steve nodded and grabbed the box from the freezer. It was silent for a while until Eddie spoke again. "You wanna know something kinda funny?" Steve turned his head. "That was the best I've slept in a week. And that's saying something seeing how I passed out on your couch in jeans." He chuckled to himself wistfully. "Surprisingly, knowing someone died a room away from where you sleep isn't very comforting." By now, Steve had abandoned the task of cooking dinner and stood cautiously beside Eddie. "I can barely sleep for half an hour without having a nightmare." A single tear trickled down his cheek. Steve reached for his hand and Eddie grabbed it without hesitation. He'd had plenty of similar nightmares since visiting the Upside Down and he knew how it felt to wake up with no one there to comfort him. They basked in comfortable silence before Eddie let go of his hand. "What's the time?"
"Uhhh." Steve squinted at his wrist. "11:19."
"Crap." He swatted away a tear. "I better start heading home."
"You want to walk home near midnight, crying, after being the most hated man in Hawkins? I don't think I could allow myself to let that happen," Steve said. "Look, if you need to, you can stay over tonight and I can drop you home when I pick up Robin tomorrow,"
"Thank you, Steve." Eddie smiled. "That means a lot."
Steve smiled back. The twisting in his gut returned. This was probably a bad idea, wasn't it?